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Are you happy living in Singapore?
Posted by Alex Tuesday, 16 June 2009
Most of you know that last year, Singapore was ranked the 22th most liveable country, right? Well, the good news is, this year, in the Monocle’s list of the world’s most liveable cities, Singapore has been ranked number 18!
The top was Zurich, and only 2 other Asian countries, Tokyo and Fukuoka in Japan are rated in front of Singapore. Singapore has aimed to try to replicate the glamour of Monaco by adding the Formula One road race and the new casinos. The cities are selected based on such factors as shopping hours, access to green spaces, the number of Zara and Starbucks stores in the cities and the ease of setting up business in the cities.
In April, American human-resource consultancy Mercer ranked Singapore Number1 for the basic structure and system in its global survey of the top cities to live in. But, these surveys do not include what the people think of their hometowns. Another recent survey has found out that the citizens in Singapore and South Korea has voted their cities as the most stressful places to live in. I think that it is because of the competition in Singapore. But, it is found that these two countries have the highest per capita incomes in Asia and this is ironical.
Maybe one of the reasons is that Singaporeans are worried about their financial security and retirement. Quite a lot of people are concerned that they may not have enough money after they retire to grow old in the country.
GLA founder, Mr. Philip Merry, says that he wants to look out for Singaporeans who find joy in everything and learn from them how they approach life.
Eight Asian economies- China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, took part in another survey by life insurer AXA on the feelings of the citizens about the country’s future. The people in Singapore are the most pessimistic in Asia.
The survey polled residents between 25-50 on their views about life in the next 5 years. The survey covered four aspects in life-career, retirement, family and health. Sadly, Singaporeans had the lowest scores in all the four categories.
Angela Lau, the head of AXA, says that they are not very confident about their health and career, and how they are going to cope with the challenges in life. She also says that one in four people are worried about whether they can continue their jobs in the next five years. That was probably one of the reasons why they are not very optimistic about their futures. But, the ironical thing about this is that Singapore is the least affected countries by the turmoil.
On the current happiness index, the top five countries are:
1. Vanuatu
3. Costa Rica
4. Dominica
A random survey also shows that UK is at the108th position, while USA is ranked at position 150. This shows you something, right? This shows that money cannot buy you happiness. Most of the countries that have a high country output (how much a country produces) rank lower in this happiness index. One reason is that life is very competitive in the progressive economies. Hence, people there may feel depressed and unhappy.
So next time you feel deprived of good things in life, think again. You may be the happiest of the lot in reality.
A Fun Day With Old Friends
The C's
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John Hoppner
Portrait of Lady Ibbetson
Artwork date(s): c.1780-1790
Measurements: 925x715
Keywords: three-quarter-length seated portrait; landscape; woman with wig
This portrait was designed to be hung with a companion portrait of the sitters husband, Sir James Ibbetson, High Sheriff of Yorkshire, also painted by Hoppner. Both works were probably painted between 1780 and 1790, and remained in the hands of the Ibbetson family and descendants in Yorkshire until they came onto the market in the early 20th century. At the time when they were painted, copies of both were produced by Hoppners studio for Lady Ibbetsons uncle. These were still in the family in the late 20th century, but were both destroyed by a fire at the family home of Fingringhoe Hall, Essex, in 1976.
Agnews acquired both the original portraits, from different sources, in the course of 1911. They sold them in turn to Christies in 1918, and Leggatt Bros bought them from Christies in this year, the Lady Ibbetson for 1000gs, the Sir James Ibbetson for the much smaller sum of 110gs. Leggatts sold this latter work to a Count Matsukata of Japan, where it was still recorded as being in the 1970s. The other was bought from them by Bailey.
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BACK IN ACTION? MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS MOVIE IN THE WORKS?
Original five rangers morphing into action. From L-R: Amy Jo Johnson (Kimberly), Thuy Trang (Trini), Austin St. John (Jason), Walter Jones (Zack), and David Yost (Billy).
GO, GO POWER RANGERS!
It's morphin' time...potentially.
Announced yesterday, Lionsgate films along with Haim Saban are looking to reboot the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise with a revival on the big screen. The "teens with attitude" starred in two films in the late 1990's and the franchise has had over 15 different incarnations.
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ran on FOX from 1993-1995, and was arguably the biggest show in the world for that time. The cast featured all relative newcomers in Thuy Trang, David Yost, Walter Jones, Amy Jo Johnson, Jason David Frank and Austin St. John, each with their unique talent set brought to their character. Frank, who played Tommy, the Green/White Ranger and St. John who played Jason, the Red Ranger, were incredible young martial artists. Yost, who played Billy the Blue Ranger, and Trang, who was Trini, the Yellow Ranger, were gifted with superior intelligence. Johnson played Kimberly, the Pink Ranger and was an outstanding gymnast. Jones, who was Zack, the Black Ranger, had a great mix of martial arts and hip-hop dancing, which he called Hip-Hop Kido.
The teens were summoned by Zordon and his robotic partner and best friend Alpha 5 to defend the world against Rita Repulsa, Goldar, Squatt and Baboo, along with the villain creator Finster. Each week, the Rangers would face new challenges and would always overcome the odds in some fashion, whether it be combining their weapons to form the Power Blaster or by summoning their Power Zords, creating the Megazord and defeating the larger foes.
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers was a cultural phenomenon and one would have to expect that with the recent revival of older superheroes like Captain America, Ironman, Batman, Spiderman, and the Fantastic Four, that Lionsgate is looking to capitalize on that success.
Is this the right time? Will people be interested? Is it a prequel, or spin-off, or a true adaptation? How will the film work as a live action movie? Some actors from the previous series have passed away, will that affect the movie?
And my biggest question: Is this really a good idea?
Don't get me wrong; I'm as big a Power Rangers fan as anyone, and I've dreamed of seeing the Rangers suit up again, but from the early rumblings of the movie, it will not feature the same characters. It will be a "reimagining" of the franchise. To me, no one will ever replace the original Jason, Tommy, Billy, Trini, Zack, or Kimberly, nor will they be able to replace Bulk and Skull, Zordon, Alpha 5, Rita, Ernie, Mrs. Applebee, Mr. Kaplan, and everyone else who made the series as memorable as it has been.
Plus, if you don't have Austin St. John or Amy Jo Johnson, in the film, then what's the point? I'm 50/50 on the idea of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers returning to any screen other than in syndication.
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Sluggish First Quarter 2018 Raises Concerns for Year-Long Giving Outlook
While relatively little giving occurs in the first three months of the year, data from the Fundraising Effectiveness Project’s (FEP) 2018 First Quarter Report shows some early warning signs for charities and giving.
The Report, which looks at giving data from January to March 2018 and compares it to the same time period in 2017, reveals that every metric the FEP analyzes is on the decline—with the exception of revenue produced by donors giving $250 or less.
Key metrics in the study include the total number of donors (down 6.3% compared to first quarter 2017); total revenue (down 2.4%); and overall donor retention rate (the percentage of donors who continue to give to the same organization from one year to the next, down 4.6%). The number of new donors fell significantly (down 12%), as did the number of newly retained donors (new donors last year who have made a second gift this year, down 18 percent).
“The reason we’re so concerned with these first quarter numbers for 2018 is because of what we saw in 2017,” said Jon Biedermann, vice president of DonorPerfect CRM Fundraising Software. “For the first three quarters of 2017, giving was way behind the pace of 2016. Only a record-breaking 4th quarter increase is why giving increased overall by the end of the year. So far, giving is off to an even worse start in 2018, so we’re concerned about what charities may experience in their fundraising throughout the year.”
Elizabeth Boris, founding director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute, cautioned that there were two major caveats to the findings. First, previous studies by other organizations have found that a large majority of giving occurs in the final three months of the year, October through December. Declines in giving in the first quarter and beyond do not necessarily portend a year of decreased giving.
Second, the new federal tax law, passed late last year, significantly changed giving incentives and may have been a key factor in the extraordinary level of giving that occurred in the last quarter of 2017 (a 47% increase for donors donating $1,000 or more compared to the last quarter of 2016). While it is too early to conclusively state what the exact impact of the new tax law was on giving, it is very possible that the higher levels of giving in the fourth quarter of 2017 created a sense of donor fatigue and led to lower-than-usual levels in the first quarter of 2018.
“The bottom line is that we are now in a very different charitable landscape than we were 12 months ago,” said Jay Love, chairman and chief relationship officer of Bloomerang. “The work of the FEP and the use of the Growth in Giving database—the world’s largest database of actual nonprofit donation history available for public and private research—is going to be critical as we help charities navigate this new environment and inspire donors to support their causes.”
Another concern that the latest data underscores is the continuing trend of fewer donors giving more money. With the number of donors down more than six percent, but giving revenue decreasing by just 2.4 percent, the charitable sector continues to see fewer, typically wealthier donors accounting for more and more of giving totals. “This situation simply isn’t financially sustainable for the 1.5 million organizations that make up the charitable sector,” said Mike Geiger, MBA, CPA, president and CEO of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “Donors who give $50 – $250 annually are the mainstay of many charities that don’t have major gift programs. The slow, long-term drop in the number of these donors is jeopardizing the work and impact of many charities.”
Data from the FEP’s First Quarter 2018 Report is based on a panel of charities selected from the Growth in Giving database of 154 million transactions from 17,597 organizations and $68 billion in donations since 20015. Organizations included in the panel have raised $5,000 or more from 25 or more donors in each of the last six years. Revenue figures have been adjusted for inflation.
Jeff Gordy, CEO of NeonCRM, which contributes data, notes that charities should be very concerned by the decrease in recurring giving, as well as the decrease in major gifts. “Not only are nonprofits attracting fewer major donors, but they are not retaining the donors they already have,” said Gordy. “Nonprofits will need to do a better job of promoting their work and staying in touch with their donors to reverse this trend. This report covers the averages, but there are many nonprofits that are breaking this mold and doing much better.”
You can download the Fundraising Effectiveness Quarterly Report for Q1 2018 here.
Michael Nilsen
Vice President, Communications and Public Policy at Association of Fundraising Professionals
Michael Nilsen is the Vice President of Communications and Public Policy for the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Latest posts by Michael Nilsen (see all)
Fundraising Effectiveness Project Quarterly Fundraising Report for Q4 2018 - February 25, 2019
World’s Largest Giving Database Finds Modest Growth in 2017 Giving, Retention Rates - August 21, 2018
Sluggish First Quarter 2018 Raises Concerns for Year-Long Giving Outlook - May 31, 2018
Posted in FEP News.
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From Blocks to Block Diagrams
In the previous post, we looked at an archetypal ‘invention', the interpenetrated wall block building, from the point of view of claimless patents. Now let's try applying the principles developed there to the more difficult case of a real patent.
The patent we'll look at is US 8,698,473, uninformatively titled "Switching Regulator", from Takeshi Kimura of Yokohama, Japan, assigned to Spansion LLC here in my home town of Sunnyvale, CA. If you like picturesque places, you should visit Yokohama rather than Sunnyvale, preferably the Yokohama that never actually existed, as depicted in Goro Miyazaki's From Up On Poppy Hill. No one appears to have spent their time reading patents up on Poppy Hill.
US 8,698,47 is a pretty typical patent: a modest variation on an existing class of products. The topic is a device that converts one electrical voltage to another. For example, a device like the one described could convert the 3.7 volts it gets from a battery in a cellphone into 1.8 volts needed by the interface that the parts in the phone use to talk to each other.
The normal way to look at this application is to focus on the "inventive concept", whatever the heck that is. Instead, in the proposed claimless patent system, we will focus on what you tell a person of ordinary skill in the relevant art to do in order to make the patented thing, and how that set of instructions differs from any previous set. Kimura provides a particularly convenient example that does exactly that, at least if you happen to know something about electrical block diagrams, which a person of ordinary skill in this art certainly would. (For readers whose expertise is thankfully elsewhere, rest assured: you only need to know that the right person would understand what the funny symbols are, not that you do.)
Figure 1 below shows what's called a block diagram for an electrical part. (The figures shown are simplified and annotated versions of Kimura's Figures 1 and 12.) The various funny symbols represent electrical components that do something useful, like resisting the flow of current, storing charge, or amplifying a signal (making it bigger). Each line with dots on the ends represents a wire that conducts electricity between places in the circuit. "VIN" is the input voltage, to be converted to some other voltage "VOUT" (e.g. from 3.7 to 1.8 volts). This picture is an instruction set, telling our skilled person what components they need and how the components are to be connected together.
If Kimura's converter were to be built using discrete parts (that is, individual resistors and capacitors with wires, like the ones you can still find at Radio Shack), the instructions would also include a bill of materials. The Bill of Materials, or BOM for short, is a long list that tells someone how to buy the parts you need. For each part, there's typically a vendor, a model or part number, and optionally some specifications and pricing. If Kimura's converter were an integrated circuit, constructed as a chip on a silicon wafer, the bill of materials would be at least partially replaced by a specification for each component: how big a transistor to use, what value of resistance is needed for a resistor, and so on. In modern integrated circuit design, many parts are already available as libraries of designs, so the specification might also include something similar to the BOM, describing which library to use, and which named design to place in the circuit. For simplicity, we'll stick to the discrete-part approach below.
So the instructions provided to our skilled person for the prior art stuff would be, for example, the schematic diagram above, and a bill of materials for the parts, or a set of specifications. The skill of our person of ordinary skill in this art is to turn that set of instructions into a product that works as intended. Note that, even if you the reader don't understand what you are looking at, Kimura's application has defined for us the person of ordinary skill: a person for whom our Figure 1 DOES make sense and DOES suffice to describe what they are to build. If you hand this diagram to someone and they look blankly at you and ask "does COMP stand for Compromise?" then you've got the wrong person. The definition of a person of ordinary skill is thus testable, an important distinction from the existing patent system.
Figure 2 shows a similarly-cleaned up image with the new stuff added.
How do these instructions change when we include the new stuff (the stuff in the green-shaded box in Figure 2)? We need to add something like this:
1. Connect a current source [ok, it's actually a current sink in this case, and yes, only EE nerds care] to point X of the schematic. The new wire that connects this source is shown in green in the figure. Current sources have some specifications: the amount of current they conduct, the voltage range over which they work, and so on. This current source can be switched on and off, so we'd provide some other specifications: how much current is carried when the switch is off, how fast the switch turns on and off, and how you control the state of the switch. The other side of the current source is connected to ground, the reference voltage for all other voltages (typically e.g. the case of an instrument).
2. Connect a new wire to switch the current source on and off, also shown in green. Note that in order to implement this switchability, we have to describe how the wire controls the switch in the current source, and when the switch is to be on or off.
3. Connect a new (green) wire to the wire marked "PFM_COMP". Again we need to define what this wire does (in this case, carry a logic signal), and when that signal would be HIGH (a logical YES or 1) and LOW (a logical NO or 0).
4. Change the definition of the wire that used to connect to the little bubble on the Negative Current Detector box (a comparator, and no, COMP doesn't stand for compromise, in case you were wondering): we have a different specification for when this wire is HIGH or LOW than in the prior art diagram.
The need for each of the specifications that define e.g. the current source is part of the prior art. Once I tell you I need a current source, the first thing you ask is "how much current?", and the second thing is "over what voltage range?" Anywhere we need a current source, everyone we will work with knows we need to provide the specs for it. So the part that's different is the fact that we are connecting a current source to point X, where no such current source existing in the prior version. That's one new instruction. The details of the instruction are (in this case) all known prior art; the only new part is the existence of the component at this place. So we count this as one new thing. Like the kid with the block building, our person of ordinary skill needs to know what a current source is and how to get one that works. We just need to tell them where to put it.
Similarly, each new or changed wire needs a specification describing what it is up to. Everyone who can read one of these silly diagrams knows that if I put a wire somewhere I need to tell you what it is doing. That's part of the prior art. So each new wire is one new thing, carrying with it the questions whose answers are needed to make the new part work.
Note that the box marked "MODE_CNT" isn't counted as new, even though it was not present in prior art diagram in Figure 1. The MODE_CNT box is a known method of making sure that the wires do what they are supposed to do. Any other method could be substituted. Implementing it is part of the instructions for the wires.
Thus, when we finish counting, we find that, if we accept Kimura's representation of what the prior art is, then we have added four new instructions to something that existed before. The Hamming distance of this invention is four instructions from the prior art.
Note that we're not making assertions about what is obvious, only what is new. We are assuming a specific set of skills for the people who receive the instructions. This is a verifiable set of assumptions. The description of the prior art defines for us the person we are looking for: a person who can read Figure 1 and turn it into a working voltage converter. This person then needs to be able to implement the new voltage converter when provided with the four additional instructions.
Now, imagine I read Kimura's patent, and happened to have an old converter lying around on my desk (e.g. left over from my failed plot to take over the world using self-assembling robots, abandoned when it turned out the robots ran on 5 V and I only had 9 V power supplies). I could disassemble that converter. Let's imagine that I found that it had all the same parts, or functionally equivalent parts, as those shown in Figure 1. In addition, it had a current source as shown in Figure 2, but not the new wires connected to PFM_COMP and the Negative Current Detector (or their equivalents). Then I would have shown that the correct distance to the prior art was only 2 instructions instead of 4. That narrows the scope of Kimura's claimless patent, and makes it easier for me to improve it enough to no longer infringe. The more new instructions a patent has, the more space it protects for its owner. Claimless patents block copying but not progress.
In the next post (the final one for this series), we'll examine the issues that arise in trying to implement claimless patenting: how to choose the hierarchical level at which an instruction is defined, how to verify the efficacy of the instruction set, and how the choices made may differ from one area of art to another.
[Posted at 11/29/2014 09:39 PM by Daniel Dobkin on Patents comments(0)]
CincoUnoQuatroNine:
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Books, Fantasy
By Edo Bosnar January 10, 2020 January 9, 2020
This whole post takes its cue from Greg Hatcher’s recent column about the ‘on-ramp’ to get younger people, whether teens or preteens, interested in reading. In the comments there, I mentioned my favorite author, Ursula Le Guin, and, among other things, the books in her absolutely outstanding Earthsea cycle – which is where I first discovered her writing when I was about 11 or 12 years old.
That actually got my wheels turning and I started to think about Le Guin as an author of children’s and YA books – a smaller but, I think, vital part of her total ouevre. So what follows are some of my thoughts on her various offerings for younger readers, most of which I think can be serve as suitable on-ramps to the world of reading. The Earthsea books, however, will be conspicuously absent here, because some time in the hopefully near future I’m going to reread them all and then possibly write a separate post.
So I won’t start at the beginning, neither my own first encounter with Le Guin’s work nor her first YA book, but instead I wanted to touch on The Beginning Place. This one isn’t necessarily a YA book, although mostly reads like one. However, the two main characters are not children or teens, but rather a man (Hugh) and woman (Irene) in their early twenties. Both of them are living in a sort of limbo; working at steady but dead-end jobs and not entirely independent of their parents/families. The depiction of their home lives is very unsentimental and rather gritty.
At the different times, both of them find a place in a forest on the outskirts of town where they both live which leads to a sort of enchanted place (that we later learned is called Tembreabrezi). It always seems to be twilight there and time passes very slowly – the equivalent of a few days is only a few hours in the ‘real’ world. The people speak a strange language and seem to live in some type of preindustrial society. Both Hugh and Irene feel strangely at home there, and prefer it to their real lives, so they come as often as they can. However, some unnamed dread overcomes all of the people in Tembreabrezi and they claim that only Irene and Hugh can overcome it. So they go on a sort of quest that turns out to be a harrowing experience, and they come out of it with a very different perspective on themselves, each other and their place in the (real) world. This is basically a coming of age story, and that’s sort of a unifying theme of all of Le Guin’s YA books.
Very Far Away From Anywhere Else is very much a young adult novel, and also non-genre (i.e., there’s no science fiction, fantasy or any speculative elements whatsoever). It’s a story that focuses on a thoughtful and intelligent, yet socially awkward teenage boy, who soon meets and befriends an equally thoughtful and intelligent teenage girl who’s also a bit of an outsider (and who’s a musical prodigy as well). The story deals with the ups and downs of their friendship during their senior year of high school, mainly through the lens of the boy’s own confusion about whether they are friends or something more (remember, he’s a teenager…). Again, as in The Beginning Place, what we see is the gradual process of both main characters moving toward adulthood and general maturity.
The cover of my current copy, which is the British edition; don’t know why the title was changed…
This book may not necessarily be a good jumping-on point for the types of genre fiction we usually talk about here, but it is a good book to give any confused teenager, and hell, it’s LeGuin – there’s no such thing as a bad LeGuin book or story.
Next up is a trilogy of books sometimes referred to as the Annals of the Western Shore, and also Chronicles of the Western Shore. We’re back to the realm of fantasy in a setting somewhat similar to Earthsea: a pre-industrial society that resembles what most people associate with medieval Europe. The denizens of the ‘Western Shore’ live in a variety of communities, from wealthier city-states through village communes and nomadic or sedentary tribes to wandering bands of outlaws hiding out in forests and swamps.
Gifts is set in a far north, a hilly region called the Uplands where the agrarian residents eke out a living from the rather unforgiving terrain. Their society is tribal, with wider kinship groups living in villages under a chieftain. Sometimes the various tribes engage in violent feuds with each other. There’s just one twist about these people: many of them have hereditary, basically magical abilities, called gifts, such as being able to communicate with animals (handy for hunting as well as taming and training draft animals), but also less pleasant stuff like being able to bend other people to do your will, or something called ‘unmaking’ – basically being able to make anything, organic or inanimate, crumble apart with a focused glance.
The story involves two adolescents, a girl named Gry, whose family’s abilities are to communicate with animals, and Orrec, whose family members are known, and feared, for their ‘unmaking’ ability. Early on, while Orrec is still a boy of about 12 or 13, his father claims that his son can’t control his unmaking power and forces him to wear a blindfold for several years.
It turns out, however, that Orrec has another talent, and that is an affinity for telling stories and singing songs, and eventually he and Gry decide to leave their homeland and seek their destiny elsewhere, with Orrec propelled by his desire to learn new stories and songs from the people they meet as they wander through their world. They become supporting characters in the remaining two books.
The main character in the second book, Voices, is a teenage girl named Memer who lives in a coastal city-state far to the south of the setting in Gifts. The city had been violently conquered some years previously by a war-like, austere people from the harsh inland desert plains to the east. They are strict monotheists, and find the more lax polytheism of the city-dwellers heretical. They also consider books, and anything written, abhorrent. As Memer moves toward adulthood against the backdrop of this tense situation in her home city, she is taught to read by the lord of the household she lives in, where there is also a secret library. This household also has an Oracle, and Memer becomes aware that she is able to interpret its messages, which she calls ‘voices.’
She eventually meets two intriguing visitors to the city, Orrec and Gry, both of them now quite well known throughout the land. Orrec in particular is renowned far and wide as a storyteller and singer. They befriend Memer and serve as a catalyst for the events that follow in the city.
The last book, Powers, is centered on a boy named Glavir. He was initially living a happy life with his older sister in a large wealthy manor in a city-state in the north central section of the Western Shore. Glavir and his sister, though, are slaves. Glavir, furthermore, is often troubled by visions, which he calls ‘remembering’, even though what he sees are glimpses of the future. And true to one of these visions, his life gets turned upside down when the city-state is attacked by the army of a rival city, and Glavir eventually flees. Trying to elude a rather determined slave-catcher from the city, for the next few years, he wanders through the countryside. He sometimes lives with the people he encounters, like forest-dwelling outlaws or a community of fishers and farmers who live in an immense marshland (where he learns about his true heritage), but he always moves on, fearing the possibility of being enslaved again. He eventually decides to make his way to a ‘free’ city farther north. It’s only near the end of the story that his path crosses with that of Gry and Orrec, but that also marks a crucial turning point in his life.
These are my favorite of these books, as they showcase Le Guin doing what she did best: crafting intriguing stories peopled with very real characters who grow, change and mature as they learn about their place in the world and deal with life’s challenges. She also wove in a number of themes, like power and the abuse thereof, cultural and religious conflict, the treatment of women, slavery, warfare and colonialism. And as with so much of her other speculative fiction, she proved yet again that she was one of the best world-builders in all of (English-language) literature.
As a sort of postscript, I’ll just add the delightful Catwings series. These are meant for small children just learning to read, and in my opinion it’s never too early to get kids interested in reading, especially if that involves reading something by Le Guin. As the titles suggest, it’s about cats – with wings! It all starts when a tabby alley cat named Jane has a litter of four winged kittens. In the course of the four books, they move from their big city slum to the country, go back to the city to visit mom and find out they have a younger, similarly winged sister, meet some new friends, and so forth. Even here, the unifying theme of this post, the coming of age, comes into play.
These are fun to read – even by adults – for a number of reasons. Le Guin really ‘gets’ cats, but these stories are not sappy and cutesy. And S.D. Schindler’s illustrations are perfect.
Author: Edo Bosnar
Edo, or Ed (or, if you must, Edward) Bosnar currently lives in Zagreb, Croatia with his partner Sanja, their dog and too many cats. He is, however, American born and raised: he grew up in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, and then spent his college years and a little after in several parts of the San Francisco Bay Area of California. Most importantly, as far back as he can remember, he’s been a fan and consumer of all kinds of atomic junk (comics, SF, fantasy, cartoons, pulp fiction, and movies and TV shows of questionable quality).
View all posts by Edo Bosnar →
George Kennedy, Crimefighting Mary Sue
tomfitz1
I work in an university library, and can confirm that the library has a number of her books in both the Young Adult collection and the adult collection.
January 10, 2020 at 10:32 am 2 weeks ago
My Mum used to read me Earthsea; it was one of the earliest fantasies I read. (Uh, I also read it myself.)
“However, the two main characters are not children or teens, but rather a man (Hugh) and woman (Irene) in their early twenties.”
Should have no effect on whether it’s YA or a kid’s book or not. Doctor Who was originally aimed at kids, and didn’t have any kids in it.
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Artist: Spock's Beard
Genre: Heavy Metal
Review by Keith "MuzikMan" Hannaleck
Spock's Beard has recorded their magnum opus with "Snow." If you have been longing for the sound of progressive rock in the 70's, this band is prepared to transport you back to that time in the blink of an eye. Clearly reminiscent of the group's that inspired them to become what they are such as Genesis and ELP, they produce a tight and even mixture of layered keyboards and heavy-duty guitar runs, and the gentle touch when necessary in each composition. This is their first concept album, which is about a boy that turns into a rock god. Snow is comparable to the character called "Powder" in the film of the same name.
This was a very expensive and lavish production. Getting a copy for review was even a difficult task because it was so costly. Finally, I have one in my ever-loving prog-rock mitts. This album could be the best progressive rock recording of the year, and the year is nearly over. I have heard many great projects this year, but this one has to be the most ambitious and accessible recording yet. It is chock full of defining moments. As with many groups in the genre, this band sports a superstar at every position in the band, much like Dream Theater or The Flower Kings.
"Devil's Got My Throat" is rousing number that I would consider the apex of the entire recording. Neal Morse growls his way through the song and it surges with power and energy from start to finish. In actuality the entire scope and breadth of the 26 tracks has an impact that will linger with you long after you have given it an initial listen. This group is widely considered the best at producing their style of music over the last 10 years, which is a mouthful to digest considering the company that they keep. It may or may not be true dependent on your own personal tastes or perception. In any event, Spock's Beard is no doubt one of the premier prog-rock bands in the world today. I think with the advent of this recording it should put them in the same category as their influences. They do indeed have many other groups that are the wind at their backs; they just are not strong enough to knock them of their perch high atop the world music giants yet.
1. Made Alive/Overture (Morse) - 5:32
2. Stranger in a Strange Land (Morse) - 4:29
3. Long Time Suffering (Morse) - 6:03
4. Welcome to NYC (Morse) - 3:32
5. Love Beyond Words (Morse) - 3:24
6. The 39th Street Blues (I'm Sick) (Morse) - 4:05
7. Devil's Got My Throat (Morse) - 7:17
8. Open Wide the Flood Gates (Morse) - 6:14
9. Open the Gates Pt. 2 (Morse) - 3:02
10. Solitary Soul (Morse/Morse) - 7:33
11. Wind at My Back (Morse/Morse) - 5:12
12. Second Overture (Spock's Beard) - 3:47
13. 4th of July (Spock's Beard) - 3:11
14. I'm the Guy (Morse) - 4:48
15. Reflection (Morse) - 2:49
16. Carie (Morse) - 3:06
17. Looking for Answers (D'Virgilio) - 5:17
18. Freak Boy (Morse) - 2:12
19. All Is Vanity (Morse) - 4:35
20. I'm Dying (Morse) - 5:09
21. Freak Boy Pt. 2 (Morse) - 3:01
22. Devil's Got My Throat Revisited (Morse) - 1:55
23. Snow's Night Out (Morse) - 2:04
24. Ladies and Gentleman, Mister Ryo Okumoto... (Morse) - 2:40
25. I Will Go (Morse) - 5:08
26. Made Alive Again/Wind at My Back (Morse) - 8:27
Neal Morse - lead vocals, piano, all synth, acoustic guitar
Ryo Okumoto -hammond and mellotron
Dave Meros - bass, vocals, French horn
Alan Morse - electric guitars, vocals
Nick D'Virgilio -drums, percussion, vocals
Chris Carmichael - violin, viola, cello
Jim Hoke - saxophone, clarinet, autoharp
Neil Rosengarten - flugelhorn, trumpet
Molly Pasutti - background vocals
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A PARISH GONE ILL
St. Joan of Arc's open rebellion against the faith
By John Grasmeier
Angelqueen.org
Although the degree to which individual Catholics are catechized is diverse, and our personal knowledge of Church teachings may vary, it doesn't take a degree in theology or canon law to identify that which is distinctly outside the faith. Regarding heterodoxy, there is the insidious form which resides in that "grey area" of doctrine, then there's the literal and overt form. The former will go unnoticed by all but well formed and knowledgeable Catholics, while the latter can be identified by anyone who happens to witness it. Even those with limited catechesis know overt heterodoxy, heresy, scandal and liturgical abuse when encountered. Given the fact that the law of God is written in all of our hearts, all of us, even non-Catholics know distinct aberration when we see it.
One such aberration is the parish of St. Joan of Arc (SJA as it's known) in the archdiocese of Minneapolis - St. Paul. To anyone who visits the SJA website, it will quickly become obvious that SJA is at best a parish in open rebellion against the Church, at worst a hopelessly fallen congregation on an active mission to usurp the faith.
Be forewarned that if you harbor any degree of affinity for the Catholic faith and plan on browsing the this website, you may afterwards feel the need to shower. Better yet, call your local Homeland Security asset and ask if they would indulge you a full de-con scrub while you pray the Rosary.
The website, as of the time of this writing, is a bastion of Catholic mockery contains no church teaching or content directed towards proper Christian formation. Although you'll find a "flying Jesus", you will not come across any images of crucifixes or our Lady, or anything else that will remind you that the site is the property of a Catholic church. What you will find is unbridled left-wing social advocacy, promotion of hedonism, prayers to idols and lessons on socialist political activism.
What follows is some of what those who surf the SJA site are subjected to.
St. Joan's Healing Circle Ministry (Link)
If you're feeling afflicted and think it the perfect time to enrage your Lord and Savior, then St. Joan's Healing circle is for you. Here you'll find a crew of pleasant post-menopausal ladies dedicated to making your final judgment as horrific as possible. The ladies all have "credentials" in various forms of pagan healing, so the monthly theme of these sessions could be anything from Japanese Reiki to the "Crown Chakra", which was the theme of the July 19, 2005 session and subject of the linked article. Chakra is a Hindu practice where emphasis is placed on certain anatomical areas the body, while everyone stands around a cloth adorned with strange trinkets and statues. The information contained on the page doesn't indicate whether any of the nice ladies are credentialed in Voodoo, but it seems quite possible.
It's too bad women like these weren't around when Job was suffering, perhaps he would have gotten some relief from those pesky boils.
Reconciliation (Link)
If you're having second thoughts regarding the eternal consequences of your pagan healing session and would like to confess, be comforted in the fact that you'll only have to wait until next Lent to take part in the "Communal Reconciliation service". This is where twice a year, you get to sing joyous songs in a "communal setting" along with everyone else in the congregation. Of course you may have to overlook some minor details, such as being afforded the opportunity to make an actual confession and have your sins forgiven. As reported in Lumen Gentleman, SJA frowns upon penance, referring to the confessional as "the box". Here's what SJA had to say on the website regarding of these services:
Many of us might recall those times when we entered 'the box'....If you haven't attend this service in the past, you will have a second chance during Lent when the Prayer Partner Group will offer another Reconciliation service. Until then, you'll have to look for 'the box' in another church."
For those of you who simply don "get it" and absolutely insist on receiving this Catholic sacrament from a supposedly Catholic church, SJA will grudgingly accommodate you. If you call and make an appointment, you can be seen only on Saturdays and only before 5 PM.
GLBT Community (Link)
For those who are lagged in their modern lexicon, "GLBT" stands for "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender." For those who are really lagged in their lexicon, a transgender person is either a man who has had his penis chopped off and disposed of as medical waste, or a woman who has had a non-functional pseudo penis sewed on. Forgive the gory details, but some actually don't know what these terms mean, much less why they are given prominence on a Catholic church's website.
At the time when this article was written, there were two articles advocating legalization of adoption for gay "parents" and one article encouraging "adult role models" for gay youth. SJA apparently does not advocate Christ for its "GLBT" members, as there is no mention of God or Christ to be found at the link. Plenty of homosexual advocacy, zero Christianity. None, nada, zip.
Peace Prayers (Link)
Here you'll find a wide variety of false gods to pray to, if you're not able to get over to SJA where they actually pray to them real-time during Mass. No, the last statement was not an inappropriate joke. During the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, this congregation recites Muslim, Jewish, Native American, Shinto, Sikh and Hindu prayers in addition to the prayers of other religions that many reading this will have never heard of. There are more heathen prayers on this one page then there are Catholic prayers throughout the entire website.
After witnessing first hand the offense to God and His first commandment on the "peace prayers" page, one can only conclude that this parish has not only rejected Catholicism, but Christianity altogether. The only thing missing is a "peace prayer" to the golden calf. Perhaps
I shouldn't have wrote that last dig, as I fear that the webmaster from St. Joans may read it and decide to actually add golden calf peace prayers to the page.
SJA/WAMM Collaboration (Link)
SJA has teamed up with and linked to the website of the group known as "WAMM" (website), an acronym for "Women Against Military Madness". WAMM is a left wing feminist organization that is against violence, unless of course the violence happens to be perpetrated by left wing communist dictators. According to their website, WAMM has thrown their support behind Venezuela's violent communist strongman Hugo Chavez. Among other activities, SJA volunteers help WAMM distribute literature to encourage young people to become conscientious objectors. What does this have to do with Catholicism? It's hard to say. Then again what does a tin-pot South American dictator have to do with American anti-war feminists?
Christmas with the Gay Men's Chorus (Link)
One must wonder why a chorus - or any other organization - would limit its membership exclusively to men who have sex with other men. Further, one must wonder what is specific to men who unrepentantly have sex with other men that would cause a Catholic church to feel it necessary to have them perform during a celebration of Christ's birthday. In any case, if a church is to invite a chorus comprised exclusively of unrepentant homosexuals for the purpose of celebrating Christ's birthday, they would at the very least sing songs about Christ's birthday... wouldn't they? Wrong. The theme of the show was the most holy and reverent topic of "snow". The repertoire included such traditional sacred Catholic classics as "White Christmas", "Winter Wonderland", "The Christmas Waltz" and "Must the Winter Come so Soon", as well as some good ol' fashioned homosexual activism. From the advert:
In a departure from the snow theme, the Chorus will perform a new piece that speaks to the power of single individuals when they have the courage to take a stand and speak out against bigotry and hate. Not In Our Town...
This isn't the half of it
In order to create an article that would comprehensively cover all of the heresy, sacrilege, strident leftism and other assorted wackiness at the SJA website, the size of the HTML file required to write such an article would consume more server space than the entire SJA site itself. The amount of error contained within it is literally voluminous enough to wear out any writer possessing the wherewithal to weed through this insufferable testament to the current state of the Church in America.
Don't forget, this parish is under the charge of Bishop Harry Flynn, so not much can be expected. If you decide to go through the SJA site yourself, it is not recommended that you do so after eating.
Authors Note: Being that the nature of the internet is dynamic and some tend to abscond when light is shined upon them, the content that is the subject of this article will be preserved here for as long as is necessary.
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+ "I am haunted by no phantoms. It is rather that the ashes I stir up contain the crystallization that hold the image (reduced or synthetic) of the living and impure beings that they constituted before the intervention of the fire. If life has a meaning, this image (from the beyond?) has perhaps some significance. That is what I should like to know. And it is why I write." -- ''[[L'homme foudroyé]]''
+ |}
{{Template}} {{Template}}
- '''Frédéric Louis Sauser''' ([[September 1]], [[1887]] – [[January 21]], [[1961]]), better known as '''Blaise Cendrars''', was a Swiss novelist and poet naturalized [[France|French]] in [[1916]]. [[Blaise Cendrars]] openly declared his admiration for [[Gustave Le Rouge]]. His ''La Fin du Monde Filmée par l'Ange'' [The End Of The World Filmed By An Angel] (1919) and ''Moravagine'' (1926) are surrealist novels, the latter named after, and telling the story of, an evil madman whose crimes rival those of [[Fantômas]], a character much appreciated by the Surrealists. {{GFDL}} +
+ '''Frédéric Louis Sauser''' ([[September 1]], [[1887]] – [[January 21]], [[1961]]), better known as '''Blaise Cendrars''', was a [[Swiss novelist]] and poet naturalized [[France|French]] in [[1916]]. His ''[[The End Of The World Filmed By An Angel]]'' (1919) and ''[[Moravagine ]]'' (1926) are generally considered [[surrealist novel]]s.
+ ==Life==
+ ===Early Years===
+ He was born in [[La Chaux-de-Fonds]], [[Neuchâtel]], [[Switzerland]] to a bourgeois francophone family. Initially, they attempted to send young Frédéric to a German boarding school, but he ran away. After, they tried enrolling him in a school in Neuchâtel, but he had little enthusiasm for his studies. Finally, in 1904, he left school due to poor performance and began an apprenticeship with a Swiss watchmaker in Russia.
+ It was in [[St Petersburg]] that he began to write, thanks to the encouragement of R.R., a librarian at the [[Russian National Library]]. There he wrote the poem ''[[La Légende de Novagorode]]'', which R.R. translated into Russian. Supposedly fourteen copies were made, but Cendrars claimed to have no copies of it, and none could be located during his lifetime. In 1995, the Bulgarian poet [[Kiril Kadiiski]] found one of the Russian translations in [[Sofia]]. Today the authenticity of the document is still contested.
+ In 1907, he returned to Switzerland, where he studied medicine at the University of Berne. During this period he wrote his first verified poems, ''Séquences'', influenced by [[Remy de Gourmont|Rémy de Gourmant's]] ''Le Latin Mystique''.
+ After a short stay in Paris, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1911. There he wrote his first novel, ''Moganni Nameh'', which was not published until 1922. Then he was travelling once more, this time to New York to rejoin his friend Féla Poznanska. They married, and together they would later have three children: Odilon, Rémy, and Miriam. Cendrars was inspired by the modernity of New York, a world where everything was based on speed and mechanization. During his short time there he wrote his first long poem, ''Les Pâques à New York''. He signed it, for the first time, Blaise Cendrars.
+ He returned to Paris in the summer of 1912, now convinced that poetry was his vocation. With [[Emil Szittya]], an anarchist writer, he started ''Les Hommes Nouveaux'', a journal and a publishing house, where he published ''Les Pâques à New York'' and ''Séquences''. He soon became acquainted with many of Parisian artists and writers, such as [[Marc Chagall|Chagall]], [[Fernand Léger|Léger]], [[Léopold Survage|Survage]], [[Amedeo Modigliani|Modigliani]], [[Joseph Csaky|Csaky]], [[Alexander Archipenko|Archipenko]], and [[Robert Delaunay|Robert]]. Most notably, he encountered [[Guillaume Apollinaire]]. The two poets mutually influenced each other's work. Cendrars' poem ''Les Pâques à New York'' was of critical influence over Apollinaire's poem ''Zone''. Cendrars would create a style based on photographic impressions, themes, and reflections in which nostalgia and disillusion were blended with a boundless vision of the world. In 1913, he demonstrated this through his lengthy poem titled in English as [[La prose du Transsibérien et de la Petite Jehanne de France|''The Prose of the Transsiberian and of the Little Jehanne of France'']] in which he described his world journey. The work was accompanied by the paintings of [[Sonia Delaunay|Sonia Delaunay-Terk]]. The long poem printed in folded form (2 meters), was called "the first simultaneous poem" by Cendrars. This is especially important since this was an outgrowth of [[Robert Delaunay]] and other's experiments in proto-[[abstract expressionism]]. Similarly, [[Gertrude Stein]] was attempting to write prose in the manner of abstractness of [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso's]] works.
+ ===The Left-Handed Poet===
+ His writing career was interrupted by [[World War I]]. When it began, he and Italian writer [[Ricciotto Canudo]] appealed to other foreign artists to join the French army in battle. He himself joined the [[French Foreign Legion]]. He was sent to the front line in the [[Somme]] where from mid-December 1914 until February 1915 he was in the line at Frise (at La Grenouillère and the Bois de la Vache). He described this experience in his famous books "La Main Coupée" ("The Severed Hand") and "J'ai Tué" ("I have Killed"). It was during the bloody attacks in Champagne in September of 1915 that Blaise Cendrars lost his right arm and was discharged from the army.
+ [[Jean Cocteau]] introduced him to [[Eugenia Errázuriz]], who proved a supportive if at times possessive patron. Around 1918 he visited her house and was so taken with the simplicity of the décor, he was inspired to write the sequence of poems ''D'Oultremer à Indigo'' (''From Ultramarine to Indigo''). He stayed with Eugenia in her house in [[Biarritz]], in a room decorated with murals by [[Pablo Picasso]]. At this time he was also driving an old [[Alfa Romeo]] which had been "colour-coordinated" by [[Georges Braque]]. Cendrars became an important part of the era of artistic creativity going on in [[Montparnasse]] at the time, his writings a literary epic of the modern adventurer. He was friends with [[Ernest Hemingway]] and [[Henry Miller]] plus many of the writers, painters, and sculptors living in Paris. In 1918, his friend [[Amedeo Modigliani]] painted his portrait.
+ After the war, he became involved in the movie industry in [[Italy]], [[France]], and the [[United States]]. Needing to generate sufficient income, after 1925 he stopped publishing poetry and focused on novels or short stories.
+ ===Later Life===
+ During [[World War II]], tragedy struck when his youngest son was killed in an accident while escorting American planes in [[Morocco]]. In occupied France, the [[Gestapo]] listed Cendrars as a [[Jew|Jewish]] writer of "French expression."
+ In [[1950]], he ended his life of travel by settling down on the rue Jean-Dolent in Paris, across from the [[La Santé Prison]]. There he collaborated frequently with [[Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française|Radiodiffusion Française.]] He finally published again in [[1956]]. The novel, ''Emmène-moi au bout du monde !…'', was to be his last work before suffering a stroke in [[1957]].
+ In [[1960]], [[André Malraux]] bestowed upon him the title of Commander of the [[Légion d'honneur]] for his wartime service. A year later, he also received the Paris Grand Prix for literature. Shortly after, he died. His ashes now rest at [[Le Tremblay-sur-Mauldre]].
+ ==Works==
+ Most of his works were translated into English including the long poem "''Le Panama ou Les Aventures de Mes Sept Oncles''" translated by [[John Dos Passos]] and published in the United States in 1931.
+ ===Selected poems===
+ *"''Les Paques à New York''" - (1912)
+ *"''[[La Prose du Transsibérien et la petite Jehanne de France]]''" - (1913)
+ *"''Le Panama ou Les Aventures de Mes Sept Oncles''" - (1918)
+ ===Selected stories and novels===
+ *''"Profond aujourd'hui''" - (1917)
+ *"''"J'ai tué''" - (1918)
+ *''"[[La Fin du monde filmée par l'Ange N.-D.]]''" - (1919)
+ *"''L'Or''" - (1925) In English, ''Sutter's Gold'', a fictionalized story of [[John Sutter]], a Swiss pioneer, who started the great gold rush in the northern California
+ *"''[[Moravagine]]''" - (1926) (novel)
+ *"''Dan Yack''" - (1927) (novel)
+ *"''Le Plan de l'Aiguille''" - (1929) In English, "''Antarctic Fugue''"
+ *"''Les Confessions de Dan Yack''" - (1929) (novel)
+ *"''Une nuit dans la forêt''" - (1929)
+ *"''Comment les Blancs sont d'anciens Noirs''" - (1930)
+ *"''Rhum--L'aventure de Jean Galmot''" - (1930).
+ *"''Hollywood, La Mecque du cinéma''" - (1936)
+ *"''Histoires vraies''" - (1937)
+ *"''La Vie dangereuse''" - (1938)
+ *"''D'Oultremer à indigo''" - (1940)
+ *"''L'Homme foudroyé''" - (1945)
+ *''"La Main coupée''" - (1946) [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Main_coup%C3%A9e (in French)]
+ *"''Bourlinguer''" - (1948)
+ *"''Le Lotissement du ciel''" - (1949)
+ *"''La Banlieue de Paris''" - (1949)
+ *"''Nöel aux autre coins du monde''" - (1953) (novel) In English "''Christmas at the Four Corners of the World''" (1994)
+ *"''Emmène-moi au bout du monde!... ''" - (1956)
+ *"''Du monde entier au cœur du monde''" Poésies complètes - (1957)
+ *"''Trop c'est trop''" - (1957)
+ *"''A l'aventure''" - (1959)
+ {{GFDL}}
"I am haunted by no phantoms. It is rather that the ashes I stir up contain the crystallization that hold the image (reduced or synthetic) of the living and impure beings that they constituted before the intervention of the fire. If life has a meaning, this image (from the beyond?) has perhaps some significance. That is what I should like to know. And it is why I write." -- L'homme foudroyé
Frédéric Louis Sauser (September 1, 1887 – January 21, 1961), better known as Blaise Cendrars, was a Swiss novelist and poet naturalized French in 1916. His The End Of The World Filmed By An Angel (1919) and Moravagine (1926) are generally considered surrealist novels.
1.1 Early Years
1.2 The Left-Handed Poet
1.3 Later Life
2.1 Selected poems
2.2 Selected stories and novels
He was born in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Neuchâtel, Switzerland to a bourgeois francophone family. Initially, they attempted to send young Frédéric to a German boarding school, but he ran away. After, they tried enrolling him in a school in Neuchâtel, but he had little enthusiasm for his studies. Finally, in 1904, he left school due to poor performance and began an apprenticeship with a Swiss watchmaker in Russia.
It was in St Petersburg that he began to write, thanks to the encouragement of R.R., a librarian at the Russian National Library. There he wrote the poem La Légende de Novagorode, which R.R. translated into Russian. Supposedly fourteen copies were made, but Cendrars claimed to have no copies of it, and none could be located during his lifetime. In 1995, the Bulgarian poet Kiril Kadiiski found one of the Russian translations in Sofia. Today the authenticity of the document is still contested.
In 1907, he returned to Switzerland, where he studied medicine at the University of Berne. During this period he wrote his first verified poems, Séquences, influenced by Rémy de Gourmant's Le Latin Mystique.
After a short stay in Paris, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1911. There he wrote his first novel, Moganni Nameh, which was not published until 1922. Then he was travelling once more, this time to New York to rejoin his friend Féla Poznanska. They married, and together they would later have three children: Odilon, Rémy, and Miriam. Cendrars was inspired by the modernity of New York, a world where everything was based on speed and mechanization. During his short time there he wrote his first long poem, Les Pâques à New York. He signed it, for the first time, Blaise Cendrars.
He returned to Paris in the summer of 1912, now convinced that poetry was his vocation. With Emil Szittya, an anarchist writer, he started Les Hommes Nouveaux, a journal and a publishing house, where he published Les Pâques à New York and Séquences. He soon became acquainted with many of Parisian artists and writers, such as Chagall, Léger, Survage, Modigliani, Csaky, Archipenko, and Robert. Most notably, he encountered Guillaume Apollinaire. The two poets mutually influenced each other's work. Cendrars' poem Les Pâques à New York was of critical influence over Apollinaire's poem Zone. Cendrars would create a style based on photographic impressions, themes, and reflections in which nostalgia and disillusion were blended with a boundless vision of the world. In 1913, he demonstrated this through his lengthy poem titled in English as The Prose of the Transsiberian and of the Little Jehanne of France in which he described his world journey. The work was accompanied by the paintings of Sonia Delaunay-Terk. The long poem printed in folded form (2 meters), was called "the first simultaneous poem" by Cendrars. This is especially important since this was an outgrowth of Robert Delaunay and other's experiments in proto-abstract expressionism. Similarly, Gertrude Stein was attempting to write prose in the manner of abstractness of Picasso's works.
The Left-Handed Poet
His writing career was interrupted by World War I. When it began, he and Italian writer Ricciotto Canudo appealed to other foreign artists to join the French army in battle. He himself joined the French Foreign Legion. He was sent to the front line in the Somme where from mid-December 1914 until February 1915 he was in the line at Frise (at La Grenouillère and the Bois de la Vache). He described this experience in his famous books "La Main Coupée" ("The Severed Hand") and "J'ai Tué" ("I have Killed"). It was during the bloody attacks in Champagne in September of 1915 that Blaise Cendrars lost his right arm and was discharged from the army.
Jean Cocteau introduced him to Eugenia Errázuriz, who proved a supportive if at times possessive patron. Around 1918 he visited her house and was so taken with the simplicity of the décor, he was inspired to write the sequence of poems D'Oultremer à Indigo (From Ultramarine to Indigo). He stayed with Eugenia in her house in Biarritz, in a room decorated with murals by Pablo Picasso. At this time he was also driving an old Alfa Romeo which had been "colour-coordinated" by Georges Braque. Cendrars became an important part of the era of artistic creativity going on in Montparnasse at the time, his writings a literary epic of the modern adventurer. He was friends with Ernest Hemingway and Henry Miller plus many of the writers, painters, and sculptors living in Paris. In 1918, his friend Amedeo Modigliani painted his portrait.
After the war, he became involved in the movie industry in Italy, France, and the United States. Needing to generate sufficient income, after 1925 he stopped publishing poetry and focused on novels or short stories.
During World War II, tragedy struck when his youngest son was killed in an accident while escorting American planes in Morocco. In occupied France, the Gestapo listed Cendrars as a Jewish writer of "French expression."
In 1950, he ended his life of travel by settling down on the rue Jean-Dolent in Paris, across from the La Santé Prison. There he collaborated frequently with Radiodiffusion Française. He finally published again in 1956. The novel, Emmène-moi au bout du monde !…, was to be his last work before suffering a stroke in 1957.
In 1960, André Malraux bestowed upon him the title of Commander of the Légion d'honneur for his wartime service. A year later, he also received the Paris Grand Prix for literature. Shortly after, he died. His ashes now rest at Le Tremblay-sur-Mauldre.
Most of his works were translated into English including the long poem "Le Panama ou Les Aventures de Mes Sept Oncles" translated by John Dos Passos and published in the United States in 1931.
"Les Paques à New York" - (1912)
"La Prose du Transsibérien et la petite Jehanne de France" - (1913)
"Le Panama ou Les Aventures de Mes Sept Oncles" - (1918)
Selected stories and novels
"Profond aujourd'hui" - (1917)
""J'ai tué" - (1918)
"La Fin du monde filmée par l'Ange N.-D." - (1919)
"L'Or" - (1925) In English, Sutter's Gold, a fictionalized story of John Sutter, a Swiss pioneer, who started the great gold rush in the northern California
"Moravagine" - (1926) (novel)
"Dan Yack" - (1927) (novel)
"Le Plan de l'Aiguille" - (1929) In English, "Antarctic Fugue"
"Les Confessions de Dan Yack" - (1929) (novel)
"Une nuit dans la forêt" - (1929)
"Comment les Blancs sont d'anciens Noirs" - (1930)
"Rhum--L'aventure de Jean Galmot" - (1930).
"Hollywood, La Mecque du cinéma" - (1936)
"Histoires vraies" - (1937)
"La Vie dangereuse" - (1938)
"D'Oultremer à indigo" - (1940)
"L'Homme foudroyé" - (1945)
"La Main coupée" - (1946) (in French)
"Bourlinguer" - (1948)
"Le Lotissement du ciel" - (1949)
"La Banlieue de Paris" - (1949)
"Nöel aux autre coins du monde" - (1953) (novel) In English "Christmas at the Four Corners of the World" (1994)
"Emmène-moi au bout du monde!... " - (1956)
"Du monde entier au cœur du monde" Poésies complètes - (1957)
"Trop c'est trop" - (1957)
"A l'aventure" - (1959)
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Blaise Cendrars" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on original research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
Retrieved from "http://artandpopularculture.com/Blaise_Cendrars"
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Coloring/Activity
Comics/Graphic Novel
Diet, Health & Medicine
All Young Adult
YA Non-Fiction
A Secret Tale: Requiem for Deliverance (children's version)
Availability: Usually ships in 3-5 business days. + Available in e-book formats see bottom of page. ___________________________________________________________________
A Secret Tale: Requiem for Deliverance
by Lee Crawford
In a town called Brownsville, Lees unassuming life is jolted by the arrival of a woman, Osaris, who carries an aura of mystery about her. Unlike most women he knows, Osaris suggests a strange world of achievement, performance, and direction. Severely feeling a lack of these lately in his life, it is perhaps little wonder that Lee is drawn to Osaris.
Finding himself in pursuit of this woman, Lee guesses that the current version of himselfat least that part of him that he cares to revealis hardly the kind that will find favor in the eyes of Osaris. But what can he do? Is there enough of him, in him, that could meet squarely with this challenge?
In A Secret Tale: Requiem for Deliverance, we find that the old values of valor and fortitude are not yet dead, but rediscovered with a touch of humor in the intriguing story of man who has to dig deep to get what he badly wanted for himself.
The Author Lee Crawford also is an Actor whom has appeared in numerous Commercials, TV Shows, Print, and International Commercials. His Athletics Career spanned for 4 decades ending with a traumatic head injury while playing Minor League-Semi Professional football with the MIAMI KNIGHTS SPRING LEAGUE FOOTBALL TEAM as a Stand out Wide Receiver/Kickoff Return Specialist. He is eagerly anticipating a return to the Screen and resuming a promising Acting Career.
Times of Deliverance - eBook
Times of Deliverance
Mukti (Deliverance)
A Secret Tale: Requiem for Deliverance 1
A Season of Joy and Pain
A Seal Fascination at Sea: A Fascinating Seal
A Shining Star: A Journey for All Ages
A Secret in the Shack: The Secret Series
A Silent Cry
A Scientific Theory of Everything
A Special Place
A Short Story of Women's Self-Esteem, My Life, & Positive Motivation - eBook
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Fiat exercises option to buy additional 3.3% of Chrysler shares
Purchase brings closer a merger of the two automakers
Automakers, Manufacturing, Production
Fiat today exercised an option to raise its stake in Chrysler by 3.3 percent.
The move is part of CEO Sergio Marchionne’s step-by-step purchases intended to lead to full control of Chrysler and the creation of a merged company that would be able to compete better with industry leaders Toyota, General Motors and Volkswagen.
Fiat has been exercising options since mid-2012 to buy holdings of about 3.3 percent from the VEBA, a medical-benefits trust for the U.S. carmaker’s retirees.
Including today’s purchase, Fiat has exercised three of its six-monthly options, increasing its stake to 68.49 percent.
Fiat has said it wants full control of Chrysler, which would give it access to some of Chrysler’s cash flow for investments in new models.
Chrysler has become Fiat’s most reliable profit generator as the Italian company struggles to end losses in Europe that totaled 704 million euros ($903 million) in 2012 amid a
Buyout, Chrysler, Fiat, Financial, More Tags...
Mr WordPress| September 10, 2014 at 7:45 pm
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Food waste massive contributor to global emissions – IPCC
August 9, 2019Article
Aug. 9 (BusinessDesk) – Agriculture, forestry and other land use may be responsible for 23 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but food waste is also a major culprit, according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.By Rebecca Howard
Aug. 9 (BusinessDesk) – Agriculture, forestry and other land use may be responsible for 23 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but food waste is also a major culprit, according to a new report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
From 2010-2016, global food loss and waste contributed 8-10 percent of total anthropogenic GHG emissions and currently 25-30 percent of total food produced is lost or wasted, the IPCC said in its latest report on climate change and land.
“Causes of food loss and waste differ substantially between developed and developing countries, as well as between regions. Reducing this loss and waste would reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve food security,” it said.
New Zealanders throw away 157,389 tonnes of food a year, according to Love Food Hate Waste in Aotearoa, an initiative spearheaded by 60 local councils. That is equivalent to 271 jumbo jets of food that must go somewhere to rot, instead of being eaten, it said, adding the food is worth about $1.17 billion each year.
Government data show New Zealand retail spending on grocery items, specialist food, liquor, and food and beverage services totalled $35.77 billion in the year ended March 31, more than a third of all retail spending.
According to the IPCC, tackling climate change needs policies that operate across the entire food system. Policies that reduce food loss and waste and influence dietary choices “enable more sustainable land-use management, enhanced food security and low-emissions trajectories,” it said.
The report warned unsustainable land management has led to negative economic impacts and that climate change creates additional stresses. The stability of food supply is projected to decrease as the magnitude and frequency of weather-related food chain disruptions increases.
“Extreme weather and climate or slow-onset events may lead to increased displacement, disrupted food chains, threatened livelihoods, and contribute to exacerbated stresses for conflict,” it said.
According to the IPCC, the level of risk posed by climate change depends both on the level of warming and on how population, consumption, production, technological development, and land management patterns evolve.
The report noted, however, that land must remain productive to maintain food security as the population increases and the negative impacts of climate change on vegetation increase.
“There are limits to the contribution of land to addressing climate change, for instance through the cultivation of energy crops and afforestation.”
It also said it takes time for trees and soils to store carbon effectively. Bioenergy needs to be carefully managed to avoid risks to food security, biodiversity and land degradation.
“The world is best placed to tackle climate change when there is an overall focus on sustainability.”
Some options include improved and sustainable food production, improved and sustainable forest management, soil organic carbon management, ecosystem conservation and land restoration, reduced deforestation and degradation, and reduced food loss and waste.
Failing to act, however, will lead to irreversible loss in land ecosystem functions and services required for food, health, habitable settlements and production. That will lead to increasingly significant economic impacts on many countries in many regions of the world, the IPCC said.
Mike Harvey, Niwa’s principal atmosphere scientist, said New Zealand was a leader with early consideration and research on sustainable land management and the implications for greenhouse gas emissions.
However, he noted there were many challenges in meeting emissions reductions while maintaining food security and the long-term productive potential of land.
“Nationally, we may face the pressures of increased export demand particularly if food supply instabilities increase as predicted with more severe impacts of climate change in some major food-producing regions. The report is very timely,” he said.
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ACC invests $5m in Auckland Transport’s safety programmes
Press Release – Auckland Transport
Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) and Auckland Transport (AT) have joined forces to improve the safety of Aucklanders as we travel on our roads, trains, buses and ferries.
A week after AT and its partners announced the Vision Zero road safety strategy, ACC has invested $5 million in AT’s safety programmes to improve safety on our transport network and reduce road trauma.
Auckland is a rapidly growing region – with many more people driving, walking and cycling to work, school or play.
Dame Paula Rebstock, ACC Chair and AT Board member, says both organisations share a common goal of reducing harm on our roads.
“AT has the knowledge and expertise in road safety research programmes and is an ideal testing ground for future safety initiatives for ACC.
“ACC works at a national level with a number of road safety partners and has made a significant contribution to the Ministry of Transport’s Road to Zero strategy. The opportunity to explore different types of safety programmes with AT lays the groundwork for future collaboration between a larger number of agencies like AT.”
Auckland Transport Board chair Dr Lester Levy says 2018 was the worst on New Zealand’s roads since 2009.
“Too many people are dying or being seriously injured on our roads. We are determined to bring this number down to zero. Working together with our partner – ACC is another step in reducing road trauma. I appreciate their investment in our safety programme and look forward to building on our collaboration with them.”
In 2018, 58 people lost their lives and an additional 595 were seriously injured on our roads in Auckland. All of this road trauma amounts to approximately 30 per cent of New Zealand’s new motor vehicle claims to ACC.
Māori are disproportionately represented in Auckland’s death and serious injuries on the road and part of the $5 million ACC investment will be used within Māori communities.
ACC is interested in AT’s safety programmes like Te Ara Haepapa. Te Ara Haepapa is a unique Māori road safety programme in New Zealand – developed in partnership with marae, kura kaupapa and the community.
Te Ara Haepapa is delivered within a Māori context by Te Reo speaking staff and covers a wide range of high-risk road safety themes – including child restraint use, alcohol, speed and young drivers licensing. In addition, a road safety and active transport programme is currently under development and being delivered in collaboration with nine kura kaupapa in Auckland.
Other AT programmes of interest to ACC are AT’s focus on reducing distractions while driving and in its projects to improve safety for people walking, people riding bicycles and motorcycles.
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Home » Politics » New Poll Has Trump Gaining, While Carson’s Support Drops
New Poll Has Trump Gaining, While Carson’s Support Drops
Wednesday December 02, 2015 – GOP front runner Donald Trump is the “undisputed leader” of the Republican presidential field, and his lead has grown over the past month while retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson has plummeted.
Trump is the first choice of 27% of Republican primary voters nationally, according to a new survey from Quinnipiac University out Wednesday. It’s his best showing in the poll since August and a 3-point increase from last month.
Carson, who was 1 point behind Trump last month, has seen his standing plunge to 16%. That puts him in a tie for third place with Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who along with Cruz has surged recently, found himself in second place in the poll with 17% support. Former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida rounds out the top five, garnering 5% in the survey.
“It doesn’t seem to matter what he says or who he offends, whether the facts are contested or the ‘political correctness’ is challenged, Donald Trump seems to be wearing Kevlar,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University poll.
“Dr. Ben Carson, moving to center stage just one month ago, now needs some CPR. The Doctor sinks. The Donald soars. The GOP, 11 months from the election, has to be thinking, ‘This could be the guy.'”
Indeed, Republican leaders seem to be increasingly bracing for the possibility that Trump could be the party’s standard bearer next year. The New York Times reported Tuesday that the party was starting to become concerned that Trump as the nominee would negatively affect the GOP’s down-ballot candidates.
“It would be an utter, complete and total disaster,” Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a presidential rival who has repeatedly tangled with Trump, told The Times. “If you’re a xenophobic, race-baiting, religious bigot, you’re going to have a hard time being president of the United States, and you’re going to do irreparable damage to the party.”
Carson, meanwhile, has seen his standing tumble as he has faced a slew of negative publicity in recent weeks. Most recently, questions about his foreign-policy knowledge placed him under days of scrutiny.
The poll found, however, that the race is still highly volatile two months away from the Iowa caucuses. Just 32% of Republican primary voters said their minds were “made up” about their voting choice, while 65% said they could change their mind.
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Proposition 3 -- Water bondsWhat it does: Authorizes $8.9 billion in bonds for water projects, including drinking water improvements ($3 billion), fisheries ($2.9 billion), habitat protection (940 million), water conveyance ($855 million), groundwater sustainability ($685 million), dams and dam repairs, including Oroville ($472 million).How much it costs: The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the state would pay $430 million a year for 40 years to cover the bonds and interest – $17.2 billion in all for $8.9 billion in bonds.
Supporters: Ducks Unlimited; variety of water, conservation, wildlife and agricultural advocacy groups; Gerald Meral, former Resources Agency secretary who organized the measure.
What they say: The projects funded by the bonds would protect California’s water supply. The money would provide benefits for fish and wildlife habitat, farms, cities and recreation. Repairing Oroville Dam and building more storage would provide safety and more water.
Opponents: Taxpayers’ groups.
What they say: The state has authorized $29 billion in water bonds since 1996 with little to show for it. The bonds are very expensive and would likely lead to higher taxes. None of the money would go to build new dams.
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US should normalize relations with Cuba
http://informacionaldesnudo.com/u-s-should-normalize-relations-with-cuba/
By Carmelo Ruiz-Marrero© December 10, 2014
InformacionAlDesnudo – Correspondent Puerto Rico
The United States needs to overhaul its Cuba policy.
The United States can work with Cuba to tackle the urgent global challenge of the Ebola virus. Cuba stepped up to the plate early on, training doctors and nurses and sending a number of them to West Africa. Over the years, it has dispatched 185,000 health professionals to 103 countries to treat people for free. In fact, Cuba currently has doctors working in 32 African countries.
In recognition of Cuba’s contributions, Havana was chosen as the location of an international summit meeting on the Ebola crisis last October. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent an official. Cuba’s efforts against this disease have drawn praise not only from the World Health Organization, but also from Secretary of State John Kerry, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Samantha Powers, and the editorial page of The New York Times.
Havana and Washington can work together to fight this epidemic, but such a collaboration would be possible only if the United States closes its Cuban Medical Professional Parole Program, which entices Cuban doctors working abroad to defect and seek asylum in the United States. This program risks undermining the effort to fight Ebola in Africa, and is also an impediment to a rapprochement between the two countries.
The United States can move to heal relations on other fronts. It should consider swapping U.S. citizen Alan P. Gross, in jail in Cuba since 2009 for smuggling communications equipment, for the three Cubans currently in American prisons for espionage. The three were convicted in 2001 of spying not on the U.S. government but on Cuban exile groups, some of which have had a violent past. Amnesty International has questioned the impartiality of their trial.
And the United States needs to lift the more than 50 years old trade embargo on Cuba. There is lot of political support for this move, even within the Cuban exile community.
The Cuban government has taken positive steps that the Obama administration should acknowledge. Cuba liberalized travel last year, and now almost all Cubans can travel outside the country. Approximately 20,000 Cubans are authorized to migrate out of the country every year.
President Obama, for his part, has also taken some positive measures. In 2009, his administration made it easier for Cuban-Americans to travel to the island and to send remittances.
But he needs to go much further. The time to normalize relations with Cuba is now.
Etiquetas: Carmelo, eng
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Weird Puzzles
Gearblox
The Witcher saga, The Wicher puzzles, The Witcher figurines.
Established in 2002, located in Warsaw (HQ), CD PROJEKT RED was born out of raw passion for video games.
The studio’s founders: Michał Kiciński and Marcin Iwiński, both pioneers in video game distribution in Poland in the 90s, decided to employ their gaming industry experience in video game development. In 2007, The Witcher was born.
We we have been working together for the last 20 years, first as one company, later as partners.
Blizzard Entertainment.
World of Warcraft series, Diablo series, Starcraft series, Overwatch.
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. We have been working together for more than 20 years.
Vampyr, A Plague Tale, Call of Cthulhu, Insurgency: Sandstorm, Mudrunner.
Focus Home Interactive is a French publisher based in Paris, France. Known for the quality, diversity and originality of its catalogue, Focus has published and distributed original titles that have become benchmark titles worldwide, available both in store and for download across the world. Focus publishes games on all major platforms, consoles and PC. The publisher’s catalogue will get even richer the coming months and years with eagerly awaited games such as Vampyr, Call of Cthulhu, Insurgency: Sandstorm, Greedfall, A Plague Tale, Necromunda: Underhive Wars and many more.
The Long Dark, The Slime rancher, The Walking Dead series.
Skybound Entertainment is an American multiplatform entertainment company founded by Robert Kirkman and David Alpert. We are partners since 2018.
Farming Simulator series.
GIANTS Software is one of the most successful game developers in Europe, with offices in Zürich (Switzerland), Erlangen (Germany) and Brno (Czech Republic). It is well known since many years for its “Farming Simulator” series, a worldwide best-selling game and real-time simulation.
Worhorse studios
Kingdom Come Deliverance.
Warhorse Studios s.r.o. is a Czech video game developer based in Prague. Founded in July 2011 by Daniel Vávra and Martin Klíma, the studio produced Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which was released in February 2018.
We. The Revolution, Heliborne, Apocalipsis.
Klabater is an indie game publisher based in Poland and funded by CDP.
V-Rally 4, Pro Fishing Simulator, Warhammer FB Chaosbane, Spike Volleyball.
Bigben Interactive SA is a French video game company based in Lesquin. Established in February 1981, the company designs and distributes accessories for video game consoles, and publishes video games for various platforms. We are partners since 2018.
Asterix & Obelix 2 XXL Remastered, Gearclub 2, Flashback 25th Anniversary.
Anuman Interactive SA is a French video game publisher and distributor. We are partners since 2018.
Crayola Scoot.
Founded in 2016, Outright Games has established its place in the market delivering engaging interactive games of beloved entertainment licenses globally. Outright Games brings stories and characters to life with titles including such favourites as Adventure Time: Pirates of the Enchiridion and Ben 10 with Cartoon Network, Hotel Transylvania 3: Monsters Onboard with Sony Pictures and Dragons: Dawn of New Risers with NBCUniversal.
CDP@CDP.COM.PL Tel.: +48 22 487 55 48 Faks: +48 22 487 55 49
NIP: PL 113-21-85-592, Regon: 016103851, KRS: 0000032579 Sąd Rejonowy dla m.st. Warszawy,
XIII Wydział Gospodarczy Krajowego Rejestru Sądowego Kapitał zakładowy: 3 024 000,00PLN
CDP.COM.PL
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Report: Cohen to Write Ephron Bio
Updated Apr. 14, 2017 5:26PM ET / Published Dec. 08, 2013 10:51AM ET
Gino Domenico/AP
The Washington Post’s Richard Cohen will write a biography of the late writer Nora Ephron, Page Six reported on Sunday. Cohen, friends with Ephron since the 1970s when she first began dating Carl Bernstein, reportedly asked Ephron’s family if he could write the biography. Cohen was the first speaker at Ephron’s funeral, at her request. “Nora Ephron and I started out as enemies,” he wrote after her death. She was angry over something he wrote about her. “I was awestruck, also intimidated, and so some months later when she came to my door with her new boyfriend [Bernstein], she coyly said, ‘This is going to be like the movies. We start as enemies and end as friends.’ She extended her hand. I took it and never let it go,” Cohen wrote.
Read it at Page Six
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Droit du Seigneur and the Neofeudal Privileges of Class in America
Want to understand the full scope of neofeudalism in America? Follow the money and the power and privilege it buys.
The repugnant reality of class privilege in America is captured by the phrase date rape: the violence of forced, non-consensual sex is abhorrent rape when committed by commoner criminals, but implicitly excusable date rape when committed by a member of America's privileged elite.
Compare the effectiveness of excuses offered by privileged elites (we were both drinking, I didn't hear her say no, etc.) when offered in court by less privileged males on trial for rape. The privileged elite is acquitted or given a wrist-slap while the commoner gets 20 years in prison.
This implicit privilege to non-consensual sex was known as Droit du Seigneur(right of the lord) in feudal Europe. While scholars debate whether the right of lords to have their way with female subjects was institutionalized, it doesn't take much imagination to see the lack of recourse unmarried female serfs had if summoned to the lord's lair.
The "right" to non-consensual sex is simply one facet of class privilege in America. One need only examine the histories of Harvey Weinstein and Bill Clinton to see how Droit du Seigneur works in America: from the perverse perspective of the privileged, the female "owes" the "lord" sex as "payment" for his interest in her, or (even more offensively, if that's possible) the female is "fortunate" to have attracted the violent sexual gratification of the "lord."
While the standard presumption of sexual assault / date-rape is that it's all about sex, the much more disturbing reality is that it's a crime of violence.Force and violence are also privileges of the New Aristocracy, both the direct violence of sexual assault and indirect violence threatened or manifested by the innumerable thugs that surround the New Aristocracy.
This right to violence and force manifests in all sorts of ways: the New Aristocracy constantly threatens and abuses underlings (the neofeudal equivalent of serfs), opponents with less power and other nations; violence and force are rights across the entire spectrum.
Another implicit right of the Privileged Few is a free pass / way out: caught shoplifting? Pressure is applied and charges are dropped. Drunk driving? Ditto, unless the incident is recorded and posted publicly.
The financial crimes of fraud and embezzlement never come back to cost the instigators. Their shell corporations pay a pro forma fine and the criminal New Aristocrats walk away, free to indulge their "right" to insider scams.
The New Aristocrats are also entitled to can't-lose "opportunities" to reap millions from crony-capitalist / insider skims unavailable to commoners. These "opportunities" come from a multitude of sources: from elite-university classmates, well-connected fathers-in-law, senior partners in the firm, political fixers, Hollywood / entertainment execs, etc. that are exclusive to upper-caste insiders.
The existence of a New Aristocracy is now undeniable, and this is upsetting the commoners' faith that America is a meritocracy. The sobering reality is some are more equal than others in America.
Who's in the New Aristocracy? Start with this chart: the top .1%, and everyone they can buy, for example politicos.
The New Aristocrats feel entitled to remain untouchable, regardless of the enormity of their crimes. People are starting to wake up to neofeudal realities of life in America, but the sexual privileges of this class are only the tip of the iceberg. Want to understand the full scope of neofeudalism in America? Follow the money and the power and privilege it buys.
Travesty of a Mockery of a Sham Book Sale: (September only) Why Our Status Quo Failed and Is Beyond Reform is now $2.99 for the Kindle ebook, a 25% savings, and $6.95 for the print edition, a 22% savings.
Why Things Are Falling Apart and What We Can Do About It is now $2.99 for the Kindle ebook, a ridiculous 70% discount, and $10 for the print edition, a 50% savings.
My new mystery The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake is a ridiculously affordable $1.29 (Kindle) or $8.95 (print); read the first chapters for free in PDF format.
My new book Money and Work Unchained is now $6.95 for the Kindle ebook and $15 for the print edition.
Read the first section for free in PDF format.
Thank you, Simons C. ($10/month), for your outrageously generous subscription to this site -- I am greatly honored by your support and readership.
Thank you, Wayne T. ($50), for your monstrously generous contribution to this site -- I am greatly honored by your support and readership.
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A Quiet Revolution Is Brewing
Our society has a legal structure of self-rule and ownership of capital, but in reality it is a Neofeudal Oligarchy.
The Inheritance of Rome: Illuminating the Dark Ages 400-1000 is not an easy, breezy read; its length and detail are daunting.
The effort is well worth it, as the book helps us understand how the power structures of societies change over time in ways that may be largely invisible to those living through the changes.
The Inheritance of Rome focuses on the lasting influence of Rome's centralized social and political structures even as centralized economic power and trade routes dissolved.
This legacy of centralized power and loyalty to a central authority manifested 324 years after the end of the Western Roman Empire circa 476 A.D. in Charlemagne, who united much of western Europe as the head of the Holy Roman Empire. (Recall that the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire endured another 1,000 years until 1453 A.D.)
But thereafter, the social and political strands tying far-flung villages and fiefdoms to a central authority frayed and were replaced by a decentralized feudalism in which peasants were largely stripped of the right to own land and became the chattel of independent nobles.
In this disintegrative phase, the central authority invested in the monarchy of kings and queens was weak to non-existent.
In the long sweep of history, it took several hundred years beyond 1000 A.D. for central authority to re-assert itself in the form of monarchy, and several hundred additional years for the rights of commoners to be established.
Indeed, it can be argued that it was not until the 1600s and 1700s--and only in the northern European strongholds of commoners' rights, The Netherlands and England--that the rights of ownership and political influence enjoyed by commoners in the Roman Empire were matched.
It can even be argued that the rights of Roman citizenship granted to every resident of the late Empire were only matched in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The rights of commoners were slowly chipped away by civil authorities and transferred to the feudal nobility. As the book explains, these rights included limited self-rule within village councils and ownership of land. These rights were extinguished by feudalism.
The connections between these civil society/legal freedoms (of self-rule and ownership of land/capital), the Protestant Reformation and the birth of modern Capitalism are explained by historian Fernand Braudel's masterful 3-volume history Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century, a series I have long recommended:
The Structures of Everyday Life (Volume 1) The Wheels of Commerce (Volume 2) The Perspective of the World (Volume 3)
The self-reinforcing dynamics of religious, civil and economic freedoms are key to understanding the transition from feudalism/monarchy to the world systems of today, in which some form of self-rule or political influence and economic freedom are expected of every civil authority.
Let's fast-forward to today and ask what relevance these histories have in the present era.
There are two points worth discussing. One is the acceleration of change; what took 300 years now takes 30, or perhaps less.
The second is the slow erosion of commoners' self-rule and ownership of meaningful, productive capital.
This gradual, almost imperceptible erosion is what I call neofeudalism, a process of transferring political and economic power from commoners to a new Financial Aristocracy/Nobility.
If we examine the "wealth" of the middle class/working class (however you define them, the defining characteristic of both is the reliance on labor for income, as opposed to living off the income earned by capital), we find the primary capital asset is the family home, which as I have explained many times, is unproductive--in essence, a form of consumption rather than a source of income.
Ultimately, all pensions, public and private, are controlled by central authorities, even though "ownership" is nominally held by commoners. (Ask middle class Venezuelans what their pensions are worth once central authorities debauch the nation's currency.)
In a globalized, financialized economy, the only capital worth owning is mobile capital, capital that can be shifted by a keystroke to avoid devaluation or earn a a higher return.
Housing and pensions are "stranded capital," forms of capital that are not mobile unless they are liquidated before crises or expropriations occur.
I am also struck by the ever-rising barriers to starting or even operating small businesses, a core form of capital, as enterprises generate income and (potentially) capital gains.
The capital and managerial expertise required to launch and grow a legal enterprise is extraordinarily high, which is at least partly why a nation of self-employed farmers, shopkeepers, artisans and traders is now a nation of employees of government and large corporations.
What sort of capital can be acquired by the average commoner now? Enough to match the wealth and political power of financial Nobility? This is the source of our fascination with tech millionaires and billionaires: a few commoners have leveraged technology to join the Nobility.
As for political influence: a recent study found that voters had very little power in the U.S., which is effectively an oligarchy: Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens.
Summary: "The U.S. government does not represent the interests of the majority of the country's citizens, but is instead ruled by those of the rich and powerful, a new study from Princeton and Northwestern universities has concluded."
Neofeudalism is not a re-run of feudalism. It's a new and improved, state-corporate version of indentured servitude. The process of devolving from central political power to feudalism required the erosion of peasants' rights to own productive assets, which in an agrarian economy meant ownership of land.
Ownership of land was replaced with various obligations to the local feudal lord or monastery-- free labor for time periods ranging from a few days to months; a share of one's grain harvest, and so on.
The other key dynamic of feudalism was the removal of the peasantry from the public sphere. In the pre-feudal era (for example, the reign of Charlemagne), peasants could still attend public councils and make their voices heard, and there was a rough system of justice in which peasants could petition authorities for redress.
From the capitalist perspective, feudalism restricted serfs' access to cash markets where they could sell their labor or harvests. The key feature of capitalism isn't just markets-- it's unrestricted ownership of productive assets--land, tools, workshops, and the social capital of skills, networks, trading associations, guilds, etc.
Our system is Neofeudal because the non-elites have no real voice in the public sphere, and ownership of productive capital is indirectly suppressed by the state-corporate duopoly.
I discuss these dynamics in greater depth in my three compact books:
Pathfinding our Destiny: Preventing the Final Fall of Our Democratic Republic
Inequality andthe Collapse of Privilege
Why our Status Qup Failed and Is Beyond Reform
Pathfinding our Destiny: Preventing the Final Fall of Our Democratic Republic ($6.95 ebook, $12 print, $13.08 audiobook): Read the first section for free in PDF format.
My new mystery The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake is a ridiculously affordable $1.29 (Kindle) or $8.95 (print); read the first chapters for free (PDF)
My book Money and Work Unchained is now $6.95 for the Kindle ebook and $15 for the print edition. Read the first section for free in PDF format.
If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com. New benefit for subscribers/patrons: a monthly Q&A where I respond to your questions/topics.
Thank you, Judith S. ($5/month), for your superbly generous pledge to this site-- I am greatly honored by your support and readership.
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SHORT HISTORY OF THE CIRCUS
By Dominique Jando
If the history of theater, ballet, opera, vaudeville, movies, and television is generally well documented, serious studies of circus history are sparse, and known only to a few circus enthusiasts and scholars. What little the public at large knows, on the other hand, is circus history as told over the years by imaginative circus press agents, and repeated—and often misunderstood and distorted—by writers of popular fiction, Hollywood screenwriters, and journalists too busy to investigate further. One of the most popular misapprehensions about circus history is the oft-repeated idea that circus dates back to the Roman antiquity. But the Roman circus was in actuality the precursor of the modern racetrack; the only common denominator between Roman and modern circuses is the word itself, circus, which means in Latin as in English, “circle”.
Philip Astley: The Father Of The Modern Circus
The modern circus was actually created in England by Philip Astley (1742-1814), a former cavalry Sergeant-Major turned showman. The son of a cabinet-maker and veneer-cutter, Astley had served in the Seven Years’ War (1756-63) as part of Colonel Elliott’s 15th Light Dragons regiment, where he displayed a remarkable talent as a horse-breaker and trainer. Upon his discharge, Astley chose to imitate the trickAny specific exercise in a circus act.-riders who performed, with increasing success, all over Europe. Jacob Bates, an English equestrian based in the German States, who performed as far away as Russia (1764-65) and America (1772-73), was the first of these showmen to make a mark. Bates’s emulators—Price, Johnson, Balp, Coningham, Faulkes, and “Old” Sampson—had become fixtures of London’s pleasure gardens and provided Philip Astley with his inspiration.
In 1768, Astley settled in London and opened a riding-school near Westminster Bridge, where he taught in the morning and performed his “feats of horsemanship” in the afternoon. In London at this time, modern commercial theater (a word that encompassed all sorts of performing arts) was in the process of developing. Astley’s building featured a circular arena that he called the circle, or circus, and which would later be known as the ring.
The circus ring, however, was not Astley’s invention; it was devised earlier by other performing trickAny specific exercise in a circus act.-riders. In addition to allowing audiences to keep sight of the riders during their performances (something that was next to impossible if the riders were forced to gallop in a straight line), riding in circles in a ring also made it possible, through the generation of centrifugal force, for riders to keep their balance while standing on the back of galloping horses. Astley’s original ring was about sixty-two feet in diameter. Its size was eventually settled at a diameter of forty-two feet, which has since become the international standard for all circus rings.
The Circus Is Born
Astley’s Amphitheatre in 1777
By 1770, Astley’s considerable success as a performer had outshone his reputation as a teacher. After two seasons in London, he needed to bring some novelty to his performances. Consequently, he hired acrobats, rope-dancers, and jugglers, interspersing their acts between his equestrian displays. Another addition to the show was a character borrowed from the Elizabethan theater, the clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. ”’Specific:”’ In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team., who filled the pauses between acts with burlesques of juggling, tumbling, rope-dancing, and even trickAny specific exercise in a circus act.-riding. With that, the modern circus—a combination of equestrian displays and feats of strength and agility—was born.
Astley opened Paris’s first circus, the Amphithéâtre Anglois, in 1782. That same year, his first competitor arose: equestrian Charles Hughes (1747-97), a former member of Astley’s company. In association with Charles Dibdin, a prolific songwriter and author of pantomimes, Hughes opened a rival amphitheater and riding-school in London, the Royal Circus and Equestrian Philharmonic Academy. The first element of this rather grandiose title was to be adopted as a generic name for the new form of entertainment, the circus. In 1793, Hughes went to perform to the court of Catherine the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia; that same year, one of his pupils, British equestrian John Bill Ricketts (1769-1802), opened the first circus in the United States, in Philadelphia. In 1797, Ricketts also established the first Canadian circus, in Montréal. His only competition in America, the British equestrian Philip Lailson (who came to the U.S. in 1795), brought the circus to Mexico in 1802.
Circus performances were originally given in circus buildings. Although at first these were often temporary wooden structures, every major European city soon boasted at least one permanent circus, whose architecture could compete with the most flamboyant theaters. Similar buildings were also erected in the New World’s largest cities: New York, Philadelphia, Montréal, Mexico City, et al. Although buildings would remain the choice setting for circus performances in Europe well into the twentieth century, the circus was to adopt a different format in the United States.
The American Traveling Circus
In the early nineteenth century, the United States was a new, developing country with few cities large enough to sustain long-term resident circuses. Furthermore, settlers were steadily pushing the American frontier westward, establishing new communities in a process of inexorable expansion. To reach their public, showmen had little choice but to travel light and fast.
Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus on tour (1940)
In 1825, Joshuah Purdy Brown (1802?-1834) became the first circus entrepreneur to replace the usual wooden construction(French) A temporary circus building, originally made of wood and canvas, and later, of steel elements supporting a canvas top and wooden wall. Also known as a “semi-construction.” with a full canvas tent, a system that had become commonplace by the mid-1830s. J. Purdy Brown came from the region of Somers, New York, where a cattle dealer named Hachaliah Bailey (1775-1845) had purchased a young African elephant, which he exhibited around the country with great success. Soon the addition of other exotic animals led to the creation of a bona fide traveling menagerie. Bailey’s increasing prosperity convinced other farmers from the Somers area to go into the traveling-menagerie business—to which some added circus performances. In 1835, a group of 135 enterprising farmers and menagerie-owners, most of them from the vicinity of Somers, joined forces in creating the Zoological Institute, a trust that controlled thirteen menageries and three affiliated circuses, thus cornering the country’s traveling-circus and menagerie business.
With that, the unique character of the American circus emerged: It was a traveling tent-show coupled with a menagerie and run by businessmen, a very different model from that of European circuses, which for the most part remained under the control of performing families.
In 1871, former museum promoter and impresario Phineas Taylor Barnum (1810-1891), in association with circus entrepreneur William Cameron Coup (1837-95), launched the P.T. Barnum’s Museum, Menagerie & Circus, a traveling show whose “museum” part was an exhibition of animal and human oddities soon to become an integral part of the American circus, the Sideshow.
In 1872, Coup devised a system of daily transportation by rail for their circus. Another of Coup’s innovations of that year was the addition of a second ring. The circus had become by far the most popular form of entertainment in America, and Barnum and Coup’s enterprise was America’s leading circus. Ever the businessman, Coup resolved to increase the capacity of their tent. Due to structural limitations, this could only be done effectively by increasing the tent’s length, which resulted in hampering the view for large sections of the audience. The addition of a second ring, then a third (1881) and, later, up to seven rings and stages solved the problem physically, if not artistically. It could be argued that it changed the focus of the show to emphasize spectacle over artistry. For better or worse, multiple rings and stages became another unique feature of the American circus.
Circus Conquers the World
Circus Chiarini in Japan, print by Chikanobu (1886)
The circus is essentially a visual performing art and therefore unfettered by language barriers. As a result, it is easily exportable to countries with native languages different from the language(s) of the performers. Early circus companies, realizing this, embarked on extensive international tours.
In 1836, the British equestrian Thomas Cooke visited the United States and brought back to England the American traveling-circus tent. This innovation was to ease the task of a group of European circus pioneers consumed by global ambitions. The most remarkable of these early touring companies was managed by the Italian equestrian Giuseppe Chiarini (1823-1897). In 1853, Chiarini left Europe for America, where he created his own circus and went to the unchartered territory (as far as circus was concerned) of Havana, then went to South America, crossed the Pacific, and landed in Japan in 1855. In 1864, he settled in Mexico and toured Chile and Argentina before returning to Europe in 1869. In 1874, he went to China and then sailed to Brazil. In 1878, the company embarked on a tour of Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Singapore, Java, Siam, India, and South America. And so it went, until the death of the intrepid Italian in Guatemala in 1897.
The French equestrian Louis Soullier (1813-1888), who managed Vienna’s Circus at the Prater, toured the Balkans, settled for a time in Turkey, and then continued to China, where he introduced the circus in 1854. When he returned to Europe in 1866, he brought with him Chinese acrobats who in turn introduced traditional Chinese acts such as perch-poleLong perch held vertically on a performer’s shoulder or forehead, on the top of which an acrobat executes various balancing figures. balancing, diabolo-juggling, plate-spinning, hoop-diving, et al., to Western audiences.
Another French equestrian, Jacques Tourniaire (1772-1829), went to Russia in 1816, where he established the first Russian circus. After his death, his sons Benoit and François followed in his footsteps, touring extensively in Siberia and traveling to India, China, and America.
On account of such extensive traveling, the circus was a global phenomenon long before the concept became commonplace. As a result of their international character, traditional circus dynasties experienced some confusion concerning national identities. The German equestrian Carl Magnus Hinné (1819-1890) established circuses in Frankfurt, Warsaw, Copenhagen, and in 1868, St. Petersburg and Moscow, where he was later succeeded by his Italian brother-in-law, Gaetano Ciniselli (1815-1881). Thus German and Italian names like Hinné and Ciniselli became associated with Russia. The French Gautier family is known as a Scandinavian circus dynasty. Some of the German Schumanns became a household name in Denmark, although the “Danish” Schumanns are Swedish. The first “French” circus dynasty was founded by an Italian, Antonio Franconi. And so on…
European circus companies had ventured so far from home because they hoped to increase their profits. Their success in doing so was not lost on the handful of American circus entrepreneurs who would follow their lead.
Before entering into a partnership with P.T. Barnum in 1881, James Anthony Bailey (1847-1906) had embarked his Cooper & Bailey Circus on a trip to Honolulu, the Fiji Islands, Tasmania, the Dutch East Indies, Australia, New Zealand, and South America, a journey that lasted from 1876-78. After Barnum’s death, Bailey took their Barnum & Bailey “Greatest Show on Earth” on an extensive European tour, from 1897 to 1902, which introduced bewildered Europeans to P.T. Barnum’s gargantuan vision of the circus as a touring show that traveled nightly by special trains and, every day, set up and tore down immense canvas tents that housed an amalgam of triplicate circus, zoological exhibition, and freak-show.
If the three-ring format and the sideshow met with only middling enthusiasm, European circus owners were nonetheless impressed by Barnum & Bailey’s touring techniques, and menagerie owners, whose business was fading at the time, were quick to recognize the advantages of adding a traveling circus to their zoological exhibitions. Thus, the tented circus and menagerie developed in Europe at the turn of the twentieth century.
When Bailey returned to the U.S. in 1902, he found his old market under the control of serious competition: the giant circus conglomerate created by the Ringling Brothers, Al (1832-1916), Otto (1837-1911), Alf T. (1863-1919), Charles (1864-1926), and John (1866-1936). One year after Bailey’s death in 1906, the Ringlings acquired Barnum & Bailey, which they combined with their own circus in 1919 under the title Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Combined Shows.
In Europe, the traveling circus and menagerie reached its peak between the two World Wars, especially in Germany, where the flamboyant traveling enterprises of Krone, Sarrasani and Hagenbeck dominated the market. In large cities, however, circus performances were still given in circus buildings; Sarrasani had its own building in Dresden, Krone in Münich, Hagenbeck in Stellingen, and Paris alone maintained four permanent circuses. This, of course, created a demanding audience (in large cities, at least) who had grown accustomed to a degree of comfort and a fairly high level of production values in their elegant circus buildings. While in the U.S. the tenting techniques developed by W.C. Coup would remain practically unchanged for over a century, German and Italian tent-makers—and later French—constantly developed new systems for circus tents and seating, which eventually made some European traveling circuses nearly as comfortable and production-efficient as any permanent building.
Evolution of the Circus Performance
Palmyre Annato, circus star of the 19th century (1840)
Changes weren’t restricted to the commercial and physical aspects of the circus. The performance had evolved considerably since Astley and, at the turn of the twentieth century, was undergoing fundamental changes.
From its inception, the core of the circus performance had been equestrian acts (trickAny specific exercise in a circus act.-riding, bareback acrobatics, dressage or High School, presentation of horses “at liberty”Liberty act”, “Horses at liberty”: Unmounted horses presented from the center of the ring by an equestrian directing his charges with his voice, body movements, and signals from a ”chambrière” (French), or long whip.,” and even comedy on horseback) interspersed with acrobatic, balancing, and juggling acts. Dibdin and Hughes had added to that original fare the pantomimeA circus play, not necessarily mute, with a dramatic story-line (a regular feature in 18th and 19th century circus performances)., a dramatic presentation which traditionally ended the performance and involved a good amount of tumbling, clowning (not necessarily mute), and equestrian displays. Pantomimes often reenacted famous battles which, true to Astley’s spirit, gave equestrian performers a good opportunity to demonstrate “the different cuts and guards as in real action” or “a general engagement, sword in hand, with the different postures of offence, for the safety of man and horse…” [From an old Astley’s handbill] Pantomimes remained extremely successful during the nineteenth century and survived under various forms well into the twentieth. The last notable circus pantomimeA circus play, not necessarily mute, with a dramatic story-line (a regular feature in 18th and 19th century circus performances). was a spectacular adaptation of Lewis Wallace’s Ben Hur which the French circus Gruss performed for several years in the 1960s.
Although in the middle of the nineteenth century equestrians, male and female, were still the true stars of the circus, acrobats began getting more and more attention. Not surprisingly, it started with acrobats on horseback, especially Americans such as John H. Glenroy, who accomplished the first somersault on horseback in 1846. “Floor” acrobats were also quick to make their mark. The best of them were often clowns. At first, circus clowns were essentially skilled parodists who might talk, sing, ride a horse, juggle, present trained animals, do balancing acts, or tumble. In the first half of the nineteenth century, an English clownGeneric term for all clowns and augustes. ”’Specific:”’ In Europe, the elegant, whiteface character who plays the role of the straight man to the Auguste in a clown team., Little Wheal, became famous for regularly performing a hundred consecutive somersaults in tempo—quite a feat, then or now.
Paris’s Cirque d’Hiver (2011)
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tight-rope dancers were the fairgrounds’ undisputed stars and were among the first acrobats to appear in the circus ring. There, they developed an adaptation of their art which would eventually become one of the circus’s most prized attractions: the trapeze. They began by swinging on and hanging from a slack rope. Eventually, a bar was added in the middle of the ropes while the half ropes on each side moved toward a vertical position. With that, the trapeze was born. In 1859, a French gymnast, Jules Léotard (1838-70), presented at Paris’s Cirque Napoléon (today Cirque d’Hiver) an act titled La Course aux Trapèzes, in which he jumped from one trapeze to another. Léotard had invented the flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze), for which he became the toast of Europe—as much for his act as for the revealing costume he originated and which is still used today by acrobats and dancers, the leotard.
By the close of the nineteenth century, railways and automobiles had begun to replace horses. Although major European circuses were still operated by equestrian families, equestrian displays were losing their supremacy to trainers of exotic animals (especially big cats), acrobats, aerialists, jugglers, and clowns. While some trained exotic animals had appeared early in circus history—around 1812 at Paris’s Cirque Olympique, the Franconis presented Kioumi, the first trained elephant—it was the European combination of circus and menagerie that triggered the vogue of wild-animal presentations, which were developed in large part in Germany by the Hagenbecks, the world’s foremost importers and dealers of exotic animals. Another significant transformation factor was a renewed interest in gymnastics and physical activities (which led to the resurrection of the Olympic Games in 1896) at a time when few gymnasts could be seen outside the circus.
The End of the Equestrian Circus
Student show at the Moscow Circus School (1974)
After World War I, the traditional equestrian circus was just a memory. Its legendary stars—Andrew Ducrow, Laurent Franconi, François Baucher, Ernst Renz, Oscar Carré, Albert Schumann, among others—had been replaced by the likes of triple-somersaulter Alfredo Codona on the flying trapezeAerial act in which an acrobat is propelled from a trapeze to a catcher, or to another trapeze. (See also: Short-distance Flying Trapeze), Con Colleano dancing on the tight wireA tight, light metallic cable, placed between two platforms not very far from the ground, on which a wire dancer perform dance steps, and acrobatic exercises such as somersaults. (Also: Low Wire), juggling legend Enrico Rastelli, and star-clowns such as François, Paolo & Albert Fratellini, Grock, and Charlie Rivel. (Clowns in Europe had remained true to their theatrical roots and maintained an important role in the circus. In America, however, victims of both the size of the tents and the three-ring format, they became speechless characters confined to oversized visual gags.)
The most consequential early-twentieth-century innovation in the circus, however, occurred in Russia. In 1919, Lenin nationalized the Russian circuses, and the vast majority of their performers, natives of Western Europe, fled the country. Faced with the task of training a core of uniquely Russian performers, the Soviet government established, in 1927, the State College for Circus and Variety Arts, better known as the Moscow Circus School. Not only did the school rejuvenate the Russian circus, it also developed training methods modeled after sport-gymnastics, created original presentations with the help of directors and choreographers, and even originated innovative techniques and apparatuses that led to the invention of entirely new kinds of acts.
When, in the late 1950s, the Moscow Circus (a generic name adopted by all Soviet circus companies touring abroad) started showing in the West, those trained by the Soviet school contrasted favorably with those trained by the traditional circus families. Russian performers displayed originality, unparalleled artistry, and amazing technique, whereas the rest just repeated themselves in a desperate attempt to compete with both the Russian innovations and increasing competition from movies, radio, and television, which they did using the only weapons at their disposal: time-tested traditional acts. But resistance to change had transformed tradition into routine. The old circus families were losing touch with their audience’s ever-transforming world.
Circus Today
Old circus performers may have resisted change, but a few producers, at least, tried to shake up the shows in which they appeared by modernizing staging, lighting, musical accompaniment, and more: John Ringling North in the U.S.; Bertram Mills and his sons, Cyril and Bernard, in England; and Jérôme Medrano in Paris. Eventually, the new Russian style prevailed. In 1974, Annie Fratellini (heiress to the famous clowning dynasty) and Alexis Gruss, Jr. (heir to the last French equestrian dynasty) created in Paris the first two western circus schools. Both incorporated a performing arm—a circus in which creation was paramount—though both schools retained a more or less traditional approach. (Alexis Gruss called his circus Le Cirque à l’Ancienne, the Old-Time Circus.)
There was obviously a strong planetary need for a circus renaissance: That same year (1974), in Adelaide, Australia, a young company of clowns, acrobats and aerialists that called itself “New Circus” began to perform and attract attention. It was followed a year later by the Soapbox Circus; both companies merged in 1977, to become Circus Oz. Meanwhile, in 1975, Larry Pizoni and Peggy Snyder launched the grassroots Pickle Family Circus in San Francisco, then the epicenter of the American counterculture movement.
Perhaps not coincidentally, all these changes came at a time when European intellectuals—mostly French—were fretting over the decline of the circus as a performing art. In 1975, Prince Rainier of Monaco (a longtime circus enthusiast) created the International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo, whose Gold and Silver Clown awards would become to the circus world what the Oscar® is to the movie industry. It was followed in 1977 by Paris’s Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain (World Festival of the Circus of Tomorrow), created to showcase and promote a new generation of circus performers, mostly trained in circus schools.
The Big Apple Circus at Lincoln Center (2010)
In this atmosphere, the Gruss/Fratellini model quickly stimulated other experiments. In 1977, Paul Binder and Michael Christensen, who had performed as jugglers with Fratellini, created the New York School for Circus Arts and its performing branch, the Big Apple Circus, which reintroduced the classical one-ring circus to America. The same year, Bernhard Paul and André Heller created Circus Roncalli in Germany, restoring the lost flamboyance of the German circus of yore. In Montréal, Canada, Guy Caron founded the Ecole Nationale de Cirque (National Circus School) in 1980, and in 1984, Guy Laliberté created the innovative Cirque du Soleil, with Caron as its first Artistic Director. All were outsiders whose enterprises, each in its own way, were highly creative and gave a much-needed boost to the circus (and for Cirque du Soleil, a drastically different image). They also had a profound influence on the development of a “new circus” movement, which redefined the circus as a performing art, and on changes in the artistic and commercial attitude of many of the traditional circuses.
In 1985, the French government created the Centre National des Arts du Cirque, a professional circus college on the Russian model. Other schools, often private not-for-profit entities and with varying degrees of professionalism, were established in England, Belgium, Sweden, Italy, Australia, Brazil, and the U.S., among others, adding their numbers to the circus schools already in existence in the former Eastern Bloc.
Although China has a 2000-year-old acrobatic theater tradition of its own, its many troupes—similarly to their Russisan counterparts—developed new training method]]s after the Communist revolution and found themselves welcome participants in the circus renaissance. Director Valentin Gneushev (certainly the most influential director in the contemporary circus) opened his own studio in post-communist Moscow, while others opened specialized schools, like André Simard’s aerial-act studio, Les Gens d’R, in Canada.
The surge of teaching activity also led to the creation of a multitude of avant-garde and experimental circus companies, especially in England, France, Germany, Australia, and Canada (some of them extremely successful, such as the French “heavy metal” circus Archaos), as well as to a recent revival of the old variety theater, especially in Germany with the resurgence of German “varieté(German, from the French: ”variété”) A German variety show whose acts are mostly circus acts, performed in a cabaret atmosphere. Very popular in Germany before WWII, Varieté shows have experienced a renaissance since the 1980s.”. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, the circus, which has always been a highly adaptable performing art, is undergoing cosmetic changes and a new expansion.
Tags: Circus, circus history, circus news
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SunEdison Sets Bankruptcy Exit With Nothing for Shareholders
0 comments Posted by SARTRE at 6:13 PM
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-25/sunedison-sets-bankruptcy-exit-with-nothing-for-shareholders
SunEdison Inc. won final approval for a bankruptcy plan that will leave what was once the world’s largest renewable-energy firm as a shell of its former self, with nothing for shareholders whose investment at one point had been worth about $10 billion.
SunEdison, known for gobbling up other companies and expanding at breakneck speed, will now exit Chapter 11 to “continue business operations to administer and maximize the value of the company’s remaining assets,” including intellectual property and fixtures, Chief Financial Officer Philip Gund said in court filings.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stuart Bernstein’s approval of the reorganization plan in Manhattan court Tuesday came as he overruled remaining objections from shareholders as well as two investors who had opposed the company’s exit financing. He noted that many shareholders had emailed him to object to the plan, and that he would issue a written ruling explaining his decision to approve the reorganization in despite of their protests.
Bernstein said there was no evidence of bad faith in the negotiation of exit financing, as had been alleged by CNH Partners LLC and AQR Capital Management LLC, holders of second-lien debt. Left out of the exit financing, they had alleged that the company had essentially bought the votes of other second-lien creditors that had agreed to fund it in exchange for stock in the reorganized company.
Bleak Prospects
When SunEdison first sought court protection in April 2016, things looked bleak for creditors and its two companies known as yieldcos created to buy the wind and solar projects it built, TerraForm Power Inc. and TerraForm Global Inc., whose finances were deeply entwined with their parent. The bankruptcy covered $16.1 billion in liabilities and a tangle of 1,500 legal entities, including individual wind and solar projects still in development.
SunEdison managed to settle disputes with the yieldcos and negotiate a sale for some of its more prized projects. Its crowning achievement was the sale of its yieldco stakes to Brookfield Asset Management Inc.
SunEdison’s second-lien debt holders participating in the exit financing will get 90 percent of the company’s new common stock as well as 90 percent of Class A shares in TerraForm Power in exchange for backing a rights offering designed to raise $300 million for the bankruptcy exit, according to court filings.
The reorganized company’s modest agenda also includes completing transactions for remaining assets that are being sold, and maximizing the recovery of tax refunds, court filings show.
Management Actions
The plan also settles some disputes over what caused the company to fail. These included the actions of executives and directors, and how SunEdison created and used the two TerraForms to deliver yield to investors hungry for wind and solar investments. The pacts resolve issues that are all “highly contentious, complex, multi-party issues that would each raise their own risks and factual challenges if litigated,” Chief Executive Officer John Dubel wrote in a court filing.
Those measures helped unsecured creditors, who had once expected to get nothing. They secured $32 million in proceeds of directors and officers’ insurance through settlements, and $18 million through negotiations with the yieldcos. They will be repaid through a trust, seeded with those funds, which also has the rights to pursue lawsuits over the company’s demise. While the settlements limit potential lawsuits, court papers note that some claims related to fraud, willful misconduct or gross negligence are still possible.
Secured creditors, including some who rolled over their pre-bankruptcy debt into a new loan at the outset of the Chapter 11 case, will be repaid in full with cash, according to court papers. This group includes banks that provided the company with an operating loan to keep funding projects in bankruptcy.
More Lawsuits
A debtor-in-possession or DIP loan from Deutsche Bank AG as administrative agent at the outset of the case was repaid by a second DIP loan in April. The second DIP was arranged by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners LLC and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Deutsche, Goldman and other funds were also lenders, according to court papers.
The reorganization doesn’t affect ongoing lawsuits from SunEdison’s common shareholders, who pursued the company’s former management. A spokesman for SunEdison didn’t return a call and email seeking comment.
Even as the reorganization draws to a close, letters from more than 100 disgruntled shareholders continue to roll in for the judge, and a group to represent them continued to object. They questioned how the company ran through $24 billion in financing, leaving nothing for them. They also complained that they were left in the dark about how assets were valued and sold.
“I have significant value in this company which will affect my family,” shareholder Piyush Patel wrote in a July 5 letter to Bernstein, complaining that an independent financial audit of the company was never done.
“SunEdison flew too close to the sun and landed in Manhattan bankruptcy court,” Nathan Serota, a New York-based analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance, said in an email last week. “During the Chapter 11 process, the company lost nearly all of the the assets and personnel that -- for better or worse – defined it in the first place.”
The case is In re SunEdison Inc., 16-10992, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan). The shareholder lawsuits are 16-02742, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
SunEdison sets bankruptcy exit as judge OKs reorganization plan
https://seekingalpha.com/news/3281232-sunedison-sets-bankruptcy-exit-judge-oks-reorganization-plan?uprof=46&dr=1#email_link
SunEdison (OTCPK:SUNEQ) wins final approval for a bankruptcy plan that will leave nothing for shareholders whose investment once had been worth ~$10B.
SUNE will exit Chapter 11 to “continue business operations to administer and maximize the value of the company’s remaining assets,” according to court filings.
SUNE’s second-lien debt holders participating in the exit financing will get 90% of the company’s new common stock as well as 90% of Class A shares in TerraForm Power (NASDAQ:TERP) in exchange for backing a rights offering designed to raise $300M for the bankruptcy exit.
Now read: SunEdison's Confirmation Hearing Is On July 20 - The End To This Saga »
Rick Perry: Trump may try to preempt state renewable energy policies
0 comments Posted by SARTRE at 5:59 AM
During an on-stage interview, Perry was asked if the administration would interfere with state policies requiring utilities to get power from renewable sources. Such a move would potentially destroy efforts by California, New York and other states to fight climate change by encouraging the growth of clean power.
Perry didn’t rule it out, saying the reliability of the grid was a matter of national security.
“That’s a conversation that will occur over the next few years,” Perry said. “There may be issues that are so important that the federal government can intervene.”
SunEdison Sets Bankruptcy Exit With Nothing for Sh...
SunEdison sets bankruptcy exit as judge OKs reorga...
Rick Perry: Trump may try to preempt state renewab...
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Civitots
E: mjohnson@civitasinc.com
Meet the rest of us.
Mark Johnson,
FASLA, President
Mark brings over 35 years of experience as a landscape architect and his creative leadership guides designers, project teams, and clients to push the edges of how we work to realize new ways to deliver project value. He worked at Maas and Grassi, an Ogden Utah design firm, where he learned how to transform ideas into built work for residences, campuses and the design of retail streets. After a brief time with Roy Mann Associates in Cambridge, Mark landed his first dream job with Jones & Jones of Seattle. There he worked on several zoo exhibits, urban plazas and streets, parks and several major river plans. He left Seattle to earn an MLA in Urban Design at Harvard, where he found important mentors in Peter Walker, Moshe Safdie, and Jose Luis Sert. These great designers and thinkers fueled Mark’s passion to make a real difference in how cities work for both people and the environment. His Harvard thesis, chaired by Moshe Safdie, focused specifically on how urban form responds to dramatic cultural, economic and environmental change, establishing Mark’s commitment to adaptable + resilient urbanism fully 30 years ahead of today’s focus on these issues.
Since co-founding Civitas in 1984 Mark has led major public space projects, urban design plans and strategies, and has become widely known for his impact on several cities, on education, and on the role that landscape architects can play in leading complex projects to successful results. He is a natural communicator who has led many communities through challenging programming and design conditions and he has established Civitas as a leading firm on a national and international level.
Mark is a regular lecturer at AIA, ASLA, APA, ULI events and a participant in many issue driven symposia around the world, notably the International Academy of Design and Health, with whom he has lectured in North America, Europe, Scandinavia, and Asia on the role of community design in promoting public health. He has been on many design juries for national awards and competitions, was Chair of the Editorial Committee of Landscape Architecture Magazine, and is a founder of the CEO Roundtable, an independent association of the leaders of the top landscape firms in the world that has met bi-annually for more than 15 years to assess impacts and trends in the profession
Mark is a leading designer and thought leader who has spearheaded Civitas’ most challenging projects. He began his career at Utah State University where he received his Bachelor of Landscape Architecture. He worked at Maas and Grassi, an Ogden Utah design firm, where he learned how to transform ideas into built work for residences, campuses and the design of retail streets. After a brief time with Roy Mann Associates in Cambridge, Mark landed his first dream job with Jones & Jones of Seattle. There he worked on several zoo exhibits, urban plazas and streets, parks and several major river plans. He left Seattle to earn an MLA in Urban Design at Harvard, where he found important mentors in Peter Walker, Moshe Safdie, and Jose Luis Sert. These great designers and thinkers fueled Mark’s passion to make a real difference in how cities work for both people and the environment. His Harvard thesis, chaired by Moshe Safdie, focused specifically on how urban form responds to dramatic cultural, economic and environmental change, establishing Mark’s commitment to adaptable + resilient urbanism fully 30 years ahead of today’s focus on these issues.
© 2019 Civitas. All Rights Reserved. Created by (in)spiregraphics
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The understanding and meaning of strategy has got lost
Thread: The understanding and meaning of strategy has got lost
A critique of the contemporary Anglo-US approach to conflict by Oxford University's Professor Hew Strachan, in a new book 'The Direction of War' and a short press story:
The understanding and meaning of strategy has got lost, confused or become stripped of meaning..Without strategic thought (or clear understanding of strategy) our execution of war aims is inevitably bungled – we didn’t know what to do or how we wanted to do it in Iraq and Afghanistan.
An anonymous 'senior officer' commented:
We as soldiers have a responsibility to ensure the options and advice we give are good and sensible material to make decisions from. On the statesman side, over the last 10 years, I don’t think they have been terribly clever about trying to understand the art of the possible. Too much has been taken for granted and not enough time taken to understand the nature of the problems we are throwing the forces into.
Link:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukne...y-adviser.html
Who is the author? From the press story:
Sir Hew, Professor of the History of War at the University of Oxford, has advised the Coalition on its treatment of the Armed Forces. He currently sits on the Chief of the Defence Staff’s Strategic Advisory Panel, and advises the UK Defence Academy, which trains senior officers.
His official bio:http://www.all-souls.ox.ac.uk/people.php?personid=67
My own view is that the British government, under all parties, has one overwhelming strategic objective - to follow the USA when and where it can. Or as one scathing critic put as the First Gulf War began "We are America's Ghurkha". All else follows from that decision.
Invariably reference is made to the 'Special Relationship' between the UK and the USA, established with difficulty in WW2 and maintained since then. As others have written the USA has many such relationships with allies, what remains special (shared with the 'Five Eyes') is the close relationship between their intelligence agencies and their military.
The book is available for pre-publication purchase; a couple of short reviews too, Petraeus & Richards, and don't forget there is a Small Wars Amazon purchase button at: http://smallwarsjournal.com/content/support
Link to Amazon.com:http://www.amazon.com/The-Direction-.../dp/1107047854
Link to Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Directio.../dp/B00GA22YFQ
Last edited by davidbfpo; 01-09-2014 at 11:25 AM.
From a "lurker":
Sir Hew does not lack bravery - 'head above parapet', or what?
Obama has no sense of what he wants to do in the world.
The Daily Beast has now interviewed Sir Hew Strachan, with some pithy comment here citing the “crazy” handling of the Syrian crisis as the most egregious example of a fundamental collapse in military planning that began in the aftermath of 9/11:
If anything it’s gone backwards instead of forwards, Obama seems to be almost chronically incapable of doing this. Bush may have had totally fanciful political objectives in terms of trying to fight a global War on Terror, which was inherently astrategic, but at least he had a clear sense of what he wanted to do in the world. Obama has no sense of what he wants to do in the world...
On what the professional should do. Part of the problem, Strachan contends, is that politicians are unduly worried about allowing military leaders to give frank and open advice. He criticized the way General Stanley McCrystal was forced to resign after making unflattering remarks about his political bosses in Washington:
The concern about the military speaking out shows a lack of democratic and political maturity. We’re not facing the danger of a military coup. The professional experts, who deal with war all the time, should be able to express their views all the time, openly and coherently, just as you would expect a doctor or a teacher to express their views coherently about how you run medical policy or teaching policy...
Link:http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...the-world.html
Hat tip to Professor John Schindler, of NWC and a blogsite. His comment via Twitter:
FYI Sir Hew Strachan is the most eminent military historian in the Anglosphere; these comments are devastating.
Originally Posted by davidbfpo
This sums it nicely, Bush was astrategic and Obama is lost. The point about politicians not listening to military leaders is a point I have trying to make with Carl on another post. GEN Shinseki told Rumsfeld and others what size force it would take to stabilize Iraq was laughed at. An Army General that took the study of war seriously (not all do) and was a selfless servant was laughed at by an idiot SECDEF because his sound advice for winning didn't conform to the popular political hubris at the time.
Bob's World
Much of what has violently challenged us in the past couple of decades is not truly "war," so while certainly US leadership has been strategically confused in terms of what it has tried to do and how it has tried to do it, I would add that Sir Hew is equally confused in his assessment.
While war is violence and war is politics, not all violence is war nor is all politics war either.
Conditions put in place for implamenting a containment strategy for the pre-globalized era of the Cold War certainly were not somehow conditions designed to extend indefinitely into a rapidly evolving world.
Most of the conflict we deal with today is a function of populations (many held artificially static by a wide range of factors) are now released and evolving in their expectations of governance far faster than the systems of governance perceived to be affecting them are either able or willing to evolve along with them. The result is friction and conflict.
Domestic policies lag and the result (when inadequate legal, certain and trusted mechanisms for change exist) is illegal politics - better known as revolutionary insurgency. This may manifest violently or through more peaceful, but equally illegal, tactics.
When foreign policies lag the result is not unlike what occurs during a physical foreign occupation. A de facto "occupation by policy" that generates a very similar resistance insurgency energy that enables organizations such as AQ to rise to the degree of influence they hold these past several years and results in acts of protest and transnational terrorism.
This is not great mystery, but neither is much of it "war."
Governments, being made up of politicians, do not take responsibility for their short comings, but rather blame them on those who dare to challenge them. So we attack the symptoms, and largely leave the true causes of this negative energy unaddressed. Too often our efforts to attack the symptoms make the problems worse...
Last edited by Bob's World; 01-17-2014 at 12:46 AM.
Robert C. Jones
Intellectus Supra Scientia
(Understanding is more important than Knowledge)
"The modern COIN mindset is when one arrogantly goes to some foreign land and attempts to make those who live there a lesser version of one's self. The FID mindset is when one humbly goes to some foreign land and seeks first to understand, and then to help in some small way for those who live there to be the best version of their own self." Colonel Robert C. Jones, US Army Special Forces (Retired)
TheCurmudgeon
I will have to disagree with Sir Hew on … pretty much everything. First, his comments would lead one to believe that the ONLY way a politician can effect foreign policy is though war. There are no other instruments of national power. I will take that a step further, he gives the impression that any use of military capabilities less than war are inept: that deterrence through the threat of force is not the appropriate way to use the military. Second, he seems to be under the impression that national sovereignty is a passé concept the Anglo-American Alliance is the world’s police force. What exactly was he expecting us to do in Syria? Backing away from intervention in a conflict with multiple players none of whom have interests aligned with ours seems to me to be prudent, not clueless. Third, he believes that all military decisions in a democracy should be made in public. I doubt very highly that the press was invited to Churchill’s daily briefings or that polls were held on his policies. All in all, I get the impression that he is a bitter man who misses the days of the Bush-Blair confederacy – the endless war on “evil” that made the military strategists an indispensible asset.
Last edited by TheCurmudgeon; 01-17-2014 at 02:55 PM.
"I can change almost anything ... but I can't change human nature."
Jon Osterman/Dr. Manhattan
As for the relationship between President’s and the military, that is a subject that seems to rely mostly on the nature of the politician and the military leaders. Lincoln fired Generals until he found one he felt could fight and win. Truman fired a General because he thought that General wanted to fight and win at costs greater than Truman thought the world should bear. Bush fired Generals until he found one he felt would fight on his terms. Obama hasn’t really fired any Generals – they seem to have engineered their own demise – but Gate’s book would indicate that he does not fully trust them: that they wanted to fight beyond the point of deminishing returns. Who was right and who was wrong is a matter of speculation, but no one seems to be seriously arguing that the military should have free reign when it comes to executing war. If you believe that war is an instrument of policy, then the policy makers should decide the nature of the war.
And so we come to the problem of politicians not understanding “the art of the possible”. I would agree. But I don’t think the military understands it any better. What was militarily “possible” in Iraq and Afghanistan was accomplished. We then ran up against was a problem in the nature of the relationship between the military and their civilian masters. The civilians wanted us to fix the problem they created and the military is not in a position to say no. We say “no”, we get fired or must resign. The nature of civil-military relations gives the military commander no other options. Sure, they can always find a friendly Congressman to “force” them to testify that what the President wants is a bad idea, but that is still a political solution. Add to that the fact that you will always be able to find a General eager to get into the fight – even if they don’t understand what is “possible” any better than the politician – and the result is the military taking on missions they are unsuited for and cannot possibly accomplish. I have no solution to this problem.
Quick Navigation International Politics Top
Conference on Understanding and Improving Intelligence Analysis
By davidbfpo in forum Intelligence
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Recognizing and Understanding Revolutionary Change in Warfare
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afghanistan, alliances, iraq, strategy, united kingdom, usa, war
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The Pros and Cons of TradeLink
Thread: The Pros and Cons of TradeLink
TradeLink is a 100% open source trading platform. That means it doesn't cost you any money to use it, and if you're a programmer you're free to modify it to do anything you might want.
According to their testimonials:
"Tradelink provides a firm foundation to build upon. You don't have to reinvent the wheel and so much is provided out of the box and that functionality is always growing."
"I use Tradelink because I want to use C# rather than other platform dependant language like MQL to implement automatic trading strategies"
If you're a C# programmer as well as a trader it sounds like it has a lot to offer. What if you're not a programmer though, or if you are a programmer but you're not keen on .NET?
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one - Albert Einstein
Quick Navigation TradeLink Top
.net, automated trading, c sharp, open source, tradelink
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Home / compendium decisions / Ouagadougou Labour Court, Zongo and othe...
Ouagadougou Labour Court, Zongo and others v. owner of the Bataille du Rail Mobil garage, 17 June 2003, No. 090
Constitution of Burkina Faso
Treaties or agreements which have been duly ratified or adopted shall upon their publication have a higher authority than the laws, provided that each agreement or treaty is applied by the other party.
Dismissal , Protection of wages , Minimum wages
Use of international law as a guide for interpreting domestic law , Reference to international law to strengthen a decision based on domestic law
Unfair termination of a contract/ Failure to respect fixed minimum wages/ Reference to international law to strengthen a decision based on domestic law/ Use of international law as a guide for interpreting domestic law
All three plaintiffs were employed by the defendant as petrol pump attendants. On 30 April 2001, the defendant informed them, through individual notes, that their contract of employment was being terminated, with no explanation or prior notice. The plaintiffs, deeming their dismissal illegitimate, turned to the Labour Inspection in a bid to settle the dispute amicably. When this attempt failed, they went to the Labour Court.
After deciding that the termination of the contracts of employment was unlawful, the Court looked at the different claims by the plaintiffs, including that of the right to recover outstanding wages because of failure to respect fixed minimum wages for their job category. The Tribunal saw that the wages paid to the plaintiffs were below the minimum rates set by the decisions of the Interprofessional Joint Committee on 12 March 1997 and 24 May 1999, respectively. The Court therefore concluded that Article 20(5) of the Labour Code had been infringed. That article states: “An employer must pay the wages and allowances duly stipulated in the texts of regulations, agreements and contracts.”
In addition, to confirm its reading of Article 20(5) and acknowledge the compulsory nature of the minimum wages, the Court referred to ILO Conventions Nos. 26 and 131 on ways of setting minimum wages. Burkina Faso had ratified the two Conventions.
The Court noted that Article 3(3) of ILO Convention No. 26 obliged employers and workers to respect fixed minimum wage rates:
“Article 3(3) of ILO Convention No. 26 on minimum wage-fixing machinery (…) stipulates that the minimum rates of wages which have been fixed shall be binding on the employers and workers concerned; they are not to be lowered by them, neither by individual agreement nor, except with the authorization of the competent authority, by collective agreement.”
The Court also referred to Article 2(1) of ILO Convention No. 131, which stipulates that “minimum wages shall have the force of law and shall not be subject to abatement”.
Lastly, to enable the plaintiffs to recover the sum thereby due to them, the Court again drew on ILO Conventions Nos. 26 and 131:
“[Given] that Article 4 [of Convention No. 26] says (…) that a worker to whom the minimum rates are applicable and who has been paid wages at less than these rates shall be entitled to recover, by judicial or other legal proceedings, the amount by which he has been underpaid, subject to such limitation of time as may be determined by national laws or regulations. It should be added that Convention No. 131, concerning minimum wage fixing, with special reference to developing countries, of 1970, ratified by decree 74-42 of 4 March 1974, stipulates in Article 2(1) that failure to apply them shall make the person or persons concerned liable to appropriate penal or other sanctions.”
The Ouagadougou Labour Court thus concluded that domestic law, interpreted in conformity with treaties which Burkina Faso had ratified, did not allow contractual derogation of the minimum wages set by the Interprofessional Joint Committee. Furthermore, when those minimum rates were not respected, the victim of the infringement was right to seek to recover the sums due, and the employer had to pay the entitlements that resulted from such an infringement.
1 ILO Convention on Minimum Wage-Fixing Machinery, 1928 (No. 26); ILO Convention on Minimum Wage Fixing, 1970 (No. 131).
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Congdon Orchards
Congdon Packing Co – Mead Ave
Congdon Packing Co – 64th Ave
ConAg Packing & Storage-Sawyer
About – Food Safety
Financial Statement Review
Shareholders Letter
2015 Hop Harvest
Congdon Ranch Locations
Dick Woodin, President, CEO
Dick Woodin has been an employee at Congdon Orchards since 1978, after earning his Bachelor of Arts in Economics at the University of Washington, joining Congdon Orchards as Supervisor of the Yakima orchards. Over the years he has gained experience in sales, packing and production, ultimately becoming General Manager in 1991, President of the Corporation in 2009 and Chief Executive Officer in 2011. Dick also serves as President of the Yakima Valley Canal Company, has served on several industry organizations, including the Yakima Valley Growers and Shippers Association where he is Past President and the Pear Bureau Northwest, where he currently serves as a Director. Dick also serves on the Board of Directors of First Fruits Marketing of Washington. In 2011 Dick was awarded the Silver Pear Award by the Washington State Horticultural Association.
Mark Blore, General Manager
Mark Blore has been in the fruit industry since September 1982 in various capacities. After earning his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration at Central Washington University in 1981 Mark continued his education by attending JM Perry Institute and graduating in 1982 with a degree in Refrigeration Heating and Air Conditioning. During his years in the fruit industry he gained experience in operations through his work in maintenance, both in production and refrigeration. Mark joined Congdon Orchards in 2009 as Assistant General Manager, ultimately becoming General Manager in 2011. He has served on several industry committees throughout his career.
Bob Martin, Chief Financial Officer
A Central Washington University graduate in 1980 with an Accounting major, Bob has worked as the CFO for Congdon Orchards since 2007. Prior to that, he was a medical administrator for various entities for 20 years. He also has served on the board of directors for several nonprofit organizations such as the Association of Otolaryngology Administrators, The March of Dimes and currently the president elect of Entrust Community Services.
Pamela Tabert
Pam has been employed at Congdon Orchards, Inc since November 1990. She currently manages the Payroll Department, Human Resources and L&I accounts as the company Office Manager. Pam earned her AA from YVCC and attended Central WA University. She is a member of the State WISHA advisory committee representing Ag since 2012. She has served and is currently serving with many volunteer organizations in the Yakima Valley.
Congdon Orchards © 2014-2015 Terms Of Service Privacy Policy
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Ford Rams Chevy at White House Barrier
Jessica Rhea Ford is a woman residing in La Vergne, Tennessee. On February 23, 2018, she was arrested and charged after she intentionally crashed her 2008 Chevrolet Uplander minivan into a security barrier at the White House while armed with a pistol, at about 2:45 pm. In April 2017, Jessica Ford was arrested and charged after she tried to climb over a crowd control barrier in front of the White House.
Several lexilinks, syncs, and more, reveal themselves in this event.
Immediately, it reminds several of the Miriam Carey incident, where she tried to force her car through a White House security fence on Thursday afternoon, October 3, 2013. She did not have a gun with her, but her 1-year-old child. Carey was shot and killed. Termed the "Black Madonna" in some discussions. More here.
La Vergne is the home of a printing plant for Lightning Source and serves as the company's headquarters. The company is the printer/distributor of almost every print-on-demand book & ebook in America & the world.
Note the woman’s name is Jessica Rhea Ford. Rhea was the mother of Zeus. Lightning bolts were the signature weapon and symbol of Zeus.
Rhea, as overviewed by Wikipedia, is a character in Greek mythology, the Titaness daughter of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god Uranus as well as sister and wife to Cronus. In early traditions, she is known as "the mother of gods" and therefore is strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, who have similar functions. The classical Greeks saw her as the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses, but not as an Olympian goddess in her own right. The Romans identified her with Magna Mater (their form of Cybele), and the Goddess Ops.
According to Hesiod, Cronus sired six children by Rhea: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus in that order.
Most ancient etymologists derived Rhea (Ῥέα) by metathesis from ἔρα "ground", although a tradition embodied in Plato and in Chrysippus connected the word with ῥέω (rheo), "flow," "discharge," which is what LSJ supports. Alternatively, the name Rhea may be connected with words for the pomegranate, ῥόα, later ῥοιά.
Jessica (originally Iessica, also Jesica, Jesika, Jessicah, Jessika, or Jessikah) is a female given name.
The oldest written record of the name with its current spelling is found as the name of the Shakespearean character Jessica, from the play The Merchant of Venice. The name may have been an Anglicisation of the biblical Iscah (from the Hebrew: יִסְכָּה : yisekāh), the name of a daughter of Haran briefly mentioned in the Book of Genesis 11:29. Iscah was rendered "Iesca" (Jeska) in the Matthew Bible version available in Shakespeare's day.
The original Hebrew name Yiskāh, means "foresight," or being able to see the potential in the future. The Hebrew root sakhah (ס.כ.ה) means "to see", so the name Yiskah, with the added future-tense yod, implies foresight. Iscah is the niece of Abraham.
Ford is a "shallow place in a river or stream allowing one to pass across" or the "person or vehicle that can cross at a shallow place."
Ferrer is an occupational surname for a blacksmith or ironworker - derived from the Latin ferrarius - and thus shares a common occupational derivation with the most common English surname, Smith. Ferrer is one of the most common Catalan surnames, ranked 36th in Catalonia. (See also, "October 13: Ferrer, Fatima and Fatimah.")
The February 23, 2018 incident followed Jessica Ford's April 16, 2017, attempt to climb the White House fence across from Lafayette Square. (See "Fayette Factor.")
Jessica Ford's last known employment was at the Waffle House, and Demos' Restaurant in Smyrna, Tennessee. Waffle Houses have had an intriguing history of syncs. See, "Waffle House Murders," (2002); "Friday the 13th at Waffle House," (2014); "Man Robbed Waffle House With Pitchfork," (2014); "Valentine's Day, Aurora, and Waffle Houses Again," (2015); and "15 Strange Crimes That Took Place At A Waffle House."
According to officials, her last known residence in Tennessee was in March of 2012 at a home on McAlpine Avenue in East Nashville. Other addresses have been La Vergne, Tennessee.
Prior police reports from D.C. also show Ford was arrested three times last year in the area of the White House.
On Sunday, April 16, 2017, Jessica Ford was arrested and charged after she tried to climb over a climb over a crowd control barrier in front of the White House.
Jessica Ford was charged with a misdemeanor count of unlawful entry. At a D.C. Superior Court hearing Monday, a judge ordered Ford to stay away from the White House grounds and nearby area.
Courts documents said a Secret Service officer approached Jessica Ford and tried to have a conversation with her when he noticed her across the street from the White House in Lafayette Square on the afternoon of Sunday, April 16, 2017. Jessica Ford declined to speak with the agent and replied “No, I’m going to jump the fence,” then ran toward the White House fence and placed both hands atop the security barrier before she was grabbed by officers.
Jessica Ford was arrested about 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 16, 2017 just two hours after she arrived in Washington, according to court documents.
A month later in May 2017 she was arrested for trying to scale the White House fence and violating the stay-away order.
Then in July 2017, she was arrested again for violating the order. She pleaded guilty to a contempt of court charge and as part of a plea agreement, charges for the May incident were dismissed.
A judge sentenced Ford to 120 days in jail, but it was a suspended sentence on the condition that she complete a year of supervised probation.
Ford has lengthy criminal history in Davidson County, Tennessee and Rutherford County, Tennessee.
In July 2003, Smyrna, Tennessee Police charged Jessica Ford with public intoxication, misuse of 9-1-1 and resisting stop-and-frisk halt.
In September 2003, she faced more charges from Tennessee Department of Safety officials, including Driving Under the Influence, refusing a blood-alcohol test and violating open container laws.
Later in 2003, Jessica Ford was cited on two occasions for felony prescription fraud. The first incident occurred in Murfreesboro, Tennessee in November, and the second in December in Smyrna.
Jessica Ford faced several more charges related to the string of incidents from 2004 to 2006, including multiple counts of violation of probation, resisting arrest and failure to appear by Smyrna Police, Murfreesboro Police and Rutherford County Sheriff's Office. She was jailed intermittently during that period, as well.
Ford registered as an ex-con felony drug offender in Davidson County in November 2011.
Soon after, she was charged with misdemeanor criminal trespass by Metro Police in Dec. 2011 and failure to appear in court on those charges in Feb. 2012. Both incidents listed her under the name Jessica Ferrer.
According to the affidavit from her 2011 arrest in Nashville, police say:
The defendant, Jessica Ferrer, was at Southern Hills hospital being disruptive while doctors and nurses was giving treatment to other patients. The defendant was not a patient of the hospital, but came in with someone who needed treatment. The defendant was asked to leave the examining room because she was preventing nurses and doctors to give treatment to patients. Defendant however refused to leave the room. The defendant was then escorted outside by security personnel. Once outside, security asked the defendant to leave the premise. Defendant once again refused to leave, and stated she was not going anywhere.
At this time, it is unclear if Ford remained in Tennessee between her 2012 arrest in Nashville and her April 2017 offense in Washington.
Charged With
Unlawful entry (Feb. 2018)
Misdemeanor Unlawful Entry (Apr. 2017)
Failure to appear (Feb. 2012)
Misdemeanor criminal trespass (Dec. 2011)
Multiple counts of violation of probation, resisting arrest and failure to appear (2004-2006)
Felony prescription fraud (Dec. 2003)
Felony prescription fraud (Nov. 2003)
Driving Under the Influence, refusing a blood-alcohol test and violating open container laws (Sep. 2003)
Carrying a pistol without a license (Feb. 2018)
Possession of unregistered firearm (Feb. 2018)
Aggravated assault on police officer (Feb. 2018)
Assault with a dangerous weapon-car (Feb. 2018)
Destruction of government property (Feb. 2018)
Contempt of court (Fen. 2018)
Contempt of court (Feb. 2018)
Violating the stay-away order (May 2018)
h/t Rhea via Sibyl Hunter
Posted by Loren Coleman at 12:46 PM 1 comment: Links to this post
Labels: Jessica Ferrer, Jessica Rhea Ford, La Vergne, Miriam Carey, Secret Service, Tennessee, Waffle House, White House
Fire Destroys 25 Parkland Buses
Parkland School District classes are canceled Friday, February 23, 2018, after a fire broke out overnight and destroyed approximately 25 buses at a bus garage on Stadium Road, in South Whitehall Township, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania.
Lehigh County is located in southeastern Pennsylvania.
It will be recalled the school shooting of February 14, 2018, occurred at the Stoneman Douglas High School. (See "Parkland Syncs.")
In Pennsylvania, firefighters were dispatched to Stadium Drive behind Orefield Middle School just after 3 a.m., said Tri-Clover fire company Chief Jeff Johnson.
North Whitehall resident Chrissi Kent, who lives on Route 309 by the Kernsville intersection, told The Morning Call she heard “popping” from the scene for at least 45 minutes.
Parkland High School is a public high school located in Meyersville, Pennsylvania, approximately 5 miles northwest of downtown Allentown. The school serves students in grades 9-12 and is the only high school for the Parkland School District.
Parkland High School was formed in 1949 when North Whitehall Township and South Whitehall Township merged to create Parkland Union School District, with Upper Macungie Township joining in 1950. Its predecessor, South Whitehall High School, was housed in the current-day Troxell Building. Parkland used the same facility until a larger building on Route 309 in Orefield was completed in 1954, which served as the high school for 45 years. In 1999, the new and current Parkland High School building on Cedar Crest Boulevard in Allentown was opened due to overcapacity of the second building. The old school was renovated and renamed Orefield Middle School (near the site of the fire), replacing Troxell Junior High School. When viewed from above, the layout of the current building and grounds closely approximate the shape of the Millennium Falcon, a spacecraft featured in the Star Wars films. School officials claim that the design was not deliberate.
The Morning Call video.
h/t S.L.
Posted by Loren Coleman at 3:12 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Florida, Lehigh County, Orefield Middle School, Parkland, Parkland School District, Pennsylvania, Route 309, South Whitehall Township
Two Jumping Suicides in NYC
Clinton Towers
Two women plunged to their deaths in apparent suicides Monday, February 19, 2018, in Manhattan and Brooklyn, police said.
A 26-year-old woman jumped from the 28th floor of a 39-story Hell’s Kitchen building at 6:50 a.m.. The woman, whose name was not released, plummeted from Clinton Towers on W. 54th St. at 11th Ave. and died at the scene.
Security guard Richard Ababio said the woman regularly visited Clinton Towers to see her girlfriend.
“I know her very well,” Ababio, 59, said. “It’s so sad. I don’t know how some people do that.
“She was a very friendly, beautiful woman.”
Nearly 10 hours later, at 4:25 p.m., a woman in her 60s jumped to her death from a four-story building on Manhattan Ave. at Calyer St. in Greenpoint, cops said. Source.
Posted by Loren Coleman at 12:00 PM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Clinton Towers, NYC, Suicides
Student Action Dates Are School Shooting Anniversaries
Students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have announced a nationwide event and march in Washington, DC in response to the February 14, 2018, shooting at their Parkland, Florida school: The “March for Our Lives” is scheduled for March 24, 2018.
There are three different national actions already announced to end gun violence in America.
March 14, 2018: Womens March Action
March 24, 2018: March For Our Lives
April 20, 2018: National School Walkout
It is to be noted that,
March 24th is the 20th anniversary of when on March 24, 1998, Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden, aged 11 and 13 respectively, fire upon teachers and students at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas; five people are killed and ten are wounded.
The individuals who die are:
Natalie Brooks, 11, student
Paige Ann Herring, 12, student
Stephanie Johnson, 12, student
Britthney Ryen Varner, 11, student
Shannon Wright, 32, teacher
April 20th is the 19th anniversary of the Columbine High School shooting of April 20, 1999. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold kill 13 people and injure 24 others before dying by suicide at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado.
Those killed:
Rachel Scott, 17, student
Daniel Rohrbough, 15, student
Dave Sanders, 47, teacher and coach
Kyle Velasquez, 16, student
Steven Curnow, 14, student
Cassie Bernall, 17, student
Isaiah Shoels, 18, student
Matthew Kechter, 16, student
Lauren Townsend, 18, student
John Tomlin, 16, student
Kelly Fleming, 16, student
Daniel Mauser, 15, student
Corey Depooter, 17, student
See also,
Post-Parkland Prediction: Be Alert in April
Labels: 2018, April 20, March 14, March 24, March For Our Lives, National School Walkout, Parkland, Stoneman, Students, Womens March Action
Parkland Syncs
Where Cruz worked.
This is the specific building of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that came under attack. The community has decided to tear down the building.
"Sometimes, in order to see the light, you have to risk the dark." ~ Minority Report
Seventeen fatalities.
Alyssa Alhadeff, 14
Scott Beigel, 35
Martin Duque, 14
Nicholas Dworet, 17
Aaron Feis, 37
Jaime Guttenberg, 14
Chris Hixon, 49
Luke Hoyer, 15
Cara Loughran, 14
Gina Montalto, 14
Joaquin Oliver, 17
Alaina Petty, 14
Meadow Pollack, 18
Helena Ramsay, 17
Alex Schachter, 14
Carmen Schentrup, 16
Peter Wang, 15
Victims/Names
German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): habitational name from any of various places, for example in Bavaria, called Guttenberg, from the weak dative case (originally used after a preposition and article) of Old High German guot ‘good’ + berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’. The shortening of the vowel in the first syllable is a feature found in various dialects of German. Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name composed of German gut ‘good’ + Berg ‘mountain’, ‘hill’.
English surname Hixon means "son of Hick". Hick was a pet name for Richard. The Germanic first or given name Richard derives from German, French, and English "ric" (ruler, leader, king, powerful) and "hard" (strong, brave, hardy), and it therefore means "strong in rule."
Nicholas/Nikolas
Nicholas = English and Dutch: from the personal name (Greek Nikolaos, from nikān "to conquer" + laos "people"). Forms with -ch- are due to hypercorrection.
Comment maker M.R. passes this along (with additions by me):
- Hixon, the surname of one of the victims, has another association with death: It's the name of a town in England famous for a rail crash [January 6, 1968] with 11 deaths and 45 people injured.
- Schachter [from Yiddish (Ashkenazic) shochet, "to slaughter"], the surname of another victim, is the same as the surname of psychologist Stanley Schachter, whose most famous book is When Prophecy Fails*... intriguing.
*When Prophecy Fails, 1964, was a study of a small UFO religion in Chicago called the Seekers that believed in an imminent apocalypse and its coping mechanisms after the event did not occur.
- The names of the victims also seem to point to the movie Jeremiah Johnson [1972]. It was directed by Sydney Pollack**, and Pollack*** is the surname of a victim, and the name of the actor that played the main Indian character was Joaquin Martinez, and both Joaquin and Martin are first names of victims.
**Sydney Pollack was born in Lafayette, Indiana (see Fayette Factor), to a family of Russian Jewish immigrants. As an Ashkenazic name, the reference is to a person of Hebrew origin from Poland or from some other Slavonic speaking region.
***Meadow Pollack was buried at the Star of David Memorial Gardens on Friday, February 16, 2018.
Five of the seventeen victims were Jewish - Jamie Guttenberg, Alyssa Alhadeff, Alex Schachter, Meadow Pollack — and teacher Scott Beigel.
In one anti-Semitic tirade, Cruz referenced his biological mother, saying: “My real mom was a Jew. I am glad I never met her,” CNN said.
Dollar Store, Uber, Walmart, Subway, and McDonalds.
Nikolas Cruz's journey on Valentine's Day, to and from the Parkland high school killing of 17 individuals, sounds like someone was connecting the dots to a bunch of Super Bowl commercials. But it merely is as commonplace as the nature of school shootings in 2018.
Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel told reporters that the suspected shooter, 19-year-old (former Parkland student and Dollar Store employee) Nikolas Cruz, arrived at Marjory (Stoneman) Douglas High School via Uber at 2:19pm local time (Eastern) on Wednesday (February 14, 2018). The Uber driver is not implicated at this time, the sheriff said.
From there, the former Marjory Douglas student entered the building, carrying a legally purchased AR-15 rifle and multiple magazines. He began spraying bullets into nearby classrooms, occasionally returning to certain rooms to hit them again.
In total, police say Mr Cruz killed 17 students and staff and injured 14.
Less than 40 minutes after he began his rampage, Mr Israel said, Mr Cruz dropped his rifle and backpack and fled the school on foot, blending in with the students running for their lives from the building.
The suspect entered a Subway inside a Walmart nearby and purchased a drink, Mr Israel said. He then went to a McDonalds and sat for several minutes. He was eventually detained in a residential area two miles from the school at 3:41pm (Eastern). Source.
As it happens, the logo of the Philadelphia Eagles, who won the Super Bowl LII, is a mirror of the Eagles logo of the Parkland high school.
"The falling eagle snych is uncanny, not just the eagle logo of the school with the Philly Eagles, but the fact that it is in both cases a diving/falling eagle. Also the synch can be taken further, with the whole 'lost Israel' thing [see below]. Israel lost an f-16 eagle fighter jet returning from a mission over Syria (in response to an Iranian drone sent over Israel via Syria). This happened just last week (Feb 10, 2018). It is the first time Israel has lost a fighter jet in nearly 36 years! (Last time was in 1982 during the Lebanon War.) In other words Israel lost an eagle 'that fell out of the sky,' so to speak, (it crashed in Israel, and the pilots survived, they ejected). A falling eagle. A very very rare military incident for Israel, that has changed the strategic dynamics between Israel and the Syria-Iran-Hezbollah axis, as tensions continue to mount and with it fears of war." - From comment maker Lawrence.
"Synchromysticism: The art of realizing meaningful coincidence in the seemingly mundane with mystical or esoteric significance." ~ Jake Kotze, The Brave New World Order, August 18, 2006.
There are so many syncs with this event, it appears to be filled with Jungian coincidences on steroids.
The location of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School is Parkland, Florida.
The immediate stream-of-consciousness association of Parkland is to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, where John F. Kennedy was taken after he was assassinated on November 22, 1963.
The JFK assassination surfaces again as another sync due to the name of the Parkland shooter, Nikolas Cruz. This one was about Ted Cruz and JFK.
The National Enquirer, a tabloid with a tabloid mentality, published on May 2, 2016, a "World Exclusive Investigation," in which they tied a famed incident running up to the John F. Kennedy assassination to Ted Cruz. The claim is that Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, was photographed with Lee Harvey Oswald in New Orleans, handing out "Fair Play for Cuba" leaflets. The Trump campaign repeated the claim, as if it was true. (See more here.)
“It's a mystery! It's a mystery wrapped in a riddle inside an enigma! The fuckin' shooters don't even know! Don't you get it?” ~ David Ferrie (character) in JFK, 1991, Oliver Stone, Director.
More Cruz Syncs
On February 14, 2018, the day that Nikolas Cruz shot and killed 17 people at the Stoneman Douglas High School, a regularly scheduled rerun of NYPD Blue occurred. It was called "Lost Israel."
The Parkland, Florida, shooting involved an outspoken Jewish law enforcement individual, Sheriff Scott Israel, as the spokesperson concerning the deaths and arrest of Cruz.
"The Parkland shooting itself has a further Israel connection, aside from the police chief Scott Israel. That is Parkland has a sizeable Jewish population. Five of the seventeen dead in this Valentine Day massacre are Jewish (four students and one teacher), which as far as a I know is the highest number of Jewish people killed in a mass shooting tragedy in the USA." ~ Lawrence.
As mentioned in my earlier essay, Cruz means "cross."
Parkland, Florida. February 14, 2018.
This year's Valentine's Day, February 14, 2018, fell on Ash Wednesday. Several eyewitnesses interviewed on television appeared with an ash cross on their forehead.
Nikolas de Jesus Cruz's Instragram profile photo.
For information on the Parkland shooting (including more name game and NIU anniversary info), see here.
Stoneman = Mason
"David Bowie's last song Valentine's Day was meant to be from the perspective of a school shooter. So days after the 'Star Man' was put into orbit by Tesla we have the 'Stone Man' massacre." ~ Daniel Sale.
"Valentine's Day" is a song by English rock musician David Bowie, the fourth single from his 24th studio album The Next Day. The single was released on August 19, 2013. This was to be David Bowie's last 7 inch single issued from a new album in his lifetime. The lyrics are based on the psychology of a shooter.
h/t Jason Barrera.
Valentine's Day ~ David Bowie
Valentine told me who's to go
Feelings he treasured most of all
The teachers and the football stars
It's in his tiny face
It's in his scrawny hands
Valentine sold his soul
He's got something to say
It's Valentine's day
The rhythm of the crowd
Benny and Judy down
Valentine sees it all
Valentine told me how he feels
If all the world were under his heels
Or stumbling through the mall
Valentine knows it all
Valentine, Valentine
It's in his icy heart
It's happening today
Songwriters: Peter Robert Jones / Caroline Frances Kennedy-Mccracken / Barry John Joseph Palmer
Other resources to read:
Secret Sun, "Everyone Predicted It: So Much for PreCrime," Friday, February 16, 2018.
Twilight Language, "Post-Parkland Prediction: Be Alert in April," Friday, February 16, 2018
Secret Sun, "Everyone Predicted It," Thursday, February 15, 2018.
Super Torch Ritual, "Decoding Florida School Massacre - Part 1," Thursday, February 15, 2018.
Twilight Language, "Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting: Updated," Wednesday, February 14, 2018.
Labels: and McDonalds, David Bowie, Dollar Store, JFK, Nikolas Cruz, Parkland, Parkland Hospital, Precrime, Scott Israel, Subway, Syncs, Texas, Uber, Walmart
There are certain times of year that are routinely more dangerous for our children. What should people be preparing for in the wake of the Parkland shooting?
In my 2004 book, The Copycat Effect, I wrote a subsection entitled the "Significant of Dates," and began with the example of St. Valentine's Day, February 14th, (page 246):
Dates are important, anniversary events especially so. Suicides, murder-suicides, murders tend to clump around dates of loss for at-risk victims.
One such date is one that most people assume should be associated with happy feelings, but it is not. That is Valentine’s Day. For many people, it’s a day that speaks more to emptiness and loss than to joy and love.
When I wrote Suicide Clusters (NY: Faber & Faber, 1987), I mentioned the spike in suicides around Valentine's Day. From interviews I conducted, the date tended to not remind people of all the people they loved, but, among suicidal individuals, how alone they were. Simply put, people felt suicidal around February 14th. In this modern era of violence, that translates into also feeling homicidal.
The suicide clusters of the early 1980s were replaced by school shootings, as you know from the wall-to-wall coverage, first in a trickle in the mid-1980s, through the mid-1990s, followed by the tsunami of Columbine (1999) and beyond.
Ten years ago, in 2008, after school shootings in Memphis (February 4), Baton Rouge (February 8), Memphis again (February 11), and Oxnard (February 12), a mass shooting occurred at Northern Illinois University, in DeKalb, Illinois, leaving 6 dead (5 at the college and the shooter through suicide) and 21 wounded on February 14, Valentine’s Day, 2008.
The Parkland school shooting occurred on the 10th anniversary of that mass shooting of February 14, 2008, happening at Cole Hall, Northern Illinois University (NIU) in DeKalb, Illinois. Steven Kazmierczak opened fire with a shotgun and three pistols into a crowd of students on campus, killing five students and injuring an additional 17 people, before fatally shooting himself.
A school shooting of February 19, 2010, revisited DeKalb, Illinois. Soon after NIU marked the 2nd anniversary of the mass shooting that claimed the lives of six, 24-year-old NIU student Brian Mulder was shot by fellow student 22-year-old Zachary R. Isaacman, who survived.
But this time of year has been a dangerous one for years. There was a school shooting on February 19, 1987, with two dead. At the Bethel (Alaska) Regional High School shooting, 16-year-old student Evan Ramsey killed principal Ron Edwards, and 15-year-old star student athlete Joshua Palacios. He also wounded two other students.
School shootings go back over a hundred years. These deadly events occurred on February 14, 1883 (Florence, Nebraska) and February 14, 1920 (Durant, Oklahoma). There was a school shooting on February 16, 1912, at LaGrange, New York, at the Sprout Creek School House, when 14-year-old May McQuade was killed by classmate Raymond B. Carroll, also 14. (This is part of the Fayette Factor for LaGrange is the French home of Lafayette.)
School shootings cluster and build momentum. This can be seen in Februarys and give indication that the copycat effect is taking place. For Februarys, you will find the data shows in 1978 (February 9, February 22); in 1996 (February 2, February 29); in 1997 (February 19); in 2004 (February 2, February 9); in 2005 (February 8); in 2008 (February 4, February 8, February 11, February 12, February 14); in 2010 (February 5, February 12, February 19, February 23); in 2014 (February 10, February 10, February 12, February 22); in 2015 (February 4, February 14, February 23); in 2016 (February 9, February 12, February 29); and in 2017 (February 1, February 4, February 14).
If past modern trends continue, please be alert and aware that a winter (February) cluster of school shootings is followed by an infrequent but large school shooting in April, especially during the "dangerous red zone" of late April.
Ponder which dates of the month have turned into anniversaries for certain towns and cities:
April 12, 1994 - Butte, Montana - 1 killed
April 12, 2013 - Dublin, Virginia - 2 wounded
April 13, 2015 - Goldsboro, North Carolina - 1 killed
April 14, 2003 - New Orleans, Louisiana - 1 killed, 3 wounded
April 15, 1993 - Acushnet, Massachusetts - 1 killed
April 16, 1987 - Detroit, Michigan - 1 killed, 2 wounded
April 16, 1999 - Notus, Idaho - mild injuries
April 16, 2007 - Blacksburg, Virginia - 33 killed, 23 wounded
April 16, 2013 - Grambling, Virginia - 3 wounded
April 16, 2015 - Paradis, Louisiana - 1 wounded
April 18, 2013 - Cambridge, Massachusetts - 2 killed, 1 wounded
April 20, 1999 - Columbine, Colorado - 15 killed, 21 injured
April 21, 1994 - Nashville, Tennessee - 1 killed
April 23, 1991 - Compton, California - 1 killed
April 23, 2016 - Antigo, Wisconsin - 1 killed, 2 wounded
April 24, 1998 - Edinboro, Pennsylvania - 1 killed, 3 wounded
April 24, 2003 - Red Lion, Pennsylvania - 2 killed
April 26, 2009 - Hampton, Virginia - 3 wounded
April 27, 2015 - Lacey, Washington - no injuries
April 29, 1986 - Senath, Missouri - 1 killed
Modern school shootings have, therefore, clustered historically during Aprils in 2015 (April 13, April 16, and April 27); in 2014 (April 9 and April 11); in 2013 (April 12, April 16, April 18); in 2003 (April 14, April 24); in 1999 (April 16, April 20); and in 1994 (April 12, April 21).
April will be a dangerous time for mass shootings and other violent events. Needless to say, there are going to be school incidents, workplace violence, and probably mall & movie situations between now and April 2018. But there is something in the psyche of the suicidal-homicidal individuals who conduct school shootings linked to February and April.
Recall that April is a flashpoint for more than America. The W. R. Myers High School shooting was a school shooting that occurred on April 28, 1999, at W. R. Myers High School in Taber, Alberta, Canada. The gunman, 14-year-old Todd Cameron Smith, walked into his school and began firing at three students in a hallway, killing one student and wounding another student. This shooting was a direct copycat of the Columbine event of eight days before.
In 2009, on April 10, at a vocational college in Athens, Greece, one was killed in a shooting, and on April 28, at an elementary school in Harstad, Norway, no one was injured in the first Norwegian school shooting. On April 7, 2011, A 23-year-old former student fatally shot 12 people inside a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, school and died by suicide after being shot down by a policeman. In 2015, at a school in Barcelona, Spain, on April 20, a 13-year-old boy armed with a crossbow and a machete killed a teacher and injured 4.
The face of evil.
April 20, 2018, will be the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting and the 129th anniversary of the birth of Adolf Hitler, who then killed himself on April 30, 1945. April 26th is Hitler's right hand man, Rudolf Hess's birthday and the anniversary of the Erfurt, Germany school shooting in 2002, when Robert Steinhäuser killed 16 and then himself.
It does get personal. Pictured is my maternal grandmother, Nellie Gray, who died at the hands of her estranged second husband, in a murder-suicide on Valentine's Day, 1940.
It is worthy of repeating what I wrote in 2009:
Murder and suicide are two sides of the same coin played out in going postal, workplace violence, shooting spree, and school shooting incidents, which are impacted by the copycat effect.
Being forewarned and aware is half the battle. Vulnerable, suicidal, homicidal youth need help and attention, long before it gets to the stage where they feel there's no turning back. Keep talking, take care, get people help, and remain alert, with your guard up.
A few bloggers may wish to demean the predictive insights of known patterns, but ridicule does not overwhelm the reality of history.
"Killers often pick special dates for their attack," April 17, 2009 by Trish Crawford, in Toronto Star
...Loren Coleman is worried, because mass killers often choose special dates and anniversaries for their carnage. The killers at Columbine did, by picking the birthday of one of history's monsters.
The author of The Copycat Effect (Simon & Schuster) says the amount of attention this anniversary gets may determine whether any other disaffected males bent on vengeance pick April 20 for their act of destruction.
"Anniversaries can be dangerous," Coleman says. "These individuals compete with each other."
...Coleman called schools "a fish bowl setting with a vulnerable population."
...The killers are uniformly "homicidal, suicidal, sexually dysfunctional males" who feel powerless and blame others for their problems. Attacking school students – young girls are favored targets – makes these people feel powerful and strong, Coleman says.
Posted by Loren Coleman at 11:29 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Adolf Hitler, April, Erfurt, February, Post-Parkland, Predictions, suicide clusters, The Copycat Effect
Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting: Updated
There has been a Valentine's Day school shooting on February 14, 2018.
This latest school shooting occurred on the 10th anniversary of the Northern Illinois University shooting, which was a school shooting that took place on February 14, 2008, at Cole Hall, Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. Steven Kazmierczak opened fire with a shotgun and three pistols in a crowd of students on campus, killing five students and injuring an additional 17 people, before fatally shooting himself. (See also, 1, 2, 3, and 4.)
On February 14, 2018, at approximately 2:20 p.m. EST, a shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. There is a report that the shooting occurred concurrently or soon after a fire drill. At least 20 people were reportedly injured, with fatalities. Some of these include teachers, apparently.
By the end of the day, seventeen students and teachers were said to have died in the attack.
The shooter has been arrested. His name was first reported to be Nicolas Cruz, 19, a former student at the Parkland high school. He was a member of the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps. He was said to have watched YouTube videos yesterday on how to make a bomb.
Late on Wednesday, the correct name was said to be Nikolas de Jesus Cruz.
Nicholas/Nicolas/Nick Name Game
Jim Brandon, author of Weird America (1978) and The Rebirth of Pan (1983), emailed me on April 10, 2012 (source),
I wanted to add a couple of candidates to the Names of Power list – which I’ve probably mentioned before: that would be Nicholas and permutations (from Old Nick and Santa Claus up), and U.S. presidential names.
Nicholas does have some interesting connections:
Nicholas = English and Dutch: from the personal name (Greek Nikolaos, from nikān "to conquer" + laos "people"). Forms with -ch- are due to hypercorrection. The name in various vernacular forms was popular among Christians throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, largely as a result of the fame of a 4th-century Lycian bishop, about whom a large number of legends grew up, and who was venerated in the Orthodox Church as well as the Catholic. In English-speaking countries, this surname is also found as an Americanized form of various Greek surnames such as Papanikolaou "(son of) Nicholasthe priest" and patronymics such as Nikolopoulos.
For years, Brandon has noted the Nicholas/Nicolas/Nick name game. For example, in 2012, he wrote:
I suppose y’all noticed that the successful walk over Niagara Falls brought a hot name-of-power into play, in this case Nervous Nick, which seems to be running a close second to Fateful Fay these days.
Cruz is a surname of Iberian origin, first found in Castile, Spain, but later spread throughout the territories of the former Spanish and Portuguese Empires. In Spanish and Portuguese, the word cruz means "cross," either the Christian cross or the figure of transecting lines or ways.
Jesus is the English form of Ιησους (Iesous), which was the Greek form of the Aramaic name יֵשׁוּעַ (Yeshu'a). Yeshu'a is itself a contracted form of Yehoshu'a. Yeshua ben Yoseph, better known as Jesus Christ, was the central figure of the New Testament and the source of the Christian religion. The four gospels state that he was the son of God and the Virgin Mary who fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah. He preached for three years before being crucified in Jerusalem.
The school day at Stoneman Douglas High School ends a 2:40 p.m., according to the school's website. The first tweet from the Broward Sheriff's Office about reports of the shooting came at 2:53 p.m. ET.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was named after the Everglades environmentalist Marjory Stoneman Douglas. The school opened in 1990 with students in grades 9 though 11, most of whom transferred from nearby schools Coral Springs High School and J. P. Taravella High School. The first senior class graduated in 1992.
About 2,000 students are enrolled at Stoneman Douglas High School.
Parkland is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States, where zoning laws are designed to protect the "park-like" character of the city. Initially, there were no stores or traffic lights in Parkland, though this began to change in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with the additions of large neighborhood developments like Heron Bay and Parkland Isles. As of the 2010 census, the population of Parkland was 23,962. Parkland is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people in 2015.
Labels: Florida, Nick Name Game, Nikolas de Jesus Cruz, Parkland, School Shooting, Stoneman Douglas High School
Toronto's Alleged Serial Killer Was Mall Santa
Bruce McArthur, who is charged with five counts of murder and is alleged to have hidden some victims' remains in planters around Toronto, served as Santa Claus at Agincourt Mall in the Scarborough, Ontario neighborhood of the city.
Arrested in January, Toronto police said on February 8, 2018, they’ve recovered the remains of at least six people from planters on a property connected to alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur.
The remains found on property McArthur used as storage in exchange for doing the landscaping, included some from one of the five men McArthur is already charged with killing, Andrew Kinsman.
McArthur was arrested Jan. 18 and charged with two counts of murder in connection with the disappearances of Kinsman and Selim Esen, two men last seen in what the media terms the “Gay Village” district of Toronto. Not long after that, he was charged with the murders of three more men and police said they were on a wide search for other possible victims. The suspected serial killer was a mall Santa.
The news of McArthur's time as a "mall Santa" brought forth memories of John Wayne Gacy, Jr. (March 17, 1942 – May 10, 1994).
McArthur "was hired through an event management company who provides various forms of entertainers including Santa to many events throughout the (Greater Toronto area)," a statement from the mall said.
Thomas Donald Bruce McArthur (b. October 8, 1951) is an alleged Canadian serial killer. As of February 2018 the self-employed landscaper is charged with five counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of missing men from Church and Wellesley, Toronto's gay village.
Police have found human remains of several men in private gardens, where McArthur has worked as a landscape gardener. So far, the investigation has shown that he found many of his alleged victims through online dating apps for men who have sex with men, stating that he wanted to meet submissive men. His alleged victims were predominantly gay men of South Asian or Middle Eastern origin.
McArthur was first charged on 18 January 2018 with the murder of 49-year-old Andrew Kinsman and presumed death of 44-year-old Selim Esen. Both men went missing in 2017. On 29 January 2018, Toronto police laid three more first-degree murder charges against McArthur related to the disappearances of Majeed Kayhan, 58, and Soroush Mahmudi, 50, as well as the death of Dean Lisowick, 43-44, who had never been reported missing.
On February 8, 2018, the Toronto police recovered the remains of at least six people at a home on Mallory Crescent, where McArthur stored some of his landscaping equipment. At least some of the remains have been identified as belonging to Andrew Kinsman. Human remains were also found in planters at a Leaside home. Police believe there are more victims. Police said they were combing through five properties, four in Toronto, one in Madoc, all related to McArthur. Source.
The name McArthur is Scottish. It is an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Artair, a patronymic from the Gaelic form of the personal name Arthur. The name Arthur is an English name, from the Roman clan name Artorius, meaning "noble, courageous."
Artorius is thought by some to have a purely Latin derivation, translating the name as "plowman." Such an etymology seems unlikely as the Latin word for "plowman" was arātor, not *artor (in fact a gentilic name potentially derived from arātor, Arātrius [also an epithet of Jupiter], is attested in inscriptions from Aquileia, Altinum, Pola, and Montefalcone; compare, too the word arātōrius "fit for ploughing," used of oxen and fields).
"Gay Village's" Unsolved Serial Killer Cases
There is some speculation that Bruce McArthur alleged serial killing activity could have started in the 1970s, and old cases are being investigated. The following was published as an overview of those unsolved files, as they are similar to Toronto's current killings.
Feb. 18, 1975: Police attended the apartment of Arthur Harold Walkley, 52, in response to a 911 call at 3:50 a.m. that day. His roommate discovered his naked body, stabbed several times in the back and chest, though no knife was ever recovered by police. His wallets and credit cards were stolen during the attack on Borden St. near Bloor St. W. Walkley, a part-time University of Toronto lecturer, died shortly after arriving in hospital. Dec. 20, 1975: Frederick John Fontaine was 32 when he died. Fontaine was found in the washroom of the St. Charles Tavern, a former bar with a landmark clock tower, popular in the early days of Toronto’s Gay Village. Officers attended the scene about 9 p.m., and found the CBC technician suffering from blunt force trauma. He died several months later in hospital, on July 15, 1976. Feb. 11, 1976: Forty-two-year-old painter and decorator James Douglas Taylor was found beaten with a baseball bat in his North York apartment near Yonge St. and Sheppard Ave. He was also robbed. Neighbours told police at the time that a pickup truck was seen at the house, where he lived alone. Sept. 20, 1976: Police discovered the body of James Stewart Kennedy, a federal income tax employee, at 8 a.m. on a Monday. The 59-year-old was strangled with a bath towel and suffering from blunt force trauma in his Jarvis St. apartment. He was dead by the time police arrived. Jan. 25, 1977: Described in some media coverage as “shy and new on the gay scene,” 25-year-old Brian Dana Latocki, a financial bank analyst, was found tied to a bed in his apartment, strangled, and stabbed to death. Police responded to the scene on Erskine Ave., near Mt. Pleasant Rd. and Eglinton Ave. E., at 9:40 a.m. that day. The night before he was killed, he was last seen leaving the St. Charles Tavern. Sept. 20, 1978: Perhaps one of the most high-profile deaths was of club owner Alexander “Sandy” Romeo LeBlanc, 29. He was found at 7:20 p.m., stabbed more than 100 times from head to foot. “As police walked around the body, the carpet squished from the sound of absorbed blood, and bloody footprints led to an open window,” Robin Hardy wrote in 1979. Despite attempts to resuscitate him, LeBlanc was pronounced dead in his apartment on St. Joseph St.Nov. 28, 1978: Just after 2 p.m. that day, police responded to a “check address” call for a resident near Bathurst St. and St. Clair Ave. Inside an apartment, they found William Duncan Robinson, 25, dead from stab wounds. His sister made the call to police after he didn’t show up to work for two days. At the time, police believed he may have gone to a gay bar in the Yonge and College Sts. area, and returned home with the killer. A neighbour reported hearing a “strange hollow sound” coming from his apartment. Source.
h/t T.M.
Posted by Loren Coleman at 4:48 AM No comments: Links to this post
Labels: Andrew Kinsman, Bruce McArthur, Gay Village, John Wayne Gacy, Mall Santa, Santa Claus, Serial Killer, Toronto
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11/8 Dalton Sargeant and Performance Plus Motor Oil Make Their 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Debut with MDM Motorsports
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (Nov. 8, 2017) – Dalton Sargeant and MDM Motorsports are proud to announce their debut together at Phoenix Raceway on November 10 and then the 2017 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) season finale at Homestead-Miami on November 17. Sargeant, a member of the 2015 NASCAR Next class who already has four career NCWTS starts will pilot the Performance Plus Motor Oil No. 99 Chevrolet Silverado with the same familiar colors that he drove to victory lane at Iowa Speedway in ARCA Racing Series competition earlier this year.
Sargeant is no stranger to Phoenix Raceway after finishing 4th in the K&N Pro Series event in 2015, as well as competing inside the top-10 in the Truck Series event that same year. Although Phoenix is a familiar setting, Homestead-Miami Speedway holds a special place for the 19-year-old rookie driver from nearby Boca Raton, FL.
“I can’t thank all of the great people at Performance Plus Motor Oil and MDM Motorsports enough for this opportunity,” said Sargeant. “Phoenix is one of my favorite race tracks and I basically started my racing career in the parking lot of Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2006 so it’s going to be a really exciting two weeks to close out the Camping World Truck Series season. My brother and I received our first go-karts for Christmas and one of the first places we brought them was to the track they set up in the parking lot behind the main grandstands at Homestead-Miami Speedway. I remember racing around that parking lot track for hours upon hours when I first started, always in the shadow of the big track with my whole family there camped out to watch. To get the opportunity to run my first laps at the big Homestead-Miami track is a huge opportunity and something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
Performance Plus Motor Oil will make their third start with Sargeant, already scoring a victory in their debut race together at Iowa Speedway in ARCA Racing Series competition this past July.
"We’re very excited to enter the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 2017 with Dalton Sargeant at Phoenix Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway,” said Director of Industrial Lubricants James Drozdowski. “Dalton has been impressive throughout our first two races together and when Dalton took the Performance Plus car to victory lane at Iowa Speedway we proved that our products can be trusted in the most demanding of environments. The end of the season is near and that always means a little more excitement. We have high expectations for Sargeant and MDM Motorsports and looking forward to seeing the No. 99 Performance Plus Truck near the front.”
MDM Motorsports has also visited victory lane in 2017 in both the Camping World Truck Series with Darrell Wallace Jr. and the ARCA Racing Series with five different drivers. The No. 99 Performance Plus Motor Oil team will be led by veteran crew chief, Shane Huffman, who has a combined seven starts as a crew chief at Phoenix and Homestead.
"I know this MDM team is ready to go back to the race track with something to prove these last two races and having a driver of Dalton's talent and ability will certainly make that achievable," said Huffman. "I've had some fast trucks at Phoenix the past two years, so I know we'll have a good setup for Dalton, and Homestead will be the same truck that we took to victory lane at Michigan, so all of the pieces are there for us to finish out the season strong. I've watched Dalton the past few seasons and have seen his progression as a driver firsthand, and I think we can help him accomplish his goals."
The Lucas Oil 150 from Phoenix Raceway will take place Friday, November 10 at 8:30pm EST and will be televised live on FS1. Practice will take place from 11am-12:50pm EST and can be seen on FS2 with qualifying at 5:30pm EST on FS1. Keep up with all the Dalton Sargeant news, live updates and media content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@DaltonSargeant) as well as DaltonSargeant.com.
Performance Plus is the high quality brand of motor oils and lubricants that perform better even under the most extreme conditions. The brand uses conventionally refined oils and proprietary, twice-refined oils, blended with industry-leading additives, to meet or exceed all industry certifications, licenses, approvals and OEM warranty requirements. With more than 30 years of innovation, research and testing, the formulations outperform under the demanding conditions of U.S. military combat vehicles and racing engines from Daytona to Indianapolis and the Bonneville Salt Flats. Visit PerformancePlusOils.com.
Additional information about MDM Motorsports is available at www.MDMmotorsports.com, find us on Facebook and follow the team on Twitter @MDMmotorsports.
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In pursuit of a universal flu vaccine
Blue Water Vaccines, Inc.
NEW YORK—Blue Water Vaccines, Inc. announced today that the company has entered into an option agreement with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, providing Blue Water Vaccines the option to exclusively license a novel and potentially revolutionary universal influenza vaccine. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Blue Water Vaccines will complete its fund-raising of US $15 million to support the flu vaccine program.
“This paradigm shifting technology has the potential to save the lives of millions of patients around the world who fall victim to influenza infections. We look forward to working and supporting the amazing team at Oxford to bring this technology to patients around the world,” said Joseph Hernandez, Executive Chairman of Blue Water Vaccines.
Developed by scientists at Oxford University and published in Nature Communications in 2018, the vaccine protects against all influenza strains by targeting parts of the virus that induce a protective immune response but are also limited in variability. The technology has the potential of providing life-long immunity against the flu.
Influenza is a major respiratory pathogen. It’s estimated that there are over 500,000 deaths per year caused by the flu. The current influenza vaccines have serious shortcomings since they need to be administered yearly, and typically provides protection to only 50% of the individuals who receive it.
Sunetra Gupta, Professor of Theoretical Epidemiology at the University of Oxford noted, “About 10 years ago, we predicted that regions of the virus that were limited in variability would drive the evolution of influenza. Using mathematical models, we showed that these regions would cycle between a limited number of conformations in time, in tandem with the development of immunity within the human population. Due to their limited variability and the ease with which immunity can be built up against them, such regions make ideal vaccine targets.”
“These regions have been recently identified and shown by our lab to dictate immunity to influenza in various age groups of humans,” added Craig Thompson, Postdoctoral Research Scientist in Virology at the University of Oxford. “Astonishingly, laboratory assays used to detect antibodies showed that young children aged 6 to 12 had immunity to historical influenza strains that they could never have possibly experienced, one of which last circulated in 1934!”
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A handful of political features at 3rd El Gouna Film Festival
Lebanese film titled 1982, Sudanese documentary Talking About Trees and documentary Kabul, City in The Wind tackling Afghani issues, are screened within the ongoing El Gouna Film Festival
Hani Mustafa , Thursday 26 Sep 2019
Whether as a dramatic focus or the background to a human story, political conflicts have made impressive film topics since the invention of cinema. Alain Resnais’s Hiroshima mon amour (1959), Roland Joffé’s The Killing Fields (1984), Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom (1987), Maroun Bagdadi’s Out of Life (1991), Marc Forster’s The Kite Runner (2007), Edward Zwick’s Blood Diamond (2007), Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker (2008) are but a handful of examples.
The third El Gouna Film Festival too features some such films, with the Middle East providing the lion’s share of them.
One is titled 1982, the long narrative debut of Lebanese filmmaker and producer Oulid Mouaness, which won the NETPAC Award (The Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) and will be screened in El Gouna’s feature narrative competition. As the title indicates, the film is set in Beirut during the Israeli invasion – one of the most talked about episodes of the Lebanese Civil War.
The filmmaker, who is also the scriptwriter, tells the story of Wassim, a boy in the fifth grade of elementary school who is experiencing the first crush of his life. The opening scene shows him entering the school searching for the locker of his colleague Joana to put a piece of paper inside it. In a dialogue between Wassim and his friend Majid he explains that she lives in west Beirut, and Majid asks if she is Muslim. But Wassim is not interested in this issue.
The light-hearted story and the age of Wassim might recall Ziad Doueiri’s West Beirut (1998), but there is also the relationship between Yasmine (Nadine Labaki, who is the director of Capernaum), Wassim’s school teacher, and her colleague Joseph. The director only hints at the ideological differences between Joseph and Yasmine’s brother George, which affect their relationship. And so Wassim is trying to express his feelings to Joana while Yasmine strives to stop her brother, who joins a militia. The film doesn’t stress which side he’s on, though at the start it is clear he will be fighting the Palestinians.
The action develops at one location during one day near the end of the school year while exams are being held in June 1982. The camera follows Wassim on his unstoppable exploits, with the dialogue between Wassim and Majid on one hand, and Joana and her friend Abeer on the other, beautifully and convincingly written. It is only at the very end that the big bang of the Israeli invasion occurs, and Wassim has made a drawing of a superhero which he slips into Joana’s locker, suggesting that he can save Beirut.
The Sudanese documentary Talking About Trees directed by Suhaib Gasmelbari discusses the dreadful situation of Sudenese cinema since the 1989 coup d’etat. It seems that the issue of Sudanese cinema and its history is the main focus of Gasmelbari, who made a short TV documentary about Sudanese cinema called Sudan’s Forgotten Films in 2017. During the past 30 years, it was the Islamic fundamentalism of the regime that shut don every last one of Sudan’s movie theatres, thus suppressing one of the most important channels of freedom of expression, and not simply a deteriorating economy.
Talking About Trees is Gasmelbari’s debut long film, which won the best documentary award and the Panorama Audience Award at the 2019 Berlinale, and is competing in El Gouna Film Festival Feature Documentary Competition, is about the Sudan Film Group (SFG), an association formed by four Sudanese senior filmmakers Ibrahim Shaddad, Al-Tayeb Mahdi, Suleiman Ibrahim and Manar Al Hilo in 1989. It shows their attempt to start their community activities of film screenings.
The opening scene shows Al Hilo sitting in the dark, probably at the SFG headquarter, on the phone having an absurd conversation about power cuts with a government employee. The scene ends with Shaddad saying that this situation was caused by the submissiveness of the people. “You don’t know how happy I am. Because of this film, we are going to do another film, and another film, and another film. Yes, this is my life.” Thus Shaddad soon after.
The director completes the first scene with a game played by the four senior filmmakers to overcome the situation in which they have created this imaginary set with Shaddad wearing a veil to represent a female addressing the camera in English in an exaggerated theatrical way about the greatness of cinema. Except there is no camera – only Ibrahim closing the palm of his hand to insinuate one, while the others play at being director and lighting man. It’s as if cinema becomes a mode of survival.
“The death of cinema was not natural at all,” Shaddad said during an interview with both him and Mahdi on a Sudanese radio channel. “It died suddenly. The sudden death of a hero is the work of a traitor. So if you want to know how it happens, search for the traitor.” This scene asserts the bitterness of those who used to work in the film industry when it was thriving in the 1970s and 1980s. The filmmaker shows some works of by four filmmakers, and he also focuses on their friendship. Later he accompanies them while they plan to continue their activities, without any direct intervention on his part.
Perhaps the director chose this very simple issue of entertaining the neighborhood by restoring their old movie theatre and starting its activities, as one of the basic needs of society. They felt that if they made one screening as a start with Tarantino’s Django, Unchained this would draw in most people in the neighborhood and it would be a great kick-off for their ambitious project. But when the government refuses to give them permission to start the project, it is Al-Bashir’s regime is the enemy. It is worth mentioning that this film was made a few months before the the Sudanese revolution against Al-Bashir broke out.
Kabul, City in the Wind
“The president told the people to pray for rain, but what about the suicide blasts.” That was a statement made by one of the Afghani men in a scene of the documentary Kabul, City in The Wind directed by Aboozar Amini.
The man was talking with his friends about one of the deadliest attacks by a Taliban suicide bomber in Deh Mazang Square in Afghani capital, killing more than 60 people and injuring dozens, in July 2016. Amini’s first long documentary, which won the First Appearance Award at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival and is participating in the Feature Documentary Competition, opens with Abbas, a bus driver who has used up all his money to buy a rickety bus to work through Kabul’s outskirts, singing in response to a friend’s request.
The lyrics are strange: “This is our beloved country, this is Afghanistan. This is the fatherland of thieves and conscienceless people”. Then the camera follows him while doing his job, driving through the narrow streets of Kabul’s poorest neighborhood.
The second dramatic line of the film follows Afshin, a young boy who has two younger brothers – Benjamin and Hussien – as he goes about his life in a poor neighborhood that counts among the hells of Kabul. Each line has a tragic core: Abbas, who is seen trying to repair the bus’s engine, loses the bus because he fails to pay its installments; and Asfin becomes responsible for his family when his father, a former soldier, leaves Afghanistan to settle in Iran.
The film shows the three boys as the watering the trees in the house as per their father’s rules, with Asfin giving instructions to his younger brothers to assert himself as the new patriarch. The filmmaker follows each story without any direct intervention, only using direct narration in a tight close shots of Abbas and Asfin to illustrate their struggle and suffering. On a much deeper level, Amini sometimes uses songs to penetrate to the core of the story. A song chanted by Benjamin to his little brother Hussien says, “Yellow Kitty stay home, don’t go to war, you may die”.
Afghanistan has been devastated since the Soviet invasion of the 1970s, followed by civil war and the ousting of the Taliban in 2001, which can be seen in such details as children playing inside a military tank. Amini covers the stories of his two protagonists with an atmosphere of dust and wind to show the hardships of life, while always aware of the terror and disruption caused by the attacks of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda.
*A version of this article appears in print in the 19 September, 2019 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
Hani Mustafa
Oulid Mouaness
Ibrahim Shaddad
Al-Tayeb Mahdi
Suleiman Ibrahim
Soviet invasion
City in The Wind
Shaddad
Manar Al Hilo
El Gouna Film Festival
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Lebanon’s deadlocked politicians fail again to choose president
Lebanese parliamentarians failed in their sixth attempt to elect a new president, extending the political vacuum that emerged when former President Michel Suleiman’s term ended two weeks ago. (File photo: Reuters)
By Tara Carmichael Reuters Beirut Monday, 9 June 2014
Lebanese parliamentarians failed on Monday in their sixth attempt to elect a new president, extending the political vacuum that emerged when former President Michel Suleiman’s term ended two weeks ago.
The deadlock comes as the spillover from neighbouring Syria’s civil war has deepened Lebanon’s own longstanding divisions.
Politicians from the March 8 coalition, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, boycotted Monday’s parliamentary session, depriving it of a quorum.
Even if sufficient parliamentarians showed up to vote it is unlikely a single candidate could win a clear majority. But the rival March 14 coalition, which supports Assad’s opponents in the Syrian conflict, laid the blame for the impasse with March 8.
The boycott “is exposing the institutions and the country to danger and endangering political stability,” Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb said outside parliament. “They (March 8) surely bear responsibility.”
Speaker Nabih Berri said parliament would meet again on June 18 for another attempt to break the deadlock. However without agreement between regional powerbrokers Saudi Arabia and Iran, who support March 14 and March 8 respectively, there is little prospect of agreement on a consensus candidate.
Political power in Lebanon is divided among religious communities, with the presidency allocated to a Maronite Christian, the parliament speaker’s post to a Shi’ite Muslim and the prime minister’s to a Sunni Muslim. Prime Minister Tammam Salam’s government has taken over some presidential duties in the interim.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who made a brief visit to Lebanon last week, said the deadlock was deeply troubling.
Central Bank governor Riad Salameh said on Monday it would also affect Lebanon’s economy, already struggling to cope with falling tourism revenues and the burden of hosting more than 1 million Syrian refugees, around a quarter of Lebanon’s population.
“This (presidential) vacancy and its impact on the other constitutional institutions will affect confidence and economic growth,” he told a conference in Beirut.
Last Update: Monday, 9 June 2014 KSA 19:49 - GMT 16:49
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Politicians from the March 8 coalition, which supports Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, boycotted Monday’s parliamentary session
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Things Jews Are Blamed For, Volume II: New York City
Greetings, blog readers! I'm in New York City for a wedding, and what better place to do the weekly "Things Jews Are Blamed For" series than the Big Apple? Now, I thought about just doing 9/11 for this entry but, come on, that's a gimme. The point of this series is to stretch our horizons a bit -- really reach down into that primordial id.
So instead of doing New York's greatest tragedy in living memory, I decided to go even bigger: New York. All of it. The entire city and state. Jews' are to blame. The site is "Incog Man" ("Sick of the BS" is the tag, right above a link to "The Rela Holocaust Deal"), the article is titled "Like They Say: It Really is 'JEW York City'" [link if you dare: http://incogman.net/2010/11/it-really-is-jew-york-city/]. Here's how it begins:
New York (City) is a place that is heavily influenced, and in the majority of instances, utterly controlled by the obscenely wealthy Zionist elite. The governorship is currently occupied by David Paterson, who replaced the disgraced Zionist Eliot Spitzer. Just two days after Spitzer stepped down, New York’s Zionist leaders fully endorsed Paterson, who had been well known for his charity activities in the Zionist community even prior to becoming governor (1). His lieutenant governor, who controls the state senate, is Richard Ravitch. Though his ascension to the position was ruled unlawful (2), he remains in power. Ravitch is a powerful Zionist whose construction company built Manhattan Plaza and Waterside Plaza and who has been involved in Zionist fund-raising for half of a century (3). The speaker of New York’s State Assembly is Zionist Sheldon Silver, and earlier this year, he made a request that Ravitch, and not Paterson, should take control of New York’s budget crisis (4).
New York’s US Senate members include the junior official, Kirsten Gillibrand, who stated that she will be an ‘unwavering supporter’ of the Zionist entity and ‘continue to assure Israel’s strategic military advantage in the region (5),’ and the senior official, long-familiar Zionist politician Chuck Schumer, who made it known that he thinks it makes sense to strangle Gaza economically (6). New York City’s representatives in the US House are entirely Zionist. Anthony Weiner, Jerrold Nadler, Nita Lowey, Steven Israel, Eliot Engel, and Gary Ackerman all support Israel unabashedly. New York City’s mayor is 9/11 criminal, the Zionist billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who regularly donates to pro-Israel charities (7). New York’s Department of Education is headed by Zionist Joel Klein, selected to serve by Bloomberg. Klein and Bloomberg finalized an agreement with the United Federation of Teachers’ President, Zionist Randi Weingarten, to have total dominion over New York’s school system (8).
The diamond industry in New York has always been a ‘Jewish’ establishment since the city’s inception (9), and once the plot to create Israel was hatched, the diamond district began funneling dollars to the Zionist power brokers. The Diamonds Dealers Club (DDC), the elite ‘club’ within the diamond district that makes all of the important decisions, has a board of directors and an arbitrators’ committee comprised of several Israeli-born Zionists, and is owned and operated by Zionists Moshe Mosbacher, who serves as President, and Martin Hochbaum, who serves as Managing Director (10). The former president of DDC, Jacob Banda, who recently died, was a staunch Zionist who contributed substantial amounts to Hatzalah, a Jews-only ambulance service that is prominent in Israel (11). New York’s diamond district is going through a renovation process that will model it after Israel’s Diamond Exchange (12). All of Israel’s top diamond exporters have offices within the New York diamond district. The transactions being processed represent billions of dollars for the Zionist entity (13).
The most famous, and most influential New York city paper is the New York Times, owned by the Ochs-Sulzberger family, a wealthy Zionist creed that has donated to pro-Israel causes for more than 100 years despite outwardly opposing the usurping entity at times so the family appears ‘non-Zionist’ (14). To this very day, it operates with a strong bias for the Zionist state and reinforces the negative portrayal of Arabs and Muslims in accordance with the other mainstream media outlets (15). The NASDAQ is controlled by Zionist Robert Greifeld, who signed an agreement with Ester Levanon, the CEO of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to formalize a ‘closer relationship’ between the two markets (16). The Dow Jones is controlled by the CME Group, owned by Christian Zionists Terrence Duffy and Craig Donohue. Duffy and Donohue purchased the stock exchange from News Corp, owned by infamous Zionist Rupert Murdoch. Duffy and Donohue were honored by Hebrew University earlier this year for their ‘strong support of the state of Israel,’ with Duffy receiving the Zionist school’s National Scopus Award (17). Hebrew University is built on illegally occupied land in Jerusalem. Wall Street is crawling with Zionists, and every company involved in the recent criminal bailout of the banking industry had deep loyalties to the illegitimate terror state. Several of the financial giants were also connected to the 9/11 false flag attack (18).
It goes on (and on and on), but the upshot is apparently this: "It is perfectly reasonable to hypothesize, considering how much financial clout and political power the Zionists possess, that any project, structure, or event going against their interest in New York wouldn't be able to come to fruition." I'd like to make a crack about the size of my hotel room, but I've actually been pleasantly surprised. Then again, I am Jewish, so presumably the Sheraton bent over backwards to give me this 6th floor masterpiece.
In any event, the verdict is clear: If it happens in New York, it's the Jews' fault. Tune in next week, for more exciting adventures in "Things Jews Are Blamed For"!
Labels: anti-semitism, Jews, New York City, things Jews are blamed for
Johann Gottlieb Fichte previously gained mentioned on this blog for advocating that, as a prerequisite for their getting civil rights, Jewish "heads should be cut off in one night and replaced with others not containing a single Jewish idea." This quote, while equally revealing, is somewhat less revolting:
"What sort of philosophy one chooses depends, therefore, on what sort of [person] one is; for a philosophical system is not a dead piece of furniture that we accept or reject as we wish; it is rather a thing animated by the soul of the person who holds it."
Johann Gottlieb Fichte, The Science of Knowledge (Wissenschaftslehre) 16 (Heath and Lachs, trans., Appleton-Century Crofts 1970) (1797).
To some extent, our philosophies act as constraints on what sorts of behaviors we're willing to engage in, but to a much larger extent what behaviors we feel are important or valuable or worthwhile constrain the philosophies we are willing to accept. When last I made this point (with respect to our judicial interpretative philosophies), I illustrated it by a conversation in Firefly between River Tam and the bounty hunter Jubal Early:
River: You hurt people.
Early: Only when the job requires it.
River: Wrong. You're a bad liar. [...] You like to hurt folk.
Early: It's part of the job.
River: It's why you took the job.
Sometimes the fruits of our philosophical positions are just "part of the job." More often though, I suspect, they're why we adapted the philosophy in the first place.
Labels: Firefly, legal philosophy, philosophy
Here's something you don't see everyday:
Two Orthodox rabbis and two others were arrested for allegedly kidnapping and beating men in order to force them to grant their wives religious Jewish divorces.
The men were arrested Wednesday night in a monthlong sting operation in which a female FBI agent posed as an Orthodox woman trying to get a religious divorce, or “get,” from her husband.
The problem whereby Jewish men do not give their wives a get, and thus prevent them from remarrying, is a well-known issue in the Orthodox Jewish community. They've come up with a variety of different responses, most of which are variations on social shaming techniques. This is the first I've heard of vigilante beatings, though.
The simple solution, of course, is to allow either party to file a get. Gender egalitarianism -- is there any problem it can't solve?
Labels: divorce, Jews, women
Private Eyes, Public Lies
A Texas high school teacher was discovered to have had nude photos of her taken while she was in college. Some parents are calling for her to be fired. Students, by contrast, are reallying to save her job (via). At the Texas Monthly, Dan Solomon asks if we're entering a new era where having some old naked photos crop up isn't a big deal. Naked selfies are becoming so common, he argues, that people will soon no longer be able to muster up any outrage about them.
This is something I've thought of a lot -- less from the naked selfie perspective than from the more general fact that far more of our lives (and particularly our young lives) are documented for posterity than ever before. As a society, we are forgetting how to forget -- everything you do is part of your permanent profile. Young people are constantly warned that those Facebook pictures of themselves at the kegger in high school could have serious consequences when they try to apply for jobs. Old transgressions can come back to shame people years later with a few well-placed google searches.
And that may be true, in the short-term. But in the long-term, I suspect it's more likely that we will systematically recalibrate our expectations. The shock value of a picture showing a guy passed out on the couch surrounded by PBR cans is dramatically diminished when the HR director has the same photos floating around. If everyone has embarrassing photos, dumb teen angsty poetry, and nude self-portraits scattered throughout the internet, then nobody does.
This has more profound consequences than I think are typically acknowledged. We talk about the dangers of the internet's limitless memory as if I current conceptions of shame, guilt, condemnation, and even personal continuity will survive intact. But it's at least as likely that the fact that a documented past is now the norm rather than the exception will cause significant alterations to all of these things. The regulation of underage drinking, for example, occurs now even though it is exceptionally likely that virtually every state and federal politician drank while underage. We know that, but we don't know that, and if a picture surfaced of Congressman John Doe drunk while in college would still be news. It's a different thing when the existence of these photos is commonplace and mainstream -- it prevents us from even maintaining the facade to shield ourselves from charges of hypocrisy -- or so I think.
The result, I hope, is a more forgiving society. If everyone's dirty laundry is out there for the rest to see, there's no sense preserving its status as reputation-annihilating. Reputation is a collective action problem, and the share-everything mentality of the internet helps resolve it. Or so I think.
Labels: internet, privacy
A War of All Against All
Some gamers usee Scribblenauts to answer the ultimate question: Who would win a fight (everybody edition)? The ultimate champion may be a surprise.
Labels: games, humor
Better Than Newt
This strikes me as a reach:
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told his Republican colleagues that the shutdown has improved the GOP's position in a closed-door lunch on Wednesday, according to the Washington Examiner.
Cruz paid for a poll conducted by Chris Perkins, of Republican polling firm Wilson Perkins Allen. The poll found results similar to those run by national firms this week, which showed Republicans taking the majority of blame for the shutdown. Only 28 percent of Americans have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party, according to findings from Gallup released Wednesday.
However, Cruz argued that because the shutdown resulted from a disagreement over Obamacare, not spending in general, Republicans are in a better position now than they were in 1995, according to the Examiner.
Cruz's poll found that 46 percent blame the 2013 shutdown on Republicans, while 51 percent blamed the 1995 shutdown on Republicans, according to the Examiner.
The public hates us, but not as much as they hated Newt Gingrich does not an effective rallying cry make.
Labels: Newt Gingrich, Ted Cruz
Roadspierre
Well this will certainly brighten the grim DC mood:
On October 11th, a group of right-wing truckers is planning to drive to DC to shut down the major commuter highway that circles the city. They’ll continue to block traffic, they say, until they see the arrest of elected officials who have “violated their oath of office.”
Organizers of the event, which is titled “Truckers Ride for the Constitution,” say they are fed up with a variety of headaches caused by the government: Fuel efficiency standards enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, Obamacare, state and local laws over idling their trucks, and “insurance companies purportedly requiring technological updates,” according to US News and World Report.
They say that to demonstrate against violations of the constitution, they plan to circle interstate 495 — known widely as the beltway — and not allow through any traffic. If police try to stop them, they’ll park their trucks right on the highway.
Originally, reports from US News and World Report indicated the truckers were looking to impeach President Obama. But Earl Conlon, an organizer of the event, told US News, “We’re not asking for impeachment, we’re asking for the arrest of everyone in government who has violated their oath of office.” These include House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), both for purportedly arming al Qaeda linked Syrian rebels.
Oh joy. But wait! I take the Communist Socialist Metro for my commute! Joke's on them!
Labels: DC, extremism, idiots, transportation
When Friends Get Too Close
Poor Ken Cuccinelli -- his friends are his worst enemy. First one of his supporters makes an anti-Semitic joke while introducing him at a rally (to Cuccinelli's credit he immediately condemned the remark). Now he's taking great steps to avoid being associated with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) -- a goal with which Cruz is not exactly cooperating:
In the clearest sign yet of the potent effect of the government shutdown on the Virginia governor’s race, Republican Ken Cuccinelli avoided being photographed with Ted Cruz at a gala they headlined here Saturday night—even leaving before the Texas senator rose to speak.
For his part, Cruz heaped praise on his “friend” Cuccinelli and argued passionately in a 54-minute speech that their party can still win the messaging fight over the shutdown if the people just speak out loudly enough.
“Ken is smart, he’s principled and he’s fearless,” said Cruz, in a line that may give the left fodder for attack ads, given how the campaign has gone. “And that last characteristic in particular is a rare, rare commodity in elected life. There are so many elected officials in both parties that desperately crave the adulation of the media and the intelligentsia.”
That sequence honestly made me laugh out loud -- I can just imagine Cooch backstage muttering "shutupshutupshutup!"
Cruz, of course, does not shut up.
Labels: Ken Cuccinelli, Ted Cruz, Virginia
Things Jews Are Blamed For: Inaugural Fukushima Edition
I'm tempted to start an ongoing weekly series entitled "things Jews are blamed for" (it could be daily or hourly content-wise, but I have my sanity to think). It will feature various things going on the world and how somebody, somewhere, is convinced the Jews are at fault.
Today's entrant: Jews caused the Fukushima disaster. [http://firstlightforum.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/jews-sabotage-fukushima-power-plant-as-payback-for-japans-support-of-an-independent-palestinian-state/ -- in general I won't be directly linking to the sites in question for obvious reasons].
Labels: anti-semitism, conspiracy theories, Jews, things Jews are blamed for
Things Jews Are Blamed For, Volume II: New York Ci...
Things Jews Are Blamed For: Inaugural Fukushima Ed...
Today’s Left Can’t Afford to Ignore the White Working Class
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Title: Greater London
Subject: List of English districts by population, List of primary destinations on the United Kingdom road network, List of English districts by area, Infobox UK place/testcases2, London
Collection: Ceremonial Counties, Counties of England Established in 1965, Geography of London, Greater London, Interested Parties in Planning in England, Local Government in London, Metropolitan Areas of England, Nuts 1 Statistical Regions of England, Nuts 1 Statistical Regions of the European Union
County of Greater London
London region
County and region
Greater London shown within England
City & Greater London
London Government Act 1963
Ken Olisa
1st of 48
5,223/km2 (13,530/sq mi)
59.8% White (of which 44.9% White British)
18.4% Asian
5% Mixed
3.4% Other
8,546,761 (mid-2014 estimate)[1]
www.london.gov.uk
Counties of Greater London
Districts of Greater London
33 districts
Barking and Dagenham
City of London Police and Metropolitan Police
London, or Greater London, is a region of England consisting of 33 districts: the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. The Greater London Authority is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
Greater London is a ceremonial county of England. It was created on 1 April 1965, covering the 32 London boroughs, and excludes the City of London.[2][3][4]
The region covers 1,572 km2 (607 sq mi) and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census.[5][6] It has the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232.[7][8]
Proposals to expand the County of London 1.1
Greater London is formally created 1.2
London Assembly 3.1
UK Parliament 3.2
European Parliament 3.3
Status 3.4
Strategic local government 3.5
Local government 3.6
Demography 4
Ethnic groups 4.1
Population 4.2
Wider population 4.3
Universities 7.1
Twinning 8
Geographical 9.1
Political 9.2
Historical 9.3
London is divided into the small City of London and the much wider Greater London. This arrangement has come about because as the area of London grew and absorbed neighbouring settlements, a series of administrative reforms did not amalgamate the City of London with the surrounding metropolitan area, and its unique political structure was retained. Outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965.
London became a greater and still greater accumulation of towns, an immense colony of dwellings where people still live in their own home in small communities with local government just as they had done in the Middle Ages.
— Steen Eiler Rasmussen, 1934
The term Greater London was used well before 1965, particularly to refer to the Metropolitan Police District (such as in the 1901 census),[9] the area of the Metropolitan Water Board (favoured by the London County Council for statistics),[10] the London Passenger Transport Area and the area defined by the Registrar General as the Greater London Conurbation.[11] The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916.[12] One of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles (4,810 km2) and included 9 million people.[10]
Proposals to expand the County of London
Although the London County Council was created covering the County of London in 1889, the county did not cover all the built-up area, particularly West Ham and East Ham, and many of the LCC housing projects, including the vast Becontree Estates, were outside its boundaries.[13] The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan and City Police Districts there were 122 housing authorities. A Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue.[14][15] The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties.[16] Protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority.[17] The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCC's scheme. Two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission.[18] Reform of local government in the County of London and its environs was next considered by the Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London chaired by Sir Edwin Herbert which issued the 'Herbert Report' after three years of work in 1960. The commission applied three tests to decide if a community should form part of Greater London: how strong is the area as an independent centre in its own right; how strong are its ties to London; and how strongly is it drawn outwards towards the country rather than inwards towards London.
Greater London is formally created
Arms of the former Greater London Council
Greater London was formally created by the London Government Act 1963, which came into force on 1 April 1965, replacing the administrative counties of Middlesex and London, including the City of London, where the London County Council had limited powers, and absorbing parts of Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Surrey. Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council (GLC) sharing power with the City of London Corporation (governing the small City of London) and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985. Its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards.[19]
Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994. A referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the county. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999. In 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone (L), who had been the final leader of the GLC. The 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson (C).
Greater London continues to form the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers so includes in five boroughs significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a similar way to the city's parks. The closest and furthest boundaries are with Essex: between Sewardstonebury next to Epping Forest and Chingford and with the Mar Dyke between Bulphan and North Ockendon. It is bounded by the other home counties of Hertfordshire to the north, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire to the west, Kent to the south east and Surrey to the south. The highest point is Westerham Heights, in the North Downs and on the boundary with Kent, at 245 metres (804 ft).
Central government has implemented small boundary changes. The greatest were the 1969 transfers of Farleigh to Surrey and Knockholt to Kent.[20] Others have included exchange of two Thames islands with Surrey and adjustments during the 1990s that adjusted parts of the boundaries of three boroughs which happened to be near to the M25 motorway.[21] The only part of Greater London outside of this motorway is North Ockendon, the furthest land unit from its centre.
The majority of Greater London forms the London low emission zone effective from 4 February 2008.
Notable places in Greater London
politics and government of
(four-yearly) local elections in London, 2014
Mayor: Boris Johnson
Deputy: Roger Evans
1998 referendum; 1999 Act;
London Assembly - Constituencies:
Mayoral elections and
London Assembly (four-yearly) election, 2012
City of London Corporation:
Lord Mayor; Sheriff; Wards;
Court of Aldermen
Parliamentary constituencies in London
Results of 2015 General Election within London
European Parliament constituency
(four-yearly) 2014 election
British politics portal
The Greater London Authority is based in City Hall
Logo of the Greater London Authority
Greater London's governance is summarised on the right.
For elections to the London Assembly, London is divided into 14 constituencies, each formed from two or three boroughs. The City of London forms part of the City and East constituency.
London is divided into 73 Parliamentary borough constituencies, formed from the combined area of several wards from one or more boroughs. Typically a borough is covered by two or three constituencies.
London is covered by a single Parliamentary constituency in the European Parliament.
Greater London is a region of England, and does not have city status granted by the Crown. The Cities of London and Westminster within it have received formal city status.[22][notes 1] Despite this, Greater London is commonly regarded as a city in the general sense of a municipality. A Lord Lieutenant of Greater London is appointed for its area, less the City of London, and for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997, this area is defined as a county.[23]
The term "London" is normally used in reference to Greater London or to the conurbation, but not often to the ancient, tiny City of London.[2][24] This small area is often referred to as "the City" or "the Square Mile" and it forms the main financial district. Archaically, the urbanised area of London was known as the Metropolis. In common usage, the terms "London" and "Greater London" are usually used interchangeably.[2] It is officially divided for some purposes, with varying definitions, into Inner London and Outer London. For some strategic planning purposes it is divided into five sub regions.
Strategic local government
Greater London is under the strategic local governance of the Greater London Authority (GLA).[25] It comprises an elected assembly, the London Assembly, and an executive head, the Mayor of London.[26]
The current Mayor (not to be confused with the Lord Mayor of London) is Boris Johnson. He is scrutinised by the elected London Assembly, which may amend his annual budget (by two-thirds majority) but otherwise lacks the power to block his directives. The headquarters of the GLA is at City Hall in Southwark. The Mayor is responsible for Greater London's strategic planning and is required to produce or amend the London Plan each electoral cycle.
Greater London is divided into 32 London Boroughs, each governed by a London Borough council, and the City of London, which has a unique government dating back to the 12th century.[2]
All London Borough councils belong to the London Councils association. Three London Boroughs carry the honorific title of Royal Borough: Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston, and Greenwich. Within the City of London are the liberties of Middle Temple and Inner Temple.
2011 United Kingdom Census[27]
United Kingdom 5,175,677
India 262,247
Poland 158,300
Ireland 129,807
Nigeria 114,718
Pakistan 112,457
Bangladesh 109,948
Jamaica 87,467
Sri Lanka 84,542
France 66,654
Somalia 65,333
Kenya 64,212
United States 63,920
Ghana 62,896
Italy 62,050
Turkey 59,596
South Africa 57,765
Germany 55,476
Romania 44,848
Philippines 44,199
Cyprus 43,428
Portugal 41,041
Lithuania 39,817
Afghanistan 37,680
Iran 37,339
Spain 35,880
Uganda 32,136
Brazil 31,357
High resolution view from the top of Tolworth Tower in South West London over the sprawling suburban housing that is typical in some areas of Greater London
With increasing industrialisation, London's population grew rapidly throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, and it was the most populated city in the world until overtaken by New York in 1925. Its population peaked at 8,615,245 in 1939. There were an estimated 7,753,600 official residents in mid-2009.
London's continuous urban area extends beyond the borders of Greater London and was home to an estimated 9,332,000 people in 2005, while its wider metropolitan area has a population of between 12 and 14 million depending on the definition of that area. According to Eurostat, London is the most populous city and metropolitan area of the European Union.
The region covers an area of 1,579 square kilometres. The population density is 4,761 people per square kilometre, more than ten times that of any other British region. In terms of population, London is the 25th largest city and the 17th largest metropolitan region in the world. It is ranked 4th in the world in the number of US dollar billionaires residing in the city. It ranks as one of the most expensive cities in the world, alongside Tokyo and Moscow.
In the 2001 census, 71.15% of the population classed their ethnic group as white, including White British (59.79%), White Irish (3.07%) or "Other White" (8.29%, mostly Greek-Cypriot, Italian and French). 12.09% classed themselves as British Asian, including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and "Other Asian" (mostly Sri Lankan, Arab and other Southern Asian ethnicities). 10.91% classed themselves as Black British (around 6% as Black African, 4% as Black Caribbean, 0.84% as "Other Black"). 3.15% were of mixed race; 1.12% as Chinese; and 1.58% as other (mostly Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other "British Orientals"). 21.8% of inhabitants were born outside the European Union. The Irish, from both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, number about 200,000, as do the Scots and Welsh combined.
In January 2005, a survey of London's ethnic and religious diversity claimed that there were more than 300 languages spoken and more than 50 non-indigenous communities with a population of more than 10,000. Figures from the Office for National Statistics show that in 2006 London's foreign-born population was 2,288,000 (31%), up from 1,630,000 in 1997. The 2001 census showed that 27.1% of the population were born outside the UK, and a slightly higher proportion were classed as non-white.
The table shows the top 21 countries of birth of residents in 2011, the date of the last UK Census.[28] These figures do not give a fair indication of the total population of the specific ethnic groups associated with each country. For example, Londoners of Greek origin (from both Greece and Cyprus) number 300,000, since an organised Greek community has been established for nearly two centuries. The same can be said for Italian and French Londoners whose communities have been here for centuries (the French Embassy estimates there are between 300,000 and 400,000 French citizens living in the UK, with "a huge majority of them living in London").[29] Though a Polish community has existed in London since the late Middle Ages, it was not significant in the 2001 census but has grown significantly since 2004 and by June 2010 London had 122,000 Polish residents.[30] The German-born population figure may be misleading, however, because it includes British nationals born to parents serving in the British armed forces in Germany.
London has been a focus for immigration for centuries, whether as a place of safety or for economic reasons. Huguenots, eastern European Jews, Cypriots and East African Asians are examples of the former; Irish, Bangladeshis and West Indians came for new lives. The East End district around Spitalfields has been first home for several ethnic groups, which have subsequently moved elsewhere in London as they gained prosperity.
Population of Greater London (estimated)
The population of the current area of Greater London rose from about 1.1 million in 1801 (when only about 850,000 people were in the urban area, while 250,000 were living in villages and towns not yet part of London) to an estimated 8.6 million in 1939, but declined to 6.7 million in 1988, before starting to rebound in the 1990s.
By 2006, the population had recovered to the level of 1970 (and the level of population in the 1920s). It is now approaching the 1939 peak.
Figures here are for Greater London in its 2001 limits. Figures before 1971 have been reconstructed by the Office for National Statistics based on past censuses to fit the 2001 limits. Figures from 1981 onward are mid-year estimates (revised in August 2007), which are more accurate than the censuses, known to underestimate the population of London.
1891 5–6 April 5,572,012
1901 31 March – 1 April 6,506,954
1921 19–20 June 7,386,848
1931 26–27 April 8,110,480
1939 Mid-year estimate 8,615,245
1965 Greater London formally created
1981 Mid-year estimate 6,805,000[31]
2006 Mid-year estimate 7,512,400[6]
Wider population
Greater London is not exactly coterminous with London's built-up area and a wider Greater London Urban Area is used for mainly statistical purposes. London's wider metropolitan area is known as the London commuter belt, with a variety of definitions.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added (GVA) of Inner London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Regional Gross Value Added[40]
Agriculture[41]
Industry[42]
Services[43]
1995 64,616 7 8,147 56,461
2000 92,330 6 10,094 82,229
2003 112,090 12 10,154 101,924
Eurostat data shows the GDP of Inner London to be 232 billion euros in 2009[44] and per capita GDP of 78,000 euros.
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Outer London at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
1995 44,160 51 10,801 33,307
Eurostat data shows the GDP of Outer London to be 103 billion euros in 2009[44] and per capita GDP of 21,460 euros.
Westminster Abbey. A World Heritage Site and location of the coronation of British monarchs.
The largest religious groupings are Christian (48.4%), Muslim (12.4%), Hindu (5.1%), Jewish (1.8%), and Sikh (1.5%), alongside those of no religion (20.7%). The United Kingdom has traditionally been Christian, and London has a large number of churches, particularly in the City. St Paul's Cathedral in the City and Southwark Cathedral south of the river are Anglican administrative centres, while the head of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has his main residence at Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth.
Important national and royal ceremonies are shared between St Paul's and Westminster Abbey. The Abbey is not to be confused with nearby Westminster Cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic cathedral in England and Wales. Religious practice in London is lower than in any other part of the UK or Western Europe and is around seven times lower than American averages. Despite the prevalence of Anglican churches, weekly observance is low within that denomination, although in recent years church attendance, particularly at evangelical Anglican churches in London, has started to increase.
London is home to sizeable Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, and Jewish communities. Many Muslims live in Tower Hamlets and Newham; the most important Muslim buildings are the East London Mosque in Whitechapel and the London Central Mosque on the edge of Regent's Park. London's large Hindu community is in the north-western boroughs of Harrow and Brent, the latter containing one of Europe's largest Hindu temples, Neasden Temple.
Sikh communities are in East and West London, which is also home to some of the largest Sikh temples in Europe. The majority of British Jews live in London, with significant communities in Stamford Hill (the most Orthodox Jewish area outside New York City and Israel) and St. John's Wood, Golders Green, and Edgware in North London.
University College London, a part of the University of London.
Publicly funded education has been administered through 33 LEAs, which correspond to the City of London and the 32 London boroughs, since the 1990 enactment of the Education Reform Act 1988.[45] From 1965 to 1990, 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London were served by the Inner London Education Authority.[45]
The introduction of comprehensive schools, directed by Circular 10/65 in 1965, was mostly followed in Greater London; however, 19 grammar schools have been retained in some Outer London boroughs,[46] with Sutton having the most with five, followed by Bexley with four and others in five other boroughs. In these boroughs the state schools outperform the (relatively few) independent schools. In inner London, private schools always get the best results and are larger in number. At GCSE and A level, Outer London boroughs have broadly better results than Inner London boroughs.[47]
At GCSE, the best borough is Kingston upon Thames, closely followed by Sutton. Both boroughs have selective schools, and get the top two average GCSE results in England for LEAs. Next is Kensington and Chelsea, the third best in England, then Redbridge, Hammersmith and Fulham, Bromley, Barnet and Harrow. Only ten boroughs have GCSE results under the England average, and some inner-London boroughs have surprisingly good results considering where they lie on the scale of deprivation, e.g. Lambeth. Overall at GCSE in 2009, Greater London had the best results for regions of England. Greater London is generally a prosperous region, and prosperous areas generally have good GCSE results. The City of London has no state schools, just two independent schools. Haringey and Kensington and Chelsea have the most people that pass no GCSEs.
At A-level, the average results for LEAs are disappointing compared to their good GCSE results. Although Kingston upon Thames gets the best GCSE results in England, at A-level it is not even above average. Sutton gets the best A-level results in London and in England. Three of the schools in the top four at A-level in London are in Sutton. It has only one independent school. The few other boroughs with above-average A-level results are Havering, Barnet, Bexley, Redbridge, and Ealing. The poor A-level results in many London boroughs is explained by the quantity of independent schools getting good A-level results. The state school system is often bypassed at age 16 by the more able pupils. Some London boroughs need more good sixth form colleges.
The region's 34 further education colleges are funded through the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency. Large colleges include Kingston College, Havering College of Further and Higher Education, and Croydon College.
The University of London has 20 federated colleges and schools. The main two higher education institutions (HEIs) are (in order of total funding) University College London (UCL) and King's College London (KCL). KCL and UCL are part of the University of London, and Imperial College was part of this university until 2007, and is now an independent university. UCL and Imperial have very large research grants – some of the largest in England after Cambridge and Oxford. KCL also has a large research grant, and one of the largest in England. The next largest institution by funding is Queen Mary University of London, followed by Goldsmiths, University of London. The top three institutions get more than twice as much total income than any other institution in the region, with UCL and Imperial around £600 million each. The region has many medical schools, and one vet school, the Royal Veterinary College (which also has a main site at North Mymms in Hertfordshire) in Camden. The RVC has the lowest drop-out rate in the region.
By student numbers, the top five universities are: London Metropolitan University, the University of Westminster, Middlesex University, the University of Greenwich, and City University London.
50% of students come from the region, and around 30% from other regions. Most students from other regions come from South East England, the East of England, and, to a lesser degree, South West England; the vast majority are from the south of England. Over 50% students native to the region stay in the region, with 15% going to South East England, 30% to either Scotland, Wales or the North East and around 5% go elsewhere. London is a draw for UK graduates from all over the UK.
Over 70% of UK students to graduate from the University of London remain in London; just under 15% go to the South-East, and just over 5% go to the East of England and 10% elsewhere.
The GLA has twin and sister city agreements with the following cities.[48]
Shanghai Municipality
Beijing Municipality
For Borough twinning, see List of twin towns and sister cities in the United Kingdom#London.
London borough
Greater London Urban Area
London commuter belt
Metropolitan Police District
M25 motorway
List of Lord Lieutenants of Greater London
List of High Sheriffs of Greater London
London Plan
Metropolitan Board of Works
County of London
Greater London Council
Greater London Area War Risk Study
^ Croydon and Southwark have made several failed applications for city status
^ a b "MYE2: Population Estimates by single year of age and sex for local authorities in the UK, mid-2014". ONS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^ a b c d Travers, T., The Politics of London, (2004)
^ London Government Act 1963
^ Administration of Justice Act 1964
^ Watson, Jo (25 July 2009). "Access to Nature Regional Targeting Plan - LONDON" (pdf). Natural England.
^ a b c "T 08: 2011 Census – Population and Household Estimates for England and Wales, March 2011" (PDF).
^ "Regional Gross Value Added highest in London in 2012". Office for National Statistics. ONS (2014). Retrieved 2014-09-17.
^ Glass, R., London: aspects of change (1964).
^ Vision of Britain -Census 1901: Preliminary Report
^ a b Young, K. & Garside, P., Metropolitan London: Politics and Urban Change, (1982)
^ Westergaard, J., The Structure of Greater London, London: Aspects of Change, (1961)
^ The Motorway Archive — The origins of the London Orbital Motorway (M25)
^ Saint, A., Politics and the people of London: the London County Council (1889–1965), (1989)
^ London Local Government. The Times. 18 April 1921.
^ Complex London: Big Task For Inquiry Commission. The Times. 5 August 1921.
^ Greater London: Case for Central Authority: Area and Powers. The Times. 14 December 1921.
^ Windsor and Greater London: Protests Against Proposals. The Times. 27 December 1921
^ Greater London: Report of Royal Commission. The Times. 22 March 1923.
^ 'The Government of London: the struggle for reform' by Gerald Rhodes (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1970 ISBN 0-297-00031-4
^ The Greater London, Kent and Surrey Order, 1968
^ The Greater London and Surrey Order, 1970
^ Westminster City Council – One City — An Introduction
^ HMSO, Lieutenancies Act 1997, (1997)
^ Mills, A., Dictionary of London Place Names, (2001), Oxford
^ Jones, B. et al., Politics UK, (2004)
^ Arden Chambers Barristers, A Guide to the Greater London Authority Act, (2000)
^ "Table QS213EW 2011 Census: Country of birth (expanded), regions in England and Wales". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 15 July 2015.
^ "Greater London Authority – Summary of 'Country-of-Birth' in London" (PDF). Greater London Authority. Retrieved 6 June 2008.
^ "London, France's sixth biggest city".
^ "Polish people in the UK".
^ "T 08: Quinary age group and sex for local authorities in England and Wales; estimated resident population based on the 1991 Census; Mid-1981 Population Estimates.".
^ "T 08h: Mid-1988 Population Estimates; Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in England and Wales; estimated resident population revised in light of results of the 2001 Census".
^ "T 09a: Mid-1991 Population Estimates; Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population".
^ "T 08: Selected age groups for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population; revised in light of the local authority population studies; Mid-2001 Population Estimates".
^ "T 09L: Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population Mid-2002 Population Estimates; reflecting the revisions due to improved international migration".
^ "T 09m: Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population Mid-2003 Population Estimates; reflecting the revisions due to improved international migration".
^ "T 09n: Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population Mid-2004 Population Estimates; reflecting the revisions due to improved international migration".
^ "T 09p: Quinary age groups and sex for local authorities in the United Kingdom; estimated resident population Mid-2005 Population Estimates; reflecting the revisions due to improved international migration".
^ "Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Mid-2013". 26 June 2014. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
^ a b Components may not sum to totals due to rounding
^ a b includes hunting and forestry
^ a b includes energy and construction
^ a b includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured Hi
^ a b http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/1-13032012-AP/EN/1-13032012-AP-EN.PDF
^ a b Tomlinson, S., Education in a post-welfare society, (2001)
^ BBC News – What future for grammar schools?. 15 February 2003.
^ OFSTED, Improvements in London schools 2000–06, (2006)
^ The Mayor of London's City Partnerships webpage
^ Sister City Relationships between China and the United Kingdom, Chinese Embassy, 16 July 2015.
^ "Beijing, London to be sister cities", China Daily, 11 April 2006. Retrieved on 6 June 2006.
^ "Sister City – London".
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Regulatory effect of TLR3 signaling on staphylococcal enterotoxin-induced IL-5, IL-13, IL-17A and IFN-γ production in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps
K0005427_other1.pdf 976 KB
Okano, Mitsuhiro Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Fujiwara, Tazuko Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Kariya, Shin Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kakenhi
Higaki, Takaya Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Makihara, Sei-ichiro Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kagawa Rosai Hospital
Haruna, Takenori Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Noyama, Yasuyuki Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Koyama, Takahisa Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Omichi, Ryotaro Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Orita, Yorihisa Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Miki, Kentaro Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Kanai, Kengo Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Kagawa Prefectural Central Hospital
Nishizaki, Kazunori Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences Kakenhi
BACKGROUND: Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is expressed in upper airways, however, little is known regarding whether Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) signals exert a regulatory effect on the pathogenesis of chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), especially on eosinophilic inflammation. We sought to investigate the effect of Poly(IC), the ligand for TLR3, on cytokine production by dispersed nasal polyp cells (DNPCs). METHODS: DNPCs were pretreated with or without Poly(IC), and were then cultured in the presence or absence of staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB), following which the levels of IL-5, IL-10, IL-13, IL-17A and interferon (IFN)-γ in the supernatant were measured. To determine the involvement of IL-10 and cyclooxygenase in Poly(IC)-mediated signaling, DNPCs were treated with anti-IL-10 monoclonal antibody and diclofenac, the cyclooxygenase inhibitor, respectively. Poly(IC)-induced prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production was also determined. RESULTS: Exposure to Poly(IC) induced a significant production of IL-10, but not of IL-5, IL-13, IL-17A or IFN-γ by DNPCs. Pretreatment with Poly(IC) dose-dependently inhibited SEB-induced IL-5, IL-13 and IL-17A, but not IFN-γ production. Neutralization of IL-10 significantly abrogated the inhibitory effect of Poly(IC). Treatment with diclofenac also abrogated the inhibitory effect of Poly(IC) on SEB-induced IL-5 and IL-13 production. However, unlike exposure of diclofenac-treated DNPCs to lipopolysaccharide, the ligand for TLR4, exposure of these cells to Poly(IC) did not enhance IL-5 or IL-13 production. Poly(IC) did not significantly increase PGE2 production by DNPCs. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that TLR3 signaling regulates eosinophilia-associated cytokine production in CRSwNP, at least in part, via IL-10 production.
Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps
Poly(IC)
Allergology international : official journal of the Japanese Society of Allergology
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.alit.2015.08.005
http://ousar.lib.okayama-u.ac.jp/54846
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Speaking with Indiewire, HBO programming president Casey Bloys warned that it might be a bit of a wait for more Westworld after the first season finishes airing.
"Westworld is such a big and ambitious show I'm not sure it will be fall 2017, it could go into 2018," Bloys said. "We'll have to see when we get it up and running."
Westworld isn't the only show to pick up a renewal from HBO. They've also greenlit more episodes of Divorce and Insecure.
"I wanted to wait a few weeks to make sure the ratings held up and were doing well," Bloys said of the shows. "All three seem to be connecting critic-wise, with audiences and culturally. They're doing exactly what you want a show to do, which is getting fans excited."
Eugene Levy Gave Hamilton a Shout-Out During the SAG Awards
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Netflix has obtained the global streaming rights to 21 Studio Ghibli movies, including My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, Howl's Moving...
It's David Lynch's 74th birthday today, and you can celebrate it along with him by watching his new Netflix short "What Did Jack Do?" After...
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"Heritage: Book One of the Gairden Chronicles" by ...
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GUEST POST: Civilization Beneath The Ashes by Carrie Patel
For me, the most interesting parts of stories and worlds are the portions most often left unseen. This is what The Buried Life is about. It’s the foundation of the city of Recoletta and the characters who inhabit it.
Recoletta is a city built on secrets—it exists beneath the ruin of a world that was destroyed generations ago, and its history has been happily forgotten by most of the people who live there. Casual corruption, back-room deals, and false fronts are the order of the day. Just as the city underground is covered by a layer of ornamental buildings, so the residents hide their scheming with tact and decorum.
The characters on the bottom rungs of the social hierarchy often make the keenest observers of these tensions. Stories about grand maneuverings and political machinations often focus on characters in positions of status and authority because they’re the ones with agency. I wanted to tell a story about what happens in the margins. Some characters must stoop to trickery and deceit because their own meager power turns out to be hollow. Others must tread carefully because they never had any power to begin with.
The Buried Life is a story about people trying to understand and survive a period of monumental change, but it’s also about the shifts within the city.
Recoletta exists at an indeterminate point in the future, centuries after a world-shaking catastrophe. It’s post-post-apocalyptic—it’s what springs up after society has long since crumbled and rebuilt again. Starting with those fractured building blocks, it was fun to try to piece them together, extrapolate forward several hundred years, and imagine how they might settle over time.
For example, they might leave large gaps between the social strata. If survival in the early days depended on rigid adherence to specific roles and duties, that might persist as class structure. The individuals at the top would have had the most useful skills and would have come from a broad mix of white-collar and blue-collar professions, including medicine, engineering, mining, metalworking, and plumbing. In many cases, they would have performed high-level and supervisory roles while those with less-useful skills got their hands dirty digging fresh tunnels. As a result, Recolettans at the top of the food chain are known as “whitenails.”
Similarly, habits and fashions would adapt to suit the circumstances. By the time of the events of The Buried Life, living underground is a matter of custom rather than one of necessity, but it has nevertheless reshaped notions of propriety and good taste. The most disreputable members of society are the surface-dwellers whose agriculture feeds the city. Most Recolettans have never traveled outside their city, and some of the most status-conscious avoid the surface roads altogether.
All of the what-ifs make for a fun intellectual exercise, but a setting is nothing without a story and characters that shape and are shaped by the environment. So it’s no surprise that the story of The Buried Life is about uncovering Recoletta’s secrets and upsetting its delicate and centuries-old balance. The central characters are the ones positioned close enough to the heart of the conflict to see the cracks form and watch the structure crumble. As for what they do after the dust settles, that’s the story of Cities and Thrones…
Pre-order The Buried Life HERE
AUTHOR INFORMATION: Carrie Patel was born and raised in Houston, Texas. An avid traveller, she also studied abroad in Granada, Spain and Buenos Aires, Argentina. She acquired her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Texas A&M University and previously worked at Ernst & Young for two years. She currently works as a narrative designer and resides in Irvine, California.
NOTE: Netherworld Capital City art by Jesse Van Dijk. Author picture and book covers courtesy of the author.
Paul Weimer said...
Yep, definitely looking forward to this, Carrie.
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Cerritos Car Title Loans
Home | Coverage Areas | California | Los Angeles County | Cerritos
Car Title Loans in Cerritos, California - Cerritos Truck and Auto Title Loans Specialist.
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About Cerritos
Cerritos (formerly known as Dairy Valley because of the preponderance of dairy farms in the area) is an affluent city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was incorporated on April 24, 1956. The current OMB metropolitan designation for Cerritos is "Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA." According to the 2010 US Census, the population was 49,041.
Cerritos was originally inhabited by Native Americans belonging to the Tongva people (or "People of the Earth"). Later, the Tongva would be renamed the "Gabrieleños" by the Spanish settlers after the nearby Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. The Gabrieleños were the largest group of Southern California Indians as well as the most developed in the region. The Gabrieleños lived off the land, deriving food from the animals or plants that could be gathered, snared, or hunted, and grinding acorns as a staple.
Beginning in the late 15th century, Spanish explorers arrived in the New World and worked their way to the California coast in 1542. The colonization process included "civilizing" the native populations in California by means of establishing various missions. Soon afterwards, a town called El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora la Reina de los Ángeles de Porciúncula (Los Angelestoday) would be founded and prosper with the aid of subjects from New Spain and Native American labor.
Cerritos lies along the Los Angeles County and Orange County border. The cities bordering Cerritos on the Los Angeles County side include Artesia in the center, Bellflower, Lakewood, Norwalk, Santa Fe Springs, and La Mirada. Buena Park and La Palma border the City on the Orange County side. Other cities in the region include Cypress in Orange County, and Hawaiian Gardens, Long Beach, and Signal Hill in Los Angeles County.
The City of Cerritos, as well as most of coastal Southern California, generally has a Mediterranean climate and shares the climate of areas along the Mediterranean Sea. Summers are warm to hot, and winters are cool, rarely falling below freezing. Precipitation in Cerritos occurs predominantly during the winter months.
Cerritos also has a unique "semi-marine" climate pattern within Los Angeles County. The fog that typically covers the beach cities rarely reaches Cerritos, but the breeze that comes along the San Gabriel River from the Pacific Ocean has a significant cooling effect. As a result, Cerritos is rarely affected by the smog, Santa Ana winds, and smothering heat of the Los Angeles Basin.
Coverage Areas in Los Angeles County
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Welcome to Flash Pulp, episode four hundred and twenty-four.
Tonight we complete the flight of Aurelio Medina, a man who went in search of a home but received, instead, unexpected talents.
We held him for about five days, then – well, you’ve probably seen the leaked footage. It starts with a time lapse of Aurelio wandering around the small safehouse room that was acting as his temporary cell. With that weird moth-like motion that people get when sped up, he flits from a small table, where he eats dinner, to the barred window, to sitting on his bed, to making use of the room’s prison-style toilet.
Finally, after a chat through the door with the uniform on duty, he lies down in the lower right hand side of the screen, getting comfortable as the light beyond the drawn blinds fades. I’ve heard conspiracy theories that there’s a different shot, from a better angle, but if the footage exists, I’ve never encountered it.
What I know – what I’ve seen – is a bunch of restless blankets moving, then an eel, specifically – as I’ve been told by the team that was assigned to review the footage – a conger eel, writhing from the bedding and onto the floor.
Those same lab coats told me this was easily the longest one on record.
Now, Aurelio’s escape wasn’t pretty, but, honestly, neither was how we’d treated him. We’d chased him with robot dogs, forced him from the sky with armed drones, and, frankly, implied pretty heavily that we were going to have to take him apart to figure out how he could accomplish his feats of bioengineered prestidigitation.
You might say he’d already gone through so much shit, what was a little more? Especially when it meant his freedom.
Down the drain he went, and into the world. Must have been a hell of a squeeze through the toilet’s s-bend.
In the department’s defense, the safehouse was never intended to hold massive eels.
What I find most amazing, though, is that he didn’t simply turn into one of us. Surely if he’d waited long enough he could have slipped into the guise of being a white guy – hell, an exact duplicate of his guard even – and made a, uh, clean break.
Of course, Uncle Sam wasn’t willing to let him, you know, wriggle from our grasp.
As far as we could tell from the conspiracy theorist websites, a man sporting majestic wings had been spotted gliding from an empty chunk of Texas and south towards the Chihuahuan Desert. Our man at the top nearly lost it over that, as we’d done a fairly decent job of keeping the nature of the operation secret until then.
The poor bugger who reported it should thank the Saint of Sasquatches that we didn’t have to knock on his door, as would have been the case if he’d managed to grab any credible video.
Anyhow, under the auspices of an ongoing anti-drug joint task force, we were given limited authorization to cross the border and operate in and around Aurelio’s former hometown. We were told to keep it quiet, as we didn’t need the Centro de Investigación y Seguridad Nacional putting together the pieces with their domestic intelligence guys.
So there we are, Atlas and I, sitting in Aurelio’s otherwise abandoned shack. He wasn’t joking when he said he just picked up and left, there was still a pair of mugs in the sink that had been left to dry, and the square of garden hadn’t yet had a chance to wither.
We’re mostly sitting in the dark, as Atlas is all “mission security” and “standard operating procedure” and “silent running” and blah blah blah, so I was sharpening my Spanish by reading Mexican webcomics when we heard an engine outside.
Now, they gave me a gun, but I’m still pretty laughable on the range. I mean, I can flatten an entire opposing team in Call of Duty, all while they complain that having a neural interface hooked directly to my game console is cheating, but I still differ to Punchy when it comes to knocking real people over.
– and, of course, we were supposed to be taking Aurelio alive.
Thing was, it wasn’t Kafka’s birdman that came through the door, it was a local idjit named Bruno and a couple pals who thought they’d arrived to pummel a destitute local into keeping his mouth shut about how they’d killed his grandfather.
You wanna know what pisses Ms. Atlas off more than chasing a prisoner she’s already captured? Realizing that, despite all of her precautions, her operation has been compromised by some nosey punks with no clue what they’re actually getting themselves into.
Worse, they had gall and bad manners enough to try and shoot at her.
She’d lost all the robotics below her right elbow, and her patience, by the time she disarmed them, and there was so little of the hacienda left after she was done tossing them through, around, and over it, that we had to scrub the mission entirely.
A day later word came down the chain that Aurelio was to be forgotten – that is, at least until the media leaks started.
Stories still abound of the Nagual who supposedly walks, crawls, and flies across the southern Mexican states, but I can’t help but wonder: If we’d just been perhaps a bit more welcoming, maybe he’d be our Nagual.
Welcome to Flash Pulp, episode four hundred and twenty-two.
Tonight, we hear the tale of Aurelio Medina, a man on the run.
Aurelio: I loved Mexico, but I wasn’t sure I could survive my corner of it. While there were many places in my beloved country that I’d heard were beautiful and untouched by the violence upon my doorstep, I knew there was little chance I’d ever see them in my Abuelito’s broken down pickup.
Yet America was inescapable: It arrived to me on my cousins lips and through the very air around my radio. If you don’t want people to come to this country, why do spend so much time advertising yourselves?
We sometimes sat on the roof of our squat home, waiting for the summer heat to drift out the open windows, and I’d wonder what made this patch of desert so different than what I’d seen beyond the fence outside Ciudad Juárez.
When I asked my grandfather he’d just say, “it’s the same sand.”
Every now and then a relative from down south would come by, looking to stay before meeting with the sort of unshowered fellas who run secret trucks across the border. They’d always make the same pitch to me – you’re young, strong, smart, come with me – but my answer was always no.
The old man had spent most of my life looking after me, and, though he’d never admit it, his knees were getting bad enough that he needed me to return the favour.
They weren’t the only people trying to sucker me into something though, and some weren’t willing to take no for an answer.
[inaudible]
Aurelio: No, it wasn’t fear – not exactly, anyway. One day Tito was down at the shop, grabbing a pack of Marlboros, and he caught a local tough guy, Bruno, screaming names at his aunt. Apparently Mrs. Rojas had given his mother an ear full of news on her son’s misdeeds, and even some gangsters still blush to hear their mama is disappointed in them.
Bruno hit his tia, slapped her across the cheek, really, and my Tito gave him some of the same. I can’t imagine there was much force behind his stick arms, but the thug got back in his truck and took off.
Pops was shaking when he stepped into the kitchen and told me the story. He finished by saying it was the end of it, but we both knew it wouldn’t be. It wasn’t even the end of it for that day.
We were on the roof, that night, when an SUV came barreling down the road and swung into our yard. Abuelito stood, shielding his eyes and telling me he thought it was Mr. Torres come to return his ratchet set, and there was a Pop-Pop-Pop.
The engine noise was disappearing over the horizon by the time I managed to make it to the patch of dirt where my grandfather had fallen.
Maybe I could have moved south. Maybe I should have. My nearest relatives, though, were really only an hour’s drive away – well, if it was a quick line at the border.
I guess I knew who to ask, enough of my cousins had gone over, but I also knew I couldn’t trust anyone who knew Bruno, and that made things tricky.
That’s how I found myself in the back of a short box truck, huddled behind a plywood board that was supposed to fool immigration into thinking it was the back wall of the storage area. It was me, a couple with a baby, four thick-armed brothers who complained the whole time that they’d had a better plan but had been held up visiting family, a trio of teen girls looking to be nannies if they could stay away from the grabby-handed bastards behind the wheel, and two others.
Listen – those two others… they’re the ones who did this to me. One looked: Well, let’s just say he was making a statement with his knuckle tats – but his partner’s fingernails were manicured, and he was getting a nice suit dirty. They also knew the white guys behind the wheel.
Wily: Interesting – and these two men held you down and gave you wings?
Aurelio: [Inaudible]
Wily: Sorry, just a joke. They look, you know, majestic – I mean, they’re feathered at least. A pair o’ leathery bat wings would be creepy as hell.
Aurelio: Just fix it. Please.
Wily: Oh, yeah, that’s just what I need, a bunch of Texan taxpayers getting wind that we’re giving you free medical care.
Both: [Laughter]
Wily: Honestly, we don’t know how to help until we know what you were stuck with. Finish the story okay? Every little bit helps.
Aurelio: It was a long trip, and it was hot. There was a lot of moving and braking and moving again, and there wasn’t enough room for more than the lady with the baby to sit down. Eventually we stopped, it must have been six hours in, and there was a pause.
We could hear talking outside the truck, then a curse, and the guy who originally took my money started yelling “run!”
Well, we weren’t sure if he was talking to us or to his partner, but we were halfway to the door before the engine gunned it and the floor lurched forward. Papa caught Mama who held baby, but we all went down like bowling pins.
Knuckles managed to get one of the double doors open, and we see a dog.
I don’t know if they call them that over here too. I mean one of those four legged robots that sniff drugs and such at the crossing.
Wily: Yep.
Aurelio: It was a big dog, bigger than they look on TV at least, and it was chasing us at top speed. I swear it was digging pits in the pavement as it ran.
Tats and the suit started arguing, then a well-tended finger was raised in my direction, and I was grabbed. Everyone else was already screaming, so I joined in, but it didn’t matter. I don’t know if it was just the panic, but the needle looked huge – like the kind of thing you’d see in a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Anyhow, they poked me, and we made it maybe three blocks. The driver was hauling too fast for his corner, though, and we went sideways. Both doors were flapping by then, and we started tumbling around in space like barbie dolls caught in a dryer.
Suddenly, I was on the lawn. I don’t know if I passed out, or if I just don’t remember the middle bit, but my arm was broken. I realized there was a trail of us, spread across a kids playground like discarded toys. One of the white guys had jumped from the cab and started running, so the dog headed his way.
That’s when I went the other.
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CITY OF HARTFORD TERMINATES CENTERPLAN AS DOWNTOWN NORTH DEVELOPER, FILES COUNTERCLAIMS IN WRONGFUL TERMINATION LAWSUIT
HARTFORD, CONN (October 2, 2017) – Today the City of Hartford terminated Centerplan, DoNo Hartford LLC, and the associated entities created to develop the land in and around Dunkin’ Donuts Park. The City now intends to find developers with the interest and capital to invest in the Downtown North neighborhood.
“Centerplan should never have been chosen to build the ballpark, and their lack of capacity and experience was compounded by a lack of honesty and transparency,” said Mayor Luke Bronin. “In failing to deliver the ballpark on time, failing to do the work well, and failing to pay numerous subcontractors, Centerplan violated the development agreement that covers the surrounding parcels. By terminating the Master Development Agreement with Centerplan today, we hope that we can begin to move forward with finding a strong and capable partner for the next phase of development that is so essential to the City of Hartford.”
The City also filed counterclaims to Centerplan’s lawsuit alleging wrongful termination from the stadium project. The City alleges that Centerplan engaged in fraud, both in its inducement of the City to begin the stadium project and its conduct after the project got underway, and civil theft during the course of construction of the stadium. The City alleges that overall, Centerplan’s fraudulent actions constitute a violation of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act.
For example, the City alleges that Centerplan falsely certified that it had paid approximately $8 million to subcontractors in order to collect reimbursement from the Hartford Stadium Authority. In fact, Centerplan never paid the contractors and vendors – instead paying for its own debt on other projects were unrelated to the City. Centerplan has maintained that using money that was supposed to pay for the ballpark to pay for other debts is "done all the time" and normal construction practice. The City alleges that’s fraud, especially when public funds are involved.
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HARTFORD POLICE BEGIN ROLLING OUT BODY WORN CAMERAS
HARTFORD, CONN (February 4, 2019) – Today the Hartford Police Department began implementing its body warn camera program, starting with forty police officers during a 30-day pilot phase. Equipping the Department with body-worn cameras has been a priority of Mayor Luke Bronin, the City Council, and Police Chief David Rosado, and in 2018 Hartford purchased 325 body worn cameras. The Police Department will be expanding body worn cameras to the full patrol team and then Department-wide as part of a multi-phased roll out. Please see a Frequently Asked Questions document from the Police Department here, and the Hartford Police Department’s policy on body worn camerashere, which was based on the Connecticut Police Officer Standards and Training Council model policy.
“Our police department has demonstrated a strong commitment to transparency and accountability, and body worn cameras will strengthen that commitment even further,” said Mayor Bronin. “Body worn cameras are beneficial for our men and women in uniform and our community as a whole, and they’re an important tool for successful community policing. The city has been pursuing body warn cameras for some time, and I am glad that working with Chief Rosado and his team, the Hartford Police Union, and the City Council, we’ve reached an important milestone today.”
“Body worn cameras are an important tool for modern day community policing, and I’m proud that we’re rolling them out in Hartford within my first year on the job,” said Chief Rosado. “Body worn cameras are a win for our entire city, because it helps both our officers and our residents when there’s more transparency about our interactions with the public. This pilot program is an important step, and it’s one of several phases we will go through before the cameras are fully integrated and deployed Department-wide. I want to thank the Mayor and the City Council for their partnership in getting these cameras. We look forward to rolling them out to more and more of our officers in the months ahead.”
“Police body-worn cameras are increasingly being implemented across the county and can be an effective tool to increase accountability, transparency, and trust,” said City Council President Glendowlyn L.H. Thames. “After many years of planning, I am proud to say that the Hartford Police Department is ready to launch the use of Officer body-worn cameras that will go a long way to enhance police and community relations.”
“Body cameras have been a long-time request of the community,” said Minority Leader Wildaliz Bermudez. “It's good to see they will now be implemented. We look forward to receiving additional information of what is collected with their use.”
“I'm happy that we're starting the body camera pilot today,” said Majority Leader James Sanchez, Co-Chair of the City Council’s Quality of Life and Public Safety Committee. “It's an added layer of protection for both our community and officers. It creates a stronger sense of security, accountability and transparency on both sides of the isle. I look forward to a stronger community relationship with HPD. Thank you.”
“I am pleased to see our Police Department moving in the direction of 21st Century Policing,” said City Councilman Thomas J. Clarke II, Co-Chair of the City Council’s Quality of Life and Public Safety Committee. “Today’s announcement of the pilot program is an essential indicator to the public that our police chief and city leaders seek to strengthen the relationship with the community by holding our officers accountable and being transparent.”
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Abraham Lincoln to Peter Zinn, September 6, 1859
Abraham Lincoln to Peter Zinn, September 6, 1859, Springfield, IL, in Roy P. Basler, ed., The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (8 vols., New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 3: 400, http://quod.lib.umich.edu/l/lincoln/.
Zinn, Peter
Transcription adapted from The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953), edited by Roy P. Basler
Adapted by Don Sailer, Dickinson College
The following transcript has been adapted from The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln (1953).
Peter Zinn, Esq Springfield, Ills.
Dear Sir Sep. 6. 1859
Yours of the 2nd. in relation to my appearing at Cincinnati in behalf of the Opposition is received. I already had a similar letter from Mr. W. T. Bascom, Secretary of the Republican State central committee at Columbus, which I answer to-day. You are in correspondence with him, and will learn all from him. I shall try to speak at Columbus and Cincinnati; but can not do more. Yours truly A. LINCOLN
William T. Bascom to Abraham Lincoln, September 1, 1859
Peter Zinn to Abraham Lincoln, September 2, 1859
How to Cite This Page: "Abraham Lincoln to Peter Zinn, September 6, 1859," House Divided: The Civil War Research Engine at Dickinson College, http://hd.housedivided.dickinson.edu/node/25269.
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THIS THING CALLED THE AMERICAN DREAM / PROJECT SYNDICATE
| Etiquetas: U.S. Economic And Political, World Economic And Political
This Thing Called the American Dream
Edmund S. Phelps
NEW YORK – In 1968, gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson mused about “this Death of the American Dream thing.” But what was this thing called the American Dream? What made it uniquely American?
For some, the Dream was Americans’ belief that their economy was a cornucopia of goods sure to bring a standard of living unimaginable in other economies: the dream of unrivaled plenty and comfort. But, while America had a superior wage level in the 1700s, Britain nearly closed the wage gap with America by the 1880s, and Germany came almost as close by 1913. Germany and France caught up with America by the 1970s.
For some economists, the Dream was the hope of an improving standard of living: the dream of progress. The economist Raj Chetty has been gauging the improvement people have made over what their parents had. He found that in 1940, nearly all young Americans – 90% of them, to be precise – had a household income higher than their parents had when they were young. That high percentage largely reflects America’s rapid productivity growth, which boosted wage rates. Yet from 1890 to 1940, rapid productivity growth was normal in Britain, Germany, and France as well – as it was in the “30 Glorious Years” from 1945 to 1975. So if the Dream was progress, Europeans could have dreamed of progress, too.
For many others, the Dream referred to the hope of America’s deprived – stirred by Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., John Rawls, and Richard Rorty – that their country would somehow end the injustice of pay so low that it isolates them from the life of the country: the dream of inclusion. Yet such a dream could not be unique to the poor and marginalized in America. Certainly Arabs and Roma in Europe have dreamed of being integrated into society.
For other scholars, such as Richard Reeves and Isabel Sawhill, the American Dream is about mobility more generally. It is a hope held by Americans, in the working and middle classes as well as the working poor, of being lifted to a higher rung on the socioeconomic ladder, not a rise of the ladder itself: the dream of a higher income or social station relative to the average. In fact, from the mid-nineteenth century well into the twentieth, structural shifts wrought by technological change and demographics in America’s market economy lifted many participants – while dropping others. Yet it is doubtful that this “musical chairs” was unique to Americans.
From 1880 well into the 1920s, Germans and French saw their economies transformed by globalization; Britons had that experience even earlier.
What made the American Dream distinctive was neither the hope of winning the lottery nor of being buoyed by national market forces or public policy. It was the hope of achieving things, with all that that entails: drawing on one’s personal knowledge, trusting one’s intuition, venturing into the unknown. It reflected the deep need of these Americans to have the experience of succeeding at something: a craftsman’s gratification at seeing his mastery result in better work, or a merchant’s satisfaction at seeing “his ship come in.” It was success that mattered, not relative success (would anyone want to be the sole achiever?). And the process may have mattered more than the success.
There is abundant evidence of this goal, as Americans worked it into their books and plays. Mark Twain, though a dark writer, appreciated the quest for success of his young subjects. At the end of his 1885 classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Finn aims to “light out for the Territory ahead of the rest...” Hollywood writers found other words for it. In the film Little Caesar (1931) Rico says, “Money’s okay, but it ain’t everything. Be somebody….Have your own way or nothing.” In A Star is Born (1937), the aspiring singer Esther Blodgett exclaims that “I’m going out and have a real life! I’m gonna be somebody!” And in On the Waterfront (1954), Terry Malloy laments to his brother Charley “I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody...”
Of course, dreaming of success could not have been widespread – a national phenomenon – had working Americans not had an economy that gave participants the freedom to be enterprising: to try new ways and conceive new things. And dreams of success could not have become as widespread as they did had Americans not perceived that they could succeed regardless of their national origin and their social status.
Observing that enterprise, exploration, and creation could be engaging, even engrossing, and deeply gratifying, Americans came to view working in businesses, from rural areas to cities, as a path to the Good Life. And that life’s rewards were not just money. To suppose that money was their focus – even in their dreams – is to miss what was distinctive in American life.
From the early nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth, Americans were proving the wisdom of philosophers from Montaigne and Voltaire to Hegel and –a hit in America – Nietzsche: that the good life is about acting on the world and making “your garden grow,” not padding your bank account.
http://prosyn.org/cY9ne28
FOR RUSSIA, AN OPPORTUNITY IN U.S. SANCTIONS / GEOPOLITICAL FUTURES
| Etiquetas: Europe Economic and Political, Oil and Energy, Russia, The Caucasus, U.S. Economic And Political
For Russia, an Opportunity in US Sanctions
By Ekaterina Zolotova
The standoff between the West and Russia got more complicated when Washington imposed new sanctions against Moscow. The Europeans were quick to criticize the sanctions. Germany’s foreign minister raised concerns about U.S. intentions, France questioned the sanctions’ legality, and the European Commission president made threats that he later had to walk back. Suddenly, to the Kremlin, the sanctions looked less like a setback and more like an opportunity. If Russia can play the victim, it may be able to drive a wedge between the U.S. and the EU, more sympathetic as Brussels may prove to be.
There’s just one problem: Sanctions are just one way the U.S. is pushing back against Russia.
Russia has long been a major supplier to the European energy market. Put another way, Russia’s economy depends on its sales to Europe’s energy market.
So Moscow took notice when recently the U.S. delivered its first shipment of liquefied natural gas to Lithuania, a country that at its nearest point is just more than 400 miles (650 kilometers) from Moscow. In fact, U.S. natural gas shipments have been appearing all over Europe lately in the wake of the American shale gas boom. This is the sort of encroachment that Russia is compelled to respond to. The challenge for Moscow is to do so without appearing threatening to Europe and thus pushing it closer to the United States. One place it might be able to do that is the Caucasus, specifically around Georgia and its breakaway republics, the very place where Russia announced its return to history in 2008.
Breakaway Territories
Russia has always kept a close eye on the Caucasus. This complex region has historically been riven by conflict. The most recent was, of course, a war between Russia and Georgia in 2008 over the breakaway Georgian republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
Russian troops are still stationed in the republics. In fact, South Ossetia’s military was integrated into the Russian military in July as part of a 2015 agreement that provides for the formation of common defense and security between Russia and South Ossetia. The South Ossetian military is small, and its incorporation will not significantly affect the strength of the Russian army. It does, however, attest to Russia’s long-term plan to absorb a united Ossetia. Whether it can is another question, leaving open the possibility that Moscow will have to make do with a restive republic that is militarily if not politically beholden to the Kremlin.
A Russian multiple rocket launcher passes a banner featuring a portrait of then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin outside the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali in 2008. DMITRY KOSTYUKOV/AFP/Getty Images
Russia also plans to strengthen its position in the Caucasus by focusing on energy agreements. It wants to create a vast space for cooperation in Eurasia – with Moscow in the dominant spot, of course. The most important part of this plan for Russia is to establish control over the region’s oil and gas pipelines. Doing so will give Moscow control over energy supplies to Europe even if the supplies are not directly sourced in Russia.
The recently introduced sanctions, as well as the conflict in Ukraine, have delayed Russia’s plans to increase the supply of energy resources to Europe. The Caucasus, through which Europe also receives energy resources, gives Moscow a way to get back on track The Caucasus is poised to become a larger provider of European energy because several countries in Central Asia and the Caucasus (especially Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan) are rich in natural resources, including oil and natural gas. And the EU is eager to diversify its energy supply – relying too much on one supplier puts it at risk of disruption. The European Union currently receives almost 40 percent of its oil supplies from the countries that make up the Commonwealth of Independent States, a Russian-led confederation of states that generally cooperates on economic matters. Russia accounts for 27 percent, while Kazakhstan provides almost 7 percent and Azerbaijan about 4 percent.
Europe gets oil from this region through the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the Baku-Supsa pipeline, and natural gas flows through the Baku-Tbilisi-Erzurum pipeline. All of these pipelines transit Georgian territory. That’s a source of strength for the Georgian government, but it’s also a vulnerability.
In late July, the Russian armed forces advanced the borders of South Ossetia slightly, putting a small stretch of the Baku-Septa pipeline within South Ossetia’s territory. This gives South Ossetia – or really, Russia – the ability to cut off supplies, or at least siphon off what it wants. Georgia could avoid this stretch of the pipeline, but not without incurring the added cost of loading the natural gas onto trucks or trains and shipping it overland.
Russia’s Reply
Herein lies Russia’s reply to U.S. actions. The U.S. ramped up natural gas deliveries to Europe, so Russia took hold of part of a Georgian pipeline that supplies gas to Europe. The U.S. led seven other countries in Noble Partner 2017, a large-scale military drill in Georgia, so Russia launched its own military drills in the North Caucasus and South Ossetia, which included about 16,000 Russian servicemen. And Russia completed the accession of South Ossetia’s army into Russian forces.
Georgia wants stronger ties with NATO. To strengthen them, it has to distance itself from Russia. But as long as Russia has leverage over the oil and gas passing through Georgian territory, it can’t do that. Georgia was the first country to abandon the post-Soviet identity and try to escape from Russia’s sphere of influence, but it can’t exist isolated from the Caucasus region. This, plus its dependence on energy supplies, obligates Georgia to cooperate with Russia in the energy sector in the Caucasus.
Russia has demonstrated to the U.S. that it can counter U.S. energy imports to Europe and continue to have significant control over the energy flows between the Caspian region and Europe. Recognizing the potential of the Caucasus region, the EU has been participating in the development of its energy sector. So it is important for Russia to maintain and strengthen its influence in the Caucasus. Russia has the ability to influence regional authorities as well as BP, which operates in the South Caucasus. The timing and energy focus of Russia’s pivot to the Caucasus indicate that this is part of Moscow’s response to U.S. sanctions.
It is in Russia’s interest to increase control over the pipelines passing through the territory of Georgia, but every move Russia makes to achieve that goal makes Europe more suspicious of its intentions, thus making it harder to drive a wedge between European countries and the United States.
ANOTHER NOBLE MESS -- THIS TIME, IT´S DERIVATIVES / THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
| Etiquetas: Credit Default Swaps, Noble Group
Another Noble Mess—This Time, It’s Derivatives
A dispute over credit default swaps written on the embattled commodity trader’s debt is exposing the limitations of the system governing such products
By Anjani Trivedi
Noble has suffered a grim couple of years, with earnings slumping and its market value diving amid questions over its accounting. Photo: Bobby Yip/Reuters
When things go wrong, insurance policies are supposed to pay out. In the case of Singapore-listed Noble Group, a once-prominent commodity trader that has fallen on hard times, that process is proving complicated.
Noble has suffered a grim couple of years, with earnings slumping and its market value diving amid questions over its accounting. Still, it managed to roll over billions of dollars worth of debt earlier this year, and has also persuaded its bankers to extend its credit lines.
But should these deals by Noble to extend its debt repayments be counted as a “credit event”?
That’s the question now being debated by those who bought and sold derivative products designed to insure investors against any default by Noble on its bonds. Such so-called credit default swaps were among the complex instruments that helped exacerbate the 2008 global financial crisis, when a sudden surge in bad debts landed sellers of such protection with large bills.
In recent months, hedge funds and other investors have been selling CDS on Noble’s debt, in effect betting that it wouldn’t default. As of late July, over $1 billion of CDS had been written on Noble’s debt with almost $160 million potentially owed to buyers, according to data from International Swaps and Derivatives Association, the industry body that standardized CDS contracts.
NOT SO NOBLE
Annual cost to insure $10 million of Noble´s debt against default for 10 years
As banks and investors—among them Goldman Sachs , Deutsche Bank and J.P. Morgan —who bought this protection lose ever more confidence in Noble, they are arguing its debt extensions should trigger payouts: Several have served so-called credit event notices recently.
Enter ISDA again: Since the financial crisis, it has been charged with adjudicating on whether credit events have occurred—a system designed to ensure fair and swift resolution of cases like Noble’s.
Except that ISDA has so far equivocated. Earlier this month it said it didn’t have enough information to determine whether Noble’s recent deals represent a credit event, and couldn’t get hold of the underlying documentation it needed “despite several efforts to do so.”
To be fair, Noble’s situation isn’t clear-cut. The company says it’s looking for “strategic alternatives”—code for seeking investors. Propped up by its lenders, the company has remained on life support, despite consistently negative cash flows.
But the Noble affair has exposed the limitations of the current resolution system for disputes over CDS. If ISDA’s adjudicating committee—which is due to meet again Tuesday to discuss the situation—fails to make a decision again, buyers of Noble CDS will be unable to get sellers to pay up. The fact that the committee comprises lawyers that are often from banks and investors with a financial interest in Noble’s CDS leaves it open to criticism from both sides.
ISDA should make a decision one way or the other, if only to avoid looking useless. The reality, though, is that this situation could end up in the courts—hardly a great advert for the much-maligned credit default swap.
TEMER´S AMBITIOUS $14BN PRIVATISATION DRIVE / THE FINANCIAL TIMES
| Etiquetas: Brazil, Privatisation
Temer’s ambitious $14bn privatisation drive
A welcome proposal, but controlling debt faces numerous hurdles
President Michel Temur has a 5 per cent approval rating and Brazilians are often wary of privatisations © EPA
Michel Temer is the most unpopular president in the democratic history of Brazil. He presides over an economy only just coming out of its worst-ever recession. He also faces corruption allegations and could be impeached. Yet markets are unfazed.Since he came to office one year ago Mr Temer has followed through on pledges to stabilise the economy, and the stock market has risen by a half. An ambitious $14bn privatisation programme, including the sale of Electrobras, the utility, has now raised investor spirits further. Although such market-oriented reforms are welcome, the optimism that has greeted them is premature.Brazil certainly needs to reform its bloated state. It is often a hotbed of corruption and patronage. Even the national mint, now up for sale, has been implicated in scandals in the recent past. Privatisation can also lead to greater productivity. The prime exhibit is Embraer, which has flourished since privatisation to become the world’s third-largest commercial aircraft maker. Even so, there are reasons to be sceptical about this privatisation drive.The first is time. Mr Temer has little of it — presidential elections are in October next year — and many of the mooted sales are complex. Take Electrobras. The huge Itaipu dam, which generates more power that any plant in the world and is co-owned with Paraguay, would have to be stripped out of the process; so too Electrobras’s nuclear assets. Even with the best will in the world, privatising Electrobras will be a complex deal that takes time. The same is true for some of the other 57 assets for sale, which include highways, ports and airports.A second problem is the urgent fiscal motives for the privatisation push. A stringent budget law, passed by Mr Temer, has frozen spending in real terms for 20 years. That is well and good, in theory. It reinforces his pledge to bring national debt back under control. The problem lies in the practice. The recession has sapped tax revenues. Budget cuts that Mr Temer had planned, such as trimming generous state pensions, have also floundered. As a result, the budget deficit is now 9 per cent of gross domestic product. Privatisation proceeds would help plug this gap. But it is poor economics to use one-off asset sales to meet recurring expenses.A third problem is Mr Temer’s lack of popular support. He has a 5 per cent approval rating. Brazilians are often wary of privatisations. Petrobras’s stock market listing did not stop corruption, as the Lava Jato corruption probe showed. Nor do privatisations always lead to greater productivity: Oi, a privatised telecoms provider, is in bankruptcy proceedings, the biggest in Brazilian corporate history. Public scepticism about the privatisation drive, already milked by the opposition and opposed by unions, could further push Brazil in a populist direction in the elections. Nobody can tell for sure.Mr Temer and his economic team have made important progress in stabilising Brazil’s economy. His privatisation drive seems designed to show he means to carry that on, as he is sure to stress to investors on a visit to China next week. If it also boosts Brazil’s stock market so much the better, from Mr Temer’s perspective. In a virtuous circle, it strengthens his standing in the local business sector, thus expands his chances of political survival, and so increases the chance of more reforms.But the practical and political barriers are large. And while crises can often help push through difficult reforms, they can also sabotage them in unexpected ways. Grand announcements in Brazil like this one, however welcome, need be taken with a big spoonful of salt.
THIS THING CALLED THE AMERICAN DREAM / PROJECT SYN...
FOR RUSSIA, AN OPPORTUNITY IN U.S. SANCTIONS / GEO...
ANOTHER NOBLE MESS -- THIS TIME, IT´S DERIVATIVES ...
TEMER´S AMBITIOUS $14BN PRIVATISATION DRIVE / THE ...
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DIVERSIFYING MEXICO´S EXPORT MARKETS / GEOPOLITICAL FUTURES
| Etiquetas: Exports, Mexico, NAFTA, Trade, U.S. Economic And Political, World Economic And Political
Diversifying Mexico’s Export Markets
By Allison Fedirka
Mexico’s proximity to the world’s largest economy has been both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, Mexico enjoys easy access, with efficient trade routes, to an enormous market of wealthy consumers, particularly since the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement. On the other hand, the allure of trade with such a market has made Mexico dependent on the U.S. for trade – and makes the Mexican economy more vulnerable to the trade war launched by the current U.S. administration. So far, Washington has pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, slapped tariffs on critical industrial goods like steel and aluminum and demanded that NAFTA be renegotiated. This approach is forcing Mexico to re-evaluate its own trade partnerships and strive for greater market diversification.
To be sure, Mexico has tried to diversify its export markets for years, in part by signing trade agreements with dozens of countries. In addition to joining the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the World Trade Organization’s predecessor, in 1986 and NAFTA in 1992, Mexico has entered into 12 other free trade agreements that cover 46 countries, according to Mexico’s Economic Ministry. It also has trade and investment promotion agreements with several other countries. But despite these efforts, Mexico is still heavily reliant on the U.S. market: 80 percent of Mexico’s exports go to the United States.
And trade has become an increasingly important part of the Mexican economy. Over the past 25 years, exports have gone from 12 percent of Mexico’s gross domestic product to nearly 38 percent, according to the World Bank. This Deep Dive will look at Mexico’s prospects for diversification in its most important export industry: the auto industry. It will focus on five emerging markets and conclude that, although these markets can’t replace the U.S. completely, they can help reduce Mexico’s dependence on its northern neighbor.
Attracting export customers really comes down to establishing a comparative advantage. At a basic level, it requires a country to produce goods that other countries want to buy. But those goods must also be sold at a price that buyers are willing to pay. If potential customers can buy the same good – or one of similar quality – for a cheaper price elsewhere, they almost certainly will. There’s also the issue of delivery, which is affected by things like government regulations (which may limit access to certain markets) and infrastructure (which can affect how quickly goods can reach a market). Barriers to delivery can increase the cost of goods and therefore make them less competitive.
Just over 80 percent of Mexico’s total exports are manufactured goods, the vast majority of which do not qualify as high tech. In 2017, five sectors accounted for nearly two-thirds of Mexico’s total exports: vehicle and vehicle parts, furniture and bedding, optical and medical devices, machinery and mechanical appliances, and electrical equipment and parts. From 2013 to 2017, Mexico maintained or increased its global market share in all of these categories except electrical equipment and parts. In addition, among the world’s top producers, it ranked between fourth and 11th in each of these categories but only 13th in total exports. These indicators suggest that Mexico has a comparative advantage in these industries.
But it’s in the automotive industry that Mexico has really excelled. This sector accounts for roughly a quarter of the country’s total exports and is among the most promising industries in terms of value, growth and market share. It is also among the most vulnerable to the U.S. trade war. (Washington has threatened to slap 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles.)
Mexico’s comparative advantage in the auto industry is the result of a number of factors. First, labor costs in Mexico are relatively low, with the daily minimum wage at 88.36 pesos ($4.60). By comparison, the federal minimum wage in the U.S. is $7.25 per hour. Wages for an entry-level manufacturing job in Mexico can start as low as $2 per hour, with the average being $2.60 per hour. The cost of renting a production facility can be as low as $4 to $6 per square foot annually, while customized construction costs run about $27-$35 per square foot. Manufacturing is clustered in certain states, and infrastructure and supplier networks have developed in these areas to support manufacturing activity.
When it comes to the U.S. market, Mexico’s biggest advantage over other low-wage producers is its low transportation costs due to its proximity to the U.S. and established infrastructure connecting the two countries. But Mexico doesn’t want to rely so heavily on one market; even if there were a trade-friendly administration in Washington, Mexico would still be looking to increase trade with other partners.
Alternative Markets
Globally, vehicle sales are expected to increase this year, but slower than last year. At the start of the year, IHS Markit, an information services firm, reported that global light vehicle sales growth by unit is expected to be 1.5 percent in 2018, down from 2.4 percent in 2017. Emerging markets will drive growth while mature markets like Europe will see low growth rates. Sales in Western Europe are expected to grow by only 0.7 percent in 2018, and in mature Asian markets like Japan and South Korea they will increase modestly – by 2.4 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Even Chinese growth in demand is projected at only 0.2 percent, as tax breaks on cars are phased out this year. But sales are expected to increase by 11 percent in India, 15.9 percent in Russia and 12.5 percent in Brazil.
Moody’s projects similar global growth in vehicle sales for 2018. It estimates Western European sales will grow 2 percent this year before slowing to 0.5 percent next year. The exception may be Germany, which Moody’s expects to see above-average growth of about 4 percent in the next year or so as it phases out diesel vehicles. Japan is expected to see a decline in sales this year and low growth in 2019. The ratings company’s projections for China are more optimistic than IHS Markit’s: It anticipates China will have 2 percent growth this year and 2.5 percent in 2019.
Looking ahead, large emerging markets like India, Russia, China and Brazil will be the primary areas of growth for finished vehicle sales. According to a 2017 report by PwC Growth Markets Center, emerging markets will account for over 90 percent of the increase in demand through 2023. In addition, the report projects that emerging markets will produce just over 60 percent of vehicles by 2021, up from about 56 percent in 2017. Focus2move, a firm that tracks global auto trends, also suggests that emerging markets’ share in auto sales is increasing. According to the company, in 2017, car sales grew by 8.7 percent in India, 9.2 percent in Brazil and 11.9 percent in Russia. Though China’s growth rate is comparatively low (2.3 percent), it is the largest market for vehicle sales in the world, so in absolute terms the increase is still significant.
When evaluating Mexico’s potential alternative markets, we considered two factors: countries with promising growth in demand for both finished automobiles and auto parts, and countries that had existing trade agreements with Mexico. (Replacing suppliers for auto parts is more complicated than it is for finished vehicles because production processes in different countries may have different requirements.) In the analysis below, we focus on four emerging markets that show promising growth in this sector, as well as South America, a region with which Mexico has several trade agreements.
Mexico’s exports to India total $3.42 billion, and roughly three-quarters of those exports are oil. Mexico’s auto exports to India consist entirely of parts and accessories. But despite India’s size, its market for auto parts is limited and highly competitive. In 2017, Mexico exported just $56.1 million worth of auto parts to India, compared to $23.1 billion to the United States. India is unlikely, therefore, to replace the U.S. as Mexico’s main market for such goods anytime soon. In fact, India’s total imports of these components were worth just $4.3 billion. Even with vehicle sales expected to increase in India over time, its market is still less than a fifth of Mexico’s total sales to the U.S. In other words, even if Mexico were India’s sole supplier of these goods, it would still be only 20 percent of the value exported to the United States. Indian tariffs on auto components from Mexico are 10 percent – which puts Mexico on par with China, while other suppliers like Japan, South Korea and Thailand have lower tariff rates.
As for finished vehicles, India likely wouldn’t want to increase competition for its own domestic producers by importing cars from Mexico. The automotive industry now accounts for half of all manufacturing activity in India and about 7 percent of GDP. Some 85 percent of the cars produced in India are sold domestically. Mexico, however, is India’s top export destination for finished cars. India may not be interested in buying finished vehicles from Mexico, but it is interested in investing in Mexico’s automotive industry (along with pharmaceuticals and information technology). Even with the questions about NAFTA’s future, India still sees Mexico as a gateway to North, Central and South America, largely because of the many other trade agreements in those regions that Mexico is part of.
Bilateral trade between Russia and Mexico is quite low. Prior to the past couple of years, little effort was made to encourage trade between these two countries. Mexico’s National Association of Importers and Exporters opened an office in Moscow only this year. But now, both governments have their own reasons to want to boost trade with each other – Mexico wants to diversify its export markets as the U.S. trade war heats up, and Russia wants to revive its auto industry, which started declining a decade ago, and encourage economic growth after a recent recession.
Prior to the 2008 financial crisis, Russia was the second-largest car market in Europe. But after the crash, car sales slumped. There was a slight rebound in 2012, but it was short-lived. The steep drop in oil prices in 2014 exacerbated the problem, as the economy took a major hit and sales continued to decline through 2016. (Russia’s dependence on oil, a commodity whose price it can’t control, is another reason Moscow wants to increase production of value-added goods like automobiles.) It wasn’t until last year that Russian car sales and production began to finally show signs of recovery, along with the rest of the economy. In fact, the prolonged period of decline is one reason Russia has potential for growth in sales and production in the near and medium term.
Russia imported $255.6 million worth of goods, including $77.67 million auto sector goods, from Mexico last year. These imports consisted primarily of finished vehicles designed for the transport of people ($76.85 million) and parts and accessories ($823,000). Tariffs are only 1.65 percent on auto parts from Mexico but 16.52 percent on finished vehicles. But again, the question is, could Russia be a viable alternative to the U.S. market? Russia imported a total of $7.9 billion in parts in 2017, which is about a third the amount imported by the United States. Imports of finished vehicles totaled $6.7 billion, which is only about 23 percent of the U.S. market. But Russia, which has been the target of U.S. sanctions in recent years, also has political reasons to want to decrease its imports from the United States. For Mexico, Russia might not be able to replace the U.S. completely, but it has ample room for growth in sales.
The size of the Chinese market makes it an attractive alternative destination for Mexican exports. Since 2009, China has been the largest purchaser of finished vehicles in the world, buying up 28.2 million units in 2017. (The U.S. ranked second at 17.2 million units.) Over the past couple of years, Mexico and China have worked to increase bilateral trade, which totaled $80.86 billion in 2017, up 7.9 percent from the previous year. This figure is projected to rise to $90 billion in 2018. Mexico and China have expressed interest in signing a free trade agreement, and with both caught in the crosshairs of the U.S. trade war, they now have even more motivation to do so.
Though China imported an impressive $79.2 billion worth of vehicles and automotive parts in 2017, Mexico supplied only $1.24 billion worth of these goods. Germany is China’s top supplier, accounting for 27 percent of these goods, while Japan came in second at 21 percent and the U.S. third at 19 percent. The U.S. sold $12.7 billion worth of finished vehicles to China and $1.8 billion worth of parts. Meanwhile, Mexico exported only $826.66 million worth of finished cars and $413 million worth of parts to China last year. Mexico would not be able to take over the Chinese market completely, but it certainly has room to increase its sales there, particularly in finished cars. Mexico also stands to benefit from increased Chinese investment in Mexico’s auto industry. This year, the Beijing Automotive Industry Corp. announced plans to build its first factory in Mexico, with construction slated to begin in 2020. The company wanted a production facility closer to its supply base and to avoid paying tariffs on supplies.
China is protective of its domestic market and producers but has become more flexible in the auto industry due to its desire to increase foreign investment and mitigate the effects of the trade war. In July, the Chinese Finance Ministry reduced import duties on passenger cars from 25 percent to 15 percent. Similarly, auto part duties that ranged from 8 percent to 25 percent were reduced to 6 percent. The government also announced plans to ease restrictions on foreign investments in China. There are also plans to reduce the amount of local content required in Chinese-produced vehicles, which currently stands at 50 percent. This could open the door for Mexico, which produces higher-quality parts and input materials than China at competitive prices.
Brazil and Mexico have long-established trade frameworks. Both countries are part of the Latin American Integration Association, which provides a flexible framework for the development of economic agreements between member countries. Specifically, members can use the Economic Complementation Agreement mechanism to establish import quotas for certain goods with reduced tariffs. These agreements can eventually evolve into formal free trade agreements between two countries. Mexico and Brazil are currently using this mechanism to try to establish duty-free trade in the auto sector.
Nonetheless, trade between the two countries is relatively small. Brazil imports only $3.68 billion worth of goods from Mexico, of which about a quarter is related to the auto industry ($788 million worth of finished vehicles and $616.9 million worth of auto parts). This accounts for about 12 percent of Brazil’s auto imports, which totaled $11.2 billion in 2017. Only Argentina exported more auto goods to Brazil – about $3.7 billion worth. Argentina and Brazil have a complicated trade relationship, particularly in the auto sector, which has led to trade disputes in the past. Mexico wouldn’t want to undermine their relationship because it could disrupt trade for the region, but it does have an opportunity to increase its market share in Brazil. Mexico’s strategy includes trade agreements that encourage integrated production models and purchases of other goods from Brazil such as grains to balance Mexican auto sales. This would help Mexico diversify not only its automotive exports but also its grain imports, which largely come from the U.S.
South American markets are small but they’re growing, and to Mexico’s advantage, it already has trade agreements with many of them. Some of the fastest growing markets in terms of vehicle sales last year were Argentina (28.7 percent), Chile (17.9 percent) and Ecuador (61.7 percent). Mexico has a free trade agreement with Chile and Economic Complementation Agreements with Argentina and Ecuador. The Mexican auto industry has also promoted the idea of diversifying exports by looking to members of the Pacific Alliance, a trade bloc formed in 2011 by Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. All members have bilateral free trade agreements with one another and have already eliminated tariffs on 92 percent of goods traded within the bloc. The Pacific Alliance also wants to become more active in global markets, particularly in East Asia, as reflected in efforts to strike a deal through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Barriers to Diversification
In its efforts to decrease its dependence on the U.S. market, Mexico will face many challenges. First, the United States is the world’s largest economy, and it’ll be difficult to replace it with any other market. With the potential exception of China, none of the major emerging economies identified here can on their own consume as much as the U.S. Mexico, therefore, must pursue multiple markets at the same time, which is actually a good strategy considering that it wants to diversify its trade relations. Russia and China – both of which have had their share of problems with Washington recently – may be particularly motivated to do business with Mexico.
Second, these large markets all have their own burgeoning auto industries, and imports are in direct competition with domestically produced goods. (This is more a concern for finished vehicles than for auto parts, since imported parts can be used by domestic producers and don’t necessarily limit sales of domestically made cars.) Governments often protect domestic industries by putting up trade barriers such as tariffs that increase the price of imported goods, making them more expensive and thus less competitive.
Then there’s the issue of time. Major shifts in a country’s export markets don’t happen overnight, yet Mexico could see new U.S. tariffs on the auto sector soon. Plus, to remain competitive, Mexico will need to continue to attract multinational firms that can produce goods at low prices. This will be more difficult as its access to the U.S. market becomes more uncertain. (This is, after all, one of Mexico’s biggest selling points.) But regardless of what happens in the NAFTA talks, or whether the U.S. government decides to impose new tariffs, Mexico knows it needs to diversify its trade partners. It’s a question of when, not if.
EUROPOPULISM: IMMIGRATION PROVIDES OPENING FOR SWE...
DIVERSIFYING MEXICO´S EXPORT MARKETS / GEOPOLITICA...
THE TURKISH EMERGING MARKET TIMEBOMB / PROJECT SYN...
FREE MARKET MONIES - LIBERTY´S ANWER TO FIAT / DOU...
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Losst and Founnd
A quarter-century after his death and nearly 40 years after his last album, Harry Nilsson still can do no wrong.
This archive release might not be the exact “comeback album” he had in mind when he began sessions for the tentatively titled “Papa’s Got a Brown New Robe” prior to his demise, but at least some of the songs from those sessions are finally getting the treatment they deserve.
“Losst and Founnd,” as realized by friend Mark Hudson (whom the singer-songwriter initially tapped as producer), is more cohesive than latter-day Nilsson efforts such as “Sandman” and “…That’s the Way It Is.” It’s also a slap in the face of naysaying online-forum commenters who spouted off before hearing it.
As anyone who’s heard the original demos that have circulated on the internet can attest,”Lost” could not have been easy to produce. Hudson’s work to smooth out Nilsson’s voice—which had been dealt a permanent blow when he continued to sing after suffering vocal-cord damage during the recording of the “Pussy Cats” LP—is impressive. But also remarkable is his judicious inclusion of only the cream of the “Robe” crop, rounding out the album with a Jimmy Webb and a Yoko Ono cover (“What Does a Woman See in a Man” and “Listen, the Snow Is Falling,” respectively) as well as a song from Nilsson’s stage musical, “Zapata” (“Love Is the Answer”).
All of the songs were rebuilt to varying degrees, with several reportedly having been recorded to four-track cassette in the home studio of another Nilsson friend, Andy Cahan. At least one cut was stripped down to just Nilsson’s vocal before instruments were added back.
Webb, Van Dyke Parks and Jim Keltner, as well as Nilsson’s bass-playing son Kiefo Nilsson, are among those who helped modernize the tracks. But it’s guitar slingers Ricky Z and Paul Santo who really added some sparkle, collectively laying down some well-placed slide on five of the selections.
1. Lost And Found
2. Woman Oh Woman
3. U.C.L.A.
4. Hi-Heel Sneakers/Rescue Boy Medley
5. Lullaby
6. Animal Farm
7. Listen, The Snow Is Falling
8. Try
9. Love Is The Answer
10. Yo Dodger Blue
11. What Does A Woman See In A Man
artist’s site
Omnivore store
Posted December 1st, 2019
Tags: pop, rock
In the Clearing
Sugarfoot’s latest represents a branching out: Unlike the Norwegian band’s earlier releases, the overall feel of the music has become “country prog” (for lack of a better term) more than simply “country rock.”
No doubt this has something to do with the fact that bassist Bent Sæther also is in Motorpsycho (not to be confused with Motorhead, although the former group did start out in kind of a prog-inspired hard rock vein before incorporating psychedelic, pop and avant-jazz elements).
Of course, founding members and guitarists Øyvind Holm and Hogne Galåen, who were in psych-pop outfit Deleted Waveform Gatherings, obviously are not ones to be tied to a mainstream musical genre either.
But perhaps the man most responsible for Sugarfoot’s evolutionary quantum leap is producer Lars Horntveth, himself a musician and composer with experimental jazz group Jaga Jazzist.
Galåen, when asked by email, was kind enough to tell Good New Music the story of how Sugarfoot ended up with such a strong producer:
“Lars Horntveth had collaborated with Motorpsycho earlier … and we needed to think fresh after two albums recorded at Rancho de la Luna, Joshua Tree,” Galåen explained. “We knew that Lars would have a different approach to this album just by knowing who he is as a producer, but also as a musician. We spent some days together before going to France and Black Box Studio and we hit it off right away. It’s fair to say that all the songwriters in Sugarfoot present songs to the band, which then either will be formed in style by every member or it will die there and then as an SF song, but this time we let Lars make all decisions regarding what songs to record. We ended up with 11 songs recorded in this amazing studio in rural France, two of which did not end up on the album, but were released as a bonus 7” with the (500-copy, sold-out) first edition of ‘In the Clearing.’ …
“After the week in the studio, we took a break from it, knowing that Lars would still be working on this from his hometown Oslo, and after a while the sessions started to reappear and we all knew that this was going to be something different. The rest of the backing vocals and percussion were finished and Lars took it to (Blanca Studio in Bergen, Norway) and mixed it together with Matias Tellez, who also did a fantastic job.
“You know, one special thing about this album is that the sound it has, is so big in the way that every tiny little detail is so clear. I’m absolutely stunned by how it came out. And the reception from the fans has been overwhelming. It is good to be in Sugarfoot at the moment and we’re gonna play as much as we can for the fans, but Norway is not the best country (in which) to be a touring band—cold snowy winters and long distances between the big cities combined with roads over big mountains. It’s surely not the best and pretty expensive but hey, in the long run it is worth it!”
Comprising another major factor in the album’s excellence are the pedal-steel stylings of member Roar Øien, whose playing sounds decidedly more non-country, perhaps even jazzy, this time around. GNM posited this perception to Galåen, who responded:
“Roar is the best pedal steel player I’ve ever heard! He can adapt to anything, whether it’s pure country or in (more of a Daniel) Lanois landscape.
“The first time we met Roar was when (Deleted Waveform Gatherings) still had some momentum. We were finishing a double album and he put down a few tracks on it. We fell in love with his playing right there and then, and he’s not just a fantastic player but also one of the best guys you’ll ever meet.
“On ‘In the Clearing’ he’s amazing. I believe Lars made an impact on him as well as all of the other members—like if our mantra was to really try to do something different, something we’d never done before. … This was really different for all of us.”
Opening track “Changing Times” is a perfect example of the newfound “country prog” motif—Jon Anderson-like vocal refrains, Chris Squire-ish bass runs, Tony Kaye-style organ riffs and even a mini acoustic guitar solo à la Steve Howe, all with the added delight of pedal-steel embellishments poking their little heads out like eels from their hiding places!
The title track’s structure and arrangement are mind-blowing and allow it to fluctuate in spirit between Poco in its finest spaced-out pedal steel hour (think “Driving Wheel” from 1974’s “Seven”) and Led Zeppelin during its Middle Eastern infatuation phase (i.e. “Kashmir” on 1975’s “Physical Graffiti”).
The pedal steel takes center stage for “Ladybug Fly,” serving as lead guitar on a light and airy song that also boasts impressive harmony vocals, acoustic strumming and a nearly military drum beat. A unique closing passage sees all the instruments except pedal steel slow to nearly a stop and then gradually resume their previous tempo, all while the vocals and pedal steel continue unabated.
Lead singer Holm hands the reins over to Sæther for the “The House on the Hill,” a Sæther composition that despite featuring a Clavinet in stark contrast to other, pseudo-electronica passages manages to overall have the feel of “Countdown to Ecstasy”-era Steely Dan!
Closing out the album is by far the proggiest track, “Foggy Town, Pt. 2—Noyant-La-Gravoyère,” named after the municipality in western France where Black Box Studio is located. It begins in earnest as a ballad, but after about four minutes the tempo shifts as the song becomes an instrumental and the keyboards morph into the sound of Tony Banks on early Genesis LPs such as “Nursery Cryme” and “Foxtrot.”
At the end of the day, Sugarfoot’s fifth effort is a fine updating of classic country rock, lending new meaning to the term “Cosmic American Music” in a way that genre pioneer Gram Parsons surely would have appreciated.
1. Changing Times
2. Cotton Candy Clouds
3. In The Clearing
4. Ladybug
5. Just A Dream
6. The House On The Hill
7. Little Miss Darkness
8. Original Sin
9. Foggy Town, Pt. 2—Noyant-La-Gravoyère
artist link
Crispin Glover Records (vinyl)
Tags: country, folk, prog, psychedelic, rock
Radioville
self-released
More than just an outstanding, no-frills sophomore album from a down-to-earth Texas singer/songwriter with serious backwoods cred, “Radioville” represents can-do spirit and DIY philosophy — not unlike the sustainable farming and light industry found on some communes back in the ’70s!
And speaking of the ’70s: According to the back cover, Simon Flory’s new release was recorded on a 1970s Neve console using low-wattage tube amps and vintage microphones, live to a rescued tape machine, without click tracks or post-production corrections.
And in true communal fashion, Flory’s friends helped him out: Marshall Terry (son of Eric Clapton guitarist George Terry) engineered and co-produced. The recording was done at the Shaman Shack, a former reefer truck turned NBC remote-feed truck that Terry converted into a studio parked in a warehouse on the east side of Austin.
Jody Suarez, Matt Roth and Dan Patrevito served as the core backup group (drums, bass and Wurlitzer, respectively) on the album’s five full-band tracks.
From Flory’s liner notes:
“The full band tracks were cut June of ’17 in the midst of a central Texas heat wave. We couldn’t all fit in the truck, so we ran a snake out to the back corner of the stagnant warehouse lit with a few floodlamps, but no talkback mic to the truck. We’d holler after takes, reviewing before we rewound over the track or kept it. We only had six inches of tape left over at the end.”
Among the other friends chipping in for Flory’s all-original set of tunes were roots music singer/guitarist/songwriter Charley Crockett; blues singer/guitarist Dylan Bishop; country songstress Summer Dean; Guy Clark protégé Noel McKay; and multi-stringed-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter Brennen Leigh.
The songs on “Radioville” are like short stories, and that’s the point. In an interview with Voyage Dallas magazine, Flory says: “I don’t want to be a living museum piece of ‘roots’ music, I want to shed a little light on the struggle of real human lives, not caricature them. My goal is to tell stories that find a home and make an impact of positive change in someone’s life.”
Kickoff track “American Ancients,” according to Flory’s Facebook page, is “a song based on conversations with the homeless citizens of Texas.” Channeling one such citizen, he sings, “My touch is radiation on your fingertips. When you hand me spare change, I feel it.”
An inmate and his wife exchange letters in “County Fair,” a stripped-down duet with Dean. “I never meant to hurt nobody. But for $27, I will miss you always,” the convict tells her, as a mournful pedal steel provides an acoustic guitar’s sole accompaniment.
In the title song, a narrator with an intentionally exaggerated drawl sets the scene (“There’s an old bowling alley just wasting away, where I played my only 100-point game”) before launching into a progressively plaintive talking-blues dirge about being stuck in Radioville.
Perhaps the best case for listening to the album can be found in the liner notes’ foreword by Taylor W. Rushing, who did the cover art: “Introducing the world to the first proletariat, hillbilly, folk-art honest person’s concept album that transcends commodity!”
1. American Ancients
2. Radioville
3. Hard Luck Kid
4. Station Agent
5. Appalachian Sky
6. First Gear
7. Barefoot Mule
8. County Fair
9. Just Like That
10. Soft Gravel Stone
Bandwear
Tags: blues, country, folk, rock
Manifesto of an Alchemist
Relatively fresh off his amazing 2016 collaborative album with Jon Anderson (“Invention of Knowledge,” under the moniker Anderson-Stolt), Swedish prog vet Roine Stolt perhaps takes a cue from his experience of reassembling bits of unfinished Anderson songs that had accumulated over the years — this time applying it to his own odds and ends dating back 15 years or so.
With his Flower Kings outfit inactive and FK keyboardist Tomas Bodin waylaid by tinnitus, Stolt enlisted bandmates Jonas Reingold and Hasse Froberg, along with a few other musical cohorts, to form “Roine Stolt’s The Flower King” and realize his latest creation.
The cognoscenti will recall that Stolt’s 1994 solo album, “The Flower King,” is considered to be essentially the first Flower Kings album. This new group’s name, therefore, accurately signals that this is neither a Flower Kings proper nor a Stolt solo record.
Stolt has said in interviews that the recording process was relatively quick, compared with his old band’s modus operandi, and that the music benefited from this.
“A lot of the guitar work is actually my spontaneous ‘demo’ guitars and that goes for much of the synth work, too,” he says in the album’s press release. ‘I didn’t want to ‘process’ ideas too much as there is much power in the initial creation — I wanted to keep it that way.”
As always there are obvious influences from prog heroes past, as in the opening two tracks (“Rainsong” and “Lost America”) comprising a 10-minute opus, impressively calling to mind the stylings of guitarists Steve Howe and Trevor Rabin — simultaneously.
There are plenty of keyboards to enjoy on “Ze Pawns,” a jazzy guitar ballad boasting some nice synth-Rhodes-organ touches, as well as dynamic (and dynamically recorded) drumming by madman Marco Minnemann of supergroup instrumental power trio The Aristocrats.
“High Road,” clocking in at more than 12 minutes, pays tribute to not one but two classic groups: It starts out a tad “Topographic,” gives way to shades of ELP midway and then comes full circle by revisiting the initial theme — with an added tip of the hat to gone-but-not-forgotten Chris Squire via Stolt’s workout on Rickenbacker bass.
Other highlights include the three instrumentals: “Rio Grande,” a Genesis-like number in the vein of “Dance on a Volcano” and “Los Endos” only less intense; “The Alchemist,” an instrumental bit of sax-laden funky jazz fusion that would do The Headhunters, Mahavishnu Orchestra and Return to Forever proud; and “Six Thirty Wake-Up,” a dreamy affair complete with flute.
1. Rainsong
2. Lost America
3. Ze Pawns
4. High Road
5. Rio Grande
6. Next To A Hurricane
7. The Alchemist
8. Baby Angels
9. Six Thirty Wake-Up
10. The Spell Of Money
Tags: prog, rock
Red River/Green Amp
• “The Great Lost Dave Davies Album”
• “The Album That Almost Never Was”
• “Hidden Treasures, Vol. 2”
• “More Unfinished Business — Dave Davies Kronikles, 1971-1979”
Any of the above could serve as alternate titles to Kinks guitarist Dave Davies’ new solo album, “Decade.”
Like 1973’s “The Great Lost Kinks Album,” it contains songs that never made it onto any Kinks LPs.
As with 1987’s “The Album That Never Was” and its more official, expanded counterpart “Hidden Treasures,” the new record is a decades-later facsimile of what might have been.
And in the same vein as 1999’s “Unfinished Business — Dave Davies Kronikles, 1963-1998,” it summarizes his output within a specific, albeit more narrow, period of time.
Predating his official solo debut “AFL1-3603” in 1980, “Decade” rounds up 13 songs and demos recorded 1971-79 mostly at Konk, the London studio base set up for the Kinks in 1973. The tapes were found in attics, closets and even under a bed, Davies has said in interviews.
With the help of two of his sons, the reels were able to be restored and then the music enhanced sonically while retaining the flavor of the era. Little reportedly was added outside of some vocal and guitar parts on a couple of tracks.
Among musicians making cameo appearances are Kinks members Mick Avory on drums (although Davies also plays drums on certain cuts) and John Gosling on Hammond organ.
Shades of the band’s “Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One” and “Muswell Hillbillies” LPs can be heard, replete with acoustic and the occasional resonator guitar.
The pensive “Same Old Blues,” while not a blues tune, is among the standouts. However, “If You Are Leaving” features the aforementioned steel-bodied guitar sounds, “Mystic Woman” boasts some tasty electric slide and “The Journey” (one of two instrumentals) makes good use of a mandolin.
Other highlights include “Islands,” with its interesting time signature change; the jaunty “Give You All My Love”; “Mr. Moon,” whose lead guitar riffs emulate sitar runs; and the second instrumental, “Shadows,” which plays up the use of multitracked acoustic and electric guitars.
In the end it’s a solid and pleasantly anachronistic affair that outshines the artist’s previously prime (and consciously conceived) effort, “AFL1-3603.”
1. Cradle To The Grave
2. Midnight Sun
4. If You Are Leaving
5. Web Of Time
6. Mystic Woman
7. Give You All My Love
8. The Journey
9. Within Each Day
10. Same Old Blues
11. Mr. Moon
12. Shadows
13. This Precious Time (Long Lonely Road)
Tags: blues, rock
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U.S., China Agree to Limited Deal to Halt Trade War
Date : 12/13/2019 @ 11:03PM
By William Mauldin, Lingling Wei and Alex Leary
Details emerged Friday from the U.S.'s first-stage trade deal with China, which marked a milestone in President Trump's initiative to rebalance trade with Beijing but left questions over how far it goes to level the playing field for U.S. businesses.
The limited agreement, capping months of sometimes-testy negotiations, calls for China to purchase more products from American farmers and other exports, U.S. officials said. In return, the U.S. put the brakes on new tariffs set to take effect Sunday and agreed to reduce some existing levies. Both sides termed it a "phase one" deal and said negotiations would continue on remaining issues.
Mr. Trump called the deal "phenomenal" and told reporters in the Oval Office that the U.S. would continue to use the remaining tariffs as leverage in future negotiations with China.
"I say affectionately that the farmers are going to have to go out and buy much larger tractors because it means a lot of business, a tremendous amount of business," Mr. Trump said.
But doubts remained, with some critics claiming the deal amounted to little more than China agreeing to step up U.S. farm purchases and not make the kind of long-term economic changes that U.S. officials have said are needed to level the playing field for businesses.
"He has sold out for a temporary and unreliable promise from China to purchase some soybeans," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) said.
Others said that even with the limitations, the phase-one deal marked a significant turning point in U.S.-China relations.
"This doesn't solve all of our problems," said Clete Willems, a former Trump administration economic official and current partner at law firm Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld LLP. "But it is very important for the U.S. and China to be able to say 'yes' to each other on some things."
As part of the deal, the U.S. canceled plans to impose fresh tariffs on $156 billion in annual imports of Chinese-made goods -- including smartphones, toys and consumer electronics -- that were set to go into effect Sunday. The U.S. will also slash the tariff rate in half on roughly $120 billion of goods affected on Sept. 1, from 15% to 7.5%.
U.S. tariffs of 25% would remain on roughly $250 billion in Chinese goods, including machinery, electronics and furniture. In exchange, officials in Washington said China agreed to increase American agricultural purchases by $32 billion over previous levels over the next two years.
That would increase total farm-product purchases to $40 billion a year, with China working to raise it to $50 billion a year, U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer told reporters at the White House. The farm purchases would be part of total additional exports of $200 billion over two years, said Mr. Lighthizer, who didn't provide specifics.
Mr. Lighthizer also said China made specific commitments on intellectual property, including counterfeiting, patent and trademark issues and pharmaceutical rights, as well as on preventing the forced transfer of technology from firms entering the Chinese market. He and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are expected to sign the deal in early January, with the pact entering into force 30 days later, Mr. Lighthizer said.
While he portrayed the first phase as a crucial step, Mr. Lighthizer acknowledged that tougher issues lay ahead in future negotiating rounds, including opening up closed Chinese markets, if the U.S. is to achieve a fundamental shift in the trade relationship with China.
Neither government submitted a full text or even a detailed summary of the deal, hamstringing efforts to determine the winners and losers in the world's two biggest economies or the quality of the agreement.
U.S. stock markets ended the day slightly higher, with some analysts saying they were awaiting more details on the specifics.
"The devil remains in the details," Bankrate.com senior economic analyst Mark Hamrick said. "We await further word on purported aspects of the agreement including purchases of U.S. farm goods, intellectual property protections, technology transfers and access to China's financial sector."
Mr. Lighthizer declined to specify when the two countries would begin active negotiations on phase two, where U.S. negotiators are likely to seek further progress on knottier issues such as Chinese pressure on American businesses to share technology and Beijing's subsidies to domestic companies.
Chinese negotiators struck a more cautious tone. At a hastily arranged press conference at the main propaganda department in central Beijing, senior Chinese economy officials didn't disclose much detail, except to confirm that both sides had reached an agreement in principle.
Vice Commerce Minister Wang Shouwen, one of China's lead negotiators, said the U.S. had agreed to remove the remaining tariffs on Chinese products "in stages." Mr. Lighthizer said there was no agreement on that, and suggested China believes further reductions could be negotiated in subsequent phases of the deal.
Trade experts briefed by officials had expected the U.S. to eliminate the tariffs imposed on retail goods on Sept. 1 or roll back more tranches of tariffs, rather than merely halving the September tariff rates.
As recently as a week or so ago, U.S. negotiators presented their Chinese counterparts a bigger proposal that would have required Beijing to commit to massive purchases of farm and other products, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. In exchange, Washington would have slashed by as much as half the tariff rates on about $360 billion of Chinese imports, in addition to canceling the levies that were planned for Sunday.
But the Chinese negotiators, led by Mr. Liu, President Xi Jinping's point man on U.S. trade, balked at guaranteeing the purchases for fear that such managed trade could violate the rules of the World Trade Organization and cause friction between China and its other trading partners.
"China has yet to confirm this pledge or provide any details on how they will meet it," said Brian Kuehl co-executive director of Farmers for Free Trade, which backs removing tariffs and opening markets. "There are rightfully many doubts about the president's claim that China will purchase $50 billion in ag products in a single year -- more than twice the level of pre-trade war annual purchases."
At Friday's briefing, Ning Jizhe, a top deputy of the National Development and Reform Commission, hewed to the position Beijing has maintained throughout the negotiations: "Expanding trade cooperation must be based on market principles and WTO rules."
That emphasis raised questions about whether China committed to any big purchases of U.S. products at all, according to industry experts tracking the talks. In addition, they said, the fact that the U.S. only agreed to modest tariff reliefs as part of the phase-one deal also shows that the purchases Beijing agreed could be less than originally sought by Mr. Trump.
Chinese officials, declining to specify how much China expects to buy from the U.S. as part of the near-term deal, also said the U.S. had agreed to increase its imports of Chinese agricultural products.
The trade battle has been dragging on for nearly two years. The Trump administration initially sought a sweeping deal from Beijing with the goal of getting the Chinese leadership to address a range of issues such as the vast bilateral trade imbalance, Chinese pressure on U.S. firms to share technology and Beijing's subsidies to domestic firms.
A near-agreement between the two sides collapsed in early May after Beijing made substantial changes to the draft text that China's leadership saw as too lopsided in Washington's favor.
The trade war then intensified with both governments hitting each other with fresh tariffs. In recent months, Mr. Trump and Mr. Xi both came under economic and political pressure to ease the trade tensions. Betting on the U.S. president's need to prop up the economy and markets in the run-up to his re-election bid next year, Mr. Xi's team proposed what it had sought for a while: carrying out the negotiations in stages.
The Trump administration accepted that approach when a new truce was declared in the Oval Office in October.
Since then, discussions between the two sides have focused on how to get China to beef up its purchases of American farm products. Such a move would benefit Mr. Trump's key supporters in rural states as the 2020 campaign season gets under way.
Thornier issues involving Chinese subsidies of industry and forced technology transfer has largely been left for future discussions. Many in the U.S. business community remain skeptical that those talks could bear any fruit. Mr. Trump said Friday he had planned to start negotiations on phase two of the deal after the 2020 U.S. presidential election, but China wanted to start the talks sooner.
Asked when the two sides will start those discussions, Liao Min, China's Vice Finance Minister and a trusted aide to Mr. Liu, the chief negotiator, said: "The urgent task right now is to get the phase-one agreement signed and implemented."
--Andrew Restuccia, Tim Puko and Chao Deng contributed to this article.
Write to William Mauldin at william.mauldin@wsj.com, Lingling Wei at lingling.wei@wsj.com and Alex Leary at alex.leary@wsj.com
December 13, 2019 17:48 ET (22:48 GMT)
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DISCOURSE OF MENSTRUAL WELLBEING IN SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN RURAL RAJASTHAN
Jyoti Pali, Atiq Ahmed, Tahira Mariam
Jyoti Pali*, Atiq Ahmed**, Tahira Mariam***
*. Research Scholar, Department of Social Work, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandarsindri, Kishangarh, Ajmer, 305817
**. Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, Central University of Rajasthan, Bandarsindri, Kishangarh, Ajmer, 305817
***. Consultant Psychologist, Ajmer, Rajasthan
Pali, Jyoti, et al. "DISCOURSE OF MENSTRUAL WELLBEING IN SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN RURAL RAJASTHAN." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, vol. 4, no. 2, Feb. 2019, pp. 801-818, ijsser.org/more2019.php?id=62. Accessed Feb. 2019.
Pali, J., Ahmed, A., & Mariam, T. (2019, February). DISCOURSE OF MENSTRUAL WELLBEING IN SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN RURAL RAJASTHAN. Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research, 4(2), 801-818. Retrieved from ijsser.org/more2019.php?id=62
Pali, Jyoti, Atiq Ahmed, and Tahira Mariam. "DISCOURSE OF MENSTRUAL WELLBEING IN SOCIO-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE AMONG ADOLESCENT GIRLS IN RURAL RAJASTHAN." Int. j. of Social Science and Economic Research 4, no. 2 (February 2019), 801-818. Accessed February, 2019. ijsser.org/more2019.php?id=62.
[1]. Clarke, A. E., & Ruble, D. N. (1978). Young adolescents' beliefs concerning menstruation. Child Development, 231-234.
[2]. Chandra-Mouli, V., Greifinger, R., Nwosu, A., Hainsworth, G., Sundaram, L., Hadi, S. & Schoening, E. (2013). Invest in adolescents and young people: it pays. Reproductive health, 10(1), 51.
[3]. Dambhare, Dharampal G., Sanjay V. Wagh, and Jayesh Y. Dudhe. "Age at menarche and menstrual cycle pattern among school adolescent girls in Central India." Global journal of health science 4.1 (2012): 105.
[4]. Garg, S., & Anand, T. (2015). Menstruation-related myths in India: strategies for combating it. Journal of family medicine and primary care, 4(2), 184.
[5]. Garg, S., Sharma, N., & Sahay, R. (2001). Socio-cultural aspects of menstruation in an urban slum in Delhi, India. Reproductive health matters, 9(17), 16-25.
[6]. Goel, M. K., & Kundan, M. (2011). The psycho-social behavior of urban Indian adolescent girls during menstruation. The Australasian medical journal, 4(1), 49.
[7]. Grant, M., Lloyd, C., & Mensch, B. (2013). Menstruation and school absenteeism: evidence from rural Malawi. Comparative education review, 57(2), 260-284.
[8]. Haque, S. E., Rahman, M., Itsuko, K., Mutahara, M., & Sakisaka, K. (2014). The effect of a school-based educational intervention on menstrual health: an intervention study among adolescent girls in Bangladesh. BMJ Open, 4(7), e004607.
[9]. Indian Council of Medical Research (1972) Growth and development of Indian infants and children. Technical Report Series No. 18, New Delhi.
[10]. Khatoon T, Verma AK, Kumari R, Rupani R, Singh M. (2011). Age at menarche and affecting bio-social factors among the girls of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Journal of Indian Academy of Forensic Medicine 33: 221-223.
[11]. Kumar CM, Babu CS. Reproductive Health Problems of Adolescent Girls between 15 and 19 in Andhra Pradesh. Pakistan Pediatr J. 2012; 36(4):225-34.
[12]. Khanna, A., Goyal, R. S., & Bhawsar, R. (2005). Menstrual practices and reproductive problems: a study of adolescent girls in Rajasthan. Journal of health management, 7(1), 91-107.
[13]. Kothari, B. (2010). Perception about Menstruation: A Study of Rural Jaipur, Rajasthan. Indian Anthropologist, 43-54.
[14]. Malhotra, A. (2016). Psycho-social factors and gender norms around Menstruation and their effects on girls' agency. UNICEF INDIA
[15]. Miller, W. B., & Smith, P. J. (1975). Elimination of the menses: Psychosocial aspects. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 12, 153-16.
[16]. Operational Guidelines (2017). Promotion of Menstrual Hygiene among Adolescent Girls (10-19 Years) in Rural Areas. NRHM.
[17]. Pokhrel, S., Mahantashetti, N., Angolkar, M., & Devkota, N. (2014). Impact of health education on knowledge, attitude and practice regarding menstrual hygiene among pre-university female students of a college located in the urban area of Belgaum. IOSR J Nurs Health Sci, 3, 38-44.
[18]. Rani, M., Sheoran, P., Kumar, Y., & Singh, N. (2016). Evaluating the effectiveness of pubertal preparedness program in terms of knowledge and attitude regarding pubertal changes among pre-adolescent girls. Journal of family & reproductive health, 10(3), 122.
[19]. Reddy PJ, Usha Rani D. (2005) Reproductive Health Constraints of Adolescent School Girls. IJSW; 66(4): 180-81.
[20]. Singh A, Kiran D, Singh H, (2008). Prevalence and Severity of Dysmenorrhea: A Problem related to Menstruation in First and Second Year Female Medical Students. Indian J Physiol Pharmacol; 52 (4): 389-397
[21]. Sandhya Rani PM. (2005). Sexual and Reproductive Health Status of Adolescents and young Married Girls. IJSW; 66(4): 178-79.
[22]. Satyanarayana K, Naidu AN. (1979). Nutrition and menarche in rural Hyderabad. Annals of Human Biology 6: 163-165.
[23]. Sooki, Zahra, et al. (2016). "The role of mother in informing girls about puberty: a meta-analysis study." Nursing and midwifery studies 5.1
[24]. Swenson, I., & Havens, B. (1987). Menarche and menstruation: a review of the literature. Journal of community health nursing, 4(4), 199-210.
[25]. Thomas F, Renaud F, Benefice E, Meeus TD, Guegan J (2001) International variability of ages at menarche and menopause: patterns and main determinants. Human Biology 73: 271- 290.
[26]. Tegegne, T. K., & Sisay, M. M. (2014). Menstrual hygiene management and school absenteeism among female adolescent students in Northeast Ethiopia. BMC public health, 14(1), 1118.
[27]. Upashe, S. P., Tekelab, T., & Mekonnen, J. (2015). Assessment of knowledge and practice of menstrual hygiene among high school girls in Western Ethiopia. BMC women's health, 15(1), 84.
[28]. Van Eijk, A. M., Sivakami, M., Thakkar, M. B., Bauman, A., Laserson, K. F., Coates, S., & Phillips-Howard, P. A. (2016). Menstrual hygiene management among adolescent girls in India: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ Open, 6(3), e010290.
[29]. Zabin LS, Emerson MR, Nan L, Chaohua L, Ersheng G, Minh NH, et al. (2009) Levels of change in adolescent sexual behavior in three Asian cities. Stud Fam Plann; 40:1-12
The present study was carried out in Noharia, a small village of Rajasthan has a population of around one thousand. This study was based on two key objectives, one, to assess the menstruation health, practices and socio-cultural restrictions on adolescent girls and second was to disseminate knowledge about menstrual adjustment among rural girls. In this study, Mean age of menarche was found 14.5 years. The study reveals that Girls were unaware and unprepared about the menarche. 77.3% of girls reported of being unaware about the phenomenon in the course of their first menstruation. The initial experiences found vital among adolescent, 86.4% of girls reported that at the inception of the period their first reaction was fear. The majority (90%) of participants' resolved sudden panic of menarche by telling to their mother. In this study sanitation during menstruation was found to be a big challenge in rural areas as 63.6% girls goes to the farm for defecation. However, at the end of the study, one session was conducted to disseminate knowledge on menstrual adjustment among participant girls in the study. It was a constructive activity executed along with young girls. It is to conclude that if knowledge circulates to girls with a systematic way it would lead towards an effective initiative in order to address menstruation taboos and menstrual malpractices among women in rural areas.
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PUBLIC NOTICE: THE FISCAL BUDGET FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2020/2021
Reena Atuma2019-11-11T13:45:05+00:00
The amendment of the Public Finance Management Act through the Statute Law
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2019 dated 9th July 2019, requires that the
revenue-raising measures contained in the Finance Bill be submitted to Parliament
by 30th of April each year as opposed to June during the budget-statement usually in
mid-June. It is therefore imperative that we begin the process of preparing the
Finance Bill, 2020 early enough in order to meet the new timelines.
Important Notice – Budget 2010_2021
How Governments Report On And Justify Budget Deviations
The study of budget credibility examines the extent, nature, causes, and consequences of deviations from approved budgets. Given the degree to which budget deviations can impact major social priorities in health, education, and beyond, it is essential that governments communicate about them. kenya-budget-credibility-snapshot-ibp-2019
Is Devolution Under Siege?
Article 218(1) of the Constitution of Kenya states that at least two months before the end of each financial year, there shall be introduced in Parliament— (a) a Division of Revenue Bill, which shall divide revenue raised by the national government among the national and county levels of government in accordance with this Constitution. However, the current disagreements between the National Assembly and the Senate have derailed the entire process thus threatening to bring to a halt the operations of both levels of Government…
Is Devolution Under Siege
What has gender got to do with public finance and budgeting in a Kenyan perspective?
Studies on gender and public finance belong to different schools and at times merging the two can become a tall order. While studies on public finance is concerned on government activities, which include spending, deficits and taxation, gender studies on the other hand is concerned about gendered representation in all spheres of society. Undoubtedly, these are two distinct fields that one would not consider a merger between them. Surprisingly, these fields are intertwined to form what we call gender responsive budgeting and policy formulation. The two fields acknowledge involvement of people in public finances through public participation channels at the same seek to promote gender equality. Both schools argue that taxation and expenditure affect men and women different and for this reason we find a common ground of public finance and gender…
What has gender got to do with public finance and budgeting in a Kenyan perspective-IPFK
Circular No.8-2018 Guidelines for Preparation of FY 2019.20-2021.22 Budget.
Section 36 (2) of the Public Finance Management Act 2012 requires that not later than the 30th August in each year, the Cabinet Secretary shall issue to all national government entities a circular setting out guidelines on the budget process to be followed by them.
The circular in section 36 (3) includes (a) a schedule for preparation of the budget indicating key dates by which various exercises are to be completed; (b) the procedures for the review and projection of revenues and expenditures; (c) key policy areas and issues that are to be taken into consideration when preparing the budget; (d) procedures setting out the manner in which members of the public shall participate in the budget process; (e) the format in which budget information and documents shall be submitted; and (f) any other information that, in the opinion of the Cabinet Secretary, may assist the budget process.
Finally, the circular requires in section 36 (4) of the PFM Act 2012 that every national government entity shall comply with the guidelines, and in particular, such dates as are specified in the schedule referred to in subsection (3)(a).
Circular No.8-2018 Guidelines for Preparation of FY 2019.20-2021.22 Budget
What is a finance Bill?
Every year in June, the cabinet secretary for National Treasury reads the budget highlights and presents the Finance Bill to the National Assembly. But what is a Finance Bill? Why does the cabinet secretary present it to parliament alongside the budget highlights?
Policy Brief: Enhancing Accountability for Basic Education Budget in Kenya by World Vision Kenya.
The Government of the Republic of Kenya has been demonstrating a consistent commitment towards ensuring the realization of the Right to Free and Compulsory Basic Education for all children as provided for under article 53(1b) of the Constitution of Kenya.
Enhancing Accountability for the Basic Education Budget in Kenya therefore calls for a focus on the key components and needs of the Basic Education sub-sector.
What are some of the challenges counties face in revenue collection and is automation of revenue an end in itself?
Article 209 (3) of the Constitution of Kenya obliges counties to impose property rates, entertainment taxes and any other tax which should be imposed through an Act of Parliament. However, revenue collection is dependent of the context in terms of where the county is located and its available revenue streams. For instance urban counties like Nairobi are more likely to get more revenue from entertainment taxes while the counties considered to be in a rural setting are likely to raise less. Our July brief speaks of the challenges faced in raising revenue with recommendations on how to improve the same. Read more of this in the link below…
Nairobi City County Citizen Budget 2018-2019
Section 131 of the Public Finance Management, Act 2012 gives the county assembly powers “to consider the county government budget estimates with a view to approving them, with or without amendments, in time for the relevant appropriation law and any other laws required to implement the budget to be passed by the 30th June in each year.” Nairobi City County Assembly is in the process of approving the estimates for 2018/2019. What are the highlights for the upcoming financial year? Get a copy of the Nairobi Citizen Estimates 2018/2019 from the link below…
In the FY 2018/19 national budget we celebrate small wins and mourn big losses.
The Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Mr Henry Rotich will present highlights on the budget 2018/2019 in parliament on 14th of June 2018. The highlights will provide information on policy and revenue raising measure for the upcoming financial year. But how has the process been like? What are the gains and losses? Read more on this in our June 2018 brief from the link below…
In the FY 2018-19 budget we celebrate small wins and mourn big losses-IPFK June Budget brief
© 2017 Institute of Public Finance Kenya. Website Design by Icarus Technologies
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Jordanian princess becomes her country's first female pilot
კატეგორია: ეს საინტერესოა
Princess Salma completed her pilot training with Jordan's Armed Forces and was honoured by her father King Abdullah.
Jordan's Princess Salma bint Abdullah became the first woman in her country to pass her theoretical and practical pilot training with the Jordanian Armed Forces.
According to a statement from the Royal Hashemite Court, the 19-year-old completed her pilot training on fixed-wing aircraft.
The princess, who previously graduated from a short commissioning course at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in November 2018, was presented with her aviation wings by her father, King Abdullah, at the Husseiniya Palace in the capital Amman on Wednesday.
The ceremony was attended by her mother Queen Rania and her older brother, Crown Prince Hussein.
Her brother, who is a first lieutenant in the Jordanian Armed Forces, took to Instagram to congratulate his sister.
"Brilliant and hard-working as always!" he wrote. "Congrats on receiving your wings and here's to more success and achievements."
The Jordanian royal family can count a few of their members as Sandhurst alumni, such as the late King Hussein, King Abdullah and Prince Hussein.
Princess Salma, however, is not the first female to graduate from the UK-based military academy. Her paternal aunt, Princess Aisha bint Hussein, was the first Arab woman to attend Sandhurst and graduated in 1987.
She later went on to serve in Jordan's special forces. Another aunt, Princess Iman, graduated in 2003.
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The Panhandle
Seven Questions for Matt Magee
by Paul Laster April 3, 2017
Matt Magee, Green Arrow, 2016. Oil on panel, 16 x 20 inches. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
While attending Trinity University in San Antonio in the early-‘80s, Matt Magee took a leap of faith that would forever change his life. Signing up on three straight summer internships with the Guggenheim Museum—two in New York and the third in Venice—the artist set a course for a creative career that continues to flourish today. A painter, sculptor and printmaker, Magee recently accepted another challenge—to discuss his life and art by answering seven questions, a number that has recurring significance to his work. The subject of a current two-person show at inde/jacobs in Marfa, Magee takes us through his early explorations in art, the big move to New York, inspiring years working for Robert Rauschenberg, and his bold shift to increased creativity in Phoenix.
What motivated you to become an artist?
It was a combination of a lot of things, but I’d say that from a fairly early age I was always working with my hands—whether I was making origami or collecting rocks and shells with my geologist father, or making ceramics in classes in London when I was nine or ten. My parents always gave me free rein to explore my interests and with their encouragement I enrolled in art classes in high school in Dallas in the mid-1970s, and by my senior year I was taking drawing classes at a local college.
I’ve always gravitated towards creative people and, bottom line, always used my spare time to make things—my hands are never idle. At one point during high school I volunteered in the library at the Dallas Museum of Art so I could look at art books all day. One of my early high-school jobs was working retail in a mall in Dallas in the 1970s and I’d collect the plastic bags that wrapped the clothes shipments and bring them home to twist, melt, wad and weave into sculptures and wall pieces.
I went to Trinity University in San Antonio for undergraduate from 1979 to 1983 and majored in art history, but again was constantly making drawings and objects during that period. My dorm room was a complete environmental installation of hanging forms, like an underwater kelp forest with stenciled pictograms on the floor.
My posse of friends at the time included the Butthole Surfers, and all of us associated in an entourage of fandom and went to shows at Club Foot in Austin and to gigs in Houston and around Texas. Gibby Haynes, lead singer of the Buttholes, and his right hand man Paul Walthal were both students at Trinity during my time there and we had a lot of raucous crazy, ultimately creative times. Gibby and Paul made really cool zines and the Buttholes’ club shows can best be described as Dada performance with video and references to Bertolt Brecht, et al.
During those undergraduate years at Trinity I also did three summer internships at the Guggenheim Museum—two at 1071 Fifth Avenue in New York and the third at Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, during my graduate summer of 1983. I was constantly taking photographs and making objects during this time. While in Venice, circa 1983, I was collecting detergent bottles from the canals and making sculptures from them with wire and spray paint.
During my early twenties I realized that what held my interest and made me happiest was to make things. There wasn’t a conscious ‘I’m an artist’ epiphany but more like, ‘this is just what I am.’
Matt Magee, Shard 2, 2016. Oil on panel, 30 x 24 inches. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
Why did you decide to move to New York and how did you survive once you got there?
My mom grew up in New York City on the Upper West Side and at West Point and went to the Horace Mann School in the 1940s. Her aunt, my grandmother’s sister Esther Lloyd-Jones, was a professor at Columbia University and head of the guidance department there for 40 years and also on the board of Pratt Institute for some 30 years. I grew up hearing about Pratt and it became what I’d say was the natural choice when applying to graduate school.
After the Guggenheim internships my goal in late 1983 was to get to New York and focus on my studio work. I applied to the MFA program at Pratt with a portfolio of work from the 1970s, was accepted and began there fall of 1984. Since my work didn’t fit into the traditional painting and sculpture program it was defined as New Forms, an exploration of non-traditional media and process.
My friends and classmates during the years at Pratt included Jim Hodges, who now shows with Barbara Gladstone, and Ava Gerber, who early on was showing with Jose Freire [Team Gallery]. While Pratt provided two years of extreme focus on my studio work and a thesis show, I also gained a circle of friends and we all helped each other find studios in Brooklyn when graduating in 1986. A high point during this time was a summer residency in 1985 at Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, with the Texas artist James Surls as mentor and advisor.
My first job out of Pratt in 1986 was working as a preparator for Barbara Toll, who had a gallery in SoHo on Greene Street in the 1980s, next to Castelli Warehouse. At that time I lived in a one-room apartment in a brownstone in Brooklyn and was biking every weekday over the Brooklyn Bridge to Lower Manhattan for work. Evenings, weekends and any days off were spent working in my Bed-Stuy studio, a space I kept from 1986 to 2004. I was constantly moving, biking to work, biking to the studio, biking to openings, biking in all weather at all times of the day and night. I was seeing and doing and participating. I was hanging out with Tony Feher and Hunter Reynolds, who both worked for Paula Cooper at the time when she had her gallery on Wooster Street. Also I had become friends with the artist Win Knowlton and helped him in his studio from time to time, while he was showing at Blum Helman. Chris Martin is also a friend from those days and I’d visit him in his studio on Graham Avenue, where we traded work. I also met Bill Arning around 1986-87, when he was director of White Columns on far west Spring Street. He was the first person to show some of my early sculptures.
The Butthole Surfers would also have gigs in New York in the 1980s and through them and my friend Cheryl Dyer I met David Wojnarowicz, Carlos McCormick, Walter Robinson and others. Charlie Finch was also part of this world, though I didn’t meet him until later.
In 1989 I interviewed with Sean Kelly and Peter Goulds for the preparator job at Louver Gallery New York, was given the job and we opened in September 1989 with an Ed Kienholz show. The artist arrived from Idaho with an entourage, including his wife Nancy Reddin. We had a case of Jack Daniels ready for him and his posse. Sean Kelly eventually left Louver to start his own gallery and we’ve remained friends. I recently saw him at Zona MACO in Mexico City.
During the late 1980s and into the early ’90s my work was shown at Artist Space, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, and with Amy Lipton’s gallery. Bill Arning included a large rubber piece in the outdoor sculpture show he curated in 1992 on the grounds of the Rushmore Estate, where some of Polly Apfelbaum’s flower sculptures sprouted next to my large rubber X in the grass.
These formative years lay the groundwork and foundation for my practice today. The friendships are still there from the 1980s and we all manage to keep in touch via social media and other ways.
Matt Magee, E-Chart, 2016. Oil on panel, 12 x 6 inches. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
How did you start working at Robert Rauschenberg’s studio and what did you do there?
In spring 1994 Louver Gallery New York closed and I worked for about six months for Nancy Hoffman Gallery on West Broadway. Jim Hodges had left his job as preparator there and I was given his gig. In October 1994 my friend Maureen Mahoney, then a director at Castelli Graphics, called to say there was a job at Rauschenberg’s studio at 381 Lafayette and that I should go for it. I interviewed (along with a lot of other guys) with David White, Rauschenberg’s curator, got the job and began working there in November 1994. I was hired as an art handler, but quickly realized there were a lot of responsibilities in helping manage 381 Lafayette Street, a five-floor former 19th-century orphanage that Rauschenberg bought in the mid-‘60s.
My duties quickly expanded to updating exhibition history in the registry books; filing the constant flow of news clippings; maintaining the rooftop garden; packing, unpacking and installing art at 381 and at the warehouse on 38th Street (the former Kostabi World). I was at the studio at 381 in 1995 when the first glass tires arrived from UrbanGlass. I put some of the first proofs in the basement storage there and prepared and installed them in their nickel-plated carriages for various shows.
After a few years I began traveling as a courier with shipments going to exhibitions in Paris, Madrid, Salzburg, Luxembourg and other locales. One of the most interesting trips was taking Jasper Johns’ Flashlight sculpture, circa 1955, from Rauschenberg’s collection to a Pop Art exhibition at the Pompidou Center in Paris. After flying from JFK with the then $1million object by my side, I was met by armed guards at the Charles de Gaulle Airport. We took an armored vehicle directly from the airport to the museum and took an elevator up to the exhibition galleries, where I put on my white gloves and placed the object in a vitrine.
The studio’s New York staff of four was often invited to events and openings, including Rauschenberg’s retrospectives at the Guggenheim at 1071 Fifth Avenue and the Guggenheim Bilbao. Over the years we also helped work on and research numerous exhibition catalogues and are credited in the acknowledgements of many of them. I became adept at going through the photo archives over and over again, looking for images for these various catalogues and thus became the chief photo archivist by dint of my experience.
Rauschenberg—we called him Bob—had left New York in 1970 and set up shop on Captiva, a barrier island off the west coast of Florida, near Ft. Myers. He had a full-time staff of 12 there who assisted with his daily studio practice, managed the business and maintained the 38 acres surrounding his home and studio complex. I visited twice, but there was no need to be there—my work was with the New York archives, helping manage the art storage, 381 Lafayette and assisting curatorial staff.
The job evolved into five days a week and seemed to get busier and busier as the years rolled by. I kept my objectives clear with my own studio practice and was in my Bed-Stuy studio fairly consistently night after night and on weekends and holidays. I began showing with the Bill Maynes Gallery in Chelsea and in 1997 had a two-person show with Jim Torok and then a solo in 2000, which was reviewed positively in Art in America by Bob Berland. There were also many group shows during these years—here, there and everywhere.
Rauschenberg was a person who said yes more than he said no and would kiss you full on the lips whenever he saw you. He was omnivorous in his passions and interests and was very generous spiritually. He inspired in every way by his total commitment to his daily practice, which was fully integrated into his life. I carry memories of the 18 years I worked with him and my colleagues there. At the time of his death in 2008 there were memorials at the Museum of Modern Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice and at his studio on Captiva—a true testament to his legacy and importance as an artist, but more simply to celebrate a very special human being. I went to all the memorials and was struck that Bob had so many friends in so many different places. He was loved.
A few months after Bob’s death we were all given some of his and his tortoise Rocky’s ashes in two copper vials, fabricated by his chief studio assistant Lawrence Voytek. I cherish them to this day.
Matt Magee, Grapheme Panel 1, 2016. Oil and pencil on panel, 10 x 8 inches. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
What motivated you to move out West after the job ended at Rauschenberg’s studio and how is that working out?
The job ended at Rauschenberg’s studio in 2012, four years after Bob died. The steady stream of new work stopped arriving to New York from Captiva and a lot of what my job was about ceased to be. There was a position at Pace I was considering, but my partner Randall and I decided maybe 30 years in New York was long enough, and that it was time to turn the page. We thought about Austin, Houston or Los Angeles, but then settled on Phoenix, where my brother, his wife and my grown nephews and niece have lived since the mid-1980s. I’d explored West Texas, New Mexico and Arizona many times with my father on field trips from Brooklyn and Manhattan, and had grown to love the desert.
I found a studio in Phoenix at Cattle Track Arts Compound, a complex of adobe and mid-20th century structures with a community of artists, who have worked and lived nearby for many years. The compound functions as a non-profit organization and we’ve received two Rauschenberg Foundation grants in the past couple of years for operating costs and general expenses.
My studio is located in a barn that used to house turkeys and cows. It’s very quiet and there are two doors, a front and a back, that are open 99% of the time, which is quite different from all of my Brooklyn and Manhattan studios, where I was up a series of staircases and often behind three or four doors.
The lower cost of living in the Southwest has allowed me to be in the studio full-time, usually seven days a week. This kind of studio time has enabled me to slow down and to focus on the craft and quality of my work. I often give paintings three to four coats of paint now, focusing on the brushwork and richness of the color. I’ve been able to produce more work and thus have been able to provide my various galleries with more material, which in turn has led to more sales. There have been shows recently in New York City, Albuquerque, Houston, Chicago, Upstate New York, London, Connecticut, and now at inde/jacobs in Marfa.
Matt Magee, Thread Drawing 6, 2016. Thread and paper, 13 1/4 x 10 3/4 framed. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
What can you tell us about your work in the show at inde/jacobs and what do you think about it being paired with the work of Glen Hanson?
Scale is one of the unifying factors in the show at inde/jacobs. I’d never considered making an entire body of work at a certain scale, so it was an interesting challenge. A couple of my pieces are made from plastic bags, which I’ve sewn through with thread and yarn in horizontal rows. I first made one of these kinds of pieces in 1981, and it was featured in my show in Chicago last fall. The idea is to construct a paragraph of sewn text using thread to fill the flattened bag with a type of information. The stitching in ‘Red Thread Bag’ forms a vessel within the vessel of the bag surface.
My work shares the inde/jacobs space with the beaded works of Glen Hanson, whom I met in the course of the installation week in Marfa, where he’s a full time resident. In the late-1970s he owned an important Minneapolis gallery, where he mounted a Joseph Beuys show and the artist actually came for the opening.
Hanson had also worked with Rauschenberg in the mid-1970s, on the 54-foot silkscreen Bob created for Dayton’s Department Store in Minneapolis. Hanson’s work follows in the Lakota tradition of beading. In his very minimal, 10-inch by 10-inch surfaces some 30,000 beads are used. What links our work and gave the gallery owner Vilis Inde impetus to pair us is the sense of process, repetition, stitching, and seriality.
We also installed a few of my paintings, Queue and Shard 1, for example. The first is on a narrow panel and is an enumeration of vertical red blocks in rows falling or waiting in line—the idea of sequencing comes to mind. Shard 1, titled for a building in London, is painted on a shaped panel that I originally had fabricated to make a painting titled Granite Reef, with Shard 1 evolving from its failure. The red triangle became a way to overwhelm the construct of the shaped panel.
During the installation in Marfa, I made the seventh in a series of wall paintings. The others this past year were painted for Tamarind Institute, EXPO Chicago, Re-Institute in Upstate New York, the Tucson Museum of Art and in London for my solo show with Emma Hill. The one for inde/jacobs is titled Marfa Grapheme and is a bit different, in that small dots are suspended in the drawn grid as opposed to circles and ovals like the others. The matrix references Agnes Martin’s 1973 screen-print edition On a clear day, a source of inspiration for the past 10 years. The Grapheme at inde/jacobs reads linguistically, though the language is an intuitive one.
Matt Magee, Three Quarters of You (2), 2015. Oil on reclaimed paper, 8 x 5 inches. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
Let’s revisit those three summers that you interned at the Guggenheim Museum when you were in college. How did they come to be and what can you tell us about the experience?
In the winter of 1981, when I was a twenty-year-old sophomore at Trinity, I was looking for a way to spend the summer break in New York. I spoke to the head of the art history department and he suggested applying to museums for internships with the idea that I could get credits toward my art history degree. I set my sights high and applied to the Guggenheim. My high school friend David Storey was living in New York at the time and working in the production of 42nd Street on Broadway, and I knew I’d be able to stay with him. The Guggenheim accepted my application and the first internship began there in the summer of 1981. There was an Arshile Gorky retrospective installed at the museum and one of my initial tasks was to Xerox mountains of press releases in the Aye Simon Reading Room, just off the third floor ramp. It was not an organized room, like it is now, and I found myself filing and looking at catalogues in there.
Organized activities for the interns included visits to the conservation, preparation, photography and art storage departments with talks by museum staff about what went on in these areas. We also visited the Liederkranz building, where the Guggenheim’s archives were stored. Artist studio tours were also part of the program and we visited Christo and his wife Jean-Claude at their building on Howard Street, Leonard Baskin, and Jack Youngerman in his studio in the West Village.
I applied for a second internship at the Guggenheim in my junior year, in the summer of 1982, and was accepted again. This time I worked in the preparation department with Saul Fuerstein and a staff of two to three others in 2A, an annex in the building at 1071 Fifth Avenue. Mr. Fuerstein asked that I do an inventory of the collection of unframed works on paper, which were stored in solander boxes that were up a ladder in this alcove in 2A. I spent hours and hours up there looking at small drawings and works on paper by Paul Klee, Pablo Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Hilla Rebay et al. The contents of each of the solander boxes were noted on the inside of the lid and if there were any discrepancies I’d let Mr. Fuerstein know. During that summer I also volunteered as assistant to Cynthia Kassel, who ran the internship program and helped lead the weekly meetings in the auditorium.
I applied for a third internship to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice for my graduate year in the summer of 1983 and was accepted. It was just four years since Peggy Guggenheim had died in 1979 and the internship program was in its initial stages. There were seven of us welcomed by the director Philip Rylands that summer and I stayed for three months—living on the Giudecca with two colleagues. I spoke enough French, Spanish, Italian, and German to be able to deal with the daily crowds that came to the museum. Our duties as interns included guarding the museum galleries in the 19th-century palazzo that housed the collection, with an hourly rotation from gallery to gallery. We also took the tickets, manned the coat and bag check and each morning swept the garden—cleaning the Arnaldo Pomodoro and Max Ernst sculptures of bird droppings, as needed. I took supplemental Italian classes at the Dante Alighieri Society in the evenings and also set up my Giudecca living quarters as a studio, where I was busy making sculpture in my spare time.
As interns we were around each other 24/7 and became friends, eating meals together and taking day trips to the Lido and out to the Veneto. Some of these friends went on to open galleries and work at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York and London. My recent London show came about through one of the friendships that I made in Venice in 1983.
The internships exposed me to Art History 101—everyday, all day—and it’s all there, somehow recorded in my mind’s eye. I understand as an artist that we build on what has come before and that we’re part of a continuum and timeline. I would recommend internships as an introduction to anyone looking to seriously pursue something that they’re passionate about, whether it’s in the arts or medicine or the sciences.
Matt Magee, Green Seven, 2015. Laminated plywood, autobody paint, and steel base, 17 1/2 x 13 7/8 x 3 inches. Courtesy the artist and inde/jacobs, Marfa
Now that we’ve discussed the present and revisited the past, maybe you can consider the future. What do you foresee for yourself over the next 20 or 30 years—where do you see your work and career going?
I reflected on this question last night and this morning and the word interconnectivity kept coming to mind. I thought about how in many of my sculptures disparate elements are linked together by sections of wire. And how I’ve been sewing cotton thread through paper and plastic bags as a way to convey a language borne of labor. Interconnectivity refers to the potential to connect in an easy and effective way. Social media, email and texting interconnect us all globally in a fast efficient system. The order manifested in my work derives from interconnectedness and, as I read a definition of that word just now, I understand that it refers to a worldview that finds oneness in all things.
I’d like to continue on as I have, seeking opportunities for the work. In the past year seven of the largest paintings I’ve ever done were completed in different sites around the U.S. and in the U.K. To realize that I’m now capable of these large-scale, site-specific projects, and that they’re generally performative, has opened up a new and interesting arena. I’m no longer sequestered to the studio and working quietly. Instead, during the process of making these murals, I have become consciously engaged and connected to external variables, such as conversation and commentary by the passerby and, in the case of the outdoor projects, to elements like wind and rain and sun. Creating them has become my own internal response to these external stimuli, and in their references to text and language they become my own commentary.
Taking on larger and more ambitious projects then is a goal for the future. Since moving to the Southwest I’ve been commissioned to make a 12-foot bronze version of a 17-inch wood and graphite sculpture that I made in Brooklyn in 1990, titled Crinoid Sceptre. It has become symbolic of the trajectory forward.
I’m especially interested in doing more projects with museums and alternative venues, which are not usually considered traditional models for exhibiting work. I recently saw an article about German artist Wolfgang Laib’s show at the Secretariat in the capital of Myanmar and was interested to read how it challenged the local arts community. Laib’s medium, bee pollen, had become politicized because of the history of this particular venue, even though Laib stated that the pollen is ‘in itself the artwork.’ I once met Laib and his wife while in Salzburg a few years ago and had breakfast with them. What struck me most about him were his bright eyes and a kind of purposeful observant quiet, which still resonates and is memorable because it seems the right course to take. The way Laib’s work connected to the history of the building in Myanmar was oblique yet, as the author of the article stated, his work somehow provided an antidote to all that had come before.
Installation view of Glen Hanson and Matt Magee at inde/jacobs, Marfa
‘Glen Hanson and Matt Magee’ remains on view at inde/jacobs in Marfa through May 29, 2017.
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Spring 2020 Visiting Artist Lecture Series
Sightings: Anne Le Troter
Liz Rodda: HOT ZEN ISLAND
Optics – Artists working in Glass
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by glasstire 2 months ago
Funding generously provided by:
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John McDouall Stuart Society
JOHN McDOUALL STUART – SURVEYOR-EXPLORER, 1815 – 1866.
First Five Expeditions
Great Northern Exploring Expedition
Stuart Collection
Annual Stuart Memorial Lecture & Remembrance ceremony
New book – Sketching with Stuart
Sketching with Stuart
Sleep where Stuart slept
2016 Annual Stuart Memorial Address
Commemorating the 200th anniversary of Stuart’s birth
Stuart Memorial Address
Explorer statue to be erected
Stuart’s Gold Watch bought by National Museum of Australia
South Australian history at risk
Who do we think we are?
Statue now on S.A. Heritage register
Crossing Country
News Archives Select Month March 2019 (1) December 2017 (1) April 2017 (1) May 2016 (2) February 2016 (1) September 2015 (1) March 2015 (1) July 2014 (1) December 2013 (1) November 2013 (2) April 2013 (1) March 2013 (1) February 2013 (1) September 2012 (1) June 2012 (1) May 2012 (1) April 2012 (3) March 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) August 2011 (3) April 2011 (1) November 2010 (1) September 2010 (1) August 2010 (1)
Stuart’s Journals
Expedition Two
Expedition Three
Expedition Four
Expedition Five
Expedition Six
How to Search Stuart’s Journals
John McDouall Stuart made six expeditions from 1858 to 1862, exploring the Australian interior and establishing a route from Adelaide to the north coast.
Stuart was the first European to discover the true nature of the centre of the continent.
The Stuart Society grants you permission to freely use materials from this site, provided acknowledgment is made.
Certain images or texts may belong to other parties; they are so identified. The Stuart Society cannot grant permission for those items - you must seek permission from the relevant party.
Method of Exploration
Stuart’s approach to exploration was in stark contrast to that of Captain Charles Sturt and others of the time.
Stuart referred to his men as his companions and did not have the military barriers of rank that Sturt had.
Stuart aimed for maximum speed, with no slow moving wagons or travelling stock for rations. Horses were his only means of transport – camels were not considered.
He did not attempt, as Sturt had, to combine detailed surveying with exploration.
His only navigational instruments carried were the watch, sextant, artificial horizon and prismatic compass. R.R. Knuckey, who later worked on the construction of the Overland Telegraph, wrote of Stuart;
He was simply a marvel for horseback traverse. His map was so correct that we used simply to put a protractor and scale on it, get the bearing and distance, and ride with the same confidence as we would ride from Adelaide to Gawler.
As Aeneas Gunn, a well-known pioneer of the Northern Territory recorded:
His expeditions were undertaken without ostentation. He took no theatrical risks nor hazardous shortcuts and he came through his journeys without tragic failures or dramatic incidents to mark them for public concern.
On the final journey, Stuart prohibited the keeping of private diaries, possibly at the insistence of his sponsors. The only exception was Waterhouse, the Government appointed naturalist. Fortunately, Stephen King made a series of sketches which he hid from Stuart’s view. They are an invaluable record – the only images of the journey.
He only used aboriginal guides, briefly on two occasions, then abandoned that idea. Stuart, to his credit, had an enlightened view of the aboriginal people – possibly due to his association with Sturt and Edward John Eyre. His journals contain many references which reveal his keen interest in their activities and characteristics. He admired the ‘bold spirit’ of a child and the planning and execution of their attack on him at Attack Creek. He was sometimes amused by their antics. It is clear however, that he encountered increased hostility when he returned for his second and third attempts to cross the continent. Fire-arms were used as a last resort to serve as a warning.
John McDouall Stuart spent half his life, 25 years, in South Australia. Mona Stuart Webster once wrote:-
The most important thing that Stuart gave his ‘ adopted country’, as he called South Australia, is the route across the Continent! The search for it dominated the later years of his life to such an extent that nothing else — health, or money, or home and family — mattered to him so much as finding a way to reach the northern shore. When he had found it, his health was gone and with it all hope of wealth or a home of his own, but to the end he was confident that he had achieved something of real value for which his name would be remembered.
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Marwan Barghouti supports Palestinian bid for UN recognition
I just read this in Ha'aretz.
Jailed leader Marwan Barghouti has called on Palestinians to stage mass rallies in September in support of a diplomatic bid to gain UN membership for a state of Palestine.
Barghouti, a figure widely respected among many Palestinians, said taking the statehood quest to the United Nations was part of a new strategy that would open the door to "peaceful, popular resistance".
Barghouti was convicted of murder for his role in attacks on Israelis during the Second Intifada and was sentenced to life in jail by Israel in 2004.
"I call on our people in the homeland and in the diaspora to go out in a peaceful, million-man march during the week of voting in the United Nations in September," Barghouti said in a statement written from his jail cell in Israel.
Well I suppose it would show that lots of Palestinians support the idea but I don't know what the idea itself would achieve and I recently has some difficulty trying to find a Palestinian I know who would want to speak in favour of the UN bid at a public meeting.
But let's see some more from Ha'aretz:
The United States, the main sponsor of the two-decade-old peace process, has objected to the Palestinian diplomatic offensive, instead calling for a resumption of negotiations that were derailed by an impasse over settlement construction in the West Bank. Israel says the Palestinians aim to isolate and delegitimize it.
A U.S. veto at the Security Council is likely to thwart the Palestinian bid for full UN membership for a state of Palestine in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.
Ok, the great satan's against it as is the little satan but what's their beef? It might just be the aversion to the very word Palestine. That could be Israel's beef. I really can't see what the UN's recognition of a powerless state would achieve and for all I know the yanks could be engaging in a double bluff. They might want the UN to bless the efforts of the PA.
Posted by levi9909 @ 2:56 pm
Labels: Freedom for Palestine, international law, Marwan Barghouti, UN
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Tied To You
By tunskit • November 26, 2016
He is so handsome and sweet that I can’t help being drawn to Mickey. After a lifetime of being the outcast with my stepfather and his children, I just want to be loved. He draws me in like a moth to a flame. He’s everything I want…until I wake tied to his bed and realize I’m an instrument of revenge. He has good reason to hate my stepfather, and he has wicked things planned for me…
This starts with a dark tone, but it soon lightens up. There are still serious moments, but this isn’t a dark erotic romance, and there are no intense themes, such as kidnapping, BDSM, or coercion.
Mykael
She smiled at me. It was a startling sight, not only because it brightened her features and lit up her sparkling green eyes, but also because from what I knew of her family, I should have been beneath her notice. I couldn’t help allowing a small smile in response, and I was surprised it wasn’t entirely faked. There was something about Gabriella Chastain’s smile that made it difficult not to reciprocate.
Ruthlessly, I squashed that response and turned away from her for a moment, reminding myself why I was here. I had flown in to the airport to arrange a connection so she and I would be on the same plane as she headed home to the Chastain family from her university, where she had just graduated.
I had arranged it all so neatly, and I wasn’t about to blow it on one smile from her. Forcing my expression back to one of polite neutrality, I looked back, but she was gone. She had moved from her seat to do something else, probably visit the ladies’ room. The silly young woman had left her suitcase right where she’d been sitting, and anyone could steal it.
I shook my head at her laxness, reminding myself she had been attending a university in Switzerland for the last four years, and I was sure it was a different environment there than it was in the United States. Still, I couldn’t help keeping an eye on her bag for her until I saw her slipping from the restroom a moment later. I couldn’t resist the urge to watch her get closer, her curves making my mouth water and my cock twitch. At least that part of my plan wouldn’t be any problem. I just had to find a way to get her alone.
She had barely returned to her seat when they called for boarding. Once again, she met my gaze and smiled at me before gathering up her bag and her purse to walk toward the gate. I waited another moment, physically willing away the erection trying to form from her smile. What the fuck was wrong with me? I knew what kind of people the Chastains were. I had seen the evidence of their cruelty with my own eyes, and I’d been living with the aftermath for six years. I was finally in a position to do something about it, to get some revenge, and here I was reacting like a horny teenager to a smile.
Shaking my head with disgust at my actions, I got up and went to join the line, ending up a few spaces behind her, with a boisterous family between us. It allowed me a chance to observe from a distance without getting too close.
She was pretty, which seemed like a tepid word. She had a generous ass and an hourglass frame, with moderately sized breasts that would fit nicely into a man’s hands. Flowing black hair, silky and straight, touched the curve of her ass, and I could imagine running my fingers through it, stroking it away from her face as I bent to kiss her creamy, pale skin.
I forced myself to imagine what I actually had planned for her, picturing my dark hand in that black hair, dragging it back as she whimpered in protest. At least that image banished my hard-on, though I felt a stirring of doubt about actually carrying through with my plan for the first time since formulating it.
No, dammit, I wasn’t going to allow an unwanted wave of conscience to deter me from the path. Chastain deserved everything I could throw at him, and if harming his daughter was one way to do it, I’d just have to suck it up and ignore my own moral compass for the night.
When we boarded the plane, I was surprised to find myself seated beside Gabriella. Well, not quite beside. There was a seat between us, and since the flight was only half-filled, it seemed obvious it would remain free. She must have reached the same conclusion, because she put her purse there and used both armrests with an air of someone stretching out to get comfortable.
I did the same, setting my laptop bag on the seat beside her purse, my gaze unwillingly drawn to the rounded mounds pressing against the white short-sleeved sweater she wore, which would be far too hot for New York. I wondered what she tasted like, and if her nipples would be soft pink, rosy red, or even a brown shade. I had been with a couple of white girls in the past, and one of them had brown areolas. That had surprised me, since I’d thought only black girls had those until that experience.
My first white girl had been much more typical, with her rosy pink areolas and slightly darker nipples. I couldn’t remember her name now, which made me feel guilty, but I had been fifteen at the time, and she had been sixteen.
Rowena. The name suddenly popped into my head as I remembered the circumstances surrounding our hookup. I had been a novelty to her, just a bet between her and her girlfriends that she couldn’t get some black cock. She’d had me one time and had been done with me. I’d had a little bit of an infatuation for her before that night together, but it quickly died when I’d realized what a bitch she was.
Kind of like the girl sitting beside me. Oh, she seemed polite enough, but I knew the evil festering in the Chastain home, and there was no way she could have escaped it. No doubt, she was just as racist and heartless as the rest of them.
Damned if she didn’t seem to want to disprove that assumption as she started talking to me. At first, I answered her in monosyllables, wanting to discourage myself from getting to know her. It could only make my plan more difficult. However, she persisted, chipping away at my walls a word at a time until we were finally engaged in a comfortable conversation about musical theater of all things.
The flight passed quickly, though it was in reality about three hours long. She never asked what I was doing on the plane, or why I was headed to New York, the same as her. I would’ve kept it simple and said business had she inquired. Though I already knew the answer, I did ask her as the plane started circling JFK. “You never did say why you’re here? Tourism?”
She shook her head. “Do I look like a tourist?”
In that fluffy white sweater, with an air of innocence that was at odds with the city, yeah, she looked like a tourist. I just shrugged.
“I live here.” Her smile widened, and her green eyes sparkled. “I’m just excited to be home. My stepfather sent me far, far away for university, just to get me out of his hair.” Gabriella laughed then, a fleeting sound that set my brain whirling and my cock twitching. “That suited me just fine though, other than being away from the city. It was a relief to get away from Wayne for four years. Six, I guess, counting boarding school.”
I frowned, not liking this bit of information. I’d thought she would be a daddy’s girl, which would make what I had planned that much worse. Here she was calling him Wayne and referring to him as her stepfather, though according to my research, he had married her mother when she was just six years old. He had even adopted her, so I had assumed they were a close-knit family. A stirring of doubt crept over me, and I wondered if I should just call off the whole thing.
Before I could, she seemed to make the decision for me. “It’s been a while since I’ve been back in the city, and none of my friends know I’m coming. We’ve kind of lost touch, and I’m sure Wayne won’t be waiting for me at the airport. My mom died six years ago, so she certainly won’t be there. If you’re free tonight, maybe we could have dinner together?”
My eyes widened with surprise at the invitation, and I hesitated for a moment, evaluating how this changed things. Never in a million years had I expected the girl to offer herself up to me practically on a silver platter. She was just talking about dinner, but it would make getting her alone so much easier. I nodded before her expression could turn to one of disappointment, as I saw the edges of her smile start to dissolve. “That sounds lovely, Gabriella. Thank you.”
She giggled, an honest-to-goodness giggle that made her sound and seem younger than twenty-two. It sent a sharp pang through my chest, once again making me question the task I had set for myself. Could I go through with it?
A brief flash of how my sister had looked six years ago, with her bruised face, hardened my resolve. I could do this for Annika. It might be the only justice she ever got.
I didn’t know how much older than me Mickey was, but I would guess maybe five to ten years. He certainly wasn’t a college boy, but that was one of the things I found appealing about him. The dull and boring university where Wayne had stuck me had been coed, but none of the boys there had interested me.
I hadn’t seemed to interest them much either, and perhaps it was because I was always buried in a book or focused on my studies. Maybe it was just my ample curves, though I had seen classmates with a similar build enjoy popularity with the boys. I suspected it was simply me. I wasn’t exactly shy, but I was reserved in certain circumstances. Normally, I was uncomfortable with strangers, though something about Mickey put me at ease.
Mickey. It was such an incongruous name for the tall, black man sitting across from me as we ate dinner and conversed about meaningless subjects. His broad shoulders and lean waist suggested the build of an athlete, while “Mickey” made me think of the animated mouse. It was a silly thought, but I couldn’t escape the idea that Mickey just didn’t suit him.
Well, we couldn’t help what we’re named. After all, Gabriella was a graceful and beautiful name, the kind you would expect to find on a lithe supermodel swanning her way down the catwalk, or perhaps a European princess. Certainly not on a bookish, chubby, slightly awkward young woman like me. It was a name I would probably never grow into, but the various diminutives didn’t suit me either.
I wasn’t a Gabby, nor was I a Bree, or even an Ella. Perhaps Ella would have been closest if I tacked on the Cinder prefix, but not because I had been forced into a life of drudgery and housework. It was only somewhat accurate just because my stepfather disliked me and excluded me from the family whenever possible. That was about the only thing I had in common was Cinderella.
At least he hadn’t forced me into to a life of deprivation or servitude. That would have been contrary to his image, and his voters wouldn’t like that. No, in public, Wayne treated me just as well as he treated his own two children, Zachary and Isabel. It was only in the privacy of our home—his home, because it didn’t feel like mine and never had—that he allowed his contempt to show and made it clear from the time I was a little girl that I wasn’t as good as his own children.
With a small sigh, I pushed aside the brooding thoughts, knowing nothing would change at this point in time. I was long past the stage where I wanted a relationship with my stepfather or his awful children, and I would be happy to cut all ties with them and planned to do so as soon as I found a job.
I knew my mother had left me some money, but I also knew Wayne was in charge of the trust, so the odds of me ever seeing it seemed pretty slim. Unfortunately, Sophie had been enamored with Wayne until the day she’d died, so she never would have believed he would deny me my trust fund or treat me deplorably. In front of my mother, Wayne had always been polite and sometimes affectionate, but he and I had both known it was a farce.
“What is it that you do, Mickey?” I realized I hadn’t even asked him that.
He hesitated, as though deciding how to answer. Finally, he said, “I’m in business.”
That could encompass anything from an independently owned T-shirt company to working for one of the horrible corporations like Magenta. I nodded, hoping he would enlighten me further, but he made no attempt to do so.
After a moment, I let the subject lapse in favor of focusing on the crème brûlée that had just been delivered to the table. I broke the crust with my spoon and took a big bite, closing my eyes and moaning as it melted on my tongue. I loved dessert, as my hips probably showed to the world. Life was too short to skip the occasional indulgence, and crème brûlée was one of my favorites.
Followed by dark chocolate. My eyes opened at the thought, and I found Mickey staring at me with a hungry expression. Deliberately, I licked my lips, ostensibly to remove any trace of the dessert, but in reality because I wanted to see the way his eyes widened, the shining depths of warm brown making me shiver in anticipation. My libido, which had been mostly in stasis for the past six years, seemed to spring to life under the force of that look. It spoke volumes, and I was certain my eyes were replying an affirmative.
« Double Delights
Lord Hanover’s Wicked Deception »
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Have you read Paul Cleave?
For the second in this blog's regular series (every Wednesday) of author introductions on Kiwi crime, mystery, and thriller writers, we now take a look at the work of Paul Cleave.
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand in 1974, Cleave grew up wanting to be a writer, "ever since primary school", but found the things he was interested in writing about didn't go down too well with his teachers. High School reports on his short stories included comments along the lines of there was a time and place for his kind of writing - and school wasn't it. Fortunately, that didn't stop him.
In his late teens he switched from short stories to penning his first novel-length manuscripts. Similar to the growth curve of many international stars, he now has several early unpublished manuscripts firmly ensconsced in the bottom drawer. Then as a 24-year old he began working on what would become (after several years of hard struggle) his first two published novels, THE CLEANER (Random House, 2006) and THE KILLING HOUR (Random House, 2007). A year later, he quit his long-term job as a pawnbroker, which has allowed him an insight into many varying sectors of the local community, to concentrate on his writing.
Without any income, he was forced to make a decision - get another job or sell his house. He sold his house and continued to write. Over several years he continued to work on his novels, while also renovating houses. In 2006 THE CLEANER was released, and introduced Joe, a serial killer who works as a janitor at the Christchurch Police Department, to the world. When a killing he didn't perform is linked to him, Joe uses his inside access to try and find and punish the copycat.
Over the following year or so, THE CLEANER become an international bestseller. It was particularly popular in Germany, where the translation of the dark and raw tale that took readers inside an askew mind, hit #2 on the adult fiction book charts (just behind the then-latest Harry Potter), and battled it out over several weeks with Linwood Barclay's smash-hit NO TIME FOR GOODBYE to lead the crime fiction charts.
THE CLEANER ended up as the #1 crime thriller title on Amazon in Germany for 2007, and in the top 10 for all books. In reasonably short order more than 250,000 copies had been sold (international sales of Cleave's books are now approximately half a million, despite the fact he hasn't yet been released in either the UK or US markets). THE CLEANER is one of the biggest and fastest-selling fiction books to ever come out of New Zealand. It was shortlisted for a Ned Kelly crime writing award (Australia) and listed as one of the NZ Listener's Best Books of the Year (quite unusual for a crime novel, particularly a local one). Unlike Cleave's high school teachers, international reviewers were full of praise for his writing. THE CLEANER has been signed up by several non-English speaking countries, including Germany, Russia, the Czech Republic, Poland, Japan, and now (recently) France. There has also been some recent murmurings about a possible movie adaptation.
Cleave followed up his stunning debut with THE KILLING HOUR (2007) and CEMETERY LAKE (2008). All three novels are set in his hometown of Christchurch, which Cleave gives a dark sheen and almost character-like presence. They have somewhat overlapping timeframes (and the events in one book occasionally touch another), and some minor characters appear in multiple books, but each is a standalone, focused on the trials and tribulations of a different main character who is facing his own emotional turmoil.
In THE KILLING HOUR, Charlie wakes up, covered in blood, to the news that two woman he was with the night before have been brutally murdered. In CEMETERY LAKE, former policeman and now private eye Theo Tate finds himself caught up in the hunt for a serial killer who's storing bodies in other people's graves. Both books have received good reviews.
The great news for English-speaking northerners, is that Cleave's novels have recently been signed up by Random House UK (Arrow Books division). Starting with CEMETERY LAKE on 24 September, they are scheduled to start being released in Great Britain.
Those that like a mixture of grim crime with dark humour, ala Mark Billingham and Stuart MacBride, are likely to enjoy CEMETERY LAKE. Although Cleave can be a little more brutal than Billingham, in the vein of Mo Hayder. He also focuses on allowing the reader a look inside some tormented, troubled, or otherwise askew minds, so fans of Patricia Highsmith may also really enjoy that aspect. You can sample the first chapter of CEMETERY LAKE at: http://www.paulcleave.co.nz/novels_cemetery.php
Award-winning British crime writer Mark Billingham met Cleave while in New Zealand last year, and (clearly having now future as a high school teacher) was very impressed by his writing. He says: "Most people come back from New Zealand talking about the the breathtaking scenery and the amazing experiences. I came back raving about Paul Cleave. These are stories that you won’t forget in a while: relentlessly gripping, deliciously twisted and shot through with a vein of humour that’s as dark as hell. Cleave creates fictional monsters as chilling and as charming as any I’ve ever come across. Anyone who likes their crime fiction on the black and bloody side should move Paul Cleave straight to the top of their must-read list."
However, like Dame Ngaio Marsh, Cleave still seems far more appreciated overseas (in those countries which have published his books) than at home in New Zealand. Hopefully, this may be slowly starting to change, with a large feature article on Cleave in a recent (June) issue of North & South magazine, and further feature articles scheduled to coincide with the release of his fourth novel, BLOOD MEN, in 2010. To give you a taste of what's to come, you can read the prologue of BLOOD MEN here: http://www.paulcleave.co.nz/novels_bloodmen.php
Have you read Paul Cleave? What do you think of his crime novels? Do you agree with Mark Billingham? Do the snippets above (and first chapters) make you want to read more? Please share your thoughts.
You can read more about Paul Cleave (including reviews etc) at his website: http://www.paulcleave.co.nz/index.php or at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Cleave
Vanda Symon August 20, 2009 at 9:14 AM
I love that Paul is making such a name for himself overseas - go the Kiwi!
Cemetary Lake is my favourite of his novels so far. I'm looking forward to Blood Men
Kiwicraig August 20, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Having read a copy of the manuscript, I can say that in my opinion Blood Men is his best novel yet. Before that Cemetery Lake was my favourite - it seemed more polished and balanced, although i did like the rawness of The Cleaner -
I have read all of Paul Cleave's books. Like perhaps many in NZ I wouldn't even open them to start with thinking there was no way a New Zealander would any good. Oh how wrong I was! I think he is not only up there with the best, but surpasses them. The sometimes alarmingly macabre details are brilliantly balanced with humour. His understanding of the psychopathic mind is amazing. And he just keeps getting better...
I don't like the cleaner that much. Am I the only one? I just think its stupid how Joe over looks Sally the whole time but is very perceptive of everyone else
Lindsay September 21, 2015 at 3:51 PM
I totally agree with Anonymous. I didn't like the Cleaner either. Was my first and last book from this author.
Uriah Robinson August 6, 2010 at 5:57 AM
I have almost finished reading Cemetery Lake, and I still can't find much humour, dark or otherwise in this book. Not my cup of tea.
I've looked everywhere - why can't I find "The Cleaner" or "The Killing Hour" to purchase in the USA?
Anonymous - thanks for your comment. Unforutnately, Cleave's earlier books haven't been published in the USA yet - so the only option at the moment is to purchase Aust/NZ versions (or some of the European versions, if you can read French/German etc) - eg purchase online and import into the USA.
However, Cleave's US-based publisher, Simon & Schuster, who have published his fourth (BLOOD MEN, 2010) and fifth (COLLECTING COOPER, 2011) titles, I understand may look to publish his backlist, including THE CLEANER and THE KILLING HOUR in question.
Another option it to contact Cleave directly, via his website (www.paulcleave.co.nz).
I've just finished Collecting Cooper, my first Paul Cleave book. It won't be my last. I found it totally addictive. A couple of moments were almost too macbre , (even for me), but now I'm finding it hard to concentrate on any other book. I've got to read his back list, he's a major talent.
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Special Supreme Discloses Haslam Donations
Parties in a lawsuit challenging how high-ranking Tennessee judges are selected are presently more wrapped up in who will rule on the case than the merits of the case itself, observes Andrea Zelinski.
Gov. Bill Haslam last week appointed three new members to a Special Supreme Court to hear a lawsuit against him challenging the constitutionality of how the state has picked judges over the past four decades. Haslam’s earlier appointees stepped down after John Hay Hooker, a longtime political gadfly behind the lawsuit, pressured them to recuse themselves for having ties to an organization that lobbies against popularly electing judges.
Now, another special justice, W. Morris Kizer, has revealed that he donated to Haslam’s campaigns for Knoxville mayor in 2003 and governor in 2010. Kizer’s household gave $3,000 to Haslam’s gubernatorial campaign, according to campaign records.
Kizer insists his political donations don’t “constitute a basis for disqualification,” but Hooker contends every link is suspect.
“It’s like a football game between the University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt,” said Hooker, an 82-year-old former Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate who today is asking the Special Supreme Court to take up his case. “Do you want the referee to be a graduate from the University of Tennessee or Vanderbilt? That’s a no-no.”
…”If you ask anybody if they’re alive and human, they have an opinion about things,” Haslam said last week before naming the three new members to the panel. “That’s different than having a conflict. I think anybody that we will appoint will understand that difference and will make sure there’s no conflicts.”
Appeals judge Alan Glenn, chairman of the Judicial Ethics Committee, said the governor’s interpretation is correct. The tricky part, he said, is defining what conflicts can “reasonably” be questioned.
“Like defining what’s fairness and what’s beauty, everyone has their own ideas,” he said. “What is reasonably questioned impartiality? Everyone has their own views on it.”
This entry was posted in Bill Haslam, Courts, judges, Ethics and tagged court, donations, ethics, Haslam, kizer, morris, special, Supreme on September 26, 2012 by Tom Humphrey.
← Audit Finds $2 Million in Lavish Spending by HRA House District 60: Gotto vs. Jernigan →
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Against torture and ill-treatment
Judge held for 9 months by Donbas militants heard how hostages were tortured
Vitaliy Rudenko, from the SBU video
Judge seized by Kremlin-backed Donbas militants after arriving for his father’s funeral
Kremlin-backed militants ’arrest’ football fans for mystery ’treason’, real Ukrainian flag
Donbas militants ’arrest’ young football fans for photos with a Ukrainian flag
Maimed Ukrainian hostage interrogated by Russian FSB while in Kremlin-backed militant captivity
Not in Our Name: Journalist NGOs Should Condemn Propagandist Graham Phillips’ Torture Stunt
Vitaly Rudenko, a judge from the Luhansk Regional Court of Appeal, was freed on July 30 after nine months held prisoner by militants from the self-proclaimed ‘Luhansk people’s republic’ [LPR]’. Rudenko was seized in October 2016, when he tried to enter military-controlled territory to attend his father’s funeral.
As reported, he had been aware that as a judge working in the area, he was at risk, but had no choice. An acquaintance with ‘LPR’ connections had assured him of free passage, but this proved to mean nothing and he was stopped by militants at the first checkpoint. They called the so-called ‘LPR security service’ who arrived and took him away.
It soon became clear that they knew about all the court rulings he had passed, and were particularly aggrieved by one ruling passed by Rudenko and a panel of judges. This upheld the detention of the general director of the state enterprise ‘Luhansk water’ whom the SBU accuse of involvement in a terrorist organization, namely LPR. This, the militants claimed, had resulted in disruption to the water supply in LPR. They called it ‘state treason’. It was useless to try to explain that he could hardly be guilty of ‘state treason’ if he was a citizen of Ukraine, who carried out the duties of that country.
Rudenko was held in a basement, and although he was subjected only to psychological pressure, threats, etc., he explained that he would hear people taken at night for ‘interrogation’, and was aware what kind of torture hostages faced, with bags placed over their heads, beatings and the use of electric shocks.
Rudenko was a ‘catch’ for the militants and they used threats, both against him and his family, to force him into speaking on a propaganda video, rejecting Ukraine and saying that he wants to remain in ‘LPR’. They said that he would not be exchanged, and that, one way or another, they would ‘break him’.
He did not wait until they intensified their efforts, and appeared on the propaganda video. He is adamant that he always was and remains a Ukrainian patriot, and that the film had been forced on him, “an act of despair”.
The ‘Patriot’ volunteer group was involved in trying to secure his release from the outset, and it was their efforts, in cooperation with Ukraine’s SBU [Security Service], that finally got him released.
While Rudenko might want to justify his video appearance by stressing the widespread use of torture, there is unfortunately all too much evidence to suggest that it is very widely used. Even 39-year-old Ludmila Surzhenko, who has a hearing impediment and who seems to have been detained because she was unable to hear what the militants at the checkpoint, faced some degree of torture, and the bizarre ‘confessions’ often produced by the militants strongly suggests the use of torture.
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41-50 results from 648 for query «vidya»
26 January, 2018 4:27 PM Amee claws back from the brink
Amee Kamani pulled off a great escape against Vidya Pillai, winning 27-52, 54-71, 75-66, 74-38, 69-21 in the senior National women’s snooker semifinal at KSBA here on Friday. Amee, the defending champion, lost the first two frames, but launched a stirring comeback to clinch the best-of-five encounter. The Madhya Pradesh cueist looked down and out in the middle 39
26 January, 2018 11:58 AM RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat hoists national flag at Palakkad school, ignoring govt circular
Mohan Bhagwat ignores State government circular, which states that only heads of educational institutions can hoist the tricolour. RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat unfurled the tricolour on Friday at a Sangh Parivar managed higher secondary school affiliated to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) here. He did so disregarding a State government circular 52
26 January, 2018 7:28 AM RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat Unfurls National Flag At School In Kerala
Mohan Bhagwat hoisted the tricolour at Vyasa Vidhya Peetam Higher Secondary School, an institution run by Vidya Bharti. Palakkad, Kerala: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat today unfurled the national flag at a school run by Sangh workers in Palakkad city on India's 69th Republic Day. Mr Bhagwat hoisted the tricolour at Vyasa Vidhya Peetam Higher Secondary School 97
25 January, 2018 4:47 PM So Lovely To See Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan And Sridevi In One Pic
A picture of Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sridevi, seated next to each other, has been shared widely across social media Bollywood's top celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sridevi, Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonakshi Sinha, Taapsee Pannu and many others attended the HT India's 114
23 January, 2018 8:14 PM Deja Vu. Row Brews As RSS Chief Returns To Kerala To Hoist National Flag
Palakkad, Kerala: Five months after Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat unfurled the national flag at a government-aided school in Palakkad on Independence Day, a move that didn't go down well with the CPM-led state government, he will be headed to the district yet again this month to do something similar but at a school managed by the RSS. The state 93
21 January, 2018 5:35 PM Bhagwat to hoist national flag at CBSE school
Five months after he hoisted the national flag on Independence Day at an aided higher secondary school here, courting controversy, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat is set to unfurl the national flag at a private school, affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), here on Republic Day. The RSS chief will hoist the flag at Vyasa 43
21 January, 2018 2:17 AM Filmfare Awards 2018: Complete List Of Winners
Filmfare Awards 2018: Irrfan Khan won the Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male) for Hindi Medium while the movie received the Best Film award Bollywood came together to celebrate the industry's talent at 63rd Jio Filmfare Awards 2018, held on January 20, in Mumbai. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar hosted the event, which witnessed some amazing 77
21 January, 2018 1:30 AM Filmfare Awards 2018: Vidya Balan, Irrfan Khan Are Top Winners
Filmfare Awards 2018: The star-studded event was hosted by Shah Rukh Khan and Karan Johar The 63rd edition of Filmfare Awards 2018 was held on Saturday night (January 20) at the NSCI Dome in Mumbai's Worli. Like last year, the star-studded event was hosted by superstar Shah Rukh Khan and filmmaker Karan Johar. Members of the Hindi film industry came together 73
20 January, 2018 4:13 PM Advani eyes a double
All eyes will be on Pankaj Advani at the Senior National men’s snooker championship, which commences at KSBA here on Sunday. Advani — he won the National billiards title a few days ago — will claim a double if he wins the snooker event. “Winning the double is my goal, but snooker is a different ball game when compared to billiards. You can lose frames 52
17 January, 2018 4:59 AM Dabboo Ratnani's 2018 Calendar: Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya And Manushi Chhillar Lead Celeb Roll Call
Several celebrities posed for Dabboo Ratnani's annual calendar which will be out soon It's that time of the years again. Celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani is almost all set to show his annual calendar, featuring all your favourite celebrities. On Dabboo Ratnani's list this year are Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan 135
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Home > Investors > Directors
Corporate Governance menu
Jim W. Mogg
Jim W. Mogg, age 70, was elected Chairman of the Board on October 30, 2018. He has served as a director since August 2013. Mr. Mogg has also served on the board of directors of ONEOK, Inc., a publicly traded diversified energy company since July 2007. Mr. Mogg also served as a director of ONEOK Partners, L.P., a publicly traded master limited partnership that operated natural gas and natural gas liquids gathering, processing, pipelines, and fractionation assets from August 2009 until its merger with a subsidiary of ONEOK, Inc. in June of 2017. Mr. Mogg served as Chairman of the Board of DCP Midstream GP, LLC, the general partner of DCP Midstream Partners, L.P., ("DCP Midstream") from August 2005 to April 2007. From January 2004 to September 2006, Mr. Mogg served as Group Vice President, Chief Development Officer and advisor to the Chairman of Duke Energy Corporation. Additionally, Duke Energy affiliates, Crescent Resources and TEPPCO Partners, LP ("TEPPCO") reported to Mr. Mogg. Mr. Mogg served as President and Chief Executive Officer of DCP Midstream, LLC from December 1994 to March 2000, and as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer from April 2000 through December 2003. DCP Midstream was the general partner of TEPPCO and, as a result, Mr. Mogg was Vice Chairman of TEPPCO from April 2000 to May 2002 and Chairman from May 2002 to February 2005. Mr. Mogg also serves on the board of directors of Bill Barrett Corporation, an exploration and production company, where he is currently the non-executive Chairman. Finally, Mr. Mogg serves on the Board of the Southwestern Oklahoma State University Foundation.
The specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led to the conclusion Mr. Mogg should serve as a Director include his long history of service in senior executive leadership positions, including as a chief executive officer and his significant knowledge of the energy industry. Mr. Mogg also brings financial expertise to the Board, including through his previous supervision of principal accounting officers, involvement in financing transactions, and his service on the audit committees of other companies. His current and previous directorships also provide Mr. Mogg with extensive corporate governance experience.
Martha Z. Carnes
Martha Z. Carnes, age 59, has served as a director of the Company since July 2017. Ms. Carnes retired from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP ("PwC") in June 2016, where she had a thirty-four year career with the firm. She was an assurance partner serving large, publicly traded companies in the energy industry. Ms. Carnes held a number of leadership positions with PwC including the Houston office Managing Partner. She also served as PwC's Energy and Mining leader in the United States where she led the firm's energy and mining assurance, tax, and advisory practices. Ms. Carnes also served as one of PwC's Risk Management Partners and was PwC's United States representative on the firm's Global Communities Board. She also serves on the Supervisory Board of Core Laboratories N.V., a Netherlands company that provides reservoir description and production enhancement services to the oil and gas industry, and is the Chairman of the Audit Committee. Effective September 1, 2017, Ms. Carnes was appointed to the board of directors of SunCoke Energy Partners GP LLC, the general partner of SunCoke Energy Partners LP. She serves on both the audit and conflicts committees. Ms. Carnes is the Chairman of the Governing Board of the Greater Houston Community Foundation, and has chaired their Compensation, Strategy, and Finance & Administration Committees. She is also a member of the Board of Trustees at Texas Children's Hospital where she serves on the Audit and Compliance; Operations, Planning and Development; and Risk Management and Insurance Committees. Ms, Carnes received her B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin and she is a certified public accountant.
The specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led to the conclusion Ms. Carnes should serve as a Director include her extensive expertise in financial oversight, financial reporting and broad accounting knowledge gained from working with and auditing public companies in the energy industry and her operational and leadership experience at PwC.
Chair of the Audit Committee
Member of the Nominating and Governance Committee
Member of the Compensation Committee
John D. Chandler
John D. Chandler, age 49, has served as a director of the Company since June 2017. On August 28, 2017, Mr. Chandler was appointed as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for The Williams Companies, Inc. ("Williams). Mr. Chandler has served as a director of USA Compression GP, LLC, the general partner of USA Compression Partners, LP, since October 2013; serving also as the audit committee chairman during his tenure. Mr. Chandler previously served on the board of directors and the audit committee of CONE Midstream GP, LLC, the general partner of CONE Midstream Partners LP, and on the board of directors and audit committee of Green Plains Holdings LLC, the general partner of Green Plains Partners LP. From 2009 until his retirement in March 2014, Mr. Chandler served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Magellan GP, LLC, the general partner of Magellan Midstream Partners, LP. (NYSE:MMP) From 2003 until 2009, he served in the same capacities for the general partner of Magellan Midstream Holdings, L.P. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Chandler was Director of Financial Planning and Analysis and Director of Strategic Development for a subsidiary of Williams. From 1992 to 1999, Mr. Chandler held various accounting and finance positions with MAPCO Inc. Mr. Chandler received his B.S. and B.A. in accounting and finance from the University of Tulsa.
The specific experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that led to the conclusion Mr. Chandler should serve as a Director include his long history of service in senior corporate leadership positions, his extensive experience in the energy industry, his extensive financial oversight expertise and his understanding of complex financial matters gained from his experience as a CFO of a large publicly traded company.
Member of the Audit Committee
John W. Gibson
John W. Gibson, age 67, joined Matrix Service Company as an independent director in April 2016. Mr. Gibson is the non-executive Chairman of the Board of ONEOK, Inc. and ONEOK Partners GP, L.L.C., the general partner of ONEOK Partners, L.P. He served as Chief Executive Officer of ONEOK, Inc. from January 1, 2007 to January 31, 2014. He was appointed Chairman of the Board of ONEOK Partners GP, L.L.C. in 2007 and of ONEOK, Inc. in May 2011 and served as the ONEOK, Inc. President from 2010 through 2011. He also served as Chief Executive Officer of ONEOK Partners GP, L.L.C. from 2007 until January 31, 2014, and served as President from 2010 to 2011. Prior to that Mr. Gibson held senior positions at other ONEOK subsidiaries. Prior to joining ONEOK in May 2000, Mr. Gibson served as an Executive Vice President for a subsidiary of Koch Industries. He began his career as a refinery engineer with Exxon USA and spent 18 years in a variety of domestic and international positions with Phillips Petroleum Company. Mr. Gibson also serves as the non-executive Chairman of the Board of ONE Gas, Inc. and as a member of the Board of Directors of BOK Financial Corporation, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Chair of the Compensation Committee
Liane K. Hinrichs
Liane K. Hinrichs, 62, served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for McDermott International, Inc. (“McDermott”) until her retirement in 2017. McDermott is a global engineering, procurement, construction and installation firm serving the offshore oil and gas industry. From 1999 until 2008, Ms. Hinrich held positions of increasing responsibility at McDermott including Senior Counsel, Assistant General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, Corporate Compliance and Transactions, and Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary.
She received her juris doctorate degree from Tulane University School of Law in 1982 and a Master of Law in Securities Regulation from Georgetown University in 1989.
Ms. Hinrichs brings a combination of boardroom experience, executive leadership and general counsel credentials in the engineering and construction industry. Her deep experience and expertise in governance, enterprise risk management, compliance, international issues and strategy ensure advocacy for best practices and contribute to the Board's deliberations on some of today's most critical issues.
Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee
James H. Miller, age 64, has served as a director of the Company since May 2014. Mr. Miller is currently Executive Vice President - Americas of Kvaerner U.S., a position he has held since June 2011. He is also a Director and Officer for all Kvaerner U.S. based legal and operating entities. From June 2008 through June 2011, Mr. Miller served as Chief Executive Officer & President of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard. From June 2011 to April 2014, Mr. Miller also served as Chairman of the Board for Aker Philadelphia Shipyard ASA and reassumed that position in February 2016. Before going to the shipyard, Mr. Miller was President of Aker Solutions Process & Construction Americas. Prior to joining Aker Solutions Process & Construction Americas, Mr. Miller held the position of President of Aker Construction, Inc., which was one of the largest union construction companies in North America. Mr. Miller graduated from the University of Edinboro in Pennsylvania with a Bachelors of Arts degree.
Mr. Miller's extensive progressive leadership positions with a large multi-national industrial construction contractor led to the conclusion that Mr. Miller should serve as a Director. Mr. Miller has significant operational experience and a thorough understanding of the challenges and risks that face industrial construction contractors. He is experienced with merger and acquisition activity, partnering with other companies, and the management of large multi-year construction projects. Mr. Miller is also knowledgeable in many of the Company's key markets including power generation and iron and steel.
John R. Hewitt
John R. Hewitt, age 61, was appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director of the Company in May 2011. Mr. Hewitt has spent his entire career in the engineering, procurement, and construction industry. Prior to joining Matrix in May 2011, Mr. Hewitt worked for approximately 25 years for various operating businesses of Aker Solutions ASA (“Aker”) and its predecessor companies, which provide engineering and construction services, technology products, and integrated solutions to the energy and process industries worldwide. Up until his appointment with the Company, Mr. Hewitt served as Vice President of Aker Solutions, where he was responsible for providing executive oversight on major capital projects in the power and liquefied natural gas industries. He also served as President, United States Operations at Aker Solutions E&C US, Inc. from 2007 to 2009 where he was responsible for managing all construction services in North America. Prior to that, he served as President of Aker Construction Inc. where he had full profit and loss responsibility for a multi-disciplined direct hire industrial construction business operating throughout North America. Mr. Hewitt holds a finance degree from Stetson University and an engineering degree from the Florida Institute of Technology. Mr. Hewitt is a member of the board of directors of Junior Achievement of Oklahoma, the Tulsa Area United Way, the Tulsa Area Salvation Army and the Philbrook Museum of Art. Mr. Hewitt also serves as an executive board member of the Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce.
As the current President and CEO of the Company, Mr. Hewitt provides a management representative on the Board with extensive knowledge of day-to-day operations. As a result, he can facilitate the Board’s access to timely and relevant information and its oversight of management’s strategy, planning and performance. In addition, Mr. Hewitt brings to the Board considerable management and leadership experience, extensive knowledge of the energy industry and our business, and significant experience with mergers and acquisitions.
For recent transactions, including derivative transactions, see our Section 16 SEC filings page.
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Beneath the Leaves of Kaendor
The imagined places of Martin Christopher
Comic Review: Hellsing
Though review might be stretching it a bit.
A while back I was on a work training course and shared a room with a guy who happened to have brought the first three volumes of Hellsing. I had heard a lot of great things about it over the years and the anime seems to be widely considerd as one of the great classics, like Full Metal Alchemist and Death Note. I had long planned to look it up but never got around to it, so I jumped at the opportunity to give it a try. This review only covers these first three volumes.
For comics, the visual style is obviously a major factor but not as relevant to the narrative, so let’s get this one covered fist. My impression of the drawing is that it’s okay. I’ve seen it praised, but I didn’t feel impressed by it myself. But it looks good and the images are not overcrowded with stuff that makes it difficult to figure out what’s going on. It works, that’s always the most important part.
But now to the story. Hellsing is set in a world that is plagued by vampires. Two main organizations are presented that are fighting against them. The Hellsing Organisation of the Anglican Church in Britain and Section XIII Iscariot of the Catholic Church. Both groups appear to be in a state of cold war but have made agreements to not operate in each others territory so they can focus on the main threat posed by the vampires. Hellsing’s top agent is Alucard, a vampire himself who dresses in a red coat and hat and has two big ass guns. The story begins with the recruitment of Seras Victoria, a police officer who was fatally wounded in a massacre commited by vampires and made immortal by Alucard who happened to have been send to deal with the situation. Shortly after the Hellsing headquarters get attacked and a majority of their staff slaughtered, which leads to Alucard and Seras going to Brazil to track down the people behind the attack.
What I quite liked of what I’ve read so far are the character design. Seras, Integra, Walter, and Bernadotte, as well as the two catholic nuns, all seemed like they could be really interesting or at least entertaining people to follow around in a story. But unfortunately I have to say, not in this story.
Even though it spans across three volumes, I found the plot to be very thin. Very little actually happpens or is explained and I had no real understanding of what’s going on for pretty much the entire time. The plot, or what little there is of it, seemed to me to be little more than an excuse to depict endless piles of slaughter and gore. It’s not that I have any problem with this in general. I like both the anime and manga of Neon Genesis Evangelion and have to say I am quite a fan of Elfen Lied. (Though the anime is awful, it drops almost all of the plot.) I’m still planning to get to Berserk in the near future. Extreme violence in manga can be great. But in Hellsing it felt very different to me. It didn’t seem like the blood and guts where there to make any point but that the comic exists only for the sake of violece and gore.
All in all, I have to say that the first three volumes of Hellsing left me very much unimpressed. Actually rather disappointed. Maybe “it gets better later”, but as it is I really feel no desire to get back to this one.
Author MartinPosted on 31/10/2017 22/04/2018 Categories comics, reviewsTags HelllsingLeave a comment on Comic Review: Hellsing
Comic Review: Tales of the Jedi
Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is a comic series that was published by Dark Horse from 1993 to 1998 with a total of 35 issues. This was only two years after the Thrawn Series by Timothy Zahn had kickstarted the Expanded Universe as we know it now, placing it pretty early in the history of Star Wars tales. The series was created by Tom Veitch, who had written the Dark Empire comic series a year earlier (which I consider the greatest travesty of the Star Wars universe after the Holiday Special), but he was joined by Kevin Anderson in 1994, who had just released his Jedi Academy novel series (which also has a pretty poor reputation among fans) and became the sole writer for the series a year later.
The Tales of the Jedi are set 4,000 years before the movies, in a time when the Republic was still smaller, the galaxy less explored, and the Jedi much more numerous. The first three story arcs, written by Veitch, (and giving us the now popular title “Knights of the Old Republic”) follow the adventures of the young Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma and his brother Cay and their fellow knight Tott Doneeta, who are send to the planet Onderon to help the government of the capital city end a war with the tribes living in the surounding jungles. They discover the spirit of the Dark Jedi Freedon Nadd manipulating the events on the planet, facing the three Jedi with a much bigger threat than they anticipated. As the crisis escalates, Ulic’s path crosses with the newly trained Jedi Nomi Sunrider, who has an exceptional talent for the Battle Meditation technique, which allows a single Jedi to coordinate the efforts of an entire army and making her extremely valuable.
Once Kevin Anderson joined as second writer, he introduces Exar Kun, a character from his Jedi Academy novels, whose spirit is trying to turn Luke’s Jedi students on Yavin 4 to the Dark Side. Exar Kun is unhappy with his master not trusting him to learn about the dangerous powers of the Dark Side and so sets out to learn more about them on his own. A path that very much mirrors that of Anakin Skywalker in the movies that were made a few years later. Exar Kun gets corrupted by the still not fully destroyed spirit of Freedon Nadd who leads him to the ancient Sith tombs of Korriban, where he once more unearthes the ancient secrets of the Sith. At the same time Ulic Qel-Droma is trying to infiltrate the leadership of a new Sith cult called the Krath who also have been guided by Freedon Nadd and establishing their own galactic power by allying with the Mandalorians and become a major threat to the Republic. Halfway through the arc, after the Dark Lords of the Sith series, Veitch left as a writer, leaving the field entirely to Anderson with the Sith War series.
A third main arc is set a thousand years earlier and centers on the first clash between the Republic and the Sith Empire under the leadership of Naga Sadow, who uses trickery and conspiracy to first destroy his rivals for control over the empire in The Golden Age of the Sith and then sets his eyes on the Republic in The Fall of the Sith Empire. A final, much shoter arc called Redeption, is set some years after The Sith War, but is mostly a personal story of Nomi Sunrider’s daughter Vima and doesn’t really add much to the historic lore of the Old Republic.
The setting of these comics would later return on the Knights of the Old Republic videogames, which right after the release of the second game got another comic series also, and confusingly, called Knights of the Old Republic. I was interested in those comics and had read the Jedi Academy novels at some point in the late 90s, so I decided to start at the very begining with the Tales of the Jedi series to know more about those references to Exar Kun, Ulic Qel-Droma, and Naga Sadow. When I first read them some three or four years ago, I quite enjoyed them. But having read them again over the last two weeks, my opinion of the series is now very different.
The first arc, written by Veitch, is really pretty bad. The art is very sloppy and ugly, characters are as flat as it can get, and what little traces of a plot there are are almost entirely told by exposition in boxes with the characters not really contributing anything with their own words. The second arc, begun by Veitch and Anderson, is a noticable improvement in that the art now looks only bad and that the plot consists of exposition in speech bubbles instead of boxes. It’s still a bad comic, though. The third arc, now done completely by Anderson alone, first starts surprisingly well with Golden Age of the Sith. The art has now been upgraded to simply ugly, though servicable, and there’s actual plot and Naga Sadow has some real personality as we follow him taking out his rivals and becoming new Dark Lord of the Sith. Sadly that didn’t last and The Fall of the Sith Empire is right back to being a jumbled mess of exposition. The short Redemption at the very end is okay, I guess. I still don’t think it’s any good or very interesting.
So yeah. My final impression of the Tales of the Jedi series is that it’s bad! There are noticable improvements over time, but those are simply from “godawful” to “only bad”. The only reason why I would recommend to anyone to read any of these comics, would be a great interest in the lore of the early days of the Star Wars universe. But even then I would say that only The Golden Age of the Sith and The Fall of the Sith Empire are worth it. If you really want to know about Ulic Qel-Droma and Exar Kun, then you’re much better of at just reading the page on Wookiepedia. There is so little plot and characterization in Veitch’s comics that you really are not missing out anything. It probably is much more exciting to read a detailed summary than to shovel your way through that pile of dung yourself.
Author MartinPosted on 06/02/2016 22/04/2018 Categories comics, reviews, Star WarsLeave a comment on Comic Review: Tales of the Jedi
Against the Wicked City
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Martin on Unhidden Agendas and flying your flags
Breton Winters on Unhidden Agendas and flying your flags
Martin on Undreamed Ages – A New Sword & Sorcery Forum
Mister Frau Blucher on Undreamed Ages – A New Sword & Sorcery Forum
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Three attorneys inducted into Academy of Municipal Attorneys
Grand Rapids Legal News
LANSING, Michigan (Oct. 14, 2016)—Three prominent attorneys serving in the field of municipal law have been inducted into the Academy of Municipal Attorneys (AMA).
Those inducted to the prestigious Academy are John Barr of Barr, Anhut & Associates in Ypsilanti; Peter Letzmann of Peter Letzmann Associates in Grand Rapids; and William Mathewson, general counsel for the Michigan Municipal League. The three were recognized during the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys Municipal Law Program in Lansing Thursday, Oct. 13, 2016.
The Academy of Municipal Attorneys was established by the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys to recognize attorneys who have achieved a special level of education and service in the municipal law field.
“To be inducted into the academy is not just an honor, but it’s an earned honor,” said Andrew Mulder, a member of the Academy board and a municipal attorney in Holland. “To reach this level you must complete deliberate course work and also get recognition by your peers.”
To be inducted, the attorneys must achieve educational and practice requirements.
The educational component of the program seeks to train and educate the applicant in the basic elements of municipal law, and to encourage academic and scholarly excellence in municipal law.
The practice component recognizes the implementation of the academic component by applying the academic program to effective and competent legal practice. In addition, membership in the AMA seeks to encourage opportunities for dialogue, friendship and fellowship with social opportunities to promote the Academy, Mulder said. View the criteria and additional information by visiting www.mamaonline.org/academy/.
Barr has been an attorney for more than 50 years, and currently is attorney for the city of Ypsilanti and other municipalities. He is the recipient of numerous other awards and recognitions, including the State Bar of Michigan Frank J. Kelley Distinguished Public Service Award.
Letzmann has been an attorney for more than 40 years, and is also a mediator, consultant, municipal attorney and educator. He currently represents the Lowell Fire and Rescue Authority.
Mathewson, of Ann Arbor, has been the League’s general counsel since 1997, and previously served in several distinctly different positions with the League in its Ann Arbor and Lansing offices. He also serves as secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys and is the fund administrator of the League’s Legal Defense Fund, which provides appellate-level amicus assistance to municipalities involved in litigation of statewide importance.
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PDF2 Add To My Favorites | Version: 06/21/12 - Amended Assembly 04/09/12 - Amended Senate 02/24/12 - Introduced
SB-1426 Lobbyist employers: gifts.(2011-2012)
SB1426:v97#DOCUMENT
Amended IN Assembly June 21, 2012
Amended IN Senate April 09, 2012
Introduced by Senator Blakeslee
(Principal Coauthor(s): Senator Correa)
(Coauthor(s): Senator Dutton, Gaines, Wyland)
An act to amend Section 86203 of, and to add Section 89504 to, the Government Code, relating to the Political Reform Act of 1974.
SB 1426, as amended, Blakeslee. Lobbyist employers: gifts.
The Political Reform Act of 1974 regulates the receipt of gifts by public officials and also regulates the activities of members of the lobbying industry, including lobbyist employers. Under existing law, public officials are prohibited from accepting gifts from any single source in any calendar year with a total value of more than $250, as adjusted biennially by the Fair Political Practices Commission. Existing law also prohibits a lobbyist or lobbying firm from giving gifts to a public official aggregating more than $10 in a calendar month or from acting as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift or arranging for the making of any gift by any other person.
This bill would prohibit a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer from giving to an elected state officer or a member of that officer’s immediate family, and would prohibit an elected state officer from accepting from a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer, certain gifts, including tickets to specified venues and events, spa treatments, recreational trips, and gift cards. However, under the bill, these prohibitions would not apply to a fundraising event for a bona fide charitable organization.
This bill would also prohibit a lobbyist employer from giving to an elected state officer, or a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer from giving to a member of that officer’s immediate family, specified entertainment tickets with face values exceeding $25, including theater, concert, and amateur sporting event tickets.
Existing law makes a violation of the Political Reform Act of 1974 subject to administrative, civil, and criminal penalties. This bill would impose a state-mandated local program by creating additional crimes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
The Political Reform Act of 1974, an initiative measure, provides that the Legislature may amend the act to further the act’s purposes upon a 2/3 vote of each house and compliance with specified procedural requirements.
This bill would declare that it furthers the purposes of the act.
Vote: 2/3 Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES
Section 86203 of the Government Code is amended to read:
(a) It is unlawful for a lobbyist or lobbying firm to make gifts to one person aggregating more than ten dollars ($10) in a calendar month, or to act as an agent or intermediary in the making of any gift, or to arrange for the making of any gift by any other person.
(b) (1) It is unlawful for a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer to give to an elected state officer or to a member of that officer’s immediate family, from the date the officer is elected to the date he or she vacates office, any of the following gifts:
(A) A theme park or amusement park ticket.
(B) A professional sporting event ticket.
(C)A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(D)A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(C) A racetrack ticket.
(D) A spa treatment, or other beauty or cosmetic service.
(E) A golf, skiing, hunting, or fishing trip, or other recreational outing or vacation.
(F) A gift card.
(2) It is unlawful for a lobbyist employer to give to an elected state officer, or for a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer to give to a member of that officer’s immediate family, from the date the officer is elected to the date he or she vacates office, either of the following gifts:
(A) A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(B) A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(3) The prohibitions in this subdivision do not apply to a fundraising event for a bona fide charitable organization.
Section 89504 is added to the Government Code, to read:
(a) An elected state officer, from the date the officer is elected to the date he or she vacates office, shall not accept as from a lobbyist or lobbying firm gifts aggregating more than ten dollars ($10) in a calendar month.
(b) An elected state officer, from the date the officer is elected to the date he or she vacates office, shall not accept as a gift from a lobbyist, lobbying firm, or lobbyist employer any of the following:
(1) A theme park or amusement park ticket.
(2) A professional sporting event ticket.
(3)A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(4)A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(3) A racetrack ticket.
(4) A spa treatment, or other beauty or cosmetic service.
(5) A golf, skiing, hunting, or fishing trip, or other recreational outing or vacation.
(6) A gift card.
(c) An elected state officer, from the date the officer is elected to the date he or she vacates office, shall not accept as a gift from a lobbyist employer either of the following gifts:
(1) A collegiate or other amateur sporting event ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(2) A theater, concert, or other entertainment ticket with a face value exceeding twenty-five dollars ($25).
(d) The prohibitions in this section subdivisions (b) and (c) do not apply to a fundraising event for a bona fide charitable organization.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
The Legislature finds and declares that this bill furthers the purposes of the Political Reform Act of 1974 within the meaning of subdivision (a) of Section 81012 of the Government Code.
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Previous Arts Matter Seasons | 2011-2012 | 2012-2013 | 2013-2014 | 2015 |
...because the arts connect and define us; the arts are a way to celebrate life.
| Home | Overview | Arts Matter Tickets | Contact |
Lawrence Hill
Author: Book of Negroes, The Illegal
October 19, 2015, 7:30pm
Wade Davis
Photographer/ Author/ Filmmaker/ Ethnobiologist
February 11, 2016, 7:00pm
2015-2016 Arts Matter Tickets
Arts Matter Artist Series Overview
Arts Matter- Langley Fine Arts Artist Series
The arts are a way to celebrate life.
The Arts Matter lecture series invites Canadian artists to share their arts and experiences with Fraser Valley communities. Now, in the fifth season, the organizers are honored and excited to welcome author, Lawrence Hill, and ethnologist, explorer, National Geographic photographer, author, filmmaker, Wade Davis to the Chief Sepass Theatre at the Langley Fine Arts School.
During the day, Langley Fine Art School students will have access to the artists during workshop presentations, artist critiques, and/or class seminars. In the same evening, the featured artist will present their ideas to the community, all are welcome to attend. Each evening presentation will open with Langley Fine Art School student performances with the speaker to follow. There will be a question and answer period to conclude the event.
Tickets for Lawrence Hill and Wade Davis are available online or can be purchased at Wendel's Bookstore and in the Langley Fine Arts School Office. For more information, please call 604-888-3113.
The Arts Matter Lecture Series is to bring the arts to the community to celebrate the arts and promote arts education.
| 2015- 2016
| Hill
| Davis
Arts Matter Artist Series October 19, 2015
Lawrence Hill- October 19, 2015
Best known for the Book of Negroes, and his newest book The Illegal.
Lawrence Hill is the son of American immigrants — a black father and a white mother — who came to Canada the day after they married in 1953 in Washington, D.C. Growing up in the predominantly white suburb of Don Mills, Ontario in the sixties, Hill was greatly influenced by his parents’ work in the human rights movement. Much of Hill’s writing touches on issues of identity and belonging.
Hill is the author of ten books. His 2007 novel The Book of Negroes (also published as Someone Knows My Name and Aminata) won the Rogers Writers’ Trust Fiction Prize, the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best Book and both CBC Radio’s Canada Reads and Radio-Canada’s Combat des livres. In 2013, Hill wrote the non-fiction books Blood: The Stuff of Life (which formed the basis of his 2013 Massey Lectures) and Dear Sir, I Intend to Burn Your Book: An Anatomy of a Book Burning. Along with director Clement Virgo, he co-wrote a six-part television miniseries based on The Book of Negroes, which appeared on CBC TV in Canada and on BET in the USA in early 2015. His fourth novel, The Illegal, was published by HarperCollins Canada in 2015 and will be released by WW Norton & Co. in the United States in January, 2016.
Lawrence Hill Links:
http://lawrencehill.com/
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-2013-cbc-massey-lectures-blood-the-stuff-of-life
http://lawrencehill.com/blood-the-stuff-of-life/
http://www.cbc.ca/bookofnegroes/
http://lawrencehill.com/the-book-of-negroes/
http://lawrencehill.com/dear-sir-i-intend-to-burn-your-book/
| 2015 - 16
Arts Matter Artist Series February 11, 2016
Wade Davis- February 11, 2016
Photographer/ Author/ Filmmaker/ Ethnobiologist / Explorer
Multi award winning author, explorer, ethnobotanist, National Geographic Photographer.
Wade Davis is Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. Between 1999 and 2013 he served as Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and is currently a member of the NGS Explorers Council. Named by the NGS as one of the Explorers for the Millennium, he has been described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.”
An ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker, Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent over three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6000 botanical collections. His work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing The Serpent and the Rainbow (1986), an international best seller later released by Universal as a motion picture. In recent years his work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia, Colombia, Vanuatu, Mongolia and the high Arctic of Nunuvut and Greenland. He is the recipient of 11 honorary degrees.
Davis is the author of 250 scientific and popular articles and 17 books including One River (1996), The Wayfinders (2009), The Sacred Headwaters (2011), Into the Silence (2011) and River Notes (2012). His photographs have been widely exhibited and have appeared in 30 books and 100 magazines, including National Geographic, Time, Geo, People, Men’s Journal, and Outside. He was the co-curator of The Lost Amazon: The Photographic Journey of Richard Evans Schultes, first exhibited at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and currently touring Latin America. In 2012 he served as guest curator of No Strangers: Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World, an exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography in Los Angeles.
His many film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, an eight-hour documentary series written and produced for the National Geographic. In 2009 he received the Gold Medal from the Royal Canadian Geographical Society for his contributions to anthropology and conservation, and he is the 2011 recipient of the Explorers Medal, the highest award of the Explorers’ Club, and the 2012 David Fairchild Medal for Plant Exploration. His book, Into the Silence, received the 2012 Samuel Johnson prize, the top award for literary nonfiction in the English language. In 2015 he received the Centennial Medal from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University. A professional speaker for 25 years, Davis has lectured at over 200 universities and 250 corporations and professional associations. In 2009 he delivered the CBC Massey Lectures. He has spoken from the main stage at TED five times, and his three posted talks have been viewed by 3 million. His books have appeared in 19 languages and sold approximately one million copies.
Wade Davis Links:
http://www.daviswade.com/
http://annenbergphotospace.org/exhibits/no-strangers
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/bios/wade-davis/
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/the-2009-cbc-massey-lectures-the-wayfinders-why-ancient-wisdom-matters-in-the-modern-world-1.2946883
https://www.ted.com/speakers/wade_davis
http://www.sacredheadwaters.com/
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Afrikakorps Soldier 1941Â?43
by Pier Paolo Battistelli (Author) and Raffaele Ruggeri (Illustrator)
This book explores the experiences of the German Afrikakorps soldier during the North Africa campaign, from the Korps' arrival inÂ?theatre in February 1941 to its eventual surrender in Tunisia in May 1943, with a particular focus on the intense period of warfare in the Western Desert between 1941 and 1942. Under the leadership of one of the war's most famous commanders, Erwin Rommel, the Afrikakorps grew to include a broad range of armour, infantry, artillery, anti-tank,… (more)
This book explores the experiences of the German Afrikakorps soldier during the North Africa campaign, from the Korps' arrival inÂ?theatre in February 1941 to its eventual surrender in Tunisia in May 1943, with a particular focus on the intense period of warfare in the Western Desert between 1941 and 1942. Under the leadership of one of the war's most famous commanders, Erwin Rommel, the Afrikakorps grew to include a broad range of armour, infantry, artillery, anti-tank, engineer, communications, supply, medical and service elements. The soldiers of the Afrikakorps considered themselves as part of an elite, a highly select group that had no equal, not only in the German Army, but in the rest of the world.
Non-Fiction History World War II History by country Europe Germany 1945-1989
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (February 20, 2013)
Collection: Osprey Publishing
History by country >
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Longwood Central School District » Community » Longwood Journey » Hamlets » Coram » David Overton House
Photo from the Davis Erhardt collection.
Sketch by Morse Roe Overton
David Overton, was born about 1712, he died between 1790 and 1793. He was the son of Isaac "The Giant" or "The Strong Man" of Southold, Long Island
David Overton settled in Coram, Brookhaven Town prior to May 1738 when he had the earmark for his cattle recorded. An unrecorded deed dated April 1738, showed where he had purchased land in Brookhaven from Ebenezer Hulse. On March 12, 1740 another unrecorded deed shows where he purchased from Paul Hulse, land in Coram Hills, described as lot number forty-one.
This Lot number was one of the fifty four lots laid out by the Town May 4, 1731, being the division known as the Long Lots south of the country road, between Smithtown line and Connecticut Hollow
David Overton's home was situated on a small hill about 150-ft. northwest of a small pond on this lot number forty-one. This pond is located on the west side of the road known as David Overton Road, and about seventeen hundred feet north of Granny Road. The frame of the house was standing until 1910 when it finally collapsed. The location can still be noticed by the remains of the cellar hole.
David Overton was a staunch patriot during the American Revolution as were all his sons. He, with all of his sons except Nehemiah who had just passed his sixteenth birthday, signed the Association in support of the American cause. They signed in the Fourth Company Limits of Brookhaven Town on June 8, 1775, witnessed by Ebenezer Dayton, Clerk. Through their patriotism it was necessary for most of the sons to take refuge to Connecticut when the British occupied this area after the battle of Long Island.
David Overton and his family were connected with the Baptist church of Coram, which was the first Baptist church in the county.
The first wife of David Overton was Ann Hulse who was born about 1715; they were married about 1737. It is stated that she died when twins John and James were born in 1747.
He married second about 1749, Susannah Parker, born June 15, 1731; died between 1793 and 1795. She was a daughter of Nehemiah Parker and Mary Eldridge of Stonington Conn.
By first marriage - Ann Hulse
David, b. Aug. 29, 1739; d. Mch. 24, 1826; m. Mary Davis
Isaac, b. Feb. 15, 1740; d. Jan. 10 1799; m. twice
Anna, b. Jan. 30, 1743; m. Nehemiah Hulse
Abigail, b. April 15, 1745; m. Isaac Davis of Coram
John, b. Jan. 12, 1747; m. Lois Hammond
James, b. Jan. 12, 1747; d. Nov. 1788; m. Phebe Rose
By second marriage - Susannah Palmer
Palmer, b. Jan. 6, 1750; d. Dec. 14, 1805; m. Lucretia Hammond
Susannah, b. Oct. 20, 1751
Nathaniel, b. May 29, 1753; d. Jan. 10, 1803; m. Deborah
Messenger, b. Mch. 15, 1756; d. abt. Nov. 1803; m. Charity Gerard
Justus, b. Aug. 20, 1757; d. May 4, 1842; m. twice
Nehemiah, b. May 28, 1759; d. Feb. 20, 1832; m. Puah Swezey
David's son Palmer inherited and lived in the original family homestead at Coram. In the Revolution he signed the Association May 16, 1775 and on June 8, 1775 in Selah Strong's 4th Co. Limits. He married Lucretia Hammond. She was the daughter of the Rev. Noah Hammond of the Baptist church.
Their children were:
Elisha, b. May 21, 1776; d. Jan. 19, 1866; m. Ruth Roe
Lucretia, b. Aug. 29, 1778; d. Nov. 13, 1852; m. Samuel Brewster
Elisha was the next to occupy the family homestead at Coram. Elisha married Ruth Roe on Dec. 16, 1798. She was the daughter of Capt. Daniel Roe, who served in the Revolution and French and Indian War.
Their children were
Charlotte, b. June 19, 1799; d. Dec. 2 1880
Lewis Roe, b. Dec. 10, 1800; d. Jan. 4, 1872
Sheldon Roe, b. Dec. 10, 1800
Coleman Brewster, b. Aug. 21, 1812; d. Aug. 29, 1814
Harriet Sophie, b. Jul. 15, 1818; d. April 17, 1824
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liman3D Ltd. is a Bulgarian game development studio founded by two brothers. During the years we've been working for some small and big game developers, providing art assets and source coding. With over 10 years of game development experience we were officially established in 2013. There's nothing we can do better than playing and making computer games. We believe the adventure genre is evergreen, it's our passion, our mission. That's why the most of our titles that you will probably see in future will be in our favourite genre - "adventures".
Our company's mission is to provide high-quality content only. The current players have become more demanding and because of that our aim is to develop fascinating games with addictive game play that deliver fun to everyone. We create only the kind of games that we'd love to play.
We believe that innovation is the key to our company's ability to develop fascinating video games. For our first title we were very motivated to create a "third person" action adventure game - one of the most rare kind of games. This required a lot of features to be developed and coded into our game engine.
Especially for the game title "Deo" we have created a complex "smart" camera system, that guarantees smooth and fun game play in the 3d worlds. Armed with In-depth knowledge of cutting-edge shader techniques we create materials like "ice", "lava","gold","gems" and others with special attention to detail. We know that the most valuable games must consist of both beautiful environments and fun game play.
Home | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Game Dev tools
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Tag: CNT
Run This Town: Building Class Power in the City
By Three Hamilton Members, One Toronto Member
The Marxist urbanist Henri Lefebvre wrote that the working class is made out of urban material. His point was that to understand the working class and to organize it, one had to look at everyday working class life from the totality of urban life, not only at the part of it that occurs on the factory floor. Further, one had to look at the totality of the urban working class, not only at its industrial or factory segment.
David Harvey, another Marxist urbanist, points out that most Marxists have largely not taken Lefebvre’s lessons to heart, and have instead tended to ignore both working class life outside the factory and working class segments outside of the industrial proletariat. This point is less true of anarchism as a whole. Anarchists have historically theorized about and organized amongst the full range of working class and dispossessed groups, such as the peasantry and indigenous people. Neither the anarchist canon nor anarchism in practice identified the industrial working class as the indisputable vanguard segment of the dispossessed.
Indeed, since the revival of anarchism in the 1990s, a great deal of anarchist theory and practice has focused on the terrain of urban class struggle; particularly, in the form of squatting, anti-police and anti-racist organizing, local food security, struggles against ecologically destructive and colonialist urbanization, building counter-cultural spaces in the city, and building urban sanctuaries for migrant workers. This is especially true in North America where the link with the broader anarchist tradition has been almost completely broken. read more
Tagged Class, CNT, Housing, Urbanization
Some Assembly Required: Beyond False Conceptions of Democracy
By Two Toronto Members
Democracy is a term of primary importance to liberals and radicals alike, used as a means of justifying the legitimacy of their power or political position. Whether the ability of all citizens to make decisions extends only to allowing them to periodically vote for their leaders, or whether it reaches the perceived-radical level of people directly making decisions on issues that affect them, it is democracy nevertheless. Similar to politicians who justify the legitimacy of their rule by pointing to a successful election result, the left points to our positions being the will of the people – or at least it would be, leftists tell themselves, if the working class ever had the opportunity to make decisions for themselves.
In this radical race to the most-democratic democracy, anarchists claim that directly democratic structures are the best way for the working class to make decisions according to their collective class interests. As anarchist communists, we herald a federated structure of assemblies and councils who provide delegates carrying directly-determined mandates to higher-scale decision-making bodies as the ideal decision-making structure, both as a way to bolster the class in workers’ bodies under capitalism, and the way to run a post-revolutionary society.
With the prevalence of Occupy, and the successes of the Québec student strike being attributed to CLASSE’s federated general assembly model, the topic of direct democracy has in the past couple years reached beyond the realm of anarchist lip-service, and become a more broadly talked about concept in the media, on the left, within universities and amongst community organizing bodies. What remains unclear is the political content of these discussions. Are leftists just looking to legitimize their positions and actions, as any politician does, by saying theirs is the will of the people, or is a true anarchist position being put forward: a decision-making process that assists in building an empowered working class ready for militant direct action, and free of the hierarchies and oppressions that are endemic in the current capitalist liberal democracy? One of these is revolutionary; the other is not. read more
Tagged Assemblies, CNT, Movement for Justice in el Barrio, Quebec Student Strike
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PA calls for urgent interventions on developments in al Quds
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry on Sunday called for holding urgent meetings of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the Jerusalem issue.
Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Riad Malki said in an emailed statement that the call for holding both urgent meetings is “to counter Israeli steps against East Jerusalem’s holy places.”
Malki added that contacts had been made based on directives by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Abbas has been discussing with several world leaders on the consequences of a possible U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocate the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in addition to the latest action by Jewish settler groups inside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound.
The Palestinian national unity government urged on Sunday governments of Arab and Islamic states to end the “incursions” into the Al-Aqsa Mosque by Jewish settlers under the protection of Israeli forces.
Palestinian government spokesperson Yousef Al-Mahmoud said the incursions are “insistence by the Israeli government to desecrate holy sites and attack the most sacred site for Arabs and Muslims in the occupied Arab city of Jerusalem, violating all norms, international laws, human principles and ethics.”
Al-Mahmoud held the Israeli government responsible for “all crimes committed by settler gangs towards Al-Aqsa Mosque,” and warned of possible consequences resulting from “those escalating aggressive steps” that could possibly “trigger a horrific religion conflict.”
The mosque compound has been administered by Jordanian Islamic Waqf Ministry since 1948.
The Palestinians have repeatedly warned against Israeli government’s attempt to break the status quo and impose changes to the holy site.
The Palestinians want East Jerusalem as the capital of their future state, while Israel refuses to divide the city and wants “Greater Jerusalem” as its capital.
U.S. media reports said that U.S. President Donald Trump could announce a decision, possibly on Wednesday, to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, despite the strong opposition from the Islamic world. The Palestinians have warned that such a move could destroy the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and lead to renewed conflict and violence.
Al Quds capital Donald Trump Israel Jerusalem Mahmoud Abbas Palestinian Authority
Ben Shapiro calls for synagogue at Masjid al-Aqsa
Malaysian NGOs issue joint declaration on Kashmir, Palestine...
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Moviegique
I Go To The Movies More Than You
The King of Hearts (1966)
2018-June-22 2018-October-27 blake
In the closing days of World War I, retreating German forces set up a massive bomb in the center of a small French village, hoping to delay and damage an oncoming Scottish force. Catching wind of the plot, the head Scotsman sends in his top ornithologist Charles Plumpick (Alan Bates) to defuse the bomb, because “demolitionist” and “ornithologist” are easily confused in Scottish, apparently. The French have already evacuated the town in a panic, neglecting the inhabitants of the local insane asylum, who get loose and begin to perform various roles in town, putting Plumpick in quite a predicament.
And that’s how you set up a movie, folks.
You don’t get to be an officer in the Scottish brigades by quibbling over a word here and there!
The inmates-running-the-asylum trope is common enough, I suppose, although typically limited to horror and comedy (an exception being William Peter Blatty’s under-rated The Ninth Configuration), but the farcical tone of the film is not so overwhelming that it keeps you from genuinely caring about the fate of the characters which raises it above the usual El-Oh-El-So-Random humor (as the kids call it these days) fare, and it’s only slightly brought down by the ham-fisted anti-war message which is pretty much obvious from the get-go. I mean, WWI was pretty insane, and if you were going to make a point about people locked inside asylums being more sane than those outside, it’s not a bad stage to do it on.
Of course, nobody int he film suffers from real insanity, it’s movie insanity, which is charmingly eccentric, impractical, funny, and a metaphor for the artist and his disdain/distrust of social norms—or, in the ’60s, I suppose, a distrust of the “squares”.
It’s the GOOD kind of insane where you wear funny clothes and ride in cool old cars.
Of course, the women are all beautiful, and one immediately rushes off to the brothel to be the head madam (though it’s not clear if it was a brothel before she got there), and some decide to be barbers or tailors or the local cardinal, and one decides to be the mayor, but they decide they need a king.
Enter Mr. Plumpick.
While he’s running around trying to find the bomb and trying to convince the escapees that they need to flee the town, because the bomb is shortly to go off, and he doesn’t even know where it is or how to defuse it, he’s also falling in love with Genevieve Bujold. Because of course you’re going to fall in love with Genevieve Bujold.
I mean, honestly.
The fact that it’s pretty strictly by-the-numbers doesn’t really detract: It is funny, charming, well-acted, lovely to look at (delightful to hold!), and the over-the-top”One Tin Soldier” anti-violence/anti-war message, is at least not ugly. The movie maker’s not trying to make you feel bad. (Director Philippe de Broca has a funny cameo as Captain Adolph Hitler.) It’s just a kind of dopey, hippie, “War! What Is It Good For?” level of protest.
My kids, who are alt-right Nazis (as I guess we all are these days), both really enjoyed it. The Flower loved the costumes and the aesthetics generally, and the Boy found it fun. Considering how suspicious they are of this sort of thing (The Boy of anti-war films, The Flower of the French, and both of them of hippies), that’s a pretty strong recommendation. I also enjoyed it a lot: It’s on the cusp of that period (1966-1975) that I loathe, but without the nihilistic sensibilities.
It’s also VERY French, as we used to say around here.
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I heard the great Glenn Beck talking about this issue on his Thursday radio program.
Claude Castonguay, the godfather of Canada's socialized healthcare, now says the Canadian system is in ruins.
His answer to fix it? Are you sitting down? Are you comfortable? Is your heart beating at a normal, relaxed rate?
Get ready.
His answer is...
...privatize Canada's healthcare system! (GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASP!)
"Socialized healthcare? Why, dat's just crazy-talk!"
From Investor's Business Daily:
Back in the 1960s, Castonguay chaired a Canadian government committee studying health reform and recommended that his home province of Quebec — then the largest and most affluent in the country — adopt government-administered health care, covering all citizens through tax levies.
The government followed his advice, leading to his modern-day moniker: "the father of Quebec medicare." Even this title seems modest; Castonguay's work triggered a domino effect across the country, until eventually his ideas were implemented from coast to coast.
Four decades later, as the chairman of a government committee reviewing Quebec health care this year, Castonguay concluded that the system is in "crisis."
"We thought we could resolve the system's problems by rationing services or injecting massive amounts of new money into it," says Castonguay. But now he prescribes a radical overhaul: "We are proposing to give a greater role to the private sector so that people can exercise freedom of choice."
Castonguay advocates contracting out services to the private sector, going so far as suggesting that public hospitals rent space during off-hours to entrepreneurial doctors. He supports co-pays for patients who want to see physicians. Castonguay, the man who championed public health insurance in Canada, now urges for the legalization of private health insurance.
What would drive a man like Castonguay to reconsider his long-held beliefs? Try a health care system so overburdened that hundreds of thousands in need of medical attention wait for care, any care; a system where people in towns like Norwalk, Ontario, participate in lotteries to win appointments with the local family doctor.
Years ago, Canadians touted their health care system as the best in the world; today, Canadian health care stands in ruinous shape.
Sick with ovarian cancer, Sylvia de Vires, an Ontario woman afflicted with a 13-inch, fluid-filled tumor weighing 40 pounds, was unable to get timely care in Canada. She crossed the American border to Pontiac, Mich., where a surgeon removed the tumor, estimating she could not have lived longer than a few weeks more.
Canada isn't the only country facing a government health care crisis. Britain's system, once the postwar inspiration for many Western countries, is similarly plagued. Both countries trail the U.S. in five-year cancer survival rates, transplantation outcomes and other measures.
It will be interesting to see if, or how, American Liberals and Progressives talk about this issue and if they do, how they will either dismiss the above story or arrogantly proclaim that "they can do a better job."
To what country do kings, queen, royalty, celebrities and heads of state travel to, to receive medical treatment? Do they seek treatment in Canada, Cuba, the U.K.? Or do they travel to the United States? In what country did Ted Kennedy receive treatment for his tumor?
Do yourself a huge favor and read the entire IBD story. Become informed on the myriad of downsides and problems associated with socialized healthcare. Don't let the Democrats pull the wool over your eyes. The United States has the best healthcare system in the world. Does it need some reform? Yes it does. Does it need to be "socialized"? No, not now, not ever.
// posted by David Drake @ 12:43 AM
Canada Health Care system would not be there if it was not for the 500 billions dollars of net commercial balance with USA.
Besides, it's a FAILED SYSTEM big time.
Canadian regards,
# posted by Tym_Machine : 7:40 PM, July 06, 2008
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SOURCE: Christianity Today
God and the Gridiron Game
tags: religion, sports, football, American culture
by Paul Putz and Hunter Hampton
Paul Putz is a PhD candidate in history at Baylor University, where he is completing a dissertation on the blending of sports and Christianity in the United States. You can read more about his work here. Hunter Hampton is a lecturer in history at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he teaches and researches American religious history and sport history.
Football is a national obsession. Football is also in a state of crisis.
The NFL remains far and away America’s most popular sports league, and nearly 43 percent of Americans’ identify either professional or college football as their favorite sport. Meanwhile, stories of concussions, domestic violence, sexual assault, and greed swirl around big-time college football and the NFL, leading to calls for reform or even abolishment of the sport all together. Football’s dual cultural status exists among Christians as well. Although there is a strong affinity for football, there is also plenty of concern over the ethical problems in the sport.
But football’s paradox—immense popularity combined with fierce criticism—is not unique to the present moment. In many ways it is a tradition that dates back to football’s founding in the late 19th century, with moments of heightened controversy emerging from time to time ever since. The 1920s witnessed one such moment of controversy. In that decade football emerged as a truly national spectacle. Sportswriter John Tunis declared in 1928 that football is “at present a religion—sometimes it seems to be almost our national religion.” In that decade, too, renewed efforts to reform football reached a fever pitch.
Although Christian leaders were not the most outspoken voices in the 1920s discussion about football’s place in American society, they were involved in the conversation. As another football season is set for kick off, it is worth looking at how Christian leaders nearly 100 years ago—in particular, white Protestant leaders—responded to the emergence of big-time football as America’s “national religion.”
Looking anew at the old debates can perhaps help us understand the ways in which football became so entrenched in American culture, and also the ways in which football continues to unite and divide American believers today.
Before football became linked with the mass culture of the 1920s, it was a sport for elite white Protestant men. In the 1870s and 1880s men like Walter Camp, the “father” of American football, fashioned the new game from its rugby origins on the campuses of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Although there were always competing meanings associated with the sport, one in particular came to dominate: Football was a maker of men. More specifically in its early years, it molded middle- and upper-class college men from elite northeastern schools into hardened, well-rounded leaders needed in a strenuous age of American expansion. ...
Read entire article at Christianity Today
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Ideologies and U.S. Foreign Policy International History Conference: Day 1 Coverage
Historians/History
tags: history, academia, conference
by Marcelo Carocci
Marcelo Carocci is a PhD student in the History of Science program. Marcelo completed his undergraduate studies in Cultural Anthropology and his Master of Arts degrees in Applied Anthropology at Oregon State.
On May 31, 2019, and June 1, 2019, Oregon State University hosted the “Ideologies and U.S. Foreign Policy International History Conference,” organized by Dr. Christopher McKnight Nichols, associate professor of history and director of the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities, by Dr. Danielle Holtz, a post-doctoral fellow at Oregon State University, and Dr. David Milne, a professor of modern history at the University of East Anglia, in Norwich, England. The conference brought together academic and independent historians and political scientists from universities all-round the US and England to discuss the history of ideology and US foreign policy from many different points of view.
The first day of the conference began with introductions from organizers Drs. Nichols, Holtz and Milne. Dr. Nichols, in his introductions, made sure to thank all the major sponsors of the conference, which included Oregon State University, the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Patrick & Vicki Stone, Citizenship & Crisis, the Oregon State University Center for the Humanities, and the Stoller Family Estate. Dr. Nichols also shared with attendees that the essays presented at the conference will, in a near future, became chapters of book that will delineate the state of the field for what he termed the “intellectual history of U.S. foreign policy,” an emerging disciplinary area that he suggested is roughly ten-to-fifteen years old.
Dr. Nichols’ introductory remarks concluded that ideas and ideologies heavily shaped US foreign policy, as affirmed by Michael Hunt in his path-breaking book “Ideology and U.S. Foreign Policy” published in 1987. Dr. Nichols stressed the need for continuous discussions about the intersection of ideology and foreign policy, where Hunt’s book can be used as the frame work for it and for moving beyond that project to build on the vibrant new directions established by recent work on the role of ideas in U.S. foreign relations broadly defined.
Dr. Nichols’ remarks were followed by remarks from Dr. Holtz, who brought to the discussion an emphasis on the ideological clashes in Trump’s White House to reveal how even seemingly non-or-under-ideological Administrations can act ideologically; this, she argued, provides a reason why it is important to evaluate the intersection of ideology and foreign policy historically. She added that Trump’s aggressive posturing when dealing with those who do not agree with him, sign to a state of ideological fragmentation which interferes in how foreign policy is executed. To help frame the multi-day conference and approach to the resulting book Holtz elaborated on philosophical and theoretical approaches to ideologies and ideology critique, drawing on concepts advanced by Louis Althusser, among others. She emphasized that often the historical record reveals that ideological debates are about “a struggle over the obvious,” which was a proposal that seemed to resonate with the audience.
To Dr. Milne, who concluded the introductory remarks, there is a great deal of significance in approaching foreign policy and ideology differently then Michael Hunt, and added the importance of differentiating intentional from accidental ideology. Milne made the case that Hunt’s three-part schema, that focused on “visions of national greatness,” “the hierarchy of race,” and a strong counterrevolutionary impulse – offers a compelling framework to think through the dynamic between ideology and U.S. foreign policy, but not the only one. He asked the contributors and audience: “Does Hunt’s definition function for your intervention or do you opt to define “ideology” differently? What might a theoretical reconfiguration of ideology do to open new avenues of inquiry for historians of ideas and U.S. foreign relations?” Citing numerous examples from the history and from the works of the contributors to the conference, Milne concluded by stating that the “work at this conference represents a broad and diverse series of interventions in the historiography” of U.S. foreign relations. Praising Dr. MichaelaHoenicke Moore’s insights in her chapter, Dr. Milne suggested this historiography “has encouraged essentializing interpretations and a reductionist impulse, searching for and finding recurring and persistent patterns, often promoted through elite culture, marginalizing and dismissing voices and movements that resisted, questioned, and rejected the call to arms.” When reading these papers and listening to the series of talks, he encouraged the audience, it is worth reflecting on the advantages and disadvantages of defining ideology and U.S. foreign relations broadly and of moving beyond what some of the older models of an “ideology-elite-shaped policy” nexus.You can watch the introductory remarks on C-SPAN.
(Dr. Christopher McKnight Nichols Introductory Remarks)
After the introductions, the first panel, moderated by Dr. Nichols, presented papers about “concepts of the subject-state.” Dr. Matthew Kruer, from the University of Chicago, presented an essay called “Indian subjecthood and White Populism in British America,” where he discussed the subjecthood of Indians in relation to the British crown in the 17th and 18th centuries. At that point in history, the crown accepted the Indian tribes in North America as subjects of the Empire while allowing them to keep their sovereignty. The British accepted this arrangement, since in their world view, it was better to have subjects in North America rather than conquered peoples. However, according to Kruer, all this changed in the mid 18th century after certain tribes began to challenge British authority, and white settlers, feeling endangered by the Indians, unprotected by crown, and likely unmoored by being equal to indigenous peoples in the “great chain of being” under the King, massacred Indians. This violence against the Indians were justified by settlers indicating that being equals to Indians threatened their rights as Englishman. This, Kruer argued, was the historical shift from subjects to citizens, it defaulted to western colonial power and as such became a de facto endorsement of white supremacy.
The second essay of this panel was presented by Dr. Benjamin Coates, from Wake Forest University. Under the title “Civilization and American Foreign Policy” Coates traces the historical rhetoric and the complex, and sometimes dualistic meaning of the word “civilization” in the US, from as early as the 18th century, all the way to the present. He shows how it was applied over the decades in the context of the US foreign policy, specially by presidents when addressing the nation, and how the rhetorical meaning of the word morphed to keep up with ideological shifts in US foreign policy championed by US presidents.
The third essay of the panel was presented by Dr. Michaela Hoenicke-Moore, from University of Iowa. The tittle of the essay was “Containing the Multitudes: Nationalism and U.S. Foreign Policy Ideas at the Grassroots Level.” In this essay, Dr. Hoenicke-Moore argues that the voices of the people during and shortly after the Second World War, had very little, to no impact on how the US exercised its foreign policy. She arrived at this conclusion by researching foreign policy from the bottom up. Dr. Hoenicke-Moore does point out in the essay that a great deal of fear mongering was present in the political discourse, but in reality, after the war for instance, few people at the grassroots level, saw the Soviets as enemies, a fact that was largely ignored by those in government. She concludes by adding that, in the end, the elites were able to establish their will, the people at the grassroots levels, were not.
The last essay of this panel was presented by Dr. Mark Bradley, from the University of Chicago, and it was titled “The Political Project of the Global South.” In this essay, Dr. Bradley argues that there is an imaginary global south that cannot fully and completely became an object in foreign policy. Thus, trying to study the global south separately, allows us to see US foreign policy differently, by looking at ideology from a different angle that would eventually bring us back to US history. Dr. Bradley then brings into question continuity and rupture. What is more important? Should continuity, sometimes take the back seat to rupture? He argues that the late 20th century is a time of rupture, a time of change. Not only because of the end of the Cold War, but because of many other structural, economical, and technology changes in the world. By analyzing yearly UN speeches from by world leaders, Dr. Bradley is also able to see the rhetoric used by these world leaders when referring to the global south, concluding that there are changes on the rhetoric about that region of the globe.
After Dr. Bradley’s presentation, the Q&A portion of this panel began. There were several questions and discussions with the panel, starting with a discussion surrounding Michael Hunt’s book and how it directed the research of the panelists. In this respect, the panelists spoke about the intersection of effect and ideology, about power and power relations and how those power relations brought about new social change. The traditional ways of thinking of power was also discussed in the context of Hunt’s book. The discussion then shifted to the lack of grassroots influence in the decisions made by government officials in respect to foreign policy. The panel concluded that grassroots usually is mute in those matters, while elites tend to make their voices heard, and many times are able to get what they are after. The panel ended the Q&A by briefly discussing the rhetoric and the how the word “civilization” is used in the US and in other parts of the world. This ended the morning proceedings.
(Doctors David Milne, Marc-Willian Palen, Nicholas Guyatt, Danielle Holtz, and Matt Karpp)
After lunch, the second panel was introduced by the moderator, Dr. David Milne. The theme of the panel was “Concepts of Power” and it kicked off with an essay by Dr. Marc-William Palen, from the University of Exeter, in the United Kingdom. Dr. Palen’s essay was titled “Competing Free Trade Ideologies in the US Foreign Policy.” In the essay, Dr. Palen traces the US free trade ideology and how it shifted in the later 19th century, early 20th century. Dr. Palen separated the trade ideology of the US into three major phases, the Jeffersonianism of the 1840s, which had a protectionist attitude, to the cottonism of the 1900s, and neo-liberalism of the present-day free trade. The freedom to free trade, according to Dr. Palen, has kept the peace, an approach that can be considered radical. The value of free trade has been so high for the US, that support for dictators and other problematic governments have been part of the modus operandi of this country. Free trade has also been a tool for punishments, in the way of increased tariffs for instance, as a shift back to the protectionism of the 19th century, which can be seen in US free trade today.
The next panelist was Dr. Nicholas Guyatt, a reader in North American history at University of Cambridge, in the United Kingdom. Dr. Guyatt’s essay was called “The Righteous Cause: John Quincy Adams and the limits of the American Anti-imperialism.” Dr. Guyatt began his presentation of his essay by quickly explaining the Opium wars in China in 1839. In the Opium wars, the British government went to war with China to force the Chinese into agreeing with trade terms that were beneficial to Britain and terrible for China. The Chinese were incredibly mismatched against a much more powerful British military. This war lasted until 1842. Dr. Guyatt then shows John Quincy Adam’s take of the war. Adams believed that Britain was right in going to war with China, because Britain, in his view, was well within its right to demand such advantageous trade agreements. China, on the other hand, was violating a world order by challenging Britain. Adams was a firm believer in a world order ruled by Christians, which China was not. This points to a world view held by Adams that did not place China in equal footing to white European Christian societies for the world, thus making China a colonialized space, rather than a place with rights. Dr. Guyatt concluded by saying that Adams held a position that the US was exceptional, better than others, and he used the law to get to his objectives, or to justify his positions.
Doctor Guyatt was followed by Dr. Danielle Holtz, a visiting research fellow at Oregon State University. Dr. Holtz’s essay was titled “’An Imaginary Danger’: White Fragility and Self-Preservation in the Territories.” Dr. Holtz traced white fragility and self-preservation to the 1840s debate in Congress involving Florida’s proposal for statehood. In their proposal, Floridians wanted to be able to dictate who could come, and who could live in the state. In other words, they did want the presence of African Americans in the state. Dr. Holtz argued that black bodies meant danger to white southerners, and their presence alone, was enough to trigger an instinct of self-preservation, that was reflected in organizational racism, and later in eugenics. During the presentation of her essay to the panel, Dr. Holtz also compared the 1840s Florida debates in Congress with the current president’s immigration policies that seem to have at its core, the preservation of whiteness.
The panel closed with a presentation by Dr. Matt Karp, from Princeton University. Dr. Karpp’s essay was titled, “Free Labor and Democracy: The Early Republican Party Confronts the World.” Dr. Karpp began the presentation of his essay by talking about his last book, where he wrote about slave holders and US foreign policy, then tied that project to the essay he was presenting. In this essay, he looked at the Republican party of the 1850s as an anti-slavery party, and a threat to the South. Members of the Republican party were a threat to the South’s ideological struggle to maintain free labor viable through slavery, while turning the population of the North against this so important institution.
After Dr. Karpp’s presentation, the Q&A and commentary session for panel two began. The discussion and questions to the panel revolved around the overlap of ideologies in the four different essays, ranging from the John Quincy Adams’ concern with the maintenance of the certain world order, to how power played its part on the works presented. The panelists also discussed how we arrived at the state of “white fragility” that we see today in America, and how science and changes in infrastructure helped in the ideologies mentioned in the panel’s essays.
The final panel of the day was moderated by Dr. Danielle Holtz and had as its theme “Concepts of the International.”
(from left to right, Drs. Emily Cornroy-Krutz, Raymond Haberski Jr., and Penny von Eschen)
The first presenter was Dr. Emily Conroy-Krutz, from Michigan State University. Dr. Conroy-Krutz’s paper was titled, “’For Young People’: Protestant Missions, Geography, and American Youth at the End of the 19th Century.” In this essay Dr. Conroy-Krutz, investigated how religious missionaries talked about Africa at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and how that rhetoric informed US foreign policy. The essay began in the 1840s, when missionaries saw other peoples of the world as savages. She used an example where a missionary speaks of Hindus as heathen, thus telling the children that were reading this literature, that Hinduism was a horrible religion. However, she shows that by the 1970s, the same missionaries were writing materials for children that showed life in places like Africa, as an adventure, but also as a racist ethnography. Dr. Conroy-Krutz concluded that this “religious intelligence” was transferred into children literature in order to teach adult ideologies to children and to shape how they saw the world.
The next panelist was Dr. Raymond Haberski Jr., from Indiana and Purdue Universities. Dr. Haberski’s essay was titled “Just War as Ideology: The Origins of a Militant Ecumenism.” In this essay, Dr. Haberski shows how religion has been a great part of American identity, and how ideology can be mascaraed by religion. He pointed out that after the Vietnam war, there was a religious crisis that saw the emergence of ecumenical militarism. The ecumenical militarism meant that catholic and evangelical bishops and pastors became the moral compass for the country. Always opposed to the Vietnam war, the catholic bishops, especially after the war, began to question if the US was in moral charge of the world. This debate over the morality of war, ended up influencing foreign policy. This influence, Dr. Haberski concluded, began to appear in foreign policy as “just war” where moral justifications for wars were sought.
Dr. Penny von Eschen, from University of Virginia and Cornell University, followed Dr. Haberski. Her essay was titled “Roads Not Taken: the Delhi Declaration, Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, and the Lost Futures of 1989.” Dr. von Eschen began the presentation of her essay by sharing that it is a result of her research for a new book that talks about the legacies of the Cold War. One of those legacies was the meetings between president George H. W. Bush and Nelson Mandela and Vaclav Havel, and what resulted from those meetings, especially considering the ideological differences between the American president and Mandela and Havel. Dr. von Eschen sees that the breakup of the Soviet Union was a rupture moment in which the US had to establish itself as the only global power, asserting that no other power from the East was to emerge. This was accomplished by using an ideology that normalized violence, especially from those who surrounded president Bush, such as Dick Cheney, Robert Rumsfeld and others. Dr. von Eschen concludes by saying that this ideology was also based on fear from the outside, fear of rogue states, which created and solidified a “us vs. them” ideology.
Dr. Andrew Preston was introduced next. Dr. Preston is from Claire College, University of Cambridge, and his paper was titled, “Fear and Insecurity in US Foreign Policy.” In this essay, Dr. Preston takes on, as the title suggests, fear and insecurities in US foreign policy. He uses the long-standing crisis between the US and North Korea to show how the US goes into moments of panic over tensions in the Korean peninsula, when South Korea, for instance, does not have the same reactions. South Korea, who’s capital Seoul, can be wiped out by North Korean artillery in a moment’s notice, does not share the fear and panic the US shows. Dr. Preston pointed out that, although this fear is very present in US foreign policy, it is not an ideology, but part of the American culture, which could be seen in 1941, and be traced to the present. He concluded by reminding everyone that despite the fears always run high on the US’s part, the situation never really changes.
(form right to left, Drs. Emily Conroy-Krutz, Raymond Haberski Jr, Andrew Preston, and Christopher Nichols)
Dr. Christopher Nichols, associate professor of history at Oregon State University closed the presentations of this panel with an essay titled “Unilateralism as Ideology.” In this essay and presentation, Dr. Nichols explored his views about how ideas and ideologies evolve over time, noting his own model as one premised on a vision of punctuated equilibrium. He asserts that the U.S. ideology, from the beginning and with important shifts and pivotal moments, has been defined by a core element of unilateralism. Unilateralism “as ideology” he remarked, was clearly present at the beginning, in the Declaration of Independence and in the nation’s first “Model Treaty” of 1776, designed to minimize U.S. reliance on foreign nations and to steer clear of foreign entanglements by privileging bi-lateral and non-binding agreements. The recent turn to unilateralism, Nichols remarked, is thus not remarkable, nor is it new. Unilateralism is at least evident, if not influential, in virtually all historical debates over international engagement since 1776. This then prompts several questions: Why? Nichols made the case that unilateralism has functions as both ideology and behavior, or tactic, helping a weak nation maneuver in world of larger powers and competing interests at least until the late 19th century. But another question lingers, according to Nichols: Why does or did the U.S. enter into conflicts unilaterally, when it could potentially have benefited more from multilateralism? Dr. Nichols believes the answers to this are in the longer historical record and he asked the audience to help assess them. Unilateralism, as an impulse to place the nation first, has been foundational, linked to Washington, Jefferson, and Monroe, from 1789 through 1823, differentiated at times in terms of the U.S.’s role in the hemisphere versus around the world. In light of the longer patterns in foreign policy thought Nichols sees unilateralist policy ideas as fundamentally a product of a kind of arrogance set on a bedrock of exceptionalism. After giving several examples of unilateral decisions made by the US, from the War of 1812 to WWI, both examples of the U.S. entering conflicts with no formal allies or in terms of being only an “associate power,” even if that one-sidedness came at a great cost, up to the post-9/11 Iraq War, Dr. Nichols concludes that unilateralism is a cultural ideology that revolves around a core calculus about “vital interests” such that foreign policy decisions must always be conceived, evaluated, and implemented on U.S.’s terms.
After Dr. Nichols’ presentation the Q&A session for this panel began with a question about fear in foreign policy, and if it was something unique to the US or generated by fear of potentially losing power. All the members of the panel pondered on these questions, and it seems that there was an agreement that the fear, if not unique, was at least unusual, and likely triggered by the perception that the US’s power was declining, and the country was losing its overall status before the world. A question regarding morality in foreign policy was asked which precipitated the assessment that a morality rhetoric was commonly attached when explaining conflicts where the country was asking its military to kill or to die. Similarly, the morality of unilateralism seemed at stake, too. The Q&A ended with a discussion amongst the panelists about the evangelization of children by using missionary ethnographies, and how it affected future generations, which Dr. Conroy-Krutz and Dr. Nichols discussed in terms of children as “time-shifted adults.” The last bit of discussion was about how a “just war” was used as currency in unifying arguments to justify armed conflicts, particularly in creating a kind of theology of conflict in the wake of the attacks of 9/11.
After the Q&A, the conference was adjourned until 7pm, when keynote speaker James Lindsay presented the talk called “Donald Trump and Ideology,” which was part of the 2018-2019 Governor Tom McCall Memorial Lecture. This lecture will be covered in a separate post.
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Paxton House
Built for a dashing young Scottish laird, Patrick Home of Billie, in 1758 on a ridge overlooking the majestic River Tweed, Paxton House is one of the finest 18th century Palladian country houses in Britain. On view are 12 period rooms, many boasting interiors by Robert Adam and the finest collections of furniture by Thomas Chippendale including the unique star-backed chairs in the lady's bedroom. There are also exquisite Regency period Scottish furniture, designed by William Trotter of Edinburgh. The House was extended in 1811 by George Home, 16th Laird of Wedderburn, to include the largest purpose built picture gallery in a Scottish Country House, in which are now housed over 70 paintings from the National Galleries of Scotland.
Etal Castle - Northumberland
In 1341, Robert Manners was granted a licence to fortify his home to protect it against the threat of attack from Scottish raiders. In 1513, when an army of 30,000 Scots led by James IV invaded England, Etal Castle fell, but these invaders were then defeated in the bloody battle that ensued on Flodden Hill. An award-winning exhibition tells the story of the Battle of Flodden and of the border warfare that existed here before the union of the English and Scottish crowns in 1603.
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Wilson v. Ford
MARSHALL ORME WILSON and RICHARD T. WILSON, JR., Individually and as Executors of and Trustees under the Will of RICHARD T. WILSON, Deceased, and Others, Respondents,
JAMES B. FORD and Others, Appellants.
APPEAL by the defendants, James B. Ford and others, from a judgment of the Supreme Court in favor of the plaintiffs, entered in the office of the clerk of the county of New York on the 21st day of June, 1911, upon the report of a referee.
Middleton S. Borland [John M. Bowers and David G. George with him on the brief], for the appellants James B. Ford and others.
David B. Ogden [Edward E. Sprague with him on the brief], for the appellants Fleischmann Realty and Construction Company and another.
John G. Milburn, for the respondents.
Judgment affirmed, with costs, on opinion of Hon. DAVID LEVENTRITT, Referee.
Present--INGRAHAM, P. J., LAUGHLIN, CLARKE, SCOTT and MILLER, JJ.
The following is the opinion of the referee:
DAVID LEVENTRITT, Referee:
This is an action to restrain the defendants from making any use of a certain alleyway or, failing in that, to restrain its use for business purposes.
The facts material to this controversy are best set out in connection with the following diagram:
(Image Omitted)
The present plaintiffs, as successors to the title of Robert T. Wilson, the original plaintiff, are the owners in fee simple of lot No. 1, lot No. 7, lot No. 6 and two equal undivided third parts of lot No. 5, which is an alley. The defendants are the owners and lessees of lot No. 3.
All these lots were part of premises formerly owned by Margaret Burr, Mary Burr and Sarah Burr as tenants in common, and were, by two agreements between the owners, placed under perpetual restrictions excluding business buildings. One, executed in 1861, covered all the lots except lot No. 3. In this agreement the parties covenanted for themselves, their heirs and assigns not to 'erect on any of the aforesaid lots of land or any part thereof any buildings other than dwelling houses at least two stories high of brick or stone with the ordinary
yard appurtenances to dwelling houses, including stables for private use or churches of the same materials.' It provided that all purchasers, lessees and occupants of any of the lots should be required to come under and be bound by the restriction which should run with the land. The other agreement, covering among other land lot No. 3, was entered into in 1857 and imposed substantially the same restriction. While private stables were not specifically mentioned 'ordinary yard appurtenances' were authorized. It also provided that the restriction should be binding on all purchasers, lessees and occupants and should run with the land. These several restrictions were observed by the successive owners of the lots until a comparatively recent time. The residence on lot No. 3 was occupied as such until 1901 when it was leased to tenants who occupied it for business purposes until 1907. The residence was then replaced by a twelve-story business and office building. The residence building on lot No. 2 still stands but for several years past has been devoted to business. Lots Nos. 1 and 7, owned by the plaintiffs, are still occupied by private residences.
On the rear part of lot No. 1, and next to the alley, there is a private stable used in connection with the residence on that lot. On lot No. 4 there is a structure formerly used as a stable in connection with lot No. 2, but which, for several years past, has been used for business purposes. Lot No. 3 has never had a stable on it.
In 1906 the then owner of the premises now owned by the plaintiffs joined in an agreement releasing from the Burr restriction of 1861 the various properties which it covered. The plaintiffs and their predecessors in title have not, however, consented to the use of the alley in connection with business establishments. Protests were made against the use of the alley for the purposes of the business conducted in the residential building on lot No. 3 and against the use of the alley in connection with the erection and occupancy of the present business building. The present lessees have continued to use the alley for carting goods to the building and for removing ashes therefrom, thus very materially increasing the servitude on the alley.
The rights in the alley are defined by an agreement made in
1864. Peter H. Morss was the owner of lot No. 1, Thomas T. Sturges of lots Nos. 2 and 4, and James S. Sturges of lot No. 3, while the three were equal owners and tenants in common of lot No. 5. They executed an agreement under date of January 2, 1864, reciting their respective titles and providing that each of them, their heirs and assigns 'shall forever hereafter have and enjoy the use in common, exclusive of all other persons of said lot Number five as a passageway for themselves, their servants or other deputy, either on foot or with horses, carriages or otherwise to and from their respective lots aforesaid and to and from the stables built and to be built for private use on their said respective lots.' In consideration of this agreement, the parties mutually covenanted and agreed, for themselves and their respective heirs and assigns that they 'will each bear, pay and discharge his equal proportion of all taxes, assessments and expenses attending the use of said lot Number Five or chargeable thereon.'
On August 11, 1868, James S. Sturges conveyed lot No. 3 and his equal undivided third part of lot No. 5 to John R. Ford, and on the same day, by separate deed, also conveyed to Ford lot No. 7. Lot No. 7 abutting on the easterly side of the alley had no easement therein. Ford, however, acquired an easement under the deed conveying lot No. 3 and the undivided interest in the alley.
Ford by deed dated February 26, 1879, conveyed to the trustees of the estate of Augustus Embury lot No. 7 together with the undivided third part of the alley with the following reservation: 'Reserving however to the said party of the first part the right of using said alley in the manner provided in agreement recorded in liber 916 of Conveyances page 82, it being the intention of the parties of the first part hereto to convey to the parties of the second part hereto all the rights, privileges and immunities contained in an ...
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United States Radiator Co. v. State
UNITED STATES RADIATOR CORPORATION, Appellant,
THE STATE OF NEW YORK, Respondent.
APPEAL by the claimant, the United States Radiator Corporation, from a judgment of the Court of Claims of the State of New York, dated the 9th day of January, 1911, and entered in the office of the clerk of said court dismissing the appellant's claim.
Herendeen & Mandeville [E. Watson Personius of counsel], for the appellant.
Henry Selden Bacon, Deputy Attorney-General, and Thomas Carmody, Attorney-General, for the respondent.
LYON, J.:
This is an appeal from a judgment of the Court of Claims dismissing the claim of the appellant for the refund under the provisions of section 280 of the Tax Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 60 [Laws of 1909, chap. 62], as added by Laws of 1910, chap. 186) as erroneously paid of the sum of $1,043.16, paid, under protest, by the appellant, pursuant to the decision of the State Comptroller, holding that certain trustees' certificates were taxable
under the provisions of section 270 of the Tax Law, relating to tax on transfers of stock. The case was submitted to the Court of Claims upon an agreed statement of facts by which it appears that the appellant, the United States Radiator Company, a domestic corporation incorporated in May, 1910, purchased certain property and assets of the United States Radiator Company, the United States Radiator and Boiler Company, the United States Heater Company and the Herendeen Manufacturing Company, for which the appellant owed to such vendor corporations, in specified proportions, its total capital stock of 52,100 shares of the par value of $100 per share; that said four vendor corporations entered into a voting trust agreement with the Fidelity Trust Company of Buffalo by which said trust company was to hold all said stock as voting trustee and vote the same as directed by said vendor corporations; that the shares belonging to the vendor corporations were, at their request, duly issued by the appellant to said trust company, which is now the record owner, for voting purposes, of all said 52,100 shares of the capital stock of the appellant; that each of said vendor corporations, upon the unanimous consent of the stockholders of each, requested said trust company to issue its trust certificates covering said stock to the individual stockholders of each of said vendor corporations, and that thereupon said trust company issued its trust certificates accordingly, by which it split up among all the individual stockholders of such vendor corporations the said 52,100 shares of stock issued by the appellant standing in the name of said trust company, issuing to each individual stockholder of each vendor corporation its trust certificate covering such individual stockholder's proportionate share of said total issue of stock; that such trust certificates so issued were on the following form, the blank spaces being properly filled.
'TRUSTEE'S CERTIFICATE.
'No......... ............ Shares.
'UNITED STATES RADIATOR CORPORATION.
'The Fidelity Trust Company of Buffalo, hereby certifies that .......... is the owner of ........ shares of the ........ capital stock of the United States Radiator Corporation of the par value of One Hundred Dollars per share, which said shares
have been deposited with it as Voting Trustee, under and pursuant to a Voting Trust Agreement, for five years, dated June 25, 1910, a duplicate of which is filed at the principal ...
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Why Are They So
Afraid of Ron Paul?
by Justin Raimondo Posted on November 14, 2007 August 7, 2009
As I predicted last month, the only consistently antiwar candidate on the Republican side of the aisle is breaking through – but in a spectacular manner that I certainly did not foresee. Suddenly, Paul is everywhere, from the Sunday morning talk shows to the length and breadth of the blogosphere. His amazing $4.2 million-in-one-day fundraising feat has entered the annals of presidential politics as the long-promised fulfillment of Internet-based political fundraising. And the myth that it’s all online and not translatable into real people is belied by his recent 5,000-strong Philadelphia rally and similar events in Iowa and elsewhere. Paul has become the equivalent of a rock star among the young, and his appeal goes way beyond the usual libertarian crowd: liberals and conservatives, all races and cultural types, from home-schooling Christians to San Francisco pagans and everything in between. On the Internet, and in the streets, the Ron Paul Revolution, as his followers have dubbed their movement, is taking off.
The conventional wisdom, prior to this breakthrough, was that the Paul campaign was political vaporware, existing exclusively online and not in the material world. Yet that meme is quickly falling by the wayside as his polling numbers are rocketing upwards, from New Hampshire to Nevada. The money windfall – a result that the official campaign had nothing to do with, and which was generated entirely by Paul’s independent supporters acting entirely on their own initiative – has made an advertising blitz possible, with at least two television ads and several radio ads running in early primary states.
All this buzz, however, has generated a counter-buzz, a sinister stream of smears and jeers coming from both Right and Left. What’s instructive is how similar these attacks are in their viciousness, and, in the case of the “serious” mainstream critics, their juvenility. Whether coming from the liberal and ostensibly antiwar Kevin Drum of the Washington Monthly and Matt Yglesias of The Atlantic, or from some neocon hack over at the Weekly Standard, the “Ron-is-crazy” meme is being furiously pushed upstream against the raging current of the Paul phenomenon – so far, to little avail. He’s a “fruitcake,” sniffs Drum, and the beat is taken up by Yglesias, who chimes in with charges of “extremism.” The Weekly Standard takes it a bit further, and, with its characteristic snark, dubs Ron the “don’t tase me, bro!” candidate, complete with an illustration of Paul being hustled off the stage by uniformed thugs – which is what they’d like to do to all of their political opponents.
David Weigel was absolutely right when he predicted it months ago, although the trepidation in his tone was, I think, unwarranted. Yes, the smears are getting really ugly, but precisely because of that the Smear Bund is generating a pro-Paul backlash, particularly among those who consider themselves liberals of the old school. Glenn Greenwald, whose popular “Unclaimed Territory” blog was claimed by Salon a while back, has risen as Ron’s champion on the Left: Paul’s is “a campaign that defies and despises conventional and deeply entrenched Beltway assumptions about our political discourse and about what kind of country this is supposed to be,” he writes. Greenwald “gets it,” in a way that shows his own awareness of the change liberalism is undergoing, as it faces the all-out assault of the neocons and the War Party on every front.
A tireless critic of the surveillance state and an informed, fierce opponent of the neoconservatives in the foreign policy realm, Greenwald has watched the rise of Ron Paul in the context of Hillary‘s apparent inevitability. Indeed, his spirited defense of Paul is rooted in his contempt for the pro-war and distinctly neoconservative foreign policy stance at the core of her oily evasions. The contrast with Paul’s forthright and principled opposition not only to the Iraq war, but also to the underlying premise and assumptions that govern our foreign policy of global interventionism, can’t be evaded by intelligent liberals, of which Greenwald is one. This is also what seems to be generating Andrew Sullivan’s enthusiasm, among the more intelligent (albeit flighty) of the conservative intellectuals who write about public policy on the Internet. Coming from different directions, and moving toward libertarianism, Sullivan and Greenwald are representative of the many thousands of thoughtful and politically active Americans, on both the Right and the Left, who, brought together under a single antiwar, pro-civil liberties banner, see Ron Paul as a kind of symbol – a hope that real change is possible.
Greenwald clearly sees the Paul campaign as a kind of turning point for American liberals:
“Moreover, circumstances often dictate political priorities. Individuals who historically may not have been attracted to ‘limited-government’ rhetoric and all of the specifics it traditionally entails may find that ideal necessary now after six years of endless expansions of intrusive federal government power.”
Faced with a “choice” between liberal hawks and outright neocons, the anti-interventionist Greenwald has nowhere to turn. Confronted with a Clinton restoration armed with the PATRIOT Act, the Military Commissions Act, and a well-earned reputation for vindictiveness, it’s no wonder the civil libertarian Greenwald is hardly jumping for joy.
As always, the war question is key to understanding how a new generation of liberals is coming to a libertarian understanding of the interplay of foreign and domestic politics. As Greenwald puts it:
“By itself, the ability of Paul’s campaign to compel a desperately needed debate over the devastation which America’s imperial rule wreaks on every level – economic, moral, security, liberty – makes his success worth applauding.”
Two generations of liberals have come to the freedom movement on account of the war issue. Check out my little essay on John T. Flynn, whose critique of U.S. foreign policy in the run-up to World War II and the wholesale violation of civil liberties by FDR’s wartime administration got him kicked out as a columnist for The New Republic and given a place of honor at the Chicago Tribune, the Midwestern redoubt of “isolationist” (i.e., antiwar) sentiment. Flynn, a leader of the antiwar America First Committee, became a leading figure in the postwar conservative-libertarian movement.
The second generation of liberals-come-to-libertarianism came in during the Vietnam War era: it was opposition to that war, and to what seemed to be an emerging police state, that birthed the infant libertarian movement. Recruiting, in turn, from Left and Right was a self-conscious strategy that the movement’s intellectual leader at the time, Murray N. Rothbard, pursued in hopes of building an independent third force that was neither “Right” nor “Left,” but solidly pro-liberty. This effort was embodied in the journal Left & Right, which was devoted to introducing such Old Right anti-interventionists and anti-statists as Garet Garrett to the antiwar New Leftists in search of a comprehensive, coherent analysis of the tumult around them.
These second-generation cadre formed the Libertarian Party and, more importantly, made possible the growth of libertarianism as an intellectual movement, culminating in the boom of the mid-Seventies to mid-Eighties. Paul ran as the party’s candidate in 1988, but by then the LP’s political momentum had peaked prematurely, on account of a debilitating split at the party’s 1983 national convention, when half the activists walked out.
The challenges of the Bush era, when not only our foreign policy of perpetual war but also what Lew Rockwell calls “red-state fascism” is rearing its increasingly ugly head, is inspiring a third generation of liberals to make the transition to a recognizably libertarian stance. On the Right, a similar reaction to Bushism is causing a growing number of conservatives, such as Bob Barr, to join the libertarian ranks, while many others, such as Tucker Carlson, are clearly sympathetic.
The wave of support and publicity for Paul has the neocons enraged, and they are busy trying to discredit him with a campaign of unsurpassed villainy. What they have done is actually kind of funny, if you take your humor black: they’ve simply transferred their usual blather on the foreign policy front to the domestic battlefield. Instead of claiming that Saddam Hussein or Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is Hitler and we’re facing another Munich, they’re saying Ron Paul is Hitler and we’re facing another Kristallnacht.
This lunatic ploy, which manages to be at once sinister and ridiculous, is what we might call the Paul-is-a-closet-Nazi meme. It was launched at the ultra-neocon Hot Air – what a perfect name for a site associated with Michelle Malkin! – and migrated, like AIDS on the tip of a used condom, into the liberal precincts of The New Republic‘s blog via one Jamie Kirchick, an aspiring leader in the League of Junior Neocons. (The same libel was echoed, with elaboration, on the Web site Jewcy.com, which I’ve written for [and was pleased to do so], in a diatribe written by some “libertarian socialist” guy who surprisingly works for the respectable Jewish Telegraphic Agency. His story of being snubbed by the Paul campaign on account of his being Jewish is debunked here, and by his own editor.)
The Hot Air “scoop” was that some obscure racist who hardly anyone has heard of gave $500 to the Paul campaign. And that is it. That is Paul’s great “sin.” Hillary Clinton is getting millions from the military-industrial-imperial complex; the foreign lobbyists and the special interests buy and sell our leaders like cattle at a county fair – but what really matters is that Ron Paul received a contribution from someone whose opinions the candidate doesn’t endorse and cannot be responsible for. Of course, anyone could be motivated – or persuaded – to contribute to a political campaign for all kinds of reasons. Who’s to say who did the persuading, or actually put up the money? “Dirty tricks” and politics are practically synonymous. However, even taking the source of the contribution at face value, going after Paul over $500 from some unknown wacko with dubious motives is really a stretch. It is, I think, very off-putting to liberals of Greenwald’s sort, who are beginning to understand why this strained yet energetic effort is being made to discredit an honest, principled, and decent man.
To stanch the incipient pro-Paul rebellions at both ends of the political spectrum, the anti-Paul brigades have called out two disparate, albeit strangely congruent, figures to start slinging some real dirt in Paul’s direction. Despite the ideological divide that separates Glenn Beck, who recently did a segment on his show accusing Paul of being a “terrorist” along the lines of Timothy McVeigh, and David Neiwert, a self-proclaimed “professional journalist” and resident left-blogosphere “expert” in right-wingology, both have come out with very similar assaults on the Paul campaign. Neiwert, whose recent series of blog posts attacking Ron Paul takes the same line as Paul’s neoconservative critics, gives the Paul-is-Hitler meme a “leftist” patina. Both explicitly invoke the name of McVeigh, a violent and dangerous extremist, as emblematic of the Paul campaign. That Beck hauled out the ineffably repulsive David Horowitz to pull off his drive-by smearing indicates just how broad this anti-Paul “popular front” is, stretching all the way from the ex-communists of the 1960s turned warmongering neoconservatives to the present-day lefties of Neiwert’s ilk. The Right and Left faces of the Smear Bunds are singing slightly different tunes, but in unison. To Beck, who never mentions that the Paul fundraiser he rails about was based on a movie, and not Guy Fawkes the historical personage, Paul is a supporter of terrorism. To Neiwert, on the other hand, who has run a long list of legislation introduced by Paul that – gasp! Horror of horrors! – demonstrates beyond the shadow of a doubt that Paul opposes a lot of federal programs and doesn’t believe government is the be-all and end-all solution to our problems, he’s worse than a mere terrorist: he’s an authentic conservative! The Republican Establishment must be thrilled.
Neocon Glenn Beck and leftist smear artist David Neiwert: together at last!
While the neocons’ methods are outrageous and not at all persuasive – after all, how subtle or convincing could Horowitz possibly manage to be? – Neiwert adds his own peculiar spin, which makes even Horowitz’s witch-hunting methods seem reasonable by comparison. Neiwert goes way beyond guilt-by-association, as he admits:
“[T]his isn’t ‘guilt by association’ – first, the argument isn’t that Paul is a racist per se, but that he is an extremist who shares a belief system held not just by racists but other anti-government zealots as well. Paul is identified with their causes not simply because he speaks to them, but because he elucidates ideas and positions – especially regarding the IRS, the UN, the gold standard, and education – identical to theirs. This is why he has their rabid support. There is an underlying reason, after all, that Paul attracts backers like David Duke and the Stormfront gang: he talks like them.”
Neiwert is right: this isn’t guilt-by-association, it’s worse. It’s mass smearing on a scale never before attempted. Neiwert presumes to act as a gatekeeper to authoritatively delegitimize any and all ideas held to be “extremist” or “radical Rightist.” If you question the value of public education, you’re an “extremist.” Hate the IRS? Watch out, or you’ll fall prey to “radical Rightists.” He writes his books, articles, and blogposts – and bases his entire literary reputation – on the supposed existence of a radical Right threat, which he and his fellow “experts” have “studied,” albeit with none of the cold-eyed objectivity of the scientist but rather with a clear agenda in mind: extreme political correctness of the leftist variety.
Neiwert’s is a literary tradition that stretches back to the sociological gobbledygook churned out by Theodore Adorno and his followers, who “diagnosed” all opposition to the policies of Franklin Delano Roosevelt as clear evidence of an “authoritarian personality”: if you opposed the New Deal (and the war) this was evidence, in Adorno’s view, of incipient “fascist” tendencies. John Roy Carlson, Harry Overstreet, the tag team of Arnold Foster and Benjamin Epstein, and a bibliography a mile long are testaments to the growth of this mini-industry, which has existed in this country since the 1930s and experienced an upsurge in the postwar period. The neocons brought out their own rather over-intellectualized version of this smear literature in the early 1960s, in response to the rising Goldwater phenomenon: The Radical Right, edited by Daniel Bell and Seymour Martin Lipset. Their argument was this: anyone who opposed the postwar liberal welfare state was not only a dangerous extremist, but also no doubt suffered from “status anxiety,” i.e., they were crazy. This same Smear Bund brought out a “psychological analysis” by a group of psychiatrists that diagnosed Barry Goldwater as being mentally unstable as well as an “extremist.” A more spurious and disgusting libel was never invented – at least, not until the Smear Bund put Paul in their sights.
Neiwert is a fool who once attacked both Lew Rockwell and myself for not having the “correct” interpretation of what fascism is and how it develops. According to him, my own interpretation of what American fascism might come to look like shows “no understanding” of the reality, which resembles, in his mind, the “patriot” militia groups that burgeoned during the Clinton years. That many of these same people support Paul’s opposition to the IRS and inveigh against the “New World Order” (i.e., American imperialism) is, for Neiwert, proof positive that it isn’t the Bush administration’s militarism and authoritarianism that poses a fascist danger – oh, no, certainly not! In his book, it’s Ron Paul who heralds the rise of fascism.
Yet they are making it up, and they will continue to make it up: anything to divert attention away from the vital issues of war and peace, over which a world – and a way of life – hangs in the balance.
The appearance of an antiwar candidate in the Republican primary, one who is furthermore making substantial gains and a fair amount of noise, stands as a testament to the failure of any of the Democrats to take advantage of what is, after all, the antiwar majority in this country. Even as our soldiers are fighting and dying in Iraq, and the administration paves the way – with Hillary Clinton’s help – for a war with Iran, the American people overwhelmingly reject our foreign policy of relentless aggression and serial “regime change.” The majority is effectively disenfranchised. That’s why the Paul campaign has captured the imagination of young people and all those looking for an alternative to the increasingly intolerable status quo. The neocons and the Neiwerts, separately or together, can’t do much about it, as they’ll soon learn to their sorrow: their obviously dishonest and ill-motivated attacks will drive honest liberals and conservatives into Paul’s camp, not away from it.
Why are they so afraid of Ron Paul? In the face of both Fox News and the hard Left hurling anathemas at him, that’s what honest liberals and conservatives are beginning to ask – and I don’t think the Smear Bund is going to like their answer.
So, should Ron Paul return the $500 contribution? My answer here, and here.
I’m working on a tight deadline, and I don’t have time to go into a long spiel about how important our fundraising drive is, and why a world without Antiwar.com won’t be a better world. I just want to say that this particular column is yet more proof that we are in the front lines of the fight for peace and liberty, and our audience – some 100,000 daily, on weekdays, and almost as much on weekends – is worth reaching with this message. So why don’t you take the time to contribute online right now – now that you realize how important it is.
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Haunting at Los Rodeos airport, the site of history’s deadliest aviation accident
By OJ Modjeska
Screaming ghosts have been seen running from the tarmac onto the grass as if they were still trying to escape the burning plane all these years later…
The Tenerife airport disaster took place on March 27, 1977 in the Canaries, a Spanish-held archipelago off the coast of Morocco. It is the deadliest aviation disaster in history, claiming 583 lives (9/11 has a higher death-toll but was a result of deliberate sabotage and has hence never been classed an “accident”).
Reports of haunting at Los Rodeos are rife, and it is unsurprising as this catastrophe was an almost unfathomably horrific event for the victims and the survivors.
In the first of a bizarre series of ironies that characterise this disaster, history’s worst aircraft accident happened on the ground, not in the air…and at an airport neither plane was supposed to be at in the first place. Both were getting ready to depart after an unscheduled layover at Los Rodeos airport when the disaster occurred. The planes had been diverted from Las Palmas, where they were originally scheduled to touch down, due to a terrorist attack on Las Palmas airport by Canary island separatists.
Here are pictures of the planes waiting to leave Los Rodeos airport just hours before the catastrophe… eerie, right?
The KLM Boeing 747 loaded with 234 passengers took off without clearance and smashed into Pan Am during take-off…
(If you want to know why, get author OJ Modjeska’s new book on the topic…link at the bottom of this page…)
In the moments immediately leading up to the accident, a thick fog descended onto the runway. KLM could not see that Pan Am was still on the runway, nor could Pan Am see the KLM jet. The airport had no ground radar and the controllers similarly could not verify the position of the two jets on the ground.
Having reached V1 speed, that is the speed at which it is too late to abort a take-off, KLM finally saw Pan Am slewing across the runway through the fog. Captain Jacob Van Zanten tried to leap frog over Pan Am but he didn’t quite make it…
Some simulations of the lead up and the moment of impact (nobody actually witnessed it, due to the fog…)
Artist’s recreation of the moment of impact…
All aboard KLM were killed instantly. There were seventy survivors on the Pan Am jet. They escaped by jumping off the port-wing of the plane, because the starboard side of the fuselage was quickly consumed by fire…
Passengers crawling away from the burning wreckage of the Pan Am jet…
The KLM jet was briefly airborne after hitting the Pan Am, but the impact had severed its hydraulic lines. It immediately stalled and collapsed on the tarmac. The KLM was carrying a full tank of fuel and on impact with the ground it was instantly consumed by fire. Anyone who had lived was instantly incinerated. Barely anything recognisable remained of the KLM jet after the crash…
The captain of the KLM was the airline’s star pilot and his face featured in KLM’s brochures and advertising materials. This is a picture of the brochure that was available on board the ill-fated KLM jumbo…
Eve Meyer, an almost unfeasibly buxom pin-up girl popular in the forties, was on board the Pan Am and was killed. She was at that time 48 years old.
Why did the accident happen? Get the book to find out the full story…
But in short, the catastrophe was the result of an almost inconceivable chain of bad luck…
In the years since, aviation enthusiasts and the general public alike have been fascinated and haunted by the astonishingly unlikely coincidences that needed to line up for this tragic accident to occur. This accident spawned the “Swiss Cheese Model” of disaster causation theory, which proposes that the worst disasters often occur when several independent and seemingly unrelated risk factors occur concurrently in space/time… in an unfortunate alignment of the “holes in the cheese”…
Author OJ Modjeska writes…
“There’s bad luck and misfortune in life… but then, there’s what happened that afternoon. Unsurprisingly, enthusiasts of conspiracy and the paranormal are amongst those who have attempted to develop their own explanations for this crash, the freakish details of which on so many levels seem to fly in the face of logical interpretation. They wonder, as we all do, just how it was that such an extremely unfortunate chain of incidents could come together in one place and time, with such a devastating outcome…”
Reports of haunting and sightings of ghosts at Los Rodeos airport are rife…
A website entitled “Paranormal activity at Los Rodeos” cites testimony of several airport workers who have reported seeing screaming ghosts trying to jump from actual, working planes on the runway. They have also described seeing passenger’s ghosts running from the tarmac around the accident site onto the grass, as if they were still trying to escape the burning Pan Am jet years and years later.
A former pilot has this tale to tell: “one guy I regularly flew with (until quite recently) spent considerable time flying in and out of Tenerife…[he] was adamant that the spirits of the long departed would discriminately appear in large numbers on the Tenerife tarmac. He claims that he’s delayed two take–offs because of what he thought were figures on the runway waving their hands as if to warn departing aircraft of impending danger.”
Want to know more? The book Gone: Catastrophe in Paradise is now available on Amazon for 99c
“An amazing story, extraordinarily told…”
“I couldn’t put it down…”
“Modjeska’s skill as a writer kept the pages turning…”
“Wow, is this a story…”
“An amazing experience and well worth the read…”
About the author: OJ Modjeska is a criminologist, historian, blogger and author. She graduated from the University of Sydney with a PhD in Modern American History in 2004, and received her Graduate Diploma in Criminology from Sydney Law School in 2015. In 2015 she was awarded the JH McClemens Memorial Prize by Sydney Law School for her scholarship in criminology. Before pursuing a writing career she worked for many years as a legal writer and editor. OJ runs a blog about narcissism, psychopathy, politics and culture. She writes books of narrative non-fiction true crime and disaster analysis. Her books are suspenseful narratives which draw on her insights and expertise into history, criminal behaviour and psychology. British crime author Pat McDonald writes: “fascinating reading and exceptional writing”.
Facebook: facebook.com/ojmodjeska
Blog: ojmodjeska.blogspot.com.au
The Ghoul Archipelago horror book
Seeing The Future
Confronting Evil by Donna Louise Green
EXCLUSIVE: Woman’s ‘face slashed’ during séance to awaken dead of Alexandra Palace
Reminiscences Of A Seeker Book: Dark Face Of The White World (True Story)
IT: Movies vs Book
Z-Boat Horror Book
Vengeance is Mine Adult Horror Book by Leon Opio
From “The Oddities”, ‘That Guy You Know.”
Bird Box horror book
This post was written by OJ Modjeska
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07:40PM / Monday, January 20, 2020
ADAMS, Mass. — A North Adams man was arrested over the weekend for the armed robbery of the Mobil Gas Station on Dec. 26, 2019. Detective Michael Wandrei worked alongside members of the Berkshire County Law Enforcement Task Force, and patrol officers of the Adams Police Department to secure an arrest warrant for the man on the charge of armed robbery. He was arrested by members of the State Police in Springfield and will be held pending arraignment in Northern Berkshire District Court. The Howland Avenue convenience store was robbed of an undisclosed amount of cash and cigarettes by an individual who entered at 12:15 a.m. and threatened
READSBORO, Vt. — A New York City man avoided injury when his Infiniti rolled over on Route 8 on Monday morning. State Police Trooper Colin Shepley reported that Liu Chang, 31, was northbound in a 2019 Infiniti QX8 when he lost control, when off the road and struck a ledge, rolling the car onto the driver's side. First responders were called to the scene at about 9:45 a.m. and found that all the occupants had been able to get out of the car. There had initially been a call for the Jaws of Life in case of entrapment. State Police had been advised that no one was injured prior to their arrival. The operator had been wearing a seat
06:22PM / Tuesday, January 14, 2020
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Pittsfield man was sentenced Friday to the maximum jail sentence for domestic abuse after being convicted by trial. Judge Jennifer Tyne sentenced Andrew Rossetti, 32, of Pittsfield to 2 1/2 years at the Berkshire County House of Correction on a single count of intimidation of a witness. He will serve concurrent time on counts of assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, drug possession, threat to commit a crime, lewd wanton and lascivious conduct, and assault and battery on a household member. Police arrested Rossetti on Sept. 5, 2019, after being reported for multiple domestic assaults and
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Hinsdale man responsible for the murder of Kassedi Clark pleaded guilty Monday in Berkshire Superior Court. Michael Boulais, 34, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, reckless endangerment of a child, and improper storage of a firearm. Judge John Agostini sentenced Boulais to serve life in prison at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution at Cedar Junction without parole on the first-degree murder charge. Boulais shot and killed the 24-year-old Clark on April 13, 2018. Clark and Boulais had been in a relationship for nine years and had four children together. They were estranged at the time of her murder,
By Jack Guerino,
06:22PM / Friday, January 03, 2020
The fire was largely out by the time firefighters arrived but they had to determine it was completely doused and had not spread into the walls. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Firefighters responded to a fire in a Mohawk Forest apartment that was already mostly extinguished by the time they arrived. The call came over the scanner just after noon Friday. Dispatch reported that smoke was seen bellowing out of apartment 34. "We were right on scene and there was a little light haze of smoke down near the front door," Lt. Brent Lefebvre said. "We went into the building and found just some charring and some embers above the stove
Robbery Motorcycles Fraud Structure Fire Drugs Injuries Fatal Assaults Motor Vehicle Accident Drug Charges Fire Larceny Murder Accident Veremko Pedestrians Assault Missing Persons Shooting Vehicle Firearms Search & Rescue Hit & Run Crime Watch Police Investigation Rape Stabbing Mvi Heroin Homicide Break-ins Armed Robbery Motor Vehicle Search Buglaries
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Is Climate Risk Systematically Understated?
Oreskes thinks so.
When applied to evaluating environmental hazards, the fear of gullibility can lead us to understate threats. It places the burden of proof on the victim rather than, for example, on the manufacturer of a harmful product. The consequence is that we may fail to protect people who are really getting hurt.
And what if we aren’t dumb? What if we have evidence to support a cause-and-effect relationship? Let’s say you know how a particular chemical is harmful; for example, that it has been shown to interfere with cell function in laboratory mice. Then it might be reasonable to accept a lower statistical threshold when examining effects in people, because you already have reason to believe that the observed effect is not just chance.
This is what the United States government argued in the case of secondhand smoke. Since bystanders inhaled the same chemicals as smokers, and those chemicals were known to be carcinogenic, it stood to reason that secondhand smoke would be carcinogenic, too. That is why the Environmental Protection Agency accepted a (slightly) lower burden of proof: 90 percent instead of 95 percent.
I think that the underlying point is valid but the statistical argument is a bit muddled. Statistical significance of what?
Science often reaches conclusions where statistics is uninformative. Suppose a guy shows up in the emergency room with various symptoms. The hospital makes its best guess as to what is going on. They have only a single sample. No statistics are possible. But the treatment is still based in science.
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crf says:
January 3, 2015 at Sat, 03 Jan 2015 15:28:23 +0000
I thought the whole thing could charitably be called muddled. Her explanation of type 1 and type II errors (which she says are familiar to the readers: an improbable claim) are confusing, and of no particular relation to the subject of climate science. She writes:
"It also means that if there’s more than even a scant 5 percent possibility that an event occurred by chance, scientists will reject the causal claim."
Which is wrong: the scientist will fail to reject the null hypothesis, which is subtly different from rejecting the causal claim. The causal claim is not rejected as false, it is just that there is insufficient basis to believe it, based on a statistical level of confidence a researcher decided to use during his or her design of the experiment. I know Oreskes knows her stuff: but this is the kind of basic error that may crop up when an inexpert like her (and possibly the NYT editor helping with the piece) decides to take up the difficult burden of explaining sciency-stuff to the public.
The article was supposed to be a critcism about how scientists express their confidence in various theorems of climate science. Not one solitary example is given by Oreskes in that domain. She had the space to do so, but instead hypothesized that science (and presumably climate science) bases its approach to statistical testing in the long shadow of its ancient historical ties to religion, which is something she may well be able to offer an opinion about, as an historian, but which has minimal relevance to policy makers or the interested public in interpreting scientific claims as found, say, in the IPCC reports. That section of the article has post-modern vibe that makes me gag, and surely makes the more educated deniers chuckle to themselves: "Is that the best argument the alarmists writing in their liberal totem can come up with?"
Climate scientists should be able to speak up for themselves, rather than play the game through ardent, yet inexpert, public intellectuals like Oreskes.
Michael Tobis says:
Well, there is a whole lengthy argument to be had, and this 5% threshold does come in.
Deniers certainly have been encouraging the over-valuation of "statistical significance" as well as its natural misinterpretation. See for example Michael Crichton's famous rant.
Once you prove to 95% that the globe is warming, deniers start to focus on regional trends. Once you prove that to 95% that species ranges are retreating poleward, they ask for proof about specific species. Prove, prove, prove.
It is absolutely the wrong standard. And sometimes it is literally misapplication of the 95% threshhold that the deniers fall back upon. We are in a position where "balance of evidence" should be more than enough, but politicians are happy to support the vested interests by demanding absurd standards of "proof".
Far too much energy has been spent on applying statistics to problems where statistics don't really matter. The reason is only secondarily scientific reticence. But it's also true that scientists go with the herd unless they have very strong evidence, or very strong personalities, or both. And the herd started where everybody else did, not eager to believe that we could be in as serious difficulty as in fact we are.
Bryant says:
When a scientist says something "could" happen, such as explosive releases of methane in the Arctic Ocean could happen in the future, what is the degree of certainty on that? 30% 50%, 75%, 90%? I am curious as to that.
Jonathan Gilligan says:
The whole null hypothesis significance testing approach to risks of this sort is silly and misleading. It's not as though statistical significance marks some kind of magical threshold above which secondhand smoke causes disease and below which it's entirely safe.
Indeed, as Andrew Gelman has emphatically pointed out many times, the difference between statistically significant and statistically insignificant is not, itself, statistically significant.
What seems to me a better approach would be instead of describing risks or causal relationships as Boolean yes/no things, with some arbitrarily selected threshold for significance (5%, 10%, whatever...), why not work in a Bayesian framework and present the posterior distribution for the size of the causal effect or for the magnitude and frequency of the risk.
Thus, risk to smokers could be the prior, new empirical work the evidence, and use these to establish a posterior distribution of risk.
The same kind of thing could work well for attribution of warming: Here are our priors, here's the data, here is the posterior about what fraction of the 20th century warming is due to anthropogenic factors.
A Bayesian approach would mean that instead of silly "burden of proof" arguments over Type I vs. Type II errors, we could be talking about measuring the size of the effect. And since the issue with risks is not just whether they exist or not, but how severe they are, it seems much more useful and practical to talk quantitatively about magnitudes and probabilities.
Ziliak and McCloskey's "The Cult of Statistical Significance" is highly recommended reading for those who want more on this topic.
I think climate risk is greatly understated but it has nothing to do with what p-value you select, which after all has zero to do with impact. My study has been in nonlinear systems, particularly in a medical context, and often found that statistically significant differences had little material significance, while statistical "tendencies" (p ~0.7-0.9) often were correlated with massive material significance.
The key to understanding this lies in control theory. If an adaptive system is getting pushed hard enough, its defense systems can switch from negative to positive runaway feedback. For instance, the immune system fights infection but with enough stresses on the body, can cause general inflammation that kills cells, leading to greater immune response and eventually systemic failure. In fact, one of my colleagues believes that hospitals kill a lot of people through taking too many diagnostic tests and thus aggravating immune response.
In our experiments, we gathered evidence for this hypothesis but found that there was a critical point in which all subjects were quite sick and if they could make it through that point they lived, while if they remained sick a day or so longer they almost always died due to sepsis. This very sensitive -- probably even chaotic -- outcome relied almost exclusively on the response of the whole body and thus was not statistically significant, until the last few moments.
On the other hand, most statistically significant outcomes often have to do with single angles that produce some behavior but the system is adaptive and can thus get around the difference in one way or another.
I think the climate system is the exact same, and by having enormous forcings, we're going out of the "design parameters" of the control system, with unknown consequences. However, the hallmark of all non-linear systems that are pushed out of their stability is volatility, so even though we might not know what will happen in the medium term (long term we should hit steady state based on total forcings) we can know it will be very very difficult to respond to.
Thus, my issue isn't with statistical certainty, but the inability to use frequentist approaches in the first place. It's not that climate scientists are too conservative because of waiting to confirm the system was changing, it is that they are too conservative because most of the literature is still driven by steady state modelling and communications about calculable risk, whereas I would say the risk is inherently incalcuable after BAU for another decade or so.
From this perspective, I do think that climate change is unable to be addressed by the scientific method, because we will have complete inability to predict behavior and volatility will be so high that trying to rationally adapt will fail.
Put another way, in the early days of Fukushima I thought it would get into partial or full meltdown, because I knew that Alvin Weinberg (one of the co-inventors of the LWBR) said it was fundamentally unstable at utility scale with cooling removed. I guessed all those "backup safety systems" were likely to fail in interesting and unpredictable ways, perhaps exacerbating the issue. Needless to say, hydrogen explosions fall into that category.
Someone I know who is a climate change skeptic asked why I had no faith in the models that showed Fukushima would be OK but I did have faith in global warming models. I replied that it was simple: the nuclear plant models were about control whereas the global warming models merely had to convince me we'd get into an uncontrollable state. If people tried to use them for control (e.g. sulfate geoengineering) then I'd greatly object.
So I'd like to see the establishment say that we must not, under any circumstance, get over 1.5C. Close isn't good enough, and 3C isn't just twice as bad, it is literally unimaginably worse.
P.S. I should note that I don't mean the planet will literally die; merely jump to another stable state quite rapidly, which appears to be roughly +6-8 degrees (but won't immediately hit there, it could oscillate +/- 2 degrees) and lead to social + much ecological system collapse. Eventually the volatility would lower and things would move on from there.
January 4, 2015 at Sun, 04 Jan 2015 05:13:22 +0000
Do you really think that your final example of someone showing up in an Emergency Room is correct? It's true that in that instance there is only a single person with a single set of symptons. However, there will have been other similar cases and so the decision that is made is still based on what those symptoms most likely suggest, not based on guesswork from that single sample.
However, I do agree with your point in the above comment. There is a huge tendency to try to determine the statistical significance of the smallest possible sample and when it doesn't pass the statistical test to argue that we can't say whether or not there is a trend, or whether or not there is an AGW contribution. In fact, it's often worse than that in that some will phrase things to make it sound like not passing the statistical test allows us to say that there is no trend, rather than we don't know if there's a trend.
Of course, you would expect people to consider the overall picture, rather than focusing on the smallest possible sample and ignoring everything else. Additionally, a Bayesian approach would probably give a different answer. How likely is it, given the presence of increased anthropogenic forcings, that certain apparent trends are unrelated to AGW? Of course, there are probably reasons why some would rather not approach it from this perspective.
"instead of silly "burden of proof" arguments over Type I vs. Type II errors, we could be talking about measuring the size of the effect"
Wholeheartedly agree. My article largely on that point is here.
In the case of the earth, there is also an immense amount of evidence (from theory, from paleoclimate, even from observations of other planets) to bring to bear. But on the treatment strategy for the presenting symptoms, there is a single instance.
In each case there is no doubt that statistical reasoning played a part in developing the expertise being brought to bear on the problem. But the problem itself cannot be construed as statistical. That doesn't make it unscientific.
If all science is statistics, do we throw away Galileo, Newton, Maxwell, Einstein? It really wasn't until after Einstein that statistics entered into physics, and not in the way that frequentists like to assert in any case.
Frequentism is entirely appropriate for clinical trials. The idea that it is the basis of all science is just BS.
The obsession with "the attribution question" has been driven by (political) denialism using (statistical) frequentism as a weapon. Reason is fundamentally Bayesian, and frequentism should be considered just a weird corner of Bayesian thought.
If you want to consider medical treatment as a sort of informal Bayesian process you will get no argument from me.
But realistically I doubt that individual cases are treated with any attention to a formal Bayesian calculus. Perhaps that will change some day. It doesn't strike me as an unreasonable idea. But in any case there's no place in an individual case for T-tests and statistical significance, which is the point I am making.
In fact the word "Bayesian", implicitly applied as a sort of "alternative" to "conventional" frequentism, is one of the most pernicious pieces of pseudoscientific bullshit around, now that I think about it.
We are cornered into saying "Bayesian" when all we really mean is "this isn't a multi-trial experiment where we are trying to filter out an effect of interest when other effects add noise to the individual measurements". Which is an important case, to be sure, but to pretend that anything else is some novel alternative is beyond ludicrous.
The quantification of the answer to that sort of question is sadly informal, even if you're more specific about "in the future" and "explosive". There is a consensus process at IPCC aimed at getting actionable estimates of this sort of likelihood, but it is certainly not above criticism.
To be precise about such matters is not within the realistic capacities of science.
That said, I feel compelled to note that the following is fair: IF something takes civilization out, the likelihood that the main cause will be an explosive release of methane is negligible.
Thanks. We're probably largely in agreement, then. I wasn't arguing for statistics above all else (in fact, I'd normally argue the reverse).
I think this point you make is interesting and I've wondered something similar myself
The obsession with "the attribution question" has been driven by (political) denialism using (statistical) frequentism as a weapon.
Add, I did wonder what you meant by the earlier part of this comment. Yes, I agree.
Michael, I agree with you that a major abrupt methane release is probably negligible, but I'd be lying if I said the recent findings in the Kara Sea, ESAS, and Yamal Peninsula didn't make me a bit uneasy. That being said, I disagree with Mikkel that climate risk is "greatly" understated. It it true that some parts are understated, such as projected temperature rise and ice melting, but it can be overstated, such as being linked to extreme weather events (there was a recent article on that, I believe) and the timeline of an ice-free summer Arctic Ocean. In general, the risks are understated, but to automatically conclude it is greatly so is missing the bigger picture. The bottom line is that scientists put out these estimates of risk for the most part because they believe them to be reasonable. They make adjustments to these estimates as time goes by, such as the excellent work in modelling done by Gavin Schmidt, to provide us an accurate picture as possible.
Martin Gisser says:
If all science is statistics, do we throw away Galileo, Newton, Maxwell, Einstein? It really wasn't until after Einstein that statistics entered into physics,
I have to protest. There's a nice chapter on the history of the Gauss distribution in ET Jaynes' "Probability Theory - The Logic of Science". The name "Gauss distribution" is due to his 1809 astronomy book "Theoria Motus Corporum Celestium", which methinks nailed Newtonian gravitation. Another derivation is by the astronomer Herschel (1850) who got the Gaussian from simple assumptions on measurement error. It is also known as Maxwell's distribution in thermodynamics. And finally it was Einstein's theory of Brownian motion that nailed atomism.
The first serious use of probability in astronomy is due to Laplace (1787) -- There's some eery parallel to today: He proved that no doom will come from the "great inequality of Jupiter and Saturn", which was noted by Halley in 1676.
Jaynes: "... this situation was of more than ordinary interest, and to more people than astronomers. Its resolution called forth some of the greatest mathematical efforts ... either to confirm the coming end; or preferably to show how the Newtonian laws would ... save us."
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January 8, 2015 at Thu, 08 Jan 2015 11:25:48 +0000
"Looking glass" version of Oreskes here:
http://achemistinlangley.blogspot.com/2015/01/issues-in-communicating-climate-risks.html
http://achemistinlangley.blogspot.com/2015/01/further-thoughts-on-type-i-and-type-ii.html
Mal Adapted says:
January 11, 2015 at Sun, 11 Jan 2015 16:43:38 +0000
MT:
Good grief. Those pseudo-skeptics are so convinced climate science is driven by some sort of official anti-capitalist policy agenda. You and ATTP both showed commendable restraint, but it's hard to believe you could overcome the motivated reasoning on display. Presumably none of them attended AGU14. If they had, their confidence might have been seriously challenged.
Alastair McDonald says:
January 27, 2015 at Tue, 27 Jan 2015 08:50:14 +0000
"Suppose a guy shows up in the emergency room with various symptoms. The hospital makes its best guess as to what is going on. They have only a single sample. No statistics are possible."
But they do not have only one sample. They have had many people with the same symptoms passing through the hospital and others, over many years. Using the statistics from those patients, it is easy to diagnose the most likely cause of his symptoms, and the second most likely cause.
From paleclimate we know that when atmospheric CO2 increases, the climate in the Northern Hemisphere responds abruptly e/g entry into the B-O and Holocene interstadials. The most likely response of the climate to the anthropogenic increase in CO2 is thus an abrupt warming, not the monotonous rise in temperature related to the linear rise in CO2 that everyone expects. Could it be that the current hiatus is just the calm before the storm!
Yes, I agree. But it seems impossible to get scientists, far less the general public, to accept that not only is the climate system non-linear, it behaves that way.
Non-linear events like methane burps are possible and do occur.
February 5, 2015 at Thu, 05 Feb 2015 10:23:50 +0000
yes and no in both cases. There is ample relevant information, but the existing decision problem is not one where frequentist statistics applies. The analogy holds.
February 6, 2015 at Fri, 06 Feb 2015 04:23:44 +0000
There is no hiatus. This is stupid statistical nonsense, if not utter bullshit. (El Nino et al is possibly not modellable in principle beyond predicting statistics of ocean weather: Stochastic resonance.)
Essential HOMEWORK: Have a look at surface temp since 1970, draw in the trend line, study the wiggles around the trend line. What do you see? Who is too lazy for this homework should look up at least one of Tamino's illustrated mathematical exorcisms of this zombie crock.
The abruptness of climate change at the end of a glaciation is mostly due to "quick" dissolution of ice sheets. We don't have much of these ice sheets anymore. What is left will lead to abrupt sea level rise, but won't accelerate temp change that much. This is one difference of the current, abruptest, warming.
February 8, 2015 at Sun, 08 Feb 2015 16:39:57 +0000
Global temperature rise has not stopped, but it has not kept up with expectations either.
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n9/full/nclimate1972.html?WT.ec_id=NCLIMATE-201309
I think climate change (other than mean temperature) has exceeded expectations nevertheless, in several ways. But that's a complicated case to make for the most part.
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A WARLOCK ARCHIVE AT ETON
When the history of the Peter Warlock Society comes to be written, 22 February 2002 will figure as an important date in its calendar, for this was the date of the acquisition of the Felix Aprahamian Warlock Collection by Eton College Library, and on that occasion the College did the Society proud in ways that far exceeded the call of duty.
Felix, a senior member of the Society’s committee, is an eminent musician in his own right, a distinguished writer and journalist and a friend of almost every composer of note. His amusing stories of encounters with, for instance, Delius and Poulenc, mask a fundamentally serious and dedicated attitude to music, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the splendid music archive to be found at his home – affectionately known as "The House of Usher".
The BBC has inevitably led the way in the guidance of musical taste over the past seventy years, and for the most part this influence has done nothing but good. However, with the appointment of William Glock as Controller of Music in 1959, an important period of British music seemed to find little favour. The English pastoral tradition in particular was largely ignored and the music of Peter Warlock, one aspect of this genre, was thrown out with the bath water.
The advent of Classic FM brought a healthy form of competition to Radio 3 which has been forced to reduce its promulgation of the avant-garde. As a Radio 3 producer myself, I was able to take advantage of Glock’s recent departure to mount in 1984 a series of almost all the Warlock songs. He is now taking his place as a composer of significance with the general public rather than within the confines of a small group of enthusiasts. The establishment of the archive at the composer’s old school can only hasten this process, and the Society recognises with gratitude its debt to the College.
Making our way to the College Library we were impressed by the grandeur of the quadrangle adjoining the chapel, which brought to mind Tom Quad in Christ Church, Oxford. In the Library, the material donated by Felix was laid out in exemplary fashion. The original manuscripts displayed Warlock’s exquisite penmanship, even extending to careful spacing along the staves thus avoiding blank spaces. In addition there was on display music already in the College Library with Warlock associations. He had taken part as a schoolboy in a performance of Parry’s Eton, an Ode conducted by the composer.
We were then entertained to a reception in the Provost’s Lodge, where we had the opportunity to talk to members of staff and to find out more about the school. It emerged that music scholarships are on offer, which pay school fees in their entirety, and the school also now accepts girls.
When the acquisition of the archive was first raised with the librarian of Eton, Malcolm Rudland and the school's Director of Music, Ralph Allwood, had the idea of a Warlock concert given by the boys. This took place in the Election Hall after the reception and even though I had already been told that much time was spent choosing visiting singing teachers, nothing could have prepared us for the high standard that we heard.
The programme consisted of some two dozen soloists (who also formed an SATB chorus) in a corresponding number of songs, together with five accompanists. It is impossible to describe every performance in detail; suffice it to say that every voice (whether treble, tenor or baritone) showed evidence of careful training and of considerable potential. Voice production was at a high standard and intonation in the more chromatic songs was always true and accurate. Even Felix:, the professional critic, confessed to being overwhelmed by the performances. He also noted, as a sign of the times, a concession to contemporary sensibilities. In Mr Belloc's Fancy the poet JC Squire had written "a very fine taste the Jews have not"; this became "a very fine taste some Jews have not". [Editor’s note: I don’t think that we should get too upset about this. Squire’s verse satirised Belloc’s own anti-Semitism and, at the end, the latter’s predilection for gratuitous Latin interpolations. On these grounds one should stick with the original words and offer an explanation afterwards if needed.]
An interesting link with musical history arose in the case of Edward Bainton, singer of Rest Sweet Nymphs. He is a direct descendant of Edgar Bainton who, though London born, became Director of the Sydney State Conservatorium of Music and met Felix in 1953.
The programme had been skilfully arranged so that groups of songs alternated with ensemble pieces and, rather than list every song and every singer, both songs and performers were listed in groups, so that it was not always possible to tie song to name with certainty. Those songs that called for mature imagination were no less effective for being sung by young people and I was particularly impressed by the treble, Christopher Rees, whose sense of line and phrasing displayed the instincts of a true performer and by Tim Dickinson, soon to join the choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, awaiting only A-level results. We wish him the best of luck. One of my daughters is reading music at Oxford, and she tells me that there it is recognised that tenors and basses from Eton can be relied upon to be of the highest standard. Two of the excellent accompanists also performed solo songs and we cannot commend their versatility enough.
The concert began with the soloists singing, in chorus and without a conductor, Benedicamus Domino, and it was clear that we were in for a memorable evening with tone, blend, intonation and ensemble at a high standard. After the concert I enquired who had rehearsed them but, it appeared, "they just got it together themselves.
Two movements from Capriol in its piano duet version showed fine judgement in choice of tempo, Maltworms was given an uninhibited and (apparently) semi-inebriated performance, and the concert ended with a quite hypnotic performance of Bethlehem Down.
The overall impression was of a group of young people who had been trained not only in the art of singing, but also in the art of performance. Even more impressive was the vocal maturity of tenors and basses who cannot have been in possession of their voices for more than five or six years. They showed not only poise and confidence but could enter unreservedly and unselfconsciously into the feeling of each song and, furthermore, convey their feelings to us without ostentation. They were greatly helped by a group of sensitive and able accompanists who dealt in summary fashion with the sometimes notoriously difficult piano parts.
Malcolm Rudland tendered a vote of thanks for the hospitality accorded to the Society acknowledging, in particular, the work of Ralph Allwood, and those responsible for the high standard of singing – Margaret Humphrey Clarke, Anita Morrison and Robert Rice.
Re-reading this article, I find that it contains many superlatives. I would not wish to change one of them.
Eric Wetherell
"Created by Richard Valentine - Peter Warlock devotee"
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Courts & the Law, Defending Democracy, News
Appellate judges considering whether unconstitutionally-elected lawmakers could propose constitutional amendments
By Melissa Boughton
In Courts & the Law, Defending Democracy, News
Once a General Assembly is declared by a court to be unconstitutionally constituted and not representative of its voters, does it have the power to rewrite a state’s constitution?
That was the question before a three-judge panel Thursday morning at the state Court of Appeals. A lower court already ruled specifically that the North Carolina General Assembly — after extreme racial gerrymandering — lost popular sovereignty and did not have the authority to propose two constitutional amendments last year, one requiring a photo ID to vote and another lowering the income tax cap from 10 percent to 7.5 percent.
The case was brought by the North Carolina NAACP against Republican legislative leaders, who appealed the lower court’s decision. Their attorney, Martin Warf, argued Thursday that an unconstitutionally elected General Assembly can still serve and carry out their duties.
“If you affirm the rationale of the trial court, which is that the General Assembly lost popular sovereignty, there’s no way to put that back in the box,” he said.
Warf compared it to opening Pandora’s Box and said if the judges threw out the constitutional amendments based on the popular sovereignty argument, it could lead to people trying to get all acts by the General Assembly thrown out.
“It would literally infect and impact every act that was passed,” he said.
The plaintiffs’ attorney, Kym Hunter of the Southern Environmental Law Center, disagreed. She said the process of proposing and enacting a constitutional amendment is very specific and different from the process of just enacting a law. It is a two-step process that requires a 3/5 majority vote and then a vote from the people of the state, and it’s a lot more difficult to undo by the next elected legislature.
She said the federal court that found the elections had been unconstitutionally racially gerrymandered determined that a new election was necessary to re-establish popular sovereignty but that there wasn’t time at that time. The question of whether lawmakers had power in the interim was an unsettled question of state law.
Hunter said the facts of the case were so extreme and so egregious and asked if there was any limit to what an unconstitutional General Assembly could do.
“To rule in favor of the defendants is to say, ‘however gerrymandered a General Assembly is, however egregious, they can do whatever they like,'” she said.
She added that Warf wanted the judges to believe a ruling in the plaintiffs’ favor would be a slippery slope to tossing all laws enacted by the General Assembly, but pointed out the lower court ruling is very specific to the two constitutional amendments the case is about.
“It’s actually quite a straight-forward question,” she said. “We’re not talking about the legislature here, we’re talking about what is required to change our constitution.”
Court: No voter ID required in 2020 primary, for now
Federal judge: Lawmakers had at least some ‘discriminatory intent’ passing voter ID law
Democracy NC asks Board of Elections to find missing sheriffs’ campaign finance reports
Senate Redistricting Committee posts base county cluster maps for remedial redistricting process
Partisan gerrymandering plaintiffs only object to House remedial maps
income tax capNAACP v. MooreNC voter IDNC-NAACPSouthern Environmental Law Center
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The judicial branch of government has no right ...
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A rapid shift away from fossil fuels creates “green vs. green trade-offs,” exemplified by the recent trend of proposed hydropower dams. Such projects destroy waterways and harm ecosystems — but they could also help purge the grid of fossil fuels.
Tricky trade-offs transitioning from fossil fuels.
Now available, a new white paper from the Center for Colorado River Studies on Water Resource Modeling of the Colorado River by Kevin Wheeler, Jack Schmidt and David Rosenberg. This white paper is the first of a series of papers to be produced by the Fut
New White Paper: Water Resource Modeling of the Colorado River: Present and Future Strategies
Now available, a new white paper from the Center for Colorado River Studies on Water Resource Modeling of the Colorado River by Kevin Wheeler, Jack Schmidt and David Rosenberg. This white paper is the first of a series of papers to be produced by the Fut...
This course combines an overview of the science behind water and climate in the Western United States with a survey of the major legal, political, and cultural issues focused on this precious resource. A free course (to audit) offered through the Universi
Water in the Western US Course
This course combines an overview of the science behind water and climate in the Western United States with a survey of the major legal, political, and cultural issues focused on this precious resource. A free course (to audit) offered through the Universi...
Information on the flow of rivers and streams is a vital asset that safeguards lives, protects property, and ensures adequate water supplies for the future. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates a network of more than 9,000 stream gages nationwide. I
How does a stream gage work?
Information on the flow of rivers and streams is a vital asset that safeguards lives, protects property, and ensures adequate water supplies for the future. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) operates a network of more than 9,000 stream gages nationwide. I...
Managers, scientists, and stakeholders identified key research needs in the basin. One of the most prominent themes that emerged from discussions was the need to better understand how the river system is vulnerable to low‐probability, high‐impact events t
From CRRG: Thinking about Risk on the Colorado River
Managers, scientists, and stakeholders identified key research needs in the basin. One of the most prominent themes that emerged from discussions was the need to better understand how the river system is vulnerable to low‐probability, high‐impact events t...
The Department of the Interior is conducting the third experimental flow at Glen Canyon Dam since implementing its Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP). The goal is to provide enhanced habitat for the lifecycle of aquatic insects that are th
Boatman's Beta: Third Experimental Flow at Glen Canyon Dam
The Department of the Interior is conducting the third experimental flow at Glen Canyon Dam since implementing its Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan (LTEMP). The goal is to provide enhanced habitat for the lifecycle of aquatic insects that are th...
On October 13, 2018 we asked national experts -- can you rehabilitate a stressed river ecosystem and still meet the water needs of 40 million people? Find out what they said.
The Future of the Colorado River Symposium
Two models, the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) and the Mid-term Operations Probabilistic Model (MTOM), are used to develop projections of future conditions of the Colorado River System. Learn more about the basics of these models here.
River Modeling
Webinar presentation on the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) and its use in planning and operation on the Colorado River by Don Gross, Water Resources Engineer, Arizona Department of Water Resources. Includes a brief history of the development of C
Colorado River Simulation System
Webinar presentation on the Colorado River Simulation System (CRSS) and its use in planning and operation on the Colorado River by Don Gross, Water Resources Engineer, Arizona Department of Water Resources. Includes a brief history of the development of C...
Presentation: Development and Protection of the Colorado River system in Utah – from John Wesley Powell to the future. Utah has long played a central role in shaping the destiny of the Colorado River system. In 1869, JohnWesley Powell navigated the Green
Hope for the Colorado: Development and Protection
Presentation: Development and Protection of the Colorado River system in Utah – from John Wesley Powell to the future. Utah has long played a central role in shaping the destiny of the Colorado River system. In 1869, JohnWesley Powell navigated the Green ...
The Colorado River's headwaters are at La Poudre Pass Lake Colorado. flows southwest to Utah and northwestern Arizona where it flows through the Grand Canyon. Most of its waters are diverted into the Imperial Valley of Southern California. In Mexico its c
Course of the Colorado River
The Colorado River's headwaters are at La Poudre Pass Lake Colorado. flows southwest to Utah and northwestern Arizona where it flows through the Grand Canyon. Most of its waters are diverted into the Imperial Valley of Southern California. In Mexico its c...
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Emperor Franz Joseph
Autograph Letter of Franz Joseph to the Kaiser
From Emperor Franz Joseph, Vienna, delivered to the Kaiser in Berlin on 5 July 1914 by the Austro-Hungarian Ambassador, Count de Szogyeny-Marich. The annexe-memoire was drafted fully a month before Sarajevo.
I sincerely regret that You should have been obliged to give up Your intention of going to Vienna for the funeral ceremonies. I should have liked personally to express to You my sincerest thanks for Your sympathy in my keen sorrow -- a sympathy which has greatly touched me.
By Your warm and sympathetic condolence You have given me renewed proof that I have in You a sincere friend worthy of confidence and that I may count upon You in every hour of grave trial.
I should have liked very much to discuss with You the general situation, but as that has not been possible, I take the liberty of sending to You the subjoined mémoire prepared by my Minister of Foreign Affairs, which was drawn up before the terrible catastrophe of Sarajevo, and which now, following that tragic event, appears particularly worthy of attention.
The attack directed against my poor nephew is the direct consequence of the agitation carried on by the Russian and Serbian Pan-Slavists whose sole aim is the weakening of the Triple Alliance and the destruction of my Empire.
By the foregoing declaration, it is no longer an affair at Sarajevo of the single bloody deed of an individual but of a well-organized conspiracy, of which the threads reach to Belgrade and if, as is probable, it be impossible to prove the complicity of the Serbian Government, nevertheless it cannot be doubted that the policies leading to the reunion of all the Southern Slavs under the Serbian flag is favorable to crimes of this character and that the continuance of this state of things constitutes a constant danger to my house and to my realm.
This danger is rendered more grave from the fact that Roumania, despite the alliance with us, has entered into friendly relations with Serbia and, on her own territory, permits against us an agitation just as venomous as that allowed by Serbia.
It is painful to me to suspect the fidelity and the good intentions of so old a friend as Charles of Roumania, but he himself has twice declared during these last months to my Minister that by reason of the aroused and hostile sentiments of his people toward us he would not be in a position in case of need to carry out his obligations of alliance.
Furthermore, the Roumanian Government encourages openly the activities of the Kulturliga, favors a rapprochement with Serbia and carries on, with Russian aid, the creation of a new Balkan alliance which can only be directed against my Empire.
Once before, at the beginning of the reign of Charles, such political fancies as these propagated by the Kulturliga disturbed the good political sense of Roumanian men of state and the danger arose of seeing Your realm launched on a policy of adventure. But at that time Your venerated grandfather in an energetic and far-sighted fashion intervened and pointed out to Roumania the road which assured to her a privileged place in Europe, and she became the strong support of the existing order.
Now the same danger threatens this kingdom; I fear that counsel alone is insufficient and that Roumania cannot be retained in the Triple Alliance unless, on the one hand, we make impossible the creation of the Balkan League under the patronage of Russia, by the entrance of Bulgaria into the Triple Alliance, and unless on the other hand, we make it clearly understood at Bucharest that the friends of Serbia cannot be our friends, and that Roumania cannot consider us as allies unless she detaches herself from Serbia and represses with all her force the agitation directed in Roumania against the existence of my Empire.
The efforts of my government should in consequence be directed toward isolation and the diminishment of Serbia. The first step in that direction will be to strengthen the present situation of the Bulgarian Government in order that the Bulgars, whose real interests coincide with ours, shall be preserved from a return to friendship with Russia.
If they realize at Bucharest that the Triple Alliance has decided not to abandon the alliance with Bulgaria, but that it is disposed to invite Bulgaria to an understanding with Roumania and to guarantee its territorial integrity, we may perhaps succeed in bringing her back from the dangerous step to which she has been led by her friendship with Serbia and her understanding with Russia.
If this should succeed, a reconciliation of Greece with Bulgaria and Turkey could be attempted. There would then arise, under the patronage of the Triple Alliance, a new Balkan alliance, the aim of which would be to put an end to the invasion of the Pan Slavist tide and to assure peace to our states.
But this will not be possible unless Serbia which is at present the pivot of Pan-Slavist policy is eliminated as a political factor in the Balkans.
And You, also after this last terrible happening in Bosnia, will see and know that one cannot think of smoothing out the differences that separate us from Serbia, and that the maintenance of peaceful policy by all the European Monarchies will be threatened as long as this focus of criminal agitation in Belgrade remains unpunished.
THE ANNEXE MEMOIRE.
Following the great disturbances of the last two years, the situation in the Balkans has cleared up to such a point that it is now possible to review the results of the crisis, and to establish in what measure the interests of the Triple Alliance, and m ore particularly those of the two Central Imperial Powers, have been affected by these events and what consequences result from them for European politics and for the Balkan policy of these Powers.
If without prejudice we compare the present state of affairs with that existing before the crisis, we must decide that the result looked at from the point of view of Austria-Hungary as well as from that of the Triple Alliance, cannot be considered in any way as favorable.
The principal point is that following the development which led to the second Balkan war, Bulgaria aroused herself from the Russian spell, and today can no longer be considered as an auxiliary of the Russian policy. The Bulgarian Government strives, on the contrary, to enter into more intimate relations with the Triple Alliance.
To these favorable elements, however, are opposed the unfavorable factors that weigh more heavily in the balance. Serbia whose policy has for years been animated by hostility toward Austria Hungary, and which is completely under Russian influence, has achieved an increase of territory and of population that exceeded by much her own expectations. Turkey, whose community of interests with the Triple Alliance was progressing well, and who constituted an important counterpoise against Russia and the Balkan States, has been almost entirely pushed out of Europe, and has seen her situation as a great power gravely compromised. Territorial proximity with Montenegro and the general strengthening of the Pan-Serbian idea have brought closer the possibility of a new expansion of Serbia by means of a union with Montenegro. Lastly in the course of the crisis, the relations of Roumania with the Triple Alliance have essentially changed.... We see, on the other hand, that Russian and French diplomacy have carried on a unified action, in conformity with a preconcerted plan to exploit the advantages obtained and to change certain factors that were from their point of view unfavorable....
The thought of freeing the Christian Balkan people from Turkish rule, in order to use them as a weapon against central Europe, has been for a long time the secret thought of Russian policy, by the traditional interest of Russia for these people. In these latter days has been developed the idea, put forward by Russia and taken up by France, of uniting the Balkan States into a Balkan alliance, in order by this means to put an end to the military superiority of the Triple Alliance. The first condition before the realization of this plan was that Turkey should be pushed back from the territory inhabited by the Christian nations of the Balkans, in order to increase the strength of these States and to render them free to expand to the west. This preliminary condition has been, on the whole, realized by the last war. On the other hand, after the end of the crisis, a division separated the Balkan States into two opposing groups of nearly equal strength: Turkey and Bulgaria on the one hand, and the two Serbian States, Greece and Roumania, on the other.
To put an end to this division in order to be able to use all the Balkan States or at least a decisive majority, to upset the balance of European power, was the latest task to which, after the end of the crisis, Russia and France applied themselves....
There is no doubt of the basis upon which, according to the intentions of French arid Russian diplomacy, these differences and rivalries might be reconciled and a new Balkan alliance created. What could be the actual aim of such an alliance in the present circumstances for the Balkan States? There is no longer reason to consider a common action against Turkey. It can, therefore, only be directed against Austria-Hungary and can only be accomplished on the basis of a program that should promise to all it members extensions of territory by a graduated displacement of their frontiers from the east to the west, at the expense of the territorial integrity of the Monarchy. A union of Balkan States upon any other basis would be impossible to imagine, but on this basis not only is it not impossible, but is in a fair way to be realized. One cannot question that Serbia under Russian pressure would consent to pay a considerable price in Macedonia for the entry of Bulgaria into an alliance directed against the Monarchy and looking forward to the acquisition of Bosnia and the adjacent territory.....
The relations of Austria-Hungary with Roumania may be at this moment characterized by the fact that the Monarchy relies entirely upon its alliance and, before as since, is ready to uphold Roumania with all its force if the casus foedoris shall arise, but that Roumania detaches itself one-sidedly from its obligations of alliance and shows to the Monarchy only the prospect of neutrality. Even the neutrality of Roumania is only guaranteed to the Monarchy by the personal affirmation of King Charles [a guaranty] which naturally is of value only for the duration of his reign and the accomplishment of which depends upon the King's keeping always the guiding hand on the direction of the foreign policy....
Under these conditions it is impossible to consider the alliance with Roumania as of sufficient certainty and extent to serve Austria-Hungary as a pivot in her Balkan policy....
To destroy, with the assistance of the Balkans, the military superiority of the two Imperial powers is the objective of Russia.
But while France seeks the weakening of the Monarchy, because that is favorable to her ideas of révanche, the designs of the empire of the Tsar have a much greater extent....
For Russia has recognized that the relation of her plans in Europe and in Asia, plans which correspond with internal necessities gravely affect the important interests of Germany, and must inevitably arouse her to resistance.
The policy of Russia is determined by an unchanging situation, and is consequently constant and foresighted. Russia's policy of encirclement directed against the Monarchy, which does not pursue a world policy, has for its final aim to make it impossible for the German Empire to resist the aims of Russia or her political and economic supremacy.
For these reasons those in charge of the foreign policy of Austria-Hungary are convinced that it is in the common interest of the Monarchy, as in that of Germany, to oppose energetically and in time in this phase of the Balkan crisis, the development foreseen and encouraged by Russia by a pre-concerted plan.
The above mémoire had just been finished when there occurred the terrible events of Sarajevo. The complete extent of this abominable assassination can hardly be realized; at all events it appears undeniable proof, if indeed any were yet lacking, of the impossibility of extinguishing the hatred between the Monarchy and Serbia, as well as the danger and the violence of the Pan-Serbian propaganda, which hesitates at nothing.
Austria-Hungary has not been lacking in good will and in the spirit of conciliation, to bring about reasonably good relations with Serbia, but it has just been shown that these efforts have been completely impotent and that the Monarchy must expect in the future to deal with the bitter, irreconcilable and aggressive enmity of Serbia.
In these conditions the Monarchy must tear away with a strong hand the net in which its enemy seeks to entangle it.
Return to 1914 Documents
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Author Archives: Mary Sauers
November Health Outreach Resources
Posted on October 30, 2019 by Mary Sauers
November is …
National Family Health History Month
National American Indian Heritage Month
The National Network of Libraries of Medicine has just released resources to help you plan health programs and promote health information during November. Links include a program kit, webinars, electronic bulletin slides, posters, and social media materials. Visit this page for more details: https://nnlm.gov/all-of-us/national-health-observances#toc-9.
Healthfinder.gov offers a toolkit for American Diabetes Month. The toolkit provides ideas for hosting a community event, and resources to share health information through your website, newsletter, or social media. Visit this page for more details: https://healthfinder.gov/NHO/NovemberToolkit.aspx.
Christian Minter, MSLIS
Community Engagement and Health Literacy Librarian
Coordinator of Circulation Services
McGoogan Library of Medicine
986705 Nebraska Medical Center | Omaha, NE 68198-6705
christian.minter@unmc.edu
Posted in Books & Reading, Education & Training, General, Information Resources, Programming, Uncategorized, What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Leave a comment
Rural Nebraska Communities have Access to $2.2 Million for Disaster Recovery Due to FEMA-Major Disaster Declarations
Lincoln, Neb., Oct. 22, 2019 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Nebraska State Director Karl Elmshaeuser announced that Nebraska has been allocated with nearly $2.2 million in grants available through the Community Facilities Program to help rural communities continue in their recovery from the devastating effects of FEMA declared disasters in Nebraska.
“Nebraska has been hit hard by the devastating weather, with 83 of our counties receiving Major Disaster Declarations,” Elmshaeuser said. “USDA works hard to help communities thrive and this funding supports in their long-term recovery.”
The $2.2 million is included in the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act that President Trump signed into law on June 6, 2019.
Nebraska declared counties are: Adams, Antelope, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Cherry, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Hamilton, Harlan, Holt, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keith, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nemaha, Nuckolls, Omaha Indian Reservation, Otoe, Pawnee, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Ponca TDSA, Richardson, Rock, Sac and Fox Indian Reservation, Saline, Santee Indian Reservation, Sarpy, Saunders, Scotts Bluff, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Stanton, Thayer, Thomas, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, Winnebago Indian Reservation, and York.
Grant applications will be accepted at USDA Rural Development Attn: Community Programs; 100 Centennial Mall North; Federal Building Room 308; Lincoln, Neb. 68508. Applications will be accepted on a continual basis until funds are exhausted. Grant assistance will be provided on a graduated scale; smaller communities with the lowest median household income are eligible for a higher proportion of grant funds. For application details and additional information, see page 47477 of the Sept. 10 Federal Register. In Nebraska, contact your local Rural Development Community Program Staff.
More than 100 types of projects are eligible for Community Facilities funding. Eligible applicants include municipalities, public bodies, nonprofit organizations and federally recognized Native American tribes.
Projects must be in eligible rural areas with a population of 20,000 or less.
In April 2017, President Donald J. Trump established the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to identify legislative, regulatory and policy changes that could promote agriculture and prosperity in rural communities. In January 2018, Secretary Perdue presented the Task Force’s findings to President Trump. These findings included 31 recommendations to align the federal government with state, local and tribal governments to take advantage of opportunities that exist in rural America. Increasing investments in rural infrastructure is a cornerstone recommendation of the task force.
To view the report in its entirety, please view the Report to the President of the United States from the Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity (PDF, 5.4 MB). In addition, to view the categories of the recommendations, please view the Rural Prosperity infographic (PDF, 190 KB).
USDA Rural Development provides loans and grants to help expand economic opportunities and create jobs in rural areas. This assistance supports infrastructure improvements; business development; housing; community facilities such as schools, public safety and health care; and high-speed internet access in rural areas. For more information, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
*USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.
Posted in General, Information Resources, Public Relations, Uncategorized, What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Leave a comment
The Census and Special Districts in the U.S.
From Municipalities to Special Districts, Official Count of Every Type of Local Government is in the 2017 Census of Governments.
We know what counties and municipalities are. But what are special districts?
Special districts are independent government units created for a limited, specific purpose and, every year, new districts are created and existing ones dissolve.
The latest in-depth, encyclopedic count of special districts and all types of local governments in the United States is now available.
Released earlier this year, the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2017 Census of Governments Organization component provides statistics on governments in the United States as of June 2017 and shows changes since the last count in 2012.
Tables show counts by government type, state, population-size groups, function and school systems.
Local governments are classified into five types: county, municipal, township, special districts and school districts.
County, municipal and township governments are general-purpose governments. The official count for those types of governments has not changed significantly since 2012.
Then there are special districts.
They typically have a shorter lifespan and higher turnover than general purpose governments, but the difference in their counts was also relatively slim between 2012 and 2017: The 2017 Census of Governments added more than 1,500 special districts and removed roughly 1,260 that are no longer operating.
Nebraska Examples of Special Districts
Airport Authorities, Cemetery Districts, Community Building Districts, County Fair Boards, Drainage Districts, Hospital Districts and Authorities, Housing Agencies, Interstate County Bridge Commissions, Irrigation Districts, Joint Electric Power, Sewerage and Solid Waste Disposal, Water Distribution Agencies—1981 Law, Joint Public Power Authorities—1982 Law, Metropolitan Transit Authority, Metropolitan Utilities Districts, Natural Resources Districts, Public Power Districts, Reclamation Districts, Risk Management Pools, Road and Street Improvement Districts—1957 and 1961 Laws, Rural and Suburban Fire Protection Districts, Rural Water Districts, and Sanitary and Improvement Districts.
Why So Many New Special Districts?
So why are states creating special districts these days?
In some cases, states create them to provide services to newly- developed geographic areas.
In other cases, the special purpose activity or services already exist, but residents expect a higher level of quality.
For example, a state may have fire protection services. However, the established governmental structure may not legally allow the fire district to raise enough funds to maintain the desired level of quality services.
That’s when a state may choose to create a special district. Most special districts can levy additional property or sales taxes, and may borrow money to buy or build facilities by issuing bonds.
Some districts are only active for a limited time, usually as long as it takes to pay back a debt.
Multifunction Districts
Between the 2012 and 2017 census, multifunction districts grew the most.
Multifunction districts can collect property taxes and issue tax-exempt bonds. Legislation authorizing multifunction districts was passed in most states across the nation in the 1980s.
In Colorado, the 2017 Census of Governments added close to 270 metropolitan districts to the master list of local governments in the state.
Metropolitan districts can provide a wide array of services, such as fire protection, street improvements, recreation, mosquito control and television relay services.
These districts can collect property taxes and issue public debt. That’s why it’s important to keep track of public funds controlled by these districts.
Most of the metropolitan districts in Colorado are development districts created to provide funding for development projects.
In Texas, multifunction districts, called Municipal Utility Districts (MUDs), also showed growth. The 2017 Census of Governments added nearly 200 units to the master list of local governments in Texas.
MUDs provide a variety of utility services in areas not included in a municipality. These districts can finance developing infrastructure and housing.
MUDs can incur public debts in the form of bonds to finance infrastructure and/or housing, and may dissolve in 15 to 25 years after the debt is paid in full.
As in Colorado, developers who see public-private partnerships as business opportunities usually drive the creation of multifunction districts.
Development And Water Supply Districts
Financing capital improvement was the leading force behind special district growth in Florida.
The 2017 Census of Governments added about 130 new Community Development Districts (CDD). In Florida, CDDs may finance a variety of community development projects, such as new sewage facilities.
The 2017 Individual State Descriptions publication provides a comprehensive description of the governmental organization for the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Some of these districts are similar to Community Improvement Associations (CIAs) in size and scale of operations. Both are a result of the housing boom from 2003 to 2008.
The major difference is that CDDs are considered public government units that enjoy some tax exemptions, although this comes with other regulations and required transparency in governing these districts.
The 2017 Census of Governments data also reflect the creation of more water supply districts in New Mexico. Over 150 Mutual Domestic Water Consumers Associations were included as special district governments since the last census. Other states, including California, Arkansas, Missouri and Washington, also added between 10 to 20 water supply districts.
Fire And Emergency Services Districts
Nationally, Emergency Services Districts (ESD) that provide local fire protection and ambulance services have grown this decade: 150 were created from 2012 to 2017 — 130 of them in Texas.
The increase is centered in areas experiencing the fastest population growth in the country since the 2010 Census.
Often, ESDs are organized as a funding tool for existing volunteer fire departments. These allow volunteer fire districts to collect additional property and sales taxes to provide service to their expanding communities.
It can be challenging to find fire-fighting funding in areas losing population and experiencing declining property values.
In Arizona, for example, laws passed in 2013 allow fire districts to consolidate into fire authorities to reduce overhead costs. The 2017 Census of Governments shows 14 new joint fire authorities in Ohio.
Some township volunteer fire departments have recently begun to combine personnel, equipment and property tax revenue to become official special district governments.
Another way districts can improve emergency response and rescue operations is by creating Emergency Communications (911) Districts to help coordinate resources between municipalities, counties and other local governments.
Some states, including Texas, Iowa, and Oregon, have had them since 1985. Others like Washington and Massachusetts have recently introduced laws enabling citizens to create 911 districts.
Download the Individual State Descriptions: 2017 Census of Governments
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A History of the Census in the United States : Part 3
The 3rd Census: Census Day was August 6, 1810
James Madison was President of the United States on Census Day, August 6, 1810.
Authorizing Legislation
The authorization act for the third census stipulated that an assistant marshal must actually visit each household, or the head of each family, within his designated enumeration district and should not rely on hearsay or the like to complete his count. The act also mandated that the enumeration commence on the first Monday of August.
An act of May 1, 1810 amended the earlier authorizing legislation to require that, while they were collecting demographic data, assistant marshals also collect available economic data. These men recorded the “several manufacturing establishments and manufactures within their several districts, territories, and divisions.” The marshals transmitted the manufacturing data to the secretary of the treasury at the same time they sent the results of the population enumeration to the secretary of state. No schedule was prescribed for the collection of industrial data and the nature of the inquiries were at the discretion of the secretary of the treasury. Because of this, the collection of manufacturing data was so erratic that it was generally considered useless except to identify broad industrial trends.
Intercensal Activity
An act of May 16, 1812, provided for the publication of a digest of manufactures containing data on the kind, quality, and value of goods manufactured, the number of establishments, and the number of machines of various kinds used in certain classes of manufactures. The report containing incomplete returns for more than 200 kinds of goods and including several items that were principally agricultural, was published in 1813.
A wide variety of historical statistics from this and other decades is available in Historical Statistics of the United States: Colonial Times to 1970. It is available as a PDF [74.4MB] or 2-part ZIP file: Part I [52.2MB] | Part II [66.1MB].
Reports and statistics from the 1810 census
History and Growth of the United States Census: 1790-1890 [PDF 117MB], by Carroll D. Wright and William C. Hunt.
Information provided from Census.gov
The 2nd Census: Census Day was August 4, 1800
John Adams was President of the United States on Census Day, August 4, 1800.
An act of February 28, 1800 authorized the second census of the United States, which was to include the states and territories northwest of the Ohio River and Mississippi Territory. The census was to conclude within nine calendar months of its start.
The guidelines for the 1800 enumeration followed those of the first census, with only minor alterations in the law. John Marshall, secretary of state in 1800, was the nominal head of census operations. By early 1801, however, Marshall was chief justice of the Supreme Court. James Madison, his successor as secretary of state, oversaw the final tabulations and reported population totals to Congress and the president.
The questionnaire provided space to separately tally free white males and females in several age categories: under 10, 10 but under 15, 16 but under 25, 25 but under 45, and over 45. Indians, slaves, and free blacks were listed in single categories undivided into age groups.
Jobs Available for the 2020 Census!
The week of October 21st is Jobs Week for the 2020 Census! Anyone can apply!
The posters below can be printed out and placed anywhere in your library!
Visit 2020 Census Jobs for more information!
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President George Washington, Vice President John Adams, and Speaker of the House Frederick Muhlenberg signed the 1790 census act, March 1, 1790.
The First Census: Census Day was August 2, 1790.
The first census began more than a year after the inauguration of President Washington and shortly before the second session of the first Congress ended. Congress assigned responsibility for the 1790 census to the marshals of the U.S. judicial districts under an act which, with minor modifications and extensions, governed census taking through 1840. The law required that every household be visited, that completed census schedules be posted in “two of the most public places within [each jurisdiction], there to remain for the inspection of all concerned…” and that “the aggregate amount of each description of persons” for every district be transmitted to the president.
The six inquiries in 1790 called for the name of the head of the family and the number of persons in each household of the following descriptions:
Free White males of 16 years and upward (to assess the country’s industrial and military potential)
Free White males under 16 years
Free White females
All other free persons
Under the general direction of Thomas Jefferson, the Secretary of State, marshals took the census in the original 13 States, plus the districts of Kentucky, Maine, and Vermont, and the Southwest Territory (Tennessee).
Both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson expressed skepticism over the final count, expecting a number that exceeded the 3.9 million inhabitants counted in the census.
Publications and population statistics from the 1790 census
History and Growth of the United States Census: 1790-1890 [PDF 117MB], by Carroll D. Wright and William C. Hunt
Information provided from Census.gov.
What’s Up Doc? New State Agency Publications at the Nebraska Library Commission
New state agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for September 2019. Included are reports from the Nebraska Auditor of Public Accounts, the Nebraska Information Technology Commission, the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, and new books from the University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
Most items, except the books from the University of Nebraska Press, are available for immediate viewing and printing by clicking on the highlighted link above, or directly in the .pdf below. You can read synopses of the books received from the University of Nebraska Press books in the September Book Briefs blogpost.
The Nebraska Legislature created the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse in 1972, a service of the Nebraska Library Commission. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, and provide access to all public information published by Nebraska state agencies. By law (State Statutes 51-411 to 51-413) all Nebraska state agencies are required to submit their published documents to the Clearinghouse. For more information, visit the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse page, contact Mary Sauers, Government Information Services Librarian; or contact Bonnie Henzel, State Documents Staff Assistant.
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Book Briefs: New University of Nebraska Press Books at the Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse
Posted on September 24, 2019 by Mary Sauers
The Nebraska Publications Clearinghouse receives documents every month from all Nebraska state agencies, including the University of Nebraska Press (UNP). Each month we will be showcasing the UNP books that the Clearinghouse receives. UNP books, as well as all Nebraska state documents, are available for checkout by libraries and librarians, for their patrons, in Nebraska.
Here are the UNP books the Clearinghouse received in September:
An Army in Crisis : Social Conflict and the U.. Army in Germany, 1968-1975 Alexander Vazansky
Following the decision to maintain 250,000 U.S. troops in Germany after the Allied victory in 1945, the U.S. Army had, for the most part, been a model of what a peacetime occupying army stationed in an ally’s country should be. The army had initially benefited from the positive results of U.S. foreign policy toward West Germany and the deference of the Federal Republic toward it, establishing cordial and even friendly relations with German society. By 1968, however, the disciplined military of the Allies had been replaced with rundown barracks and shabby-looking GIs, and U.S. bases in Germany had become a symbol of the army’s greatest crisis, a crisis that threatened the army’s very existence.
In An Army in Crisis Alexander Vazansky analyzes the social crisis that developed among the U.S. Army forces stationed in Germany between 1968 and 1975. This crisis was the result of shifting deployment patterns across the world during the Vietnam War; changing social and political realities of life in postwar Germany and Europe; and racial tensions, drug use, dissent, and insubordination within the U.S. Army itself, influenced by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the youth movement in the States. With particular attention to 1968, An Army in Crisis examines the changing relationships between American and German soldiers, from German deference to familiarity and fraternization, and the effects that a prolonged military presence in Germany had on American military personnel, their dependents, and the lives of Germans. Vazansky presents an innovative study of opposition and resistance within the ranks, affected by the Vietnam War and the limitations of personal freedom among the military during this era.
Bodies Built for Game : The Prairie Schooner Anthology of Contemporary Sports Writing Edited by Natalie Diaz; Hannah Ensor, Associate Editor
Sport has always been central to the movements of both the nation-state and the people who resist that nation-state. Think of the Roman Colosseum, Jesse Owens’s four gold-medal victories in the 1936 Nazi Olympics, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s protest at the 1968 Olympics, and the fallout Colin Kaepernick suffered as a result of his recent protest on the sidelines of an NFL game. Sport is a place where the body and the mind are the most dangerous because they are allowed to be unified as one energy.
Bodies Built for Game brings together poems, essays, and stories that challenge our traditional ideas of sport and question the power structures that athletics enforce. What is it that drives us to athletics? What is it that makes us break our own bodies or the bodies of others as we root for these unnatural and performed victories? Featuring contributions from a diverse group of writers, including Hanif Abdurraqib, Fatimah Asghar, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Louise Erdrich, Toni Jensen, Ada Limón, Tommy Orange, Claudia Rankine, Danez Smith, and Maya Washington, this book challenges America by questioning its games.
Carrying Water to the Field : New and Selected Poems Joyce Sutphen; Introduction by Ted Kooser (Series: Ted Kooser Contemporary Poetry Series)
Joyce Sutphen’s evocations of life on a small farm, coming of age in the late 1960s, and traveling and searching for balance in a very modern world are both deeply personal and familiar. Readers from Maine to Minnesota and beyond will recognize themselves, their parents, aunts and uncles, and neighbors in these poems, which move us from delight in keen description toward something like wisdom or solace in the things of this world.
In addition to poems selected from the last twenty-five years, Carrying Water to the Field includes more than forty new poems on the themes of luck, hard work, and the ravages of time—erasures that Sutphen attempts to ameliorate with her careful attention to language and lyrical precision.
The Distance Between : A Memoir Timothy J. Hillegonds
At eighteen years old, with no high school diploma, a growing rap sheet, and a failed relationship with his estranged father, Timothy J. Hillegonds took a one-way flight from Chicago to Colorado in hopes of leaving his mounting rage and frustration behind. His plan was simple: snowboard, hang out, live an uncomplicated life.
The Distance Between chronicles how Hillegonds’s plan went awry after he immediately jumped head first into a turbulent relationship with April, a Denny’s coworker and single mother. At once passionate and volatile, their relationship was fueled by vodka, crystal methamphetamine, and poverty—and it sometimes became violent. Mere months after moving to the mountains, when the stakes felt like they couldn’t be higher, Hillegonds learned April was pregnant with his child.
More than just a harrowing story of addiction and abuse or a simple mea culpa, The Distance Between is a finely wrought exploration of, and reckoning with, absent fathers, fatherhood, violence, adolescent rage, white male privilege, and Hillegonds’s own toxic masculinity. With nuance and urgency, The Distance Between takes readers through the grit of life on the margins while grappling with the problematic nature of one man’s existence.
Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, and the Place of Culture Julie Olin-Ammentorp
Edith Wharton and Willa Cather wrote many of the most enduring American novels from the first half of the twentieth century, including Wharton’s The House of Mirth, Ethan Frome, and The Age of Innocence, and Cather’s O Pioneers!, My Ántonia, and Death Comes for the Archbishop. Yet despite their perennial popularity and their status as major American novelists, Wharton (1862–1937) and Cather (1873–1947) have rarely been studied together. Indeed, critics and scholars seem to have conspired to keep them at a distance: Wharton is seen as “our literary aristocrat,” an author who chronicles the lives of the East Coast, Europe-bound elite, while Cather is considered a prairie populist who describes the lives of rugged western pioneers. These depictions, though partially valid, nonetheless rely on oversimplifications and neglect the striking and important ways the works of these two authors intersect.
The first comparative study of Edith Wharton and Willa Cather in thirty years, this book combines biographical, historical, and literary analyses with a focus on place and aesthetics to reveal Wharton’s and Cather’s parallel experiences of dislocation, their relationship to each other as writers, and the profound similarities in their theories of fiction. Julie Olin-Ammentorp provides a new assessment of the affinities between Wharton and Cather by exploring the importance of literary and geographic place in their lives and works, including the role of New York City, the American West, France, and travel. In doing so she reveals the two authors’ shared concern about the culture of place and the place of culture in the United States.
Gothic Queer Culture : Marginalized Communities and the Ghosts of Insidious Trauma Laura Westengard (Series: Expanding Frontiers: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality)
In Gothic Queer Culture, Laura Westengard proposes that contemporary U.S. queer culture is gothic at its core. Using interdisciplinary cultural studies to examine the gothicism in queer art, literature, and thought—including ghosts embedded in queer theory, shadowy crypts in lesbian pulp fiction, monstrosity and cannibalism in AIDS poetry, and sadomasochism in queer performance—Westengard argues that during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries a queer culture has emerged that challenges and responds to traumatic marginalization by creating a distinctly gothic aesthetic.
Gothic Queer Culture examines the material effects of marginalization, exclusion, and violence and explains why discourse around the complexities of genders and sexualities repeatedly returns to the gothic. Westengard places this queer knowledge production within a larger framework of gothic queer culture, which inherently includes theoretical texts, art, literature, performance, and popular culture.
By analyzing queer knowledge production alongside other forms of queer culture, Gothic Queer Culture enters into the most current conversations on the state of gender and sexuality, especially debates surrounding negativity, anti-relationalism, assimilation, and neoliberalism. It provides a framework for understanding these debates in the context of a distinctly gothic cultural mode that acknowledges violence and insidious trauma, depathologizes the association between trauma and queerness, and offers a rich counterhegemonic cultural aesthetic through the circulation of gothic tropes.
Meander Belt : Family, Loss, and Coming of Age in the Working-Class South M. Randal O’Wain (Series: American Lives)
In Meander Belt M. Randal O’Wain offers a reflection on how a working-class boy from Memphis, Tennessee, came to fall in love with language, reading, writing, and the larger world outside of the American South. This memoir examines what it means for the son of a carpenter to value mental rather than physical labor and what this does to his relationship with his family, whose livelihood and sensibility are decidedly blue collar. Straining the father-son bond further, O’Wain leaves home to find a life outside Memphis, roaming from place to place, finding odd jobs, and touring with his band. From memory and observation, O’Wain assembles a subtle and spare portrait of his roots, family, and ultimately discovers that his working-class upbringing is not so antithetical to the man he has become.
Salvific Manhood : James Baldwin’s Novelization of Male Intimacy Ernest L. Gibson III (Series: Expanding Frontiers: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality)
Salvific Manhood foregrounds the radical power of male intimacy and vulnerability in surveying each of James Baldwin’s six novels. Asserting that manhood and masculinity hold the potential for both tragedy and salvation, Ernest L. Gibson III highlights the complex and difficult emotional choices Baldwin’s men must make within their varied lives, relationships, and experiences. In Salvific Manhood, Gibson offers a new and compelling way to understand the hidden connections between Baldwin’s novels. Thematically daring and theoretically provocative, he presents a queering of salvation, a nuanced approach that views redemption through the lenses of gender and sexuality.
Exploring how fraternal crises develop out of sociopolitical forces and conditions, Salvific Manhood theorizes a spatiality of manhood, where spaces in between men are erased through expressions of intimacy and love. Positioned at the intersections of literary criticism, queer studies, and male studies, Gibson deconstructs Baldwin’s wrestling with familial love, American identity, suicide, art, incarceration, and memory by magnifying the potent idea of salvific manhood. Ultimately, Salvific Manhood calls for an alternate reading of Baldwin’s novels, introducing new theories for understanding the intricacies of African American manhood and American identity, all within a space where the presence of tragedy can give way to the possibility of salvation.
**All synopses courtesy of University of Nebraska Press (https://www.nebraskapress.unl.edu/)
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BookFace Friday: You Were Always Mine, by Nicole Baart
Posted on September 6, 2019 by Mary Sauers
When I was asked to read one of the books for this year’s Nebraska Book Festival, I immediately jumped at the chance to read You Were Always Mine, by Nicole Baart. As an adoptee from more than 50 years ago, I have wondered what my birth mother might have been like, as well as wondered about the adoption process. Nicole Baart has done an excellent job exploring a thriller scenario involving a birth mother, and it is definitely a can’t-put-it-down page-turner!
Iowa school teacher Jess Chamberlain, the heroine of this harrowing domestic thriller, and her husband, Evan, a family practitioner, have been separated for six months, and it’s been hard on their 13-year-old son, Max, and their six-year-old adopted son, Gabe. When Evan is killed in a hunting accident in Minnesota, Jess is shocked and suspicious, especially since Evan didn’t hunt. With the support of her family and friends, Jess struggles to move on from the death of a man she still loved. As Jess attempts to retrace Evan’s steps leading up to what becomes increasingly clear was his murder, she discovers that Evan was communicating with Gabe’s birth mother and may have been onto something that hits very close to home. Heartbreaking letters and emails sent by Gabe’s birth mother to various others, including Gabe, add emotional heft. Baart sensitively mines the bonds of motherhood and marriage while shining a light on a darker side of the adoption industry. (Publishers Weekly)
Don’t miss author Nicole Baart tomorrow at the Nebraska Book Festival!
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New state agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for August 2019. Included are Annual Reports from a variety of Nebraska State Agencies, reports from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, reports relating to Economic Development from the Nebraska Public Power District, reports from the 106th Nebraska Legislature, and new books from the University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
Most items, except the books from the University of Nebraska Press, are available for immediate viewing and printing by clicking on the highlighted link above, or directly in the .pdf below. You can read synopses of the books received from the University of Nebraska Press books in the August blogpost.
Posted on August 30, 2019 by Mary Sauers
Here are the UNP books the Clearinghouse received in August:
Extinction Events [Stories]
Liz Breazeale (Series: Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction)
In this collection of short stories, Liz Breazeale explores the connections between humans and the natural world by examining the processes and history of our planet. A myriad of extinction events large and small have ruptured the history of the earth, and so it is with the women of this book, who struggle to define themselves amid their own personal cataclysms and those igniting the world around them. They are a mother watching the islands of the world disappear one by one, a new bride using alien abduction to get closer to her estranged parent, a daughter searching for her mother among the lost cities of the world, a sister trying and failing to protect her mythical continent–obsessed brother.
Here extinction events come in all sizes and shapes: as volcanic eruptions and devastating plagues and meteor impacts, as estrangements and betrayals and losses. Dark, angry, and apocalyptic, Extinction Events is a compendium of all the ways in which life can be annihilated.
Hard Damage
Aria Aber (Series: Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Poetry)
Hard Damage works to relentlessly interrogate the self and its shortcomings. In lyric and documentary poems and essayistic fragments, Aria Aber explores the historical and personal implications of Afghan American relations. Drawing on material dating back to the 1950s, she considers the consequences of these relations—in particular the funding of the Afghan mujahedeen, which led to the Taliban and modern-day Islamic terrorism—for her family and the world at large.
Invested in and suspicious of the pain of family and the shame of selfhood, the speakers of these richly evocative and musical poems mourn the magnitude of citizenship as a state of place and a state of mind. While Hard Damage is framed by free-verse poetry, the middle sections comprise a lyric essay in fragments and a long documentary poem. Aber explores Rilke in the original German, the urban melancholia of city life, inherited trauma, and displacement on both linguistic and environmental levels, while employing surrealist and eerily domestic imagery.
Low Mountains or High Tea : Misadventures in Britain’s National Parks
Steve Sieberson
When Steve Sieberson and his wife unexpectedly found themselves in Britain with an entire summer on their hands, they readily agreed to avoid the usual tourist attractions, opting instead for a road trip to the UK’s far-flung national parks. As they set out, however, he envisioned bracing days of energetic hillwalking, while she assumed they would relax in tearooms and cozy pubs.
Seldom planning more than a few days in advance, the two traversed the country in a rented Vauxhall, subjecting themselves to single-track lanes, diabolical signage, and whimsical advice from locals. They discovered a town called Mirthless, a place where cats’ eyes are removed, and a vibrating cottage, while at mealtimes they dove fearlessly into black pudding, Eton mess, and barely recognizable enchiladas. Meanwhile, after their initial attempts at hiking together nearly ended in disaster, Sieberson received dispensation to scramble alone to the highest point in each national park—as long as he was quick about it and left plenty of time for more sedentary pursuits. Low Mountains or High Tea dishes up the charms and eccentricities of rural Great Britain as seen through the eyes of two Americans who never really knew what was coming next.
Midwestern Strange : Hunting Monsters, Martians, and the Weird in Flyover Country
B.J. Hollars
Midwestern Strange chronicles B.J. Hollars’s exploration of the mythic, lesser-known oddities of flyover country. The mysteries, ranging from bipedal wolf sightings to run-ins with pancake-flipping space aliens to a lumberjack-inspired “Hodag hoax,” make this book a little bit X-Files, a little bit Ghostbusters, and a whole lot of Sherlock Holmes. Hollars’s quest is not to confirm or debunk these mysteries but rather to seek out these unexplained phenomena to understand how they complicate our worldview and to discover what truths might be gleaned by reexamining the facts in our “post-truth” era.
Part memoir and part journalism, Midwestern Strange offers a fascinating, funny, and quirky account of flyover folklore that also contends with the ways such oddities retain cultural footholds. Hollars shows how grappling with such subjects might fortify us against the glut of misinformation now inundating our lives. By confronting monsters, Martians, and a cabinet of curiosities, we challenge ourselves to look beyond our presumptions and acknowledge that just because something is weird, doesn’t mean it is wrong.
Modern Sudanese Poetry : an Anthology
Translated and edited by Adil Babiker, Forward by Matthew Shenoda (Series: African Poetry Book Series)
Spanning more than six decades of Sudan’s post-independence history, this collection features work by some of Sudan’s most renowned modern poets, largely unknown in the United States. Adil Babikir’s extensive introduction provides a conceptual framework to help the English reader understand the cultural context. Translated from Arabic, the collection addresses a wide range of themes—identity, love, politics, Sufism, patriotism, war, and philosophy—capturing the evolution of Sudan’s modern history and cultural intersections.
Modern Sudanese Poetry features voices as diverse as the country’s ethnic, cultural, and natural composition. By bringing these voices together, Babikir provides a glimpse of Sudan’s poetry scene as well as the country’s modern history and post-independence trajectory.
Wilderness of Hope : Fly Fishing and Public Lands in the American West
Quinn Grover (Series: Outdoor Lives)
Longtime fly fisherman Quinn Grover had contemplated the “why” of his fishing identity before more recently becoming focused on the “how” of it. He realized he was a dedicated fly fisherman in large part because public lands and public waterways in the West made it possible. In Wilderness of Hope Grover recounts his fly-fishing experiences with a strong evocation of place, connecting those experiences to the ongoing national debate over public lands.
Because so much of America’s public lands are in the Intermountain West, this is where arguments about the use and limits of those lands rage the loudest. And those loudest in the debate often become caricatures: rural ranchers who hate the government; West Coast elites who don’t know the West outside Vail, Colorado; and energy and mining companies who extract from once-protected areas. These caricatures obscure the complexity of those who use public lands and what those lands mean to a wider population.
Although for Grover fishing is often an “escape” back to wildness, it is also a way to find a home in nature and recalibrate his interactions with other parts of his life as a father, son, husband, and citizen. Grover sees fly fishing on public waterways as a vehicle for interacting with nature that allows humans to inhabit nature rather than destroy or “preserve” it by keeping it entirely separate from human contact. These essays reflect on personal fishing experiences with a strong evocation of place and an attempt to understand humans’ relationship with water and public land in the American West.
The 2020 Census : Confidentiality, in English and Spanish
When you trust the Census Bureau with your information, their goal — and legal duty — is to keep it safe. Their mission is to serve as the nation’s leading provider of quality data about its people and economy. They couldn’t produce this information without you.
Their privacy principles guide their actions so that they respect your privacy and
protect your confidentiality.
• They do not identify individuals in the data
• They can only publish statistics.
• Their Disclosure Review Board verifies that any data product
we release meets our confidentiality standards.
From the beginning of the data collection process through the final storage of
information, they protect your data following industry best practices and federal
requirements. They use data encryption and two forms of authentication to secure
system access. The security of their systems is a top priority and they continually refine
their approach to address emerging threats.
The information bulletin below is available in English and Spanish, and can be printed out as a handout or a poster.
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2020 Census : Four Ways to Respond
There are changes to the 2020 Census that will make it easier than ever for everyone to respond. The information bulletin below gives the 4 ways people can answer the Census questions, and can be printed out as a handout or a poster.
2020 Census : Counting Young Children, What You Need to Know
The 2020 Census: Counting everyone once, only once, and in the right place.
An estimated 5% of kids under the age of 5 weren’t counted in the 2010 Census. That’s about 1 million young children, the highest of any age group. We need your help closing this gap in the 2020 Census. The information bulletin below tells us what research has discovered about why young children are missed and what you can do to help make sure they are counted. The information bulletin can be printed out as a handout, or as a poster:
Census 101 : What You Need to Know, in English and Spanish
The 2020 Census is closer than you think! Here’s a quick refresher of what it is and why it’s essential everyone is counted.
¡El censo del 2020 está más cerca de lo que piensas! A continuación te damos un
rápido repaso de lo que es y por qué es esencial que todos seamos contados
The information page below can be printed out as a handout or a poster:
Economic Census : What’s New For 2017 Data
The published data from the 2017 Economic Census will reflect many changes from the data that was published in the 2012 Economic Census. These changes mirror the ever-changing U.S. economy, communities, and data user needs. Below is a summary of these key changes and links to more information.
For a list of the data products for the 2017 Economic Census, see the high-level release schedule at: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/economic-census/about/release-schedules.html
The 2017 Economic Census will publish data to reflect the ever changing geographic areas as of January 2017. Reference materials that highlight the changes from the 2012 Economic Census will be provided on this site, including maps and documents that highlight the changes to:
Metro Areas – the Core Based Statistical Areas in 15 states had some type of change
Counties – Alaska, South Dakota, and Virginia had changes to 1 or more counties
Economic Places – every state had places with area gain, loss, and/or code or name changes. There are 442 new Economic Places being recognized and 171 places that are being dropped for 2017, primarily due to population decline
The 2017 Economic Census will be the first Census program to publish data on the 2017 North American Industry Classification System. 6 of the 18 sectors covered by the Economic Census will see changes to the codes published. These changes include:
One-to-one recodes – industries with no content change but with a code change
Many-to-one combinations – 2012 NAICS codes that were combined to form a new 2017 code
Many-to-many combinations – 2 or more 2017 codes that were created from parts of 2 or more 2012 codes
NAPCS
A key offering from the Economic Census are the detailed Product Lines data, which provides a more detailed breakout of the products made and sold and services provided by businesses. These data from the 2012 Economic Census were provided in separate data tables by sector that provided different information. For the 2017 Economic Census, these data are being consolidated and reformatted following the new North American Product Classification System.
The data products from the 2017 Economic Census will include a number of structural and content changes. These include:
The new “First Look” report – this new report will feature data not available in the initial “Advance Report” release in prior Economic Censuses.
Consolidated “Size” reports – These data tables which provide detailed breakouts based on the employment and sales/revenue size of establishments or firms were published in separate and disparate tables by sector. For 2017, these tables are being consolidated and standardized across sectors.
Added and dropped Miscellaneous Subjects reports – 38 tables from the 2012 Economic Census are being dropped, and 7 new tables are being added. Also, the tables showing data by Class of Customer, Enterprise Support, and Exported Services are similarly being consolidated.
New disclosure rules – In prior Economic Censuses, the number of establishments was published even when the other statistics for an industry and geography were withheld due to disclosure. For 2017, new privacy rules will result in the establishment count being suppressed when less than 3 or when the other statistics are suppressed.
Local areas published by sector – Place-level data will no longer be available for the Manufacturing sector and the NAICS and geographic levels published for other sectors may be adjusted based on data quality and privacy issues.
New data.census.gov platform – the data tables from the 2017 Economic Census will be published on this new dissemination platform. Historical data from the 2012 Economic Census will continue to be available on American FactFinder under they are migrated to the new platform.
Posted on August 9, 2019 by Mary Sauers
New state agency publications have been received at the Nebraska Library Commission for July 2019. Included are Urban Research Reports from the Center for Applied Urban Research at University of Nebraska–Omaha, reports from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Legal Aid of Nebraska, Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, and new books from the University of Nebraska Press, to name a few.
Most items, except the books from the University of Nebraska Press, are available for immediate viewing and printing by clicking on the highlighted link above, or directly in the .pdf below. You can read synopses of the books received from the University of Nebraska Press books in the July blogpost.
Here are the UNP books the Clearinghouse received in July:
Art from Trauma : Genocide and Healing Beyond Rwanda Edited and with an introduction by Rangira Bea Gallimore and Gerise Herndon
What is the role of aesthetic expression in responding to discrimination, tragedy, violence, even genocide? How does gender shape responses to both literal and structural violence, including implicit linguistic, familial, and cultural violence? How might writing or other works of art contribute to healing? Art from Trauma: Genocide and Healing beyond Rwanda explores the possibility of art as therapeutic, capable of implementation by mental health practitioners crafting mental health policy in Rwanda.
This anthology of scholarly, personal, and hybrid essays was inspired by scholar and activist Chantal Kalisa (1965–2015). At the commemoration of the nineteenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda, organized by the Rwandan Embassy in Washington DC, Kalisa gave a presentation, “Who Speaks for the Survivors of the Genocide against Tutsi?” Kalisa devoted her energy to giving expression to those whose voices had been distorted or silenced. The essays in this anthology address how the production and experience of visual, dramatic, cinematic, and musical arts, in addition to literary arts, contribute to healing from the trauma of mass violence, offering preliminary responses to questions like Kalisa’s and honoring her by continuing the dialogue in which she participated with such passion, sharing the work of scholars and colleagues in genocide studies, gender studies, and francophone literatures.
Give the Word : Responses to Werner Hamacher’s 95 Theses on Philology Edited by Gerhard Richter and Ann Smock (Series: Stages)
Werner Hamacher’s witty and elliptical 95 Theses on Philology challenges the humanities—and particularly academic philology—that assume language to be a given entity rather than an event. In Give the Word eleven scholars of literature and philosophy (Susan Bernstein, Michèle Cohen-Halimi, Peter Fenves, Sean Gurd, Daniel Heller-Roazen, Jan Plug, Gerhard Richter, Avital Ronell, Thomas Schestag, Ann Smock, and Vincent van Gerven Oei) take up the challenge presented by Hamacher’s theses. At the close Hamacher responds to them in a spirited text that elaborates on the context of his 95 Theses and its rich theoretical and philosophical ramifications.
The 95 Theses, included in this volume, makes this collection a rich resource for the study and practice of “radical philology.” Hamacher’s philology interrupts and transforms, parting with tradition precisely in order to remain faithful to its radical but increasingly occluded core.
The contributors test Hamacher’s break with philology in a variety of ways, attempting a philological practice that does not take language as an object of knowledge, study, or even love. Thus, in responding to Hamacher’s Theses, the authors approach language that, because it can never be an object of any kind, awakens an unfamiliar desire. Taken together these essays problematize philological ontology in a movement toward radical reconceptualizations of labor, action, and historical time.
Life of the Indigenous Mind : Vine Deloria Jr. and the Birth of the Red Power Movement David Martinez (Series: New Visions in Native American and Indigenous Studies)
In Life of the Indigenous Mind David Martínez examines the early activism, life, and writings of Vine Deloria Jr. (1933–2005), the most influential indigenous activist and writer of the twentieth century and one of the intellectual architects of the Red Power movement. An experienced activist, administrator, and political analyst, Deloria was motivated to activism and writing by his work as executive director of the National Congress of American Indians, and he came to view discourse on tribal self-determination as the most important objective for making a viable future for tribes.
In this work of both intellectual and activist history, Martínez assesses the early life and legacy of Deloria’s “Red Power Tetralogy,” his most powerful and polemical works: Custer Died for Your Sins (1969), We Talk, You Listen (1970), God Is Red (1973), and Behind the Trail of Broken Treaties (1974). Deloria’s gift for combining sharp political analysis with a cutting sense of humor rattled his adversaries as much as it delighted his growing readership.
Life of the Indigenous Mind reveals how Deloria’s writings addressed Indians and non-Indians alike. It was in the spirit of protest that Deloria famously and infamously confronted the tenets of Christianity, the policies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the theories of anthropology. The concept of tribal self-determination that he initiated both overturned the presumptions of the dominant society, including various “Indian experts,” and asserted that tribes were entitled to the rights of independent sovereign nations in their relationship with the United States, be it legally, politically, culturally, historically, or religiously.
Messianic Fulfillments : Staging Indigenous Salvation in America Hayes Peter Mauro
In Messianic Fulfillments Hayes Peter Mauro examines the role of Christian evangelical movements in shaping American identity in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. Focusing on Christianity’s fervent pursuit of Native American salvation, Mauro discusses Anglo American artists influenced by Christian millenarianism, natural history, and racial science in America. Artists on the colonial, antebellum, and post–Civil War frontier graphically projected their idealization of Christian-based identity onto the bodies of American Indians.
Messianic Fulfillments explores how Puritans, Quakers, Mormons, and members of other Christian millenarian movements viewed Native peoples as childlike, primitive, and in desperate need of Christianization lest they fall into perpetual sin and oblivion and slip into eternal damnation. Christian missionaries were driven by the idea that catastrophic Native American spiritual failure would, in Christ’s eyes, reflect on the shortcomings of those Christians tasked with doing the work of Christian “charity” in the New World.
With an interdisciplinary approach drawing from religious studies and the histories of popular science and art, Messianic Fulfillmentsexplores ethnohistorical encounters in colonial and nineteenth-century America through the lens of artistic works by evangelically inspired Anglo American artists and photographers. Mauro takes a critical look at a variety of visual mediums to illustrate how evangelical imagery influenced definitions of “Americaness,” and how such images reinforced or challenged historically prevailing conceptions of what it means (and looks like) to be American.
National Races : Transnational Power Struggles in the Sciences and Politics of Human Diversity, 1840-1945 Edited by Richard McMahon (Series: Critical Studies in the History of Anthropology)
National Races explores how politics interacted with transnational science in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This interaction produced powerful, racialized national identity discourses whose influence continues to resonate in today’s culture and politics. Ethnologists, anthropologists, and raciologists compared modern physical types with ancient skeletal finds to unearth the deep prehistoric past and true nature of nations. These scientists understood certain physical types to be what Richard McMahon calls “national races,” or the ageless biological essences of nations.
Contributors to this volume address a central tension in anthropological race classification. On one hand, classifiers were nationalists who explicitly or implicitly used race narratives to promote political agendas. Their accounts of prehistoric geopolitics treated “national races” as the proxies of nations in order to legitimize present-day geopolitical positions. On the other hand, the transnational community of race scholars resisted the centrifugal forces of nationalism. Their interdisciplinary project was a vital episode in the development of the social sciences, using biological race classification to explain the history, geography, relationships, and psychologies of nations.
National Races goes to the heart of tensions between nationalism and transnationalism, politics and science, by examining transnational science from the perspective of its peripheries. Contributors to the book supplement the traditional focus of historians on France, Britain, and Germany, with myriad case studies and examples of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century racial and national identities in countries such as Russia, Italy, Poland, Greece, and Yugoslavia, and among Jewish anthropologists.
Place and Postcolonial Ecofeminism : Pakistani Women’s Literary and Cinematic Fictions Shazia Rahman (Series: Expanding Frontiers : Interdisciplinary Approaches to Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality)
While news reports about Pakistan tend to cover Taliban attacks and bombings, and academics focus on security issues, the environment often takes a backseat in media reportage and scholarship. In particular, Pakistani women’s attachment to their environment and their environmental concerns are almost always ignored. Shazia Rahman traces the ways in which Pakistani women explore alternative, environmental modes of belonging, examines the vitality of place-based identities within Pakistani culture, and thereby contributes to evolving understandings of Pakistani women—in relation to both their environment and to various discourses of nation and patriarchy.
Through an astute analysis of such works as Sabiha Sumar’s Khamosh Pani (2003), Mehreen Jabbar’s Ramchand Pakistani (2008), Sorayya Khan’s Noor (2006), Uzma Aslam Khan’s Trespassing (2003), and Kamila Shamsie’s Burnt Shadows (2009), Rahman illuminates how Pakistani women’s creative works portray how people live with one another, deal with their environment, and intuit their relationship with the spiritual. She considers how literary and cinematic documentation of place-based identities simultaneously critiques and counters stereotypes of Pakistan as a country of religious nationalism and oppressive patriarchy. Rahman’s analysis discloses fresh perspectives for thinking about the relationship between social and environmental justice.
The Virgin of Prince Street : Expeditions into Devotion Sonja Livingston (Series: American Lives)
With organized religion becoming increasingly divisive and politicized and Americans abandoning their pews in droves, it’s easy to question aspects of traditional spirituality and devotion. In response to this shifting landscape, Sonja Livingston undertakes a variety of expeditions—from a mobile confessional in Cajun Country to a eucharistic procession in Galway, Ireland, to the Death and Marigolds Parade in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Mass in a county jail on Thanksgiving Day—to better understand devotion in her own life.
The Virgin of Prince Street chronicles her quest, offering an intimate and unusually candid view into Livingston’s relationship with the swiftly changing Catholic Church and into her own changing heart. Ultimately, Livingston’s meditations on quirky rituals and fading traditions thoughtfully and dynamically interrogate traditional elements of sacramental devotion, especially as they relate to concepts of religion, relationships, and the sacred.
July 4th Fun Facts–Celebrating 243 Years of Independence!
Posted on July 3, 2019 by Mary Sauers
As the nation celebrates this Independence Day, it’s a good time to reflect on how our Founding Fathers enshrined in our Constitution the importance of statistics as a vital tool for measuring people, places and economy.
Who was the first signer of the Declaration of Independence?
Is there a U.S. county named Independence?
What was the nation’s population in 1776?
John Hancock, a merchant by trade, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.
The only county named Independence is in Arkansas.
The U.S. population was 2.5 million in 1776. It is more than 130 times larger today at 330 million
The following statistics — historical and whimsical — come from responses to U.S. Census Bureau surveys:
In July 1776, an estimated 2.5 million people lived in the 13 colonies (Series B 12 table below). According to recent projections, there are 330 million residents as of July 1, 2019 (Projections for the United States: 2017-2060, Table 1 below).
The oldest signer, at age 70, was Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania. Franklin County, Pa., had an estimated population of 154,835 on July 1, 2018. There are 24 counties named Franklin in the United States.
The youngest signer, at age 26, was Edward Rutledge of South Carolina. There are no counties named Rutledge.
Speaking of county names, there are four counties named Liberty (Florida, Georgia, Montana, Texas) and 18 counties and one parish named Union.
$368.6 million worth of fireworks were sold in 2012 through establishments classified as NAICS 453998 and all other miscellaneous retailers (except tobacco stores).
More Fun Facts
The Census Bureau’s Statistics in Schools program has created this Fun Facts & Teaching Guide for the Fourth of July.
Teachers can interact with students by using fun but real-life data related to the holiday. The teaching guide offers ideas on how to use these facts as an activity.
Posted in Education & Training, General, Information Resources, Technology, Uncategorized, What's Up Doc / Govdocs | Leave a comment
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You are here: Home / Nursing News / Male Nurses Triple in 40 Years
Male Nurses Triple in 40 Years
February 27, 2013 - By Jocelyn Reed
According to the latest reports, the number of male nurses in the United States has nearly tripled in the last 40 years. CBS News reports that almost 10% of all nurses are male, up from 2.7% in the 1970s. As nursing schools continue to expand program options to cover the nursing shortage, this insight adds more explanation to the increasing competition among students for the top programs in the country. Males are becoming more prevalent in many traditionally female-dominated fields, while females are breaking barriers in male-dominated fields as well.
“A new study from the United States Census Bureau reports the number of male nurses has more than tripled since the 1970s. Back then, about 2.7 percent of registered nurses were men. The new study, which tracked data through 2011, finds that men now make up 9.6 percent of all employed nurses in the United States – about 330,000 men in total.
The new report looked at Census Bureau data to track rates for nursing occupations including registered nurses (RNs), nurse anesthetists, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses.
Overall, there were 3.5 million employed nurses in the U.S. in 2011, 78 percent of whom were registered nurses. Recent years of shortages have led to increased recruiting efforts, according to report, which included recruiting men into the field.
Men, in fact, had been largely kept out of nursing in past decades because nursing schools often refused to admit men. The Supreme Court ruled that practice unconstitutional in 1981 after a case involving a state nursing school.” (Read more: Male Nurses Triple Since 1970s.)
Are you a male ready to launch a career in an exciting specialty of nursing? Nursing Schools Direct can help you get ready for a growing future in this field. To get started, use the form on the right to Find a School near you or just Search by State to browse schools across the nation. Click on the name of a school and then select “Request Info” to fill out a short form. Once we’ve received your information, a representative of the school will be in contact with you soon! Our resources are completely free of cost and obligation! Feel free to contact as many schools as you’d like to get the information you need to make an informed decision.
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About Remai Modern
Remai Modern partners with leading restaurateurs Oliver & Bonacini
Saskatoon, Canada —
Remai Modern is very pleased to announce that Oliver & Bonacini Hospitality (O&B) has been awarded the tender for food services in the new museum, scheduled to open in 2017.
“Four firms competed during a rigorous Request for Proposal process, and we couldn’t be happier with Oliver & Bonacini, which is Canadian owned and operated,” said Gregory Burke, Remai Modern Executive Director & CEO.
“The company is renowned for its innovative restaurants and event and catering spaces,” Burke said. “Significantly, it has experience working within an arts institution, having operated restaurants and a rooftop event space at TIFF Bell Lightbox since 2010, and provided catering services to the Royal Ontario Museum and Design Exchange for the past number of years.
“We’re looking forward to working with O&B entrepreneurs Peter Oliver and Michael Bonacini on this artful partnership,” Burke said. “We can be assured of some exciting things on the menu.” “We are honoured to partner with Remai Modern, supporting its bold and vibrant vision with our inspired cuisine and hospitality expertise,” said Andrew Oliver, President and CEO, Oliver & Bonacini. “We share a passion for contributing to Canadian culture in imaginative ways, and are excited to collaborate in creating exceptional experiences for local and global guests alike.”
Canoe, one of O&B’s Toronto restaurants, was recently rated 8th among Canada’s Top 100 Restaurants. O&B co-founder Michael Bonacini is a celebrity chef, cookbook author, and a judge on CTV’s MasterChef Canada.
The terms of the 10-year contract include operation of Remai Modern’s full-service restaurant on the ground floor, and catering within the building. There is an option for an additional 10 years upon mutual agreement.
The restaurant and patio space is generously supported by the Vaughn Wyant family. The restaurant and bar together have approximately 70 seats, and there is an adjacent seasonal outdoor patio overlooking the scenic river valley. Other spectacular sites for catering in Remai Modern include the second-storey Riverview Room and a fourth-storey rooftop terrace.
The intention is to hire some 50 people locally, with oversight from the O&B culinary and operations team.
Remai Modern is a new museum of modern and contemporary art currently coming to life in Saskatoon, a growing city on the vast Canadian Prairies. Opening in 2017, it aims to be a vibrant, imaginative and prescient museum committed to affirming the powerful role that art and artists play in questioning, interpreting and defining the modern era. The building, by leading Canadian architects KPMB, overlooks the South Saskatchewan River in downtown Saskatoon. Remai Modern is home to the world’s foremost collection of Picasso linocut prints and aims to be a centre for contemporary Indigenous art programming.
About Oliver & Bonacini
Hospitality Oliver & Bonacini is recognized as one of Canada’s leading fine dining restaurant and event companies, operating several unique and innovative restaurants. Operations include à la carte dining, quick service, catering, group dining and special events. Current restaurants include Canoe, Jump, Auberge du Pommier, Leña, Biff’s Bistro, Liberty Commons at Big Rock Brewery, Luma, Bannock, America, Beaumont Kitchen, R&D, Oliver & Bonacini Café Grill (Toronto, North York, Blue Mountain, Oakville) and O&B Canteen in Ontario, as well as The Guild in downtown Calgary. The company’s private dining and events division, Oliver & Bonacini Events and Catering, manages a number of large-scale event venues, including Arcadian, The Carlu, Malaparte at TIFF Bell Lightbox, and the Toronto Region Board of Trade, among others. Oliver & Bonacini credits its success to the development of a strong corporate culture, where excellence of food quality and service are valued above all else.
Sheila Robertson
Ph +1 306 975-2242
srobertson@remaimodern.org
remaimodern.org
10 AM–10 PM
102 Spadina Crescent East
Saskatoon SK S7K 0L3
Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy © 2017 Remai Modern Canada
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Michael Theriault
Michael Theriault, Former Executive Secretary-Treasurer
Mike has been a member of the Ironworkers Union since 1985. He was appointed as Business Representative with his Local in 2001 to fill out the unexpired term of retiring Randy Oyler. He was elected in his own right to a second term in 2003. Mike has been an active participant in the Business Agents meetings for the last several years. He has worked with Stan Warren and Larry Mazzola in support of union issues at San Francisco City Hall. He has spent long evenings speaking in support of union projects at the City Planning Commission, The Board of Supervisors, The San Francisco Unified School District and the San Francisco City College Board to name a few.
Our Work, the City’s Housing Crisis, and Oakland
Economic debates can seem abstract and even bizarre to those of us who have made livings with hammer or trowel in the world of the real and the solid, but they often determine whether or not such livings are possible.
‘Doing Business’ in a Dangerous Moment
The many tower cranes weathervaning in off hours in the winter winds give no indication of it, but we in the Building Trades are entering a dangerous moment for our work in San Francisco.
The Building Trades and Chinese-American Power
The San Francisco Chronicle has amplified the role of Chinatown in the election of Aaron Peskin to the Board of Supervisors from District 3. A close look at the numbers shows that this role was mixed, with some precincts going for Peskin and others for our and the mayor’s endorsed candidate, Julie Christensen.
SOMCAN and 5M
Almost any large private construction project seeking City approval meets opposition. Often the stated reasons of opponents are straightforward, like increased traffic, or loss of hotel worker jobs.
A PLA Primer
Our meeting minutes published monthly in this newspaper have recently reported on negotiation of several project labor agreements, or PLAs.
The Necessity and Challenge of Coalitions
This month’s Organized Labor reports (Page 5) on our opposition to a 276-unit residential development at 2000 Bryant Street. Other news outlets, the San Francisco Chronicle and Business Times among them, have reported this opposition as a surprise.
Land Use Decisions and the Lives of Workers
The San Francisco Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors have long told us in hearings on project approvals and land use that we cannot bring labor issues into the discussion.
Monsters in the Mission
In about 1991 I turned to the ironworker beside me as we reinforced a brick parapet on Valencia Street, and I said, “Look, Valencia is getting trendy.”
His expression questioned my sanity.
Apple and the Social Contract with Tech
I serve now not just as Secretary-Treasurer of the San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, but as President of Iron Workers Local 377. The local’s jurisdiction extends from Big Sur to the Oregon line through coastal and neighboring counties, and includes Silicon Valley.
New Construction and an Old Community
“Progressive” rhetoric often blames new development for the displacement of the working class and poor, and especially of “communities of color.”
The reality of displacement is certainly more complex than the opponents of new construction have admitted. Their claims in support of their rhetoric raise many questions.
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MARIAN PILGRIMAGE – LISBON TO ROME
DAY 1: DEPART
We depart en route to Europe
DAY 2: ARRIVE LISBON
Welcome to Lisboa, called Alis Ubbo ("pleasant bay") by its early settlers, the Phoenicians. Upon arrival in Lisbon we will be met by our smiling Catholic Travel Centre representative, on the other side of customs. Smile back, jump onto the coach and widen your eyes. We will get settled in our hotel and then have time at leisure to enjoy the markets, the narrow streets and square of Lisboa under the guidance of our tour escort. Dinner and overnight are in Lisbon. (D)
DAY 3: LISBON / SANTAREM / FATIMA
Saint Anthony of Padua died on June 13, 1231 in Italy, and is buried in Padua. He had dedicated his short life to Scripture studies, missionary work, preaching and the teaching of theology in some of the best universities of his time, such as Bologna and Montpellier. St. Anthony was actually born in Lisbon in 1195, in a house which stood on the site of the 18th century Igreja de Santo Antonio de Lisboa, or Church of St. Anthony of Lisbon! Here we will celebrate Mass. Inside the church is the room, now a chapel, in which the saint was born. Nearby is the Sé, Lisbon's cathedral and oldest church, which dates back to 1147, when Lisbon was taken from the Moors. By the portal is the baptismal font where St. Anthony was baptized Fernando in 1195.
From Lisbon we make our way to Santarem. We visit the Church of St. Stephen in Santarem to view the venerated relic of the Bleeding Host. We then continue our journey to Fatima which is one of the major Christian pilgrimage centers in all Europe. Yet this shrine is located in a town ironically named after the daughter of Mohammed, Islam's great prophet. In 1917, the image of the Virgin Mary appeared here to three shepherd children, Francisco and Jacinta Marto and Lucia dos Santos. Dinner and overnight will be in Fatima. (B, D)
An afternoon excursion takes you to Aljustrel, the children's hamlet still preserved in its original state, and Valinhos where Our Lady appeared after the children's return from prison. This evening, you may want to take part in the candlelight procession. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel in Fatima. (B, D)
DAY 5: FATIMA / SALAMANCA
After breakfast we board our coach and motor across the Portuguese-Spanish border to the city of Salamanca, where we visit the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Penafrancia and the great University of Salamanca, the oldest university in Spain and one of the oldest in Europe. We celebrate mass today at the Basilica. The city lies on a plateau by the Tormes river, which is crossed by a bridge 500 ft long built on 26 arches, fifteen of which are of Roman origin, while the remainder date from the 16th century. Salamanca has been declared a "World Heritage Site" by UNESCO. The rest of the afternoon is at leisure. Our dinner and evening are in Salamanca. (B, D)
DAY 6: SALAMANCA / LOURDES
Today we enjoy a guided tour of the Cathedral, which is the third largest in Spain. It was an important pilgrims' station on the Way of St. James, the path followed in the Middle Ages by pilgrims converging from all over Europe to the shrine of Santiago de Compostela. Back on the road, we journey through the Basque country and across the Pyrenees Mountains into France. More than four million pilgrims, many of whom are sick or disabled, come to Lourdes each year to bathe in the waters of the miraculous spring. In 1858, 14 year-old Bernadette Soubirous declared that the Virgin had appeared to her several times in the Cave of Massabielle and had said to her in the local patois, "I am the Immaculate Conception." This evening, you may want to participate in the candlelight procession. Dinner and overnight are in Lourdes. (B, D)
DAY 7: LOURDES: VISIT OF THE SITES
Our tour of Lourdes begins with a visit of the Basilica of St. Pius X, the world's largest underground sanctuary, which was built to accommodate more than 30,000 people. You'll also see the Church of the Rosary, above which is the Gothic-style Basilica whose walls are covered with tablets of gratitude, marble tablets commemorating cures and other favors attained through the intercession of Our Lady at her Grotto in Lourdes.
Following we take a walking tour including the sites associated with Bernadette's life in Lourdes, in particular the Cachot, the former prison where her impoverished family was lodged in one room at the time of the apparitions. After lunch on our own, this afternoon you may want to bathe in the healing waters of the miraculous Fountain or follow the Way of the Cross up the hill to the Cross of the Calvary. Dinner and overnight will be at our hotel in Lourdes. (B, D)
DAY 8: LOURDES / CANNES
Early this morning we concelebrate Mass at the Grotto of Lourdes. After Mass, we depart Lourdes by motor coach and head for Cannes. We take some time for leisure in Cannes. Cannes is the "star" of the French Riviera, famous for the International Film Festival and the glitzy hotels, cars, beaches and visitors attracted here. The closest thing to an "old town" is "Le Suquet" overlooking the west end of the port. The 12th-century Tour de Mt. Chevalier ramparts and the 12th-16th-century church Notre-Dame-de-l'Espérence give a touch of medieval flavor to the city. The Le Suquet area has narrow streets climbing up and around the hill, with a panoramic view from the top. Dinner and overnight will be at our hotel in Cannes. (B, D)
DAY 9: CANNES / MONACO / PISA / FLORENCE
This morning we celebrate Mass at a local church in Cannes. After Mass, we journey out by coach to the Principality of Monaco, a fabulous display of white buildings and winding roads set into steep hillsides. We will see the harbor, the Casino favored by the world's well-to-do, the neo-Romanesque cathedral and, on the Rocher, the Prince's Palace where the Changing of the Guards takes place every midday. We hear about Prince Rainier and his bride from Philadelphia, Grace Kelly.
We then re-board the coach for a quick hop to the Italian border, and wind our way along the Italian Riviera, bypassing the hideaway playground of Rapallo. Our next stop is Pisa with its Leaning Tower, said to be the most instantly identifiable landmark in the Western World. It is also on the list of endangered monuments and you will hear about the various solutions proposed to counteract the sinking of its foundation (the tower is now leaning 11 feet off the vertical). See Pisa's sumptuous Duomo, known for its horizontal marble stripes, and the ornate Baptistery. Our last stop is FLORENCE, where we enjoy dinner and the overnight. (B, D)
DAY 10: FLORENCE / ASSISI
We start the day with a local guide introducing you to the marvels of Renaissance art, including the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Flowers, Ghiberti's Doors of Paradise, Giotto's Bell Tower and the Piazza Della Signoria. We will also see a frescoed chapel in the Franciscan church of Santa Croce. There will be some time to shop along Ponte Vecchio.
This afternoon we have some time at leisure and then we continue to the Assisi of St. Francis and St. Clare, where flowers overflow the window boxes which adorn the pink stone buildings typical of the town. Dinner and overnight are in Assisi. (B, D)
DAY 11: ASSISI / SPOLETO / ROME
The Basilica de San Francesco remains one of Italy's foremost monuments despite the damage caused by the recent earthquake. It consists of two superimposed churches resting on a series of immense arches and contains the Saint's tomb, and magnificent frescoes by Giotto and Cimabue. We celebrate Mass before our guided tour of the Basilica. We see also the 13th-century Church of Santa Chiara (which houses the remains of St. Clara, St. Francis' contemporary and the founder of the Order of Poor Clares) and the Church of St. Mary of the Angels, built on the outskirts of the old town over the Portziuncola where, in a humble cell, St. Francis died.
We proceed to the "Eternal City" via Spoleto, a picturesque town once described as "a little bit of Heaven fallen to Earth." Spoleto was the headquarters of the Lombard dukes who ruled most of Umbria in the early Middle Ages. It now owes its fame to its quaint medieval character and its summer arts festival. We arrive in Rome in time for dinner and the overnight. (B, D)
DAY 12: ROME: THE VATICAN MUSEUMS PLUS ST. PETER'S
This morning we visit the Vatican Museums, whose treasures include the ancient Rome exhibits with the famous Laocoon statue, and the High Renaissance murals of Raphael, which he was painting at the same time Michelangelo completed the Sistine, another marvel. The restoration of its frescoes reveals startling bright colors – a new light on Michelangelo! The Sistine was commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV to mark the Holy Year 1475. Of course, you'll also visit expansive St. Peter's Square and its enormous basilica. Inside, see the art treasures such as Michelangelo's moving Pieta and Bernini's Dove of the Holy Spirit. The remainder of the day is free for independent activities in the vicinity of St. Peter's Basilica. Later this afternoon, we gather for Mass at a local church near St. Peter's. Dinner and overnight will be at our hotel. (B, D)
DAY 13 : ROME: MAJOR BASILICAS, PLUS CATACOMBS
Today we enjoy a tour which includes three more of the city's major basilicas. We start with the Basilica of St. John Lateran, the Pope's Cathedral in his role as Bishop of the City of Rome. Its baptistery dates back to the time of Emperor Constantine the Great. Then, we visit the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Despite its 18th-century exterior, the basilica dates back from the early Christian period. It contains rare 5th-century mosaics and relics of the manger where the infant Jesus slept in Bethlehem.
This afternoon we visit the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, housing the tomb of the Apostle to the Gentiles. Our final stop of the day is the catacombs, underground cemeteries which tunnel for miles through the soft tufa rock and where early Christians buried their brethren. Masses are still celebrated here. Dinner and overnight are at our hotel in Rome. (B, D)
DAY 14 : ROME: ANCIENT ROME
Romulus and Remus, where are you? Our visit of Rome begins this morning with a look at Roma Antica. We'll see the Colosseum, completed in AD 80, the Circus Maximus, where more than 300,000 spectators could watch chariot races, the Arch of Constantine and the Roman Forum. Once the heart of a vast empire, the Forum was filled with extravagant buildings and crowded with people from all over the known world. You'll also go to the church of San Pietro in Vincoli, to view St. Peter's chains (under the altar), and admire Michelangelo's powerfully disturbing Moses.
The balance of the day is free to spend as you wish. For a change of pace, you may want to explore the boisterous popular area of the city called Trastevere. This is and area of crowded streets and tiny shops. There is no better way to spend an afternoon. This evening we will gather together to enjoy a festive farewell dinner at a local restaurant. (B, D)
DAY 15 : RETURN TRF OUT
All fares are subject to change without prior notice & can be guaranteed only if ticketed immediately.
Visa/Health requirements for destination and transit countries to be checked with respective consulate/Embassy.
The Names to advised as it appears on the passport. Please scan a copy of the first, last and visa page.
Any special requirements such as wheelchair, specific meal and seating preference to be advised.
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Authors In The News
My Long Road to Freedom
By: Jenny Chapman
So much in the life of Jenny Chapman seemed against her. She has written about her life from the age of three to her present age of 74 years. She was born in the hardships of the Second World War. At the age of three, her father started to abuse her sexually.
Chapman was also brought up in a strict religion. She was not allowed to mix with others outside of this religion. This meant that she had no friends at school, or later, at college. Without a friend for most of her life, she was bullied unmercifully at school. She was admitted to psychiatric hospitals with deep depression, an eating disorder, and as a suicide risk.
Chapman’s grandfather and father were both bipolar. This was detected in Chapman herself from a very early age. This became a battle throughout her life, and is something she will always live with. Her mother was extremely overweight. From an early age, Chapman became very aware of her size and how she looked in comparison to other girls. It was at college – because of a remark from a lecturer – that she developed Anorexia Nervosa.
Chapman became a teacher. As a teacher, she empathized with her pupils that were emotionally hurt or scarred as she had been, and gave of her time to see them through their troubles.
Despite all, Chapman persevered through life, never giving up and always striving for her best. Achieving this, she went on to gain the freedom she always longed for as a child. She is living a happy and free life with so much pleasure. She has her friends and a loyal cat.
She can only say never give up and always aim high.
Author Jenny Chapman lives in the large village known as Buckhurst Hill in the county of Essex, in England. She has lived there all her life. She always has the company of her cat. She is an avid animal lover.
Against all the odds, Chapman studied P. E and Art at college and passed top in her year. She went on to teach in a secondary school. She loves art and craft and spends hours tending her garden. She has joined a health club and swims weekly.
Chapman has now found freedom in every way and enjoys life to the full, with her many friends.
Freedom Wheels
The Freedom Gene
The Long Road Home: Helen's Journey with Alzheimer's
Long Road to Freedom
My Long Road to Freedom - eBook
My Return from Death
My Journey with the United Nations and Quest for the Horn of Africa's Unity and Justice for Ethiopia
My Life as an R.N.
My Journey with Hepatitis C
My Silent Tears - eBook
My Son Anthony: ...And His Struggle with Mental Illness
My Journey through Breast Cancer
My Silent Tears
Dorrance Publishing Company
© 2020 RoseDog Books
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Tudeh Party of Iran, Let’s put all our efforts together to defend peace and to prevent another devastating war
Iran, Tudeh Party of Iran En Asia Communist and workers' parties
Statement of the Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran:
Let’s put all our efforts together to defend peace and to prevent another devastating war
Dear compatriots!
The theocratic regime of Velayat-e Faqih [in Iran] took a dangerous step in escalating the crisis created after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani and his companions, potentially dragging Iran into a devastating war, through its missile attack on two United States military bases in Iraq (in al-Anbar and Erbil). It should be noted that Donald Trump, the right-wing and racist President of the US, over the preceding days had crudely warned of a disproportionate military reaction to any retaliatory action taken by the Iranian regime in the context of the assassination of Soleimani, and had threatened that the US was ready to severely attack 52 strategic targets in Iran, including a number of cultural sites. The [Islamic Republic’s]response with ballistic missiles and the announcement that these attacks were launched from inside Iran's territory, give very dangerous dimensions to this [latest] misadventure by the regime.
A close examination of the statements issued by the IRGC, the position taken by Mohammad Javad Zarif [Iranian FM], and today’s speech by Ali Khamenei [the Supreme Leader] suggests that the regime [gambled] that the US would not react to these missile attacks, thus leaving open to the regime- after all its threats to take a "harsh revenge"on the US and to "slap them hard"- the path for subsequent negotiations with them [the US]. In his speech today [8 January], Khamenei said,"An important incident has happened. The issue of retaliation is something else. Now they have been slapped. This is another issue. Military actions like this are not adequate for this matter. The harmful presence of the US in the region should be ended."
In a message published today on the official Facebook page of the Iraqi [Acting Interim] Prime Minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, it was stated that Tehran had pre-informed Baghdad of its [missile] attack. In the message, which bore the signature of his spokesman, it was stated that the Iraqi government had received an official verbal message from the Islamic Republic of Iranwarning that the "response to the assassination of Qasem Soleimani" had started or will start. This message also stated- quotingthe regime - that the attack on the positions of the US forces in Iraq "will be limited."
Based on the assessments of Iran’s missile strikes by military experts - which werebroadcast on CNN, the U.S. news channel - it was stated, "If the aim of Iran’s missile attacks was to strike American forces, this attack does not seem rational, but if the goal of this attack was to implement Ali Khamenei's orders about punishing the United States for the murder of Qasem Soleimani, then it seems very reasonable."According to ILNA, quoting the CNN website, a US military official said that their forces had received a warning before the Islamic Republic’s missile attacks. The US official said that the army had received a warning to set off the assaultthreat alarm and, therefore, the forces [at the base] were able to take to their shelters.
Dear fellow Iranians!
In a statement that our Party released after the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, it was stated that while we condemn the terrorist act of the Trump administration- which indicates its complete and criminal disregard for international law - we believe that all efforts must be taken in order to prevent the escalation of a crisis in the region and the driving of tensions towards dangerous military conflicts.We also stressed that war and military conflicts in the Middle East will only benefit the most reactionary and anti-people forces in the region and across the world and would be against the interests of our nation and working people.
Historical experience proves that many of the destructive conflicts in the world have started because of imprudent and provocative policies of this sort. The greatest threat to our homeland and the region is [posed by the fact] that neither the Islamic Republic’s leadershipnor the President of the US, in making their final analysis, has ever considered - nor willthey ever take into consideration - the interests of the people of the region as well as their own nation.
The Tudeh Party of Iran once again calls on all the progressive, freedom-loving, and peace-loving forces of Iran, the region, and across the world to make every effort to avoid the escalation of tensions and dangerous military conflicts in the region.
"Limited military conflicts" not only will fail to lead to de-escalation of tensions but could undoubtedly lay the ground for devastating military conflicts that would certainly be catastrophic for our homeland and the region. The experience of the two US military attacks on Iraq and the tragedy that the people of that country have faced in the past two decades is a clear indication of that which could await our homeland today. We emphasiseonce again that we should not allow the reactionary and anti-people leaders of the ruling regimes in Iran and the US to drag the Middle East region into fire and blood with the crisis of another war. Striving to maintain peace and to prevent the start of a devastating war is of urgent and utmost importance in the current situation, for defending the interests of the Iranian working people and nation.
Central Committee of the Tudeh Party of Iran
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Syndicated plunder EDITORIAL 10/24/2010
Syndicated plunder
The PEACe Bonds, through which Filipinos will be forced to pay P35 billion for a P12-billion zero coupon bond issue in 2002 to give a private group called Caucus of Development NGO Networks (Code-NGO) a P1.4 billion windfall, was an elaborate political payback scheme of former President Gloria Arroyo to the civil socialites who backed her snatching the presidency from popularly-elected President Joseph Estrada. And it should not only be included in the agenda of the Truth Commission but should be a priority.
The government bond issue was unique since it was issued not for any government need but was tailor fit for Code NGO which was then headed by Ma. Socorro Camacho-Reyes, sister of then Finance Secretary Isidro Camacho.
The element of abuse of the seats of power was written all over the issue, which was underwritten by a bank which also figured prominently as benefiting from Edsa II, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) of the Yuchengco group.
The zero-coupon bond is a debt instrument where the buyers get the bonds at a deep discount of its maturity value but does not accrue interests. It was named Poverty Education and Alleviation Certificate (PEACe) Bonds that Code-NGO itself designed, betraying its true intent..... MORE
Trapo politics FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 10/24/2010
Trapo politics
Looks like the truth about Noynoy’s claimed daang matuwid is coming out, day by day. And it’s far from being the straight path.
It now shows that Noynoy and his administration are no different than the previous administration, especially in the practice of trapo politics.
A few days back, it was announced by Speaker Sonny Belmonte that the Palace had released the remaining P35 million pork barrel for each congressman and that all of the members of the House of Representatives got their share of the pork.
Additionally, each of the lawmakers in attendance during the last day of the budget hearing were rewarded with P500,000 in operational and travel allowances.
Earlier on, some disgruntled congressmen from the Visayas and Mindanao, along with the party-listers, complained about their districts getting a measly share of the budget from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and threatened to ensure the non-passage of Dinky Soliman’s humongous budget..... MORE
Sex, lies and pomegranate juice focus of US legal battle FEATURE 10/24/2010
Sex, lies and pomegranate juice focus of US legal battle
WASHINGTON — If the claims are to be believed, pomegranate juice can change your life, preventing prostate and breast cancer, protecting against heart disease and even alleviating erectile dysfunction.
Could it be the elixir from the original fruit of the Garden of Eden? No, says the US Federal Trade Commission, which is suing the California group POM Wonderful for making “false and unsubstantiated claims” about its products.
POM has said it would challenge the FTC, setting up a high-profile battle between the maker of the popular juice and authorities over the so-called superfood which has also been purported to help fight Alzheimer’s disease and arthritis and improve sperm quality.
“Any consumer who sees POM Wonderful products as a silver bullet against disease has been misled,” said David Vladeck, director of the FTC’s bureau of consumer protection.
The company, a unit of the Roll International group that includes Teleflora and Fiji Water, is gearing up for battle. It has filed its own lawsuit against the FTC alleging interference with its free speech rights for POM, which does not publish financial results but is believed to have sales of some $100 million a year..... MORE
A first for the House C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 10/24/2010
A first for the House
Our congratulations to Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. and the House of Representatives’ Secretariat headed by Secretary General Marilyn Barua-Yap for coming out with a book on the proposed legislative agenda for the 15th Congress. The book entitled Promoting Good Governance, Ensuing Sustainable Growth and Achieving Social Justice is the product of a workshop initiated by Barua-Yap with assistance from senior members of the secretariat and an array of resource persons which resulted in this compendium of reports on the concerns and challenges to sustainable development requiring, in the main, legislative action. Seen from the eyes and, of course, experience of the work horses of the legislature, i.e., the secretariat staff, it is essentially a road map outlining the issues-of-the-day, their history, as it were, and the proposed action measures to be taken to get these through the legislative mill. Thanks to Barua-Yap and her boss, Speaker Belmonte and members of the 15th Congress, this book can provide the benchmark, so to speak, on which they and, of course, the Aquino administration’s first three years in office will be judged by our people. This must be the first time in recent memory that the Lower House has put together such a compendium which can only augur well for our people at a time when government is expected to be more proactive and, yes, creative in providing the much needed impetus for change and recovery as the world grapples with a thousand and one issues standing in the way of sustainable growth and development with social justice..... MORE
Additional P50-M pork barrel VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 10/24/2010
Additional P50-M pork barrel
There is not the least intention to undermine the importance and implications of the office of congressman in the country. While it is not a secret that there are some of them whose presence in the Congress of the Philippines constitutes a big living enigma — primarily on account of their questionable identity and competence — most of them can be rightfully considered not only upright but also well intentioned.
But all these notwithstanding, it is their individual so-called “Pork Barrel” that has long since haunted their integrity and conduct — rightly or wrongfully.
Lately, this particular issue of long standing has again come to fore, not simply because of the “pork” but especially so on account of “more pork” given to them individual. The more signal and relevant questions about this phenomenon appear to be the following — in addition to concrete reasonable doubts both about the person of many congressmen and the money credited to them for their disposition through pertinent government agencies:
One: “Pork Barrel” by and large does not enhance the person nor promote the integrity of congressmen in general. While it is true that some of them have demonstrated their dignity and retained their probity, “pork barrel” notwithstanding, many of them however show themselves to be otherwise..... MORE
For many, gamble lost in once-booming Las Vegas FEATURE 10/24/2010
For many, gamble lost in once-booming Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS — Earlene Howard is the only person left living in a house on her block in Sin City, and she’s not sure how much longer she’ll be there.
The rest of her neighbors have seen their homes repossessed by lenders, and she’s already behind two months on her mortgage after her husband lost his job with a local construction company.
“I think we may need to move back to Denver,” said Howard, 42, who uprooted to Las Vegas in 2005 because jobs were plentiful here then. “This city is not in good shape. Not at all.”
Howard lives in the epicenter of America’s prolonged economic downturn.
The once-booming Las Vegas region has for 44 straight months led the United States in home foreclosures, and 80 percent of houses here are figuratively underwater — worth less than the debt owed on them.
A staggering 23.6 percent of Nevada mortgages are in some form of delinquency or foreclosure, significantly higher than the national average of 14 percent, according to data from the Mortgage Bankers Association..... MORE
India’s high earners fuel demand for high-rise luxury focus 10/24/2010
India’s high earners fuel demand for high-rise luxury
MUMBAI — The heart of Mumbai city, once a cotton mill hub, is seeing a rapid change in its skyline as more than 30 skyscrapers are mushrooming out of slumland in the city’s most congested district.
The transformation reflects the breakneck pace of growth in Asia’s third largest economy, as India’s property and capital markets boom and developers build dream homes for a rapidly-growing list of Indian millionaires.
Most of these high-rises, all over 40-story, are under construction while some are ready for owners to move in.
Aashish, a successful Mumbai corporate director in his mid-40s, is eager to live in the lap of luxury with commanding views of the Arabian Sea.
But he won’t have to leave the chaos, noise and congestion of India’s financial capital to find his dream home and the peace and quiet he craves.
Instead of new builds in the far-flung suburbs, the construction of upscale homes is now rapidly taking place in the city, as tracts of now-defunct cotton mill land are being freed up for development by the state government.
Palace denies coddling Ping By Aytch S. de la Cruz 10/24/2010
AFTER NOY’S ‘NOT MY PRIORITY’ ON MANHUNT, DOJ BACKTRACK
Palace denies coddling Ping
President Aquino’s “not my priority” statement on the search for fugitive Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, prime suspect in the Dacer-Corbito murder mystery, and a subsequent statement of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima that the Department of Justice is abandoning a plan to form a task force to track him down should not be taken as a sign that Aquino is coddling Lacson, who is an ally and a campaign supporter of the President, according to the Palace.
De Lima, who is said out of the loop on the President’s inner circle, was suspected to have second-guessed Aquino in withdrawing a plan to put up the task force.
Deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte explained that just because De Lima reportedly abandoned the idea of putting up a task force to intensify the government’s efforts in locating him does not mean that the Aquino administration is getting remiss in resolving this matter.
Valte also belied insinuations being circulated by a critic, Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who told media that he has
information that would somehow corroborate De Lima’s and the public’s suspicions that Lacson is just inside the country and Malacanang has a hand on it..... MORE
Palace defends postings: Noy’s ex-generals different 10/24/2010
Palace defends postings: Noy’s ex-generals different
Criticisms on the Aquino administration following the path of his predecessor in rewarding loyalty in the military with prime diplomatic posts got a lame response from the Palace yesterday justifying the assailed decision of President Aquino to appoint former Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Nestor Ochoa as ambassador to Brunei as still within his quota for political appointees.
Disgruntled career diplomats at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) had complained about Ochoa’s appointment and that of retired Gen. Noe Wong who was reappointed as ambassador to Cambodia. They said the practice of appointing generals to key diplomatic posts is reminiscent of a tradition started by former President Arroyo.
Deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said it is too early for anyone to pass judgment on the appointments and conclude that Aquino is going by the way of his unpopular predecessor because, she said, the Aquino administration is different since it is committed to instituting reforms in government.
Ochoa held the reins at the AFP for barely a month as he opted to go for an early retirement.... MORE
Aquino, Arroyo camps’ paths criss-cross on Code-NGO scam By Charlie V. Manalo 10/24/2010
Aquino, Arroyo camps’ paths criss-cross on Code-NGO scam
The exchange of charges and counter-charges on the Peace Bond scam which happened during the early years of President Arroyo’s term placed the scandal as a point of convergence between the past and present administrations with the son of the former President, Ang Galing Pinoy Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, twitting Malacañang yesterday for employing double standard on cases that it believes should be taken up by the Philippine Truth Commission (PTC) while presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda is having a hard time shielding two Cabinet members of President Aquino without applying the same defense on Arroyo, the principal target of the PTC.
In a statement, Arroyo said it was rather odd for Lacierda to clear Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman and Peace Process adviser Teresita Quintos-Deles of any wrongdoings in the PEACe Bonds scandal which was brokered by the Caucus of Development NGO Networks (Code-NGO).
The scam had the government floating P12 billion in so-called zero-coupon bonds to allow Code-NGO to collect P1.4 billion in windfall from the debt float.
Soliman and Deles, who are among prime movers of Code-NGO, were alleged to have benefitted from P10-billion PEACe Bonds, reportedly netting a windfall profit of over P1 billion, tax-free. Both were also former Cabinet secretaries of Arroyo..... MORE
Noy’s inaction on teachers’ demand for increased pay for poll duties slammed 10/24/2010
Noy’s inaction on teachers’ demand for increased pay for poll duties slammed
A group of militant teachers has denounced President Aquino for his failure to act on the demand of the teachers for additional compensation for those who will serve as board of election tellers for tomorrow’s Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections.
“The President has not heeded our demands for increased and just compensation for the additional and dangerous work that we will render as board of election tellers (BETs),” Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Secretary General France Castro said in the group’s website.
She noted that every election, the lives of teachers serving as BETs is put at risk. “Teachers are prone to harassment and acts of violence from political rivals or losing candidates,” she stressed.
Castro cited two teachers who were killed in the line of election duty. “Nellie Banag of Batangas died after gunmen, wearing bonnets, set the schoolhouse ablaze during the 2007 election. Teacher Filomena Tatlonghari was killed in 1995 for refusing to give a ballot box to armed men while on election duty,” Castro said.
“Such dangers are faced by teachers to protect the sanctity in the ballots,” she added, “and the Aquino government is inconsiderate for not recognizing the noble service that teachers render every election.”.... MORE
Trust Noy to do right thing on ‘Morong 43’ — DoJ chief By Benjamin B. Pulta 10/24/2010
Trust Noy to do right thing on ‘Morong 43’ — DoJ chief
Have faith in Malacañang that it will do the right thing, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday told relatives and supporters calling for freedom for 43 health workers arrested by military intelligence officers for allegedly being members of communist groups.
According to De Lima, the possibility of amnesty for the so-called “Morong 43” is being considered by President Aquino.
De Lima, the former chairman of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), met with the detainees’ supporters led by the human rights group Karapatan who reiterated their appeal for the immediate release of the 43 health workers.
“I told them to give the President more time to reflect and decide on those recommendations’ course of action,” she stressed.
She said they have to wait for the President’s go signal before she can implement any of her recommendations.
She said Aquino is particularly concerned with demands aired by international human groups and local groups sympathetic to the 43 health workers..... MORE
Be patient, Malacañang tells Maguindanao massacre victims’ kin 10/24/2010
Be patient, Malacañang tells Maguindanao massacre victims’ kin
As the infamous Maguindanao massacre is about to commemorate its first anniversary next month, Malacañang has continued with its appeal to the families of the victims who are reportedly getting hopeless given the slow justice proceedings in the case to remain patient.
Speaking from a lawyer’s point of view, deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte yesterday steered clear of giving false hopes to the victims’ relatives, explaining that delays should always be expected, especially in dealing with a case as complex as the Maguindanao murders.
Valte said resolutions to high-profile cases like this often depend on the judge who takes charge of the trial how he would manage the factors involved in the matter to be able to strike a balance between the demands of both the prosecution and defense panels.
“What we need to understand here is that we are considering many factors. We cannot just fast-track a case if it would violate the rights of one party because both the accused and the victims are entitled of their specific rights. So it’s really more of trying to balance vis-à-vis the progress of the case,” Valte explained..... MORE
Kagawad killed, another shot dead in two incidents By Gina Peralta-Elorde 10/24/2010
Kagawad killed, another shot dead in two incidents
Amid the tightened security measures being implemented by the police and military to thwart the killings of local officials in connection with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections tomorrow, a reelectionist barangay kagawad was gunned down in Agusan del Norte, while an ambush took place in Cagayan Valley killing one person and injuring two others, reports said.
The reelectionist Barangay Kagawad Rommel Magdayo Moldez, 31, was shot dead by still unidentified armed men and women inside his house in Barangay San Isidro, Santiago, Agusan del Norte around 9:40 p.m. last Thursday.
Moldez was seeking re-election as barangay kagawad in Barangay San Isidro, Santiago.
Reports said the unidentified armed men and women barged into the house of the victim. Moldez was not around but the suspects waited for him for some minutes.
When the victim arrived, he was with a friend identified as Romnick Tupos. They were ordered to drop to the ground. The suspects shot Moldez twice in the back.
The suspects then allegedly fled and looked for another barangay kagawad Angelito Garong..... MORE
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/
Trapo politics FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 10/...
Sex, lies and pomegranate juice focus of US legal ...
A first for the House C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan...
Additional P50-M pork barrel VIEWPOINTS Archbishop...
For many, gamble lost in once-booming Las Vegas FE...
India’s high earners fuel demand for high-rise lux...
Palace denies coddling Ping By Aytch S. de la Cruz...
Palace defends postings: Noy’s ex-generals differe...
Aquino, Arroyo camps’ paths criss-cross on Code-NG...
Noy’s inaction on teachers’ demand for increased p...
Trust Noy to do right thing on ‘Morong 43’ — DoJ c...
Be patient, Malacañang tells Maguindanao massacre ...
Kagawad killed, another shot dead in two incidents...
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The God of Peace
von: Charles Spurgeon
Krill Press, 2015
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 - 31 January 1892) was a British Particular Baptist preacher who remains highly influential among Christians of different denominations, among whom he is still known as the 'Prince of Preachers'. Spurgeon was to 19th century England what D. L Moody was to America. Although Spurgeon never attended theological school, by the age of twenty-one he was the most popular preacher in London.
A strong figure in the Reformed Baptist tradition, defending the Church in agreement with the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith understanding, and opposing the liberal and pragmatic theological tendencies in the Church of his day, Spurgeon preached to around 10,000,000 people, often up to 10 times each week at different places. Spurgeon was the pastor of the congregation of the New Park Street Chapel (later the Metropolitan Tabernacle) in London for 38 years, despite the fact he was part of several controversies with the Baptist Union of Great Britain and later had to leave the denomination. In 1857, he started a charity organization called Spurgeon's which now works globally, and he also founded Spurgeon's College, which was named after him posthumously.
Spurgeon was a prolific author of many types of works, including sermons, an autobiography, commentaries, books on prayer, devotionals, magazines, poetry, hymns and more.
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No. 24 (October 1958)
[continued from here]
of New Zealand, and he agreed to the Commodore's request. The Governor told us to go and see Europe and the great chiefs of the Pakeha. Greetings, greetings, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Hosanna in the Highest. We pay homage to you for ever and ever: a true sceptre is the sceptre of your rule.
‘Greetings, greetings, Francis Joseph, supreme ruler of all Austria; we shall acclaim your kindness and your splendour in New Zealand, when we return to our homeland.’
For a long time the Emperor gazed upon us, his cheeks aglow; then he said: “I have never heard such well-chosen words as these two have said; their address was very excellent.” We retired outside and returned to Ottakring. In the morning our visit to the Emperor was published in the newspaper and distributed all over the country for all to read day and night.
When the time of our return drew near, there were many expressions of goodwill and affection towards us from the people. Just before our departure it was published in the newspaper that we were leaving for our homeland on Saturday, May 26, 1860. On the Friday we sent our farewell message to the Emperor. On the Saturday we left, first by ferry, then by train.
The gentleman who had conducted us did not see us leave but we did receive a letter from him. saying: ‘Farewell my dear friends, depart to your homeland; you have become like the clouds on high; farewell to you both. Return to Waikato so your relatives may see you.’
On the Saturday we left Vienna and went by train to Bavaria. When we arrived, the King of that country had gone to Wurtemberg. So we went to view the inside of his palace. We stayed overnight and in the morning went to the parental home of our mentor Hochstetter. We stayed there for four days, then went to see the King of that part of the Germanic Confederation. On the twelfth we arrived at the palace of the King of Wurtemberg. By then, the King of Bavaria who had been staying there had just left. Nonetheless we proceeded to pay our respects to the King of Wurtemberg, in the same way as we had done at the Emperor's. After he had replied to our greetings, it was close to nightfall, for such is the division of time: when it is nighttime over there, it is day in New Zealand; when it is night in New Zealand, it is day over there.
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Musical Worshops
Terraza 7 BIG Band
Freddy Castiblanco
Terraza 7 Live Music hosts a 17 piece big-band. Comprised of New York musicians of the highest caliber, many of them regular performers at Terraza, this group brings the big-band to Queens and bring Queens culture to the big-band. Performing primarily new works by the co-directors, Edward Perez and Michael Thomas, the group begins reading sessions open to the public on Thursday, June 4th. Enjoy a rare opportunity to witness the beginning of a brand new group unlike any the hanging stage has ever seen.
Bassist Edward Perez’s compositions have been performed by such varied and distinct groups as Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, Ignacio Berroa Trio, and two-time latin Grammy nominated singer Jorge Pardo, and acclaimed Galician bagpiper Cristina Pato. His unique voice owes much to his extensive experience in diverse musical styles of Latin America, and he has shared the stage with such greats as Paquito D’Rivera, Lee Konitz, Kenny Werner, Eva Ayllón, and Lucia Pulido. His numerous recording credits include an appearance on the Grammy-nominated “Second Chance” by Hector Martignon.
Award-winning saxophonist and composer Michael Thomas has been an active member of the New York jazz scene since arriving in 2011. Over the last several years, he has performed or recorded with Miguel Zenon, Nicholas Payton, Jason Palmer, Wayne Shorter, and Gunther Schuller, among many others. In addition to being an in-demand saxophonist and woodwind player, Michael is also very active as a writer. His 2011 quintet album “The Long Way” features all an entirely original program of music, and Michael’s arrangements have been commissioned and recorded to international acclaim.
Directing: Michael Thomas, Edward Perez
Terraza 7 BIG Band at Terraza 7 on Thursday October 1st, 2015 at 9:00 pm.
$10 cover for mezzanine
TERRAZA 7 JAZZ JAM
BYRON SÁNCHEZ QUARTET
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Terraza 7
40-19 Gleane St. Elmhurst, NY 11373
info@ terraza.com
Open everyday from 4:00 pm to 4:00 am.
Performances almost every night, starting at 8:00 pm
We have Happy Hour everyday from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
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ARZ has signed with Unicorn Digital (hyperlink http://www.unicornrecords.com/arz.html) to release their latest recording Turn of the Tide. Unicorn Digital is a record label based out of Quebec, Canada, and currently has some of the best progressive rock artists signed to the label right now, including Mystery, Jellyfiche, Roger Powell, Daryl Stuermer, and Spaced Out. ARZ is excited to join this roster of artists.
ARZ’s latest album Turn of the Tide is now available.
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Tide-Arz/dp/B00669VCN8
Unicorn Digital Store: http://www.unicornrecords.com/store.html#arz
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/turn-of-the-tide/id551916505
The latest releases
Solomon’s Key
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Pakistani commuters travel on a flooded street following a heavy rainfall in Karachi, Aug. 31, 2017. AP Photo/Shakil Adil
Climate change will displace millions in coming decades. Nations should prepare now to help them
December 18, 2017 8.41pm EST
Gulrez Shah Azhar, Pardee RAND Graduate School
Gulrez Shah Azhar
Ph.D. Candidate, Pardee RAND Graduate School
Gulrez Shah Azhar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Wildfires tearing across Southern California have forced thousands of residents to evacuate from their homes. Even more people fled ahead of the hurricanes that slammed into Texas and Florida earlier this year, jamming highways and filling hotels. A viral social media post showed a flight-radar picture of people trying to escape Florida and posed a provocative question: What if the adjoining states were countries and didn’t grant escaping migrants refuge?
By the middle of this century, experts estimate that climate change is likely to displace between 150 and 300 million people. If this group formed a country, it would be the fourth-largest in the world, with a population nearly as large as that of the United States.
Yet neither individual countries nor the global community are completely prepared to support a whole new class of “climate migrants.” As a physician and public health researcher in India, I learned the value of surveillance and early warning systems for managing infectious disease outbreaks. Based on my current research on health impacts of heat waves in developing countries, I believe much needs to be done at the national, regional and global level to deal with climate migrants.
The U.S. government is spending US$48 million to relocate residents of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, because their land is sinking.
Millions displaced yearly
Climate migration is already happening. Every year desertification in Mexico’s drylands forces 700,000 people to relocate. Cyclones have displaced thousands from Tuvalu in the South Pacific and Puerto Rico in the Caribbean. Experts agree that a prolonged drought may have catalyzed Syria’s civil war and resulting migration.
Between 2008 and 2015, an average of 26.4 million people per year were displaced by climate- or weather-related disasters, according to the United Nations. And the science of climate change indicates that these trends are likely to get worse. With each one-degree increase in temperature, the air’s moisture-carrying capacity increases by 7 percent, fueling increasingly severe storms. Sea levels may rise by as much as three feet by the year 2100, submerging coastal areas and inhabited islands.
The Pacific islands are extremely vulnerable, as are more than 410 U.S. cities and others around the globe, including Amsterdam, Hamburg, Lisbon and Mumbai. Rising temperatures could make parts of west Asia inhospitable to human life. On the same day that Hurricane Irma roared over Florida in September, heavy rains on the other side of the world submerged one-third of Bangladesh and eastern parts of India, killing thousands.
Climate change will affect most everyone on the planet to some degree, but poor people in developing nations will be affected most severely. Extreme weather events and tropical diseases wreak the heaviest damage in these regions. Undernourished people who have few resources and inadequate housing are especially at risk and likely to be displaced.
People displaced by drought in Somalia queue to register at a refugee camp in neighboring Ethiopia, July 26, 2011. UK-DFID, CC BY
Recognize and plan for climate migrants now
Today the global community has not universally acknowledged the existence of climate migrants, much less agreed on how to define them. According to international refugee law, climate migrants are not legally considered refugees. Therefore, they have none of the protections officially accorded to refugees, who are technically defined as people fleeing persecution. No global agreements exist to help millions of people who are displaced by natural disasters every year.
Refugees’ rights, and nations’ legal obligation to defend them, were first defined under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which was expanded in 1967. This work took place well before it was apparent that climate change would become a major force driving migrations and creating refugee crises.
Under the convention, a refugee is defined as someone “unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” The convention legally binds nations to provide access to courts, identity papers and travel documents, and to offer possible naturalization. It also bars discriminating against refugees, penalizing them, expelling them or forcibly returning them to their countries of origin. Refugees are entitled to practice their religions, attain education and access public assistance.
In my view, governments and organizations such as the United Nations should consider modifying international law to provide legal status to environmental refugees and establish protections and rights for them. Reforms could factor in the concept of “climate justice,” the notion that climate change is an ethical and social concern. After all, richer countries have contributed the most to cause warming, while poor countries will bear the most disastrous consequences.
The low-lying Pacific island nation of Kiribati is extremely vulnerable to climate-driven sea level rise and storm surges. DFAT, CC BY
Some observers have suggested that countries that bear major responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions should take in more refugees. Alternatively, the world’s largest carbon polluters could contribute to a fund that would pay for refugee care and resettlement for those temporarily and permanently displaced.
The Paris climate agreement does not mention climate refugees. However, there have been some consultations and initiatives by various organizations and governments. They include efforts to create a climate change displacement coordination facility and a U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Climate Change.
It is tough to define a climate refugee or migrant. This could be one of the biggest challenges in developing policies.
As history has shown, destination countries respond to waves of migration in various ways, ranging from welcoming immigrants to placing them in detention camps or denying them assistance. Some countries may be selective in whom they allow in, favoring only the young and productive while leaving children, the elderly and infirm behind. A guiding global policy could help prevent confusion and outline some minimum standards.
Short-term actions
Negotiating international agreements on these issues could take many years. For now, major G20 powers such as the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, India, Canada, Australia and Brazil should consider intermediate steps. The United States could offer temporary protected status to climate migrants who are already on its soil. Government aid programs and nongovernment organizations should ramp up support to refugee relief organizations and ensure that aid reaches refugees from climate disasters.
In addition, all countries that have not signed the United Nations refugee conventions could consider joining them. This includes many developing countries in South Asia and the Middle East that are highly vulnerable to climate change and that already have large refugee populations. Since most of the affected people in these countries will likely move to neighboring nations, it is crucial that all countries in these regions abide by a common set of policies for handling and assisting refugees.
The scale of this challenge is unlike anything humanity has ever faced. By midcentury, climate change is likely to uproot far more people than World War II, which displaced some 60 million across Europe, or the Partition of India, which affected approximately 15 million. The migration crisis that has gripped Europe since 2015 has involved something over one million refugees and migrants. It is daunting to envision much larger flows of people, but that is why the global community should start doing so now.
Climate migration
human displacement
Refugee relocation
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This collection of sculpture was created November to December 2010 in a garden in Spain. They are listed in the blog according to how they were constructed, although there is always an overlap between pieces as ideas are fleshed out. There was a total of fifteen sculptures, twelve remain in the garden, three went as gifts, hence there is no number five in this list. For the blog diary that was kept concurrently while making the sculptures please visit: http://tylerfenncatalonia.blogspot.com
http://tylerfenn.com
Posted by tyler at 08:42 No comments:
1. Practice, 6 x 8 x 23"
This was the first piece of steel that I put torch to. I last worked industrial shapes in this manner in 2007 and so I felt most comfortable starting here, carving the beam with no particular care as to where it took me. In this respect 'practice' was sacrificial. I was not concerned whether it ended up as a plant stand, an object of art, or thrown into the bushes. There is one 'successful' cut that I achieved late in working with this piece of metal that made me feel I at last had control of the torch again and once this point was reached the piece, to me, was 'done'. The second exercise, and the one that took much longer, was studying the piece in the environment that I was working in. I knew from previous experiments with the medium that working the steel in this manner achieved, to an extent, goals that I was working toward. Namely, adding an organic nature to an otherwise cold, industrial object, and an exposure of the liquid nature of steel. However, when I started 'placing' the piece, on top of rocks, in the grass on the ground, right side up or upside down, at the base of trees, etc., all I could see was a mauled piece of I-beam. I was therefore quite frustrated and unhappy, and so left it, taking two lessons from it initially. First, I wanted more of the integrity of the steel to remain (more of its 'architecture') and second, none of the pieces were to be 'mixed media', meaning that each piece was to stand alone, non-dependent on stone or wood for pedestals or props. It was a week later, after carrying it for miles, that 'practice' was placed and worked successfully in the setting that it now sits, completing the circle of stumps, the last cog in the wheel. If I had placed it there initially however, I think my mind would have concentrated too much on looking for things that were missing in the environment instead of what was there.
2. The solitary life of snails, 5 x 7 x 28"
I reminded myself early on to make what I see. Winter is a quiet time of year for wildlife but, if one looks closely, there are plenty of dormant snails. A clear drawing of this piece was completed before the sculpture itself. I have been playing with the theme of combining literal representations of animals with industrial steel for some time. For me, it is commentary on the position that animals are faced with. From the world of art, Bernini's Baldachino, where a multitude of diminutive bees adorn his bronze columns, was my model, and this piece was a warm-up for the 8th piece. In this sculpture the controlled texture from the torch carving (that I gained from 'practice') is applied to one side of the 'outside' of the 'column' and the solitary snail adorns the other side. the interior is left generally untouched except for a slight 'snailtrail' rendered with a quick drag of the arc welder stick and the stippled molten steel that attached itself while working the piece. Architecturally, the angled top of the sculpture is a visual indicator that a staircase rises behind the barbecue next to where it sits. In many ways this was to me the most important piece in the series as it was the sculpture that I contemplated the most, and the one that encapsulated many of the ideas of all the others. Light, texture, form, surface, social commentary, orthogonal vs. non-orthogonal, scale; even issues regarding the security of the pieces were contemplated here. Does it work? Do people want to touch it? Is it independent of its environment? Is the little snail lonely, or resting peacefully? This sculpture aided me to consider these things throughout the entire project. The following picture is one of the last that I took before leaving Spain. It is a snail trail, left on the ground many days after, but near my sculpture. I was awestruck to see that that little snail followed my directions perfectly. (3rd photo from left above)
3. Newel Post - the palms
This sculpture began with what to me was the most beautiful piece of steel that I had to work with, a 3" x 3" x 67" solid, mild steel square section. The difficulty with this piece was starting at all. I didn't know if it would work with this piece, but my previous experience with carving heavy steel revealed to me the natural tendency it has to bend as a result of the action of heating and cooling, specifically when worked on only one side. I had the aesthetic of the small palms that were everywhere in mind and I started this piece with one long, strong, continual cut along the length of one of the faces to represent the textured surface of the palm trunk and left it to cool, hours or a day I don't remember. This created the almost imperceptible bend in the piece, something that would have been impossible to do with my own two hands. Subconsciously the 'explosions' of the palm leaves were added and the piece was welded to its base after it had balanced itself with some toying. I located this piece right away, near the staircase where it now lies, but not in it's exact location. I felt this area of the garden could use, or more precisely, warranted, a strong vertical in the environment. The problem with the first location was that against the textured stone wall the eye couldn't pick up the bend, but when moved into the position of a newel post, in front of the heavy horizontals of the stair treads, closer to the palm trees that inspired it, the subtle bend became apparent, particularly when viewed from above, a few steps up the stair. For me, this piece cleanly encapsulates three to four clear ideas about sculpture and succeeds on many levels. Also, it is the sculpture that one sees when standing at the barbecue, very important.
4. Goat I, 34" tall
Simply put, sculpture is a nice shape propped upright, propped up right. Balance, light and form. The vases were made from single pieces of angle steel, just light enough to carry by myself, just heavy enough to break my back should I slip while carrying it. The initial sketches for the vases included horns to more literally identify them as goats, but I couldn't bring myself to bastardize the purity of the form quite this much, and so it was the otherworldly eye of the goat that I used to manipulate the scale of these pieces. From afar, they are balanced vases in a field. When face to face, the viewer is invited to stare into the eyes of a goat. This first sculpture was worked heavier with the torch because at this point in the collection I am still thinking of the textural treatment of 'bernini'.
6. Hummingbird, 70"
This sculpture is about scale, texture, form, disappearance and emergence; and again, a commentary on the position that animals are faced with based upon human intervention and occupation. The hummingbird is feeding from industrial steel, cut off from the implied vegetation on the opposite side of the plate. And, it works for me artistically because visually the smooth surface of the steel gives a background to the intricacies of the carved figure of the hummingbird. The surrounding verticality of the pine trees was the first consideration of this piece, and my desire to introduce a steel sculptural element into this setting drove me to choose this particular shape. Previously this length of steel had been designated for many other sculptures and ideas. I knew that the torchwork on the plate would provide a slight bend to the steel, and this bend was left to materialize before the sculpture was brought upright. The torchwork, although still practice for 'bernini', was a way to mirror the surrounding vegetation so that, depending upon the position of the viewer, the sculpture occasionally disappears into the background, and almost completely disappears from the side view. The choice of the hummingbird was a long consideration. I've done many previously in their environment when living in the West Indies. I noticed one day while waiting for a bus that when a hummingbird is in flight the wings disappear, and the form of the body was perfect for a static sculpture with implied movement. However, there are no hummingbirds in Spain. I had decided that this was all the more reason to BRING one to Spain and then, upon further research found this, perfect for the house of a doctor:
"When Spanish explorers first encountered hummingbirds, they called them joyas voladoras: "flying jewels." The hummingbird was revered as a sacred healer, a guardian of plants, the spirit, and those who needed healing or were training as healers themselves."
7. Digam, 9'
In a way the process leading to 'digam' was a bit more subconscious than the other sculptures. The cross-hatched length of steel that sits atop the sculpture was carved a couple of days before it was used to guide this sculpture. This treatment of the steel became my way of adding brushstrokes to the environment, as well as my way of, again, 'amplifying the organic by exposing the liquid nature of steel'. The site was contemplated for days, as it is of primary importance to the garden; the trees that were planted generations before forming a perspective from a viewer both on the ground and from the main terrace of the house at elevation. The issue for me was that the perspective had no focal point, save for a neighboring house. The entire sculpture was simply a result of my desire to elevate the sculptured, textured length of steel, with vertical proportions similar to the trees, into the position of the focal point, particularly when viewed from the terrace. However, it was, as it was throughout the exercise, important for me that the sculpture remained aesthetically 'quiet'. When this decision on the placement of the length of steel was reached (by holding it balanced on end up to the sky in my outstretched arm), I went back and built the structure. Days before, my artist friend Marute had dropped off two poles with a clank in the grass and they lay there for a week or more, tantalizing me. I wasn't sure if I was going to use them, they were 'found, recycled' steel versus the virgin steel I was using for this collection, and of a different nature. But inside I also knew I would, and that it was up to them to find their use, which they did in Digam. Including the hole already built into the pole in the sculpture was not, for me, to imply a mouth, but a way to mirror the numerous other circles that populate the garden. When the sculpture was complete, before locating it, I leaned it over and impulsively welded 'D I G A M' into the length of plate steel atop. I signed and dated this piece 'tyler, 2010, 'to the trees' up the length of recycled pole which was enough to give the pole itself a slight bend (and with time, some varied coloration).
Days later I was asked if 'digam' were the title of the piece and I said yes. I was then asked why and what it meant. I responded that it was an expression that must have embedded in me while overhearing it in Catalonia as it is the only Catalonian one I chose to use throughout the collection, and that I thought it were appropriate for this sculpture as the piece is 'to the trees' and so saying 'speak' was my way of 'coercing' them.
The response was, "Tyler, it doesn't mean 'speak', it means 'Tell Me'".
After collecting myself and the phone that I had dropped, I said, "even better".
8. Bernini, 14 x 14 x 25"
In many ways this collection of work is about this sculpture. In many ways my experimentation with steel over the last fifteen years has been building toward this piece. And in some small way, this piece has been germinating in my mind since Syracuse. After this sculpture was completed, I began looking at the entire collection of these pieces as a symphony, the bernini, the crescendo. The four pieces that followed bernini were a relief, a calming down, cooling. I must have had the bernini in mind when choosing the pieces of steel from the yard but I don't remember consciously doing so. I was, basically, just feverishly grabbing sections that A. I could carry alone B. were architecturally beautiful in their own right C. I believed to be excess/expendable to Isidro based upon what type of work he was doing at his forge and D. excited me so much that I had to keep reminding myself not to piss my pants.
By the time I built myself up enough to attack this I-beam, I felt I was in full control of the torch. Though I was still very nervous about blowing through the (somewhat thin) section of steel, as I had done in 'hummingbird' (if you look closely at hummingbird, there are two places on the backside where my torch, which is quite powerful, penetrated the plate steel. I wasn't concerned about it with regards to hummingbird, it lends aggression to the piece and I would have interrupted that face of the hummingbird sculpture somehow anyway, but took note of it in relation to the future bernini). If I blew through bernini I would have considered it a failure, as the integrity of the I-beam would have been breached.
This sculpture is a model, a 'mock-up'. It is a Detail of a column of a Potential baldachino, after Bernini. It is my response to myself when toying with the question, "if you were to build a baldachino, what would You do?"
My response is this sculpture. As a starting point. I would pay my respect to Bernini by reinterpreting his wonderful work in the material of our time (the steel I-beam vs. the bronze, baroque style column he used), but I would strip it of all symbolism, embellishment, and literal allusion. This decision of stripping the embellishment, the vines, the bees, etc. and Implying them through my treatment of the steel ('kisses' from my torch as my friend Albert describe them) was a long, internally hard fought decision to reach, though the end result might appear simplistic. (remember 'the solitary life of snails', as a warm up for bernini, I was toying with the idea of alluding to his bees, a symbol of the pope, with numerous diminutive snails peppering the sculpture). It took all my strength to discard them.
9. Salvador's wood, 42"
After the Bernini I knew I was essentially done, and could now play. The first step to being 'done' is to begin to clean up, and the best way to clean a shop is to start by clearing the workbench. The one I made for myself, two pieces of plate steel and a beam section, was intended to be stored in the garage until I had use of it again. But there was another field to this property (in addition to the upper field where the 'goat vases' are). This field contained a tree back left, and a big, round rock, stone, front right (from the point of view of the house terrace). There is no way I would place a sculpture in the center of this field, it's too obvious, too typical. However, some days before a family friend chopped up a brushpile that was located front left in the field with his chainsaw and made a nice heap of logs. That, for me, began a nice aesthetic. Big round stone front right, fags front left (I yelled at Salvador a day later when he started to clear the pile of wood he had created 'nooo!' and when he understood my intentions, walked away with a smile) This assemblage is also an ode to Andy Goldsworthy, an environmental artist whose work I admire.
10. Goat II, 47"
The second goat mask vase I waited on. The first was number four, and six or so pieces removed from the second. With this piece I felt free to let the form be the sculpture, not the treatment or the texture. Bernini had freed me up, a bit. The primary concern however is always about the work at hand and beauty. I had intended to leave the second goat, the larger of the two, until my niece and nephew arrived, we could build it together. On contemplating this idea however, I realized that I was taking too lightly the amount of effort that even a seemingly simple sculpture requires and, more importantly, the amount of isolation an artist quite often needs in order to create. My intention with this goat was to leave most of the surface untouched, untreated, untextured. Form, light, and of course whatever Nature decides to do with it in the future.
In addition, I want the children to interact with this piece by drawing on it with chalk; I want them to continually complete 'the goat' in their own way. In contemplating this potential use of the sculpture, I decided to boil down the goat to just eye, something which I have often studied, stared at, dealt with in my art and talked/written about. I carved the first eye similar to a sun and, not wanting to repeat myself, finished the sculpture by simply puncturing with my torch a horizontal iris to represent the second eye.
11and12. Horizontals, various lengths
These last two pieces are brushstrokes. They are small yet substantial, horizontal additions to the environment. They are my way of painting ON the environment. Both lengths of steel I had earmarked for many other things along the way, mostly bases for other sculptures, though in the end I felt wanted to stay essentially what they were. The twelfth piece, in particular, came with a beautiful rust that I didn't want to destroy. I call it The sun - stepping stone and I carved it, again, like the Bernini, on the ground, but this time with no gloves or protection from the torch or bouncing bullets of molten steel. I was in full control now. I carved the circle of the sun into its girth, and the rays on its face. They are 'unsigned'.
tyler fenn, december 14, 2010
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Lesson Plans for Secondary Educators
Cesar Chavez, “Nomination Address for Governor Jerry Brown, Democratic National Convention” (14 July 1976)
High School Lesson Plan created for Voices of Democracy by Nicole Kennerly,Independent Educator.
Click here for the VOD unit corresponding to this lesson plan.
Value for Teachers
1) Throughout his career, Chavez considered public speaking important, both for organizing and mobilizing the poor and downtrodden and for giving them a voice. This speech, although delivered at a major political convention, includes many of the themes of Chavez’s advocacy as a leader of the farms workers’ movement, including the need for the government to protect and provide opportunities for working Americans.
2) This speech provides an avenue for exploring the themes and goals of nomination addresses. Chavez violated many of the expectations for that type of speech, using this opportunity to present his message about the plight of the poor rather than sing the praises of the man he was nominating for president, Jerry Brown.
Relevant Common Core State Standards for English/Language Arts
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
The central idea of this speech is that government’s role is to open doors for all people by providing opportunities that allow them to use their talents, make their own decisions, and be positive forces in society.
Chavez believed he had a moral obligation to fight against injustice. His speeches invoked spiritual and moral ideals in support of the argument that every human being had the right to realize their full potential.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.6 Determine an author’s point of view or purpose in a text and analyze how an author uses rhetoric to advance that point of view or purpose.
In his speech, Chavez addressed all Americans, not just the political activists attending the Democratic National Convention of 1976. His background as an organizer for farm workers and migrants informs his speech in its language and content. His purpose is not only to promote Jerry Brown’s nomination but primarily to further the cause of the poor and downtrodden.
Chavez violated many expectations for a convention nomination address. He used the address at the Democratic National Convention as a stage to present his social justice agenda to a national audience. His language also broke the norm by employing simple words in place of the typically extravagant and bombastic verbiage often found in nominating speeches intended to extoll the virtues of a candidate.
Ideas for Pre-Reading & Discussion
Students will want to understand Chavez’s personal history in order to grasp his point of view. What were his childhood and education like? How did he become involved in social movements? A short biography can be found here: http://www.chavezfoundation.org/
Have students consider the nature of nomination speeches at major national party conventions. What is their purpose? Who is the audience for these speeches? Have students read a recent nomination speech of their choice. What themes do they notice, and what is distinctive or noteworthy about the content and language of the speech?
Have students explore the “Farm Worker Images” collection found here: http://hrmediaarchive.estuarypress.com. Ask students to write down the titles of the various collections (e.g., “Mechanized Poison: Chemicals in California Agriculture” and “Child Labor in the Fields of California”). Students can generate a list of words or phrases they associate with the images and the people they see in them. How does this list relate to the larger civil rights movement happening in the U.S. at this time?
Students can visit the website for the Cesar E. Chavez Institute in the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University here: http://cci.sfsu.edu/ourwork. Have them read the section on “Self-Determination” (bottom right). How do they think this description of self-determination ties into Chavez’s speech?
Important Vocabulary/Figures/Translation
“Buenos Noches. A todos mis hermanos de la habla Espanol.” [para 1]: Chavez opened his speech in Spanish, saying, “Good evening to all my brothers [and sisters] who speak Spanish.” From the first words, he set the tone that his speech is for everybody, regardless of skin color, social status, language, and political position. (Note that “hermanos” in this context addresses both male and female siblings.)
California [para 2]: The speech was delivered in Madison Square Garden at the Democratic National Convention. It is fitting Chavez would deliver the speech on Brown’s behalf, since he organized and led the United Farm Workers (UFW) in California and Brown was the governor of that state. Chavez mentioned California throughout the speech as a model for government actions that help people.
Patriotism [para 17]: This speech provides an example of how Chavez viewed patriotism from a perspective of social justice and civil rights activism. To him, patriotism meant not blindly accepting the traditions of the country, the government, or the status quo, but instead looking out for the well-being of future generations.
“But we know that only…deal with those problems [all of para 18]: This passage invokes the lyrics of one of the most famous folk songs in American history, Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land.” The song had long been associated with the labor movement and progressive politics in the U.S. It would have been familiar both to the convention delegates and to ordinary workers listening to Chavez’s speech.
Collective Bargaining [para 21]: Chavez worked as the lead organizer of the United Farm Workers. Historically farm workers had been a disenfranchised group with few rights. They were overpowered by a large and powerful agricultural industry. Chavez credits Brown with giving them the “instrument” they needed to “deal with their own problems”: collective bargaining. Only then were they able to “start making headway” toward improving the problems facing migrant farm workers.
Governor Edmund “Jerry” G. Brown Jr. [para 24]: Jerry Brown was the governor of California at this time (and is again currently, in 2016). He was a Democratic candidate for president in 1976, but lost in the primaries to Jimmy Carter. It is noteworthy that Chavez talks about Brown late in the speech, prioritizing his mission as an activist for the poor and downtrodden.
Suggested Timeline/Objectives
Day 1: Pre-reading & Introduction of Important Vocabulary/Figures
Students will complete pre-reading of teacher’s or student’s choice.
Teacher will introduce key terms of the speech.
Day 2: People Must Be Provided with Opportunities to Fulfill Their Purpose
[Read paragraphs 1-25]
Use the discussion questions provided to guide student thinking.
Day 3: Post-Reading & Assessment
Students will complete post-reading of their own or their teacher’s choice.
Key During Reading Passages and Discussion Questions
Paragraphs 1-7: Discuss with students the opening of the speech, referencing the key terms section. Note that Chavez first uses the word “purpose” in paragraph 3. Providing people purpose is a main subject of the speech and this word appears many times throughout. His major point in the speech is his belief that the role of government is to make available resources (education, health care, fair salary, and work) so that people can fulfill their purpose and contribute to humanity. Have students consider why Chavez started his speech the way he did. Who is his audience? Drawing off his biography, how might Chavez have seen this speech as an opportunity to further his own purpose as an activist?
Paragraphs 8-16: In these passages, Chavez emphasized the solution to current problems: not technology, not handouts, but the opportunity to work. Note that Chavez referred to “human dignity” and “the individual’s spirit.” Why did Chavez couch his argument in these terms?
Paragraphs 17-20: Here Chavez more explicitly addressed how people obtained the opportunities discussed in the previous paragraphs. How did he frame patriotism? What did Chavez suggest was the best solution to the problems facing the country? According to Chavez, who had the power to make real change and solve the problems facing not just farm workers but all Americans?
Paragraphs 21-24: The concluding passages provide an endorsement of Brown by holding out California as an example of government functioning to serve its people. He suggests that Jerry Brown did the right thing by providing collective bargaining rights to the farm workers, who then were able to solve their own problems. He ended by praising the nominee and reiterating the need for a leader who is not afraid to challenge the status quo.
Ideas for Post-Reading and Assessment
Have students research and consider the current situation of farm workers in the U.S.? Are most farm workers U.S. citizens? Are they receiving good educations and health care? What has and has not changed since this speech forty years ago? What might be the barriers to further progress for migrant farm workers and others in the agricultural industry (social, economic, legal, etc.)?
Discuss whether or not it was appropriate for Chavez to violate the norms of nomination speeches by talking more about farm workers and the issues of social justice he was concerned with than about Jerry Brown’s nomination for the presidency.
Discuss how Chavez’s speech does and does not meet the expectations and norms of the typical presidential nomination speech. Then identify ways the speech might be rewritten to better conform to those expectations. Do the students feel the rewrites actually improved the speech? Why or why not?
Chavez gave up an important position in the Community Services Organization (CSO) to face an overwhelming task in organizing farm workers. As a CSO leader he was already making significant contributions to poor people in registering voters, helping individuals achieve citizenship, and in challenging unjust laws. You might consider how and why a person is willing to give up a relatively secure style of life to undertake a task that most individuals felt was impossible. What kind of courage and commitment must one have to undertake a difficult task like creating a union among poor and downtrodden workers? Can you think of more recent examples where individuals have demonstrated such a strong commitment?
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THE ART ISSUE
THE GIRLPOWER ISSUE
UNTITLED EXCLUSIVES
RECENT NEWS IN MUSIC
UNTITLED EVENTS
GIRLPOWER ISSUE 8
LEGENDARY ISSUE 7
MUSIC ISSUE 6
CINEMA ISSUE 5
VOYAGE ISSUE 4
VOYEUR ISSUE 3
SURREAL ISSUE 2
KALEIDOSCOPIC ISSUE 1
UNTITLED PRODUCTIONS
Copyright © 2019 The Untitled Magazine, All Rights Reserved.
THE STREET ARTIST – CALEDONIA CURRY AKA SWOON – EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW FOR THE #GIRLPOWER ISSUE
ART, INTERVIEWS, NEW YORK, THE GIRLPOWER ISSUE
by The Untitled Magazine
Swoon “Recovery Diaspora”, 2014, Houston Street, NY
“ONE OF MY PHILOSOPHIES OF ART is that the closer you make things to who you truly are in the time and place that you truly occupy, the more universal they will become. That means to me really embracing what it means to be a woman in this moment, right now, making art. I do think that being able to sit more comfortably with my gender and express that in my work has become more important.” In the traditionally male-dominated medium of street art, Swoon has singlehandedly redefined a once-intractable status quo in becoming the first woman to reach the same level of fame as her male counterparts. The physical and logistical perils of street art has often precluded participation by many female artists. Yet Swoon has managed to circumvent the obstacles of her profession’s illegality by way of her rapid ascension to fame and subsequent decision to work exclusively on commission. Her reach expands from decaying warehouses to the permanent collections at prestigious museums to collective third-world art projects rooted in activism. Her ambitious body of work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the Tate Modern, among many others.
Swoon, aka Caledonia Dance Curry, was born in New London, Connecticut, and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida. Though substance abuse and mental illness run in her family, she never succumbed to either, crediting art as her savior. “I have never been through substance addictions myself and…I think that probably more than anything is because I started painting when I was ten.” Nine years later, she moved to New York to study paintingat the Pratt Institute. “I wanted to make something that was unconventional and was contemporary and was part of the city. I moved to New York and I was obsessed with it.”
While attending Pratt, she began taking her art to the street, canvassing decaying buildings with wheat pasted portraits. She fantasized about creating art from linoleum blocks, but instead, settled on a medium that better fit her budget. “I just started looking at what I can afford, which was just a sheet of paper and a knife.” Early in her career, not only did she not tag her work, but she also kept her gender under wraps. “I think that this thing happens with young women where there’s almost a feeling that if your gender becomes a focus, then you’ll become pigeonholed…I think that in really subtle ways, patriarchy has continued to vilify feminism, and so it’s natural when you’re young to not want to necessarily identify with [it].”
Swimming Cities of Serenissima, 2009
In 2009, Swoon executed her visionary performance art project Swimming Cities of Serenissima — a massive “floating metropolis” that she constructed out of found materials and foraged junk which she then transformed into a series of seven rafts, and on which she and thirty of her friends floated into the Venice Biennale, figuratively and literally “crashing” the city’s esteemed annual art festival. “When I first started working on the raft so much of what I was thinking about with those images of these floating cities, was rising seas and climate change, and instability of cities built along the coast. At the time that I made them people weren’t as open in mainstream media about climate change.” The rafts later found their home as part of her groundbreaking solo exhibition, Submerged Motherlands at Brooklyn Museum of Art from April 11 – August 24, 2014. Swoon made history with the project, becoming the first living street artist ever to be exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum.
Submerged Motherlands became as a whole, an emotionally cathartic process for Swoon who in the midst of its construction underwent a life-changing event. “At the time when I was making this whole installation my mom also became sick with cancer and passed away…I ended up finding a narrative that had to do with me losing my mother and losing that kind of space that you’re born from.” Her mother’s death was a time of reflection and self- discovery that, along with inspiring a stronger feminine thread in her work, would compel her to face darker memories from her past. Swoon has found herself gravitating more and more toward work that integrates art therapy and that encompasses social dialogue.
Submerged Motherlands, 2014
She recently returned from Philadelphia, where she was invited to be a part of the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Programs’ newest and most ambitious exhibit in its history, Open Source: Engaging Audiences in Public Space. For it, she joined thirteen other renowned street artists to create temporary works that envelop the entire city (the exhibit runs through fall 2015). Each individual project aims — per the objectives of the organization — to address issues ranging from criminal justice and behavioral health to immigration and recycling, by engaging with various at-risk communities in Philadelphia. For Swoon, this meant working hands-on with recovering substance abuse patients as well as maximum-security prison detainees. “Just talking to [these] people about early life trauma and how that relates to where they are…it definitely is the first time that I’m working completely from personal experience.” While it may be her first project that hits so close to home, the integration of emotional rehabilitation into her work is part of what defines it.
She recently launched the Heliotrope Foundation, a non-profit designed to support three long-term projects she’s been working on in three different countries. “Each of these three projects is on the ground…We’re working with the communities in a long-term way, and there’s a lot of different elements involved, but the central aim is to create space within these communities that are struggling.” The first of the community art trinity takes place in Braddock, Pennsylvania. “We’re working with the community on a formerly abandoned church, to restore it in a really creative way. And we hope eventually to create an arts and learning center by and for that people there.” She launched the second project of the series in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake, connecting with the small village of Cormier, located on the north coast of the island. The foundation has already built a community center and several homes, which they’ve constructed with assistance from local farmers (one of the homes, underway currently, is fashioned entirely from bamboo). “One is just another long-term relationship with the community that started around rebuilding after this disaster, and that developed into a relationship with this place where we’re working with the kids, we’re working with the adults, we’re building structures, and also, we’re building relationships.” The third project is in New Orleans and began after Katrina. “It’s much more based around wonder and beauty and experimentation. We started with this house that was collapsing and we were making this musical sculpture with it, and then it fell down. Then, we took the pieces and rebuilt it into these small musical structures. The community embraced it so hugely that we have continued it.”
Swoon street art, Brooklyn, New York
Fostering community is something that comes organically to Swoon and thus is increasingly becoming an extension of her creative process. “How do I make something not just for people who feel they are invited into a museum space? Because not everybody feels that way…I think in a lot of ways I didn’t feel that way…it felt really natural for me to make something that was going to be more accessible to more people.” Forging her identity as a female artist has also become increasingly natural for her as she evolves creatively. “[Submerged Motherlands] brought me in touch with who I am as a woman and with my desire to just show up really personally in my work. So I think in that way when your own story becomes very central, then who you are as a woman becomes very central…the project that I’m working on right now, where I just came from in Philadelphia, it very, very, very much came out of the work that started around the time of my mother’s death.”
This past summer, Swoon took a breather for a few months to find artistic respite away from the frenetic energy of NYC, and to work on a series of drawings inspired by the time she spent recently in Philadelphia. “It’s so necessary that we talk about addiction and trauma and incarceration. [And I was] reminded not forget the other pieces that make the conversation…We need to have elements of beauty and we need to have elements of joy and wonderment. That has to be part of the conversation for our own sanity and our experience of life…”
Swoon was extremely busy this December during Miami Art Week, with her work being featured at Jeffrey Deitch and Larry Gagosian’s “Unrealism” exhibit, The “No Commission Art Fair” Hosted by Swizz Beatz, The Chandran Gallery Booth at Art on Paper, Mccaig + Wells Conception Fair in Wynwood and the Rumney Guggenheim Gallery at SCOPE art fair.
Caledonia Curry aka Swoon, 2014. Image courtesy of The New York Times.
Read the full interview with Swoon by Indira Cesarine for The #GirlPower Issue below:
Indira Cesarine: I’d love to talk to you about your work and everything you have going on, it’s pretty varied and you have such an interesting body of work, its really stunning what you do!
Swoon: I’m glad you think that. Some people find it totally confusing.
IC: I think its great the way you use so many different elements—performance art, street art, sculpture and collaborative art; everything comes together in a very beautiful way. I know that you started oil painting when you were ten. You were obviously an incredibly talented child. What inspired you when you were a kid to start painting?
S: I mean I think when you’re very little, it’s hard to articulate that, it’s just like, ‘when I do this something happens, when I pick up a pen or pencil I can make things or when I pick up a pencil, all of a sudden three hours just went by, how did that happen?’ So I think it was kind of that experience. I found that I could easily conjure a world, you know what I mean, in that way. I was kind of just discovering that.
IC: Obviously you must have had some artistic influences that inspired your work along the way. Are there any particular artists that really resonated with you?
S: So many different ones at different times. You know, I just went to the Met the other day to talk about a work in their collection and it just connected me to how so many canonical painters were such a backbone of my learning. Just going through the Rembrandt and the Daumier and van Gogh and Vermeer and just this whole body of classical artists. And then Käthe Kollwitz and really so much of the history of depiction has been super important to me. And then as far as Modern Artists—I mean there’s so many. I really had a special love for William Kentridge when I first started putting myself together as an artist. There’s so many.
IC: You started doing street art when you were still at Pratt—in the early days what brought you to the streets to wheat paste?
S: I just wanted to make something that felt like it was part of my city. I wanted to make something that was unconventional, temporary, and a part of the city. I had just moved to New York and I was obsessed with it and I was like ‘This is such an incredible place—how do I make something that that is part of this?’
IC: You felt that you could connect to the city in a cultural way by doing that, that you could have some sort of impact?
S: Cultural, physical—the whole thing. Just the idea of making a piece that became part of a wall was tactile and really interesting to me. And then it was like ‘How do I make something not just for people who feel they are invited into a museum space?’ Because not everybody feels that way. I think in a lot of ways I didn’t feel that way. I was a kid from this little town in Florida and you know those places are public and they’re open and I think that I sat a little bit uneasily within that context and within the art world. It felt really natural for me to make something that was going to be accessible to more people.
IC: You were one of the few female street artists in the early days and I understand you didn’t actually tag your work or really express your gender in your early work. Do you feel that your gender has become more important now to your work? I know that initially you were very focused on the gender neutralization of yourself as an artist.
S: Well I think that this thing happens with young women where there’s almost a feeling that if your gender becomes focused on then you get pigeonholed. I know and I knew that I stand on my own as an artist regardless of any other category that I also belonged to. The importance for me at that time was to just stand on my own and not allow all the cultural stereotyping to take hold. I think later as I become more comfortable with myself, I become more comfortable with the strength of my work. One of my philosophies of art making is that the closer you make things to who you truly are—in the time and place that you truly occupy—the more universal your work will become. To me that means really embracing what it is to be a woman in this moment, right now, making art. I do think that being able to sit more comfortably with my gender and express that in my work has become more important.
IC: As you continue on your path obviously your work is going to evolve and certain things will shift focus. Initially you were working a lot on your own and now you’re clearly very drawn to community-oriented projects. How much of a balance is there between the studio work that you do yourself versus the larger scale community projects you do where you are working with a collective of artists?
S: It’s a real struggle for me to balance that, for example, I’m leaving for two months just to draw, to not be in New York City, to not be on any project— to just be drawing. Now the drawings are coming out of some time I spent in Philadelphia working with prisoners and people in rehab and they come from this more community based piece—they’re linked to this larger project. It’s become really important to me to just spend that time just making something. When you take on community based work—the depth of consideration that needs to go into everything—I mean I could spend an entire lifetime on projects that I have going and I have multiple projects going. What that means is that if I’m going to spend time drawing I really have to very actively carve it out and set it aside. For me drawing is still the back bone of everything that I do so its still really important.
IC: Is there any particular medium that you really feel strongly about, that instinctively is the one medium that you like to work in? You work with a lot of different elements within your installations.
S: The thing that I build all of my installations from, it starts with printmaking and paper cutting and so everything else kind of grows outward from there. So those are really the back bone of my work.
IC: What inspired the paper cutting?
S: It was when I started working out on the street—I knew I wanted to make elements that were somewhat graphic and reproducible, that had mini-iterations and really play outside in various contexts and different ways, so I started working in those mediums. At first I really wanted to make linoleum blocks but I couldn’t afford linoleum that size—I was waitressing in the city. I just started looking at what I could afford, which was just a sheet of paper and a knife.
IC: I know you use a lot of scavenged and found materials for your works. Can you tell me how you source those elements?
S: I started working with a lot of raw materials because I really just kind of wanted to take things out of the waste-stream and focus less on using new materials. Mostly I just go somewhere and look around the streets for garbage and go to recycling centers like Build It Green and just use materials from there.
IC: That must be really fun in a way. You find that one piece and are like ‘oh wow this is brilliant I want to use this.’
S: Totally, totally. The pieces sort of feel like they have their own story, and then I even find that I am recycling the works for my own installations. I’ll find a piece and it will show up in different installations in different ways, and it kind of accrues different marks and different layers and sort of has a story that its been carrying around and that becomes this part of it.
IC: I was reading a lot about your Swimming Cities of Serenissima performance project which is so brilliant; I would love for you to tell me about your experience of arriving at the Venice Biennale and what that must have felt like–it must have been a really special moment.
S: It was incredible in so many ways. One of them is just—try to imagine that you have built something with your own hands and you’re navigating it in the sea. Like just imagine what that feels like—you’re like ‘oh my God I can’t believe we’re doing this’ and it’s beautiful and then there’s people’s reactions of like ‘holy shit, how did you get here, where did you come from?’ Then there was all the excitement from people in Venice. And then there was the total horror from the Biennale itself, which of course was hysterically funny to us. Then there were all of the people who would come up to us and go, ‘oh my god I feel like I’m dreaming right now.’ I just love inspiring reactions like that. Yeah, it was incredible!
IC: It must have been a pretty big distance to go from Slovenia all the way to Venice? How long was the actual journey?
S: It took like three weeks!
IC: Was there ever a moment that you were worried that the rafts made out of garbage and all these found objects might not make it?
S: Oh yeah, we ended up in this wind called the Bora that comes down from the mountains. And you have like a thirty minutes heads up—you can’t really check the weather that day and know that its gonna happen; it just swoops in. And so there was a point that we got caught in the Bora and it was really terrifying because these winds start kicking up that these vessels are not made for—and so yeah! We were virtually rescued by fisherman. We were like “go now, you have to turn the helm!”
IC: You incorporated the rafts in that particular art piece as well as a lot of other elements that I understand were representative of your mother and various other things for Submerged Motherlands. Can you tell me more about your inspirations revolving around that particular installation and all the elements you brought together?
S: It was one of those things that comes together slowly, it’s a very intuitive process—it has a lot of layers and I can unpack the layers for you, but the truth of it was that is was really about physically feeling that experience and being and feeling the elements. So one thing to explain it—the pieces had a certain logic to me—but really truly, those moments are experiential. When I first started working on the raft so much of what I was thinking about—with those images of these floating cities—was rising seas and climate change and the instability of cities built along the coast, and just the place that we’re in right now ecologically. For me I’m always wondering how do thoughts become expressed in form? How am I processing these emotions—going in and creating something that is sort of the result of my own thinking out loud. So I created these rafts and at the time that I made them, people weren’t as open in mainstream media with the conversation about climate change. Even though we all knew that it was happening, it wasn’t at the front of our minds. It was one of those things where a few years later, after we had gone to Venice, after we had put them in storage for a while and sort of packed them up and said ‘okay maybe these will become something again one day.’
Then Sandy had hit New York and it felt like this time—when suddenly the images of floods and these images of precarity and climate change felt like it resonated with people and I thought, this is a moment where these vessels as objects that have had this journey can be a different resonance for people, just as objects in a space that they can stand next to and look at and see and feel where they’ve been and sort of experience the story that’s parked there, their journey. And then I also created this mammoth tree which was a home anchor for these vessels to return to and then at the time when I was making this whole installation my mom became sick with cancer and passed away. So as somebody that’s creating pretty directly from their own experience—that was going to be a narrative that was just going to have to show up in that piece. And you know the way that I ended up finding a narrative that emerged from it all. It had to do with me losing my mother and losing that kind of initial place that your born from; that is your first home and my thoughts and grief and feelings around my mother seemed to make sense next to the grief that we’re experiencing when we think about how our own kind of motherland and homeland is being threatened by this moment that we’re in and by our actions and by things that have been set into motion. That’s the thing about art work—you’re allowed to let thoughts in that aren’t necessarily the most rational thoughts in the world but that are very real and very intuitive and that make sense to your subconscious mind. They’re really allowed a space to kind of thrive and be alive and play together when you’re making an installation. Does that make sense?
IC: I would expect that to be a very intuitive work that needs to come from an emotional place, and art is not necessarily made to make sense. I think that it’s very interesting also that piece became a very emotive piece with everything that happened with your mother. It definitely must have brought an enormous amount of personification to the work that maybe initially it wasn’t intended to have but that naturally evolved due to circumstances. Do you feel that perhaps that particular kind of return to motherhood and that particular work of art in itself also drew you more towards gender specific work or relating in more ways to being a female artist? There’s so much emotion revolving around a mother-daughter relationship; maybe the work opened up some kind of cavern that wasn’t previously exposed?
S: You know, I think that what it did was that it brought to me a real need to tell my own very personal story in my work more deeply then I ever had before. It really brought me in touch with who I am as a woman and with my desire to, to just show up really personally in my work. I think in that way—you know when your own story becomes very central then who you are as a woman becomes very central. The project that I’m working on right now where I just came from in Philadelphia, it very very very much came out of the work that started around the time of my mother’s death and my dad actually just passed away as well. So it’s been a crazy 2 years. My dad struggled with drug addiction and to some extent, with mental illness issues as did a lot of people in my family and I really grew up kind of without any real perspective on that. I didn’t understand what brings people to that place until a couple of years ago. Their deaths really brought me to a place of looking more deeply at how—just how people become addicted, and what kinds of trauma are forming them in those instances. I found a real need to tell my own story as a child who had grown up in that environment and somebody who’s struggling to understand their relationship to our culture right now. The project that I did in Philadelphia was working in a women’s rehab and working in a prison—it was a men’s prison—but really just talking to people about early life trauma and how that relates to where they are and even though for me it’s not specifically a gender issue, it definitely is the first time that I’m working completely from personal experience. So I think that who I am as a woman—it’s just brings who I am more deeply into my work.
You talked about being more in touch—I think I have been in a little bit of touch with Judy Chicago and with Eve Ensler who are two artists who are really huge feminist icons for me. You asked the question of ‘Did this last year bring me into thinking more about myself as a female and as an artist?’ I definitely did start to look. I feel like looking at trauma and looking at how people recover and how people come to understand that stuff—I think that Eve Ensler’s work became super important to me. It always had been but looking at her work, The City of Joy, and listening to her talks and listening to her perspective became super important to me in this process.
IC: I know that many of times you’ve mentioned that you don’t really feel like your work relates to feminism. Do you still feel that way?
S: I think that probably at the times that I said that I was sort of doing the thing that I described where you’re a very young woman and you don’t want to be pigeon-holed into the generation of feminists that came before because they’re the generation before you; they did all this work so that you could be who you are instead of being who they were. I think that when I was very young, I wasn’t really relating to their work as much. I think now I have a much different perspective on it and I really see myself in the context of what they’ve done.
IC: When you look at the art world today, there’s so few female street artists, let alone female contemporary artists working and surviving off of their artwork. As much as we say ‘oh yeah the previous generations set the tone of feminism and paved the way,’ I personally think strongly that there’s so much work that needs to be done. In many respects, I think that we’re fooling ourselves if we think that the system is equal. I think that the way that translates and the way people deal with it is different because, like you said, the terminology of feminism is associated with something perhaps from the past.
S: I think that as a young woman who was emerging, I just felt like I needed my own definition and now that I kind of understand myself a little more completely, I identify a little more strongly with the work that they have done. I think that in really subtle ways, the patriarchy has continued to vilify feminism. And so it’s natural when you’re young to not want to necessarily identify with something that’s so vilified. But I think it was really more about just wanting to define myself and my own rights. I wasn’t comfortable attaching myself to any label because I was just like ‘I’m forming this now, this is me.’ I didn’t even really have any mentors. I didn’t have anyone to look to. I was sort of just on my own like ‘okay I’m out here, I’m doing this and I don’t know or have a lot of other examples I’m looking at. I’m just trying to birth a new version of what I can be.’
IC: Can you tell me about your Braddock Tiles project?
S: That’s a project right outside of Pittsburgh, where we’re working on an abandoned church and turning it into an arts and learning center for that community of North Braddock. And then in Philadelphia I’m working with Philly Mural Arts and I’ve been working with people in prison, in maximum security prison; working with people in a rehab center and then working with people in a prison re-entry program and doing kind of arts therapy stuff and talking to people about the link between earlier life trauma and their present circumstances, and just trying to kind of expand the public conversation and understanding around the link between trauma, mental illness and drug addiction.
IC: Can you tell me about the Heliotrope Foundation?
S: The Heliotrope Foundation is something that I started and that’s a non-profit, which is really designed to help me finish these three long-term projects that I’ve been working on for many years in three different countries. Each of these three projects is on the ground, we’re building things, we’re working with the community in a long term way, and there’s a lot of different elements involved, but the central element is kind of creating spaces within these communities that are struggling. So the first one is in Braddock, Pennsylvania, which is outside of Pittsburgh. We’re working on a formerly abandoned church and we’re working with the community to restore the church in a really creative way and we hope eventually to create an arts and learning center in that community kind of by and for the people there. The second project is in Haiti. A group of friends and I started working in Haiti after the earthquake on rebuilding with people. So we connected with this small village, called Cormier. And so far we’ve built one community center and two homes and we’re working with the farmers who are going to start growing bamboo and we’re working with those guys about developing a third house this coming year out of bamboo—part of the learning center there in Haiti that we built. So that one is just kind of another long term relationship with the community that started around rebuilding after this disaster and that developed into a relationship with this place where we’re working with the kids, we’re working with the adults, we’re building structures, and also, we’re building relationships—just doing a lot of learning work together. And then the third project is in New Orleans and that one is a little more fun. It was started after Katrina but a few years after. It’s much more of—just a project that’s around wonder and beauty and experimentation. We started with this house that was collapsing and we were making this kind of musical sculpture with the house and then it fell down and then we took the pieces and rebuilt it into these kind of small musical structures. The community embraced it so hugely that we have continued it. I’m working with a group down there called New Orleans Airlift. And they’re continuing the project on, I’m just a small part of it now and we’re building mobile musical structures that set up and play these kind of performances throughout New Orleans.
IC: That sounds pretty amazing. Is there a title for that particular project?
S: That one’s called The Music Box. It’s a project that really exists on its own and I am now just a small part of it. You know, it was something that I started with that group but then it really took on a life of its own. There’s so much out there in the world about it because the group of artists down there that run it are so brilliant and they’re taking it in wild, new directions that are amazing.
IC: Do you have any solo projects coming up we should look out for?
S: I’m talking with the museum, Mass MoCA about potentially doing an installation in the next couple years. They’re a really great institution in terms of being supportive of people who do really large scale installations like I do. I’m talking with those guys about putting something together, which would definitely be more along the lines of a solo show.
IC: The work that you’re doing obviously comes from a very sensitive core. I appreciate the intuitive nature of it. I think there’s something about it that’s very mystical but at the same time heartfelt. There’s a sense of humor to it as well. A lot of your work is obviously very serious and then you throw in the rafts and things like that which are almost hysterical, and like you said, poking fun at the art world, like when you sailed into Venice on a raft of garbage!
S: I appreciate that, Thank you. It’s so necessary that we talk about addiction and trauma and incarceration and you can get so far into that dialogue… you kind of just reminded me right now to not forget the other pieces that make the conversation. We need to have elements of beauty and we need to have elements of joy and wonderment. That has to be part of the conversation for our own sanity and our experience of life, you know?
Interview by Indira Cesarine for The #GirlPower Issue.
Pick up a copy of The Untitled Magazine’s #GirlPower Issue in our online store.
Tags: Brooklyn Museum, Caledonia Curry, feminist artists, girl power, GirlPower, Heliotrope Foundation, Indira Cesarine, murals, Pratt Institute, street artist, Submerged Motherlands, swoon, The "F Word: Feminism in Art, The GirlPower Issue, The Untitled Magazine
The Untitled Magazine
MELANIE MARTINEZ x CRY BABY TOUR 2016
ELLSWORTH KELLY 1923-2015
The Untitled Magazine December 28, 2015
Where Art, Fashion & Culture Collide
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Booker T. Washington and Black Progress:
Up From Slavery 100 Years Later
Edited by W. Fitzhugh Brundage
Hardcover ISBN 13: 9780813026749 - Pub Date: 12/31/2003Paper ISBN 13: 9780813028149 - Pub Date: 12/31/2003 Details: 240 pages, 6x9 Subject(s): History - American Ethnic
"This timely collection of sophisticated and engaging essays on Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery broadens and contextualizes our understanding of both the man and his book."--John David Smith, North Carolina State University
Booker T. Washington's rise from slavery to the presidency of the Tuskegee Institute and an adviser to American presidents and tycoons is an extraordinary saga of talent, ambition, and accommodation. Inspired by the centenary of the publication of Washington's autobiography, Up From Slavery, this collection of essays reinterprets Washington's career and self-presentation.
As the most visible and widely acclaimed black leader of his era, Washington played a pivotal role in advocating a strategy for the racial uplift of African Americans in an age of intensifying racism and discrimination. Whether white or black, Washington's critics and supporters acknowledged his skill at extending his influence over all areas of American race relations. In recent decades, however, Washington's purported "accommodationist" program of racial uplift has been dismissed as uninspiring and even retrograde. Scholars seem to have concluded simultaneously that the riddle of Washington has been solved. This collection insists that in order to understand the era of Jim Crow, we must come to terms with Washington and his autobiography. It uses Washington, his autobiography, and his program to consider the meanings of Up From Slavery, the plight of African Americans, and possible responses by blacks in the United States and elsewhere to the "highest stage of white supremacy."
Collectively and individually, these essays shed light on aspects of Washington and his life that have been poorly understood. Several essays clarify the treacherous political and cultural context in which he operated, thereby revising conventional assumptions about his latitude for action. Other essays delve into previously ignored topics, including Washington's tactics of self-representation, his strategy for economic development, his invocations of Protestantism in a seemingly secular ideology of racial uplift, and his deft exploitation of his masculinity in an age when black masculinity was suspect.
Neither a critique nor an apologia, Booker T. Washington and Black Progress offers fresh perspectives by leading scholars on one of the most remarkable and influential figures in turn-of-the-century America, providing a new appreciation of both the man and his times.
1. Reconsidering Booker T. Washington and Up From Slavery
W. Fitzhugh Brundage
2. Up From Slavery as History and Biography
Louis R. Harlan
3. In Search of Booker T. Washington: Up From Slavery, History, and Legend
Waldo Martin
4. Understanding the Wizard: Another Look at the Age of Booker T. Washington
Robert J. Norrell
5. What Made Booker Wash(ington)? The Wizard of Tuskegee in Economic Context
Peter A. Coclanis
6. More Than an Artichoke: The Pragmatic Religion of Booker T. Washington
Wilson J. Moses
7. "Curious Silence"? African American Women in Up From Slavery
8. Booker T. Washington's Strategies of Manliness, for Black and White Audiences
David Leverenz
9. Moving Beyond the Accommodation/Resistance Divide: Race and Gender in the Discourse of
Louise Newman
10. Up From Slavery for South Africans: Booker T. Washington's Classic Autobiography Abridged
Hunt Davis
W. Fitzhugh Brundage is William B. Umstead Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. His publications include Lynching in the New South and Where These Memories Grow.
"This new book may have readers rethinking, rediscovering, and retaining the ideology of one of our greatest leaders."
--Black Issues Book Review
"An important contribution for those interested in the life and politics of Booker T. Washington." "Quite inspiring. Much like Du bois, modern scholars have begun to rethink the ways in which we see Booker T. Washington."
--The Alabama Review
"An outstanding book. Overall, Booker T. Washington and Black Progress should provoke vigorous discussion about Up from Slavery and its controversial author. This slender book could well help to complete the reinterpretation of Washington begun nearly fifty years ago by August Meier and continued in the work of Louis Harlan."
--The Journal of Southern History
"An outstanding book." "This slender book could well help to complete the reinterpretation of Washington begun nearly fifty years ago by August Meier and continued in the work of Louis Harlan."
"A timely collection." "The essays are well written; all are interesting, and many are quite provocative."
--The Journal of American History
NASA and the Long Civil Rights Movement
Robert R. Church Jr. and the African American Political Struggle
Global Garveyism
Fugitive Slaves and Spaces of Freedom in North America
Franciscans and American Indians in Pan- Borderlands Perspective
Creating Citizenship in the Nineteenth-Century South
The Seedtime, the Work, and the Harvest
Between Washington and Du Bois
New Directions in the Study of African American Recolonization
Voices of Civil Rights Lawyers
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Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii
R.D. Bartlett and Patricia P. Bartlett
Paper ISBN 13: 9780813032986 - Pub Date: 5/10/2009 Details: 256 pages, 6x9 Subject(s): Miscellaneous - Natural History
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Comprehensive, informative, fully illustrated guides designed for the general reader and amateur naturalist!
"A little less technical than other field guides, with a writing style that will appeal to non-scientists. As an in-depth guide covering just western amphibians, it includes more material about each species than other reptile and amphibian guides can cover."--Daniel Cox, Arizona Game and Fish Department
More than 500 species and subspecies of amphibians and reptiles can be found in the western United States. This set of three field guides offers a complete survey of the frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes, turtles, and lizards that reside west of the Rocky Mountains (north of Mexico) and in Hawaii.
These animals are found in habitats that range from seaside sand dunes to rocky montane outcroppings, and from mossy grottos to deciduous forests. Uniquely adapted to their environments, all are interesting, a few could be considered beautiful, and a small number are venomous.
In each volume, species are grouped alphabetically by scientific name within each order. Color photographs are accompanied by descriptive text that details the appearance, naturally occurring color morphs, behavior, range/habitat, and prey of each species--as well as species with which it may be confused.
Geared toward a popular audience of people interested in reptiles and amphibians, the three volumes allow for greater depth in the descriptions of species than other field guides that survey all herpetofauna under one cover. R. D. and Patricia Bartlett employ a writing style that is accessible and informative without being overly technical. In their completeness, the authors even include information on introduced species
R. D. Bartlett is a veteran herpetologist/herpetoculturist with over forty years' experience writing, photographing, and educating people about reptiles and amphibians. He is the author, with Patricia P. Bartlett, a full-time editor and writer, of more than fifty books on the subject, including Florida's Snakes.
"Excellent color photographs and distribution maps accompany text on abundance and range, habitat, size, identifying features, voice, and how to distinguish from similar species."
--Book News Inc.
"Excellent color photographs and distribution maps."
--Book News
"Easy-to-use field guides that cover the wide range of these diverse and interesting creatures."
--Wildife Activist
Other RICHARD BARTLETT Books
Florida's Frogs, Toads, and Other Amphibians: A Guide to Their Identification and Habits
Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii
Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Eastern and Central North America (North of Mexico)
Guide and Reference to the Turtles and Lizards of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii
Florida's Snakes: A Guide to Their Identification and Habits
Guide and Reference to the Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America (North of Mexico)
Reptiles and Amphibians of the Amazon: An Ecotourist's Guide
Florida's Turtles, Lizards, and Crocodilians: A Guide to Their Identification and Habits
Guide and Reference to the Crocodilians, Turtles, and Lizards of Eastern and Central North America (North of Mexico)
Other Patricia Bartlett Books
Wild Capital
The Annotated Old Fourlegs
Identification and Geographical Distribution of the Mosquitoes of North America, North of Mexico
Returning North with the Spring
Fruits of Eden
The Bottlenose Dolphin
The Windward Road
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