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Three qualify in Spain for The 148th Open
Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
sport@thechronicle.uk.com
Sunday 30 June 2019 18:43
CHRISTIAAN Bezuidenhout, Mike Lorenzo-Vera and Adri Arnaus qualified for The 148th Open at Royal Portrush at the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters hosted by the Sergio Garcia Foundation at Valderrama on Sunday.
The Andalucia Masters is the eighth event in The Open Qualifying Series and offers golfers around the world the opportunity to qualify through leading Tour events for golf’s original championship at Royal Portrush from 14-21 July.
It is the first time the European Tour event has featured as part of the series and three places in The Open were on offer to the leading non-exempt players who finished in the top ten and ties.
Bezuidenhout secured his Major Championship debut in style by winning the prestigious championship with a level par final round of 71 for a ten-under-par total of 274. The 25-year-old saw off the challenge of his playing partner and home favourite, John Rahm, who is already exempt for The Open, and showed steely resolve to recover from a string of four bogeys in five holes from the 3rd with three consecutive birdies from the 9th.
Rahm was joined on four-under-par for the tournament by Lorenzo-Vera and Arnaus, who secured the remaining places in The Open thanks to their higher positions in the Official World Golf Ranking than Spanish duo Alvaro Quiros and Eduardo de la Riva, who were on the same mark.
The Frenchman holed a 20 foot putt from the edge of the green at Valderrama’s challenging par four 18th for a three-under round of 68 to move to four-under-par overall and ultimately secure his second appearance in The Open after playing at Royal Birkdale in 2017. Three birdies in his opening six holes set the 34-year-old former Challenge Tour number one on his way and par golf from there was enough to secure his place in the field on the Antrim coast in two weeks’ time.
Arnaus cemented his reputation as a rising star of Spanish golf with a final round of two-under-par 69 that saw him pick up four shots in five holes from the 12th. The 24-year-old former Spanish Amateur Champion will play in his second consecutive major at Royal Portrush having finished tied 58th in the US Open at Pebble Beach earlier this month.
“It’s amazing. It has always been a dream of mine to play in The Open and it’s going to be a great week," said Christiaan Bezuidenhout.
"I’m definitely looking forward to it. It’s my favourite major of the year and just to play in it is really special. It’s going to mean a lot to me to play in front of the crowd there."
Mike Lorenzo-Vera said the experience of playing The Open at Royal Birkdale two years ago has whetted his appetite for Royal Portrush.
"To play The Open in Northern Ireland is going to be a bit special as well," he said.
"The crowd haven’t had it for a long time so I guess it will be a fantastic experience.
“It’s going to be magic."
Adri Arnaus admitted it was 'incredible' to play so well on home soil.
“It’s just an incredible feeling to come out and be able to play that good and earn one of those spots, I mean that’s just incredible," he said.
“Portrush is definitely going to be packed and I’m really looking forward to playing some links golf in front of these crowds and getting another experience under my belt.”
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Are Intangibles Now the Most Important Asset Class in the Global Economy?
October 18, 2019 Jason Sandler Vice President in Marsh’s Financial and Professional Liability Group Matthew Flug Senior Underwriter at Ambridge Partners
The U.S. Supreme Court is shown after members of the court issued major rulings on copyright law in Washington, D.C. There are 13,000 intellectual property lawsuits filed in federal court each year in the U.S. alone.
Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images
Over the past half century, intangible assets have skyrocketed in terms of their saliency and criticality with respect to modern businesses. Often more difficult to value than physical assets, it is easy to miscalculate a business’s reliance on patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and similar intellectual property (IP) of the like.
From a large technology company’s source code to a small entrepreneur’s medical device patents, unique IP is more often than not what unlocks considerable investment opportunities, growth and business innovation.
In the modern era, particularly in advanced economies such as the United States, IP matters should be a habitual concern for risk managers and general counsel across the board. Just as a business’s security department would aim to prevent office equipment and inventory from being stolen or misused, the same mindset should apply to the business’s (potentially much more valuable) intangible assets. While IP may demonstrate a more abstract and difficult risk to protect, it should nonetheless be top of mind, and there are new tools to manage and transfer intangible risks that are well-suited to protect these modern assets for the prudent modern business.
The Majority of Company Value Is Now Intangible
Recognizing the evolution of IP as an integral part of business is a somewhat newer prospect; many industries have proven to be largely unprepared to protect some of their most vital assets. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) now claims that IP is the most valuable asset class on the planet. Their data suggests that through the 1980s, tangible assets accounted for around 80% of company value, and now, more than thirty years later, the reverse is the case, with 80% of company value composed of intangibles.
The IP merchant bank Ocean Tomo’s 2015 Intangible Asset Market Value Study said that the S&P 500’s intangible asset base accounts for 84% of the total value of the index, up by an astounding 52% since 1985.
This widespread economic shift has facilitated globalization and the rapid transmission of products and services throughout the world.
We have seen that stronger IP undoubtedly leads to more opportunities for businesses with foresight in terms of accessible financing, scalability, innovation and building as well as maintaining a unique, protectable and valuable brand. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that IP in the U.S. alone is worth around $6.6 trillion, which is more than the nominal GDP of any other country in the world. Furthermore, IP accounts for 52% of all U.S. merchandise exports, which amounts to nearly $842 billion.
Navigating the Risks of the Intangible Economy
Along with the opportunities for tremendous growth from which developed economies have benefitted for the past half century, the widespread transformation to a less tangible economy carries new problems for modern businesses. Few companies have developed or otherwise obtained sophisticated intellectual capital management capabilities, which would include effective risk management of their intangible assets.
There are 13,000 intellectual property lawsuits filed in federal court each year in the U.S. alone. IP litigation can create inordinate expenses for a business, with U.S. companies spending a total of $3.17 billion in 2018, notwithstanding any eventual settlements or damages owed. With average patent damage awards of $30 million from a settlement and $599 million from a plaintiff verdict, companies can absolutely not afford to be complacent.
Damages at these levels are clearly catastrophic for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
What makes the IP space all that much more litigious is the threat from both practicing entities (competitors or other operating companies), and nonpracticing entities (firms that hold IP assets but do not engage in commerce). Even if a company can prevail in an IP lawsuit, such victories often come at the expense of significant opportunity cost due to the distraction of resources caused by the activity of defending an IP lawsuit — not to mention the potential for an adverse impact on morale. Not surprisingly, some of the most litigious companies operate in particularly R&D-heavy industries, such as telecommunications and life sciences.
Virtually no successful business would consider operating without the protection of property and casualty insurance.
Intangible asset risks are not exclusive to small businesses or the high-tech industry. Just this past year, Belgian shoe company Shoe Branding Europe challenged the validity of the European Union trademark registration for Adidas’ three-stripe logo, after an attempt to obtain a trademark for its own two-stripe design was challenged by Adidas. The General Court of the European Union agreed with Shoe Branding’s assertion, a ruling that resulted in Adidas losing their trademark registration and no longer being able to prevent other companies from using the stripe designs that comprise their classic logo. Such challenges to a business’s IP assets can be highly detrimental to branding and, ultimately, profit.
Nevertheless, very few companies effectively insure their intangible assets, even though such less-physical assets often represent the most critical components of their success and survival. Traditional corporate insurance packages such as commercial general liability largely provide only a narrow sliver of intangible risk protection that is insufficient to provide adequate protection and thus inadequate for modern businesses.
Insuring Intangibles
For years, IP insurance programs were too expensive, offered insufficient limits, had limited data to apply to underwriting and were generally difficult to obtain.
Fortunately, a new set of comprehensive intangible asset risk-transfer products has emerged. Dedicated IP insurance policies can now provide a real opportunity for companies to manage and transfer IP-associated risks. There are four types of IP insurance products: contingency, residual, offensive and defensive.
Contingency insurance covers known risks. For example, a contingency policy might provide catastrophic loss protection for the defendant in a known, ongoing IP litigation.
Residual insurance policies backstop the valuation of intangible assets pledged as collateral to secure a loan.
Offensive insurance may cover the costs of IP enforcement and is closely aligned with litigation finance.
Defensive IP insurance, now being the most affordable and readily available of the four, protects a company’s registered IP and products or services from external attack and can backstop a company’s contractual obligations.
A robust defensive IP insurance policy will provide all three of the foregoing coverages, including protection from not only defense costs, but also damages (from settlements or judgments) in the case of an inbound infringement suit or contractual indemnification claim. The market will now even allow a company to tailor coverage by scheduling select registered IP, products and services or contractual indemnification obligations, as requested by the client.
Intellectual Property Investment Risk Mitigation
Jason Sandler
Vice President in Marsh’s Financial and Professional Liability Group
Jason Sandler is a vice president in Marsh’s financial and professional liability group (FINPRO), located in New York City. Jason is focused on bringing innovative solutions to market for Marsh’s clients, within the financial and professional lines of insurance.
The US Is Greatly Expanding Its Review of M&A on National Security Grounds
Matthew Flug
Senior Underwriter at Ambridge Partners
Matthew Flug is a senior underwriter with Ambridge Partners and resident manager of the firm’s San Francisco office. He focuses on underwriting complex financial and transactional programs and developing innovative risk-transfer solutions in a rapidly evolving market.
How China’s Policies Have Stifled Global Innovation
Is the EU About To End ‘Free’ Data?
Hazards of Intellectual Property: What Smart Companies Should Do
URL: http://www.brinknews.com/are-intangibles-now-the-most-important-asset-class-in-the-global-economy/
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Jockeying for the Buddha
by SUNANDA K. DATTA-RAY, Telegraph India, May 5, 2007
Buddhism gains nothing from being made the official Thai religion
Bangkok, Thailand -- Two ornate gilt chairs are reserved for monks in a glass enclosure in the viewing gallery on the sixth floor of Bangkok’s new Suvarnabhumi airport. There are so many such marks of respect for Buddhism that last week’s demonstration to give the religion official status seemed unnecessary to many who watched the saffron-draped monks, devotees in pure white and nine lumbering elephants. They had trudged 18 km in the gruelling heat.
Foreigners were not alone in finding this display of militant devotion redundant. Even Prasong Soonsui, chairman of Thailand’s Constitution Drafting Committee, was quoted as saying that while, as a Buddhist, he does not object to Buddhism being made the state religion, formal recognition does not seem important. In self-perception as well as in the world’s eyes, Thailand is a Buddhist nation.
Nepal is similarly Hindu, irrespective of Maoist dogma. Nor can officially secular India help being perceived by the world as Hindu. These are matters of identity, not legislation. Laws are enacted either when identity is in doubt or as a foot in the door of state-sanctioned bigotry. That is what the 300 social welfare organizations behind the Thai demand may want.
Thailand is one of the world’s most permissive societies. Blossoming into a countrywide Rest-and-Recreation resort during the Vietnam war, it has never looked back. Of course, Thailand has a great deal more to offer in terms of history, culture, art and religion. But the reputation sticks and many Westerners who visit Thailand (especially on charter flights from cities like Hamburg) do so to gratify the flesh rather than give solace to the spirit. Thais who are unconnected with the trade prefer to look the other way.
That industry is not affected by the bigger turmoil that engulfs Thailand, and from which the Buddhism demand flows. It is the search for stability and equilibrium among various forces — the throne, the military, the dhamma (dharma, shorthand for the religious establishment), the politicians and the national elite. The situation is not unlike Pakistan’s. Thailand’s army chief, General Sonthi Boonyarataglin, now also Council for National Security chairman, struck on September 19, 2006, because he suspected the prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, of trying to remove him.
Thaksin’s sale of his family telecommunications concern, Shin Corp, to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings for $1.9 billion allowed Sonthi to appeal to nationalist opinion with leaked reports of Singaporeans acquiring control of Thai satellites and eavesdropping on, if not managing, the traffic in high-security messages. The fact that Temasek’s chief, Ho Ching, is the wife of Singapore’s prime minister was also a factor. So was Thaksin’s astuteness in selling Shin Corp via his son and daughter in a deal that evaded tax. Another factor against the sale seems to be the reportedly dubious status of the Malaysia-registered company, Kularb Kaew, through which Temasek apparently made the purchase. All this enabled the authors of the coup to overthrow a popularly elected prime minister and establish military rule to present their handiwork as an act of patriotism.
The problem is how to consolidate its outcome. Many suspect that the real aim is not balance but imbalance, not strong governance but the absence of it. Continued military rule would recall memories of such army dictators as Sarit Thanarat and Thanom Kittikachorn, and the repression and massacres with which their regimes were associated. So the search is on for a political fig-leaf and, perhaps, a constitutional system that prevents any single party from winning a popular mandate like Thaksin’s Thai Rak Thai party. A number of weak parties in a coalition arrangement would nicely suit the military and its shadowy patrons and allies.
In particular, it would appeal to the aged but formidable former prime minister, General Prem Tinsulanonda, who is a special adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej and is seen as the grey eminence behind the coup. General Prem never liked the independent-minded, plebeian, supposedly ethnic Chinese Thaksin who is said to be lacking in reverence for the monarch. Another popular, populist and powerful prime minister would not be to the veteran’s liking.
The danger of such jockeying is that everyone chips in with a demand. That is what Buddhist militants have done. The faith will gain nothing from official status. Nor will the kingdom. On the contrary, Sri Lanka’s plight is a warning against politicizing religion. Thailand may not as yet be faced with the same dire peril. But last week also marked the third anniversary of the bloodbath when Muslims attacked police outposts in the south, the army bombarded their Krue Se Mosque and killed 107 militants. Survivors gave them a martyrs’ burial.
Ceaseless strife since then in the Pattani, Narathiwat and Yala regions of an ancient sultanate that originally paid tribute to the Siamese kings but which British imperialism divided between Siam and Malaya in 1909 has taken toll of more than 2,000 lives. Like the Tamil Tigers, Muslim militants enjoy an extended reach. They are now able to plant their bombs in the capital city.
It is not clear whether they want independence or to join neighbouring Malaysia. But being localized, they still cannot challenge the supremacy of a faith that accounts for nearly 95 per cent of Thais. Like all male Buddhists, the king even did a stint in a monastery in 1956. Unlike Britain’s monarch, who is supreme governor of the Church of England, he practises what he preaches.
Another difference is that instead of being Defender of the Faith like Queen Elizabeth, he is Defender of Faiths, the inclusive role Prince Charles would also like. General Sonthi, a Muslim and an ecumenical symbol, wants Thailand’s proposed constitution explicitly to “take care of other religions, including Christianity and Islam.” This would not conflict with the position of a Buddhist monarch who also bears the Hindu title of Rama IX and whose kingdom formerly took its name from Ayodhya.
The CNS is one of 12 agencies that will study the draft constitution and make suggestions to the Constitution Drafting Assembly. The proposal to make Buddhism the state religion has provoked counter-allegations about the extravagant and debauched lifestyle of some monks, lewd entertainment in some temples and get-rich-quick amulet scams in certain monasteries. But while this might justify an examination of monks and monasteries and a purge of guilty elements, it has no bearing on the constitutional controversy. The song is not discredited even if all the singers are at fault — which is plainly not so.
The question of a state religion can only be decided on an assessment of national priorities and politics. A government that welcomed this week’s visit of the Organization of Islamic Conference secretary-general, Ekmeleddin Ishanolgu, is unlikely to succumb to Buddhist fanaticism. Indeed, the two words sound like a contradiction in terms for Buddhism is a humanistic way of life with no place for extremism. But medieval Japan’s Ikko-Ikki rebels, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike’s murder by a bhikku and self-immolating monks in erstwhile South Vietnam prove that Buddhists are like other men when it comes to fundamentalist excesses.
A placard during last week’s demonstration threatening Thailand would be “on fire” if the government did not yield warned of similar pressures. A brusque rejection could inflame passions and unite a large number of even reasonable Buddhists behind an emotive demand. But capitulation might fuel Muslim insurgency.
General Sonthi is probably right in arguing that whether or not Buddhism enjoys official status, “thugs” in the south will continue their depredations. But apart from the need to avoid provocation, conceding the demand would convert one of Asia’s most liberal countries into a theocracy. That would indeed betray the benign heritage of the world’s first pacifist ruler, emperor Asoka, from whose Third Buddhist Council, convened around 250 B.C., Thais and others of the Theravada school claim spiritual descent. It might also give ideas to Hindutva zealots.
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Chaléwood
Ep. 127 – Dark Phoenix, I Am Mother
June 10, 2019 by Jerrod Kingery
This week on The CineSnob Podcast, Cody and Jerrod review Fox’s X-Men swan song DARK PHOENIX and the Netflix sci-fi thriller I AM MOTHER.
Click here to download the episode!
Tags: Dark Phoenix, Fox, Hilary Swank, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Marvel, Michael Fassbender, Netflix, Rose Byrne, Simon Kinburg, Sophie Turner, x-men, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, X-Men: Apocalypse
May 23, 2014 by Jerrod Kingery
Filed under Jerrod, Reviews
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender
Directed by: Bryan Singer (“X-Men,” “X2: X-Men United”)
Written by: Simon Kinburg (“X-Men: The Last Stand,” “Sherlock Holmes”)
In this golden age of comic book movies, the X-Men franchise is the unlikely elder statesman. Bill Clinton was still president when the first film hit theaters in 2000, for crying out loud, and since then we’ve had two different sets of Spider-Man movies, three different versions of the Hulk, and we’re working on our second go-round with both Batman and Superman. And the X-movies, with their often blatant disregard for continuity with one another, fly in the face of the clockwork-precision the current slate of Avengers-based blockbusters Marvel and Disney are pumping out. It’s no secret that Hugh Jackman’s Logan/Wolverine is the glue that holds everything together, anchoring the everything from the best (“X2”) and worst (“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”) in the series with his definitive take on the most popular X-Man. “X-Men: Days of Future Past” is no different, only this time it shrewdly sends the mutant MVP back through time to undo some of the franchise’s most glaring missteps in an adventure that ranks among the series’ strongest.
Opening in a dystopian future — and weirdly, seeming to shrug off the post-credits sequence of “The Wolverine” — “Days of Future Past” finds Logan, Professor X (Patrick Stewart), Magneto (Ian McKellan), and a small group of X-Men fighting for their lives against shape-shifting killer robots known as Sentinels. Originally meant to hunt down mutants, the Sentinels’ programming changed to include taking out mutant-sympathizing humans as well. In an effort to end the war before it begins, Professor X hatches a plan with Kitty Pride (Ellen Page) to send Logan’s consciousness back through time into his younger body. His goal is to unite the younger Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) and Erik Lesherr (Michael Fassbender) to stop Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) from assassinating Sentinel creator Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage), an event that set humankind on a mission to eradicate mutants from the world.
Returning to the franchise for the first time since “X2,” director Bryan Singer seems to have one goal in mind: clean up the mess the series has become. Singer and screenwriter Simon Kinburg rely heavily on the audience being familiar with most of the events in “X-Men,” “X2,” “X-Men: The Last Stand,” “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” and the prequel “X-Men: First Class” (again, oddly, the superior “The Wolverine” is largely ignored), and the duo make a massive effort to smash all of that into a timeline that makes sense within itself (spoiler: it never does). Thinking about it too much can make your head hurt, and thankfully the film is exciting enough that you don’t need to worry about it. At this point Jackman IS Wolverine, and his performance is as badass and funny as ever. The “First Class” cast, led by Lawrence, McAvoy, Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult (as Hank McCoy/Beast) all shine as well. “Days of Future Past” ultimately serves as a giant reset button and with Singer back at the helm, the future of the franchise seems brighter than ever.
Tags: 2014, Bryan Singer, Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellan, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, jerrodreview, Michael Fassbender, Nicolas Hoult, Patrick Stewart, Peter Dinklage, Simon Kinburg, X-Men: Days of Future Past
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Home | About us | Editorial board | Search
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Year : 2010 | Volume : 1 | Issue : 4 | Page : 207
Science and human welfare
SG Damle
Editor-In-Chief, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala (HR), India
S G Damle
Editor-In-Chief, Maharishi Markandeshwar University, Mullana, Ambala (HR)
DOI: 10.4103/0976-237X.76383
Damle S G. Science and human welfare. Contemp Clin Dent 2010;1:207
Damle S G. Science and human welfare. Contemp Clin Dent [serial online] 2010 [cited 2020 Jan 21];1:207. Available from: http://www.contempclindent.org/text.asp?2010/1/4/207/76383
Man lives in two worlds - the world of matter and the world of spirit. The scientist indeed is the ruler of the world of matter which is completely under his dominance. But the latter is altogether beyond his sway. The scientific mind seems quite helpless in the world of spirit which is of vital importance for human life, his interrelationship, relationship with nature, spiritual rituals and ways of being which form an essential and important part of his life. Moreover, there are large lacunae in clearly understanding man's relation with God and nature. There are fundamental queries of birth and death, sin and virtue - which science is unable to explain and these form an integral part of human life. These finer mysteries still remain far beyond the reach of human mind and are likely to continue to remain so.
It is true that science encourages forward looking and active temper of mind. It helps in removing the cobwebs of superstition, dogma and ignorance. It provides insight into the complexities of life and outer space, but unsupplemented and uncorrected, it gives an inadequate view of the world. The human mind envisages endless possibilities to unravel the mysteries of this world and beyond with constant support and funding in billions. India also is striding towards becoming an innovative superpower within this century. It sounds extremely wonderful and fascinating. The scientific manpower in India is estimated to be three million, with its nationals leading the world in cutting-edge technology. But in spite of this potential resource the other side is that there are many who lack access to basic life care, education and amenities. For 63 years (1947-2011) we have been celebrating Republic and Independence Day. However, in spite of having the maximum number of medical and dental institutions which provide a large number of medical scientists, India's health system is under consistant burden of infectious diseases. A large section of the society lives in poverty and many die of hunger, malnutrition, infectious diseases like TB, HIV-AIDS and also due lack of basic care and basic healthcare which is their fundamental right. What to talk of the oral healthcare which is considered far below satisfaction. All these scientific advances, achievements by the scientific mind, are of no worth to these underprivileged. How do we bridge the gap, provide for all, educate and provide for meaningful existence? How do we accomplish this mammoth task? The scientist with all his logic and objective enquiry is not capable of achieving it. That is where the world of spirit enters. For is it not the undying devotion towards God, spiritualism, the undying human spirit that provides for the existence of these marginalized sections? The coordination of the different branches and sub-branches of knowledge and its application to human welfare is the main function of man's life.
It is, therefore, with the temper and approach of science allied to philosophy and with reverence for all that lies beyond that we must face life. The research advancements and benefit of science exists only when it percolates downwards benefitting all. Thus we may develop an integral vision of life which embraces in its wide scope the past and the present with all their heights and depths.
Human welfare should be the ultimate goal of science, because in the end are we not inhabitants of the same world whose actions affect fellow human beings?
Damle S G
© 2010 Contemporary Clinical Dentistry | Published by Wolters Kluwer - Medknow
Online since 10th March, 2010
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Devon Markowski, TCRG
Devon began Irish Step Dancing at the age of 7 with the Patricia Murphy School of Irish Dance in New Jersey. After receiving numerous awards at local Feisanna she began to compete on the championship level at age 10. Throughout her career she has placed on both the Regional and National levels, and qualified and competed at the World Championships. Irish Dancing has taken her all around the US, Canada, Ireland and Scotland. She most recently placed first at the 2009 Mid Atlantic Regional Oireachtas in Philadelphia and second at the 2010 North American Championships in Orlando, FL as part of a Dance Drama team.
In addition to competing, Devon has performed in shows throughout her career, including at Carnegie Hall with Frank Patterson, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel. For the last 14 years, she has assisted in classes, teaching both ceili and solo dancing to children on every level from beginner to championship. She retired from solo competition after 18 years, and was granted her T.C.R.G. (Irish Dancing teacher’s certificate) in December 2011 in Vancouver.
Erin Markowski
Erin began Irish Step Dancing at the age of 6 with the Patricia Murphy School of Irish Dance in New Jersey. She began competing on the championship level at age nine, taking her to Regional, National, and World Championships all over the world. Even though Erin enjoyed competing, her true love was performing for a variety of audiences. Like Devon, Erin performed at Carnegie Hall with Frank Patterson, the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, and the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, as well as many local parades and shows.
In addition to being an accomplished Irish Dancer, Erin has pursued a career in wellness and physical fitness. She holds many nationally recognized certifications, including personal training, group exercise, and spinning.
Reilly Bonner
Reilly started Irish Dancing at age four with the Patricia Murphy School of Irish Dance in New Jersey and then finished her career with the Devrin Academy of Irish Dance. She began competing at local Feisanna at the age of five and reached championship level at age twelve. Reilly has competed and placed at the Regional level and National level. Reilly loves competing, but her true dream has always been to become a certified Irish Dancing teacher. Reilly’s last National and Regional competition was in 2015 and she is now on the road to obtaining her TCRG. Reilly has been assistant teaching for the Devrin Academy since 2012 and will continue to teach alongside Devon and Erin once she obtains her TCRG. She hopes to continue to spread her love of Irish Dance, competition, and performing for many generations of Irish Dancers to come.
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How Diabetes Affects Your Skeleton
By Andrew Curry September 2017 CC---Joints, Complications and Conditions,
GeorgHanf/Thinkstock
As common as they seem, broken bones are a major health problem. For older people, a broken hip or leg can be a life-altering event, reducing their independence and shortening their lives. About 1.5 million people in the United States have a bone disease–related fracture each year—often involving a hip, leg, or wrist. A disproportionate number of them are people with diabetes.
That may come as a surprise. Bone fractures aren’t commonly discussed as a diabetes-related complication, but over the past decade, researchers and clinicians have increasingly realized that diabetes may weaken bones, upping the risk for breaks. Large-scale studies show that people with diabetes are more likely to break bones, especially as they get older. People with type 2, for instance, are 30 to 40 percent more likely to break a hip in their lifetime than those without diabetes, according to a 2015 study published in the journal Osteoporosis International. For people with type 1, the risk is higher still: They’re 300 to 400 percent more likely to break a hip than someone without diabetes.
Numbers like that are beginning to turn heads in the diabetes care community. “Lots of endocrinologists and primary care physicians don’t think of skeletal fragility as a complication of diabetes,” says Sundeep Khosla, MD, a bone loss researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. “But bone and skeletal disease ought to be considered another diabetic complication, like nephropathy, cardiovascular disease, or neuropathy.”
Trend Tracking
Bones are made of minerals, mainly a mix of calcium and phosphorous. Those minerals are threaded through with tiny blood vessels and stabilized with a protein called collagen. Your bones aren’t static. Rather, they’re constantly being remodeled by specialized cells that remove old bone and put new material in place. You get a new skeleton once every seven years, give or take.
Why people with diabetes have more fractures is still an open question. “That’s something we don’t understand, and a topic of research,” says University of California–San Francisco epidemiologist Ann Schwartz, PhD, MPH. Bone research is complicated, particularly when it comes to diabetes: Unlike with skin or even muscle, it’s very difficult to take samples of bone from living patients. Even removing a tiny piece would be painful. (One of the few testing methods involves numbing part of the shin and hitting the bone underneath with a tiny hammer, then measuring the distance the probe indents the bone.) And there’s a lack of techniques that can identify what’s happening with bone blood vessels. Researchers use mice as stand-ins for type 1, but they’re far from perfect equivalents. There’s no good way to mimic type 2 diabetes in mice.
Unable to experiment directly, researchers first look at large-scale studies of people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes to tease out trends. The most obvious possibility might be that people with diabetes are more likely to fall than the general population. Neuropathy, nerve damage that affects the hands and feet, can make walking a challenge, for example. “In population studies, we looked at people with diabetes with fractures,” Khosla says. “When you looked at the relationship of complications to fracture risk, one that popped out was neuropathy.”
But when researchers crunched the numbers, neuropathy and other diabetes-related complications didn’t explain all of the differences in fracture frequency. People with type 1 are known to have lower bone density than people without diabetes, or even people with type 2. But increasingly, Schwartz says, researchers are realizing that people with type 2 diabetes might have weaker bones as well. “It turns out that people with diabetes have an increased risk of all fractures that isn’t related to fall risk,” she says. “That points out the intrinsic difference in the architecture of the bone.”
Density Determined
This, too, is a bit of a puzzle: At first glance, people with type 2 diabetes seem to have bones that have as much mineral in them as people without diabetes—or even more. The most common test doctors use to measure bone health is something called a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan. The procedure measures the density of mineral in the bone and is usually recommended for women over 65 and men over 70. However, the DEXA doesn’t measure things like collagen, the organic material that binds bone mineral together.
Based on DEXA results alone, there’s little difference in the bones of people with type 2 and people without. In fact, doctors often skip bone density measurements for people with diabetes—particularly people with type 2. Based on studies of healthy populations, Schwartz says, doctors assumed people who were overweight or obese, common in type 2, would have stronger, denser bones to support the extra weight. The standard tool doctors use to calculate fracture risk, a computer program called FRAX, doesn’t even include diabetes as a possible factor. “I suspect clinicians aren’t screening as often,” she says. “Now there’s more awareness that fracture risk is higher and this is a group that should have the same screenings as [people without diabetes].”
Factors Behind Fractures
DEXA test numbers don’t tell the whole story. Khosla thinks that when it comes to bone, the issue for people with type 2 diabetes may be one of quality, not quantity. “Normally people with type 2 diabetes have normal or increased bone density,” Khosla says. “But despite having normal bone density, they have an increased risk of fractures, perhaps because the bone quality is poor.” In people with type 1, the fracture risk is even worse, and weak bones may be the problem.
Like many complications of diabetes, there are probably lots of factors at play. Studies suggest that high blood glucose is partly responsible for weaker bones, for example. “Bone material properties were correlated with glycemic control over 10 years. The worse the glycemic control, the worse the bone material quality,” says Khosla. “If all this is correct, better glycemic control should help.”
Another factor could be problems with the tiny blood vessels that feed and help build bone—similar to the blood vessel damage that causes the eye disease diabetic retinopathy. Some diabetes medications—including thiazolidinediones (TZDs) such as pioglitazone (Actos)—are associated with higher fracture risks. Antidepressants, too, are connected with fractures, but it’s hard to know if the medications or the depression they’re treating causes the problem. And finally, there’s evidence that episodes of low blood glucose (hypoglycemia) can hurt bone cells, making them slower at repairing tiny cracks and building up new bone.
At the cellular level, people with diabetes may function differently than people without. “Lower rates of bone remodeling might impair the ability to repair microcracks and make them more vulnerable to fracture,” Khosla says.
People with type 1 face similar challenges, but for much longer periods. Because type 1 often strikes early in life, the ups and downs of blood glucose and other complications happen during a critical time for skeletal development and have many more years to affect bone health. “In type 1, you’re getting all those things together, and it’s happening during growth and development,” Khosla says. “Clinically, you have all of these changes and on top of that have worse bone density and weaker [bone structure].”
Researchers think people reach peak bone mass in their 20s; most people with type 1, then, never reach their full potential bone mass. “Since aging results in gradual loss of bone mass,” Schwartz says, “those with lower peak bone mass are more at risk for developing low bone density as they age.”
Risk Factors for Osteoporosis
Age: After age 30, the body begins to lose bone mass. The older you get, the less you have and the harder you have to work to maintain what’s left.
Gender: Women are four times as likely as men to have osteoporosis.
Family history: If your parents or grandparents fractured a hip after a fall, look out: You may have inherited weaker bones.
Body weight: Heavier people have thicker, denser bones. Thin people are at higher risk for bone mass loss because they have less bone to lose.
Strengthen Your Bones
If your doctor says you’re at greater risk for fracture, it’s possible to take action. “In general, the evidence is that the kind of treatments we use in people without diabetes work just as well in people with diabetes,” says University of California–San Francisco epidemiologist Ann Schwartz, PhD, MPH. Read on for tips for keeping bones strong.
Know your risk. “Patient awareness is a huge problem, especially in people dealing with other complications,” says Mayo Clinic researcher Sundeep Khosla, MD. Being aware of the fact that diabetes puts you at a higher risk for fractures will help you talk to your doctor about protecting your bones.
Get a DEXA scan. The most common measurement of bone health, the DEXA scan, is typically recommended for men over 70 and women over 65. But regardless of your results, it’s important to keep in mind that bone density isn’t the only factor in bone health. People with type 2, for example, might have bones that are as dense as people without diabetes, but the bones may still be weaker because of changes in the collagen that binds bone minerals together. “Bone density doesn’t tell you everything that’s going on,” says Schwartz. “It’s important to get a DEXA, but it’s going to underestimate the risk.”
Manage your blood glucose. Better blood glucose management equals better bone health. “There’s evidence that people with high blood glucose may have higher fracture risks,” says Schwartz. “Poor glycemic control definitely increases the risk of fracture.” Data from studies of thousands of people with diabetes show that when A1C is over 8 percent, there’s a spike in hip fractures.
Make lifestyle changes. Be sure your diet includes adequate sources of calcium and vitamin D, both critical for building new bone and maintaining what you’ve got. Even if you’re not deficient in the nutrients, it’s smart to get the recommended daily intake (RDI): For anyone age 4 and older, that’s 1,300 milligrams of calcium and 20 micrograms (800 IU) of vitamin D daily. And it might seem counterintuitive at first, but it’s important to stay active. “Exercise tends to reduce the risk of falling. It improves balance and strength,” says Schwartz. Meanwhile, consider revamping your workouts. Weight-bearing exercises, such as jogging or weight-lifting, can help strengthen bones.
Discuss medication. Because osteoporosis is such a common problem for older adults, there’s been a lot of research into drugs that slow or reverse the deterioration of bones, but they’re generally under-used in older people with diabetes. As the increased fracture risk that people with diabetes face becomes clear, and as researchers develop better measures of risk, the presence of diabetes itself may dictate the use of these medications, even when bone density measurement doesn’t show full-blown osteoporosis.
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Unemployment Rate by Gender
Year: 2000; Gender: All; Ordered: alphabetically; Region: 100 Largest MSAs
Print / PDF / Download Data / Email / + Share /
Alphabetical by Metro Area Male Female
Top 10/Bottom 10
Largest 100 Metro Areas
All 362 Metro Areas
Scale Range: 3.0% – 13.0%
1: Akron, OH
Male 5.0%
Female 5.0%
2: Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY
3: Albuquerque, NM
4: Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ
5: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA
6: Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC
7: Austin-Round Rock, TX
8: Bakersfield, CA
9: Baltimore-Towson, MD
10: Baton Rouge, LA
11: Birmingham-Hoover, AL
12: Boise City-Nampa, ID
13: Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
14: Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT
15: Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Tonawanda, NY
16: Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL
17: Charleston-North Charleston, SC
18: Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC
19: Chattanooga, TN-GA
20: Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI
21: Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN
22: Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH
23: Colorado Springs, CO
24: Columbia, SC
25: Columbus, OH
26: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
27: Dayton, OH
28: Denver-Aurora, CO
29: Des Moines, IA
30: Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI
31: El Paso, TX
32: Fresno, CA
33: Grand Rapids-Wyoming, MI
34: Greensboro-High Point, NC
35: Greenville, SC
36: Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA
37: Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT
38: Honolulu, HI
39: Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land, TX
40: Indianapolis, IN
41: Jackson, MS
42: Jacksonville, FL
43: Kansas City, MO-KS
44: Knoxville, TN
45: Lakeland-Winter Haven, FL
46: Lancaster, PA
47: Las Vegas-Paradise, NV
48: Little Rock-North Little Rock, AR
49: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA
50: Louisville, KY-IN
51: Madison, WI
52: McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr, TX
53: Memphis, TN-MS-AR
54: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL
55: Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI
56: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
57: Modesto, CA
58: Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro, TN
59: New Haven-Milford, CT
60: New Orleans-Metairie-Kenner, LA
61: New York-Newark-Edison, NY-NJ-PA
62: Ogden-Clearfield, UT
63: Oklahoma City, OK
64: Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA
65: Orlando, FL
66: Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA
67: Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL
68: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
69: Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ
70: Pittsburgh, PA
71: Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
72: Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown, NY
73: Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA
74: Provo-Orem, UT
75: Raleigh-Cary, NC
76: Richmond, VA
77: Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA
78: Rochester, NY
79: Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA
80: Salt Lake City, UT
81: San Antonio, TX
82: San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA
83: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
84: San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA
85: Sarasota-Bradenton-Venice, FL
86: Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
87: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
88: Springfield, MA
89: St. Louis, MO-IL
90: Stockton, CA
91: Syracuse, NY
92: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
93: Toledo, OH
94: Tucson, AZ
95: Tulsa, OK
96: Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
97: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
98: Wichita, KS
99: Worcester, MA
100: Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA
Definition: Share of population age 16+ in the labor force who are unemployed
Source: 2000 Census Summary File 3
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Community Enhancement Programme Grant - Round 2 now open for applications!
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Local Community Development Committee has announced that grant applications are being invited under the Community Enhancement Programme (CEP) Grants Programme 2018. The closing date for Applications is 5 p.m. on the 16th of January 2019.
The CEP is funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and administered by the Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs) in each Local Authority area. The total funding allocated for the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area is €361,092 with €253,000 having been allocated through the initial round of applications. The remaining funding of approximately €108,000 will be allocated through this second call for applications.
As far as possible, a minimum of 30% of the funding may be ring-fenced for projects costing up to €1,000 with the remaining funding being directed towards larger projects. The maximum grant that may be allocated to any one project under this round is €25,000.
Applications are invited for funding for capital projects that target the relevant groups or issues in disadvantaged areas and seek to enhance communities in disadvantaged areas as identified in the dlr Local Economic and Community Plan 2016-2021. Applications should relate to strategic themes in the dlr Local Economic and Community Plan 2016-2021 in order to be eligible for consideration.
In line with the ethos of the Scheme, applications for capital funding for projects targeting the following (non-exhaustive) list of groups and issues, including complementarity with the dlr Local Economic and Community Plan, will receive priority:
People with a disability
Ex-prisoners and families of prisoners/ex-prisoners
Projects promoting cultural activity
Projects promoting equality
Community development projects
Projects promoting integration
Projects which qualify under the Creative Ireland Programme 2017-2022 pillars
This information with associated Application Form and Criteria can be viewed online here: https://www.dlrcoco.ie/en/community/community-funding-support/community-enhancement-programme
Applications are to be received by 5 p.m. on the 16th of January 2019.
€300,000 in Sports Grants to Get Older Adults More Active More Often
A total of 1,118 groups across Ireland are celebrating the awarding of grants to fund physical activity for older people (over 50). The Go for Life National Grant Scheme from Age & Opportunity and Sport Ireland today announced grants totalling almost €300,000.
The aim of the grants is to improve the health and wellbeing of older people across the country by providing them with opportunities to engage in physical activity and sport. Groups benefitting this year include Men’s Sheds, ICA guilds, Active Retirement Groups, Local Sports Partnerships, Sports Clubs, Family Resources Centres and many others who provide older people with opportunities to get active.
Announcing the successful grantees at the Ballybough Community Centre, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Brendan Griffin TD, said:
‘Over the last seventeen years the National Grant Scheme funding has supported and empowered thousands of groups of older people to get more active more often and the record number of applications this year shows the continued importance of the scheme for groups throughout the country. Programmes like Go for Life, funded by Sport Ireland, will help us reach the targets set out in the National Physical Activity Plan and approximately 30,000 people nationwide will take part in the activities funded by the grants. The success of this scheme shows what can be achieved with a small investment and the importance of funding sport and physical activity, at any age.’
Speaking at the launch, John Treacy, Chief Executive of Sport Ireland said:
"Sport Ireland is delighted to partner with Age & Opportunity’s Go for Life Programme to support participation among older people in recreational sport activities. One of the key strategic objectives of Sport Ireland is increasing participation and initiatives such as this are a great way of encouraging people to get out and get active regardless of age or fitness level. I want to congratulate and acknowledge the groups themselves, and our own national network of Local Sports Partnerships, who continue to provide opportunities for older people to participate in sport and physical activity”.
Karen Smyth, CEO of Age & Opportunity commented: “The benefits of sport and physical activity are numerous, from the obvious health benefits to the increasingly important social benefits of inclusion and relationship-building. The Go for Life Programme and the Grant Scheme are helping to get more older people more active, more often and we are delighted to be support local groups to engage in such a wide variety of activities, demonstrating the richness of the ageing experience nationwide.”
The Grant Scheme is part of Age & Opportunity’s Go for Life programme, funded by Sport Ireland and delivered nationally with the support of Local Sports Partnerships and the HSE. The goal of the grants scheme is to encourage older people to get involved in sport and physical activity in their communities and the funds allocated are used by groups to buy equipment, run sports events or to try new activities. The record number of applications shows the importance of the scheme for groups throughout the country
Over €5.5million has been awarded in almost 12,000 grants during its lifetime. This year saw a record number of applications and of grants awarded and the number of groups applying continues to grow since the launch of the National Grant Scheme in 2001.
Sports Capital Grants Announcement 2017
Shane Ross T.D., Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Brendan Griffin T.D. Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, today announced €56m in allocations under the 2017 round of the Sports Capital Programme (SCP) to over 1,700 different sporting projects.
The SCP is the primary means of providing Government funding for capital projects to sport and community organisations at local, regional and national level. The 2017 round of the Programme closed for applications on the 24th February and by that date a record number of 2,320 applications were received.
Read more: Sports Capital Grants Announcement 2017
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East Mountain High School was founded in 1999 as one of the first charter schools in the state of New Mexico. From the beginning, the founders of EMHS had big dreams and big ambitions for this little school in the East Mountains. They saw no reason to accept the mediocrity and apathy that had seemed to invade traditional public schools, and dreamed of a school that would break the mold and truly challenge students to excel to their highest potential. In order the achieve that goal, they established a small school with small classes sizes, so that no one would get lost and fall through the cracks. Teachers were encouraged to design learning experiences for students that would engage them in real world, hands on questions while covering a rigorous college-preparatory curriculum. Parents and community members were encouraged to partner with the school and to get involved in students’ education. Everyone – students, teachers, parents and community members – was encouraged to put inquiry at the heart of learning and to think independently and creatively.
After just a decade, East Mountain High School has a tremendous record of success.
EMHS was recognized as a Bronze Star School by U.S. News & World Report, one of only 17 schools in New Mexico to receive such recognition.
EMHS is deemed an “A” school by the New Mexico Public Education Department
Over the past five years, an average of over 75% of students scored proficient or above in reading and over 65% of students scored proficient or above in math.
EMHS’ graduation rate is over 90% and more than 90% of students go on to college after graduation.
EMHS teachers have received some of the highest honors in the profession, including the American Stars of Teaching Award, the Presidential Innovation Award for Environmental Educators and National Board Certification.
EMHS has received over one million dollars in grant funding from such prestigious foundations as the Walton Family Foundation, the Albuquerque Community Foundation and the Daniels Fund.
Now is an exciting time at East Mountain High School. Our Principal, Monique Siedschlag, and our Governing Council are determined that EMHS will provide an education on par with the best public and private schools nationwide. This is no small goal, as New Mexico currently ranks 50th out of 50 states in the most recent Kids Count report on student success. This goal will require a revolution in the way that students, parents, teachers and the community thinks about education, a revolution that can and must take place one student at a time.
Read the EMHS Governing Council Strategic Vision here:
EMHS Strategic Plan-Final Version as of 1-22-18 (2)
Share Your EMHS Story
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Criticism/Media
Quickies!
QETV
The truth behind Stefan Molyneux’s response to the UK Guardian
On November 15, 2008, Stefan Molyneux and FreeDomain Radio received unexpected and unwelcome media attention. The Guardian newspaper in the UK published an article based on interviews with a defooed family and with Molyneux himself: (‘You’ll never see me again’) The article inspired global interest in the media and additional exposes followed.
Molyneux believed the Guardian article was inaccurate and biased. (On the latter point, he is partly correct.) Therefore, he published his response on the FDR forum: (How to Escape a “Controversial Online Community!)
As I read his response, I could see how anyone unfamilar with FDR might consider it to be believable.
As I read his response, I could see how anyone unfamilar with FDR might consider it to be believable. In my view, however, there was quite a lot more shading of the truth in his response than the initial article. What follows is my line-by-line analysis of his response. As you will see, some hidden truths lurk behind his defense.
I’ll state my own biases up front, so you can interpret my assessment as you will. I do believe that FreeDomain Radio (FDR) may be a therapeutic cult that is in the seminal stages of development. I don’t believe it was started with that intention. I don’t believe that Molyneux is particularly aware of this or that he would actually wish for it to be so. I won’t lay out my case or try to convince you of that here; for the sake of fairness, I simply want to be up front about it.
Second, I have no particular axe to grind with Molyneux or FDR. I have never joined nor posted to FDR, nor conversed with Molyneux in any way. More than anything else, the sociology of the place captured my attention and I have been documenting what I have found there more or less as a hobby.
If I have negative feelings about FDR at all, it is only because it promotes itself as a significant libertarian voice. Given the difficulty that libertarians in general have in helping people understand our point of view, I’m concerned that—if FDR is a significant voice—then they could be a detriment to the movement. For a large number of people, it is their first experience with libertarianism. Again, that is all my personal bias and it’s only fair that I state it at the outset.
So, knowing all that, here is my analysis. I know it is extremely long, but given the importance of the subject, I felt the only proper method was to do a close reading of Molyneux’s entire article theme-by-theme, addressing each in turn.
No, it’s not just a Web site.
Let’s start with the headline of Molyneux’s response.
How to Escape a “Controversial Online Community!” (um – close your browser..? )
The headline of the article strikes an important theme that will occur later in the response—Molyneux’s diminution of FDR as “simply a Web site.” To make his case, it is important for Molyneux to characterize FDR as a simple forum/podcast where people exchange ideas. The truth is, this is the first time I’ve heard Molyneux take such a humble view of FDR. His vision has always been grandiose.
FDR is a financial enterprise and Molyneux’s sole source of revenue. It is a complicated system of video and audio podcast outreach, on-line forum, chatroom, media library, books, and a distribution of members into a hierarchy. There is clearly a social system on display: at the highest level in the hierarchy is an inner circle that enforces behavior and thoughts posted to the site. Critics of the site or Molyneux are swiftly purged.
FDR members have vacationed together, attended annual BBQ’s at the Molyneux home together, attended philosophy and psychology seminars conducted Molyneux and his wife, and more.
Yahoo is a Web site. I can’t even think of a comparison for FreeDomain Radio.
But above all—more than anything else—FDR members are intellectually, psychologically, and emotionally invested in a utopian worldview based on Molyneux’s unique approach to anarcho-capitalism. Even though they understand at some level that the utopian society they hope for is at minimum generations away, their investment is powerful enough for many of them to live lives in near-isolation, each one a modern-day Diogenes, hoping to find “honest and virtuous relationships” based on Molyneux’s definition of such relationships.
Molyneux continues:
I have already expressed my regret about how this article may affect Tom. Putting that aside for the moment, here are some of my thoughts.
I’ll put it aside, too. We’ll both come back to it later on.
Molyneux (briefly) puts on a stiff upper lip, proclaiming he is glad to have his group exposed:
I am glad that the article is out — we had to gain media attention at some point, and now is as good time as any. I am especially pleased that the concept that family relations are voluntary, and should be enriched and deepened if at all possible, is receiving such wide exposure.
There are particular biases in the article that I think are worth examining…
Glad? At the time of this writing, it has been discovered that those who now visit Liberating Minds (a site that contains a sub-forum where Molyneux’s ideas are discussed, often critically) and click on a link that leads to FreeDomain Radio may find themselves IP banned from FDR. Not just Liberating Minds members—anyone whose browser tells FDR that the previously visited site was Liberating Minds. This happened the day after the furor over the Guardian article began.
Somehow, this doesn’t seem like the actions of someone who is glad. More like the action of someone furiously trying to control the conversation.
Somehow, this doesn’t seem like the actions of someone who is glad. More like the action of someone furiously trying to control the conversation. [Ed.—Molyneux appears to have edited his initial post long after this article was written. The line about being glad has been removed!]
The question isn’t whether the article is biased, but why?
More important, let’s consider the apparent bias of the article.
Molyneux is correct, of course. The Guardian article is slanted. But is that good or bad? The reporter clearly wrote the article from a particular point of view and made no attempt to hide it. And so what? It’s not hard news.
The better question is what led this reporter to her bias?
My perspective is the Guardian article is a result of the reporter’s research. If she had written instead a chronology of how she researched and wrote the article, perhaps the perception of bias might have been different. Here’s an imagined chronology:
A mother calls the Guardian and complains that a Web site ate her son. The reporter is skeptical. It’s far more likely that something bad has happened in the family.
She begins to research—how could a simple Web site influence kids to leave their parents? But then she’s surprised to learn from the son’s siblings that they remember a happy childhood.
She talks to cult experts about the techniques of Undue Influence.
She logs onto the FDR chatroom to watch Tom’s mother attacked by other FDR members. She listens to the podcasts. She reads the books. She hears the many contradictions in Molyneux’s claims (“I don’t charge anything for what it is I do”—except FDR is his sole source of revenue.). She realizes that it is much bigger than a Web site.
At some point, she makes the conclusion it is a cult and it is a tragedy. She writes the article from that point of view. It is thoroughly vetted by attorneys prior to publication.
Typically, journalists are natural skeptics and I’d tend to wager skepticism is where the research from this article began.
You may not agree with her conclusions, but I am inclined to think they were indeed conclusions and not her starting point. The bias arose as a result of research.
Molyneux claims it was Barbara’s hearsay…
Next, without any evidence at hand, Molyneux attempts to argue that the reporter simply took dictation from Barbara Weed and mysterious anonymous sources.
The most striking thing about the article is that the entire case against FDR is based on the hearsay of one aggrieved mother and entirely off the record “anonymous” sources.
It’s easy to see why the other parents stayed off the record. They know who they’re dealing with.
I don’t think it’s “striking” at all. One only needs to see how thoroughly Molyneux’s followers have excoriated this mother (one even found and posted her picture and other personal information on the FDR site) to see why the other parents stayed off the record.
They know who they’re dealing with.
Tom’s mother is an educated woman who knew what would happen going in. I consider her decision to proceed, fully aware of what would happen, a courageous act.
The reporter did not choose to interview any other members of Barbara’s family.
For instance, Barbara reports what her younger son is supposed to have said about his childhood, but the reporter does not actually talk to the son directly — which scarcely seems like a difficult thing to do. Furthermore, she does not interview the father, or say that he refused to be interviewed — or talk to any extended family members. Of course, Tom did not wish to be interviewed either.
I am no reporter, but it seems likely that you need at least one corroborating statement when dealing with an aggrieved party, otherwise it is just hearsay. Since the presence or absence of significant family problems is the most essential question in this entire matter, not lifting a finger to verify the facts is highly significant. Since the younger son lives at home, it would have been simply a matter of Kate saying, “Please put him on the telephone, so I can ask him a few questions…”
This is complete conjecture. Molyneux has no idea who Kate talked to, so his polite sarcasm here is without merit. She simply didn’t use the quotes of everyone she talked to, most likely for space reasons. Reporters must edit their articles to fit a specific word count. Neither Molyneux, me, nor anyone else outside of the Guardian knows who Kate talked to or were privy to the choices made of what to include and what to cut.
…and then counters with his own!
Now, in his defense, Molyneux attempts to paint a “true” picture of the family despite having less contact with them than the reporter!
Once you get beyond the mother’s stories about how happy her family was, some striking facts do emerge. The father had significant mood swings, was verbally abusive and aggressive towards animals, and threw objects when he was angry. The family no longer ate meals together, and had not for some time.
Family communication was almost nonexistent, as Barbara says later regarding her new relationship with her other son. Also, the marriage was close to ending when all of this was going on, since it has ended recently, and that does not happen overnight, particularly in a lengthy marriage.
This is re-framing by Molyneux. First, he has no knowledge of the marriage and his comments on it are all conjecture. Sadly, if the relationship was already strained, one of the worst things that could have happened is losing an 18-year-old son to a group that promotes the practice of discarding family and friends, a practice also commonly found in destructive cults. Talk to the family of a destructive cult member (any destructive cult) and you will hear tales of near unbearable grief and pain. Molyneux, who is now making conjectures about the marriage, quite possibly greatly contributed to the rift!
In addition, it is a common complaint among families that by the time kids reach their teen-age years, family meals are rare. It’s not a “striking fact”—it’s normal! It’s a direct result of teenagers beginning to build their own busy lives as they grow to adulthood.
Pushing to extremes
Regarding the father’s temper, there isn’t much excusable about it. Anger management is a good thing. However, none of us outside know anything about the severity and frequency of the anger—only that he took it out on inanimate objects in his office and yelling at the family cat.
It is unclear to me how the road to mental health for an 18-year-old begins by convincing him that his father is Satan and mother simply a servant who spawned him as a diabolical offering.
What I do know is that Molyneux consistently re-frames the parental actions he finds unfavorable using the most extreme terms he can get his hands on, as part of his persuasion. It is part of the technique he uses to bond with his members. “My parents were mean sometimes,” says the member. “Mean?” Molyneux replies, “they were monsters!”
So it comes as no surprise during the podcast when Molyneux refers to the Tom’s father’s “psychotic rage” and “his sick and disgusting rages.” He calls the father a “sick son-of-a-bitch,” “terrifying,” “violent,” “a bully,” “dangerous,” “psychotic,” “insane,” and, finally, “the devil.” All characterizations come from Molyneux, not Tom.
And for the coup de grâce, he tells the 18-year-old, “your mother didn’t protect you from the devil—she created you for the devil.”
Furthermore — and most significantly — Tom literally burst into tears during our conversation when talking about how terrified he was of his father, and you simply cannot fake or be manipulated into that kind of deep emotion.
Patently untrue. You can be manipulated into that kind of emotion. Ask any qualified psychologist. I believe Molyneux consistently uses manipulation during the therapy sessions he provides for his followers. He plants suggestions, pushes emotions, and draws conclusions throughout to lead his subjects where he wants them to go. I believe he employed it in the very podcast in question. The link is below. So, please—listen to it yourself and make your own decision.
http://www.freedomainradio.com/Traffic_Jams/FDR_1037_Sunday_April_13_2008.mp3</a (Tom’s therapy begins at about an hour and 25 minutes in. It starts with Tom saying, “Hi Stef, I have a yearning, burning, if that’s OK?” [I believe he means “yearning, burning question.”])
These facts indicate significant family problems, which at the very least should cause any reasonably objective or curious reporter to investigate the matter further — particularly if you are making the rather startling claim that the only significant problem in the entire family unit is some podcaster from Canada.
Again, minimizing (his role) and maximizing (the family problems). The actual facts so far indicate a normal family to me. It’s by no means perfect—clearly the father had problem controlling his temper. Yet, I have no doubt Kate—a highly respected journalist—thoroughly investigated this family before putting her reputation on the line. And does anyone think the Guardian would hang itself by running a negative article on Molyneux, only to discover an untenable family problem? I do not.
How Molyneux made things worse
We’ve finally reached a point in the response where there is a glimmer of substance in Molyneux’s reply, but the glimmer is obscured beneath layers of Molyneux re-framing of the situation:
After Tom said that he intended to leave the family, he did stay in contact with his mother, since she says that she tried everything — persuasion, negotiation, compromise and so on — and yet the content of what is being discussed is never mentioned. What is being negotiated about? What is the content of the compromise? What is the compromise itself?
Then, the mother says:
“But Tom didn’t seem interested in communicating, merely in throwing accusations – for instance that his brother John and me were fond of laughing at him, which wasn’t true.”
This completely denies Tom’s genuine experience of his family and calls him an outright liar — thus throwing accusations at him, which is not quite the same as trying everything to come to a compromise.
The phrase “Tom’s genuine experience” reveals the saddest truth of all. If a trained counselor had entered the picture here, the situation may have been improved. Molyneux may never be able to admit or realize it, but the following shows why he made things far, far worse.
Here’s the glimmer. Everyone experiences their family differently because everyone experiences communication differently. Anyone who has studied personality types knows that each personality type experiences the same interaction differently. It has been the stuff of drama and comedy for centuries and often the root cause of family dysfunction.
But Molyneux misses the opportunity for true healing when he mentions Tom’s “genuine experience.” No, it’s Tom’s personal experience. Molyneux’s use of the word “genuine” implies that only Tom’s interpretation is true. Tom’s experience is quite true for him, but it is no more (nor less) “genuine” than his mother’s, father’s, or siblings.
This is the point where Molyneux’s victimization of his followers typically begins. Had Tom and his mother gone together to a qualified relationship or family counselor—one who had been educated in the ways different individuals receive and need to receive communication, Tom would have found a healthy environment to discuss his true experience and his issues with the family. Perhaps he and the other family members would have acquired the tools they needed to deepen their relationship.
At minimum, they would have learned how to talk.
That didn’t occur and could never occur in a conversation with Molyneux. Instead, he typically puts his arms around his caller and says, “I know you have the genuine understanding of your family. In fact, I’ll show that it’s even worse than you think. Are you sure staying with them is healthy?”
Why didn’t the reporter identify FreeDomain Radio as a destructive cult?
Molyneux notices something in the article and he’s right about what he’s found. Again, however the question isn’t about what he’s found, but why is it so?
The reporter then shifts from talking about FDR to talking about the Cult Information Center, as if the two are related in some unstated way. The CIC reports that:
“…several people have been in contact recently about family members recruited into cult-like organisations via chatrooms or other online means – recommends that families try to keep up some form of contact.”
This statement could be associated with any website, and is not specific to FDR in any way. If the CIC had tagged FDR as a cult, doubtless this would have been mentioned. This is just a transparent form of guilt by association.
Molyneux is probably right. I’ll suggest a scenario. The Guardian reporter, the editor, and the lawyers were talking. The lawyer said “In this article here, you refer to FDR as a ‘cult.’ You could be setting us up for a lawsuit with that claim. Maybe you believe you can prove it, but it would still be a costly legal battle and we’re not guaranteed a win because the legal definition is fuzzy.”
The reporter said, “That’s sick. I know it’s a cult and you know it’s a cult and we can’t say it?”
Then the editor replied, “You might believe that but I’m not sure of the proof. What we can do is take out the direct accusation but leave the paragraph about the CIC in. The readers will make the connection themselves, even if we don’t. We’ll get the message across and not open ourselves up to the liability.”
I’m suggesting that the Guardian decided to identify FDR as a cult in a way that minimized their legal liability, so on that point Molyneux is probably correct. I also suspect that Molyneux hasn’t heard the last of the CIC.
Tom’s new life
Next, Molyneux attempts to suggest that there minimal and mostly positive impact on Tom when the 18-year-old discarded all of his family and friends.
Now — what has the net effect been of Tom’s “absorption into a cult”? He is not begging for loose change at the airport, he has not shaved his head, he does not wear a bedsheet, he has not been charged any money, he has not been tattooed with the FDR logo—in fact, I have not seen him around for months, or had any interactions with him at all.
The net effect is that he is doing fine at university, and I wish him the best.
It has been nine years since Molyneux himself has spoken to any members of his own family, yet they are constantly on his mind. He speaks of his anger against them often.
The net effect is that a family has been ripped apart.
The net effect is that Molyneux has helped spread anger, sadness, and grief not only to Tom’s mother and father, but also to every relative and friend, all of whom have been discarded by Tom as a result of Molyneux’s coaching.
The net effect is that Molyneux has thrust Tom in a long-term existence of unresolved feelings about his family—his anger and his love—that will never be resolved in any healthy way as long as he remains a member of FDR.
It has been nine years since Molyneux himself has spoken to any members of his own family, yet they are constantly on his mind. He speaks of his anger against them often, even while he speaks of his glorious new life of freedom.
He wishes Tom the same.
At this point, Molyneux dispenses with the half-truths and tells a complete lie
Short and sweet and 100% factually incorrect:
The sum total of this “cult” accusation is that I showed him deep sympathy when he burst into tears about his family — a real surprise to me — during a call in show. I will always show sympathy for the child over the parent — that is not specific to FDR, but would be any compassionate person’s approach to this kind of psychological pain.
The truth? The call actually had nothing to do with Tom’s parents. Tom was a brilliant, sensitive 18-year-old who wondered why he was particularly sensitive to animal cruelty. He called Molyneux to discuss it. That was definitely a wrong number, as most people would say there is nothing with being 18 and particularly sensitive to any outrage in the world. However, listen to the podcast and you’ll hear that Tom’s emotional break actually occurs when Molyneux suggests Tom reacts more strongly to cruelty to animals than cruelty to people! Tom’s tears appear to be a result of his shame about that accusation.
Up to that point, Tom hadn’t even mentioned his parents! But Molyneux quickly pulls a voodoo “theory” out of his hat and “proves” to Tom that it really is all about his parents. If Molyneux hadn’t pulled the switch, none of what followed would have happened.
From Voodoo to Crazy Therapy
I believe if there was any surprise to Molyneux, it was a pleasant surprise. Leaders of therapeutic groups such as FDR commonly tell their victims that they must experience the pain their “therapies” dish out in order to feel better. Molyneux himself once described the pain and depression you feel as your “old limbs reawakening.”
In his review of Crazy Therapies, by Margaret Thaler Singer and Janja Lalich, Bob Conrad noted:
“Finally, it is quite amazing that most of the therapists discussed by Singer and Lalich seem oblivious or indifferent to their role in priming and prompting their patients. They condition their patients, prompt them, and in some cases, clearly plant notions in their patient’s minds. They give their patients books to read or videos to watch not to help the patient understand a problem but to prime the patient for belief in some crazy therapy. They plant notions during hypnosis, group sessions, etc., and then these planted notions are “recovered” and offered as validation of their therapeutic techniques and theories. Rather than provide real therapy, these “crazy” therapists indoctrinate patients into their own worldviews. This is surreal pseudoscience at its worst.”
In the book, the authors also implore readers to immediately abandon any therapist who “requires as a condition for therapy that you cut off all relations with your spouse, children, parents and other loved ones.”
Molyneux completely misrepresents his role as a mere “sympathizer” for Tom. As Crazy Therapies suggests, Tom was primed prior to his Molyneux “therapy” session with hundreds of podcasts and forum conversations about evil parents. In none of these do you find Molyneux simply expressing sympathy for “child over the parent”—the subject is always child as victim of the parent. Always. When the already primed Tom showed up for his podcast therapy with Molyneux (as linked above), he was then prompted throughout until the goal of demonizing his mother was reached.
Absolutely no legitimate psychologist would validate the kind of leading, guided “therapy” Molyneux conducts.
Finally! Some validation.
Molyneux found one bright spot in Hilpern’s article:
I was pleased that Kate included this quote from me:
“[Stef] …simply reminds people “that our family relationships are voluntary and you should really work, if you’re unhappy in these relationships, to improve the quality of those relationships – but to remember they do remain voluntary. And that gives people the motivation, I think, to try to improve them. But if you can’t improve them – and we can’t change other people, as we all know – for sure you should have the option to disengage.”
There is no reasonable therapist, psychologist or psychiatrist in the world who would fundamentally disagree with such a statement. If people have a problem with this basic reality, then they have a problem with psychology as a whole.
Correct. There is no therapist who would fundamentally disagree with that statement. However, all but the most lunatic among them would disagree with Molyneux’s recipe for “improving the quality of those relationships.” So let’s talk about that.
A real Molyneux relationship
Let’s say you want to have relationship (including a parental one) with someone who believes in a religion or in some form of government. Here’s Molyneux’s response:
“I do think that it is important to talk to a statist patiently and with curiosity, and help him to understand that when he wishes to use government to achieve his ends, he is advocating the initiation of force against you.
In the same way, a Christian or Jew or Muslim all worship the morals in a holy book that commands death to unbelievers, promotes slavery and rape and other heinous crimes.
If people are willing to reject the use of violence in dealing with others, I think that is wonderful!
I don’t think that it is particularly honorable to remain ‘friends’ with someone who is unwilling to renounce the use of violence against you, but that is everyone’s decision to make of course…”
When you line all of Molyneux’s arguments up and follow them to the end, it is inescapable that FDR has never been about improving the quality of relationships. It is about defooing family and friends and replacing them with FDR relationships.
It’s slippery, but it’s definitive. He maintains that if you believe in either religion or government, then you therefore must believe in violence against him. Resultantly, the only way you can reject the use of violence is to renounce religion and statism completely. As he defines these two belief-sets, there is absolutely no middle ground.
In other words, to “improve the quality” of your relationship with one of his members, you must become an atheist anarcho-capitalist. And—as the atheist anarcho-capitalists who have been banned by FDR have discovered—you must actually believe in Molyneux’s own particular brand of it.
As his books such as “On Truth” demonstrate, this claim of “improving the quality of relationships” is all a fuzzy smokescreen. When you follow all the arguments to their end conclusion, you’re either in FDR or you are not.
When you line all his arguments up and follow them to the end, it is inescapable that FDR has never been about improving the quality of relationships. It is about defooing family and friends and replacing them with FDR relationships.
A little sidestep about the money
Any focus on FDR ultimately has to involve profit. How is it funded and how much revenue does it produce? Molyneux is usually very excited to tell his insiders that the group is “doing well,” but also usually reluctant to discuss any of this with outsiders:
A little later, an interesting switch occurs about money.
After quoting my statement that I do not charge money, Kate responds that critics say people do pay — which is not the same thing at all. I do not charge money, but people who are grateful for whatever help, insight and wisdom they get from the site do donate if they want. If receiving voluntary donations is the same as charging people for goods, then the Heart and Stroke Foundation is actually a competitive business, and should cancel its charitable tax status.
FDR is a business and Molyneux’s sole source of income. He accepts donations because if he charged people for the therapy he provides, he would be committing a criminal act. Each month he makes a post hawking for donations and he grants rights and privileges to those who pay the most.
To destroy any notion that FDR is anything other than a business, you may be interested in hearing this podcast I found during my internet searches where he happily talks about the revenue he earns from his internet business:
(Click on the lengthy article title, and when that page opens, click on the words “Episode 10” to hear the podcast.)
http://www.profitablepodcasting.com/2007/08/
This interview was apparently conducted over a year ago, prior to the current monthly subscription model he employs now. I would guess his income is much higher now.
Therapy, slightly chilled
At this point, we reach the part of the therapy session that is almost entirely unforgivable or, frankly, even explainable; that is, the over-the-top excoriation of Tom’s parents by Molyneux. During the recorded therapy session, it went on and on as Molyneux compared Tom to a rape victim and used nearly every satanic reference at his eloquent disposal.
Here, Molyneux attempts to minimize Hilpern’s take on it:
Towards the end of the article, we see an interesting “argument from adjective.”
“Tom does say that he is frightened by his father’s mood swings, which sometimes cause him to throw things or shout at the cat. But the conclusions Molyneux jumps to, his manipulation of the conversation, is chilling.”
So—when Kate listens to a sensitive and hurt young man sobbing about his childhood, and his terror and humiliation in the face of his father’s rages, the only thing that “chills” her is my side of the conversation? That to me is impossible to comprehend emotionally. Even if there were clear criticisms of how I handled this emotional eruption, surely the more chilling aspect is the behavior of the father throughout Tom’s childhood.
There is no proof of my “manipulations” of course—and the fact that Kate finds the conversation “chilling” is perfectly meaningless: it is a mere statement of subjective experience. If I say that I find the theory of evolution “chilling,” clearly that contains no truth statements about its contents.
Also, it would have been very easy to include a link to the podcast itself, or at least provide the podcast number, which was not done, which seems very strange, especially when we remember how Alec Baldwin’s verbal attack on his daughter was so widely distributed.
The media loves to reproduce truly chilling audio clips, like 911 calls, taped recordings with bad people, and so on. It is a shame that she did not give her readers the chance to easily find the podcast in question, and come to their own conclusions. The podcast number is 1037.
Molyneux’s humorous coinage of the term “argument from adjective,” is again extraordinarily ironic. Nothing is more prevalent on Molyneux’s site and in his conversations than the way he reframes everything he is against in the most extreme language possible.
Competent therapists always ask open-ended questions. They do not guide patients to a conclusion they have already reached. They never plant. They never create connections between your feelings and events and convince you to accept them.
But that’s not the most important thing one learns in this passage. No—here we come to the sad realization that he is the most ardent believer in his own theories. He has no idea that the therapy he practices is the utmost quackery.
You may want to listen to the podcast and come to your own conclusions, but if you have time and money to spare you would find it far more revealing to ask a legitimate, reputable therapist to listen to it and critique Moyneux’s methods.
Competent therapists always ask open-ended questions. They do not guide patients to a conclusion they have already reached. They never plant. They never create connections between your feelings and events and convince you to accept them. They never use the technique of saying obvious truths in the beginning, followed by “Right? Right?” until you fall into the resultant pattern of saying “yes, yes” to everything they suggest later on. And when you reach the core of what you are trying to understand about your relationships, they never demonize the other party in an attempt to drive you further away.
The podcast is chilling in that it reveals a quack therapist—one of Singer’s “Crazy Therapists,”—with the kind of transparency few people ever get to witness first hand. It is only a result of Molyneux’s narcissism that he posts it with pride.
Yes. “Chilling” was a well-chosen word, indeed.
A question of motivation
After all that, the lengthy passage that follows gets to the saddest revelation of all, as Molyneux questions the motivations behind the article (and misrepresents his own). He begins with a voodoo defense of his statement “there are no really good parents out there.” It would almost be believable, except at other times he has succinctly said “nearly all parents are horribly bad.”
I do stand by my statement that there are no “really good” parents — I think that until a rational proof of objective ethics is more widely disseminated, parents have little choice but to substitute will and punishment for genuine and reasonable moral authority. If I have criticisms, which of course I do, at least I strain myself to the utmost to provide better solutions.
Saying that there are no really good parents is not the same as saying there are no good parents at all.
I also stand by my statement that it is wrong to use the media in this way — to insult, degrade, attack and humiliate your son by implying that he is weak-minded, hysterical, defensive, aggressive, irrational, susceptible to cultism, a liar and so on — and to not only provide a first and last name, but also the town that he grew up in, which is a complete non sequitur in the context of the story itself.
There is an even more essential question: why is this article being written at all? Is it because FDR is some monster child-eating cult that is laying waste to families across the world? Of course not.
Did Kate find this story and then go looking for a parent? That seems highly improbable—the most likely scenario is that Barbara contacted Kate with her complaints about FDR. Why would Barbara do this? Why would she subject her son to this kind of article, with all that it implies about him? Is it because she believes he is in a cult and wants to help him?
Of course not—she is fully aware that the CIC instructs parents not to attack the “cult.” Is it because she wants to warn other parents about FDR? If that were genuinely her goal, she would have demanded anonymity in the article to protect her son, and suppressed all personally-identifiable characteristics about herself or her son. This she did not do.
Furthermore, it was clear to both women that Tom did not want the article to be written or published. So—what is the purpose of the article? The likely net effect is that Tom feels hurt, frightened, angry and exposed.
Imagine seeing a childhood photo of yourself splashed across a popular newspaper, and your mother bringing every complaint and accusation against you to the attention of millions of people, and on the Internet, permanently. This is an exercise in humiliation.
Why did Kate write the article? Clearly, to expose Molyneux.
Why did Barbara approach Kate? Because she loves her son.
Barbara approached Kate knowing that she may be placing her relationship with her son at further risk, knowing that she would have to expose her private life to the world, knowing above all that she would be excoriated by Molyneux’s followers, knowing that those who do not understand cults may conclude that there “something wrong with the family” in the first place, knowing some might conclude she was the reason why Tom left, knowing that she would be scrutinized, dismissed, sneered at, or worse.
She knew all of that going in and she did it anyway. Why? Because it was her son.
And because she believed others needed to know what she had found out about Molyneux.
The true subject of the article is Molyneux. But the biggest danger Barbara knew she faced (and which Molyneux even quotes here) is that parental criticism of the leader is often reframed as criticism of the victim.
Molyneux has successfully inoculated himself among his followers against parental criticism through this technique. Find any thread on FDR where one of the members is complaining about a letter they have received from their parents or where the parent has foolishly tried to post directly, and you will see an instant response by Molyneux or his inner circle claiming that the child, not Molyneux, has been attacked.
And Molyneux and the inner circle gather around to electronically hug the “victim.”
And Molyneux skates away.
And the circle grows tighter.
In the end, who is really using Tom?
But Molyneux’s response here also proves the CIC is correct, because while this article was a exposé of him and him alone, he feverishly spins it into something else. This entire response about his “simple Web site” and the unfairness of the Guardian is the duck gliding serenely across the lake. But underwater, his feet are paddling furiously to ensure you see it instead as an attack on Tom.
The truth is—among Kate, Barbara, and Molyneux— there is only one person using Tom.
And it is Molyneux.
In this response, as always, Tom becomes Molyneux’s shield, battering ram, and weapon to beat back the criticism and demonize Barbara, Kate, the Guardian, and beyond. Hiding behind his crocodile tears for “poor Tom,” Molyneux thrashes back against the world, against anyone who would dare criticize him.
Molyneux sees the article as an “exercise in humiliation.” I see him using Tom as a shield. And I view that as an exercise in cowardice.
On the matter of memory
Hilpern’s article says something very significant about memory and manipulation. Something that is apparently true but not widely known. Molyneux makes use of this lack of awareness to make another false claim:
The fact that I suggest seeing a therapist to people with a great deal of emotional ambivalence does not exactly support the thesis that FDR is a cult — this fact is summarily dismissed in the article:
“…by the time people go into therapy, it’s probably too late – they’ve already decided they were abused and persuade the therapist as such.”
The idea that a web site can implant false memories in people so permanently that they would completely fool a trained therapist is pure nonsense. Therapists are trained to assess, probe and evaluate — and are not easily misled.
Again, it’s not a Web site we’re dealing with. It’s Molyneux. And what he claims above here is completely false. Consider this passage from the book The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook Child Psychiatrist’s Notebook, by Dr. Bruce Perry:
“We know today that, just like when you open a Microsoft Word file on your computer, when you retrieve a memory from where it is stored in the brain, you automatically open it to “edit.” You may not be aware that your current mood and environment can influence the emotional tone of your recall, your interpretation of events and even your beliefs about which events actually took place. But when you “save” the memory again and place it back into storage, you can inadvertently modify it. When you discuss your memory of an experience, the interpretation you hear from a friend, family member, or a therapist can bias how and what you recall the next time you pull up that “file.” Over time, incremental changes can even lead to the creation of memories that did not take place. In the lab, researchers have been able to encourage test subjects to create memories of childhood events that didn’t happen: some as common as being lost in a mall, others as extreme as seeing someone possessed by a demon.”
What Kate says about Molyneux’s influence is completely true. Memories can be altered and a therapist wouldn’t know it, especially if they’re not looking for it in the first place. I wonder how many members of FDR disclose the full details of FDR and its leader’s therapeutic activities to their therapists?
Those are the facts…
…and now the only thing left for you is to answer the big question for yourself.
Who is telling the truth?
The only other thing that I wanted to mention was this ridiculous idea that people can somehow be imprisoned in a website. As Kate puts it, when she is attempting to comfort Barbara at the end of the article — scarcely indicating impartiality or objectivity:
“Some people do manage to leave FDR, however, and I point out that Tom is only 18.”
It is hard to imagine how an educated and intelligent person could conceivably make the statement that it is hard to leave a website — freeing yourself from the “grip” of a web site is as easy as navigating to another web site, or simply closing your browser.
(I responded to this deception earlier. It’s much more than a Web site.)
Overall, I am very pleased that some of the core ideas that we talk about here have been accurately quoted in the media. Of course there is a fair amount of bias and manipulation in the article, but to me it is so obvious that it is impossible to imagine that it fools many people — and those who are fooled by it, would be very unlikely to benefit from exploring philosophy anyway, so no real harm has been done to those who remain so frightened by hearsay that they will avoid exploring the truth.
I can only hope Mr. Molyneux has found my exploration of the truth acceptable.
Click below to e-mail or DIGG, etc., this article! As always, I welcome your comments!
Search FDR Liberated
Interesting places:
Please consider sharing the link to my article on the FDR member suicide. I'm still wondering why not a single FDR member has acknowledged the tragic passing of a fellow member.
The article may not help anyone decide whether Stefan Molyneux's methods contributed to a member suicide, but it's required reading for anyone who believes Molyneux's methods are helpful.
Don't forget--there are more hot topics that only Forum Members see!
In 2007, he was the obscure leader of an "on-line community" who encouraged members to abandon friends and family "even if your parents were nice." Years later, his closest followers still appear to believe that defooing is about parental abuse.
Today, he employs people to patrol his Facebook page, YouTube account, and forum, deleting information and user accounts that challenge his self-proclaimed role as the "salvation of philosophy" and the first man in history to give parents a moral framework for "peaceful parenting." He buries opposing voices under hundreds and hundreds of his YouTube videos, in a relentless marketing effort to convince you he is an authority on (for want of a better word) "the truth."
This blog and forum are my attempts to collect those voices, to give you your best resource to see Stefan Molyneux and the Freedomain Radio community—behind the camera.
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Category: DirecTV Now
DirecTV Now Rebranded as ‘AT&T TV Now’
AT&T today announced that it is rebranding DirecTV Now, its live TV streaming service, as "AT&T TV Now." The company said that existing customers will need to re-accept terms of service following the rebranding, and then their streaming plans will continue as usual.
Other than the name change, AT&T hasn't announced any other overhauls to its live TV platform, so users can expect the same prices and channel availability as before. The company said that current DirecTV Now users will see the update automatically across devices.
Secondly, AT&T announced yet another new streaming platform, called AT&T TV, which will be piloted in select markets this summer. The company described this as a "connected TV experience with no satellite needed," which sounds essentially like another live TV streaming service, but gave no details about how it would be different from AT&T TV Now.
Both AT&T TV and AT&T TV Now will be accessed through the same AT&T TV app on mobile devices and on TV apps. AT&T said that customers can expect more details about AT&T TV as the rollout begins later this summer.
Tags: DirecTV Now, AT&T TV Now
This article, "DirecTV Now Rebranded as 'AT&T TV Now'" first appeared on MacRumors.com
DirecTV Now Revives Apple TV Deal: Prepay for Four Months ($200) and Get a 32GB Apple TV 4K at No Cost
It's been ten months since DirecTV Now ended its last Apple TV offer, and today the company has debuted a new version of the deal to coincide with its recently-launched subscription bundles. This time around, if new subscribers prepay for four months of DirecTV Now's cheapest subscription tier (now $50/month, due to price hikes), they'll get a 32GB Apple TV 4K at no extra cost.
In the end, you'll be paying around $200 for four months of DirecTV Now and a brand new Apple TV 4K, which would traditionally total to $380. As with the previous deals, you can cancel your DirecTV Now subscription after you receive the Apple TV 4K, and still gain access to the service for the remainder of the first four months.
AT&T's resurfaced deal isn't as good as its previous incarnation, which required users to prepay for 3 months of DirecTV Now (previously priced at $35/month at its cheapest) to receive the 32GB Apple TV 4K at no cost, with the total price reaching $105. This meant you were getting the $179 Apple TV 4K discounted in addition to a few months of DirecTV Now.
The new $200 deal is more expensive than the $179 MSRP of a 32GB Apple TV 4K, so you'll need to be interested in DirecTV Now to get the most out of the offer. During its fourth quarter earnings report for 2018, DirecTV Now reported that it lost 267,000 subscribers. This was attributed to the closure of discount bundles like the original Apple TV 4K offer, so it appears the company is trying out a new version to entice new subscribers into signing up.
Those interested can head to DirecTV Now's website to find more information and place their order before the sale expires on April 30, 2019.
Related Roundup: Apple Deals
Tag: DirecTV Now
This article, "DirecTV Now Revives Apple TV Deal: Prepay for Four Months ($200) and Get a 32GB Apple TV 4K at No Cost" first appeared on MacRumors.com
DirecTV Now Confirms $10/Month Price Hike for Existing Users, Raises HBO From $5 to $15/Month for New Add-Ons
In the wake of reports that claimed DirecTV Now was planning to raise prices for its customers again, the streaming service today posted a new FAQ page confirming that all existing customers will see a $10/month price hike effective April 12, 2019 (via Variety). This means that if you are currently subscribed to DirecTV Now's Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, Gotta Have It, or Todo y Más packages, you will pay $10/month more than you are now.
At the same time, DirecTV Now has confirmed that it is raising the price of its premium channel add-ons, but only for legacy subscribers who are now adding these channels onto their plans. This means that HBO is increasing from a $5/month add-on to $15/month, Cinemax is increasing from $5/month to $11/month, and Starz is increasing from $8/month to $11/month. This change takes effect today, March 13.
If you subscribe to Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, Gotta Have It, or Todo y Más packages and had a premium channel add-on prior to these changes, you will keep your current lower price as long as the premium remains added on your account. So, these new premium channel prices are aimed at legacy DirecTV Now customers who subscribe to one of the five original packages, and decide to add HBO, Cinemax, or Starz onto their account as of today.
Cheap premium channel add-ons have been a major selling point for DirecTV Now, but now that the subscription tier line-up will be slimmed down and HBO will be added directly into the new DirecTV Now Plus and DirecTV Now Max plans, it appears that the company has decided to do away with this selling point. This is likely due to the new assets that AT&T gained from the Time Warner acquisition, including the HBO family of channels.
We broke down all of these changes below:
DirecTV Now Price Hike
(Affects all existing customers from April 12, 2019)
Live a Little: from $40/month to $50/month
Just Right: from $55/month to $65/month
Go Big: from $65/month to $75/month
Gotta Have It: from $75/month to $85/month
Todo y Más: from $45/month to $55/month
DirecTV Now Premium Channel Price Hike
(Affects existing customers who add a premium channel from March 13, 2019)
HBO add-on: from $5/month to $15/month
Cinemax add-on: from $5/month to $11/month
Starz add-on: from $8/month to $11/month
Customers who keep paying for the service on one of these packages will not see any changes to their channel lineups. For new customers, DirecTV Now will have two new plans: DirecTV Now Plus ($50/month, 40+ channels) and DirecTV Now Max ($70/month, 50+ channels). Both of these plans include HBO, as well as cable channels from WarnerMedia, NBCUniversal, Disney and Fox, but they exclude channels from A+E Networks, AMC Networks, Discovery, and Viacom.
As these new packages launch, new customers will no longer be able to sign up for Live a Little, Just Right, Go Big, Gotta Have It, or Todo y Más packages, and will only see Plus and Max as options on DirecTV Now's sign up page. The company is already promoting Plus and Max on its website, and giving one month for free to new customers signing up with the promo code MARCH2019.
As a point of comparison, DirecTV Now's cheapest plans ($50/month for both Live a Little and Plus) do not compare very favorably to rival services. PlayStation Vue starts at $44.99/month, YouTube TV starts at $40/month, FuboTV starts at $39.99/month, Hulu With Live TV costs $44.99/month, and SlingTV's Orange & Blue plan is priced at $40/month (just $25/month right now). That's not to mention services which have launched to offer ultra-stripped down packages, like Philo's no-sports service that starts at $16/month.
Last summer's DirecTV Now price hike from $35/month to $40/month was in an effort to align the service with the rest of the market and "compare favorably with our competitors," according to the company. Now, DirecTV Now will have the most expensive entry-level price on the market among the main streaming TV services.
This article, "DirecTV Now Confirms $10/Month Price Hike for Existing Users, Raises HBO From $5 to $15/Month for New Add-Ons" first appeared on MacRumors.com
DirecTV Now Raising Prices for All Plans by $10/Month Starting in April
Eight months after DirecTV Now raised the prices of all streaming plans by $5/month to stay in line with the market, the company is this week warning customers that it's increasing the prices again, this time by $10/month across the board. The company will reportedly begin implementing this price hike in the next billing cycle for customers, starting in April (via Cord Cutters News).
This means that DirecTV Now's basic "Live a Little" tier will rise from $40/month to $50, "Just Right" will increase from $55/month to $65, "Go Big" will increase from $65/month to $75, and "Gotta Have It" will increase from $75/month to $85. The Spanish language Todo y Más package will also increase from $45/month to $55. There will be no changes to channel availability in these plans.
In addition to all of this, DirecTV Now is introducing two new plans that will be available to new customers signing up for the service, instead of the five previously mentioned plans. These new plans are "DirecTV Now Plus" ($50/month for 40+ channels) and "DirecTV Now Max" ($70/month for 50+ channels). While the new plans include HBO at no additional charge, they are missing a number of channels from the previous plans including ones from Viacom, Discovery, A&E, and AMC.
New customers will only see these two new plans, but it appears that anyone signed up for DirecTV Now on one of the five original plans will be able to keep their subscriptions intact, albeit at a $10 higher monthly price tag.
Image via Reddit user plgdg
As a point of comparison, the new DirecTV Now Plus plan priced at $50/month compares directly to the Live a Little plan at its new $50/month cost, but the number of channels available is different. New customers signing up for DirecTV Now Plus will get 40+ channels, while existing customers get 65+ channels for the same $50/month price. This information can be seen on a screenshot of DirecTV Now's price comparison charts (via Reddit).
It was reported in January that DirecTV Now lost as many as 267,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2018, attributed to the closure of several discount bundles that were heavily featured on the service's website, including the popular Apple TV bundle. This month, DirecTV Now gained support for Apple's TV app, allowing users to sync their TV shows watched in DirecTV Now with the Up Next list in the TV app.
This article, "DirecTV Now Raising Prices for All Plans by $10/Month Starting in April" first appeared on MacRumors.com
DirecTV Now Gains Apple TV App Integration
AT&T today announced that its DirecTV Now service has been updated with support for Apple's TV app.
With TV app integration, DirecTV Now users can take advantage of cross-device episode and movie tracking with the Up Next feature along with tailored content recommendations available on the DirecTV Now service using the Watch Now feature on the Apple TV.
There's so much on-demand content and live sports channels included with your DIRECTV NOW subscription, so the Apple TV app is a great place to help you find something new or jump back into your favorite on-demand show as new episodes arrive or quickly tune to a national sports broadcast.
The integration also means that Siri voice searches can be used to find TV shows and movies on DirecTV Now, which is useful for finding specific content. Siri searches work with the entire DirecTV on-demand library.
Siri also supports live tune-in with DirecTV Now so you can access specific live channels with a command like "Siri, tune in to [your favorite channel]" to open up the DirecTV Now app and turn on the channel.
The final feature included in the integration is single sign-on, which allows DirecTV customers to sign in once with their username and login to access available content across any supported third-party app.
Apple TV users with a DirecTV Now subscription will see a prompt to integrate their data with the TV app after playing a DVR show for the first time. AT&T says that the updates enabling TV app support will be pushed out to DirecTV customers automatically.
Tags: AT&T, DirecTV Now
This article, "DirecTV Now Gains Apple TV App Integration" first appeared on MacRumors.com
DirecTV Now Lost 267K Subscribers Last Quarter, Partly Due to End of Apple TV Offer
DirecTV Now today reported that it lost 267,000 subscribers during the fourth quarter of 2018, causing the service to dip from 1.8 million subscribers in Q1 2018 to 1.6 million in Q4 (via TechCrunch). Despite the decline, DirecTV Now is still at the forefront of the streaming TV market, second to SlingTV as of last fall.
In AT&T's fourth quarter earnings report, the company attributed this loss to the closure of several discount bundles that were heavily featured on the service's website, and shared online. This includes the popular Apple TV bundle (which expired in June 2018) and a few Roku deals.
The company attributed the decline to the end of promotional package pricing, which sometimes saw the service priced as low as $10 per month for an introductory period. It had also offered device giveaways – like Roku streaming sticks or Apple TV boxes – to encourage sign-ups.
AT&T says its “discounted introductory offers ended,” which resulted in the dramatic loss.
At its peak, the DirecTV Now deal for Apple TV required you to prepay for three months of the streaming TV service for about $105. Once you did this, AT&T would send you a 32GB Apple TV 4K at no cost. In essence, customers were paying $105 for a 32GB Apple TV 4K, down from around $170, and getting three months to try out DirecTV Now as a bonus.
Of course, you could still cancel DirecTV Now before those three months ended and not pay to continue using the service, and it appears that's what many people did last year. Although DirecTV Now has a large channel lineup, it also has numerous problems with its service, which also likely led to subscriber churn noted in this week's earnings report. This includes a barebones cloud DVR with low storage and unreliable recordings, various performance issues, outages, and more.
AT&T also raised the price of DirecTV Now last summer, increasing every tier by $5/month to stay "in line with the market." This increased DirecTV Now's "Live a Little" plan from $35/month to $40/month, matching rival services like Hulu with Live TV, which starts at $40/month, and YouTube TV, which also raised to $40/month to compete with Hulu.
Although many were hoping that the Apple TV offer would return in the fall of 2018 as it did years prior, AT&T never resurfaced the deal.
This article, "DirecTV Now Lost 267K Subscribers Last Quarter, Partly Due to End of Apple TV Offer" first appeared on MacRumors.com
FuboTV vs. DirecTV Now: Solid Streaming TV Services With Some Drawbacks
Over the past few years, the number of streaming TV services has grown exponentially, to the point where it can get overwhelming to figure out which platform is the best for you. Major offerings include DirecTV Now, PlayStation Vue, Sling TV, Hulu With Live TV, and FuboTV.
Starting out with a focus on soccer and streams from other live sports channels, FuboTV has since grown into a full-featured over the top streaming service with support for many major channels, a cloud DVR, family sharing, and more, starting at a competitive price of $39.99 per month (for the first month, $44.99/month afterwards).
FuboTV (left) and DirecTV Now (right) on Apple TV 4K
In order to compare some of these services, in this article we've looked at FuboTV and DirecTV Now specifically. Like most streaming TV services, FuboTV and DirecTV Now have many similarities, but a few key differences that could lead you to choosing one over the other. As a note, we're focusing mainly on the Apple TV app for each service, unless otherwise mentioned.
When the FuboTV Apple TV app is first opened, a menu screen with a horizontal list of live tv channels is displayed (seen below). The selected channel starts automatically playing at launch, but the UI hovers over the playing video (akin to Netflix's autoplay videos), and to go full screen you have to tap once on the channel.
In terms of user interface as a whole, FuboTV excels with a clear and easy-to-grasp menu system, although tab organization is questionable and the app can feel bloated due to the amount of real estate dedicated to specific movies, TV shows, and sports.
On the bottom of the Home tab in the Apple TV app, FuboTV has a list of numerous TV shows and films for you to check out. There's featured content that'll be airing soon or is live now, live news, popular shows and movies, and categories like "best shows of the 90s" and "best shows of 2018."
Each show's page has a list of episodes and seasons (if previous seasons are available on FuboTV, which is a bit of a mixed bag in my experience), and if an episode is marked as “Upcoming,” you can record it.
After Home, there are tabs for Sports, Shows, and Movies before you get to FuboTV's live Guide tab. These three tabs show live events happening now, and ones you can watch on demand. I found this to be one of the more cumbersome aspects of the app's design, because I typically just wanted to jump directly into a live TV guide to check out what was playing now, and not have to navigate three separate tabs to get an idea of what to watch.
This navigation frustration is compounded due to FuboTV's lack of a slide-to-select menu bar; each time you want to go to a new tab you have to move to it and then click in on the Siri Remote. While not a deal breaker, because the app forces you to navigate tabs so often, it does become a bit of an annoyance over time.
In the guide, FuboTV retains the horizontal UI with a list of channels that scroll from right to left, while time stamps are listed vertically. You can jump to a different day within the next four days, browse your favorite channels, and check a list of the networks you're subscribed to. When watching a live channel, you can swipe up to see a list of what else is on, and in one of my favorite UI navigation options for FuboTV, you can tap and hold on the Siri Remote to jump back to the previous channel.
Due to the Siri Remote's limited buttons, many OTT services have a tough time implementing basic features, like a recall button, so FuboTV's execution is neat and very welcome. FuboTV has a handful of useful shortcuts like this, like tapping and holding to record a show, and overall it feels like the app's developers were more aware of the platform they were building for in comparison to DirecTV Now.
For DirecTV Now, the UI as a whole is much simpler than FuboTV. DirecTV Now loads right into a channel (typically the last one you were watching), and you press the Menu button on the Siri Remote to bring up the app's UI. This quick loading into a live feed (when it works) is a great way to easily get background noise going in your home, without having to fuss through additional menus. The experience is something taken from traditional cable boxes, and one part of DirecTV Now I've always liked.
In the menu, the central tab is Watch Now, which is a recommended list of your most and recently watched channels that are easy to jump into. This area has trending and best-of show lists, similar to FuboTV.
Left of Watch Now is the guide, which is opposite of FuboTV with a vertical list of channels and horizontal list for timestamps (just like a traditional cable guide). Although I used to rely entirely on DirecTV Now's guide when navigating the app, when Watch Now was added I found that the app remembered the channels I liked to watch pretty well and was always able to quickly jump into my top 5-6 favorite channels without ever going to the guide.
In this regard, I prefer DirecTV Now's interface over FuboTV, since it more quickly and easily put me into a show without needing to click around a menu too much. At the same time, DirecTV Now's Apple TV app is overly reliant on the Siri Remote's Menu button, and even a few years into using the service, I'm still sometimes unclear on how many times I need to hit it to go back to a live video feed, and more often than not end up on the Apple TV home screen.
FuboTV offers 30 hours of free cloud DVR storage in every basic package, or you can pay an extra $9.99/month for 500 hours of storage. These recordings are stored indefinitely, or until you delete them.
Although FuboTV's cloud DVR beats DirecTV Now's in a few key areas, FuboTV lacks a huge feature that made it difficult for me to rely solely on the service: it doesn't have a series recording option in the DVR. Although you can find a specific show and select an upcoming episode to record, FuboTV at this time does not allow you to record every new episode (or old episodes) of a show, but the company informed me that this feature will be added soon.
Given that one of the most enticing aspects of a DVR is the set-it-and-forget-it feature of season passes, this is a huge oversight for the app. In the weeks I used FuboTV exclusively, I used Apple's Reminders app to give me a heads up about recording the latest episode of a show I was watching. Even Apple's own TV app — which pulls in new episodes automatically from third-party apps — makes this process painless.
DirecTV Now offers all subscribers 20 hours of free storage on its "true cloud DVR", which is still marked as in beta at the time of writing. At this point, there is no option to expand this storage, and after 30 days DirecTV Now deletes your recordings. You can still opt to watch them on demand, but if the show isn't available on demand then you will be left unable to watch a show you previously recorded.
Although DirecTV Now's true cloud DVR has its share of problems, including consistent audio glitches in recordings and an inelegant fast forward option, it does have a series recording option and the interface feels largely similar to a traditional cable box. Given DirecTV Now's overall performance issues, however, I still have never felt entirely confident in relying solely on the app as my only DVR.
Since you're relying on an internet connection to watch these services, stream quality and performance is something that varies person to person, but overall I've had far fewer issues with FuboTV in this regard. Streams rarely went dark, audio remained consistently in sync, and the service didn't go down. There are a handful of odd glitches, however, like one that caused my stream to pause every time I left the app and re-opened it on a live stream. To get the video to play, I had to leave the channel and return to it.
Each app suffers from some occasional stream stuttering where quality lowers for a few seconds before it picks back up again. FuboTV also has 4K playback on select channels (not available to record, however), while DirecTV Now doesn't support 4K at this time.
This is one of DirecTV Now's big weak points. Most days when I turn on the app and leave it to go cook or clean, I'll come back to my living room to a black screen a few minutes later. After I press the Menu button, select a different channel (or just re-select the same channel), the app refreshes and the stream comes back on. This is most frustrating when I'm actually watching something and the app goes dark.
That's not to mention other consistent issues like the guide not loading properly, weird playback bugs in the DVR, audio glitches, and complete service outages. My Apple TV has no issues streaming in other apps and my internet connection to it has always been solid, and given that many users report similar streaming frustrations and downtimes with DirecTV Now regularly in the service's subreddit, I'm inclined to believe that this is simply a downside of the service's performance and not something I could fix with a router reset (which I've tried).
What makes DirecTV Now most perplexing is that sometimes, in my experience, these glitches and bugs simply disappear for a few days at a time, and I get to see a hint at what the best version of the service can be: videos load in a snap, blackouts never happen, and the true cloud DVR never stutters during playback. The crux of DirecTV Now, at this point in time, is that it's inconsistent; you never know exactly what quality of service you'll get on any particular day, and for a platform built entirely around leisure and entertainment, that can get pretty frustrating.
Channel availability — particularly for local channels — is one aspect of any streaming TV service that greatly varies by region. For me, in southern Louisiana, DirecTV Now offered my local FOX affiliate only, while FuboTV had local FOX and CBS channels. Unless you're in a big city with more affiliate coverage, local channels typically aren't a selling point for these streaming services.
Otherwise, FuboTV's basic package offers just over 75 channels at $39.99 per month for your first month, but the price increases to $44.99/month afterwards. DirecTV Now's Live a Little $40/month package offers just over 65 channels. These two packages lined up pretty much exactly, offering most of the same channels and covering many of the big offerings like FX, AMC, HGTV, Syfy, and USA. One big channel missing from FuboTV is Freeform.
FuboTV also caters to Latin American and Portuguese audiences with Fubo Latino ($17.99/month) and Fubo Português ($19.99/month) channel bundles. The basic bundles also come with a collection of sports packages like Sports Plus (22 channels for additional $8.99/month), International Sports Plus (4 channels for $5.99/month), Fubo Cycling (5 channels for $11.99/month), and more. Despite this bevy of sports-focused offerings, FuboTV has one major weak spot: it doesn't include any ESPN channels in any plan.
DirecTV Now's offerings are a more straightforward tiered system, including ESPN from the base plan onwards. Following Live a Little, there's "Just Right" at $55/month for 85+ channels, "Go Big" for $65/month for 105+ channels, "Gotta Have It" for $75/month for 125+ channels, and a Spanish language "Todo y Más" bundle at $45/month for 90+ channels. With these tiers, DirecTV Now can easily cost as much as a normal cable bill, especially if you add more premium channels.
For premiums, FuboTV only has Showtime at $10.99/month added on, while DirecTV Now has all the big premium channels, and at a much lower cost. HBO is $5/month added on, Showtime is $8/month, Starz is $8/month, and Cinemax is $5/month.
Episode pages - On pages for upcoming episodes, FuboTV has a helpful option to jump directly into the current live stream of that channel, while DirecTV Now simply lets you record the episode.
Stream count - FuboTV offers two concurrent streams on the same account, and you'll have to pay $5.99/month to add a third stream. DirecTV Now offers three concurrent streams for no extra charge.
Background stream - FuboTV cuts off sound of the live stream when you navigate its menus, while DirecTV Now keeps noise from the live channel running as you browse. I found FuboTV's method a bit jarring, but this is another feature that will depend on personal preference.
Favorites - FuboTV automatically pulls your favorites up to the top of the guide, while DirecTV Now offers a filter to show all channels or just your favorites.
DVR controls - FuboTV's fast forward options in the DVR were far more snappy and reliable in my testing compared to DirecTV Now, which always requires me to hit play/pause a few times once I jump to section of video I want to be in. Both apps still offer less-than-stellar fast forward options in comparison to traditional cable boxes.
Background app refresh - FuboTV tends to load back into the Home menu if you leave the app for longer than 30 seconds, while DirecTV Now will pick up the live video or recording you were watching even if you left the app minutes prior.
DirecTV Now continues to be riddled with bugginess, playback issues, and other problems, but AT&T's streaming TV service offers a ton of channels at a decent price, and the days that it works well truly rekindle a cable set-top box feeling. If the company expands its true cloud DVR with more storage at a reasonable price, finally makes the platform more stable, and offers some UI tweaks for slicker playback controls, DirecTV Now will have a bright future.
On the other hand, FuboTV already has a more stable streaming service and a bevy of channels (although major options are missing) at a mostly competitive price tag. The Apple TV app's UI can be cumbersome when you just want to jump into a show quickly, but the menus you navigate through are nice to look at and the app overall feels more responsive than DirecTV Now on an Apple TV 4K. FuboTV's most glaring error is the lack of series pass recordings in the cloud DVR, making it hard to recommend to hardcore TV watchers who are looking to cut the cord, but still keep track of their favorite shows.
In the end, each service has a large list of pros and cons, and the option you decide on will offer a largely competent replacement to traditional cable TV, with a few caveats. The perfect over-the-top streaming TV service doesn't exist, yet, so finding the right one that fits your viewing habits can be a trial and error process. Luckily, both FuboTV and DirecTV Now offer free trials that last one week, which is plenty of time to test out all of the major features of each service before you begin paying for one.
Tags: DirecTV Now, FuboTV
This article, "FuboTV vs. DirecTV Now: Solid Streaming TV Services With Some Drawbacks" first appeared on MacRumors.com
DirecTV Now iOS App Update Adds 2018 iPad Pro Support, Cloud DVR for HBO and Cinemax, and More
AT&T's live TV streaming service DirecTV Now officially supports Apple's latest iPad Pro models, thanks to an update to the iOS app that was pushed out on Thursday.
After installing the update, owners of this year's 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models will be able to watch shows on the service in fullscreen mode minus any letterboxing, which blighted previous versions of the DirecTV Now app.
In addition to support for the new iPad Pro displays, the update introduces Cloud DVR support for HBO and Cinemax programming, albeit in a beta form.
Apart from performance improvements and bug fixes, the DirecTV Now app also makes Cheddar programming available as part of the Just Right plus channel lineup.
DirecTV Now is available on the App Store as a free download. [Direct Link] The service offers streaming packages starting at $40 per month, including a 7-day free trial.
DirecTV Now Ending Public Beta for True Cloud DVR, Will Launch Paid Higher Storage Tiers Soon
DirecTV is warning customers that its True Cloud DVR service will officially come out of beta next week, and any customers who were receiving 100 hours of recording space during the public beta will now be reset to the base 20 hours offered as a free add-on to DirecTV Now packages (via Cord Cutters News and Multichannel News). The end of the beta is said to happen on August 29, and anyone who already has 20 hours shouldn't see much of a change in their DirecTV Now app, besides the removal of any beta-related terminology.
For customers with 100 hours of beta storage, AT&T says it will erase any content more than 30 days old and will keep up to 20 hours of the most recently recorded videos. So, anyone with 100 hours on the DirecTV Now True Cloud DVR should make sure they're caught up with all of their shows and movies this weekend ahead of the end of the beta next week.
DirecTV Now began warning these customers via email earlier in the week:
We couldn’t have done it without you.
Thanks to your help with our beta testing program, DIRECTV NOW is better than ever, with great new features like True Cloud DVR beta*, locals on the go**, and an upgraded interface.
As part of the beta testing program, you had access to 100 hours of DVR storage. Since the program has ended, on August 29th your storage will transition to 20 free hours of True Cloud DVR beta, which is included with your service. So make sure to stream all the good stuff you love now. And don’t worry – the most recent 20 hours of content will remain on your DVR, as long as it is less than 30 days old.
Keep on streaming and enjoying all of your favorite content, with access to third-party apps, and 40,000+ titles** on Video On Demand.
As the beta ends, AT&T is rumored to be gearing up "several tiers" of True Cloud DVR service that customers can purchase as an add-on to their base plans. Tiers are said to range from 50 hours to 120 hours, but prices haven't been disclosed. DirecTV Now did mention in May that one such tier would be 100 hours of recordings (saved for up to 90 days) for an extra $10 per month, so the cost of additional tiers can be extrapolated from that price point.
The True Cloud DVR has been in public beta since May 2018, and offered most users 20 hours of recording space while a select group of users got 100 hours of space. At the time of that launch, the company stated that "more capacity options" would be coming later in the summer, so it appears that these options will be launching imminently.
If you don't want to add anything else onto your monthly DirecTV Now bill (which recently went up by $5/month), all users will get 20 hours of DVR storage at no additional cost. DirecTV Now is available as an app on iPhone, iPad, and Apple TV, and DVR recordings are synced between all platforms that you're signed into.
DirecTV Now Rolling Out Support for Many Local ABC, NBC, and CBS Stations Owned by Nexstar
Live TV streaming service DirecTV Now this week began expanding support for local stations on its platform, with numerous posts on r/DirecTVNow reporting that local network affiliates for ABC, NBC, and CBS have appeared in cities across the United States.
As pointed out by CordCuttersNews, these affiliates are owned and operated by Nexstar Media Group, a television broadcasting company that owns or operates around 170 TV stations across the country. In November 2017, Nexstar announced that it had reached "mutually satisfactory agreements" with three of the big four networks for participation in live TV streaming services like DirecTV Now and PS Vue, and then throughout 2018 a few local affiliates began trickling out for select cities.
This week, however, it appears like a wide rollout of local affiliates has begun on DirecTV Now. Over the past 24 hours on Reddit, users have mentioned seeing the following local stations:
WIAT in Birmingham, Alabama
WIVB in Buffalo, New York
KOIN in Portland, Oregon
WNCN in Raleigh, North Carolina
WROC in Rochester, New York
WCMH in Columbus, Ohio
KXAN in Austin, Texas
WOOD in Grand Rapids, Michigan
WKRN in Nashville, Tennessee
WRIC in Richmond, Virginia
WTNH in New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut
This is far from every local affiliate owned by Nexstar, and there are likely more that have appeared on DirecTV Now and other over-the-top streaming platforms in recent days. The full list of stations owned and operated by Nexstar can be found on the company's Wikipedia page.
The addition of local stations greatly adds to the convenience and value of OTT services, given that without these stations cord cutters don't have the chance to get local news or watch TV shows on one the big four networks (ABC, FOX, NBC, and CBS). While services like Hulu and CBS All Access supplement missed shows on many of these networks, they require additional monthly fees to be added on top of the cost of DirecTV Now or PS Vue.
As some Redditors are sharing, the expanded rollout means that many DirecTV Now subscribers in cities like Buffalo and Austin now have access to all of their local channels. CordCuttersNews reports that those Nexstar stations not yet added could still be coming down the line, since some -- including a "handful of NBC affiliates" -- have deals that are not set to be renewed until later in 2018, at which time the OTT-related agreements are expected to be added to contracts with these stations.
DirecTV Now's last big update came in May with the launch of its "True Cloud DVR" in a wide beta. The feature lets subscribers record 20 hours of shows and movies on DirecTV Now, and sync their recordings across devices like the Apple TV, iPhone, and iPad. The same update also brought a few UI changes that renamed "Watchlist" to "Bookmarks," and aimed to make search more "customizable" so that users spend more time watching shows and less time navigating menus.
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Gold ETF outflows drag on metal as holdings drop to 4-year low
Austin Kiddle
The U.S. Comex gold futures fell 3.46% week-to-Thursday to $1,386.90, just $64 above the worst level reached in mid-April this year. Year-to-date, the gold futures dropped 17.24%, compared to a rise of 15.73% in the S&P 500 Index, 6.48% in the Euro Stoxx 50 index and 12.66% in the MSCI Developed World Index. The Dollar Index is also up 4.79% this year.
Softer Economic News but Higher Stock Prices
While Japan's Q1 real GDP, driven by higher private consumption, jumped a higher-than-expected 3.5%, the Euro-area's April inflation rate dropped to a three-year low to 1.2% while the Q1 real GDP declined 0.2%, its sixth quarter of contraction. The weekly jobless claims in the U.S. increased by 32,000 to 360,000. The Philadelphia Fed index and the New York's manufacturing survey also unexpectedly contracted as the fiscal cuts have taken effect. Nevertheless, about 39% of the stocks in the S&P 500 Index reached their 52-week high according to Bloomberg. The Japanese Nikkei Index is also approaching a five-year high. The strength of the stock markets has surprised many investors who are still under-allocated to equities and are skeptical of the economic future.
Gold-Backed ETP Holdings Continued to Drop
As inflation is low and equity markets are rising, gold-backed ETP investors have been rotating out of gold. The SPDR Gold Trust holdings dropped to a four-year low to 1,041 metric tons yesterday after reports show that investors such as Soros, Northern Trust and BlackRock have cut their holdings between 12% to more than 50% in Q1. Credit Suisse predicted that gold will trade at $1,100 next year, citing that gold is relatively expensive compared to other hard commodities. The World Gold Council reported that while gold-backed ETPs dropped 176.9 tonnes in Q1, total bar and coin demand surged 10 percent from a year ago to 377.7 tonnes while jewellery demand climbed 12 percent to 551 tonnes. Central Banks continued to add gold by over 100 tonnes for the seventh consecutive quarter. The tug of war between the physical buyers and the paper gold investors will likely continue.
What to Watch Next Week
Next week, various U.S. regional Fed Presidents will speak about the economy on May 20, 21 and 23. On May 22, Japan will announce its Target rate, Ben Bernanke will make his testimony and the latest US FOMC minutes will be released. The U.S., Euro-17 and China will release the flash manufacturing PMI index for May on May 23. Germany will report its IFO business climate index on May 24.
Austin Kiddle is a director of the London-based gold broker Sharps Pixley Ltd.
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Your Book Saved My Life, Mister
ALL OF MY BOOKS, including Wagons Westward!!! Hiiiii-YAW and Ck-ck Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy! and Pa! Look Out! It’s—Aiiiiieee!, have been difficult for my readers, I guess, judging from their reactions when they see me shopping at Val-Mar or sitting in the Quad County Library & Media Center. After a rough morning at the keyboard, I sort of like to slip into my black leather vest, big white hat, and red kerchief, same as in the book-jacket photos, and saunter up and down the aisle by the fruit and other perishable items and let my fans have the thrill of running into me, and if nobody does I park myself at a table dead smack in front of the Western-adventure shelf in Quad County’s fiction department, lean back, plant my big boots on the table, and prepare to endure the terrible price of celebrity, but it’s not uncommon for a reader to come by, glance down, and say, “Aren’t you Dusty Pages, the author of Ck-ck Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy!” and when I look down and blush and say, “Well, yes, ma’am, I reckon I am him,” she says, “I thought so. You look just like him.” Then an awful silence while she studies the shelf and selects Ray A. James, Jr., or Chuck Young or another of my rivals. It’s a painful moment for an author, the reader two feet away and moments passing during which she does not say, “Your books have meant so much to me,” or “I can’t tell you how much I admire your work.” She just reaches past the author like he was a sack of potatoes and chooses a book by somebody else. Same thing happens with men. They say, “You’re an author, aren’tcha? I read a book of yours once, what was the name of it?”
I try to be helpful. “Could it have been Wagons Westward!!! Hiiiii- YAW!”
“No, it had someone’s name in the title.”
“Well, I wrote a book entitled Pa! Look Out! It’ s—Aiiiiieee!”
“No, I think it had the name of a horse.”
“Could it have been Ck-ck Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy!”
“That’s the one. Did you write that?”
“Yes, sir, I did.”
“Huh. I thought so.”
And right there you brace yourself for him to say, “Y’know, I never was one for books and then my brother gave me yours for Christmas and I said, ‘Naw, I don’t read books, Craig, you know that,’ and he said, ‘But this is different, Jim Earl, read this, this isn’t the girls’ literature they stuffed down our throats in high school, this is the real potatoes,’ so I read it and by George I couldn’t put the sucker down, I ran out and did the chores and tore out and back in the pickup to check on those dogies and I read for two days and two nights without a minute of shuteye. Your book changed my life, mister. I’m glad I got a chance to tell you that. You cleared up a bunch of stuff that has bothered me for years—you took something that had been inside me and you put it into words so I could feel, I donno, not so weird, feel sorta like understood, y’might say. That was me you put in that book of yours, mister. That was my life you wrote about there, and I want to say thanks. Just remember, anytime you’re ever in Big Junction, Wyoming, you got a friend there name o’ Jim Earl Wilcox”—but instead he says, “You wouldn’t know where the little boys’ room is, wouldja?,” as if I were a library employee and not a book author. So it’s clear to me that when people read my books they like me a little less at the end than at the beginning. My fourth book, Company A, Chaaaaaaarge!, is evidently the worst. Nobody bought it at all.
I know what it’s like to be disappointed by a hero. You think I don’t know? Believe me, I know. I met my idol, Smokey W. Kaiser, when I was twelve. I’d read everyone of his books twice—the Curly Bob and Lefty Slim series, the Lazy A Gang series, the Powder River Hank series—and I had waited outside the YMCA in Des Moines for three hours while he regaled the Rotary with humorous anecdotes, and when he emerged at the side door, a fat man in tight green pants tucked into silver-studded boots, he looked down and growled, “I don’t sign pieces of paper, kid. I sign books. No paper. You want my autograph, you can buy a book. That’s a rule of mine. Don’t waste my time and I won’t waste yours.”
Smokey’s problem was that he was a jerk, but mine is that I get halfway through a story and everything goes to pieces. In Wagons Westward!!! Hiiiii-YAW! the pioneers reach Council Bluffs, having endured two hundred solid pages of Indian attacks, smallpox, cattle stampedes, thirst, terror, bitter backbiting, scattered atheism, and adulterous inclinations, and then they sit on the bluffs and have a meeting to decide whether they really want to forge onward to Oregon or whether maybe they should head east toward Oak Park or Evanston instead. Buck Bradley, the tall, taciturn, sandy-haired, God-fearing man who led them through the rough stuff, stands up and says, “Well, it’s up to the rest of you. Makes no nevermind to yours truly, I could go either way and be happy—west, south, you name it. I don’t need to go west or anything. You choose. I’ll go along with whatever.”
I don’t know. I wrote that scene the way I heard it in my head but now I see it in print, it looks dumb. I can certainly see why it would throw a reader, same as in Giddup Beauty! C’mon Big Girl, Awaaaaayy!, when Buck rides two thousand miles across blazing deserts searching for Julie Ann and finally, after killing twenty men and wearing out three mounts and surviving two avalanches, a prairie fire, a blizzard, and a passel of varmints, he finds her held captive by the bloodthirsty Arapaho. “So, how are you doing?” he asks her. “Oh, all right, I guess,” she says, gazing up at him, wiping the sweat from her brow. “You want to come in for a cup of coffee?” “Naw, I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You look okay.” “Yeah, I lost some weight, about twenty pounds.” “Oh, really. How?” “Eating toads and grasshoppers.” “Uh-huh. Well, now that I look at you, you do look lighter.” “Sure you won’t have coffee?” “Naw, I gotta ride. Be seein’ ya, now.” “Okay, bye!” To me it seemed more realistic that way, but maybe to the guy reader it sounded sort of unfocused or something. I don’t know. Guys have always been a tough audience for me. The other day a guy grabbed my arm in the Quad County and said, “Hey, Dusty! Dusty Pages! That right? Am I right or am I right?”
“Both,” I said.
“Mister,” he said, “your book saved my life. My brother gave it to me and said, ‘Buck, read this sometime when you’re sober,’ and I put it in my pocket and didn’t think about it until, October, I was elk hunting up in the Big Coulee country, other side of the Little Crazy River, and suddenly wham it felt like somebody swung a bat and hit me in the left nipple. I fell over and lay there and, doggone it, I felt around and didn’t find blood—I go ‘Huh???????’ Well, it was your book in my jacket pocket saved my life—bullet tore through the first half of it, stopping at page 143. So, by Jim, I thought, ‘This is too crazy, I got to read this,’ and I started to read and I couldn’t believe it. That was me in the book—my life, my thoughts, it was weird. Names, dates, places—it was my life down to the last detail, except for the beer. I don’t drink Coors. The rest you got right. Here.” And he slipped an envelope into my hand. “This is for you,” he said.
It was a subpoena to appear in U.S. District Court the 27th of November to defend myself in a civil suit for wrongful misuse of the life of another for literary gain. I appeared and I tried to defend, but I lost. My attorney, a very, very nice man named Howard Furst, was simply outgunned by three tall ferret-faced bushwhackers in black pinstripes who flew in from Houston and tore him limb from limb in two and a half hours in that cold windy courtroom. They and their client, Buck Bradley, toted away three saddlebags full of my bank account, leaving me with nothing except this latest book. It’s the first in a new series, the Lonesome Bud series, called The Case of the Black Mesa, and it begins with a snake biting Bud in the wrist as he hangs from a cliff while Navajo shoot flaming arrows at him from below and a torrent of sharp gravel showers down on his old bald head. From there to the end, it never lets up, except maybe in Chapter 4, where he and the boys shop for bunk beds. I don’t know what I had in mind there at all.
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Some New York thoughts on solitude
I stood around looking at J.D. Salinger stuff last Friday, his old black Royal typewriter, family snapshots, and typewritten letters, at the New York Public Library, and it was a wonder to see. I’m one of the many millions for whom The Catcher in the Rye was an important book back in my teens and back then, Salinger was famous for guarding his privacy. He didn’t do interviews, was never on TV, and so was portrayed in the press as a crank, an anti-social weirdo. It’s clear from the exhibit that he was not.
He seems quite content, raising his vegetables, writing beautiful letters to his son, Matthew, studying in France, writing to an Army buddy with whom he shared a jeep during the Battle of the Bulge, writing at length to a 14-year-old reader named Laura in Huntington, WV. She had not included a return address and Salinger called Information in Huntington and got it. I speak for all his readers when I say I’m glad we were wrong about him. He was a sweet and happy man.
It did occur to me that Cornish, NH, was not a good place to live if you wanted anonymity. Reporters went to the town, talked to Salinger’s neighbors, his mailman, tried to dredge up tales about him, but if he’d stayed in New York, he’d have been better off. Anonymity is New York’s gift to us all.
I was in the library to sit in the magnificent Rose Reading Room, one of my favorite rooms in America, where a writer can sit and work at a long table under a magnificent high ceiling, in the company of a couple hundred others, most of them younger, working on Lord knows what. I’m working on a memoir, Lord knows why. Nobody bothers you there. I work until the library closes at 5:45 and make my way east on 42nd Street to Grand Central Station and down the ramp to the Oyster Bar and get a little red-checked table in the corner and order five bluepoints and coleslaw and broiled sea bass. Solitary supper, reading the paper, a great luxury.
I walk through the throng and remember when I came here with my dad in 1953. I was 11, a Minnesota kid on my first trip to the big city. I wandered away from him and it scared him, the thought that I might get lost, and he ran and grabbed my hand, and I still remember the feeling I got — that my dad loved me. He’d never say it, of course, but he did. I remember him as I walk through the station and head downstairs to the Times Square shuttle to take me to the uptown C train.
Dad was a train man and New York is a city of trains. Without the vast network of underground lines, the city would die. I like the company of New Yorkers on trains, their keen awareness of surroundings, their remarkable politeness. Once on the uptown One, I met a young guy from Texas who’d been at the same piano recital I’d been at and heard a Philip Glass sonata that sounded unGlass-like, melodic, more like Richard Strauss. We discussed that for a mile and he got off. The subway, the Rose Reading Room, the Oyster Bar — citadels of solitude. Salinger could’ve been quite happy here. I once saw Philip Roth walking in Central Park and nobody bothered him. He looked at me, I nodded, he nodded back. Who needs more?
I went to the ER once, about a year ago. My right knee hurt so that I could hardly put weight on it. I took a cab to Mt. Sinai St. Luke’s on 114th. I took a number and waited. The ER was crowded with anonymous people, most of them in worse shape than I. Three hours later, I was X-rayed and after a short wait, a doctor told me nothing was broken, I was okay to go. She was kind, thoughtful, friendly, and I looked at her name tag and decided to invade her privacy. I asked her to pronounce her name, she did, and I wrote:
The ER doc Elise Levine
Is dealing with chaos just fine;
Your calm expertise
And kindness, Elise,
Bring the Upper West Side some sunshine
In the shadow of St. John Divine.
Nobody had written a poem for her before, she said. She was touched. I thanked her and walked home. The beauty of solitude is that it makes each encounter so memorable. Dr. Levine, the music student from Texas, my dad taking my hand.
The art of love in the far North
Winter is a thoughtful time. Snow falls in the trees and my natural meanness dissipates and the urge to bash my enemies’ mailboxes with a baseball bat. I put fresh strawberries on the cornflakes and taste the sweetness of life. I speak gently to the lady across the table. Marriage is the truest test — to make a good life with your best-informed critic, and thanks to her excellent comedic timing, we have a good life. My third marriage and this year we ding the silver bell of twenty-five years.
America is the land of second and third chances, not like Europe. We have remedial colleges for kids who slept through high school. In Europe, the system is geared toward efficiency: it separates kids by age 12 into Advanced, Mediocre, and Food Service Workers, and once they assign you to a lane, it’s hard to get out of it. In this country, if our children are lazy and undisciplined, we try to see signs of artistic ability. We put them in a fine arts program. They spend three years writing weird stuff and get an MFA and you drive through McDonald’s and the young people fixing the Egg McMuffins are poets and songwriters.
It’s a land of high hopes, thanks to the Atlantic and Pacific that serve to isolate us from reality. Our ancestors were happy to escape the zeal of revolutionaries and the madness of despots and come to America and work like draft horses, hoping their children and grandchildren would have an easier time of it. And we do. Fifty years ago, when we referred to “homosexuals,” it sounded like people suffering from a condition that required treatment, but when “gay” became common usage, it changed everything. How can you be opposed to happiness?
For an old man, there aren’t many second chances, but we still hope for them. I miss my youth, the buzzin’ of the bees in the cigarette trees near the lemonade springs where the bluebird sings, and now the bee population is down, the smokes are gone, lemonade contains dangerous additives, and when did you last see a bluebird? In my youth, men worked on their cars, changed the oil and the spark plugs, replaced the fan belt, and other men gathered, squatted around the car, and talked about manly things. The driveway was their territory. This is all gone now. Cars can’t be repaired by ordinary people with ordinary tools. Men have been forced into the living room, which belongs to women. They say, “Take your shoes off” and you have to do it.
The country is falling apart. There are new food allergies every week so we can’t have dinner parties anymore unless we limit the menu to locally sourced artisanal lentils. And people who come for dinner spend the first half hour talking about how long it took to get here — rush hour is horrendous, three and four hours, so people email and text behind the wheel, even shave, and do makeup, change a shirt, put on a tie, nobody dares tailgate because they’re steering with their knees so traffic moves even more slowly. Online medical education means someday we’ll go in for a tonsillectomy and come out missing our left lung. The Boeing debacle means we can only ride Airbuses now, planes designed by engineers who eat mussels and wear silk scarves. And Washington — Mr. Trump wouldn’t have been a capable water commissioner in a midsize city but here he is, running foreign policy based on phone conversations with Tucker Carlson. Republican politics is based on the imminence of the Second Coming: if Jesus doesn’t descend within three years and take the Republicans to heaven, they are going to be in very deep waste materials.
But hope remains. People still fall in love. I know millennials who are crazy about each other and don’t try to hide it. The country is on the skids but still I see people going to the trouble of seducing each other. In Minnesota, this is done by owning a snowblower and going to the home of the person you adore and blowing the snow, and if he or she (or they or we or those) is receptive, they will invite you in for a bowl of homemade chili. I don’t know what Californians do but in the north, it’s very simple. Snowblowing followed by chili. Chili with ground beef or chicken in it. What the heck — take the risk. Veganism can wait until after marriage.
Man of the north finds bliss, becomes incoherent
My family and I are at a swimming pool under the palm trees behind a pink stucco 1929 hotel in San Diego, my wife reading a memoir, my daughter swimming laps of alternate crawl and butterfly, and I am trying to think of what one can say about blissfulness other than that, for a Minnesotan brought up on the principle of “It could be worse,” blissfulness comes as a major surprise, like weightlessness. The hotel looks out on the Pacific, a beach where sea lions fraternize and waves crash on the rocks. As I ate my oatmeal on the balcony this morning, a seagull landed on the railing and cocked his eye at the raisins on the cereal so I tossed him one and he caught it. This almost never happens back on the frozen tundra where nature makes serious attempts to kill us. In paradise, it’s Live and Let Live.
My family was evangelical and believed in the imminence of the Rapture when the Lord would appear in the air and we would rise to meet Him and ascend into glory, but we were simple Midwestern people and had no clear idea of glory. It certainly didn’t resemble Anoka, Minnesota. We knew that much.
When I was a kid some relatives moved to California and sent a Christmas card with a picture of an orange tree in their backyard and we didn’t understand how they could bear to live so far from us. They visited us in June, in their pastel outfits, driving cars with enormous tail fins, Lutherans who’d become Universalists and then Theosophists and (who knows?) maybe nudists and meanwhile we endured the cold, the flatness, the oceanlessness, the angry theology, the merciless scrutiny of neighbors, and they sat in San Diego feeling wonderful. I felt contempt for them and looked on snowbirding as weakness of character and the first sign of dementia, but here I sit, under a white canopy, feeling happy.
A Prairie Home Companion An Evening of Story and Song Humor Love & Comedy Tour Old Friends Poetry Prairie Home Christmas Show Solo Songs Stories The Gratitude Tour
Garrison Keillor with Heather Masse at the Dakota. Night 2 of 2. Tickets $30+
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Lake Forest, IL
The 12th A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION CRUISE
Aboard the ms Veendam
March 18–25, 2020
• Letter from Garrison
• Itinerary
• Talent
• Ports
Note: Some of you may have heard rumors that U.S. citizens will no longer be able to visit Cuba by the time the ms Veendam sets sail. Please know that at this moment, we are fully planning to keep Cuba on the itinerary, but that we have backup options as well. In the event that the itinerary changes, reservations will not be canceled or refunded.
6/20/2019 UPDATE: Cuba must be removed from our itinerary. U.S. travel to Cuba for tourist activities is now banned by the U.S. government.
Dear Prairie Home Cruisers,
It was a long hard winter in Minnesota, and I am in a mood for warmth and pleasure next winter and that will be The 12th Prairie Home Cruise, a one-week jaunt from Fort Lauderdale with stops at Jamaica, Cozumel, the Cayman Islands, and Key West, sailing March 18, 2020.
All a person needs to get through the blizzards and darkness is a bright light on the horizon — a candle in the window — and so, next winter, I will dream of March 18, the flight to Fort Lauderdale, the surprise at seeing sunshine, green plants, people in shorts and T-shirts.
And then the cruise!!!
Rob Fisher and his 10-piece Coffee Club Orchestra will perform for your dancing pleasure. The amazing jazz singer Nellie McKay is coming, a powerful pianist and ukulelist. Gospel will be represented by Jearlyn Steele. Pat Donohue will join us, as will Dakota Dave Hull, a veteran of early PHC days who is in all-time top form. Robin and Linda Williams are on board, as are Joe Newberry and April Verch. Heather Masse is coming, and Christine DiGiallonardo so Brooklyn will be represented. Maria Jette and Vern Sutton will sing from the piano bench tropical hits such as “Bésame Mucho” and “Perfidia.” Of course our acting company of Sue Scott, Tim Russell, and Fred Newman will be there, and thanks to them, Dusty and Lefty will ride the plains and Guy Noir will scour the back alleys and Mom and Duane and Ruth Harrison, Reference Librarian. Rich Dworsky and the Guys All-Star Shoe Band will support all of this and I will be there, as well. Talking about Lake Wobegon, coffee, rhubarb pie, reminiscing about early radio days. Doing poetry. Emceeing the story hours. Writing limericks for guests who win the limerick lottery. And singing with Heather and Christine, Robin and Linda.
If this cruise is as much fun as I expect it to be, maybe we’ll do another. As Emily Dickinson wrote:
Wild nights — Wild nights! Were I with thee
Wild nights at sea! With PHC!
Off to Jamaica! Freely we go!
Peel that banana! Let’s do a show.
Winter, goodbye!
Minnesota, New York!
Hello, Miss McKay
And the Coffee Club Orch.
See EMI’s website for cabin pricing
As on previous cruises, guests will have the opportunity to enjoy music performances, lectures, and nature viewing in multiple locations. We’ll gather at the Mainstage for live A Prairie Home Companion shows followed by dancing with the Coffee Club Orchestra, the Crow’s Nest for early morning singing and late-night dancing, and the Wajang Theater for lectures. Guests can catch live music sets in intimate settings such as the Ocean Bar and bring acoustic instruments to picking sessions at the Explorer’s Lounge. Of course, bird-watching will take place on the decks!
Dan Chouinard
Dan Chouinard is a St. Paul-based honky-tonk pianist, concert soloist and accompanist, street accordionist, sing-along enabler, Italian and French teacher, and bicycling vagabond. He’s been commissioned to write and host a number of live programs blending history, memoir, and music for broadcast on Minnesota Public Radio and Twin Cities Public Television. He played on a dozen live broadcasts of A Prairie Home Companion and served as rehearsal pianist for Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, and Lindsay Lohan during the making of the 2006 Robert Altman film of the same name.
The Coffee Club Orchestra
The Coffee Club Orchestra sprang into existence in the fall of 1989 when Garrison Keillor asked musical director Rob Fisher to put together a group for his radio show. Chosen for their breadth of experience and their versatility, the Coffee Club musicians delighted public radio listeners with their rambunctious renditions. Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra have since appeared on many of New York’s stages, from the plaza at Lincoln Center to City Center’s Encores! series. Their album of Depression-era popular music, Shaking the Blues Away, was released on EMI/Angel in 1992. They can also be heard on Kristin Chenoweth’s debut album, Let Yourself Go.
Christine DiGiallonardo
New York-based vocalist Christine DiGiallonardo is at home singing in early-music chamber ensembles as well as jazz and rock bands. She has performed in New York City Center’s Encores! productions of High Button Shoes, Me And My Girl, Brigadoon, The New Yorkers,Annie Get Your Gun, Lady, Be Good!, On Your Toes, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and Fiorello! She also performs solo and with her sisters, Daniela and Nadia, as The DiGiallonardo Sisters, and her voice can be heard on commercial jingles for Aquafresh, Mr. Clean, Playtex, and Febreze.
Grammy-winning fingerpicker and songwriter Pat Donohue has a devotion to acoustic guitar that has made him an American standard, as he echoes the tones of Robert Johnson, Blind Blake, Charlie Parker, Muddy Waters, and Chet Atkins. A versatile guitarist’s guitarist, he wows fans with intricate fingerpicking, easy wit, and nimble interpretations of old blues, swing, R&B, and original tunes. For over 20 years, Pat was lead guitar and songwriter for A Prairie Home Companion’s Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band. He now tours the U.S., playing performance halls, clubs and coffeehouses, conducts workshops, and teaches at prestigious guitar camps.
Richard Dworsky
For 23 years, Richard Dworsky served as pianist and music director for Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion, providing original theatrical underscoring, leading the house band, and performing as a featured soloist. The St. Paul, Minnesota, native also accompanied many of the show’s guests, including James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Yo-Yo Ma, Sheryl Crow, Chet Atkins, Renée Fleming, and Kristin Chenoweth. Rich’s original compositions for piano (and piano with ensemble or vocal) can be heard on his CDs All In Due Time, So Near and Dear to Me, and The Path to You.
Rob Fisher
For four seasons, Rob Fisher served as APHC’s music director and led the Coffee Club Orchestra. An internationally recognized music director, conductor, and pianist, and a leading figure in musical theater, he has been a guest of every major orchestra in the country as conductor or pianist. With the New York Philharmonic, Fisher conducted the acclaimed concert versions of Carousel (Emmy nomination for Best Music Director) and My Fair Lady, as well as Mr. Keillor at 70. For his work on the Tony Award-winning Encores! series at New York’s City Center, he was presented the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement.
Dakota Dave Hull
Fargo native Dakota Dave Hull calls what he does “classic American guitar.” Hailed by everyone from Dave Van Ronk to Doc Watson, from the Washington Post to DownBeat magazine, his style spans a wide musical geography to create an infectious, uniquely personal blend of jazz, ragtime, folk, blues, Western swing, and vintage pop. He is a restlessly curious, adventurous traveler along the broad highway of America’s music. Most of all, his music is great fun. As Douglas Green (Ranger Doug of Riders in the Sky) puts it, “There is an imp within Dave Hull that always expresses itself on the fretboard.” His recent albums include his Sacred and Profane set, Heavenly Hope and This Earthly Life (Arabica Records).
Innocent Reggae Band
The Innocent Reggae Band is a Minneapolis-based reggae band that has been performing together since the 1990s. With members from from Tanzania, Trinidad, St. Croix and America, the band embraces the various rhythms of the diaspora to create a sound that embraces both the laidback lilt of reggae and the fiery sounds of Tanzania.
Maria Jette
Versatile soprano Maria Jette was a frequent performer on A Prairie Home Companion. She can sing dozens of operatic roles; she also performs pop songs, chamber music, oratorio, and show tunes. Maria spent a decade singing with the Twin Cities Baroque opera company Ex Machina, and has appeared with orchestras nationwide, including the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, New York Chamber Symphony, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and Minnesota Orchestra.Among her recordings is The Siren’s Song: Wodehouse and Kern on Broadway, her second volume of P.G. Wodehouse songs, both with pianist Dan Chouinard.
Larry Kohut
Bassist for Prairie Home Companion’s house band, Larry Kohut is equally fluent on both upright and electric bass. He’s a first-call studio musician as well as a favorite with jazz musicians, playing with artists such as Kenny Werner, Ramsey Lewis, Bruce Barth, Benny Golson, Michael Brecker, George Coleman, George Garzone, Phil Woods, Chris Potter, Kurt Elling, Karrin Allyson, Patricia Barber — and the list goes on. His discography includes more than 100 albums, as well as several major movie soundtracks and hundreds of commercial jingles.
Richard Kriehn
When Richard Kriehn turned 10, his mom bought him a mandolin; at 19, he’d won the Buck White International Mandolin Contest. He went on to play with the Nashville Mandolin Ensemble and bluegrass group 1946. On the classical side, he has performed with numerous orchestras and was principal second violin for the Washington/Idaho Symphony. He first appeared on A Prairie Home Companion in 2006, when the show broadcast from Washington State University, where Richard had just completed a master’s degree in violin performance and conducting. A few years later, he was a fully established member of the APHC house band.
Heather Masse
Trained at the New England Conservatory of Music as a jazz singer, Heather Masse is equally versed in a variety of American song traditions — folk, pop, and bluegrass. A member of Billboard-charting folk group The Wailin’ Jennys, she has performed at hundreds of venues across the world. She was a frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, both with The Jennys and as a solo performer, and collaborated with artists such as Elvis Costello, Wynton Marsalis, Sheryl Crow, Renée Fleming, and Emmylou Harris. Her recordings include August Love Song — on which she joins forces with trombone great Roswell Rudd.
Nelly McKay
Nellie McKay has released a stack of acclaimed albums, among them: Sister Orchid, My Weekly Reader, and Normal as Blueberry Pie: A Tribute to Doris Day. She won a Theatre World Award for her portrayal of Polly Peachum on Broadway in The Threepenny Opera and performed onscreen in the films P.S. I Love You and Downtown Express.She co-created and starred in the award-winning off-Broadway hit Old Hats and has written several musical biographies, including A Girl Named Bill: The Life and Times of Billy Tipton, and The Big Molinsky: Considering Joan Rivers.
Joe Newberry
Known worldwide for his exquisite clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer, and songwriter. The Missouri native was raised in a family full of singers and dancers. He took up guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. After moving to North Carolina, he quickly became an anchor of the incredible music scene there. The Gibson Brothers’ version of Joe’s song “Singing As We Rise,” featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA Gospel Recorded Performance Award. With Eric Gibson, he shared the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year Award for “They Called It Music.”
Fred Newman is an actor, writer, musician, and sound designer for stage and screen, cartoon and concert hall. For nearly two decades, he added myriad sounds to A Prairie Home Companion. Originally from small-town Georgia, he worked with Jim Henson and created sounds, voices, and music for the Nickelodeon cartoon series DOUG, PBS’s Between the Lions, and films like Gremlins, Cocoon, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He even created the sound of Old Faithful for Yellowstone’s Old Faithful Visitor Center — all with his mouth. Author of MouthSounds, he’s now at work on a new book and series: From the Sound Up (The New Anthropology of Sound).
Tim Russell
Tim Russell worked on-air for WCCO Radio in the Twin Cities for some 33 years. In 1994, he became an actor on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion until the fall of 2018. The CD Tim Russell: Man of a Thousand Voices (HighBridge Audio) is a collection of his work on APHC. Tim is still a man of many voices and a proud SAG-AFTRA Voiceover Artist. He appeared in the Robert Altman film A Prairie Home Companion, in the Coen Brothers’ A Serious Man, and opposite Christopher Lloyd in I Am Not a Serial Killer. Tim is also a film critic on his blog, Russellreviews.com.
Sue Scott
After enjoying 24 years as the female cast member on A Prairie Home Companion, Sue Scott has rejoined the vibrant Twin Cities theater community. She recently appeared in Barbecue at Mixed Blood Theatre, Little Wars with Prime Productions, and in the sold-out run of Sisters of Peace at the History Theatre in St. Paul. A veteran voice-over talent, Sue has also been cast in some interesting roles in film and television: ABC’s In An Instant and the Netflix series Lady Dynamite. In addition, she is immersed in creating and producing her new podcast, Island of Discarded Women.
Chris Siebold
Chicago-based guitarist, singer-songwriter, composer, and arranger Chris Siebold leads his own bands — Lennon’s Tuba and Psycles — and collaborates often with Grammy-winning harmonica player Howard Levy. House guitarist for the last two seasons of A Prairie Home Companion, Chris joined Garrison Keillor and company for the “America the Beautiful” and “Love and Comedy” tours. This is his fourth appearance on an APHC Cruise. Chris lives in Batavia, Illinois, with his four-year-old son, Julian.
Billy Steele
Youngest of the Steele siblings, Billy Steele, performs, writes, produces, and serves as assistant director for the Grammy-winning Sounds of Blackness. He writes and produces for various other artists as well, including the Steeles, and his voice has been heard on soundtracks with the likes of Rod Stewart and Luther Vandross. Recently, he collaborated on the Disney soundtrack Legends, The John Henry Story, narrated by James Earl Jones. Billy is the musical director for Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Jearlyn Steele
Growing up in Indiana, Jearlyn Steele sang with her siblings as The Steele Children. One by one, they moved to Minnesota and started singing together again. Now music is the family business. She has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, at Carnegie Hall and at the 2018 Super Bowl LIVE Verizon stage. In addition, Jearlyn is a public speaker (the singing speaker, she calls herself), an entertainment reporter for public television, voice-over talent, and host of Steele Talkin’, a Sunday-night radio show that originates on WCCO in Minneapolis. Among her solo CDs is Jearlyn Steele Sings Songs from A Prairie Home Companion.
Vern Sutton
Vern Sutton has collaborated with major musical organizations as a singer, actor, director, and educator. He was a founding member of the Center Opera Company, which became the Minnesota Opera, and composers Dominick Argento, Robert Ward, Conrad Susa, Stephen Paulus, David Thomas, Libby Larsen, and others have written for his voice. For 36 years, he taught at the University of Minnesota School of Music, and for four summers he was artistic director of Opera in the Ozarks. Vern was a guest on the first broadcast of A Prairie Home Companion and on innumerable shows after that.
April Verch
Growing up surrounded by living, breathing roots music, April Verch thought every little girl learned to stepdance at the age of three and fiddle at the age of six. She decided early on that she’d be a professional musician, and for decades she has been captivating audiences across the globe. From her native Canada to Europe, Australia, China, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond, she has spread a signature sound that blends regional Canadian, American old-time, bluegrass, country, and Americana. In 2019, April released her 12th recording, Once A Day (Slab Town Records), a heartfelt homage to 1950s and ’60s classic country.
Robin and Linda Williams
For decades, Robin and Linda Williams have made it their mission to perform the music they love: “a robust blend of bluegrass, folk, old-time, and acoustic country that combines wryly observant lyrics with a wide-ranging melodicism.” Today some might call it “Americana,” but these music masters were living and breathing this elixir 20 years before that label became a radio format. The two first appeared on A Prairie Home Companion in 1975, the same year they recorded their first album. In 2013, they released Back 40 — marking 40 years on the road and 40 years of marriage.
Jed Wilson
A versatile pianist equally at home as an improviser and as an accompanist, Jed Wilson earned a degree in jazz performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and has worked extensively in the worlds of jazz and folk music. In addition to maintaining a long-term collaboration with singer Heather Masse, he has performed or recorded with Aoife O’Donovan, Dominique Eade, and Rushad Eggleston. His most recent recording is a solo piano EP titled Nocturnes.
Aly Busse
Aly Busse is the Vice President for Education at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, a nonprofit research laboratory. She comes from a diverse background in informal science education, including aquariums, museums, and community outreach programs. Before joining Mote Marine Laboratory, Aly was Education Director at UnderWater World, Guam, and Youth and Family Programs Coordinator at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle. She also held dual roles at Rutgers University as the Senior Program Coordinator for a science outreach program and Associate Director of the Rutgers Geology Museum. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina–Wilmington, a Master of Science in Science Education from Old Dominion University, and is a PhD candidate at the University of South Florida.
Kiley Gray
Originally from Florida, Kiley Gray has always known that marine biology was her passion. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from the University of West Florida, Kiley worked as a fisheries biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. She is currently the Coordinator for Public Programs at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, an independent, nonprofit research laboratory with a public aquarium. In this position, she is responsible for bringing marine science and research to the public through a variety of programs for audiences of all ages and is an instructor for the Florida Master Naturalist program.
Lytton John Musselman
Lytton John Musselman earned a Ph.D. in botany from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and was chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, where he holds the Mary Payne Hogan Distinguished Professorship of Botany. He established the Blackwater Ecologic Preserve in 1984 and is the Manager of that property. In addition, he has been a consultant for new Qur’anic gardens in Albania, Qatar, and Brunei Darussalam. Lytton is co-author of recently published Wildflowers of the Adirondacks (Johns Hopkins University Press). His other publications include 2019’s Parasitic Plants in African Agriculture. Described as a “passionate botanist” by Garrison Keillor, Lytton received the Meritorious Teaching Award from the Association of Southeastern Biologists in 2019.
Dr. Tyehimba Salandy
Dr. Tyehimba Salandy is a Caribbean sociologist, lecturer, and consultant who resides in Trinidad and Tobago. With his passion for Caribbean history and culture he is a sought-after speaker who is known for delivering unique presentations on a diverse range of topics. Over the years he has engaged these issues through academic articles, radio and television programmes, and newspaper columns. He is currently a director at the Institute of Indigenous Knowledge, Empowerment, and Research where, among other things, he works on a project that uses nature as a basis for people to learn about history, society, and self.
Jon Wiant
Jon Wiant is an authority on intelligence and international affairs. His senior intelligence career spanned the Cold War and the security challenges that followed. In retirement, this recipient of the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal has taught at Washington universities and is a widely popular cruise and tour lecturer.
Ocho Rios, Jamaica
A lot of history is packed into Ocho Rios, Jamaica — or Ochi, as the locals call it. Christopher Columbus was marooned near this site for more than a year, until a rescue ship finally arrived and the explorer returned to Europe. It was his final voyage. Playwright Noël Coward lived in the vicinity. So did swashbuckling actor Errol Flynn and author Ian Fleming. (Parts of Dr. No, the first James Bond movie, were filmed nearby.) And reggae pioneer Bob Marley was born in this same parish: St. Ann.
The area is a bonanza for nature lovers, featuring scenic hikes, spectacular waterfalls, and sandy beaches. And the area’s cross-cultural cuisine runs the gamut from spicy jerk chicken to the leafy greens of callaloo to ackee with saltfish (the country’s national dish).
George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
George Town, the capital of the Cayman Islands, is located on the western shore of Grand Cayman. Here, you’ll settle into just the right tempo for you: prestissimo (very quick) or larghissimo (did someone say sloth?). Enjoy swimming, snorkeling, diving, moseying through lush gardens, hiking through nature, bird-watching, sauntering along the fabled Seven Mile Beach (one of the best in the Caribbean), shopping, or taking in historic sites and the National Museum. Or just plunking down in the sand and daydreaming.
Then let the grazing begin! A melting pot of cuisines and a magnet for top chefs, Grand Cayman has culinary offerings to suit any palate.
Twelve miles off the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, the island of Cozumel serves up a visual feast — from the stunning beaches to an array of birds and tropical fish to ancient architectural ruins of the Maya, whose settlements in the area date back to early in the first millennium A.D. Scuba dive or snorkel in the crystal-clear waters. Rent a bicycle and pedal the island’s paved bike path. And leave a little time for shopping — leather goods, Mexican handicrafts, silver, and maybe a brightly colored hammock to doze in back home in your own backyard.
Key West — the westernmost of the Florida Keys and the southernmost city in the contiguous United States — has a ton of history, culture, and charm packed into a few square miles. John James Audubon, Tennessee Williams, and so many other notables drew inspiration here. Tour historic buildings, including the residence of one of the great American writers of the 20th century: Ernest Hemingway, who called Key West home for more than a decade. (And keep an eye out for those six-toed cats!) Enjoy water- and nature-related activities. Take in the stunning scenery. Sample sumptuous seafood. Soak up the sun. Relax.
Here you will find answers to the more common questions we have been asked about our cruises. We also address some important issues specific to this cruise.
Before sailing with us, you must read and sign EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions, which spell out important and contractually binding guidelines for our cruise.
We recommend that you visit the Holland America website. You will find extensive and detailed information about sailing on their ships. They have been in the cruise business much longer than we have — please make use of their expertise.
EXECUTIVE MEETINGS and INCENTIVES, INC. (EMI) is your partner in travel. They are your first stop for any help you may need with travel arrangements or any question you may have. See EMI’s website for more information.
YOU MUST HAVE A CURRENT PASSPORT TO SAIL ON THIS CRUISE. Even though this cruise originates and returns to the same domestic port, you must have a passport to sail this cruise. U.S. citizens under the age of 16 may present an alternate government-issued proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. Please refer to Holland America’s website for Passport Guidelines.
YOU MUST SEND EMI YOUR FLIGHT ITINERARY BEFORE SAILING ON THIS CRUISE.
You must also provide details as to how you plan to transfer to and from the cruise terminal in Fort Lauderdale. This is a Holland America requirement and can be provided during the OLCI (Online Check-In).
WHAT IF A PORT BECOMES UNAVAILABLE DUE TO REASONS BEYOND THE CONTROL OF PRAIRIE HOME CRUISES AND HOLLAND AMERICA?
We were scheduled for two (2) stops in Cuba — Havana and Cienfuegos, as well as Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and George Town, Cayman Islands. Holland America uses this language in their agreements with passengers: “WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO DEVIATE FROM SCHEDULED ROUTE, CHANGE PORT OF EMBARKATION/DISEMBARKATION, SUBSTITUTE TRANSPORTATION, CANCEL CRUISE AND ACTIVITIES, AND CHANGE OR OMIT PORTS OF CALL; SUBSTITUTION.” As this change was necessary and the cruise will sail as scheduled March 18–25, 2020, there will be no refunds. Please refer to EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions for more detail.
PRAIRIE HOME CRUISES (PHC) is an independent company that was formed under the umbrella of PRAIRIE GRAND, LLC, for the purpose of chartering cruise vacations. PRAIRIE HOME PRODUCTIONS is the sister company that produces “A Prairie Home Companion” and “The Writer’s Almanac.” PHC is responsible for all changes and additions made to the regularly scheduled HAL cruise. We will provide the APHC performers, entertainers, and lecturers sailing with you.
HOLLAND AMERICA LINES (HAL) operates and manages the Veendam; provides for passenger safety and comfort; and is responsible for your cabin accommodations, food, beverages, recreation, and shopping while on board. Go to Holland America website for more information about life aboard the ship.
EXECUTIVE MEETINGS and INCENTIVES (EMI) is our agent in charge of selling our cruise and booking your accommodations. They will provide you with the highest levels of professional travel-related services. They will book your passage on the ship. EMI will help you with transfers to and from the cruise, cabin selection, and dinner table seating, and will provide guidance for other onboard needs.
For other questions, email us or call EMI’s Prairie Home Cruise number at 908-458-3591.
I. Booking
How much does the cruise cost?
For pricing information, visit EMI’s pricing page. We have cabins in a wide range of prices. You will find that we are offering favorable rates compared to our other cruises, especially when you look at how much we are charging per day.
What types of cabins are on the ship? Where are they located?
There are a wide variety of cabins throughout all levels of the ship. You will always be close to the action on the Veendam. If you are interested in a Verandah cabin, we suggest that you book early, since there are relatively few of these available. See HAL’s Deck Plan for pictures, descriptions, and deck plans.
Is this a different ship than we have sailed before?
For those of you who have traveled with us before, we will be sailing on the original class of ship with the Veendam. We sailed the same ship for a seven-day trip to Alaska in 2006. This ship will feel familiar, since the layout is similar to previous charters we have sailed. You will come aboard and immediately feel at home. Check out the Veendam Deck Plan.
How do I book a cabin? What types are currently available?
For booking information, visit EMI’s pricing page. You will see a list of the currently available cabins. Just click on the one you are interested in.
May I sail only part of this cruise?
Deviations need to be requested in advance of the sailing via EMI. We do need to ensure that you are aware of a few stipulations. As with any travel, cruise guests must comply with all customs and immigration specifics that are applicable to the port in which they embark/debark the vessel, including any additional costs that may be involved at the pier/port to embark/debark the guests. Additionally, while we endeavor to follow our published itinerary, please understand that unplanned circumstances may require that we change or cancel our scheduled call to this port, or otherwise prohibit our ability to honor the deviation request. Should this occur, you as the guest assume all responsibility for any additional costs incurred.
Unfortunately, we are unable to adjust the cruise fare or make a change to individual invoices to manually reflect the shorter cruise segment. Please be advised that because this is not a standard embark/debark port with porters on staff, guests will be responsible for carrying their own luggage off the ship. We regret any inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Are wheelchair-accessible rooms available onboard? What about other special needs?
Holland America, PHC, and EMI do not discriminate against persons on the basis of disability. We seek, to the fullest extent feasible, to accommodate guests with special needs. Holland America offers a limited number of staterooms designed to be wheelchair and scooter accessible. Most public areas of the ship are wheelchair accessible; some areas such as the topmost outdoor observation area are not. To learn more about HAL’s options for guests with special needs, see the Shipboard Life section of Holland America Frequently Asked Questions. You can explore the deck plan (Veendam Deck Plan) to see where the wheelchair-accessible rooms are located. Please contact EMI directly at 908-458-3591 to discuss any special needs you may have.
II. Payment/Finances
Is travel insurance necessary?
We strongly recommend purchasing travel insurance. You will be booking this cruise many months before we sail; circumstances can easily change. Insurance is your only recourse for reimbursement in the event of change, delay, or crisis. For more information, see EMI’s pricing page.
What is included in the payment and what will cost extra?
Please refer to EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions page. While on board, you can spend a minimal amount or incur significant charges by the end of the cruise. You will certainly be able to have an enjoyable time no matter how little or how much you spend. Alcoholic beverages, soda, spa services, the casino, and other onboard services are not included in your fare. We do not include airfare, ground transportation, shore excursions, or other off-ship expenses in our fares.
I’m a Holland America stockholder. Can I get a discount on my cruise?
No. This cruise is private and chartered.
I’ve booked my cabin. What’s next?
EMI will confirm your reservation with you electronically and provide an EMI confirmation number they will use to track your reservation. Closer to the cruise, EMI will provide your Holland America booking number and cabin number, which you will use to prepare for your trip to Book Shore Excursions.
How do I check in?
Check-in and preparation for your cruise is an online process that HAL calls Express Docs. All passengers are required to check in using this system in advance of the cruise. You will need your HAL booking number to do this. You will be prompted to accept Holland America Terms and Conditions online. Once this is clicked, the contract is accepted. All documents necessary for your cruise will be provided online through Express Docs, including your cruise contract and your boarding pass. You will need to print out the boarding pass portion of these documents for each person in your party and have the boarding passes available at check-in. See EMI’s website for step-by-step instructions on how to use Express Docs.
It is essential that you review all documents thoroughly and that you bring everything with you. This process is similar to checking in for an airline flight, just more extensive. It is required.
May I cancel my reservation?
You may cancel, but we have a strict refund policy. Within TEN (10) DAYS of your registration, your deposit becomes nonrefundable. On or after November 20, 2019, your full cruise fare will be collected and is not refundable. Please see EMI/PHC Terms and Conditions page.
How do I pay for extras while on board?
While on board, HAL maintains a “cashless society.” All additional purchases made will be charged to passengers’ onboard accounts. These accounts must be settled before disembarking.
If you have not done so already online, you will need to register your credit or debit card in order to use your onboard account for shipboard purchases. On the day of sailing, your card will be pre-authorized for U.S. $60 per person for each day, or $420 per person. Your account will then be activated, and you may make purchases by simply showing your guest identification card and signing a receipt. At the end of your cruise, you will receive a final statement, and your card will be charged only for the actual amount of your purchases. Please inform your credit or debit card issuer in advance that your card will be used on a Holland America Line ship. This will help prevent delays in obtaining pre-authorization on board. Some banks may keep the pre-authorization in place for up to 30 days. If you do not want to use a credit or debit card, the ship will collect a cash deposit from you at time of boarding in the same pre-authorization amount. Any excess deposit will be refunded to you at the end of the cruise. Traveler’s checks may be cashed at the front office to make your deposit. Personal checks are not accepted on board.
What about tipping? To whom and how much?
A prepaid gratuity is included in your cruise fare. The gratuity currently is $14.50 (cabin) — $16.00 (suite) per person per day, or $101.50 (cabin) — $112.00 (suite) per person for the cruise. This will be shared among the Veendam’s entire staff. In addition, an automatic 15 percent gratuity is added to all bar and beverage service. Any tipping above this is entirely up to you. It is common, but not required, to tip for personal service in your cabin. Spa services include a 15 percent automatic gratuity. Additional tipping for bar service, dining room service, or the ship’s transportation services is not expected. For more info regarding these charges see Gratuities and Service charges.
In terminals, airports, ports of call, on-shore excursions, and at hotels, we suggest that you extend gratuities consistent with customary practices.
Are guests from outside the U.S. able to purchase online?
Yes. International guests will be able to book their cabins online. All credit card charges will take place in USD and be converted to your local currency the day of the transaction.
III. Travel To/From the Cruise
Regardless of who books your air travel, you must send EMI a copy of your flight itinerary. If you book your own travel, you must still provide EMI with your flight itinerary. EMI must provide HAL with travel itineraries for all passengers. This is a legal requirement: you will be denied boarding if you do not provide your travel itinerary in advance. You must provide a cell or other phone number that can be used to communicate with you in the event of travel delays.
We recommend that you purchase airline tickets early. We hope you can find a good deal for travel to Fort Lauderdale. EMI can help you book your flights; see EMI’s website for more information.
When do we leave? When do we come home?
Please note: This cruise departs and returns on a WEDNESDAY.
Boarding will begin in Fort Lauderdale at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020; please do not arrive at the terminal before 11:00 a.m. You must be on board no later than 3:00 p.m. We sail at 4:00 p.m. local time and cannot wait for delayed passengers.
Fort Lauderdale is a major cruise port and there are many options for same-day travel from the airport to the cruise terminal. The two are quite close to each other. Please be sure to allow ample time for travel complications, understanding that you should arrive to the cruise terminal no later than 2:00 p.m. For those that choose to fly into Miami International Airport, driving time between the Miami airport and the port is approximately 40 minutes. Leave ample time to transfer as you would in any major city.
Upon our return to Fort Lauderdale, disembarkation may begin as early as 7:30 a.m. and will end by 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, March 25, 2020. Passengers should easily be able to depart from Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, if you wish. We suggest a departure time no earlier than 1:00 p.m.
What if my luggage gets lost by the airline?
In the event your bags are delayed, Holland America will make every effort to work with local operators to help your bags catch up with the ship. Guests will need to submit a claim at the airport before joining the vessel, once onboard the Veendam, guests must submit their claim along with any other details to the Guest Service desk. Please note that some major discount air carriers require that lost or delayed luggage be signed for personally by the owner at the airport. Please check their policies carefully before booking your air travel.
Where can I stay in Fort Lauderdale?
EMI has blocked out rooms in a nearby hotel, before and after the cruise. See EMI’s website if you are interested. Fort Lauderdale hotel rooms are not included in your cruise fare. EMI will not book a hotel room for you unless you ask them to do so.
What are the arrangements for travel from airport to ship?
We recommend that you purchase a transfer package from EMI when you purchase your cruise — they are available for both Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Miami International Airport
They will offer a number of options; see EMI’s website for details. These transfers will include luggage handling. EMI will not book any of these options for you unless you request them. Costs for these transfers are in addition to your cruise fare. Here are the basic options:
– Airport to hotel on March 17th, hotel that night, and transfer to the ship on the 18th
– Airport to ship on March 18th.
– Ship to airport on March 25th.
– Ship to hotel March 25th, hotel that night, and transfer to the airport on the 26th.
How about getting to Fort Lauderdale on my own?
This may be a good option for many of our passengers. There are parking facilities available at or near the terminal, including a garage adjacent to the terminal.
How do I get my luggage onto the ship?
They do it for you! Once at the port terminal, you will leave your bags at the designated drop bag area for transfer to the ship—much the way you would check bags for a plane flight. There is no cost for this service. Your bags will be delivered directly to your cabin. A similar procedure will happen in reverse when we return to Fort Lauderdale.
When you first get on and last get off the boat, there will be a lengthy period of time when you will not have access to your baggage or to your cabin. Please be prepared with a small carry-on bag to hold the items you need, including all of your travel documents, medications, and any valuables you may have with you.
Whenever your bags are being transferred for you, please be sure to respect deadlines for having your bag ready, properly tag your bags, and reclaim them promptly. In particular, remember that just as at an airport, you will always need to claim your luggage in the cruise terminal. It will not automatically be transferred to your hotel.
Is there security screening?
Before embarking the ship, your luggage will be screened before being loaded onto the vessel. If electrical devices or illegal substances are detected, you will be called to security to verify your items.
Will I need a passport?
All passengers 16 years of age and over need passports. There are exceptions for infants and minors under the age of 16. Passports must be good for six months beyond the duration of the cruise. These regulations are strictly enforced. Please refer to Holland America’s website for Passport Guidelines.
May visitors come onboard?
Holland America does allow for guests to have onboard visitors. If guests are interested in having a guest on board, they can visit the front office to find out the terms and conditions.
What about after the cruise, in Fort Lauderdale?
We arrive early in Fort Lauderdale, allowing a great opportunity to explore all the area offers. EMI has blocked out hotel rooms in Fort Lauderdale for the night following the cruise, if you’d like to stay overnight.
EMI will offer you the option of booking a transfer directly to the airport if you are flying immediately following the cruise.
You will require a minimum of two (2) hours to transfer off and get from the ship to the airport, plus time to navigate the airport itself. We suggest booking flights out of Fort Lauderdale that leave after 1:00 p.m.
IV. Traveling Abroad
Yes, all passengers must carry a passport that expires a minimum of six (6) months following the cruise. For this domestic origination cruise, infants and minors under the age of 16 may prove citizenship with a government-issued birth certificate, and copies are acceptable. Please refer to Holland America’s Passport Guidelines.
Do I need shots?
We are not aware of any special vaccinations or immunizations required for the areas to which we are traveling but please refer to Immunization Recommendations for additional information. Please refer to Travel Advisories for current details regarding all advisories.
What languages will be spoken at our ports of call?
English is the official language in Ocho Rios and George Town. In Mexico, the official language is Spanish, though many citizens speak English.
What about currency?
JAMAICA:
The currency of Jamaica is the JAMAICAN DOLLAR. ATM machines will be available to draw funds, but with arrival in Jamaica on a Sunday, banks will be closed. Credit cards are widely accepted.
CAYMAN ISLANDS:
The currency of the Cayman Islands is the CAYMAN DOLLAR, but the U.S. dollar is readily accepted. Credit cards are widely accepted.
The currency of Mexico is the MEXICAN PESO, although US dollars are still widely accepted in most local businesses in Cozumel. Your best bet is to use Mexican Pesos instead of other currencies to pay for your shopping, dining out, and other purchases as local business exchange rates are usually not good. Alternatively, you can pay with your credit card and be charged your bank’s exchange rate.
For ATMs, it is best to withdraw Mexican Pesos, as you will pay to convert your money twice if you withdraw USD.
V. Entertainment
What will we do on board?
Boredom is not an issue. Never has been, never will be. We will schedule a full slate of musical performances. In the main showroom and in smaller venues throughout the ship, you will have ample opportunity to enjoy your favorite “Prairie Home” performers. There will be sing-alongs and storytelling and gatherings with Garrison. We will add lectures, readings, and other events to HAL’s regular cruise offerings.
The APHC events are in addition to all of the activities you would expect on a cruise ship: dining, swimming, spa services, eating, relaxing, sports, gambling, shopping, eating, entertainment, other special events, and more eating.
When do we attend the evening performances?
Our main attraction on board is the evening performance in the main showroom. These can be similar to APHC broadcast shows, or they can be music concerts, or even shows featuring the various talents of your fellow passengers. Regardless, everyone wants to come see them.
The showroom only holds about half of the ship’s passengers, which is why we repeat the show each night. The problem comes when people try to see both shows. This can deny your fellow passengers the opportunity to see the show, so we use a plan that we hope you think is fair.
You will receive a color-coded Holland America ID card. This will identify which show you may attend each night. We are going to check this identification for each main evening show, just as we would take tickets for a regular performance. We will clear the auditorium after each show, and we will not allow people to reserve seats in advance.
Will you publish a schedule of activities?
We are always adding new things to do, right up to the day of departure. When you arrive on the ship, we will have for you a schedule of activities for the entire cruise. Once aboard, we adjust the schedule daily. HAL and APHC will publish an official daily schedule, which will be delivered to your cabin every morning.
Will I actually SEE Garrison and other performers?
The Prairie Home Company will be guests of Holland America just like you, living in cabins right down the hall or maybe next door. You’ll see them in the elevators, on the Lido Deck, at the buffets and bars, and, of course, on stage. Don’t hesitate to say hi, ask questions, or tell us you loved a particular event, but do understand that we may be running to our next assignment or just need some time on our own.
Should I bring a musical instrument?
Sure! On this cruise we plan to give our passengers opportunities to play together and we will schedule “jam” sessions with a few of our performers. In casual — purely unplugged — settings you’ll have the chance to share your musical talents with your shipmates. Acoustic instruments only — Garrison wouldn’t have it any other way!
Will any of the shows be broadcast?
No, but they will be recorded for possible later use. We may feature some video, photos, and audio segments via garrisonkeillor.com within a month or so of our return.
Will there be opportunities for autographs?
While on board, feel free to ask for autographs at your leisure. We will also schedule autograph sessions in coordination with the gift shops on board. Check in with a Prairie Home or EMI staff member on board if you have questions about this.
Will there be APHC merchandise for sale?
Yes. Check out the gift shops on board. We’ll have clothing, books, and lots of music featuring your “Prairie Home” favorites.
VI. Dining
When do we schedule our dining? May we sit together at dinner?
When you register for the cruise, you will request your seating preferences for dining. EMI will do everything possible to honor seating requests. In most every case you will be able to sit near friends and family (assuming you want to!). You may meet new friends at your table as well. Note that your dining time preference determines which performance of the evening Showroom events you will attend.
What is the difference between early seating and late seating?
The Dining Room and the Main Show Lounge each hold half of the ship’s passengers, so we all need to rotate.
—EARLY seating passengers will eat at the first seating of dinner, at 5:30 p.m. Then they go to the second Main Lounge show, at 8:30 p.m.
—LATE seating passengers see the Main Lounge Show first, at 6:00 p.m. They then go to dinner at the second seating, at 7:45 p.m.
While accommodations can often be made, due to the popularity of our evening shows, we will use assigned dinner times: the “As-You-Wish” dining program available on regular HAL cruises will not be used.
If I have food allergies or other dietary needs, will the ship be able to accommodate these?
Yes, but you must inform us in advance. Upon your initial booking via the EMI website, you will be asked about dietary restrictions. You will be asked again when you check in to Holland America to receive your Boarding Documents. Any special needs should be noted at this time (e.g. need for distilled water for CPAP machines, etc.). You can learn more under Shipboard Life at Holland America Frequently Asked Questions.
What is the Dress Code?
Because we are chartering the ship, APHC has the freedom to set our own dress code policies. We are considerably more relaxed than the standard cruise. Sunday-go-to-church clothes is about as fancy as we get. If you like to dress up, please feel free, and many of us may join you.
The only time there will be an actual dress code is in the dining rooms during the evening meal. On most nights, the dress code will be “smart casual.” This means long pants and sports shirt or sweater for men, and skirt or long pants and sweater or blouse for women. We ask that you not wear casual T-shirts, swimsuits, bathrobes, tank tops, shorts, and the like in the dining room. Further, we will designate one or two evenings as “semi-formal.” This generally means sport coat and maybe a tie for men; and a dress, skirt, or pantsuit for women. These nights are an opportunity for you to dress up, and the crew will wear their dress uniforms, but it is not a strict requirement.
May we dine elsewhere?
Holland America offers many other options for dining. You are not obligated to join us in the dining room, although you may want to let your seatmates know you won’t be joining them. Dining options include a private table at the Pinnacle Grill or the Canaletto Restaurant, informal dining on the Lido Deck, and Room Service available 24/7. The Pinnacle and Canaletto options require a modest surcharge — well worth it for the high quality of food, level of service, and atmosphere. Remember that the dining room is a lovely, peaceful, option for breakfast and lunch — and it’s included.
VII. Life Aboard Ship
How do I contact an EMI or APHC staff person? How will they be identified?
We will staff an info table near the front desk. And we’ll all try to wear our ID lanyards.
After boarding the ship, how long before I can get into the cabin?
Boarding for the ship begins several hours before we cast off. You’ll be able to settle in once your stateroom is prepared. HAL has streamlined this process to a great degree but please understand that they have to turn around accommodations for more than 1,200 people in a very short period of time. Plenty of onboard activities will be available while you wait. Make arrangements for your week. And the buffet lines will be open.
An announcement will be made when your staterooms are ready; that’s when you can meet your cabin steward and get unpacked.
What kind of amenities will I find in my cabin?
Cabins on the Veendam are outfitted much like a good hotel room. You will find them to be comfortable, nicely decorated, efficient, and clean.
All linens and bedding will be supplied. Your bathroom comes complete with towels, toiletries, and your very own onboard bathrobe. You will find ample closet and drawer space, a dressing table, cabin-controlled air conditioning, a variety of cabin lighting, and a television with shipboard programming.
All staterooms are equipped with standard 110 AC (U.S. port) and 220/240 AC (2-prong European port) power outlets. Personal care items and electronics will work just as they do at home. Hair dryers are available in all staterooms. You may wish to bring a travel alarm clock since they are not provided, although your cabin phone accesses an effective wake-up call system.
For safety reasons, the ship respectfully requests that you do not iron clothing in your stateroom. Ironing facilities are available in the self-service laundry rooms for your convenience. Full laundry, dry-cleaning, and valet services are available on the Veendam.
Where can I smoke?
Please note that Holland America has a strict policy of prohibiting smoking in all staterooms. This policy will be strictly enforced. Substantial fees will be charged for cleaning your cabin if you smoke inside. In Verandah cabins, smoking is permitted outside on the balconies only.
In deference to our performers and your fellow passengers, this is a “non-smoking” cruise with even stricter policies than regular cruises. You may smoke only in one designated public area on one outside deck of the ship. Our cruise designates all interior areas (including all lounge and restaurant areas) as non-smoking where smoking might be permitted on other HAL cruises. See the Holland America Smoking Policy.
How can I be reached in case of an emergency?
Holland America has procedures in place for situations that require emergency contact with your loved ones. Please refer to Emergency Phone Numbers for more information.
What if I need medical attention?
Fully trained medical professionals are on board at all times, and a complete medical facility is available. Aspirin and seasickness pills are available at guest services, but you may have to pay for other items or services.
Can I call my friends in their cabin? Can I call home?
Your stateroom comes equipped with telephones that can be used to call your fellow passengers just as in a hotel. They can also be used for ship-to-shore communication, however significant charges apply. Please refer to Ship-to-shore communication for more information.
Passengers may not see our guest roster, and we will not give out cabin numbers.
Will my cell phone work?
Probably not while on board, almost certainly while in port — but be careful. Call your carrier for details for your plan. We suggest purchasing a data roaming package or making sure you deactivate your roaming feature before you leave port. Cellular at sea is very expensive.
Will I have access to the internet?
Yes. You may bring your own computer or use ones provided by HAL. You can buy minutes for surfing the internet at any point throughout the trip. Wi-Fi is available throughout the entire vessel, including your stateroom, and is charged under the same system. Please be aware that the prices are high and can add up quickly. Please refer to Internet Use for more details.
We know that on previous cruises, many of our passengers have not been satisfied with the internet service on board. HAL continues to do what they can to improve service. However, a ship on the open ocean will only be able to access a certain amount of bandwidth and there will definitely be service outages. For your information, the biggest problems on our cruises occur when all of us try to get on the internet between leaving port and having dinner.
We recommend that you do not plan on accessing the internet to stream video, hold conference calls, engage in an activity that requires to you to maintain one consistent connection, or any other activity requiring high-quality internet service. You should expect to be able to check your email and keep up on basic social media but there will be times when service is simply not available. It is also advisable that you LOG OFF when you have finished using the internet.
On this cruise in particular, reliable high-quality internet service will be readily available in all of our ports.
Can I get married on board ship?
No. This is a private, chartered cruise. No weddings. No divorces, either.
Will there be stuff for my kids to do?
Holland America provides a range of activities for kids through their Club Hal program. See HAL Onboard Activities for details. The Club HAL room is regularly available with games electronic and otherwise, and has daily special group activities. The schedule of events is determined by the number of kids who sail with us; we will include APHC programming in their schedule.
How should I dress for the weather?
March is one of the prime months to sail the Caribbean, when the seas are generally calm and weather temperate. Expect good beach weather.
When on deck, it can always be windy and cool; be prepared for that. Of course, be prepared for rain. Be sure to bring comfortable shoes for walking on deck or on shore.
Should I bring anything else?
If you are interested in “knowing stuff,” you might want to bring along your binoculars and a field guide or three (birds, marine mammals, wildflowers, and geology are just a few). Previous guests have found benefit from bringing a camera, a journal, an instrument, or their most recent knitting project.
What will sea conditions be like?
We could have calm seas. We could have large waves. The ship may glide placidly along with barely a perceptible movement. The ship may rock back and forth, making even the stout of heart (and stomach) reach for the Dramamine. We will probably see a bit of everything. Holland America schedules cruises for favorable weather, something we’ve certainly experienced over the years. It is unlikely that we will experience severe weather, and HAL does an excellent job of tracking and avoiding storms as necessary.
VIII. Excursions
You’ll find all the information you need at Shore Excursions. You will receive an email notice when they are available for your review and booking.
Booked guests may confirm shore excursion requests in advance of sailing. Once you have your Holland America booking number and cabin number, you may use it to view shore excursion information specific to your itinerary. To complete a booking, please proceed through all screens on the HAL booking page until you receive confirmation from them that your booking is complete.
Before you leave from home, we suggest you make use of a handy feature on the website: you can generate a complete schedule of your cruise that includes your pre-booked activities.
Guests may pre-book shore excursions online until five days prior to sailing. If your departure date is less than five days away, please call Shore Excursions at 1-888-425-9376 to book directly with an agent. All shore excursion requests are processed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Wait-listed requests for sold-out shore excursions will be processed prior to requests made on board. Children under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult over 25.
Excursion cancellations may incur a cancellation fee, and any refund may be issued in the form of credit to your onboard account. Excursions have individual deadlines after which no refund or credit is given. Please refer to Shore Excursions for details.
All excursions are the responsibility of independent tour operators. HAL acts only as an agent to help you book your tours. We have no financial or operational relationship with them. While excursions may be arranged directly with independent operators on shore, you will have limited recourse in the event of an unsatisfactory experience.
All of our ports afford the opportunity to explore on foot at no cost or by local transportation. We will have extra information on all of our ports for you before and during the cruise. Please feel free to set out as you wish.
Wherever and however you explore, be sure to be back on time. Be sure that your watch is set to ship’s time; local time on land can be different. The ship cannot wait past scheduled departure times.
IX. Contact Us
Email us or call EMI’s Prairie Home Cruise number at 908-458-3591.
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The Writer’s Almanac for Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Posted on January 21, 2020 - Writer's Almanac
It’s the birthday of Eva Ibbotson (1925), who said, “My aim is to produce books that are light, humorous, even a little erudite but secure in their happy endings.”
The Writer’s Almanac for Monday, January 20, 2020
It’s MLK Day and the birthday of the musician known as Lead Belly (1889), whose hit songs include “The Midnight Special,” “Rock Island Line,” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?”
The Writer’s Almanac for Sunday, January 19, 2020
Today is the birthday of Dolly Parton (1946), who started performing professionally when she was 10, and appeared at the Grand Ole Opry when she was 13.
A Prairie Home Companion: January 25, 2014
Posted on January 19, 2020 - Prairie Home Archives
With country and bluegrass outfit Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Mike Compton and Joe Newberry, and women’s vocal group The Nightingale Trio (pictured).
The Writer’s Almanac for Saturday, January 18, 2020
Today is the birthday of the man who answered Alexander Graham Bell’s first telephone call: Bell’s assistant Thomas Watson (1854).
The Writer’s Almanac for Friday, January 17, 2020
The Eighteenth Amendment took effect on this day 100 years ago, making illegal the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor in the U.S. Prohibition was repealed in 1933 with the 21st Amendment.
The Writer’s Almanac for Thursday, January 16, 2020
Today is the birthday of poet and memoirist Mary Karr (1955), who said, “Memoir is not an act of history but an act of memory, which is innately corrupt.”
The Writer’s Almanac for Wednesday, January 15, 2020
“If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion…” –Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1929)
It’s the birthday of Emily Hahn (1905), who wrote 54 books and more than 200 articles for “The New Yorker,” crossed Africa on foot, and kicked an opium habit through hypnosis.
Today is the birthday of Michael Bond (1926), author of Paddington Bear, who wrote, “One of the nice things about writing for children is their total acceptance of the fantastic.”
BooksColumnsMr. BlueProseQuotesVerse
Posted on January 21, 2020 - Columns
Posted on January 7, 2020 - Columns
Wave your arms, kick your feet, do the 2020
Posted on December 31, 2019 - Columns
I don’t do New Year’s Eve anymore because the parties never were that much fun and we wound up trapped in corners in the usual intense conversations (kids, schools, political lunacy), and some people drank too much and forced the rest of us into a guardianship role and the sheer awkwardness of telling an old drunk to let his wife drive him home, and so the party ended with us wondering: why do we not know how to have a good time? White liberal guilt? The inbred gloom of northern people? Too many books one has read and is eager to quote? Lack of dancing skills?
The correct answer is No. 4.
Suddenly, once again, good Lord, it’s Christmas
Coming through airports this week it struck me how kind everyone was, ticket agents, TSA people, cab starters, and then light dawned: it’s Christmas. Charles Dickens had a big impact on the world and so did Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart, not to mention St. Luke. I stood in a long winding line in LaGuardia and sensed no impatience; the TSA guy even smiled and asked how I was. And when I lost my ticket in Atlanta, I walked to Gate T7 and asked an agent and she made me a new one, no problem.
Thoughts from the back row of the memorial
I learned a new word last week: “anonymized.” It means just what it says, “made anonymous,” and was used in reference to government reports obtained by the Washington Post that contained truthful revelations about our 18-year war in Afghanistan that the government was lying to the American people about while spending a trillion dollars to achieve something that nobody in the Pentagon could quite define.
My uncles, may they rest in peace, would not have been surprised by the Post’s story. Their regard for generals was low, based on their own military service, and their opinion of politicians lower: they associated high office with adultery, alcohol, and bribery, end of discussion.
So much one can live without and should
I keep unsubscribing from junk mail and it seems that the simple act of unsubscribing opens the sluiceway to even more junk. I get offers to pay cash for my current home, to consolidate my debt, to save up to 50% on things I don’t want, to get a credit card for people with bad credit, a hair implant, introduce me to other lonely people, and so forth.
So I keep clicking and praise God for the Delete key, the invention of which ranks with Gutenberg’s movable type in the annals of human progress, not so much for eliminating junk mail as for eliminating one’s own dim-witted writing. Back in the typewriter age we had erasers and liquid white-out and so-called “Lift-Off Tape” or correctable ribbon, which was okay for fixing a misspelled word, but Delete enables you to remove whole pages of pretentious garbage from your writing such as the passage about the privilege of washing blackboards in Mrs. Moehlenbrock’s fourth-grade classroom at Benson School, which I just deleted here and unless I click on “Undo delete” which I will not do, you need never read it.
The old man’s Sunday sermon to himself
Posted on December 3, 2019 - Columns
Probably the greenhouse gas report of the U.N. Environment Program shouldn’t have come out the week of Thanksgiving, a time when gassy emissions are quite heavy in the U.S. and people are likely to use the newspaper for guests to park their snowy boots on, but there it was and the picture is bleak, perhaps dire. The planet is heating up at a rate faster than scientists had ever expected, the U.S. is turning our back on the issue, and most people are dozing comfortably through it all. The press leaps when the White House tweets but it doesn’t know how to cover the major crisis of our time, the slow demise of Earth itself.
What we did Friday night, if you want to know
Posted on November 26, 2019 - Columns
I didn’t mention 1963 though the day is clear in my mind. I was 21, walking across the University of Minnesota campus, and a man ran by saying something weird about the president, and I went in the back door of Eddy Hall where KUOM had an AP teletype and there it was, clattering away, typing bulletins in incomplete sentences. He was dead in Dallas.
Lighten up, people, it’s Thanksgiving for God’s sake
It worries me that I’m using GPS to guide me around Minneapolis, a city I’ve known since I was a boy on a bicycle, and also that I text my wife from the next room, and when I get up in the morning Siri sometimes asks me, “What’s the matter? You seem a little down. Would you like to hear the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3?” And I say, Leave me alone, I just want to think, and she and I wind up having a conversation about delayed gratification.
Too much technology in my life. I used to go to Al’s Breakfast Nook and now I go on Facebook. Thanks to social media, my handwriting has become illegible. It took me half an hour to decipher a note I left on the kitchen counter that said, “Why am I here? What’s the purpose of it all? Who needs me?”
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Garrison Keillor did “A Prairie Home Companion” for forty years, wrote fiction and comedy, invented a town called Lake Wobegon where all the children are above average, even though he himself grew up evangelical in a small separatist flock where all the children expected the imminent end of the world. He’s busy in retirement, having written a memoir and a book of limericks and is at work on a musical and a Lake Wobegon screenplay, and he continues to do “The Writers Almanac” sent out daily to Internet subscribers (free).
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Utilities from 100 day report (Wastewater!!!)
Figure 1: Electric Power Components
UTILITIES This section addresses the critical utilities of electrical power, gas and oil, and water (drinking and wastewater). Telecommunications is discussed separately in another section of this report.
The Committee continues to view electric utilities as its top priority because of their critical importance. Understandably, the single biggest concern of both individuals and corporations is whether the lights will stay on.
There are approximately 3,200 electric utilities in the U. S., including 250 investor owned or private utilities; 10 government owned utilities; 2,000 publicly owned utilities; and 900 rural cooperatives.
Nearly 80% of the nation's power generation comes from the 250 investor owned utilities. The federal government generates another 10% of the nation's power, primarily through large facilities such as the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bonneville Power Administration. There are another 2,000 non utilities, or privately owned entities, that generate power for their own use and/ or for sale to utilities and others.
Electric power is generated from the following sources: 51% by coal; 20% by nuclear energy; 15% by gas; 10% by hydroelectric sources; and 4% by other sources.
The electric power industry is complex and highly automated. As depicted in Figure 1, the industry is made up of an interconnected network of generation plants, transmission lines (commonly referred to as the "grid") and distribution facilities responsible for providing electricity from the grid to every household and company in North America.
The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), through its 10 regions (as shown in Figure 2) and 130 power control areas, is responsible for managing the transmission and distribution of power throughout North America.
Figure 2: NERC Regions ECAR Eastern Central Area Reliability ERCOT Electric Reliability Council of Texas
FRCC Florida Reliability Coordination Council MAAC MidAtlantic Area Council
MAIN MidAmerica Interconnected Network MAPP Midcontinent American Power Pool
NPCC Northeast Power Coordinating Council SERC Southeast Electric Reliability Council
SPP Southwest Power Pool WSCC Western System Coordinating Council
There are three "grids" in North America: the western interconnect or WSCC region, the Texas interconnect or ERCOT region, and the eastern interconnect encompassing the other eight regions.
In a simplified explanation, each grid operates as a single machine, constantly making adjustments to balance the amount of power being generated with the amount being used. These adjustments are critical because electric power cannot be stored. Too much power could literally melt transmission and distribution lines if circuits are not broken in time; too little power could result in brownouts.
In addition to the computer systems used for record keeping and billing, it takes a high degree of automation to operate the gridÐ power control systems, energy management systems, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, telecommunications systems, and substation control systems.
On the one hand, this high degree of interconnectedness gives the grids unprecedented reliability and efficiency. On the other hand, this very interconnectedness makes the grid fragile and susceptible to Y2K disruptions. An outage in one part of the grid can cascade, causing ripple effects on other parts of the grid. As an example, a generation plant that goes out in Maine could affect power in Florida.
Left unaddressed, Y2K anomalies could lead to the malfunction of software programs on mainframe computers, servers, personal computers, and communications systems. Corrupted data could be passed from one application to another, causing erroneous results or shutdowns. This means that computer programs used for accounting, administration, billing, and other important functions could experience problems.
Of greater concern to the electric power industry are embedded computersÐ small electronic chips or control devices. These chips are used extensively in all parts of the electric power industry, including generating plants, transmission lines, distribution systems, and power control systems. Even though only a small number of these embedded devices will have a Y2K problem, it is impossible to tell which will malfunction until each chip has been checked and testedÐ a timeconsuming venture. What is Being Done?
Several federal organizations have responsibilities for the electric power industry. Primary among them are the Department of Energy (DOE), which is charged with formulating a comprehensive energy policy that encompasses all national energy resources, including electricity, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which is responsible for ensuring the safety of all 103 nuclear power electric generating plants.
At DOE's request, NERCÐ a nonfederal entityÐ has assumed the primary role in monitoring the overall Y2K preparedness of the electric power industry. NERC is a logical choice for this role because it is the organization most involved in keeping the lights on in North America.
Other significant Y2K players in the electrical power industry include:
American Public Power Association (APPA); Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI); National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA); Edison Electric Institute (EEI); Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI); and Canadian Electric Association (CEA).
NERC conducts monthly Y2K status surveys of the bulk power producers;
provides a quarterly summary of Y2K status information from the above entities representing all of the nearly 3,100 utilities; and reports the results to DOE.
NERC held conducted a major drill of the midnight rollover from September 8 to September 9 in a simulation of the rollover to January 1, 2000. NERC estimated that between 400 and 500 of the over 3000 utilities in North America participated in the drill. According to NERC, the drill simulated various communications and power control system failures, and demonstrated the ability of power industry personnel to deal with these problems.
The Committee has encouraged the NRC to add operational issues for Y2K purposes to its responsibility for U. S. nuclear power plant safety. NRC required each plant to submit a report by July 1, 1999, to confirm that the facility is Y2K ready, or will be ready, by the Year 2000. NRC then conveyed the results of these reports to NERC for inclusion in its August 1999 report.
In keeping with the top priority given to utilities, the Committee's first hearing on June 12, 1998 was on the energy utilities. The Committee received testimony from Administration and industry officials. The hearing was instrumental in heightening awareness and motivating all segments of the industry to action.
SENATOR BENNETT (Graphic)
Committee staff has worked closely with DOE and NERC to keep abreast of the preparedness of the electric power industry. On August 4, the Committee held a virtual hearing (electronic testimony only) to provide an update on the status of this important industry.
In June 1998, the Committee was concerned that, while most electric utilities seemed to be proceeding in the right direction, the pace of their remediation efforts was too slow. On September 17, 1998, three months after the Committee's hearing, NERC issued its first comprehensive report on the electric power industry to DOE. It has issued three quarterly updates since that time, the last of which was on August 3, 1999.
Progress by the electric industry over the past 15 months has been remarkable. About 99% of the 3,088 electric supply and delivery organizations have participated in NERC's assessment process. Distribution entities, or actual electric utilities, have participated in the NERC process by responding to data gathered by APPA and NRECA and by providing it to the appropriate bulk electric operating entity. NERC' s overall survey results are shown in Figure 3.
Overall progress in the electric utilities industry has been most impressive, moving from 36% of testing complete as of the Committee's last report to 99% complete at the time of this report. However, only about 60% of the companies are using independent review to validate and confirm their results. In addition, fewer than 60% have developed contingency plans, and fewer than 25% have actually tested or exercised these plans. Equally troubling is the fact that only about 24% of the companies are publicly disclosing their reports to NERC. Finally, and most alarming, is the fact that 270 of the 2,012 public power utilities, including some serving large metropolitan areas, did not participate in APPA's June survey and were, as a result, not included in NERC's August 1999 report.
Although nuclear plants are addressed in the overall NERC study, public concern about their safety dictates that the Committee provides specific information about the overall Y2K preparedness of these plants.
In general, nuclear facilities contain very old analog technology and, accordingly, have fewer Y2K issues than the more digital and modern fossil fuel facilities. Nevertheless, assessments to date have revealed varying degrees of problems in areas such as plant process control, feed water monitoring, refueling, turbine control, and building security and access control.
These problems should not affect plant safety but they could cause electricity production problems. Based on NRC's reports from the 103 nuclear plants and testimony from the NRC Chairman at the Committee's August 4, 1999 hearing, 73 (71%) plants have completed all remediation and are Y2K ready. Of the 30 plants with work remaining, 6 will not be prepared for possible Year 2000 computer problems before November 1.
The two D. C. Cook plants in Berrien County, Michigan will not be Y2K ready until after November 1, and will remain shut down during the Y2K transition. The plants are in the midst of an extended shutdown, and have Y2K readiness deadlines of December 15.
Four other plants with Novemberorlater deadlines will require outages to complete Y2K activities. Those plants are: Brunswick Unit 1 near Wilmington, North Carolina; Comanche Peak Unit 1 in Sommervell County, Texas; Salem Unit 1 in Salem County, New Jersey; and Farley Unit 2 near Dothan, Alabama, which has a December 16 deadline.
In addition, 15 plants have late October deadlines: Browns Ferry Units 1 and 2 near Decatur, Alabama; Comanche Peak Unit 2 in Sommervell County, Texas; Diablo Canyon Units 1 and 2 near San Luis Obispo, California; Hope Creek in Salem County, New Jersey; North Anna Unit 2 in Louisa County, Virginia; Peach Bottom Unit 3 in York County, Pennsylvania; Salem Unit 2 in Salem County, New Jersey; Sequoyah Units 1 and 2 near Chattanooga, Tennessee; South Texas Project Units 1 and 2 near Matagorda, Texas; Three Mile Island, near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Vermont Yankee in Vernon, Vermont; and Watts Bar in Rhea County, Tennessee.
The NRC released a report on September 7, 1999 stating there were no Y2K safety concerns at the 103 plants. However, the report mentioned that Nebraska's Cooper Nuclear Station had discovered, in an audit, that its contractor improperly addressed three pieces of equipment. Further scrutiny revealed that the licensee had not completed its integrated contingency plan by the July 1, 1999 deadline, although it had claimed Y2K readiness.
Overall failure of the electric power grids and prolonged blackouts are highly unlikely, not only because of the interconnected nature of the grids, but also because peak demand during the winter months will only be about 55% of the electric generation capability. Simply stated, this means that even if 45% of the generation capability is lostÐ a highly unlikely scenarioÐ there would still be enough electric power available to meet the demand.
Notwithstanding this reassuring fact, the Committee continues to believe that local outages are a distinct possibility. Many electric utilities will not complete their remediation activities until later in the year. This reduces their opportunity to participate in industry readiness exercises and limits their time to address unexpected failures.
The more than 3,000 electric utilities are at various stages of remediation. The likelihood of an outage in a given area is directly related to the overall preparedness of the specific electric utility serving that area. Individual utilities must do a better job of telling the public about their overall level of readiness. According to NERC's last report to DOE, 75% of the utilities do not routinely share detailed readiness information with the public. There are no comprehensive studies concerning the number of entities that would have to fail to put the grid at risk, but some experts suggest that it may be a very small percentage if these failures occur in key locations. As a precaution, NERC regions and power control areas should ensure that no such "choke points" exist in their areas of responsibility.
The interrelationship of the electric power sector with other sectors it depends onÐ telecommunications, natural gas and oil supplies and pipelines, and rail transportation for coal suppliesÐ requires close coordination. This coordination currently exists and must continue to ensure contingency plans are viable.
The bulk power entities have spent vast amounts of money and most are Y2K ready. However, some distribution utilities may still be lagging behind in their Y2K preparations. Fueling the Committee's concern is the fact that more than 200 public utilities did not participate in NERC's most recent survey.
State public utility commissioners should continue to ensure that electrical utilities under their purview are taking appropriate Y2K remediation, risk reduction, and contingency planning actions. They should also keep the public informed about the status of these utilities. NRC must remain vigilant over all 103 nuclear power plants, particularly the 20 that have Y2K readiness dates in the fourth quarter of this year. Unless nuclear licensees have fully tested and audited safety and operational systems, there is some concern that unexpected problems will trigger untested, as of yet, contingency plans.
OIL AND GAS UTILITIES
Oil and gas utilities are vital to Americans. Oil provides about 40% of the energy Americans consume, including home heating. Approximately 60 million American homes and businesses use natural gas for heating, cooking, and other applications.
The oil and gas sectors face a variety of Y2K problems in their administrative systems, as well as in the microprocessors, controllers, and other computer chips embedded in the production, transportation and distribution systems used in this industry. AutomationÐ which raises Y2K concernsÐ is prevalent throughout both the gas and oil industries. The diagram shown in Figure 4 shows the elements and processes of gas and oil production, transmission, and distribution that must be checked for Y2K problems.
Natural gas comes through a 1.3 millionmile underground system. The U. S. has about 58,000 miles of gathering lines in the gas production areas; 260,000 miles of longdistance pipelines; and nearly 1 million miles of distribution lines operated by local gas utilities. All of these must be checked for Y2K problems.
Thousands of embedded systems in millions of miles of pipelines must all be checked and, if necessary, replaced. Vulnerable systems include distribution control systems, programmable logic controllers, digital recorders, control stations, recorders, meters, meter reading and calibration software, and SCADA. Personal computerbased applications such as control and work management software within a utility may also possess Y2K vulnerability. Any datedependent application, system, or component may experience problems that result in complete system or station shutdown.
Similarly, oil pumping, transportation, refining and, to an everincreasing extent, gas stations are extremely dependent on technology. Many oil and gas platforms are selfcontained facilities and depend on a range of computerrelated equipment for their operations.
Tankers used to transport oil from overseas depend on reliable onboard navigation, communication, and safety systems. Both shipborne and portside cargo handling equipment required to deliver petroleum and petroleum products are highly automated. These elements are critical because about 55% of the oil consumed in the U. S. comes from foreign sources.
Refineries that convert crude oil into useful products such as gasoline are highly automated. Even gas stations use computer and communications equipment to verify customer payments. The Y2K preparedness of the refineries is particularly critical. Even though there is in excess of a twomonth supply in the U. S. strategic petroleum reserve, there is only about a 35 day supply of finished product available on any given day. The electric and the oil and gas sectors are also highly interdependent. The electric sector depends on oil and natural gas to fuel production plants. The oil and gas sector depends on electricity to power its control centers, business functions, and marketing and sales. Both sectors are also heavily dependent on the telecommunications and transportation sectors to move oil and gas from production areas to end users nationwide.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has responsibility for monitoring the preparedness of the gas and oil sector. Other federal agencies involved in this sector include DOE, the Department of Transportation (because pipelines are a form of interstate transportation), the Department of the Interior, and the General Services Administration.
Trade associations representing the various gas and oil entities are also playing a key role in Y2K remediation efforts for this industry.
The Committee has held three hearings addressing oil and gas issues. The first hearing, on June 12, 1998, better defined the Y2K problem in the gas and oil sector, heightened awareness, and mobilized an industry that was not yet fully engaged in addressing the Y2K problem. This hearing also motivated the President's Y2K Council to create an oil and gas working group. The kickoff meeting for the oil and gas group was held at FERC in June 1998. FERC has held numerous working group meetings since that time and, until recently, made its meetings and other proceedings and events publicly available on its Web site.
The American Petroleum Institute (API), a national trade association representing all aspects of the oil and gas industry, provides direct assistance to FERC in managing the working group. In 1997, the API formed a Year 2000 Task Force to facilitate Y2K readiness across the petroleum industry. The Task Force currently represents more than 50 industry companies and meets every 67 weeks.
The American Gas Association (AGA)a trade association of almost 300 natural gas transmission, distribution, gathering, and marketing companies, as well as 181 local natural gas utilities that deliver natural gas to 54 million homes and businesses has also been actively involved in Y2K. AGA members account for more than 90% of the natural gas delivered domestically. AGA sponsors business television series, joint information technology conferences, and other forums to inform its membership of Y2K solutions.
FERC released its first overall assessment of the Y2K status and preparedness of the gas and oil industry in September 1998, and has issued two updates since that timeÐ in January 1999 and in May 1999. API and AGA, in coordination with the Gas Research Institute and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, collected and analyzed surveys of its members to assess the industry's compliance with Y2K requirements. These surveys form the basis for the FERC assessment. Assessment results are shown in Figure 5 for embedded systems.
The original survey was sent to more than 8,000 gas and oil companies. Only 638, or fewer than 10%, responded. Notwithstanding this low response rate, the fact that most of the 66 big companies responded means that about 66% of total oil and gas consumption was represented in the survey. In later surveys, FERC reported the percentage of consumption rather than the actual number of companies responding to the surveys. The percentage grew to 88% of consumption in the February survey, and to 93% of consumption in the survey released in June 1999. While 93% participation is excellent, it could still mean that more than 1,000 small companies did not participate. This raises concerns for the customers served by these small companies.
Each survey asked companies to indicate the stage their companies were "in," not the stage they had completed. This makes it difficult to determine the true status of the industry. Making matters worse, one of the stages companies could indicate on the survey instrument was "completed or Y2K Ready." but FERC did not report survey results for this category.
When Senator Bennett asked members of the oil and gas working group about this omission in a June 28, 1999, meeting, they indicated that only 20% of the companies reported having their business systems completely Y2K ready. Only 16% of the companies reported that their embedded systems were completely Y2K ready.
Nevertheless, the most recent survey issued in June 1999 indicates that 94% of responding companies estimate they will be ready by September 30, 1999, and all estimate they will be ready by the end of the year. This projection seems unrealistic given the low state of readiness reported to the Committee Chairman in June 1999.
The Committee can only conclude either that many companies are 99% ready and will finish the last 1% of their systems in the next few months, or that many oil and gas companies will not complete Y2K remediation efforts in time.
In light of the late completion dates estimated by many companies, the Committee recommends that significant resources be devoted to contingency planning. This must be stressed because, as shown in Figure 5, fewer than 40% of the companies have actually developed and tested contingency plans.
The Committee remains concerned about the Y2K status of countries from which the U. S. imports oil. About 55% of the oil used in the U. S. comes from foreign sources. Yet, as depicted in Figure 6, many of these countries have a high risk of Y2K disruptions. This risk is based on recent country assessments from a variety of sources, including Global 2000, the World Bank, CapGemini, the State Department, and the Gartner Group, and considers both the Y2K readiness of the oil companies as well as the infrastructure in those countries.
Indeed, of the top 10 countries from which the U. S. imports oil, three are at high risk for disruption in oil production and transportation; one is at medium risk; three are at low risk (similar to the U. S.); and the status of three are unknown.
The oil and gas industry remains a concern. A large number of companies have not participated in industry surveys and, as a result, their Y2K status is unknown. Based on industry status reported by FERC, the Committee questions the claims that all companies will be Y2K ready by the end of the year.
While the Committee is satisfied with the remediation and contingency planning efforts of the large corporations, it believes there may be some disruptions in the smalland mediumsized companies in this sector. It is difficult to predict the impact such disruptions might have on individual homes and other consumers who rely on this industry. Individuals should continue to take charge of their own Y2K preparedness by querying the oil and gas utilities on which they rely.
The Committee also expects that the Y2Kinduced disruption in the flow of imported oil may be significant enough to impact gasoline prices. DOE does not believe this will be the case, arguing that oil is fungible, and that disruption in one country can be quickly compensated by oil from another country. The Committee believes that the potential for disruption is significant in enough oil producing countries to impact oil availability and, thus, prices at the gas pump here at home.
The Committee urges the oil industry and the federal government to continue to monitor this situation closely.
The oil and gas sectors remain of concern despite substantial progress since February 1999. Hundreds of production and transportation assets and thousands of miles of pipeline must be checked and repaired. The proliferation of embedded chips and processors throughout the industry's production, transportation, and distribution systems make failure of at least some missioncritical systems possible. The industry must continue its diligent remediation efforts, and focus more on the development and testing of contingency plans.
The dependence of the gas and oil industry on other sectorsÐ electric power and telecommunicationsÐ adds to the Y2K risk in this sector. Continued close cooperation with these suppliers should be emphasized.
Public disclosure of information on the Y2K readiness of the oil and gas industry is inadequate. FERC should include the percentage of companies that are Y2K ready in its survey results and, like the NERC report for the electric power industry, should include a list of companies that are Y2K ready.
While the large gas and oil companies are spending large amounts of money on Y2K remediation, the Committee is concerned about some of the small and mediumsized companies in this industry, including those up and down the supply chain. These small companies could be the linchpins for the overall success of this industry.
A more comprehensive Y2K assessment of oilproducing countries is needed to determine the likelihood that U. S. oil imports will be disrupted and, if so, what contingency planning will be needed.
Background and Vulnerabilities The Committee's first report emphasized the overall vulnerability of the water and wastewater industry to Y2K problems. This vulnerability arises primarily from the almost complete reliance on electric power and the widespread use of SCADA systems to monitor critical processes.
It is difficult to say, however, that this vulnerability applies equally to each individual facility since the size, age, and technological complexity of individual water and wastewater systems varies widely throughout the industry. Neither the size nor the age of a system alone act as good predictors of the degree to which a particular system relies on computer technology for its core functions. While most systems probably rely on computer systems for key business applications such as billing, the degree to which computer technology is used in the basic operations of water and wastewater treatment, pumping, and delivery varies widely.
These factors, coupled with the enormous size and scope of the industry, make a completely accurate assessment of the water and wastewater industry difficult. A key vulnerability of almost every system, however, is reliance on electric power. The fact that this section's assessment of electric utilities is largely positive serves to greatly lessen our overall concern about the Y2K impact on the water and wastewater industry. The industry's concentration on contingency planning over the past year has also served to increase our confidence level. Nonetheless, since the last report the Committee has continued to actively express its concern about the readiness of the water and wastewater industry and to focus on key aspects of the readiness effort that clearly required increased attention.
The results of the July 1999 survey conducted by the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA) paint a portrait of readiness in the wastewater sector that is greatly at odds with the positive assessment we have made about the water and wastewater industry as a whole. The survey showed that only 14 percent of respondents were reporting readiness as of June 1999.
The impact that a lack of readiness on the part of wastewater companies could potentially have on its neighboring water treatment facilities could be severe. The Committee is currently making efforts to get further information to better determine the readiness status of wastewater companies.
The Committee's prior report referenced an ongoing study that the General Accounting Office (GAO) was conducting at the Committee's request. GAO published the final results of this study in April 1999. 6 It rated state drinking water administrations, public water commissions, water pollution control administrations, and public utility wastewater commissions according to how actively engaged they were with the companies they regulated on the Y2K issue. The results indicated a disturbingly low level of involvement on the part of state drinking water administrations and state water pollution control administrations.
Twenty of the 50 state drinking water administrations and 17 water pollution control administrations were rated "inactive" with regard to their outreach activities to the utilities they regulate. Only two drinking water administrations and three water pollution control administrations were rated "proactive." While the public utility commissions (PUCs) for the water and wastewater industries were rated much higher than the state water and wastewater administrations (34 public water commissions and 21 public wastewater commissions were rated "proactive"), the PUCs regulate those companies serving the minority of the drinking water and wastewater customers in the country. State regulatory agencies with authority over drinking water and facilities that serve 58 million people were found to be "inactive." Regulatory agencies with authority over wastewater facilities serving 56 million people were also categorized as "inactive."
While this data is disturbing, it must be emphasized that it does not necessarily reflect the readiness status of individual companies. The fact that a firm is located in a state whose regulators were categorized as "inactive" does not necessarily indicate that that firm is unprepared for Y2K. By the same token, however, one cannot assume that a particular company is wellprepared for Y2K simply because it is located in a state whose regulatory agencies were categorized as "proactive." The results of this study were a sure sign to the Committee that more effort was required, and that not everything that could be done was in fact being done.
In response to the GAO data, the Committee sent letters to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA), the Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies (AMSA), the American Water Works Association (AWWA), the National Rural Water Association (NRWA), and the National Association of Water Companies (NAWC). The letters highlighted the Committee's concern over the lack of engagement shown by state regulatory agencies and asked the organizations to refocus their efforts on firms located in areas covered by "inactive" state regulatory bodies. The letters also asked EPA and the associations to keep focusing on the "unknowns"the firms that failed to respond to surveys or had not participated in readiness assessments.
Prior to the formal release of the GAO study, EPA's Office of Water was given a list of the least active state regulatory agencies. EPA subsequently addressed the issue during a meeting with the Executive Directors of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators. EPA also sent a letter to the Executive Directors asking them to consider advising their members to take appropriate action. Finally, EPA distributed the Committee's letter to its Regional Administrators along with information on states in their regions where there appeared to be no assessment activity.
Some of EPA's other significant actions since the Committee's last report are as follows:
The Office of Water headquarters staff and Regional Y2K coordinators have assembled and are maintaining a matrix of state and regional Y2K outreach and other activities. This matrix provides significant detail about state activity.
EPA regions have been meeting with state program officials and staff to provide materials and encourage states to become engaged in the Y2K issue.
EPA sent a memorandum to Deputy Regional Administrators and Water Division Directors informing them of the Committee's request for additional information about state Y2K actions and assessments of drinking water and wastewater utility readiness. The Office of Water sent a Y2K Action Alert direct mailing to smaller utilities in states where EPA had no knowledge of direct contact with utilities on the Y2K issue. The mailing included a fact sheet, information about contingency planning, and Web site addresses where additional information is available.
The Office of Water issued four technical alerts specifying problems that might be experienced with personal computers, embedded chips, contingency planning, and SCADA systems.
EPA also sponsored the "National Readiness KickOff," held July 26 through August 6, 1999. The purpose of this initiative was to begin a phase of increased attention to Y2K testing, contingency planning, and public communications by drinking water and wastewater utilities, and to share lessons learned with other utilities. This program was conducted as a partnership between EPA headquarters and regions, the AWWA, the AMSA, the Water Environment Federation, the AMWA, the NAWC, the American Public Works Association, and participating utilities. It was hoped that participating utilities would publicize their Y2K test results in local newspapers, trade press, and on relevant Web sites.
EPA's Web site has posted three detailed case studies prepared for its Office of Water and the State of California. The case studies review the process and status of Y2K preparations of three water and/ or wastewater utilities of varying sizes: California's Orange County Sanitation District, El Dorado Irrigation District, and Eastern Municipal Water District. The case studies include detailed profiles of each utility as to size of geographic area and population served, technical makeup of facilities and plants used, age of infrastructure, departmental budget, and organizational structure.
The case studies are organized around a common reporting format, and provide a good illustration of the difficult challenges facing mediumto largesized water and wastewater utilities as they prepare for Y2K. The contingency planning section of the studies are well developed. One aspect of the El Dorado Irrigation District's contingency plan illustrates that even dependence on electricity varies within the industry. That district can provide treated drinking water to most of its customers for 57 days without electricity, but its sewage lift stations can only function for approximately onehalf hour in the absence of electricity before overflowing. It should be noted that the loss of electrical power without backup generation would impact most wastewater facilities in this manner. A unique aspect of the El Dorado Irrigation District's plan is that it takes the social dimension of Y2K into consideration by including a training module on terroristinitiated disruption at its facility.
In June 1999, the AWWA, the AMWA, and the NAWC conducted their second joint survey on Y2K preparedness in the water industry. The results show significant improvement over their first survey, conducted in August 1998. Of 614 responses, 92% report they have completed all phases of their Y2K work, including testing. The results were further broken down to reflect readiness by size of the systems, as follows:
92% for very large systems (greater than 1,000,001 in the population);
88.7% for large systems (100,000 to 1,000,000 in the population);
90% for medium systems (10,000 to 100,000 in the population); and
93.6% for small systems (less than 10,000 in the population).
By comparison, the 1998 statistics indicated that only 51% of all systems had even completed their assessments, and only 81% believed they would complete their Y2K work by December 31, 1999.
The most recent survey data available on the status of the water industry was provided to the Committee by the AMWA on September 10, 1999. During the last week of August and the first week of September, AMWA polled all 135 of its members and received 118 responses. Altogether, the respondents supply water to approximately 100 million people. AMWA reported the following results:
All of the respondents indicated they are prepared or will be prepared before the Year 2000. Seventyfive percent say they have completed the inventory, assessment, remediation, and replacement phases of their Y2K preparedness plans. Most of the remaining twenty five percent will finish in September and October; the few others will finish in December. Ninety four percent indicate they have special Y2K contingency plans in place, and the remaining six percent will finalize their contingency plans between now and December 1.
In July 1999, the AMSA conducted a followup of its October 1998 survey on the Y2K readiness of the wastewater industry. AMSA received responses from 51 of its 250 members. All respondents expect to be completed with the awareness, inventory, and assessment phases by the end of the summer. The breakdown is as follows:
94% have completed the awareness phase;
82% have finished the inventory phase;
67% have completed assessments; and
14% are complete with repair, but 100% reported they expect to be complete by this fall.
Additionally, 50 of the 51 respondents reported that they have Y2K contingency plans or are in the process of developing such plans. Respondents cited their backup power as one of their biggest concerns in developing their contingency plans. In this regard, 70% indicated that their contingency plans include calling in additional staff during the rollover period;
94% plan to use an oncall list for all personnel, and 80% plan to change personnel leave plans during the rollover;
82% indicated that their contingency plans address the adequacy of chemical supplies and that their plans include stockpiling if necessary;
36% state that their contingency plans include directions to partially or completely shut down processes during the rollover period; and
62% stated that manual procedures were part of their contingency plans.
The report of the AWWA, AMWA, NAWC survey concludes that water production, treatment, and distribution will proceed without serious interruption due to Y2K. It cautions, however, that this does not mean there will be no interruptions in service. It states clearly that isolated instances of malfunctioning equipment may result in pockets of customers without adequate supply, but that widespread contingency planning will ensure that these interruptions will be limited in scale and of short duration.
While the confidence level of the wastewater industry is very high, the recent AMSA survey data indicating only a 14% completion rate as of July 1999 is a cause for great concern. There is not enough detail available to determine how close to completion the vast majority of companies are at this point. As of July 1999, the graphic representation for the remaining activities necessary for Y2K remediation before January 1 appears to go almost straight up. It may be possible that only a few minor tasks remain for full completion of Y2K work for many of the companies reporting, but this remains unknown. The statistics seem to indicate quite the oppositeÐ only 67% reported they had completed the assessment stage as of July 1999. Knowing what we know about the complexity of Y2K remediation and the potential for the occurrence of additional unforeseen problems "late in the game," we feel justified in saying that we are alarmed by these statistics.
In light of all the concentrated effort that has been undertaken, the Committee is surprised by the low level of readiness of the wastewater industry reflected in the July 1999 AMSA survey. A lack of readiness on the part of the wastewater industry can have a devastating impact on the drinking water supply, no matter how well prepared that sector is.
All of the AMSA survey participants anticipated completion of the repair phase by early fall 1999. This leaves virtually no time left for testing for those not yet done.
Another cause of our concern arises solely due to the immensity of the water and wastewater sector. The power industry pales in comparison to the size, scope, and varying degrees of technology that exist within the water and wastewater industry. These factors make it very difficult to offer any broadbrush assessment of the industry.
The Committee will continue to emphasize the importance of readiness, particularly in the wastewater sector of this industry in what little time remains. We are currently working with the EPA and water and wastewater associations to organize a summit to take action on remaining concerns in this area, and to make further inquiry regarding the current readiness of the wastewater industry.
Thanks for putting it up, Brian.
...the Committee continues to believe that local outages are a distinct possibility
I submit that all power is local.
-- semper paratus (almost@always .ready), September 22, 1999.
Is this "report" suppose to make us feel better? Are we suppose to read it and think, hmmm, well it looks like progress is being made...?
To me it confirms that things are going down. And they can just skip the percentage of companies reporting, as opposed to those who did report before but forgot to this time, as opposed to those that reported once but forgot to answer 30% of questions listed, as opposed to....
-- mar (derigueur2@aol.com), September 22, 1999.
I think the PTB are expecting that no one will actually read the entire report, so whatever they put in the summary will be used. NOT! The utilities section on water/water treatment says it all. 14% are completed with repair but 100% say they will be finished by fall. PUHLEEEEZE!
-- Sharon (sking@drought-ridden.com), September 22, 1999.
AH-OOGA! AH-OOGA! (Where's Tom Benjamin? He says it so much better!) Folks, print out a copy of this, send it to your "Don't get it" friends and relatives, and write a thoughtful, respectful news article for your local newspaper. In a very real way, we could see much of the U.S. in deep doo-doo next year, and still our leaders don't get it. Whoever said this was right: This Congress is going to be the one which goes down in history as the one which refused to tell the citizens of the U.S. to prepare for Y2K. Flint, Fact Finder, and other pollies: Every argument you have given about how and why Y2K won't be a problem has just gone down the toilet. You have no excuse for not starting to prepare your families. Please, acknowledge this so that the people who have followed you for so long will also turn and prepare. Ed, Gary, and others: God bless you. I'm going to go can some more tomatoes now. Got propane?
-- Ann M. (hismckids@aol.com), September 22, 1999.
Thank you Brian for this post. I went immediately to the Senate web site and printed it out. I wanted to see every word as it was written. Read it over several times. Sent it to people I love. I felt that the Senate summary was sugar coated. And, perhaps, like a previous poster stated, the general population will not read the actual report (too long, too many columns ( 2?). I don't want to start a fight with the conspiracy group...please don't attack me! But I would like to state my opinion, trusting that the individuals on this forum will listen to my opinion, as I DO listen to theirs . (Debate is educational -personal attack is not) I do not believe the government is hiding anything here.....they are in the same position we are....they really don't know what will happen "when the bell tolls". Yes, I do see ' wing walking' by the committee members. Personally, I would not know how to tell people that there is a fire in the building, and get them all out, without yelling " FIRE!!! " The resulting panic could create the very scenario that all of us are desperately trying to avoid. If the Utilities section of the report is closely examined, it appears that the committee is whispering " FIRE" to those of us that take the time to read and evaluate what was written.
-- Not-Smiling (lurking@the-edge.com), September 22, 1999.
"Unless nuclear licensees have fully tested and audited safety and operational systems, there is some concern that unexpected problems will trigger untested, as of yet, contingency plans."
This is a strange sentence. What do you think it means?
Sincerely, Stan Faryna
-- Stan Faryna (info@giglobal.com), September 22, 1999.
Even the poorest of families in America could be saving thier milk gallon jugs to be filled just before this hits. I have talked to ALL the Hartford Ct emergency groups and while they agree, they wont act. And Hartford was on the Navy list under the total failure catagory. If people go to the river to drink, the untreated sewage will give them dysentary and they will need even MORE water just to survive and they wont. Saving milk jugs is a no cost life saving measure.
-- bill burke (bburke@rocketmail.com), September 29, 1999.
SOUNDS LIKE DOUBLE TALK TO ME. I still do not know what I need to do to prepare and how long to prepare for. Since the bill passed means these utilities can ly to us and not be liable for first three months, does that mean we can expect problems up to three months? That is a lot of water. Sounds like we need to have our own well, propane tank for heating and cooking, batteries and flashlights and a lot of cambell soups! etc. and a shotgun to keep someone from taking it all away from you. Our Bible reminds us "IN Everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus, concerning us". "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added unto us". Our goverment may not be faithful to us but God is faithful and He does know the future.
-- DIANE (DIDIMOOSE@AOL.COM), September 29, 1999.
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Why Malta?Government ICT Vision and ProgressMalta Information Technology Agency (MITA)
The Malta Information Technology Agency
The Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) is the prime Government agency with a mandate spanning from Information and Communications Technology (ICT) policy to programmes and initiatives in Malta.
MITA manages full implementation of IT programmes in Government focusing on enhancing public service delivery and provides the infrastructure needed for the provision of ICT services to Government. MITA is also responsible for the propagation of ICT within society and the economy and to promote and deliver programmes with the intention of enhancing ICT education and the use of ICT as a learning tool. In fulfilling its role, MITA shall:
Serve as the central driver of information and communications technology policy, programmes and initiatives in Malta;
Provide efficient and effective information and communications technology infrastructure services to Government as directed by the Minister from time to time;
Deliver and manage the execution of all programmes related to the implementation of information technology and related systems in Government with the aim of enhancing public service delivery;
Proliferate the further application and take-up of information and communications technologies in society and the economy;Promote and deliver programmes aimed at enhancing ICT education and the use of ICT as a learning tool.
Claudio Grech, MITA Chairman
"The Malta Information Technology Agency (MITA) is pleased to support the ICT Gozo Malta initiative. We believe that in due course this project has the potential to develop into a very fruitful platform for ideas. The combined effort of all steering committee members will enable a new level of collaboration between various entities which can eventually lead to new and innovative ventures." MITA, February 2011
"The ICT Gozo Malta project is an initiative which will increase R&D collaborative efforts between the two islands and beyond. I look forward for the discussions and the eventual projects which such an R&D cluster can contribute towards the whole society and economy." Claudio Grech, MITA Chairman, January 2011
MITA_Strategic_Plan_2009-2012.pdf 678.13 Kb
The_Smart_Island_Strategy_2008-10.pdf 2.86 Mb
External web address: www.mita.gov.mt
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Excelsior International School has established a Board of Governors, whose primary roles include enhancing school standards, setting strategic direction and ensuring that the delivery of education is suitable to the needs, ages and abilities of the students. Members of the Board of Governors will serve a 3-year term and will be eligible for re-appointment to further term(s).
The composition of the Board of Governors is made up of academic experts, who are committed to the promotion of high standards of educational achievement. Although board members are not paid member of the School, ex-officio such as Principal and designated corporate or management employees may be invited to join Board meetings and discussions, for the purpose of providing technical advice and assistance.
While the Board of Governors is responsible for the objectives, overall strategic direction and policy, the day-to-day management of the School rests firmly with the Principal and the school staff.
Mr Tan Tee How
Mr Tan Tee How is the Chairman of the Board of Governors of Excelsior International School and brings with him more than 30 years of service in public service in Singapore. As Chairman, Mr Tan sets for Excelsior a vision for its transformation into a top British brand international school in the region.
Mr Koh Chin Nguang Bob
Mr Koh Chin Nguang Bob is the Executive Director of Excelsior International School. Graduating from the National University of Singapore with First-class Honours in Chemistry and a master degree in Education from Harvard University, Mr Koh served in education for more than 30 years. For the last 20 years, Mr Koh has assumed senior leadership positions in top schools such as Raffles Institution and Hwa Chong International School in Singapore, as well as in the Ministry of Education, Singapore.
Dr Koh Thiam Seng
Dr Koh Thiam Seng is a Member of the Board of Governors of Excelsior International School. Dr Koh brings with him more than 28 years of experience in education. Prior to this, Dr Koh was Associate Dean at the Office of Education Research and Associate Professor of Natural Sciences and Science Education at the National Institute of Education. Aside from the academia, Dr Koh also assumed many senior positions in the Ministry of Education, Singapore. He was also the Principal of St. Joseph’s Institution, Singapore (2009-2015) and Chief Executive Officer (2015–2017) at St. Joseph’s Institution International School.
Ms Kathryn Lui
Ms Kathryn Lui is a Member of the Board of Governors of Excelsior International School. Ms Lui brings more than 30 years of educational experience to Excelsior. Prior to this, Ms Lui held various teaching and leadership appointments in Anglo-Chinese Junior College and Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) in Singapore. She was also the Principal of Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) (2007-2015). From 2016 to 2018 she was a director of a childcare centre. Ms Lui has received various teaching and service awards throughout her career with the Ministry of Education and at the National Institute of Education.
Mr Edmund Lim
Mr Edmund Lim is a Member of the Board of Governors of in Excelsior International School. He brings with him more than 20 years to Excelsior. Prior to this, he was the Group Academic Director of an international school in Bangkok and also served as a school leader in three schools in Singapore. He has experience teaching in the National Institute of Education, Gifted Education Programme and schools. Mr Lim has conducted workshops and talks for government officials, school leaders and educators from overseas and Singapore.
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Destiny - Page 2
SOLO GAMER SCORE
You're going to play with others whether you like it or not
Here's where things fall apart for the solo gamer. You simply cannot play this game entirely by yourself. Period. You cannot play offline, and even the single-player game is constantly interrupted by other players running around and doing their own thing. While it is neat that the designers found a hook to explain why there's so many characters all interacting with the universe--you are all Guardians--it is still frustrating for solo gamers that you can't simply experience the game's main storyline without being jacked into the Internet at all times.
You are at the mercy of the Destiny servers, too, which will occasionally kick you out of your mission--even if you are playing solo--whenever there is a problem or update to be had. In essence, if you wish to play this game, you are forced by necessity to deal with all the things solo gamers hate about multiplayer gaming: the server hiccups, the teabagging by twelve-year-olds, the weak story, and the unavoidable impression that this game simply doesn't like the way you want to play it.
And while it is possible to tackle the main story without inviting anybody into your "fireteam," it is, as already mentioned, painfully short, and just about every other activity aside from patrol missions requires you to play cooperatively or competitively. Indeed, for the purposes of this review, I am unable to comment on the raid segments of the game, since I don't have six people in my friends list who all have the game, have the ability to play at the same time, and who are interested in finding out what the Vault of Glass is all about. You can't even use matchmaking for raids, which means that if I want to play them, I have to find and join random strangers entirely on my own through forums and whatnot. No, thank you.
[SOLO GAMER SCORE: 1 - Gamers who are strictly solo players or who don't have a decent Internet connection should just avoid Destiny altogether.]
It's definitely stunning
On one hand, Bungie knows how to put together an impressive video game. The graphics are spectacular, especially on next-gen systems (I played on the PS4), and the music is exactly what you'd expect from the team that brought you Halo. There is also a wealth of good voice acting, with Peter Dinklage as your A.I. ghost, Bill Nighy as the Speaker, and note-worthy smaller parts given to the likes of Nathan Fillion, Lance Reddick, Peter Stormare, and the hypnotic Shohreh Aghdashloo. Load times can be a bit trying at times, but you won't find much in the way of clipping or frame-rate issues, and in-game loads are kept to a barely noticeable minimum.
On the other hand, for a game that pretends to be so huge, it is actually quite small. There are only four maps for the main game, with a few smaller additional ones for PvP matches. This highlights many of the game's shortcomings in other areas--the sparseness of the narrative and the tediousness of the grinding--and seems to be a deliberate way to cash in on future expansions. I won't call a $500 million game cheap, but it sure feels that way after you spend more than ten hours with it.
[PRESENTATION: 7 - At its best, this is a polished game that surpasses Halo in many important areas, but at its worst, all its greatness is just a thin veneer hiding a disappointingly tiny universe that relies on repetition instead of innovation.]
If you don't like his selection, try again tomorrow
Destiny is indeed ambitious, and I'm certain its expansions and inevitable sequels will be quite good, but the game doesn't "achieve greatness." There's a lot of mystique surrounding the game--there are those who think it is the start of a new age in gaming and those who still have no idea what this game actually is--but that mystique only serves to cover for the fact that Destiny is a grossly unfinished product. It's the most expensively-produced tech demo the gaming world has ever seen, full of awesome potential and game-changing ideas, but lacking in the depth required to achieve its goals.
It's not exactly disappointing, but it is frustrating how no one aspect of the game feels complete. There are first-person shooters out there with better stories and more varied locales, and there are less grindy MMOs out there that are far more balanced. Destiny is more about what is possible than what is actually there, because what is there is short, small, and tedious in the final accounting. Sure, it's going to make a killing and it's going to be popular with a certain segment of the gaming population, and sure, I'm not ready to stop playing it just yet, but no matter how much I do and how much I grind, I know I'll never feel any sense of accomplishment or inspiration by this game. I have a feeling that, once the initial novelty wears out, people are going to turn on Bungie unless it has a lot of tricks up its sleeve for the very near future.
STORY: 4
GAMEPLAY: 9
PRESENTATION: 1
SOLO GAME SCORE: 7
After you get beyond its amazing first impressions and excellent gameplay mechanics, you'll find there's much less to Destiny than meets the eye, especially for solo gamers.
-e. magill 10/1/2014
Thief (2014) Review
Final Fantasy XIII-2 Review
Confessions of an X-Box Junkie
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e. magill's
The Unapologetic Geek
MAIN LIST
The Summer of Robert A. Heinlein: Starman Jones
On the heels of last summer's exploration of some of Arthur C. Clarke's greatest hits, this summer we're moving on to another of the Big Three: Robert A. Heinlein. Heinlein is probably the most challenging of the three, with his brand of science-fiction unafraid to get political, satirical, and offensive. Though he studies and respects the underlying science, he is not as concerned with the details the way Clarke is, nor does he often deal with the high-flung future fantasy of Asimov. His brand of science-fiction is grittier, focused more on hard-boiled characters, wicked dialogue, and provocation. He deserves his reputation as one of science-fiction's most talented literary figures, with a bibliography that includes some of the most influential novels of the Twentieth Century (sci-fi or otherwise), and though I couldn't possibly cover all of his great writings in a single summer, I do hope to cover some of the highlights of his career, from his juvenile pulp fiction early works to the somber political meditations of his later years. I intend to reveal over the course of the season exactly what it is that makes Heinlein required reading for anybody interested in science-fiction's golden age.
It is green
On paper, Starman Jones is a fairly generic young adult sci-fi adventure. It's about a farm boy who dreams of space, leaves home, and hitches a ride on a spaceship. Granted, this archetype wasn't the cliché it is today, but it still feels like a fairly standard hero's journey. It does show Heinlein struggling with his own evolution as a writer, because though it is presented as a juvenile story, Heinlein doesn't write it that way, choosing instead to go into the details of space travel in the form of an arcane future form of navigation he calls "astrogation."
The book falls somewhere between Heinlein's earlier juveniles and Starship Troopers. It never fully embraces the adult themes or controversial political ideas of the latter, but it feels like it wants to, that Heinlein, while writing it, had to remind himself that he was writing for a young audience. There are characters and situations that skirt the edges of Heinlein's later works, but they never come into the foreground, with the focus of the story stubbornly remaining on the naïve boy who barely registers anything cynical, sexual, or violent.
Taken as a young adult novel, it's a pretty good story, but it takes a long time to get where it's going. It starts out strong, telling the story of Max Jones, a young man with big dreams who has been saddled with a brutal life at home on the farm. Max decides to take matters into his own hands and escape to the big city where he eventually sneaks aboard the Asgard, a commercial vessel that feels more like a cruise ship than anything else. From there, the novel gets a bit problematic, as the plot moves glacially with no apparent destination or major conflict.
Calling Max a "hillbilly" right there on the cover is pretty messed up
Max worries he'll be discovered for the stowaway he is, but that doesn't lend itself to much more than background tension, and he does meet a romantic interest in the character of Ellie, but their interactions are few and increasingly far between as Max's station on the Asgard begins to morph into a role as an assistant astrogator. It isn't until nearly three quarters of the way through the book before anything of any real consequence actually happens, when the lead astrogator dies of a heart attack and his replacement makes an error of calculation that sends the Asgard into unknown space.
At this point, the book suddenly becomes entertaining again, and the last fourth feels like what the entire novel should have been: the adventures of a ship lost in space and the young kid thrust into a position of authority to deal with the trials and tribulations that follow. It's got imaginative aliens, exciting action, a romantic entanglement that works and subverts expectations, and impressive dramatic stakes. It's not without it's own problems--Max's becoming captain because of some obscure legal minutiae that wasn't mentioned earlier and the out-of-nowhere revelation that, despite all that talk of never getting home, it was theoretically possible for the Asgard to just go back the way it came are both painful dei ex machina--but if this part of the book had been expanded and the middle half had been pared down to a chapter or two, I'd call this one of Heinlein's best early works. However, the middle section is so long-winded and exhaustively mind-numbing that I doubt enough readers will make it to the best parts of the story.
Sketched by a very talented little bird
Instead, Starman Jones is one of Heinlein's most frustrating novels. It feels like a padded-out origin story that is designed to set up a better story to follow, which doesn't exist. As a coming of age tale, it mostly works, with the character of Max having a genuine arc that is spelled out quite clearly by the end, but all of the drama that changes him occurs during the last fifty pages, with the preceding hundred fifty acting as more of a treadmill in which nothing much happens aside from a bunch of increasingly unlikely coincidences that lead to his eventual ascension to the role of captain of the Asgard.
Now, to be clear, my opinion seems to be in the minority regarding Starman Jones. This is often lauded as Heinlein's best juvenile, and it was a smashing success when it was released. I'm willing to entertain the possibility that I'm missing something, that a hundred and fifty pages of a bland main character demonstrating his photographic memory for numbers to his superiors is riveting reading for young adults in the fifties. If I am, I sincerely apologize.
Despite my distaste for it, however, I can look at Starman Jones as an important step for Heinlein as a writer. It's far better written than Rocket Ship Galileo, and its plot is a test run for the basic outline of Starship Troopers. His characters are decent, if a bit one-dimensional, and his fifties-era sexism only shows up for a couple of paragraphs. And yes, those last fifty pages are fantastic. He's maturing, and not long after Starman Jones, he would leave the juveniles behind and become an adult-oriented writer of science-fiction.
-e. magill 7/4/2019
SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PATRONS:
Diane Magill-Davis
John Burrill
Warren Davis
patreon.com/emagill
THE SUMMER OF
ROBERT A. HEINLEIN:
Rocket Ship Galileo
Destination Moon
The Puppet Masters (film)
Starman Jones
The Door into Summer
Starship Troopers (film)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne - Sci-Fi Classic Review
This surprisingly accurate prediction of submarine life is both a great novel and a fatally flawed one. [3/14/2019]
Anthem by Ayn Rand - Sci-Fi Classic Review
The dystopic tale of Equality 7-2521 is an exceptional work that doesn't deserve the baggage of its author. [3/7/2019]
Metro 2033 by Dmitry Glukhovsky - Book Review
The international cult megahit about the post-apocalyptic Moscow metro system deserves more recognition in the States. [1/31/2019]
Neuromancer by William Gibson - Sci-Fi Classic Review
This week, we look at the prophetic technofuturist noir novel that gave birth to cyberpunk. [11/8/2018]
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Embassy of India, Sofia, Bulgaria
Message from EAM
Registration of Indian students on MADAD website
PIO Cards
OCI Cards
Information about Visas for Bulgaria
Registration for Students
Registration of ITEC alumni
Registration of birth of a child and grant of Indian citizenship
Advisory for E-Visa
India - Bulgaria Relations
India - Bulgaria Bilateral Relations
Economic and Commercial Brief – Bulgaria
India - Bulgaria ITEC
India-North Macedonia Bilateral Relations
Brief on India-North Macedonia Relations
Economic and Commercial Brief - North Macedonia
India-North Macedonia ITEC
Map of India
Home › Events/Photo Gallery
Year Select Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Celebrating 150 years of the Mahatma Gandhi
Embassy of India, Sofia celebrated the 73rd Independence Day of India with great enthusiasm.
India had a standout presence at the 3rd Asian Festival in Borisova Garden with Kathkali, Yoga, Bhangra and a stall showcasing handicrafts, henna application, sari tying, cuisine, etc
Ambassador Pooja Kapur met a group of young Indian skaters led by Ms. Rashmi Chouksey and Gauri Rai, Indian National Figure Skaters, who were on a visit to Bulgaria to attend a Figure Training Camp in Varna.
The Embassy of India, Sofia organized a Cycling event on the Occasion of World Cycling Day, to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, commencing at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi at South Park, Sofia on 3 June 2019.
Holi Celebrations at Embassy of India Sofia
Hon'ble External Affairs Minister Smt Sushma Swaraj paid a landmark visit to Bulgaria on 16-17 February 2019
Embassy of India, Sofia celebrated the 70th Republic Day of India with great enthusiasm.
The National Voters' Day Pledge was administered by Ambassador Pooja Kapur to the India based Embassy officers and staff on Friday 25 January 2019 at 1100 hrs at the Embassy Premises.
The Embassy of India Sofia celebrated the Vishva Hindi Diwas on 10 January 2019 in partnership with Indology Department of Sofia University, Indira Gandhi School, Lyulin, East-West Indological Foundation & Devam Foundation
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was celebrated at the Embassy of India Sofia on 9 January 2019 which was attended by members of the Indian community, PIOs, friends and well-wishers of India as well as representatives of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria.
Eminent singer from Macedonia Ms. Lina Gjorcheva sang Gandhiji's favourite bhajan 'Vaishnav Jan To' which was recorded at iconic sites in Macedonia.
At the invitation of the Vice President of the National Assembly and Chair of the Bulgaria-India Friendship Group Mrs. Nigyar Sahlim Dzhafer, Ambassador Pooja Kapur had a productive meeting with members of the Bulgaria-India Friendship Group at the National Assembly of Bulgaria.
Ambassador Pooja Kapur hosted a welcome reception at the Embassy premises on 25 November 2018 for Indian and Indian origin students studying in various universities in Bulgaria as part of the Government of India's outreach initiatives and said Indian Embassy was their home away from home.
To commemorate the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Devji, the Embassy of India and the Centre for Eastern Languages and Cultures of Sofia University organized a joint event at Sofia University on 22 November 2018.
Ambassador Pooja Kapur inaugurated the Indus Medika medical laboratory in Skopje, Macedonia on 14 Nov 2018. The inauguration was attended by the Hon'ble Minister of Investment and the Deputy Minister of Health of Macedonia and received widespread media coverage.
Diwali was celebrated with great enthusiasm in Sofia. The event was organized by the Association India in partnership with the Embassy and was attended by over a thousand people and comprised a dance competition, an Indian costume competition, a painting competition for children, a quiz on Mahatma Gandhi as well as a display of Indian handicrafts, arts and cuisine.
A Festival of India was inaugurated by Ambassador Pooja Kapur in Varna on 13-14 October 2018. Organised entirely with local resources, the festival gave the citizens of the Black Sea port city an authentic flavour of Indian dance, music, yoga, cuisine, fashion, textiles, art, henna, handicrafts and other Indian products.
The 150th birth anniversary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi were launched in Bulgaria on 2nd October 2018 with a function held at the newly installed Gandhi statue at Sofia's iconic South Park
An open-air LED projection of a film on Mahatma Gandhi was done in the historic heart of Sofia on 2nd October 2018. Members of the diplomatic corps, media, and Bulgarians & Indians from various walks of life watched the screening.
Hindi Pakhwada was celebrated from 14-28 September 2018 with a special event and prize giving ceremony by Ambassador Pooja Kapur at Sofia University
India was the largest foreign participant at the 74th International Technical Fair in Plovdiv from 22-29 September 2018. Ambassador Pooja Kapur was a special guest at the inauguration and Press Conference of the Fair
Celebration of IYD 2018
International Yoga Day was celebrated with great fervour at Mother Teresa's Memorial House in Skopje, Macedonia on 21 June.2018
As a curtain raiser to International Yoga Day celebrations which will take place across Bulgaria from 21 - 24 June, 2018, Padma Shree Gundecha Brothers performed Dhrupad or Nada Yoga, the yoga of sound, to a packed audience of 1300 people in Bulgaria Hall, Sofia, on 19 June 2018. Ambassador Pooja Kapur delivered the keynote address. The concert received a standing ovation.
The 2017 issue of Svetilnik, an annual publication on India and Bulgaria which has been spreading light to bring Bulgarians closer to the magic of India. The special edition commemorating 20 years of the start of the publication of Svetilnik is dedicated to 70 years of India's independence.
The Embassy organized a trilateral IT conference on 26-27 March 2018 involving India, the Balkans and the US in partnership with Indian Bulgarian Business Chamber and American Chamber under the auspices of Bulgarian EU Presidency. Ambassador Pooja Kapur addressed the audience at the inaugural session which was attended by more than 500 participants.
Vishwa Hindi Diwas was celebrated with great fanfare in Sofia. Over 250 people attended the event organised jointly by the Embassy of India, Indology Department of Sofia University, Indira Gandhi School, East West Indological Foundation and Devam Foundation at the National Science & Technology Centre to mark the occasion.
Ambassador Pooja Kapur called on the Hon'ble Vice President of Bulgaria, H.E. Mrs. Iliana Iotova on 15 February 2018. They comprehensively discussed bilateral relations and took positive note of their reinvigoration.
The Embassy of India and the Indian-Bulgarian Business Chamber jointly organised a business forum titled Modern India-Business Opportunities in Sofia on 24 January 2018. Leading CEOs representing a wide cross-section of Bulgarian industry and services attended the forum.
MEA's Mobile App twitter Facebook YouTube flickr
© 2018 Embassy of India, Sofia, Bulgaria. All Rights Reserved.
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Joint Force Land Component Commander
Joint Force Land Component Commander (JFLCC), is a United States Department of Defense doctrinal term. It is pronounced "Jay-Flick".
It refers to an individual of general officer rank that is responsible for land forces within a joint operations environment. The term "land forces" encompasses ground forces such as infantry or armored units.
As defined in Joint Doctrine Document 1-02, the JFLCC is:
"The commander within a unified command, subordinate unified command, or joint task force responsible to the establishing commander for making recommendations on the proper employment of assigned, attached, and/or made available for tasking land forces; planning and coordinating land operations; or accomplishing such operational missions as may be assigned. The joint force land component commander is given the authority necessary to accomplish missions and tasks assigned by the establishing commander."
Confusion of term
While the position is usually held by a United States Army officer in most joint warfighting environments, an officer of other service can be a JFLCC, if that service has the preponderance of land forces in theater (i.e. a Marine Corps unit commander)
Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC)
Joint Force Maritime Component Commander (JFMCC)
Defense Technical Information Center: Joint Publication 1-02, DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms 8 November 2010, as amended through 31 January 2011 JP 1-02
Defense Technical Information Center: JP 3-0, Joint Operations, 17 September 2006, Change 2, 22 March 2010
JP 3-31, Command and Control of Joint Land Operations, 24 Feb 2014 Doctrine for a JFLCC
This United States military article is a stub. You can help Infogalactic by expanding it.
Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Joint_Force_Land_Component_Commander&oldid=4438092"
Military of the United States
United States military stubs
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DAVIDSOHN, LEON:
By: Herman Rosenthal, Benzion Eisenstadt
Russian publicist and translator; born at Kopil, government of Minsk, 1855. He was educated at an early age in the Talmud and the Hebrew language. His father confided him to a teacher who explained the Bible according to Mendelssohn's commentary. When Davidsohn was a boy of nine years he could write Hebrew verse. At the age of twelve he was sent to the yeshibah of Mir; two years later he went to Karelitz, where he studied the Talmud under his uncle Isaac Jehiel, rabbi of that town. At the age of fifteen, having been graduated as rabbi, he went to Minsk and began the study of Russian and of other secular subjects.
One of Davidsohn's articles about that time in the Hebrew paper "Ha-Ḳol," in which he exhorted the rich Russian Jews to found a school of Jewish science, made a great impression on the progressionists. In the same year he wrote for the same paper articles on the development of handicraft and agriculture among the Jews. From Minsk he went to Warsaw, where he graduated as doctor of medicine in 1888. He there made the acquaintance of the Polish writer Clemens Junosza, who asked him to translate into Russian Abramovich's "Die Kliatche" and "Masse'ot Binyamin ha-Shelishi." The latter work he translated also into Polish under the title of "Don Kiszot Zydowski." He practises medicine at Pruzhany, and continues to write articles for various Hebrew papers.
Eisenstadt, Dor Rabbanaw we-Soferaw, i. 15, Warsaw, 1895.
H. R. B. Ei.
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No. 177: Annuities, Pensions, and the Theft of Benefit Payments
The August 1980 issue of The Insurance Forum carried an article about unclaimed death benefits. However, the subject did not catch fire until July 28, 2010, when Bloomberg News carried an article by reporter David Evans. The article, which dealt with life insurance owned by members of the military, strongly criticized life insurance companies for using the Social Security Death Master File (DMF) to help them stop the theft of annuity benefit payments while failing to use the DMF to help them pay unclaimed death benefits. The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post immediately picked up the story, and I wrote about it in the October and November 2010 issues of the Forum. I have never seen a discussion of the magnitude of the theft of annuity benefit payments.
The Notification Problem
A life annuity is a series of payments, often monthly, made to an annuitant. In many instances, the payments are contingent on the survival of the annuitant. Thus the benefits payable under many annuities are supposed to stop when the annuitant dies. When I refer to annuitants, I also have in mind pensioners who receive benefit payments from private employer-sponsored pension plans, from federal, state, and local government pension plans, and from the Social Security System.
Annuity and pension benefit payments are invariably made by mail or by direct deposit into the annuitant's or pensioner's bank account. Thus the insurance company or pension plan depends on a survivor to provide notification of the death of the annuitant or pensioner so that the company or the pension plan can stop the benefit payments. However, a survivor may pretend the annuitant or pensioner is still alive and thereby steal the continuing benefit payments. When the payment comes by check, a survivor may forge the deceased person's endorsement on the check and thereby steal the payment. When the payment goes into a joint bank account owned by the annuitant (or pensioner) and a survivor, it may be even easier for the survivor to steal the continuing payments.
A Recent Example
On August 15, 2016, in a joint press release, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli announced an indictment charging John H. Eydeler III, a 66-year-old Arizona resident, with grand larceny in the second degree, a class C felony. He allegedly stole over $100,000 in benefits from a New York State pension plan. The benefits were intended for Eydeler's mother, a retired nurse, who died in October 1998. The indictment was filed in a state court in Albany. Here is an excerpt from the press release:
According to investigators, Eydeler concealed his mother's death in 1998 from the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System. As a result, between October 1998 and January 2010, over $100,000 in pension benefits were deposited into a bank account in the name of Eydeler's deceased mother. Eydeler then allegedly diverted these monies to himself by claiming to have power of attorney for his mother and writing checks to himself every month for over a decade.
At Eydeler's arraignment, he pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he would face "up to five to fifteen years" in state prison.
Over the years I have seen examples of legal actions against persons who allegedly stole annuity or pension benefits. However, I have not seen any discussions of the magnitude of the problem. I think there are large numbers of such incidents, but many thefts may not be large enough to warrant criminal charges.
I am not mentioning this subject to defend life insurance companies who use the DMF to try to minimize annuity theft while not using the DMF to try to pay unclaimed death benefits. Rather, I am mentioning the subject to point out that the companies may have had—and may still have—a major problem in dealing with the theft of annuity benefit payments.
I am offering a complimentary 12-page PDF consisting of the 1-page press release issued by the New York State attorney general and the comptroller, the 2-page article in the August 1980 issue of the Forum, the 4-page article in the October 2010 issue the Forum, and the 5-page article in the November 2010 issue of the Forum. Email jmbelth@gmail.com and ask for the September 2016 package relating to the theft of annuity benefit payments.
No. 176: Annuity Churning Leads to Federal Prison Time for an Agent
On September 14, 2016, Gary Edward Hibbing, a former insurance agent, will report to a federal prison to begin serving a sentence for actions related to the churning of annuities. The federal charges to which he pleaded guilty are wire fraud and unlawful monetary transactions, but his insurance license had been revoked earlier for, among other things, annuity replacements described as "twisting." Where the apparent sole motive for replacements is to generate agent commissions, I have used the securities industry's word "churning" instead.
The State Charges
On March 4, 2013, the Oklahoma insurance commissioner issued an order revoking the insurance licenses of Hibbing and his wife. According to the order, the respondents had sold replacement annuities to one particular senior citizen in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010, and to another senior citizen in 2010. The order said the respondents had provided false information not only to the senior citizens but also to the insurance companies that had issued the annuities. The order described the scheme as "a deliberate and concerted effort to receive exorbitant upfront commissions each year at the financial expense of senior citizens." The order also said the respondents had violated various Oklahoma statutes, including the prohibition against twisting.
The Federal Charges
On February 4, 2015, a U.S. Attorney in Oklahoma filed a 24-count grand jury indictment against Hibbing. It consisted of 15 counts of wire fraud, four counts of unlawful monetary transactions, and five counts of aggravated identity theft. (See U.S.A. v. Hibbing, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Oklahoma, Case No. 15-cr-29.)
Among the companies mentioned in the indictment are Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America, PHL Variable Insurance Company, Security Benefit Life Insurance Company, Aviva Life and Annuity Company of New York, Forethought Life Insurance Company, and National Western Life Insurance Company. Among the allegations in the indictment is that Hibbing had continued to engage in his scheme even after the Oklahoma insurance commissioner had suspended his license.
On April 4, 2016, Hibbing pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and two counts of unlawful monetary transactions. In exchange, the government agreed to dismiss the other 20 counts in the indictment.
On August 18, 2016, the judge sentenced Hibbing to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The judge also ordered him to pay restitution of $356,000 divided among 16 clients and $129,000 to Allianz. Hibbing waived appeal and the case was closed.
The Plea Agreement
Hibbing's plea agreement includes the statement that "The sentence imposed in federal court is without parole." By signing the agreement, he expressed his understanding of that fact.
One of the attachments to the plea agreement is Hibbing's "statement of facts." Here are paragraphs 6 and 7 of the statement:
6. Between October 2007 and March 2013, I formulated and executed a scheme to defraud and to obtain money and property from the insurance companies I represented and from my clients by making various material false representations to them:
I caused some clients to buy multiple annuities, year after year, by telling them falsely that doing so was to their financial advantage when actually it was not.
I intentionally withheld important information from some clients about the surrender fees they would have to pay to terminate one annuity contract early and invest in the next.
I made material false representations to the insurance companies by submitting documents that incorrectly stated my clients' reasons for terminating annuities, that my clients understood the financial costs to themselves, and that the funds being used to buy the annuities were not derived from the termination of previous annuities.
I intentionally hid from the insurance companies the movement of clients' funds among annuity products by using different insurance companies and by fraudulently representing that some of the products were sold by my wife, who was an insurance agent, when in fact she had nothing to do with the transactions.
7. I caused the insurance companies to send my clients the proceeds of their surrendered annuities in the form of checks. Then I caused those clients to deposit their checks into their bank accounts, as opposed to having the funds sent directly to the insurance companies issuing the new annuities. By doing so, I fraudulently masked the movement of funds among annuities from the insurance companies.
It is not often that we hear of an insurance agent going to prison for something other than felony theft. In this case, however, the churning activity was so brazen and extensive that it warranted the involvement of federal prosecutors. The extent of churning activity in the annuity market is not known, but I fear it is widespread.
I am offering a 28-page complimentary PDF consisting of the Oklahoma insurance commissioner's order (6 pages), the federal grand jury indictment (11 pages), Hibbing's full statement of facts in his plea agreement (5 pages), and the judge's sentencing order (6 pages). Send an email to jmbelth@gmail.com and ask for the August 2016 package relating to the Hibbing case.
No. 175: Long-Term Care Insurance—A Follow-Up and a Correction
In No. 174 (posted August 11, 2016) I said I have long expressed the opinion that the problem of financing long-term care (LTC) cannot be solved through the mechanism of private insurance. I offered a complimentary package that included some of my articles explaining the reasons for my opinion. Some readers asked how I think the problem of financing LTC should be addressed. Although some of the articles in the package provide hints about my answer to the question, they do not spell it out adequately. Here I undertake to answer the question more fully. Before doing so, however, I will correct something I said in No. 174 and add additional information about matters discussed there.
A Correction
In No. 174, in the discussion of "The Conseco Separation," I said incorrectly that Beechwood Re is an affiliate of CNO Financial Group. I should have said that Beechwood and CNO have a reinsurance relationship. In December 2013, subsidiaries of CNO—Washington National Insurance Company and Bankers Conseco Life Insurance Company—ceded about $500 million of LTC insurance reserve liabilities to Beechwood. See, for example, page 16 of CNO's 2015 10-K report as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on February 19, 2016.
Additional Information about Beechwood
In the same section of No. 174 I mentioned Beechwood's ties to Platinum Partners, a $1.25 billion hedge fund. According to a front-page article by Rob Copeland in The Wall Street Journal on July 26, 2016, Platinum and individuals associated with it are under investigation by the SEC and federal prosecutors. Details about those ties are in an 8-K (significant event) report that CNO filed with the SEC on August 1, 2016.
Additional Information about the FIO Roundtable
In No. 174 I mentioned the "Long Term Care Insurance Roundtable" convened on August 4 by the Federal Insurance Office (FIO). I have tried unsuccessfully to obtain the statements made by any of the presenters. Some of them said it was a "closed" or "off-the-record" meeting, perhaps to encourage participants to speak freely. I have seen the July 11 email in which organizations were "invited to attend," but it did not mention the meeting being closed. I question the idea of a closed meeting on a subject of such importance to the public.
The Enactment of Medicare
In the years leading up to the enactment of Medicare in 1965, it became clear there was no way for private insurance to solve the problem of financing the medical expenses of the elderly. I have seen extensive discussions of how President Lyndon Johnson accomplished passage of the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, but I have not seen extensive discussions of how he accomplished passage of Medicare. I have always considered enactment of Medicare a political miracle. What happened prior to 1965 with the financing of medical expenses for the elderly is precisely what is happening today with the financing of LTC. It has become clear that private insurance cannot solve the problem of financing LTC.
The Latest Newspaper Article
On August 14, 2016, a lengthy article entitled "When Your Life Insurance Gets Sick," by reporters Julie Creswell and Mary Williams Walsh, appeared on the front page of the business section of the print edition of The New York Times. The article appeared online the day before under the title "Why Some Life Insurance Premiums Are Skyrocketing."
The article focuses on low interest rates as the primary culprit in the sharp cost-of-insurance increases on many universal life policies and mentions use of "various financial maneuvers." Low interest rates are certainly an important contributor to the problem, but there are other important contributors as well. For example, the article makes no mention of the impact of stranger-originated life insurance.
Near the end of the article is a discussion of premium increases on LTC insurance. While low interest rates are certainly a problem for LTC insurance companies, there are many other serious problems. Some of them are discussed on pages 58-61 in the July 2008 issue of The Insurance Forum.
The CLASS Act
In April 2010, following enactment of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) issued a report describing "a national voluntary insurance program known as the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program" (CLASS Act). The CLASS Act was part of the PPACA. The program would have allowed working adults to make voluntary contributions through payroll deductions or directly. Adults with multiple functional limitations or cognitive impairments would have been eligible for benefits after paying premiums for at least five years. With the CLASS Act, the federal government "put its toe in the water" on financing LTC. The voluntary nature of the program was a major problem, because the only way to address the problem adequately is through a mandatory program. The CLASS Act was never launched, and Congress later repealed it.
It should come as no surprise to readers of this blog and my other writings that I favor a single-payer mandatory system of universal health insurance, or what is sometimes called "Medicare for All." See, for example, No. 12 (posted December 4, 2013) and Chapter 17 of my 2015 book entitled The Insurance Forum: A Memoir.
One suggestion would be to expand the current Medicare program to include the financing of LTC. Another suggestion would be to enact a universal health insurance program that would include the financing of LTC. I recognize that neither of these suggestions can be implemented under current political conditions. However, anyone who wonders about my suggestions for addressing the problem of financing LTC now knows where I stand.
In the absence of implementation of one of the above suggestions, I have one recommendation for consumers. I think they should embark on a savings program, such as that described in the concluding section of the July 2008 Forum article.
I am offering a 22-page complimentary PDF consisting of the invitation to the FIO roundtable (1 page), the agenda for the FIO roundtable (8 pages), the KFF report on the CLASS Act (4 pages), the July 2008 Forum article (5 pages), and the CNO 8-K report filed August 1, 2016 (4 pages, without exhibits). Email jmbelth@gmail.com and ask for our August 2016 FIO/KFF/Belth/CNO package.
No. 174: Long-Term Care Insurance—Another Nail in the Coffin
For 25 years I have expressed the opinion that the financing of long-term care (LTC) is a problem that cannot be solved through the mechanism of private insurance. During that period, many nails have been driven into the coffin of LTC insurance, but in recent years the number has been increasing. Here I provide background on the subject, describe a few recent developments, and discuss a July 2016 shocker and its aftermath.
An Offer from Union Fidelity Life
In 1987 I received in the mail questionable promotional material from Union Fidelity Life Insurance Company about its offer of LTC insurance. I wrote to a company spokesman expressing concern. A company executive responded by saying the insurance was in the developmental stage. He invited me to serve as a consultant, but I declined the offer. I wrote about the incident in the February 1988 issue of The Insurance Forum. That was my first article about LTC insurance.
A Study by Consumer Reports
The June 1991 issue of Consumer Reports, the monthly magazine of Consumers Union, contained a study critical of LTC insurance marketing practices and policy provisions. The study did not rate any LTC insurance policies as "excellent" or "very good." In the August 1991 issue of the Forum I explained the reasons for the policy provisions and why there can never be "excellent" or "very good" LTC insurance policies. I said the LTC exposure violates certain principles necessary for the proper functioning of private insurance, and the troublesome policy provisions are an effort to address those violations. I expressed the opinion that the problem of financing LTC cannot be solved through private insurance.
An Offer from a Genworth Predecessor
In 1997 I received in the mail a questionable promotional letter about guaranteed renewable LTC insurance offered by General Electric Capital Assurance Company, a predecessor of Genworth Financial. The letter contained this sentence, with the indicated underlining: "Your premiums will never increase because of your age or any changes in your health." I wrote to the company expressing concern that the sentence, although technically correct, was deceptive. I said the letter should make clear that the company has the right to increase premiums on a class basis. The company officer who had signed the letter defended it by saying, among other things, that the company had never raised rates on existing policyholders and had an "internal commitment to rate stability." The comments are ironic in view of Genworth's huge premium increases in recent years. Later, without telling me, the company quietly removed the sentence from its promotional letters. The first of my two articles about the incident was in the May 1997 issue of the Forum.
Policy Transfers
Over the years most of the companies selling LTC insurance have gotten out of the business. In 2003, for example, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), which caters primarily to the academic market, stopped selling LTC insurance and transferred its 46,000 existing policies to Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. Many of my academic colleagues, who had bought LTC insurance from TIAA because of its stellar reputation, were furious. The first of my three articles about the transfer was in the March/April 2004 issue of the Forum.
A California LTC Insurance Sales Letter
In 2007 California mailed a sales letter to six million citizens of the state urging them to buy LTC insurance. A front-page story in The Wall Street Journal, which discussed the sales letter, prompted me to write on the subject. The sales letter was on California stationery showing the state seal and the name of then-Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. A private lead-development company drafted the letter, and it was accompanied by a postage-paid reply card. The lead-development company sold the reply cards to LTC insurance agents.
My article was in the July 2008 issue of the Forum. I explained, in more detail than in my August 1991 article, the reasons why the financing of LTC cannot be handled through private insurance.
The Conseco Separation
In 2008 Indiana-based Conseco, Inc., which is now CNO Financial Corp., announced a plan to separate itself from Pennsylvania-domiciled Conseco Senior Health Insurance Company (CSHI), a financially troubled LTC insurance subsidiary. Over a period of 11 years, Conseco had poured $915 million of capital into CSHI to keep the company solvent.
The plan of separation provided for Conseco to create an independent trust in Pennsylvania, transfer CSHI to the trust, and rename the company Senior Health Insurance Company of Pennsylvania (SHIP). The Pennsylvania insurance commissioner approved the plan, and Conseco implemented it. Later, when he was a former commissioner, he testified during a court proceeding in the Penn Treaty case (discussed below) that he had approved the plan because Conseco had threatened to allow CSHI to become insolvent if he did not approve the plan. In other words, the commissioner handed off the CSHI problem to later commissioners. The first of my three articles about the separation was in the November 2008 issue of the Forum.
Today SHIP continues to run off the LTC business; that is, SHIP is not selling new LTC insurance policies. In February 2015, in a sign of financial trouble, and with the approval of another Pennsylvania insurance commissioner, SHIP borrowed $50 million by issuing a five-year surplus note, on which interest and principal payments must be approved in advance by the commissioner. The lender (the buyer of the surplus note) was Beechwood Re, a Bermuda-based CNO affiliate.
SHIP needed the infusion to bring its risk-based capital above regulatory action level. However, it is not clear how a capital-starved company in runoff can afford to pay interest and principal on a surplus note. Indeed, it appears SHIP has yet to make an interest payment. In other words, SHIP remains a problem for CNO despite the separation. Whether SHIP will remain solvent until all its business runs off remains to be seen. (Beechwood Re was mentioned in a front-page story in The Wall Street Journal on July 26, 2016, because of ties to Platinum Partners, a $1.25 billion hedge fund that is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and two sets of federal prosecutors.)
The Rehabilitation of Penn Treaty
In 2009 Penn Treaty Network America Insurance Company, a Pennsylvania-domiciled LTC insurance company, became insolvent. The Pennsylvania insurance commissioner filed in state court a preliminary rehabilitation plan and said he intended to file a formal rehabilitation plan later. Instead, he filed a petition to liquidate the company. Penn Treaty's parent company intervened and opposed the liquidation petition. The case led to a bench trial, after which the judge denied the liquidation petition and ordered the commissioner to develop a rehabilitation plan. The commissioner filed an amended rehabilitation plan and later a second amended plan. Most recently the commissioner filed a liquidation petition. If approved, it would trigger coverage by state guaranty associations and assessments against other insurance companies. I wrote about the Penn Treaty case in the August 2012 issue of the Forum.
Claims Practices at Ability Insurance
Several companies in the LTC insurance business, after getting out of the business, transferred their existing LTC insurance policies to Nebraska-domiciled Ability Insurance Company. The company became the defendant in a lawsuit in federal court. The plaintiff alleged that the company's claims practices were outrageous. In April 2012, after a jury trial, the company was hit with a $12.3 million judgment, including $10 million of punitive damages. In December 2012 the Nebraska director of insurance placed the company under a supervision order. In January 2013 a private equity firm acquired the company.
I wrote about Ability in the May 2013 issue of the Forum. In the process I learned of a claims practice I had never seen before. The company tried—over the telephone on recorded calls—to persuade elderly persons who had filed claims to withdraw their claims. An investigatory firm retained by the Nebraska director discovered the practice and the recordings. The callers often provided deceptive and even false information in the calls. What was even more astounding was that callers often made their pitches to persons who did not have the claimant's power of attorney.
A Recent Development at Genworth
In February 2016 Genworth Financial announced a "strategic update" that included actions "aimed at separating and isolating" the company's LTC insurance business. One action was a "destacking plan" that would transfer ownership of a life insurance and annuity company (Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, or GLAIC) from the LTC company (Genworth Life Insurance Company, or GLIC) to a holding company. Genworth said the destacking plan was subject to regulatory approvals. I discussed this and related matters in three posts—Nos. 144 (2/16/16), 154 (4/7/16), and 155 (4/13/16).
On page 97 of its 10-Q quarterly report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 3, 2016, Genworth mentioned the destacking plan. The company said:
We originally targeted to complete these actions by the middle of 2017. However, after discussions with regulators, we believe as a first step, we may only be able to distribute a portion of GLAIC to the holding company, which we expect to complete by the end of the first half of 2017. In addition, we anticipate that a further reduction in GLIC's ownership of GLAIC may occur in the future if GLIC's operating results improve.
The July 2016 Shocker
The federal Long-Term Care Security Act of 2000 requires the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to make it possible for federal employees to buy LTC insurance that is paid for entirely by the employees. OPM created the Federal Long Term Care Insurance Program (FLTCIP). In 2002, after competitive bidding, OPM awarded a seven-year contract to a consortium of John Hancock Life & Health Insurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. The two companies formed Long Term Care Partners (LTCP) to administer the program. In 2009, after competitive bidding, OPM awarded the second seven-year contract to Hancock alone, and LTCP became a subsidiary of Hancock. In July 2016 OPM awarded the third seven-year contract to Hancock, which was the only bidder and one of the few major companies still selling LTC insurance. OPM then announced huge premium increases.
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association expressed outrage, saying: "This massive, 83 percent premium increase will come as a shock to the more than 274,000 federal employees and annuitants and their spouses enrolled in the FLTCIP." The association said participants face an average premium increase of more than $1,300 per year. However, participants have options, including benefit reductions instead of premium increases.
The FIO LTC Insurance Roundtable
On August 4, 2016, in the wake of the July 2016 shocker, the Federal Insurance Office (FIO) in the U.S. Department of the Treasury convened a three-hour "Long Term Care Insurance Roundtable." I think it was a by-invitation-only session. Among the "participants" were insurance companies (Ameriprise, CNA, CNO Financial, Genworth, Guardian Life, Health Care Service Corp., John Hancock, LifeSecure, Massachusetts Mutual, New York Life, Northwestern Mutual, RiverSource, Transamerica, and UnitedHealth), insurance trade and professional organizations (American Academy of Actuaries, American Council of Life Insurers, America's Health Insurance Plans, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and National Organization of Life and Health Guaranty Associations), state insurance regulators (Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, New York, and Pennsylvania), federal agencies (Department of the Treasury, Department of Health and Human Services, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Office of Management and Budget, and White House National Economic Council), and nonprofit organizations (AARP, Alzheimer's Association, Bipartisan Policy Center, California Health Advocates, Center for Economic Justice, and National Council on Aging). The agenda had five parts:
Welcome and Opening Remarks from Senior Officials of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. (15 minutes)
Private long-term care insurance and retirement security. Presenters were from Treasury and HHS. (30 minutes)
Cost shift resulting from reduction in private long-term care insurance market. Presenters were from ACLI and AHIP. (1 hour)
State regulation and impact on availability of private long-term care insurance. Presenters were the Connecticut and Pennsylvania insurance commissioners and the president of NOLHGA. (1 hour)
Next steps at the Federal level. The two subtitles were "Further developments of Federal policy in support of private long-term care insurance" and "Follow-up meetings." (15 minutes)
State insurance regulators, who approve premium increases on LTC insurance policies, face a dilemma. When they approve increases requested by the companies, policyholders are furious because of the financial burden placed on them. On the other hand, when the regulators deny requested increases, companies may be forced into insolvency. Regulators often compromise by allowing part but not all of the increases, and require companies to offer policyholders the option of benefit reductions instead of increased premiums.
Several state insurance regulators and Congressional committees have held hearings on LTC insurance. I am aware of no one who has publicly expressed agreement with me that the problem of financing LTC cannot be solved by private insurance. The agenda of the August 4 FIO roundtable mentions the need to help private LTC insurance companies but fails to mention the futility of the effort.
It is not clear what would happen to the FLTCIP if, in the bidding for a fourth seven-year contract in 2023, there are no bidders because Hancock has withdrawn from the LTC insurance business and there are no other major companies still engaged in the business. In that event, I think Hancock would run off its LTC business, including the FLTCIP business, and it would no longer be possible to accept enrollment from new federal employees or old federal employees who had not enrolled previously.
I am offering a complimentary 36-page PDF containing the documents released at the FIO roundtable (8 pages) and eight Forum articles mentioned in this post (28 pages). Email jmbelth@gmail.com and ask for the August 2016 package relating to LTC insurance.
No. 173: Health Insurance Megamergers and the U.S. Department of Justice
On July 21, 2016, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed, in federal court, complaints asking the court to block two proposed health insurance megamergers. One is Anthem's acquisition of Cigna. The other is Aetna's acquisition of Humana. The complaints allege that the mergers would "substantially lessen competition" and thereby violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act. DOJ did not demand a jury trial in either case. (See U.S. v. Anthem and U.S. v. Aetna, U.S. District Court, District of Columbia, Case Nos. 1:16-cv-1493 and 1494.)
The Plaintiffs
The complaint against Anthem includes as plaintiffs the District of Columbia and 11 states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Tennessee, and Virginia. The complaint against Aetna includes as plaintiffs the District of Columbia and eight states: Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.
DOJ is represented by attorneys in the Antitrust Division. The states are represented by their attorneys general. Anthem is represented by attorneys at White & Case. Cigna is represented by attorneys at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. Aetna is represented by attorneys at Jones Day. Humana is represented by attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
Both cases were assigned to Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Bates. President George W. Bush nominated him exactly one week before 9/11. The Senate confirmed him in December 2001. He took senior status in October 2014.
The Complaint against Anthem
The complaint against Anthem is divided into 11 parts: (1) Introduction, (2) The Defendants and the Merger, (3) Background on Commercial Health Insurance, (4) This Merger Likely Would Substantially Lessen Competition for the Sale of Health Insurance to National Accounts, (5) This Merger Likely Would Substantially Lessen Competition for the Sale of Health Insurance to Large-Group Employers, (6) This Merger Likely Would Substantially Lessen Competition in the Sale of Health Insurance on the Public Exchanges, (7) This Merger Likely Would Substantially Lessen Competition for the Purchase of Healthcare Services, (8) Absence of Countervailing Factors, (9) The Defendants Have Not Proposed a Remedy That Would Fix the Merger's Anticompetitive Effects, (10) Violation Alleged, and (11) Request for Relief. Here are the first and last paragraphs of the complaint:
1. Anthem's proposed $54 billion acquisition of Cigna would be the largest merger in the history of the health-insurance industry. It would combine two of the few remaining commercial health-insurance options for businesses and individuals in markets throughout the country. And in doing so, it would substantially lessen competition, harming millions of American consumers, as well as doctors and hospitals.
86. Plaintiffs request: (a) that Anthem's proposed acquisition of Cigna be adjudged to violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18; (b) that the Defendants be permanently enjoined and restrained from carrying out the planned acquisition or any other transaction that would combine the two companies; (c) that Plaintiffs be awarded their costs of this action, including attorneys' fees to Plaintiff States; and (d) that Plaintiffs be awarded such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
The Answer by Anthem
On July 26, Anthem filed a paragraph-by-paragraph answer to the complaint. Anthem admits some points, denies some points, and in some instances "lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief." Here is Anthem's answer to the first and last paragraphs of the complaint (paragraph numbers cited within the answers are those in the complaint):
1. Anthem, an insurance holding company, admits that it is proposing to acquire Cigna, another insurance holding company, valued at approximately $54.2 billion, a valuation based on the pre-announcement closing price of Anthem's common stock on the New York Stock Exchange on May 28, 2015. Anthem denies the remaining allegations in Paragraph 1. Anthem avers that the acquisition will increase competition and result in cost savings, efficiencies, and other benefits that will make healthcare more affordable and accessible to consumers. Indeed, the Complaint itself admits that Anthem today generally obtains lower rates from healthcare providers than Cigna does (Compl. ¶¶ 45, 50), and that the combined firm likely will be able to "reduce the rates" (Compl. ¶ 71) that healthcare providers charge to Anthem and Cigna customers. The Complaint also admits that "[m]ost large employers buy self-insured plans" and that each such employer retains "the risk of its employees' healthcare costs" (Compl. ¶ 16), meaning that the lower rates obtained by the combined firm will automatically flow to consumers.
86. Anthem denies that any of the requested relief is permitted or appropriate. Anthem asserts the following [seven affirmative] defenses without assuming the burden of proof on such defenses that would otherwise rest with Plaintiffs: [1] The Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. [2] The pricing and other aspects of the sale of insurance are regulated and overseen by federal and state laws and regulatory bodies, including, but not limited to, the Affordable Care Act and state filed rate regimes. These regulatory conditions ensure that competition will not be substantially lessened but will remain robust post-acquisition. [3] Granting the relief sought is contrary to the public interest. [4] The proposed acquisition is procompetitive. The acquisition will result in substantial efficiencies and other procompetitive effects that will directly benefit consumers in greater access to affordable healthcare. These benefits outweigh any alleged anticompetitive effects. [5] The complaint fails to adequately allege any relevant product markets or relevant geographic markets. [6] New and rapid entry, as well as expansion, by competitors will ensure that there will be no harm to competition, consumers, or consumer welfare. [7] Anthem reserves the right to assert any other defenses as they become known to Anthem. WHEREFORE, Defendant Anthem, Inc. respectfully requests that this Court deny the Plaintiffs' requested relief, dismiss this action with prejudice [permanently], and grant such other and further relief as may be proper and just.
The Complaint against Aetna
The complaint against Aetna is divided into eight parts: (1) Introduction, (2) The Defendants and the Merger, (3) This Merger Likely Would Substantially Lessen Competition for the Sale of Medicare Advantage Plans, (4) This Merger Likely Would Substantially Lessen Competition for the Sale of Health Insurance on the Public Exchanges, (5) Absence of Countervailing Factors, (6) Aetna's Proposed Remedy Will Not Fix the Merger's Anticompetitive Effects, (7) Violation Alleged, and (8) Request for Relief. Here are the first and last paragraphs of the complaint:
1. Aetna's proposed $37 billion merger with Humana would lead to higher health-insurance prices, reduced benefits, less innovation, and worse service for over a million Americans.
69. Plaintiffs request: (a) that Aetna's proposed acquisition of Humana be adjudged to violate Section 7 of the Clayton Act, 15 U.S.C. § 18; (b) that the Defendants be permanently enjoined and restrained from carrying out the planned acquisition or any other transaction that would combine the two companies; (c) that Plaintiffs be awarded their costs of this action, including attorneys' fees to Plaintiff States; and (d) that Plaintiffs be awarded such other relief as the Court may deem just and proper.
The Joint Press Release by Aetna and Humana
As of July 29, when I ended work on this post, Aetna had not yet filed in court an answer to the complaint. However, on July 21, Aetna and Humana issued a joint press release entitled "Aetna and Humana To Vigorously Defend Their Pending Transaction" and subtitled "Combined Company Would Improve Affordability, Quality and Consumer Choice." The final sentence of the first paragraph says: "A combined company is in the best interest of consumers, particularly seniors seeking affordable, high-quality Medicare Advantage plans."
The Status Conference
On July 29, Judge Bates issued an order granting Anthem's July 25 motion for an expedited status conference, and scheduling it for August 4. He also ordered that the conference be held jointly with the parties in the Aetna case, and that the parties file, by August 2, "explanations of their positions as to the timing of proceedings and whether proceedings should or should not be conducted jointly with those in [the Aetna case], up to and including trial." After the status conference, the judge probably will issue an order laying out a preliminary schedule for both cases.
The complaints are strong. They say the four companies are among the "big five" in health insurance. The other is UnitedHealthcare. If both mergers are consummated, we would have the "big three." Sprinkled through the complaints are expressions such as "presumptively unlawful," "lessen competition," "increase concentration," "monopolist," and "monopsonist." One thing I consider worrisome is the possibility that the combined companies would have the power to negotiate reduced payments to healthcare providers. This could have the effect of making it more difficult for consumers to have access to providers, especially physicians.
The complaint against Anthem, with reference to large-group employers, has a U.S. map in paragraph 41 showing 35 metropolitan areas where more than 65 million people live. The complaint against Aetna, with reference to Medicare Advantage plans, includes an appendix listing 364 counties in 21 states where the loss of competition would be acute.
The lists of plaintiff states are interesting. Only the District of Columbia, Georgia, Iowa, and Virginia are plaintiffs in both cases. Connecticut, home of Aetna and Cigna, is a plaintiff only in the Aetna case. Indiana, home of Anthem, is not a plaintiff in either case. Kentucky, home of Humana, is not a plaintiff in either case.
I am making available two complimentary PDFs. One is a 65-page package containing the 43-page complaint against Anthem and the 22-page answer by Anthem. The other is a 43-page package containing the 39-page complaint against Aetna and the 4-page press release by Aetna and Humana. Email jmbelth@gmail.com. Ask for the August 2016 package about Anthem and/or the August 2016 package about Aetna.
No. 177: Annuities, Pensions, and the Theft of Ben...
No. 176: Annuity Churning Leads to Federal Prison ...
No. 175: Long-Term Care Insurance—A Follow-Up and ...
No. 174: Long-Term Care Insurance—Another Nail in ...
No. 173: Health Insurance Megamergers and the U.S....
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New Flights, Lower Fares Highlight Busy 2016 for Memphis International Airport
2016 was a big year for Memphis International Airport. New flights, lower airfares and ongoing adjustments to life after the Delta Air Lines Inc. de-hubbing were the permeating themes of 2016.
In total, seven flights were added and two more were announced that won’t begin until 2017.
One of the announced destinations, a nonstop international flight to Toronto through Air Canada, is one of the biggest accomplishments of the year.
Air Canada’s return to Memphis marks the first daily international service since 2012, when the company last operated here.
One of the biggest issues the airport faced after Delta removed its hub status in 2013 was replacing the high volume of flights and destinations Delta offered, so the return of Air Canada is a huge milestone, because it offers access to more than just the Great White North.
“Memphis has been an important destination for Air Canada,” Patrick Khoury, director of sales, U.S.A. at Air Canada, said. “We simply were not able to make a profit with that route previously, but now we know for certain that we’ve got the right airplane on the right route at the right time to generate a profit.”
The return to Memphis is a part of the airline’s overall strategy to increase flights into the U.S., Khoury said.
“We know it’s going to appeal to both people on business as well as folks going on leisure holiday vacations,” he said.
Air Canada is also adding flights to and from Denver, Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio.
However, the biggest benefit to Memphians is the access that Toronto Pearson International Airport provides to worldwide destinations.
“The airport is quite literary on the cusp of becoming a mega hub, which all by itself is extraordinary,” Khoury said about the Toronto airport. “You pick the city and we’re probably going there.”
Air Canada recently added a flight to Casablanca, Morocco that marks the sixth continent the airline flies to, a feat that Khoury said only a dozen or so airlines worldwide can accomplish.
“We’re growing very quickly right now and perhaps by the year 2020, you may see Air Canada break into the world’s top 10 airlines,” Khoury said. “That growth is going to come from places other than Canada. Memphis is a good example of that and why we are so keen to tell our story to the U.S. marketplace.”
Another announced route is a Southern Airways Express flight to Harrison, Arkansas, which starts in January.
The flight might not cross any international borders, but Scott Brockman, president and CEO of the Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, said it’s still an important route because there are business connections between local companies and operations in Harrison. FedEx Corp. has freight operations there.
In addition to new routes, Memphis International also continued to reduce its fares.
“Our airfares have dropped 6 percent in 2016 alone, or the equivalent of $27 average per round-trip ticket,” Brockman said.
Since Delta decided to no longer use Memphis International as a hub, airfares have dropped by more than $150 per ticket.
“You’re not going to get lower airfares when you have a hub,” Brockman said. “There is tradeoff for having 91 nonstop destinations, which is what we had. There is a tradeoff for having 300-plus flights a day – and that is high airfares.”
Along with the new flights, some airlines have upgraded the size of airplanes used on existing routes, helping to add 9.3 percent of seating capacity during 2016, which is the equivalent of 605 seats a day.
For 2017, Brockman expects to see continued growth in passenger numbers, but at a slower rate.
“I don’t know if we can do seven new routes in 2017 – mainly because we’re an origin-and-destination market now,” Brockman said. “We have to earn and defend every route we get.”
Passengers transferring to other flights in Memphis to reach their intended destination accounted for a significant amount of traffic at Memphis International when Delta operated a hub here.
“When we were a hub, only 20 percent of our total passengers were origin and destination, the rest were what would be referred to as transfer passengers,” Brockman said.
In 2016, Memphis International Airport received the Peggy G. Hereford Award, which is given to the airport with the best marketing and communication program in North America by the Airport Operators Council International - North America.
Brockman credited the hiring of public information officer Glen Thomas, who joined three years ago, as the driving force behind receiving the award.
“In three short years we went from not having a program to being an award-winning program,” Brockman said.
Source: https://www.memphisdailynews.com
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LE CHAPEAU PROJECT
Learn more about the remarkable artists who are sharing their art at "Shitholes" The Exhibit in September.
Lorena Mondragon (Mexico)
Lorena Mondragón is a Mexican illustrator and designer with a B.A. in Organizational Corporate Communication and a M.Sc. in Environmental Conservation. She has worked as a graphic designer since 2011 in both the U.S. and Mexico. Her work focuses on editorial illustration and design, and has been published across different platforms including the magazines Tierra Adentro, Obras, BBMundo, S1ngular and Fusión, the books Vivir Jugando: Recopilación de reflexiones futboleras by Aldo Valdés (2017), Developing Citizen Designers by E. Resnick (2016), and Handmade Packaging Workshop: Tips, Tools & Techniques for Creating Custom Bags, Boxes and Containers by R. Wiles (2012) and The Dieline packaging website. In 2018 her illustration work has been shortlisted for the Association of Illustrators World Illustration Awards and for the XXVIII Catalog of Illustrators of Children's and Youth Publications by the Mexican Secretariat of Culture.
© 2018 -- Le Chapeau Project 🎩
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KiKu Home ::Articles :: Reviews :: Videos ::New Films :: KinoNovosti :: Books&Biblio :: Guidelines :: Forum
Issue 23 (2009)
Aleksandr Rogozhkin: The Game (Igra, 2008)
reviewed by Jasmijn Van Gorp © 2009
Thirteen years after the release of Peculiarities of National Hunting (Osobennosti natsional'noi okhoty, 1995) Rogozhkin has written and directed sequel #4, The Game. Peculiarities of National Soccer (Igra. Osobennosti natsional'nogo futbola). This “sports comedy” was produced by Aleksei Uchitel''s Rock Company and commissioned by the Federal Soccer Association, the television station Channel One and the national insurance company Rosgosstrakh. It is obvious that the first's intention is to promote soccer and, by extension, to strengthen the ties of the nation. Even more than cinema, soccer has the ability to unite the nation. If the national team wins, the nation wins. Making a film about soccer, then, could have a double nationalizing potential. The opposite is also true, especially if the film lacks a good story and, more importantly, if the film is too obviously involved with the national. Following Billig (1995), it can be argued that waving the flag consciously with fervent passion will be less effective than a flag hanging on a public building. Ideology (only) works when it remains unnoticed, as The Game demonstrates.
The film focuses on the entourage of the Russian national soccer team, preparing for the finals of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow in 2018. The administrator, Mikhail Zvonov (note the word pun), is more occupied with the embezzlement of funds than with the team's finances. His assistant Nikolai discovers a recipe for a special cocktail of vodka and beer to foretell the outcome of a soccer game with an 80 percent certainty. Mikhail takes possession of the recipe and pays a visit to the former physiotherapist and notorious alcoholic, Ernst. Mikhail pours him beer and vodka. It works: Ernst prophesies the score of the finals will be 3-4 in the penalties. Mikhail would like to wager money on the game and approaches Azis, a soccer guru, to borrow several million. Azis is eager to lend him the money, as he tells him the score. Azis, in turn, visits a bookmaker's office. However, during the finals Mikhail notices that he has switched the scores: Russia will win 4 to 3. The film reaches its climax when the Russians win the World Cup and the two bad guys pass out and are taken to the hospital.
This predictable story is neither saved by a beautiful cinematography, nor by comic relief. Visually, the film has more in common with a television show than with cinema due to the fast motion shots and the distorted subjective camera shots, meant to visualize flashbacks. All of this is accompanied by a house/techno music score to whip up the passions for soccer. The film is meant to be a comedy, but Russian critics agree the humor is weak, making it a “dull” film (e.g., Barabash in Nezavisimaia gazeta ). In Peculiarities of National Hunting , Peculiarities of National Fishing (Osobennosti natsional'noi rybalki, 1998) and Peculiarities of National Hunting in Winter (Osobennosti natsional'noi okhoty v zimnii period, 2000), the humor exists in the Russians' incompetence at hunting or fishing, whereas this element is left out in The Game. This time, the Russians do what the title suggests: they play soccer. What is more, they play very well. In this way, the humorous effect of the film is nullified and has to be saved by the other successful element of the previous ‘peculiar' films: Aleksei Buldakov, the actor who became tremendously popular thanks to his performance in the first ‘peculiar'. As in all the other ‘peculiar' films, Buldakov plays an alcoholic (i.e., the physiotherapist) who speaks in short monologues. He acts with the same facial expressions, the same intonation and is consistently shown from the same camera angles. Next to Buldakov's performance, the film's best attempt at humor comes from Zvonov's inability to spell properly.
Like its predecessors, the film is set up around one “national” element: vodka. This time, vodka does not prevent the ingroup, the Russians, from performing. On the contrary: vodka is used to patch up players injured during the games. Vodka is shown as a magic potion, only meant for Russians. When a Kenyan player mistakes a plastic vodka bottle for a bottle of water, he starts dancing and ultimately has to be carried off the field. Unlike the first “peculiar” film, vodka is not used to build a bridge between nations. In Peculiarities of National Hunting, the Finn Raimo succeeds in communicating with Kuz'mich thanks to vodka. In The Game vodka blows up every bridge.
This contrastive self-identification is intensified by the film's indulgence in stereotypes, when it comes to the depiction of the opponents. The Kenyan fans wear straw skirts and other tribal attributes. The Uruguyan supporters, wearing folkloristic clothes, sing the Cuban song “Guantanamera,” play the guitar and shake maracas. Interestingly, in the finals, the opposing team's players are de-nationalized. They wear the national jersey of Poland (white with red letters), though the names of the players range from Dollerup over Bellak to Hobbes. When the camera shows the scoreboard, only “-ania” can be seen. The players themselves are Caucasians and blacks. It is obvious they belong to a Western European (British, French, Dutch) or North American team. After the Russian team has beaten African and South American opponents in the qualification matches, the true challenge is a Western one. The stereotyping of the former and the de-nationalizing of the latter, therefore, point to the ideological significance of the film: it will show that Russia is able to compete with Western powers. Better yet: the day will come when Russia is (once again) one of the leading nations of the world.
The characteristics of the outgroup are further explored in another scene. The masseur has some magic rituals to guarantee good results for the game. For instance, as preparation for the quarter finals, he spits twice on the soccer shoes of the Russian team's striker to ensure he will also score twice. Masha, a student who is writing a dissertation on soccer jargon, witnesses the ritual and asks him whether the shoes belong to the opponents of the quarter finals, “the Muslims.” He answers: “No, they belong to us. To our Sasha.” By using the deictic word “our” (nashi), the Russian soccer team is set as the object of identification and, reading between the lines, Muslims are positioned as “them,” the outgroup. In the same vein, it is significant that the soccer guru, who symbolizes the Abramoviches of this world, and is one of the bad guys in the film, is a Muslim.
Another implicit national element is the presence of two young boys in the film. These boys want to show their talents to the coach, and succeed. They symbolize Russia's future, the future star players. One of the boys is autistic, a narrative element to convey the message that every talent gets a fair chance at becoming a member of the national team. During the finals, the boy ultimately breaks his silence and starts cheering the goalkeeper. Maslova suggests that the presence of the boy can also be read as a form of self-irony added by Rogozhkin (yet presented in a politically incorrect form): you should believe in Russian soccer the same way mentally handicapped people do.
Along the same lines, the film is packed with explicit national elements, all de-ethnicised, focusing on rossiiskii and not on russkii. The Russian supporters do not play the balalaika, they just wave the flag. The Russian flag is omnipresent in the film, even on the telephone booths. “Russia” is everywhere, as is the slogan “Russia, forward!”. The film starts with the slogan “For everyone who believes in Russian soccer.” Instinctively, I think this implies that the film is aimed at a male audience. This belief is intensified when Nikolai tells an irrelevant story about his former girlfriend who had to leave the national volleyball team since her breasts always touched the net when blocking.
Ordered by the Federal Soccer Association, which is not short of money, the film shows the well-equipped Association: luxury apartments, tour buses, golf cars and perfect soccer fields. As a matter of fact, the film as a whole foretells a bright future for Russian soccer. Russia presently has the largest number of millionaires in the world and a stunning amount of money is being invested in soccer. Russian soccer has become a booming business and is still on the rise. When watching The Game, it comes as no surprise that the Russian national team reached the quarter finals of the European Championship in June 2008. One of the few interesting elements of this film, therefore, is its successful portrayal of the exorbitant amounts of money involved in soccer.
Although the film was more or less successful (it earned $340,102 at the box office), it is unlikely that it contributed to a national feeling. When the audience's attention is put to the test due to a weak story, lack of humor and cheap special effects, you can wave a million flags, “Russia, forward!” can be chanted a hundred times, a film will never have the same effect as blockbusters with high production values and implicit national cues. Rogozhkin ought to leave the ‘peculiar' comedy for what it is and concentrate on that other genre of which he is a master, the war film.
Jasmijn Van Gorp
Comment on this review via the LJ Forum
Barabash, E. “Ot oligofrena – s liubov'iu. Novyi fil'm Aleksandra Rogozhkina ‘Igra' vykhodit v prokat,” Nezavisimaia gazeta 29 May 2008
Billig, M. Banal Nationalism . London: Sage, 1995
Maslova, L. “Myachi sbyvayutsya. Budushchee rossiiskogo futbola v fil'me ‘Igra'”. Kommersant 31 May 2008
The Game, Russia, 2008
Color, 92 minutes
Director: Aleksandr Rogozhkin
Script: Aleksandr Rogozhkin
Cinematography: Aleksandr Smirnov
Cast: Aleksei Buldakov, Liubov’ L’vova, Iurii Stepanov, Daniil Strakhov, Artem Volobuev
Producer: Aleksei Uchitel’
Production Company: Rock Company, with support of the Federal Agency of Culture and Cinematography and commissioned by Channel One, the Federal Soccer Association, Rosgosstrakh
Updated: 08 Jan 09
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Home >> TV Series DVD Box Set >> Queen Sugar Season 1 DVD
Queen Sugar Season 1 DVD
Product Information of Queen Sugar Season 1 DVD
Actors: Rutina Wesley,Dawn-Lyen Gardner,Kofi Siriboe
Summary of Queen Sugar Season 1 DVD
The series follows the life of three siblings: two sisters, Nova Bordelon (played by Rutina Wesley), a formidable journalist and activist from New Orleans, and Charley Bordelon (Dawn-Lyen Gardner), a modern woman,Queen Sugar Season 1 who, with her teenaged son Micah, leaves her upscale home in Los Angeles and moves to the heart of Louisiana to claim an inheritance from her recently departed father – an 800-acre sugarcane farm, and their brother Ralph Angel (Kofi Siriboe), a single father struggling with unemployment and an absentee, former drug addict mother of his child.Queen Sugar is an American drama television series, which was created, directed and executive produced by Ava DuVernay. Oprah Winfrey also serves as an executive producer. The series is based on the novel of the same name by Natalie Baszile.The series airs on Oprah Winfrey Network and premiered on September 6, 2016.On August 1, 2016,Queen Sugar Season 1 DVD was renewed for a second season ahead of its television premiere which is set for a two-night premiere on June 20 and June 21, 2017.
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Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 12-06-28
[01] Circle of 'Friends of Greece' by Eurodeputies founded in Brussels
[02] PM continues phone contacts with foreign leaders
[03] New parliament to be sworn in on Thurs.
[04] The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies
[05] Athens Stock Exchange opening: Decline
[06] Employment down 8.7 pct in Q1
[07] 'Stories of Light' at the new Acropolis Museum
[08] Peak in accidental drownings in 2012
BRUSSELS (AMNA) - Ten Eurodeputies signed the founding proclamation of the circle of Eurodeputies "Friends of Greece" in an event held in Brussels.
The creation of the circle is an initiative by German Eurodeputy of Greek origin G. Hatzimarkakis (ALDE) and constitutes an effort to increase sensitisation for Greece and Greek culture.amna
The aim of the circle of Eurodeputies "Friends of Greece" is to participate in initiatives that will develop a positive view for both the country and its culture, as well as to help Greece in the reforms process that has begun so as to have the strong message sent that the country is not facing the crisis alone but also has Europe at its side.
AMNA--Prime Minister Antonis Samarascontinued a series of telephone conversations with foreign leaders on Wednesday, starting with Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti.amna
Later on Wednesday afternoon he also spoke with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and on Wednesday night with French President Francois Hollande.
AMNA--The new 300-member Parliament that emerged from the June 17 elections will be sworn in on Thursday.
The parliament president will be elected in a Parliamentary vote on Friday, June 29. Evangelos Meimarakis is the candidate proposed by New Democracy (ND) for the post. A technicality concerning the 7th vice-president, who based on Parliament's rules comes from the fifth largest party (or fourth opposition party), remains to be resolved. According to reports, there is opposition by both the coalition partners and main opposition to the 7th VP being filled by a candidate from the ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgi) party.
The date for the presentation of the government's policy platforms has not been set yet.amna
The three-party government (ND-PASOK-DIM.AR) will ask for a vote of confidence on July 6.
The Thursday edition of Athens' dailies at a glance
The crucial EU Summit on the future of the eurozone, the increase of homeless in Greece and the change of authority in Public Utilities and Organisations, mostly dominated the headlines on Thursday in Athens' newspapers.
ADESMEFTOS TYPOS: "The number of homeless in Greece has risen 25 percent".
AVGHI: "Poverty and despair sweeping over Greece".
AVRIANI: "Give a helping hand in order to exit from the crisis and get an extension for the stability programme".
ELEFTHEROS TYPOS: "German Chancellor Angela Merkel's intransigence executes the euro".
ESTIA: "Europe at crucial turning point".
ETHNOS: "Civil war between 'North' and South' (Europe)".
IMERISSIA: " 'Authority' changes in Banks and Public Utilities and Organisations (DEKO)".
KATHIMERINI: "Europe deeply divided".
LOGOS: "Explosive increase of homeless".
NAFTEMPORIKI: "Crucial EU Summit with division and clash".
RIZOSPASTIS: "Free kindergarten for all the working class families' children".
TA NEA: "Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' letter to our partners".
VRADYNI: "Measures for growth and euro-bonds for part of the debt".
AMNA--Equity prices were declining at the opening of trade on Thursday on the Athens Stock Exchange (ASE), with the basic share price index down 0.53 percent, standing at 576.62 points at 11:00 am, and turnover at 2.855 million euros.
The FTSE/ASE 20 index for blue chip and heavily traded stocks was down 0.24 percent, while the FTSE/ASE MID 40 index was up 0.30 percent.
Individual sector indices were moving mostly downward, with the biggest gains in Travel and Recreation, up 1.83 percent; Financial Services, up 1.30 percent and Technology, up 1.24 percent.
The biggest losses were in Constructions, down 1.99 percent and Food and Beverages, down 0.73 percent.
Of the stocks traded, 23 were up, 12 were down, and 8 were unchanged.
BRUSSELS (AMNA / V.Demiris) - Employment fell by 8.7 pct in Greece in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the corresponding period last year, the European Commission said on Wednesday.
In a report, published here, the EU's executive said that a total of 400,000 job positions were lost in the first three months of the year in Greece, while in Spain employment fell by 660,000, in Portugal by 210,000 and in Italy by 180,000 over the same period.amna
The Commission noted that Greece was among a group of countries where employment was expected to deteriorate in the second half of 2012 in the services and construction sectors. The report said that unemployment in the 55-64 age group doubled in Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Latvia and Lithuania in the 2008-2011 period, while a 64 pct of Greeks aged 15-35 said there were ready to work to another European country.amna
The Commission report said homeless people grew by 25 pct in 2011 compared with 2009, to 20,000, of which 50 pct were located in Athens and Piraeus. The Commission expects that social spending in Greece would be cut by 18 pct in the second half of the year.
AMNA--The new Acropolis Museum is currently holding a 'Stories of Light' event, which runs through September 9.
The Museum invites visitors to discover artifacts in its collections that tell little stories about light. Stories about the light of the sun that so impressed ancient man that he deified it, but also about the light that he himself created. Stories about the daily light that dispels the darkness inside and outside his home, about the sacred light that burned in the temples of his gods and about the ritual light that accompanied the key moments of his life.
These stories show the relationship between the ancients and natural light. Stories about the age-old myths with which humans endeavored to interpret the perpetual succession of day and night. Stories about their faith in the power of sunlight to regulate human affairs. Stories about the transformation of this power into art. amna
They are stories about the light created by humans themselves: the light of oil lamps that banished the darkness inside a house, the torchlight that illuminated their way at night, the sacred light that burned in the temples of their gods, and the ritual light that accompanied them during all the significant events of their lives. amna
This activity is organized in parallel with the exhibition 'Light on light: an illuminating story' being presented at the Municipality of Athens Technopolis to 9 September.
AMNA--The summer had got off to a bad start with a spike in the number of accidental deaths by drowning relative to previous years, the harbour police reported on Wednesday. The majority of the victims were elderly, followed by small children and spear-gun fishermen, while the record number of deaths in one day was on June 26, with a total of four in various locations around the country.
Figures supplied by the harbour police showed that 145 people had died of drowning since the start of 2012, with the number of deaths per year increasingly steadily since 2008. Specificially, deaths in 2008 came to 283, rising to 327 in 2009, 371 in 2010 and again 371 in 2011.
As a result of the economic crisis, several municipalities have failed to hire life guards for public beaches in 2012, increasing the risk of drowning accidents as the tourism season peaks. There were 468 beaches with a life guard in 2011 but only 361 in 2012.amna
The harbour police advised swimmers to avoid swimming after a heavy meal or in rough seas with strong currents in order to avoid accidents. They also advised the elderly and people with health problems to consult their doctor before they begin swimming in the sea so as to have their medication adjusted and to receive basic advice.amna
For spear-gun fishing, the head of the harbour police stressed that they must follow certain safety rules, such as always having a buoy to indicate their presence, avoid fishing in areas frequented by ships or harbour entrances and taking care not to overestimate their stamina. He also recommended that those wishing to do underwater fishing also take scuba diving lessons.amna
He also noted that the coast guard will increase patrols along busy beaches during the summer months and offer workshops on swimming safety to children.
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You're here: Home / Who we are
IAS is a registered charity (number 1112671) aiming to educate, preserve and protect the good health of the public by:
Promoting the scientific understanding of beverage alcohol and the individual, societal and health consequences of its consumption
Promoting measures for the prevention of alcohol-related problems and to promote, for the public benefit, research into beverage alcohol and to publish the useful results.
IAS does not have a view on whether individuals should drink or not drink.
To make sure that we represent the science accurately, we have a board of several expert advisers from a variety of fields (including economics, medicine and policy) who review all of our publications, provide us with guidance, and occasionally collaborate on joint research projects.
A separate board of trustees oversees the running of the organisation. This is chaired by Mr Michael Carr.
The core funding for IAS comes from a separate educational charity called the Alliance House Foundation (no. 208554), of which IAS is a subsidiary company. All of IAS’s legal aims are also the aims of the AHF, although the AHF also has some additional aims that they fulfil through activities outside IAS.
We also receive funding from other sources for particular projects, including the European Commission and Alcohol Research UK.
The AHF itself was originally formed during the temperance movement, which was one of the largest mass movements ever seen in this country, and was linked to a number of other progressive movements (including the founding of the Labour party). However, times have changed, and the AHF has moved on from some of its original viewpoints. IAS was set up to continue those parts of the work that are still relevant today – promoting scientific understanding, and promoting effective prevention of alcohol-related harm – and it is these two areas that are the shared legal aims of both IAS and the AHF.
The Alliance House Foundation has a library of archives containing temperance and other alcohol records dating back to the 1800s, situated at Alliance House, 12 Caxton St, London, SW1H OQS (map). A full list of the documents available can be viewed by or downloaded as a txt file.
Access to the archives is by appointment only. To book an appointment, please contact Research & Information Officer Habib Kadiri by telephone (0207 222 4001) or by email (hkadiri@ias.org.uk).
The Institute of Alcohol Studies is a company limited by guarantee No 05661538 and registered charity No 1112671
Katherine Severi
Katherine Severi (née Brown) is chief executive of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Read further information here
Jennifer Keen
Head of Policy
Jennifer became head of policy at IAS in January 2018.
Head of Policy (maternity cover)
Richard joined IAS in May 2019.
Habib Kadiri
Research & Information Officer
Habib worked as a researcher and in media and communications before joining the IAS.
Aveek Bhattacharya
Aveek joined the IAS in August 2015.
Research & Policy Officer
Lucy joined the IAS as a research and policy officer in October 2016.
Sarah Schoenberger
Policy & Advocacy Manager
(Alcohol Health Alliance)
Sarah joined the Alcohol Health Alliance as policy and advocacy manager in April 2018.
Kieran Bunn
Public Affairs & Advocacy Officer
Kieran joined the Institute of Alcohol Studies in May 2019.
Sadie Boniface
Dr Sadie Boniface joined IAS in August 2019 as a Research Coordinator.
Kellie Donaldson
As office manager, Kellie Donaldson provides PA support to the Directors of AHF & IAS.
Kelan Guzman
As administrative assistant, Kelan Guzman provides PA support to the IAS chief executive.
Professor Gerard Hastings
Professor of Social Marketing, founder/director of the Institute for Social Marketing and Centre for Tobacco Control Research.
Professor Rob Baggott
Professor of Public Policy and director of the Health Policy Research Unit, De Montfort University.
Phil Hadfield
Dr Phil Hadfield is director of www.philhadfield.co.uk an Independent Research Consultancy based in Leeds, UK.
Professor Jonathan Shepherd CBE
Director of the Violence and Society Research Group at Cardiff University.
Professor Petra Meier
Professor of Public Health, University of Sheffield and head of Sheffield Alcohol Research Group.
Crispin Acton
Crispin Acton worked for the Department of Health for 40 years before his retirement in 2017, developing a specialist interest in alcohol policy over the years.
Professor Jeff Collin
Professor of Global Health Policy and head of Social Policy, University of Edinburgh.
Professor David Jernigan
Professor at the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at the Boston University School of Public Health.
Michael Carr
Michael is chair of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Reverend Dr Janet Tollington
Dr Tollington is vice-chair of the Institute of Alcohol Studies.
Reverend Professor Stephen Orchard
Professor Orchard is a retired principal of Westminster College, Cambridge.
Dr Marsha Morgan
Reader in medicine and honorary consultant physician – University College London.
Professor Linda Bauld
Linda Bauld is professor of Health Policy at the University of Stirling.
Dr Peter Rice
Peter Rice is an addiction psychiatrist based in Scotland.
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A group of Master Masons talk about topics of Masonic interest--each from their own unique perspective. You'll find a wide range of subjects including history, trivia, travel, book reviews, great quotes, and hopefully a little humor as well on topics of interest for Freemasons and those interested in the subject of Freemasonry.
Emeritus Contributors
How Do I Become A Freemason?
Reflections on a Long Year - 2017 edition
by Midnight Freemason Contributor
WB Adam Thayer
“Brethren, as the year is drawing to a close, I, like many of you, find myself reflecting upon the challenges and achievements of the past year and turning an eager eye forward to see what the new year will bring. While my year has been full of many joys, there have been many trials that I did not believe I was prepared to handle and obstacles that seemed impossible to overcome. I feel relatively safe in saying that when you take the final tally of your year’s events, you will find a similar sentiment.”
I said that… two years ago now? Wow, two years has gone by so fast, it seems like I’m still preparing for my year as Senior Warden, not looking back at the end of my year in the East.
For anyone who has not yet sat in the East, it’s an interesting mix of feeling like a king and being convinced that you’re actually the jester. It’s a lot of work, no doubt, and a lot of reward, and if you’re really lucky, you’ve managed to do something that will improve your lodge for the future. For me, I hope that at least one of the old traditions that we brought back will continue into the future, and that the speech competition we’ve started will be a very successful program for years to come.
Some people enjoy being in charge, and are very good at it; I don’t. Somehow, I keep finding myself in leadership positions, when I would much rather spend my time writing, and editing my local Masonic newspaper, occasionally helping out with degree work as needed. If I could go the rest of my life without running another lodge, I would be perfectly happy, however the sad reality is that there are not enough qualified people around to handle all of the positions that need filled, and part of being a Mason is stepping into things you’d really rather not do.
We’ve spoken about Masonic burnout a lot on the site. I mean, a LOT. I’ve read every one of the articles, because I’m a huge fan of the writers here, and I read every article that gets published. After every burnout article, I always told myself “man, that’ll never happen to ME, I’m much stronger than that.” If I could sit down with that smug bastard right now, I’d smack him right in the face. After that was accomplished, I’d explain that burnout has nothing to do with strength, or a lack of strength, it’s from being strong for too long against overwhelming odds without any reprieve from the stress. Once I was certain that he understood, I’d smack him again, because let’s face it, he deserves it.
“For those of you who, like myself, have had a very painful year, I hope you can find comfort in the words of Ovid: Perfer et obdura, dolor hic tibi proderit olim. (Be patient and tough; someday this pain will be useful to you.)”
I wrote that too. (See, I told you, smug) I don’t disagree with what I said, because I still believe it to be absolutely true. I don’t believe, however, that it was nearly encompassing enough, as it didn’t address the issue I’m facing now: I’m tired. Green Mile, “like pieces of glass in my head, all the time” tired.
For those of you who have been long time readers, you may have noticed I was absent for a while; believe me, I’ve missed being here and writing so much that it eats away at me in those late hours when I really should be sleeping, and I apologize for being gone so long. For so long, writing was my inspiration, and what recharged my battery when it was running low; unfortunately, when times get tough, we often give up those things we should be holding like a life raft, and that has been my downfall this year as well.
It’s been a long year, but in the history of long years it surely hasn’t been the longest. It has been exhausting, trying, and at times overwhelming, and that’s just a typical evening with my two year old!
The best part of being a writer for this site is that when things are going well, I have all of you to celebrate and share the joy with, and when things have all gone pear shape I have you to commiserate with, which leads me to the last thing I said two years ago, and which is no less true today:
“I love each and every one of you, and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it!”
~AT
WB. Bro. Adam Thayer is the Senior Warden of Lancaster Lodge No. 54 in Lincoln (NE) and a past master of Oliver Lodge No. 38 in Seward (NE). He’s an active member in the Knights of Saint Andrew, and on occasion remembers to visit the Scottish and York Rites as well. He continues to be reappointed to the Grand Lodge of Nebraska Education Committee, and serves with fervency and zeal. He is a sub-host on The Whence Came You podcast, and may be reached at adam@wcypodcast.com. He will not help you get your whites whiter or your brights brighter, but he does enjoy conversing with brothers from around the world!
Labels: 2017, 2018, adam, Freemason, Freemasonry, looking back, masonic, thayer, WCY, year in review
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RWB, Robert Johnson is the Managing Editor of the Midnight Freemasons blog. He is a Freemason out of the 2nd N.E. District of Illinois. He currently serves as the Secretary of Spes Novum Lodge No. 1183. He is a Past Master of Waukegan Lodge 78 and a Past District Deputy Grand Master for the 1st N.E. District of Illinois. Brother Johnson currently produces and hosts weekly Podcasts (internet radio programs) Whence Came You? & Masonic Radio Theatre which focus on topics relating to Freemasonry. He is also a co-host of The Masonic Roundtable, a Masonic talk show. He is a husband and father of four, works full time in the executive medical industry. He is the co-author of "It's Business Time - Adapting a Corporate Path for Freemasonry" and is currently working on a book of Masonic essays and one on Occult Anatomy to be released soon.
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Bro. Steve Harrison, 33° , is Past Master of Liberty Lodge #31, Liberty, Missouri. He is also a Fellow and Past Master of the Missouri Lodge of Research. Among his other Masonic memberships are the St. Joseph Missouri Valley of the Scottish Rite, Liberty York Rite bodies, and Moila Shrine. He is also a member and Past Dean of the DeMolay Legion of Honor. Brother Harrison is a regular contributor to the Midnight Freemasons blog as well as several other Masonic publications. Brother Steve was Editor of the Missouri Freemason magazine for a decade and is a regular contributor to the Whence Came You podcast. Born in Indiana, he has a Master's Degree from Indiana University and is retired from a 35 year career in information technology. Steve and his wife Carolyn reside in northwest Missouri. He is the author of dozens of magazine articles and three books: Freemasonry Crosses the Mississippi, Freemasons — Tales From the Craft and Freemasons at Oak Island.
WB Bill Hosler was made a Master Mason in 2002 in Three Rivers Lodge #733 in Indiana. He served as Worshipful Master in 2007 and became a member of the internet committee for Indiana's Grand Lodge. Bill is currently a member of Roff Lodge No. 169 in Roff Oklahoma and Lebanon Lodge No. 837 in Frisco,Texas. Bill is also a member of the Valley of Fort Wayne Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite in Indiana. A typical active Freemason, Bill also served as the High Priest of Fort Wayne's Chapter of the York Rite No. 19 and was commander of of the Fort Wayne Commandery No. 4 of the Knight Templar. During all this he also served as the webmaster and magazine editor for the Mizpah Shrine in Fort Wayne Indiana.
WB Darin A. Lahners is the Worshipful Master of St. Joseph Lodge No.970 in St. Joseph and a plural member of Ogden Lodge No. 754 (IL), and Homer Lodge No. 199 (IL). He’s a member of the Scottish Rite Valley of Danville, a charter member of the new Illinois Royal Arch Chapter, Admiration Chapter No. 282, and is the current Secretary of the Illini High Twelve Club No. 768 in Champaign – Urbana (IL). He is also a member of the Eastern Illinois Council No. 356 Allied Masonic Degrees. You can reach him by email at darin.lahners@gmail.com.
Brother Travis Simpkins is a freelance artist with clients throughout the United States and Europe. He currently works on projects for the Supreme Council, 33°, NMJ in Lexington, Massachusetts. He also serves as a portrait artist for the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, Grand Lodge of New Jersey and other jurisdictions across North America. Bro. Simpkins is a member of Morning Star Lodge A.F. & A.M. in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is a 32° Mason in the Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite, NMJ- Valleys of Worcester and Boston. He is also a member of Eureka Royal Arch Chapter, Hiram Council of Royal & Select Master Masons and Worcester County Commandery No. 5, Knights Templar.
Robert Edward Jackson is a Past Master and Secretary of Montgomery Lodge located in Milford, MA. His Masonic lineage includes his Father (Robert Maitland), Grandfather (Maitland Garrecht), and Great Grandfather (Edward Henry Jackson), a founding member of Scarsdale Lodge #1094 in Scarsdale, NY. When not studying ritual, he's busy being a father to his three kids, a husband, Boy Scout Leader, and a network engineer to pay for it all. He can be reached at info@montgomerylodge.org
Brother Michael Arce is a member of Mt. Zion #311, Troy, New York. When not in Lodge, Bro. Arce is the Marketing Manager for Capital Cardiology Associates in Albany, New York. He enjoys meeting new Brothers and hearing how the Craft has enriched their lives. He can be reached at michael.arce@me.com
Brian L. Pettice, 33° is a Past Master of Anchor Lodge No. 980 and plural member of Olive Branch Lodge No. 38 in Danville, IL and an Honorary Member of a couple of others. He is also an active member of both the York and Scottish Rites. He cherishes the Brothers that have become Friends over the years and is thankful for the opportunities Freemasonry gives and has given him to examine and improve himself, to meet people he might not otherwise have had chance to meet, and to do things he might not otherwise have had chance to do. He is employed as an electrician at the University of Illinois and lives near Alvin, IL with his wife Janet and their son Aidan. He looks forward to sharing the joy the fraternity brings him with others. His email address is aasrmason@gmail.com.
Brother Erik Marks is a clinical social worker whose usual vocation has been in the field of human services in a wide range of settings since 1990. He was raised in 2017 by his biologically younger Brother and then Worshipful Master in Alpha Lodge in Framingham, MA. You may contact brother Marks by email: erik@StrongGrip.org
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by Midnight Freemasons Founder Todd E. Creason 33° World reknown detective Sherlock "Ray" Cummings investigating robbe...
Martin Luther King: Freemason Or Not?
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The Aha Moment
From The Museum To The Lodge
Freemason-ing Alone
The Sign Said, "Alterations"
The 50 Year Member - Some Assembly Ruired
A Midnight Freemasons Road Trip
What If We Actually Did Masonry?
Sacred Feminine?
Freemasonry and Fatherhood
The 24 Inch Gauge – Size Does Matter
"Oh Brother where art thou?"
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Home » Broadsides Discussion Forum » Broadsides Discussion Forum » An Infrastructure Initiative that Makes Strategic Sense as Well
Broadsides Discussion Forum Canadian Shipbuilding
An Infrastructure Initiative that Makes Strategic Sense as Well
by Administrator|Published 6 January 2009
The economic crisis has become a catalyst for a variety of national and local infrastructure projects. Although this makes sense, the scope could be much broader. To those of us with maritime and oceans concerns, the crisis offers an opportunity to reverse some earlier bad decisions and put Canada back on the path to technological leadership in the maritime sector. In this, some lessons from the past and some simplified rationale for maritime infrastructure make a case for rejuvenating Canada’s shipbuilding industry.
Why does the shipbuilding industry warrant special consideration? Contrary to popular belief, shipbuilding is far broader in scope than just the fabrication of ships’ hulls and propulsion systems. Modern ships are complex, regardless of their purpose, and this in turn has given rise to many research and development (R&D) initiatives to increase operating efficiency and greater fuel economy. Look, for instance, at the newest generation of container ships or the highly specialized vessels used in the offshore oil and gas industry and you will see concepts in use today that were just dreams a few years ago. Modern warships need levels of versatility and endurance not anticipated 25 years ago. Only about 30% of the cost of a new warship now goes into the hull and propulsion system, while most of the rest of the price goes to the systems that give the ship the necessary operational flexibility. The result of these changes is that the shipbuilding industry now draws in a wide range of other engineering capabilities as well as the R&D community. Shipbuilding has become a truly national industry, and as evidenced by the patrol frigate program 20 years ago, includes industrial facilities in every province and most large cities. Unfortunately, subsequent government inertia and some misguided political views that Canada’s new ship requirements could be met best through foreign rather than domestic contracts resulted in a downturn in the Canadian shipbuilding industry. This not only cost many good jobs in high-tech industries, but has also eroded the greater Canadian industrial base.
What can history tell us? When Franklin Delano Roosevelt became President of the United States in 1932 confronting the Depression was not his only problem. It was the most pressing problem but the deteriorating situation in Asia as a result of Japan’s growing imperialism also needed attention. Within this, the 1922 Washington Naval Agreement which was supposed to create a balance of naval power in the Pacific was beginning to unravel, leaving the United States at a strategic disadvantage. In the 1920s the US Navy was in a somewhat similar situation to that in which the Canadian Navy finds itself today: a sensible policy for modernizing the fleet existed but the government of the day would not provide the funds to make it happen. In the American case, the government had embraced disarmament a little too enthusiastically while retreating from the world stage in a flurry of isolationism. In Canada, the navy has not been given the political priority needed to ensure its continuing usefulness as an instrument of both foreign policy and national security. Roosevelt’s 1932 shipbuilding program (which was soon followed by commitments to build more warships) allowed him to begin addressing the unfavourable strategic situation while creating much-needed work in an important sector of the economy. His time spent earlier as Under-Secretary for the Navy taught him not only that an effective navy was essential for national security but also that the shipbuilding industry, in its broadest sense, could be an economic stimulus for the country as a whole.
How does the Roosevelt model apply to Canada today? To answer that question we need to look briefly at Canada’s strategic setting and then ask why Canada needs a navy. The strategic setting is really quite easy to understand: Canada is a large country with extensive ocean and maritime interests including dependence on international trade by sea and extensive ocean resource exploitation and management requirements. Canada has responsibility for a vast ocean area almost as big as the Canadian landmass but does not have the means to exercise that responsibility properly: there are not enough specialized ships and much of the related infrastructure does not exist. Concerns over diminishing Arctic ice and the resultant opening of the Arctic waters to mass transportation, exploration and resource exploitation are almost certainly the most pressing ocean ‘management’ issues today. Maintaining Canadian sovereignty and thus control over activities in those waters as well as being able to respond to the inevitable emergencies demand a Canadian government presence in all those waters. The complexity of the tasks requires that this presence be military in most situations. A Coast Guard can undertake many of the safety and simple law-enforcement tasks but is not trained or equipped to manage violence, major disasters, or foreign intrusions. Hence, much of the complex job of maintaining Canadian government presence at sea and providing the necessary deterrent to lawlessness falls to the navy.
A second dimension of the requirement for a navy comes from the need for Canada to be active globally in the interests of international security, especially the security of international trade by sea and humanitarian intervention. For much of the last 100 years Canada has used its navy to further those objectives, and will almost certainly need to do so in the future. This foreign policy role of the navy is no less important than the national security role, and is really an extension of the national security role because today no industrialized state can be an island unto itself. Events that take place far from home often have national security implications. Also, a navy is the first response to crisis and naval force has the advantage of allowing politicians a high degree of flexibility in making an initial response – a feature not shared by either air forces or armies.
So, why does Canada need a new shipbuilding program? On the assumption that it makes sense politically to maintain an effective navy able to operate in all Canadian waters and be a versatile instrument of foreign policy, it makes equal sense to apply some of the new infrastructure funding to maintaining that capability especially where it is in danger of lapsing. In contrast to Roosevelt’s long-range strategic weakness in the 1930s, the emerging Canadian strategic weakness lies closer to home. Regardless of which version of the imminence and impact of Arctic warming one accepts, the fact is that the Arctic waters are changing and there will be greater general access to those waters. Without the means to enforce laws, respond to emergencies, and generally oversee the orderly use of those waters, the new frontier has the potential to be as lawless and violent as the old American West. Opportunities for resource exploitation in the northern lands are just too great. To maintain Canadian sovereignty over those waters a firm government presence, as both a deterrent and an enforcement capability, is needed now. The problem is that the present naval fleet and the Coast Guard only have a limited capability to work in those waters. What Canada needs, sooner rather than later, is a fleet of new Arctic Patrol Vessels.
Designing and building such a vessel in Canada is a logical infrastructure project to stimulate the economy. As explained earlier, shipbuilding is a multi-disciplinary undertaking with potential benefits in just about every part of the country. To take advantage of this opportunity the government needs to move quickly through the design and contract phase and begin cutting steel as soon as possible. Because the government contracting process now moves at glacial speed some means need to be found to expedite the process. Perhaps it would be possible to rejuvenate the whole shipbuilding industry in Canada with a series of projects, to address all the present naval and Coast Guard deficiencies, on the understanding that the work will be divided up fairly among all the players. This would require an approach to contracting that casts aside the traditional politics of procurement and strives for an industrial package that is in the country’s best strategic and economic interests. In this, Canada would be well advised to heed the lessons of Roosevelt’s 1932 shipbuilding initiatives.
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National Shipbuilding and Procurement Strategy
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Reflections: A Brief History of Looking at Ourselves
Hometown Girl: Contemporary Quilts of Mimi Dietrich
Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and Her Quest for an Imperial Legacy
In Full Glory Reflected: Maryland during the War of 1812
Paul Henderson: Maryland's Civil Rights Era in Photographs, ca. 1940-1960
Inventing a Nation: Maryland in the Revolutionary Era
Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War
With an Artistic Eye: Folk Art at the Maryland Historical Society (Temporarily down, beginning Feb. 11, 2019)
Work and Play on the Bay
The Star-Spangled Banner Gallery
Furniture in Maryland Life
The Hutzler’s Experience: How a Small Dry Goods Store Became a Maryland Institution”
On view December 11, 2019 through December 2020. Read more
The Maryland Historical Society has unlocked one of its greatest archival treasures in a new exhibition, Spectrum of Fashion, open October 2019 through October 2020. The visually stunning installation highlights the extraordinary breadth of the MdHS costume collection across four centuries and features nearly 100 examples of women’s and men’s clothing and accessories, as well as decorative arts.
Reflections: A Brief History of Looking at Ourselves, opens June 19, 2019
The Maryland Historical Society presents Reflections: A Brief History of Looking at Ourselves, an exhibition
of portraiture that celebrates photography as an expression of identity, place and sense of belonging. On view through June 2020, Reflections encompasses nearly the entire era of photography, from the earliest 1840s daguerreotypes to modern day photographs and Instagram "selfies."
Presented by the Von Hess Foundation
Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte was one of the femme fatales of the War of 1812 generation, setting the gossipmongers atwitter with her revealing empire dresses at society events. Her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte’s younger brother Jerome became an international drama. Even at ninety-four, Elizabeth was still making news as one of America’s richest women. As the official keeper of Elizabeth’s memory, The Maryland Historical Society is launching a major new exhibition, entitled “Woman of Two Worlds: Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte and the Quest for an Imperial Legacy” that will open on June 9, 2013.
The exhibition illustrates the ‘two worlds’ of France and America that Elizabeth inhabited and showcases her pearl and garnet tiara, silver, porcelain, paintings, textiles, jewelry, manuscripts, furniture and one of her "scandalous" dresses in the French-style.
Presented by Brown Advisory and Legg Mason
In Full Glory Reflected is Maryland’s largest display devoted to the War of 1812 and its era. The exhibition fills an entire gallery floor with a fascinating array of artifacts and documents, many donated by the Defenders of Baltimore themselves.
Visitors explore life in the early-nineteenth century as they follow Baltimore’s evolution from a small, scenic village to a bustling boomtown. Clipper ships carry them from the Chesapeake to China, and they discover the significance of maritime trade during this period. They watch as impressments, riots, and raids lead to war with Great Britain, and as war leads to battles like Bladensburg and North Point. They experience the disastrous surrender of the capital in Washington, and the heroic defense of Baltimore. Finally, they learn how the War of 1812 has been and will be commemorated. Visitors leave the exhibition considering what Americans were thinking, feeling, and doing during the early-nineteenth century. They also have a better understanding of the experience of Marylanders during the War of 1812.
The exhibition features many important objects, including: a mug known as the “Etting Cup,” circa 1814, owned by Samuel Etting and etched with images and names associated with the Battle of Baltimore; a canteen inscribed by Shipley Liester Jr. and used in the Battle of North Point on September 12, 1814; Rembrandt Peale’s portraits of Joshua Barney, George Armistead, and other Defenders of Baltimore; a photograph of the “Old Defenders of Baltimore in Druid Hill Park” by W. Ashman, circa 1876-1880; and the original manuscript of the “Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key at the Battle of Baltimore in 1814.
View More Here
Opened February 2011 - (Re)Opened and Expanded February 2017
Maryland's Civil Rights movement began in the early to mid-1930s. The lynching of George Armwood on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1933 sparked revamping of the Baltimore Branch NAACP and intense activism on the part of black and white residents of Baltimore.
Paul Henderson (1899-1988), born in Springfield, Tennessee moved to Baltimore in 1929. In 1930, Henderson married grade school teacher Elizabeth Johnson and the couple took an apartment on McCulloh Street, within walking distance of Pennsylvania Avenue, the black community of Baltimore's shopping and entertainment district. Along with the NAACP, politics, church life, sports, education, and the Afro-American newspaper, Pennsylvania Avenue is one of the many subjects featured in his photographs.
On exhibition are images of important events, groups, and people, such as the protest at segregated Ford's Theatre in Baltimore, NAACP membership campaign meetings at Sharp Street Church, the Baltimore Elite Giants Negro League baseball team, Morgan State College, Dr. Lillie May Carroll Jackson (head of the NAACP, 1935-1970) and family, Thurgood Marshall with Dr. Carl Murphy (editor-publisher of the Afro-American newspaper), Henderson's photography equipment, and ephemera from his manuscript collection.
MdHS has displayed Paul Henderson’s work in exhibits at Baltimore City Hall and Morgan State University’s Lewis Art Museum.
A blog with more of Henderson's work and videos with Henderson photos with audio from the McKeldin-Jackson Oral History Project can be found here: http://hendersonphotos.wordpress.com
See also: Paul Henderson Manuscript & Ephemera Collection - MS 3089
Paul Henderson Photograph Collection (BCLM, HEN) inventory lists
Related program: Seen & Heard: Maryland's Civil Rights Era in Photographs and Oral Histories (February 23, 2012)
Inventing a Nation: Maryland in the Revolutionary Era is a collaborative exhibition between the Maryland Historical Society and the Maryland State Archives presenting documents and artifacts from the American Revolutionary War. Iconic life-sized portraits by Charles Willson Peale complement the swords, uniforms and other personal items of America’s Revolutionary heroes. Artifacts belonging to George Washington, the Marquis de Lafayette, Tench Tilghman, and William Paca are on display.
The Maryland Historical Society opened the permanent exhibition Divided Voices: Maryland in the Civil War in 2011 to tell the story of how Maryland, as a slave-holding border state, was caught between North and South, divided over slavery and freedom, Union and Confederate. In 2018, MdHS’s museum, library and education staff collaborated to refresh Divided Voices and reveal new stories about the African American experience before, during and after the war. The exhibition includes a number of new museum acquisitions, as well as reinterpretation of existing objects in MdHS’s collection. New interactive elements—including a 12-minute film and an iPad used for visitor feedback—draw visitors into the dialogue about the conflict and ask them to ponder the question, “Are we still divided?”
With an Artistic Eye: Folk Art at the Maryland Historical Society
**This exhibition is temporarily down, beginning Feb. 11, 2019, and will be replaced by "Hometown Girl: Contemporary Quilts of Mimi Dietrich," opening Mar. 23, 2019.
With an Artistic Eye assembles diverse objects from the Maryland Historical Society’s rich collections that can be considered folk art. The exhibition includes paintings, watercolors, sculptures, pottery, stoneware, textiles, furniture and jewelry created by artists without formal training, but with exceptional creative talent. Many of the objects of view have not been exhibited for decades.
Work and Play on the Bay highlights the importance of the Chesapeake Bay to Maryland for over 350 years. Boat models, paintings, decoys, mastheads and trail boards are featured in the exhibition. A section of the installation features an area where younger visitors can try their hand at oystering.
Core Exhibitions
The Maryland Historical Society is home to the oldest known surviving manuscript of Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Along with this national icon, the Star-Spangled Banner Gallery showcases paintings and artifacts, which tell the story of the brave Defenders of Baltimore who fought to protect our city and country from the British during the War of 1812. The Gallery also features a changing selection of items from the H. Furlong Baldwin Library’s Star-Spangled Banner sheet music collection.
Currently on view is The Star-Spangled Banner. A Patriotic Song. Published by Carr Music Store in Baltimore in 1814, it is one of the few remaining copies of the 1st edition of the poem set to music we know as our national anthem.
Click here to see more War of 1812 material in the Maryland Historical Society's collections
Furniture in Maryland Life explores the manufacture, design, and function of furniture made and used in Maryland from 1634 to 2000. Decorative arts treasures, such as silver and porcelain, along with stunning paintings of Maryland interiors contribute to this fresh look at the furniture industry in Maryland.
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Baltimore museums, Civil War in Maryland, Duchess of Windsor, Francis Scott Key, Harriet Tubman, John Wilkes Booth, National Anthem, Star Spangled Banner, War of 1812, B&O Museum, US Frigate, Chesapeake, Impressment, Chasseur, Pride of Baltimore, Tall ships
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WSJ reporter sentenced to two years in prison by Turkey
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), one of its reporters has been sentenced to two years in prison by Turkey on charges of being engaged in terrorist propaganda.
Ayla Albayrak, who wrote an article about a conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish government in the country's southeastern area in 2015, was convicted of terrorist propaganda.
Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union considered the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who were fighting for autonomy for many years, a terrorist group. In 2015, a ceasefire between Ankara and the outlawed PKK collapsed.
Meanwhile, Turkey and the U.S. have suspended all non-immigrant visa services for travel between the two countries. Last week, a U.S. consulate employee was also arrested in Istanbul, a move that further severed relations between the two sides.
The European Union is considering suspension of the process of Turkey's accession to the bloc as a result of Turkey's diplomatic quarrel with some European countries over its human rights records.
Since an attempted coup against Turkey’s president in 2016, more than 100 journalists have been arrested and some 200 media outlets were shut down.
Turkey blames the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen for the attempted coup but he has denied such allegations.
Since then, Turkey remained in a state of emergency and suppressed the media and the groups who were suspected to have a role in the failed coup. Turkey has also suspended and arrested lots of people.
Amnesty International, the Human Rights Watch and some other rights groups, have condemned Ankara's suppressive measures.
Washington freezes arms sales to Turkish president’s bodyguards
Turkish army conducts drill at Iraqi border
Turkey: 74 alleged ISIS members arrested in Istanbul
‘Moscow, Tehran and Ankara seeking to develop coordinated roadmap to tackle Syrian conflict’
‘Who are you? Know your limits!’ Erdogan attacks German FM in elections interference row
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Library Sindh Study FG Study quiz Punjab Study
PakStudy :Yours Study Matters
European blue card for international workers being introduced
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by RAY CLANCY on JANUARY 24, 2011
The European Commission is pressing ahead with the introduction of a ‘blue card’ similar to the green card in the United States that would make it easier for businesses to employ overseas staff on a temporary basis.
The European Union has already approved a directive which would create the EU Blue Card to allow highly qualified workers to obtain a work and residence permit in an EU member state, with the ability to move to another member state after certain conditions are met.
Member states are now moving towards incorporating this into immigration law and regulate the entry and residence of so-called Intra-Corporate Transferees (ICT). This will help companies bring in senior management and specialists who possess valuable skills and knowledge vital to company operations. It would also include trainees who have completed their higher education.
Many EU member states have provisions in place already for the transfer of overseas employees. But for companies who operate in a number of different nations, having to deal with the EU’s 27 different immigration policies can be problematic and time consuming.
According to the EC, the new directive will streamline the processing of visas that will help EU companies recruit management and specialist level staff members internationally. The EU will benefit economically as a whole from the increased competitiveness of EU companies.
‘If we are going to realise our goals in the Europe 2020 strategy, the EU needs to remain open and competitive in the labour market, and we need to create more legal ways for migrants to come to Europe,’ said Maria Âsenius, chief adviser to EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.
Speaking at a European Policy Centre conference she pointed out that many EU countries are experiencing shortages of highly skilled staff in certain area including engineering and information technology.
The new rules are expected to be approved by this summer. It will mean that work and residence permits can be obtained in not more than 30 days. The directive will also make it easier for transferees to bring their families with them and to work in more than one member state if their employer asks them to do so.
‘We are not making these proposals only to be nice to Indian or American businessmen. It is in our interest that companies operating in Europe can have access to the right people with the right skills at the right moment,’ explained Âsenius.
‘It’s high time that Europe started making itself more attractive, because competition for workers will increase in the future. Not just in the EU, but also in the US and Canada, and within a few years China. So it is very much in our interest to be more of a magnet for migration,’ she added.
The draft directive on ICTs includes strict limits on the amount of time that a transferee can work in the EU. The maximum length of stay for managers and specialists would be three years, while trainees would not be allowed to stay in the EU for longer than 12 months.
In accordance with the EU Treaties, each member state will retain control over how many non-EU workers are allowed in the country.
‘The Commission cannot force member states to accept ICTs against their will. This is all decided at member state level, if they want to take anybody or not. But we say if they are open to taking ICTs, these are the rules that apply, and nothing else,’ said Âsenius.
Ameet Nivsakar, vice president of NASSCOM, a trade association representing the Indian IT industry welcomed the move. ‘It is important that a globally mobile workforce is able to seamlessly move within Europe,’ he said.
PakStudy :Yours Study Matters ©
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The "Achilles Heel" that bit the liquidator in the arse
< Back to News
Liquidators occupy an important position within the economy. A large number of companies fail each year, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars left owing to creditors. Creditors rely, to varying degrees, on the integrity and honesty of liquidators to perform their statutory function to gather in the assets of the liquidated company and then distribute them as per the priorities set out in the Sixth Schedule of the Companies Act. The Act and its regulations prescribe certain duties and obligations on liquidators. A key obligation, in short, is to pass money from the company to its creditors. Court appointed liquidators are officers of the Court. Liquidations and receiverships can be quite lucrative work for insolvency practitioners. It is not unheard of for an insolvency practitioner’s fees to exceed a million dollars, although I do accept that does not occur often. It surprises some people that almost anyone can be appointed a liquidator. While many insolvency practitioners do have some background in accounting there is no legal requirement for them to do so. In fact, there is no requirement in law that a liquidator can count or even be able to read. Liquidators are required to produce 6 monthly reports. It might be implied that they are required to read their own reports before producing them. A fraud conviction has not stood in the way of at least one insolvency practitioner being able to make himself available for appointments. On the whole, New Zealand is served very well by a number of very capable and able insolvency practitioners. Unfortunately, a few do tend to bring the insolvency industry into disrepute. Not the least being Patrick Norris. Patrick Norris was convicted in October 2013 of an offence under section 220 of the Crimes Act 1961 (Theft by a person in a special relationship). He had been appointed as the replacement liquidator of Astra Enterprises Ltd (“Astra”). Astra’s previous liquidator resigned due to other commitments. Patrick Norris on his appointment requested that Astra’s funds, being $80,960.51, which were held by the previous liquidator be paid into his account. He received the funds. Astra had three unsecured creditors totalling approximately $65,000. Evidence was given that the liquidation should have been straight forward. On the face of it all, all of the creditors should have been paid out their full debt. The Companies Office became involved in the Astra liquidation during March 2011 following a tip off from one of Patrick Norris’ employees. On 28 March 2011 the Companies Office inspectors arrived at Patrick Norris’ office. The inspectors requested the Astra file and related bank statements. Patrick Norris told them to come back later that day. After the investigators left there was “a panic and flurry of activity that took place … involving the recreation of invoices for the work Mr Norris said he had done on the Astra liquidation”. When the investigators returned they took away what they understood was Patrick Norris’ complete file in relation to Astra, including bank statements. Mr Norris told them that the missing $80,960.51 had been spent on his fees. However, that was a lie. His business account to which the Astra funds were deposited was in overdraft. He also used the money to pay his personal and his business debts unrelated to the Astra liquidation. The Court of Appeal this week dismissed Patrick Norris’ appeal against conviction. For good measure the Court of Appeal corrected an error in the sentence and increased the amount of reparation that Patrick Norris was required to pay Astra. The Court of Appeal capped that amount to only $40,000 because “reparation for the full amount may result in reparation being payable for an unreasonable period.” Patrick Norris is paying reparation at the rate of $100 per week. Evidence was given that Patrick Norris knew what he was doing was wrong prior to the involvement of the Companies Office. He told one of his staff that he “was always worried that Astra would be” his “Achilles’ heel”. He told another member of staff, that one liquidation file that “could bite him in the arse” was the Astra file. It is helpful that Patrick Norris’ conduct has been revealed. Unfortunately, there is nothing currently stopping him accepting future appointments as a liquidator after the passage of five years from the date of his conviction. Last month the Insolvency Practitioners Bill had its second reading. The Bill purports to address some of the concerns and lack of confidence in the insolvency industry. I strongly doubt the Bill, when it is enacted, is going to achieve much. Insolvency practitioners will continue to be able to operate without any minimum qualifications. Creditors will still have good reason to be concerned as long as the less reputable insolvency practitioners continue to be able to accept appointments.
By Chris Patterson, 2013
By Chris Patterson
Copyright © 2020 Chris Patterson
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What is albizzia flower? What is it used for?
Albizzia flowers come from the albizzia tree, which is also known as the mimosa. Native to China, the tree also grows in many parts of the United States and can reach a height of 30 feet, with grey-white bark and remarkably beautiful, fragrant flowers.
Both the bark and flowers have medicinal properties; albizzia bark will be discussed in a related article. The flowers are fluffy, thread-like and shaped something like a ball; they are usually pink or whitish-pink in appearance. They are picked from the tree in the late summer and early autumn, then dried for use.
In traditional Chinese medicine, albizzia flower is considered to have sweet and neutral properties, and is associated with the Heart and Liver meridians. Its main functions are to calm the spirit, invigorate the blood, alleviate pain, and dissipate swellings. Albizzia flower is revered as one of the most powerful types of herbal tonics available; it is used to treat conditions such as depression, insomnia and irritability. It improves the shen, or spirit. It also improves blood circulation, treats pain and swelling due to traumatic injuries (such as fractures), and reduces swellings and abscesses on the skin and in the abdominal region.
How much albizzia flower should I take?
The typical dose of albizzia flower is between nine and 15 grams, taken with water as a decoction. Albizzia flower can also be ground into a paste or poultice and applied to the skin.
What forms of albizzia flower are available?
Both fresh and dried albizzia flower can be found at many Asian markets and specialty stores. The flowers should be highly aromatic and in good condition; whole flowers are preferable. Some herbal shops also sell albizia extracts, infusions and powders.
What can happen if I take too much albizzia flower? Are there any interactions I should be aware of? What precautions should I take?
Albizzia flower is considered extremely safe; it has been given a class 1 rating by the American Herbal Products Association, meaning that it can be used safely when taken in the appropriate dose. While albizzia flower does not appear to cause drowsiness or affect judgment, some practitioners recommend that patients should not drive or operate heavy construction an hour after taking the product.
Bhat DM, Swamy VS, Ravindranath NH. Nursery Manual: Propagation Methods for Tree Species. Nyderabad, India: Universities Press, 2003.
Chen J, Chen T. Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology. City of Industry, CA: Art of Medicine Press, 2003, pp. 768-769.
Gupta AK, Kumar A. Feeding ecology and conservation of the Pharye's leaf monkey (presbytis phayrei) in northeast India. Biological Conservation 1994;69:301-306.
McGuffin M, Hobbs C, Upton R, et al. (eds.) American Herbal Products Association's Botanical Safety Handbook. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 1997, p. 5.
Teeguarden R. Radiant Health: The Ancient Wisdom of the Chinese Tonic Herbs. New York: Warner Books, 1998, p. 199.
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© 2020 Olafpix All rights reserved
A reportage from Greek refugee camps
|In portrait, reportage
|By olafpix
This summer, as part of Reef We Heart program, I went in Greece to report life in the refugee camps. We Heart is Reef humanitarian outreach designed to strengthen the people in places where the brand and its ambassadors travel and surf: I was traveling with Mike Lay, Victoria Vergara and Anna Ehrgott, and we all spent a few days at Oinofyta refugee camp, where we painted the camp school and spent time with the children, while the brand made a donation to ArmandoAid, a non-profit, non-religious, non-political organization, working in Greece providing equipment to local charities and volunteer groups, helping the refugees arriving in the Aegean islands.
None of us did know what to expect when we crossed the gates of the refugee camp, with a mix of fear and anxiety in the back of our minds. These feelings suddenly disappeared as soon as a young girl with a dirty flower dress run to us with the biggest smile, grab our hands and took us for a walk through the camp.
The Oinofyta camp is set in the yard of a bunkrupted factory, surrounded by more plants abandoned during the Greek crisis. About 130 people live in tents, using rudimental facilities like an open air kitchen, a few chemical baths and one single shower. Still, Oinofyta might look like an happy camp, as it is not crowded, and all the families come from the same area of Afghanistan with no language, religious or tribal barrier.
Soon more children came out from the tents to meet us. In a urge to communicate with them, I asked one of the volunteers how to greet in Farsi, the native language of the children. She didn’t know and asked a child “How do you say hello?” and he replied “Hello!”. Came out, all the children and teenagers were speaking fluent English, and some of them were in charge to translate between the adults, who only speak Farsi, and the volunteers, who only speak English.
All the children go to the local school, one of the few buildings in the camp, where volunteers teach them English, math, and quite anything else but religion. During our stay, we witnessed something that shows that the kids value a lot the time spent in school: as class began, two brothers hid in a tent, and the teacher had to grab them out, only to find out they were finishing their homework.
People arrived in Greece after a long and dangerous journey from Afghanistan. Most of them had been working for ISAF as translators, drivers, plumbers; now that NATO retreated, they have to leave their motherland, fleeing persecution and death warrens from Talibans, who again are taking control of vast areas of the country. The decision to leave was not light-heatedly, and all the refugees I talked to said they would love to go back to their homes, but, given the political situation, it is impossible. So they left their war torn country trying to reach different countries of Europe; instead, about 57.000 refugees are stuck in Greek camps alone, waiting for asylum. In total, about 1 million people applied for asylum in Europe over the last year.
It must be clear by now that it is impossible to stop this flow of people escaping war and violence. Let’s welcome all the refugees and give them the opportunity to work and build a new life (and pay taxes). Let’s give the children the opportunity to study in proper schools, so they will become next generation doctors, engineers, photographers. This is the only smart thing to do to solve the refugees crisis.
And in the meantime, you can donate to some of the several charities dealing with the refugees crisis. I, for one, am donating the whole fee of this reportage to ArmandoAid and to MOAS, a charity dedicated to saving refugees lives at sea.
You can watch the whole photo reportage on Olafpix facebook page, and find out more about Reef We Heart on this link.
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Shanahan: Week 12 win over Packers doesn't matter
Published: Jan. 14, 2020 at 08:47 a.m.
Updated: Jan. 14, 2020 at 10:11 a.m.
As championship weeks gets underway, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan wants to make something crystal clear: The Week 12 blowout win over Green Bay means bupkis.
The Niners wiped the floor with the Packers in November at Levi's Stadium, 37-8, dominating every facet. San Francisco so thoroughly thrashed Green Bay that day that Aaron Rodgers finished the game on the bench watching backup Tim Boyle play out the string.
If any 49ers player or fan wants to use that game to suggest another domination will ensue this coming Sunday, Shanny would like a word.
"The game before never matters," Shanahan said, via The Athletic. "There's four teams left and it's four very, very good teams. It's going to be a hard game for all of us."
Fans can and will shout to their heart's desire, but Shanahan got ahead of any players spouting off.
"Don't be that stupid," he said. "That's not real."
What is real is that when everything is clicking, San Francisco can be a force. They proved as much in the Divisional Round. With a pass-rush that can upset any apple-cart, a run game that can churn the clock, and a go-to tight end that can tip the field, the 49ers own advantages on both sides of the ball.
In the Week 12 win, the Niners piled up 112 rushing yards before pulling their foot off the gas, George Kittle dominated, generating 129 yards and a TD, and the defense swarmed. Rodgers was sacked five times, fumbled once, and was held to a measly 104 passing yards. A first-series fumble followed by three straight three-and-outs sent the Packers stumbling out of the gate, and they couldn't recover.
That was the last time Green Bay lost a game.
Expect a different sort of game come Sunday's NFC Championship Game.
"We know it will be different," Shanahan said during his Monday press conference. "We know that game got away from them early. That's definitely not the team we're going to see this week. Everyone knows how good Green Bay is, how good the coaching staff is, how good their players are, how good their quarterback is."
"I don't think they've lost a game since then," he concluded. "I think that game really holds zero relevance to what's going to happen this Sunday."
The Packers' stellar offensive line is one of the few that might be able to withstand the waves of pass rush the Niners can bring. If Green Bay gives Rodgers time, the savvy old vet still knows the magic spells of playoffs past. If any QB can get hot and will his team to a road postseason win, that man wears a Packers No. 12 jersey.
Shanahan's reticence to believe a repeat of what he saw last time will occur is warranted. According to the Associated Press, there have been 23 Super Bowl-era games (not including strike-shortened seasons) in which a team won a regular-season match by 28-plus points and faced the same squad in the postseason. The winner is just 14-9 in the rematches.
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George Orwell Reviews We, the Russian Dystopian Novel That Noam Chomsky Considers “More Perceptive” Than Brave New World & 1984
in Literature, Politics | June 28th, 2017 1 Comment
We know George Orwell’s 1984 and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, at least by reputation, and we’ve heard both references tossed around with alarming frequency this past year. Before these watershed dystopian novels, published over a decade apart (1949 and 1932, respectively), came an earlier book, one truly “most relevant to our time,” writes Michael Brendan Dougherty: Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We, written in 1923 and set “1,000 years after a revolution that brought the One State into power.” The novel had a significant influence on Orwell’s more famous political dystopia. And we have a good sense of Orwell’s indebtedness to the Russian writer.
Three years before the publication of 1984, Orwell published a review of Zamyatin’s book, having “at last got my hands on a copy… several years after hearing of its existence.” Orwell describes the novel as “one of the literary curiosities of this book-burning age" and spends a good part of his brief commentary comparing We to Huxley’s novel. “[T]he resemblance with Brave New World is striking,” he writes. “But though Zamyatin’s book is less well put together—it has a rather weak and episodic plot which is too complex to summarise—it has a political point which the other lacks.” The earlier Russian novel, writes Orwell, in 1946, “is on the whole more relevant to our own situation.”
Part of what Orwell found convincing in Zamyatin’s “less well put together” book was the fact that underneath the technocratic totalitarian state he depicts, “many of the ancient human instincts are still there” rather than having been eradicated by eugenics and medication. (Although citizens in We are lobotomized, more or less, if they rebel.) “It may well be,” Orwell goes on to say, “that Zamyatin did not intend the Soviet regime to be the special target of his satire.” He did write the book many years before the Stalinist dictatorship that inspired Orwell’s dystopias. “What Zamyatin seems to be aiming at is not any particular country but the implied aims of industrial civilization.”
In the interview at the top of the post (with clumsy subtitles), Noam Chomsky makes some similar observations, and declares We the superior book to both Brave New World and 1984 (which he pronounces “obvious and wooden”). Zamyatin was “more perceptive” than Orwell or Huxley, says Chomsky. He “was talking about the real world…. I think he sensed what a totalitarian system is like,” projecting an overwhelmingly controlling surveillance state in We before such a thing existed in the form it would in Orwell's time. The novel will remind us of the many dystopian scenarios that have populated fiction and film in the almost 100 years since its publication. As Dougherty concisely summarizes it, in We:
Citizens are known only by their number, and the story's protagonist is D-503, an engineer working on a spaceship that aims to bring the glorious principles of the Revolution to space. This world is ruled by the Benefactor, and presided over by the Guardians. They spy on citizens, who all live in apartments made of glass so that they can be perfectly observed. Trust in the system is absolute.
Equality is enforced, to the point of disfiguring the physically beautiful. Beauty — as well as its companion, art — are a kind of heresy in the One State, because "to be original means to distinguish yourself from others. It follows that to be original is to violate the principle of equality."
Zamyatin surely drew from earlier dystopias, as well as the classical utopia of Plato’s Republic. But an even more immediate influence, curiously, was his time spent in England just before the Revolution. Like his main character, Zamyatin began his career as an engineer—a shipbuilder, in fact, the craft he studied at St. Petersburg Polytechnical University. He was sent to Newcastle in 1916, writes Yolanda Delgado, “to supervise the construction of icebreakers for the Russian government. However, by the time the ships actually reached Russia, they belonged to the new authorities—the Bolsheviks…. [I]n an ironic twist, Zamyatin, one of the most outspoken early critics of the Soviet regime, actually designed the first Soviet icebreakers.”
While Zamyatin wrote We in response to the Soviet takeover, his style and sci-fi setting was greatly inspired by his immersion in English culture. His two years abroad “greatly influenced him,” from his dress to his speech, earning him the nickname “the Englishman.” He became so fluent in English that he found work as an “editor and translator of foreign authors such as H.G. Wells, Jack London, and Sheridan.” (During his sojourn in England, writes Orwell, Zamyatin “had written some blistering satires on English life.”) Upon returning to Russia, Zamyatin quickly became one of the “very first dissidents.” We was banned by the Soviet censors in 1921, and that year the author published an essay called “I Fear,” in which he described the struggles of Russian artists under the new regime, writing, “the conditions under which we live are tearing us to pieces.”
Eventually smuggling the manuscript of We to New York, Zamyatin was able to get the novel published in 1923, incurring the wrath of the Soviet authorities. He was “ostracized… demonized in the press, blacklisted from publishing and kicked out of the Union of Soviet Writers.” Zamyatin was unapologetic, writing Stalin to ask that he be allowed to leave the country. Stalin not only granted the request, allowing Zamyatin to settle in Paris, but allowed him back into the Union of Soviet Writers in 1934, an unusual turn of events indeed. Just above, you can see a German film adaptation of We (turn on closed captions to watch it with English subtitles). And you can read Orwell’s full review of We here.
Huxley to Orwell: My Hellish Vision of the Future is Better Than Yours (1949)
Hear the Very First Adaptation of George Orwell’s 1984 in a Radio Play Starring David Niven (1949)
Hear Aldous Huxley Read Brave New World. Plus 84 Classic Radio Dramas from CBS Radio Workshop (1956-57)
George Orwell’s 1984 Is Now the #1 Bestselling Book on Amazon
Hellen Harvey says:
Sounds very like Ayn Rand’s Anthem. Wonder if she read “We”?
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Local Time in Romania: 00:58 (Wednesday, January 22nd 2020) Todays Exchange Rates for Romanian Leu: 1 £ = 5.5968 RON • 1 $ = 4.3105 RON • 1 € = 4.7788 RON
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Click for a Slidshow with the current and historic Coats of Arms of Romania:
With all peoples the national coat of arms - the supreme heraldic sign - is of special importance. Its images evoke history, through it tradition remains alive, while its bearings awaken the national feeling. In most states' coats of arms, the bearings are devoted to the specific national past and are commonly recognised by citizens. Such lofty symbols however are not established only by laws and decrees. They are equally the melting pot for the citizens' ideas and aspirations, for their common thoughts.
In Romania the preoccupation with a representative, synthetic coat of arms dates back to the 19th century. It led to the formation of a fine team of heraldry specialists rallying outstanding Romanian scientific figures. As the State Archives were set up and sigillography studies developed, the heraldry experts identified the coats of arms of districts, provinces, the heraldic bearings of the big landowners, a.o.
After 1859 (when Wallachia and Moldavia united into one state) the question of a representative coat of arms arose. In 1863 the solution was found of joining the ancient, traditional symbols of Wallachia (the golden eagle with cross) and Moldavia (the auroch with a star between its horns). Later (1872), Romania's heraldry commission proposed a synthetic coat of arms that combined the traditional symbols of all the Romanian provinces: Wallachia, Moldavia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Maramures, Crisana, Banat and Oltenia.
The coat of arms was adopted by the Government of Romania and was in use until 1921 when, following the great Union of December 1, 1918, the new coat of arms of Greater Romania was devised, with the addition of the symbols instituted in 1872: the insignia of the House of Hohenzollern (a European royal house with origins in the early Middle Ages, which gave Romania four kings, the first of whom - Carol I, 1866-1914 - was the one that raised the country to the rank of a kingdom in 1881), the crown of Romania (made from the steel of a cannon captured at Pleven, during the 1877-1878 Independence War through which the country, by the valour of the Romanian soldiers, won its independence from the Ottoman Empire) and two face-to-face dolphins with their tails up, symbolising the Black Sea.
The coat of arms of Greater Romania was replaced in 1947, when the Romanian People's Republic was proclaimed under pressure from the Soviet occupation troops, with a decorative effigy symbolising the country's riches guarded by ears of wheat and a rising sun as a background as well as a red star in the chief.
Immediately after the 1989 Revolution, the idea came up of giving Romania a new, representative coat of arms. In fact, the very symbol of the Revolution was the flag with a hole in its middle wherefrom the communist coat of arms had been cut out.
The heraldic commission set up to design a new coat of arms for Romania worked intensely, subjecting to Parliament two final designs which were then combined. What emerged is the current design adopted by the two Chambers of Romania's Parliament in their joint session of September 10, 1992.
Romania's coat of arms has as a central element the golden eagle with cross. Traditionally, this eagle appears in the arms of the Arges county, the town of Pitesti and the town of Curtea de Arges. It stands for the "nest of the Basarabs," the nucleus around which Wallachia, was organised, the province that determined the historical fate of the whole Romania.
The eagle, being the symbol of Latinity and a heraldic bird of the first order, symbolises courage, determination, the soaring toward great heights, power, grandeur. It is to be found also in Transylvania's coat of arms.
The shield on which it is placed is azure, symbolising the sky. The eagle holds in its talons the insignia of sovereignty: a sceptre and a saber, the latter reminding of Moldavia's ruler, Stephen the Great (1456-1504), also called "Christ's athlete" whereas the sceptre reminds of Michael the Brave (1593-1601), the first unifier of the Romanian Countries. On the bird's chest there is a quartered escutcheon with the symbols of the historical Romanian provinces (Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Banat and Crisana) as well as two dolphins reminding of the country's Black Sea Coast.
In the first quarter there is again Wallachia's coat of arms on azure: an eagle or holding in its beak a golden Orthodox cross, accompanied by a golden sun on the right and a golden new moon on the left.
In the second quarter there is Moldavia's traditional coat of arms, gules: an auroch head sable with a mullet of or between its horns, a cinquefoil rose on the dexter and a waning crescent on the sinister, both argent.
The third quarter features the traditional coat of arms of Banat and Oltenia, gules: over waves, a golden bridge with two arched openings (symbolising Roman emperor Trajan's bridge over the Danube), wherefrom comes a golden lion holding a broadsword in its right forepaw.
The fourth quarter shows the coat of arms of Transylvania with Maramures and Crisana: a shield parted by a narrow fesse, gules; in the chief, on azure, there is an eagle sable with golden beak coming out of the fesse, accompanied by a golden sun on the dexter and a crescent argent on the sinister; on the base, on or, there are seven crenellated towers, placed four and three.
Also represented are the lands adjacent to the Black Sea, on azure: two dolphins affronts, head down.
Click here to see a slideshow with the Coats fo Arms of Romania since 1866
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Danny Cipriani returns home to Wasps
International fly half Danny Cipriani will be back in black and gold next season when he returns to Wasps, the club he started his career with as a school boy.
Cipriani is recognised as one of the country’s most gifted play-makers and will soon be showcasing his skills at the Ricoh Arena. After impressing for Wasps’ Academy while still at Whitgift School, Cipriani swiftly graduated to the senior squad and made his debut as a 17-year-old against Bristol in the 2004 Powergen Cup.
He soon became an integral part of Wasps’ squad, using his blistering pace and attacking instinct to open up defences across the Premiership. Cipriani also played a key role in Wasps’ 2007 Heineken Cup campaign, starting the Final at full back in a squad which also featured Wasps’ skipper James Haskell, the year Wasps were crowned European Champions for the second time.
Capitalising on his club form with Wasps, Cipriani burst onto the international scene aged 20, with a mesmerising performance on his first start for England, scoring 18 points during their 33-10 win over Ireland in the 2008 Six Nations.
Cipriani went on to make 95 appearances for Wasps, before moving to Australia to spend a season with the Melbourne Rebels (2011-12), returning to England in 2012 to join Sale Sharks, where his performances again earned international recognition.
He has won 14 caps and scored 64 points for his country, including a man of the match performance against the Barbarians in June of last year.
The experienced 10 is honing in on 1,000 Premiership points, having already bagged 973 in his 130 Premiership appearances during his career to date.
Danny Cipriani said: “I’m excited about returning to Wasps next season. For me, it really does feel like coming home. In the professional era, players naturally move clubs more frequently than they used to, but I still feel such a strong connection with Wasps. It’s where I learned my trade, alongside incredible players like Lawrence Dallaglio, Joe Worsley, Alex King, Fraser Waters, Josh Lewsey and Paul Sackey. I have such good memories of that period in my life, I feel much more equipped to handle and deal with the expectation that comes when you put on the black and gold jersey. There’s something about Wasps which always draws you in. ‘Once a Wasp, always a Wasp’ is more than just a saying when you’ve been part of the club. I feel next season will be the right time for a new challenge, at a club which in my heart will always feel like a second home, where I know I will settle quickly.”
“It’s brilliant to see how the club has re-built over the past couple of seasons. The potential of the squad that Dai [Young] has developed is really exciting and I have been impressed by the ambition Wasps has shown since Derek Richardson took over and stabilised things. I’m really looking forward to playing alongside guys I started my career with, like James Haskell, Joe Simpson, Christian Wade and Elliot Daly, in a squad that loves to play attacking, expansive rugby.”
Wasps’ Director of Rugby Dai Young added: “We have always been keen for Danny to return to Wasps and I’m really pleased that our Wasps’ fans, many of whom supported Danny as a young lad here, will be able to see him in a Wasps’ shirt again.
“Everyone knows how talented a player Danny is and how much his game has developed since he made such an impact for England at a young age. As well as his obvious attacking attributes, Danny has matured as a player and controls the game well as a 10. At 28, there is still plenty more to come from him, so we are looking forward to seeing the contribution he will make in a Wasps’ shirt, alongside our other talented fly halves, in the exciting backline we have.”
Otten signs three year deal with Ospreys
Jenkins signs for Cardiff Blues until 2017
Hargreaves returns for Saracens to face Wasps
Rhodri Jones signs for Ospreys
Aussie ace Turner signs for the Chiefs
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Serj Tankian Offers Full Album Stream Of New Album Harakiri Due Out July 10th
With the release of Serj Tankian’s new album Harakiri coming up on Tuesday, July 10th, fans can now stream the entire album on Red Bull’s website. Serj has a busy release week ahead of him in LA. He’s hosting a release event at the WBR Offices in Burbank on Monday, July 9th, performing the outdoor stage at Jimmy Kimmel Live! Weds, July 11th and at KROQ’s Red Bull Sound Space Thurs, July 12th. Review copies of Harakiri are available upon request.
Harakiri Full Album Stream
http://smarturl.it/HarakiriPremiere
Harakiri Medley
http://youtu.be/ZZRhMxUAo4o
“Figure It Out” Official Video on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlXb50LQehc&feature=youtu.be
Harakiri, the new studio album from singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, poet and political activist Serj Tankian is set to be released July 10th on Reprise Records/Serjical Strike. Harakiri, a Japanese word meaning ritualistic suicide, is the follow up to 2010’s Imperfect Harmonies and the third solo release from the System Of A Down frontman.
“Harakiri proves that Serj Tankian is not just one of the best vocalists in rock and metal, but one of the most passionate and provocative artists at work today.” – Revolver
Harakiri is presently available for pre-order on the singer’s official website. $2 from the sale of each pre-order will be donated to a non-profit organization to fight global hunger. Pre-Orders are also up at iTunes and Best Buy as well.
Serj and the rest of his bandmates in System of a Down will be performing a handful of dates in August. Serj is also confirmed to be part of Slipknot’s Knotfest August 16th and 17th.
Confirmed Serj Tankian Events/Tour Dates:
07/09 Burbank, CA – Release Event @ WBR Offices: moderated Q&A, meet & greet, signing
07/11 Los Angeles, CA – KROQ’s Loveline
07/11 Los Angeles, CA – Jimmy Kimmel Live! Outdoor Stage
07/12 Los Angeles, CA – KROQ Red Bull Sound Space
Confirmed System Of A Down Tour Dates:
08/02 Philadelphia, PA – Susquehanna Bank Center
08/04 Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
08/05 Wantagh, NY – Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
08/07 Washington, DC – Verizon Center Arena
08/09 Boston, MA – Comcast Center
08/11 Montreal, QC – Heavy Metal Festival Parterre @ Parc Jean Drapeau
08/12 Toronto, ON – Heavy Metal Festival Downsview Park
08/14 Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Amphitheater
08/15 Chicago, IL – Allstate Arena
Confirmed Serj Tankian Tour Dates:
08/16 Council Bluffs, IA – Mid-America Motor Complex – KNOTFEST
08/17 Minneapolis, MN – Somerset Amphitheatre – KNOTFEST
Official Website: http://www.serjtankian.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SerjTankian
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/serjtankian
Twitter: https://twitter.com/officialserj
Andrew Steinthal
1290 Ave of the Americas
e. andrew.steinthal@wbr.com
Jul 03, 2012 | News
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Dorothy Online Newsletter
Palestine Affairs
Pakistan & Kashmir
ZIO-NAZI
Jamica
Designings
Archive | September 21st, 2012
My Land was Bulldozed by the Nazi Occupation
Posted on 21 September 2012.
NOVANEWS
Occupied Lives: Nothing left to hope for
Youssef Abu Mghasib
Youssef Abu Mghasib (38) owns 10 dunnums of farmland in Deir el Balah, in the central part of the Gaza Strip, just over 300 meters from the Gaza-Israeli border and beyond Israel’s unilaterally imposed 300 meter buffer zone. Here, he grows olives and an assortment of vegetables to support his family, though Youssef lives with wife, 9 children, mother and sister in a home 500 meters from their farm. On 12 June 2012, Youssef’s land was bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF).
On the day of the bulldozing, Youssef recalls that: “I was watering plants on my farm when I heard the sound of the bulldozers and tanks. I could also hear heavy shooting. I was really scared that something would happen to me, so I ran home. The bulldozers came and destroyed all of my olive trees and crushed my vegetables. My irrigation system was completely destroyed. Nothing could be salvaged from the land. Then, just 4 days later, they came back with their tanks and leveled the land until all of it was finally flat.”
The bulldozing of Abu Mghasib’s land has subsequently plunged the family into financial and emotional turmoil: “I felt completely destroyed when they bulldozed my farm. I had been cultivating that land since 2001, when my father died and left it to me. It was destroyed in the Second Intifada, but I had worked very hard to plant new olive trees and put in an irrigation system. My mother had a nervous breakdown when they were bulldozing the land. She was shouting and crying and we had to rush her to hospital. My wife was also hysterical.”
The loss of Youssef’s land and equipment is estimated to be USD 20,000: “My land is not even within the 300 meters considered to be the buffer zone, yet it was destroyed. My irrigation pipes are now useless. I used to feed my family from that land and sell the extra produce in the market. I currently have no other source of income and no other occupation. When the opportunity arises, I work on other people’s farms to make a few shekels. Life has just been hard since 12 June. I had taken out a loan before the land was destroyed to rebuild the farm. Now, I have no way of paying back this loan. My neighbors gave me a bale of wheat because we have nothing to eat, but it will not feed us forever. It pains me that I could not even afford to buy my children school bags.”
Posted in ZIO-NAZI, GazaComments Off on My Land was Bulldozed by the Nazi Occupation
Ab-A$$ Zionist puppets Arrest Dozens of Hamas Members in the West Bank
Palestinian Security Services Arrest Dozens of Hamas Members in the West Bank
The Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the wide-scale campaign of arrests waged by Palestinian security services in the West Bank, which targeted dozens of members of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the past 24 hours. PCHR calls upon the Palestinian government in Ramallah to fully comply with the law and stop political arrests.
According to investigations conducted by PCHR, the Preventive Security Service (PSS) and the General Intelligence Service (GIS) have arrested 71 members of Hamas. According to PCHR’s field workers in the West Bank, these detainees were first summoned by phone to the headquarters of the 2 services, where they were then arrested, and/or were arrested from their houses or workplaces. The detainees include a number of leaders of Hamas, reconciliation figures, ex-prisoners, journalists, youth activists and university students. The most prominent persons arrested by the security services include: Fu’ad Nazem al-Khuffash (43), Director of Ahrar Center for Prisoners Studies and Human Rights; Waleed Khaled Ali (45), Director of the Office of Palestine Daily in Salfit; and Sheikh Riad Rasheed al-Walweel (53), a prominent reconciliation figure in the West Bank.
Palestinian security services arrested 19 persons in Salfit, 18 in Tulkarm, 15 in Qalqilya, 11 in Nablus, 6 in Hebron, 1 in Jenin and 1 in Ramallah.
(PCHR has a list of the detainees.)
PCHR reiterates its condemnation of political detention, and:
1- Stresses that “personal liberty is a natural rights that is guaranteed and must not be violated,” according to the Palestinian Basic Law, which also prohibits “arresting, checking, detaining or limiting the freedom of any person or preventing his/her movement without a judicial warrant” and guarantees that “any persons who arrested or detained must be informed of the reasons for his/her arrest or detention;”
2- Reminds the Palestinian Supreme Court of Justice of the ruling on 20 February 1999, which considers political detention illegal, and demands all executive bodies to respect the Court’s ruling and refrain from practicing political detention;
3- Emphasizes that detention is governed by Palestinian law and falls within the competence of judicial warranty officers, represented by the police, under direct supervision of the Attorney-General; and
4- Calls for the immediate release of all political detainees who are held by the Palestinian security services in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Posted in West BankComments Off on Ab-A$$ Zionist puppets Arrest Dozens of Hamas Members in the West Bank
Mark Dankof’s America
Mark Dankof’s America Sept 19, 2012
by crescentandcross
mark-dankofs-america-sept-18-2012.mp3
THANK YOU FOR ASSISTING WITH THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PRODUCING THIS PROGRAM
Posted in InterviewComments Off on Mark Dankof’s America
Court and planning authority raise “serious issues of rights and justice” and “problems” with plans for Jewish town of Hiran
HAIFA – On 6 September 2012 the District Court of Bir el-Sabe (Beer Sheva) held a session to hear arguments in Adalah’s appeal against the Kiyat Gat Magistrates’ Court’s decision to uphold 33 demolition orders on homes in the unrecognized Arab Bedouin village of Umm el-Hieran. Judge Ariel Harzak, presiding over the court, said that the plan raises “serious issues of rights and justice” in response to the attorneys’ arguments.
While the State Attorney claimed that the issue was one of unlicensed building that contradicted regulations under the Planning and Building Law, Adalah Attorney Suhad Bishara explained that the village was set to be demolished to make way for a Jewish town named ‘Hiran.’ The judge ordered the state to provide written arguments to demonstrate the necessity of demolishing the village, and scheduled a hearing on the case for mid-December. He noted that Adalah had also filed an appeal against eviction orders against the village’s residents.
The Magistrates’ Court in Kiryat Gat approved the demolition orders against Umm el-Hieran on 11 December 2011, paving the way for the forcible eviction of 1,000 residents and the demolition of their homes in order to build a Jewish-designated city named Hiran on the village’s ruins. The court also suspended the implementation of the resolution for one year in order to allow the families to negotiate alternative housing solutions with the state, after rejecting Adalah’s motion to cancel the demolition orders in 2007.
In a related matter, on 11 September 2012 the National Council of Planning and Building (NCPB) heard Adalah and Bimkom’s objections to Organizational Chart 107/02/15, which lays out detailed plans for the town of Hiran. Adalah Attorneys Suhad Bishara and Aram Mahameed, Bimkom urban planner Cesar Yehudkin and residents of the village attended the hearing along with delegates from the “Ur” Association, which is preparing to settle Hiran.
Attorney Bishara emphasized at that hearing that the planned map and structure for Hiran disregarded the homes of Arab Bedouin, who have lived in the village for 60 years. The NCPB representatives said that there were no regulations in the plan designating Hiran as a Jewish town, and that homes would be open to all. In response, Attorney Bishara alerted the representatives to the fact that only one week earlier, in a hearing at the Magistrate’s Court on the demolition orders, the prosecutors representing the planning authorities had stated that the town would be established as a Jewish municipality. The chairperson of the session stated that if the town was indeed established with a Jewish municipality, then the council would view the matter as seriously problematic.
Posted in ZIO-NAZIComments Off on Court and planning authority raise “serious issues of rights and justice” and “problems” with plans for Jewish town of Hiran
Catholic official worried about IsraHell attacks
ed note–2 comments tobemade here–
1) Sorry to be so glib here, but WHAT DID YOU EXPECT, PADRE???
The time for the Catholic Church to recognize the danger posed to its places of worship and other holy sites in Palestine was 100 years ago when this mad dream of bringing the Jews back to the holyland was first being discussed. If the Church–and more importantly, its leader, had been a little more up to date in their ‘Judaic studies’, they would have seen this thing coming from a mile away. Now, like stupid farmers who listened to the coaxing arguments of foxes who offered to guard the henhouse for free, they are coming to understand the nature of problem they are facing, but again, as we said earlier, a century too late.
2) The problems faced by Christians viz a viz ‘Islamists’ (referenced at the end of this piece) are nothing but BS. Muslims and Christians have lived side by side peacably in the Holy Land for over a thousand years. It is the Jews who are the problem, they and their control over Christian countries in bringing about this ‘clash of civilizations’ between the Christian and Islamic worlds that is causing friction between the 2 peoples.
JERUSALEM (AP) — After a series of attacks by vandals on Christian holy sites in Israel, normally tight-lipped Roman Catholic officials are beginning to speak out, publicly appealing to authorities to take a stronger stand against the violence.
The Rev. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, one of the church’s top officials in the Holy Land, said he is worried about relations between Jews and Christians in the Holy Land. He believes the blame can go all around.
“I think the main atmosphere is ignorance,” Pizzaballa told The Associated Press in an interview.
Because the local Christian population is tiny, “we do not exist for the majority … They have other priorities,” he said. “On the other side, we as a minority maybe didn’t invest enough energy and initiatives” to reach out to Israeli Jews.
That may be changing following this month’s attack on a well-known Trappist Monastery in Latrun, outside Jerusalem. Vandals burned a door and spray-painted anti-Christian graffiti on the century-old building with the words “Jesus is a monkey.” Suspicion has fallen on extremist Jewish West Bank settlers or their supporters, who are believed to be behind a series of attacks in recent years on mosques, Christian sites and even Israeli army property to protest moves against settlements.
In response, the church’s top officials, including Pizzaballa, the “custos,” or custodian of Catholic holy sites, to issue a rare “declaration” calling on Israeli leaders to take action.
“Sadly, what happened in Latrun is only another in a long series of attacks against Christians and their places of worship,” the Catholic leaders said. “What is going on in Israeli society today that permits Christians to be scapegoated and targeted by these acts of violence?”
It said authorities should “put an end to this senseless violence and to ensure a ‘teaching of respect’ in schools for all those who call this land home.”
Israeli leaders swiftly condemned the attack, and police vowed to bring the vandals to justice. Nearly two weeks later, there have been no arrests.
The monastery was targeted shortly after Israel evacuated an illegally built West Bank settler outpost. In recent months, two other monasteries and a Baptist church were vandalized. It is not clear why the vandals have targeted Christian sites. For years, Christian clergymen also have been spat at by ultra-Orthodox seminary students in Jerusalem’s Old City.
There are about 155,000 Christian citizens of Israel, less than 2 percent of its 7.9 million people. About three-quarters are Arabs, and the others arrived during waves of Russian immigration over the past 20 years. They are split between Catholicism and Orthodox steams of Christianity. Tens of thousands of Christian foreign workers and African migrants also reside in Israel.
Pizzaballa said he recognizes the attacks do not reflect the views of most Israelis, and he welcomed the condemnations by Israeli police, politicians and mainstream rabbinical authorities.
But he said Israel must do more.
“It’s important not just to condemn, but also to work, to take initiatives to stop this phenomenon,” he said.
Far “more serious,” he said, was an incident in July in which an Israeli lawmaker ripped up a copy of the New Testament in front of TV cameras after Chrisitan missionaries mailed him the book. The lawmaker, Michael Ben-Ari, is now the subject of an ethics probe in parliament.
“This is a member of the Knesset. He is a representative of Israeli institutions,” Pizzaballa said.
Even if the delivery of the book was a “provocation,” he said, “you cannot rip the New Testament in front of the cameras and throw it in the trash and ask that the New Testament be banned from the country. This is unacceptable for every Christian believer.”
He pointed to the recent uproar in the Muslim world over a movie that mocked the Prophet Muhammad as an example of how explosive and hurtful religious hatred can be.
Pizzaballa’s words carry extra weight because of his strong ties with Israel. Pizzaballa, 47, has lived in the country for two decades, speaks Hebrew and has been a faculty member at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is scheduled to complete his term as custos next year.
Jews and Catholics have had a fraught relationship over the centuries. It was only in 1965 that the Vatican rejected the long-held charge that the Jewish people were responsible for killing Jesus. The actions of Pope Pius XII during World War II still remain a sensitive diplomatic issue between Israeland the Vatican. Critics have long contended that Pius could have done more to stop the Holocaust, when 6 million Jews were killed by the Nazis. The Vatican says Pius used quiet diplomacy to save Jews.
Israel and the Vatican have made inroads in recent years. The late Pope John Paul II established diplomatic ties with Israel in 1994, and his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, has promoted interfaith dialogue.
Pizzaballa acknowledged the difficult past but said Israelis have little understanding about modern Christianity or “the reality of the Christians in the country.”
While Christianity was born in the Holy Land, Christians’ situation here is fragile. In Israel, the number of Christian citizens has remained about the same for 20 years, with the influx of Russian immigrants balancing out some emigration by Arab Christians.
The West Bank has seen its Christian population dwindle over the years to roughly 50,000 people today, less than 3 percent of the population, the result of a lower birthrate and increased emigration in search of a better quality of life. Just one third of Bethlehem, the traditional birthplace of Christ, is Christian today, down from 75 percent half a century ago.
In the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Islamic militant group Hamas, the situation is even more precarious.
Fewer than 3,000 Christians live among 1.7 million Muslim residents, and their numbers have rapidly shrunk in recent years because of turmoil in the territory.
A Christian activist — who ran Gaza’s only Christian bookstore — was stabbed to death after Hamas took power in 2007. The killer was never found. In recent years, several Christian institutions were attacked by suspected Muslim hardliners. In at least two cases, including the torching of the local YMCA, assailants were caught and sentenced to prison.
Pizzaballa said Hamas has ensured that local Christians can worship freely, but nonetheless the environment is uncomfortable.
“You feel the pressure in the society and the life of the Islamic regime,” he said.
Posted in Palestine Affairs, ZIO-NAZIComments Off on Catholic official worried about IsraHell attacks
New French cartoons inflame prophet film tensions
France stepped up security Wednesday at its embassies across the Muslim world after a French satirical weekly revived a formula that it has already used to capture attention: Publishing crude, lewd caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad.
Wednesday’s issue of the provocative satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo, whose offices were firebombed last year, raised concerns that France could face violent protests like the ones targeting theUnited States over an amateur video produced in California that have left at least 30 people dead.
The drawings, some of which depicted Muhammad naked and in demeaning or pornographic poses, were met with a swift rebuke by the French government, which warned the magazine could be inflaming tensions, even as it reiterated France’s free speech protections.
The principle of freedom of expression “must not be infringed,”Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, speaking on France Interradio.
But he added: “Is it pertinent, intelligent, in this context to pour oil on the fire? The answer is no.”
Anger over the film “Innocence of Muslims” has fueled violent protests from Asia to Africa. In the Lebanese port city of Tyre, tens of thousands of people marched in the streets Wednesday, chanting “Oh, America, you are God’s enemy!”
Worried France might be targeted, the government ordered its embassies, cultural centers, schools and other official sites to close on Friday — the Muslim holy day — in 20 countries. It also immediately shut down its embassy and the French school in Tunisia, the site of deadly protests at theU.S. Embassy last week.
The French Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning urging French citizens in the Muslim world to exercise “the greatest vigilance,” avoiding public gatherings and “sensitive buildings.”
The controversy could prove tricky for France, which has struggled to integrate its Muslim population, Western Europe’s largest. Many Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad should not be depicted at all — even in a flattering way — because it might encourage idolatry.
Violence provoked by the anti-Islam video, which portrays the prophet as a fraud, womanizer and child molester, began with a Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, then quickly spread toLibya, where an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi left the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans dead.
In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said the Obama administration believed the French magazine images “will be deeply offensive to many and have the potential to be inflammatory.”
“We don’t question the right of something like this to be published,” he said, pointing to the U.S. Constitution’s protections of free expression. “We just question the judgment behind the decision to publish it.”
In a statement, Arab League chief Nabil Elarabi called the cartoons “provocative and disgraceful” and said their publication added complexity to an already inflamed situation. He said the drawings arose from ignorance of “true Islam and its holy prophet.”
A lawsuit was filed against Charlie Hebdo hours after the issue hit newsstands, the Paris prosecutor’s office said, though it would not say who filed it. The magazine also said its website had been hacked.
Riot police took up positions outside the magazine’s offices, which were firebombed last year after it released an edition that mocked radical Islam.
Chief editor Stephane Charbonnier, who publishes under the pen name “Charb” and has been under police protection for a year, defended the cartoons.
“Muhammad isn’t sacred to me,” he told The Associated Press. “I don’t blame Muslims for not laughing at our drawings. I live under French law. I don’t live under Quranic law.”
He said he had no regrets and felt no responsibility for any violence.
“I’m not the one going into the streets with stones and Kalashnikovs,” he said. “We’ve had 1,000 issues and only three problems, all after front pages about radical Islam.”
The cartoonist, who goes by the name Luz, also was defiant.
“We treat the news like journalists. Some use cameras, some use computers. For us, it’s a paper and pencil,” he said. “A pencil is not a weapon. It’s just a means of expression.”
A small-circulation weekly, Charlie Hebdo often draws attention for ridiculing sensitivity about the Prophet Muhammad. It was acquitted in 2008 by a Paris appeals court of “publicly abusing a group of people because of their religion” following a complaint by Muslim associations.
The magazine has staked out a sub-genre in France’s varied media universe with its cartoons. Little is sacred, and Wednesday’s issue also featured caricatures of people as varied as Clint Eastwood, an unnamed Roman Catholic cardinal who looked a bit like Pope John Paul II and French President Francois Hollande, a staple.
At the demonstration in Lebanon, Nabil Kaouk, deputy chief of Hezbollah’s Executive Council, warned the United States and France not to anger Muslims.
“Be careful of the anger of our nation that is ready to defend the prophet,” he said. “Our hearts are wounded and our chests are full of anger.”
Nasser Dheini, a 40-year-old farmer, said instead of boosting security at its embassies, France should close down the offending magazine.
“Freedom of opinion should not be by insulting religions,” said Dheini, carrying his 4-year-old son Sajed.
Outside the magazine’s Paris offices, a passer-by wearing a traditional Muslim tunic said he was neither surprised nor shocked by the cartoons. He criticized France’s decision to close embassies and schools for fear of protests by extremists.
“It gives legitimacy to movements that don’t have any,” said Hatim Essoufaly, who was walking his toddler in a stroller.
Posted in CampaignsComments Off on New French cartoons inflame prophet film tensions
Egypt Issues Arrest Warrants for Terry Jones and Anti-Islam Filmmaker
On Tuesday, Egypt’s general prosecutor issued eight arrest warrants for anti-Muslim U.S. pastor Terry Jones, producerNakoula Basseley Nakoula and six other Coptic Christiansassociated with the incendiary film Innocence of Muslims, the The prosecutor’s office says the seven men and one woman could face the death penalty and are charged with “harming national unity, insulting and publicly attacking Islam and spreading false information.” It’s not clear where the other Coptic Christians live (an names them as Adel Riad, Morris Sadek, Nabil Bissada, Esmat Zaklama, Elia Bassily, Ihab Yaacoub and Jack Atallah) but the prosecutor says they are outside of Egypt at the moment. Meanwhile Jones and Nakoula live in the free lands of Florida and California, respectively, where it’s not a crime to make or promote a movie that depicts the prophet Muhammad as an effete homosexual.
However, that doesn’t mean their security situation isn’t a major legal headache for U.S. officials. As the U.S. is in a tricky position. “If the government were to overtly protect Nakoula, it could be seen by some as tacit approval of the film, and further enflame protests. Leaving him to fend for himself could have deadly consequences. There are examples of violence against others who have written or spoken against Muhammad.” So far, the government has offered some assistance, in the form of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies escorting Nakoula to a meeting with probation officials in the dead of night.
One would assume the U.S. would reject any Egyptian extradition request on First Amendment grounds, which could inflame Egyptian sentiment further. As Lawrence Rosenthal, a professor at Chapman University’s School of Law, . ‘‘The thing that makes this particularly difficult for the United States is that … we treat what most of us would refer to as hate speech as constitutionally protected speech and Americans don’t appreciate, I think, how unusual this position seems in the rest of the world.” You can say that again.
Posted in USA, EgyptComments Off on Egypt Issues Arrest Warrants for Terry Jones and Anti-Islam Filmmaker
Rumors of Wars
NOVANEW
by Philip Giraldi
The presidential candidates’ failure to have a serious discussion about Afghanistan and America’s other ongoing wars has been noted by many. Mitt Romney did not mention Afghanistan at all in his acceptance address. In his defense, he cited a speech made to the American Legion on the night before his appearance in Tampa. “The president was also invited to the American Legion and he was too busy to go. It was during my convention. I went to the American Legion, described my views with regards to our military, my commitment to our military, my commitment to our men and women in uniform.”
Paul Ryan also pitched in to defend the Afghanistan omission, telling Charlie Rose on Sept. 4 that Romney “repeatedly” speaks about Afghanistan, expressing gratitude for the “sacrifice of our troops” and striving for “peace through strength.” He also noted that he had spoken about veterans in his own convention speech, “I talked about veterans and what they’ve done for our country.” The remainder of the Ryan interview, including a series of foreign policy bromides bereft of any content, was largely incoherent, concluding with a comment that the President Romney position on Afghanistan would include making “an assessment” through consulting with “our generals” on how to manage security arrangements both preceding and after 2014.
Obama did at least mention Afghanistan, dissing the Republicans with an argument that was used against him in 2008, “My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy.” He explained further, “but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly. After all, you don’t call Russia our number one enemy — not al-Qaeda, Russia — unless you’re still stuck in a Cold War mind warp. You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally. My opponent said it was ‘tragic’ to end the war in Iraq, and he won’t tell us how he’ll end the war in Afghanistan. I have, and I will.”
Romney and Ryan should perhaps consider that telling veterans’ groups of their respect for American soldiers is not exactly a foreign policy, while listening to the generals is a formula for Vietnam redux or maybe even Apocalypse Now. Obama for his part wants to tell us about what dangerous things the Republicans might do rather than explaining what he is doing and why. “Osama is dead” only buys so much favorable press, and the president fails to grasp that his softer defense policy has replaced several biggish wars with a whole bunch of possibly avoidable smaller conflicts. But what is missing from both sides is any genuine consideration of the underlying premise, whether the United States is actually responding to real threats and whether the ruinously expensive wars actually make the United States safer.
If there were to be a serious consideration of foreign policy it has to deal primarily with war and impending wars because they have the potential to bring about a radical realignment of the international order. It should probably begin with the major war that the United States is still fighting and the one it has just concluded, then moving on to the minor conflicts, continuing with an assessment of current threats, and concluding with a consideration of over-the-horizon developments.
Afghanistan, President Obama’s “good war” and a war that the GOP would prefer to forget, takes center stage because it continues to consume American lives and resources and it is rapidly developing into a bottomless pit into which billions of dollar will pour without any tangible gains. It would be good to hear an honest assessment from the president, noting that the training program is bedeviled by increasing “green on blue” violence that is threatening to derail the handover to Afghan forces, and confronting honestly the problem of massive corruption and drug trafficking that mean that no nation building can be successful. Every American who follows the news knows that to be true, so why shouldn’t the president say it, abandoning any pretense of fudging his way through another year and then escaping shortly before the point where it is necessary to send in helicopters to take survivors off the roof of an American Embassy under siege. From the Republicans, it would be interesting to learn what exactly they expect the generals to tell them that would be (a) credible or (b) would alter the developing narrative about overwhelming corruption, Afghan security forces incompetence, and lack of any exit strategy or endgame. Both Republicans and Democrats should explain why leaving in 2014 will be any more “victorious” or successful than leaving tomorrow, as Clint Eastwood somewhat whimsically suggested.
And then there is the postmortem on the recent big war just completed. Have I heard President Obama or Mitt Romney admit that Iraq was a massive failure at a cost of nearly 6,000 American lives and possibly trillions of dollars, producing an unstable yet fundamentally autocratic regime that cannot maintain security and is leaning politically toward Iran? Again, most Americans have figured it out, so why can’t the politicians say it, respond to it, and learn something from it?
And then there is the global war on terror, which includes all the little wars and “constabulary actions” that have sprung up in places like Yemen, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Uganda, Kenya, Mauritania, Mali, Colombia, the Philippines, and Pakistan. Do any of those places threaten the security of the United States? I think not, with the possible exception of Pakistan, which is in crisis precisely because of the American intervention in the region. Shouldn’t someone be explaining exactly why humanitarian interventionism should be a driver of U.S. foreign policy or, alternatively, why Washington should be using armed force as a first option in situations where there is no demonstrable threat? Shouldn’t someone at least make an effort to justify drone warfare? Or extrajudicial killing of U.S. citizens overseas as a response to terrorism?
President Obama has rightly noted that the Romney’s campaign’s general belligerency guarantees poor relations with Russia and China, two key competitors. But should the discussion stop there? Obama has also been sharply critical of both countries and he should explain how he believes that the State Department is supporting American interests in getting involved in their internal politics. Romney should try to explain why Russia is “public enemy number one” and exactly how he would actually address China’s currency manipulation short of taking steps that would turn a major trading partner and holder of U.S. Treasury notes into an enemy.
And then there is Iran, the now, tomorrow and over the horizon threat all rolled into one. The debate should be over what the actual U.S. interests and are together with a consideration of what steps should be taken to resolve the areas of disagreement short of a war. Iraq should be held up as the model of what might happen, only worse. If Romney can make a case for attacking Iran which actually relates to American as opposed to Israeli interests he or Paul Ryan should explain what exactly it would be. Obama should be required to explain how sanctions and the negotiations that he has not seriously engaged in at any point can possibly be the key to resolving the crisis. Both Republicans and Democrats should try to explain how Iran actually threatens the United States even though it has no nuclear weapons program, has not threatened to attack anyone, and has not initiated an offensive war for at least three centuries. And they should be willing to discuss in a serious way what the possible consequences for the U.S. military, Americans traveling overseas, and also for the U.S. economy might be if a war does start.
And finally there is the cost. Someone should be explaining why the country is still involved in a hideously expensive war on terror, possibly exceeding $1 trillion per year if state and local costs are included, when more Americans are killed annually by bee stings or falling television sets than by terrorists. Iraq might possibly cost $5 trillion when all the accumulated debts and legacy costs are paid, a war that the Pentagon initially sold as paying for itself from oil revenue. The bill and still counting on Afghanistan is $1 trillion. And focusing on all that money makes it easy to forget the human costs of 6,600 dead Americans, 1,500 dead NATO and “Coalition of the Willing” allied soldiers, hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis, and tens of thousands of dead Afghans.
Jobs and the economy are rightly the focus of the upcoming election because of their immediate impact on every American, but it is also essential to address the issue of how a dysfunctional and horrifically expensive foreign and defense policy has made every American poorer and even threatened the continued existence of our republican form of government. It is a discussion that must take place even if the two major parties do their best to avoid it.
Posted in USAComments Off on Rumors of Wars
Russian FM: USAID Trying to ‘Influence’ Elections
Blunt Statement Explains Order to End US Govt. Operations
by Jason Ditz,
Shedding more light on the Russian government’s order that USAID end all operations in the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statementconfirming speculation that indeed the move was related to concerns of election tampering.
“It’s about attempts to influence political processes, including elections of various types, and institutions of civil society though the distribution of grants,” the statement insisted, saying they were worried in particular about meddling in the Caucasus region.
US officials say they knew about this upcoming ban well in advance and are already working to circumvent it and continue operations indirectly in Russia, with administration officials saying the US would “continue to support democracy” in Russia.
Several Russian opposition groups which not coincidentally receive large portions of their funding directly from US government grants bashed the ban, saying that they proved Putin wanted to continue to retain control over society in Russia.
Posted in RussiaComments Off on Russian FM: USAID Trying to ‘Influence’ Elections
NAZI’S IN PALESTINE
Posted in Palestine Affairs, ZIO-NAZIComments Off on NAZI’S IN PALESTINE
Exposed! How Britain’s anti-Semitism scaremongers operate
Disabled for life by Nazi’s shoot-to-cripple policy…
Corbyn under fire for saying 'Zionists don't understand English irony' in old VIDEO
Esra Al-Ghamgam BRUTALLY EXECUTED BY SAUDI Zio-Wahhabi family
A tale of two massacres: Pittsburgh and Hebron
Mike Pompeo threatens to assassinate more Iranian leaders if they retaliate against US
Trump’s Latest Debacle: an Incompetent and Deceitful National Security Team
Pulling Back From War: Trump and the Politics of De-Escalation
Roaming Charges: All the Pretty Missiles Are Going to Hell
Mega Droughts Engulf Countries
Capitalism and the Gut-Wrenching Hijack of India
What the US Wants in the Near East: an Interview With The Saker
American Murder
Where is the Reporting on PetroCaribe?
Australia on the Chasm of Climate Catastrophe
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Nursing and Midwifery in Southern Sudan - Undersubscribed in a High Demand Environment
Author(s): Julien Bucyabahiga
UNFPA Communication Officer
The first ever College of Nursing and Midwifery in Southern Sudan has been established. This comes at a time when Southern Sudan is recovering from more than 20 years of civil war, which resulted in decay of the available infrastructure, human resources and systems in the health sector. As well as the lack of qualified personnel, the health care infrastructure including hospitals, primary health care centres and primary health care units also lay in total ruin.
Most practising health professional cadres received limited professional health education during the war that ended in 2005. Of the more than 4600 health workers who are presently operational, less than 10-20% have received more than 9 months of any form of professional training. This situation is made worse by the severe mal-distribution of health workers. More than two thirds are working in 3 of the 10 states, and there is a severe urban-rural bias. As a consequence, Southern Sudan has the highest maternal mortality ratio in the world standing at a staggering figure of 2054 maternal deaths/100,000 live births1.
In response, the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) has sought assistance from donors and neighbouring countries (e.g. Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia) to support human resources for the health care system. “We have to learn from experiences…, we are not ashamed about our situation. Our people must access a better heath care system” stressed Dr Olivia Lomoro, Acting Undersecretary in the Ministry of Health during a recent workshop. With the support of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and many other donors, existing structures are being renovated.
Training midwives
Starting in 2006, the training of Community Midwives was the first UNFPA initiative in the support of skilled birth attendants (SBAs). 96 students have graduated since 2007 from different institutions.
A further 110 Community Midwives are being prepared to begin training in 2010. UNFPA is looking into the possibilities of recruiting about 150 International Volunteers/Midwives by the end of 2010 to help the South Sudan Government to face the challenge of lack of qualified health cadres.
Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery
Because of the urgent need to develop a cadre with acceptable knowledge and skills, several stakeholders have joined hands by funding the first ever Nursing and Midwifery College. These include UNFPA, Real Medicine Foundation (RMF), World Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization (WHO) and St Mary’s Hospital, Isle of Wight-Juba Link. The United Nations Development Programme/ Global Fund (UNDP/GF) and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) are providing additional funds to renovate /construct student hostels, a kitchen and mess hall, additional classrooms and a recreational facility.
The Juba College of Nursing and Midwifery has been operational since May 2010 and will be fully established in its new facilities by the end of 2010. It is expected that the college will have trained over 100 nurses and midwives from all states of South Sudan by 2015.
The College is temporarily being hosted at the Juba Public Health Training Institute as JICA start construction and renovation work at the intended site at Juba Teaching Hospital (see Figure 1).
The school opened with 30 students including 18 nursing and 12 midwife trainees (see Figure 2, 3 and 4). Of these, 10 are male and 20 are female. Trainees have come from Eastern Equatoria, Central Equatoria, Upper Nile and Western Equatoria states. The highly motivated and enthusiastic students are currently taking foundation courses in mathematics, biology and English. “Some of us have been working as nurses in various state hospitals. We are very happy to be here. The courses will help us upgrade our knowledge and skills” said a student. The school is supposed to take students from all states but it is difficult to get candidates with all entry requirements.
Training and tutors
According to Dr Dragudi Buwa, UNFPA Deputy Representative in Southern Sudan, the intensive training will take three years. “The training will lead to a Diploma in Nursing and Midwifery based on a curriculum recognised by international standards”, says Dr Buwa. The school will help contribute towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goal 5 (reduction of maternal mortality) as well as improving access to family planning and basic and comprehensive emergency and obstetric care.
When they have finished training in 2013, the qualified nurses and midwives will repatriate to their respective states to offer professional support to the health facilities. “Having attained adequate skills to work relatively independently in state hospitals, Primary Health Care Centres and Primary Health Care Centre Units, they will be expected to mentor and guide the other lower cadres’ staff prevalent in such health facilities. They will organise the work of the health care institutions and bring quality assurance to the care processes undertaken in their respective heath care units” says Ms Bilha Achieng, Project Assistant Manager with Real Medicine Foundation who is currently running the day-to-day operation of the school. She adds, “Real Medicine Foundation has also agreed to fund tutors; St Mary’s Hospital Isle of Wight-Juba Link will provide volunteer tutors temporarily to support the college tutors”. Eventually the management of the school will be handed over to the Ministry of Health. Ms Petronella Wawa is already designated as the Principal of the college.
The main challenges of the college are:
Lack of national qualified nurse and midwife tutors,
Shortages of applicants for the diploma programme with an acceptable entry-level of education. South Sudan’s high adult illiteracy rate (due to two decades of war) especially among women has affected the candidate selection process and requires a re-assessment of the interview and selection criteria2.
Lack of funds for students' housing and transport3. Some students face challenges in learning English. Mary Lupai UNFPA’s National Programme Officer for Gender is helping to tutor the students in communication skills.
Fore more information, please contact Ms Bilha Achieng at [email protected]
Southern Sudan Household and Health Survey, 2006
Information from Jonathan White, RMF
Informal information from Janet Michael, Director of Nursing and Midwifery
Thanks to Bilha Achieng and Jonathan White for the photographs in this article.
Editorial: Juba Teaching Hospital College of Nursing and Midwifery
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HUGH STIRLING
Date of Birth: October 23, 1907
Place of Birth: London, Ontario
Date of Passing: May 28, 1994
Dominion Junior Football Championship, St. Thomas Tigers
Sarnia Imperials
ORFU All-Star
Grey Cup - Sarnia Imperials
Eastern All-Star
ORFU MVP
Lionel Conacher Trophy
The greatest punter ever to grace Sarnia's gridiron, Hugh "Bummer" Stirling was a name legendary in southern Ontario throughout the 1930s. Stirling started his football career playing with the Junior St. Thomas Tigers, leading them to the Dominion Junior Football Championships in 1928. He joined the Sarnia Imperials in 1929, an Ontario Rugby Football Union team that was sponsored by Imperial Oil and guaranteed a company job for all players. Stirling starred with the Imperials until 1937, during which time he led them to the provincial championships nearly every year, as well as two Grey Cups in 1934 and 1936. A fierce halfback known for his incredible punting skills, Stirling was famous for kicking the longest punt in Sarnia's football history - 115 yards. This decisive 60-mintue man was an ORFU All-Star every year from 1932 to 1937, an Eastern All-Star from 1934 to 1936, and the league's most valuable player in 1936. In 1938, Stirling was the first football player to receive the Lionel Conacher Trophy as the Canadian Press' top choice for Canada's male athlete of the year. He retired from the field at the onset of the Second World War, served overseas with the Canadian Armed Forces, and then moved to Alberta to continue his work with Imperial Oil. In 1966, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
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Date of Passing: 1938
Sport: Golf
Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association Championship
Immigrating with his parents from England when he was six years old, Charles Murray’s talent with a golf club led to his quickly picking up the fundamentals of the sport. A long-time professional at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, he captured two Canadian Open titles in 1906 and again in 1911. Charles also won the inaugural Canadian Professional Golfers’ Association Championship in 1912 and won the Quebec Open 10 times between 1909 and 1924. Charles spent 10 years as the winter head professional at the Gulf Stream Golf Club in Delray Beach, Florida where he gained a North American reputation as a player and hosted many early professionals in the fledgling PGA circuit. Charles had a reputation for his sportsmanship and courtesy and was highly regarded as a player and golf professional.
Charles also designed the Kanawaki Golf Club and the Montreal Municipal Golf Club-Yellow Course (the first public course in Montreal) with his brother Albert and he and his brother are to this day the only brothers to have each captured Canadian Open championships.
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Saints Processions
Dev Sondexkar
Firgojechea Tornattem
Mariechi Fouz(Legion of Mary)
Krista Khatir Zhoddio (C.F.C)
Magnneacho(Pray Group)
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SAC | Goa-Velha
On November 25, 1510 St. Catherine’s day, the first Catholic procession on the soil of Goa led by Affonso de Albuquerque with his army along with some Franciscan and Dominican friars sowed the seed of the Catholic processions in Goa. As you go through the history, the historians say; when peace was granted to Church after three centuries of bloody persecution, public devotions became common and processions were frequently held, with preference for days, which the heathens had held sacred. These processions were called Litanies, in them pictures and other religious emblems were camed, and this was first instituted by Pope Liberius. The one liturgical Litany, the “Litany of Saints” which was started dates back to the fifth century. In these litanies, there were seven processions, of clergy, monks, nuns, matrons, nonprofessionals, the poor, and children respectively, which were starting from seven different churches, proceeding to take part in the mass at St. Maria Maggiore in Rome. The Pope and the people would go in a procession each day especially in Lent. In 2006, Pope Benedict XVI led his first Good Friday procession from St. Peter’s square to the Colosseum, the way of the Cross. Processions from the earliest times formed part of the worship of the old nature gods and later formed an essential part ofthe celebration of the great religious festivals. Processions were first used in the same way as equivalent of the Greek for the assembly of the people in the Church, and in this sense, it appears to have been used by Pope Leo I. As to public processions, these seem to have come into rapid vogue after the recognition ofChristianity as the religion of the empire. At Jerusalem, it seems to have been long established towards the end of the 4th century. It is to such a procession that reference appears have been made in a letter of St. Basil, which would thus be the first recorded mention of a public Christian procession. In times of calamity litanies were held, in which the people walked in penitential robes, fasting, barefooted, and, in later times, frequently dressed in black and the relics of the Saints were carried. Funeral processions, accompanied with singing and the carrying of lighted tapers, were customary in early times.
On April 24, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI said that his predecessor Pope John Paul Il is “at home” among the Saints in heaven, and they would form a living procession to accompany him into the glory of God. The processions are the traditions of the Roman Catholics throughout the world. The procession is an organized body of people advancing in a formal or ceremonial manner, and at all times has been a natural form of public celebrations, as an orderly and impressive ceremony. The most important characteristic of the procession is that they still have a place in the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church and the rules governing the processions. The ritual admonishes the priests in charge of processions, either ordinary or extraordinary, duly to instruct the faithful of the time at which the procession is to be held and the order to be followed in it. Processions may be conducted entirely within the Church premises or may have effect outside in the Church compound and even from one Church to another. A Crucifix is carried always on top of a staff head ofmost liturgical processions, symbolizing that the faithful are followers of Christ. Sometimes there is strewing of flowers, burning of incense, and the melodious peals of the bells. Extraordinary processions are ordered on special occasions, to pray for rain or fine weather, in time of storm, famine, plague or war. There are also processions of honour, for instance to meet a royal personage, or the bishop on his first entry into his diocese. In addition, in some processions clergy and laity, men and women, are to walk separately. Violet is the colour prescribed for processions, except on, the feast ofCorpus Christi, or on a day when some other colour is prescribed. The officiating priest wears a cope, or at least a surplice with a violet stole, the other priests and clergy wear surplices. When the Host is carried in procession, it is always covered by a canopy and accompanied by lights.
In Goa, processions for blessing of fields and the crops, or on Passion Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, Romaries to Old-Goa, Sancoale and Pilar are very common in every parish as well as the processions of Our Lady’s visits from house to house. In addition, there were many other religious processions existing in Goa, as various religious Orders followed the traditions like the procession of the Rosary by Dominicans, the procession of the flagellants and of the ‘bones of the hanged’ by Confraternity of the charity, the Corpus Christi, the procession of the Passion of Our Lord by the Augustinians. According to Jesuit Fr. L. Frois wrote in 1557 that for every day the members of all the religious Orders held processions for the reformations of manners and the confusion of non- Christians. The famous traveler Pietro Della Valle observed the processions and said that, there IS no country world, where there are so many processions held throughout the year as in Goa. However, many of these processions stopped long ago. Archbishop Dom Francisco De Assunqäo by Decree ofApril 6, 1755 banned the practice ofrnoving holy images mechanically in the representations of the Passion and by the Decree ofNovember 8, 1755 he put an end to the procession of flagellants from St. Paul College Old-Goa because it ended very often in a frenzy of bloody flagellations. The two unique processions still exist, Capas Magnas at Se Cathedral of Old-Goa on Good Friday and “Procession of Saints” on the fifth Monday in Lent at Goa—Velha village. This unique event the “Procession of Saints” is a remarkable and significant celebration in the world.
There are many different processions in the world and many elements try to make a procession more significant than just people walking in the same direction are. The Pope was traditionally carried in aspecial sedan chair known as the “sedia gestatoria”. While in 1986 when Pope John Paul II visited Goa, Archbishop Raul Gonsalves led the papal entourage from Dabolim airport to Bishop’s House Panjim. Music, including everything from the
choir of a Church procession to the marching band of a military procession may march before the procession calling on the people to clear the way for it. The banners, fans, icons, treasure, or other eye-catching items, or leading exotic animals, this was a very important part of Roman triumphs, as visual proof of the warrior’s success. The King Momo leads his entourage for four days of carnival revelry in Goa and in many other countries. St. Isidro festivities in Philippines celebrates the “farmers day” with parades, the procession routes decorated with lavish arrangements of fruits and vegetables and colored rice flakes. In Italy, they had the “masked procession” a weeklong party that runs up to Ash Wednesday and a “procession of snake-catchers” in honor of St. Domenico Abate who had miraculous healing power over snakebites. In the month of February, a “flower parade” is held in France. During world youth day at Paris, the vigil included a “procession of banners” featuring many Saints. At Christmas, time lantern processions are held throughout the world.
Guadalupe, Lourdes, Garabandal and Fatima are the most famous places for the candlelight processions, whilst silent processions are held for peace. The world’s only “dancing procession” 0fchternachLUXemb0Urg in honor of St. Willibrord goes through the streets and winds up in the Basilica. The “Procession of women” in Antigua; women shoulder the Holy images during the holy week. In Lisbon Portugal, during the “red waistcoat festival” a boat procession is led in villa Franca de Xira, and a “water procession” carrying an image of Nossa Senhora Da Vida in Alcochete. The “procession of species” at Corvallis-Oregon during the Earth fair and to celebrate the earth day, is followed by creative “procession of costumes”. Traditionally, the different costumes help show off the wealth of the person staging a procession; like Swiss Guard and high vestments of the Pope. Recently, in the history of May Day rallies throughout the world, on May 1, 2006 millions of illegal immigrants marched in the cities of the U.S.A. to protest and to have a path to legalize their status. While the fireworks illuminate procession parades and different occasions, the aircraft flyover makes a spectacular scene in the sky.
Processions are used to mark the beginning or end of an event, such as parades at the beginning of festivals or at the Olympic Games, or the processions, which begin and end funerals, graduations, and weddings. People throughout the world, watched the live coverage of the large funeral procession of the Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. In Goa every ten years, we have another world famous event, the exposition of the relics of St. Francis Xavier, which begins and ends with the procession, from Born Jesus Basilica to Se Cathedral and back. Today, most people are familiar with dispensing of gifts at the end of the procession like Rosaries, holy pictures, other souvenirs. Processions are also the display of power, such as ancient Roman triumphs, the durbar processions of India and modern reviewing of the troops by generals and heads of state. The symbolic processions were an important tool in India during the nonviolent protests of Mahatma Gandhi, the spectacular Republic day parade at New Delhi and now-a-days the display of power, such as ancient Roman triumphs, the durbar processions of India and modem reviewing of the troops by generals and heads of state. The symbolic processions were an important tool in India during the nonviolent protests of Mahatma Gandhi, the spectacular Republic day parade at New Delhi and now—a-days the political road shows and rallies. Processions play an important role in coronationS, such as that of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom in 1953. The religious ceremonies have since prehistory employed the procession of holy objects to inspire solidarity of belief and the victory celebrations. Processions of the Blessed Sacrament are a powerful and popular expression of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
Many places throughout the world where different processions are held at the conclusion of the feast mass along with the images of Saints, as the Corpus Christi celebrated in all the parishes throughout the world. After the council of Vienna (1311-1312) held during the pontificate of Pope Clement V. the city of Rome decided to make the celebration public and increasing the solemnity of Corpus Christi by carrying in processions the relics of the Saints, from that time the images of Saints are carried in the procession of Corpus Christi. In Peru, fifteen images of Saints are paraded through the streets, from different parishes to the Cathedral of Cusco, to celebrate the feast of “Senor de Los Temblores” on Corpus Christi day. In Hawaii, the descendents of Portuguese immigrants in Honolulu lead a “procession of Saints” on the feast day of Pentecost with 30 images of Saints between one and for three feet in size, along with the replica of the crown of Queen Elizabeth of Portugal. This is a century old tradition of the society. In Mexico, “Procession of Saints” also held during the Titular fiesta of Santiago, and during the June festival surrounding villages lead their patron Saints to Lake Chapala for nine days in processions in the morning and evening.
The Holy week processions are held throughout the world. In the Philippines, San Francisco parish Bicolandia,Good Friday procession goes through the streets followed by the images of Saints. in Aguador, a Holy Wednesday procession is Led through the streets with the image of Jesus Christ followed by about ten images of Saints, in Marinduque, a procession of Saints is involved in the passion and death of Christ. in Ponta Delgada Sao Miguel Island of Portugal, thousands of pilgrims march behind the image of Jesus Christ (Ecce Homo) for the three-hour procession along the flower decorated streets. In Seville-Spain, during the Holy week procession of the Passion of Christ, penitents carrying Crosses on their shoulder behind the image of Jesus, followed by the Costaleros (members ofconfraria) carry the images of Saints. In Venezuela, from January 14, until Palm Sunday, the image of Mother of Jesus, the divine Shepherdess, passes by the capital’s 44 shrines, the largest procession in the country.
All Saints day is celebrated by Catholics throughout the world in their parishes by having processions, carrying images of Saints and in different ways. In the city of St. Louis-Missouri, family celebrations arc held with costume party games, with children dressed and portraying models and acting the lives of Saints either with spoken parts or by narration, in Chcago during the celebration of the Saints day, the service opens with a procession of the images of Saints from around the world, which art students created. While in Rome on November 1, 1999 after the Holy Mass Marisa Rossi went into ecstasy and saw marvellous scenes one following another, first she saw a long procession of Saints who preceded Jesus and Our Lady surrounded by myriads of Angels (under investigation).
Some religious Orders also celebrated the ‘Saints day’ of their Order, as Franciscans celebrate the teats all aims of their Seraphic Order on November 29. While, here there are few other processions on different days with the images of Saints, in the U.S.A, Fresco Diocese California celebrates on second Sunday of September the feast of Our Lady of Miracles followed by the “procession of Saints”. In South Philadelphia, “procession of Saints” is led through the streets by a marching band during the “Bella Vista Fiesta” in the month of May. In Wilmington- Delaware, “St. Anthony’s Italian festival”, is on the final day of the festival and a “procession of Saints” is led through the streets of the parish with about 12 images of Saints. In the Philippines, on the second Sunday of October there is a procession of Virgin Mary of La Naval, which goes through the streets with 12 images of Dominican Saints. The processions on the feast day of St. Patrick and St. Brigid are very popular in Ireland.
Processions appear in contrasting art form at different places in the world, and the centuries old art works of many artists still can be seen. A painting by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema, displays a romanticized Roman procession, while his Finding of Moses shows an heir of the Pharaoh proceeding to the palace with her entourage. The funeral procession of Elizabeth I of England is portrayed in the film Orlando. The procession of Prince Au in the Disney film Aladdin allows the hero to show off his newfound prestige. Painting by Benozzo Gozzoli, in the chapel, Palazzo Medici-Recardi, Florence Italy displays the procession of Magus Baithazar and Melchior. In RavennaV enice Italy, the Basilica of St. Apollinare Nuovo, portrays the processions of Saints leading to Jesus seated on a throne and the Three Magi offering gifts to Mother Mary. In St. Peter’s Basilica, the colonnades and corridors are surmounted by 162 images of Saints after design by Bernini.
Parades arranged purely for fun, such as those of community organizations and friendly societies are popular in Great Britain and the United States of America. Today, many parades arc sponsored by big departmental stores similar to the one in Times Square in New York. Like the spectacular floats of Carnival parades in Brazil and many other countries, in Goa we have the Sigmo festivals, the traditional ‘Bonderam’ festival at Divar, the celebration of “Sao Joao”, a colorful boat parade held in Siolim village, and four days of Carnival parades in many villages and cities. On February 14, throughout the world people celebrate a romantic theme “Valentine’s day” with dances, parties and parades, which are named in honor of St. Valentine, and in Dublin the martyr’s relics lead the procession through the streets. Parades may be staged simply to show off the costumes, such as at fashion shows, and the competitive events like the beauty pageant Miss Universe and Miss World. Rome is the home for the processions, as there are many different processions throughout the year, but it does not have the procession of Saints like the one in Goa. Here in Goa the procession of Saints is an exclusively unique event in the world, as an outstanding and specific celebration for the Lenten season, as the object of the procession is a penitential practice and presentation of the history and life ofthe Saints as models before the people.
The fifth Monday of the Lent
On the fifth Monday of Lent, after Passion Sunday, every year thousands of people flock to Goa-Velha village from different parts of Goa, from neighbouring states, tourists and now-a-days people from this village and neighbouring villages who reside in many other countries come down for a vacation during the procession of Saints as this is a unique tradition. It takes about a week to prepare all the artistic images of Saints for this great penitential event, all the preparation of artistic work is carried out by a few of the villagers, presently they are: Roque D’souza, Jacque Gonsalves, Augusto Mendes (Alvaro) and his Sons Teodore Mendes and Aifredo Mendes. In the earlier days many villagers used to work together to touch-up all these centuries old artistic images of Saints for this great day, but they are no more. On Monday, when all the images are prepared and mounted on the charols (tableaux), they all set them in order according to the number of the charols inside the St. Andrew’s Church, and the ‘Holy Face’ of Jesus Christ is set in the center of the Church on a small table.
In the evening at around 4:00 pm, the Church bells keep on ringing and the village youth choir goes on singing in their melodious voices. The outdoor main Eucharistic celebration begins in the Church Square every year with a different theme. After the holy celebration by sundown, the images are brought out in order from the main door of St. Andrew’s Church, and go and stop one by one in front of the outdoor altar, while the priest reads out the history and the life of the Saints to the faithful. Then, the images are taken around the square year with a different theme. After the holy celebration by sundown, the images are brought out in order from the main door of St. Andrew’s Church, and go and stop one by one in front of the outdoor altar, while the priest reads out the history and the life of the Saints to the faithful. Then, the images are taken around the square; proceed out on the street road and then some of the devotees follow behind each charol. The first charol is the Tau and the crossed arms, symbol of the Franciscan order. This leads the prqcssion followcd by all other images on the charols shouldered by the confraria members of the Churci 1ast’cIiaioI i Image of St. Francis of Assisi seeing a vision of our Lord Jesus Christ crucified. The procession ends with the ‘Veil of Veronica’ that is carried by the priest in his hands and covered by a canopy and guarded by the confraria members. Throughout the procession, all the devotees pray the Rosary and the youth choir follows each decade of the Rosary by singing hymns.
As the procession marching on the street lanes through the crowd, devotees can be seen ducking under the charols to receive the blessings through the intercession of the Saints and to obtain purification for their confessed sins. The men dressed in the red and white ‘Opa-Murça’ can be seen heavily sweating while carrying each heavy charol and have a very difficult time to pass through the crowd until they reach on the highway. All four of them each carries a resting wooden bar (“Y” shape) for emergency and regular stops. When they reach on the highway all the traffic stops as a sign of respect to the holy models, (but now, due to heavy and peak hours of the traffic, one way is kept open). It takes about two hours to pass the highway until they reach the Batim-Merces road and then it goes on smoothly, a little ahead it takes a left turn to the Church street road and then straight to the Church compound, while the people queue along the route and pass under the charols.
At the end of the procession, the charols are arranged in the Church Square in a semi-circle and rested on the wooden bar and all the Confraria members stand-by and a priest gives a sermon to the faithful. Most of the villagers from this village gather at this time; after the sermon all the images of the Saints are taken back inside to the St. Andrew’s Church and kept in order for three days for public veneration.The evening atmosphere is a completely family affair. Every family has several guests as people come out in formal clothes as for a typical Church feast in Goa. The people walk in the fair, buy traditional sweets (Kazem:adeo-bodeo, ladu, kapam, alvo, reudio, chonne, etc.). The roads are lined-up with stalls selling everything from sweets to clothes to hOuschId items. Some people especially come here to buy hand-fans made out of roots and herbs locally called “Bonavoto avno” These fans are traditionally used in the summer season for medicinal fragrance ofair. The people wait here until late night. The next day after the morning masses, the veneration of the Holy Models begins.
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Goa-Velha villagers were under the Batim Parish Church that had begun about the year 1541 with a small Chapel located near the present cemetery of Batim and later the Jesuit seminarians from Old-Goa used to come to teach catechism. Under the Archbishop Joäo Vincente de Fonseca, (1582-1587) Dominican, Goa-Velha became a separate parish in 1583. The first Church was built probably by the Jesuits and dedicated to St. Andrew..More Details
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Authentic original newspapers for sale
Birthday & Gift Issues
All The 1600's and 1700's - American - British - Revolutionary War The Civil War - Confederate - Yankee The Old West Harper's Weekly - 1857-1860 - 1861-1865 - 1866-1869 - 1870-1879 - 1880-1889 - 1890-1899 - 1900-1916 Moments in American History - Post-Civil War - Pre-Civil War The 20th Century - World War II Displayable Issues Wholesale Lots War of 1812 Documents & Broadsides The 21st Century
Home > Back to Search Results > The Nova Constellatio coin, made for the American colonies... Settling Australia as a penal colony...
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The Nova Constellatio coin, made for the American colonies... Settling Australia as a penal colony...
Item # 662380 THE GENTLEMAN'S MAGAZINE, London, October, 1786 The most interesting item in this issue is the foldout plate which contains--among other prints--an image of the "Nova Constellatio" coin used in the colonies (see). The print shows both the obverse & reverse & has a date of 1785.
This was one of the earlier colonial coins, ordered by Gouverneur Morris & minted in Birmingham, England, exclusively for circulation in America. The description is on a later page (see photos for full text) & includes: "...a halfpenny lately struck by the United States of America...On one side encircled within a wreath of laurel...are the letters U.S. in cypher, surrounded with an inscription...date, 1785. On the reverse, in the center, is a constellation from which issue thirteen illuminated rays & between each ray is a small star, expressive of the Thirteen United States; round these rays & the stars is the following inscription: Nova Constellatio...".
Equally as significant is one of the earliest reports of plans for the settlement of Australia, or Botany Bay as known then. The notable report takes two-thirds of a column & includes in part: "A plan is said to be formed, and now actually carrying into execution, for settling a new colony at Botany-bay in New Holland at which place Lt. Cook, in his survey of the eastern coast of that continent in 1770, made some stay to repair his ship...As the ostensible design of the projectors is to prepare a settlement for the reception of felons, no place...can be more improper for that purpose than Botany-bay..." with more detail, and noting near the end: "...and if it is to be continued with every freight of felons it will annihilate the surplus that is intended for augmenting the fund appropriated for the payment of the national debt. It is certainly a most extravagant scheme & probably will be reconsidered."
Near the back of the issue is over a full page on: "American Affairs" which includes a wide range of news items.
Both plates called for are present.
Complete in 96 pages, 5 1/4 by 8 1/4 inches, full title/contents page featuring an engraving of St. John's Gate, great condition.
A very nice magazine from the "mother country" not long after the end of the Revolutionary War with a wide range of varied content. This was the first periodical to use the word "magazine" in its title, having begun in 1731 and lasting until 1907.
Item from Catalog 289 (released for December, 2019)...
Category: The 1600's and 1700's
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Stranger than Fiction (United States, 2006)
A movie review by James Berardinelli
Stranger than Fiction does a lot of things exceedingly well and almost none poorly. It takes a great premise and runs with it, neither wasting opportunities nor going off on tangents. It features strong work from both the main and supporting actors, and manages seamlessly to incorporate both humor and poignancy. I was expecting Stranger than Fiction to be funny; I had not anticipated it to be as touching as it is. Director Marc Forster and screenwriter Zach Helm reveal great affection for their characters, and this is apparent in every frame of the finished picture.
Harold Crick (Will Ferrell) is a member of the anonymous masses - an IRS agent whose daily routine is dominated by numbers, not words or human interaction. For him, every day is like every other; for twelve years, he has lived a life of solitude. Then comes a mysterious Wednesday when Harold begins to hear a voice. Although he doesn't realize it at the time, this is not the voice of god or fate, but of author Kay Eiffel (Emma Thompson), and she's narrating Harold's experiences. At first, he thinks his toothbrush or tie is talking to him, but then he figures out what's going on: he's the main character in someone else's book. Kay's voice is an annoyance until she mentions that, little does he know, his death is around the corner. This forces Harold to seek help. A psychiatrist (Linda Hunt) thinks he needs to be medicated. A literary professor (Dustin Hoffman) gives him different advice. Although not believing Harold's tale, he advises the tax man to figure out whether he's in a comedy or a tragedy. Initial signs point to the latter.
Meanwhile, Harold's job takes him to a bakery to audit Ana Pascal (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the baker. She explains to him why she didn't pay her taxes, showers him with insults, then does everything possible to make his job tough. Harold responds by staring at her breasts, stumbling over his words, and generally making an ass out of himself. Meanwhile, the voice keeps making observations Harold is uncomfortable with. Eventually, Ana takes pity on Harold and bakes him some cookies. In the words of one of cinema's immortal characters, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Now, Harold has something to live for, which means it's imperative for him to locate the omnipotent force that is directing his actions.
This isn't Will Ferrell's first attempt at straight acting. He was okay in Melinda and Melinda and not so great in Winter Passing, but he's very good here, developing a likable character and never going over-the-top. He's funny when the script wants him to be, and heroic or tragic when that's called for. His chemistry with Maggie Gyllenhaal is palpable. Speaking of Gyllenhaal, who glows, this is another wonderful performance in a line of them. If she doesn't get nominated for something early next year, it will be a travesty. She has elevated everything from World Trade Center to Trust the Man to this movie, not to mention her powerhouse lead portrayal in Sherrybaby. Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson are fine in supporting roles. Queen Latifa is wasted as Kay's assistant. One wonders if the bulk of her work ended up on the cutting room floor, because it's hard to believe she would otherwise accept such a thankless role.
Once upon a time, Hollywood films used the slogan "You laugh and you'll cry" to get people into theaters. That's literally true of Stranger than Fiction. Forster, who moved outside of the mainstream with Monsters Ball and Stay, comes back into the fold here, but that shouldn't be seen as a negative. This movie has the star power and potential for widespread appeal, but it's more intelligent than what we usually get from the studios. Nothing in Stranger than Fiction is cookie-cutter or formula driven. It's predictable in short spans, but not in an overall sense. The visuals are playful (Ferrell's numbers obsessions are colorfully illustrated on the screen with a series of overlays) but the emotional impact is not. Stranger than Fiction is a wonderful cinematic experience - a welcome way to spend a chilly autumn evening.
Director: Marc Forster
Cast: Will Ferrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Emma Thompson, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah
Screenplay: Zach Helm
Cinematography: Roberto Schaefer
Music: Britt Daniel, Brian Reitzell
U.S. Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Ranked #9 in Berardinelli's Top 10 of 2006
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Situations)
Subtitles: none
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Three...better movies of this genre
Princess Bride, The (1987)
City Lights (1931)
worse movies of this genre
Feast (2006)
Dumb and Dumberer (2003)
Freddy Got Fingered (2001)
Three...better movies of Will Ferrell
Lego Movie, The (2014)
Anchorman (2004)
Winter Passing (2005)
worse movies of Will Ferrell
Bewitched (2005)
Step Brothers (2008)
Land of the Lost (2009)
Three...better movies of Maggie Gyllenhaal
Dark Knight, The (2008)
World Trade Center (2006)
worse movies of Maggie Gyllenhaal
Trust the Man (2006)
Happy Endings (2005)
Three...better movies of Emma Thompson
In the Name of the Father (1994)
Much Ado About Nothing (1993)
Dead Again (1991)
worse movies of Emma Thompson
Men in Black III (2012)
Men in Black International (2019)
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The Best US Cities to Find Love
Here are the factors CreditDonkey considered to discover the best places for finding love:
Number of single people: Luck has a lot to do with love. To increase your chances of being in the right place at the right time, we looked at the number of unmarried males and females in each major metropolitan area per capita, according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey. We’ve also taken into account the ratio of males and females in a city from the same data.
Divorce rates: You need to find love but also stay together. Studies have shown that friends of divorcees – particularly men – are more likely to get divorced themselves. So we factored in low divorce rates for our higher ranked cities, using data from the Census survey.
Credit score: What do most couples fight about? Money. You want someone who knows how to manage their finances, and a credit score is one indication. As it is, according to a recent study, a person’s poor credit history is a significant deterrent for marriage.
Unemployment rates: A recent article in the Journal of Marriage and Family found that unemployment negatively affects a person’s ability to date and find a partner.
Depression statistics: The happier a person is, the more likely they will be open to finding love, so we’ve considered the Centers for Disease Control’s record of incidence of depression in major cities, based on a survey that asked respondents whether they had some form of depression.
With all those data points in mind, CreditDonkey came up with the following list of the best major U.S. cities to find love:
1. Richmond, VA
Unmarried adults per capita: 29%
Unmarried males to unmarried females: 185,791:168,204
Divorce rate: 11.4%
Average credit score: 677
Unemployment: 6.2%
Likelihood of depression: 12.3%
Virginia, the state “for lovers,” is home to the No. 1 city in America to find love. Nearly 30 percent of Richmond’s population is unmarried, and unemployment is low. The city also has several locally focused sites for those seeking a date. The city dubs itself as “Easy to Love,” so it’s appropriate that it serves as the setting for many great places for dates, including Civil War sites for mutual historic buffs, gardens for walkers, and river cruises for those who like to sightsee. It’s also the site ofone of the country’s oldest and most well-known love fables – Pocahontas and John Smith met in the area that is now considered Richmond.
Divorce rate: 8.9%
Close to Richmond, the nation’s capital ranks second on our list. Unemployment and divorce rates are low here, and it’s easy to bump into federal employees, who are likely to have reliable income and benefits. The margin between unmarried males and females is relatively low. U.S. News and World Report ranks Washington, D.C., as the third most educated city in the country, meaning many of the city’s dating population have finished college and could be looking for love. However, those who are online dating in this area should be skeptical – a survey by dating auction site WhatsYourPrice.com found D.C. to be the first least honest city among men and second least-honest city among women when it comes to information listed on online dating profiles.
3. Buffalo, NY
Likelihood of depression: 14%
A bit further north is the third best place to find love. Buffalo, home to “America’s Matchmaker,” Patti Novak, was recently ranked earlier this year by Zillow.com as one of the best cities to find love based on walkability and median rents. Depression rates are low in Buffalo, despite the cold winter months, and nearly 30 percent of the city’s population has never been married.
4. Baltimore, MD
Relative to its population, the number of unmarried males to unmarried females is very close in Baltimore, which also has a high percentage overall of unmarried adults per capita. In addition, there’s a diverse array of places for daters to visit, including several museums in the Federal Hill neighborhood. Peruse Baltimore Magazine’s recent highlight of the area’s top 20 bachelors and bachelorettes, which includes Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Tandon Doss. Baltimore also houses the Baltimore Love Project, a series of love-themed murals throughout the city.
5. Milwaukee, WI
Milwaukee the furthest west city on our list has a very low divorce rate and high percentage of unmarried adults compared to its population. It’s easy to find dating events and love connections in this area when you’re not even looking. The most common place for love connections in Milwaukee is at a bar, according to a Psychology Today article, so take some friends out on the town and see if you just happen to meet your match.
6. Virginia Beach, VA
Virginia Beach is the second city in the state for lovers. It’s home to coastal getaways and events that can serve as the backdrop for a new love. Virginia Beach residents have a high average credit score and low unemployment rates. Most recently, the city hosted the One Love Festival, which aims to bring people together in the names of love and peace.
7. Memphis, TN
With its high percentage of unmarried adults and nearly identical number of unmarried males to unmarried females, Memphis ranks as the seventh best place to find love. Memphis was rated as one of the best cities for a woman to meet a man by Men’s Health. The site “I Love Memphis” gives visitors great date ideas, including places to go that won’t weigh down your wallet.
8. Cleveland, OH
Cleveland has ranked as one of the best cities to find love from The Daily Beast, and it has also made our list. Cleveland has one of the best ratios of unmarried males to unmarried females on the list. Finding love is a popular topic among local Cleveland blogs, including Misadventures in Cleveland Dating, as does the TV show, “Hot in Cleveland.” There’s hope for love in Cleveland.
9. Charlotte, NC
With its very low divorce rate, Charlotte ranks ninth. The city hosts several dating sites and services. There are several places that serve as a great dating locale, including white water rafting and the amusement park Carowinds. The Charlotte Observer chronicles the local love stories on its website of several couples who met in Charlotte.
10. Boston, MA
Boston rounds out the top 10. With about 30 percent of residents never having married, as well as low divorce rates and the highest average credit score on our list, many Bostonians are single and ready for love. Popular date spots include Eastern Standard in nearby Cambridge and Toro in the South End. But if you’re looking for love in Boston, don’t try to blend in by using the word “pissah,” the slang word used by Bostonians to rave about something they think is great. Nearly 73 percent of dating Bostonians said the word is their biggest turnoff, according to a survey.
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River Etherow
Title: River Etherow
Subject: River Goyt, Glossop, Broadbottom, Mottram in Longdendale, River Mersey
Collection: Rivers and Valleys of the Peak District, Rivers of Derbyshire, Rivers of Greater Manchester, Rivers of Stockport Borough
The Etherow (left), joined by the Black Cloughs from Bleaklow.
- location Featherbed Moss, South Yorkshire
- elevation 500 m (1,640 ft)
- location River Goyt
- elevation 80 m (262 ft)
30 km (19 mi)
77.7 km2 (30 sq mi)
The River Etherow is highlighted in red (click to enlarge)
The River Etherow is a river in northern England, and a tributary of the River Goyt. Although now passing through South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Greater Manchester, it historically formed the ancient county boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire. The upper valley is known as Longdendale. The river has a watershed of approximately 30 square miles (78 km2), and the area an annual rainfall of 52.5 inches (1,330 mm).
Woodhead railway line 5.1
Walking and cycling 6.1
Sailing 6.2
Country Park 6.3
Tributaries 7
Bibliography 9.2
Destination: The Etherow enters the River Goyt, flowing from right to left
Rising in the Redhole Spring and Wike Head area of Pikenaze Moor in Derbyshire, the river broadens into the Longdendale Chain of reservoirs in the Peak District National Park. It emerges again in Tintwistle, Derbyshire, at the foot of Bottoms Reservoir dam[1] and passes Melandra Castle in Gamesley, where it is joined by Glossop Brook.[2] The Etherow enters the borough of Tameside at Hollingworth in Greater Manchester, passing into Stockport where it passes through Etherow Country Park. It flows into the River Goyt at Brabyns Park near Marple.
The modern accepted start of the River Mersey is at the confluence of the Tame and Goyt, in central Stockport, 4 miles (6 km) downstream.[3] However, older definitions, and many older maps, place its start at the confluence of the Etherow and Goyt; for example the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica states "It is formed by the junction of the Goyt and the Etherow a short distance below Marple in Cheshire on the first-named stream." The 1784 John Stockdale map shows the River Mersey extending to Mottram, and forming the boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire.[4]
The river in Hollingworth
The upper reaches of the River Etherow pass through peat moorland, inhabited by foxes, voles and an introduced population of mountain hare. Red grouse, ring ouzel, wheatear and golden plover may be seen. Kestrels, merlins and short-eared owls nest here. The reservoirs attract mallards, and also teal, pochard, common sandpipers, black-headed gulls and Canada geese. The woodlands are home to redstart, great spotted woodpecker, and spotted flycatcher.[5] Water rail have been recorded at Etherow Country Park.[6]
A schematic diagram of the rocks beneath the Etherow
Longdendale is a steep-sided V-shaped valley that is glacial in origin. Longdendale is in the Dark Peak, where a thick blanket of peat overlies the Millstone Grit sandstone, formed on a bed of shale through which flows the Etherow. Directly beneath the upper valley lie areas of Carboniferous Millstone Grit, shales and sandstone. It is on the edge of the Peak District Dome, at the southern edge of the Pennine anticline. The Variscan uplift has caused much faulting and Glossopdale was the product of glacial action in the last glaciation period that exploited the weakened rocks. The steep-sided valleys of the cloughs cause significant erosion and deposition. The layers of sandstone, mudstones and shale in the bedrock act as an aquifer to feed the springs. The valley bottoms have a thin deposit of boulder clay. The brooks are fed by the peaty soils of the moors and are, therefore, acidic (pH5.5–7.0).[7]
The Etherow valley was an important trans-Pennine route, and in AD 78 the Romans under Agricola built the fort of Ardotalia (later known as Melandra or Melandra Castle) to defend it. The Mercians settled at Hollingworth about 650 AD. Many placenames of the area date from this period; for example, Mottram and Glossop. At the time of Domesday (1086) the river was firmly established as the boundary between Cheshire and Derbyshire, but the name Edrow or Etherow applied to this upper reach of the Mersey can not be dated earlier than ca 1772.[8]
Lady Shaw Bridge
A packhorse route (known as a saltway) was maintained from the Middle Ages onwards to allow the export of salt from the Cheshire towns of Nantwich, Northwich and Middlewich across the Pennines. The saltway followed the Etherow to Ladyshaw, and at Salters Brook () it forked, with one route leading to Wakefield and another to Barnsley.[9]
Water was an important source of power for industry, and the Etherow and its tributaries were fast flowing and constant. Watermills were used to grind meal and to full woollen cloth (Littlemoor 1781). Wool was transported along the turnpike road (1731) that ran from Ashton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Mottram, Woodhead and Lady's Cross to Sheffield, to be woven on hand-looms in the dale.[10]
From 1782 to 1820, water-powered cotton mills were built along many brooks feeding the Etherow, including six on the Glossop side of the river. With the adoption of steam to power the ever-larger mills, built closer to the coal fields, the river assumed a new role as a source of water for Manchester and Salford. In 1844 John Frederick Bateman advised Manchester Corporation that the River Etherow, which rose at the highest point of the Pennine chain, could provide water, collected in purpose-built reservoirs, "nearly as pure as if it comes from the heavens." This led to the construction of the Longdendale Chain of reservoirs, the first scheme of its type in the world. Three reservoirs were built on the Etherow to impound drinking water, with another two to provide compensation water for the mills downstream.[11]
The Longdendale Chain of reservoirs comprises three impounding reservoirs, Woodhead Reservoir, Torside Reservoir and Rhodeswood Reservoir, supplying 24,000,000 imperial gallons (110 Ml) of water a day by gravity to Manchester and Salford, and 6,600,000 imperial gallons (30 Ml) to Hyde and Denton through the Mottram tunnel. Valehouse Reservoir and Bottoms Reservoir are compensating reservoirs which have a combined holding capacity of 4,200,000,000 imperial gallons (19,000 Ml).
Woodhead railway line
The Woodhead Line, which followed the river from Hadfield to the Woodhead Tunnel portal, was an important cross-Pennine route built in 1844 by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway. Three tunnels of 4,840 metres (15,880 ft) were dug, connecting Woodhead with Dunford Bridge on the River Don. Though now closed to railway traffic, one tunnel is used to route electricity cables for the National Grid, with work in progress to use a second tunnel for a new cable, thus preventing the re-establishment of rail traffic.
Walking and riding on the Longdendale Trail, March 2008
Following the closure of the railway line, the trackbed was taken up and the Longdendale Trail constructed along its route. This is now part of the Trans-Pennine Trail, Sustrans National Cycle Route 62.[12] This, in its turn, is part of the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) European walking route E8 from Liverpool to Istanbul. The Pennine Way crosses Longdendale, descending from Bleaklow to the south and ascending Black Hill to the north. The youth hostel at Crowden is a traditional stop after the first day's walking, from Edale.
The circular walk known as 'The Longdendale Edges' takes in the high ground (at about the 1,000 feet (300 m)-1,500 feet (460 m) level) on both sides of the valley. It is about 17 miles (27 km) long and is 'not recommended in doubtful weather'. The detailed route, clockwise from Crowden Youth Hostel, is given in Peak District Walking Guide No.2, published by the Peak Park Planning Board.
Torside Reservoir is home to Glossop & District Sailing Club and Etherow Country Park is the home to Etherow Country Park Sailing Club.[13][14]
Etherow Country Park which is situated in Compstall, close to the mouth of the Etherow, opened in 1968 as one of the UK's first country parks. Originally it was an industrial area incorporating a mine, a mill and a mill pond. The River Etherow flows through the park and is the source for the mill pond. Etherow Country Park is associated with many local groups, including a small local community group, the Friends of Etherow, anglers, the afore-mentioned sailing club, and a model boat club.
Compstall Nature Reserve is a 12.8 hectares (32 acres) region of the park which is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). The area was given the designation in 1977 for its biological interest, in particular its wide range of habitats, including open water, tall fen, reed swamp, carr and mixed deciduous woodland.[6]
The Etherow has no major tributaries; it is fed by numerous brooks and streams from the cloughs flowing off Kinder Scout, Bleaklow and Black Hill. Minor left tributaries are:
Black Clough
Shining Clough
Wildboar Clough
Torside Clough
Glossop Brook
Shell Brook
Hurst Brook
Gnats Hole Brook
Chisworth Brook
Minor right tributaries are:
Salters Brook
Heyden Brook
Crowden Brook
Hollingworth Brook
Arnfield Brook
Ogden Brook
Gigg Brook
Rivers of the United Kingdom
List of mills in Longdendale and Glossopdale
^ Quayle 2006, p. 85
^ This brook takes in waters from the Shelf Brook, Hurst Brook and others.
^ Quayle 2006, p. 159
^ John Stockdale, 1794, Map of the Environs of Mottram-in-Longdendale
^ Peak District National Park, Peak District National Park: Study Area Fact sheets 21, retrieved 2008-11-28
^ a b "Compstall Nature Reserve citation sheet" (PDF), English Nature, retrieved 2006-10-27
^ Radcliffe, Gemma (2004), "Management Plan for Glossop Brook", University of Manchester, Masters Thesis: 54–55, retrieved 2008-07-10
^ The editor of Stockport's Advertiser Notes and Queries vol. 4 (1884), p 97a, in a discussion of the origins and river name of the Mersey, says that he has not found the name Etherow applied to this water earlier than Rev. John Watson's description of Melandra Castle in Archeologia, vol. 3:236 (1775), siting the Castle "on the south side of the river Mersey (or, as some call it the Edrow) near Woolley Bridge, in the parish of Glossop". The editor surmises (p 99a) that the use of Etherow "has been strengthened by the necessity of the localisation of this portion of the river, in consequence of its having been adopted by the Manchester Corporation for its water supply".
^ On-site information board: File:Salters brook bridge noticeboard.jpg
^ Scott 1973, p. .
^ Signed Cycle Routes in Manchester, Manchester City Council, retrieved 2008-01-25
^ Glossop Saling Club home page Retrieved on 7 December 2008
^ Anon, Etherow Country Park Sailing Club, ECPSC, retrieved 7 December 2008
Quayle, Tom (2006), Manchester's Water: The reservoirs in the hills, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus Publishing,
Quayle, Tom (2006), The Cotton Industry in Longdendale and Glossopdale, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Tempus,
Scott; Smith; Winterbottom (1973), Glossop Dale, Manor and Borough, Glossop and District historical Society
The United Kingdom Acid Waters Monitoring Network Site Number 12
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Guidelines to facilitate the recycling of plastic packaging
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Packaging Updated on 20/12/2018 Checklist Online
Created to contain, identify, preserve, protect, group and transport goods from production sites to consumption, packaging has a cross-sectional presence in industrial, consumer and household activities and is a constant element in our daily gestures. In its long history, packaging has acquired an increasing number of functions that today represent consolidated characteristics, necessary for its correct functioning, attributable to a generating principle: ensure that a product arrives intact at its final consumer, thus avoiding it becoming premature waste.
According to legislation, packaging is "the product, consisting of materials of any kind, used to contain certain goods, from raw materials to finished products, to protect them, allow their handling and their delivery from the producer to the consumer or user, ensure their presentation, as well as disposable items used for the same purpose".
While it is possible to group these primary functions into a set that we could call "structural", there are other functions of a "communicative" nature that have strengthened the message and meaning elements held in the packaging to differentiate products, attract and inform the consumer, and create buyer loyalty. Packaging also communicates a whole series of other information about the product that must be made available to the consumer (e.g.: expiry date, hazard risk of the product, ingredients, etc.). Subsequently, a third group of services was added to these well-established functions to offer more "service" contents, which also led to the creation of "functional", i.e. active and/or intelligent, packaging. In fact, it is expected that packaging also helps the end user, providing information on the characteristics, properties, composition and manner of use of the product, facilitating use of the packaging itself and its content, at the same time extending its useful life as much as possible.
In fact, end users expect packaging to protect and preserve the contents over time, take up as little space as possible, be easy to open and use, provide precise instructions on how to store the product and that it is easy to understand what to do with regard to its end-of-life. Content and container are not separate elements, but rather interact in order to improve the performance and the life of the packaged product.
Precisely this relationship between container and content - and the ability to design the former in a way closely connected to the latter to ensure safety and quality of the whole - represent one of the essential elements of packaging design and are at the heart of its innovation.
Directive 94/62/EC, in fact, recognised the "fundamental social and economic function" of packaging and its value as a product capable, if well designed and managed throughout its life cycle, of reducing waste and preventing other goods from turning into waste before they have even reached the final consumer.
As an example, if we consider the food sector, according to data collected by the World Health Organization, the deficiencies in or inadequate use of packaging in developing countries has led, in recent years, to the loss due to deterioration of 30 and 50% of food before it arrives at the final consumer, due to damage during transport and difficulty in product preservation. In Europe, from the moment of production to that of purchase (excluding waste that occurs after purchase, for example the products that are thrown away because they have reached their expiry date) this percentage falls to 3%. FAO argues that increasing the use of adequate packaging could immediately reduce food waste in developing countries by 5%, thus providing 39 million tons of food. Properly designed and produced packaging has, therefore, an essential function in preventing the loss of resources used to produce, grow, breed or manufacture the contents of the pack. These resources are significant: according to the Italian Institute of Packaging, all LCA studies of packaged and EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) certified food products available today show that the environmental impact of the foodstuff is, on average, four times greater than that of the related packaging. Any loss of the product contained would, therefore, have significant environmental impacts with consequent waste of resources.
Packaging has also led to a reflection on its impact from the environmental point of view, given the limited time within which, often, it ends its first useful life.
With the aim of exploiting materials and converting packaging waste into a resource, Europe has always focused on prevention and correct management of packaging once it becomes waste. For this reason, in 1994, it established important recycling objectives, subsequently increased in 2004, and which are still under discussion today in a broader and more organic process of review of EU directives on the best use of resources, environmental protection and waste management, summarised under the term "Circular Economy Package".
Member States have had to get organised in order to achieve the recycling and recovery targets set by European and national legislation and to prevent the environmental impacts of packaging waste throughout its life cycle, based on "the principles of precaution and preventive action", according to the correct hierarchical management of waste, as well as on the "polluter pays" principle. At this point, the same producers and users of packaging that are the protagonists of the national and community environmental challenge were involved in the achievement of the community objectives, in a process guided by the essential requirements attached to the directive, according to which "packaging must be manufactured in such a way as to limit the volume and the minimum weight necessary to guarantee the necessary level of safety, hygiene and acceptability, both for the packaged product and for the consumer"; it must also "be designed, produced and marketed in such a way as to allow its reuse or recovery, including recycling, and to minimise its impact on the environment if it is disposed of".
Alongside this, the Directive embodies the principle of extended responsibility of the producer which is responsible for the correct management of the packaging once it becomes waste, preferring recyclable and recoverable solutions.
Waste prevention and management are, in fact, strongly interconnected and each goes hand in hand with the other. In fact, in Europe, the concept of sustainability of the packaging supply chain is today closely linked to Directives 94/62/EC and 2004/12/EC, based on the "from cradle to cradle" life cycle approach, which have led to adoption of evaluation and action tools such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Thinking (an integral part of product design methods) and introduced specific objectives for the recycling and recovery of packaging materials.
Hierarchical waste management
With a view to reducing the environmental impact of packaging and the efficient use of resources and materials, the European Commission has introduced the hierarchical packaging waste management principle, which establishes a declining order of preference for management methods: in first place there is the concept of prevention, aimed at improving packaging from the point of view of limiting environmental impact and resource use, followed by reuse, recycling, recovery (e.g. energy) and finally disposal, considered the last possible solution only if all the others are not practicable. Looking at this list of priorities, it is clear that the options preferred by legislation are also those in which it is necessary to intervene before production and, consequently, in a phase related to product design.
Within this process of growing attention to the issues of sustainability, proper waste management and environmental responsibility, are the concepts of recycling and design for recycling. By recycling is meant "any recovery operation through which waste materials are reprocessed to obtain products, materials or substances to be used for their original function or for other purposes, including organic recycling and excluding energy recovery". The Community (Directive 94/62/EC, and subsequent updates) and national legislative provisions on packaging (Legislative Decree 152/2006, and subsequent updates) and on the essential requirements, establish that packaging must be produced in such a way as to allow the recycling of a certain percentage by weight of the materials used, in the manufacture of marketable products, respecting the legislation in force in the European Union. The determination of this percentage may vary depending on the type of material constituting the packaging. To this end, the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) has published (with Decision 2001/524/EC) the technical standard "EN 13430: 2005 - Packaging - Requirements for packaging recoverable by material recycling".
Therefore, recyclability is one of the elements to consider when designing packaging in order to ensure its correct end-of-life management. As we have seen, however, it is not the only one and only comes after the evaluations of functionality and the service that the packaging must provide for the product.
Plastic packaging waste is one of the most complex examples to be addressed, given the variety of polymers, properties and applications. Furthermore, the higher the quality of the packaging and the possibility of increasing the shelf life of the products it contains, the more likely managing the end-of-life of these objects will be complex. It is precisely for this reason that the careful intervention of designers becomes fundamental in rendering production increasingly aligned with the requirements of the circular economy, in which the "waste" of one production process becomes the "food" for another process.
Based on the foregoing, this document aims to provide packaging designers, manufacturers and users certain design information useful for facilitating the recycling of plastic packaging for household use.
Why a guideline addressed to designers and companies? Because it is estimated that the design phases can affect about 80% of the impacts related to packaging and it is therefore important to always focus attention on and promote knowledge on issues related to packaging sustainability and responsibility for those who design and use it.
This document, in fact, is part of the prevention strategies promoted by CONAI in support of its members. The facilitation of recycling activities is one of the prevention levers promoted by the Consortium. By "prevention levers" is meant criteria that are useful for researching, designing and evaluating solutions that can lead to prevention - precisely at the fundamental time of design - of the environmental impact of packaging in its life cycle, namely:
saving of raw material;
reuse;
use of recycled material;
logistics optimisation;
facilitation of recycling activities (on which this document and the design indications contained therein focus);
simplification of the packaging system;
optimisation of production processes.
The goal is to clarify certain needs, problems and potential of packaging recyclability, in order to stimulate an increasingly responsible innovation of products and processes related to the plastic packaging supply chain. The tool identified is that of the guidelines, accompanied by specific check lists. The approach chosen is to make available to designers and companies a common basis for discussion on such a complex yet little known subject, it being clear that there are no valid indications in the absolute sense for each type of packaging: packaging has many differences in terms of structure, composition and performance that lead to consequent differences in the management of the end of its first useful life. For this reason, in the design phase, to ensure an effective improvement of environmental performance in terms of recyclability, it is essential to involve the players in the supply chain in question and verify the results obtained from the packaging-product combination throughout the life cycle, with the support of industry experts.
The issue of packaging recyclability also requires that the real possibilities offered by current sorting and recycling technologies installed at the industrial level (technology state of the art) in a given geographical area are always taken into consideration. The indications provided will, therefore, be periodically updated by CONAI. Knowing the processes and their specific issues helps to understand which phase a project choice can influence and which are the most suitable alternatives.
To meet the needs of designers and companies, this document has been divided into four parts, following a process that leads to understanding the main reasons that support each of the proposed design indications.
The first part, in fact, describes the plastic materials used in packaging, their characteristics instrumental to containing and protecting the products, their main applications and their general end-of-life management.
The second part describes and illustrates plastic packaging collection, sorting and recycling processes, highlighting the points of greatest attention.
The third and the fourth parts present the resulting guidelines, useful for facilitating the recycling of plastic packaging for the household circuit and which, therefore, at the end of its life cycle, ends up in separate collection managed by municipalities, and provide technicians and designers with two check lists useful in packaging design and development, and as a tool for assessing what has been achieved to identify possible room for further improvement.
These indications should be construed as a basis on which to start a process of paying increasing attention to facilitating sorting and recycling activities. Precisely because the guidelines presented here have the aim of highlighting problems and possible solutions, but do not claim to be exhaustive and to deal with all the situations that can arise in a differentiated manner, all the references of the sources consulted for preparation of the document and regulatory information useful for going into more detail on the contents of the various chapters are provided.
Plastic packaging for household use
The first choice of the designer concerns identification of the material and packaging type most suited to the characteristics of the product to be contained.
Material characteristics and use in the main packaging types
With reference to the functions that the packaging must perform, the choice of materials is decisive in the design phases because this determines its performance, production methods, appearance and recycling possibilities.
In fact, one must consider that the materials with which the packaging is made also affect the visual and tactile sensations of the user. Therefore, the designer must take into consideration not only the exclusively functional aspects, but also the tactile, visual and sensory aspects that can influence the choice of material.
The choice of material for a specific type of packaging becomes fundamental also when the designer thinks about the end-of-life of the packaging when it becomes waste.
Consequently, providing designers with expertise on materials and the impact on recycling of the various possible combinations of plastic materials and packaging types is a first step in initiating innovation processes in the development of new packaging solutions that are more easily recyclable.
In fact, it is important to consider that, with the current state of technology, a large part of the end-of-life that packaging will have once disposed of in separate collection will be determined by the combination of packaging types and materials. As we will see later in the document, in fact, the material-packaging type combination and the interaction of the different components made with different materials, are the main elements to consider in order to design packaging without compromising its recyclability. Recyclability that can be assessed on individual packaging but which then largely depends on what that packaging will be merged with as a result of the collection and sorting phases, and of the processes that will characterise its management in its end of life.
Plastics are classified according to an identification system developed by the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI) in 1988 and adopted at European level in Commission Decision 97/129/EC. The classification is used for the identification of material for recycling purposes and envisages an encoding of the most common polymers marked with abbreviations and numbers from 1 to 6, while the number 7 refers generically to all other types of plastics.
It should be noted that Commission Decision 97/129/EC does not prescribe the environmental labelling obligation of packaging which at present remains voluntary. It should be remembered, however, that if a company intends to adopt environmental labelling that certifies the material the packaging is made of, whether or not it is recyclable and/or any recycled content, the reference to current legislation is mandatory.
The following is a description of polymeric materials according to the identification system defined in Decision 97/129/EC. This description makes it possible to understand and contextualise the design indications presented in this publication.
PET (POLYETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) - Identification code 1
PET is a thermoplastic resin belonging to the polyester family and obtained by polycondensation from terephthalic acid and ethylene glycol.
It is a shock-resistant polymer with good mechanical properties. In the amorphous state, it is transparent and colourless and is generally processed by injection moulding, extrusion and stretch-blowing.
PET is widely used in the production of beverage bottles, trays and containers. It is possible to obtain extremely light bottles with excellent resistance to permeation of gases such as carbon dioxide, dissolved in carbonated drinks. Furthermore, the material has a good resistance to cracking stress, i.e. the ability to resist deformations under constant stresses, as in the case of prolonged storage of bottles containing carbonated drinks. Its mechanical and thermal resistance qualities allow the use of PET in both rigid and flexible packaging sectors, especially for the production of trays. Both in bottles and in trays, the barrier properties can be further increased by using multilayer structures with other polymers or by using additives.
Recycled material (r-PET) maintains characteristics very similar to the virgin polymer.
Current sorting and recycling technology means that PET bottles (the main application of this polymer in the packaging sector) are among the most easily sortable and recyclable packaging types, where there are no ancillary elements which complicate the process. Normally, PET bottles are sorted in three distinct flows: transparent, blue-tinted and coloured (mix of various colours). The recycled polymer obtained starting from the first two flows has mechanical and colour characteristics very close to those of the virgin polymer, other than a slight yellowing, and, with appropriate decontamination and macromolecular chain recovery processes, can be reused for the production of containers intended for contact with food, including new bottles.
HDPE (HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE) - Identification code 2
Thermoplastic resin of the polyolefin family, obtained from the polymerisation of ethylene. HDPE is a polymer with high mechanical resistance, with good rigidity and barrier to humidity and chemical agents. Opaque, odourless and non-toxic, it is commonly processed by injection moulding, extrusion and blowing.
Thanks to its characteristics of resistance and rigidity, it is particularly suitable for use in the packaging sector for the production of bottles, jars and rigid containers for food, detergents and chemicals. It is also used for the production of crates, caps, drums, technical items, household goods, toys and furniture components.
The mechanical properties of the recycled material are similar to those of the virgin polymer, even if there are often residues (pigments or additives) deriving from the previous use that may affect the quality. There are numerous applications for recycled HDPE.
Today, sorting and recycling technologies guarantee a high degree of recyclability of HDPE packaging where there are no ancillary elements which complicate the process. In particular, bottles in HDPE, widely used for foodstuffs and home and personal care products, are among the easiest packaging types to sort and recycle due to their characteristics.
PVC or V (POLYVINYL CHLORIDE) - Identification code 3
PVC is a vinyl thermoplastic resin obtained from the polymerisation of vinyl chloride.
The polymer has good wear, chemical, fire and deterioration resistance properties.
PVC can be processed by injection moulding, compression and blowing or by the use of extrusion, calendering and thermoforming technologies.
PVC is mainly used in the production of both rigid (PVC-U) and flexible (PVC-P) semi-finished and finished products, the latter thanks to the addition of plasticisers.
In the packaging sector, PVC is used for the production of cosmetic containers and bottles, labels, blisters and single-portion packs. It is widely used in the construction industry, also in outdoor applications, from components to the production of floorings, coatings, building pipes (for example gutters and drinking water pipes), window frames, tarpaulins and rigid and plastic films. It is also widely used in the medical and hospital sectors, in the chemical industry and in the automotive and agricultural fields.
For household PVC packaging, it is currently complicated to create efficient recycling flows due to the limited quantities of packaging made with this polymer present in separate collection. It is, on the other hand, successfully recycled in other sectors, such as the construction industry.
LDPE (LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE) - Identification code 4
LDPE is a thermoplastic resin of the polyolefin family, obtained from the polymerisation of ethylene. Unlike HDPE, it consists of a branched molecular structure, which makes it a lighter, more transparent, ductile and flexible material.
It has a good chemical resistance to acids and bases, high impermeability to water and excellent electrical insulation and transparency characteristics.
LDPE can be subjected to the most common moulding, blowing and filming processes and can also be laminated with other materials.
LLDPE (linear low-density polyethylene), which offers greater resistance to tearing, but lower workability compared to LDPE, also has similar characteristics.
LDPE is applied and widely used in the production of flexible products such as film and bags, both used for packaging and, for example, for the production of sheets used in agriculture.
Other applications of low-density polyethylene include cable coatings, flexible pipes and, more generally, packaging and components that require flexibility and resistance to deformation.
Recycled LDPE maintains the mechanical properties of the primary material, even if it loses the original transparency during recycling and reprocessing. The degree of recyclability of LDPE packaging is linked to the heterogeneity that distinguishes the possible applications in the packaging field. For example, much flexible LDPE packaging is printed on the outside, metallised or laminated with aluminium or has multi-layer structures with other polymers.
PP (POLYPROPYLENE) - Identification code 5
PP is a thermoplastic resin of the polyolefin family, obtained from the poly-addition of propylene. Due to its molecular structure it is characterised by good thermal resistance and high rigidity and is a barrier to the permeation of water vapour but not of gases. A characteristic that makes it, for example, unsuitable for the packaging of carbonated drinks.
PP is a polymer that has characteristics of great versatility as regards its workability that takes place through the most common conversion processes, thanks to which flexible or rigid, transparent or opaque material can be obtained.
The characteristics of PP make it suitable for use in various sectors. It can be used in the production of many commonly used objects, from household items and toys, to the medical and home appliances sectors. In the packaging sector, trays and rigid bottles or flexible films and tapes are obtained.
Recycled PP maintains the physical characteristics of the virgin polymer without any particular aesthetic defects, provided it is correctly separated by colour before the recycling process. The degree of recyclability of PP packaging is linked to the heterogeneity that distinguishes the possible applications in the packaging field.
PS (POLYSTYRENE) - Identification code 6
PS is a thermoplastic resin obtained by poly-addition of styrene. It is a light material with characteristics of rigidity, luminosity and transparency. It has excellent resistance to external agents, but is very sensitive to impacts. This defect can be overcome by adding rubber (HIPS) or by converting the material into expanded polystyrene (EPS), obtained through a process of insertion of expanding gases such as pentane. PS is processed by injection moulding or produced in sheets and plates of different densities intended for thermoforming.
Polystyrene finds numerous uses, especially in the packaging sector, in the manufacture of disposable tableware, office items, single-portion containers and displays. The expanded version is used in the production of protective and shock-proof packaging, such as crates, and of lightening, insulating and sound-absorbing products for the building industry.
The recyclability of rigid PS packaging disposed of in household separate collection is influenced by the low impact resistance of this polymer. In fact, due to the mechanical stress that it undergoes during the collection and sorting phases (bag tearing, sifting), PS packaging is fragmented into parts that are too small and light to be selected in a sufficiently homogeneous rigid PS flow to be recycled. Moreover, much expanded PS (EPS) packaging, like the trays used to pack meat or creamy products, are contaminated with product residues and therefore difficult to recycle. Advances in sorting technologies will most likely, in the future, make greater precision in the positive sorting of small fragments, and thus their recycling. Experiments are underway in this regard. The problem does not arise, or arises to a far lesser extent, if the EPS is collected a priori in a homogeneous and clean flow, for example by the disposal of uncontaminated packaging at a sorting centre (as in the case of elements for the protection of furniture and appliances).
OTHER PLASTICS - Identification code 7
This category includes all polymers without a specific identification code, together with the combinations of polymers that cannot be separated by simple mechanical action (this is the case of multilayer flexible packaging, constituted, for example, by a layer of PE sandwiched between two layers of PET. Since the three layers are welded together, they cannot be separated from one another with a mechanical operation, such as reducing them to flakes). This category includes a series of polymers whose use in packaging production is, at the moment, limited, and it is therefore not considered necessary to assign a specific code. These include, by way of example, Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), Polycarbonate (PC), Polyurethane (PUR) or Polyamide (PA or nylon). This category also includes many biopolymers and/or biodegradable polymers, whose use in packaging production is becoming more commonplace.
Since this category includes many polymers and combinations thereof, it is difficult to identify specific applications. In general, they are used to obtain performance and characteristics that cannot be obtained with the polymers belonging to the previous categories. This is the case of much multilayer packaging, in which one or more layers of the main polymer are used, which give the packaging the required mechanical properties, in combination with layers of other polymers that provide the packaging with specific characteristics, such as a barrier effect or a surface finish more suited to printing with several colours. Sometimes the layers of the different polymers are held together by adhesives (tie layers).
Precisely because this is a very varied category, only general considerations can be made with regard to sorting and recycling. The recyclability of these types of packaging is influenced by the significant heterogeneity of the applications that distinguish them, as well as by the frequent presence of other laminated polymers. Generally, this type of packaging is not positively recognised and sorted, but remains in the residual part which, in the case of separate collection of plastic packaging of household origin, is used for energy recovery. In theory, this type of packaging could be positively sorted but the quantities are too low to make the process sustainable and efficient. In any case, since in Italy the separate collection of plastic packaging of household origin includes all types of packaging, citizens can also dispose of this type of packaging in the separate collection managed by municipalities, according to the methods indicated at the local level and after removing any residual content.
The bioplastics family
The term bioplastics refers to different categories of polymers which can be distinguished from traditional polymers by their origin (from totally or partially renewable sources) and end-of-life (compostable or otherwise).
Plastics that originate from renewable raw material derive, for example, from corn or sugar beet, but this origin in itself is not sufficient to guarantee their biodegradability and compostability. With reference to their end-of-life management, the distinction that must be made concerns biodegradability and compostability in compliance with the UNI EN 13432-2002 standard. Consequently, two macro-groups of bioplastics can be identified: those that are biodegradable and compostable in compliance with the UNI EN 13432-2002 standard and those that are not.
With regard to the former, through real-life and laboratory tests, the actual biodegradability and compostability of the packaging is verified (characteristic of organic waste treated to produce compost; it must be sufficiently biodegradable so as not to hinder separate collection and the composting process or activity in which it is introduced).
Packaging complying with the reference standard can be labelled with specific marks to communicate its compostability and biodegradability characteristics, such as the QUALITY MARK of the Italian Composting Consortium and of the Certiquality certifying body, the "COMPOSTABLE" Mark, the use of which is subject to the compostability certification issued by the DIN (German Standardization Body) certification body, or the "OK COMPOST", "OK BIODEGRADABLE" and "OK COMPOST HOME" Marks linked to the certifications of the TUV-VINCOTTE international certification body.
Packaging made of biodegradable and compostable plastics according to the technical standard is nowadays used above all for the production of disposable shoppers and certain other types of rigid packaging (mainly disposable dishes, plates and cups) and flexible packaging (film for various types of bags). The main current application is that of disposable shoppers which, once the first useful life has ended, can be used again for the separate collection of organic waste. It is essential, however, to indicate the prohibition of leaving them in the environment since their degradation under conditions other than composting can take many years.
There are also bioplastics that originate totally or partially from renewable raw material but which have the same chemical structure of the corresponding polymeric materials of fossil origin and identical purity criteria. These polymers have identical applications to those of the corresponding polymers of fossil origin.
Biodegradable and compostable plastic packaging can be collected with organic waste, where organic waste collection is available, even if they are soiled with food residues. If the packaging has no food residues and according to the provisions of the competent local bodies, it can also be collected with traditional plastic packaging.
As for bioplastics that have the same chemical structure as traditional plastics, the only difference between the two types of plastics is to be found in the raw materials used and in the upstream processes; properties, application performance and recycling are identical and even the secondary material deriving from the recycling processes of the two materials does not have any difference in quality. These bio-based polymers can, therefore, be included in the identification system defined in Decision 97/129/EC regarding the respective polymers of fossil origin (for example, PET of plant origin will be indicated with code 1, the same used for PET of fossil origin) and therefore be collected with plastic packaging.
Below is a diagram useful for understanding the most frequent combinations between type of plastic material and type of packaging.
Plastic packaging sorting and recycling process
Correct packaging design cannot ignore knowledge of how it will be used or all the processes that it must undergo from production to disposal and recycling.
In order to design eco-sustainable packaging, it is also fundamental to understand what happens in the end-of-life/new-life phase. The following description, which might seem to be the mere narration of recycling processes, is, on the other hand, the starting point on which all the guidelines presented herein will be based.
The description of the recycling chain provides an understanding of the phases that packaging undergoes once it has become waste. Furthermore, knowing the characteristic phases of the chain (collection, sorting and recycling) provides packaging designers with the possibility to implement alternative design processes aimed at proposing variations capable of becoming good solutions to be emulated.
The subject of these guidelines is plastic packaging intended for household use which, therefore, in order to enter the recycling chain, passes through urban separate collection, the first link for the subsequent sorting and recycling activities or, alternatively, energy recovery where recycling is not currently technically and economically feasible.
Most of this packaging consist of a main "body" (hereinafter also referred to as "structure"), for example the PET bottle, and of ancillary "components" necessary to confer on the packaging its multiple functions, such as the cap, the label, the glues and the inks that are applied on the body. In the current recycling chain, all the "components" applied follow the flow of the "body" and, therefore, different processes are necessary to separate them (where necessary). For this reason, there are currently specific indications that, depending on the component, allow the recycling of the main body of the packaging to be optimised.
From a deeper knowledge of the functioning of the supply chain, it is possible to make further considerations, giving the designer the possibility of imagining different solutions. An alternative solution is, for example, that of ensuring that the user, when using the product, is forced to separate the different materials that comprise the packaging for the purpose of disposal: designing, for example, a tray in which it is necessary to completely remove its cling film to open it so as to automatically cause the consumer to dispose of the two materials separately, converts the packaging system consisting of the body (tray) and the component (film) into two separate elements/structures which, starting from the sorting phase, will follow different processes. This obviously makes sense where it is preferable that the components follow a different flow from that of the main body in order to increase the recycling yield of both.
This is just one example of how knowledge of the recycling chain can lead designers to identify innovative solutions to facilitate the recycling of household post-consumption plastic packaging.
The recycling chain consists of three macro processes:
separate collection;
sorting;
(actual) recycling process.
However, the upstream (production) and downstream (company that converts secondary raw materials into new objects) phases are also fundamental. In fact, only if there is an adequate knowledge of the functioning of the flows and of each of the links in the supply chain it is possible to talk about design for recycling.
Separate collection of post-consumption packaging
The first phase is inevitably separate collection on the part of citizens. In this sense, it is useful to remember that the correct disposal of packaging in separate collection contributes to the optimisation of current recycling processes and the related yields.
Since this is the phase that can influence the entire process, municipalities, bodies and institutions have for years been informing citizens on certain good practices, such as:
empty containers as much as possible of any residues of the product they contain;
minimise the volume of containers such as bottles and detergent bottles and the like to increase the amount of packaging in relation to the volume occupied.
It is, however, not such common knowledge that, for example, washing containers by the end user is often unnecessary and not recommended or that, among the ways of reducing the volume of packaging, there are some to be preferred (for example, it is preferable to flatten the side surface of bottles rather than crush them from the cap towards the bottom, because this makes the packaging more stable on the conveyor belts of the sorting plants and facilitates reading the material and separating the labels, or that packaging must never be put inside another in order to allow its correct recognition). This latter consideration is especially valid for those municipalities that optimise separate collection by collecting plastic and metal packaging together and separating the two materials at a later time. Metal elements of a certain size, if not intercepted and removed during sorting and recycling preparation operations, can damage the blades of the mills used to grind the plastic packaging.
Correct separate collection is therefore a first sorting phase that takes place in the consumer's home and whose quality is a key factor for the entire recycling chain, which is why the instructions for the separate collection of household packaging waste play an important role. So what can the designer do? His ability also lies in not taking the collaboration of the consumer for granted and, as we will see later, in identifying solutions that automatically lead the consumer to act correctly (for example, as already mentioned, completely separating any components that could interfere with the subsequent recycling of the main packaging on first use of the packaging).
Plastic packaging sorting activities
Once collected, post-consumption plastic packaging reaches the sorting centres, where the materials go through different phases to generate homogeneous output flows to be used in the subsequent recycling activities.
Below, the macro-phases that characterise the sorting process are briefly described:
removal of cumbersome objects which, due to their size, impede plant operation;
unpacking and tearing of bags to free the individual packaging contained in them;
sifting, with elimination of impurities and small elements which cannot be sorted;
sorting into two distinct flows: two-dimensional (flexible) packaging and three-dimensional (rigid) packaging;
sorting with optical or infrared detectors;
manual checking.
In this order or others, repeated according to need or subdivided into further sub-categories depending on the plant, these activities allow packaging coming from separate collection to be sorted into a series of homogeneous flows, each of which can be recycled. Following the sorting operations, the flows of residual packaging and the fine fraction are used for energy recovery.
After the removal of cumbersome objects, post-consumption packaging is transported by conveyor belts to a special machine used for the unpacking and bag tearing operations.
This is followed by sifting, generally one of the first phases, which has the purpose of separating sortable plastic packaging from contaminants and small packaging. The objective of this process is the separation of post-consumption plastic packaging and small residues, such as earth, stones, small pieces of other materials (wood, metals, glass), which will be separated from the main flow and then used in other forms of recovery. In these initial phases, packaging which is too large (usually drums or the like from non-household collection) and items which are too small to enter the sorting process are separated.
Again thanks to a sifting process, rigid and flexible materials are separated and sent to separate sorting flows.
At the end of this phase, the two flows (rigid and flexible) are distributed on conveyor belts, which generally move at a speed of 2-3 metres per second. The correct distribution of the material on the belt, avoiding overlaps and entanglement of individual packaging, is fundamental for the success of the subsequent sorting operations with detectors.
The packaging is conveyed by the belts under the detectors which, in successive phases, divide it into specific recycling flows through recognition of the packaging surface. This subdivision mainly concerns two sorting modes and can take place by plastic material and, possibly, by colour:
in the first (by plastic material) the detectors are NIR (Near Infra Red) and sort post-consumption packaging according to the families of reference polymeric material with respect to the general flow;
in the second (by colour) the detectors are optical and, regardless of the material, recognise a specific colour.
The combination of the two types of detectors makes it possible to sort packaging by material family and, subsequently, in cases where it is advantageous to improve the quality of the sorted material, by colour, depending on the flows to be obtained.
The correct functioning of these phases therefore depends on the ability of the detectors to correctly recognise the post-consumption packaging in terms of both material as well as colour. This recognition is a rather complex process and it is the outcome of this operation that determines the flow in which the packaging will end up; it all happens in a fraction of a second.
It is also useful to point out that in sorting with detectors, the individual components are not separated, for example trays and their cling film or bottles and labels, because the process recognises in every post-consumption packaging the main surface material, hopefully the body (but, in reality, not always). It follows that the flows obtained in this phase will not be completely homogeneous by material; in the subsequent phase, further cleaning may be necessary (normally manual, but in some special cases it could be passing under a detector), to obtain recycling material of adequate quality.
The last phase is flow checking by specialised operators. This phase is used to verify that there have been no reading errors by the detectors or rather that the materials are not polluted with others that cannot be recognised by the detectors, as in the case of the presence of non-plastic materials in the sorted packaging, which cannot be recognised in an automated process, but only by attentive operators. This check can be present and repeated at several points in the process. This makes it possible to correct reading errors by removing packaging selected by mistake (for example because covered by other packaging) or that selected correctly by the detector but whose presence reduces the quality of the recycling material, for example PET trays in the flows of PET bottles.
The material thus obtained is finally pressed into bales, stored and sent to recycling plants suitable for processing the specific flows.
The recycling process
After the material sorting phase, the actual recycling process takes place. The flows, divided more or less precisely by material and, in certain cases, by colour, are sent, according to the types, to different processes based on four phases which, organised in a variable manner according to the structure of the plant, grind, wash, sort by flotation and dry the material that will thus be ready to be introduced into the production system as recycled material.
The first element for the proper functioning of a recycling plant is the ratio of the plastic material to be recycled with respect to the residues and contaminations of other materials coming from any components introduced in the flow. It is therefore desirable that the material of interest (target material) is at least 80% of the overall weight; in certain cases, especially depending on the type of input flows, further sorting or cleaning may be necessary to obtain an optimal ratio between the different materials.
After the bales are opened, the materials are loaded onto conveyor belts, which take them to the different phases.
Before grinding, a metal detector is generally installed, which serves to identify and remove any metal residues in the flow that cause premature wear of the blades of the grinding mill and, if of considerable size, can, in some cases, seriously damage it.
The identification of metal components is nowadays a technologically simple operation: the metal detectors used, depending on how they are calibrated, can identify both pieces as well as additives or paints with metallic pigments. The latter do not damage the blades but in some cases they are removed because they reduce the quality of the recycled polymer obtained.
The first real phase of the recycling process is therefore mechanical grinding: the material passes through a mill, for example with rotating blades which, generally with the aid of water, shreds the material into tiny pieces. This process therefore makes it possible to obtain uniform elements regardless of their previous form or function: bottles, detergent bottles, containers, trays, caps, film and labels (depending on the flows) are thus reduced to a conglomeration of uniformly sized pieces of which more than 80% is the material to be recycled. The objective of this phase is to separate materials that hitherto had been connected by mechanical systems, such as screw or pressure caps.
Grinding has no effect on materials held together by bonding, welding, extrusion or hot rolling.
Grinding is followed by washing, which serves to remove residues and surface impurities. Depending on the type of polymer and the quality of the recycled material to be obtained, this can be carried out either hot or cold. In the simplest cases, only water is used; more frequently detergents, anti-foaming agents and other substances are added to facilitate the removal of surface contamination, in particular an oily nature. The attrition of the flakes against each other and against the blades provides the necessary mechanical action. If detergents are used, washing can be followed by rinsing with water to remove detergent residues.
Then the third and most important phase of the recycling process takes place: separation by flotation. This is where the materials to be recycled are separated from those that are not involved in the recycling flow. The shredded materials are fed into a tank of water in which physical separation takes place by floating.
Depending on their density (which generally ranges from 0.90 to 1.40 g/cm3) PP, LDPE and HDPE float, while PS, PET and PVC settle on the bottom, having density higher than 1 g/cm3 (water density value). At this point, depending on the recycling plant, one of the two parts will be collected to recover the material of interest. Depending on the situation, the remaining part can also be recycled. This is the case, for example, in the recycling of PET bottles. During separation by flotation, the bottle flakes are collected on the bottom and are separated, while those of the caps (which are made of HDPE or PP) float and can be recovered to be recycled separately in another flow.
It is therefore necessary not to mix the flow of one material with others having the same density, otherwise the sorting in this phase will be incorrect.
The final phase is drying of the material, accompanied by possible dust removal. The residual moisture is removed and at this point the post-consumption packaging has been converted into a secondary raw material (SRM), which can be fed into a production process.
The final result of a recycling plant consists of the flakes of washed material. In certain cases, as in the recycling of HDPE detergent bottles and PET bottles, the flakes can be directly used as a secondary raw material to produce new products.
In other cases, the recycling process can be concluded with extrusion of the material, in order to obtain a uniform material in terms of size and colour. This latter phase produces a product in granules (generally similar to lentils) of similar size to those of a virgin polymer and therefore more easily manageable in a production process. Extrusion also provides the opportunity to add additives, fillers or dyes to the recycled material, which improve the characteristics for the type of applications for which the material is intended.
Below is a diagram that illustrates and summarises the sorting and recycling processes.
The general scheme proposed can be contextualised with examples of possible processes of different types of packaging with the current state of the art, considering the available technologies, also in relation to the materials currently entering the platforms.
The figure below shows examples of the sorting and recycling processes of three different packaging types: a transparent bottle, a detergent bottle and a film used for wrapping. The three types follow similar process steps, but already in the sorting phase, the processes diverge and, in the final phase, each type has a process that corresponds to a different recycling plant dedicated to the type of material.
Design guidelines to facilitate the recycling of plastic packaging
General design principles to facilitate recycling activities
The indications presented here are intended to offer a tool to design packaging for the final consumer that facilitates sorting and recycling activities. These indications are based on the current technological state of the art of industrial sorting and recycling plans in Italy and will therefore be periodically updated to adapt them to the state of the art of technology and markets.
The facilitation of recycling operations and the increasing attention to the exploitation of the materials used to produce packaging are an important strategy, not only at the environmental, but also at the economic and communication level.
In principle, all plastic packaging is recyclable, but the real possibility that this happens depends on the correct separate collection by the end consumers, the technology in use, as well as the economic and environmental viability of the recycling activities. For this reason, it is advantageous to use these guidelines both to analyse and evaluate existing packaging, as well as and above all to design new ones. Using the guidelines at the beginning of the design of new packaging will, in fact, avoid or reduce subsequent critical issues in the sorting and recycling phases, reducing environmental impacts, in line with applicable European legislation. Thanks to recycling, in fact, the use of new resources for the production of virgin raw materials is reduced and significant environmental benefits are obtained.
As developed in the introduction, the fact remains that the packaging design must always start from a careful evaluation of the characteristics and type of product to be contained in order to guarantee full consistency between the structural aspects and the product protection needs, subsequently defining the most appropriate packaging type and the most suitable material. Aspects such as consumer safety and regulatory compliance are a priority. Only then it will be feasible to complete the design of the shape of the packaging, its adaptability, packing and use procedures, as well as aspects related to logistics, display at the point of sale and its end-of-life be finalised.
It follows that a first general indication is to carefully evaluate each case individually in order to find the right balance between performance, regulatory and safety requirements (which are mandatory) and facilitation of recycling activities.
It is, in fact, not possible in this sector to define an absolute guideline and to indicate general rules valid for all situations; this is why these guidelines aim to stimulate the search for more recyclable packaging solutions, depending on the case, analysing the behaviour of the packaging and of all its components along the entire process from separate collection to production of the secondary raw material and not to provide axiomatic indications valid in all circumstances.
The design activity can thus give rise to three degrees of innovation:
repositioning: the type of intervention is aimed at design adjustments to renew and/or increase performance and leads to a reduced degree of change. The demand for innovation usually comes from user companies;
evolutionary: consisting of initiatives linked to technological innovations that generate economic and competitive advantages in the product production and promotion phases with a medium degree of change. The demand for innovation can come from several players in the production chain;
radical: leads to the definition of a new concept of the product-packaging combination and/or the setting up of a new production process; it involves both the product system as well as its production process with a high degree of change. The demand for innovation often comes from all the players in the entire supply chain.
In all three degrees of innovation, the designer can address choices that have an impact on the final recyclability of the packaging.
PRODUCT SAFETY AND DURABILITY
Keeping safety requirements as a priority, it will be important to design packaging with constant attention to environmental issues, using design solutions consistent with the existing recycling supply chain or, where this is not possible or desirable, which do not negatively influence existing sorting and recycling processes which the packaging will be subjected to.
In fact, for certain types of product, packaging more complex than required by the recycling process may be preferable and, due to its characteristics, it may even pollute the flow of material to be recycled if sorted. For designers, therefore, it is certainly essential to analyse and design packaging according to its recyclability, provided the functions it has to perform are ensured. It is also essential to take into account the entire flow in which the packaging could be sorted, especially where the packaging must have particular performance characteristics that involve ancillary elements and special treatments, and to assess whether it could have negative impacts on the recycling process or on the quality of the entire flow of recycled material. Each case, nevertheless, must be evaluated individually in every aspect for a design that safeguards the system as a whole.
In this regard, it is good practice for the designer and the producer or user company to analyse in depth the effects on the recycling process of the solution they are choosing, in order to verify its impact and identify the best combination between the type of product contained and the method of storage and recyclability of the container. This aspect is all the more important the higher the market share of the product for which the packaging is being designed, because the quantity of packaging waste that will flow into separate collection and then into sorting and recycling plants will be greater.
Another issue strongly linked with the shelf life of the product is that related to portion rationing, which sometimes become single portions, for the purpose of reducing product waste. This happens, in particular, in the case of food or medical packaging, also due to the social changes in progress and the reduction in the number of family members. Facilitating recycling activities does not mean, therefore, to discard a priori certain types of design solutions, but rather to calibrate a complex system of factors concerning the relationship between content and container that primarily contribute to product enhancement and secondly to optimisation of recycling processes.
FACILITATION OF RECYCLING ACTIVITIES: CONAI PREVENTION LEVER
Plastic packaging is one of the most complex examples to be addressed from the end-of-life/new-life point of view: the higher the performance of the packaging, for example, as regards the ability to increase the shelf life of the products contained, the more managing the end-of-life of this packaging risks becoming complex when it becomes waste.
The concept of facilitating recycling activities is therefore fundamental. Introduced by Conai as one of the prevention levers, this facilitation is achieved in all innovations aimed at simplifying packaging recovery and recycling phases, such as the implementation of single-material packaging or the sortability of the various components (e.g. labels, caps and dispensers, etc.).
It is precisely for this reason that the rational intervention of designers becomes fundamental to make production increasingly adherent to the demands of the circular economy in which the "waste" of one production process becomes the "food" for the same or another process, with not only environmental benefits, but also evident economic advantages and optimisation of the use of resources/time/activities (according to the European Commission, it is estimated that, in Europe, it is possible to reduce the need for material production factors by almost 20% in less than twenty years).
HOW TO USE THE DESIGN INDICATIONS
The indications presented here constitute a basis on which to start a process of paying increasing attention to facilitating recycling activities.
Topics related to packaging in its overall configuration, but also specifically for individual components, will be addressed. By components is meant closure systems (caps, tamper-proof systems, seals, film), accessibility elements (handles, spouts, etc.) and graphic and printing elements (labels and sleeves, inks, glues and adhesives).
For more detailed information on the various topics, use of the indications and references in the appendices of this document is recommended. In the specific case of PET bottles, there is a European reference, sponsored and developed by the entire supply chain: the guidelines of the European PET Bottle Platform (EPBP).
This document, the result of significant synergy among the various players involved, is the concrete testimony of the importance of the work and collaboration of the supply chain in tackling such an important and complex issue as that of the recyclability of a packaging type; complexity also due to the need for constant monitoring and discussion among the various players.
European PET Bottle Platform
The EPBP was founded in 2009 by a voluntary initiative bringing together experts in the design, production and recycling of PET bottles, with the aim of providing an objective and independent analysis of the existing technologies in the PET bottle recycling sector, and an assessment of the impact these technologies tend to have on recycling processes in Europe.
The platform is supported by some of the most important European organisations and associations involved in this issue, such as the European Federation of Bottled Waters (EFBW), the European Association of Plastic Recycling and Recovery Organizations (EPRO), Petcore Europe, Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE) and the European Non-Alcoholic Beverages Association (UNESDA).
For companies that develop innovations on PET bottles (for example resins, additives, technologies and new production processes), several indicative tests have been set up to assess their compatibility with recycling processes. Furthermore, an evaluation process is available, supported by a group of experts working under the constraint of confidentiality which, in the event of a successful conclusion, leads to the issue of a certificate of compatibility that the company can use to promote its solution.
The EPBP guidelines contain design indications for three types of PET bottles: transparent and blue-tinted PET bottles, transparent coloured PET bottles and opaque PET bottles.
The indications provide suggestions on the possible choices regarding colour, size, labels and sleeves, closures and components, barriers and additives, adhesives, inks and direct printing.
The various options are divided into three main classes:
Full compatibility – this includes elements that have passed the test with no negative impact or elements that have not (yet) been tested but are known to be compatible with the PET bottle recycling process;
Limited compatibility – this includes elements that have passed the test only under certain conditions or elements that have not (yet) been tested but have a low risk of interference with PET bottle recycling processes;
Low compatibility – this includes elements that have not passed the test or elements that have not (yet) been tested but have a high risk of negative interference with PET bottle recycling.
Aspects concerning the body/structure of the packaging
Residues and emptyng
The relationship between content and container is particularly important in packaging intended for end consumers because it affects the overall assessment of the environmental preferability of a packaging type.
Among the fundamental issues for facilitating recycling activities - if one considers precisely the relationship between content and container - is the elimination of residual contents from the container.
CRITICAL ISSUES CONCERNING THE PRESENCE OF RESIDUES
One of the greatest difficulties in recycling indeed consists of residues inside the packaging. Residues represent a dual problem since they constitute, on the one hand, a loss of product that could be avoided during the design phase, guaranteeing to the consumer who bought it to be able to make full use of it and fully exploiting the resources (raw materials, energy, water) used to produce it. On the other, the presence of residues and difficulty in emptying the container can cause elements to enter the recycling process that require a greater use of water and detergents or that contaminate it. It is therefore an issue that affects both the environmental as well as economic aspects.
Indeed, all packaging must be emptied of liquids, creams and other residues it contains to facilitate recycling operations. The operation of emptying and eliminating impurities can, in certain cases, make the recycling process uneconomic and unsustainable from the environmental point of view, or compromise the quality of recycled materials due to the presence of residues which cannot be eliminated. In this case the problem concerns both the emptying and cleaning operations as well as the plant water purification systems. Moreover, the weight of residues can compromise the sorting of post-consumption packaging into the correct material flows.
Undoubtedly, the fact that residues remain inside packaging after use depends, to a considerable extent, on its formal and structural configuration. As a consequence, careful design can solve or at least limit this problem.
In fact, product residues left in the packaging may derive from a conscious decision of the consumer or from difficulty in extracting the contents from the container, stemming from the shape of the container (as may happen in the case of tubes) or from the characteristics of the contents (e.g. quick drying products). In these latter cases, one can speak of UPR (Unintentional Product Residue). In fact, according to certain European research, most users are unaware that there is still product in the packaging that they are about to throw away. The same research has also shown that, on average, 3.7% of product in the case of shampoo, 5% of honey and 26% of toothpaste remains in the packaging.
Designers, therefore, can intervene precisely on facilitating emptying.
There are several solutions that are easily applicable and frequently used to increase the ease of emptying containers. For example - where possible without risking loss of content during use or a problem user safety - wide-necked packaging or that which can be easily turned upside down has been used, as well as squeezable packaging that can be squeezed until fully empty. Also the possibility of making the level of the product content visible can help users pay attention to complete emptying of the packaging. Moreover, where feasible, it is also possible to intervene on the product, for example by increasing its fluidity so as to facilitate normal emptying by turning the packaging upside down.
A further intervention by designers can involve verification of possible solutions with categories of users of different age, capabilities and physical and mental abilities, so as to understand in advance when and where unexpected problems can arise in the use of the container and its contents.
EVALUATION INDEX OF RESIDUAL CLEANING
Evaluation indices of cleaning of residues exist at the international level. Recyclass, for example, uses two indices: the easy emptying index (in particular for bottles or tubes) and the easy access index (in the case of jars and trays).
Both calculate the percentage of product that remains in the package after its normal emptying.
On the other hand, there are currently no objective data on what constitutes an acceptable residual level as this depends on the size of the package and on the viscosity of the product. Indicatively, for non-viscous products (i.e. in which the density is similar to water), it is advisable to have a maximum residue in emptying tests, at the moment when the packages are considered to be empty, of less than 10% for 50 ml-99 ml packages, less than 5% for 100 ml-499 ml packages and less than 2% for packages exceeding 500 ml.
For more viscous contents, there is no optimal quantity of residues since this is highly related to the characteristics of the product contained.
However, the issue of packaging cleaning assessment systems is still in its highly interesting infancy.
4B-1 IN SUMMARY, WITH THE SAME PERFORMANCE, IT IS PREFERABLE TO:
facilitate the emptying of content residues provided that this does not lead to product losses during use;
make the level of the product content visible, provided that this does not alter the product;
implement packaging that has the smoothest possible internal surfaces;
envisage the use of suitable surface treatments to reduce adhesion of the contents to the container without compromising product quality;
in the case of packaging that is difficult to clean, choose a packaging that allows separation of the soiled part from that to be recycled.
Pigmentation and the use of dyes in polymer packaging are essential factors that definitely interfere with the plastic recycling process. Firstly, the impact of colour on the possibility of application of the recycled polymer must be considered, since in general transparent recycled plastic can be more easily coloured and lends itself to a greater variety of final applications than that already coloured which involves greater constraints. For this reason, particular attention is paid to sorting by colour in recycling plants. For example, in the case of PET containers, recycling normally requires sorting that separates transparent from blue-tinted or coloured containers, thus envisaging differentiated flows.
Another fundamental aspect concerns the significant absorption of light by coloured plastic. This can interfere with the operations of automatic sorting machines which, as we have seen (paragraph 3.B) use NIR spectroscopy to identify the nature of the plastic material.
This is particularly the case with pigmented polymers with dark colours and black, which have difficulty in being identified by optical detectors to be positively sorted. In the design phase, it is therefore appropriate to consider a limited use of colour, consistent with the needs of the content and with the corporate branding and marketing choices.
Regarding possible direct printing on the packaging body, unless inks which are removable by the traditional washing process are used, the use of this solution instead of the pigmented polymer must be carefully evaluated. For example, it would be better not to print directly on transparent rigid packaging, while on coloured packaging direct printing could also be preferable when this avoids the use of glues and labels.
If the use of colour is indispensable, designers, depending on the type of packaging chosen, should devise alternative solutions, such as the application of labels and sleeves, provided that these leave a sufficient part of the packaging uncovered so as to allow it to be recognised. If a very colourful or decorated packaging is desired, it is indeed possible to use sleeves usually of different material from the body of the packaging (in particular: with different density) and which can be separated from the body already in the collection phase (with the collaboration of the consumer who must remove the label using a perforation or making sure that the sleeve detaches itself from the packaging automatically at the time of use) or during the first sorting and recycling phases in order to optimise the process. The use of fully covering sleeves should be limited to specific situations where this solution is necessitated by other needs.
4B-2 IN SUMMARY, WITH THE SAME PERFORMANCE, IT IS PREFEREABLE TO:
minimise the use of colour, preferring non-pigmented polymers;
avoid direct printing on non-pigmented plastic;
evaluate the use of labels/sleeves instead of direct pigmentation.
Surface treatments and lamination
Surface treatments are applications that allow the body or a component of the packaging to acquire performance that improves its physical, chemical or aesthetic properties. Similar to the superficial application of a colour, these treatments can have dimensions ranging from nanometres to micrometers and generally have the function of improving the packaging performance. Without the proper precautions, they can however complicate its recyclability.
In general, these treatments should only be used in cases where their performance is strictly necessary in the use of packaging. A treatment that, for example, creates a chemical or physical barrier for better or longer preservation of the contents or a treatment that increases the mechanical characteristics of a material - thus making it smaller in size and weight - provide packaging with performance that fully justifies their use.
It should therefore be reiterated that the considerations on the use of a surface treatment cannot be of a general nature, but should be considered on a case-by-case basis, evaluating the positive aspects of the treatment over the entire life cycle of the product-container combination.
SURFACE TREATMENTS AND BASIC MATERIAL RECOGNITION
Having as a priority product performance, however, there are certain indications that, with regard to recycling, make certain treatments preferable to others. With reference to surface applications, these will interfere in particular in the sorting phase, since they can alter the correct reading of the optical detectors, thus not allowing recognition of the materials on which they are applied or altering their colour reading. Reading errors can, in fact, lead to the pollution of a flow, which is why it is preferable to reduce the use of these treatments or in any case verify the problems on a case-by-case basis. It is also useful to highlight that reading errors occur mainly in treatments involving larger surfaces (e.g. the entire body of the packaging) or greater thicknesses, since it is easier for the latter to form a layer that is read instead of the material on which it is applied. For this reason, it is always preferable to minimise the use of treatments.
Some treatments involve the lamination of different polymers or of polymers and other materials (e.g. insertion of an aluminium layer). These treatments often provide particular protection and/or extension of the product shelf life.
In general, it is preferable to avoid lamination but, when this type of treatment is strictly necessary for product protection and preservation, it is preferable that the laminated polymers are mutually compatible in terms of recycling.
CONTAMINATION OF THE BASIC MATERIAL
In recycling, these treatments can influence all subsequent processes in a different way. A good alternative could be provided by soluble treatments or those which detach during drying. It is also important to bear in mind that surface treatments should not alter the density of the materials on which they are applied, since this would interfere with the flotation sorting phase. Considering how this phase takes place, a variation in density leads to an incorrect classification of the material, thus polluting the output flow towards recycling.
Therefore, in general, referring to surface treatments means defining a wide variety of solutions that differ in terms of type of material (what the treatment consists of), characteristics (e.g. if soluble in water) and quantity used (what kind of treatment); for these reasons, it is necessary to evaluate their specific compatibility with the process of which they will be part.
As regards rigid or flexible multilayer packaging, on the other hand, the issue of contamination of the basic material becomes more complex. Currently, existing technologies can only recognise the polymer that constitutes the packaging surface since, at the moment, a technology that can distinguish multilayer from monolayer packaging is not available on an industrial scale. As a result, multilayer packaging may be sorted into a flow of homogeneous packaging of the same polymer. If the two polymers are mutually compatible at the recycling level and if the non-prevalent polymer layer in the flow is very thin, this packaging will not represent a problem in the flow, if the flow is sufficiently homogeneous (this is the case, for example, for packaging consisting of HDPE and LDPE, or PP with a barrier layer of EVOH). If, on the other hand, the polymers are not compatible at the recycling level, the packaging could represent a problem for the entire flow (this is the case of PVC in PET).
use surface treatments only if strictly necessary to guarantee a property that cannot be obtained with other solutions;
if necessary, use water-soluble treatments or those which detach in the process;
if necessary, use treatments that do not alter the density of the material on which they are applied;
if necessary, only use treatments on a part of the surface and with reduced thickness;
use single-material packaging rather than multilayer or polylaminated packaging;
if it is necessary to use multilayer packaging, prefer polymers with different densities.
Attention related to component design
Relationship between body and components
Analysing the relationship between the body and its components, means evaluating the relationship between the main packaging - which determines the recycling flow - and the elements constituting the closure system, labels and everything that is not necessarily made of the same material as the body.
In general, for the proper functioning and correct efficiency of a recycling process, it is useful that the residues and the parts made with materials different from that of the main body can be easily sorted by a simple mechanical action. As far as possible and without prejudice to the performance requirements of packaging, it is therefore good practice to use the smallest possible number of components, types of polymer and materials.
Specifically, it is desirable that the plastic material of interest (which, depending on the flow, may be a single material or a subdivision of the same by colour) is at least 80% of the total weight.
It is important to highlight that the relationship between the components and the body mainly depends on the recycling flow in which the packaging or the main body (which is the part of the packaging that the designer decides to design to be recycled) will end up and on its characteristics. As we will see, these two variables could radically change the use of a given component depending on whether the reference flow is, for example, sorted by colour or only by material.
COMPONENTS IN THE SORTING PHASE
In addition to attention to the weight of components for recyclability of the packaging, it is also important that the components do not prevent the correct reading of the body in order for it to be properly sorted. In the sorting phase, it is necessary that the readers are able to recognise the main material, especially when the materials of the components are different from those of the body. Indeed, it is essential that the surface of the packaging body covered by components allows efficient sorting and flow separation. In certain cases, for example in trays in which the body and its cling film are of two different materials, it is preferable that the packaging is not recognised differently depending on its position with respect to the optical reader (i.e. on whether the tray or the film is exposed to the reader), but that it can be unambiguously recognised.
Similarly, extraneous materials should not hinder packaging reading. Here consumers come into play; for example, in blisters with the top part in plastic and the back in cardboard, they should separate the two materials and dispose of them in their specific separate collection.
A specific follow up about the labels used on bottles, detergent bottles and jerry cans with a volume un to 5 litres. If these labels size is up to specific parameters of coverage of the packaging surface, they can compromise the identification of the polymer which composes the main body of the packaging, forbidding the selection. Indeed, the detectors identify the polymer composing the surface of the main body, in order to proceed then to the sorting of the packaging that are to be sent to recycling; what is not sorted in the main stream is sent to other flows or it is scrap.
In order to optimize these specific types of packaging, it is preferable to use not high covering labels, which means:
labels which cover less than 70% of the lateral surface of the main body, if the packaging has a volume over 500 ml, or
labels which cover less than 50% of the lateral surface of the main body, if the packaging has a volume up to 500 ml.
Alternatively and when it is strictly necessary to use a high covering label, those labels should be designed with a hallmarking that helps to separate the main body and the label when it comes to dispose the packaging, and indicating to the end consumer to act this way, thus disposing separately in the collection of plastic packaging, the main body and its high covering label, in order to not compromise the recycling.
It is therefore necessary that, at the end of the sorting phase, the flows are well defined and, in general, it is preferable that there are no metallic components present in the subsequent phases which can create problems for the materials processing systems and pollute the result of the flows.
For these reasons, metal detectors used in the sorting phase can identify metal parts, but also additives or paints with metallic pigments. In order to fully satisfy the needs of most systems, it is necessary that metallic components and elements are, more than others, easily separable from the rest of the packaging to be recycled and clearly identifiable by the detectors.
In particular, in rigid packaging, metal components that are heat-sealed or glued to the body of the container should be avoided.
COMPONENTS IN THE RECYCLING PHASE
Finally, in the recycling phase, the last and most important separation between body and components is achieved. This operation takes place, as already mentioned, thanks to a flotation process depending on their density.
Based on this process, certain compatibilities between materials that it is preferable to take into consideration from the outset of the design phases are highlighted.
In general, components should be implemented in such a way as to spontaneously separate during the grinding and washing processes so as to arrive separately at the flotation process. Otherwise, for example in the presence of particularly resistant welds or adhesives, the process is not effective.
The tables show the compatibilities between different materials defined according to the characteristics of the recycling process. Since it is not possible to sort materials by individual types, but only by density, it is useful, for example, that in a flow of PET bottles there are no components such as cap or labels made of PS or PVC. This is because they cannot be sorted by flotation. Vice versa, if the components are made of PP, LDPE or HDPE, the flotation will be successful.
For the same reasons, it is also important not to excessively alter the density of the materials, for example using mineral fillers (which increase density) or creating expanded structures (which reduce it), because flotation would lead, depending on the case, to the loss of material or, worse, contamination of the flow with unwanted material. For example, in the case of a PET bottle, the use of a label in expanded (lighter) material may be advantageous because it would separate more easily by flotation. The same reasoning can be made also when the recycling process is aimed at sorting a material of a specific colour. In this case, the presence of a component of the same material, but of a different colour, could, contrary to what could be intuitively expected, be counter-productive for the entire system.
4C-1 IN SUMMARY, WITH THE SAME PERFORMANCE, IT IS PREFERABLE TO:
ensure that components and materials other than the main one account for less than 20% in total;
make the components completely and spontaneously separable from the body;
ensure that the density of the components - if different from the body of the packaging and if disposed of together with the same - is different from that of the body;
use components that only partially cover the packaging body (which is not the case, for example, in the case of covering sleeves);
when it is necessary to use high covering labels on bottles, detergent bottles and jerry cans with a volume up to 5 litres, design them with a hallmarking and a clear indication to the end consumer about the importance of disposing separately the components of the packaging;
use the same colour as the main body for the components if they are made of the same material (the packaging could also be sorted by colour);
do not have metallic elements and, if they are present, invite/force their separation during collection.
Closure systems (caps, tamper-proof systems, seals, film) and accessibility elements (handles, spouts)
In general, where possible, it is advisable to use closure systems of the same material as the main body. But, once again, this principle is not absolutely valid, and must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. There is packaging, such as PET bottles, for which it is better to use closure systems in different materials with density lower than water. In these latter cases, it is preferable that the materials of the body and of the closure systems have different densities to facilitate separation by flotation.
Moreover, in cases where the closure systems occupy large surfaces, for example the cling film of trays, it is desirable that these do not create errors when sorting with detectors. It is therefore useful for these components to be separated before the sorting phase and to do this requires the involvement of users, either by inviting them or forcing them to perform this action when using the product. An example could be that of seals: these components, made of aluminium or non-compatible materials and made to be detached on first opening, are designed not to enter the recycling process, given that, due to their methods of use, they are generally disposed of separately from the body.
In general, it would be preferable to avoid the use of seals, caps and other metal components. Again to facilitate sorting and recycling operations, the best solution is those closure systems that do not contain coatings and do not have residual rings or accessories when they are removed. Any coatings, together with the minor components (made with a different polymer), if present in very small quantities, do not significantly interfere with the recycling process or the quality of the recycled material, but, wherever possible, complete and total separation of the various material is always preferable.
Crown caps, for example, are acceptable provided they are completely detached from the bottle on opening and cannot be pushed inside the container.
In the design of the accessibility elements (for example handles and spouts) the use of materials identical to those of the main body is recommended, in order not to reduce the performance of the base polymer resin and increase separation costs. If it is necessary to use different materials, compatible, preferably non-pigmented, materials should be used.
Furthermore, it would be preferable to minimise the number of different components of a given packaging (for example handles, transport aids, etc.) which, if present, should not be welded to the container and, if glued, should be able to separate in an aqueous detergent (hot as in the case of PET or cold as in the case of polyolefins) or in a caustic solution (between 60 and 80°C).
use closure systems, handles and spouts of the same material as the main body or compatible and preferably non-pigmented materials;
use components that are completely separable from the body if they are of different materials or if they occupy large surfaces;
use non-metallic closure systems;
choose closure and accessibility systems that are automatically and easily disposed of by the user separately from the main body, if of different material.
Graphic and printing elements (labels and sleeves, inks, glues and adhesives)
LABELS AND SLEEVES
Labels and sleeves are elements of considerable importance in the design of packaging and this is why some basic considerations are necessary. The types of labels and adhesives used have, in fact, important implications in the ease of recycling of the packaging since they can affect both the sorting phase (making the main material of the packaging and its colour more or less easily recognisable) and in the recycling phase (due to the presence of contaminants or fibres that reduce the quality of the recycled material).
In general, labels and sleeves made of the same material as the body are preferable. If this is not possible, then it is appropriate to use, also in this case, materials with different density from that of the body so that they can be more easily separated by flotation. The use of a different type of material for the sleeve makes it possible to colour and decorate the surface of the container up to a very high percentage, while avoiding colour contamination of the main material. This helps to maximise the recycled material as long as the sleeve is separable from the body and does not completely cover it.
As for the dimensional aspects, in order to avoid errors in the identification of the material used for the container, often the guidelines envisage coverage percentages not to be exceeded. For example, in the case of PET bottles, it is generally advisable not to cover more than 40% of the surface of the bottle so as to leave a free zone sufficient for the optical reader to correctly identify the polymer resin used for the bottle and its colour. For containers, tubs, trays and other plastic packaging, this percentage rises to 60% of the area.
It would also be useful to design sleeves and security seals so that they can completely detach themselves from the container or be easily removed in conventional separation systems. A solution could be to attach the labels to the body with several small points rather than a large surface. This observation applies above all in the case where water-soluble adhesives are used (in particular in the case of paper labels) which will thus allow the two elements to be separated without leaving residues.
Otherwise, the components and adhesives will act as contaminants. Moreover, in the case of paper labels, it is important that they do not disintegrate during the washing process, otherwise the fibres could end up in the recycled plastic, compromising the quality and possible reuse. Nevertheless, these labels may be used, provided they are attached with water-soluble adhesives and are not coated in such a way as to prevent their separation and removal. For this reason, the use of decorative/protective finishes (e.g. sheets, lacquers, varnishes, etc.) should be reduced to a minimum.
In general, it is preferable to avoid the use of glues and adhesives, for example by using shrink-wrap labels which adhere to the packaging by mechanical action and are therefore easily separable during grinding.
It is precisely in this phase that possible contamination of the glues in the recycling process takes place.
Where necessary, the glue should allow the label to detach itself during washing (cold or hot) or dry separation. The adhesive should not dissolve in the washing water but should remain attached to the label itself, which, in turn, should be designed to subsequently separate by flotation.
In addition, it is important that the glue in contact with the water after detachment loses adhesiveness, so as not to risk sticking to the polymer flakes prior to separation by flotation.
Alternatively, it is nevertheless necessary to envisage that the glued parts are separated during collection or in any case arrive already separated in the recycling phase.
Plastics Recyclers Europe (PRE), the European association of plastics recyclers, has drawn up a list of approved hot-melt adhesives and several experimentation protocols are being developed to evaluate the impact of glues and adhesives in European recycling systems.
PIGMENTS/INKS
Inks and pigments selected to colour and print components and labels must comply with existing recommendations/restrictions on the use of heavy metals and health and safety regulations.
These substances can, in fact, contaminate the recovered plastic. For these reasons, it is recommended to follow the indications and guidelines provided and regularly updated by the European Printing Ink Association (EuPIA). The use of inks and pigments suitable for contact with food constitutes a further safety guarantee for the quality of the flow of output material from the recycling process.
Furthermore, in order to avoid contamination of the recycled flow, the pigments used should not be water soluble.
not completely cover the packaging body with labels and sleeves;
use labels/sleeves of the same material as the body or material with different density;
ensure that the labels and the sleeves are completely detachable from the body without leaving residues;
minimise the use of decorative/protective finishes (e.g. lacquers, varnishes);
use water-soluble glues that remain attached to the label or sleeve;
not use water-soluble colours.
EXAMPLES OF PACKS AND FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN THE DESIGN FOR PLASTIC PACKAGING RECYCLING
Below are some examples of plastic packaging, highlighting the elements to be taken into consideration during the design phase to facilitate recycling.
The main body, i.e. the main component to be recycled, is indicated in blue.
The sortability and recyclability
The sortability and recyclability of packaging intended for the household circuit are certainly very important characteristics and which should be strived for to ensure better environmental performance and lower use of resources useful for the production of virgin raw materials.
At the same time, it is essential to take into account that the packaging must ensure certain primary services that represent essential functions that must necessarily be performed, such as correct preservation of the product and adequate use of the contents and of the packaging.
Sometimes the services described here may not be mutually compatible. In fact, there are some types of packaging that, for particular preservation or application functions, can be sorted but, at the moment, do not have technical solutions for useful exploitation in a recycling perspective.
Situations similar to the one described above deserve to be assessed on a case-by-case basis in order to identify the best technical solution. For these limited cases, it might be appropriate, for example, to choose solutions that render them unsortable and therefore uninfluential on the recycling processes and quality of recycled materials, through design interventions that consider the elements of attention proposed in this Guideline.
It is expected that technological progress, both in packaging design as well as sorting and recycling processes, will in the future facilitate the dissemination of solutions that also ensure the sortability and recyclability of such types of packaging.
Training/information to the final consumer on the correct disposal of plastic packaging
As mentioned in chapter 3, the first phase for the recycling of household packaging is correct separate collection by citizens. For this reason, it is essential that end users are aware of good practices in the use and separate collection of packaging.
In this sense, it is useful to remember that correct separate collection is fundamental for optimisation of current recycling processes and it is up to the end consumers to do it.
Local authorities are, on the other hand, those responsible for collection organisation and management which, therefore, has heterogeneous characteristics throughout the country (e.g. different separate collection models, different collection methods, different colours identifying the different materials chosen at the local level).
So, what can the designer or packaging user company do to facilitate packaging, once it becomes waste, being correctly disposed of in separate collection by the end consumer?
It would be good practice to communicate to consumers that packaging should be emptied and, where possible, the volume reduced by crushing, while it would be useful to remember that packaging should not necessarily be washed, if emptying is sufficient to remove most of the product residues. In addition, plastic caps and closures should be disposed of together with their packaging, because if disposed of separately, they will lost in the fine fraction that is not recycled. These indications also refer to that specified by Conai in the publication "Etichetta per il cittadino – Vademecum per una etichetta volontaria ambientale che guidi il cittadino alla raccolta differenziata degli imballaggi” (Etiquette for citizens - Handbook for a voluntary environmental labelling that guides citizens in the separate collection of packaging) to which reference should be made for further information.
The contribution of the designer becomes fundamental when, for example, he succeeds in communicating that the packaging is actually recoverable and that, to achieve this goal, it is essential to dispose of it in separate collection that in Italy includes all household packaging, regardless of its sortability and recyclability. The contribution is even more effective when the designer induces the user to perform virtuous actions almost automatically, without the need for precise training or information in this regard. This is why, right from the initial stages of the design process, the role of the designer can become fundamental for the definition of the communication methods and procedures to be used to ensure that the packaging is correctly disposed of in separate collection.
In the knowledge that it is impossible to involve all users in carrying out specific actions, it is equally true that from the design point of view, the packaging designer can contribute to making the consumer perform the correct separation actions.
As already mentioned, in Europe the identification of materials on packaging is voluntary, pursuant to the provisions of Commission Decision 97/129/EC. To facilitate the visual recognition of the various types of plastic by the consumer during separate collection, the main components of the packaging (containers, caps, lids) should be easily recognisable through the identification code of the material. For some years now, many companies, through individual initiatives, have been using immediately comprehensible communication methods in order to easily understand in which separate collection flow the individual packaging element should go (in particular, in the case of packaging made with parts of different materials, simple infographics can be used to indicate where the individual components should be disposed of).
In any case, the symbols must be clearly indicated and possibly printed directly on the container or on the individual component. To avoid confusion, the identification code should be clearly distinguished from any other number or letter on the containers, avoiding, where possible, printing it on any labels.
It is therefore essential to provide answers to the following queries of consumers:
> what is it? (i.e. whether or not the packaging consists of a specific type of material or of several types of material of the same or different nature);
> where does it go? (whether or not it can be disposed of in separate collection);
> how should it be managed? (i.e. whether or not it should be emptied or washed, whether or not its components should be separated).
4D IN SUMMARY, WITH THE SAME PERFORMANCE, IT IS PREFERABLE TO:
invite the user to pay attention to the end-of-life of the packaging;
clearly indicate and highlight the materials of the body and of any packaging components in compliance with current legislation;
clearly indicate information on the collection of the various components of the packaging;
inform the user to completely empty the packaging and, if possible, reduce the volume before disposing of it in separate collection;
induce the user to automatically perform good practices instead of indicating them, for example by finding solutions that induce the user to separate the body from the components where necessary (for example sleeve-bottle).
EXAMPLES OF APPLICATION OF DESIGN GUIDELINES
Design guidelines can often be associated with various phases of the recycling process and in most cases they compromise or create errors in the sorting or recycling of the main material. The following examples try to highlight some of these problems in order to illustrate the importance of these guidelines. The steps indicated were taken from the general outline on the recycling phases (chapter 3) with the aim of illustrating both the problems caused by failure to comply with the guidelines, as well as the phase in which this occurs. The design guidelines certainly do not intend to suggest the exclusion of certain materials, combination or solution, but rather to emphasise the importance of avoiding the occurrence of these situations in the various phases of the specified process:
use water-soluble glues
In the washing phase, non-soluble glues create agglomerations of heterogeneous material.
use components that are completely separable from the body if they are of a different material with respect to the latter;
do not completely cover the packaging body with labels and sleeves.
HDPE packaging with a PS sleeve that completely covers the body is read as PS and separated into the flow of the non-prevalent material.
Substance added in small quantities during processing to increase and/or maintain the performance characteristics of the materials to which it is added over time.
Source: Cecchini C., Le parole del design, Trento, LISt, 2012, p. 35
In polymeric materials, this is used for the production of films, sheets and slabs: the mass of heated and thus plastic material is placed between two or more rollers to obtain the desired semi-finished products.
Coating is the process by which a thin layer of fluid or molten material is applied to the surface of a substrate, which in most cases is a plastic film, but can also be a sheet of paper, a metal box or glass.
Source: Piergiovanni L., Limbo S., Food packaging: Materiali, tecnologie e soluzioni, Milano, Springer-Verlag Italia, 2010, p. 261
A restorative and regenerative industrial economy that aims to keep products, components and materials always at their highest level of usefulness and value, distinguishing between technical and biological cycles.
Source: Ellen MacArthur Foundation
Moulding process for thermoplastics; it is carried out by pushing the molten polymer through a head having different sections depending on the semi-finished product to be produced (tubes, profiles, continuous yarns, etc.).
Source: Bucchetti V., Ciravegna E., Le parole del packaging, Milano, Dativo Editore, 2009, p. 169
Phase of the recycling process based on conveying shredded plastic material into water. The fragments having a density lower than that of the liquid float and can be removed from those which instead, having a density higher than that of the liquid, are deposited on the bottom of the flotation tank.
Source: Aglietto, M., Coltelli, M. B., Riutilizzo dei materiali polimerici (Vol. 11), Roma, Edizioni Nuova Cultura, 2015, p. 36
Structure made of flexible or easily foldable material whose shape, after filling and closing, can change.
Source: Bucchetti V., Ciravegna E., Le parole del packaging, Milano, Dativo Editore, 2009, p. 22
POLYLAMINATED PACKAGING
This is packaging structurally made of different polylaminated materials, which cannot be separated manually. For example, the following items are laminated packaging: beverage carton (polylaminate: paper, plastic and aluminium), bag consisting of aluminium foil laminated with paper, etc.
Source: CONAI, Guida all’adesione e all’applicazione del contributo ambientale, 2017, p. 126
Rigid structure made of stable materials, such as glass bottles, cans, etc.
Mechanical process that takes place by opposing cylinders which, rotating on themselves, impress in the material the desired shape and thickness. The term lamination also indicates the operation by which a printed sheet is covered with a thin protective layer of plastic or metallic material called laminate.
LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT (LCA)
Scientific and objective procedure for the assessment of energy and environmental loads related to the system analysed, performed through the identification of energy resources, materials used and waste released into the environment throughout the life cycle of the product in a "from cradle to cradle" perspective. The LCA methodology has its origins in the '70s as a development of energy analysis, in which the strictly energy-related variables are supplemented with those of a typically environmental nature during the entire life cycle. Currently, the ISO 14040 and 14044 standards represent the international standard to which all analysts refer to develop and, where appropriate, have each LCA study verified.
Source: Ecotool Conai
LIFE CYCLE THINKING (LCT)
Assessment of products and the processes with which they are implemented throughout their entire life cycle, taking into account the resources consumed and the impact on the environment and on health.
Source: Amato A., Marchetti A., Moreno A., Ubertini A., Depuis project: Design of environmentally-friendly products using information standards, Roma, Enea, 2010, p. 154
Phase of the recycling process which reduces the plastic material into flakes or granules.
Source: Plastic Recyclers Europe
SECONDARY RAW MATERIAL (SRM)
Set of waste that ceases to be such if it is subject to a recovery operation, including recycling, and meets specific criteria.
Source: D.Lvo. n. 205/2010, art. 184-ter
Chemical operation in which a monomer is linked to a molecular chain to form the polymer. There are substantially two types of polymerization: by addition - monomer to monomer addition - or by condensation, where two monomers interact with each other and bind with the elimination of simpler molecules.
Source: Bertolotti G., Capitelli V., Dizionario delle materie plastiche, Milano, Tecniche nuove, 2007 p.198
High molecular weight organic chemical compound obtained starting from two or more monomers by polymerization reactions.
Group of plastics including polyethylene – low-density polyethylene (LDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) - and polypropylene (PP). Polyolefins are obtained by polymerization from oil or natural gas, where short chains of monomers join together to form long chains of polymers in the presence of a catalyst.
Measures taken before a substance, material or product has become waste, that reduce:
the quantity of waste, including through the re-use of products or the extension of the life span of products;
the adverse impacts of the generated waste on the environment and human health;
the content of harmful substances in materials and products.
Source: Direttiva 2008/98/CE, art. 3, comma 12
Any operation the principal result of which is waste serving a useful purpose by replacing other materials which would otherwise have been used to fulfil a particular function, or waste being prepared to fulfil that function, in the plant or in the wider economy.
Any recovery operation by which waste materials are reprocessed into products, materials or substances whether for the original or other purposes. It includes the reprocessing of organic material but does not include energy recovery and the reprocessing into materials that are to be used as fuels or for backfilling operations.
Any substance or object which the holder discards or intends or is required to discard.
Source: Direttiva 2008/98/CE, art. 3, comma 1
Any operation by which products or components that are not waste are used again for the same purpose for which they were conceived.
Indicates the shelf life of a product, the estimated time of duration on the shelf, i.e. the period during which the quality of the product remains unaltered.
Enveloping label. Plastic label that wraps around rigid containers such as bottles and jars, used as a communication support and/or as an additional closure system.
Technique used for the production of single-body hollow objects, such as bottles, through the use of a controlled jet of air.
Method of moulding plastic materials in which the molten polymer is injected into a closed mould. The shape of the cavity corresponds exactly to the shape of the desired part which remains enclosed on all sides.
Plastic forming process in which a sheet of material is heated up to make it soft and malleable, then modelled into the desired shape by vacuum, pressure, auxiliary mechanical devices or combinations of these methods.
HEAT WELDING
Hot welding in which an intense heat wave is momentarily applied to the area to be welded, followed by immediate cooling.
Pass an incoherent, granular or fragmentary mass through a sieve, both to separate the useful part from the slag, waste and foreign bodies, as well as to separate the elements of a given size from others of greater size.
Source: Enciclopedia della Scienza e della Tecnica Treccani
Bibliography and reference websites
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REFERENCE WEBSITES
http://www.conai.org
CONAI, National Packaging Consortium
http://www.corepla.it
COREPLA, National Consortium for the Collection, Recycling and Recovery of Plastic Packaging
http://www.cotrep.fr
COTREP, French technical committee for the recycling of plastic packaging
http://www.epbp.org/design-guidelines
EPBP (European PET Bottle Platform) guidelines for the recycling of PET bottles
http://www.epro-plasticsrecycling.org
EPRO, European association of companies and consortia that deal with the recycling and recovery of plastics
http://www.eupia.org
EuPIA, European association of printing ink producers
http://www.incpen.org
INCPEN, non-profit organization for studying the environmental and social effects of packaging
http://www.intracen.org
International Trade Centre, Development agency that supports the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises
http://www.plasticseurope.org
Plastics Recyclers Europe, European association of plastics producers
http://www.recoup.org
RECOUP, British organization for the management of plastic waste
http://recyclass.eu
Recyclass, system for the voluntary evaluation and certification of plastic packaging recyclability implemented by Plastic Recyclers Europe
http://www.who.int
World Health Organization, United Nations Agency specialised in health issues
http://www.wrap.org.uk
WRAP, British non-profit organisation for waste management and maximising the efficient use of resources
Reference legislation
DIRECTIVES AND DECREES
LAW 170 of 12 August 2016, Delegation to the Government for implementation of European directives and implementation of other European Union acts - 2015 European Delegation Law on light plastic bags, combustion plants, petrol and diesel quality.
Official Journal no. 204 of 1/9/2016
Ministry of the Environment Decree of 24 June 2016, approval of the Articles of Association scheme for packaging Consortia
Legislative Decree 39 of 15 February 2016, Implementation of Directive 2014/27/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 February 2014 amending Council Directives 92/58/EEC, 92/85/EEC, 94/33/EC, 98/24/EC and Directive 2004/37/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council with a view to bringing them into line with Regulation (EC) 1272/2008, concerning the classification, labelling and packaging of substances and preparations.
Official Journal General Series no. 61 of 14/3/2016
Directive 2008/98/ECof the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain directives
Official Journal no. L312/3 of 22/11/2008
Transposed in Italy with Legislative Decree 205 of 31 December 2010 “Implementing provisions of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain directives”
Official Journal no. 288 of 10 December 2010
Directive 2004/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 amending Directive 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste - Declaration of the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament
Official Journal no. L 047 of 18/02/2004
transposed in Italy with Legislative Decree 152 of 3 April 2006, "Environmental regulations", the so-called Consolidated Environmental Act, updated by Legislative Decree 205 of 3/12/2010
Official Journal no. 88 of 14 April 2006
Legislative Decree no. 22 of 5 February 1997,"Implementation of directives 91/156/EEC on waste, 91/689/EEC on hazardous waste and 94/62/EC on packaging and packaging waste"
Official Journal no. 38 of 15 February 1997
Decision 97/129/EC of the Commission, of 28 January 1997, which “establishes an identification system for packaging materials pursuant to Directive 94/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on packaging and packaging waste”
Official Journal no. L50/28 of 20 February 1997
Directive 94/62/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 December 1994 “Packaging and packaging waste”
Official Journal no. L365/199 of 31 December 2004
UNI STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS
CR 13695-1:2000
Requirements for measuring and verifying the four heavy metals present in packaging
Requirements for the use of European Standards in the field of packaging and packaging waste
UNI EN 13428:2005
Requirements specific to manufacturing and composition
Packaging - Reuse
Requirements for packaging recoverable by material recycling
Requirements for packaging recoverable in the form of energy recover
Requirements for packaging recoverable through composting and biodegradation.
ISBN CODE: 9788894270013
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Movie Review - Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Columbia Pictures Corporation for mild thematic elements
I suppose there’s something to be said for a touch of realism; where concerns for historical accuracy lead writers to expose their audiences to the less picturesque aspects of life as it was in a particular place at a particular time. There’s something understandable about it, anyway. We don’t live there or then, so it makes sense for filmmakers, for example, to insert little comments or images here and there to draw our attention to things that made other eras different, even if those things actually didn’t happen or even come up in conversation that much during that era. Addition is understandable. Emphasis is understandable. So why is it that, in a film that took so much liberty with the original dialogue for the sake of period-specific realism, the most significant aspect of any culture, let alone early nineteenth-century England, was unapologetically, unmistakably left out altogether? Where is Christ, and where are his followers, in Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility?
We might say, I suppose, that God was still honored in this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility by the basic upholding of beauty, which is in one sense God’s creation, and in another his attribute. The flow of the story, the well-balanced dialogue, the scenery and the cinematography generally witnessed quite well to the fact that beauty and form are things of value, and—in a really round-about way—to the fact that their origin is in a transcendent God. We, as Christians, however, cannot divorce the dignity of the creation from the divinity of the Creator. The filmmakers… well, they can’t really do it, either, but I believe they may have tried to here.
Often, the good things in this movie are so muddled, it’s difficult sometimes to distinguish between the good and the bad. The movie briefly references a character’s desire to become a minister, which ought to be good, but his desire seems to have little to do with religious conviction, and he says he wishes to only “give very short sermons.” The Dashwood ladies do attend church, and we even see them there once, but the minister is neither dignified nor interesting, the youngest Dashwood girl humorously talks through the sermon, and the next-youngest girl had actually obtained her mother’s permission to absent herself from the gathering of the church to spend the morning with a young man she might have seen any day of the week.
Technically there are two references to God, but neither of them can be attributed to religious devotion, or even cultural convention.
Just the opposite from what one usually hears, in the case of Sense and Sensibility, it’s the lack of explicitly Christian conversation that feels awkward and contrived. The oldest Dashwood girl has been dealing with heartbreak for months; she’s facing the impending death of her younger sister; she’s been awake day and night carrying out vessels of the girl’s blood, thanks to the filmmakers’ interest in antiquated medical practices; she’s on the edge of hysteria; and here, where it would have been the most natural place in the world to write in a quick “God help me” or “God save her,” we see the character crying out in anguish, despair and utter dependence… on the unconscious girl beside her. It seems that the historical realism stopped when it came to even cultural Christianity in the nineteenth century.
The positive pictures of family relationships are also rather mixed up, occasionally featuring some touching loyalty, but generally in the context of a foolish mother, a wise oldest daughter, a redeemed middle daughter, and a brat of a youngest daughter. All the children from the original story have been completely left out of the movie except for the young Margaret Dashwood and the infant son of an ignorant woman and a sarcastic man who provides comic relief by openly despising his own wife and child.
Femininity is apparently upheld by its belonging to the heroine of the story, but on the other hand it is portrayed as being a limit to one’s purpose in life. Elinor Dashwood is not only burdened by the unique failings of her family members; she’s also unable to escape the burden and the boredom by pursuing a career, she suggests. Young Margaret’s femininity is retained in her ringlets and pinafores, but while she is not exactly a rugged tomboy, her tree house and sword fighting—her travel plans and her Captain Margaret-ing—come across as an attempt to escape the perceived handicaps of her own sex.
I know that many ladies use Sense and Sensibility as an inspiration for their own dressmaking, and that, too, could be considered a good thing insofar as the film encourages beauty in clothing. Unfortunately, not all of the costumes are equally worth copying, and unfortunately there are many that are so frightfully revealing as to warrant a caution against seeing the movie at all, for many people. And while the remaining sexual content is pretty much invisible, and never mentioned in defiling terms, you still have to face less than subtle hints at fornication, promiscuity and multigenerational legacies of unwed motherhood—in different words from the original story, but all according to Jane Austen’s own brand of realism.
Gossip is shown to be bad, but mocking the gossiper is shown to be humorous. Young ladies lie about the subject of their conversation to people who didn’t have any business asking what it was. A man speaks gallantly about Shakespeare’s sonnets being “a talisman against further injury,” and a fellow refers to another man’s dog by another common name for the creature—jokes and conventional vocabulary for that time period, but possibly offensive to those who live in this one.
There are many things good and praiseworthy in Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility, and those things might understandably keep this film forever on the favorite movies list of women everywhere. Speaking strictly of the film as a piece of art, I believe there’s no better Jane Austen film to be had; and, as a piece of art, it appealed to me significantly more than the earlier Sense and Sensibility adaptation did, which I gave an Enjoyable rating. My giving the 1995 version a Not Worth Watching Again mustn’t be taken as a sign of disregard for the quality of the productions, or preference for three-hour long Jane Austen movies over two-hour ones; it most definitely is not. But if a young girl were to ask me which movie she should see after having read the book and loved it, I would point her to the film with the least shocking necklines rather than the one with the most beautiful costumes; the one with the most honorable family relationships rather than the one with the most complex characters; the one that bears a better witness to true Christianity than to the beginnings of women’s lib. In short, on such an occasion, I probably wouldn’t suggest the movie I’ve just reviewed.
I don’t believe there’s anything inherently sinful about watching Sense and Sensibility; I’m afraid I just can’t see myself recommending it to anyone—especially not to girls under twelve or to boys under an hundred and twelve. Ordinarily I would suggest parental guidance, but in this case I think just maternal guidance would be better.
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Dr. Ron’s Research Review – July 8, 2015
This week’s research review focuses on vitamin D and ACE and hypertension.
A study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed that vitamin D3 is negative endocrine regulator of the renin-angiotensin system. (Li et al., 2002)
Renin expression and plasma angiotensin II production were increased several-fold in vitamin D receptor-null (VDR-null) mice, leading to hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and increased water intake. However, the salt- and volume-sensing mechanisms that control renin synthesis were still intact. In wild-type mice, inhibition of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)] synthesis also led to an increase in renin expression, whereas 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) injection led to renin suppression. We found that vitamin D regulation of renin expression was independent of calcium metabolism and that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) markedly suppressed renin transcription by a VDR-mediated mechanism in cell cultures.
In normal mice, Vitamin D-deficiency stimulates renin expression, whereas injection of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] reduces renin synthesis. In cell cultures, 1,25(OH)2D3 directly suppresses renin gene transcription by a VDR-dependent mechanism. (Li et al., 2004)
Dr. Ron
1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) is a negative endocrine regulator of the renin-angiotensin system.
(Li et al., 2002) Download
Inappropriate activation of the renin-angiotensin system, which plays a central role in the regulation of blood pressure, electrolyte, and volume homeostasis, may represent a major risk factor for hypertension, heart attack, and stroke. Mounting evidence from clinical studies has demonstrated an inverse relationship between circulating vitamin D levels and the blood pressure and/or plasma renin activity, but the mechanism is not understood. We show here that renin expression and plasma angiotensin II production were increased severalfold in vitamin D receptor-null (VDR-null) mice, leading to hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, and increased water intake. However, the salt- and volume-sensing mechanisms that control renin synthesis are still intact in the mutant mice. In wild-type mice, inhibition of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)] synthesis also led to an increase in renin expression, whereas 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) injection led to renin suppression. We found that vitamin D regulation of renin expression was independent of calcium metabolism and that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) markedly suppressed renin transcription by a VDR-mediated mechanism in cell cultures. Hence, 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) is a novel negative endocrine regulator of the renin-angiotensin system. Its apparent critical role in electrolytes, volume, and blood pressure homeostasis suggests that vitamin D analogues could help prevent or ameliorate hypertension.
Vitamin D regulation of the renin-angiotensin system.
(Li, 2003) Download
The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a central role in the regulation of blood pressure, electrolyte, and volume homeostasis. Epidemiological and clinical studies have long suggested an association of inadequate sunlight exposure or low serum 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) [1,25(OH)(2)D(3)] levels with high blood pressure and/or high plasma renin activity, but the mechanism is not understood. Our recent discovery that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) functions as a potent negative endocrine regulator of renin gene expression provides some insights into the mechanism. The concept of vitamin D regulation of blood pressure through the RAS opens a new avenue to our understanding of the physiological functions of the vitamin D endocrine system, and provides a basis for exploring the potential use of vitamin D analogues in prevention and treatment of hypertension.
Li, YC, et al. (2002), ‘1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D(3) is a negative endocrine regulator of the renin-angiotensin system.’, J Clin Invest, 110 (2), 229-38. PubMedID: 12122115
Li, YC (2003), ‘Vitamin D regulation of the renin-angiotensin system.’, J Cell Biochem, 88 (2), 327-31. PubMedID: 12520534
Li, YC, et al. (2004), ‘Vitamin D: a negative endocrine regulator of the renin-angiotensin system and blood pressure.’, J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol, 89-90 (1-5), 387-92. PubMedID: 15225806
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‧Editorials
Home / Editorials
Sat, Oct 27, 2018 - Page 9 News List
Eastern Europe growing disenchanted with China’s promises
By Alan Crawford and Peter Martin / Bloomberg
China’s efforts to make inroads in eastern Europe are being hindered by what nations see as failed promises on money materializing and the strings attached to investments.
The so-called “16+1 framework” was established by China as a means to deepen its footprint in eastern Europe.
Its members — 11 EU countries, from Poland to Hungary and Estonia, plus five Balkan states — saw the annual forum as a means to attract Chinese investment in infrastructure like roads and rail networks to boost their economies.
However, many of those states are disenchanted with the lack of investment from China, people with direct knowledge of the forum said.
Members are also unhappy at Beijing’s preference to provide loans rather than cash, and now recognize that better deals are available within the EU framework, such as via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Some of those projects that have materialized with Chinese help have attracted unwelcome attention.
Mounting costs for a highway development in Montenegro prompted the Washington-based Center for Global Development to single out the country as “at particular risk of debt distress,” while the tender for an unfinished high-speed rail link between Budapest and Belgrade prompted an EU commission probe.
“Some feeling of unease about the whole scheme has been brewing for some time,” said Jan Weidenfeld, head of European affairs for the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin.
The conditions attached to projects are seen by 16+1 members as similar to those offered to African states, meaning that some countries “even feel insulted,” he said.
“The package just isn’t quite as attractive as China would make believe it is,” he added.
Trade and investment links between China and central and eastern Europe have improved over the past decade, yet growth “has not hit declared values and did not meet the expectations” of some countries, Erste Group said in a report in May.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (李克強) was to have an opportunity to raise the matter when he met European leaders in Brussels yesterday during an EU-Asia summit.
The 16+1 framework has been controversial from its inception in 2012. Armed with its own secretariat staffed by Chinese diplomats, the forum features an annual summit of member state leaders, offering them the chance of bilateral talks with the Chinese premier.
The focus is on projects that fall under the umbrella of China’s vast Belt and Road Initiative.
From the outset, EU officials were concerned that it was an attempt by China to split off the bloc’s poorer east rather than deal with Brussels.
A European Council on Foreign Relations report from December last year on EU-China ties concluded there was “no doubt that the 16+1 is part of a broad ‘divide and rule’ practice.”
The troubles surrounding the forum might be welcomed by Brussels, as well as by core member states, such as Germany and France, which have been at the forefront of efforts to tighten up screening of Chinese investments in critical infrastructure and companies in the bloc. Germany in particular has been increasingly vocal in its criticism of the 16+1.
Germany is fine with countries in eastern Europe pursuing closer economic ties with Beijing, but not at the cost of undermining joint EU policy on China, a senior government official in Berlin said.
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Tag: star trek 50
Star Trek’s 50th Anniversary Blu-ray Collection Named ‘Title of the Year’
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FACTOID # 28: Austin, Texas has more people than Alaska.
Interesting geography facts »
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Encyclopedia > Sagebrush
Conservation status: Secure
Sagebrush, Washington State
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Genus: Artemisia
Species: A. tridentata
Artemisia tridentata
Nutt.
Sagebrush, or Big Sagebrush (or Common Sagebrush, Blue Sagebrush, Black Sagebrush) is the common name for Artemisia tridentata, a shrub or small tree from the composite family (Asteraceae). Some botanists treat it in the segregate genus Seriphidium, as S. tridentatum (Nutt.) W. A. Weber, but this is not widely followed.
The name sagebrush is also used for several related members of the genus Artemisia, such as California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica).
It is a coarse, hardy silvery-grey bush with yellow flowers, and grows in arid sections of the western United States. It is the primary vegetation across vast areas of the Great Basin desert. Along rivers or in other relatively wet areas, sagebrush can grow as tall as 10 feet (3 meters).
Sagebrush has a strong pungent fragrance, especially when wet, which is not unlike common sage. It is, however, unrelated to common sage and has a bitter taste. It is thought that this odor serves to discourage browsing.
Sagebrush leaves are wedge-shaped, and are attached to the branch by the narrow end. The outer and wider end is generally divided into three lobes (although leaves with two or four lobes are not uncommon), hence the scientific name "tridentata". The leaves are covered with fine silvery hairs, which are thought to keep the leaf cool and minimize water loss. Most of the leaves are carried year-round, as sagebrush tends to grow in areas where winter precipitation is greater than summer precipitation.
Sagebrush leaves compare favorably to alfalfa for livestock nutrition value. However, they also contain oils that are toxic to the symbiotic bacteria in the rumen of most ruminants. These oils have the greatest effect on cattle. Cattle that resort to sagebrush due to the lack of other fodder in the winter often freeze to death before starving, as they rely in large part on the heat of their digestive action for warmth. Ranchers call this condition "hollow belly". Sheep can tolerate moderate consumption of sagebrush leaves, especially the fresh spring buds. Pronghorn are the only large herbivore to browse sagebrush extensively. As pronghorn are the only remaining large herbivore that evolved along with sagebrush (deer are a more recent arrival from Asia), this is not surprising. There is speculation that some of the herbivores that went extinct in North America at the end of the Pleistocene such as the Ground Sloth or the American Camel were also capable of browsing sagebrush.
Sagebrush flowers in the late summer or early fall. The flowers are yellow and are carried in long, slender clusters.
Sagebrush is not fire-tolerant, and relies on wind-blown seeds from outside the burned area for re-establishment. This is in contrast to many of the other plants which share its habitat, such as Rabbitbrush, Ephedra and bunchgrasses, which can root-sprout after a fire. Cheatgrass has invaded much of the sagebrush habitat, and if left unchecked can create a fire cycle that is too frequent to allow sagebrush to re-establish itself.
In the Great Basin, sagebrush is the dominant plant life in the Upper Sonoran and Boreal life zones, and is the primary understory species in the Transitional zone between them. Prior to heavy grazing by cattle and sheep of these areas, sagebrush is thought to have been less dominant, and perennial grasses more common.
In the Lower Sonoran life zone, sagebrush is displaced by members of the Atriplex genus such as shadscale and fourwinged saltbrush (which are often mistaken for sagebrush), as these are more tolerant of salt and clayey soils.
Sagebrush is the state flower of Nevada.
What is Sagebrush?: http://www.pnl.gov/pals/resource_cards/Sagebrush.stm
Categories: Asterales
Sagebrush - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (601 words)
Sagebrush, or Big Sagebrush (or Common Sagebrush, Blue Sagebrush, Black Sagebrush) is the common name for Artemisia tridentata, a shrub or small tree from the composite family (Asteraceae).
Sagebrush leaves are wedge-shaped, and are attached to the branch by the narrow end.
Cattle that resort to sagebrush due to the lack of other fodder in the winter often freeze to death before starving, as they rely in large part on the heat of their digestive action for warmth.
AllRefer.com - sagebrush, Plant (Plants) - Encyclopedia (270 words)
sagebrush, name for several species of Artemisia, deciduous shrubs of the family Asteraceae (aster family), particularly abundant in arid regions of W North America.
Sagebrush is the state flower of Nevada, which is sometimes called the Sagebrush State.
Sagebrush is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Asterales, family Asteraceae.
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FACTOID # 14: North Carolina has a larger Native American population than North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana combined.
Interesting people facts »
Encyclopedia > Sandman (Wesley Dodds)
Art by Gavin Wilson and Richard Bruning. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...
Publisher DC Comics/Vertigo
First appearance Adventure Comics #40 (July, 1939)
Created by Gardner Fox
Bert Christman
Alter ego Wesley Bernard "Wes" Dodds
affiliations All-Star Squadron
Notable aliases Grainy Gladiator
Abilities A gas gun, prophetic dreams, as well as highly honed detective skills and a fair knowledge of the martial arts.
The Sandman, alias Wesley Dodds, is a fictional masked crimefighter in the DC Comics universe. The first of several DC characters to bear the name, he was created by writer Gardner Fox and artist Bert Christman. DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ... In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Gardner Francis Fox (May 20, 1911, Brooklyn, New York – December 24, 1986) was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. ... The All-Star Squadron was an American comic book (1981-1987) created by Roy Thomas and published by DC Comics about the adventures of a large team of superheroes which comprised of most of the feature characters owned by the company that appeared in the Golden Age of Comic Books... The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. ... Alice, a fictional character based on a real character from the work of Lewis Carroll. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Cover to the History of the DC Universe trade paperback. ... A writer is anyone who creates a written work, although the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Gardner Francis Fox (May 20, 1911, Brooklyn, New York – December 24, 1986) was an American writer best known for creating numerous comic book characters for DC Comics. ...
Attired in a green business suit, fedora, and gas mask, the Sandman used a gun emitting a sleeping gas to sedate criminals. He was originally one of the “mystery men” to appear in comic books and other types of adventure fiction in the 1930s but later developed into a more proper superhero, acquiring sidekick Sandy, and joining the Justice Society of America. A fedora, which in this case has been pinched at the front and being worn pushed back on the head, with the front of the brim bent down over the eyes. ... Belgian 1930s era L.702 model civilian mask. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... Face The 1930s (years from 1930–1939) were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles, as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression, also known in Europe as the World Depression. ... For the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode, see Super Hero (Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode). ... Don Quixote and Sancho Panza unsuccessfully confront windmills. ... Sanderson Sandy Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy the Golden Boy, now known as Sand, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. ... The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. ...
While the character's first appearance is usually given as Adventure Comics #40 (July 1939), he also appeared in DC Comics' 1939 New York World's Fair Comics omnibus, which historians believe appeared on newsstands one to two weeks earlier, while also believing the Adventure Comics story was written and drawn first. [1] Creig Flessel, who drew many early Sandman adventures, has sometimes been credited as co-creator on the basis of drawing the Sandman cover of Adventure Comics #40, but no other evidence has surfaced. In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... Adventure Comics #296 Adventure Comics is a comic book series published by DC Comics from 1935 to 1983. ... Year 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... There have been two Worlds fairs in New York City: 1939 New York Worlds Fair ( 1939- 1940) at Flushing Meadows in Queens gave us Futurama, the Trylon, and Perisphere. ... Parisian Omnibus, late nineteenth century Look up omnis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Creig Flessel (born February 2, 1912, in Huntington, Long Island, New York) is an American comic book artist active from some of the earliest days of the medium, and an illustrator and cartoonist for magazines ranging from Boys Life to Playboy. ...
Like most superheroes, the Sandman fell into obscurity in the 1940s and eventually other DC characters took his name. In the 1980s, when writer Neil Gaiman's Sandman, featuring the anthropomorphic embodiment of dreams, was popular, DC revived Dodds in Sandman Mystery Theater, a noir-ish series set in the 1930s. Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published in the United States by DC Comics for 75 issues from 1988 until 1996. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... Sandman Mystery Theatre is a comic book series published by Vertigo, the mature-readers imprint of DC Comics, which ran for 70 issues between 1993 and 1999. ... This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ...
1 Publication history
1.1 Golden Age of comic books
1.2 Silver Age to Modern Age
1.3 Twilight years
1.3.1 Sleep of Reason
2 Kingdom Come
3 Other Media
Golden Age of comic books
Following his first appearance in Adventure Comics #40, the Sandman continued to star in one of that omnibus title's features through #102 (March 1945). One of the seminal medium's "mystery men", as referred to at the time, the Sandman straddled the pulp magazine detective tradition and the emerging superhero tradition by dint of his dual identity and his fanciful, masked attire and weapon — an exotic "gas gun" that could compel villains to tell the truth, as well as put them to sleep. Unlike many superheroes, he frequently found himself the victim of gunshot wounds, both in the Golden Age and Vertigo series, and he would continue fighting in spite of serious limitations the injuries caused. In comic books, first appearance refers to first comic book to feature a character. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Flynns Detective Fiction from 1941. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode, see Super Hero (Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode). ... For other uses of the term, see Villain (disambiguation). ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ...
In his early career, Dodds was frequently aided by his girlfriend, Dian Belmont, who is aware of his dual identity. Unlike many superhero love interests, Belmont was often portrayed as an equal partner of the Sandman, rather than a damsel in distress. Later stories would reveal that the two remained together for the duration of their lives, though they never married.
The Sandman was one of the original members of the Justice Society of America when that superhero team was introduced in All Star Comics #3, published by All-American Comics, one of the companies that would merge to form DC. The Justice Society of America, or JSA, is a DC Comics superhero group, the first team of superheroes in comic book history. ... All-American Comics was the flagship title for its publisher, also called All-American Comics. ...
In Adventure Comics #69, in 1941, Dodds was given a more superheroic yellow-and-purple costume by writer Mort Weisinger and artist Paul Norris, as well as a yellow-clad kid sidekick, Sandy the Golden Boy, nephew of Dian Belmont. Later that year, the celebrated team of Joe Simon and Jack Kirby took over this version of the character. Mortimer Weisinger (1915-1978) was an American magazine and comic book editor. ... Paul Norris (born April 26, 1914 in Greenville, Ohio) is an American comic book artist. ... Sanderson Sandy Hawkins, formerly known as Sandy the Golden Boy, now known as Sand, is a fictional character, superhero in the DC Comics universe created by Mort Weisinger and Paul Norris. ... Joe Simon (born 1915) was a comic book author and cartoonist who created or co-created many memorable characters in the Golden Age. ... Jack Kirby (August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was one of the most influential, recognizable, and prolific artists in American comic books, and the co-creator of such enduring characters and popular culture icons as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, the Hulk, Captain America, and hundreds of others stretching...
Silver Age to Modern Age
Reintroduced in the Silver Age in Justice League of America #46 (July 1966), the Sandman made occasional appearances in the annual teamups between that superhero group and the JSA. Showcase #4 (Oct. ... The Justice League is a DC Comics superhero team. ...
A film noir-inspired retelling of the original Sandman's adventures ran from 1993-1998 in the series Sandman Mystery Theatre from DC Comics' mature-reader Vertigo imprint. This series arguably takes place in an "alternate" continuity, since "Sandy Hawkins" is nothing more than a fictional comic book character within that universe. There are other deviations from the canonical DC Universe, not least of which - as established by a flashback to 1918 - that the Wesley Dodds of "Sandman Mystery Theatre" is around a decade older than his "regular" counterpart. Chronology-wise, these stories take place between issues 40 and 41 of Adventure Comics.[1] This still from The Big Combo (1955) demonstrates the visual style of film noir at its most extreme. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Vertigo logo Vertigo is an imprint of comic book and graphic novel publisher DC Comics. ...
In Sandman Midnight Theatre (1995) a one-shot special by Neil Gaiman, author of the Modern Age supernatural series The Sandman depicts an interaction between the two characters, with the original visiting Great Britain and encountering the imprisoned Dream, the protagonist of Gaiman's series. A minor retcon by Gaiman suggested that Dodds' chosen identity was a result of Dream's absence from the realm the Dreaming, and that Dodds carries an aspect of that mystical realm. This explains Dodds' prophetic dreams. Sandman Midnight Theatre is the title of a graphic novel in which two DC comics characters called the Sandman, Morpheus and Wesley Dodds, encounter each other. ... Neil Richard Gaiman () (born November 10, 1960) is an English author of science fiction and fantasy short stories and novels, graphic novels, comics, and films. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Sandman is a comic book series written by Neil Gaiman and published in the United States by DC Comics for 75 issues from 1988 until 1996. ... Cover of The Sandman #1, by Dave McKean. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Dreaming is a part of a fictional, supernatural world used as the setting for several comic book series and graphic novels, particularly The Sandman by Neil Gaiman, all published by the Vertigo imprint of DC Comics. ...
Twilight years
He was one of a number of Justice Society members who found themselves in the "Ragnarok Dimension" during the early Modern Age of comic books. Later, a retired Wesley Dodds is shown as an elder statesman of superheroes, most notably in a team-up with Jack Knight, the son of Dodds' JSA teammate Starman. Look up Ragnarok in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wolverine, a member of the X-Men, a popular franchise in the Modern Age, and an anti-hero, a popular character type The Modern Age of Comic Books is an informal name for the period in the history of mainstream American comic books generally considered to last from the mid... Starman is Jack Knight, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics Universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. ... Starman is Ted Knight, a comic book superhero in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. ...
In JSA Secret Files & Origins #1 in 1999, Dodds committed suicide rather than allow the location of Doctor Fate to be taken from his mind by the villainous Mordru. His youthful but now grown-up sidekick, Sandy the Golden Boy, became known simply as Sand and took his mentor's place as a member of the Justice Society of America until finally taking the name of Sandman. Mayor of Leipzig, Germany, committed suicide along with his wife and daughter on April 20, 1945. ... Doctor Fate, as seen in Justice League Unlimited Doctor Fate is a comic book superhero and wizard in the DC Comics universe, and a member of the Justice Society of America. ... // Character Biography Mordru (also known as Mordru the Merciless) is a fictional character, a supervillain in the DC Comics Universe whose main foes are the Legion of Super-Heroes in the future world of the 30th and 31st centuries and the Justice Society of America and the Lord of Order...
Sleep of Reason
Wesley Dodds makes a comeback via flashback images in the 2006 limited series Sandman Mystery Theatre: Sleep of Reason.
In Mark Waid and Alex Ross' Elseworlds miniseries Kingdom Come, Wesley Dodds is tormented by prophetic visions of Armageddon. After his death these visions are passed to the protagonist, Norman McKay, who was one of Dodds' only remaining friends. The story later reveals that the visions were sent to Dodds because his tenure as Sandman somehow gave him an affinity for dreams and their interpretation. Wesley Dodds actually prophesies the future events in Kingdom Come before dying in the hospital, playing a brief yet important part in the story. Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. ... Nelson Alexander Alex Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book painter, illustrator and plotter, acclaimed for the photorealism of his work. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A miniseries (sometimes mini-series), in a serial storytelling medium, is a production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. ... Kingdom Come was a four-issue comic book limited series published in 1996 by DC Comics. ... The evangelist John of Patmos writes the Book of Revelation. ... Kingdom Come was a four-issue comic book limited series published in 1996 by DC Comics. ...
Although he has never truly appeared outside of comicdom, a very similar character named Nightshade (with no relation to the DC Comics superhero of the same name) appears multiple times in The Flash TV Series. He even uses the same gas-gun, although he is African-American in this incarnation. Species See text Solanum is a genus of annuals, perennials, sub-shrubs, shrubs and climbers. ... The Flash was a live action CBS television series from 1990-1991 that starred John Wesley Shipp as the superhero, The Flash, and co-starred Amanda Pays. ...
^ Don Markstein's Toonopedia: "Adventure Comics #40 wasn't quite the character's first appearance, though. The 1939 issue of New York World's Fair Comics, an extra-big anthology DC put out to capitalize on the eponymous event, contained a Sandman story, and probably hit the stands a week or two before his first Adventure story (though the one in Adventure is believed to have been written and drawn earlier)". Sites including JSA Member Profiles: The Sandman and Members of the Justice Society: The Sandman concur.
JSA Members: The Sandman
Don Markstein's Toonopedia: The Sandman
Once Upon a Dime (Spring 1997): "Enter the Sandman"
Sequart.com: "The Sandman — Interlude: Sandman Mystery Theatre (1993-1998)", by Julian Darius
Who's Who of American Comic Books
Categories: American comics characters | Characters introduced in 1939 | DC Comics superheroes | Earth-Two | Fictional businesspeople | Fictional detectives | Fictional scientists | Fictional socialites | Fictional vigilantes | Golden Age superheroes | Jewish comic book characters
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Art Solos
Tommy Clarke (author)
Up in the Air is a culmination of 6 years hanging out of helicopters, photographing locations from California to Australia's Shark Bay and Utah to St Tropez. The work ranges from idyllic beach scenes in Gran Canaria to the abstract landscape of Utah's salt lakes, and shows his progression in style from documentary travel photography to abstract art. In 2015 Tommy was shortlisted for International Landscape Photographer of the Year. He has exhibited work at the Affordable Art Fair and the Other Art Fair, and his aerial photographs have been featured in GQ, The Times, Conde Nast Traveller and the Wall Street International.
London based photographer Tommy Clarke travels the world taking aerial photographs. Growing up on the south coast of England with many childhood holidays at the beach, he developed a deep interest of the interaction between water and land and how people connect with that location. But it wasn't until he was living in Sydney that he embarked on his first aerial shoot over Bondi Beach, capturing the colourful surfboards strewn across the beach.
Two Lives in Colour
Explosion of Colour
Abiding Buddha
Hearts and Bones
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Tuesday, January 21, 2020 9:00:55 AM
Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested to the Federation Council that Yury Chaika be removed from the position of prosecutor general of Russia, which he has held for nearly 14 years.
Chaika “will move on to other work”, the Kremlin’s press service told Interfax. To replace him, Putin has nominated Igor Krasnov, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Investigative Committee, the press service noted.
44 year-old Krasnov worked from 1997 to 2007 in the prosecution offices, after which he moved to …
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said during a joint press conference with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama that Ukraine plans to initiate new talks with Germany and France regarding the non-implementation of the Donbas ceasefire agreements that were reached in Paris.
Prystaiko pointed out that this weekend in the eastern part of the Donbas, two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded.
“As for the Minsk process and the intensification of the shooting – we are alarmed by …
Monday, January 20, 2020 2:00:21 PM
Israeli news outlet Debka reports, citing unnamed sources in the Russian Defense Ministry, that Iran used Russian space technology to strike U.S. military bases in neighboring Iraq.
"Russian military sources said that, during the Iranian missile attack on two U.S. air bases in Iraq, on January 8, it was Russia that provided support to Iran. Russian sources claim they had given Iranians access to the Russian global navigation network, GLONASS, which is the Russian equivalent of the American GPS …
Monday, January 20, 2020 12:00:18 PM
Former Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s frantic attempts to bring national projects back on schedule in the last few weeks of December were a severe trial for the Russian banking system, and even major banks like Sberbank and VTB experienced a record number of disruptions, reports finanz.ru.
According to the Russian Finance Ministry, in order to implement the budget in December, the government had to spend 4.14 trillion rubles (around $67.3 billion), triple the average amount for the …
Elizaveta Peskova, the daughter of Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov, told Forbes in an interview that in Russia a “specific mayhem” comes from the law enforcement organs.
“In Russia there is a specific mayhem which no adequate, civilized person will be indifferent towards, and this mayhem comes from the law enforcement organs,” she said. During the interview she did not clarify exactly when or how this mayhem manifests itself.
She mentioned the “mayhem” when asked by the correspondent to …
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Texas Forensic Science Commission to Discuss Todd Willingham Case at Meeting April 23 Justice John Paul Stevens Co-wrote Opinion Re-instating Death Penalty, Then Later Became Strong Critic of Death Penalty
Houston Sends Someone to Death Row for First Time Since 2007
By Texas Moratorium Network On April 12, 2010 · Add Comment · In Uncategorized
Harris County (Houston) today sent someone to death row for first time in two years. Death sentences have been declining for more than a decade across the country, but now there is one more. The last time Harris County sent someone to death row was November 2007.
According to a report from the Death Penalty Information Center (PDF), in 1994, a total of 328 people were sentenced to death in the U.S., but in 2009 only 106 people were sentenced to death in the U.S. In Texas, only 9 people were sentenced to death in 2009. During the 1990s, Texas averaged 34 death sentences every year.
Video from KTRK in Houston:
From the Houston Chronicle:
A Harris County jury has sentenced to death a man convicted of killing a Houston police officer.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours before deciding that Mabry Joseph Landor III should be put to death by lethal injection for killing officer Timothy Abernethy.
Landor was convicted last week of murdering Abernethy during a December 2008 footchase though a north Houston apartment complex. Landor told jurors he ran because was on parole and did not have a driver’s licence when Abernethy pulled him over for a traffic stop. He denied killing the veteran officer.
Witnesses testified Landor hid behind a wall and shot Abernethy as he ran by, then walked up to him and shot him though the head at close range.
After the punishment was announced, Abernethy’s son took the stand and addressed Landor.
“From the bottom of my heart and with all sincerity I do forgive you,” said Timothy Abernethy Jr.
The 21-year-old, his voice shaking at times, also said he was praying for Landor’s family and children.
“It sucks but I wish them the best.”
Abernethy’s widow also took the stand, first to express sympathy to Landor’s mother, then to address Landor.
“Mabry, like TJ said, we forgive you,” Stephanie Abernethy said. “So you don’t take that to prison with you.”
She also said she was going to be praying for him and his family, children and friends.
“I’m sorry you had to go through this.”
Stephanie Abernethy also thanked the jury.
“Thank you for doing the right thing today,” she said. “I believe the right thing was done, I do.”
Landor’s family could not be reached for comment immediately after the punishment was read.
His friends, however, said the jury’s decision was unfair.
“He was a good man, a very good man,” said Ray Gatlin, 33, one of Landor’s best friends. “He loves his kids. Even though they may gave him the death penalty, he is still going to be blessed.” He thought the punishment was unfair.
“He still looked good. They give to him what they gave him and he still looks good. He’s a strong man, just misunderstood.”
Qwana Singleton, 29, said he was also upset by the verdict.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like what happened either to the officer,” Singleton said. “But two wrongs don’t make a right.”
He said the way Landor was portrayed during the trial and by the media was misleading. “He’s a good dude, kind of quiet.
“If it was the truth, I wouldn’t be over here supporting him,” Singleton said. “But even if he did do it, you know, accidents happen. I don’t think they have the right to kill somebody.”
One juror said jurors could not find any mitigating circumstances to prevent Landor from getting the death penalty.
“The state’s evidence was overwhelming,” said juror No. 9, who did not want to identify himself.
He said the case was very emotional. The most difficult part, he said, was when the family of the slain police officer forgave Landor.
Landor’s defense attorney told jurors during closing arguments this morning that he was a controllable inmate who, if spared death, at 29 would spend the rest of his life being punished on a daily basis for what he did.
“He will never, ever, live as a free man again. He will never be able to be a father to his three children,” defense attorney Hattie Shannon said. “He will die in prison. … This 29 year old will never breathe free air again, that means Mabry Landor for the rest of his natural life will think about (this). … That is extreme punishment.”
Inmates added to Texas death row, by year:
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MY INTERVIEW WITH HOLLYWOOD EXEC JEFF TAPLIN FROM INFINITUM NIHIL
I’m sooo excited to bring to you one of the newest additions to my blog where I profile Black Hollywood Execs, Producers, Writers, etc. It’s a way for us to get to know some of the folks behind the scenes and behind some of the biggest projects in Hollywood. I’m hoping that we can draw inspiration and hopefully take something from these rarely heard about brothas and sistas who are making it happen behind the scenes.
Kicking things off, we have Jeff Taplin who is an Executive at Johnny Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil. Jeff had some interesting things to say about politics, Johnny Depp, and about us paying dues to our ancestors. Jeff and I talked soo much that I had to split the interview up into three parts—which basically gives me a reason to make it read like a three act screenplay (lol). I know, I know, I’m such a geek. Anyhoo, here’s the first act in my chat with Mr. Jeff Taplin. The final two parts will be posted sometime next week. Enjoy
SHEQUETA
Where are you from and what college did you attend?
From Denver Colorado and I went to Occidental College here in Eagle Rock California, where Obama went.
Major in College?
Theater Arts and a minor in Politics.
Favorite Movie?
I don’t know if I have a favorite. I have about three or four that I would put up there at the very top. Which would be: Dr. Strangelove, Bonnie and Clyde, Blade Runner, and Goldfinger.
Favorite Director?
Probably the one I learned from the most about films or (who) just makes me think the most about film would be would be Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick.
What has he done?
He did Dr. Strangelove, 2001 (A Space Odyssey), Full Metal Jacket, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut. I guess you can learn many things from many directors. So he would probably be at the top of the list--for me at least.
Lamborghini or Ferrari?...It’s a Hollywood question.
Wow. Which one gets better gas mileage is the question? Probably…probably Ferrari. Yeah it’s a little more classy. Not so out there. You know ostentatious like yeah I got money F off.
But a Ferrari is gonna say you got money.
Yeah but a Ferrari is a little more low key. A Lamborghini is--I mean you look at that and go whoa, like who’s driving that thing you now. With a Ferrari you blend in a little bit better.
Obama or McCain? Why?
You can say no answer…
No, no, no, no. It would be Obama because I like his message of changing the tone of politics. You know I, as a longtime follower of politics ever since I was—I mean I voted in probably every election I can. I’ve been voting since I was eighteen and I’ve seen just over the years where the debate has just become more and more sort of angry and vitriolic and just nonproductive. And I like the fact that part of his candidacy is about changing the tone of the debate. And saying look, you know it’s dumb to focus on these stupid trivial matters and it’s really time to actually really deal with issues and you can debate me on issues.
JEFF CONT'D
I mean this is what I always go back to, even with someone like George Bush where I say look you know you can disagree with his policy but I don’t know why you gotta like make him out to be some sort of bad guy. I never quite get that and it’s like I always have respect for the office cause when you look at the whole picture of the of the presidency not everyone is like Bill Clinton. That’s the model people like to use. Oh why can’t we have this—well you know I mean Taft (William Howard Taft…our 27th President) wasn’t like Clinton either. Taft wasn’t like Bush. And all Presidents have their good points and bad points. Even when Clinton was in office it was about the politics of personal destruction. So I feel like we need to get away from making politics so personal and get down to what we elect people to do--which is to represent our interest in government.
How did you get into your position?
Well, a series of sort of happy accidents you know. I was working at UTA for like about eight years or so, the story department. I started out in the trainee, Agent Trainee program. I did that for about eight months. Then I went down in the story department. I was doing that for probably like about four or five years when Johnny’s (Depp) agent came over to UTA. You know people read coverage in this town and he had read a lot of my coverage and I guess he liked them to the point where he told his agent that he wanted only me to read his submissions. He trusted my opinion or whatever.
A few years after that happened, he was starting his company up and his agent said hey you know you should go interview over there and I said okay fine. Then she kind of changed her mind like well you know I’ll just make it happen I’ll make it work, you’ll go over and work over there. I said okay that sounds good to me. And it just all kind of happened it just all sort of fell into place. When I talked to them, interviewed with them, they liked me and I guess there was really no one else…so I kinda got it almost-kinda by default. But I mean I obviously had been someone that they wanted to work with anyway so you know again it just all worked out for the best.
What's Johnny Depp like?
He’s...I guess I could say...maybe it’s a bit of a cliché but I guess I could describe him as a gentleman and a scholar.
Well he’s a Gemini so he’s duel sided.
Yeah, Yeah I mean he’s a low key guy, down to earth, reads a lot. He’s well informed about not only the arts but just life in general and…you know he kinda shuns the whole almost like apparatus of celebrity. So he’s not hanging out at the hottest places and going to this party and that party. I mean he’s kinda like a family guy in a way. He’s like an average guy where he gets up in the morning goes to work, comes home to his family at night. I mean it just so happens that his job is to entertain people. But you know beyond that he doesn’t really sort of--it’s not like a lot of celebrities where you see where it’s almost like what they did defines what they are. It’s like he’s already sort of defined himself in a sense and then that definition informs his work.
Is it hard to be a black exec in Hollywood where you all are few and far between? I mean do you all have a support group or something?
I mean yes and no. When I first started there weren’t a lot of-- I don’t think there were like a lot of blacks in the industry. This was like ten years ago probably. And I think over the year’s maybe it’s become a little bit better. But I think that’s mainly because society itself has become more inclusive. When you have someone like Will Smith who’s like arguably the biggest movie star right now, it changes people’s perceptions…Or someone like Tyler Perry, you know very successful. Or even like Spike Lee who had to change what he did to be more commercially accepted. Then I think it kind of changes the rules of the game and the way that minorities are seen in town. I guess in terms of a support group…every couple of years it seems like someone starts up something like a networking kind of thing or whatever and we kind of meet each other and say hey. But I don’t know that there is really a concentrated effort to have this kind of other Hollywood. I would sort of be against something like that where it’s like okay we’re gonna have our own kind of Hollywood.
I mean like I said, it’s great for what like someone like Tyler Perry has done where he has in a way become like his own studio which is very hard to do. I would say that any minority group should do something…just to say hey we’re a part of this too we’re a part of the arts too. In a way, it’s almost like Hollywood is kind of behind a little bit like theater. When I was studying theater it was about non traditional casting. You can have a black guy play Romeo in Romeo and Juliet. And that would almost sort of inform the arts in what you were doing. Where it’s like in Hollywood they do tend to have a like a bit of a more narrow focus. But that’s just because they’re trying to sell to so many eyeballs...But I think they’ve been able to almost sort of go the opposite where they initially start out very broad and now that we’re in this 500 channel universe you can do niche programming and target people and give (them) what they want whether it’s Latinos or Blacks or Asians.
What is the hardest part of your job?
I guess just managing people’s egos. When you work in a creative field everyone feels like they want to put their two cents in and that their two cents is worth you know five dollars. And so (laughs) a lot of it is…kind of agreeing but not agreeing and being diplomatic and being respectful but at the same time having enough experience and courage to say no that’s a bad ideal. That’s not gonna fly--people aren’t gonna go watch that--and then be able to back that up. When I was at UTA, at the story department, I think part of the reason people really liked my coverage and respected what I had to say is that I would always have examples to prove my point. I wouldn’t just fly off the handle and say oh this is dumb and blah, blah, blah, I wouldn’t go see it. I would say look you can look at these other examples and make up your own mind. Look at those other examples and think about do you want to make this or do you want to put your client in this project based on those other examples. I may throw in my two cents and say yeah I think it’s bad, I think it’s good but you gotta have examples to back that up or otherwise you just talking nonsense.
END OF ACT ONE
...Click here for Act Two where Jeff reveals what kind of projects interest him and who really has the power in Hollywood
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No. 152 Early Autumn
Falling Prices and Golden Opportunities
Perhaps it is time to think again about that holiday home in the sun. - By Count de la Perrelle.
read cover feature
No. 151 Late Summer 2013
Behaviour breeds Behaviour
I have recently been back to England..
No. 150 Mid Summer 2013
Wish you were here.
Costa del Sol still is still one of the best holiday options available.
No. 149 June 2013
Dancing Horses
Right from ancient times as far back as the Celts Iberian Chieftains and the Romans, ownership of a GENETf (Andalucian Horse Breed) was the most glorious symbol of power
No. 148 M.April - May
Andalucias Liquid Gold
Olive oil is known as liquid gold and is a staple of Spanish food.
No. 147 Mid March - April
Schadenfreude or opportunity?
Look at Spain - By Count De La Perrelle
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The GROGS
Caption Comp
Tribute Page
Craig Chalmers paid GROGS a great compliment by travelling from London specially to address in excess of 100 members who had gathered in the new venue of Loks Restaurant to hear one of Scotland’s rugby legends. The former Melrose, Harlequins, Scotland and British and Irish Lions player regaled the audience with stories of his playing days. He gave much of the credit for the extensive career he had enjoyed at the top levels of rugby to the incomparable Jim Telfer, coach at Melrose and later Scotland and the Lions. He firmly believes that the training methods and the rugby culture inspired by Jim Telfer led not only him to his first and subsequent caps but also the international honours gained by 7 or 8 other Melrose players of that era. He entertained us with a myriad of stories about earning his caps and his experiences with his club and international colleague, including a rather hair raising account of sharing a room with Iain (The Bear) Milne. It was commented later that this story was noticeably absent from the tales told to GROGS the time The Bear was guest speaker. Also missing from a previous guest speaker’s memories was when he (Scott Hastings), when trying to motivate the team when they were down, was the (supposed) immortal encouragement:- “Right lads, we can still do it. We can rise from the ashes like a pheasant”! We can only believe what we are told! His own stories were littered with other stories about some of Scottish Rugby’s greats and it was thrilling to hear things about some of these - an insight into their human side. When else would we hear that the great Kenny Logan thought of himself as the even greater Scottish Jonah Lomu? I wasn’t all about yesteryear, however. He had a professional opinion to express about such modern day topics as the Super Six and, of course, he had a lot of praise to offer for Gregor Townsend and the heroes on the pitch at last year’s Calcutta Cup match. All in all, the first Lunch of the 2019/20 season was deemed a great success with enthusiasm expressed for the programme to come.
Copyright 2013 - Glasgow Rugby Old Geezers Society
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« TVD Recommends: Butchers & Bakers at
the Pinch, 9/6—with a vinyl giveaway!
UK Vinyl Video:
Sunset Graves,
“Safe And Empty” »
Graded on a Curve: Donovan,
Barabajagal
By Michael H. Little | Published: September 6, 2013
Where have all the flower children gone? And more importantly, where would they have been without Donovan Phillips Leitch? Stuck eating their FLT (flower, lettuce, and tomato) sandwiches to the sound of Scott McKenzie’s faux Flower Power ode, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair),” that’s where. It was Donovan who best channeled the gentle and peace-loving vibes of the love-bead set into song, and without the fey Scot they’d have been, to quote one of the man’s lyrics, “as dragged as any hippie should be in old hippie town.”
Donovan began his career as a folkie and Dylan clone, right down to Bobby D.’s trademark corduroy cap. Donovan’s blatant aping of his hero reached its absurd culmination at the infamous Dylan/Donovan confab at London’s Savoy Hotel in 1965, when Donovan proudly offered to play his idol a brand new song. Which turned out, much to Dylan’s amusement, to be a note-for-note rip of “Mr. Tambourine Man.” Small wonder Donovan serves as a running joke amongst the caustic Dylan entourage in D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary “Don’t Look Back,” with Dylan himself at one point saying, “Donovan who?”
Donovan might have gone the way of Phil Ochs, but in 1966 he went from Dylan manqué to Sunshine Superman after dropping acid and tapping into the Universal Mind to watch groovy Technicolor mind movies of a smiling God grokking the ineffable infinite. The turned-on Donovan promptly helped pioneer the psychedelic sound, which in tandem with his gentle-to-the-point-of-wimpy voice (think Belle and Sebastian’s Stewart Murdoch, twee factor multiplied by 10) and mellow yellow emanations quickly made him the perfect avatar for the Age of Aquarius. A string of U.S. Top Ten hits followed, including “Sunshine Superman,” “Mellow Yellow,” “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” and “Atlantis,” which started life as a b-side but reached No. 7 after DJs flipped the 45 and flipped their lids to the far-freaking-out Atlantean sing-along. (Surprisingly, the great “Season of the Witch” was never released as a single, either in the United States or the United Kingdom.)
So why am I reviewing 1969’s Barabajagal, an album with only one of Donovan’s biggest hits on it? Because I’m perverse, that’s why. No, the truth is I love “Atlantis,” and all 270 of Donovan’s compilations and greatest hits packages either inexplicably omit “Atlantis” or are too long to review here. Besides, Barabajagal is a representative Donovan album, which is to say it combines the sublime (the title track, “Atlantis,” “Trudi”) and the ridiculous (“I Love My Shirt,” “Where Is She”), and hence offers a better perspective on Donovan’s flawed genius than his many greatest hits packages.
The Barabajagal sessions featured numerous luminaries, including the Jeff Beck Group, Graham Nash, John Paul Jones, and Suzi Quatro (!), not to mention soul singer Madeline Bell and singer/songwriter Lesley Duncan. And Donovan and producer Mickie Most made the most of the assembled talent, creating an album that combined rock, neo-folk, calypso, and even a round, whatever that is. Critical reaction was mixed, ranging from very positive to downright dismissive, with Robert Christgau for one dismissing Donovan as “a head full of nothing” and cynically recommending Barabajagal “to all the gentle people, while they die of the droops.”
Album opener “Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)” is a funky, fast-paced rocker featuring the Jeff Beck Group. From Beck’s opening guitar licks to Donovan’s nonsense lyrics (“Goo goo, goo goo barabajagal was his name now”), “Barabajagal (Love Is Hot)” is one outtasight slice of hippie pie. Why, I even dig the part where Donovan intones psychedelic gibberish (“In love pool eyes float feathers after the struggle/The hopes burst and/Shot joy all through the mind”) if only because it ends with Quatro, Bell, and Duncan singing “Love is hot!/Love is hot!” to which Donovan responds ecstatically, “Truth is molten!”
“Superlungs (My Supergirl)” is less a song than a Mann Act violation, its subject matter being a 14-year-old groupie “who knows how to draw.” Arranged by John Paul Jones, “Superlungs” is another up-tempo rocker, and opens with some blessedly brief freak-in-the-grass flute before quickly building up steam, propelled by some stellar drum bashing and the Owsley-strength psychedelic guitar of Big Jim Sullivan, the legendary UK session guitarist who played with everyone from David Bowie to Bennie Hill. I particularly love the way Donovan handles the chorus, singing “Suuuuuupergirl,” then following a short pause and in a voice heavy-laden with echo, “She’s my supergirl and I love her.” I highly recommend it to pedophiles and rock fans alike.
While Barabajagal doesn’t include any cuts as awful as Sunshine Superman’s “Legend of a Girl Child Linda” or “Guinnevere”—which is almost as bad as the CSN song of the same name—it does contain the musical methaqualone that is “Where Is She,” which is doomed from the very beginning by the insufferable jazz flute stylings of one Harold McNair. Donovan sings, “Springtime for me has gone/Where is she?/Waking in the blue dawn/Where is she?” Probably on a fast train so as to get as far away as possible from this snoozer, although to be fair if you can manage to tune out the flute, and snort enough crystal meth to counteract the song’s heavy-duty soporific effect, you will find the melody’s really quite pretty. That said, the song even seemed to put Donovan, who sings, “Drowsy sleepy with blue/I am here,” to sleep.
“Happiness Runs” is an acoustic round featuring vocals by Donovan, Graham Nash, Paul McCartney’s brother Michael, Lesley Duncan, and depending on who you believe, Suzi Quatro. A sunny distillation of the teachings of that giggling fraud the Maharishi Yogi, “Happiness Runs” opens in folkie mode, with just Donovan and an acoustic guitar. Then the tempo picks up and the other vocalists join in, their circular singing echoing the words of the chorus: “Happiness runs in a circular motion/Thought is like a little boat upon the sea/Everybody is a part of everything anyway/You can have everything if you let yourself be.” It’s a very pretty and joyous little ditty, perfect for a mellow psilocybin trip or Girl Scout jamboree, or both if you should happen to belong to Troop 4529, name The Magic Mushrooms, whose motto is “Be-In Prepared.”
Unfortunately, “Happiness Runs” is followed by the breathtakingly dumb “I Love My Shirt,” a perky and childlike number in which Donovan sings about, well, how much he loves his shirt. And his jeans. And his shoes. Accompanied by some back-up singers and a piano, Donovan sings, “Do you have a shirt that you really love/One that you feel so groovy in?/You don’t even mind if it starts to fade/That only makes it nicer still.” Why, he loves his shirt (a tie-dyed dashiki, most likely) and jeans (stitched with peace symbols, presumably) so much he can hardly wait to get them back from the cleaners, which I know from personal experience can be agonizing (how many times have I cried, “I simply must have my dashiki! And now!”), but more importantly makes him the only Love Child in existence to take his clothes to the dry cleaner in the first place.
“The Love Song” is more than just an up-tempo number—it’s an eerie foreshadowing of the entire career of those Kings of Twee, Belle and Sebastian. That is until the 1:27 mark, when the song morphs into a funky breakdown in which Donovan pal Murray Roman (the acid-fried comedian who opened for the likes of The Doors and the Flying Burrito Brothers, and whose LP You Can’t Beat People Up and Have Them Say I Love You I definitely want to get my paws on) delivers an inspired rap about putting your hands together and getting down to a dance called the Vulture, while a studio throng shouts, claps it hands, and laughs in accompaniment. Legend has it Donovan finally had to clap his hand over Roman’s mouth to shut him up, which I wish he hadn’t, because Roman’s spiel is hilarious. Unfortunately Roman doesn’t return for the reprise of the breakdown that ends the tune, being replaced by some female back-up singers and more hand-clapping and crowd merriment as Mekler plays some inspired piano and infamous Derek and the Dominos drummer and mom-killer Jim Gordon wails away on the skins.
As for the anti-war song “Susan on the West Coast Waiting,” Donovan’s record company thought highly enough of it to make it the A-side of “Atlantis,” and it frequently appears on greatest hits LPs, but I’m no big fan. To a lilting calypso beat featuring bongos and melodica, a breathless Donovan tells the story of Susan and her lover Andy, a soldier in Vietnam. The song is chiefly remarkable for the fact that, unlike most of his contemporaries, Donovan treats Andy as a sympathetic victim, rather than a war criminal and baby killer. As for the backing vocals, they were provided by three female fans who just happened to be in the studio at the time.
“Susan” is followed by “Atlantis,” that weird and wonderful song you’d have to be mad not to love. While the introductory spoken interlude may be a crack-up to all but the most-cracked New Agers, the laughter is replaced (at least in my case) by awe when Donovan concludes the spoken portion of the song with, “And as the elders of our time choose to remain blind/Let us rejoice and let us sing, and dance/And ring in the new/Hail Atlantis!” Then the song speeds up, and what follows is a long and very groovy chorus of singers repeating that infectious refrain familiar to all sentient beings: “Way down below the ocean/Where I want to be/She may be” to the accompaniment of tambourine and the occasional groovy guitar riff. Meanwhile, Donovan tosses in lines about his “Antediluvian baby, yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah” and cries, “Wake up Wake up Wake up Wake up.” I don’t know about you, but I could listen to “Atlantis” every day of my life and never grow tired of it, something I can only say about Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes” and the Jimmy Castor Bunch’s “Hallucinations.”
The Jeff Beck Group joins Donovan on the jaunty hard-rocker “Trudi,” one of Donovan’s best but least recognized songs. A surprisingly frank song of seduction (“Won’t you go to bed with me/Won’t you take a chance babe with me”), at least by the child-man Donovan’s standards, “Trudi” opens with some drum and cymbal smash by Tony Newman, followed by the honky-tonk piano of the great Nicky Hopkins, at which juncture Donovan commences to sing in a surprisingly tough-edged voice. The rhythm section is locked down tighter than Fort Knox throughout, Beck delivers some crystal clear licks that are more country than rock, and Quatro, Duncan, and Bell punctuate the song with cries of “Oh” and “Sing low,” until Donovan shuts the song down with numerous repetitions of “Trudi motoring, Trudi motor away/Trudi motoring, Trudi motor away.”
“Pamela Jo” owes as much to the music hall as it does to rock’n’roll, and takes the album out on a note every bit as ramshackle and raucous as Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35.” A chaotic and upbeat burlesque of a tune, it opens with Donovan singing (to the accompaniment of piano, some simple drumming, and some background talk and laughter) “I’ll sing you a song called ‘Pamela Jo’/A girl with a sweet melody, don’t you know/The words are very easy to follow/So you can know ‘Pamela Jo’.” And so it goes, the song slowly growing more discordant as an increasingly rag-tag choir repeats the chorus to the accompaniment to whistling, absurd voices, woos!, screams, howls, and some very primitive drumming and the occasional hand clap, until Donovan closes things out with a bit of scat singing in a very ridiculous voice that proves he’s that rarest of all beings, a hippie with a sense of humor.
So where have all the Flower Children gone? “All those dayglow freaks who used to paint the face/They’ve joined the human race,” answered the gimlet-eyed cynics in Steely Dan. But Donovan is still knocking around, having suffered a long decline culminating in the late ‘70s, when he was mocked by the punks as the poster flower child of the hippies they so despised. Then came the rave scene, which seized upon “Barabajabal (So Hot)” as a kind of anthem, and Donovan’s star again began to ascend, culminating in a series of box sets that led to a major reappraisal of his contribution to music. And good thing, says I. Donovan may be an easy sneer, but he wrote some truly brilliant songs, and I for one would be happy to don a set of love beads, stick a flower in a National Guardsmen’s gun, wear a flowery merkin for peace, or do whatever else is necessary to demonstrate how much I love and admire his gentle and naïve genius. Hail Atlantis!
Hail Atlantis! Great review (great as in: very enjoyable to read for I’ve never heard the album in all my merkin-free days) and utterly infectious. I can feel my own old 2nd generation hippie chromosomes kicking in… Damn, it is coming back as sharp as cacti. The orange interior, the thick shag carpet, the wicker chairs and cork walls… But I love how you’ve dragged the man back into 2012. Beam up the Scotty! Hail.
I meant 2013. That was not intended as a joke, although I quite like it now, a non-intended joke. Who keeps track of the years? Honestly! Fuck the calender. It’s still the Summer of Love, people!
Underrated record, but certainly flawed. Good read, especially since I took a tour of my Donovan records a couple of weeks ago, so it’s fresh in my mind!
“Where have all the flower children gone?” is too good!
Michael Little
Martijn, as my attorney and biggest fan, I thank you. This may not have been my most popular review–by a long shot–but you’re kind words more than make up for that fact.
ManoloMatos
@Martijn
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Brave new world – or dystopian wasteland? Visions from 2100
Posted on November 25, 2015 by John Gibbons
Ever stop to ponder what kind of a world might await our
descendants by the end of this century? Irish-Australian entrepreneur and author, John O’Brien has spent more time than most gazing towards the year 2100 through the environmental prism. The fruits of his labours were published earlier this month in his book Visions 2100 – Stories From Your Future.
Visions assembled a panel of 80 environmental writers and thinkers from around the world and from a wide range of backgrounds, each of whom was asked to contribute a short précis of the kind of world they expected – or perhaps hoped – might come to pass at the beginning of the 22nd century.
Two Irish contributors were included – former president Mary Robinson and myself. In the introduction, writer Donella Meadows is quoted as follows: “Environmentalists have failed perhaps more than any other set of advocates to project vision. …The best goal most of us who work toward sustainability offer is the avoidance of catastrophe. We promise survival and not much more.”
Nobody could accuse Mrs Robinson of lacking in optimism. Her contribution to Visions reads as follows:
“My great-grandchildren share the world with over nine billion people; they truly share the planet. They know the reality of their interconnected dependence on their fellow human beings and therefore they respect each other and the planet.
The decisions my generation took in 2015, to set the course for transformative change for a safe world for future generations, have been realised.
So now, poverty is eradicated. Every child goes to school regardless of sex, race, religion or place of birth. Every woman enjoys equality with every man. Every household has access to energy; energy sourced from renewables that has enabled the development of nations, communities and families while protecting our planet.
In 2100, the world is just.”
Nothing would make me happier than to imagine that Mrs Robinson’s vision for a just, equitable future had come to pass. A future where the scourges of poverty and inequality have been eliminated, and 9 billion people have, in the space of eight decades, set aside everything we know about human nature for at least the last 10,000 years and somehow agreed to live in broad harmony with one another and with the ecological systems upon which all depend.
No evidence is advanced to support exactly how a cure was at last found for the human condition, but that is perhaps beyond the scope of such a short, hopeful, contribution. Cynics might dismiss the above as utopian. As philosopher Immanuel Kant put it: “out of the crooked timber of humanity no straight thing can ever be made.”
I’m still struggling with the notion that humanity might somehow compress 100 millennia of neurological evolution into less than a century. Maybe we will have moved beyond greed, egotism, status-seeking, paranoia, xenophobia, tribalism, religious hatred and toxic neoliberalism by then.
Maybe along the way we will also, somehow, have tip-toed through the ecological minefield of climate change, ocean acidification, biodiversity collapse, freshwater depletion, resource exhaustion, desertification, deforestation – and a host of related systemic crises drawing ever closer as we move towards the second half of the second decade of the 21st century. Maybe.
Then again, maybe not. Here’s my slightly more dystopian take on the same assignment, entitled ‘The Age Of Madness’.
“First, the good news. Against the odds, we made it to 2100. Only fifty years ago it looked like it was game over for homo sapiens. It sounds crazy now, but back in my grandparents’ time they really did carry on for a while like there was no tomorrow: tearing down rainforests, flattening mountains, poisoning the seas, waging war on nature – all in pursuit of this strange idea they called ‘growth’.
There aren’t that many books now, but our teachers describe the Age of Madness, as it’s called, when the scientific community repeatedly warned that Earth systems were in extreme danger. But nobody listened, and few chose to act.
How could this have happened? Everyone, it seems, was competing with everyone else for money, resources, status. No one seemed to notice that this spree couldn’t last forever. Even the revelation back in 2015 that half of all the world’s wild animals had been wiped out failed to ring the alarm bells. And as for all the warnings about climate change, they always seemed to be about someone else, or some time in the future…
Well, that future is now. This generation has learned the hard lesson of hubris – and humility. There’s barely fifty million of us now globally. Life is tough, but we’re managing. This time, we’re keeping it simple. They say the Earth is healing, maybe they’re right. Maybe we can at last live in a world where, in the words of the poet Seamus Heaney, “hope and history rhyme”.
Given the gloomier tenor of my piece, O’Brien initially planned to run it in the chapter covering ‘Fears’ but instead My contribution was included in Chapter 21, intriguingly entitled ‘The Journey To Letterfrack’. He explains it as follows:
“John Gibbons is an Irish journalist and environmental activist and he does not see “things going so well. His vision could easily sit with our pessimists in Chapter 5, but he is included here for a very specific reason. John has run a successful medical communications business for over twenty years and is a regular commentator in the Irish media on environmental issues, including a weekly environment column in The Irish Times between 2008 and 2010. John is a virulent critic of the media’s lack of responsibility in the reporting of climate change and this is why he is included in our chapter about setting off from here.
John’s vision includes more bad news than good news and he recalls the ‘Age of Madness’ where people decided not to act and not to listen to the scientists. Even the news, published in 2014 by WWF, that ‘half of all the world’s wild animals had been wiped out’ was not enough to gain attention. The fifty million survivors have experienced ‘hubris and humility’ and in their redesigned world, they are ‘keeping it simple’.
On his website, John sets out this position: ‘Like it or not, we live in the Era of Consequences. Neither ignorance nor cynicism is a defence. For those armed with the “the facts, doing nothing is no longer an option.’ This is our starting point. If you have read this far then, for you, ‘nothing is no longer an option’.
He views the media as a critical tool in enabling the community to gain a greater understanding of the problem and the ways we can resolve it. The media tells us that climate change does not sell and is not of interest to their audience. This challenge however may be due to a lack of imagination on the part of the media and those advocating action and is not a valid reason to omit meaningful coverage of a critical issue.”
Having considered the many contributions on the world of 2100, O’Brien, an unapologetic optimist, concludes with his own vision, which he calls ‘Free At Last!’:
“It is hard to believe that less than 100 years ago, organisations used to speak proudly of ‘human capital’ being its ‘best asset’ as if employees were property. Life is 2100 is far removed from this shortsighted approach.
Our natural and social capital are now also treated with more respect. The circular economy is in full swing. Everything is fully recyclable or able to be repurposed. Most things are shared.
The world is changed in other ways beyond recognition. The climate migrations and water wars changed what was valued and how the world was run. Lives are cherished with most people now focussed on building a better world and not running a ‘rat-race’. Our leaders succeed because of their authenticity. Complex societal problems are assigned to the Innovation and Creativity Programs at the many Complexity Institutes. Education is entirely based around systems thinking, common wealth and emotional comprehension. Medics better understand human physiology and can finally control chronic pain effectively.
Of course we still have problems. Human greed is still there and people abuse the system. Criminal convictions for Avarice are however starting to decline as the new global culture gets bedded down. Equity and justice remain primary concerns for our global authorities.
Humans have emerged from the chrysalis of the industrial revolution and are at last starting to reap the real benefits of progress. Our culture of sharing dreams and creating one’s own future has finally given people the freedom of being human – of being ‘Free at last!”
What I labelled ‘The Age Of Madness’, another contributor, Rohan Hamden, an Australian climate risk specialist, segued into ‘The Century of Awakening’, a century in which humanity awoke from its zombie-like consumerist trance. “It turned out that 99% of people just wanted to live happy and purposeful lives. Values they realised they shared with almost everyone on the planet. Democracies suddenly found they could not be elected on fear-based policies. Even autocracies found little support for hatred and protectionism.”
This Century of Awakening, he added, was: “the time when we finally shook off our fear of the natural world, and our fear of each other, and became the real stewards of the planet. Instead of cursing us for the world we left them, those born in the twenty-second century looked back and praised us for the peace and sustainability we had created”.
Hamden’s outline, though necessarily still sketchy, offers a bridge towards how the vision of humanity choosing, against the odds and evidence, to leave behind boom-and-bust and instead collectively opt to survive and thrive could, however improbably, come to pass. Maybe, just maybe.
I think the estimable Bill McKibben may have got it about right in this book when he wrote:
“Looking back on the century, the only real thought is: why didn’t we do this sooner? The technology we’re using – solar panels, windmills, and the like – were available in functional form a hundred years ago. But we treated them as novelties for a few decades – and it was in those decades that climate change gathered its final ferocity. Now we live in a low carbon world and it works just fine – except that there’s no way to refreeze the poles, or lower the sea level, or turn the temperature back down to a place where we can grow food with the ease of our ancestors. Timing is everything, and it hurts to think we blew it.”
It does indeed hurt to think we may have blown it, and blown it big time. There’s plenty to agree and even more to disagree with in the many voices assembled in Visions 2100, but it is undoubtedly a useful addition to the ever-expanding canon of books on the subject of the collision of human aspirations with the uncompromising realities of the physical world.
While the book has already had a number of launch events in Australia, its formal European debut takes place in Paris on December 5th next, right in the middle of COP21 – and since it doesn’t involve marching or placard-waving, I’m working on the assumption that the French authorities won’t be shutting it down.
All other things being equal, I look forward to joining John O’Brien and a good number of fellow contributors at the event. Along the way, I’m hoping to persuade them to come to Dublin in February/March of 2016 for a launch event here.
Visions 2100 can be bought from the iTunes Store at this link. It’s also available from Amazon, either as a paperback or Kindle download, at this link. It’s also on the Easons website at this link.
This entry was posted in Global Warming, Media, Psychology and tagged John O'Brien, Mary Robinson, Visions2100. Bookmark the permalink.
7 Responses to Brave new world – or dystopian wasteland? Visions from 2100
Paul Holden says:
Whether Mary Robinson is right or you are — and I strongly suspect you are — we have to behave as if she is right and we can make a difference.
Paul, agree 100%. I choose to act as if Mary R. is correct, irrespective of what I may think. To do otherwise is to throw in the towel. There will be time enough for despair and regret in the future. Right now, we have to continue working on the assumption that our actions can have some impact in ameliorating the very worst of what’s coming down the tracks. It’s the least we owe our kids and all future generations. As someone put it, activism is the rent you pay to live on this planet.
p.s. Sincere apologies to any readers who may have been trying to post comments to ThinkOrSwim in the last couple of months. The site admin area got overrun with tens of thousands of spam emails, and it took quite a lot of time to eradicate these manually, but undoubtedly, along the way, bona fide comments were inadvertently zapped as well. JG
Coilin MacLochlainn says:
Hi John, – Congratulations on being selected for a contribution to the book. I see what you mean about talking about what we want to see happen, rather than what in our heart of hearts we fear will be more likely to happen. But the end result may be a ‘happy clappy’ book that doesn’t really address the issues honestly and comprehensively. Not that I would call your estimation of only fifty million people surviving by the end of the century a happy outcome, but at least you sound a few optimistic notes. Mary Robinson’s is frankly ridiculous; there is no possible way things will turn out that good. The world, even today, could not support nine billion people, never mind by the end of the century when untold further damage will have been done, because we have, as Bill McKibben says, left things too late; how can we make the oceans cold again, how can we refreeze the polar ice-fields? So even if Paris produces the best outcome imaginable, it will still not be enough to prevent what’s coming down the line.
Coilin, thanks for your comment. It’ll be interesting to attend the book launch on Saturday, get to meet some fellow contributors and get a better sense of just how happy clappy people are really feeling. I understand perfectly the need to maintain an ‘optimistic’ tone in order not to disempower people by suggesting the situation is already hopeless. In truth, while we can’t make climate change go away, we can at least arrest its rate of advance – if we act, soon and meaningfully.
In military parlance, we’re fighting a rearguard action, a phased withdrawal from this phase of human civilisation. Whether it’s towards a smaller, simpler, much tougher but more sustainable future, or a nightmare conjured from the pages of Cormac McCarthy’s ‘The Road’, that’s all to play for…
Interesting, albeit somewhat depressing, article in the context:
http://cfi.co/europe/2015/06/climate-change-good-luck-with-that/
Pingback: It’s a Vision thing | ThinkOrSwim (the Climatechange.ie Blog)
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Meeting a Doolittle Raider, Richard Cole
Teaching history at the Air Force Academy, I got to geek out on all kinds of historical stuff--conferences, research, self-study--but some of the coolest history nerd experiences came from the folks our department brought in to speak to the cadets. Meeting these airpower greats was always a little otherworldly. Listening to John Warden describe how his team planned the air component of Desert Storm (and what has become the gold standard of air war planning), or having dinner with Jeremy Black, one of the world's most preeminent airpower historians, were fantastic experiences, but there was one event greater than any other: taking part in the annual (and final) Doolittle Raiders Reunion.
What the Doolittle Raiders did in 1942 was nothing short of amazing...and a little crazy. Many Americans will remember the end of the movie Pearl Harbor, which did a passable job depicting the event, even if it did nothing to salvage the movie. In the first half of 1942 the U.S. and its allies in the Pacific were losing, and the Japanese were running roughshod all the way to Australia, Alaska, and of course, Hawaii. The 80 men who volunteered for this mission were ready to do anything that would strike back at the Japanese in a meaningful (if tactically insignificant) way. This they did, in spades. The untouchable island was suddenly reachable, and the message was clear: we are coming for you, and we will win. These eighty men struck this first blow, and the reunions, for 75 years, are an ongoing testament to their daring, service, and sacrifice.
Last April was the last time they would hold the event. All but Dick Cole had flown off into the sunset, and 2017 was going to be the last "reunion," even if there wasn't anyone left to reunite. Usually the coordination for the Air Force Academy contingent goes to the most junior pilot in the Department, and last year, I was him. From the start it was a memorable experience.
The cadets are the face of this operation, and we picked our best. We selected a group who would be attending pilot or navigator training after graduation and were among the sharpest history majors we had. In short, these young people would inspire confidence in the future of the Air Force in even the most casual observer.
The events at the reunions include both public and private ceremonies, and as officiants, we were invited to the most private of them all, the goblet turn-over ceremony. In it, the remaining Raiders turn over the goblets of those who departed in the preceding year, and at this particular ceremony, with but one Raider left, it was a small affair: Lt Col Cole, his and SSgt Thatcher's family and closest friends, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force General David Goldfein, and us. It took all of 15 minutes for some words to be spoken, for Lt Col Cole to give his toast and have his 1896 cognac, and to turn over the cup of SSgt David Thatcher, who died June 22, 2016. It was, hands down, one of the most moving experiences in my life.
The public events included taking turns guarding the goblet case at the Air Force Museum and the Memorial Service. It was a warbird lover's dream: about a half-dozen B-25s on static display beforehand, brought to town by some dedicated Commemorative Air Force volunteers. The memorial featured a missing-man formation of B-25s, forever proving that we heavy guys can commemorate our own, too. I can only imagine what joy Dick Cole felt seeing those planes that were the origin of one of his life's seminal moments flying overhead.
And then, there was the afterparty. For dozens of the Raiders' families, this has been a big part of their lives, their stories blended together by these annual events. Therefore, the reception at the local Holiday Inn had an air of a family reunion, with a great-grandfather of sorts at the center. There was food, drinks-a-plenty and even an fundraiser auction of some vintage Doolittle Raiders' swag.
Richard Cole: an aviation great. I am honored to have met him, and to have taken part in this amazing event.
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Green Cross to Bear
By Dave O’Malley
There is a story told on the sides of every warbird of the Second World War. It’s there in visual code written in worn and tired war paint, easily interpreted by those who speak this language of history. Always the story told is proud and warrior-like, a story of both present battles and of the sweep of history back to and even beyond the beginning of flight.
The opening lines of the story are told by the camouflage, the overall coat of paint donned by the fighter or bomber or transport. We read in an all-powder blue Spitfire that it is unarmed, that its pilot flies alone and unafraid, that it flies higher than the rest, taking photographs and evidence of movement behind enemy lines. In a P-40 Kittyhawk with brown and tan fields of colour, we read the heat, the sand, the deprivation and the vast sweep of the North African campaign. From the jungles of Burma, to foggy coasts of Iceland to the sun-blasted coral airstrips of the South Pacific, an aircraft carries the story of its battles in its paint. And on the side and wings of all aircraft, on all sides of the battle, were the most proud marking of all—the national roundels and symbols—historic markings that take their meaning from historic events and dynasties predating aviation—the crosses, roundels, cockades, hinomarus and stars of nations engaged in warfare for centuries and even eons. To one side they are anathema, symbols of abject evil, treachery and or even of a nation of subhumans. To the other they are glorious marques of courage, honour, duty and historic importance. Allied pilots and gunners learned not just to read the black Balkenkreuzes, bent Hakkenkreuzes, and red “meatball” Hinomarus of the Axis, but to hate them and to react instantly to destroy them.
On the flanks of Commonwealth aircraft of the Second World War, the visual language was even more complex, the story more telling. On their flanks there was generally an alphabetical or alphanumeric code which told a more granular story. A two-letter code forward of the roundel, known as the Squadron Code, told the initiated what specific squadron the aircraft and its pilot were attached to. This meant that a bomber pilot, whose radio was out and aircraft damaged could identify an aircraft of his squadron and be guided home. It meant that squadrons could form up in radio silence according to battle plans briefed earlier. Aft of the roundel there was more often than not a single letter—the Aircraft Code, identifying that particular aircraft within the squadron—A-Able, B-Baker, J-Jig, O-Oboe etc. To the pilots witnessing the destruction of a squadron mate in the heat of battle, the Aircraft Code might be the only way to tell who it was.
Personal stories were written all over the aircraft sides—an American Navy ace paints Imperial Japanese flags below his cockpit rail, one for every victory. A bomber crew points to the 50 missions their bomber has endured—one bomb silhouette for each lined up in rows on the cheeks of their tired old warhorse. One knew the home of a fighter pilot or a bomber crew chief by the nose art his aircraft wore—Oklahoma Miss, Arkansas Traveller, The Maine-iacs, Big Noise from Kentucky or the Belle of San Joaquin. One could also tell something of the pilot’s love life in the language of nose art. Pilots not spoken for might have more testosterone-charged artwork such as Hot T’ Trot, Miss Minooky, Passion Wagon or Ready, Willin’ Wanton, whereas pilots with wives and gals back home might simply paint their betrothed’s name on their fighter’s sides—Dorothy, Glamorous Glennis or Margie Darling.
For the Japanese in the Second World War, their national marking—a simple red circle known as the Hinomaru—was a powerful, elegant symbol of bravery, pride and dominance over lesser humans. The hinomaru, made the official symbol of Japan in 1870, dates back in Japanese history to the 8th century when Emperor Mommu used the device on his court flag. The red circle, the “circle of the sun”, carried messages of brightness, sincerity and warmth, but to the countries and islands which fell under the brutal rule of a martial Japanese Empire in the 1930s and 40s, they were symbols of abject evil, inhuman cruelty and utter domination.
Though the Japanese had been violently gobbling up parts of China and the Far East for the better part of five years, the first true glimpse the western world got of the aerial might of Japan was when the hinomaru flashed in the morning sun over Oahu on that December day of infamy. Image of Aichi Val dive bombers over Pearl from model box by Cyber-Hobby
Though the Western Allies looked upon the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor as treachery of the worst kind, even murder, to the young and incredibly skilled pilots of the Japanese Imperial Navy, it was proof of the unassailable dominance of their warrior culture. For the next months and even years, these young men represented the pinnacle of a warped sense of bushido—the samurai way. It was not the bushido of the 12th century samurai but a new kind, designed to present war as somehow purifying and death in battle an honour and a duty.
At the outset of the Japanese war in China and against the Americans, to be selected for training as an Army or Navy pilot was the greatest honour any Japanese warrior could hope for. The achievements, victories and courage of the Army and Navy pilots were the talk of the home islands. In the final stages of the conflict, as the winds of war blew ill favour towards Nippon, the courage, boldness and pride of the Japanese airman never wavered. In large numbers, the now-poorly-trained remaining pilots willingly took to the skies to fly against the American enemy, with no thought of returning. In tired, damaged and poorly-made aircraft they rolled over one last time into a dive, watching that wing, with its fading hinomaru, drop away to reveal the enemy task force below. With a great sense of pride in their final glory, tears in their eyes for their beloved home, they swept to their deaths as proud Japanese fighter and bomber pilots. For those that remained, it was only a matter of time before they would drink the sake and fight the enemy to the death. They no longer had the momentum, the weapons, the industry, the ability to win, but there is no doubt they still had immense pride in who they were. Then they heard the voice of their Emperor for the first time.
He was asking them to do the single most dishonourable thing they could think of—surrender. Many Japanese officers would kill themselves rather than surrender; many would vow to fight on to the death. One soldier in the Philippines, Hiroo Onoda, continued fighting from the jungles of Lubang Island for thirty more years (he died just two weeks ago—16 January 2014). In light of this powerful, nearly pathological sense of Japanese aviators’ pride in themselves, their service and Japan, the aircraft which would carry delegations for peace talks would themselves become flying white flags of surrender—an almost unbearable indignity.
With the onslaught of kamikaze attacks, suicidal charges and mass Masada-style suicides of both belligerents and civilians, the Americans had no trust in Japanese envoys who might just as easily immolate themselves as actually surrender. General Douglas MacArthur required, as proof of their peaceful intentions, that the aircraft carrying the envoys from Japan to Iejima (Ie Shima to the Americans), the small Okinawan island designated as the trysting place, be painted white all over and that their beloved, honoured, ancient, and storied hinomarus be painted over in white and then replaced by the Christian cross... a green Christian cross.
One can only imagine the emotions, the utter indignity of what this meant to the Japanese who had to mix the paint and spray it over the marks of Japanese courage and honour that were the red hinomarus. Say all you want about Japanese cruelty and behaviour during the war, there is no denying their pride, sense of duty and honour and their personal courage. There was a code, a warrior brotherhood, a history of truths, legends and myths, and it was all over-sprayed in the battle colour of failure—white. The instructions to end the war immediately were clear, and the indignity was given to the aviators... the first to strike at the Americans on December 1941.
The following are the two radio messages sent to the Japanese on the morning of 15 August 1945, which set in motion the eventual unconditional surrender:
At 0930 hours:
I have been designated as the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers, the United States, the Republic of China, the United Kingdom, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and empowered to arrange directly with the Japanese authorities for the cessation of hostilities at the earliest practicable date.
It is desired that a radio station in the Tokyo area be officially designated for continuous use in handling radio communications between this headquarters and your headquarters. Your reply to this message should give all signs, frequencies, and station designations.
It is desired that the radio communications with my headquarters in Manila be handled in English text. Pending designation by you of a station in the Tokyo area for use as above indicated, stations JUM, repeat JUM, on frequency 13,705, repeat 13,705, kilocycles, will be used for this purpose; and WTA, repeat WTA, Manila, will reply on 15,965, repeat 15,965, kilocycles.
Upon receipt of this message acknowledge. MACARTHUR
Just 22 minutes later, MacArthur gave the very specific instructions of how the Japanese were to prove their peaceful intentions.
Pursuant to the acceptance of the terms of surrender of the Allied Powers by the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Imperial Government, and the Japanese Imperial Headquarters, the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers hereby directs the immediate cessation of hostilities by the Japanese forces. The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers is to be notified at once of the effective date and hour of such cessation of hostilities, whereupon the Allied forces will be directed to cease hostilities.
The Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers further directs the Japanese Imperial Government to send to his headquarters at Manila, Philippine Islands, a competent representative empowered to receive in the name of the Emperor of Japan, the Japanese Imperial Government, and the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters certain requirements for carrying into effect the terms of surrender. The above representative will present to the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers upon his arrival a document authenticated by the Emperor of Japan, empowering him to receive the requirements of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers.
The representative will be accompanied by competent advisers representing the Japanese Army, the Japanese Navy, and Japanese Air Forces. The latter adviser will be one thoroughly familiar with airdrome facilities in the Tokyo area.
Procedure for transport of the above party under safe-conduct is prescribed as follows: The party will travel in a Japanese airplane to an airdrome on the island of Ie Shima, from which point they will be transported to Manila, Philippine Islands, in a United States airplane. They will be returned to Japan in the same manner. The party will employ an unarmed airplane, type Zero, model 22, L2, D3.
Such airplane will be painted all white and will bear upon the side of its fuselage and the top and bottom of each wing green crosses easily recognizable at 500 yards. The airplane will be capable of in-flight voice communications, in English, on a frequency of 6,970 kilocycles.
The airplane will proceed to an airdrome on the island of Ie Shima, identified by two white crosses prominently displayed in the center of the runway. The exact date and hour this airplane will depart from Sata Misaki, on the southern tip of Kyushu, the route and altitude of the flight, and estimated time of arrival in Ie Shima will be broadcast six hours in advance, in English, from Tokyo on a frequency of 16,125 kilocycles. Acknowledgment by radio from this headquarters of the receipt of such broadcast is required prior to take-off of the airplane. Weather permitting, the airplane will depart from Sata Misaki between the hours of 0800 and 1100 Tokyo time on the seventeenth day of August 1945. In communications regarding this flight, the code designation “Bataan” will be employed.
The airplane will approach Ie Shima on able course of 180 degrees and circle landing field at 1,000 feet or below the cloud layer until joined by an escort of United States Army P-38’s which will lead it to able landing. Such escort may join the airplane prior to arrival at Ie Shima. MACARTHUR
Four days later, two all-white, twin-engined bombers took off from the Tokyo area—one a Mitsubishi G4M1-L2 (Betty) transport aircraft, and the other a bullet-holed Mitsubishi G4M1 (Betty) bomber stripped of its guns. They reached Sata Misaki on the southern tip of Kyushu at about 1100 hrs. They then proceeded on a course of 180 degrees to a point 36 miles North of Iejima Island, off the southwestern coast of Okinawa, and began to circle at 6,000 feet. They were soon joined by B-25 Mitchells from Iejima and top covering P-38 Lightnings, wary that some suicidal aviators may try to stop the peace talks.
On landing at the tiny island, called “Peanut” Island by Okinawans, weary warriors, both Allied and Japanese, who had spent three long years shooting, knifing, burning and slaughtering each other, wallowing in violence and bloodshed, convinced the other was subhuman, met for the very first time in peace and looked each other in the eye and touched each other. One can only imagine how the young Japanese pilots felt as they touched down amidst thousands of young American men, who just the day before would have killed them on sight. The young pilots wore brand new flight suits and flight boots for the trip, but their aircraft were, like the rest of Japan, just barely holding on to dignity. With their proud symbols banned from the meeting, whitewashed and over painted with the cruciform of defeat, a new story of peace was now written in the paint of their aircraft.
The flight of these two Bettys became known as the Green Cross flights and the technique became the standard operating procedure for Japanese aircraft carrying envoys for surrender across the remnants of the Japanese empire for the next month. The only Japanese aircraft flying unmolested had to be approved and had to cover their old markings with the approved Green Cross standards. Not every aircraft complied with every detail of the specified paint scheme; not every aircraft was painted white nor every cross painted green, but scores of these surrender aircraft brought about the end of the killing and suffering and the beginning of the healing.
Here, collected from the internet, are photographs of some of those Green Cross flights and Green Cross aircraft, starting with the most photographed of them all—the Green Cross Bettys of Iejima.
Let the surrender begin. B-25J Mitchell bombers of the 345th Bomb Group (The Apaches) lead two Green Cross Mitsubishi G4M “Betty” medium bombers into the island of Iejima (called Ie Shima by the Americans). The 345th Bomb Group (the 498th, 499th, 500th and 501st Squadrons) was based on Iejima and was given the task and the very special honour of escorting the Bettys from Tokyo to the rendezvous with United States Army Air Force C-54s, which would take the Japanese officers and envoys on to Manila to meet with no less than Douglas MacArthur himself. Photo: USAF
The two Bettys (ironically and deliberately given the call signs Bataan 1 and Bataan 2 by the Americans) fly low over the East China Sea, inbound for Iejima wearing their hastily painted white surrender scheme and green crosses. One can only imagine what is going on in the conflicted minds of the Japanese airmen as they fly over their own territory in the company of the hated enemy, headed for an event of profound humiliation in front of thousands of enemy soldiers. These two Bettys would become the most photographed Green Cross surrender aircraft of the end of the war. Photo: US Navy
A photograph taken from the same 345th Bomb Group Mitchell that is depicted in the first photograph, looking back at another B-25 Mitchell and a B-17. Above, P-38 Lightnings provide top cover. The top cover was needed because some Japanese officials had ordered the remnants of the Japanese Army Air Force to attack and bring down their own bombers rather than surrender. Instead of flying directly to Iejima, the two Japanese planes flew northeast, toward the open ocean, to avoid their own fighters. Photo via warbirdinformationexchange.org
The Betty was officially known as the “Type-1 land-based attack aircraft”, but to its Japanese Navy crews, it was lovingly known as the Hamaki (Cigar), the reason for which is obvious in this photograph (also because one could light it up fairly easily). The Betty was a good performer, but it was often employed in low level, slow speed operations such as torpedo attacks and it had a tendency to explode into flames when hit by even light enemy fire, leading some unhappy pilots to call them the “Type One Lighter” or “The Flying Lighter”. We can clearly see that the Betty’s traditional armament—nose, tail, waist and dorsal guns—have been removed as demanded by the Americans. The B-17 in the distance is from 5th Air Force, 6th Emergency Rescue Squadron carrying a type A-1 lifeboat. The A-1 was dropped by parachute and was motorized. It seems that American authorities did not want to lose these men in the event of a ditching. Photo via warbirdinformationexchange.org
As thousands of American soldiers, airmen, sailors, dignitaries and press photographers on the island of Iejima look to the sky, the two 345th Bomb Group B-25J Mitchells escort the two white Green Cross Bettys over the airfield before setting up for a landing. Photo: James Chastain, 36 Photo Recon Squadron
As thousands of suspicious, curious and anxious young men look on, the Japanese pilot brings his Mitsubishi Betty down on to the bleached coral airfield of Iejima. Note the all-metal Douglas C-54 waiting for their arrival. Photo via Pinterest
It is plainly obvious that in August of 1945, on the island if Iejima, it was brutally hot the day the Green Cross Bettys landed. Here one of the two aircraft drops on to the runway as soldiers, the formal welcoming committee and pressmen wait, finding shade where they could. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
The second of the two Green Cross Bettys makes its final approach while press photographers and reporters capture the long-awaited moment. Photo: James Chastain, 36 Photo Recon Squadron
As the second Betty alights on the coral airstrip, every eye on the island is trained on them. One cannot even imagine what this scene looked like to these Japanese as they looked out from the aircraft windows at a sea of mistrust and a new, grim reality. Photo: James Chastain, 36 Photo Recon Squadron
Another view taken farther back at Iejima shows the two massive and beautifully kept Douglas C-54 aircraft waiting for the passengers of the landing Betty. Image via wwiivehicles.com
With its clamshell canopy open and her Captain standing up to direct his co-pilot through the crowd, the first Green Cross Betty to land at Iejima taxis past a seemingly endless line of enemy soldiers. The scene is one of abject humiliation and intimidation. That pilot must surely have felt the mistrust of the thousands of pairs of eyes burning as he rolled by. Photo: USAAF
A close-up of the Betty taxiing along in front of the thousands of suspicious American servicemen. This had to be intimidating to the Japanese, especially to the lone pilot standing up and accepting the glares of all. Photo: USAAF
I found the personal family memoirs of Army combat engineer Leigh Robertson on the web. Leigh was an eyewitness to the arrival on leshima of the Green Cross surrender aircraft. The following link to his memory of that day is perfect as he immediately wrote it down in a letter back home to his parents.
Sunday, August 19th 1945
I don’t know how long it will be until I can mail this letter. I am writing it now, while things are fresh in my mind. I have just seen what is probably the most important event in the world today. It was the arrival of the Japanese envoys on their way to Manila, to sign the preliminary peace agreement with Gen. MacArthur.
We had known for the last three days that they were going to land here. We expected them yesterday, but they were delayed, for some reason. We went to work this morning as usual, and worked until about ten. Then the word went around that the Japs were coming. We piled into trucks and drove up to the airstrip. We waited expectantly for over an hour. Finally, word went out once more that they would not arrive until 1:30 P.M, so we decided to come on back to camp and eat lunch (we had baked ham, by the way). Just before we left we watched two giant four engine transports (C-54s) circle the field and land. These were the planes that would take the Japs on to Manila.
Just as I was leaving the mess hall, the news came over the radio that the Jap planes were circling the island, and sure enough, they were! I ran to my tent, put away my mess gear, grabbed my cap and climbed on a truck.
It is about two miles to the airstrip, but we made pretty good time, because all the traffic was going the same way. As we came closer to the field, we became part of a strange procession. Directly in front and to the rear of us were two P-38s (twin engine fighter aircraft). Further on down the line there were tractors, motor graders, and in fact, most every kind of vehicle you can imagine--all loaded with G.I.s. We parked the truck about a quarter mile from the strip and ran the rest of the way. I got separated from the rest of the men, and stopped on a high spot about 75 yards from the strip. I had scarcely gotten settled when the planes started in for a landing. The planes themselves were Japanese “Betty” bombers, with two engines, bearing some resemblance to our B-26. They were painted white, with green crosses. It had been a hasty paint job—you could still see the red of the rising sun showing through the white. Naturally, the planes had been stripped of all armament. They were escorted by two B-25s, and I don’t know how many P-38s, probably a hundred or more. The latter continued to circle the field for an hour or more, until all the excitement was over.
Both planes made perfect landings, rolled to the far end of the strip, turned and taxied back to our end. They parked right alongside the two large transports that had arrived earlier. They were dwarfed by comparison to our transports.
We were not permitted within a hundred yards or so of the four airplanes. There were several hundred people gathered around the planes, most likely photographers and Air Corps officers. They pretty well hid from view the events of the next few minutes. I could see various people boarding the transport, but couldn’t tell much about them.
Presently they towed one of the Jap planes up a taxiway to a parking area close to where I was sitting. One of our boys pulled his truck right up to the fence, and raised the dump bed. This gave us a grandstand seat, about 15 feet off the ground. When the plane came to rest, the crew started climbing out. There were five in all, dressed in heavy flying clothes. There were two jeeps waiting to take them away. Evidently they didn’t speak English, for there was much waving of hands and shrugging of shoulders. About this time two or three thousand soldiers broke through the ring of guards and started for the Japs. They didn’t have any bad intentions, just curiosity, and wanting to take pictures. I know that if I had been in the place of those Japs, I would have been just a wee bit scared! At any rate, they lost no time in getting into the Jeeps and away from the mob!
Finally, they managed to get the crowd back far enough to bring the other “Betty” over to the parking area. After a few minutes one of the C-47s warmed up its engines and taxied onto the strip. With a mighty roar, she started down the runway. Before she got halfway down the runway, she was in the air, on her way to Manila.
It was a great show, and one I don’t think I shall ever forget, for it is part of the last chapter of this war that has caused so many hardships, and so many heartbreaks. Thank God it is all over.
I wish that you would save this letter for me, or make a copy of it. What I saw today is one of the few things that I have seen, or will see, while I’m in this army that will be worth remembering.
Just as soon as I find out from the censor that it is O.K., I’ll mail this. You will probably have read about it in the newspapers, and seen it in the newsreel, but this may give you a little different slant on it.
I sure do think of you folks a lot. Maybe it won’t be too long now till I can be back with all of you again. I want to write to Barbara tonight, so I’ll end this now.
Love, Leigh
The captain of the second Mitsubishi Betty also stands up to direct his co-pilot through the crowds waiting and watching. We can tell this is a different Betty as the previous one has a window panel just behind the nose glazing under the chin of the aircraft. This one does not have that particular window pane. Photo: Fred Hill, 17th Photo Recon Squadron
With his twin Kasei 14-cylinder engines thundering, the Japanese pilot guides the Betty through the crowded taxi strip. Photo: Fred Hill, 17th Photo Recon Squadron
Guiding his co-pilot from his perch above the Betty, the commander of the second Green Cross Betty commands him to swing round into position near the awaiting C-54 transports of the Americans. In doing so he blasts the crowd of American sailors and airmen. We can see in this photo that all of the men in the background have their backs turned against the dust storm. Perhaps this was the one satisfying moment for the Japanese crews in this most humiliating of days. Photo: Fred Hill, 17th Photo Recon Squadron
One of the two Bettys comes to a stop across from the waiting Douglas C-54 aircraft that will take the envoys to Manila. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
The second Green Cross Betty to land at Iejima begins to unload its passengers and crew, while American soldiers crowd around. The distinguishing features that help us tell this Betty from the other are the different glazing panels on the nose and the fact that this does not have the Radio Direction Finding (RDF) loop antenna on the top of the fuselage. Photo via leighrobertson.net
The two Green Cross aircraft are stared at by thousands of American soldiers, who watch from the gullies surrounding the airstrip, hoping to get a close look at the once hated, now defeated, Japanese airmen. Note the RDF loop antenna at the top of the fuselage. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
American soldiers and airmen, in daily working gear, gawk at the once-hated Mitsubishi G4M Betty painted white like a flag of surrender and no longer wearing her proud red rising sun roundels known as the Hinomaru. Instead they are required to wear green crosses—Christian symbols if there ever were any. With her RDF loop, this is clearly the first of the two Bettys. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
Moments after the second all-white Betty shuts down on the leshima ramp in the blistering sun, she is surrounded by airmen and plenty of Military Police (MPs). While some of the Japanese stand on the ground, a young airman steps out of the doorway carrying two large bouquets of flowers as a peace offering to the American delegation. The offer of the flowers was rejected by the Americans who felt that it was too soon to make nice with the once haughty Japanese who had treated Allied POWs so roughly. It would be like Auschwitz survivors accepting flowers from the SS, but you have to feel sorry for the young man bearing the gift. Photo via warbirdinformationexchange.org
Looking more than a little worried and even terrified, the young Japanese soldiers look about them to see only angry, disdainful faces. The soldier on the left is the one who has just had his gift of flowers rejected and is no doubt looking for a place to hide. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
Japanese officers and leaders, with a mandate to negotiate their surrender, cross from their Mitsubishi Betty to awaiting C-54 aircraft which will take them to Manila. The truth is there were no negotiations. Surrender was unconditional. But they were there to accept the orders of surrender. The formal signing of the surrender would take place aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on 2 September 1945 (two weeks later). Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
Formalities on the ground were quickly performed and within 20 minutes, the eight official commissioners were guided up a ladder into a massive Douglas C-54 transport aircraft, a luxurious accommodation when compared to the Japanese Bettys. They were then flown to Manila in the Philippines to meet with MacArthur. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
After the Japanese delegates boarded the American C-54 Skymaster at Iejima, they were flown 1,500 kilometres over the South China Sea to Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Here, we see General Douglas MacArthur watching the arrival of the Japanese entourage from the balcony of the ruined Manila City Hall. Most of the city’s fine old Spanish-style buildings were destroyed in the battle to retake the city from the Japanese in February and March of that year. Americans and Filipino citizens look on warily. More than 100,000 Manilans and 1,000 Americans were killed battling the Japanese, so this crowd would not be considered to be welcoming. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
The aircrew from one of the Green Cross Bettys shelter from the sun under the wing of their aircraft. With such extreme sunlight, white coral airstrip and white airplane, it is easy to see how the photographer, exposing for the men, had the entire background washed out. However, we can just make out the green cross on the fuselage and one higher on the tail. Notice how none of the airmen are looking directly at the photographer, indicating submission. Photo: U.S. Naval Historical Center
Chief Warrant Officer James Chastain, an air force photographer/photo lab technician, with camera in hand, gets one of his buddies to snap a photo of him with a Green Cross Betty. Of that day, Chastain remembers, “Prior to the envoys landing, GI troops had been positioned approximately six feet apart on either side of the landing runway. One of the Betties [sic] had part of the Plexiglas of the tail gunner’s position missing and the person in that position could be plainly seen. As the Betty settled to the runway for a less than perfect landing the person in the tail gunner’s position saw all of the people standing behind the GIs that lined the runway and it appeared that he wasn’t sure what action our guards were going to take, he immediately scurried forward out of sight. Massive rolls of barbed wire prevented us getting in position for close up shots of the Envoys transfer to the awaiting C-54s. Later when we were able to view the Betties more closely, one could see that paint jobs were slightly streaked as if they had been hurriedly applied by brush. One could even see the old red “meat Ball” through the thin white paint. However the green crosses had been applied with more care.” Photo: via James Chastain, 36 Photo Recon Squadron
Another view of the first two Green Cross aircraft at Iejima—Bataan 1 and Bataan 2. Photo: John F. DeAngelis, via bristolpress.com
The two Green Cross Bettys would stay until the delegation returned the next day from Manila. During that time a group of airmen, sailors, and Seabees gathered for a victory photograph like no other, on top of the first Betty to land. The baffed-out Bettys were in rough shape compared to the C-54s the delegation used to get to Manila and we can see pools of oil and fuel beneath this one. Photo via axis-and-allies-paintworks.com
As if being humiliated in surrender, painting over your proud symbols and having your airplane walked on by victorious American boys wasn’t degrading enough, one of the Bettys ran off the taxiway the next day, delaying departure while exasperated Japanese airmen tried to extract the aircraft from the soft coral, earth and embarrassment.
A modeller shows us exactly what the Green Cross Betty would have looked like. One can only imagine the emotions running through the ground crews who were required to paint over their much-adored hinomaru markings and remove her defensive armament. This is the bomber variant of the G4M Betty, while the second aircraft to land was a transport variant. Photo via network54.com, model by Terry aka braincells37
From down in the gully alongside the Iejima airstrip, another photographer takes a colour shot of Betty known as Bataan One. Photo via axis-and-allies-paintworks.com
A colour profile of the Green Cross Mitsubishi G4M Betty bomber (Bataan One) used for the Iejima rendezvous. This gives us a truer sense of the colour of green used. Image via Wings Palette
The island of Iejima today. In 1945, it was the place where the Japanese and the Allies met in peace for the first time in nearly four years. Today, the 9-square-mile farm island is sometimes called “Peanut Island,” for its general shape and peanut crop, or “Flower Island,” for its abundant flower production. Photo via Wikipedia
Even training aircraft like this Kyushu K11W1 Shiragiku (White Chrysanthemum) bombing trainer were painted white with green crosses if they were used to transport emissaries to surrender and peace talks somewhere. Here we see that the thin coat of white paint is barely enough to cover the Hinomaru in this hangared Shiragiku. The pinkish Japanese roundel is covered by a green cross, as this aircraft was somehow used to transport a surrender delegate. Photo via Illinois Institute of Technology Downtown Campus Library as part of the Library of International Relations Collection
From Kamikaze to Green Cross. The same Shiragiku from the previous photograph is pushed outside by American ground crews. The Kyushu K11W Shiragiku, or White Chrysanthemum, was a land-based bombing trainer aircraft, serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service in the latter years of the Second World War. It was designed to train crews in operating equipment for bombing, navigation, and communication. A total of 798 K11Ws were manufactured and these aircraft were also used in kamikaze missions during the last stages of the Pacific War. Photo via mission4today.com
K11W Shiragiku in postwar markings of white overall with green crosses. The aircraft was so obscure and little known to the Allies, that it never got an allied code-name like Betty, Zeke, George or Tony. This one wears the numeral “1” on its tail. Image scanned from The Concise Guide to Axis Aircraft of World War II by David Mondey
Another Green Cross K11W Shiragaku with the numeral “2” on its tail but with very similar painted-out markings beneath its canopy as are seen on the hangared Shiragaku previously depicted. This particular aircraft was photographed at Shanghai in late 1945. One wonders if this is the same aircraft or at least from the same training base in Japan. Note the American C-46 Commandos in the background. Photo via Flickr
A Nakajima B5N2 Kate in near perfect Green Cross markings seems discarded and shoved haphazardly together with other Japanese aircraft. Photo via H.J. Nowarra, The Bill Pippin Collection, 1000aircraftphotos.com
One of the most attractive Japanese aircraft of the Second World War was the Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah. Here we see a Green Cross Dinah leaving the plateau airfield of Vunakanau, outside of Rabaul with a delegation to work out the details of the surrender of the Japanese Army and Navy to the Royal New Zealand Air Force at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain. The Japanese who painted this aircraft either misunderstood the order to paint out the Hinomaru marking or just plain couldn’t do it, as the aircraft carries both the red “meatball” and the Green Cross of surrender. Jacquinot Bay Airport (IATA: JAQ) is today an airport near Jacquinot Bay in the East New Britain Province on the island of New Britain in Papua New Guinea. The airstrip was liberated by the Australian Army in 1944. Following the Japanese surrender, several Japanese aircraft were flown from Vunakanau Airfield to Jacquinot Bay Airfield. Photo via Flickr
Another shot of the Ki-46 Dinah from the previous photograph—this time at her destination at the RNZAF field at Jacquinot Bay. In this photograph we can see much more clearly the dual markings of aggression and surrender. Photo via Woody01 at Kiwisim.net.nz
Four surrendered Japanese aircraft after arrival at the RNZAF airfield at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain, on 18 September 1945 (a full month after the Iejima Green Cross flights). The formation consisted of three Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy, and one Ki-46 Dinah reconnaissance aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Army (see previous photograph). The aircraft were flown by Japanese crews, and departed Vunakunau Airfield at Rabaul with an escort of RNZAF F4U Corsair fighters. All the Japanese aircraft wore Green Cross surrender markings. Image from Australian War Memorial via Wikipedia
Royal New Zealand Air Force officers and airmen take a good look at one of the Japanese Zeros flown to Jacquinot Bay, New Britain by Japanese pilots under guard from RNZAF Corsairs. Photo via Woody01 at Kiwisim.net.nz
In the background, RNZAF ground crew work on one of the three Jacquinot Bay Zeros, while in the foreground we see one chocked and waiting for a test flight perhaps. Photo via Woody01 at Kiwisim.net.nz
RNZAF ground crew inspect and work on one of the Green Cross Zeros surrendered at Jacquinot Bay, New Britain. Photo via Woody01 at Kiwisim.net.nz
With Japanese soldiers watching, one of the Jacquinot Bay Mitsubishi Zeros rolls for takeoff while another warms up in the background. Photo via Australian War Memorial
I guess it’s fair to say that the markings on this Mitsubishi Ki-57 passenger transport aircraft are, well... Topsy Turvy. The allied code-name for the type was Topsy. The Topsy was the main personnel transport aircraft used by the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second World War, and was developed from the Ki-21 twin-engined heavy bomber. The Ki-57 was used as a communications aircraft, for logistical transport and as a paratroop transport, and served on every front where the Japanese Army was involved. Photo via wwiivehicles.com
A Green Cross Jake is readied for takeoff from Jacquinot Bay, New Britain in October of 1945. This Aichi E13A1 Jake long-range reconnaissance float plane was surrendered to the Royal New Zealand Air Force personnel after it landed on the surface of Jacquinot Bay. While floating there, it developed a leak in a pontoon and sank. It was not recovered. Photo: RNZAF via Australian War Memorial
Nattily dressed Japanese surrender envoys including General Numata Takazo are escorted by RAF and British Army officers to the interrogation building after their arrival at Mingaladon airfield, Rangoon for their surrender of the Japanese Southern Army in Burma. The date was 28 August 1945. The Green Cross aircraft used for this flight in the foreground is also a Mitsubishi Ki-57 Topsy. The aircraft in the background is possibly a Dinah. Photo: Pilot Officer Ashley, RAF via Imperial War Museum
A rather tall and fearsome-looking Commander S. Kusumi (with Samurai sword), a naval officer on the staff of Field Marshal Terauchi, Supreme Commander of Japanese Forces (Southern Region), arrives at Mingaladon airfield, Rangoon, via the hastily marked Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah in the background to take part in the surrender negotiations. Photo: Sergeant Bradley, RAF Photographer via Imperial War Museum
A photo of two hangared Green Cross aircraft, possibly at Seletar Airfield in Singapore. The one in the foreground is a Mitsubishi Ki-57 Topsy, while the larger aircraft (likely also in Green Cross markings) at the back is a Showa/Nakajima L2D, called a Tabby by the Allies. The Tabby was a license-built copy (with modifications like the extra cockpit windows) of the Douglas DC-3, though it is unlikely that the Japanese continued to pay the license fee once the war started. Photo via aviationofjapan.com and Tadeusz Januszewski
Another photo from Seletar, Singapore, showing a Mitsubishi G3M Nell and another Tabby aircraft of the Imperial Japanese Navy’s 13th Air Fleet. The Nell, one of Japan’s earliest heavy bombers (introduced in 1935) was also a transport aircraft like this variant. From 1943, most of the remaining Nells served as glider tugs, aircrew and paratroop trainers and for transporting high-ranking officers and VIPs between home islands, occupied territories and combat fronts until the end of the war. Note the blunt-looking forward turret which was retractable, but is extended in this shot. It was considered too “draggy” and was rarely extended. Photo via aviationofjapan.com and Tadeusz Januszewski
The Japanese ground crew tasked with painting this Mitsubishi Ki-46 Dinah either had only a small amount of white paint or they didn’t have time to paint the whole aircraft. The Dinah was photographed at Atsugi Airfield. Atsugi is a naval air base located near the cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Photo via flickriver.com
A Mitsubishi Ki-57 Topsy with markings that make her appear to be more Red Cross than Green Cross in black and white. Photo via forum.axishistory.com
Followed by jeeps of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, a Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero, flown by a pilot of the RNZAF lands at Piva airfield in Southern Bougainville, New Britain in September of 1945, after having been flown from Kara. It was discovered there in close-to-flying condition nearly two years before. Not trusting the Japanese pilot who assisted in getting it airworthy, the RNZAF pilot, Wing Commander Bill Kofoed, decided to fly it out of the remote airfield—where it had been hidden—with the landing gear down all the way. As he was flying over 200 miles of Kiwi-held territory and did not have full official authorization, he smartly painted the Zero with Green Cross surrender markings. Note the RNZAF Corsairs in the background. Photo: Royal New Zealand Air Force
Wing Commander William Kofoed, RNZAF, poses with the Mitsubishi A6M3 Zero (Reisen) at Kara airstrip on 15 September 1945 before flying it out to Piva. Photo: RNZAF
Kiwi airmen line up at Piva to get a good look at the Kara Zero just moments after it landed. As seen previously, three other Zeros had landed at Jacquinot Bay and were handed over to the RNZAF. Of these, two were given to the Royal Australian Air Force and the other was flown about as a joyride aircraft by curious pilots. Given the lack of official interest in the Jacquinot Bay Zeros, Kofoed decided to pack his Zero off to New Zealand to save it—ASAP. It rode as deck cargo on the inter-island ferry Wahine which was then employed in repatriating Kiwi personnel to New Zealand. Photo: Royal New Zealand Air Force
In Piva airfield in New Britain, Wing Commander Kofoed’s war prize is inspected by members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Photo: Royal New Zealand Air Force
The same Zero at Piva has been readied for transport aboard the ferry Wahine to New Zealand as a war prize—with propeller and horizontal stabilizers removed for travel. Photo via State Library of Queensland
Today, the Kara Zero has been restored with it original Hinomaru markings and is on display at the Auckland War Memorial Museum
Another Mitsubishi Zero with ersatz Green Cross markings—a white square with cross and the wing hinomarus replaced by simple white squares and no crosses. Like pretty well every Japanese aircraft surrendered, captured or found, it is not in flyable condition with a missing starboard wheel and damaged left wheel. Photo via aviarmor.net
These Green Cross Mitsubishi Bettys are painted in the surrender markings but appear to have had their propellers removed. These are not the Iejima Bettys. Photo via historybanter.com
An entire flight line in Matsuyama airfield on Formosa (now Taiwan) wears Green Cross markings, including several Mitsubishi Ki-67 Hiryu (Flying Dragon) heavy bombers. Photo via ijaafphotos.com
Two Japanese Green Cross aircraft at Labuan—an island off the coast of Borneo in East Malaysia. The Mitsubishi Ki.21 heavy bomber aircraft (allied code-name Sally) (left) has been painted white with a green surrender cross, and was used to transport Japanese prisoners for trial between Borneo and Labuan. This aircraft was probably the Sally which was flown to Australia in February 1946, having been nicknamed Tokyo Rose. The Tachikawa Ki.54 transport aircraft (allied code-name Hickory) (right) has not been painted white but its hinomaru fuselage marking has been transformed with a white surrender cross over the red circle and the wings carry white crosses next to the red meatballs. The Hickory was used to fly Lieutenant General Masao Baba, Commander of the Japanese 37th Army and Supreme Commander of the Japanese Forces in Borneo, to surrender at Labuan. Photo via Australian War Memorial
The same Tachikawa Ki.54 Hickory as in the previous photo is a good example of surrender markings being either misinterpreted or simply ignored. It sports a white surrender cross over its fuselage Hinomarus and a white cross side by side with the meatballs under the wings. Photo via Australian War Memorial
A Japanese Nakajima Ki-49, Army Type 100 heavy bomber, allied code-name Helen, taxiing after landing on the Pitoe airstrip on Morotai, carrying some of the staff of the commander of the Second Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Fusataro Teshima, on 9 September 1945. As the Japanese were short of serviceable aircraft General Teshima arrived from Pinrang in an RAAF C-47 to surrender the Japanese Second Army to General Sir Thomas Blamey. Note the unusual drogue attached to the tail and the American B-24 Liberator in the background. Photo via Australian War Memorial
A Japanese Mitsubishi Ki-21, Army Type 97 heavy bomber, allied code-name Sally, leading the Nakajima Ki-49, Army Type 100 heavy bomber, (from the previous photo), off the Pitoe airstrip. Both Green Cross aircraft are carrying some of the staff of the commander of the Second Japanese Army, Lieutenant General Fusataro Teshima. Photo via Australian War Memorial
After coming to a stop at Pitoe airfield, the Helen is surrounded by curious Australian airmen. Photo via Australian War Memorial
Wherever Green Cross surrender aircraft went, they were sure to attract every Allied airman, sailor and soldier from miles around—curious to see a Japanese aircraft up close, but even more so to see a Japanese serviceman up close and humbled. Photo via Australian War Memorial
The surrender arrangements dictated by the Allies specified that aircraft carrying peace delegates (or even flying anywhere for that matter) were to be painted white overall and carry the green cross instead of a red hinomaru. This was done to display the peaceful intentions of an army and a navy that was altogether mistrusted by the Allies. In the specific case of a massive four-engined flying boat like the gorgeous Kawanishi H6K Mavis, it was quite possible that the Japanese maintainers would not have the time or the paint to get it fully white. The Mavis in this photograph has only half the fuselage painted as per surrender specs. Photo: USAAF via Major Robert C. Mikesh
The same Kawanishi Mavis flying boat from the previous photograph lies anchored and displaying white outlined green crosses applied right over her red hinomaru markings, which are still visible. Photo via theminiaturespage.com
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George Allen Anti-Gun Record, Bob Marshall Passed 100%
CHECK OUT THIS EMAIL FROM : Gun Owners of America
Dudley Brown ✆ Dudley.Brown@nationalgunrights.org via bluehornet.com
George Allen's anti-gun record is dangerous to Virginia gun owners.
With your Republican U.S. Senate primary taking place tomorrow in Virginia, I want to make sure you are armed with gun rights facts.
Republican candidate Delegate Bob Marshall returned his National Association for Gun Rights Candidate Survey 100% in favor of our right to keep and bear arms.
The bad news is, George Allen refused to respond. But I'm not surprised -- his anti-gun record is well-chronicled.
Please read the detailed analysis of George Allen's anti-gun record in my email below.
-- Dudley
I have some bad news.
George Allen’s anti-gun crusade will continue if he gets back to the U.S. Senate.
More on that in a minute.
Now, sometimes folks assume that just because a politician is a Republican, they ‘re a solid supporter of the Second Amendment.
I hope you don’t make that mistake.
You see, you and I are only a handful of votes shy in the U.S. Senate of losing our right to keep and bear arms.
We have the most anti-gun administration in nearly 20 years. The last time such a rabid anti-gunner was in charge in Washington, we got the Brady Bill, a ban on an entire class of semi-automatic hunting and target rifles, and millions of gun owners lost their rights.
Unfortunately, it’s virtually certain that we won’t have a true gun rights hero in the White House regardless of who wins this November.
That’s why it’s especially vital that gun owners know where every candidate for U.S. Senate stands.
And that’s why we sent candidate surveys to the Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in Virginia asking very specific questions about where each candidate stands on your gun rights.
The results might shock you.
First, the good news, Republican candidate Delegate Bob Marshall has returned his survey 100% in support of your right to keep and bear arms.
This should come as no surprise.
Delegate Bob Marshall has a long history of fighting for Virginian’s gun rights in the House of Delegates.
In the General Assembly, Delegate Bob Marshall was the chief co-sponsor of the repeal of the unconstitutional one-gun-a-month rationing scheme that finally passed this year.
Delegate Bob Marshall also led the charge to expand the right of law-abiding citizens to carry their firearms on college campuses.
Marshall has pledged to continue his long support of gun rights in the United States Senate.
However, I do have some disturbing news.
Republican candidate George Allen refused to answer our survey.
This isn’t new. Some politicians refuse to answer the tough questions we ask.
Unfortunately, when politicians refuse to answer, it virtually always means they’d vote anti-gun if elected.
Often, it’s a sign that they’re hiding their anti-gun views -- and George Allen’s anti-gun record will shock you!
*** George Allen proudly declared his support for the so-called “Assault Weapons” ban and pledged to renew it. 1
*** George Allen supported and refused to repeal Virginia’s unconstitutional, and recently repealed, one-gun-a-month gun rationing scheme. 2
*** George Allen voted to crack down on private gun sales, and to end private gun sales at gun shows. 3
*** George Allen believes magazines capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition should be outlawed. 4
*** George Allen supports stringent background checks as a condition of owning a firearm. 5
*** George Allen voted for legislation that would coerce gun owners into locking up their firearms or face criminal prosecution. 6
*** George Allen believes that handgun buyers should be tracked in a massive centralized database. 7
*** George Allen pledged to support mandatory trigger locks for all firearms. 8
*** George Allen pledged a crackdown on enforcement of currently existing unconstitutional federal gun laws. 9
George Allen has joined with liberals time and time again in opposing your God-given constitutional right to self-defense.
Furthermore, with Allen’s refusal to answer the National Association for Gun Rights candidate survey, voters have no idea if he is in favor of the U.N. gun controls that are right now looming over our head.
Allen may not have answered our survey, but his abysmal record on our gun rights is crystal clear.
All across the country anti-gun lawmakers and politicians are pushing the same anti-gun platform as George Allen has throughout his career.
The next U.S. Senator from Virginia will face important choices on many or all of these issues.
So, the question is: How long will it take George Allen to cave in like a house of cards as he has so many times before?
Allen is likely to sell-out gun owners the first time it’s politically expedient to do so.
It makes sense. Many of the gun controls that passed during the Clinton Administration were supported by weak-kneed Republicans who often say “politics is the art of compromise.”
Nothing gets my blood boiling as much as politicians playing fast and loose with our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms.
With all that’s at stake this election year, and with your June 12th Republican Primary fast approaching, it’s crucial that freedom-loving citizens of Virginia State know exactly where their candidates stand on the Second Amendment.
That’s why it’s vital you send George Allen a message.
Demand that George Allen apologize for his abysmal record on gun rights. Demand that he answer the National Association for Gun Rights survey 100% in favor of your gun rights, and pledge that if elected he will stop acting like a gun-grabber and cast his votes in support of our Second Amendment rights.
But there isn’t much time.
Here’s what you can do to help:
o Thank Delegate Bob Marshall for his 100% support of your right to keep and bear arms!
o Give Republican candidate George Allen an earful by calling him at 804-726-2012. Demand that he answer the National Association for Gun Rights survey 100% in favor of your gun rights, and pledge that in the future, he will stand up to the gun-grabbers and cast his votes in support of the Second Amendment.
There’s no doubt about it, the upcoming elections will have a greater impact on our Second Amendment rights than any other election in our lifetime.
And with so much at stake, I’m really going above and beyond to make sure every person in Virginia who cares about the Second Amendment knows exactly where their candidates stand.
And I’m counting on good folks like you to help make that possible.
So please, consider making a generous contribution of $15, $25, $50 or perhaps even $100 -- or whatever you can afford -- to help me contact as many Virginia citizens as possible.
But most importantly, contact Republican George Allen and tell him change his position on the Second Amendment.
Please act today!
For Freedom,
Dudley Brown
P.S. Republican U.S. Senate candidate George Allen won’t answer the National Association for Gun Rights candidate survey -- and his long history of supporting left-wing gun control schemes is crystal clear.
Gun owners must demand answers.
It’s vital that you contact George Allen at once and demand he apologize to gun owners for his gun-grabbing past, and answer the National Association for Gun Rights candidate survey 100% pro-gun immediately!
1. The Washington Post, 9/13/2000; and George Allen for U.S. Senate Campaign press release, 9/12/2000.
3. Project Votesmart 2000 U.S. Senate Candidate Survey.
6. Voted for SB 424 in 1990 and SB 685 in 1991 as a VA Delegate
7. 1993 Allen for Governor campaign policy statement.
The National Association for Gun Rights is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, single-purpose citizens' organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Constitutionally protected right-to-keep-and-bear-arms through an aggressive program designed to mobilize public opposition to anti-gun legislation. The National Association for Gun Rights' mailing address is P.O 7002, Fredericksburg, VA 22404. They can be contacted toll-free at 1-877-405-4570. Its web address is www.NationalGunRights.org/
Not produced or e-mailed at taxpayer expense.
To help the National Association for Gun Rights grow, pleaseforward this to a friend.
Help fight gun control. Donate to the National Association for Gun Rights!
Labels: 2012, 2nd amendment, anti-gun, Bob Marshall, EW Jackson, George Allen, gun rights, Jamie Radtke, June 12th, Republican Primary, second amendment, Senate, US Senate, Virginia
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Accessibility Act: Time to move forward
10 November Nov 2016 1126 10 November 2016
The European Accessibility Act challenges addressed by experts that met at the European Parliament along with the members of the Disability Inter Group and the European Disability Forum.
Tackling the complex proposal for the European Accessibility Act was the ambitious task of the 3 panels of experts during an event held at the European Parliament this week. The event was co-organised by EDF and the Disability Intergroup of the European Parliament and hosted by MEP Olga Sehnalová.
A range of experts presented their views on the Accessibility Act with each of the 3 panels focusing on a different aspect: accessibility of ICT products and services, accessibility of transport and built environment and how the Act should be put into practice.
The Disability Intergroup was represented by its co-chairs: Ádám Kósa, Helga Stevens, Kostadinka Kuneva and its vice-chair, Olga Sehnalová. They all expressed their support on the adoption of a meaningful Accessibility Act that will benefit not only 80 million persons with disabilities and 150 million older people who live in Europe but all citizens. It was also highlighted that the involvement of EDF and its national members is very important in this process.
The newly appointed rapporteur of the Act in the IMCO committee, Morten Løkkegaard, was also present at the meeting stating he was there mostly to listen rather than to present a defined position, since he took over this file only very recently. He expressed his determination to get the proposal of the Act moving forward on time but also wondered whether the scope of the proposal is precise enough. He also reflected on the issue of maintaining balance and ensuring that innovation was not hampered.
EDF Director, Catherine Naughton, emphasised that accessibility is a fundamental right enshrined in the UN Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but it also has an enormous economic potential: “Accessibility is a pre-condition to enjoy other fundamental rights, such as access to the workplace, education, public services, free movement, leisure, etc. that persons with disabilities should enjoy on equal basis with others. On the other hand, by harmonising a set of accessibility requirements for products and services for the EU, we will create economies of scale and more know-how inside public and private organisations to take into account 80 million persons with disabilities and many more millions that will benefit from having more accessible products and services”.
Cover Picture: Matt Cardy/Getty Images
Source: European Disability Forum
You can listen to the recording of the meeting here
Follow the discussion on @MyEDF and @EDFaccess twitter accounts
Learn more about EDF’s campaign on the adoption of a strong European Accessibility Act
An accessibility success story
After a long period of campaigning, lobbying and negotiation the European Parliament yesterday adopted the ‘Directive on the Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies’ (Web Directive). This means that all public authority websites and mobile applications, including electronic and multimedia publications have to be accessible.
EASPD conference
Developing together the support services of tomorrow
Within the framework of its 20th anniversary, the European Association of Service provider for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD) organises on 20th October the conference “Developing together the support services of tomorrow”. Marianne Thyssen, Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Mobility and Skills, will open the conference to explain how European initiatives such as the European Pillar of Social Rights can strengthen the development of high quality social services in the EU
Programs for persons with disabilities under threat in Spain & Portugal
Freezing the EU funding will have alarming consequences for people with disabilities. The European Disability Forum raises a red flag
European Pillar of Social Rights must make a difference for people
During the State of the Union address, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker called on the EU to do more for social fairness. EASPD welcomes and supports the European Pillar of Social Rights as an important opportunity to implement this in practice, whilst recommending three main changes to make this successful.
Paralympics: Sports as a tool for empowerment
It strengthens one's self-esteem as well as one's body and promotes understanding – sports for and with persons with disabilities. That's why sports is so important for LIGHT FOR THE WORLD!
Inclusive world
Leave no one behind: we need more inclusivity for disabled women and migrant workers
Marking the 10th anniversary of a United Nations treaty that protects the rights of persons with disabilities, senior UN officials are highlighting the critical role people with disabilities play as invaluable partners to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. "We need greater inclusivity for disabled women and migrant workers" say key members of civil society.
The myth buster on independent living
Some of the most common misconceptions about disabled people, independent living and personal assistance are been busted, exposed and challenged by ENIL, the European network on Independent Living. A way of raising awareness on these issues through discerning reality from legends.
Access City Award 2016 for access-friendly cities goes to Milan
The prize is awarded to European cities for their efforts to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly.
Disability Intergroup
10 February Feb 2016 1017 10 February 2016
Brando Benifei: «Politics must be ambitious with the rights of disabled people»
Disabled people and the associations involved with their aspirations can count on the genuine commitment of the young MEP Brando Benifei. In this interview to Vita International he is calling to include the perspective of disabled people in every piece of legislation.
We need more inclusion for people with disabilities
Over one billion people in the world live with disabilities. According to a recent report, for 1/7 of our global population, inclusion in society is made more difficult by physical barriers such as inaccesible buildings, and mental barriers of stigma and discrimination. Promoting a psychosocial approach to inclusion through empowerment might be the solution.
3 March Mar 2016 1645 03 March 2016
Different. Just like you
A handbook designed for professionals and volunteers who engage with persons with disabilities in their work. A guidance in planning and implementing activities in relation to psychosocial support and inclusion.
5 January Jan 2017 0912 05 January 2017
A swing accessible to children in wheelchairs
Marina Moioli
Developed thanks the efforts of the voluntary association Genitori H24 (Parents H24), the swing was inaugurated last summer in the Italian city of Matera.
EU NGOs: bring down digital barriers for disabled and older citizens
European Blind Union (EBU) and several other European NGOs warned the Digital Affairs that their proposed exemptions for the web accessibility directive could prevent millions of people from accessing digital information and services. 80 million persons with disabilities and 150 million older people will be affected.
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Blog – The Political Economy of the Agrarian Question
The political economy of the Agrarian Question (AQ)[1] cannot be understood outside the political economy of the world capitalist system (and its imperialist manifestation) as it has developed historically and impacted on Africa over the last five centuries. The motive force of the capitalist system is the incessant drive for accumulation. There are broadly two tendencies of accumulation. These are what Marx called Primitive Accumulation (PA) and Accumulation by Expanded Reproduction (AER). The tension between these tendencies helps to understand the character of AQ in contemporary Africa.
The classical AQ was theorised on the basis of the development trajectory of Europe which saw the disappearance of the peasantry as land was enclosed and agriculture assumed an industrial character. The surplus labour thus thrown out from land was believed to have been absorbed by industries (proletarianisation of the peasantry). This was the traditional explanation by Euro-centric historians and political economists. More recently some Third World political economists (for example, Samir Amin, Utsa and Prabhat Patnaik) have challenged the dominant narrative by showing that a significant portion of the surplus labour was in fact “exported” to the New World – the Americas, Australia, New Zealand etc. and the colonies. They further argue that in fact the dominant narrative of the AQ as the transition from pre-capitalist forms (peasant production) to industrial capitalism as the progressive path of development is neither applicable nor replicable in Africa under the hegemony of imperialism. They go further and posit an alternative path of development that may be called the peasant path of development.
In this perspective and context, the contemporary AQ in Africa may be resolved into two interconnected components; The Land Question (LQ) and the Peasant Question (PQ). In Africa the LQ historically presented itself in two forms: massive land expropriation in settler colonies resulting in various systems of heavily exploited labour on the one hand, and landless, impoverished peasantry, on the other. In non-settler colonies, the small peasant is preserved but subjected to massive exploitation through means of primitive accumulation of various kinds – expropriation of resources, unequal exchange of values etc. In recent times, even in the non-settler colonies big multi-national corporations have been granted large tracts of land (land grab) under the guise of modernising agriculture. Thus the discourse among academics and politicians on land has been dominated by land reform of two kinds: land reform that would involve expropriation of land from large-scale farmers (whether settlers, corporations or other similar bodies) to be redistributed to the landless and land starved peasantry. The other kind of reform involves the reform of the land tenure system. Both these types of land reform discourses have been hugely contentious (statutory vs. customary tenure, large-scale vs. small-scale agriculture, etc).
[1] This blog is an introduction to the sessions on the “Political Economy of the Agrarian Question” delivered by Prof Issa Shivji during the theory workshop on the “Character of the Agrarian Question in Contemporary Africa” Jointly organised by YARA and the Institute for Poverty, Land, and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape on 13-17 May, 2019 for young African academics.
Agricultural transitions: commodification, social differentiation and value chains
Agro-food regimes in contemporary capitalism and food sovereignty as an alternative
Property Rights and the Agrarian Question in Africa
The Political Economy of the Agrarian Question
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Posted on June 11, 2015 by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Dear Person who saw me this morning with my knitting in the airport, and said that thing.
I’d like to take a moment to apologize to you for the way I looked at you when you said what you did, like you were stunned as a bat. I know it was probably a moment of weaker reasoning on your part, but really, I’d like you to think through what the H-E-double hockey sticks came out of your mouth. You looked right at my knitting, waved an incredulous hand at it, and then you said “Did they let you through security with that?”
I know, I know. That’s the moment that I stared at you that way, and it really wasn’t super polite, but I was busy shoving down what I wanted to say to you, and it was really taking quite a lot of concentration to do it. Now that we’re not face to face though? Let’s unpack it.
Did they let me through security with that? Did they? Let’s think about that. You’ve asked a polar question. One with only two answers. Yes, and no, and since I am sitting there, with knitting needles, after security, we can presume, can we not, that the answer was affirmative? That yes, the ladies and gentlemen with the full body scanner, the X-rays, the trace detectors, the bomb dogs… the same people who made me take off my shoes and little cardigan, and then had me lift up my feet so they could check the soles of my feet and patted over the bodies of about a million people so far today, let’s assume that those people did not overlook my knitting. They made the guy in front of me take of his fitbit and then take another run through the body scanner, and they ripped up the bag of another lady in line because she had a tiny bottle of hand lotion in it that she’d forgotten, so yeah. Let’s assume these super vigilant people who are responsible for the safety of a whole lot of people didn’t just take a look at my knitting on the X-ray and think “What the hell. I just don’t care.” Let’s actually assume that they have a policy, which they do, and that they are careful, which they are, and that they allow knitting, which CLEARLY, since I re-iterate, I am past security and still have my knitting (which cannot be said of the hand lotion) they do, and it’s YES. I was allowed through security with THAT.
Furthermore, let’s discuss the other choice, shall we? The other possibility – the one that you seem to be leaning towards, with your arching eyebrow and judgmental tone, is that I have somehow run a very fancy scam on Airline security, and NO – I was not allowed past security with my knitting, but I have somehow managed to do it anyway.
What would that look like? Instead of coming through security just like everyone else in this airport, I had to come up with an extremely complicated plan. This morning, before I left home, I positioned the needles on my person and then when I passed through the x-ray machine I told them it was a steel plate I have from the war. When they looked suspicious and snapped their latex gloves, I ran. I bolted past the desk, deliberately abandoning my things in the search machine (having strategically removed all identifying materials ahead of time), and streaked through the airport, hiding briefly in a Starbucks to elude them. When I saw them pass, I used the door codes I’d stolen from a pilot I shagged last week to open the gates, and slunk through the back corridors of the airport, stepping in every puddle I could find to avoid leaving a scent for the tracking dogs. I backtracked, made only left turns, and briefly rappelled until I made it all the way back to my original gate where I used a counterfeit German passport to sneak through the locked door. Now, I’m sitting here, knitting, and celebrating the fact that, even though I have certainly secured myself at least fifteen years in federal prison, if not a violent shooting death any freakin’ minute – I have at long last met my goal of sneaking needles past security so that I can at long last knit in an airport and NO. THEY DID NOT LET ME PAST SECURITY WITH THAT.
Seriously. Now that you’re thinking, do you see my point?
Cheers, and sorry for the staring
360 thoughts on “Up in the air”
Kelly H on June 11, 2015 at 3:38 pm said:
You go girl! I wouldn’t have been able to swallow my sarcastic response. Kudos on your tact.
Mandy on June 11, 2015 at 3:42 pm said:
Seriously? How did they think you got through??
Mind you I’m sitting here feeling low because I fly from Sweden to the UK tomorrow and really, really want to knit my two socks on my Hiya Hiya metal circ….but have decided I’m too chicken and have opted for a shawl on wooden interchangeables instead…even though I really, really want to knit the socks as it’s my first time knitting two on one needle and I haz the enthusiasms!
Hope you get a saner seat buddy on the return flight!
Leslie F on June 11, 2015 at 3:57 pm said:
I am even more chicken…as I would never risk losing a set of interchangeable tips. I would use an inexpensive bamboo circular.
Carol on June 12, 2015 at 3:22 pm said:
I had a beautiful Addi circular needle taken by airport security in Mexico (on my way back to the US) at 4;30 AM! After trying to explain to the officer that knitting WAS allowed (after all, I had gotten it there), my husband pulled me away, sure I was going to end up in a Mexican jail. Since then, I haven’t chanced it, and I pack my knitting and spend the flights catching up on my reading.
Sherryl on June 15, 2015 at 2:50 pm said:
Me too. On the way back from Mexico to the U.S., security confiscated my Addi Turbo needles and the flight attendant tried to retrieve them for me which was super sweet but they would not surrender my needles. I’ve kept the empty package as a reminder.
Sylvie on September 20, 2015 at 10:57 pm said:
Knitting actually isn’t allowed on flights originating from Mexico. You were able to get it there because security is based on the originating country rather than the destination.
The knitting issue is actually the main reason I don’t ever want to go to Mexico.
Aussie Allie on June 11, 2015 at 3:45 pm said:
How rude!!! (Of the person that referred to your knitting as “That”).
I commend you on your restraint. It must have been so hard for you to stay cool, calm and collected.
They need to worry more about the real problem people they see walk thru.
Have you ever thought of writing spy novels. I think you’d be more brilliant, a writer, than you already are. 🙂
Cheers, Steph. I hope you had a drink and a knit to calm that anger that was bubbling up inside you.
God help them if they’d tried to take your beautiful blanket.
And also, seeing that you are so famous, I think you need an entourage that can whisk you thru security without a blink of an eye.
Ooooo, the human verification test is telling me to touch the man. My pleasure!!
Ok, so I misunderstood. Too early over here.
I thought it was security that said it. Now I see that it was a fellow (possibly jealous, knitter) passenger.
I would not have let them get away with it. I would have politely said how I would be knitting the whole flight and get so much done. Then watch as their green eyes burned thru my skull.
Marie on June 11, 2015 at 5:57 pm said:
Andrea on June 11, 2015 at 3:47 pm said:
Your show of restraint is awesome. Also, thank you for the laugh. I once had to spend 5 minutes trying to pantomime the purpose of my knitting to security agents while going through airport security in Hong Kong. There were quite a few – this lady is crazy- looks aimed my way.
Stephanie on June 11, 2015 at 3:48 pm said:
I, too, would have had to swallow hard, and with a raised eyebrow, say, “Apparently, yes.”
Have you seen the new Paddington movie? If not, you should, if only to see that bear stare down the bad guy.
Judith on June 11, 2015 at 3:49 pm said:
agreed. Maybe we should ask the same about Bic pens? the cords that go to the ear-thingies on your MP3 player?
Several years ago I had to stuff a sock on wooden needles into about-to-be checked luggage–flying from England; they were nice enough to warn me in time to do so. Rules vary with time and place, but I’ve never had a problem in the US.
also, there was a rule in my family: ask a silly [aka stupid] question, get a silly answer. Don’t know that I’d have been so restrained. “with what? I don’t see anything odd. Needles? what needles?”
Snow on June 11, 2015 at 6:39 pm said:
I know! I wasn’t allowed to take my wooden needle circs with me on board or metal circs-i checked. But get this- I could take over 100 yards of worsted yarn (some knit-i had thrown on a lifeline just in case). So once I settled in my seat, I pulled out my blue Bic Stic ballpoint and my black Bic Stic ballpoint-both a perfect US 8 and kept knitting.
Juti on June 11, 2015 at 7:23 pm said:
Ooh, thanks for the size tip; I’d never thought to figure that out.
Lee on June 12, 2015 at 2:14 am said:
Oh, that’s awesome information – check size of pens for knitting purposes. I might go shopping and get a whole size range of pens!!!! lol
Cherril aka Nicewitch on June 13, 2015 at 2:02 am said:
Dear Pen-making Company,
Please make a whole range of writing implements in standard metric knitting-needle sizes — you’ll make a fortune from all of us flying knitters!!
KathyG on June 13, 2015 at 9:36 am said:
but could you leave out the ink?
CarolG on June 13, 2015 at 8:55 am said:
That was brilliant!
Eloise on June 16, 2015 at 8:47 am said:
How about pencils instead?
Pretty colours, and no ink.
Jenna on June 11, 2015 at 3:50 pm said:
You fly pretty often. How? I envy of you. You fly almost every month. Where did the hell you got money? Sorry if I sound like rude but I was shocked that you are flying pretty a lot. I was like how did you started to fly a lot.
For me, I keep my knitting at home for safety also it eats my time if I’m in plane. I love to see outside of window in a plane. I fly once in 15 years.
Christine on June 11, 2015 at 4:01 pm said:
I think you have your questions backwards. Given that flying is *how* she gets her money, “where did you get the money” would apply if she stopped flying. (Still be rude, but it would at least be applicable.)
Jean on June 11, 2015 at 6:04 pm said:
For those of us (like Stephanie) that fly as part of our living, I cannot tell you how annoying “that” question is. Flying for work is airport-hotel-event-hotel-airport repeat until you want to throw up. #notcool
Maggie on June 11, 2015 at 11:23 pm said:
Oh, that is so true.
Hey, I’m in a hotel. What city? Could be any city. Whimper… I just want to go home please.
Stephanie Pearl-McPhee on June 12, 2015 at 1:30 am said:
JudithNYC on June 12, 2015 at 2:40 pm said:
OOOOOOOOH, please, please, Stephanie, answer this one question. The next time you come to NYC I will be your slave.
Whoa whoa… Slow down you guys… I love about her is knitting. I love knitting. You love knitting. I mean that I wish I could have her job knitting related travel. I’m sure you will love it too. I’m just wondering how did she got this job. She’s lucky. I just can’t help by noticed that she fly each month. I know this is exhausted for her. That’s all I’m saying.
April on June 12, 2015 at 8:34 pm said:
She’s “lucky” to have this job? I would venture to suggest that “luck” was not in the equation and diminishes everything Stephanie has accomplished. Simply maintaining a blog for years on end (let alone one as entertaining as this one) is hard work. Throw in writing a significant number of books while tending to a family and I’d say hard frickin’ work has led Stephanie to where she is today.
Joan on June 12, 2015 at 6:55 pm said:
I think your comments are beyond rude! Stephanie makes her living by teaching workshops, giving talks, along with writing books. Her work requires travel by plane. What business is it of yours where/how she gets her money.! Stay home with your knitting! Sheesh!
Joan- relax. You gave me an answer of it. Like a book tour. So she got this by became an author. I’m still learning. no big deal of being upset about rude. No argue here please. Don’t judge too quickly by cover of book. 🙂
Betty on June 11, 2015 at 3:51 pm said:
I love your ranting! They always seem to be the things I wish I had the mind to say. Thanks
Kim W on June 11, 2015 at 4:01 pm said:
Um… Stephanie? Not that I don’t love a good rant, but maybe they were asking because they did not know knitting needles were allowed and had left theirs at home?
Just a thought. The blanket looks like it is coming along nicely.
Mary Alyce on June 11, 2015 at 4:11 pm said:
Without a doubt, that is the kindest possible interpretation of this boor’s behaviour.
Stephanie, your next career is in tabloid “journalism”. Woot!
RLJ on June 11, 2015 at 4:29 pm said:
Generally when I’m asked about getting knitting past security and it’s someone who is jealous they didn’t know they could bring knitting on a plane, it is like: “I didn’t know knitting was allowed.” So totally different approach.
I’m passive/aggressive and snarky so I would have been inclined to ask how they got the various pens/pencils on their person through security. Of course I would have only come up with this answer 2 hours later.
Pat D on June 11, 2015 at 5:24 pm said:
Yes. All it really means is that the person was surprised that knitting needles were allowed. Not every comment is meant to be taken literally.
But when you’ve heard the same comment many times over, I can understand being less than entirely charitable about it.
Dorrie on June 13, 2015 at 11:39 am said:
I remember talking with friends about knitting socks on the plane on a recent trip, and my friend Joe the Cop turned white as a sheet — the blood just rushed out of his face. “They let you take those (sock pins) on the plane?” Now Joe’s experience with sharp objects and harmless-looking people is completely different from mine, so I put his alarm down to his professional training and professional history, not to any scorn or confusion.
Rams on June 11, 2015 at 6:32 pm said:
She’s been getting this question with depressing-shading-into-irritating frequency for over ten years. They’ve never been forbidden. I, for one, think she’s a saint not to have poked one through an eye socket yet.
Marina Stern on June 11, 2015 at 7:24 pm said:
Don’t give her any ideas. If she uses her needles to poke out someone’s eye, they’ll be forbidden forever.
KitKatKnitter on June 15, 2015 at 10:18 am said:
And she’ll have to work extra hard to get the blood stains out of her poor defenseless yarn, too. Think of the trauma for both of them.
Jenni Reiz in Edmonton on June 11, 2015 at 10:49 pm said:
right on Rams!!!
Christine on June 15, 2015 at 12:53 am said:
Oh, exactly–no matter how irritating (and repetitive!!), we can’t encourage weaponizing the needles, since then they definitely WILL start taking them away… =(
Susan on June 14, 2015 at 4:32 pm said:
Thank you!! It was a stupid question as phrased, but it’s kind of obvious what the real meaning was. And it certainly didn’t call for a rude answer. People ask stupid questions all the time; it calls for a little kindness.
Molly on June 15, 2015 at 2:25 pm said:
I always wear a belt or a long scarf so that if my plane is hijacked, I have something to fight back with. Probably should actually wear one of those little bolo ties…they would make a better garrotte, no?
Knitting retains its image issue; the powers that be see us as elderly pacifists that need to be defended. They don’t see us as a threat to security.
Me, I’d address what they were actually saying (rather than the words they used.) Less sarcasm involved, but still points out that they’re being stupid.
Linda on June 11, 2015 at 4:02 pm said:
There is that and then those who discuss among themselves
how they can’t believe you got through security with “those things” just loud enough that you can hear them.
Terrie on June 11, 2015 at 4:03 pm said:
You so totally ROCKED it! Plus you are so much more polite than I would have been to that statement.
I have this little pen knife that used to be on my key ring. In the urban area where I work, I have to leave it in my car when I go to the courthouse as it is perceived as a “knife” and therefore, “a dangerous weapon”.
In the rural area where I live, when I pointed out, the deputy just looked at me incredulously and said “Honey, what do you think you are going to do with that?” and let me through security.
Barbara on June 11, 2015 at 4:44 pm said:
I lost my tweezers to the TSA once. All I got was a glare when I asked, “What? D’you think I’m going to pluck someone?” I didn’t have knitting needles in my carry on which was good as they’d for sure have stayed behind. Those were some harsh people.
TSA allows knitting needles. Always have.
LynnRN on June 11, 2015 at 7:39 pm said:
That’s not exactly true. Although, in the US, they are usually allowed, it is up to the discretion on the TSA agent. Some people have had their needles confiscated.
Also, DO NOT carry a copy of the allowed items and try to argue with the agent. They have the last word and challenging their decision WILL land you in hot water!
Knitsiam on June 12, 2015 at 12:35 pm said:
Technically allowed, but PHL hasn’t agreed. Don’t even try – unless you have a pre-addressed stamped envelope to mail needles back to yourself before proceeding through initial checkpoint.
Jeannie on June 12, 2015 at 6:18 pm said:
I never understood the ban on “nail” clippers??
I mean… Can you picture this scene…
Stage setting… Somewhere on the airplane….. Passenger gets up, puts hand in pocket… Digs in pocket… (No, that’s a mint), looks some more… Opens overhead baggage and digs in backpack pocket and finally finds what he is looking for..
“He/She” otherwise known as owner of the most dangerous weapon known to flying… “Nail clippers!”
Says… “Could you please stand still while I TRY to pinch your skin with my nail clippers?”
Darn, you moved… That’s it.. Stand very still. Did you feel that pinch? Never mind, I dropped them.
TxPepper on June 13, 2015 at 10:44 pm said:
@Jennie, it wasn’t the nail clippers per se, it was the little file that is generally found on clippers. The powers-that-be decided it was too pointy and therefore a danger to one and all. This was back in the dark, early days of the currently-not-very-much-evolved TSA.
A year or so ago, I was flying back home from India with a pair of little nail clippers that happen to have the little file extension. The Indian security spotted the clippers and wanted to confiscate them. I said ‘Really? Why, the USA allows them.” He pointed to the file to which I then commented, can’t you break it off. Which he promptly did and then handed the clippers back to me. Sheesh.
Not really sure what kind of damage a 1.5 inch long file that rotates on a hinge can do. It’s hard enough to keep it stabile when trying to use it for it’s original purpose much less poke someone with it.
jennifer on June 11, 2015 at 4:06 pm said:
I don’t know if I could have been that nice. My filter isn’t as advanced. Kudos
Sue on June 11, 2015 at 4:08 pm said:
Oh my! I wonder if they would ask the steward/ess for another seat if you ended up sitting next to each other on the plane?!
Genyke on June 11, 2015 at 4:09 pm said:
Well, I had my Addi Turbo seized at the Budapest airport a few years ago, ( I didn’t think about it, since I had no problem with the security in Montreal…). So, if she had a previous similar experience, maybe she was just envious that they actually let you go through the security with that 🙂
Ann on June 12, 2015 at 10:31 am said:
I only know one person who had to leave expensive Addi circulars behind in the Cancun Mexico airport. I have taken knitting for years (since 9/11) in US and abroad. Steph, your reaction is hilarious
Julianne on June 12, 2015 at 1:03 pm said:
I had to leave Addis behind in Lima, Peru. So odd – when I passed through the airport on the outbound leg, the needles were allowed. When I returned a week later, the Peruvian TSA confiscated them. Inside the U.S., never a problem. Once, I had a flight attendant ask me to put them away for take-off.
MeganDoreen on June 12, 2015 at 2:05 pm said:
I have been asked to put them away for take off and landing several times as well. Which always amuses me, because the needles are attached to yarn that is still in my bag under the seat. They aren’t going to fly very far. As opposed to the unattached and free-range pen or pencil of the passenger next to me that is allowed to remain out.
Mary Alice Tinari on June 13, 2015 at 9:55 am said:
I had the same problem in Lima years ago. They kept my needles from and I claimed them when I returned.
Meredith on June 11, 2015 at 4:10 pm said:
Well, since your starting point is Canada, no explanation should be necessary. In the US its just been revealed that our security theater agency is failing 94% of tests (94% of the time an undercover agent has tried to get something through, including mock bombs and firearms, they have succeeded), so maybe you were dealing with an American?
Abigail on June 11, 2015 at 4:12 pm said:
Last week I spent my flight to Minneapolis from Chicago (60 minute flight) winding a skein of wool. The very nice woman I was sitting next to didn’t even blink, just asked what I was knitting and later if she could borrow a pen. May your future row companions also be so nice!
Amanda on June 11, 2015 at 4:13 pm said:
I just belly laughed so hard there were tears. I appreciate your sarcasm, sass and smarta$$-edness on such a deep level. (I know that last one wasn’t a word you would find in the dictionary, but that does not make it any less accurate)
Vicky in Ottawa on June 12, 2015 at 9:10 am said:
Smarta$$edness SHOULD be a word!
PegD on June 11, 2015 at 4:14 pm said:
Bahahahahahaha, snort. That was funny.
paula.thequilter on June 11, 2015 at 4:16 pm said:
This happened to me on a return flight from Mexico. I was knitting socks on two circs. The person in question was reading a big thick hardbound book that would have caused more damage to a head than my little 16″ bamboo circs. Sheesh!
Depending on where you go through security in Mexico a lot can get through. We brought cans of pop back in the plane a couple years ago.
Claire on June 11, 2015 at 4:19 pm said:
I’ve been lurking around here for a while now and finally managed to get up to date having just read through all the archives, it’s been great seeing the ladies age 10 years in the last few weeks! moved to comment today by your airport experience; last year I emailed easyjet as to whether I could bring my bamboo crochet hook on the plane; many emails later they were adamant that any hook was a dangerous weapon and there was no way of crocheting on the plane. I politely declined to comment on their opinion, packed my shawl in my carry on, and happily crocheted through the flight, with interested comments from the cabin crew! clearly their policy hadn’t filtered down to the staff in the air! Reading your blog has inspired me to have a go at sock knitting; I’m now wondering whether to risk my lovely new Knit pro carbonz circular on our flight to Italy in a few weeks! thanks for all the great reading as I’ve gone through the last 11 years worth, I’ve laughed, cried, and bought the first two bookbookbooks. The rest will follow as I feel ready to divert the yarn budget!
Linus on June 11, 2015 at 5:55 pm said:
Just travelled with the same brand of sock needles in full view. TSA was very concerned about my laptop, but nothing else. Seems to be completely at the agent’s discretion. Fortunately I haven’t had to endure public comments about sock knitting!
Claire on June 12, 2015 at 7:21 am said:
It’s definitely different in the UK as to Canada and the USA. We seem to be much stricter, which does surprise me. let’s hope it goes well!
Nicole on June 13, 2015 at 5:18 am said:
They are really strict in the UK, my husband works at an airport and he is searched everyday and cannot take any liquids in, including soup for his lunch. For the last ten years I have just admitted defeat and read on planes instead.
Another Claire on June 13, 2015 at 10:55 am said:
Yes! Especially Heathrow, in my experience. After a very thorough pat down, they inspected each piece of my “tool kit” and were going to confiscate a few things (tape measure, small scissors, darning needles) but they let me on with them in the end (maybe they liked how I looked disappointed but didn’t argue? I don’t know!) They seemed more concerned with those things than with my actual knitting!
Julie on June 20, 2015 at 9:11 am said:
They seem to have chilled out more recently. I’ve taken knitting in my carry on through security at Heathrow and Manchester airport in the last couple of years.
Allison on June 11, 2015 at 4:20 pm said:
Got asked the same thing on Tuesday. Since I get back on the plane tomorrow with the knitting who knows!
Rachel on June 11, 2015 at 4:21 pm said:
Rolling on the floor, laughing!!! Thanks for the laugh, Steph! You rock!
Becki on June 11, 2015 at 4:23 pm said:
I have traveled throughout the world for work & have always carried knitting with me. The only problem I’ve ever had was from Dhaka, Bangladesh, to Bangkok. I had a sock on bamboo dpns & they confiscated it. I was quietly outraged. Fortunately, they gave it back to me in Bangkok.
That said, I only carry projects that are on small dpns or circulars. I’d be afraid to take something on long metal needles. (Secret fear that a terrorist would take it from me & poke somebody in the eye or something. LOL)
Austin Val on June 11, 2015 at 4:23 pm said:
You can’t fix stupid. Unfortunately.
Emma Jayne on June 11, 2015 at 4:25 pm said:
I had an elderly lady glance over at me mid-flight, pausing from her word search, and scorningly tell me I shouldn’t have been allowed on with ‘those’ they are dangerous. I gave her a bone chilling “No more dangerous than your pen”.
Lori on June 11, 2015 at 5:40 pm said:
Have you seen what Jason Bourne can do with a pen? They are downright lethal 🙂
Rose on June 11, 2015 at 4:32 pm said:
I would only be dangerous if someone tried to take my knitting away from me.
That is my reply! If they knew how much we pay for Addi Turbos, or Signature needles, they would know that we would not be the least bit tempted to impale anyone and risk losing a needle!
KarenO on June 11, 2015 at 5:55 pm said:
That is the response I had ready if anyone tried to take my knitting away from me. Fortunately nothing was said about the yarn, knitting needles which were bamboo circulars, and a tiny pair of scissors. The tiny pocket knife that I had forgotten in my project bag was confiscated however. I decided to let it go rather than argue and possibly lose the scissors also.
Christine on June 15, 2015 at 1:01 am said:
I’m SO with you on this one…one of my fav T-shirts says “I knit so I do not kill people”…I do NOT wear it onto airplanes, though, out of respect for Security’s extreme lack of sense of humour…
Ann (WG) on June 11, 2015 at 4:35 pm said:
I think it’s appropriate that the icon I have to touch today for commenting is the Airplane….
You showed far more restraint than I. I would have likely responded with an incredulous “Why wouldn’t they?” and see if they could formulate a response. LIkely, and hopefully, it would be one that is stupid (such as “those are pointy sticks that could cause injury”) so that I could respond with something that could cause them to fear for their lives (such as “I’m sure someone could strip down a ballpoint pen and cause just as much injury” or “Yes, they could and if you keep asking stupid questions, you might find out how, although that would be counterproductive since I don’t want to lose a needle nor do I want your blood on my knitting.” or something really informative as “Knitting needles were never banned after 9-11. How many knitting needle related plane hijackings have *you* heard of?”
KitKatKnitter on June 11, 2015 at 7:49 pm said:
Ooo, I’ll have to remember that last one. Also, this is entirely why I don’t fly.
Leigh in Portland on June 12, 2015 at 6:14 pm said:
You don’t fly due to knitting needle hijackings? 😉
lol, k\Nope. I’d ‘d probably try to hurt the TSA person who tried to take my knitting. Or folks who questioned that I was allowed through security with my knitting.
CindyLou on June 11, 2015 at 4:36 pm said:
Idiotic question, yes. But what bothers me more is that she referred to your gorgeous, intricately knit blanket as “THAT” !!
Cherril aka Nicewitch on June 11, 2015 at 4:36 pm said:
I’ve narrowed my choices to these two responses:
1. Feigning utter shock, gasping “OMGOMGOMG — they DID!!!!” , and then laughing maniacally; or
2. Printing off your post and having it ready to hand to any doofus asking such a dumb question.
Melissa (Ajax) on June 11, 2015 at 4:39 pm said:
Security blanket.
AlisonH on June 11, 2015 at 5:33 pm said:
KitKatKnitter on June 11, 2015 at 11:03 pm said:
Congratulations, you win the internet!
Deborah on June 11, 2015 at 11:36 pm said:
oh – that’s priceless….well commented…
knit happens on June 11, 2015 at 4:44 pm said:
I got searched once in Denver only because they were training a new person. The lady pulled my sock-in-progress on metal dpns out of my carry-on, said “Oh is this a sock?” and asked if she could show it to the new guy as an example of what knitting looks like, after he’d seen it on the screen.
annabel on June 11, 2015 at 4:48 pm said:
I have gotten through security with both my small scissors and the circular cutter that is on my keychain. Last summer I even had some lotion in my rolly carryon.
I have never had any TSA personnel question my needles.
Kathy P in Pittsburgh on June 11, 2015 at 9:15 pm said:
I’ve had a steward confiscate a circular cutter- you know, the ones that say “airplane approved” on the package- after it passed TSA screening. “there’s a razor blade inside”. yes….but it’s welded in there, how on earth would I get it out to do any damage? He stuck it in a locker and gave it back about halfway through the flight, saying another attendant had told him I wasn’t likely to do any more damage with it than I would by hitting someone with the large pendant I was wearing.
Fran on June 11, 2015 at 9:40 pm said:
katie metzroth on June 11, 2015 at 4:52 pm said:
I might have gone with, “If they didn’t, I’m far too smart to admit that to you right now.”
georgia on June 11, 2015 at 4:54 pm said:
Natalie B on June 11, 2015 at 4:56 pm said:
See, that’s when you get to have some fun and say “Shhhhhhh” while winking at them. Hahahaha… let them digest that for a while.
Chris on June 11, 2015 at 5:07 pm said:
Love that response.
Teresa on June 11, 2015 at 5:02 pm said:
Spot on and hilarious. I’ll have to remember the door codes, huddling in Starbucks, stepping in puddles to hide my scent (love that one, the visual, just precious). I can imagine a short film on IFC channel on that last paragraph.
BTW, from Orange County, So/Calif here, how easy is it to get on an airplane with knitting needles? Thinking of a trip, but heard not allowed.
kikki on June 11, 2015 at 5:25 pm said:
http://apps.tsa.dhs.gov/mytsa/cib_results.aspx?search=knitting%20needle
Susan Avery on June 11, 2015 at 7:36 pm said:
I have no problems with knitting leaving Los Angeles or San Fransisco, when travelling
Kristin on June 25, 2015 at 11:51 am said:
I’ve flown several times out of SNA with knitting in my carry-on, and haven’t had any problems.
Anja on June 11, 2015 at 5:02 pm said:
You criminal, you. Tsk, tsk. You made me laugh today, thank you for that 🙂
Margieinmaryland on June 11, 2015 at 5:03 pm said:
Well, at least your blanket is progressing nicely!
Bonnie on June 11, 2015 at 5:06 pm said:
I recently had some one (an older man) tell me that he hates to see people “like me” (with knitting) on airplanes. We were at my granddaughter’s first birthday party. I told him it was perfectly legal and moved away. Far away.
“Frankly, dude, I’m not thrilled to see you, either. They really need a ‘No A**holes’ policy.”
Don’t most places need that?
Judy on June 11, 2015 at 5:07 pm said:
LOL! Feel any better? Really, I don’t see the need to curb your views with idiots in airports. Apparently they didn’t see the need to be respectful of you….. I always fly with my knitting (forcing myself on a plane tomorrow to join you in PL. I am ecstatic to join you, I just hate flying). The only problem I encountered was a security guy in Istanbul who made me tuck the knitting away in my soon-to-be-checked bag. In the States, no one has given me any trouble. See you soon!
FlannelJammies on June 11, 2015 at 5:09 pm said:
Oh my goodness! Great post! I actually did the snort-laugh while reading this at work (at the pilot shagging part of course!)
Really Steph, you are way too nice in person and way mean on the blog.
mary alyce on June 11, 2015 at 10:09 pm said:
She’s Canadian Nice is in the water here.
Eyemight on June 14, 2015 at 5:16 pm said:
But secretly we are judging you and cursing under our breath.
Niesa on June 11, 2015 at 5:10 pm said:
Dogs can pick up your scent even if you run/walk through water, so you might want to re-think that portion of your secret “get through security with knitting needles” plan.
BTW, this past Christmas, I hand-carried an entire set of ChiaGoo needles, which means they went through the x-ray machine. The item that caused security the most concern? A cluster of small black balls, which turned out to be my Rosary, NOT the numerous sharp metal objects all lined up neatly like knives. I, too, am amazed that we get to carry our needles onto planes.
Julie on June 12, 2015 at 1:05 pm said:
What was their reaction upon seeing that the dangerous object was a rosary? (And thank you for the laugh. That’s hilarious!)
Kathleen S on June 11, 2015 at 5:11 pm said:
I just came back from a trip to Las Vegas and took 10, count ’em, 10 dpn through security so I could knit at my conference. More fuss over my work laptop than the 10 pointy things.
Couldn’t knit on the plane – center seat and it was a charted pattern. I leave on another trip tomorrow to Puerto Rico and I’m knitting on that flight for sure.
Sarah Linder on June 12, 2015 at 9:25 am said:
Just stuff the chart up under the little hook that holds up the tray. Works great, hangs right in front of yr face. 🙂
Pam on June 12, 2015 at 10:22 am said:
I’ve done that too — Southwest has the best clips on the tray table. Holds the pattern very securely.
May on June 11, 2015 at 5:19 pm said:
Brilliant! (The blanket is coming along nicely, too. : ) )
“Did they let you through security with THAT?” –yes, because i’m the head of security. now quit looking down your nose at my knitting. *wags hand in general direction* and away with you.
AND! You flaunted your victory by openly, I say openly!, knitting. With those needles and, my stars, that dangerous wool. Right there in full view of the whole dang place.
susanne on June 11, 2015 at 5:42 pm said:
In my best hunch-backed Peter Lorre imitation, “Yes, and sometimes I even get the black yarn through.”
Diane Hall on June 11, 2015 at 5:42 pm said:
I just say TSA figured out that knitters are more dangerous if they are not allowed to bring their pointy sticks on the airplanes.
mary on June 12, 2015 at 8:35 am said:
that’s what I tell people too. A bunch of bored, fidgety knitters on a plane is NOT a good idea.
Preach it, Sistah!!
Alice aka Snarglemom on June 11, 2015 at 5:48 pm said:
Last time I flew, when they were searching my bag, she asked as she put her hand in if there was anything sharp. I said “just some knitting needles but they have point protectors on them”. TSA lady just said “Thank you”.
to the question asker, I like to just look up say “yes” and then go back to knitting. let them do the mental work from there!
Sue K on June 11, 2015 at 5:51 pm said:
Next time, because there will be one, look up innocently and say, “yes, isn’t it great they now let us bring blankets with us on our flights?”
NY Phoenix on June 11, 2015 at 5:59 pm said:
well, in all fairness, you could have had a bit more fun…. apparently the US airports just had a 95% FAILURE RATE when it comes to identifying and detaining threats to national security…
I’d have probably looked over and said “SHHH! they aren’t’ supposed to know they just failed a test!” but then again, I’m in a good mood so my sarcasm is flying high 🙂
or you could have taken a page from Bill Engvall’s book.. “Nope, i had an elaborate scheme complete with blue prints and my own super high tech team of computer nerds to help me get past security with this here knitting… Here’s your sign” 🙂
geniaknitz on June 11, 2015 at 6:03 pm said:
I used to print out the appropriate TSA ruling and carry it in my purse, to show security if necessary, but I stopped because nobody in security has ever questioned my knitting – the size of my shampoo bottle, once, but never the knitting.
Kristy on June 12, 2015 at 9:48 am said:
In my experience, the security personnel seem familiar with the rules but I do make a habit of keeping that information printed out to show to obnoxious passengers who insist on asking questions.
Clearly, you’ve never left from Belfast, where they have the sign at Security, just before you ditch your bottle of water, that shows all the things that are NOT ALLOWED: the little ball of yarn, with 2 knitting needles in it, and a big cross through it, right next to symbols of the aerosol container, the hand grenade, the pool cue (?), the knife, and the scissors. They all have X’s through them. You’re a smart woman — just spare a thought for where he might have been used to flying. Europe, maybe? (It’s a problem I run into whenever I fly in the EU.) And as the nice lady at the BA check-in counter always says, “It all depends on who you run into at Security — it’s not the airlines’ policy, it’s a security issue.”
In South Africa, for instance, you don’t even have to have your little zip-lock bag of liquids and gels to show them. (They don’t care.) So every airport / continent just might be different.
To answer his question if I’d been in Ireland: “No way would I have even tried.” What I’m saying is that it’s all different, all over the world, when you fly these days. So no, he wasn’t asking a stupid question. Not if you fly in Europe, he wasn’t.
Aileen on June 11, 2015 at 6:38 pm said:
I flew to San Francisco and was knitting quietly when after about two hours of silence the guy next to me said “I must ask you, WHAT are you doing? It looks like a bunch of knots and a ton of work and WHY would you do that?” I have to say I was a little shocked, and I’m not easily shocked. I just firmly told him I liked it and found it relaxing. I wished that I had something a little snappier to say back.
Kathie on June 12, 2015 at 4:21 am said:
Six years ago I flew on Aer Lingus from New York to Dublin with my knitting. A week later the same airline wouldn’t let me take my knitting on a flight from Dublin to London. Very confusing!
Bethany on June 12, 2015 at 6:57 am said:
Yup, only two places I’ve ever been questioned about my knitting was Dublin (c. 2003) and Munich (this past February). Guy in Munich was like “next time maybe you should check that?” and I think I responded “well, then what would I do on the plane?” but he let me go (possibly because I had a 6 month old strapped to me and was also herding a toddler through the security line… I so wasn’t going to be knitting on the flight but it had been living in the bag I was using as a carry-on so that’s where it stayed)
Happyknitter on June 12, 2015 at 2:46 pm said:
Not Europe, Belfast. I have never had a problem anywhere in Europe. I haven’t flown out of Belfast since I have been a knitter…
Allie-bug on June 12, 2015 at 8:06 pm said:
I fly out from Dublin fairly regularly and never have any hassle with bringing my knitting thru the airport…
Dina on June 11, 2015 at 6:16 pm said:
I work in an airport, and bring my knitting with me every day. If anything, it keeps me from being a danger to others, hehe.
Either you’re a 007 agent in disguise (and it’s a good one!) or you should be writing spy novels…maybe really, really sarcastic spy novels.
Friday on June 11, 2015 at 6:24 pm said:
All I could think while reading that, was the following response:
“Are you honestly afraid that I’m holding a deadly weapon and might hurt someone? Do you normally walk up to such people and annoy them? How did you survive this long?”
I was thinking the same thing! This person has few self preservation skills if he/she risks asking a potential assaulter if they have a weapon! lol…the answers we could come up.
danana on June 11, 2015 at 6:33 pm said:
I wish I could have seen the repelling. That must have been awesome! I think if someone called my knitting “THAT” I would have had a thing or two to say. What to do when so many responses crowd into the mouth, how to pick which to spit out?
Ann on June 11, 2015 at 6:58 pm said:
And YET, last summer I flew from Aberdeen to Heathrow with my knitting in my carry-on. Whereupon, I was subjected to additional screening, WITHIN the secure area, and they took my knitting needles, saying, “They are sharp.” I asked for a supervisor, to no avail. I still miss those needles, and yes, I am resentful, because I had many, many hours in planes and airports from that point on that day and knitting with coffee stir sticks is not fun.
Linus on June 12, 2015 at 1:25 am said:
How was your gauge with the stir sticks? 🙂
Amelia on June 11, 2015 at 6:59 pm said:
Nice knitting, it will be very pretty.
Whatever about the person…there is no dumb question, I try and find the grace and misunderstanding in people. Maybe it was her way to open a bridge for conversation.
Flying does suck though.
Ooooohhhhhhh. (Slow simmer)
My Mom had the best look for people like that-the raised eyebrow with what us kids called “the sheriff stare”- direct and steely. It translated to: do you know just how incredibly stupid you sound right now -all the way up to-spill your guts and you might be spared.
I opt for the cheery ‘Oh yes! Did they let YOU through security?’
Sheesh. Some people’s children!
Pam on June 11, 2015 at 7:08 pm said:
Fabulous! Would love to have it printed on a t-shirt for the next time I fly!
Jamie on June 11, 2015 at 7:17 pm said:
I made it through security with bamboo needles going into Mexico several years ago, but the Mexico side decided they were dangerous and took them on the way back. After searching my bag. In a busy line. Then there was a small earthquake so I do believe the knitting gods were showing their anger.
Sheila on June 11, 2015 at 7:41 pm said:
I had the same thing happen to me. Mexico seems ro have their own rules.
I was knitting on one flight, and the attendant was really interested in what I was doing, as she was a knitter as well. Another time, I sat in the back with a whack of off-duty pilots, who were teasing me about my knitting. Between laughs, I managed to tell them, “if you have a knitter on your flight, they’re on YOUR side.”
christine m east of toronto on June 11, 2015 at 7:49 pm said:
Who knew there was such rampant fear of knitting needles?
The one time I had to leave my knitting behind I was told to do so by a hard-faced woman who I swear just wanted my Addi turbo circular for herself.
Heleninboise on June 11, 2015 at 8:09 pm said:
Ack…I just ran into Stephanie in Churchmouse on Bainbridge Island….hope I didn’t embarrass myself; she was very very nice. love all the above comments- I would have been dumbstruck and fumed silently to myself while thinking of great things to say later. But how incredibly rude….what’s that quote about opening one’s mouth and proving you are a fool as opposed to keeping it shut…..
You were lovely! Can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
Lois on June 11, 2015 at 8:10 pm said:
When the answer to the question is so patently obvious, my response is YES, with no followup. Hope you didn’t end up as seat mates. It would have been a long trip no matter how short the distance. The TSA here in the lower 48 is taking a drubbing for leaky protocols and inconsistent security checks. The needle-or-no-needle decision is ultimately made by the folks checking you through. The airline may have a printed policy available on-line to the potential customer, but the reality is that it is only as good as the folks enforcing it. Some airlines are knitter-friendly and others are not. I fly rarely, and then they are short hops of an hour or less. I avoid the problem altogether and put my knitting in check-through, especially after reading anecdotal customer airline reviews of being hassled despite stated written policy. Sadly, these days I much prefer my car to the friendly skies. It never used to be so.
Victoria on June 11, 2015 at 8:23 pm said:
Aack! What a clod. You had me giggling with your knitting needle scammer scenario, though. Thanks for the laugh.
Tracey on June 11, 2015 at 8:26 pm said:
my favorite response to that question which i get oh-too-often is to smile in a creepy say and ask “why? do i frighten you?”
Cath on June 11, 2015 at 8:42 pm said:
But wasn’t it an Albanian passport?
(and, no, I have no idea why I picked that nationality but it just sounded kinda thriller movie-ish….)
Tricia on June 12, 2015 at 9:40 am said:
Moraccan.
Kitty on June 11, 2015 at 9:04 pm said:
Hi. When I get that question I smile and say, “Usually long pointed needles gives me assurance that whomever sits next to me is well behaved for the duration of the flight”. Then I smile again and put my earbuds in.
Sarah R on June 11, 2015 at 9:07 pm said:
The thing is, Yarn Harlot, if you had to do all of that totally impossible stuff, including shagging the pilot, to get your knitting through security, I’m not entirely sure that you wouldn’t.
Maureen on June 11, 2015 at 10:46 pm said:
Karen on June 11, 2015 at 9:13 pm said:
Lol!! I’m going to print this totally entertaining “rant” and just hand it to the person(s) that say similar things when I fly!!
Joanne on June 11, 2015 at 9:14 pm said:
This is the funniest possible way to cope with this kind of stoopid situation…I had plenty of this sort of thing when I travelled with my knitting (a lot) before I had twins. I thought I had heard it all. You made me laugh about it….but
I was so wrong. It is amazing how many people have truly inane comments to make about twins when I have to travel with them. Our relatives all live in the U.S., we live in Canada, and there are two flights to get us there. Comments about the double stroller, about whether we have our hands full, double-trouble…all that nonsense. What takes the cake is when I am struggling to get both boys onto the plane while my husband wrestles the stroller into its case and the people in first class look at me like I am annoying them….
I have gotten exceedingly good at the glassy eyed stare. Oh, and when they stare at me first, sometimes I talk back now! I ask what they are looking at?…and would you like to give us a hand?
I long for the long gone travel with knitting days!!
Kristina on June 11, 2015 at 11:25 pm said:
I would so love to give a hand. Sometimes it’s hard to know what to do, tho–and my own hands are full. Travel with small kids must be the hardest job going.
Joanne on June 11, 2015 at 11:35 pm said:
Thank you! Thank you! Just saying you want to help is kind. 🙂
I think it is great when (safe looking!) people ask if they can help…usually while I am guiding two toddlers down the plane aisle, holding a purse, a diaper bag and a couple of kid backpacks, I appreciate any offers. Thank you for even saying you were thinking about it…it means a lot!
Hilarie on June 11, 2015 at 9:19 pm said:
My response to ignorant comments like that is to raise an eyebrow and say “Fly much, dear?”
That usually ends the conversation right there (thank gawd). In flight US flight attendants almost always stop to admire and inspect what I am working on…, which educates everyone within earshot anyway.
Betsy on June 11, 2015 at 9:37 pm said:
I will print this on little cards and hand it to people at the airport tomorrow if they even look at me crosswise. It is guaranteed that I’ll get asked the same question; I always do. And I’m never as restrained as you were. Way to go.
Heather on June 11, 2015 at 9:41 pm said:
Getting ready to fly to London and Paris…..just assumed my knitting would go thru security—yes I know NEVER assume—am off to check airline website…..but thanks for the laughs in the meantime.
K on June 11, 2015 at 9:41 pm said:
Eight years ago, when 5 months pregnant, my knitting was allowed through security, only to be confiscated ON THE PLANE by a steward. It was a short domestic flight in Australia. I told her I was glad the world was a safer place because my baby blanket had been confiscated. At least she let me finish the row.
mslizca2 on June 11, 2015 at 9:42 pm said:
Dear Stephanie; Thank you for saying what i have felt over the years. I fly a lot since we moved across the country from our family several years ago. Never had any issues until a couple of weeks ago when told to stow my knitting during takeoff by a flight attendant and surprised myself with the irritation i felt over that request.
Flew to Brazil on TAM airline with knitting coming and going – no issues either direction. I have flown ‘locally’ (coast to coast USA) and haven’t had any issues. The most interest I received was a Japanese woman next to me who didn’t speak English (I don’t speak Japanese) who was trying to help me knit, maybe correct my continental ways??? Memorable to say the least…
Lenny on June 11, 2015 at 9:53 pm said:
I couldn’t have resisted saying, “Nope, I am not here, you hallucinate.”
Tobie on June 11, 2015 at 9:58 pm said:
Oh that happend to me once. I, also, gave the questioner a baleful look and then asked her if sercurity let her in with her belt or pencil or headset cord so she could stab and garrot someone! Oh the stupidity of some people.
I see I’m way against the grain here but I would have thought, with your sense of humor, you’d kinda laugh that off. I get asked the same thing frequently and generally say, “yeah, can you believe it??”. Beer time, eh?
But all in all, still love reading everything you write.
Tine on June 11, 2015 at 10:19 pm said:
Sounds like two people didn’t get enough sleep. It made one slightly stupid and the other one slightly grumpy and sarcastic. Hope they both have a better night tonight.
….. and possibly even a third one, who turned up a tad judgmental and condescending?? Sleep well.
Ellen in Indy on June 11, 2015 at 10:25 pm said:
The best anecdata I’m aware of on this issue is on the Travelry forum on Ravelry.
My own experience is that Southwest and American (both US), Volaris (Chicago to Mexico) and Aer Lingus (into/out of Heathrow and Belfast) are knitting friendly. I’ve knitted socks on all of those airlines from 2010 forward.
OTOH, i cannot take any knitting needles or crochet hooks into our City-County Building, which houses civil and criminal courts,
city and county offices, etc. Mercifully, I’ve not been called for jury duty . . .
We can’t take knitting for jury duty. It was painful. Next time I’m bringing socks and coffee-stir sticks. That comment upstream was an awesome idea!
Lilly on June 13, 2015 at 2:29 pm said:
Tatting is good for court houses.
georgia on June 11, 2015 at 10:28 pm said:
My experience at security checkpoints flying numerous times: Canada and US, no problems ever with any kind of needles. Travelling in Europe, I take no chances of losing my project (horrible thought)…no problem ever with either plastic or bamboo 6″ dpns. I knit socks. Added pleasure is that they end up being a lovely souvenir of that particular trip.
Paula on June 11, 2015 at 10:33 pm said:
I think you’re over-reacting a bit. I wasn’t allowed to enter a courtroom with needles, and I would expect that there was a time when no one could board a plane with needles, either, until the TSA decided terrorists hadn’t caught on to them yet. So many real things to get upset about in the world; this person’s remark isn’t one of them. It’s possible she had to dump something quite innocuous while you made it through with something that, if we’re honest with ourselves, could be turned into a weapon.
Mary on June 11, 2015 at 10:43 pm said:
Do you think that person is reading your blog? If not, why rant here? There are all sorts of professions, mine among them, where the professionals get asked the same questions over and over again. Of course the questioner, has probably only asked that particular question once in their entire life. They don’t realize (nor should they have to) that the professional has been asked it thousands of times: to the questioner, it is the first time that question has been asked. And a professional would realize this and just answer the question. No need for spleen; least said soonest forgotten.
Thorn on June 12, 2015 at 7:24 am said:
… This is what is known as Satire. You might have heard of it. If you cannot see the humor in the idea of Stephanie rappelling into an airport terminal just to get her knitting through security, you need more sleep.
Thank you Thorn – I couldn’t think of a non snarky response to this comment 🙂
Nor I. But you’ve summed it up perfectly. Thanks. The hautiness, the sanctimony exhibited here is amazing, can’t recognize humor/satire when it slaps them in the face.
satire or sarcasm, they both use ridicule. why encourage that? makes no sense to me when there’s so many other ways to use humor.
You might want to try a different blog then. One more suitable for your humor preferences. I think Craftsy has one that’s completely devoid of any humor at all. That might work out better for you.
This. Thank you!
Paula on June 12, 2015 at 7:58 pm said:
Well, if she is reading this blog, consider that she made her comment to Stephanie alone, whereas Stephanie (bless your heart, dear), “outed” this women to the hundreds here who have commented in nasty tones about what a stupid B**** she is. Makes me scared to be in a group of knitters, now. I agree with someone above who suggested a beer and a cool down. Not the finest moment for a lot of people here.
Heleninboise on June 13, 2015 at 1:01 am said:
People – it’s called entertainment and no one “outted” anyone as this person had no idea who YH was and is unlikely to read this blog. Chill out – life is better lived with ones tongue firmly in cheek. Just sayin’
Not stupid, just really needing sleep. And I mean that. When people are tired we get cranky, we become more literal-minded, and because we take things more literally we miss the silliness of making only left-hand turns for what it is. I say this as an insomniac who is typing this at 2:30 am. Sleep, people, sleep.
Thank you for the clear example of how to use a pseudo-‘blessing’ and ‘endearment’ as a condescending put-down.
Lokismom on June 13, 2015 at 7:50 pm said:
I’m with you, Mary. I’ve actually done little flying, but often get asked in public many repetitive (and what could be interpreted as ‘annoying’) questions about knitting and spinning. Why be snarky about something you love to do? It would take the joy out of it for me.
Beer-thirty – a good motto.
Eyemight on June 15, 2015 at 10:41 pm said:
Well bless your heart, aren’t you just the font of all that is right in the world. Heaven’s to Betsy, my goodness, I feel so ashamed of myself for laughing at Stephanies inner dialogue. Please forgive me as I too have experienced the spirit of l’esprit d’escalier and come up with a snarky response before, I believe I may even have said this phrase out loud to someone before “I might be chubby, but you’re stupid and I can lose weight” How I wish I were able to suppress my emotions. Is the valium working out well for you? Have a super day dear.
^^^^ is for Paula, sorry I put it in the wrong spot.
Lara on June 14, 2015 at 3:13 pm said:
Because this is Stephanie’s blog? Because she pays for the server space and can publish whatever she pleases? Because she has repeatedly said that The Blog is(are?) her friends, and when you are tired and frustrated and had a bad day you vent to your friends? It’s not like she posted a picture and the personal details of this woman. We all know how lovely Ms. Pearl-McPhee is in person, and however much internal eye-rolling there was she wasn’t actually rude to the woman in question.
Also, I highly doubt the woman in question was aware of who our dear Harlot is, and therefore wasn’t questioning her in a professional capacity.
Jamie on June 11, 2015 at 10:49 pm said:
I am always surprised when people think my knitting needles are weapons but their very pointy pens are not.
I got a very nice email from your friend Ken showing some of his exploits on the Aids Life Cycle ride (I think he sent it to all of us who donated). Kudos to him for doing multiple fundraising rides within a short period of time.
Jill Kepler on June 11, 2015 at 11:09 pm said:
I travel 2-3 weeks a month. I have never had the needles questioned in the U.S. I did have them questioned once in Toronto (sorry, Steph), but they let me through. I just went down to Costa Rica. I had read that it might be an issue coming back, so instead of my addi’s I switched to knitters pride wood. I took two pairs of tips. I also switched out my metal crochet hook and needles to plastic, and left my scissors at home. I had the cutter on my dental floss if necessary. Before going through security I took the tips off the project. And I placed the two sets in two different places in my carry on…one set with pens and pencils. It is a long flight home, I was darned if I was doing it without knitting. Happy to say I made it through. And yes, the person next to me said, “they let you through security with those things”. If traveling abroad, do your research first. Don’t risk losing your needles.
jennifer on June 11, 2015 at 11:19 pm said:
You wouldn’t want to see me if they hadn’t.
annabel on June 12, 2015 at 2:53 am said:
Seriously. You do not
want me on a cross country flight without my knitting
Restraint is a good thing. Good for you. I think if more travelers practiced restraint travel would be so much more pleasant. I get tired of people saying, Oh how nice, you knit, I wish I could, or I tried it once, as if I can fix it for them. So I say nothing. Conversation is not required with rude strangers, eh?
Yes? And what happened next? Come on, don’t leave us hanging here! I feel an amazing fight scene coming on– maybe a cool court scene, too. Do you seduce the judge?
Stephanie on June 11, 2015 at 11:47 pm said:
You’ve made a new definition for”stealth knitting”
Karin on June 11, 2015 at 11:54 pm said:
Oy. Some people. That person most certainly would have gotten the death stare from me.
Vince on June 11, 2015 at 11:55 pm said:
I always respond that I am a much greater danger to everyone without my knitting. This Sunday was proof. I was flying home from Orlando and the airport shuttle service insisted I be at the airport 2 hours 45 minutes before my scheduled flight. So I had to schedule an 8:55 am pick up for a 12:35 pm flight. The trip to the airport was short and uneventful. I curbside checked my bag and was randomly chosen for TSA Pre Check. So I was through security and at my gate well before 10:00 am. Can you imagine sitting in the airport for over 2 hours with no knitting???? There would have been some kind of incident!
Joleen on June 12, 2015 at 12:05 am said:
I’ve gone through security in Seattle and Austin with a full set of every size bamboo DPNs and my Knit Picks Harmony interchangeables. Glad they weren’t confiscated. I also carry small scissors. Will see about Dallas in a few months.
Sorry I won’t be seeing you in PL. Hope you enjoy the great weather we’re having.
Laura on June 12, 2015 at 12:34 am said:
Sometimes we just gotta accept that the world is full of frikkin IDIOTS!!!! Respect to you Steph. xxx
K Fisher on June 12, 2015 at 12:45 am said:
Yay, for common sense! That’s telling her Steph. I wonder what “THAT” she was hiding. 😉
Mary on June 12, 2015 at 12:54 am said:
🙂 Knitting needles were forbidden on Australian airlines for quite a time before the policy was revised. I once had a crochet hook confiscated and never did figure out whether this was because I had read the policy wrongly and they were also banned or because the cabin attendant who demanded to know whether I was really KNITTING!! simply did not accept that I was crocheting and knitting is the one where there are two pointy sticks. I think she believed she had removed my knitting needle. Sigh.
lunargent on June 13, 2015 at 12:07 am said:
Inexcusable for a resident of a country that raises so many sheep!
Liz on June 12, 2015 at 1:56 am said:
The woman sitting next to me on a plane once asked me the very same question and I had the same response. Really?? I’m sitting here, in an aisle seat, knitting. The flight attendants can see me. What do you think I’m going to do to you, lady? You’d be more frightened of me without my knitting, believe me.
I get asked this ALL THE TIME by seatmates…maybe every second or third one. I used to be stunned into the same silence and minimal response paired with an internal dialogue that sounds pretty similar (I like your style!), but now I just say, “No, I had to run around…” and leave them to think about that. It’s pretty entertaining to see where they go with it, and to watch them working their way through the implications =)
Abbieprime on June 12, 2015 at 2:03 am said:
Oh man, I had a guy pull that same attitude with me once at T5 at JFK. He was clearly Not From New York; New Yorkers know better than to actually expect interaction with other people in any transit situation.
(I looked at him with my best librarian stare, and just said, “Yes. Obviously.” And when he didn’t move I asked him to step aside because he was blocking my view to the television on the wall. Not that I wanted to watch CNN but after he saw me knitting a sock without looking he walked away. Jerk. The lady sitting near me who was watching the whole thing cracked up, so it was worth the annoyance.)
Anyway, Steph, I feel you. If it weren’t so aggravating, the way people expect you to take their inane comments seriously could be almost hilarious.
WandaMae on June 12, 2015 at 2:10 am said:
Too funny! Just got back from a trip where the first flight put me through the wringer. One of my children is type 1 diabetic. I somehow ended up with his backpack (says on it juvenile diabetes) and since he had juice in there (allowed as it’s for low blood sugar and the flight had no snacks available for him, purchases only) they had to hand inspect all of my personal belongings (and the full body search as well). My bag of course had my current knitting (cardigan with three circulars in it), my future knitting (socks with 5 dpns), darning needle, and small scissors. My purse also had the luxury of my wallet in which one pocket had a used syringe and a open infusion set in it. Had to have the body search while trying to warm the other 2 officers to watch out for all of the various sharp objects. Not once did anyone say anything about the knitting except it was pretty, LOL!
Katie on June 12, 2015 at 2:15 am said:
This made me laugh so hard I cried. Thank you for your humorous outlook on life.
Rcat on June 12, 2015 at 2:17 am said:
When we were flying to Japan to visit our son, no one looked twice at my sock on double points or the shawl on Addi Turbos. The New Orleans TSA did, however feel that the “Pecan Pie in a Jar” was an obvious threat to the safety of the plane and had to be confiscated.
Jody on June 12, 2015 at 2:22 am said:
He just remembered that his wife told him to bring dessert home for dinner that night!
That’s almost as stupid a remark as the one made by the woman on my cruise who said upon watching me knit, “Oh look at you! That’s so cool that you knit. It’s such a DEAD art, you know.” I didn’t think quickly enough to show her how many members of Ravelry also participate in the same “dead art”!!!
Lordy. I had someone tell me on Facebook that sewing was also a dying art that “no one” did anymore. (Tell that to the quilters, I dare you.) I informed him that it was actually a $2 billion with a B industry in a medium growth phase. So not exactly dying. People are idiots.
To be fair, perhaps he meant sewing meticulously tailored and detailed clothing sets that don’t look like costumes? That one doesn’t get a lot of press although quilting and ‘Quick 2-HR dresses!’ do. I’m chosing to believe he meant ‘how cool that you have a skill that others don’t.’
Karin on June 12, 2015 at 3:17 am said:
My question to you would have been: You are going to knit w h i t e while traveling?
But thank you for the entertaining note on the stupidity of some questions. I also like the one “Are you awake?”, clearly the only possible answer is “No.”
Teresa C on June 12, 2015 at 4:44 am said:
Oh, I can see myself asking that rethorical question in order to start a converstaion (my next step would be to tell you that I don’t fly with knitting because in Portgual knitting needles are forbidden in hand luggage and I’ve had to slide my stitches into yarn and ship my needles home by mail). People say silly things while discoursing. Of course I wasn’t there to judge the tone. And you wouldn’t be able to write such a funny post if it was just an opening line. 🙂
Ryan on June 12, 2015 at 6:25 am said:
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Marie on June 12, 2015 at 6:37 am said:
While this is good news, knitting is still not completely in the clear. They confiscated knitting needles at jury duty; this does not bode well for a defendant, should this knitter be called to actually serve. I never get that far…my smoldering glare at being without knitting has managed to safely excuse me from actually being selected to sit on a jury.
Kris on June 12, 2015 at 6:57 am said:
Hahaha! Thanks to you Steph (and an old post about this same topic) I always bring my knitting on flights. What exactly is it about knitting that makes people feel like they always have to comment about it?
Cheryl on June 12, 2015 at 7:25 am said:
I love you. Really stupid people shouldn’t breathe.
Gale on June 12, 2015 at 7:27 am said:
And how about that pen you’re carrying, the shoe-lace garrote and myriad other things you happen to be wearing that could potentially cause harm?
Cyndy on June 12, 2015 at 7:27 am said:
Last time someone asked me that I told them I was a federal air marshall and it was part of my disguise and I’d also been trained to use my needles as deadly weapons. So she should feel especially safe when she sees a knitter aboard any airplane she is on.
That could be a great component to the novel! Does Canada have air marshalls?
Karen on June 12, 2015 at 7:50 am said:
OMG – I am sitting here laughing my butt off! I snorted! Some people just don’t think.
Adrienne on June 12, 2015 at 8:02 am said:
Last November I took some knitting with me on a flight … got through 2 Canadian and 2 American airports without anyone in security even blinking at me. On the way home I got stopped in Toronto (which I’d gone through on the way to the US) as I was running late for a flight and they confiscated my circular tips. I was livid (and not very polite to the security agent).
MicheleinMaine on June 12, 2015 at 8:26 am said:
I suggest printing this response on index cards and just handing them out.
Tina on June 12, 2015 at 8:26 am said:
Of course, you could have used the blanket to smother someone – just sayin’, lol.
Andra on June 12, 2015 at 8:27 am said:
I think the second answer will always be fine to use. Kind of like when you are on crutches and the door is so heavy you almost break your other leg trying to open it and someone asks if they can hold the door for you.
Phyllis Shand on June 12, 2015 at 8:32 am said:
You have obviously given this a lot of consideration if, in case sometime in the future, airport authorities do make a policy of limiting knitting on airplanes. Good for you.
Iris on June 12, 2015 at 8:33 am said:
Reminds me of the time my cousin was to meet us at my mother’s house and when she arrived asked where my mother was. I told her she had had a heart attack and was in the hospital and my cousin said “You’re kidding!”
NOT!
Danielle B on June 12, 2015 at 8:37 am said:
I flew Halifax-Toronto-Hong Kong-Saigon to visit my brother last year and then Saigon-Tokyo-Toronto-Halifax on the way back. Knitted socks on a pair of short wooden circulars the entire way in all airports and on all flights. Only concern came from a very apologetic security agent in Hong Kong who confiscated my small metal folding scissors.
Debbie Minden on June 12, 2015 at 9:15 am said:
In the movie The Crazies someone gets stabbed with knitting needles. And there was another one where they find a dead body in the airplane toilet stabbed to death this a knitting needle. I always thought that circulars would make a dandy garotte. And despite these things, they still let me fly with my knitting.
Pam on June 12, 2015 at 9:23 am said:
They stole my Addi Turbos in Mexico. Little did they know I’m far more dangerous without my knitting that with it.
Seriously! Did they really let THAT nut job on a plane with all the other passengers & yourself? Be afraid.
When I’m in a good & generous mood, my response to questions of this ilk is to treat them as absolutely genuine enquiries, and respond in kind. When I’m not…well, I tend to revert to sarcasm, such as replying to this one, “Nope, they didn’t. I’m actually a figment of your imagination sitting here”. Or, feigning deafness.
But really, the rules do vary…I’ve had no problems taking knitting or embroidery projects/tools onto flights, and that includes my traditional little bird scissors. However, I have learned to buy for my purse only the nail-clippers that do not have a swing-out nail file – those have been confiscated every single time. I choose not to point out the inconsistency, because I love my little scissors, but yeesh – they’re sharp and pointy, and in my Neeson/Statham/Damon-inspired action-flick daydreams, could do way more damage than a blunt little nail file.
And I have a track record of ALWAYS getting pulled over in security – I think it’s an equity thing – then they can say to anyone expressing concern re profiling , “look, we searched that short, dumpy, middle-aged English-speaking white woman…”. Seriously – the last few years it’s been everywhere – Heathrow, Miami, Newark, Montreal, Toronto. The last time I didn’t get pulled into security was in Seoul.
Sprog on June 15, 2015 at 2:20 am said:
“I think it’s an equity thing”
thank you for a morning chuckle!!
MelBoe on June 12, 2015 at 9:31 am said:
I never comment here. I don’t know why. But I love reading your blog.
I think you left out one very obnoxious response: “No, they don’t let you through with knitting! Are you crazy? No, you have to buy the needles and fiber in the newsstand where you get your coffee. I got here extra early to wait for my plane so I could knit.”
Jen on June 14, 2015 at 3:58 pm said:
Great reply.
“I’m lucky they still had the needles and yarn I needed.”
Suzie on June 12, 2015 at 9:36 am said:
Elsie Pop on June 12, 2015 at 9:39 am said:
Oh this is hilarious! I love a good rant! Frankly, I’m more offended by someone referring to a labour of love as “that” than by them deeming you a security risk! Crafting is the ONLY way to make a flight bearable, imho – it’s a human rights issue allowing knitting on planes. xx
Jeanne on June 12, 2015 at 9:39 am said:
Oh Snarky, how I love thee! This was so awesome!!! You can’t fix stupid, but you CAN entertain the rest of us when you encounter stupid! Bravo!
Angela Pea on June 12, 2015 at 9:42 am said:
Well….I’ve had my knitting needles taken away by security in airports many times. I’ve determined that they will take away aluminum needles, but not bamboo or carbon fiber needles. I’ve also had a plastic yarn needles, metal stitch markers that look like safety pins, metal crochet hooks and a metal gauge gizmo absconded. It’s totally random.
geniaknitz on June 12, 2015 at 12:16 pm said:
Wow, carbon fiber needles are the one kind I wouldn’t take on a plane; those babies are incredibly sharp!
lunargent on June 13, 2015 at 5:44 am said:
And expensiv3.
Cindy in Happy Valley on June 12, 2015 at 9:42 am said:
I just tell them that it is a lot more dangerous for a knitter to fly (or sit in airports) WITHOUT her/his knitting than it is to allow them to have it.
Sit with that for a moment………
P.S. From someone who was just patted down at her local cow pasture airport….for NO PARTICULAR REASON. (Sorry mam it is just a random check. Sheesh!)
P.S. 2 Even money that the questioner kept his “small electronics” on wifi instead of “airplane” mode.
Anyone else ever bring a sturdy self addressed stamped envelope in case security wont allow the needles on the plane? Were you allowed to mail yr needles home?
Beth Orphan on June 12, 2015 at 10:01 am said:
I like your alternate scenario … very entertaining. A few years ago, I had to get special permission from security, before checking luggage, to take my hooks on an international flight. Ridiculous, we all know knitters are the dangerous ones. (You know I’m kidding, right?)
Steph VW on June 12, 2015 at 10:06 am said:
When I would travel for work, people would ask me the same question. I had two responses:
“They let you through with a pen, didn’t they?”
“They had to. Trust me, I’m more dangerous without it.”
It usually shut them up quickly.
Good responses. I like your thinking.
Glenda D. on June 13, 2015 at 7:21 pm said:
“Did they really let you through with that?”
::knitknitknit::
Alison Jarvis on June 12, 2015 at 10:19 am said:
I have a co-worker who has brought knitting on all of her many airline flights – even immediately post- 9/11 – and never had a problem. At one point a guard told her that the TSA had decided that peri-menopausal women without their knitting were more dangerous than their needles.
Stay calm and carry yarn!
Julia on June 12, 2015 at 10:30 am said:
Basically how I feel every single time….
This just happened to me last month while waiting around during jury duty. Some woman came up to me saying that she couldn’t believe they let me in there with my needles. Are you sure you’re allowed to have them?
When I told her that I went through security and nobody stopped me, she seemed to have a real problem with it. What weirdos!
SallyM on June 12, 2015 at 10:49 am said:
wow…jury duty is the one place I was not allowed to bring my knitting. At security they told me no and I had to walk back to my car and put everything away. Thankfully I was NOT selected for the jury!!
The first time I was called for jury duty I went to the courthouse ahead of time to ask if I would be allowed to knit while waiting to be called, and they said “sure!” Thank heavens. Waiting to be called could get really, really old without knitting.
Very funny post. It sounds like that person didn’t have a filter on his mouth — something to be kept to oneself.
I agree with all of the pen comments. We saw a movie the other day where someone was killed with a pencil in the eyeball — nasty. I’ve also thought about how dangerous keys could be. Put them between your fingers like brass knuckles and you have a good weapon. It they really want to make the plane 100% safe we wouldn’t be able to carry anything on.
One possible bright spot for the future. Since the report of the US TSA flunking 94% of the time, I heard that there is a recommendation to eliminate the xray, body scans, etc. and use dogs. They can detect weapons, explosives, drugs, etc. I wouldn’t mind having a dog sniff my bags — or me for that matter.
Why didn’t you tell him you were a witch and just “accio knitting” after you got through security? Then he’d have just as stunned a look as you did.
Lori on June 12, 2015 at 11:00 am said:
Back in the dark days while they still had National Guard troops in the airports with machine guns aka pre TSA, I managed to take a pair of socks on bamboo needles through the screens and was quietly waiting universal response from the flight attendants was “Good for you.”
Everyone seems to have forgotten that every time a bully makes you change your behavior to accommodate them, you have let the bully win. Not saying that airport security didn’t need to improve only that current extremes and pervasive fear as demonstrated by this question has let the bad guys win anyway.
donna on June 12, 2015 at 11:06 am said:
just saw Joe in Jann Arden clip
she appears to be recording in his studio!
how awesome would it be to meet Jann Arden!
Charlotte on June 13, 2015 at 9:41 pm said:
How awesome it would be to meet Joe, too! 🙂
Innuendo on June 12, 2015 at 11:14 am said:
I can’t help answering something completely weird in this kind of cases. Like saying out loud what you summarized, or telling “well, they took away my gun, knife and plastic, that was my trick to have knitting needles going through…”
I always ashame people traveling with me but it seems I just can’t grow up…;0°
Liz on June 12, 2015 at 11:39 am said:
My experience with security involved a TSA agent before 9/11. The young man looked at all the yarn I had packed in my carry on and said, “You can’t take that. You could strangle someone.” Luckily my sister was with me and quickly pointed out that I didn’t need that much yarn to strangle someone. LOL A supervisor let me on the plane, yarn intact.
Gee, I don’t know which is worse, the questioner’s comment or something like, “Oh, is that knitting? I just don’t have time for things like that.”
That’s usually when I remind them of all the time they sit in front of the boob tube, on public transportation, standing in line, in waiting rooms, etc… Still occasionally get odd looks, but eh.
Melanie on June 12, 2015 at 11:52 am said:
Bravo! Well said, I applaud you.
Bri on June 12, 2015 at 11:54 am said:
I recently had an awkward moment when airport security started re-screening my backpack and I volunteered that I had knitting needles in there, so they asked me to show them, and after I pointed out the first set on a sweater, a second and third set not in use, and by now somewhat incredulous, they asked if I had still more, and I produced a hat out of a side pocket…. I didn’t volunteer that they’d missed the ones in my purse (I might have looked a little nuts by that point, but I’m not *that* nuts.) After they’d seen them, they sent me on my way. That trip had 9 flights in 18 days, 7 of which were outside the US, and that was the only time anyone even noticed.
Lindsey (London) on June 12, 2015 at 12:21 pm said:
Unfortunately, living in the UK, I’ve never been able to take knitting needles on a plane. But for the last 3 years or so I have had a rather revolting purple feather yarn scarf on two HB pencils, which was reserved for plane knitting. I finished it this spring in the USA and gave it away to a friend with a feeling of relief … but at least it allowed me to knit! Nobody ever commented. Worst experience ever was showing my knitting to a museum security guard in London — he promptly pulled the whole thing off the needles, and then gave it back to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Why!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was told by the checkin agent at Birmingham Airport, UK that I couldn’t take needles through security. I said “yes, I can” and checked my bags. When I got to security, they checked the computer and when I asked them to look for the black phone that was lost in the bag, they muttered and sent me through. Found the small cell phone when I got home, 3 checkpoints later.
Chris McCue on June 12, 2015 at 12:40 pm said:
1. Loved the number of responses you post received!
2. Loved the colorful way you described your proposed exploit.
3. And finally, love what you are knitting!! (That’s what really caught my eye. Had I seen you in the airport, I’d have said “can I have the pattern?”
Carol Timmers on June 12, 2015 at 12:44 pm said:
I have flown with knitting needles in the US and Canada for years, and apparently, have sneaked a large darning needle past security (which I keep forgetting to take out of my purse) on numerous flights as well. This week, while in the Toronto airport, I found myself having my purse re-x-rayed and hand-searched repeatedly. The conversion between the security agents led me to realize one had seen a shawl pin (hammered silver circle and straight pin) in my bag – also forgotten. I waited for them to produce it and practiced my “surprised” face, but I was finally let go. The stick part was 1/2 the size of my circular tips that passed (all 3 pairs) but I didn’t want to risk losing it. Sheesh!
Kim K on June 12, 2015 at 12:45 pm said:
I go through this argument with my Dad every time I fly to see them. He is beyond incredulous that I am allowed to fly with knitting needles. He is convinced that I will either use the cable as a garrotte or put someone’s eyes out with the needles. Because knitting needles are a weapon! Be afraid!
I go through this argument with my Dad every single time I fly to see my parents. He is just incredulous that I am allowed to fly with knitting needles. The cable could be used as a garrotte or the needle themselves will be used to put someone’s eye out. The plane could hit turbulence causing the needles to fly out of my hand and murder someone! Knitting needles are a weapon people!
judith gagnon on June 12, 2015 at 12:50 pm said:
i too have been asked that exact question on two separate occasions. However in the less busy airports I have found that the security guards have been interested in my knitting and enjoy the fact that I do it.
Darlene on June 12, 2015 at 12:58 pm said:
I’m afraid my answer would have been: “Yes, they did let me through with these weapons”– as I stab the person in the eye with the needle!!! Oh wait, your yarn is white so I might have reconsidered!!
Marcie on June 12, 2015 at 1:14 pm said:
And now that I’ve told you, I’ll have to kill you! Bwahahahaha!!!!
weeza on June 12, 2015 at 1:33 pm said:
People are weird. The woman who saw me crocheting in a psychiatrists’s waiting room and said ‘Why are you doing that?’ Why, so I don’t try to shove your entire person into the vending machine slot to see what it will give me in return? Or the woman whose dog had just bitten mine: ‘She never bites anyone!’ Well, my dog is bleeding and you have functioning eyes, so… (dog was fine and didn’t bleed on my shawl, all good).
Lynette on June 12, 2015 at 1:36 pm said:
Well, I must say, the second option does sound a lot more thrilling. Maybe it could be incorporated in a scene for the next installment of the Bond franchise? I’m sure Blomfeld would have had an ulterior motive involving knitting needles. But what clever name would the villainess have had?
Still, some people just are not that good at starting conversations.
I am glad that I have always been allowed to take my knitting on planes. And I have been doing so since the day after 9/11.
But have any of you seen the NCIS episode (S. 7 E. 13) where someone is killed with US#8 straight knitting needles on a commercial airline flight? It made my family members look at me a little differently since now they see me as always armed.
Toria on June 12, 2015 at 2:28 pm said:
I always hate having to explain to incredulous people that “yes, I’m allowed to bring knitting on the plane. No, I don’t think anyone is very worried that I’m going to use the needles as a weapon. Why spend all this time to knit something only to pull the needles out to stab someone?”
Non-knitters, man. Non-knitters.
Patricia on June 12, 2015 at 3:17 pm said:
Back when they weren’t letting knitting needles on planes, I started bringing a wooden crochet hook. I would leave my work in my bag (with a big unworked loop), and put the hook in my agenda with my pen. I was on the plane, working away, and a flight attendant said “How did you get that on the plane?” I said “Am I in trouble?” “No,” she replied “I want to bring mine too! I want to know how you did it.”
There was one time a lady on the bus looked at my knitting and informed me “that” could become a flying projectile in an accident. I told her that’s not how physics worked.
Her reply? “Oh, you’ve thought of that.”
I almost fed laughing.
Nicole on June 12, 2015 at 3:32 pm said:
When flying with knitting, I always print out the TSA page which tells me I can have knitting needles, just in case. But I learned that going through other countries airport security, you can’t have needles. Lost about 4 pairs of double pointed needles trying to fly home from Colombia after the rude lady ripped them out of my knitting.
Catherine on June 12, 2015 at 4:03 pm said:
Just about a month ago I had a flight from Vienna to London, then got on a direct flight from London to San Diego. I took the precaution of putting bamboo tips on my interchangeable cable, then hiding them among my charger cables while going through security. It has worked every time, so far. No shagging pilots necessary.
On the 2nd flight, the one from London to San Diego, I sat near a lovely Irish lady who’d had her bamboo tips/circular cable confiscated in Dublin, so maybe I was just lucky. I hope I didn’t make her too envious as I knit steadily while crossing the Atlantic.
But in a few months I have to report for jury duty, and tragically, I will not be allowed to take my knitting. That just leads me to wonder how a person makes a weapon out of them. I COULD take a phone with its charging cable though, so they’re clearly not worried about the garrotting hazard. The tips themselves must be the concern. Maybe I could ingeniously construct a bow and MacGyver a makeshift arrow out of the tips?
I’ve gotten my needles confiscated going into a courthouse before — I was very put out until my husband pointed out how easily a sock needle could unlock handcuffs . . . :).
Good point (no pun intended). the list of prohibited materials says nothing about crochet hooks. Maybe this is the time for me to learn to crochet.
Ok too funny! Thanks for the laugh. I’m a born and raised Jersey Girl who’s been living in FL for the past 19 years. Well you can take the girl out of NJ but not the NJ out of the girl. I would have gone what we call full on Jersey on the person (which is, sorry but we have NO filter) and looked the person straight in the eye and said, “The person who let me through with THAT, as you call it, was the same person who let YOU through with that big uncontrollable rude ass mouth of yours!” Then I would sweetly smile and look away.
PS: It amazes me how rude people are and that they feel the “need” to go up to bother others. I mean it’s knitting and a baby blanket for crying out loud and you were not bothering anyone, keeping to yourself. I do admire your restraint, because I would have never been able to keep quiet.
“…who let YOU through with that big uncontrollable rude ass mouth of yours!”
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! I would pay good money to see that interaction.
Amy on June 13, 2015 at 11:53 am said:
Hilarie,It’s embarrassing really,and I’m a bit ashamed to admit it because I don’t wish to be that way a lot of times I just have no filter whatsoever, especially with rude people. I just asked my hub what do you think I’d say if someone got in my face and invaded my space like that while I was knitting and keeping to myself quietly and he said I’d say something even worse than what I posted!
Barbara Lapinskas on June 12, 2015 at 4:04 pm said:
A friend of mine has remarked that they allow CDs. If you have ever broken one of them, you know how sharp the end becomes. Waaaay more dangerous than my needles!
Marsha in Colorado on June 12, 2015 at 4:24 pm said:
I fly with knitting all the time. Only once did a steward ask me to put my knitting away during takeoff and landing. My husband got summoned to jury duty and the notice explicitly stated “no knitting allowed”. It’s a weird world…..
skeindalous on June 12, 2015 at 5:15 pm said:
One of the British grande dames of mysteries, think it was Ruth Rendell, has a story in which the murder weapon is a circular needle. So…..Don’t understand why needles are NOT prohibited if one is seriously worried about acts of violence.
Sure you were totally pleasant in your ‘in the flesh’ contact with this woman. But you certainly let loose in the post! As only fiber people will read this, probaby safe to vent here!
In June, Years ago, I was finally on the stateside portion of my international flight from my overseas job teaching the children of the U.S. Military.
I had already flown all night and I was on my final leg of my flight. I was knitting away as I had been for most of the international flight. My seat mate arrived and settled in to the window seat next to me. He appeared to be a businessman (had a suit on in June) to me.
I said, “Hi.” He looks over and glares at my dull pointed, size 5.0 mm bamboo circular knitting needles full of knitted stitches. Immediately, sneers at me in disbelief, “They let you go through security with THOSE THINGS?”
Innocent me says… “Sure. I can’t sleep on planes. So, I always having knitting and something to read.” He said several more rude things about how was it possible for me to be allowed to bring something so dangerous on the plane. Etc. of course, what he is inferring is totally going right over my “jet-lagged” brain.
I did say something about how it would be almost impossible to cause any type of injury… because the ends are so dull and that
an ink pen could cause far more injury/etc.
He got up and apparently went to TELL ON ME, about my dangerous knitting hobby, because a short time later…a flight attendant came and walked by… Noticed my knitting, asked what I was making, and told me that she had her knitting with her too. (I still didn’t realize at this point that he had told on me– but, it didn’t go the way, he had thought it would.)
He actually left and went to sit elsewhere where his life as a 50 something year old wasn’t endangered by a 40 something knitting elementary school teacher.
*I have had a few others… Make comments about being allowed to bring knitting on flights… I just want to say: “NOW, what do you think… iF I wasn’t allowed to bring the knitting through security or on the plane… That I would sit here knitting in PUBLIC??? Stupid thinking process that some of these people have.
What a jerk He went and told on you? Ok NOT swearing this time: I would have replied: Oh, I’m a knitting ninja and I’m licensed to carry them, I am here to protect you!
Ingrid on June 13, 2015 at 10:26 pm said:
Okay, I am SO laughing out loud.
Jeannie on June 18, 2015 at 8:37 am said:
Yes, he went and told on me that I was knitting! I guess the fact that I never stopped even if an airline employee walked by me wasn’t good enough for him to believe that I really was allowed to knit on planes.
The flight attendant told me later that he was all freaked out, indignant, etc. This was a usa flight. I was an American, he was an American… So no misunderstanding what had been said/etc.
Denise Adkins on June 12, 2015 at 5:37 pm said:
The only people who are envious of those who “get” to fly as part of their jobs are people who have never had to fly as part of their jobs. The whole airport, flying, taxis, hotels cycle sucks once you are past your second work trip.
That was a dumb question you were asked, but I think you are over-reacting. I myself presumed for years after 9/11 that knitting needles weren’t allowed. I’ve been a knitter since I was 7 years old, off and on again, and missed many an opportunity to fill in boring times on planes with knitting. I was so glad several years ago, when I was on a plane to get to my mom’s deathbed, that I had figured out it was okay. But to be safe, I took small plastic, circular needles. Really helped sooth my mind.
Sarah on June 12, 2015 at 10:13 pm said:
I feel that tone is a big factor here. An innocent question asked with a *tone* can very definitely be rude. Shockingly rude. Sounds like it was more the way in which it was asked, and also being asked it again and again ad nauseum that finally got to Stephanie. Which is ok. It is a silly question. Obviously they let her take them.
Elizabeth L on June 12, 2015 at 6:12 pm said:
You tell ’em, Stephanie! It’s really difficult to keep my mouth shut – as you so bravely did – in the face of sheer stupidity. Add rudeness to the mix and No. Way. would I have been able to keep quiet. Also, thank you for making me laugh out loud with this epic rant. The last couple of days have been long and hard and, coupled with my glass of wine (how is it empty? Who stole my wine?!) this story might just rescue my good humor!
Barb on June 12, 2015 at 6:22 pm said:
Some people are just so dang clueless. I am slapping that person upside the head in my mind.
My comment to this human hubcap: “I don’t respond to stupid.”
Carrie on June 12, 2015 at 8:06 pm said:
A blank stare is FAR more polite than my response would have been. 🙂
You go girl. In the meantime I would like the pattern for the blanket you are knitting. Where can I find it? Lgeisler2@comcast.net
little red hen on June 12, 2015 at 8:44 pm said:
Too funny! Especially the “fake German passport”. People, and I may be making a generalization here, are stupid.
PleaseLouise on June 12, 2015 at 9:13 pm said:
I just had a similar experience on a flight from Nashville, TN yesterday. ‘They let you bring those on the plane?’, as I knit away with my Addi size 10 bamboo circs. ‘Why, yes, they did.’, as I stare at their pen being used for a crossword puzzle….
I could see where there could be two ways this question could be asked:
In an upbeat sort of voice: “Oh, wow! They let you take your knitting! Cool!”
In a condescending, nosy sort of voice that lets you know they think you’ve somehow broken The Rules: “Oh, they let you take that?”
I’m imagining the latter was the case. Some people feel the whole world is theirs to police. They’d have security over in a minute, confiscating your needles if they though they could get anywhere, and they’d feel they’d done their duty to society by not letting you get away with your shenanigans.
AlisonH on June 12, 2015 at 10:38 pm said:
After thinking about this, I’m remembering the one time I feel like I got it right. When someone said something like that to me, only they were not just rude but actually angry–and just utterly out of place.
And my reaction was to burst out laughing, kind of shaking my head a little as I walked away. Their behavior was so unexpected that it was just plain funny, and by laughing cheerfully I denied them any possible sense of vindication–they couldn’t hold an angry reaction against me to further blame me with nor to justify themselves with. I totally won.
If only I could be perfect all the time, right?
If anyone anywhere is good at laughing and helping others laugh it’s our Stephanie. I know traveling gets old, but thank you for doing it; it’s the only way we get to see you.
Adele on June 12, 2015 at 10:45 pm said:
Hmmm. There’s a certain harmless joy in treating something like this as a normal request for information. First the long blank stare as if you hadn’t heard correctly, then the happy smile as you politely say “Of course!” and watch the person’s face change as they realize what a fatuous comment they made.
But I loved the rappelling, the fake German passport, and the pilot-shagging. Wouldn’t have missed it.
ellen on June 12, 2015 at 11:34 pm said:
What has this morphed into??? Dec. 2001- we were on a flight to Bahamas- the flight attendant was helping a gentleman nearby fix his tray table as it had a loose screw. I offered my jackknife- and took it out of my handbag. Their mouths fell on the floor. No one stopped me- I must have been living under a rock and didn’t get the memo!!!! Part of the 94% I am flying to Europe soon- never had problems with bringing needles before and certainly don’t want to loose any- appreciate all the advise..
heather o. on June 13, 2015 at 2:57 am said:
It stinks that you get that so often as a statement. Hope your travels improve.
If you can manage it, I think the best response is a dazed look, and saying in a creepy voice, “My therapist recommends it.”
I took crochet hooks to Hawaii in 1/2002, though I didn’t do any on the plane – no room to unclamp my elbows from my sides, let alone crochet. To be safe, I had the plastic hooks in my purse along with the pens. I took knitting to Europe on British Airways in 2009, and have carried it on several domestic flights with no problem. I use circulars for everything, so nothing too long and pointy.
Finally last fall, a woman passenger in the waiting area in the Phoenix airport questioned my being allowed to take it on the plane. I assured her that I was, amd pointed out that my size 9 bamboo tips were less sharp than a ballpoint pen.
I’ve taken knitting to jury duty calls here in Denver several times with no problems. Which is great, because there are usually too many distractions to read. I’ve had it in the jurors’ room while serving on a jury. Never took it into the courtroom; why push it, and it might distract others there.
The one place where it was confiscated by the security guard was the waiting room at the emergency department at University Hospital. Though I’ve knit in multiple patient rooms in multiple hospitals, there it was considered a security risk. Good thing I had my tablet.
Cathy timmons on June 13, 2015 at 7:07 am said:
I’ve flown to many parts of the world and the only time I’ve ever had trouble was in Vienna a couple of years ago. I love to knit in the round with two circular needles and I had two projects with me. They ran my carry on bag through the scanner three times and confiscated my two size 2 and two size 1 Addi Turbos and despite the language barrier, finally figured out that this 65 year old woman babbling “Give those to someone who knits! Don’t throw them away!” may not be dangerous after all. They let me keep the two size 0’s. I never travel with my knitting in my carry on after that.
OH NO SHE DIDN’T!!!
P.S. Remember the time your seat mate complained to the flight attendant that your needles were dangerous: turbulence would cause your needles to poke her eye out or some such thing? Honestly!
OMG Stephanie, you are wasted on knitting. You need to be writing spy novels, or hosting the Stephen Colbert Report or something. I laughed out loud reading this. I am a past master at coming up with sarcastic/witty rejoinders after the fact. Since I reached the age of ‘a certain age’ I no longer experience the gap between the stupidity/insult/jerkness and the acid response, and furthermore, I bother less and less with tact, diplomacy, or in fact, politeness at all. One of the few perks of aging. I look forward to hearing bolder and even more pithy remarks coming out your actual mouth in the years and decades ahead. Thanks for sharing!
Barbara on June 13, 2015 at 10:00 am said:
Fracksmom on June 13, 2015 at 11:43 am said:
After 9/11 I could no longer take straight needles so now i use circular. I hope at a different airport they do not make you leave the needles. I think since you usually knit on socks you have been lucky so far
Fracksmom
Maryanne on June 13, 2015 at 11:47 am said:
You’re one classy lady. Kudos for not losing it on the idiot.
Geri on June 13, 2015 at 1:09 pm said:
To anyone who says that to me, I respond, “Then anyone with a pen or pencil shouldn’t get through security either”.
Janelle on June 13, 2015 at 1:31 pm said:
OMG Stephanie! You made me laugh out loud with that StephEthanTomZoolander scenario. And oh my, streaking?, that made me LOL again picturing you in a crowded Starbucks nekkid, trying to hide amongst the business suits and your cuppa joe. That biking has certainly built your endurance, LOL.
Pretty astonishing they don’t allow onboard circular thread cutters or any cutter with a blade, those would just create surface injury whereas a needle could be forcefully poked into a person’s eye, penetrating their brain and performing a lobotomy, let’s say, like on someone who asks dumb questions. Thank goodness you had your knitting to zen with afterwards.
Ann in NJ on June 13, 2015 at 3:56 pm said:
I spent a flight back from Hawaii (I know!) with a flight attendant who was a knitter – she spent every moment she could talking to me about knitting. And it was a 6 hour flight. Every other flight attendant on the plane, if they walked by my seat, asked, “Has Pat talked to you yet?” Yes, and she was marvelous. But I still put in a lifeline before I go through security, just in case. I’d rather loose my needles than what is sometimes HOURS of work.
I want sat through an entire boarding while knitting my socks on size 0 wooden needles to have 2 guys next me who were talking about their jobs on an oil rig turn to me and asked me incredulously if they let me on the plane with those. I couldn’t help it. I laughed at him and said a you work on an oil rig and you’re afraid of my little toothpick knitting needles? They didn’t even look at me once during the entire rest of the flight.
B. Rickman on June 13, 2015 at 8:25 pm said:
….if it was TSA I am not surprised. They let testers with bombs, guns and other contraband thru 99% of the time but you and your knitting, which is allowed, are questioned.
…if it was TSA I am not surprised…..at all.
jd collins on June 13, 2015 at 8:28 pm said:
Just have to wonder how many TSA spouses/spices now have complete sets of Addi circs? It’s always Addis.
BekahD on June 14, 2015 at 7:17 pm said:
I wonder whether one day this isn’t all going to result in that long-awaited yarn shop in the airport. Some genius TSA agent takes all the high quality needles they’ve confiscated, and sells them back to crafters exiting their destination airport (maybe even at second hand prices). They’d make a fortune!
Patty on June 13, 2015 at 10:29 pm said:
Just stumbled across your blog today, and I already know that I am going to enjoy it!
It would have been so cool if you had looked left, then right, then looked at her slyly and said, “Shhhhhhh”
Mary Kay on June 14, 2015 at 3:27 am said:
Some people seem like a waste of good protoplasm…
Ursula on June 14, 2015 at 9:51 am said:
Well, maybe the person was European? In Europe the needles are mostly not allowed and can be confiscated by security (I had them confiscated in Dublin a few years ago and more recently this happened to someone I know in Frankfurt). Also, I fly a lot around Europe and to be honest I can’t remember ever seeing anyone knitting/crocheting on planes or in waiting areas.
So YMMW, but coming from Europe, I can totally imagine myself making (or at least thinking) a similar comment out of incredulity that it is actually possible to take the needles through security rather than having any bad intentions.
It is clearly very random. I’ve only flown in Europe & not had a problem (though generally take bamboo sock needles) and am always prepared mentally to take ’em out and save the knitting!
I love the suggested response “shhhh don’t tell anyone” and am saving it for when I get asked – no-one has commented yet.
Once, as well as my careful bamboo sock needles, I discovered days later that in spite of having been taken through the “random extra search” check I had actually also travelled with a very fine metal crochet hook in the lining of my bag. Oh well … I took it back home too without it being noticed!
Cora on June 14, 2015 at 9:55 am said:
I fly quite a bit also, and often get a similar comment. I always answer truthfully (yes, knitting needles have been permitted since 2001), but I’m very tempted to say, “actually, I’m the US Marshall for this flight, and if we get into any trouble, I’m trained to use these needles and this yarn to take care of any perpetrators.”
US and Canadian flight attendants and security never give trouble for knitting. EU security is no trouble, but I’ve had EU flight attendants get uncomfortable and ask me to put away the knitting during take-off/landing. South American security is iffy – some let you security with knitting, some without.
All said, I’ve had way less trouble taking knitting on flights than producing/carrying breast milk! Now, that stuff is really suspicious.
Stephanie F. on June 14, 2015 at 10:23 am said:
Kudos to you. What a beautiful blanket.
Suzanne on June 15, 2015 at 9:05 am said:
LMAO! I think I ran into that individual myself a while back. Nice to hear they are still asking the same dumb question….
Abby M on June 15, 2015 at 11:53 am said:
Perhaps he was asking, “Did they let you through security with that or did you buy it at one of these lovely duty-free store?”
Personally I like to ask if they have a pen or pencil and then compare the points with my knitting needle…
gretcheng on June 15, 2015 at 12:16 pm said:
Aww, so many fearful people in the world! I just smile kindly and say, “Knitting doesn’t fit the terrorist profile. It’s what keeps us calm. Wanna learn how?”
Once a flight attendant asked me to put my knitting away during take-off, which I found pretty understandable and totally in keeping with upright seat backs and closed tray tables.
askbew on June 15, 2015 at 3:26 pm said:
I haven’t read the comments – but did anyone else notice that Stephanie seems to have a very detailed plan for sneaking knitting needles into an airport? 🙂
Cathy on June 16, 2015 at 6:55 pm said:
My husband, to the Ukraininan security guard who was confused to a standstill by my notions case: “Sir. She is far more dangerous if you take the knitting away from her.”
Patricia Walters on June 16, 2015 at 8:10 pm said:
I fly with my knitting in the US & Canada. I often have a knitter give me a surprised look and lament that she didn’t know she could, too. But, I never use needles that I couldn’t bear to lose and put a spare pair or two in my checked bag. TSA always has the right to confiscate the needles.
Other countries have their own rules about a lot of seemingly innocuous things. C’est la vie.
Mollie on June 17, 2015 at 12:09 pm said:
I clicked on the link that Stephanie provided to the TSA regs, and was chagrined to learn that “circular thread cutters” that contain a blade were not allowed. I’ve been carrying mine ever since my folding scissors were confiscated.
Sue S on June 17, 2015 at 3:21 pm said:
This is a story that belongs in your next book! I laughed out loud while reading it because I am a person who always thinks of the snappy comeback about five seconds after the person who deserves it has walked away! Next time someone asks me something inane, I’m going to smile because I know Steph would know exactly what to say! 🙂
Pretty sure this is already in one of her books. I recognize it from somewhere and I know she wrote it…
Soxanne on June 18, 2015 at 11:07 pm said:
Yes, I’ve always wanted to whisper conspiratorially to those people, “Actually, I’m a federal marshall. They’ve let me on with a lot more than knitting needles.” And then wink at them. Let them wonder every time they see a knitter on board a plane 😀
Betsy on June 19, 2015 at 12:51 am said:
I had that exact questioned asked yesterday at the airport in Baltimore, MD! I looked at her and said, “Well, yes they did. I’m sitting here knitting aren’t I?”
Actually, I’ve flown all over the world with my knitting and have never had a problem with security anywhere. However, just in case, I never take my favorite and most expensive needles with me on trips. I also carry a self-addressed stamped envelope with me to mail any needles back to myself…just in case. I’ve never had to use it.
Barbara in Seattle on June 22, 2015 at 11:28 pm said:
I flew US domestically right after the TSA lifted the ban on knitting needles. I settled into my seat, pulled out my knitting and started in. The woman sitting next to me told me she was “uncomfortable” with me having knitting needles and they shouldn’t have let me onboard with them. I told her that they were once again allowed and that I would fidget through the entire flight otherwise. Then I sweetly suggested that she get herself reseated. She called the flight attendant over to complain and the flight attendant told her that the knitting was, indeed, allowed. The passenger pouted through the rest of the flight and the flight attendant commented positively on my knitting every time she walked by. Heehee.
I put my knitting in my checked luggage from Mexico to the US. They don’t allow it. Just flew and knitted to and from the UK out of Vancouver, BC with nary a batted eyelash.
Oh yes, on more than one occasion I have been asked: “how did you get that/those past security?”
As though after hoodwinking the TSA on my top-secret mission, I would then blow it all by using my contraband in broad daylight….
Thank god there are vigilant, amateur super-agents out there to catch us all before we strike again…. I guess that’s why SPECTRE is not calling me back.
Dotty on October 12, 2015 at 4:13 pm said:
Say “thanks” you for your mother and father that they gave you the planet
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Five Below starts selling products for more than $5
CNNWire
Five Below, a popular store focusing on products for $5 and under, is undergoing a colossal change: Its price point is going up for the first time in 17 years.
No longer will the store, a bargain hunter's dream, only sell items priced at $5 and under. Now, the store will be raising prices on certain items -- including tech products and certain toys and games.
"We've always done everything possible to absorb cost increases," the company said in a statement. "Recently, we had to raise prices above $5 on tech items to keep providing the products you love."
For the toys and games priced up to $10, the company will keep them in a separate area of the store, called "Ten Below Gift Shop." For electronics, Five Below is adding a section called "Ten Below Tech."
But the name "Five Below" is one thing that's not changing. The store -- known for selling everything from makeup and clothes to candy -- will be keeping its original name despite the change.
Most of the store's merchandise remains at $5 and below, according to the company.
businessu.s. & worldshopping
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Dave Matthews Band Edges Pat Benatar, Doobie Brothers in Rock Hall Fan Vote
Soundgarden and The Doobie Brothers round out the top 5
bob-diehl
Dave Matthews Band has won the fan vote for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2020.
That doesn’t mean they’re in just yet, but past fan votes have proven to be good predictors of success.
The “Ants Marching” band scored a comfortable win with more than 1 million votes. But the other top 5 vote-getters will also be included on the fan ballot, which is just one of more than 1,000+ cast alongside those of industry professionals and writers.
Rounding out the top five in this year’s fan vote are Pat Benatar, The Doobie Brothers, Soundgarden and Judas Priest. All of the leaders are first-time nominees with the exception of Judas Priest.
Congrats to your top 5 @KlipschAudio Fan Vote winners --We'll be announcing the official Class of 2020 Inductees 1/15 at 8am - next big reveal coming soon -- pic.twitter.com/F2V1DK5SoI
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) January 11, 2020
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will announced its official 2020 induction class on January 15th. Here’s a look at the other nominees by their order of finish in the fan poll.
6. Whitney Houston - 593,374
7. Depeche Mode - 563,612
8. Thin Lizzy - 556,476
9. Motorhead - 512,918
10. Todd Rundgren - 440,898
11. Nine Inch Nails - 380,869
12. T. Rex - 365,290
13. The Notorious B.I.G. - 275,892
14. Rufus featuring Chaka Kahn - 166,596
15. Kraftwerk - 163,667
16. MC5 - 160,685
dave-matthews-band
pat-benatar
the-doobie-brothers
judas-priest
rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame
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A woman sheds tears as she visits a makeshift memorial honoring the victims of Thursday's fire at the Kyoto Animation Studio building, background center, Friday, July 19, 2019, in Kyoto, Japan. A man screaming "You die!" burst into the animation studio in Kyoto, doused it with a flammable liquid and set it on fire Thursday, killing dozens of people in the attack that shocked the country and brought an outpouring of grief from anime fans. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Suspect in Japan anime studio arson reportedly had grudge
TOKYO (AP) — The man suspected of setting ablaze a beloved Japanese animation studio, killing 34 people, was raging about theft and witnesses and media reported he had a grudge against the company, as questions arose why such mass killings keep happening in the country.
Police only have said the suspect Shinji Aoba, 41, who is hospitalized with severe burns and unable to talk, is from near Tokyo and did not work for the studio, Kyoto Animation.
Japanese broadcaster NHK said the death toll rose to 34 on Saturday after one of the injured died in a hospital. Aoba was meanwhile transferred to another hospital specializing in treating burns. Footage showed medics carrying Aoba on a stretcher, connected to multiple tubes and part of his exposed skin swollen and pink.
NHK and other media, quoting an unnamed source, said that Aoba spent 3 ½ years in prison for robbing a convenience store in 2012 and lived on government support. The man told police that he set the fire because he thought "(Kyoto Animation) stole novels," according to Japanese media. It was unclear if he had contacted the studio earlier.
The company founded in 1981 and better known as KyoAni made a mega-hit anime series about high school girls and trained aspirants to the craft.
The shocking attack left another 34 people injured, some critically. It drew an outpouring of grief for the dead and injured, most of them workers at the studio.
Kyoto prefectural police chief Hideto Ueda solemnly laid flowers at the site, now a charcoal shell, vowing for the utmost in the investigation to find motives behind the attack, which he described as "unprecedented and unforgivable."
While shooting deaths are rare in Japan, the country has had a series of high-profile killings in recent years. Less than two months ago, a man described as a social recluse, or "hikikomori," stabbed a number of private school children at a bus stop outside Tokyo, killing two people and wounding 17 before killing himself. In 2016, a former employee at a home for the disabled allegedly killed 19 people and injured more than 20.
Nobuo Komiya, a Rissho University criminology professor, calls the attacks "suicidal terrorism," in which attackers typically see themselves as losers and target their anger on the society, often those who seem happy and successful.
"Feeling angry at people who they think are winners, they tend to choose privileged people as targets," Komiya said. "They think they have nothing to lose, they don't care if they get caught or if they die."
They are part of a growing trend that reflects a change in the Japanese society, where disparities are growing and ties among families, community and other groups have weakened and people are less obligated to follow the rules and be part of it, he said. "Japan shouldn't be complacent about its safety anymore. We should follow the U.S. and Europe and do more for risk management."
About 70 people were working inside the three-story Kyoto Animation No. 1 studio in southern Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital, at the time of the attack.
The arsonist arrived carrying two containers of flammable liquid. He shouted, "You die!" as he entered the studio's unlocked front door, dumped the liquid using a bucket, and set it afire with a lighter, police said, quoting witnesses. Police at the scene confiscated the gasoline tanks, a knapsack and knives, but have not confirmed they belonged to the attacker. A Kyoto police official declined to speculate how Aoba prepared the attack, saying he wanted the man to explain himself, as well as his motives.
The blaze blocked the front door and quickly engulfed the workspace, rising up the stairs to the third floor, sending panicked employees fleeing. Some were able to escape by crawling out of windows, with the help of neighbors. Many tried but failed to escape to the roof, fire officials said. Most of the victims are believed to have died of carbon monoxide poisoning, experts say.
The suspect fled but was chased by studio employees who eventually caught him. He collapsed to the ground outside a house and was quickly surrounded by police.
"They are always stealing. It's their fault," he told policemen bending over and asking him why he set the fire, according to a witness who described the scene outside her house. The man complained bitterly that something had been stolen from him, the witness told NHK and other networks.
Neighbors interviewed by Japanese media said the suspect had troubles with other residents in the apartment building in Saitama, north of Tokyo, where he lived.
One man told the broadcaster TBS that he had knocked on Aoba's door to ask him to stop banging on the walls. He said Aoba shouted "I will kill you!" and "Shut up!" then grabbed him by the hair and shirt.
Studio president Hideaki Hatta was stunned as he entered the site for the first time since the attack Friday and joined police investigators. "I can hardly bear to see this," Hatta said.
Construction worker Takumi Yoshida, 23, was a fan of KyoAni works. "I am shocked and I'm sure for their families it must be very difficult. So with those feelings in my mind, I brought flowers," Yoshida said.
Anime fan and university student Yuki Seki traveled from nearby Hyogo prefecture to pay her respects. "After properly recovering while taking their time, I hope Kyoto Animation can once again share their power and energy with us," she said.
Kyoto Animation's hits include "Lucky Star" of 2008, "K-On!" in 2011 and "Haruhi Suzumiya" in 2009. It has an upcoming feature film, "Violet Evergarden," about a woman who professionally writes letters for clients.
It's also done secondary animation work on a 1998 "Pokemon" feature that appeared in U.S. theaters and a "Winnie the Pooh" video.
It is Japan's deadliest fire since 2001, when a blaze in Tokyo's congested Kabukicho entertainment district killed 44 people in the country's worst known case of arson in modern times. Police called the cause arson, but never announced an arrest in the setting of the blaze, though five people were convicted of negligence.
Associated Press journalist Haruka Nuga contributed to this report.
Follow Mari Yamaguchi on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/mariyamaguchi
Accidents and disasters
Occupational accidents
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Matthew McConaughey Reveals What Anne Hathaway Is Lacking When It Comes to Birthday Party
WENN/Michael Wright
Sitting down with Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show to promote 'Serenity', the 'Interstellar' actor opens up about the incident involving his co-star and his birthday bash.
AceShowbiz - Anne Hathaway arrived for Matthew McConaughey's birthday party a day late.
The actress is good friends with Matthew, having starred alongside him in movies such as "Interstellar" and upcoming thriller "Serenity (2019)". But when it comes to knowing facts about her pal and co-star, Anne is severely lacking, as Matthew revealed when he appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show".
"My birthday's on the 4th of November, so we were having the party that night," he recalled. "And we noticed that the Hathaways didn't show up. The next day, I woke up and I was still in my robe around 5 P.M. - which was the time the party started the night before - and the door bell rings. I open up the door, and 'Happy Birthday!' it's Anne and Adam (Shulman, Anne's husband) with a bottle of wine, balloons, and a gift."
But ever the gracious host, Matt decided not to tell the pair of their mistake until after they had a glass of wine in their hands.
"She (Anne) tells me, 'You were so nice, you didn't say anything at the gate. You brought us in, opened the wine, poured everyone a glass and then said, 'You do know - my birthday was yesterday!' " Matthew laughed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Matthew opened up about his home life with wife Camila Alves and their three children, Levi, 10, nine-year-old Vida and six-year-old Livingston. While raising three kids has its fair share of ups and downs, the actor and his other half do their utmost to settle any disputes quickly and fairly. However, things are more difficult with Livingston, who prefers to sort out any arguments physically. In fact, Matthew and Camila have indulged their boy's preference by installing a wrestling mat so that he and his dad can fight it out when there's a dispute.
And when Ellen DeGeneres commented "that's not fair!" Matthew hit back, "To me! I'm the one who comes out of it with the bruises!"
Russell Brand Reveals Why His Wife Never Puts Him in Charge of Their Children for 24 Hours
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Matthew McConaughey's Mom to Go on Date With Hugh Grant's Dad Next Week
Matthew McConaughey Almost Died When He Stepped on Venomous Snake in Australia
Matthew McConaughey Turns Into Chef for First Responders Battling California Wildfire
Matthew McConaughey Applauds Guy Fieri at Hollywood Walk of Fame Ceremony
Matthew McConaughey Finally Gets His Original High School Diploma at 49
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You never know how well put together something is until you take it apart. In this post, I’m going to analyze a scene from the final episode of K-ON!, showing how the framing and editing show Yui has grown as a character over the course of the series, gaining trustworthy friends that rely on her and finding a place where she can belong.
To give some context, Yui has just entered high school and had no new friends and no direction in life at the beginning of the series, signified by not knowing what afterschool club she wanted to join. By sheer happenstance, she ended up in the light music club along with the other band members, Mio, Ritsu, Mugi and Azusa. In the final episode where they were supposed to put on a concert for the school, Yui forgets her guitar and has to run back home to get it while the rest of the band members play another song to stall for time.
First of all, we have a continuous tracking long shot of Yui running back to school with a slow zoom to show her desperation and determination, the sliding background and foreground layers providing an animetic effect that enhances this feeling of speed through sideways relative motion. This sequence is, in fact, a shot-for-shot remake of her commute to school in the first episode. However, in the first episode, she was distracted by many things including stopping to pet a random cat, represented by quick cuts to stills that interrupted the tracking shot, grinding it to a halt.
These cuts are still present in this scene. However, the stills are now washed out and in a single color, showing how all this occurred in the past. That, in conjunction with the deliberate parallels drawn between the first and last episode, emphasizes the change in her character, highlighting how she has finally found direction …literally.
This feeling of growth is further enhanced by the jump cuts to flashbacks in the form of point of view shots from Yui’s perspective, showing all the accumulated experiences she had over the course of the series with the people who have made a positive difference in her life. The first-person perspective also allows the audience to relive key moments from the show, not as an omniscient third-person observer, but as one of the characters, making the sequence far more heartfelt and personal.
This tracking shot is then interrupted by cross-cutting back and forth between Yui and the rest of the band members performing at the concert. The first shot is also a match cut where Yui runs forward and Mio leans forwards to sing, emphasizing how in sync they are despite being separated. It is precisely because of the trust they have developed for each other over the course of the series that they are able to dedicate themselves fully to the task at hand. In addition, all this time, since the beginning of the scene, the song that is diegetic to the concert but not to Yui’s running has been playing constantly in the background. Far from being mere background music, it functions like a countdown, reminding the viewer of the urgency of the situation. Yui only has until the end of the song to make it back to school. The fact that Yui makes it back just in time once again shows how they are all in sync and how she never lets her friends down or betrays their trust. Going one step further, we can say that the music that plays uninterrupted during the cross-cutting, bridging the two disparate scenes, is a metaphor for how the characters are connected by music. It is after all the medium of music that allowed Yui to bond with the rest of her band members.
Once at the concert, Yui takes center stage. As the diegetic music begins to play, we have a medium close-up on Yui as she starts to sing, emphasizing the mouth movements of the character. This is rather pertinent as she is the lead singer in this performance, showing how she has taken on a prominent position in the band, again highlighting her growth as a character. Interestingly enough, this medium close-up shot and the ones that follow also function as a limited animation technique as it eliminates the need to animate the hands of the character playing the instruments.
We then have a medium shot of Azusa looking at Yui. The shallow focus shows how Azusa is framed in the background and to the side, emphasizing Yui’s prominent position. This shot is significant as it is shows how Azusa is watching over Yui from the sidelines and looking at her with confidence and pride. Azusa is the most skilled musician in the band, and this scene is symbolic of how she acknowledges Yui’s development and growth as a musician.
This is then followed up with an eyeline match to a medium close-up of Yui and Mio, confirming what Azusa is looking at. The shallow focus once again shows how Yui is in the foreground and to the front, symbolizing having surpassed her fellow members with Mio playing a supporting role. This hierarchy is emphasized by the diegetic song as Mio sings the backup lyrics and repeats what Yui says. This is even more significant as this song was performed once before in the series as their debut song, but with Mio as the lead singer. Just like with the monochrome cuts during Yui’s running scene, this scene serves to draw parallels to an earlier episode to highlight the change in Yui though juxtaposition. But at the same time, this is also more evidence of how they work perfectly together; reaffirming the trust they have for one another, with Mio having Yui’s back.
The camera then cuts to show a low-angle shot of Yui by herself. The low-angle shot emphasizes how independent Yui has become as she appears to stand tall and proud.
However, just as we get that impression, the camera cuts to one final long shot of the entire stage from the perspective of the audience. On one hand, we see that this shot reminds the audience that yes, while Yui is the center of attention, standing in the middle of the stage, she is surrounded by her trusty band members and is but one part of a cohesive whole. This is reinforced by the high key lighting surrounding the five band members, framing them in darkness. In order to put on a successful performance, you need all members to play together in harmony. This final shot cements in the audience’s mind the fact that Yui has found a place where she belongs.
This entry was posted on Friday, June 21st, 2019 at 7:21 pm and is filed under Anime, Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
One Response to Basic Film Analysis with K-ON!
alexeon says:
One of my anime sins is that I’ve never watch K-On but this post just reminded me that I really have to get on that.
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Eastleigh Borough Council election, 2 May: Ray Dean, Independent candidate for Bishopstoke on Eastleigh Borough Council, writes…
ADD UPDATE, 23 April 2019: Ahead of the local elections on Thursday 2 May, Action against Destructive Development (ADD) has invited each candidate standing for Eastleigh Borough Council (EBC), and each candidate standing for Winchester City Council, to supply us with up to 350 words on their views on EBC’s draft Local Plan and its progress. The same invitation was extended to candidates in the parish/town council elections in our area.
As you will be aware, EBC voted to include ‘options B and C’ in its Local Plan, namely proposals for around 5,500 houses and a major new road north of Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Allbrook and south of Colden Common, Owslebury and Upham, significantly affecting Boyatt Wood, Chandler’s Ford, Hiltingbury, Otterbourne, Brambridge, Highbridge, Twyford and Bishop’s Waltham. This draft Plan will be examined by an independent planning inspector later this year.
As part of our virtual hustings, Ray Dean, Independent candidate for Bishopstoke on Eastleigh Borough Council sent us the following message:
“It was an honour being elected to represent Bishopstoke as a borough councillor last year. Along with Louise Parker-Jones and Gin Tidridge (other Independent councillors), Bishopstoke now has a truly independent voice at the borough and an independent majority on Bishopstoke, Fair Oak and Horton Heath Local Area Committee. This allows us the ability to question the reasoning behind the Local Plan and many other policies affecting the way EBC operates. It also affords us the chance of having more of a say in planning and service issues.
We have raised concerns over the apparent lack of evidence to support the Local Plan and not one member of the ruling group challenged us. Instead, they remained silent. I voted against the Local Plan being submitted to the inspector as key evidence was missing and is still missing.
I believe the Local Plan in its present form will be disastrous for our community and surrounding areas. The new road link to the M3 will be inaccessible for many high vehicles due to Allbrook railway bridge. Our roads are already overstretched at peak times and, with the possibility of 10,000 extra vehicles in the area, this can only get worse. Services such as bin collections are already showing signs of buckling under the pressure of recent developments. I have raised this recently and asked that routes be re-thought to address problems of missed bins. This needs to be a proactive measure, not the reactive measure we usually see. The irreplaceable natural environment that used to be all around this area has been whittled away; what we have left needs to be protected, not sacrificed for blanket development.
If re-elected I will continue to listen to your views and support our community in representing the people, not a party-political agenda. And if the inspector passes the Plan, I will strive to ensure the area gets the best possible outcomes from a very bad situation.”
Ray Dean, Independent candidate for Bishopstoke on Eastleigh Borough Council
Your ticket for the: Eastleigh Borough Council election, 2 May: Ray Dean, Independent candidate for Bishopstoke on Eastleigh Borough Council, writes…
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AES is committed to partnering with local and national organizations to help ensure youth have a voice across our homeland.
The Cross-Cultural Leadership Center
The Cross-Cultural Leadership Center (CCLC) at The California State University, Chico, provides the programs and the space to help students stay respected, connected and affirmed in their transition to, and journey through, higher education. The bonds and friendships that are built through the CCLC last a lifetime. The space gives students an opportunity to meet new people, explore new opportunities and build a community that becomes their family. CCLC works in partnership with AES to provide opportunities to engage and empower area high school students through a range of programs and retreats.
Opportunity Youth United (OYU)
OYU is a national grassroots membership movement of young people from across the nation. It was formed by the National Council of Young Leaders, comprised of young leaders from 14 national organizations, working to unite low- income young people in active local struggle for increased opportunity and decreased poverty in America. OYU has developed a platform for change, called “Recommendations to Increase Opportunity and Decrease Poverty in America. This platform puts equal emphasis on the importance of investing in pathways out of poverty for young adults seeking another chance, and on changing the conditions of poverty that affect young people and their communities.
In cities and counties across America, OYU is working with anchor organizations to organize groups of young leaders through Community Action Teams (CAT) to speak up and take action on issues affecting opportunity youth, in order to engage more young people in the electoral process.
AES has been selected to serve as the OYU anchor organization for Sacramento and in doing so will help launch a Sacramento CAT to advocate for the issues most important to California youth.
Our Team About Us Krystle Tonga Photo Gallery
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Mary Devereaux
Ugliness is a topic largely neglected by aestheticians. This neglect no doubt has many roots. Here I’d like to explore just one, namely our uneasiness with saying that people are ugly. We speak readily enough about the moral failings of our fellows, e.g., the duplicity of political leaders or the psychological shortcomings of neighbors, relatives and co-workers. Why then does calling someone ugly make us so uneasy?
We shun mention of the ugly, it seems to me, for a number of reasons. First, we naturally enough do not want to think of ourselves as ugly – especially not in the present tense. The thought that others might find us ugly is unsettling and embarrassing, particularly in a culture such as ours, where, rightly or wrongly, success, esteem and love rest so heavily upon physical appearance. So, too we generally try to avoid attributing ugliness to others. Calling the ugly ‘ugly’ – recognizing someone as ugly – is thought to be undemocratic and cruel. Undemocratic because even with a pluralistic conception of beauty, some people are going to lose. It’s bad luck, but a fact. Recognizing the ugly is cruel because, whether the judgment is mistaken (as in the case of Pecola’s self-hatred in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye) or correct (as with Frankenstein’s monster), calling someone ugly may do as much or more damage as calling them a liar or a cheat. Unlike lying or cheating, ugliness seems to have few excuses, a situation worsened, ironically, by the readily availability of the cosmetic fix and the raising of the bar of “standard” good looks. Hence many of us are rightly reluctant to apply the predicate ‘ugly’ to human beings.
The discomfort I am describing is intensified by a long intellectual tradition associating beauty with goodness and ugliness with evil. While a extensive line of physically attractive villains from Vronsky to Rhett Butler attests to the falseness of this connection, an equally entrenched narrative tradition insists upon its truth, using ugliness as a mark of bad character if not downright wickedness (e.g., the ugly stepmothers and stepsisters of Grimm’s fairytales). Alternatively, ugliness and the social ostracism it (unfairly) provokes may turn the good man bad, as the tale of Frankenstein’s creature and a range of others illustrate. The point is that one way or another, an ugly face is frequently associated with a form of moral badness.
Medical and scientific traditions take a different slant, linking ugliness with physical rather than moral flaws, specifically with forms of ill-health. Thus the ugly comes to be taken as a reminder of our own aging, vulnerability to illness, disability, and death.
Lastly, there’s the connection between beauty and happiness (or success). Aristotle’s answer to the question of whether an ugly man can be truly happy was “No,” although for reasons too complicated to pursue here. We needn’t agree of course. (Literature holds out the promise that Beauty will fall in love with the Beast – although notice, in story after story, the ‘Beast’ turns out to be a handsome prince in disguise). Recent empirical investigations of the strong correlation between felicitous looks and success in the workplace or marriage market auger even less well for the uncomely.
Now in all three of these accounts, ugliness is identified with a form of badness, but the negativity in question is extrinsic. In the first case, the real object of our negative judgment is not ugliness itself but the bad moral character with which it is (wrongly) associated. In the second case, the real object of our negative judgment is again not ugliness itself, but its purported relationship with poor health and human vulnerability. So, too, in the third case where the real object of our negative judgment is the ill-fortune presumed to follow from poor looks.
In each of these instances we have good reason to be suspicious of the judgments in question because of the unsavory political and social agendas with which they are associated. The more closely we look, the more evident the inappropriateness or unfairness of the negative value attached to ugliness and the more obvious the reasons why it is not discussed. The topic is largely avoided.
But should it be? Is the role of the ugly fully accounted for by reference to fashion and prejudice? Or is there something bad about ugliness itself? Once we separate the ugly from its connection with views about morality, health and happiness, does any of its badness remain? Or is it the aim of an analysis of the ugly that no one turns out to be ugly? Is the idea to embrace a kind of eliminitivism about the ugly? The eliminativist analysis of the ugly parallels eliminitivism about race. On this account, no one turns out to be ugly because there is no such thing as ugliness (only, for example, veiled misogyny, racism, ageism and intolerance of difference) just as we’re to suppose, there is no such thing as a genuine, i.e., intersubjectively valid, standard of beauty. Clearly there is a tension between not wanting to embrace the eliminativist position – one that denies the proposition that we do find some people ugly – and not wanting to endorse the proposition that some people are just ugly.
Perhaps judgments of the ugly would cause less trouble if we could avoid predicating ugliness of people. But a culture enthralled with the possibilities of cosmetic transformation makes it difficult to avoid the conclusion not that a few of us are ugly, but that most of us are. And while we may accept that we should not say that people are ugly, it is another thing altogether to insist that we should not find them so.
In short, what I am raising in these remarks is possibility that the idea of the ugly – and in particular aesthetic judgments of the ugly – bears further investigation. With this proposal, I suspect, no one will disagree. Moving in this direction builds directly on the revival of interest in the concept of beauty and work at the intersection of aesthetics with race studies, disabilities studies, feminist theory and the history of cosmetic surgery.
More controversial perhaps is the idea that the ugly bears examination in its own right. What I have been pointing to is that there seem to be (some) judgments of ugliness, period. What I have in mind here is a category of judgment that attributes intrinsic ugliness to its object, characteristics that are visibly unpleasant in their own right, independent of assumptions about bad health, bad character or ill-fortune. What leads me to this claim is this. Many feminists and other cultural critics assume that certain features or looks (small breasts, a wrinkled brow, the so-called Jewish nose) are falsely presented as ugly. The idea is that such negative judgments are or may be mistaken. If this is right, then in order to tell that such judgments are wrong, we have to have some idea of what it would be to make a correct judgment of ugliness. We need, in other words, some standard by which to separate intrinsic from extrinsic attributions of ugliness and for this we need a philosophical analysis of the ugly. We need in other words to answer the question of how ugliness in its own right is to be understood. And that, of course, is a question for aesthetics.
Undertaking such an analysis may of course open aestheticians to certain political or social objections. Many of the same reasons that make talk of ugliness objectionable on racialist or gendered grounds may lead aestheticians to want to deny any possibility of intrinsic ugliness. This reluctance, particularly where human beings are concerned, is natural and proper. But it should, I suggest, be tempered by a willingness to acknowledge that social anxieties about personal misfortune, unfairness and the intractability of our attraction to beauty constitute a meaningful component of life as well as art. Perhaps it is time for the ugly to garner some of the attention routinely bestowed on its more comely cousin, beauty.
2005 © Mary Devereaux
GEMMA A. MANRESA ASA Facebook Manager & Chair, FCC 2019-20
Eva M. Dadlez ASA Trustee 2008-11 & 2020-2022
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directed by Clint Eastwood
written by Todd Komarnicki
based on the memoir Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters, by Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow
In 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from LaGuardia and struck a flock of birds, damaging both engines and prompting Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger to attempt a water landing on the Hudson River. Against all odds, all passengers and crew survived. I remember a friend of mine sending me pictures of the rescue as she watched the whole thing live from her office in Manhattan. It was, for lack of a better word, astounding.
In Sully, Tom Hanks plays Sullenberger as he copes with the aftermath of a decision that could’ve easily gone the other way and ended the lives of 155 people. It’s a good role for Hanks, who has always excelled at portraying ordinary, decent men (he was equally solid playing other real-life officers in 1995’s Apollo 13 and 2013’s Captain Phillips). As Sully faces off against the National Transportation Safety Board over whether he could’ve landed the plane at a nearby airport, Hanks captures the utter frustration of a man uncomfortable with being simultaneously hailed a hero and an irresponsible fool for attempting the impossible.
Directed in his usual fast-and-loose manner by Clint Eastwood, Sully may not be the most stylish of efforts, or even the most dramatic. But Hanks keeps it grounded with his own special brand of no-frills humanity.
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created by Nic Pizzolatto
written by Nic Pizzolatto and Scott Lasser
directed by Justin Lin, Janus Metz, Jeremy Podeswa, John Crowley, Miguel Sapochnik, and Daniel Attias
It was probably impossible to live up to the expectations set up by the first season of HBO’s True Detective (2014), but contrary to what apparently everyone and their mother thought, this second dive into the lives of psychologically fucked-up cops and criminals is pretty damn good. In fact, it continues to be nothing like I’ve ever seen on television in terms of mashing up genre conventions and literary references in a way that could come across as trite but instead feels rather grand. Because you’d better believe that when writer/showrunner Nic Pizzolato – a major in English and philosophy – names one of his characters Antigone Bezzerides, or has the main antagonist utter lines such as “It’s like blue balls… in your heart,” he’s not merely writing “bad dialogue” for the sake of it. In True Detective‘s neo-noir balancing act, this stuff has poetic weight, and if you don’t believe me, just go back to season one and listen to Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) say macho things like “The world needs bad men. We keep the other bad men from the door.” No one says shit like that in real life and gets away with it.
While True Detective‘s maiden voyage delved into the Southern Gothic in its overarching plot and atmosphere, this time around Pizzolatto sets his sights on the West Coast and the brutal killing of a dirty California city manager. Detective Ray Velcoro (Colin Farrell), Sergeant Ani Bezzerides (Rachel McAdams), and Highway Patrol officer Paul Woodrugh (Taylor Kitsch) are all assigned to the case, and just like in the first season their secrets and vices are more interesting than the knotty narrative of the mystery itself.
Does this season’s convoluted plot regarding shady land deals, double-crosses, and decades-old police department and government abuses pale in comparison to season one’s slow-burn confrontation with a monstrous serial killer? Maybe. I am not completely certain if that’s not on purpose – Pizzolatto’s probably taking a lead from some other classics of Los Angeles neo-noir, from James Ellroy’s L.A. Quartet (1987-1992) novels (in particular 1990’s L.A. Confidential) to films such as Chinatown (1974). One also cannot discount the influence of Raymond Chandler’s and Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled detective fiction, which I’m pretty sure informs a lot of his writing. However, it is true that by the end of the season the whodunit seems completely irrelevant, buried in the endless shots of twisted and tangled California highways.
Then again, if realism is what you’re looking for, then you’re better off with HBO’s other great detective show The Wire (2002-2008). True Detective likes to mix it up and keep you off balance, from the surrealism of a bar that almost seems to exist in a parallel universe, to the over-the-top tough-guy dialogue like Ray’s line to his son’s classmate, “You ever bully or hurt anybody again, I’ll come back and buttfuck your father with your mom’s headless corpse on this goddamn lawn.” I don’t know about you, but that’s one of the best lines ever written for TV if you ask me. And let’s not forget the intense mid-season shootout, a scene that would be right at home in a Sam Peckinpah film. After it was over, I looked around for stray bullets in my bedroom walls.
To me, the genius of this show is still in the existential and philosophical struggle of its characters: Ray works on the side as a mole and enforcer to local mobster Frank Semyon (Vince Vaughn), yet yearns to be a good father to his estranged son; Ani’s resilient demeanor belies childhood trauma and daddy issues; Paul has a spotty past in the Middle East and sexual identity problems; Semyon himself has conflicts as a gangster trying to break free from a life of violence that he can’t seem to shake. Pizzolatto continues to be fascinated by his characters’ search for meaning, trying to figure out who they are as individuals and achieve some measure of release from their demons. Farrell does some of his best work here as a man who’s just a shadow of what he used to be, his long dirty hair and bushy eyes doing most of the talking. Kudos also to Vaughn and McAdams, both playing against type and delivering vulnerable performances that stay with you.
As the main conspiracy is finally revealed, the four protagonists realize they can’t possibly fight against the forces they have uncovered. In fact, in order to survive they need to do something they aren’t comfortable with: Run away. But their inner struggles get the best of them. Paul is afraid a former lover (Gabriel Luna) will reveal his homosexuality, so he agrees to a secret meeting where he’s ultimately killed; Ani and Ray agree to make a break for Venezuela, but his last-minute decision to say goodbye to his son puts assassins on his trail; and Frank, facing a cartel member who tries to rob him of his suit, is stabbed. Their choices are not sound – they are, in fact, exceedingly stupid, given what’s at stake – but they are wholly consistent with their characters: Men driven by pride and their varying concepts of manhood, of what it means to be a husband/father-to-be (Paul), a good dad (Ray), or a hothead who will never let someone else bully him around (Frank). In the end, their false perceptions of themselves are their undoing.
Not so for Ani. Finally allowing herself to feel something real for a man, she makes love to Ray and gets pregnant. In the final episode we see her hiding with her baby in Venezuela. She’s apparently befriended Frank’s wife Jordan (Kelly Reilly), the only other person to have made it out alive. Because Ani has gone against her better nature – in fact, allowed herself to change – this hard-as-nails, unfeeling, impulsive detective (the male stereotype?) has been able to pull through, even becoming a mother in the process. I am not sure if Pizzolatto’s making a particular comment here about gender or if he’s just having fun with trope expectations, but it’s interesting that Ani and Jordan are the only ones left standing when the smoke clears. The season ends in an ambiguous note, as Ani gives all the incriminating evidence to a reporter and then disappears in a crowd, walking towards an uncertain future.
True Detective – Season 2 may not resonate in the same ways as the first season, but it still makes an impression. I, for one, am on board with Pizzolatto wherever this intriguing series may take him next.
For a different take, check out Gerry’s review in Strange Orphan Boxes.
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In this section: School of History
Support and community
Funding and scholarships
Health, Medicine and Society
Leeds Global History
Women, Gender and Society
The World in Revolt: 1956 and the Struggle for Freedom
Start date: -
End date: -
Primary investigator: Professor Simon Hall
A narrative history of the year 1956, exploring that year's various rebellions and revolutions - including the struggle against white supremacy in the United States and South Africa; the challenge to European colonialism in Africa and the Middle East; and the uprisings against Communist rule in Poland and Hungary.
Drawing on long-standing research interests in the role of people's movements and the relationship between the Cold War and the African American freedom struggle, the book frames that year's tumultuous events as part of an interconnected, global story of revolution.
'The World in Revolt: 1956 and the Struggle for Freedom' , Simon Hall, Faber & Faber, 2016.
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Bill may help homeowners avoid foreclosure
It seems like a no brainer -- ban lenders from foreclosing on California homes if borrowers are in the process of applying for a loan modification.
It also allows homeowners to sue lenders if they went ahead and took the property anyway.
But the lending industry is out in full force at the Capitol making sure the bill gets killed. The Center for Responsible Lending counted at least 20 lobbyists applying pressure to lawmakers.
"We're trying to protect those foreclosures, which can be avoided," St. Sen Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said. The Assembly is the final hurdle before approval and lawmakers rejected it earlier this week. They insist their no vote wasn't influenced by lobbyists -- they just didn't think it was good bill since a federal program already prevents foreclosure during pending loan modifications. Assm. Diane Harkey, D-Dana Point, is a former banker herself. "If we don't allow the market to achieve a level where it's at the bottom, and we keep holding it up artificially, it's just going to prolong the pain," she said. But Leno points out the federal program covers only 80 percent of lenders and more needs to be done. RealtyTrac found nearly one in 400 homes in the U.S. received a foreclosure filing last month and it's worse in California, with one in 200 homes. For Modesto, ground zero for the state's housing crisis, it's one in 102 homes. James Powers, who has gone through a successful loan modification, wished he had the protections offered in this bill during his agonizing 8-month application process. "Every day, that's all you worry about, losing your home," he said. Time is running out. Leno must bring his bill up for re-consideration by the end of the Legislative year on Tuesday.
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Husbands & Wives
Discovering the Personality of Khadijah bint Khuwaylid
Theresa Corbin
We often hear the stories of the wives of the prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as it pertains to his life and message. He is the messenger of Allah (SWT) and learning from his life is a tenant of our faith.
But learning about the people who surrounded the Prophet and specifically his honorable wives can give us a better glimpse into the best generation of mankind. As Allah states,
“You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah.” (Qur’an 3:110)
The wives of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), known as the mothers of the believers, were human beings like you or me, or your sister or mother. And learning about their human qualities can make them more real to those of us who strive to imitate their character nearly a millennia and a half after they walked the earth, struggling to please Allah (SWT). And so we embark on a journey to discover if our mothers were funny, sensitive, outgoing, introspective, self-doubting, or fearless.
The first of the wives of the messenger of Allah as most of us know was Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her). So, with lady Khadijah we begin our journey of discovering the personalities of the Prophet’s wives.
Khadija was confident
Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her) was never shy to go after what she wanted. As a woman of great intellect and acute business sense, she eventually took over her father’s business in trade. In a time when cameras and HR departments did not exist and women were generally thought to be weak, she had to seek out employees with the most integrity to be in her employ. She knew that if she didn’t, she would risk losing everything to corrupt deals and dishonest men.
Knowing about the high level of honesty and trustworthiness of a local man named Muhammad (PBUH), she understood that he was just the kind of man who would do well for her in her business. So, she did not wait around for him to come to her for a job. She confidently sought him out, asking if he would come and work for her. He accepted.
Khadija surrounded herself with the best people
As a woman of much success, prestigious lineage, and impeccable character; Khadija had a parade of men seeking her hand in marriage. But she was someone who knew her own worth and the worth of others. She was not about to settle for someone who was her moral and intellectual inferior.
After seeing amazing things from her employee, Muhammad (PBUH), and coming to understand how truly impressive he was, she started to wonder if he was the one for her not only in business but in life. One night she:
“dreamt that the shining sun had descended from the heavens into her courtyard, radiating her home. When she woke up she went for the interpretation of this wonderful dream to her cousin, Waraqah bin Nofal, a blind man noted for his skill in interpreting dreams, and for depth of his knowledge, particularly of the Torah and the Injil (Bibble). [He told her] the glorious sun she saw descending into her courtyard indicated that [a Prophet] was to grace her home and she would gain from his presence in her life.” (Great Women of Islam by Mahmood Ahmad Ghadanfar p. 24)
After her dream and this assurance from her cousin, she knew that Muhammad was the sun in her dream. She sent a proposal of marriage to him. And he accepted.
Khadija was loyal
Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her) knew her mind and believed endlessly in the goodness of her husband, Muhammad (PBUH). She was his advocate and supporter so much that she believed in him and comforted him when he came to her with the most extraordinary story that an angel had come to him in the Cave of Hira.
Upon the advent of the revelation from Allah through the angel Gabriel, “Khadija, a picture of loyalty and serenity consoled him saying that Allah would surely protect him from any danger, and would never allow anyone to revile him as he was a man of peace and reconciliation and always extended the hand of friendship to all. […] These soothing and encouraging words of sympathy and understanding from Khadija gave him immeasurable strength and confidence.” (Ghadanfar p. 26)
The Prophet said of Khadija’s loyalty that
“[…] she accepted me when people rejected me. She believed in me when people doubted me. She shared her wealth with me when people deprived me. And Allah granted me children only through her”. (Muslim)
Khadija was courageous
Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her) willingly gave everything up for the truth. With the love and support of Khadija, Muhammad (PBUH) gained confidence and strength, and publically affirmed that he was a prophet of Allah. After seven years of receiving revelation, declaring his prophet hood, and teaching the message of Allah’s oneness; the disbelieving Quraysh started a boycott of the Muslims.
Having lived her entire life in wealth and luxury, Khadija, because of the boycott of Quraysh, was now doing without the most basic necessities of life. Yet, even though she was used to lavish surroundings and by this time was an older woman, she faced heartache, starvation, and extreme circumstances with patience, perseverance, and dignity.
She would not turn away from Allah’s message and His messenger for the enjoyment of this life. Due to the extreme circumstances of the boycott, her health suffered and she passed away a short time after the boycott. She had so much courage that she sacrificed everything, even her own life, for her belief in One God and His messengers (Peace be upon them all).
Khadija was one of a kind
Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her) was one of a kind. Even Allah (SWT) sent her greetings. The angel Gabriel came to the Prophet (PBUH) and said: “O Allah’s Messenger! This is Khadija, coming to you with a dish having meat soup (or some food or drink). When she reaches you, greet her on behalf of her Lord (Allah) and on my behalf, and give her the glad tidings of having a palace made of Qasab in Paradise, wherein there will be neither any noise nor any toil, (fatigue, trouble, etc.)”. (Bukhari)
Kadijah is truly a role model for all women, for all times.
First published: July 2016
Prophet Muhammad Prophet's wives Khadijah
About Theresa Corbin
Theresa Corbin is the author of The Islamic, Adult Coloring Book and co-author of The New Muslim’s Field Guide. Corbin is a French-creole American and Muslimah who converted in 2001. She holds a BA in English Lit and is a writer, editor, and graphic artist who focuses on themes of conversion to Islam, Islamophobia, women's issues, and bridging gaps between peoples of different faiths and cultures. She is a regular contributor for AboutIslam.net and Al Jumuah magazine. Her work has also been featured on CNN and Washington Post, among other publications. Visit her blog, islamwich, where she discusses the intersection of culture and religion.
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Memory consolidation and reconsolidation [videos]
by AboutMnimi December 24, 2018 February 1, 2019
Memory consolidation is the stabilization of a memory after it has been acquired. This progressive process usually refers to its two types – synaptic consolidation and system consolidation. (1)
Coined by Muller & Pilzecker in 1900, consolidation or konsolidierung is a process that requires training. During recall, however, there is retroactive inhibition in which intervening stimuli distort the old memory. (1)
What is Memory Consolidation and Reconsolidation? by Misophonia International, on YouTube
Consolidation enables memories to persist. Any experience that begins as short-term memory will not turn into long-term unless that is consolidated. In other words, this is the process that converts short-term into long-term memory. (2)
Such memory retention process occurs when the brain undergoes protein synthesis – when brain cells transmit chemical signals at each other through a synapse…
One STEP Closer to Curing Alzheimer’s Disease. Animation by The Art of the Cell by: Medical & Scientific 3D Animation by John Liebler, on YouTube
Synapse is a tiny gap between two neurons in the brain where neurotransmitters are diffused in order to pass electrical signals – an important memory process. (3) In order for short-term memories to be converted into long-term, synapses have to be strengthened.
Burnham (1903), “There must be time for the processes of organization and assimilation (of memory) to take place. There must be time for nature to do her part…. Hurry defeats its own end.”
Two types of consolidation
There are two types: synaptic consolidation and system consolidation. (1)
Synaptic consolidation – short-term consolidation
System consolidation – long-term consolidation
In system consolidation, sometimes referred to as slow consolidation, it “takes weeks, months or even years to be accomplished. It is believed to involve reorganization over time of the brain circuits, or the systems, that encode the memory, and in the course of this the trace may spread to new locations in the brain while at the same time relinquishing its dependence on parts of the circuits that have subserved its acquisition.” (1)
Consolidation during sleep
According to first-century-AD Roman rhetoric teacher, Quintillian, “the interval of a single night will greatly increase the strength of the memory” and that in order to remember such a memory, it will have to “ripen” and “mature” during the passage of time. (1)
One implication of memory is that your memory is only as good as your last memory of that experience.
Joseph E. LeDoux, What is Memory Consolidation and Reconsolidation? [Youtube]
Reconsolidation
While a fresh memory need to consolidate, old memories need to reconsolidate.
Reconsolidation is the process that maintains, strengthens or modifies previously consolidated memories. This theory suggests that when an old memory is retrieved, it becomes subject to changes such that a new memory is formed and stabilized.
When recalling a memory that has already been fully consolidated, it has to go to another protein synthesis in order for that memory to persist. In reconsolidation, there is a continuous update of a retrieved information from the long-term memory storage. So every time you take a memory out, it is updated into a new memory. (4)
Reconsolidation blockade
If you block protein synthesis right after retrieval, it prevents that storage process thereby disrupting the memory. But why do you have to disrupt that natural process? Why do we sometimes choose to distort a biological system that updates such a memory? (4)
Reconsolidating blockage primarily affects the unconscious memories such as those in the amygdala that are detecting and responding to threats that are producing arousal. It does not exactly erase your memory nor the conscious content of your memory but it dampens the impact of the memory so it is less troubling when you remember it later. (4)
Short-term to long-term memory
Two things we need to understand… The trace of short-term memory may decay or it will mature into long-term.
(1) Dudai, Yadin. (2004, February 4). The Neurobiology of Consolidations, Or, How Stable is the Engram? Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 51-86. Retrieved from http://www.weizmann.ac.il/neurobiology/labs/dudai/PDFs/Dudai2004.pdf.
(2) Misophonia International. (2017, November 9). What is Memory Consolidation and Reconsolidation? [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKiV3FNpXhk.
(3) Cherry, Kendra. (2018, November 22). Synapses in the Nervous System. Retrieved from https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-a-synapse-2795867.
(4) Tronson & Taylor. (2007, April 01). Molecular mechanisms of memory reconsolidation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 8, 262–275. Retrieved from https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2090.
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What's behind the teen prodigies inventing things?
Every once in a while you see a headline similar to "17 year old student finds a cure for cancer!". Here are some examples too.
What's behind this? I find it hard to believe that a teenager without any academic education (or minimal education) can solve a problem that many experienced, well-funded, scientists have been working on for years. Or make a technological breakthrough that billion dollar international tech firms could not reach by themselves.
Are they really teen prodigies with brilliant minds or are they working in a team of people who know what they are doing that actually do all the work?
GimelistGimelist
I'm not absolutely sure, but this looks more suited to Skeptics.SE than Academia.SE. No offense meant :) – 299792458 Oct 24 '14 at 14:00
And yet, we still have cancer... usually (IMO) these are basically a science fair project with basically no original content getting blown out of proportion by news writers (or the student has an idea which they think is original, but simply no scientist has published it because it doesn't work). – Max Oct 24 '14 at 14:01
@Max - Sometimes, but not always... see my answer below. I'm sure there are crackpots, but some are the real deal. – eykanal♦ Oct 24 '14 at 14:46
I wouldn't characterise what I'm saying as crackpottery... first, I would be reluctant to call any high-school student a crackpot before they have had a chance to learn better. Having an idea can be "real" science even if it turns out not to work; it's only crackpottery when it continues to be pursued without taking into account the feedback of the community when they point out the mistakes. – Max Oct 24 '14 at 14:56
The fact that scientific achievements by high school students, however modest, are valued and given exposure to is a good thing IMHO. That being said, outsiders stories sell very well and news gigs know how to make you click on their links. – Cape Code Oct 24 '14 at 15:16
I actually disagree with the answer given, and having judged a fair number of high-end science fairs myself (not Intel, granted, but the all-Chicago science fair, which is essentially an Intel qualifier), took something different away from it. I am also close friends with a number of Intel finalists, and have discussed their experiences in depth.
While most of the high schoolers at this level of science fair are extremely intelligent and will eventually become great, independent drivers of research, at this level they typically are not there yet. Their projects, for the most part, are designed by a faculty member or senior grad student/post doc, and the student is guided through the many experimental steps involved until they find something, at which case, because the research was done in a university lab and it is already better than 98% of other science fair projects (which are usually done at home with minimal resources), they typically do very well in science fairs.
Occasionally, one of the students is truly head and shoulders above everyone else, and can operate somewhat autonomously in a lab setting and can ask and answer their own questions - essentially at the level of an older graduate student. But, like a graduate student, they typically still need the oversight of a senior person who "gets" research.
I realize that this response is mostly to the answer given above, and not the the main question, but I felt strongly that the answer needed to be addressed.
As for prodigies:
In the sciences, which require tons of background knowledge to even know what's going on (see: cancer), I have never, ever, heard of a true prodigy who could, for example, be running a 15 person cancer research lab, writing papers, etc. You don't just "understand" cancer the way some people "understand" math, innately.
In math, the story is much different. There are always math prodigies, and they typically get tenure in their early twenties (see: Manjul Bhargava, Charles Fefferman, etc.)
There are, of course, CS "prodigies" who are good at coding and creative enough to think of something that hasn't been done. But this isn't really what you are talking about.
tl;dr: there are no true "prodigies" in science. There are in math, though.
Danny W.Danny W.
It reminds me of parents doing all the work of a child's science project and trying to pass it off as entirely the result of their kids. – Paul Oct 24 '14 at 15:16
"There are, of course, CS 'prodigies' who are good at coding [...]" Computer Science is not coding. – David Richerby Oct 24 '14 at 15:37
Even in mathematics, prodigies rarely do particularly great research in high school. Some do publishable work, but it's usually pretty pedestrian (and often heavily guided by mentors). There exist exceptions, like Jacob Lurie's high school research, but they are very rare. When you see a press release about a high school student winning a high-level science fair with a math project, it's still rarely a project that would be noteworthy if done by a professional. – Anonymous Mathematician Oct 24 '14 at 15:53
Note that the question was explicitly about prodigies, who presumably are assumed to not need help and/or be acting on their own. For example "teen cures cancer" type headlines. I am NOT dismissing the average very high achieving students intelligence, but I have never, ever seen a case where a teen did, in fact, cure cancer without substantial oversight and advice - they weren't the ones "driving" the research. – Danny W. Oct 24 '14 at 20:48
Which answer is this answer referring to? Unfortunately, "the answer given above" is not a very good reference in SE because the order the answers are shown changes. – JiK Oct 25 '14 at 21:53
The most important statement in your question is "What's behind the headline..."
Let's split this up into two questions:
First: are teens doing cool science?
Teens, like anybody else, can do science. A lot of teens are actually in a good place to do really creative work (scientific or otherwise), because they're young, have relatively few responsibilities, and are brash enough to try things that will probably fail. Sometimes, those things don't fail.
In some problems, it's easy to get to the edge of science: my favorite example is the iGEM genetic engineering contest. Another great example of an "easy" problem is how cats drink water: that's a paper in Science whose key laboratory equipment was a good high-speed camera---the key innovation was how they thought to ask the question, and it could just as easily have been a teen as a bunch of folks as MIT (though the teen would have a harder time getting it published so well). Other problems, though, e.g., "prevent cancer", are really pretty hard to do anything about.
A good heuristic for understanding what's going on in a particular case is to look at how much background and resources is required in order to take a particular approach to a problem. The more that's necessary, the more likely it is that any teen involved is a small (though possibly still quite smart and creative!) part of a big organization.
They also might just be wrong. Lots of ways to be wrong in science, for teens and anybody else. You should judge the science of a teen just like you'd judge the science of any other researcher.
Second: Do the headlines have much to do with what teens are doing in science?
In a word: No.
In a few more words: science reporting is often pretty dismal, and in popular sources usually has much more to do with fitting something into a societal narrative. And one of our cherished narratives is the Teen Genius. Also, don't forget that both teens and their mentors are just as capable of being self-promoters, self-deluded, or frauds as anybody else.
Bottom line: if a headline sounds like one of those terrible "One weird trick..." internet ads, it's probably about the same level of reliability.
jakebealjakebeal
An example of a misleading headline I saw once: 'Work experience student discovers new species' (I forget if there was more along the lines of 'missed by scientists'). When I checked the details, this 'work experience' was a year-long internship at Kew Gardens, so finding a new plant species is cool but not stunningly unexpected. – Jessica B Oct 25 '14 at 5:59
I was a judge at the Intel Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) in 2012, and I've seen some of what happens here. For those who aren't familiar, ISEF is the "Olympics" of science fairs. Everyone here has already won numerous local, regional, and national awards.
The level of science being displayed here is frankly ridiculous. Many of the students at the fair are completing work at or beyond PhD level. Many of them work with well-known and highly capable research labs or university faculty, and a good number of them perform research on their own using their ginormous brains.
Some of the research being performed here is, in fact, things like cancer cures. To give you an idea of the level of research, browse this award listing. Some good ones to call out from the 2012 fair:
One of the grand prize finalists developed a technique for early stage pancreatic cancer detection
Some kid build and demoed a working fusion reactor (other stories on this)
Lots of novel approaches to addressing traumatic brain injury
All sorts of kids doing wicked advanced math
Some brain-computer interface work
And a whole lot more
These high school students are coming from across the globe and are performing top-notch research. So yes, there are definitely some teens who build lots of stuff, and they do it the same as you and me... find a problem, research it, and solve it.
eykanal♦eykanal
What kind of research is "beyond PhD level"? But seriously, I have never heard of a serious achievement (for example something publishable in a high-profile scientific journal) in my field by a high-school student. – Bitwise Oct 24 '14 at 14:52
You are talking about "Some of the research being performed here". But who is performing the research? If this is just a student working (mostly) alone, how can they do it? The examples you gave usually require a well designed research that is years-long. If the student got the prize at 17, then what? He or she started doing PhD level research when they were 12 or 13? And if they are part of a large lab, how much of it is really their own independent work and not the work similar to an undergrad doing basic research assistant work? – Gimelist Oct 24 '14 at 15:32
@Bitwise Blackawton bees. – gerrit Oct 24 '14 at 15:58
I feel like there's some goalpost adjustment in this answer. The question is "Are there really teenagers who make scientific breakthroughs that leading researchers cannot?" And this answer describes high school students who are tremendously bright and do things which, from the perspective of a high school science fair, are ridiculously impressive, up to the point of actually being publishable, cited scientific work in some cases. But that's not what the OP was asking... – Pete L. Clark Oct 24 '14 at 17:54
I'm only qualified to comment substantively on the math part, but "doing wicked advanced math" is not what the OP is asking. The linked article mentions that two science fair kids went on to win the Fields Medal. So yes, they're talented! But the OP is basically asking if anyone has ever won the Fields Medal for their high school science project. Answer: not even close. The most impressive high school science fair math I know is a nice published paper by Steve Byrnes. It might be worth a PhD somewhere; it would not be worth a PhD at any school attended by a luminary like Steve Byrnes. – Pete L. Clark Oct 24 '14 at 17:58
In some cases, it really is the case that a young child came up with some truly novel contribution.
George Bergman (now professor emeritus at UC Berkeley) published a paper about a number system with an irrational base. He wrote this paper when he was 12; you may note that the bottom of the last page, he writes what I assume is his academic affiliation: "Jr. High School 246, Brooklyn NY". He was interviewed by Mike Wallace, in which the introduction was very similar to what you've mentioned.
George Bergman is my father. I asked him once how that happened and I recall that he thought this idea was somewhat clever at the time and discussed it with his math teacher. The teacher agreed that it was clever and suggested that he write it up as an article for submission to a mathematics journal. He did so and it was accepted.
Do I think my father is smart? Of course. Do I think he's some sort of super genius who operates in a totally different manner than all of us other humans? Not really, I think he's someone who just naturally likes to mentally explore various spaces. He happened to be curious about mathematics as a kid (and still as an adult!) and happened to run into someone who encouraged him publish that idea at the right time.
Later on in life, he has certainly achieved quite a bit in the academic world, but at the same time has jokingly referred to research as "banging one's head against a wall until you find a soft spot", implying you can try hard for a long time and get nowhere, and then by chance have a huge breakthrough that leads to further huge revelations. Sometimes, a relatively blank slate with a lot of curiosity thrown at a problem can find that soft spot.
Cliff ABCliff AB
In my experience there is a wish in the press to report science as spectacular as possible:
Instead of saying that some teenager did excellent research far beyond the level of his peers, i.e. something which may be suitable as a PhD topic, it has to be a "working fusion reactor". I guess that the guy knows exactly that he did not build a "fusion reactor" in the usual sense, which in my opinion does not make his achievement any smaller. The young woman working on the nanoparticles probably know exactly that this is not a "cure for cancer", but that it is a small building block of a huge technological/medical task-this does not make it less cool or amazing in my opinion, and any scientist would be happy to work with such talented and motivated people.
But saying that somebody does something absolutely amazing, and is in the top 1% of his age class seems not spectacular enough.
SaschaSascha
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News»Ascjquoted
From left to right: Willow Bay, Journalism School Director; Gabriel Kahn, Professor of Professional Practice and M{2e} Co-director; Miki Turner, Lecturer; Judy Muller, Journalism Professor; Burghardt Tenderich, Professor of Professional Practice and Associate Director USC Center for Public Relations; Philip Seib, Vice Dean and Professor of Journalism, Public Diplomacy, and International Relations; Dean Ernest J, Wilson III, Ph.D. Students and Annenberg faculty discussed the future of the United States in light of the unprecedented 2016 Presidential Election.
USC Annenberg / Brett Van Ort
ASCJQuoted
Quoted: USC Annenberg faculty members comment on the 2016 election
Yosuke Kitazawa
Updated December 12, 2019 1:34 p.m.
This week: Media outlets turned to USC Annenberg faculty members for comments on the 2016 election results, from its effect on Hollywood and the game industry, to its implications on the future of news media and the image and brand of the U.S. from around the world—in this installment of “Quoted,” which gathers a selection of the week’s news stories featuring and written by USC Annenberg’s leadership, faculty, staff and others.
Follow #ASCJQuoted on Twitter for real-time updates.
Dropping the “R” from Influencer Marketing
What We Missed from the Pepsi Fiasco: Social Justice and Education in Social Media
Technology’s Role in Increasing Length of Major League Baseball Games
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You need to meet people face to face
The World Baseball Classic is growing the game
It’s 8pm…do you know where my kids are?
How social media stars are fighting for the Left
Did E Sports become the more successful younger brother?
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HANSARD 1803–2005 → 1930s → 1937 → February 1937 → 4 February 1937 → Commons Sitting → REGENCY BILL.
CLAUSE 3.—(The Regent.)
HC Deb 04 February 1937 vol 319 cc1825-30 1825
§ 5.14 p.m.
§ Sir J. Simon
I beg to move, in page 3, line 3, to leave out "resident in," and to insert "domiciled in some part of."
1826 It has been pointed out to me by an hon. Member that a case might arise in which the difference would be material. Suppose, for instance, that the next heir was acting as Governor-General in a Dominion and was therefore temporarily absent from the United Kingdom. He would not be resident in the United Kingdom but he would still be domiciled here, and it was never intended that he should be excluded in circumstances like that. The change is a very slight one—I am much obliged to the hon. Gentleman who pointed it out—and I suggest that it cannot be a matter of controversy. I think this Amendment will appeal to all hon. Members.
§ Amendment agreed to.
§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That the Clause, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
§ Mr. Emmott
I should like to call attention to a point arising on this Clause which is of some interest, but which I am free to confess has been brought to my notice by a letter in the "Times" newspaper. The advantage of such a confession is that if the point be proved to be a false one, one can disclaim all responsibility for it. Clause 3, Sub-section (1), says that the Regent shall be that person who, excluding any persons disqualified under this section, is next in the line of succession to the Crown. Then Sub-section (2) describes the disqualifications, the first disqualification being: If he is not a British subject of full age and domiciled in some part of the United Kingdom. Now I am really seeking information, and it may not be uninteresting to observe that, if this point is sound, a person who is qualified to exercise the functions of Regency is of necessity a British subject. I believe that is the position which results from certain Statutes. Let me bring to the notice of the Committee the relevant parts of the Statutes, and in doing so I must ask leave to abbreviate the text of them, since they are rather long. In the Act of Settlement, it is laid down that The most excellent Princess Sophia Electress and Duchess dowager of Hanover…is hereby declared to be the next in succession…to the crown and regall Government which shall be remain and continue to the said most excellent Princess Sophia and the heirs of her body being Protestants. 1827 Then in the Act 4 and 5 Anne, Chapter 16, it is enacted that the said Princess Sophia Electress and Duchess dowager of Hanover and the issue of her body and all persons lineally descending from her born or hereafter to be born be and shall be to all intents and purposes whatsoever deemed taken and esteemed natural born subjects of this Kingdom. Therefore, does it not appear that a person cannot be, in the words of Clause 3 (1), Next in the line of succession to the Crown without being also a British subject? It would seem that the person next in the line of succession—and not only that person, but others as well, although it is sufficient for my purpose to refer to the person next in the line of succession—is a British subject. I have, of course, ascertained that there has been no repeal of those portions of the Acts which I have just read to the Committee. I do not think there is in Sub-section (2) any implied repeal of the Act of Anne. But I think the Committee would be glad to have some information and to be assured on that point. I imagine the view that the Government have taken of this matter is that the importance of the disqualification is not that part of the sentence which refers to nationality, but the subsequent part, by which the person is disqualified if he is not of full age and domiciled in some part of the United Kingdom. I imagine the purpose of the Government is to ensure, not so much that the Regent shall be a British subject —for in my submission that necessarily follows from the Statutes—but that he shall be of full age and domiciled in some part of the United Kingdom. If I am right in that understanding, will the right hon. Gentleman be so good as to tell us so? From the depths of his historical knowledge, from which he has already instructed the Committee, he may perhaps be willing to illuminate this point also.
My hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Mr. Emmott) has raised an interesting, intricate and perhaps amusing point. Like him, I read the letter which appeared in the "Times" newspaper over the signature of Theobald Mathew, who is respected by everybody. I would only observe that the author of the letter is, among other 1828 things, famous in the circles in which he moves as a champion humorist, and he is the author of several admirable volumes, which I recommend everybody to read, called "Forensic Fables." I think it would follow from my hon. Friend's proposition that the former German Emperor and Crown Prince are British subjects. So far as I know, they are descendants of Princess Sophia Electress and Duchess dowager of Hanover. I do not think that proposition is one about which we can be too sure.
I suggest the acceptance of the proposition of the right hon. Gentleman, except in so far as the position was altered or determined by Statute. I think there was such an alteration.
I did not know that. However, I certainly think the answer can be given quite briefly. It is a good principle of our Statute law that full effect must be given to the operation of the later Statutes even when that may have the result of nullifying the effect of earlier Statutes. I will take as an example the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914, Section 13, which provides that: A British subject who, when in any foreign State and not under disability, by obtaining a certificate of naturalisation, or by any other voluntary and formal act, becomes naturalised therein"— that is, in a foreign country— shall thenceforth he deemed to have ceased to be a British subject. I know of no reason why it should not have been possible for one of the many descendants of Sophia to have gone through that process, and it follows from the language of the 1914 Act that such a descendant would not be a British subject. It is quite easy to see that one should not assume necessarily that the whole of the law on this subject is as enacted in the reign of Queen Anne. Queen Anne is dead. As I have said, the author of the letter in the "Times" newspaper is a champion humorist, and be that as it may, one cannot do any harm and may do a little good by insisting on the very sensible proposition that any possible Regent shall be a British subject.
§ Mr. Maxton
There is one question I would like to ask the right hon. Gentleman. In drafting this Measure, what 1829 were the reasons for deciding that in Subsection (2) of this Clause the Regent should be of full age, that is to say, 21 years of age, whereas in an earlier Clause it is laid down that the effective age for exercising the functions of Monarchy shall be 18? Is there any reason why a Queen who is 18 years of age should be able to exercise her functions properly, but that, in certain circumstances, it would be conceivable that her uncle, who might be the next heir to the Throne and aged 20 years and six months, should be regarded as incapable of exercising the functions of Regency? For the sake of symmetry in the Measure, it seems to me that if the Monarch is capable of exercising his functions at 18 years of age, the Regent also is capable of doing so temporarily at 18 years of age. I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether there are any special reasons for the difference in the two ages.
§ The Attorney-General (Sir Donald Somervell)
I congratulate the hon. Member on his capacity for finding in the Clauses points which merit discussion. This is a very small point. I think the Committee will appreciate that the reason is that otherwise there might well arise a case where the heir to the Throne was under 18 years of age and where it would be necessary to have a Regent, but that such Regent would only be a few months older. It would then be rather absurd to appoint as Regent someone only six months older than the King. Consequently, it was thought not inappropriate to make certain that in any event there should be a minimum difference of three years in the ages of the person who has to assume responsibility as Regent and the person who is heir to the Throne. I think that is a human reason which will appeal to the hon. Gentleman as being a sufficient one.
The hon. and learned Gentleman made a flattering reference in the opening part of his remarks about my ingenuity in discovering points. May I congratulate him on his ingenuity in finding plausible answers?
§ Mr. Mabane
A point has been put to me on which I would like to ask for information. What would happen if the heir were a female and subsequent to the death of the father, a son was posthumously borne? What would then be the position in regard to the Regency?
§ The Chairman
I do not think that question arises on this Clause.
Back to CLAUSE 2.—(Regency during total incapacity of the Sovereign.)
Forward to CLAUSE 4.—(Oaths to be taken by, and limitation of power of, Regent.)
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Video and full text of President Xi’s New Year address
Published December 31, 2015 at 11:30 AM
Updated January 5, 2016 at 11:04 AM
In a televised address on Thursday evening, Chinese President Xi Jinping extended New Year wishes to people across the Chinese mainland, compatriots in the Hong Kong SAR, the Macao SAR and Taiwan, along with overseas Chinese and friends in other countries and regions around the world.
During the speech, Xi recounted the achievements made through the year with regard to economic growth, judicial and education reforms and the fight against corruption, while pledging that the Communist Party of China and the government will continue their efforts to improve people’s livelihood.
President Xi's New Year message
FULL TEXT OF PRESIDENT XI’S ADDRESS
Comrades and friends, ladies and gentlemen,
In a few hours, the New Year bell will be ringing. We will say goodbye to the year 2015 and welcome the first ray of sunshine of the year 2016.
At this turn of the year, I wish to extend my New Year greetings to the people of all ethnic groups in China, to our compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region, to our compatriots in Taiwan and overseas Chinese, as well as to friends in other countries and regions in the world.
As long as we pay, there will be gains.
In 2015, the great efforts of the Chinese people have paid off.
China’s economic growth continues to lead in the world. Reform has been pushed forward comprehensively. Reform in the judicial system has been further deepened. The special educational campaign of “Three Stricts and Three Earnests” has promoted the improvement of the political eco-system. The fight against corruption has been carried out deeply. Through the joint efforts of the people of all ethnic groups across the country, we see a successful conclusion of the “12th Five-Year Plan”. The general public has enjoyed the increasing “sense of gain”.
During this past year, we solemnly commemorated the 70th anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. We held a grand military parade, making the truth clear to all that justice will prevail, peace will prevail, and the people will prevail.
Mr. Ma Ying-jeou and I met in Singapore, with a handshake that transcended 66 years of time and space. This shows the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations is the common wish of the people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
During this past year, Beijing won the bid to host the 24th Winter Olympic Games. The renminbi has been included into the Special Drawing Rights basket of the International Monetary Fund. China’s domestically-produced C919 large passenger aircraft rolled off the production line. China’s super computer broke the world record for a sixth consecutive year. A satellite developed by Chinese scientists to detect “dark matter” was launched. Tu Youyou became China’s first scientist to win a Nobel Prize.
These show that as long as we persevere, dreams can always be realized. During the past year, we had happiness, as well as sadness.
The capsizing of the “Eastern Star” ferry, the major fire and explosions at Tianjin Port, the Shenzhen landslide and other accidents have taken the lives of many of our countrymen. And some countrymen were brutally killed by terrorists.
All these are deeply heartbreaking. We will remember them. We wish all the deceased to rest in peace and the living safe and healthy.
Some difficulties and troubles still remain in people’s daily life.
The Communist Party of China and the government will surely continue efforts to effectively guarantee the safety of people’s lives and property, guarantee the improvement of people’s livelihood, and guarantee people’s health.
The year 2016 is the first year when China enters the crucial period to build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way.
The 5th Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee has made clear China’s development direction for the next five years. The future is encouraging and inspiring. But happiness does not fall from the sky.
We shall establish a spirit to prevail, continue to immerse ourselves in hard work, implement the development concepts of innovation, coordination, green, openness and sharing.
We shall put forth efforts in promoting structural reform, and reform and opening up, promoting social fairness and justice, as well as creating a green political eco-system.
We shall get off to a good start as we advance in the crucial period for China to build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way.
To build a moderately well-off society in an all-around way, our 1.3 billion people should join hands and move forward together. A better life for tens of millions of poor people in rural regions is dear to my heart.
We have sounded the trumpet to win the battle of poverty alleviation. All Party members and fellow countrymen should pull together and work hard as a team, put forth efforts to lengthen this short stave. We should make sure that the entire poor population in rural regions can rise out of poverty on schedule. For all the people in difficulties, we should care for them and let them feel the warmth from deep in their hearts.
We have only one earth, which is the common home of people of all countries.
During this past year, Chinese leaders have participated in many international conferences and conducted many diplomatic activities. We have achieved solid progress in promoting the development of the “Belt and Road” initiative. We engaged in many international affairs including the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and issues on dealing with global climate change.
The world is so big, and the problems are so many. The international community expects to hear China’s voice and see China’s plans. China cannot be absent.
Seeing the people trapped deep in suffering and war, we should have compassion and sympathy, but also take responsibilities and action. China will always open its arms to the world and will make all efforts possible to extend our helping hand to the people facing difficulties. Let our “circle of friends” grow bigger and bigger.
I sincerely hope that the international community can work together. With more peacefulness and more cooperation, let’s turn confrontation into cooperation, and turn swords into ploughshares.
Let’s work together to build a community of common destiny of all mankind, which is shared by all people in every country.
China sets specific targets for future smog control »
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SEC internal probe investigates Apple's role in $1 million purchasing scandal
Wednesday, May 25, 2011, 05:20 pm PT (08:20 pm ET)
The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission has implicated itself in a report detailing a series of internal purchasing violations of Apple products that cost the SEC as much as $1 million.
Reuters uncovered the report, which was filed by SEC Inspector General David Kotz in December 2010. Kotz, who serves as the agency's 'internal watchdog,' discovered "numerous problems" with both the purchased equipment and the procurement process, the report noted.
According to the probe, an Apple salesman convinced the SEC in 2008 that the storage firm Cloverleaf Communications could provide a more affordable solution to the agency's backup needs. The SEC then violated federal procedure by securing a no-bid contract with Cloverleaf. Cloverleaf was acquired by Dot Hill Systems in 2010.
After looking into the alternative options, Kotz found Cloverleaf's services "to be more expensive than other, better-known and less risky alternatives."
Kotz also discovered that the SEC had "improperly shared budget information" with Apple and proceeded with purchases before securing the proper approval and conducting reviews, according to the report.
While implementing the new technology, the SEC experienced numerous problems. Kotz noted that bugs in the installation were not worked out and the project "quickly went downhill from there." According to Kotz, one SEC supervisor even attempted to cover up the issue. After staff informed a superior of the problems, the supervisor reportedly told them "this information doesn't leave the room."
SEC spokesman John Nester said in statement that the agency agrees with Kotz's findings and is "taking steps to improve our policies and controls over purchases of information technology solutions, including pre-purchase review by management's technology and business oversight committees."
News of the budgetary improprieties comes as the SEC has requested a $222 million, or 16 percent, increase to its budget for the 2012 fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. According to Reuters, Kotz's report could "provide ammunition" to Republican lawmakers seeking to block funding to the regulator.
Though Apple is no stranger to SEC investigations, the recent probe is unusual in that it involves the SEC investigating itself. In 2007, the SEC settled with Apple's former chief financial officer in an investigation alleging several of the company's executives had backdated stock options. The agency has also looked into suspected insider trading of Apple stock in years past.
Investor,
Apple's iPhone PR team reportedly inviting UK press to cover WWDC
Prominent hedge fund manager calls for Microsoft's Ballmer to step down
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Alan Ayckbourn – The Archivist's Blog
Simon Murgatroyd – Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist & Professional Writer
Archiving Ayckbourn Website
Alan Ayckbourn’s Official Website
Buy Unseen Ayckbourn
19th Dec 2019 16th Dec 2019 ayckbournarchivist
Favourite Things: Bedroom Farce
We’re moving onto one of Alan Ayckbourn’s most loved and produced plays in this week’s Favourite Things column, Bedroom Farce.
Bedroom Farce premiered at the Library Theatre, Scarborough, in 1975 before – famously – transferring to the recently completed National Theatre on the South Bank, London. It was the first play to be staged in the Lyttelton Theatre and is regarded as the NT’s first bona-fide hit in its new home. The NT production was so successful it transferred to the West End and Broadway as well as being adapted for television. Since then, Bedroom Farce has become one of the most revived and popular of Alan’s plays.
The poster for the National Theatre’s production of Bedroom Farce in 1977 (© National Theatre)
But for the blog and favourite item in the Ayckbourn Archive, we’re heading back to the very earliest days of the play when it was nothing but a concept in Alan Ayckbourn’s mind.
Alan famously began writing Bedroom Farce during the debacle of the West End opening of his and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s flop musical, Jeeves. The musical closed just four weeks after opening in the West End. And whilst it must not have been a pleasant experience for all concerned, as so often in his career Alan Ayckbourn had already moved on and was looking forwards not backwards. He recalls of the final night of Jeeves: “I remember going in to see the cast on the last night and not feeling too bad about it as I had just finished Bedroom Farce that day.” I’m not sure the cast would necessarily have been cheered by that thought!
The earliest idea for Bedroom Farce in existence is actually found on the back of a page of a Jeeves script held in archive at the Borthwick Institute for Archives at York University, which holds the Ayckbourn Archive. This shows a cruciform shape which illustrated Alan’s initial idea for the stage-layout of the stage for Bedroom Farce. He would later flesh this out slightly with the sketch below – again also held in the Borthwick Archives. This clearly shows a version of Bedroom Farce quite unlike what he would go on to write.
Alan Ayckbourn’s original concept design for Bedroom Farce with four rather than three beds (© Haydonning Ltd)
As can be seen, there are four beds / bedrooms for the four couples as opposed to the three bedrooms of the final play. It also illustrates the play was conceived with in-the-round in mind. Not that this is a surprise, of course, as the vast majority of Alan’s plays are conceived for in-the-round staging, but Bedroom Farce was commissioned by the National Theatre and Alan knew that it would have to be able to transfer from the in-the-round staging of the Library Theatre in Scarborough to the end-stage of the National Theatre, hence it is such a surprise to see a design which is so obviously round-focussed.
Early notes for the play also feature different character names. Whilst Ernest & Delia and Susannah & Trevor are all present from the beginning. Jan & Nick were originally known as Patsy & Glyn with Kate & Malcom being Mavis & Austin. This idea for four bedrooms quickly changed as Alan realised there was more dramatic potential in having a number of bedrooms which did not match the number of couples. As a result, every bedroom was always going to have more than its intended inhabitants in it and the action had a reason to move from one bedroom to the next.
The play was originally intended to be performed in-the-round at the Library Theatre and Alan designed the staging for this as can be seen from his drawing below.
Alan Ayckbourn’s unused in-the-round design for the world premiere production of Bedroom Farce
in 1975 (© Haydonning Ltd)
This is clearly quite a neat in-the-round design with all three bedrooms present and facing each other – a variation on the original cruciform design. Unfortunately, legend has it that Alan had not measured the beds precisely enough and when they were delivered into the Concert Room where the Library Theatre was based, they were too large and did not fit the space! As a result, Alan was forced to alter the set-design and the production became three-sided rather than in-the-round! It would not be until 1999 that Alan was able to direct an in-the-round production of the play when he revived it at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough.
Both these drawings by Alan are pieces I feel are wonderful and offer a huge amount of insight into Alan’s thought-processes when creating a play. From his initial idea to his set-plans – he has hand-sketched his ideas for set layouts consistently throughout his career. They offer a glimpse at two very different possibilities for Bedroom Farce before he arrived at the play which came to be known and loved.
You can find further insights about Bedroom Farce at Alan Ayckbourn’s Official Website here and in my book, Unseen Ayckbourn – details of which can be found here.
Ayckbourn
Borthwick Institute For Archives
Library Theatre
Published by ayckbournarchivist
I'm Simon Murgatroyd, the playwright Alan Ayckbourn's Archivist and a professional writer. I've worked for Alan Ayckbourn since 2005 and was also responsible for creating his official website www.alanayckbourn.net in 2001, which I continue to run and write for to this day. I've been writing professionally since the age of 21 and have been published around world as well as being the author of the book 'Unseen Ayckbourn'. View all posts by ayckbournarchivist
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Simon Murgatroyd – Alan Ayckbourn’s Archivist & Professional Writer
I’m Simon Murgatroyd and I’m the Archivist for the playwright Alan Ayckbourn as well as a freelance writer. I’ve worked for Alan Ayckbourn since 2005 and was also responsible for creating his official website www.alanayckbourn.net in 2001, which I continue to run and write for to this day. I’ve been writing professionally for three decades and am the author of the book Unseen Ayckbourn.
This blog is a personal look at Alan Ayckbourn and my work as his Archivist. It includes Ayckbourn news, views and insights into my work and experiences.
Follow Alan Ayckbourn – The Archivist's Blog on WordPress.com
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“He’s a draft bust! Waste of a pick! How could he have been 1st overall?!” These are some of the many comments typically said towards NBA players that just haven’t provided the skills or statistics to be an average NBA player. However, there are always two sides to every story, something I like to call missed opportunities.
Starting with the cream of the crop are the 1st overall and lottery picks, which have been famously labelled busts following multiple years in the NBA. In my opinion, I believe the term ‘bust’ is a harsh label to give someone because there are multiple factors to weigh in before crucifixion. Firstly, one would have to look at the situation the player was brought into. For example, Darko Miličić, who is famously known as the guy who was picked before three potential future Hall of Famers (Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade). When looking at his first 3 years in the league with the Pistons one would most likely say he was the worst pick of all time! However, Darko was almost given little to no playing time with the Pistons due to their success the years before, boasting an average of 5.7 minutes. This ultimately led to an underwhelming stat line of 1.6 pts and 1.2 reb for the first 3 years of his career while the likes of Carmelo, Bosh and Wade were given 33+ mins of playing time along with the role of being a key contributor to each team. Now this is not to say Darko would have been an All-Star player but he would have been seen differently had he been thrust into the role as a franchise player.
Secondly, when a player is chosen 1st overall and doesn’t live up to the pressure of being a star, is it the players fault or the team that chose him? I believe that in some cases yes, the player doesn’t turn out to be this superstar but there are instances when a player was chosen first overall and shouldn’t have been. I turn to a more recent pick in Canadian forward Anthony Bennett. Now the 2013 draft class itself was very poor however Bennett was not the consensus number one overall pick in all the latest mock drafts. Bennett was not even considered top 3 because many knew he was not the next Blake Griffin or Chris Bosh. Many people including myself believed that the top pick would have been Nerlens Noel. This example shows how Cleveland swung for the fences and chose a player many believed wouldn’t live up to the hype of being first overall.
To make matters worse Bennett had just completed surgery for his left shoulder taking him away from the game for about four months leading up to his rookie campaign. This ultimately led to his weight gain and inexperience on the court. Soon enough Bennett’s health issues and inexperience led him to play an average of about 12.8 minutes per game and eventually be traded to Minnesota the following year. Even with the Timberwolves and later with the Raptors, Bennett was not given a real chance to learn and grow as a player with time on the court. The same time that should have been given to him during his rookie campaign. After falling behind the team by team’s depth charts , Bennett was ultimately waived and Toronto Raptors President (and GM at the time), Masai Ujiri said, “I probably put him a tough situation. I feel he needs to be somewhere where he can play. Playing time was going to be tough. I take responsibility for that because it wasn’t the kid’s fault. People keep saying he’s talented and he’ll get a chance. It just has to be a team with opportunity to play.” Sometimes a player may not live up to the All-Star background a number one pick should have but when a team makes a bad decision drafting the player it is not the players fault! Bennett did not ask to be chosen 1st overall and I personally would blame Cleveland because Bennett never had the hype behind him and doesn’t deserve the criticism he receives today. Like Ujiri said he was put in a tough situation with no room for growth and all he needs is that opportunity to play. Let’s hope Bennett can earn some minutes this year with Brooklyn to finally show his worth in the NBA.
Lastly, I turn to the potentials. These are the players like Darko who I would categorize as being an average NBA player but hasn’t been given the opportunity to play. With the minute restrictions, these players are often criticized for the stats they produce. When looking at players taken in the late first or second round there are players some would point out as being “steals” in the draft. These would be the likes of Manu Ginobili, Gilbert Arenas, and most recently Draymond Green. However if not chosen by the right team or given the minutes, each of their respective careers could have been considered below average. Some names of players today who I believe could make an impact on a team if given the chance would be the likes of K.J. McDaniels, Norman Powell, or Jarnell Stokes. Situations where a good player is placed on a team as the 3rd string it’s hard for one to get any minutes that are meaningful. I believe due to this factor one cannot be labelled as a below average player if not given a chance to prove themselves.
With the likes of McDaniels and Powell flashes of potential were shown when given the opportunity. McDaniels had a good run with the 76ers producing averages of 9.2 pts 3.8 reb and 1.3 blks and asts per game in his rookie season. However, midway through the season McDaniels was traded to the Rockets and played a sparingly 3.3 minutes per game. This loss in production took away what could have been a successful career for McDaniels. Due to the DeMarre Carroll injuries, Powell was given a chance to prove his worth and even made his way to the starting lineup come opening day of the playoffs with a rookie average of 5.6 pts and 2.3 reb in 14.8 minutes of action. However, due to Carroll recovering from injury, Powell began to see minute restrictions and will eventually fall behind the depth chart this 2016/17 season. If not given this opportunity, it could have been a different story for Powell. With the limited minutes many players like Norman and KJ are missing the opportunity to make a name for themselves. With Jarnell Stokes I also believe he’s a player that just needs an opportunity. Like Powell and McDaniels, Stokes was barely used by the Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat with career averages of 5.5 minutes per game and never got the chance to showcase his skill until given the opportunity in the D-League. Most recently Stokes was named the NBADL MVP in the 2015/16 year providing averages of 20.6 pts 9.3 reb and 1.1 ast and 1.1 stl per game. I believe if given a chance Stokes could have a very successful NBA career. You can even see how a small opportunity can change a man’s entire life. The perfect example would be Hassan Whiteside who was also never given the chance for 4 years before finally breaking through.
Much can be said about an NBA player from fans to critics but I believe any average NBA fan should understand the circumstances a player is thrust into before given any labels or judgement. Players made it to the NBA for a reason, because they are some of the greatest at what they do. Really all it takes is an opportunity for one to showcase their skill and have success in the NBA. Of the hundreds of athletes that became Hall of Famers and All-Stars there are thousands of players who were never given the chance to learn and grow. These are the players with missed opportunities.
Piece by Chris Hu – Twitter: @OhYouKnowWho
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Method to extract multiple states in F₁-ATPase rotation experiments from jump distributions
Volkán-Kacsó, Sándor and Le, Luan Q. and Zhu, Kaicheng and Su, Haibin and Marcus, Rudolph A. (2019) Method to extract multiple states in F₁-ATPase rotation experiments from jump distributions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 116 (51). pp. 25456-25461. ISSN 0027-8424. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20191127-111513039
A method is proposed for analyzing fast (10 μs) single-molecule rotation trajectories in F₁ adenosinetriphosphatase (F₁-ATPase). This method is based on the distribution of jumps in the rotation angle that occur in the transitions during the steps between subsequent catalytic dwells. The method is complementary to the “stalling” technique devised by H. Noji et al. [Biophys. Rev. 9, 103–118, 2017], and can reveal multiple states not directly detectable as steps. A bimodal distribution of jumps is observed at certain angles, due to the system being in either of 2 states at the same rotation angle. In this method, a multistate theory is used that takes into account a viscoelastic fluctuation of the imaging probe. Using an established sequence of 3 specific states, a theoretical profile of angular jumps is predicted, without adjustable parameters, that agrees with experiment for most of the angular range. Agreement can be achieved at all angles by assuming a fourth state with an ∼10 μs lifetime and a dwell angle about 40° after the adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) binding dwell. The latter result suggests that the ATP binding in one β subunit and the adenosine 5′-diphosphate (ADP) release from another β subunit occur via a transient whose lifetime is ∼10 μs and is about 6 orders of magnitude smaller than the lifetime for ADP release from a singly occupied F₁-ATPase. An internal consistency test is given by comparing 2 independent ways of obtaining the relaxation time of the probe. They agree and are ∼15 μs.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1915314116 DOI Article
https://www.pnas.org/content/suppl/2019/11/26/1915314116.DCSupplemental Publisher Supporting Information
Zhu, Kaicheng 0000-0003-0218-4985
Su, Haibin 0000-0001-9760-6567
Marcus, Rudolph A. 0000-0001-6547-1469
© 2019 National Academy of Sciences. Published under the PNAS license. Contributed by Rudolph A. Marcus, October 23, 2019 (sent for review September 4, 2019; reviewed by Hiroyuki Noji and Attila Szabo). PNAS first published November 27, 2019. We thank Drs. Hiroshi Ueno and Hiroyuki Noji for sharing their single-molecule rotation data for use in this analysis. L.Q.L. acknowledges the support from Ian Ferguson Postgraduate Fellowship for his stay at California Institute of Technology. This work was also supported by the Office of the Naval Research, the Army Research Office, the James W. Glanville Foundation, the Society of Interdisciplinary Research, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Grants IGN17SC04 and R9418. Data Availability: Computer code (Matlab) for simulations and data analysis is available upon request from the authors. Author contributions: S.V.-K., H.S., and R.A.M. designed research; S.V.-K., L.Q.L., and K.Z. performed research; S.V.-K. and L.Q.L. analyzed data; and S.V.-K., L.Q.L., and R.A.M. wrote the paper. Reviewers: H.N., University of Tokyo; and A.S., NIH. The authors declare no competing interest. This article contains supporting information online at https://www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1915314116/-/DCSupplemental.
Caltech UNSPECIFIED
Office of Naval Research (ONR) UNSPECIFIED
Army Research Office (ARO) UNSPECIFIED
James W. Glanville Foundation UNSPECIFIED
Society of Interdisciplinary Research UNSPECIFIED
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology IGN17SC04
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology R9418
F-ATPase; single-molecule imaging; concerted dynamics; 4-state model; ADP release
Official Citation:
Method to extract multiple states in F1-ATPase rotation experiments from jump distributions. Sándor Volkán-Kacsó, Luan Q. Le, Kaicheng Zhu, Haibin Su, Rudolph A. Marcus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2019, 116 (51) 25456-25461; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1915314116
Tony Diaz
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Tag Archives: Paula Saunders
Paperbacks to Look Out For in January 2020: Part Two
All the titles in this second instalment of January paperbacks are new to me starting with Paula Saunders’ debut, The Distance Home, set in ‘60s America. Siblings Rene and Leon excel at dancing but while Rene is a confident over-achiever, her brother is plagued by shyness and a stutter. Each parent favours a different child leading them down widely divergent paths. ‘The Distance Home is the story of two children growing up side by side – the one given opportunities the other just misses – and the fall-out in their adult lives. It is a hugely moving story of devotion and neglect, impossible to put down’ say the publishers promisingly.
Jumping forward a decade but still in America, Tom Barbash’s The Dakota Winters, is set in 1979 New York where twenty-three-year-old Anton Winter returns home after a stint in the Peace Corps to be greeted by his father Buddy. ‘Before long Anton is swept up in an effort to reignite Buddy’s stalled career, a mission that takes him from the gritty streets of New York, to the slopes of the Lake Placid Olympics, to the Hollywood Hills, to the blue waters of the Bermuda Triangle, and brings him into close quarters with the likes of Johnny Carson, Ted and Joan Kennedy, and a seagoing John Lennon’ say the publishers, which sounds intriguing. This one comes garlanded with praise from all manner of writers, from Jennifer Egan to Michael Chabon.
I loved Nickolas Butler’s debut, Shotgun Lovesongs; The Hearts of Men, its follow-up, not so much. I’m a wee bit cautious, then, about Little Faith which tells the story of the family of a young woman and her involvement with a fundamentalist preacher who is convinced her five-year-old son has the power to heal the sick. ‘Set over the course of one year and beautifully evoking the change of seasons, Little Faith is a powerful and deeply affecting novel about family and community, the ways in which belief is both formed and shaken, and the lengths we go to protect our own’ say the publishers, setting us up for more gorgeous descriptions of Butler’s beloved Wisconsin
Elanor Dymott’s Silver and Salt was also a disappointment for me but that hasn’t stopped me casting an eye over her new novel, Slack-Tide. Elisabeth meets Robert four years after her marriage split up when she lost her child, and quickly falls in love with him. ‘Slack-tide tracks the ebbs and flows of the affair: passionate, coercive, intensely sexual. When you’ve known lasting love and lost it, what price will you pay to find it again?’ ask the publishers suggesting that all does not go well.
My last choice takes us away from the US to Berlin. Sophie Hardach’s Confessions with Blue Horses sees Ella and Tobi, now living in London, using the notebooks left to them by their mother to investigate the puzzle of their childhood in the old East Berlin, not least what happened to their little brother. ‘Devastating and beautifully written, funny and life-affirming, Confession with Blue Horses explores intimate family life and its strength in the most difficult of circumstances’ according to the publishers. I remember enjoying Of Love and Other Wars way back in the early days of this blog.
That’s it for January’s paperbacks. A click on a title will take you to a more detailed synopsis for any that have snagged your attention. If you’d like to catch up with the first batch, it’s here; new titles are here and here. See you in the New Year!
This entry was posted in Reviews and tagged Confessions with Blue Horses, Elanor Dytmott, Little Faith, Nickolas Butler, Paperbacks published in January 2020, Paula Saunders, Slack-Tide, Sophie Hardach, The Dakota Winters, The Distance Home, Tom Barbash on 30 December 2019 by Susan Osborne.
Books to Look Out for in January 2019: Part One
You may be a little weary of 2018’s books of the year roundups (mine included) and wondering what publishers are planning to help us through the long winter evenings. If so, there are lots of potential treats to look forward to in January starting with Daphne de Vigan’s Loyalties. Thirteen-year-old Theo and Mathis’ behaviour has attracted the attention of their teacher who becomes obsessed with rescuing Theo while Mathis’ mother stumbles across something dreadful on her husband’s computer. ‘Respectable facades are peeled away as the four stories wind tighter and tighter together, pulling into a lean and darkly gripping novel of loneliness, lies and loyalties’ say the publishers. De Vigan’s Based on a True Story was one of 2018’s favourites for me.
Another pair of children faces difficulties in Paula Saunders’ debut The Distance Home, set in ‘60s America. Siblings Rene and Leon excel at dancing but while Rene is a confident over-achiever, her brother is plagued by shyness and a stutter. Each parent favours a different child leading them down widely divergent paths. ‘The Distance Home is the story of two children growing up side by side – the one given opportunities the other just misses – and the fall-out in their adult lives. It is a hugely moving story of devotion and neglect, impossible to put down’ say the publishers promisingly.
Michael and Caitlin have been conducting an affair for twenty-five years, meeting once a month in an escape from their unhappy marriages in Billy O’Callaghan’s My Coney Island Baby. One winter’s afternoon they’re faced with the harsh realities of serious illness on one side and a move far away on the other. ‘A quiet, intense drama of late-flowering intimacy, My Coney Island Baby condenses, within the course of a single day, the histories, landscapes, tragedies and moments of wonder that constitute the lives of two people who, although born worlds apart, have been drawn together’ says the publisher in the slightly overblown blurb.
Elanor Dymott’s Silver and Salt was a disappointment for me but that hasn’t stopped me casting an eye over her new novel, Slack-Tide. Elisabeth meets Robert four years after her marriage had split up when she lost her child, and quickly falls in love with him. ‘Slack-tide tracks the ebbs and flows of the affair: passionate, coercive, intensely sexual. When you’ve known lasting love and lost it, what price will you pay to find it again?’ ask the publishers suggesting that all does not go well.
Laura Lee Smith’s The Ice House sees Johnny MacKinnon on the brink of losing his business thanks to the fallout from an industrial accident. Then he collapses on the factory floor with a suspected brain tumor. ‘Johnny’s been ordered to take it easy, but in some ways, he thinks, what’s left to lose? Witty and heartbreaking, The Ice House is a vibrant portrait of multifaceted, exquisitely human characters that readers will not soon forget’ according to the publishers which doesn’t entirely sound up my street but Richard Russo has praised Smith for her ‘intelligence, heart and wit’ which is what’s put it on my radar.
Set against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland in 1981, Geraldine Quigley’s debut Music Love Drugs War follows a group of friends about to leave school, not knowing what to do with the rest of their lives and avoiding the issue by doing what teenagers do. When a friend is killed, it’s time to sober up but decisions made in haste and anger have irrevocable repercussions. ‘With humour and compassion, Geraldine Quigley reveals the sometimes slippery reasons behind the decisions we make, and the unexpected and intractable ways they shape our lives’ according to the publishers. Very much like the sound of this one.
I was surprised when Haruki Murakami’s name popped up quite so soon after Killing Commendatore was published but then I spotted that Birthday Girl is a mere 48 pages. It’s about a waitress whose plans to take her birthday night off have backfired, then she’s asked to deliver dinner to the restaurant’s reclusive owner. ‘Birthday Girl is a beguiling, exquisitely satisfying taste of master storytelling, published to celebrate Murakami’s 70th birthday’ according to the blurb. An amuse bouche, then.
That’s it for the first part of January’s preview. Second batch of potential treats follows soon…
This entry was posted in Random thoughts and tagged Billy O'Callaghan, Birthday Girl, Books published in January 2019, Daphne de Vigan, El;anor Dymott, George Miller, Geraldine Quigley, Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin, Laura Lee Smith, Loyalties, Music Love Drugs War, My Coney Island Baby, Paula Saunders, Slack-Tide, The Distance Home, The Ice House on 12 December 2018 by Susan Osborne.
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The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices
The site is hoping to bring back the book to life and to meet, through the book, the author, al Jazari, court engineer in Diyarbakir in the 12th century.
List of Ingenious Mechanical Devices
by אבי גולן
The only measurement tool in the book and why al-Jazari is the first engineer
Al-Jazari tells that when he mentioned to some people that any(not colinear) three points could be position on the circle they didn’t believe him, so he built the only measurement instrument in the book to find the center-point of three points of unknown position. The device is quite straight forward, but we can learn quite a bit from his choice to solve, what is clearly a mathematical problem, with an “engineering” solution.
An Instrument for finding the center of a circle, Topkapi, 1206
The technical explanation is so short that I decided to make an exception and not color it in blue. I hope you can forgive me. Al-Jazari took a ruler and built a vertical on the center point. He placed his instrument between the two points; found the center point and drew a perpendicular segment. He repeated the process for two more points. The intersection of the perpendicular segments is the center of the circle and the distance to each point is the radius. Besides, similarly to angle measuring instruments, there is an ark, which allows to measure and mark different angles.
Some Math
One can prove that any three points that are not colinear (al-Jazari was aware of this point and specify it explicitly) are on a circle in two approaches:
Euclidean geometry
Analytic geometry.
In Euclidean geometry, three points which are not colinear form the vertices of a triangle. All triangles can be within a circle. The center of the circle is the intersection of the three perpendicular bisectors. It is relatively easy to prove. If you want to practice your Euclidean geometry, look at the diagram below, build the three radiuses BO AO CO and prove they are identical using triangle congruence theorems. Euclid’s “Elements” was translated into Arabic relatively early in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad (بيت الحكمة )). There is no direct reference in al-Jazari’s book to Euclid, but his device is based on this theorems:
Right side drawing from my Euclidean geometry book, on the left a drawing by al-Jazari.
In a different approach, you can find the center circle with analytic geometry:
Circle equation, Analytic geometry
r is the circle radius
a,b are the coordinates of the center point
Since the triangle has three vertices, we have three equations in three unknowns (a, b, r) and an immediate solution. Analytic geometry has roots in ancient Greece and Persia of the 11th century, but the breakthrough was made by René Descartes, philosopher, scientist and mathematician. We remember Descartes mostly because of the proposition “I think, therefore I am.” Descartes was a remarkable mathematician and the first to offer a system of axes (x, y), as in the diagram above, which is named after him: Cartesian coordinate system. It allows the graphical representation of functions. Generations of mathematics students were, are and will be very grateful. Also, he took advantage of the Cartesian system to connect geometry and algebra, creating analytical geometry. Descartes was an impressive polymath, his contributions to philosophy and mathematics are the pillars of the two disciplines, but he also was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and made a contribution to optics.
Polymath and al-Jazari, the first engineer
A polymath (Greek: πολυμαθής) literally “having learned much” is an individual whose knowledge spans a significant number of subjects. Both in English and Hebrew we often use the term “Renaissance man” although all the “engineers” before al-Jazari were actually polymath long before the Renaissance:
Archimedes was a gifted mathematician, scientist, and engineer, who invented the “Archimedes Screw” (a pump, still used to this day), he has improved the power and the accuracy of the Catapult, made a giant crane known as “Archimedes Claw” not to mention the myth (?) of burning the Roman fleet using mirrors. All this pales in comparison to his contributions to mathematics and physics. Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals, developed the concept of buoyant force in “On Floating Bodies” and gave the mathematical explanation to the lever.
Hero of Alexandria was an engineer, mathematician, and physicist. Hero may have been either a Greek or a Hellenized Egyptian. It is almost certain that Hero taught at the famous Library of Alexandria because most of his writings appear as lecture notes. He is known for his research in hydrostatics, but I have already written about Hero concerning his book on automata, he also built the Aeolipile, the first steam engine. In mathematics, Hero described a method for iteratively computing the square root of a number, but his name is most closely associated with Hero’s formula for finding the area of a triangle from its side lengths.
The Banū Mūsā (“Sons of Moses”) were three 9th-century Persian scholars who lived and worked in Baghdad. The Banu Musa wrote almost 20 books, the majority of which are now lost. They are known for their Book of Ingenious Devices on automata and mechanical devices. I wrote about them in the context of the fountains, but in the context of a polymath, we can mention their contribution to mathematics, The most important work of theirs is the Book on the Measurement of Plane and Spherical Figures, a foundational work on geometry that was frequently quoted by both Islamic and European mathematicians.
Al-Jazari is not like that. His contribution to engineering is diverse. I mention already the automata and the use of the camshaft, the significant advances in candle clocks [Hebrew] including the invention of the bayonet connection, the thermal insulation, the double-action pump but he was not involved in science or math or other fields outside engineering.
The concept of the Renaissance man was coined by Leon Battista Alberti ” A man can do all things if he but wills them”, a manifestation of the deep humanism in the roots of the Renaissance. The basic premise is that the infinite human ability to evolve, and we must embrace all knowledge in our way to develop our abilities. The world has expanded so that it is just impossible. Thomas Young, an English polymath in early 19th century, regarded by many as the last man who “knew everything” was skilled in medicine, physics, Linguistics, harmony (music) and even accounting. The web site of the Israeli medical association includes thirty-two different major specialties and more, numerous subspecialties. It is not possible, even theoretically, to complete all medical specialties during one life, let alone in other areas.
We live in a more skeptical and concerned world. We ask our children, already at a young age, “What do you want to be when you grow up? We narrow the field in high school and ask the students to find majors area of study where they excel. We have institutions, counseling centers, and tests to help young people choose their profession. A physics student will get the necessary mathematical background but will not receive academic credit for courses in Assyrian or typography. In second degree studies, we reduce the field of study further, and in Ph.D., we focus on one question only. As a society, we look at people that change profession with concern, maybe as less stable who lack the ability to focus.
Following Donald Hill, The book translator, and annotator and somewhat because of my own training, I thought that using an instrument (instead of a formal proof) indicates a limited background in mathematics. This may be true. My Love M. commented that mathematical proofs are less approachable to most people and lack the magic of the instrument al-Jazari built. Al-Jazari was the first “pure engineer” not because of lack of mathematical background, or ability in math and science, but because of his passion for engineering and his ability to translate abstract and formal issues to instruments.
Posted in Dissimilar disigns | Tagged al-Jazari, Archimedes, Banu Musa, Engineering, Hero of Alexandria | Leave a comment
The Castle Clock
Al-Jazari opened “The Book Of Knowledge Of Ingenious Mechanical Devices” with a monumental clock, perhaps the most complex of all ten water clocks and candle clocks explained in the book: The Castle Clock.
Sometimes you know you read a wonderful book the second you read the first paragraph:
“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago – never mind how long precisely – having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. It is a way I have of driving off the spleen and regulating the circulation.”
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
In the right hands, the beginning of a novel can make you feel like you were abducted from reality and you are drifting down a river which will take you to other worlds. Not only engineers who open al-Jazari’s book are captured immediately by its magic of the machines he designed eight hundred years ago. We will never know if al-Jazari wanted a powerful opening to demonstrate his ability at its best, or he positioned machines at random order and was surprised by the very question? This post hopes to explain the Castel Clock as well as discuss what we can about al-Jazari from the text.
The Castle Clock had a complicated movement throughout the day, and it is on the boundary between a clock and an automaton(a machine that performs a function according to a predetermined set of instructions). There is something theatrical in many automata. Sometimes it is by design, like the automata in Greek theater used for “Deus ex machina”, literally “god from the machine”. Sometimes there are other objectives like the lion automaton built by Leonardo da Vinci for François Ier, king of France. When the King tapped the lion with his sword, its body opened and presented lilies, a symbol associated with the French royalty. The clock by al-Jazari is also very theatrical.
The Castle Clock from a dispersed copy, 1315.
At the beginning of the day all twenty-four doors, in two rows, are closed and the Golden Crescent, which is a little hard to see in the picture, is positioned to the left. During the day, the half-moon is moving right, and every hour three things are happening:
The upper doors open and a figure comes out and stands as if he had suddenly emerged.
The lower door is rotating on its axis, and the text “Allah al-Malik” meaning ” God is The King and Owner of “
The Two falcons with outspread wings lean forward and cast a bronze ball into a vase, inside the vase a cymbal is hung, making a sound which can be heard from afar.
The picture of the falcon is taken from a dream or myth. Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was most often depicted as a falcon. Horus had many battles with Seth, the god of the desert, in which he lost his left eye, then a new eye was created for him called “the eye of the Moon” or “the diamond” and symbolizes an endless vision. I have no reason to assume that al-Jazari was familiar with Egyptian mythology, but who knows?
Above the upper row of doors, we can see the Zodiac sphere. At the beginning of the day, the sun will be on the eastern horizon, about to rise. The sun climbs until noon, then descends until nightfall and the six signs that have been visible will disappear, and the six that have been hidden will appear. At noon the drummers drum, the trumpeters blow, and the cymbalist plays his cymbals for a while.
Al-Jazari does not write anything about the reason for multiple mechanisms to display the time. The crescent actually functions as a modern analog clock hand, and the rest are just “decoration” and maybe a resonance box. In the world of modern engineering, it could be considered excessive and even wasteful, but there is magic that passes through centuries of the Falcons even if there is no additional information.
Erich Kästner, the wonderful author of Pünktchen und Anton(Dot and Anton in English), was concerned: ” By the children who would prefer to eat porridge for three days than deal with such complex issues as his reflections [my translation from Hebrew]. He came up with a different font “so if you see something like that you can skip it altogether…” It seems to me this even more needed for technical explanations of engineers that will be in blue.
The Castle Clock is a sophisticated version of the classical water clock or clepsydra where time is measured by the regulated flow of out a vessel where the amount is then measured. The difficulty is that the water flow rate is not uniform and depends on pressure (altitude) of the water in the vessel. To overcome this problem, al-Jazari used a conical plug and the float chamber.
Conical plug, the Castle clock, Topkapi, 1206
The main reservoir is feeding the float chamber through a conical plug thus whenever the water level drops the valve (a float that is a plug in a cone shape) goes down with the water level allowing the chamber to be refilled. Every time the chamber is full of water, the conical plug will seal the chamber isolating it from the main reservoir. In this way, the float chamber is always full of water and therefore the water flow at a constant rate and does not depend on the height of the water in the main reservoir.
A drawing of the clock mechanism, Topkapı manuscript, 1206, my captions
At Sunrise a servant makes sure that all doors are closed and the time cart is on the right side (looking from the back). During the day water will flow at a rate determined by the flow regulator and the main float would drop with the water level at the main reservoir. The main float is made of copper, and it is quite heavy. When it drops, it pulls the rope, which through the pulley would turn the main disk and pull the time cart attached to the golden crescent which would move to the left at a constant velocity indicating the time passed from sunrise. Every hour the cart will progress one door, and a smart mechanism would open the doors while dropping down two bronze balls. The balls would roll down and reach an opening above the heads of the Falcons. The curving claws of the Falcons are welded to a copper tube that can rotate on its axis. The falcon stands upright because of a balancing weight. When the bronze ball drops down, it changes the balance, and the falcon would lean forward, and the falcon wings, attached to a body on a hinge will spread open, and the ball will fall on the cymbal hidden in the vase. Now that the falcon head is light again, the balancing weight will bring him to its original position. The clock is packed with similar invention and “patents”.
A drawing of the falcon mechanism, Topkapi manuscript, 1206
The book contains almost 50 pages explaining the various mechanisms with detailed construction instructions. Readers who are interested in the details can learn them here and see the simulation here
What did I learn about Al-Jazari?
We have no information about al-Jazari except what is in the text itself. We can “pick” the book to learn about al-Jazari and his world. Consider the adjustable flow regulator intended to ensure that the clock movement fits the changing length of the day. This controller is a small engineering marvel itself, but I am interested in it because of the triple encounter it offers with al-Jazari and his world:
First, al-Jazari is a man who is familiar with the literature of his time. The opening lines of the Castle clock chapter are: “I followed the method of the excellent Archimedes in distributing the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Al-Jazari is probably referring “On the construction of water clock” – كتاب أرشميدس في عمل البنكامات. This book was attributed to Archimedes, but its source is unclear. This reinforces al-Jazari statement in the introduction:
“I have studied the books of the earlier [scholars] and the works of the later [craftsmen] –masters of ingenious devices with movements like pneumatic [movements], and water machines … I considered the treatment of this craft for a period of time and I progressed, by practicing it, from the stage of book learning to that of witnessing, and I have taken the view on this matter of some of the ancients and those more recent [scholars]. “
The question of openness or seclusion to the world for people of faith is a relevant question even today for Jews or Muslims. Maimonides, Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, the most important rabbinical arbiters in Jewish history, and polymath, scientist, and physician lived almost in the same time frame in Cordoba, far away from Diyarbakir in Anatolia but he was a part of the same Muslim world. During his medical studies, he was introduced to the writings of Aristotle in natural science and did not feel any threat to his faith. He even wrote:
” Consequently he who wishes to attain to human perfection, must therefore first study Logic, next the various branches of Mathematics in their proper order, then Physics, and lastly Metaphysics.” Guide for the Perplexed
It’s amazing to read when today Orthodox Jewish children are forbidden to learn mathematics or natural sciences. Al-Jazari, more engineer than a philosopher, does not deal with matters of faith directly, but his faith is embedded in the text. This doesn’t bother him at all to read and learn from pagan scholars.
Secondly, in Diyarbakir in eastern Turkey, there are little more than fourteen hours of daytime in the summer and approximately nine hours of daytime in winter. Al-Jazari made a considerable engineering effort ensuring that there would be twelve hours between sunrise and sunset in summer and winter. This is the purpose of the flow regulator which adjust a short hour in the winter compared to the longer hour in the summertime. Time is not an illusion or a pure man-made concept. The Earth orbited the sun before there were humans around and the sunrise and the sunset, as well as summer and winter, were here before we gave them their name. But the perception of time and its measurement are human inventions. If I would have met al-Jazari and told him that a second that was impossible to measure in his time is the basic unit of time and its scientific definition is approximately 9 billion (for those who want precision 9,192,631,770) cyclic switching between two energy levels of the atom cesium. Not only would that he would not understand a word but also would think me really He did not need such precision that did not fit his daily experience. But I use Waze, a navigation application, and we need accurate atomic clocks at this level of precision to bring me to my destination on time. In today world, the concept of time which varies according to the seasons seems far-fetched, but in the world of al-Jazari who knew sundials and water clocks, it made perfect sense.
Thirdly al-Jazari made detailed measurements of the water regulator attributed to Archimedes and found it insufficient. Then he explains in detail how he tries to solve the problem without success through trial and error. It’s ridiculous to compare a modern engineer to al-Jazari, but it is delightful to read the report of a very talented engineer more than eight hundred years ago. It turns out that his concerns are not very different from the concerns of a current engineer. From the text, it turns out he did a “literature review” and theoretical calculations (in this case unsuccessful), and plan and perform the experiments. He was also a skilled man who knows copper, bronze and wood and their processing. When al-Jazari explains, for example, how to prepare the main water reservoir, he’s not satisfied with a drawing and selecting material (copper) but explains how to get a perfect cylinder with a precise wooden disk and how to ensure that the cylinder would have the same diameter all along. For the technical reader, it is easy to sympathize with the difficulties and solutions. There is something appealing in this combination of a man of the books, an engineer, a craft master and an artist who we can meet through the pages and the hundreds of years that passed.
Posted in Clocks | Tagged al-Jazari, Archimedes, automaton, water clock | 3 Comments
אבי גולן
Avi Golan
מהנדס ומורה
Teacher & Engineer
A Goblet which arbitrates during drinking parties
The monkey’s candle clock and Falcons
The Perpetual Flute, control, and knowledge sharing
Two additional basins for bloodletting and what can we know about al-Jazari’s education?
The Candle Clock of the Swordsman
al-Jazari alcohol Archimedes Artuqid automaton Banu Musa Bloodletting Candle Clock Diyarbakir Engineering Fountains Hero of Alexandria History Hooke Islam Locks Manuscripts Marly Machine Music Newton Paper patent Pitcher Ptolemy Robot slaves Versailles water clock Water pumps Wine אוטומטון אל ג'זארי אסלאם בנו מוסא דיארבקיר היסטוריה הרון מוזיקה מזרקות מנעולים משאבות פטנט רובוט שעון מים שעון נרות
The only measurement… on The basin of the Peacock and t…
The basin of the Pea… on The Castle Clock
The fountain that ch… on The Castle Clock
The pump and the Cra… on The Pump with the Fake Cow
Two Scribes and Bloo… on The Monk Basin and Bloodlettin…
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Illness and Disease, The War Years (1775-1783) January 9, 2020 January 8, 2020
Smoking the Smallpox Sufferers
by Katie Turner Getty
“View of Roxbury from the advanced guard house at the lines,” a 1775 ink sketch of the Roxbury line outside of Boston by either a loyalist or British soldier identifying the American sentinels “Rebbels Centinels” and the British advance guard. In the background the American encampment in Roxbury is identified as well as the note that “here the Rebbels have 4 field pieces.” Citizens fleeing Boston were fumigated with smoke in an attempt to eradicate disease before they were allowed to enter the village proper. (Library of Congress)
At about midnight on September 29, 1792, Ashley Bowen and his young assistant, Tucker Huy, heard a carriage clatter up the Boston Road and arrive at the Marblehead gate. Upon learning the “coach-full of men” had come from Boston, Bowen brooked no complaints when he approached the carriage and informed the passengers, “You must be smoke[d].”[1]
Practiced in Boston and its environs during the American Revolution and in the decades following, the art of smoking was rooted in “the ancient records of physic”[2] as a purification method. According to Dr. James Lind’s 1774 Dissertation on Fevers and Infections, “a judicious and proper application of fire and smoke is the true means appropriated for the destruction and utter extinction of the most malignant sources of disease.”[3] In particular, smoking was thought to neutralize the great mortal terror of human history—smallpox.
As ineffectual as it might strike twenty-first century minds, smoking was believed to bestow salutary effects by cleansing individuals so that they could travel freely and interact with others without communicating disease. During the siege of Boston by Patriot forces in 1775-76, smoking was employed as a prophylactic measure to prevent people displaced by the war from spreading smallpox through the Massachusetts countryside and infecting the Continental Army.
One instance of smoking that occurred during the civilian exodus from Boston in the beginning of the siege was vividly recalled by Josiah Quincy, son of attorney Josiah Quincy, Jr. and his wife, Abigail (Phillips). Only three years old when his family fled besieged Boston, Quincy with his widowed mother and her sisters piled into a carriage and trundled down Boston Neck, the only land route out of Boston.[4]
The siege of Boston had begun in April 1775, when inflamed Massachusetts militiamen drove the British back into Boston from Lexington and Concord. Militia companies from the surrounding countryside poured into the Boston area, locking thousands of British troops on the Boston peninsula, then laid siege to the city. As spring turned to summer, disease ravaged the population trapped in Boston. People succumbed to illness, sickening due to food shortages, subsistence on salt provisions and the scarcity of supplies.
During the siege, Gen. Thomas Gage, senior British officer in Boston, permitted some of Boston’s inhabitants to leave the town. The process, however, was erratic and unpredictable. If and when allowed out, civilians crossed Boston Neck and entered the countryside in a state of uncertainty and carried few possessions. A common sight was “parents that are lucky enough to procure papers, with bundles in one hand & a string of children in the other, wandering out of the town (with only a Sufferance of one days provision) not knowing whither they’ll go.”[5]
Josiah Quincy recalled that “smoking entailed the use of a structure called a smokehouse about the size of a sentry box or perhaps a modern garden shed—intended not for meats or tools, but for people.” (From Bakewell, Electric Science: Its History, Phenomena, and Applications, 1853)
The carriage carrying Josiah and his mother and aunts in their flight from Boston did not simply pass uninterrupted through the lines and wheel into the countryside. Decades later, Josiah recounted what happened when he and his family reached the Roxbury lines. “At the line which separates Boston and Roxbury there were troops stationed, and a sentry-box on the east side of the street erected. At this point the carriage was stopped, all its inmates made to descend and enter the sentry-box successively. On each side of the box was a small platform, round which each of the inmates was compelled to walk, and remain until our clothes were thoroughly fumigated with the fumes of brimstone cast upon a body of coals in the centre of the box. This operation was required to prevent infection.”[6]
As Quincy recalled, smoking entailed the use of a structure called a smokehouse about the size of a sentry box or perhaps a modern garden shed—intended not for meats or tools, but for people. A fire of wood or charcoal would be lit inside the smokehouse and then topped with materials thought to possess disinfecting properties—particularly brimstone (sulphur). People entered the smokehouse and the door would be closed behind them. The smokehouse would then fill with sulphurous fumes from the fire which would fumigate the occupants and—at least in theory—destroy any traces of smallpox. Individuals would then emerge from the smokehouse and be declared safe to circulate through the countryside without communicating any lingering smallpox contagion from Boston.
Passing Through The Lines
That summer and fall, boatloads of fleeing civilians from Boston started landing unexpectedly at Winnisimmet Ferry in Chelsea, just across Boston Harbor. Their arrival startled the American soldiers stationed there serving under Lt. Col. Loammi Baldwin.[7] These soldiers, along with a committee dispatched by the Massachusetts Provincial Congress, managed the refugees landing at Winnsimmet in an effort to prevent any potential smallpox-carriers from passing through the lines.
Even more refugees came out of Boston in November and December 1775 when Gen. William Howe (now senior British officer in Boston after replacing General Gage) loaded hundreds of Bostonians onto transport ships and forced them to disembark on Point Shirley, a remote, beachy peninsula to the east beyond Chelsea. Some of these civilians were infected with smallpox.
By this time, winter had settled over Massachusetts and smallpox was flaring in Boston. Gen. George Washington and the provincial congress scrambled to provide shelter and provisions to the displaced Bostonians at Point Shirley. Yet despite these efforts, illness raged among the refugees and some died right on the beach. As the tide of desperately-ill refugees threatened to spill into the countryside from Boston, General Washington grew even more concerned about smallpox permeating the Continental lines. “I have order’d Provision to them till they can be remov’d, but am under dreadful apprehension’s of their communicating the small Pox as it is Rief in Boston.”[8] General Washington knew that if smallpox broke out among his troops, the army could be decimated.
Earlier in the season, in an effort to keep the army and surrounding countryside as contagion-free as possible, the provincial congress had resolved, “And whereas . . . the Small-Pox is now in Boston . . . [The committee] are strictly enjoined to make use of every precaution, by smoking, cleansing, airing, and detaining persons or effects, as they may judge necessary to prevent a communication of that distemper to the Army and Inhabitants of this Colony.”[9] The refugees who came out at Winnisimmet Ferry and nearby Point Shirley were accordingly smoked.
To modern minds, the level of trust placed in the efficacy of smoking is unfathomable. Even the army—whose existence might have hinged upon being spared the ravages of smallpox—trusted smoking to eradicate any smallpox contagion that might cling to recent escapees from Boston. In December, Capt. Richard Dodge, stationed at Chelsea under Lieutenant Colonel Baldwin, wrote to General Washington that eight men had escaped Boston by boat the previous night and landed at Winnisimmet Ferry where they were received by the main guard. Captain Dodge noted that one of the escaped men expressed eagerness to see Maj. Thomas Mifflin whom he had previously served under. Major Mifflin, however, as quartermaster general of the Continental Army, was headquartered in the heart of the army at Cambridge. And yet, the committee dutifully cleansed the men “by Smooking them and Lett them pass,” trusting in the purifying power of the smoke despite smallpox prevailing in Boston.[10]
Since taking command at Cambridge in July 1775, General Washington had guarded against the ever-present threat that smallpox posed to the army, its potential for destruction never far from his mind. “If we escape the Small Pox in this Camp, & the Country round about, it will be miraculous.”[11]
A Hubbub
It is no surprise that getting shut in a smokehouse and nearly suffocated with brimstone fumes would elicit strong reactions from individuals. Josiah Quincy carried the vivid memory of his being smoked as a toddler at the Roxbury lines well into adulthood.
But not everyone reacted to their experience in a smokehouse with the equanimity evinced by three-year-old Josiah. The “coach-full of men” who arrived at the Marblehead gate on the night of September 29, 1792, certainly did not. Instead, these men from Boston interrupted Ashley Bowen’s streak of routine smoking and caused “a hubbub.”[12]
Sixty-four-year-old Bowen and his sixteen-year-old assistant, Tucker Huy, served as operators of the smokehouse at the gated entrance to the town of Marblehead, a fishing village about sixteen miles northeast of Boston. Due to an ongoing smallpox epidemic in Boston, the town selectmen had tasked Bowen with smoking any travelers who approached Marblehead on the Boston Road before permitting them through the town gate. Though the hubbub at the gate occurred several years after the end of the siege, it provides a glimpse of the smoking process—albeit, a smoking process gone awry.
In addition to working as a sailor, rigger, and smokehouse operator, Bowen was a prolific diarist and kept a journal for decades. In his diary, he diligently recorded the names of the dozens of individuals he smoked during his tenure at the smokehouse. Bowen, an active, hard-working man, attacked smoking with no less than his usual vigor. “Came from Boston Philip LeGrow and Dismore and were smoked. Ditto John Lewis, smoked. Ditto Mr. George Clark and Knapp both smoked. . . . This day came from Boston Stephen Blaney, smoked. Came from Boston a stranger, smoked. Ditto come from Boston two strangers, smoked.”[13] As during the siege, the smoking was intended to purify the travelers’ bodies and clothes and render them contagion-free—especially important in light of the mass inoculations which were occurring in Boston in September 1792.[14]
Having already been bluntly informed by Bowen upon their arrival that they “must be smoked,” a couple of the coach’s passengers acquiesced to entering the smokehouse but would not let Bowen shut the door. Then, upon double-checking the carriage, Bowen discovered two more passengers still sitting in it. He managed to get these two recalcitrant men to enter the smokehouse but they quickly re-emerged, exclaiming—no doubt due to the generous application of brimstone to the fire—“The old fellow hath an Hell! Let’s see how he likes it!” One of the men pulled Bowen by the arm and challenged him to “Come and smoke us!”[15]
At that moment, one of the other men dragged Tucker from the gate and broke open the lock. The coach-full of insufficiently-smoked men then rolled through the forced gate and on to Marblehead. Bowen grabbed his hat and started to race into town on foot but the carriage quickly overtook him and he returned to the smokehouse, only momentary defeated.[16] Bowen stormed into town at dawn the following morning, still fuming from the night before. He reported the transgressors to the Marblehead Selectmen. If Bowen knew what action, if any, the selectmen took against them, he did not record it in his journal.
A few days later, Bowen happened to meet up with a man named Swisher whom Bowen knew operated the smokehouse at Malden Bridge, located just outside Boston. Malden Bridge spanned the Mystic River and would have been the logical route for travelers from the Boston area to take to the North Shore.[17] Bowen’s indignation at the forcing of the Marblehead gate and nearly being dragged into the smokehouse must have still rankled in his mind. He asked Swisher about “the coach which came out of Boston last Saturday evening—if he had smoke[d] all of them.” Swisher recalled the carriage and told Bowen that he had smoked a few of the men, but some of them “were so obstinant that they would not come out of the coach.”[18]
In the end, the smoking was all for naught. From a modern perspective, it is unlikely if Bowen’s generous applications of brimstone or hot-footed pursuit of transgressors played any role in keeping the residents of Marblehead safe from smallpox. Likewise, the smoking of displaced persons at Winnisimmet Ferry, Point Shirley, and the Roxbury lines during the siege must have had no bearing on whether smallpox was communicated through the countryside.
Washington did receive his miracle—smallpox failed to make significant inroads against the Continental Army in the winter of 1775-76. But the efficacy of smoking is too doubtful to modern minds to be credited with saving the army or the inhabitants from the scourge of smallpox. The fumigation of people during the siege and in the years afterward likely had no salutary effects at all. To a modern-day observer, the health benefits bestowed by smoking are as hazy and nebulous as tendrils of smoke curling into the air from a brimstone fire, lingering for only a moment before dissipating in the winds of time.
[1]Ashley Bowen, ”The Journals of Ashley Bowen (1728-1813) of Marblehead,” ed. Philip Chadwick Foster Smith, Publications of the Colonial Society of MassachusettsVol. 45, Chapter XIX, (1973): 583-584, www.colonialsociety.org/node/744#ch08.
[2]Encyclopaedia Britannica, 3rd ed., s.v. “medicine,” books.google.com/books?id=AthTAAAAYAAJ&pg=PP9#v=onepage&q&f=false.
[3]James Lind, An Essay On The Most Effectual Means of Preserving the Health of Seamen in the Royal Navy (London: D. Wilson and G. Nicol, in the Strand, 1774), 232, books.google.com/books?id=w1l125boAIcC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
[4]J. L. Bell, “Smoking Little Josiah,” Boston 1775 (blog), boston1775.blogspot.com/2016/01/smoking-little-josiah.html, accessed September 29, 2019. Also see Edmund Quincy, Life of Josiah Quincy of Massachusetts(Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1868), 20-21.
[5]John Andrews, Letters of John Andrews, Esq., of Boston, 1772-1776, ed. Winthrop Sargent (Cambridge: Press of J. Wilson and Sons, 1866), 93, archive.org/details/lettersofjohnand00andr.
[6]Quincy, Life of Josiah Quincy, 21.
[7]Loammi Baldwin to George Washington, July 29, 1775, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-01-02-0120, accessed September 29, 2019.
[8]Washington to Joseph Reed, November 27, 1775, Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0401, accessed September 29, 2019.
[9]Peter Force, ed., American Archives, Ser. 4, 3:1516, Digital Collections, Northern Illinois University.
[10]Richard Dodge to Washington, December 16, 1775,” Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0512-0001, accessed September 29, 2019.
[11]Washington to Reed, December 15, 1775,”Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/03-02-02-0508, accessed September 29, 2019.
[12]Bowen, Journals, 583.
[13]Ibid., 582.
[14]John B. Blake, Public Health in the Town of Boston 1630-1822 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1959), 135-140. According to Blake, mass smallpox inoculations were occurring in Boston in September 1792. Blake calculates that by the end of that month, 8,114 Bostonians and 1,038 “outsiders” had been inoculated out of a population of 19,000 (138-139). The town of Marblehead was likely aware of the high number of smallpox sufferers in Boston as Bowen was asked by the Selectmen to take over the smokehouse on September 10. It is unclear whether the smokehouse was in operation all of the time or whether it operated only during epidemics.
Boston, disease, fumigation, Marblehead, Massachusetts, refugees, Roxbury, Smallpox, smoke, William Howe
Katie Turner Getty
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thetentman says:
We all know about smallpox, but was there a Big Pox?
Don N. Hagist says:
There was, in fact, a disease called the “Great Pox,” but this term was already falling into disuse in the English language by the latter part of the eighteenth century. We’ll leave it to readers to research the meaning of the term.
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