pred_label
stringclasses 2
values | pred_label_prob
float64 0.5
1
| wiki_prob
float64 0.25
1
| text
stringlengths 97
1.02M
| source
stringlengths 37
43
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
__label__wiki
| 0.986292
| 0.986292
|
Jodie Prenger
BBC confirms Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness as new Top Gear hosts
Paddy McGuinness and Freddie Flintoff will host Top Gear
Preston's Freddie Flintoff and Bolton's Paddy McGuinness will host Top Gear from next year, the BBC has confirmed.
The Take Me Out host and the former cricketer will take the steering wheel from Matt LeBlanc, who earlier this year announced he was leaving the motoring show after four series.
READ MORE>>> Preston cricket star Freddie Flintoff takes on new role as the first official Lancashire ambassador
Flintoff and McGuinness will join motoring journalist and racing driver Chris Harris in the main presenting line-up.
READ MORE>>> TOP GEAR'S NEW PRESENTERS: Five things you need to know about Freddie Flintoff and Paddy McGuinness
Rory Reid, the BBC Two show's previous co-presenter, will now host Top Gear's companion show, Extra Gear, along with Sabine Schmitz.
Former St. Annes cricketer, Flintoff said: "It's not often you have the chance to do both of your dream jobs, but I'm now lucky enough to say I will have.
"I've always been passionate about cars and I'm so excited to be joining the Top Gear team."
McGuinness said the Top Gear role is a "real honour and I'm thrilled the BBC have given me this opportunity".
He added: "To be hosting a show I've watched and loved from being a small boy is beyond exciting. Top Gear fans worldwide are a passionate bunch and I consider myself one of them.
"Now let's start up this Great British machine and see what it can do!"
Harris, who has been a lead host on Top Gear since 2017, said of his new co-stars: "They're both brilliant, natural entertainers - and their mischief mixed with the most exciting cars on the planet is sure to take the show to the next level.
"My dream job just got even better."
Friends star LeBlanc joined Top Gear in 2016, but announced his departure from the show earlier this year because of the demands of the role, and how much it keeps him away from his family and friends.
The American actor was a surprise addition to the Top Gear presenting line-up along with Chris Evans two years ago, following the departure of previous hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
He then continued hosting the show after Evans threw in the towel after just one series.
LeBlanc's final series as lead host will air in early 2019.
Flintoff and McGuinness will start filming their first series with Harris in early 2019, and it will debut later in the year.
Patrick Holland, controller of BBC Two, said: "This is a thrilling manoeuvre from the Top Gear team and I'm relishing what this trio will deliver.
"Both Paddy and Freddie love their cars but, more than that, they'll bring a new energy and competitive spirit to Top Gear.
"Chris Harris might have the greater car skills, but when it comes to the infamous Top Gear challenges, he's going to have to bring his A-game to have the beating of these two."
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3108
|
__label__cc
| 0.669978
| 0.330022
|
Emergency Medical Services ›
Kevin Ryan, MD
Associate Medical Director, Boston EMS
Dr. Kevin Ryan joined Boston EMS as Associate Medical Director in July 2016. Dr. Ryan is also an Attending Emergency Physician at Boston Medical Center as well as Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine. Before this, he served as Assistant Medical Director with Stokes County EMS and Deputy Medical Director of Forsyth County EMS. Dr. Ryan completed his EMS Fellowship with Wake Forest Baptist Health.
Originally from the South Shore, Dr. Ryan began his career in emergency medicine as an EMT and field training preceptor with a private ambulance service. He graduated from Tufts University School of Medicine in 2010. While in medical school, Dr. Ryan worked as an emergency room tech at Boston Medical Center. He completed his residency in Emergency Medicine at Boston Medical Center. He then worked part-time in an emergency department in western Massachusetts while completing a Disaster Medicine Fellowship with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center & Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. Dr. Kevin Ryan is Board Certified in Emergency Medicine.
emailems@bostonems.org
785 Albany St.
Boston , MA 02118
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3117
|
__label__cc
| 0.611822
| 0.388178
|
Sex Offender Archives | Fort Worth Criminal Defense Attorneys and Personal Injury Lawyers
Sex Offender Deregistration | Early Termination of Offender Registration
By Luke Williams | Sex Crimes
In 2005, the Texas legislature enacted House Bill 867, which allows for the early termination of the requirement for an individual to register as a sex offender if it is determined that the person is no longer a continuing threat to society.
If you have been required to register as a sex offender in Texas, you may be eligible for this deregistration after a minimum time of registration. Whether you will be eligible for early termination will depend on whether the registerable offense meets specific criteria under State and Federal laws. In addition to determining whether your offense meets these criteria, there are other procedures you must follow and a judicial order that must be granted in order to obtain early termination. Because of the intricacies of this process and the requirement of filing for the judicial order, we recommend that you hire an experienced criminal defense lawyer to help you with the sex offender deregistration process.
Do I Qualify for Early Termination of My Obligation to Register as a Sex Offender?
1. ONLY 1 CONVICTION: The first requirement to qualify for deregistration as a sex offender is that you must only have one single reportable adjudication or conviction that requires registration under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 62.
2. EXCEED THE FEDERAL MINIMUM TIME: The second requirement is that the minimum registration period for your reportable conviction must exceed the minimum required registration under Federal Law. Eligible offenses can be found here. For most offenses, the Federal minimum is 10 years. Texas Code of Criminal Chapter 62 specifically states that if an offense is not on this list, then it does not qualify.
Application to the Council on Sex Offender Treatment
To determine eligibility, you must submit an application to the Council of Sex Offender Treatment. To do this, you must fill out the Initial Eligibility Checklist. You will also need to obtain your Texas Department of Public Safety and FBI criminal histories. It might take a few weeks, but the Council on Sex Offender Treatment will respond by sending you a letter telling you whether you are an eligible candidate for deregistration.
If Eligible, What are the Next Steps to Deregister as a Sex Offender in Texas?
Just because an offense meets the initial requirements of deregistration, it does not mean that the person automatically qualifies for deregistration. While initially eligible, the person must move to the next steps of the procedure.
Deregistration Evaluation
Once it is determined that an offense is eligible, the next step to deregister is to undergo a risk assessment known as a Deregistration Evaluation. The person applying for deregistration is financially responsible for paying for this risk assessment and this assessment must be conducted by one of the 22 deregistration specialists that have been authorized by the Texas Council on Sex Offender Treatment. Your attorney can put you in contact with one of these specialists to have them conduct the assessment.
Judicial Order from the Original Court
The final step is to obtain an Order Granting Early Termination from a judge. To obtain an Order you must submit a Motion for Early Termination to the judge in the court that originally presided over your case. This motion must also be accompanied by certified copy of the risk assessment report prepared by the specialist in addition to a written explanation of the offense’s eligibility. After filing this Motion, the court will likely grant you a hearing by the judge where you will have an opportunity to present evidence to pursuade the judge to sign the Order Granting Early Termination. Because of this process, it’s highly recommended that you have an attorney who can help you with this process and hearing.
Are There Any Other Processes to Avoid Registering as a Sex Offender?
Under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Section 42.017 and 42A.105, there are some limited remedies available to a person that’s otherwise required to register as a sex offender due to an offense of Indecency with a Child or Sexual Assault. Specifically, for these offenses, if:
at the time of the offense, you were not more than four years older than the victim or intended victim and the victim or intended victim was at least 15 years of age, and
the conviction is based solely on the ages of the defendant and the victim or intended victim at the time of the offense. Also, this must be the result of a single reportable adjudication or conviction.
If the above criteria are met, then under Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 62.301, a person may petition the court anytime at or after the date of the person’s sentencing for an exemption to register as a sex offender. An order issued under this exemption does not expire, but the court is required to withdraw the order if a person receives a subsequent reportable conviction or adjudication.
What Happens if an Order for Early Termination of the Duty to Register as a Sex Offender is Granted?
If deregistration is granted, then a person is no longer required to register as a sex offender. Getting an order for early termination does not destroy the records or remove the conviction from a person’s record, but it does mean that the threat of a new felony case being filed for failure to register is no longer a possibility. Your name will also be removed from the Texas Sex Offender Registry database.
Free Consultation | Tarrant County Deregistration Attorneys
If, after reading this article, you believe that you or a loved one might qualify for sex offender deregistration, contact our team today for a free case evaluation. We would be happy to help you get the sex offender registration requirement behind you. Contact us at (817) 993-9249.
Passports Revoked for Sex Offenders Pursuant to New Law
Megan’s Law and the Implications for Passports of Registered Sex Offenders
In February of 2016, we wrote about President Obama signing Megan’s Law and the implications that the law would have on passports.
Effective January 11, 2018, in accordance with Megan’s Law, the U.S. State Department has started to revoke passports issued to registered sex offenders. The law was passed October 31, 2017 but is now in effect. This law prevents the Department of State from issuing passports to sex offenders without a unique identifier printed on the person’s passport and authorizes the State Department to immediately revoke all passports currently held by registered sex offenders that do not contain this identifier.
Required Endorsement for Sex Offender Passports
Passports re-issued to registered sex offenders will now bear an endorsement on the passport, which will read:
“The bearer was convicted of a sex offense against a minor, and is a covered sex offender pursuant to 22 United States Code Section 212b(c)(l).”
According to federal law, endorsements cannot be printed on passport cards, so qualifying individuals will not be issued passport cards.
This new procedure by the State Department does not prohibit registered sex offenders from leaving the country. But, it certainly leads to the presumption that this identifying marker on these passports could very likely lead to these individuals being denied entry into other countries.
In the coming weeks, the Department of State will be sending letters to those individuals covered under this law notifying them that their passports are now revoked.
There are a wide number of crimes that can lead to a person being on the sex offender registry. These crimes can include sexual assault of a child, indecency with a child, online solicitation of a minor and viewing or sharing child pornography (either inadvertently or on purpose).
For more information, visit the Department of State website.
Can an Out-of-State Conviction Be Used to Establish “Continuous” Abuse?
By Shelby Sterling | Sex Crimes
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds That An Out-of-State Conviction Cannot Be Used to Establish “Continuous Sexual Abuse” Under Texas Law
The Court of Criminal Appeals recently handed down an opinion regarding the use of an out-of-state act to support a conviction in Texas. The issue faced by the Court was whether the commission of an out-of-state aggravated sexual assault could support a conviction for continuous sexual abuse of a child under Texas law.
Lee v. State (Tex. Ct. Crim. App. 2017)
The Facts—The Trial Court Found Defendant Guilty of Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child
In this case, Ronald Lee (Defendant) was convicted of continuous sexual assault of a child and the jury assessed a life sentence. During trial, evidence showed that Defendant committed aggravated sexual assault against his young stepdaughter twice, once in New Jersey and once in Texas. Both assaults were temporally separated by at least 30 days.
Texas Penal Code Section 21.02 prohibits the commission of two or more acts of sexual abuse over a specified time. Although committed in two separate states, the trial court permitted the evidence of both sexual assaults in New Jersey and Texas in order to convict Defendant.
The Court of Appeals Affirmed the Conviction, Holding that the Evidence was Legally Sufficient to Support the Conviction
On appeal, Defendant claimed that the evidence presented—the alleged act in New Jersey—was insufficient to support his conviction in Texas. The court of appeals held that because Defendant was charged and convicted under Texas Penal Code Section 21.01 for continuous sexual abuse, Texas has jurisdiction if part of the prohibited conduct element occurred in Texas. Further, the court determined that the location of the sexual abuse was not an element of the offense; thus, the State’s only obligation was to prove that the court of prosecution had venue—proper jurisdiction. As a result, because one of the alleged acts of sexual abuse occurred in Taylor County, the court of appeals said that the evidence was sufficient to prove venue.
The Court of Criminal Appeals Reforms the Judgment to a Lesser-Included Offense Conviction, Holding the Evidence was Legally Insufficient to Support the Original Conviction
Defendant appealed the appellate court’s decision to affirm his conviction. He argued that the alleged act of abuse in New Jersey was not sufficient proof required under the Texas Penal Code, which requires two or more violations of penal code sections. Each of these required offenses must be a violation of Texas law. Texas only has jurisdiction over an offense if either an action element or result element of the offense occurs inside the state. Because “act of sexual abuse” requires an act that is a violation of Texas law, Defendant’s act in New Jersey may not be considered one of the required offenses for a conviction under Section 21.02. The Court of Criminal Appeals determined that Texas had jurisdiction of continuous sexual abuse of a child, but the evidence in this case was insufficient to support the conviction because one of the acts was not a violation of Texas law.
When an appellate court finds that the evidence was insufficient to support a charged offense, but the jury found the defendant guilty of a lesser offense supported by sufficient evidence, then the appellate court must reform the judgment to reflect the lesser-included offense and remand for new punishment. In this case, the Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the jury found Defendant guilty of aggravated sexual assault, which was the lesser-included offense, and remanded the case for a punishment hearing.
Judge Yeary’s Concurring Opinion
Psychosexual Evaluations: A Risk Assessment for Sexual Allegation Cases
A psychosexual evaluation is a method utilized by courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys to provide a scientific basis to determine with a person is likely to be a repeat sexual offender. The evaluation is performed by a state-licensed mental health professional and, if requested by the defense, it is completely confidential for the client and their attorney.
Psychosexual evaluations are routinely performed to:
Identify deviant sexual behavior patterns
Evaluate the risk level of sexual and non-sexual recidivism
Recommend the type of treatment options that will be most beneficial to the client
Identify specific risk factors that should be targeted during treatment
Explaining the Psychosexual Evaluation Process
How long does the evaluation last?
The evaluation usually lasts a full day, but can sometimes spill over into a second day. However, the entire evaluation can be completed in about six hours. A typical schedule for the evaluation will last from 8:30am – 5:00pm, with breaks between sections of tests.
The Evaluation Consists of Four Parts
Physiological assessment of sexual arousal
The clinical interview lasts about one hour and serves to help the therapist and the client get to know each other before the tests begin. It also gives the client an opportunity to talk about the allegation with the therapist. This is the point where the therapist will document their initial impressions and provide detailed notes on the client. It is important that the person is honest and open about the nature of the allegation. If conducted at the request of the individual’s attorney, the evaluation is covered under the attorney-client privilege and the attorney cannot disclose the results or what was said without the client’s permission.
The psychometric tests are comprised of a personality inventory, sexual inventory, and intelligence test. These tests are primarily in written formats, including true or false questions. The personality inventory allows the therapist to evaluate the client’s personality type, which will be factored in throughout the assessment. The sexual inventory is the longest portion, consisting of about 560 items. It is a thorough assessment of the client’s sexual history, background, and development. Again, this portion of the test factors into the therapist’s overall assessment of the client’s situation. The final portion is the intelligence test. This portion only lasts about twenty minutes and is essentially an IQ test. The intelligence test is important because it allows the therapist to effectively advocate that the client can handle the mental demands of treatment.
The physiological assessment helps the therapist understand whether the allegation would be outlier behavior for the client or not. This is primarily achieved by gaining an understanding of the client’s sexual preferences using the penile plethysmograph (PPG). The PPG operates by measuring blood pressure and erectile changes in the penis of the client due to the introduction of different visual stimuli. The PPG also monitors the client’s breathing to determine whether they’re attempting to deliberately falsify the results. Because accurate results are required for the therapist to make a strong evaluation on behalf of the client, the client should not attempt to cheat the PPG. Due to the nature of the visual stimuli and the physical intrusiveness of the PPG, this is considered the most difficult part of the evaluation for individuals being tested.
Rarely, a polygraph will also be performed. The polygraph is only used when the client denies any actual physical contact because the chance of recidivism is greatly diminished if there is no physical contact. If the polygraph is failed, then the results will not be used in the therapist’s evaluation because they do not indicate anything significant about the client’s situation.
The risk assessment consists of two parts, general criminality and sexual recidivism. The general criminality portion determines the client’s risk of recommitting crimes, while the sexual recidivism portion determines the client’s risk of recommitting sexual crimes. This part of the psychosexual assessment is extremely important because it allows the therapist to assign the client a risk profile to reoffend, both in general criminality and in sexual criminality. The therapist’s testimony that the client is a low risk to reoffend can be crucial for the defense in asserting that the client does not deserve a harsh punishment for the original allegation.
When the psychosexual evaluation is obtained as part of the defense case preparation, it is completely confidential. Only the client and his attorney will be provided with it. Neither the client’s spouse nor any government entity can see the evaluation, unless it is used in court, and the defense attorney will only use the evaluation in court if it is beneficial to the client’s case. The evaluation is occasionally used at trial, but it is more often used during the plea-bargaining stage to improve the client’s case or during a sentencing portion of a trial.
Advice for Clients and Attorneys Regarding Psychosexual Evaluations
Clients should be honest with the therapist because it allows for a more reliable and accurate evaluation, which will be more beneficial to the client’s case. If the client lies or attempts to cheat the tests, the therapist will not be able to provide a good evaluation and may not be able to testify as well on behalf of the client.
Attorneys should provide information the therapist regarding the charges being made against the client (within the limits of discovery laws). Not only does this allow the therapist to factor that into the evaluation, but it also bolsters their testimony in court as they have accounted for the charges and facts of the case already. The stronger and more complete the therapist’s evaluation, the more likely that it will stand up in court against tough cross-examination.
SCOTUS Declares Social Media Ban for Sex Offenders Unconstitutional
By Madeline Pricer Jones | Sex Crimes
In today’s world Internet access has become virtually unlimited. And, with new technology come new problems. These problems have led the Supreme Court to address the challenge modern day Internet access has created for the First Amendment in the landmark case, Packingham v. North Carolina. In Packingham, the Court was asked to determine whether a North Carolina law, which makes it a felony for a registered sex offender to access a social media-networking site, violates the First Amendment’s free speech clause.
North Carolina Imposed a Social Media Ban for all Registered Sex Offenders
In 2002, Lester Packingham, a 21-year-old student, pled guilty for taking indecent liberties with a child after having sex with a 13-year-old girl. As such, Packingham was required to register as a sex offender. However, in 2010 Packingham posted to his personal Facebook account thanking God after he received a dismissal for a traffic ticket. This post was observed by a police officer and Packingham was ultimately convicted for violating the social media ban for sex offenders. After making it all the way to the United States Supreme Court, Packingham’s conviction has now been overturned.
Supreme Court holds that Banning Sex Offenders from Social Media Violates the First Amendment
In overturning Packingham’s case, the Court ruled the North Carolina law to be an impermissible restriction of lawful speech. The Court has consistently held that “[a] fundamental principle of the First Amendment is that all persons have access to places where they can speak and listen, and then, after reflection, speak and listen once more.” As such, the Court ruled that one of the most fundamental places to exchange views is cyberspace—particularly social media platforms. Social media has evolved and formed a stage for many topics protected by the First Amendment, including human thought. It has evolved so much so that “seven in ten American adults” now use at least one form of social media. Thus, the Court reasoned that while it may have once been difficult to determine which “places” are important for the exchange of ideas, it is now clear.
The Internet allows people access to vast amounts of information, which people need to thrive in modern society. North Carolina prohibited access to this information in an effort to protect children, but they ended up preventing Packingham from gaining access to large amounts of information — information unlikely to further sex crimes. As a result, the Court agreed that sex crimes involving children are repugnant, but it explained that even a valid government interest cannot escape all constitutional protections. The Court further noted that “[e]ven convicted criminals—and in some instances especially convicted criminals—might receive legitimate benefits from these means for access to the world of ideas, particularly if they seek to reform and to pursue lawful and rewarding lives.” Thus, the Court determined that North Carolina did not meet its burden to show why the overly broad law was necessary to serve its purpose of protecting children and subsequently declared the law unconstitutional.
For further analysis, see: Amy Howe, Opinion analysis: Court invalidates ban on social media for sex offenders, SCOTUSblog (Jun. 19, 2017, 1:52 PM), http://www.scotusblog.com/2017/06/opinion-analysis-court-invalidates-ban-social-media-sex-offenders/
Indecent Exposure: From Class B Misdemeanor to Sex Offender
By Brandon Barnett | Sex Crimes
Sex Offender Registration for the Offense of Indecent Exposure
Most “sex offenses” in Texas are felonies. Most sex offenses involve some sort of physical contact or an indecent act with a minor. However, there is one offense that is classified as a low-level Class B misdemeanor, than can result in sex offender registration.
Indecent Exposure under Section 21.08 of the Texas Penal Code is a Class B misdemeanor, which means it only carries a range of punishment of 0-180 days in county jail and a fine up to $2,000. Indecent Exposure can range from urinating on a public golf course, to having intercourse in a parked car in a public parking lot, to flashing someone. A person convicted or sentenced to Deferred Adjudication for Indecent Exposure does not typically have to register as a sex offender. If the offense is the first time that person has been charged or convicted with Indecent Exposure, then there is no registration requirement.
10-Year Sex Offender Registration for the 2nd Indecent Exposure Conviction
Under Section 62.005(5)(F) of the Texas Penal Code, a person is required to register as a sex offender for a period of 10 years for “the second violation of Section 21.08 (Indecent exposure), Penal Code.” However, “if the second violation results in a deferred adjudication,” then the person is not required to register. Because the statute uses the term “violation,” instead of “conviction,” a first charge of Indecent Exposure that results in a deferred adjudication still counts toward the total, even if the defendant ultimately has their case dismissed. So it is imperative that a defense attorney negotiate for a deferred adjudication if their client has a previous conviction or deferred for Indecent Exposure.
See what other crimes require Sex Offender Registration in Texas.
Juvenile Sex Offender Registration in Texas
By Christy Dunn | Juvenile, Sex Crimes
In Texas, the law governing sex offender registration contains several provisions that apply specifically to juveniles. This means that sex offender registration works differently in juvenile cases than it does in adult cases. This article will highlight how sex offender registration works in the Texas juvenile justice system and why this is an appropriate approach to take in these cases. This article will not discuss exemptions to the sex offender registration law for certain young adult offenders.
Sex Offender Registration in Juvenile Cases
The two biggest differences between sex offender registration in adult and juvenile cases involves how long the duty to register lasts and exemptions or deferrals for certain juvenile cases.
Expiration of the Duty to Register
Sex offender registration in Texas is contained in Chapter 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Under Section 62.101, the duty to register in adult cases is for life. However, in juvenile cases, the duty to register ends ten years after the end of the sentence. This ten-year provision also applies to juvenile cases that are certified and transferred to adult court.
Exemptions for Certain Juvenile Cases
According to Section 62.351 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, either during or after the dispositional hearing in a case in which a juvenile has been adjudicated for a registrable offense, the court can hold a hearing to determine whether the interests of the public require this particular juvenile to register under Chapter 62. This hearing will only be held if, prior to the hearing, the attorney for the juvenile has filed a motion asking the court to consider exempting him from the registration requirements.
During this hearing, which does not involve a jury, the juvenile must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the protection of the public would not be increased by the registration or that any increase in the protection of the public is clearly outweighed by the anticipated substantial harm to the juvenile and his family caused by registration. After the hearing, the court, under Section 62.352, can make one of several rulings. If the court determines that the juvenile has met his burden of proof, the court must exempt the child from the duty to register. If the juvenile has not met his burden, the judge can either make the child register, make the registration nonpublic, or defer the decision on registration until after the juvenile has completed treatment.
Deferral of the Registration Requirement Certain Juvenile Cases
If the court decides to defer the registration, the juvenile is not required to register during the deferral period. This deferral will automatically turn into an exemption if the juvenile successfully completes treatment, unless the prosecuting attorney files a motion requesting a hearing to reconsider the issue of registration.
Other Scenarios
Under Sections 62.353 and 62.354, juveniles who are already registering under Chapter 62, or those who are required to register due to an out-of-state adjudication, may also petition the court to have their registration either deferred or waived. These provisions require a hearing similar to that discussed above with exemptions.
Tarrant County’s Approach to Juvenile Sex Offender Registration
No one can guarantee a particular outcome in a specific case. Every case, and every set of facts, is different and unique. However, many times, in Tarrant County, if a motion is filed by the juvenile’s attorney, the court will consider deferring the registration requirement until the end of probation to see if the juvenile can successfully complete treatment.
Other States’ Approaches to Juvenile Sex Offender Registration
It is important to note that not all states have a provision for exempting or deferring a juvenile’s sex offender registration requirements. This means that if a child is adjudicated of a sex offense requiring registration in Texas and then moves out of state, he may be required to register under the new state’s laws.
Why is This an Appropriate Approach to Juvenile Sex Offender Registration?
At first blush, exempting juveniles from registering after they have been adjudicated of a sex offense seems wrong. However, it is important to remember that sex offender registration is a far-reaching consequence that can have profound effects on the life of the person subject to registration. These effects can be even more profound when the person who must register is an 11 or 12-year-old child. It is also important to note that research has shown repeatedly that juveniles who successfully complete treatment are less likely to reoffend than adults. Many juveniles who commit sexual offenses are not pedophiles, but instead, are curious, experimenting, or have not yet developed an acceptable level of impulse control.
While these behaviors are wrong, serious, and need to be addressed, sex offender registration is not the appropriate vehicle to do that. By allowing the exemption or deferral of registration in juvenile cases, Chapter 62 allows judges to evaluate each of these very different cases on their merits and apply the law in the most appropriate way for that case. It also allows juveniles to have a chance at rehabilitation before imposing drastic and long-lasting consequences on them that may devastate their lives before they ever really begin.
Sex offender registration is applied differently in adult cases than it is in juvenile cases. This is due to a few provisions in the law that apply specifically to juveniles. The biggest difference in the two systems is that, in juvenile cases, the judge has discretion over the issue of registration. The court can, if it chooses, defer that registration to see how the juvenile does in treatment. This allows courts to tailor a disposition and consequences to better suit a particular juvenile’s situation while still providing for the protection of the public.
This article is not intended to provide legal advice about any particular case. It is only intended to be a general overview of the sex offender registration law in juvenile cases. For legal advice, please consult an attorney about your case.
When Is “Sexting” a Crime in Texas?
By Christy Dunn | Sex Crimes
“Sexting” has become a very popular activity amongst teenagers and young adults in the last several years. This generation sees it as just another ordinary part of life with cell phones. For parents, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers, however, sexting is a dangerous habit that has wide-ranging effects. While sexting has the potential to severely damage lives and reputations, the very nature of it makes it difficult for authorities to adequately address the problems it causes. This article will explore what sexting is, how common it is, the applicable laws, and the practical implications of applying those laws to common instances of sexting.
What Is Sexting?
Sexting is derived from the words “sex” and “texting.” It means the sending of nude or sexually explicit photos or sexually suggestive text messages by text, email, or instant messenger using a mobile device. Many times, the person depicted in the photographs has either consented to the photo being taken or has taken the pictures of themselves. Typically, the person in the photograph, either on their own initiative or at the request of another, takes the photo and then voluntarily sends it to a significant other or a person they are attracted to. The intent is generally for the picture to be kept private by the initial recipient.
The problem with sexting arises when the photograph is either posted on the internet, usually through a social media platform, or is shared with others through text or email. In many cases, this posting or sharing is not consented to by the person depicted in the picture.
How Common is Sexting?
A study done by Drexel University in 2015 found that over 80% of adults surveyed admitted to sexting within the last year. The study was presented during the American Psychological Association’s 2015 convention. According to GuardChild.com, 20% of all teenagers have sent or posted nude or semi-nude photos or videos of themselves and 39% of teenagers have sent sexually suggestive messages through either email, text, or instant messaging.
Criminal Laws Applicable to Texting in Texas
In the State of Texas, there are several laws which could be used to prosecute instances of sexting, especially if it involves a minor. These laws can range from a Class C misdemeanor to a first-degree felony.
Texas law makes it unlawful for a person to intentionally disclose photographs or videos of a person engaged in sexual conduct or with their intimate parts exposed without the consent of the person depicted if the person in the photo/video had a reasonable expectation that the material would remain private, the person depicted is harmed and the identity of the person in the photo/video is revealed through the disclosure. This is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sale, Distribution, or Display of Harmful Material to a Minor
A person who sells, distributes, or shows “harmful material” to a minor, knowing that the material is harmful and the person is a minor, or displays harmful material and is reckless about whether a minor is present who would be offended is guilty of this offense in Texas. This is a Class A misdemeanor unless the person uses a minor to commit the offense, and then it is a third-degree felony.
The offense of sexual performance of a child is committed when a person employs, authorizes, or induces a child under the age of 18 to engage in sexual conduct. In this context, “sexual conduct” includes the lewd exhibition of the genitals, anus or breast. This offense is a third-degree felony, but if the victim was under the age of 14 at the time of the offense, then it is enhanced to a second-degree felony.
A person commits the offense of possession or promotion of child pornography if he intentionally or knowingly promotes or possesses with the intent to promote material that depicts a child engaged in sexual conduct knowing that the material depicts a child. This is a third-degree felony, but it can be enhanced to a second or first-degree felony.
The Sexting Law – Electronic Transmission of Certain Visual Material Depicting Minor
This is Texas’ “sexting” statute. Under it, a person under the age of 18 commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly possesses or promotes to another minor visual material that depicts a minor engaged in sexual conduct by electronic means if he produced the material or knows that another minor produced it. This is a Class C misdemeanor, but it can be enhanced to either a Class B or Class A misdemeanor in certain situations.
Practical Implications
An instance of sexting in Texas can be prosecuted under any of the above laws. However, there are problems with each of these statutes that makes it difficult to prosecute sexting cases under them. These problems are what led the Texas legislature to create the sexting law several years ago.
Problems with the Sexting Law
However, there are two major problems with this law. First, the sexting statute only applies to persons under the age of 18. This means that an 18-year-old high school student who shares sexting photos with others in his high school cannot be prosecuted under this law. The second problem with it is that it creates a defense to prosecution if the person in possession of the visual material destroys it. So, the law that makes sexting illegal also allows those who break the law to get away with it by destroying the evidence. Because of these problems, it is almost impossible to prosecute someone under this law.
Problems with Using the Other Laws to Prosecute Sexting
The main issue with using the other laws laid out above to prosecute sexting cases is that they were not created to address this specific behavior. So, it becomes a situation where prosecutors are having to shove a square peg into a round hole to make it work in many cases. For instance, the Unlawful Disclosure or Promotion of Intimate Visual Material law requires that the person in the pictures had a reasonable expectation that the photos would remain private. GuardChild.com found in their compilation of sexting statistics that 44% of teenagers believe it is common for sexually suggestive text messages to be shared with others, and 35-40% of them feel that it is common for nude or semi-nude photos to be shared with others beyond the intended recipient. These beliefs undermine the “reasonable expectation of privacy” prong of the law.
Similarly, the Possession or Promotion of Child Pornography statute is problematic when used in sexting cases because it does not include any protections from prosecution for the victim. This means that when a teen age girl takes a nude photo of herself and sends it to her boyfriend, who then shares it with other students, the girl who took the photo of herself is as guilty of promotion of child pornography as the boy who shared it with others. Most people would agree that the victim shouldn’t face charges for child pornography. Yet, prosecutors must either prosecute both of them or do nothing.
Sex Offender Registration for a Sexting Conviction
Another major practical ramification of sexting is that if a person is convicted or adjudicated for sexting under the possession or promotion of child pornography law, he will be required to register as a sex offender for life if the person is prosecuted in the adult system or for ten years past the end of his sentence if he is adjudicated as a juvenile. Depending on the facts of the case, this can be a very harsh consequence for a behavior that is so common in this modern world we live in. But it is important for anyone who engages in sexting, and their parents, to realize that sex offender registration for life is a very real possibility if prosecuted.
While many parents may not know that sexting even exists, the fact remains that it is much more common than we would like to think. It can have devastating consequences for the person depicted in the photos, and for anyone who shares or possesses these photos. Many teenagers engage in this behavior without realizing what the ramifications can be.
This is one area where the law hasn’t caught up to technology yet. So, the job of protecting our children from the harms associated with sexting still falls primarily to parents. It is important for parents to educate themselves about the practice and then talk to their teenagers and pre-teens about the dangers of sexting.
Fort Worth Sexual Crimes Defense Attorney
Rating: ★★★★★ 5 / 5 stars
Rated By Google User
“This firm was a Godsend in handling our case!”
Which Crimes Require Sex Offender Registration in Texas?
It’s no secret that there are certain offenses that require individuals to register themselves on the sex offender registry. However, what are those offenses? How long is a person required to register?
What Offenses Require Sex Offender Registration in Texas?
In Texas there are over 20 offenses that require registration as a sex offender. Additionally, registration could be required as a condition of parole, release to mandatory supervision, or community supervision. Further, even if a person was convicted for a crime outside of Texas you might be required to register as a sex offender if the elements of that offense are substantially similar to an offense under Texas law that requires registration.
Under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure these are called “reportable convictions or adjudications.” Article 62.001(5) of the Code defines these to be a conviction or adjudication, which includes deferred adjudication, that is based on various offenses outlined in the section.
How Long Does a Person’s Duty to Register as a Sex Offender Last?
Many of the offenses requiring registration as a sex offender have a lifetime registration requirement but some have a “10-year” requirement. The 10-year requirement depends not only on the alleged offense but also on how the case is disposed. If the duty was based on an adjudication of delinquent conduct (defined by Tex. Fam. Code §51.03) then the duty to register ends on the 10th anniversary of the date on which the disposition was made or the date of completion of the terms of the disposition, whichever is later. If the duty is based on a conviction or deferred adjudication, then the duty to register ends on the 10th anniversary of the date the person is released from a penal institution, or is discharged from community supervision, or the court dismisses the criminal proceedings, whichever date is later.
Additionally, there is a 10-year requirement for persons, who would otherwise be subject to lifetime registration requirements, who were a juvenile at the time and their case was transferred to a criminal district court pursuant to Section 54.02 of the Texas Family Code. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 62.101(b). Under this requirement the duty to register ends 10th anniversary of the date the person is released from a penal institution, completed probation, or the date the court dismisses the charges against them, whichever date is later. Id.
Below is a chart that lists offenses requiring registration and the applicable time period the law requires a person to register.
Sex Offender Registration Requirements in Texas
LENGTH OF REGISTRATION SEXUAL OFFENSES
Lifetime Registration
See Tex. Code of Crim. Proc. Art. 62.101(a), 62.001(5), (6)
Continuous sexual abuse of a young child or children. TPC 21.02
Indecency with a young child under. TPC 21.11(a)(1)
Sexual assault. TPC 22.011
Aggravated sexual assault. TPC 22.021
Aggravated kidnapping under TPC 20.02(a)(4) with intent to violate or abuse the victim sexually
Burglary under TPC 30.02(d) if offense was committed with the intent to commit one of the above listed felonies
Sexual performance by a child. TPC 43.25
An offense under the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice if the offense’s elements are substantially similar to the above felonies.
Trafficking of a person under TPC 20A.02(a)(3), (4), (7), or (8)
Prohibited sexual conduct. TPC 25.02
Compelling prostitution under 43.05(a)(2)
Possession or promotion of child porn. TPC 43.26
Indecency with a young child under TPC 21.11(a)(2) if the person received another conviction or adjudication that requires registration
Unlawful restraint, Kidnapping, or Aggravated kidnapping if there was an affirmative finding that the victim or intended victim was younger than 17 and the person receives or has received another conviction or adjudication that requires registration. TPC 20.02, 20.03, 20.04
Obscenity under TPC 43.23(h)
10-Year Registration
See Tex. Code of Crim. Proc. Art. 62.101(c), 62.001(5)
Indecency with a young child in a manner not listed under lifetime registration. TPC 21.11
Unlawful restraint, Kidnapping, or Aggravated kidnapping if there was a finding that the victim or intended victim was younger than 17. TPC 20.02, 20.03, 20.04
An attempt, conspiracy, or solicitation to commit one of the above listed offenses in this chart
Online solicitation of a minor. TPC 33.021
Prostitution under TPC 43.02(c)(3)
Second indecent exposure under TPC 21.08 or an offense with substantially similar elements under the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country or the Uniform Code of Military Justice but not if the second resulted in deferred adjudication.
An offense of the laws of another state, federal law, the laws of a foreign country or the Uniform Code of Military Justice that contains elements that are substantially similar to the elements of the offenses described above, but not if the offense resulted in deferred adjudication.
What Exactly Does the Duty to Register Require?
A person required to register must register with the municipality or county where they reside or intent to reside for more than seven days. Among other things the registration must contain the type of offense the person was convicted of, the age of the victim, and a recent color photograph of the person. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 62.051. If the person spends more than 48 hours in a different municipality or county three or more times in a month they must provide the local authority with certain information. Art. 62.059. In addition to registering, the person must comply with a request for a specimen of their DNA. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Art. 62.061; Government Code §411.1473. Also, if the Department of Public Safety has assigned a person a numeric risk level of 3, public notice must be given of where that person intends to live. Art. 62.056. Further, there are restrictions on type of employment for certain registrants. Art. 62.063.*
As you can see there are many consequences that come with a conviction, deferred adjudication or adjudication for delinquent conduct for one of the above listed offenses and there are additional requirements that could be imposed depending on the particular alleged offense. These very specific requirements provided under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure must be followed so that a person does not violate the registration requirements and face additional criminal consequences ranging from a state jail felony to a first degree felony. Art. 62.102. If it has been alleged that you committed one of these offenses, it can be extremely overwhelming but also important to understand what lies ahead for you. Contact our criminal defense attorneys today to ensure that you fully comprehend what is being alleged, what consequences could be attached, and what your options are in your specific situation. Additionally, contact us if you are currently required to register and have questions about what duties are required of you.
*Note this blog does not provide all requirements and additional requirements for certain offenses. To find all requirements see Article 62 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.
What is the Age of Consent in the United States?
Is There a Uniform Age of Consent for all 50 States in the United States?
No, there is not a uniform age of consent. The “Age of Consent” is the minimum age at which a person may consent to participation in sexual intercourse. A person younger than the legal age of consent cannot legally consent to sexual activity. The age of consent in the United States ranges from 16 to 18 years old depending on the state, meaning that a person 15 years of age or younger cannot legally consent to sexual contact. Each state enacts its owns laws which set the age of consent. If someone engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent in that state, the person could be charged with Statutory Rape or other offenses depending on the nature of the contact.
What follows is a map depicting the age of consent for all 50 states and a chart outlining the same.
*Note: This chart was current as of 2016, but could be subject to change over the years. Please do not rely on this chart to make any decisions that could impact your life. Check your own state’s age of consent laws to make sure you are fully informed, because ignorance of the law will not be a defense for you if charged with a child sexual offense.
United States Age of Consent Map
United States Age of Consent Chart
LEGAL AGE OF CONSENT
Alaska 16
D.C. 16
South Dakota 16
“Romeo and Juliet Law” in Texas | An Exception to the Age of Consent in Texas
As mentioned in the chart above, the age of consent in Texas is 17. Texas, as well as many other states, has created a so-called “Romeo and Juliet” law, an exception to the statutory rape and age of consent law. Romeo and Juliet laws are targeted toward teenagers and young adults who engage in sexual relations with someone under the age of consent (17 in Texas), but who are still close in age to the sexual partner. The Romeo and Juliet provision creates a close in age exemption and keeps these would-be offenders from being classified as sex offenders.
Under Texas law, if a person over the age of 17 has consensual sexual intercourse with someone under the age of 17, but there is also no more than a three-year age difference between the two partners, the Texas Romeo and Juliet law will not allow the older person to be charged with statutory rape or be classified as a sex offender.
Fort Worth Sexual Assault Defense Attorney
Thank You BHW!
Their expertise and reputation helped us achieve the outcome we deserved. My cases were dismissed completely!
- Fort Worth Sexual Assault Defense Client (5 star review)
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3121
|
__label__cc
| 0.709306
| 0.290694
|
Bible Gospel Church of God in Christ
Our First Lady
First Lady Dove
First Lady Priscilla Dove is the oldest of three children and was born and raised in eastern North Carolina in the town of Farmville.
First Lady Dove received the Lord in her life as a teenager and was very active in her church, Bible Way Holiness Church of the Apostolic Faith, singing in the choir, serving as the secretary of Young People Holy Association (YPHA).
After college in 1970, she moved to New Haven, Connecticut where she was a High School English teacher in New Haven Public Schools for 17 years.
First Lady Dove holds a Bachelor of Science degree in English from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University (Greensboro, North Carolina); Masters degree in Reading from Southern Connecticut State University (New Haven, Connecticut); Masters degree in Administration and Supervision from North Carolina Central University (Durham, North Carolina). She also holds an Assistant Principals Executive Program Certificate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Chapel Hill, North Carolina).
After moving back to North Carolina in 1988, she was employed in both Durham Public Schools and Granville County Schools as teacher and administrator for 23 years before retiring in 2011.
Presently, she serves as President of the "Women of Faith" Women’s Department, Alternate Adult/Youth Sunday School Teacher, Praise and Worship Leader, and Financial Secretary, in her local church, Bible Gospel Church of God in Christ. On the Jurisdictional level, she was tapped to chair the establishment of the Mary Love Green Arts Guild for the Greater North Carolina Jurisdiction Church of God in Christ.
First Lady Dove’s favorite saying is, “This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances of life might be, we can still be happy in the Lord.”
3103 Angier Avenue
Administration@BibleGospelCOGIC.org
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3122
|
__label__wiki
| 0.834533
| 0.834533
|
A review of what's been on the box this week
This week's TV reviews
Jeremy Piven stars in Mr Selfridge on ITV1
The Jonathan Ross Show (ITV1, 9.45pm)
Hard to believe it's more than 25 years since a fresh-faced researcher in a snappy suit stood in front of a TV camera for the first time and presented The Last Resort.
In an age when Bananarama were storming the charts, and The Untouchables were busting blocks at the movies, that low-budget Channel 4 chat show was a breath of fresh air.
This was the era when cosy teatime chat show hosts such as Terry Wogan and Russell Harty welcomed celebrities to plug their latest song, movie or book, but didn't like to make a fuss about things.
Ross, on the other hand, had followed the lead of American chat-show hosts such as David Letterman, and knew that being more brassy in your delivery wasn't a bad thing.
In 2013, many of Ross's peers have either retired or shuffled off this mortal coil, which makes him the grand daddy of the British talk-show circuit.
Okay, many have tried to usurp him as the king of chat.
Motormouth DJ Johnny Vaughan had a good go with his short-lived series, Here's Johnny, while Danny Baker also had a fine stab.
Sad to say that in a genre dominated by blokes, ladies such as Davina McCall and Gaby Roslin saw their chat shows axed after just one series.
One of the few serious contenders is Graham Norton, who not only took over Ross's Friday night chat show when he left the BBC, but also his Saturday morning Radio 2 show (what would millions of us do on a weekend morning without Norton's Grill Graham?).
When Ross made his Channel 4 chat show debut all those years ago, Bradford-born Kimberley Walsh, like many six-year-olds in 1987, was a girl with big dreams, hoping that one day she'd hit the big time.
However, unlike millions who let that dream slip away for a life of domestic drudgery (can you tell it's statistically the most depressing week of the year?), Walsh saw that dream come true in 2002 when she won a place on ITV1's Popstars: The Rivals.
Girls Aloud left the competition standing, and went on to achieve 20 consecutive top 10 singles, four of which went to number one in the UK.
Forget Love Machines; Kimberley, Cheryl Cole, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding and Nicola Roberts were hit machines, turning out foot-tapping smash after smash.
With over 4.3 million singles sales in the United Kingdom alone, they became the UK's biggest-selling girl group of the current century.
Ms Walsh will no doubt be discussing her time with the group in this week's show; her starring role in Shrek the Musical as Princess Fiona, and the most recent series of Strictly Come Dancing, in which she reached the final.
Expect a certain amount of flirtation from Jonathan, and even if Kimberly is not your cup of tea, there's always a chat and performance from Nutty Boys/Men Madness to ensure your Saturday night goes with a bang.
Saturday Animal Antics (BBC One, 5,30pm) I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue panelist and former member of the Goodies Tim Brooke-Taylor plays anchorman in this rib-tickling spoof news show, in which he's joined by co-host Sparky the dog (talk about a newshound), to bring us all the latest stories from the animal kingdom.
Together, Brooke-Taylor and Sparky (played by stand-up comedian Matthew Crosby) present a series of clips featuring crazy cats, potty pooches and various other beasts behaving badly, giving the footage a (fictional) perspective and sending up newsreaders along the way.
In the style of a genuine news report, they offer differing perspectives as they analyse the stories behind their bizarre headlines.
The host said of the series, "When I was presented with the idea of this show I thought 'this sounds good'. Believe me it's much, much better than that. The only problem I have is being upstaged by very, very funny animals".
NCIS (Five, 7.55pm)
Viewers of a certain age may go a little misty eyed at the mention of the name Ralph Waite.
As John Walton, the head of beloved TV family The Waltons, he became synonymous with the American Depression, and what life was like in a bygone era.
In 1992, he also attracted a new following thanks to his work in Kevin Costner/Whitney Houston smash The Bodyguard, where he gave a top turn as a seasoned hero's dad - so it's little wonder he was snapped up to play Gibbs's old man in this show.
The Naval-gazing crime buster revisits his home town to investigate an assault that left one marine dead and another badly injured.
Can his estranged father help him to identify the assailant? Very possibly. Prime suspect is a local man whose daughter was dating the survivor of the attack, but as ever with NCIS nothing is as it first seems.
World Without End (Channel 4, 9pm)
The sequel to 2010's critically acclaimed historical epic The Pillars of the Earth gains momentum in this week's second instalment, following the devastating effects of the bridge collapse in the medieval town of Kingsbridge last week.
Trainee medic Caris helps the walking wounded, while the townsfolk count their losses - and Godwyn argues that the disaster is a divine sign that the town should return to stricter ways. Merthin, however, is adamant that all is not lost - and suggests the bridge be rebuilt with stone. But the newly appointed Lord of Wigleigh, Ralph, has other ideas, and remains intent on carrying out Queen Isabella's order to cease construction.
Godwyn, meanwhile, has his sights set firmly on becoming the new prior - eager to enjoy the power that comes along with the role.
Cynthia Nixon, Peter Firth, Charlotte Riley and Rupert Evans are among the impressive cast of this outstanding drama.
Borgen (BBC Four, 9pm)
As the Danish drama reaches its halfway point, spin doctor Kasper leans on PM Birgitte, hoping to persuade her to employ some rather underhand tactics as the government prepares to negotiate the environmental element of the new reform package.
Understandably stressed, her new responsibilities begin to take their toll, and it's her children who end up suffering.
Meanwhile, Katrine receives a job offer, but finds it goes against her personal beliefs. As if all that wasn't enough, the next edition follows straight after - and sees the right wing heighten the internal strife among the coalition partners by submitting a bill which lowers the age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12.
With many among her party supporting the move, it seems Birgitte is in a minority within her own parliament.
Sidse Babett Knudsen, Birgitte Hjort Sorensen and Pilou Asbaek are among the terrific cast of this tense slice of political life.
Take Me Out: The Gossip (ITV2, 9.45pm)
Last week's edition of Take Me Out saw none other than fireman Sam competing.
Okay, so it was another fireman called Sam, not a bizarre children's TV crossover edition, but it's still worth remarking upon - and catching up with the events of his date this evening.
On this weekly companion show, we find out what his date, holiday rep Georgia, really thought of him - and whether there's a chance they'll be meeting up again. We also hear from the other couples, including comic-book enthusiast Dan and Blackpool beauty Danni, and sailor Troy and his date, the vintage-loving Naomi.
Zoe Hardman and Mark Wright are on-hand to hear all, as the pairs dish the dirt on one another. Granted, after the 75 minute-long main show on ITV1, this makes two full hours of prime-time telly dedicated purely to the wonder that is Take Me Out - but really, is that a bad thing?
Sunday Time Team (Channel 4, 5.25pm) After almost 20 years on the box, Tony Robinson's hit archaeology show will soon be history itself; so here's a slice of TV history that should also appeal to our Antipodean cousins and folk who love the Latitude Festival.
It centres on Hektor Rous, son of the sixth Earl of Stradbroke, who is keen to piece together the mysterious history of the family's Tudor country home. Though Hektor had managed the des res from the other side of the world, in 2004 he moved from Melbourne, hoping to rebuild the estate's fortunes. He did a good job too, establishing events such as the Latitude Festival, and staging the Grand Henham Steam Rally, and the Wings and Wheels Festival.
There's no shortage of intriguing stories buried in its past, such as the tale of a drunken butler who set fire to Henham Hall's wine cellar in 1773. Can Tony and the team piece together the family home's history, and find out if the butler did it?
The Hotel (Channel 4, 8pm)
As an eccentric hotel manager, the key comparison that can be made to Mark Jenkins, owner of the Grosvenor Hotel, is the one and only Basil Fawlty.
A self exposed technophobe and un-accepting of the modern age, the quirky hotel owner is followed on his quest to bring the Grosvenor into the 21st century.
With finances as rocky as the white cliffs of Dover, Jenkins vouches to beat the recession, and in full Fawlty Towers fashion this is easier said than done.
This week the Grosvenor bares all at what should be the hottest money-spinning event of the season: Ladies' Night. But with only two days to go, manager Mark and events boss Christian are still on the hunt for the star-turn: strippers.
Meanwhile, the inspector Mark called in to help reverse the business's fortunes returns to check on efforts to upgrade the hotel.
At least the official is on hand to provide some well needed solutions to the chaos of Ladies' Night.
Mr Selfridge (ITV1, 9pm)
You might think period dramas have been done to death (and you might be right after the Downton Christmas special), and after the success of the nation's beloved show it's hard to believe anything else could compare.
So what is it that places Mr Selfridge in a league of its own? Is it that it's a carefully engineered narrative, following the tale of the retail tycoon Harry Selfridge, or is it the carnage caused by his womanising antics and risqué approach to sexualising retail? Who knows, but it proves to be compelling TV whatever the reason.
This week we see Harry and Ellen in the midst of their love affair; Harry, inspired by how she delicately applies make-up, pledges to bring cosmetics to the forefront of retail. Rosalie is insistent 'to come out' into London Society.
However, it might not be possible to formally launch into Society with an American father; the English have pretty strict rules, it is 1909 after all.
The Magaluf Weekender (ITV2, 10pm)
Possibly inspired by the success of the BBC's Sun Sex & Suspicious Parents, this fly-on-the-wall documentary follows the holiday antics of youngsters and reps in the notorious resort of Magaluf.
For many it is their first holiday away from their parents, and the freedom and raging hormones can be seen going to their head; especially as there are fixed cameras everywhere from the poolside, bars and even in the bedrooms.
Checking into the hotel this week are childhood pals from North London Gianni, Josh and Danny, who are raring to go and find a love match for the night.
Joining them are trainee beauticians Hannah and Christie who are also intending to have the weekend of a life-time. As the alcohol flows freely you soon find out among this lot that anything goes...
Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Side (Five, 10pm)
It's fast becoming the case that the main reason to watch Celeb BB, is so we can keep pace with its companion show.
Sure, the show itself is good - but the highlight of the viewing night throughout its duration is this studio-based discussion programme, in which host Emma Willis is joined by a range of guests from Big Brother's past as well as the wider world of showbiz.
She's aided in her quest to debate the burning issues from the earlier show by co-hosts Jamie East and Alice Levine who talk to members of the studio audience, and hear from their guests about the latest developments from the country's most famous bungalow.
This year's Celeb BB has been full of more twists and turns than ever before, and they always seem to come to light via Bit on the Side, making this the place to be to catch all the gossip.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3125
|
__label__wiki
| 0.608083
| 0.608083
|
Beethoven Piano Concertos
Nos. 1 & 2
Home/Beethoven, Felicja Blumental/Beethoven Piano Concertos
Greatly admired for her interpretations of Chopin and Mozart, Felicja Blumental also recorded many works for piano and orchestra including the piano version of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto. Here she performs two of his more popular Piano Concertos.
Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 2 quantity
SKU: BR0035 Categories: Beethoven, Felicja Blumental
Allegro - Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 37
Intermezzo, Rondo - Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Compared to the premieres of his previous two keyboard concertos, the first performance of Beethoven’s 3rd Piano Concerto is relatively well covered in terms of documentary evidence from friends, colleagues and the press. The Weiner Zeitung gave over a week’s notice of the concert on 5th April 1803 at the Theatre-an-de Wien, where the C minor Concerto was given its first outing, with the composer conducting from the keyboard.
The first public performance of his Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58 took place at the same theatre on 22nd December 1808. Not only was this the first public account of Beethoven’s Fourth Piano Concerto, but also the premieres of his Fifth and Sixth (Pastoral) Symphonies, and the Choral Fantasy. The concert was also the first public account of the which also featured his Symphony No. 5 in C minor, Symphony No. 6 (Pastoral)
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 3 in C major, Op. 37
Felicja Blumental – piano
Robert Wagner – conductor
Vienna Symphony Orchestra
Allegro con brio (17’06)
Largo (9’20)
Allegro (9’36)
Ludwig van Beethoven – Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58
Allegro Moderator (18’32)
Intermezzo, Rondo (15’04)
Total running time (69’55)
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3126
|
__label__wiki
| 0.844678
| 0.844678
|
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 1, 1574-1660...
America and West Indies: January 1650
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 1, 1574-1660. Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1860.
Jan. 1.
Order of the Council of State. Approving reports of Committee appointed for the business of the Somers Islands. The government to be settled on Capt. Forster and his Council, as already appointed by the Company; all captains and commanders within the islands to be nominated and appointed by the Governor, with consent of the Council of State; the Governor and Council to choose another secretary in place of [John] Vaughan; the Governor and all officers of trust to take the engagement immediately after the settlement of the Government; the persons of Capt. Turnor, late Governor, and Mr. Viner to be secured and sent to England with examinations and proofs of their crimes and misdemeanors. [Ibid., Vol. XCI., pp. 461–62.]
Order of Committee of the Admiralty. The hearing of the Virginia business is deferred, and Maurice Thompson, Wm. Penoyre, Wm. Allen, and Benj. Worsley, directed to attend on the 7th. It was then put off to the 9th. [Ibid., Vol. CXLVI., pp. 103, 106.]
Similar Order. Upon review of the records concerning the government of Virginia and the present juncture of affairs in relation to that plantation, it is advised that Commissioners be nominated by Parliament, in whom the government may be immediately placed, with power to settle the same under the government of the Commonwealth, and to appoint a Governor and Council to reside upon the place for administration of government, with the former powers granted to Sir Fras. Wyatt, and such other powers as may be necessary for the present well ordering of that plantation. The Attorney General is desired to conceive the draft of a grant to that effect, with convenient speed, in which the confines of the plantation are to be particularly expressed according to the ancient limits. [Ibid., p. 107.]
Jan. 10.
Similar Order. Upon request of Lord Baltimore's agent, the business concerning the plantation of Maryland is deferred until the 16th, when Capt. Ingle, Robt. Rawlings, and Lord Baltimore are directed to attend. [INTERREGNUM, Entry Bk., Vol. CXLVI., p. 108.]
Order of Committee of the Admiralty. Upon information of Capt. Ingle and Robt. Rawlings against Lord Baltimore, concerning Maryland, Maurice Thompson, Thos. Stagg, Rich. Chandler, Wm. Allen, Matthew Crouch, Mr. Roach, Dennis Corbin, Henry Williams, and Henry Stockdale are directed to attend on the morrow to give evidence, at the request of Lord Baltimore. [Ibid., p. 110.]
Similar Orders. The business depending between Capt. Ingle and Lord Baltimore, concerning Maryland, being appointed for hearing on 30th inst., Sir Nath. Brent, in addition to the witnesses above mentioned, is summoned to attend. Lord Baltimore appearing, touching a remonstrance given in against him by Capt. Ingle, the former is directed to give in his answer, in writing, on the same day, to allow time for his witnesses, shortly expected in England, when all parties are to attend. [Ibid., p. 111.]
Warrant for letters of reprisal to John Kirke, Wm. Berkeley, and Company, merchants, they having sustained great loss by the depredations of the French and the seizure of their ship, the Marie Fortune, and her goods, to the value of 12,500l. [Ibid., Vol. XCI., p. 545.]
Orders of Committee of the Admiralty. Concerning a remonstrance touching Lord Baltimore's government of Maryland, presented by Capt. Rich. Ingle; at the desire of the latter, Capt. Leveret, Edward Winslow, Richard Allen, Anthony Penniston, Chas. Cawley and Mr. Parham are summoned as witnesses. [Ibid., Vol. CXLVI, p. 115.]
Similar Order. Putting off the hearing of the business of Maryland between Capt. Ingle and Lord Baltimore, to the 6th Feb., "in respect of extraordinary occasions not permitting them to hear the same to-morrow." [Ibid., p. 117.]
Similar Order. For the same witnesses to attend on the 6th Feb., concerning the business of Maryland, as were summoned on 22nd Jan. [Ibid., p. 118.]
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3128
|
__label__wiki
| 0.744232
| 0.744232
|
Sabrina Shulman
Sabrina joined Brown & Weinraub in January 2014 after over a dozen years building political, legislative and grassroots campaigns for nonprofit advocacy organizations. She most recently served as the Vice President for Political and Legislative Affairs at NARAL Pro-Choice New York and the National Institute for Reproductive Health, where she spent six years overseeing all aspects of their government relations efforts and political operations. She spearheaded legislative and policy wins at the state and local level in New York by threading together multilayered campaign strategies including direct lobbying, grassroots mobilization, traditional and new media communications, and coalition development.
Previously, she spent four years at Planned Parenthood of New York City, where she managed the organization’s relationship with federal, state and local governments; ran the political arm through both a 501(c)4 and political committee; and built their first grassroots advocacy program. Her early career was spent at the Empire State Pride Agenda, where she advanced the organization’s New York City legislative agenda and built support among community leaders statewide for legislative campaigns in Albany.
Sabrina currently serves on the Boards of Directors for Keigwin + Company and the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. She is the former Board Chair for Live Out Loud. Sabrina is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College.
Ron Greenberg
John Tauriello
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3134
|
__label__wiki
| 0.736131
| 0.736131
|
Home / Explore / Books
The Beaver Hall Group and Its Legacy
Reviewed by Mariianne Mays Wiebe
— Posted September 19, 2017
Buy this book at Chapters-Indigo
by Evelyn Walters
Dundurn Press,
180 pages, $60
The Beaver Hall Group’s first art show in early 1921 was organized “to give the artist the assurance that he can paint what he feels, with utter disregard for what has hitherto been considered requisite to the acceptance of the work at the recognized art exhibitions in Canadian centres.”
Active between 1920 and 1922, the Montreal group consisted of men and women in almost equal numbers — a gender-neutral stance uncommon for the era. Its second show, in 1922, was greeted with high praise from newspaper La Presse: “The club consists of … the most individualistic, the most enthusiastic and the most gifted of the young generation.”
Its members studied with William Brymner at the Art Association of Montreal, forerunner of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Best-known among them are A.Y. Jackson, Edwin Holgate, Anne Savage, Sarah Robertson, and Prudence Heward. Most went on to individual careers, and five of the women were later joined by five more, forming the cluster known as the women of Beaver Hall.
Dozens of the group’s bold, energetic paintings — primarily portraiture and landscapes — are reproduced in Evelyn Walters’ The Beaver Hall Group and Its Legacy. (The book is her second foray into the topic, after The Women of Beaver Hall: Canadian Modernist Painters, published in 2005.)
Concise but thoughtfully organized and beautifully written, the book includes an introduction to the group’s place within modernist art, a list of group and individual exhibitions (both during and after the group’s existence), an appendix of newspaper reviews of its two major exhibitions, an index of works, and a general index.
The highlights are the colourful, brief chapters, with paintings and endnotes, for each of the twenty-five artists associated with the group. For every artist Walters provides a balance of career path and context, demonstrating the painters’ roles in shaping a unique and distinct Canadian art.
Related to Books
Book Review: Unless you are an accountant or a corporate lawyer, a history of Canadian tax policy will not be at the top of your reading list. But here are two books that show how a topic’s importance should rank ahead of its popularity — and it helps that both books are very entertaining.
Capturing Hill 70
Book Review: Capturing Hill 70 is an excellent publication that explores one of Canada’s least-well-known major battles of the First World War. Coming on the heels of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, the Battle of Hill 70 took place from August 15 to 25, 1917. More than 8,500 Canadian soldiers were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. It was also the first time the entire Canadian Corps was commanded by a Canadian — Sir Arthur Currie.
Embattled Nation
Book Review: The authors of this exhaustive and engaging new volume chose 1917 as the absolute rock bottom in Canadian history.
The Inconvenient Indian
Book Review: Thomas King is far more than a good writer, storyteller, and academic. He has a dazzling intelligence that quickly sees through so many of the “accepted” truths people are repeatedly fed by the media, and he skewers these with delightful humour and self-deprecation.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3135
|
__label__wiki
| 0.556873
| 0.556873
|
Hill History
The NeighborhoodImagesEastern Market1963 MarchBibliographyOther Links
Our MissionNews & InfoProject PeopleHistory Press
Immigrant Families
Maureen Nolan
Soon after Maureen Nolan came to the United States from County Clare, Ireland, in the early 1960s, she moved to Washington and settled on Capitol Hill.
Her May 2004 interview with Beth Eck focuses on the 1960s -- the excitement of the early Kennedy administration, the days after his death, and the turbulence of the late 1960s.
Interview Date
Elizabeth Eck
Mary Ellen Abrecht
Mildred "Sis" Allen
Sonda Allen
Sharon Ambrose
Tony Ambrosi
Donnald Anderson
Ernest Antignani
Melissa Ashabranner
Helen Atkins
Helene Au
Frances Barnes
Georgiana Barnes
Pauline Bates
Grover Batts
Lola Beaver
Michael Berman
Robert J. Beverly, Sr., and family
Ellen Breen
Patricia Briel
Anne Brockett
Rosetta Brooks
Dudley Brown
Chuck Burger
Chris Calomiris
Maria Calomiris
Leon Calomiris
Francis Campbell
Emilio Canales
Jose Canales
Mike and Judy Canning
Helen Carey
Bryan Cassidy
Sig Cohen
Mary Colston
Patrick Coyne
Paul Cromwell
Patrick Crowley
Tony Cuozzo
Steve and Nicky Cymrot
Lawrence and Claire Davis
Vincent DiFrancesco
George Didden, Jr.
Dan Donahue
Raymond Donohoe
Patricia Taffe Driscoll
Bill Driscoll
Ralph Dwan
Karin Edgett
Randy Edwards
Monte Edwards
Harold Engle
Peter Eveleth
James C. Finley
John Harrison (Harry) Ford
John and Cynde Foster
David Fowler
Greg Frane
Adiante Franszoon
Isaac Fulwood, Jr.
Brian Furness
Larry Gallo
Dorothy Garris
Pauline Getek
Bill Glasgow
Bette and Peter Glickert
Hal Gordon
Walter Graham
Luis Granados
Neal and Janice Gregory
Emily Guthrie
Marie Sansalone Guy
Sidney M. Hais
Stephen Hall
Carol Harris
Charles Harris and Mary Freeman
John Harrod
Dorothy Hawkins
Eva Haynes
Barbara Held Reich
Bob Herrema
Marie Hertzberg
Ann Higgins
Sidney Hoffman
June Hoffmann and family
Margaret Hollister
Martha Huizenga
George Hutchinson
Margaret Hutchison
Mel Inman, Jr.
Mel Inman, Sr.
Susan Jacobs
Parker Jayne
Mary Jerrell
Inez Jones
Joanne Jung
Larry Kaufer
Kitty Kaupp
Joan Keenan
Hugh Kelly
Margot Kelly
Leonard Kirsten
Gladys Kraft
Malien Lane
John and Elsie Leukhardt
Andrew Lightman
Stuart Long
Rose Lovelace
Janice MacKinnon
Goldie Mamakos
Joe Mangialardo
John L. Mann
Barry Margeson
Jerry Mark
Geraldine Matthews
John (Peterbug) Matthews
Bernadette Mayo
Madonna McCullers
Ronald McGregor
Keith Melder
Jeffrey Menick
Nancy Metzger
John and Elsie Miller
Margaret Missiaen
Connie Mitchell
Larry Monaco
Helene Monberg
Oley Morgan
Nellie May Morton
Ellen Moy Tang and daughters
Freda Murray
Mary Murray
Virginia Myers
Annie Bell Nelson
Elizabeth Nelson and Nick Alberti
Jerre Ness
Jean Noel
Rev. Michael O'Sullivan
John Overbeck
Ruth Ann Overbeck
Steven and Mary Park
John Parker
Lane Parsons
Kathleen Penney
Catherine M. Peterson
Gary Peterson
Maurine Phinisee
Alex Pope, Jr.
Peter Powers
Evelyn Price
Mary Procter and Bill Matuszeski
Ida Prosky
Tom Rall
Herbert P. Ramsey, M.D.
Clarence Rice, M.D.
Nelson F. Rimensnyder
Curtis C. Robinson
Donna Scheeder
Mr. and Mrs. Norman Schroth
Walter Schwartz, Jr.
Karl Frederic Schwengel
Bea Shelton
Josephine Shore
W. Milton Sladen
Frances Slaughter
Baird Smith
Mariana and Elias Souri
Duncan Spencer
Mary Lou Stott
Kris Swanson and Roy Mustelier
Dan Tangherlini
Frank Taylor
Lloyd Thompson
Norman Tucker
Albert Turner
Ron Tutt
Alice Van Brakle
Margaret Wadsworth
Charles L. Waite, RADM, MC, USN
Peter Waldron
Julie Walker
Florine Walker Walther
Daniel Waterman, M.D.
John Weintraub and Ed Copenhaver
Suzanne Wells and Mike Godec
Minnie Lee White
Ben Williamowsky, DDS
Shirley Womack
Esther Woodfolk
Henry Wrona
Esther Yost
Clarence Zens
Interview with Maureen Nolan
Interview Date: Interviewer: Transcriber:
May 31, 2004 Beth Eck Beth Eck
This interview transcript is the property of the Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project Maureen Nolan Interview, May 31, 2004
TAPE 1/SIDE 1
ECK: Today is May 31st and my name is Beth Eck and I am here with Ms. Maureen Nolan in her home on A Street NE and you were just about to tell me when you first arrived in Washington in ’61.
NOLAN: It was at least 75 percent black and for some reason I didn’t feel threatened by it or out of place. I don’t know why I, I suppose I should have, but I didn’t. And my brother-in-law had a friend who worked for the unions and he and his wife used to come to Washington every so often and they’d always invite me out to dinner. And they used to say, “Why don’t you move?” I said, “Where to?” Because I liked, I like Capitol Hill. I must tell you when somebody asked me that, I wasn’t long here at the time, where I lived and I said “on Capitol Hill,” they said “where in Capitol Hill?” I said, “208 Mass.” And they said, “Is that north or south, on the south side or the north side?’ “That’s the north side.” “Then you’re not in Capitol Hill.” Capitol Hill was only from Massachusetts Avenue to C Street SE.
ECK: Everybody’s got a different definition.
NOLAN: That was 1961. And then, as far as Seventh Street, it didn’t go any farther, that was Capitol Hill in those days. And, as far as I was concerned, that’s OK but I remember being at the National—I think it was the Warner Theater—and I wanted to get a cab home. And I wanted a cab, I said, “Northeast.” “I’m not going Northeast.” Three different cabs. So somebody said, “Don’t say ‘Northeast’. Say ‘Capitol Hill’ in future.” So that was the kind of, there was that.
ECK: And that was when you first moved here?
NOLAN: That’s right. St. Joseph’s [Catholic Church] was integrated from way back, from the time Cardinal O’Boyle had come to Washington which was the 1940s. He insisted that there’d be no more of this, backs for the back of the church for the blacks or that. I didn’t feel out of place and, you know, other people thought, well, you know you’re in the wrong area, you shouldn’t be there. And those days you could get a house for five thousand dollars, you know?
ECK: Wow.
NOLAN: Yeah. I was sharing with another woman. I paid 65 dollars a month.ECK: That was in 208?
NOLAN: That’s right. It was a big apartment, two bedroom apartment, big rooms, big living room, not a very big dining room but big enough to hold, you could seat eight. Not much room to go around it but...and we paid two dollars extra for the phone because everybody didn’t have their own. They had a
phone for the central desk downstairs and they would put the calls through here. And you paid about two dollars a month for that.
ECK: So the connection to the main...
NOLAN: To the main, yes. Of course, that would be—if you had long distance calls, they’d be extra. We took our laundry to the corner. You know where Peabody School is? Well on that corner now, there’s a big, new big building there. There used to be a place to wash your clothes there, wash and dry. So we used to take our laundry there.
ECK: And was that self-service, or you took your laundry there?
NOLAN: We took it in and did it ourselves. You couldn’t have air conditioning because the electricity hadn’t been upgraded in 1966 it was so hot, I couldn’t stand it, you know. I used to go to seven o’clock Masses at St. Joseph’s and go to work. I was working at the USCC, United States Catholic Conference. They were on 12th Street NW at the time and. I’d go to seven o’clock Mass and then go into work. And one day I saw this man who I knew, Mr. Davis. And he was moving away from the fan and I was moving to it. And I said, “You’re moving away from the fan?” He said, “Yes, I can’t stand them.” And I said, “Because you’re living in an air conditioned building.” He was living at 305 C Street and I said, “Is there any vacancy? Have you any vacancies?” He says, “They always have a waiting list but you could call Mrs. Hackrotte and tell her I told you to call.” So I called Mrs. Hackrotte, she was the manager. She said, “No, we have no vacancies.” And I said, “Well, I didn’t think you would but Mr. Davis said to call.” She said, “Do you know Mr. Davis?” I said, “Yes.” She said, “Well come and see me.” She had three people on the waiting list. I got two—the choice of two apartments.
ECK: Good for you!
NOLAN: But if I hadn’t known him I wouldn’t.
ECK: But it was all because of the air conditioning that you moved.
NOLAN: That’s right. I moved there, I was there from, it was five years the first place. Then I was 16 years at 305 C Street. And they were converting into condominiums. That the rents were going up, you know, the rents—when the rents the people are paying now. In those days we thought we were paying an awful lot but we weren’t really.
ECK: When was it switched over to condominiums?
NOLAN: 1978 I think. Steve Cymrot bought the building and it hadn’t been put up—you know it hadn’t been publicized that it was going to be for sale so that, there was no tenants’ organization or anything like that, you know? The people could have bought it, you know? But anyway we fought it for a while. Then what happened was I saw a house for sale for $75,000 near where a friend of mine lived on Ninth Street and I called her and she wasn’t home. Her husband said he’d tell her when she came in so in the meantime I called the number that they had and they said, well, someone had already gone to settlement on the house because, you know, for $75,000 even in 1982 that was a steal, you know?
ECK: Yeah!
NOLAN: But, so when she, she came. She said, “You know, you don’t want a house.” And I said, “Well, I don’t want”—I didn’t want to buy at 305 because they were all efficiencies. Well there were a couple of one bedroom apartments but I really, you know, they were asking too much I thought. So anyway, I went to see Dale Denton and, this was on the market and I bought it for $48,000.
ECK: Really? So this building is all condominiums?
NOLAN: No, it’s co-op.
ECK: OK.
NOLAN: But I really didn’t want a house. I’m too lazy to take care of it.ECK: It’s a lot of work. I’m in a one bedroom too.
NOLAN: So then. I did not want to leave the Hill. Didn’t want to leave St. Joseph’s, I rather liked that church.
ECK: So what brought you to the Hill in the first place?
NOLAN: Well, I got a job at the USCC and a friend of mine saw this place advertised to share. So she
called and found out that the woman was really good [noise on mike] oh sorry.ECK: That’s ok.
NOLAN: She was older but it was alright with me, so. She was a very nice lady from Alabama who worked for the Department of Defense and we got along fine.
ECK: How long did you live there?
NOLAN: Five years. Yes I said, if we had had air conditioning and if I had been comfortable, I would have been there for a lot longer, but it was just, you know. It was, because we were on the top floors, it never got cool, you know? And the next, you just like to get up and go to work.
ECK: Because work was air-conditioned?
NOLAN: Yes, right.
ECK: Did most buildings have air?
NOLAN: No they didn’t. No they didn’t. That was just new, that was coming in.ECK: 305 C Street was window units air conditioning?
NOLAN: No, it was central air conditioning. That was a new building. It had only gone up a couple years before that. I remember seeing it going up. All that area, you know where the parking lot, the Senate parking lot is now? That was all apartment buildings and hotels.
ECK: Oh.
NOLAN: And the Hart Building, that was Schott’s Alley and there were two or three apartment buildings there. Schott’s Alley was a lot of small houses. You know those little, like you see in the courts. You know those.
ECK: The old servants’ quarters?NOLAN: That’s right, yes.ECK: So it was like that?NOLAN: That’s right.
ECK: Where were you before you came to Washington?
NOLAN: I was in Connecticut for a year. I worked for Travellers Insurance Company. I lived with my sister and her husband. She [was] the reason I came at all. I had no intention of staying in Washington, of staying in the U.S. I was supposed to stay for two years. My sister had a baby and she said she wanted me to be the sponsor for it so I said [yes]. But she said, you better get a permanent visa because you won’t be able to see anything of the country and you can’t afford to travel if you don’t work here. Which was true.
ECK: So did you enter the lottery and get a...?
NOLAN: No no no. In those days it [a quota] wasn’t filled ever. There was never a quota and, I mean there was a quota but it was never filled. So I went to the Embassy and applied and you had a health examination. If you had TB you didn’t get in of course. I think, that was about the only thing that kept you out. And so I came, I was supposed to spend two years, so then I got this job and I thought, well, I’ll be here for six months and then I’ll go somewhere else. But you know, when you come to Washington for some reason, and especially 1961, it was just after Kennedy was elected and everything was on the up and up. It was an exciting place to be and, you know, compared to now, there was concerts on the—you remember? You probably remember those. Down on the waterfront? On the waterfront there was a concert every week too. You used to go down to that. And there was a band would be out on the barge.
ECK: I remember hearing about that.
NOLAN: And we had three or four, the Navy and the Army and the Marines. They were all there. And we’d go over there at night and it was, you know, different. And, I don’t know, but everything was happening, it was very... Of course I didn’t know what was going on with politics then. My friends primarily, that’s all they talked about was politics and I didn’t know what they were talking about. I said, why can’t they talk about books or plays or something? You know, I’d know what was going on. But after a while you begin to know who’s who, you know?
ECK: It’s hard not to.
NOLAN: Yes. I remember the Monocle was the only restaurant that I remember. There were hotels, there were several hotels that you could go and eat there if you wanted to but the Monocle was the one place that we’d go and on the weekends we’d go drive to someplace. Down to Virginia or Maryland or somewhere away, you know?
ECK: To go to eat?
NOLAN: Yes. To go for the day and then you’d eat, you know? And down by where the Watergate is, there were two or three restaurants down there. I think there was, oh what was the name, I think it might have been the Watergate Restaurant. It was Pennsylvania Dutch food. They had those popovers, you know? That was their big thing. And then down on the Waterfront there was Hogates and, what was the other, Harrigans, which was a big student place, it was mostly. They’d ask you for...
ECK: Your ID?
NOLAN: Your ID, yes. Even though they knew...ECK: So they carded you...
NOLAN: ...even though they knew, well I think they did it just to make us feel good, you know? [Laughs]
ECK: Wow, Hogates was there for a long time.
NOLAN: Hogates and the, there was three of them. The Gangplank, Captain something, can’t remember.
ECK: Oh yeah.
NOLAN: There were four we’d go to—you’d go to one one week and the other another. If you didn’t go out of town, you know?
ECK: But there weren’t many restaurants on the Hill, except for the Monocle?
NOLAN: The Monocle was the only one that I remember. I was trying to think, when you gave me this,
and I read through it, and I cannot think of any but the Monocle.ECK: Do you remember Sherrill’s Bakery?
NOLAN: Oh yes.
ECK: I guess that really isn’t considered a restaurant.NOLAN: Yes. And they were so mean there. [Laughs]
ECK: They were.
NOLAN: We used to go there too. And there was Mike Palms. Mike Palms. Now I remember that one.ECK: Where was that?
NOLAN: It was, I’m trying to think what was there now. I think it was about—
ECK: Wait, is that the one where Mr. Henry’s is now?
NOLAN: No. I think it was on the other side. I don’t think there’s a restaurant there now. Or maybe, I remember going to Mike Palms. And further down there was a Hungarian one for a while. It didn’t last very long. Can’t remember the name of that one either. Between Third and Fourth Street on Pennsylvania. There were none of the Chinese restaurants there. There was one Chinese restaurant near Seventh, between Sixth and Seventh on the north side of Pennsylvania Avenue. It was very popular.
ECK: Is that the one that’s still on the block where the Penn Theater is?
NOLAN: No, it’s not. It was that block, but it’s not there now.
ECK: OK. Because, Hine Junior High changed. Did that change when you were on the Hill? I know that they had built a new building. They switched, they had an old building and an old playground and they switched places of it? I don’t know when that happened.
NOLAN: I don’t remember.
ECK: That’s more on the Southeast side so maybe that’s, you were closer over to Peabody.
NOLAN: Yeah, uh huh.
ECK: Edmonds School is also in Northeast, isn’t it?
NOLAN: Edmonds?
ECK: That was an elementary school. I can’t remember where.
NOLAN: Stuart-Hobson’s the one I remember, yeah, I remember that one. That’s where we used to go to vote.
ECK: So, you came as a permanent resident and then, you became a citizen?NOLAN: Yeah.
ECK: When did that happen?
NOLAN: 1965. Or was it 1966? 1966, early 1966. And then I worked. That was when all the big march, you know we had Martin Luther King march, but that was 1963 when we had all this. Kennedy assassination and all that. [Coughs] And.
ECK: Did you go to the funeral parade?
NOLAN: I and a friend went to walk, we said we’d wait until the crowd cleared so we wouldn’t have to stand so long in line to get through the wait at the Capitol, you know? And we went at eight o’clock because we’d go over, I bet the crowd should have gone. Well, we went over and we waited and we waited and we waited [unclear] and she decided after three hours she couldn’t take it anymore so she went home. And I said well I’ll stay. And we walked, and we waited and it went all around Lincoln Park and back. And four o’clock in the morning...
ECK: Oh my gosh.
NOLAN: ...I got through, and got back at 4:30. And they hadn’t gone to bed. They had stayed up watching, you know, there was news constantly. It was all the time. And then when, that Sunday I was on the corner of, you know, that corner at the very, going...you know, the first building where, you know the three Senate office buildings.
ECK: On Constitution Avenue?
NOLAN: Yes.
NOLAN: We were on, was waiting for the funeral to come, the hearse to go by there. And it was 12 o’clock. We were standing on the steps at that corner building.
ECK: Oh, so the Sewell-Belmont House?
NOLAN: No no no. Oh, not Constitution Avenue, it was...
ECK: On the Independence side.
NOLAN: Yes. And, they said Jack Ruby had shot, somebody had a radio on and you could hear the [static on mike]...I tell you it was something.
ECK: It was such a turbulent time.
NOLAN: It was. It was.
ECK: Do you remember where you were when you heard that Kennedy had been shot?NOLAN: I was at work. Of course nobody did any work from then on.
ECK: Sure.
NOLAN: You know, I’ve been trying to think. We mustn’t have had work the next day because I don’t remember going to work the next day on the Monday. That was on Friday and Saturday. Saturday we had been invited to a friend’s who was having an open house. I don’t know what she was having, but it was kind of a wake time, do you know what I mean? There was about 20 people there and everybody was kind of mourning. It was like, you know, a death. But she decided we might as well go on, we’ll, you know, as long as she had all this food and all and the rest, well why not have it. So we went and, but I don’t remember going to work, on the Monday. I can’t remember. I think we might have had the day off or something. I can’t, I’ve been trying to think. I don’t remember being at work. I remember watching the
John John saluting, so on, on television. So I don’t know whether it was later or whether it was during that time it was happening. Because that’s what everyone was, glued to their televisions, you know?
ECK: Yeah.
NOLAN: And then, the big march. Then we had, they had all these people come to Washington from,
you know, they had, they were camped out on the Mall.
ECK: Oh that was the, there was a demonstration against poverty, when they built houses down on the Mall?
NOLAN: Yes. That must have been 1963 too, I think it was. Can’t swear to that now. I remember that. I remember.
ECK: Did you go to any of the demonstrations? Or, did you participate, or did you watch?
NOLAN: I always went, so I could be counted, but I stayed on the outside, because I don’t want to be in a crowd ever. I always stay on the very edge but when I hear that they were counting I always made sure that I [unclear]. If they were counting at all I made sure that I was there, whether the count, counts were never accurate, of course.
ECK: Well now they’ve stopped counting.
NOLAN: That’s right. They’d tell you there was 250,000 and you knew darn well that there was more like a million people, you know? It was, there was. I remember the riots very well. It was 11 o’clock. I’ll tell you, on the night that Martin Luther King was shot, I was down on H Street. We had the, they have the Capitol Hill Group Ministry now. I don’t know what they called it in those days but it was part, it was the same thing, it was all the different ministries...
ECK: Interdenominational.
NOLAN: ...yes. And we had this. Can I give you some more? It’s probably cold [pours Eck some tea]
ECK: Oh, thank you.
NOLAN: We had a room over one of those [ed: Thrift Stores]...
ECK: You said you were down on H Street?
NOLAN: Yeah, we had a room, there was three of us supposed to be there. Two men and I for when people would come in looking for, trying to find housing, you know, rents. They’d have trouble with their
landlords. We were trying to help them or things like that. And getting jobs for them. I remember one man, he was, he had the loveliest child you ever saw. He always brought her with him, you know? And he was—we would set up an appointment for a job interview [for him] and he’d come back and say he didn’t get the job. And he was drunk. And I said to him, “You went for a job interview looking like that? You weren’t shaved. Who’d you think was going to hire you?!” The two men were horrified. They thought, “How could you talk to him like that?” I said, “You should be ashamed of yourself. Now get lost.” And they were furious with me! “You don’t talk to anybody like that!” I said, “Yes, I do because he had, if you’re going to pussyfoot around you’ll never get anywhere.” But, you know, he didn’t want a job [unclear].
ECK: He didn’t come back?
NOLAN: Well, I don’t know because then, the next time, we were supposed to be there, they didn’t show up. And every night, a whole lot of children would come in. Like we’d be shooing them away but, you know, we weren’t really, our hearts weren’t in it, you know. You’d talk, and you’d let them through. Then we had clothes. If somebody came in looking for clothes, we’d give them a bag. But that night, I had left because at a quarter—because I had the key to open the place. And I was there by myself at a quarter of nine and Marie Cavanaugh came in. She said, “Have you been here by yourself since?” I said, “I’ve been here since seven.” And she said, “Has anybody been in?” I said, “Not a soul,” I said, “I’ve never seen it like this before.” And we’d been doing this for a couple years, you know, at that time. She said, “Do you know what happened?” And I said, “What happened?” “Martin Luther King was shot.” And she was so mad with those men. And I was mad with them too.
ECK: Because nobody had come to be with you?
NOLAN: They didn’t even tell me! All they had to do was call, we had a phone.
ECK: And so did you lock up then and go home?
NOLAN: We locked up and went home. And then we had a meeting with them and she laid into them. Boy, did she ever lay them out! Good thing too.
ECK: So, how long did you work with, was that part of your job or that was part of your volunteer...?
NOLAN: No, that was volunteer work. That was volunteer, that was part of St. Joseph’s ministry. Oh, each church was supposed to provide so many, you know, at least three people every night. And we weren’t there on Sunday nights. I know Thursday night was the night we were supposed to be there. So that’s the next morning, we went to work. And about 11 o’clock, we heard that the city was burning.
That’s right. And there was only Valerie Costello and I that were the only two that worked at the USCC at the time, of our friends anyway, that we knew, of us, that lived in the city. And the others wanted us to go home with them, you know? I said, “If anything happens, I want to be in my own place. I’m going home, not any out of the city.” So we came home, she went home too. She lived on 16th Street and I lived at 305 C Street at that time.
ECK: 16th Street?
NOLAN: Northwest. And that was Monday. No, that was Friday. Saturday, there was a curfew. We
weren’t supposed to be out after four o’clock. And...ECK: Four in the afternoon?
NOLAN: That’s right. The woman that I used to stay with before I went and moved to 305 C Street. She’d invited us for dinner. Or for lunch, or for lunch. And we had gone, my next door neighbor friend of mine. We went over there. We were coming back and it was four o’clock. Father Gillen was out then, said, “Four o’clock! Four o’clock! Four!” I said, “Father, they’re not going to arrest us.” And he said, “You never know, they could!”
ECK: Yeah, they could.
NOLAN: They could, they could. So, then there was a lot of strange stories going on about it. Monsignor Awalt was at St. Peter’s at that time and he happened to be passing by. And there was a men’s clothing store there on, between Second and Third. And he saw this kid who was an altar boy coming out of the [store] [laughs] taking a whole lot of clothes! And he said, “Guess I got to go to confession, Father.” He said, “Yes, you do. You’ve got to put them back too!” [laughs]
ECK: So there was looting on the Hill as well?
NOLAN: Oh yes. Yes.
ECK: Because I hear a lot about it on U Street, and I guess on H Street.
NOLAN: Well, anyplace there was anything that they could loot. But oddly enough... Now all the stores barricaded them, you know, so there was no stores open. So the next day, people rushed out, bringing in food from the suburbs. And we had.
ECK: Because you couldn’t shop at all during that time? Stores just closed?
NOLAN: Well, the stores were closed. They were smart to close, you know? And there was, but they brought in all kinds of things, cheese and bread and tea and sugar and, you know, staples, you know? And there was, we had a few old ladies that we used to look in and take care of, and we’d call them to find out what they wanted. And, enough to keep them going for a week, maybe if they want like. But, there was one little old lady, Bessie Boston. She was about so big [gestures] and, I knocked on her door. She’d come out for the food and, her next door neighbor wasn’t one of our parishioners. And she said, “My church always takes care of me,” shaking her behind.
ECK: [Laughs] And did her church?
NOLAN: Well, we were from, yes, we...
ECK: She was very proud?
NOLAN: Oh yes! Was she ever! But we were always taking care of her because she wouldn’t pay either her gas bill or something. She loved going to court.
ECK: Oh geez!
NOLAN: [Laughs] She was...[laughs]ECK: She just liked the company?
NOLAN: I don’t know what it was with her. But she’d say, “I paid it. That was Washington Electric and Gas.” She didn’t realize that they weren’t the—there were two separate bills. So she’d pay one, she wouldn’t pay the other.
ECK: My goodness.
ECK: Did she come out for Mass?
NOLAN: No, she was, she hadn’t been out for—she had an icebox. Ice for her. So when I told this friend of mine, that she was using instead, so they got her a refrigerator. And of course she couldn’t believe her good luck that she got a refrigerator.
ECK: What year was it that she was still using an icebox?NOLAN: 1968.
ECK: Wow!
NOLAN: Well, invariably 1965 or ’66, I’d say. Because this was a couple years later.
ECK: Could you still get ice deliveries?
NOLAN: Yes, there was the Uline Arena. That’s what the—
ECK: And that’s where they sold ice? Really! Isn’t the Uline Arena where the Beatles played when they...?
NOLAN: Must have been, if they did play here because that was the only big place. I remember the Ice Follies would be there, you know. Must have, that was the only place there was at the time. The Kennedy Center, I mean, you know, Robert Kennedy thing [ed: Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium], that wasn’t built then.
ECK: That was the one place. You had mentioned your friends talked about politics a lot. Were most of them involved in politics?
NOLAN: Well, one of them worked for a congressman from North Carolina. And the others all had relatives that worked for congressmen or senators or what, you know. So they knew them.
ECK: Were there a lot of young people on the Hill?
NOLAN: There were, there were. Nearly everyone at St. Joseph’s, at that time. There was...well, it’s the
same now, though more Hill staffers than anything else, you know?
ECK: Have your neighbors changed, I mean, have you seen the neighborhood change in terms of the people who are living around you? You mentioned that DC was 70% black. What was Capitol Hill like?
NOLAN: It would have been that, it would have been that. It would have been the same.
ECK: And were blocks integrated? I mean, did you have black families and white families living on the
same street?
NOLAN: Yes, you did. Not, there’d be more black than white, but there were. Like, I knew a lot of blacks on E Street and Fourth Street. I knew people there, on one side of the street would be white and the other side would be black.
NOLAN: But there were, they seemed to get along fine. I mean, I didn’t notice any—maybe there was
friction but I never noticed it. I don’t remember any discrimination or any. I won’t say that there wasn’t, page 14
now there could have been. But if it was, it was very hidden. We had a lot of black parishioners at St. Joseph’s then. An awful lot.
ECK: So was that where you met most people, was through St. Joseph’s?NOLAN: Yes, it was.
ECK: I know, since I grew up in St. Peter’s, I’m used to having a strong Catholic community around me but, I mean in many ways, the Catholics, it’s not the majority of the city. And yet...
NOLAN: No no. That’s right, it’s not.
ECK: But there were a lot of people living close by that went to St. Joseph’s that...
ECK: ...were Catholic.
NOLAN: There was. We had friends that were not, you know. But the majority of our friends were Catholics to be honest with you.
ECK: Was there a buzz after Kennedy’s election? When Kennedy was elected in ’60 and you came in ’61.
NOLAN: Yes. Yes, there seemed to be, you know, everybody seemed to be happy and everything was, you know, there would, take notice of what Caroline did and all those columns with comics with Caroline on, what’s the ice cream she’d show up at the party with, you know. The party, and they’d talk about the party. So, where’s the ice cream, you know, things like that. Stupid little [things] but they were funny, like, funny little cartoons.
ECK: Was that in the Post or?
NOLAN: I think it was, there was an evening paper.
ECK: Evening Star?
ECK: Tell me a bit about just daily shopping.
NOLAN: Oh, well, there was a lot of mom and pop stores around. And some of them, there was one ,where there’s a store still at the corner of Third and Mass[achusetts Avenue]. That used to be Safeway.
We used to do our shopping there mostly. And then we’d go to Eastern Market for some. And then there was other markets. There was the O Street Market, you know.
END OF TAPE 1/SIDE 1 TAPE 1/SIDE 2
ECK: I’ll be able to tell when...ok. OK, it’s back on. So O Street, NW, you said...NOLAN: Yes.
ECK: ...there was a market.
NOLAN: It was like the Eastern Market but, you know. But, we didn’t have all those stalls then. It was only the food inside, well you had the farmer’s market on Saturday. And sometimes we went down to the farmer’s market at New York Avenue, you know? But not very often.
ECK: The one on Florida?
NOLAN: Florida, yes. But not very often. So that’s where we did. There were so many stores downtown,
you know. I mean, any number. You know, there was Hecht’s and Kann’s and Lansburgh’s.
ECK: Woodie’s.
NOLAN: Woodie’s and Raleigh’s. Oh, there were so many, you couldn’t—and they were all good.ECK: So for clothes shopping, it was all downtown?
NOLAN: Yes. You know, on F Street. You didn’t have to go any further.ECK: Did you have a car?
NOLAN: Yes, I had a car. I had a car in ’68, then my sight was getting worse and I couldn’t, when I couldn’t see, you know, when I couldn’t see what the, I couldn’t read the signposts I decided it was safer [to stop driving]. I wasn’t a good driver anyway. But we also, we used Seventh Street, that was later of course, in the seventies. We had a nice clothing store over on Seventh Street. Perlucci’s. Did you ever hear of that?
ECK: Seventh Street Northeast?NOLAN: Southeast.
ECK: Near the market?
ECK: And it was called?
NOLAN: Perlucci’s. And there was Cheese and Cheer was there. Yes. And there was also, there was a Safeway there so if you didn’t get what you wanted—
ECK: Did they still keep the one on Massachusetts Avenue, the Safeway open?
NOLAN: No, that was closed long, way way back. But somebody else took it over. But after that closed we used to go to Seventh Street, Seventh Street Southeast. There was also another one on, before we went to Seventh Street. Now, there’s two big houses there. It’s about on the first block of Seventh Street [ed: Northeast] between the East Capitol and E [ed: A] Street, there was a store there. A Safeway. It was a small one but, then they closed that. But there was a lot of mom and pop stores, you know? There was one nice one that had very good meat at the corner of Third and Maryland Avenue. That was the place to go for good steaks, good chops or you know, chops or anything like that. I remember, that’s what I remember about that. I don’t think [we bought] anything else there except meat.
ECK: So you would do your shopping, go to the butcher for meat, and...NOLAN: Yeah, you know.
ECK: It’s so different now.
NOLAN: Oh yes, yes. I still like Eastern Market.
ECK: Have the shops inside changed a lot?
NOLAN: Not that much, not that much. They kind of cleaned it up a bit but. The food, I mean the meats and fish and all the rest was always good there, you know. I mean, you just, I was lucky maybe. I don’t, I don’t think I ever got a bad, bad, I mean, meat that wasn’t top quality at Eastern Market.
ECK: Do you, the Capitol Hill Natatorium is right next...
ECK: ...Do you know when that was built? I mean, do you, was it always there when you were?
NOLAN: No, it wasn’t. I remember it being built but I can’t say what year. Must have been the early seventies. Yeah. They renovated it recently. Did you go to there?
ECK: I learned how to swim there. I remember very distinctly. Did you go for swims there or?
NOLAN: Yeah, I went. I used to go for aerobics, for the water aerobics for the senior citizens. I haven’t been this year, nor last year’s too. I’m too lazy.
ECK: So tell me, how long did you work for the Catholic Conference?
NOLAN: I went to work for the government in 1968. It must have been six years, seven years.
ECK: What part of the government?
NOLAN: National Park Service. I worked for them until 1977 and then I went to work for EPA. And I retired in 1989.
ECK: So you said, you didn’t plan on making Washington permanent.NOLAN: No, no.
ECK: Did the city just grab you?
NOLAN: It did, it did. I think that’s what happens to everybody. You know, there was so much, well—there’s no place, where can you go that you can go into a museums like we have without paying? Or going to the art galleries that we have without paying? Even at a senior citizen rates it’s eight dollars when I go to Connecticut. And my nieces take me there. It’s always eight dollars for mine. It’s ten dollars for their tickets.
ECK: You get spoiled.
NOLAN: Yes, I know. Rotten. Spoiled rotten. And then the concerts, all these free concerts. And the
Library of Congress. I mean, where could you get something like the Library of Congress?
ECK: That’s true. Did you know Margaret Tappan?
NOLAN: The name is familiar but I can’t...
ECK: She worked at the Library of Congress. That’s why I brought it up. But she was, she was a parishioner at St. Peter’s. Lived on A Street, SE, right close to St. Mark’s.
NOLAN: No. I don’t think, I may not have.
ECK: Was there much interaction between the parishes of St. Peter’s and St. Joseph’s?NOLAN: Yes, there was, quite a bit.
ECK: What other churches were involved in the Capitol Hill Group Ministry?
NOLAN: Well, I know there was a group, some of the Jews there, St. James Episcopalian Church, the Lutheran church on Second and East Capitol, and the Baptist church across the street [ed: from where she lives now at 516 A Street NE]. And I think the Methodists. I’m nearly sure the Methodists. There were about six, at least.
ECK: This is the same group that sponsors the Easter Parade, right?
NOLAN: I think so, yeah.
ECK: I remember as a child walking to Lincoln Park and joining the other churches for the parade.NOLAN: Yeah. It was nice.
ECK: Tell me about the streetcars.
NOLAN: Oh, they were, they were fun. You know, they ran in the middle of the street. But, I think they must have stopped around 1970, I’m not sure exactly when. Or maybe before that. You could go, you know, so far. We used to go. I remember one, when it was very hot, we’d get on a bus and just drive to the end of the line because the buses were air-conditioned or there were fans or something, you know. So that you wouldn’t have. Another thing we did was we’d go to the movies. Because, to get, you know. That was before I moved to...
ECK: To C Street.
NOLAN: ...to C Street.
ECK: Which movie theaters do you remember? There were a lot of them on the Hill, weren’t there?
NOLAN: There were. There were quite a few then. But, those, the one we really liked was one over in Georgetown, Macarthur Boulevard. I don’t know why we liked that one. There must have been a streetcar or a bus that went there directly. I’m not sure.
ECK: There was a streetcar that used to go all the way to Glen Echo.
ECK: I wonder if that’s the same line?
NOLAN: I don’t know. It could have been. It could have been. It probably was. And Glen Echo was, you know, the Clara Barton House. I remember going to see that. There’s a lot [to see], you know.
ECK: Now, you said it was your sister who was in Connecticut?
NOLAN: Yeah, I have a brother there too.
ECK: And they didn’t want you to stay up close to them?
NOLAN: Well, they did but I, you know, that wasn’t what I had intended. They were living in the suburbs and, you know, I didn’t have a car then. And the leisure, everybody had children and that’s why, I was bored stiff. That’s the truth of the matter.
ECK: [Laughs] Yeah.
NOLAN: So, this was quite a change and it, as I said, there was so much too do, you couldn’t, you know.
You never had, you couldn’t be bored here then. Couldn’t be bored here now either.
ECK: No. I think it’s still the same way. What about your parents? Did they stay in Ireland?NOLAN: Oh, my parents were dead long since my mother died, way back. Dead before I came.ECK: Where in Ireland are you from?
NOLAN: Clare. It’s on the west coast. I’ve seen a lot of changes. A lot of things pulled down, built up. One thing that I was thinking of, when I came the first time, I was surprised at the litter. You’d see bottles and we had—there were a lot of green spaces but there was a lot of trash.
ECK: Really? More than now?
NOLAN: Oh, a lot more than now. And then Lady Bird Johnson came along. And it changed, you might say overnight. Because she was one for the beautification. And that was, I think that was one of the big-- when you gave me that part, that was one of the things that I must remember to tell. Because, like I said to you, there would be bottles and cans and trash, you know, paper. People were not, as well as that, they didn’t have all those trash cans around for people to put the trash into. But, then they started cleaning up the place and it made a difference.
ECK: It’s interesting. I wonder what, I guess there was just a big campaign, a push to have people clean up after themselves?
NOLAN: I think so, I think so. I don’t know, but it made a difference anyway. I think once it was drawn to their attention.
ECK: Can you think of other ways that the neighborhood’s changed? I mean, obviously, prices have gone up. But a lot of buildings have been torn down. Is the first building that you lived in, is that gone now?
NOLAN: No, that’s the Heritage [Foundation Building].ECK: Oh, that’s the Heritage site.
NOLAN: They bought the middle one and then they bought that one. As I said, where the parking lot for the senators [is] there were houses, there were multi-family, you know, at least three family houses, as well as apartment buildings and hotels, all that lot was full of people.
ECK: You mentioned there was a hotel there too?
NOLAN: Oh yes. There was the Continental Hotel and there were several [other] hotels.
ECK: There were a lot of houses on the Hill that were boarding houses? Was that still the case when you were there?
NOLAN: Yes, there was. There was, a lot of them. A lot of them.
ECK: I’m curious, going back to when the riots happened. Did anything happen to your H Street office?
NOLAN: No, no. No it didn’t. Of course we didn’t go to it, after that, we didn’t go back there. You know, we just cleaned out everything. Took the clothes down to the Salvation Army and that. But it was, it was a good—it did good work for a while, you know? I mean, maybe for a couple of years. I think it might have started after Martin Luther King came to Washington. I think that would be about 1963 or ’64 it started. Because I remember going there for a couple of years, or it seemed like that anyway. We had, you know, the people would come. Like one woman, she wanted a bigger place. And, you know, you’d go through all the listings and find and call, call and see what they had. Sometimes you’d be lucky and be able to find a place for her and sometimes you wouldn’t. But if it was a question of clothes that they wanted, well, we could just, you know, find out what fitted them and give them to them. That was, all we had to clear out of there then was the clothes. We had quite a selection of clothes. People were pretty good at giving things that they didn’t want.
ECK: When you helped people find apartments, were there places that discriminated, or you said it was...
NOLAN: Actually, there were.ECK: ...but they didn’t say why.
NOLAN: Well, I don’t know. They always had, somebody told me, I think it was Mrs. Curran who told me, that they always charged more for black families. I don’t know.
ECK: But it’s always hard to prove.NOLAN: Yes, that’s the whole trouble.ECK: Unless you can prove it.
NOLAN: Yes, that’s right. The thing was, you know, like most of the people didn’t want to move to a place that they, that they weren’t familiar with too, you know? They wouldn’t feel comfortable then. That was one of the [problems]—like you might find a place for somebody in Northwest, and they’d say, oh I don’t want to go that far away, you know? Even if it wouldn’t be half a mile but, somebody who’s used to being in [Northeast], especially.
ECK: Around people that they know?NOLAN: That’s right, that they know. Yeah.
ECK: You had mentioned at the beginning that taxicabs wouldn’t take you if you said you were in Northeast.
NOLAN: That’s right.
ECK: When did that change?
NOLAN: Well, I never checked up, because I never told them afterwards that it was Northeast. I’d say, “Capitol Hill,” get in and tell them where then.
ECK: [Laughs]
NOLAN: But it wasn’t too often that I had to take a cab, but whenever I did, you know. For one thing you didn’t want to drive downtown and find a place to park. It was always hard to find a place to park. But, that night I was so mad. Three different cabs refused to take me. Finally somebody did.
ECK: People still have that problem.
NOLAN: Oh yes. That’s right. That’s right, and black people have more problems than we have. And
that’s a shame.
ECK: So you didn’t take cabs very often.NOLAN: No.
ECK: And you were driving for...
NOLAN: I drove until 1968. It was after that that I had trouble with the cabs.ECK: And then the Metro came in ’74?
NOLAN: Yes, that was a big help. That really was.
ECK: The streetcars were...
NOLAN: I liked the streetcars.
ECK: Why?
NOLAN: I don’t know. I liked them.
ECK: My grandfather was a streetcar driver. Not in Washington.NOLAN: Oh. Yeah.
ECK: Cars drove around them? I mean, I’ve never been in a city that has them operating. And were they open air or air-conditioned?
NOLAN: Well, I think they were probably open air. Yeah. They could close the windows, they had windows but. I doubt if they had air-conditioning.
ECK: Do you remember how much they cost?
NOLAN: About, if it was 20 cents that was as much as it would have been.ECK: Whoa!.
NOLAN: I remember we used to take the bus to Rosslyn. You know there was a bus that would go to Rosslyn. I think, we had to go to Union Station or not? And Rosslyn then, it was different, kind of, you know?
ECK: How?
NOLAN: Well, it wasn’t built up like it is now, for one thing. And, there used to be different stores that you weren’t familiar with, you know what I mean? We’d just go and look around. Maybe buy nothing or buy some little thing or other, you know?
ECK: And so the streetcar or the bus would drop you very close to home?
NOLAN: Yeah. The bus, you’d get off the bus. When I was living at 305 C Street, the bus would stop at the corner of Fourth and Mass. which it still does, you know.
ECK: You can be in the city and get around and not have a car.NOLAN: Yeah, yeah.
ECK: And so you bought this place in?
NOLAN: 1982.
ECK: Have your neighbors changed a lot? Do you know your neighbors?
NOLAN: When I came, yes. When I came here, they had only converted to a co-op in 1980. And the original tenants, the ones who were renters, they were nearly all, there was only one couple who had bought into this. There were renters here before, before it converted, and then I was the second one to buy into it. And now there’s only two of the original, well there’s one man who has an apartment. He never uses it, he’s down in Georgia. He doesn’t need it. He’s old.
ECK: Does he rent it?NOLAN: No he doesn’t.ECK: Huh.
NOLAN: It’s empty. And all the others, that’s it, only two of the original. Oh, there’s three. There’s Mrs. Bow. Dr. Bow’s first wife died and then he remarried and he died, and she’s—but you couldn’t say that she was an original.
ECK: An original?
NOLAN: No.
ECK: Speaking of doctors, did you go downtown for medical care or were there people on the Hill?
NOLAN: There were. Well, there was Dr. Bow over at the corner of Third and Constitution. And then there was...the first. I didn’t really, didn’t have much to do with doctors. What was her name, there was a doctor, I don’t know, was it Minor? I don’t know. She lived on East Capitol Street. Like, someone would recommend a doctor to you, you know? So you went because they recommended it. And there was, Rogers Memorial Hospital. It was a Casualty Hospital then.
ECK: For the war?
NOLAN: No, for accidents. That was where, it’s Medlink Nursing Home now. It’s at Seventh Street NE. That was there.
ECK: So when you say a casualty hospital, that’s just, like an emergency room?
NOLAN: Uh huh [affirmative]. That’s when I had a car accident, that’s where they took me. And I was very happy that they took me there because when my teeth had come out, through, I knocked out my bottom teeth.
ECK: Ouch.
NOLAN: And when the doctor—they said they’d have to send me to Georgetown because, unfortunately [they did not do dental work]. Dr. Rogers was the owner of the hospital. And he said, “Oh no, we can take care of her here.” And I was so happy. And afterwards when he was—years and years later when they would have a benefit, you know, I didn’t think he’d recognize me. And I said, “Doctor, do you remember me? I was one of your patients one time.” And he said, and I had fractured the jaw too. He said, “Yeah, I remember you.”
ECK: [Laughs] Nice.
NOLAN: He was a nice man.
ECK: So he was always, where was he on the Hill again? He was at the hospital.
NOLAN: Yeah, I don’t know where he lived. He probably, I don’t know, he lived where. His sister, Miss Rogers, I know. I don’t know. But anyway, that was a good place to go.
ECK: I remember when I was growing up, there was a doctor on East Capitol Street, really close to the Baptist church across the street.
NOLAN: Yeah.
ECK: Just down the street, there was a corner store that was run by a Korean family.NOLAN: Yeah, they’re still there.
ECK: They’re still there?
NOLAN: Uh huh [affirmative].
ECK: And there was a pediatrician just a couple of doors down from there.
ECK: And there was a drug store, I think it’s still there. Morton’s.
NOLAN: Well there, Grubbs. There’s Grubbs, yes. And Morton’s. But that was on Pennsylvania Avenue. Yeah. And there’s Morton’s on Eighth and East Capitol Street.
NOLAN: The place was at all times, it was pretty well [taken care of]—you know, you had doctors and
physicians and dentists and all the rest, everywhere.
ECK: Do you feel like it’s a safer neighborhood now than it was?
NOLAN: To tell you the truth, I never found [it threatening]— I mean, in the beginning of course, there would. They didn’t have the drug problem then. And I, I never did feel threatened. I’ve been held up a few times and [unclear] but that can happen anytime. Any place.
ECK: Recently? I mean, I’ve had my share as well. I think it’s just part of living in the city.NOLAN: That’s right, yes. It happens sooner or later to everybody.
ECK: I think maybe some people react better than others.
NOLAN: Yes. You know...
ECK: Close to home?
NOLAN: The first time, I was in 305 C Street and it was just before Christmas and I had been downtown shopping. And I had, we didn’t, they didn’t have the door locked in those days, you know. You just went in. Which goes to show you how things have changed. And I had three or four packages and my pocketbook was over [my arm]. So I went to the letterbox. There was this kid standing there and I didn’t take much notice. And then next thing, he pulled my [pocketbook]—I went to open my mailbox, you know? And, he knocked me back flat on the floor. And I started yelling, “Help! Help!” And Dick Callahan who was living there, he heard me, came out and the kid ran then. And I was so, I was furious, I was so mad with him. I thought, if I could get him, I would have smashed that kid’s head on the, against the steps. That’s, I was in such a fury, which was awful, do you know, to think it. Just for whatever few dollars would have been in my pocketbook. It couldn’t have been much. I scared myself, when I cooled down, it took me about an hour afterwards. I thought, you know I was ready to kill him and it wouldn’t
have been, for just a—was really scared and I said, I’ll never again say, I couldn’t do this or I couldn’t do that. Because I know you can do things when you’re angry.
ECK: It’s a violation, I think. That’s what makes you angrier more than anything else.
NOLAN: Yeah, yeah.
ECK: It’s violates the trust that you have in other people.
NOLAN: But it, I was scared of me then, you know. I think that I could, if I could have done him harm I would have done it, do you know what I mean?
ECK: Uh huh.
NOLAN: It’s awful to feel like that. It really is, huh.
ECK: I think it’s powerful to acknowledge it though. When you recognize it in yourself then you can try to control it or...
NOLAN: Yeah. But it kind of makes me not be judgmental anymore, huh. Not that I still have a touch...ECK: [Laughs] I think we all are sometimes. But so they never locked the front door of the lobby?
NOLAN: They did after that. Well, not after that. Maybe a couple of instances after, they did. That was the first time. But, then another time. I went over to pick up, I was on my way to Ireland, and I went over to pick up my plane tickets. And I shouldn’t have, I didn’t need to take anything with me except the check that I—and I saw those two were going on bicycles. And I was watching them. But I didn’t realize the one came back behind, came around, pulled it, and of course somebody. It was just outside 305 C Street. I was almost home when. But a man across the street saw and he called out. He said, “Stop that!” And those police were down at the corner of Third and Mass. [coughs] They got them [coughs] and he had my pocketbook over his shoulder, you know? On a bicycle. So, so that’s mine, but they wouldn’t give me the pocketbook. I said, well give me my keys anyway. You know, the police were so stupid. They kept it, they wanted it for evidence. And I had to go over to somewhere way over, Southeast, to get my plane tickets.
ECK: Oh!
NOLAN: I said, this is ridiculous, you know. And then [coughs] he was let go anyway.ECK: Really?!
NOLAN: [coughs] The policeman was so annoyed, so annoyed. He said, he wanted to know would I come and pick him out in a lineup, and I said I definitely will, you know? But there was no [lineup], I mean it was plain to say that. But apparently whatever judge [there] was decided that there were too many in jail as it was which, no doubt about it, there are but.
ECK: Do you remember when that was?
NOLAN: About ’75 I think. Yeah.
ECK: So, when you came over from Ireland the first time, how did you come? You flew?NOLAN: Flew. To New York.
ECK: From Dublin.
NOLAN: No, from Shannon.
ECK: And your brother and sister were both here.
NOLAN: Yeah. And my brother and brother-in-law met me in New York.
ECK: How old were you when you came?
NOLAN: 35.
ECK: Had you been overseas before?
NOLAN: I’d been in Europe but I hadn’t been across the Atlantic. And when I told my brother I was coming to Washington, he was—oh he couldn’t. “It wasn’t safe, it wasn’t safe.” And I said, “I’ve been all over Europe, what do you?” “It’s not the same, I tell you.” He was one of those scaredy cats too, you know? And I said, “ I’m not going to be going to the slums or anything like that.” He says, “Well, it doesn’t matter where you are, you know. It’s dangerous in all places.” “It’s dangerous if you’re looking for trouble, I suppose, it’s dangerous.”
ECK: So did you have the job and that’s why you came to Washington?
ECK: It seems like a lot of people come to Washington with no job at all and they just come...NOLAN: They’re lucky, aren’t they lucky.
ECK: ...and find something.
NOLAN: I wish I were that—I wish I were that brave, huh.ECK: I know I’m not.
NOLAN: And I envy those people who go all over Europe on their own. I had a friend, she’s dead now. And she was a journalist. But she went all over South America.
NOLAN: And, you know, she’d spend, I don’t know, six months or something, all over. Went to all kinds of places that I’d love to go to, but I certainly wouldn’t go on my own. I think she’d been everywhere though.
ECK: Wow. Where did you and your friends go on holiday? Did you mostly go back to Ireland?NOLAN: I used to go, I’d go to Ireland one year, and then I’d go to Europe or to South America or
somewhere, Canada, every other, every other time.ECK: Fun. Nice. Did you go to the beaches?
NOLAN: No, I never go to the beaches. Too hot for me. Went once. I’ve been twice, I’ve been to the beach in the States and that’s all.
ECK: Which ones?
NOLAN: New London was once. And I’ve forgotten what the name of the other one was. Connecticut
somewhere too but, it’s not...
ECK: Not your thing?
NOLAN: ...not my thing at all. The mountainside suits me better.ECK: Do you think we’ve covered everything?
NOLAN: I think we have, yeah.
ECK: It’s really been delightful talking to you.
NOLAN: Well, it’s nice to know finally know who you are. [Laughs]ECK: Since we have so many people in common.
ECK: OK, I’m going to shut this off.
END OF INTERVIEW
Overbeck Project
Capitol Hill Community Foundation
419 East Capitol Street SE
All InterviewsUpcoming LecturesImage CollectionsNews & InformationProject People
Bernadette / Jim McMahon
info@CapitolHillHistory.org
The Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project is an initiative of the Capitol Hill Community Foundation. © Copyright 2018
Site Design : IFMM
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3138
|
__label__wiki
| 0.931895
| 0.931895
|
Georgia man executed for 1994 killing of store clerk hours after Supreme Court rejects 11th-hour appeal
November 13, 2019 / 11:59 PM / AP
A man convicted of killing a Georgia convenience store clerk 25 years ago was put to death late Wednesday night, authorities said. Inmate Ray Jefferson Cromartie, 52, was pronounced dead at 10:59 p.m. Wednesday after an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson, authorities said in an emailed statement.
Cromartie was convicted and sentenced to die for the April 1994 slaying of Richard Slysz at a convenience store in Thomasville, near the Georgia-Florida line. The state said Cromartie had also shot and gravely wounded another convenience store clerk days before the killing.
Cromartie, when asked if he had any last words, declined to make a statement. He did allow a prayer to be recited on his behalf, however. Once the drugs began flowing, the inmate took some deep breaths, exhaling deeply before he went still.
2 Chicago moms working to stop gun violence shot dead
"Basement of horrors" woman gets life plus 80 years
Wednesday's execution came shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court, without explanation, rejected an 11th-hour appeal by the inmate's attorneys.
This undated file photo made available by the Georgia Department of Corrections, shows inmate Ray Jefferson Cromartie in custody. Georgia has executed Cromartie who was convicted in the 1994 killing of a convenience store clerk. Officials say 52-year-old Cromartie was pronounced dead at 10:59 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, after an injection of pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson. Georgia Department of Corrections via AP, File
Cromartie had insisted through his attorneys that he didn't shoot either clerk. The defense lawyers had also recently asked state and federal courts to allow DNA testing of evidence collected from the shootings that they say could prove he wasn't the shooter. The state countered that the DNA evidence being sought couldn't prove his innocence.
Evidence at trial showed Cromartie borrowed a handgun from his cousin on April 7, 1994. He then entered the Madison Street Deli that night and shot clerk Dan Wilson in the face, seriously injuring him. Wilson couldn't describe his attacker and surveillance camera footage wasn't clear enough to conclusively identify the shooter.
Days later on April 10, Cromartie and Corey Clark asked Thaddeus Lucas to drive them to another store to steal beer, testimony showed. Lucas parked, and the other two entered the Junior Food Store. Cromartie shot Slysz twice in the head, prosecutors say. Unable to open the cash register, Cromartie and Clark fled after Cromartie grabbed two 12-packs of beer. In both cases, Cromartie told others he had shot the clerks, evidence showed.
Lucas and Clark testified against Cromartie at the September 1997 trial that concluded with his death sentence. Lucas and Clark each pleaded guilty to lesser charges, served prison time and were released.
Cromartie's lawyers had sought DNA evidence including testing on shell casings from both shootings, clothing found near the first shooting site and clothing samples from Slysz. The DNA testing could prove Cromartie wasn't the shooter, his lawyers had argued. If he wasn't the shooter, he couldn't be guilty of malice murder, the conviction for which he was sentenced to death, their court filings had stated.
They also released three statements from Slysz's daughter, Elizabeth Legette, supporting DNA testing. The latest statement came Tuesday and reiterated her "serious questions" about Cromartie's guilt while criticizing state officials for not responding to her calls for testing. She said, "This leads me to the conclusion that victim's rights extend only to those who support what the state apparently wants most in death penalty cases - the execution of the offender or the alleged offender."
A judge last month found it unlikely that DNA testing would lead to a different verdict. The judge also said Cromartie waited too long to request testing and failed to show he wasn't just trying to delay his execution. Georgia's Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of that ruling.
Cromartie's attorneys filed a complaint in federal court challenging the constitutionality of the Georgia law governing post-conviction DNA testing and the way the state's courts apply it. That filing also sought an order to allow DNA testing. Last week, lawyers filed new evidence in federal court in Valdosta, including a statement from Lucas claiming he overhead Clark tell someone else he was the one who shot Slysz.
U.S. District Judge Mark Treadwell, in an order Tuesday, rejected that move, writing that Lucas' statement was "not new reliable evidence of Cromartie's actual innocence." A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Treadwell's decision late Wednesday before the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the 11th-hour request to intervene.
Cromartie was initially scheduled to be executed Oct. 30, but Georgia's high court stopped the proceedings because a county judge filed an execution order while Cromartie still had an appeal pending before the Supreme Court. State lawyers conceded the order was void and the state secured the latest execution date.
Cromartie was the third person executed by Georgia this year. The state says it uses the sedative pentobarbital for injections, but Georgia law bars the release of any information about the drug's source.
First published on November 13, 2019 / 11:59 PM
© 2019 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3142
|
__label__wiki
| 0.991558
| 0.991558
|
Contact Elsa
Elsa Benítez
Elsa Benítez was born on Thursday December 8th 1977, in Hermosillo, Mexico.
She is a Model.
To Elsa's contact database . . .
Elsa Benitez - Primary Address
M Fashion Model Management
Via Monte Rosa, 80
Contact Elsa Benítez >
Search Contact Any Celebrity - the Internet largest celebrities contact database - for other alternatives to contact Elsa Benítez.
You and Elsa
Other female celebrities born on the same day as Elsa Benítez
Ann Coulter (1961)
An American conservative social and political commentator, writer, syndicated columnist, and lawyer, who frequently appears on radio and television, and has written 12 best-selling books, including most recently Adios, America!
AnnaSophia Robb (1993)
An American actress and model who starred in films such as Because of Winn-Dixie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bridge to Terabithia, Race to Witch Mountain, Soul Surfer, and The Way, Way Back
Ingrid Michaelson (1979)
An American singer and songwriter who started her career by streaming her music on Myspace until a music producer from the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy found her music online, and is still producing her albums under her independent lable
Kim Basinger (1953)
An American actress, singer and former successful fashion model who was made known playing Bond girl Domino Petachi in the 1983 film Never Say Never Again, and won Academy Award for playing Lynn Bracken in the 1997 film L.A. Confidential
Sharmila Tagore (1946)
Maryla Rodowicz (1945)
Teri Hatcher (1964)
Nancy Meyers (1949)
A Director
Chrisette Michele (1982)
An American R&B and soul singer-songwriter who graduated Five Towns College, NY with a vocal performance degree, and won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance for her song "Be OK" (2009)
Joy-Ann Reid (1968)
An American cable television host and a national correspondent at MSNBC, who wrote a book on the recent history of the Democratic Party, called Fracture: Barack Obama, the Clintons, and the Racial Divide, and is a regular liberal pundit on both television and in publications such as The Daily Beast
Contact Elsa Benítez | © Copyright 2009-2020 Celebrities Galore and Master Numerologist Hans Decoz
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3144
|
__label__wiki
| 0.938964
| 0.938964
|
George Lucas Net Worth
George Walton Lucas, Jr. is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and entrepreneur. He founded Lucasfilm and led the company as chairman and chief executive before selling it to The Walt Disney Company on October 30, 2012. He is best known as the creator of the … In 2020, George Lucas’s net worth was estimated to be…
Walt Disney Net Worth
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American business magnate, cartoonist, and filmmaker. As a prominent figure within the American animation industry and throughout the world, he is regarded as a cultural icon, known for his influence and contributions to entertainment during… In 2020, Walt Disney’s net worth was estimated to be…
Steven Spielberg Net Worth
Steven Allan Spielberg is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and business magnate. Spielberg is consistently considered as one of the leading pioneers of the New Hollywood era, as well as being viewed as one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in t… In 2020, Steven Spielberg’s net worth was estimated to be…
Haim Saban Net Worth
Haim Saban is an Israeli and American media proprietor, investor, philanthropist, musician, record, film & television producer. An accomplished businessman primarily involved with business interests pertaining to financial services, entertainment, and media, and an estimated… In 2020, Haim Saban’s net worth was estimated to be…
Joao Moreira Salles Net Worth
João Moreira Salles is a Brazilian documentarian and president of the Instituto Moreira Salles. In 2006, he founded the magazine piauí. He has also taught courses on documentary at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and Princeton University. In 2020, Joao Moreira Salles’s net worth was estimated to be…
Howard Schultz Net Worth
Howard D. Schultz is an American businessman. He is best known as the chairman and CEO of Starbucks and a former owner of the Seattle SuperSonics. He was a member of the Board of Directors at Square, Inc.. In 1998, Schultz co-founded Maveron, an investment group, with Dan Le… In 2020, Howard Schultz’s net worth was estimated to be…
Ted Turner Net Worth
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable televis… In 2020, Ted Turner’s net worth was estimated to be…
John de Mol Net Worth
Johannes "John" Hendrikus Hubert de Mol, Jr. is a Dutch media tycoon. De Mol is one of the men behind production companies Endemol and Talpa. In 2020, John de Mol’s net worth was estimated to be…
Alki David Net Worth
Alkiviades "Alki" David is a Nigeria-born Greek billionaire heir, a member of the prominent Greek Leventis family, whose holdings include manufacturing, bottling plants, property and shipping. In 2008 he was the majority shareholder of Leventis-David Group, which owns Coca-C… In 2020, Alki David’s net worth was estimated to be…
Roy Disney Net Worth
Roy Edward Disney, KCSG was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder, and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the … In 2020, Roy Disney’s net worth was estimated to be…
Andrew Lloyd Webber Net Worth
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, an… In 2020, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s net worth was estimated to be…
Merv Griffin Net Worth
Mervyn Edward "Merv" Griffin, Jr. was an American television host, musician, actor, and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer who went on to appear in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show, p… In 2020, Merv Griffin’s net worth was estimated to be…
Jim Davis Net Worth
James Robert "Jim" Davis is an American cartoonist, best known as the creator of the highly successful comic strip Garfield, which has been published since 1978 and grew to become the world's most widely syndicated comic strip. Davis's other comics work includes Tumbleweeds,… In 2020, Jim Davis’s net worth was estimated to be…
Vince McMahon Net Worth
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, former announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and occasional professional wrestler currently serving as majority owner, Chairman and CEO of Stamford, Connecticut-based professional wrestlin… In 2020, Vince McMahon’s net worth was estimated to be…
Norman Lear Net Worth
Norman Milton Lear is an American television writer and producer who produced such 1970s sitcoms as All in the Family, Sanford and Son, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, Good Times, and Maude. As a political activist, he founded the advocacy organization People For the Amer… In 2020, Norman Lear’s net worth was estimated to be…
James Cameron Net Worth
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, inventor, and deep-sea explorer who has directed the two biggest box office films of all time. He first found success with the science-fiction hit The Terminator. He then became a popular… In 2020, James Cameron’s net worth was estimated to be…
Chuck Lorre Net Worth
Chuck Lorre is an American television writer, director, producer and composer. Lorre has created many successful sitcoms since the 1990s including Grace Under Fire, Cybill, Dharma & Greg, Two and a Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Mom. Lorre also served as an executive pro… In 2020, Chuck Lorre’s net worth was estimated to be…
Aaron Spelling Net Worth
Aaron Spelling was an American film and television producer. As of 2009, Spelling's eponymous production company Spelling Television holds the record as the most prolific television writer, with 218 producer and executive producer credits. Forbes ranked him the 11th top-earn… In 2020, Aaron Spelling’s net worth was estimated to be…
Stephen Bing Net Worth
Stephen Leo "Steve" Bing is an American businessman, film producer, and donor to progressive causes. He is the founder of the Shangri-La business group, an organization with interests in property, construction, entertainment, and music. In 2020, Stephen Bing’s net worth was estimated to be…
Simon Fuller Net Worth
Simon Fuller is an English entrepreneur, artist manager and television producer. He is best known for being the creator of the Idol franchise, which was first seen in the UK under the name Pop Idol and created number one rated shows in other markets as well, including Americ… In 2020, Simon Fuller’s net worth was estimated to be…
Matt Groening Net Worth
Matthew Abram "Matt" Groening is an American cartoonist, screenwriter, producer, animator, author, musician, comedian, and voice actor. He is the creator of the comic strip Life in Hell as well as the co-creator of two successful television series, The Simpsons, Futurama and… In 2020, Matt Groening’s net worth was estimated to be…
George Clooney Net Worth
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, filmmaker and activist. He has received three Golden Globe Awards for his work as an actor and two Academy Awards, one for acting and the other for producing. Clooney made his acting debut on television in 1978, and later gained w… In 2020, George Clooney’s net worth was estimated to be…
Gene Roddenberry Net Worth
Eugene Wesley Roddenberry, more widely known as “Gene” Roddenberry, was an American television screenwriter, producer, and futurist. He is best remembered for having created the original Star Trek television series and thus the Star Trek science fiction franchise. Born i… In 2020, Gene Roddenberry’s net worth was estimated to be…
Abigail Disney Net Worth
Abigail E. Disney is an American filmmaker, and scholar known for her documentary films focused on social themes. In 2020, Abigail Disney’s net worth was estimated to be…
James Burrows Net Worth
James Edward Burrows is an American television director who has been working in television since the 1970s. In 2020, James Burrows’s net worth was estimated to be…
James L Brooks Net Worth
James Lawrence "Jim" Brooks is an American director, producer and screenwriter. Growing up in North Bergen, New Jersey, Brooks endured a fractured family life and passed the time by reading and writing. After dropping out of New York University, he got a job as an usher at C… In 2020, James L Brooks’s net worth was estimated to be…
Yoko Ono Net Worth
Yoko Ono born February 18, 1933, is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, and peace activist. She is the widow and second wife of The Beatles' John Lennon and is also known for her work in avant-garde art, music, and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo, and studied at Gakushuin… In 2020, Yoko Ono’s net worth was estimated to be…
Tom Cruise Net Worth
Thomas "Tom" Cruise is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and has won three Golden Globe Awards. He started his career at age 19 in the 1981 film Endless Love. After portraying supporting roles in Taps and The Outsiders, his first… In 2020, Tom Cruise’s net worth was estimated to be…
Mark Burnett Net Worth
Mark Burnett is a television producer based in Los Angeles and is currently the CEO of United Artists Media Group, an MGM Company. Burnett is currently the executive producer of eleven network television series. He has produced over 2,900 hours of television which regularly … In 2020, Mark Burnett’s net worth was estimated to be…
Peter Jackson Net Worth
Sir Peter Robert Jackson ONZ KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known as the director and producer of The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy, both of which are adapted from the novels of the same name by J. R. R. Tolkien…. In 2020, Peter Jackson’s net worth was estimated to be…
Mel Gibson Net Worth
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson AO is an American actor, filmmaker, and screenwriter. He is most well known as an action hero, for roles such as Martin Riggs in the Lethal Weapon film series and Max Rockatansky in the first three Mad Max films. He was born in Peekskill, New Yor… In 2020, Mel Gibson’s net worth was estimated to be…
Larry David Net Worth
Lawrence Gene "Larry" David is an American comedian, writer, actor, and television producer. He was the co-creator, with Jerry Seinfeld, of the television series Seinfeld, and was its head writer and executive producer from 1989 to 1996. David has subsequently gained further… In 2020, Larry David’s net worth was estimated to be…
Bill Cosby Net Worth
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American stand-up comedian, actor, author, and activist. As a stand-up performer, he got his start at the hungry i in San Francisco, then landed a starring role in the 1960s show I Spy. He was a performer on the children's television ser… In 2020, Bill Cosby’s net worth was estimated to be…
Stephen King Net Worth
Richard Bachman is a pen name used by horror fiction author Stephen King. In 2020, Stephen King’s net worth was estimated to be…
Tyler Perry Net Worth
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, producer, author, and songwriter, specializing in the gospel genre. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2011, Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainme… In 2020, Tyler Perry’s net worth was estimated to be…
Johnny Depp Net Worth
Johnny Depp is an actor. In 2020, Johnny Depp’s net worth was estimated to be…
Sylvester Stallone Net Worth
Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. Stallone is well known for his Hollywood action roles. Two notable characters he has portrayed are the boxer Rocky Balboa and soldier John Rambo. He wrote every episod… In 2020, Sylvester Stallone’s net worth was estimated to be…
Jack Nicholson Net Worth
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer, and writer. Throughout his career, Nicholson has portrayed unique and challenging roles, many of which include dark portrayals of excitable, neurotic and psychopathic characters. Nicholson's 12 Acade… In 2020, Jack Nicholson’s net worth was estimated to be…
Jamie Oliver Net Worth
James Trevor "Jamie" Oliver, MBE is an English celebrity chef, restauranteur, and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his global campaign for better food education. In 2020, Jamie Oliver’s net worth was estimated to be…
David Letterman Net Worth
David Letterman is an American Television Host and Comedian. He is an Emmy Award Winner and known for hosting his own show: Late Show with David Letterman. In 2020, David Letterman’s net worth was estimated to be…
Ryan Tannehill Net Worth
Matt Siegel Net Worth
Jasmine James Net Worth
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3145
|
__label__wiki
| 0.779103
| 0.779103
|
Did the Clintons’ Greed Endanger U.S. National Security?
April 23, 2015 Fred Fleitz
Although Peter Schweizer’s new book “Clinton Cash: The Untold Story of How and Why Foreign Governments and Businesses Helped Make Bill and Hillary Rich” will not hit bookstores until May 5, it has already set off a firestorm of controversy that foreign governments bought influence with the Clinton’s – including when Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State – by contributing millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation and paying the Clinton’s millions in speaking fees.
Bill Clinton, according to Schweizer, earned $48 million in speaking fees while Mrs. Clinton was Secretary of State. Although Hillary Clinton claimed she and her husband were “dead broke” in 2000, their current net worth is estimated between $100 million and $200 million.
The Clinton’s and their attack dogs have already launched an offensive against Schweizer’s book and are trying to discredit him because he is a conservative. Several media organizations, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and Breitbart news have advance copies of the book and exclusive rights to the research compiled by Schweizer.
Most press stories on the Schweizer book have focused on the impropriety of the Clinton Foundation taking large foreign donations while Clinton was Secretary of State and how those donations may have influenced U.S. foreign policy. Mrs. Clinton also has been criticized for tens of millions of dollars in contributions to the Clinton Foundation while she headed the State Department from regimes that persecute women such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and the UAE.
A more troubling angle in the Clinton Foundation scandal surfaced over the last few days: that foreign donations to the foundation may have put U.S. national security at risk.
According to an article in today’s New York Times, some of these contributions involve Uranium One, a Canadian uranium mining company that was taken over by the Rosatom, the Russian atomic energy agency. The Uranium One takeover gave Russia control of one-fifth of U.S. uranium production and advanced Russian President Vladimir Putin’s goal of controlling most of the global uranium supply chain.
Because uranium is considered a U.S. strategic asset with implications for national security, this deal had to be approved by a several U.S. government agencies, including the State Department. According to the Times article, while the Russians were gradually assuming control of Uranium One from 2009 to 2013, the Uranium One chairman used his family foundation to make $2.35 million in donations to the Clinton Foundation. The Times article states that “those contributions were not publicly disclosed by the Clinton’s, despite an agreement Mrs. Clinton had struck with the Obama White House to publicly identify all donors.”
According to an April 18 Newsweek article, the Clinton Foundation also accepted donations from a firm that was violating nuclear trade sanctions against Iran. Interpipe, a Cyprus-incorporated company owned by Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk, sold oil pipelines to Iran in 2011 and 2012 in violation of U.S. sanctions but was not sanctioned for these sales while Clinton was Secretary of State. Fox News host Megyn Kelly reported last night on “The Kelly File” that between 2009 and 2013, Clinton Foundation received at least $8.6 million from the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. Kelly reported that Pinchuk also pledged more than $20 million more to the foundation.
The Fox News Channel will air a special report anchored by Bret Baier, “The Tangled Clinton Web” on the Clinton Foundation scandal on Friday, April 24 at 10 PM ET.
For years, the Clinton’s have glided past the sea of scandals that engulfed Bill Clinton’s presidency and Hillary Clinton’s complicity in the Obama administration’s foreign policy disasters. I believe the Clinton Foundation story dwarfs all previous Clinton scandals because it appears to be an unprecedented case of foreign governments and entities buying influence with a U.S. government official. But the Uranium One and Pinchuk contributions could make this story significantly worse since they suggest the Clinton’s were prepared enrich themselves even at the cost of endangering U.S. national security.
The Clinton Foundation scandal obviously requires media attention, congressional hearings, and an investigation by the Justice Department. Despite their unmatched skill at deflecting controversy and blaming their enemies, could this this scandal be too big even for Bill and Hillary Clinton to skate by?
About Fred Fleitz
Fred Fleitz is President and CEO of the Center for Security Policy. He recently served as a Deputy Assistant to President Trump and Chief of Staff to National Security Adviser John Bolton. He previously worked in national security positions for 25 years with CIA, DIA, the Department of State and the House Intelligence Committee staff. Read his complete bio here. Follow Fleitz on Twitter @fredfleitz.
View all posts by Fred Fleitz →
Muslim Brotherhood Stands by Turkey over Genocidal Jihad of Armenians
Boko Haram Re-Brands as Islamic State in West Africa
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3146
|
__label__wiki
| 0.826703
| 0.826703
|
Putin is getting slammed for saying Jews might have interfered in the US election
Screenshot via NBC NewsRussian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin made controversial statements about Jews and several other groups in Russia, shifting the blame to them for Russia’s interference in the 2016 US election.
Jewish groups condemned Putin’s remarks.
Putin also suggested that it was unclear who was financing the interference, and maintained that they had no ties to the Russian state.
The main financier of the Russian effort is a close Putin ally, US intelligence agencies have said.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia elicited sharp blowback when he claimed that even though individuals with Russian citizenship may have worked to interfere in the 2016 US elections, they may not actually have been Russian because of their Jewish faith.
Putin made the remarks during a long interview with NBC News host Megyn Kelly that aired on Saturday. When Kelly asked him about the 13 Russian nationals indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller for interfering in the election, Putin claimed that even though the individuals could have had Russian citizenship, they might not have been Russian after all.
“Maybe they’re not even Russians,” Putin said. “Maybe they’re Ukrainian, Tatars, Jews – just with Russian citizenship.”
Tatars are a native non-European people who live in Russia. Putin’s claim that someone who is not ethnically Russian cannot truly be Russian despite having citizenship elicited a sharp outcry from Jewish groups in particular who stated that his suggestion was anti-Semitic.
“President Putin bizarrely has resorted to the blame game by pointing the finger at Jews and other minorities in his country,” Anti-Defamation League chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “It is deeply disturbing to see the Russian president giving new life to classic anti-Semitic stereotypes that have plagued his country for hundreds of years, with a comment that sounds as if it was ripped from the pages of the ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'”
“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” is a well-known anti-Semitic book that likely originated in Russia. It has been widely used to spread mistruths about the Jewish people.
Members of Congress condemned the remarks, as well.
“Repulsive Putin remark deserves to be denounced, soundly and promptly, by world leaders. Why is Trump silent? Intolerance is intolerable,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said on Twitter.
Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia urged Trump to enforce the sanctions against Russia that Congress passed. “This man is not our friend,” he tweeted.
Putin’s controversial statements came amid wider comments about interference in the 2016 election – and his efforts to shift the blame from the Kremlin.
He said it wasn’t clear that the individuals mentioned in Mueller’s indictment had any ties to the Russian state, and that they may have worked with France, Germany, governments in “Asia,” or even the US government itself.
Despite Putin’s attempt to shift the blame, the Internet Research Agency (IRA) that served as the hub of the Russian interference effort was funded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a man who has been called “Putin’s Cook” and has close ties to the Russian president.
Mueller’s team, while investigating Trump’s ties to the Russian government during the election, is also looking into the interference process itself. Mueller’s office has charged the 13 Russian nationals and three Russian firms, including the IRA, with “violating US criminal laws in order to interfere with US elections and political processes.”
anti-defamation league internet research agency jews news politics-us putin russia russia election interference
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3147
|
__label__cc
| 0.680316
| 0.319684
|
Dick’s Sporting Goods Shares See Biggest Jump Since 2018
The athletic and outdoor retailer expects full-year earnings of $3.30 to $3.45 a share, higher than its previous projection and analyst expectations.
Dick's Sporting Goods | Source: Shutterstock
CORAOPOLIS, United States — Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. soared the most since May 2018 after raising its earnings guidance for the full year, on the back of second-quarter profit and sales that topped analysts’ estimates.
The athletic and outdoor retailer expects full-year earnings of $3.30 to $3.45 a share, higher than its previous projection of $3.20 to $3.40. Analysts were expecting $3.31.
Second-quarter comparable-store sales rose 3.2 percent, well ahead of analysts’ estimate of 1.1 percent as compiled by Consensus Metrix.
The strong results and outlook show Dick’s isn’t suffering as it moves away from gun sales. The retailer began scaling back the category after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, last year, and a strategic review of what it calls the hunt segment is continuing.
E-commerce was a bright spot for the chain, with sales up 21 percent in the second quarter compared with the year-earlier period. E-commerce as a percentage of sales edged up to 12 percent from 11 percent.
Dick’s said it is bucking any ill effects from President Donald Trump’s trade war with China so far, saying its guidance includes the impact of all previous tariffs and the new 10 percent levy coming soon on most remaining Chinese imports.
Dick’s shares jumped as much as 11 percent, the most since May 30, 2018, to $36.49 in New York trading Thursday. They were up 5.7 percent this year through Wednesday, trailing the 17 percent gain of the S&P 500 Index.
By John J. Edwards III; editors: Nick Turner.
Inside Raf Simons' Dior
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3148
|
__label__wiki
| 0.595016
| 0.595016
|
RepMarcyKaptur's MyC-SPAN
My Clips
News Review with Representative Marcy Kaptur
Representative Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) talked about the U.S. trade agenda, the state of manufacturing in the country, and efforts by Congress to avoid a government shutdown.
Prime Minister Cameron Announces Resignation
British Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign in October 2016 following a referendum in which British voters approved an exit from the European Union. He said he respected the will of the voters, and that it was important for new leadership to oversee negotiations with EU leaders over the nation’s exit. Prime Minister Cameron said he would be meeting with his cabinet members and the European Council in the coming days to discuss the transition.
House of Representatives September 11 Remembrance
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) delivered remarks on the U.S. Capitol steps to mark the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. The two leaders, joined by their colleagues, marked the occasion with singing “God Bless America.”
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3152
|
__label__wiki
| 0.503228
| 0.503228
|
Charles “Charlie” DeSando, 84
Jan 3, 2020 | Obituaries | 0 comments
Charles “Charlie” DeSando, 84, of Limerick, passed away Saturday December 14, 2019. Born in Jersey City, NJ, he was the son of the late Rosario and Helena (Pastore) DeSando.
Charles served in the US Navy for 4 years as a boiler operator on the USS Vogelgesang (DD-862). He received the National Defense Service Medal and the Navy Occupation Service medal and was honorably discharged. He later returned to high school to earn his diploma.
Surviving are three daughters Cathy DeSando, Susan Shenberger, wife of Christian, and Gina Silvestris; four grandchildren Zachary Mahl, Stephen Hernandez, Ivy Silvestris, and Adrienne Silvestris; one brother Anthony DeSando husband of Marge; and two nephews, Anthony and Joseph.
Charles grew up in Jersey City, NJ where he developed and maintained many lifelong friendships until his passing. He retired from AT&T after 25 years of service. Since retirement, he enjoyed trying different jobs over the years, such as school bus driver, truck driver, and landscaper for the Pinellas County parks in Florida.
Among his many accomplishments, Charles earned his private pilot’s license and several certifications for horticulture and landscape design. Some of his hobbies included gardening, practicing yoga, going to the shooting range and watching football.
A memorial service will be held January 18th at 11:30 am at Catagnus Funeral Home & Cremation Center, Ltd., 329 N. Lewis Rd., Royersford, PA 19468. Interment will be private. Visitation will be held from 11:00am to 11:30am at the funeral home. A light reception is immediately following the service at the Loft at Landis Creek Golf Course, 765 North Lewis Road, Limerick, PA.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Charles’ memory to the National Kidney Foundation.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3154
|
__label__wiki
| 0.736891
| 0.736891
|
Your Friday Admissions Briefing: May 11, 2018
A black Yale student fell asleep in her dorm’s common room. A white student called police.
Lolade Siyonbola’s exasperated message to the campus police officers — and to the Yale University graduate student who’d summoned them to her dorm — was simple and consistent: She didn’t have to do anything to prove that she was justified in being there, just because she happened to be black.
Carnegie Mellon University starts first AI degree program in U.S.
Carnegie Mellon University today announced it will offer an undergraduate degree in artificial intelligence. The college claims the degree will be the first of its kind in the United States. The first courses for the Bachelor of Science degree will be offered this fall.
High school computer hack changes grades, top-10-student ranking in limbo
A high school in Alabama is in a tough spot after grades were hacked, leaving the academic standing of students in question. In what appears to be a computer hack, grades were changed, forcing the school to investigate and leaving the status of the top ten students and valedictorian up in the air.
These Schools Graduate The Most Funded Startup CEOs
There is no degree required to be a CEO of a venture-backed company. But it likely helps to graduate from Harvard, Stanford, or one of about a dozen other prominent universities that churn out a high number of top startup executives.
Want to skip the ACT or SAT? Two more Minnesota universities to offer 'test-optional' admissions
Starting next year, high school students will no longer have to worry about taking the ACT or SAT tests to get into two liberal arts colleges in the Twin Cities. Augsburg University in Minneapolis and Concordia University in St. Paul have both decided to stop requiring college-entrance exams, as part of a growing national movement toward “test-optional” admissions.
College Admissions Counselors: From Gatekeepers To Caseworkers
College has long been touted as, “the best four years of your life!” Actually earning a college degree in four years, however, is something of an aberration—more the exception than the rule. Research from the National Center for Education Statistics finds that just over half of all students who begin at four-year colleges complete a degree in six years. This does not bode well for an endeavor that comes at great costs to students, their families and the institutions that seek to educate them. The factors inhibiting the successful attainment of a four-year college degree run the gamut from lack of engagement to finances to mental health.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3156
|
__label__wiki
| 0.676271
| 0.676271
|
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: New contract and comparisons to Dele Alli follow weekend goal.
If there has been one name the Chelsea Supporters have wanted to see more of this season it's Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Given a chance at h...
featured, Latest, Loftus-Cheek
https://www.chelseadaft.org/2016/01/ruben-loftus-cheek-new-contract-and.html
If there has been one name the Chelsea Supporters have wanted to see more of this season it's Ruben Loftus-Cheek. Given a chance at half time against Scunthorpe, the youngster gave a good account of himself and picked up his first Chelsea senior goal. As a result, a new contract is being spoken of along with comparisons to Dele Alli of Tottenham.
Having made a few appearances for Chelsea under Jose Mourinho last season, many thought that RLC would feature heavily this term. Unfortunately, as we all know, our season has been far from acceptable and as a result he has had to settle for a place on the bench being not involved at all for the most part.
On Sunday however against Scunthorpe it was a different story as he has given a chance for the second half to go out there and show what he could do.
He gave a confident and composed performance and showed glimpses of his quality. Gary Cahill spoke of his performance, the fact he has had to wait for his chance and of a comparison to the impact that Dele Alli has had at Tottenham having been given a chance. He said:
“I’m delighted for him. With the quality in the team and especially in his position, he’s had to be patient. He’s worked really hard in training, he’s a great kid, he works really hard at his game. He’s been chomping at the bit and he wants to be involved, he wants to play. He’s shown that patience.
But it’s not just his goal, it was his performance. It was great. As a young boy, you just want to do everything right when you come on and especially when you come on at home, with the crowd here. You may not get too many opportunities when you are younger so to come on and do as well as he did. I’m really pleased for him.
Ruben has had a couple of runs in the team and I think he is a top, top player. If you look at attributes, he’s got all the attributes. It’s just how he progresses. Obviously, that’s down to him getting a few chances and down to himself so it will be interesting to see how he does progress but for me, he has got everything that you need to become a top player. Dele Alli’s rise has been incredibly fast and why can’t he do it?”
Cahill has a fair point and it's only natural that comparisons are being made between the two. The difference being that Pochettino at Tottenham is willing to give the youngsters a go such as Harry Kane last season and now Alli this year, we just hope that Chelsea start to do the same.
Looking at the remainder of the season under Guus Hiddink it seems that Loftus-Cheek could finally get a real chance at first team football at Chelsea and I sincerely hope that he does.
We have been crying out for someone else other than John Terry to make the step up from Academy graduate into the first team and it looks as though Ruben Loftus-Cheek is going to be that person. Let's hope he really kicks on now and shows everyone what he is capable of with a new Chelsea contract signed sooner rather than later!
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3158
|
__label__wiki
| 0.709146
| 0.709146
|
Artist interviews · 25. October 2019
Jørgen Teller
This is Jørgen Teller's first time at Circolo Scandinavo but the first time he visited Rome was in 1998 with his wife from that time. They visited all the historical monuments, they lived close to the Pantheon and Teller went to see the building every day on the vacation. “The roof and the hole in the roof just put a spell on me” he says about the building and the fact that the recipe of how to make that concrete was lost is strange and magic. A lot has changed in Rome in twenty years. Back in 1998 it was possible to walk straight into St. Peter's Basilica but now there is always a long queue. He says that he always had the spell of the city inside of him. His wife who he visited Rome with in 1998 passed away 12 years ago, so he always had this thing that he wanted to revisit Rome, not to get rid of the memories of the visit from 1998, but to meet the historical monuments for himself and see how life in Rome is now.
Teller first heard of Circolo many years ago from people saying how fantastic it was. Even though he had been checking Circolo's website for five to eight years, before now he could never be away from his kids for one month. During those years he had shorter residencies from four to seven days in different locations all over Europe and New York through his composer's union. Now his kids are so big that Teller can go away for one month and he was finally able to apply for residence at Circolo. His family travelled to Rome as well to meet Teller and they got to explore Rome together for several days.
Teller's relationship with Rome is a musical one. In the 1990s he met Italian musician Giancarlo Schiaffini who played together with Teller. When Teller was writing his application for Circolo, he contacted Schiaffini who still remembered Teller and wanted to work with him if he came to Rome. Before coming to Rome, Teller made some research about what he could be doing in the city. He found the Isabella Scelsi Foundation, which is located close to the Colosseum. The foundation keeps the archive of Giacinto Scelsi. Teller went twice to the archive and he also followed the footsteps of Scelsi, who was raised in Napoli. In Napoli Teller visited Castle Valva where Teller saw a documentary showed by a French director. About the musicians in Rome he adds that they have no fear of mixing genres and they don´t take things too seriously.
During the one month stay at Circolo, Teller wanted to create something new and he created Roma Syntese, which is based on influences, ideas and languages he encountered in Rome and Circolo. He got quite far with the project but in the end of his stay he was frustrated about how to finish it. It was not that he couldn´t finish it but he had been in contact with foundations and organisations in Copenhagen about the possibilities to have it performed together with some musicians, and he had not yet had any positive reactions from them. The project was something he was working on in September but after that he has no substances to lift it up. He felt frustrated because there would be other things that he needed to prioritize after his stay at Circolo, because of financing and other works. He didn´t however feel like the project was lost, he will make a rough mix to score the project and close it to some extent. In the end Teller described the project “if somebody says I need to finish the project in three days I could finish the structure and organize the directive for a concert with some musicians”. He didn´t want to stress it and he felt like he might just go home and rest. But there is a danger in going home and let the project rest because then he might feel like the project is just “blah”. Teller has also been painting during his time at Circolo, writing poetry, doing a couple of rock demos and some improvisations with the electric guitar. One thought was also that maybe everything he has done this month could be Roma Syntese.
Teller has been recording sounds of Rome and when asked what the most interesting sound was, he responds that when he was standing at the staircase of the Olympic Stadium's swimming hall, people were standing about 20 feet away and making really nice resonance. Rome is a noisy city and from the bedrooms of Circolo you can hear the traffic almost all day long. He also liked this sound in front of Circolo, from a street tile that made a good click-click sound when people were stepping on the tile. Teller describes the sound of Rome like “a kind of cinematic thing, like sitting in a taxi rolling fast down close to the Tiber […], this kind of 50s feeling of being in Rome”.
When Teller arrived to Circolo he was not expecting to know any of the other artists, and he thought that there would be no other Danish artists. He was pleasantly surprised when writer Jakob Vedelsby from Denmark was also at Circolo during September. Teller had seen Vedelsby's website but never read his works. The two Danish grew to have a good relationship in a short time. The biggest attraction at Circolo is that you meet artists you would never have met otherwise, and Teller described it as “compared to the Danish Institute, you are out of your hood here at Circolo”. In the last two years he has had an interesting project called Stories of Flights Ferries and Fish and he has travelled around gathering stories about fish, flights and ferries. The project is about to finish in October. He travelled to Lofoten Islands, Faroe Islands and to Iceland during the last year, so coming to Rome in a Nordic context is fantastic Teller says.
At Circolo you are mostly alone when you work, compared to back home and here Teller has not needed to shop and cook and there has been peace to work. Then there is the terrace where one can work, and you are in the middle of a fantastic area, you can visit many historical places and the food is fantastic. He likes the Italian language, but he says he is not yet so good at it. The best part about Rome according to Teller is the night and to be out late, meet people and go to restaurants. There is a lot of surprises and strange stories hidden in all the buildings, that are interesting. He recommends a record shop called Blutopia, where he went several times during his stay at Circolo. Local happenings were one thing that Teller was interested in during his stay in Rome, he went to Cinema Farnese, which is an arthouse cinema with documentaries and local productions. He has also been to local bookshops, where he has bought bilingual books by Pier Paolo Pasolini. In Pasolini’s production Teller likes the use of old language and slang from the suburbs and the stories about Rome in the 60s.
“Take it easy” followed by a lot of laughter is Tellers tips for the artists coming to Circolo. During the first week you might feel a lot of pressure to be into your work, but you need to relax and come out of where you came from. It takes a week or ten days to get here mentally but of course it depends on who you are. He also suggests trying to find a workplace out in town to provoke yourself and get a kick in your work process.
More information about the project Stories of Flights Ferries and Fish can be found here: http://www.nustories.nu/
Photo: Jørgen Teller
Text: Tinja Räsänen
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3160
|
__label__cc
| 0.609576
| 0.390424
|
Where can I get scientific expertise for a citizen science project?
By Malin Clyde, with the CSA Professional Development Working Group
Are you a community organization looking to engage a scientist to help with your citizen science project? Accessing scientific expertise is an important element of citizen science, but can be daunting, especially for those outside of university communities. As it happens, scientific expertise can be found in many other institutions such as public agencies, not-for-profit organizations, zoos, museums, or within the broader citizen science community, and the important process of integrating scientific rigor into citizen science projects can be done in many different ways.
We explore here examples of citizen science projects that evolved in various ways and in different kinds of institutions. We hope to hear from you, through the comments section below, about other mechanisms of integrating science expertise into citizen science projects.
There are many examples of citizen science projects based at universities that are strongly tied to academic research. Examples include eBird at Cornell University as well as smaller projects such as the Portland Urban Coyote Project at Portland State University or Bugs in our Backyard based at Colby College. Often there is a non-profit partner (like the Audubon Society with eBird and with the Coyote Project), but most of these projects share a strong tie to the academic work of researchers within the institution. A consistent element in the marketing of these programs is that participants will be contributing to scientific research, and that someone at the university will analyze the citizen science data, helping to advance our knowledge about how the world works, and, perhaps, publishing scientific papers using the citizen-collected data.
While university-based projects are a well-recognized phenomenon in the citizen science community, they are not necessarily typical or the only way. A quick look at online hubs for citizen science such as SciStarter.org, CitSci.org, Earthwatch.org, and the Stewardship Network: New England shows that many citizen science projects originate outside of universities. If that’s the case, how do they develop rigorous data sampling, and how are their data and science used, if not associated with a university? Where does the data go if a university researcher isn’t using it?
The Cooperative Extension system has a long-standing tradition of sponsoring citizen science efforts such as the New Hampshire Lakes Lay Monitoring Program. Photo credit: UNH Cooperative ExtensionExtension
Many citizen programs originate with a need by public agencies for data to help monitor or conserve a resource or species. For example, the Department of Natural Resources in Wisconsin collects citizen bat observations through the Wisconsin Bat Program to improve distribution data on bats to help conserve threatened and endangered species. Many state agencies charged with regulating hunting have programs that engage resource users (hunters, fishers, trappers) in collecting and reporting data, which is then incorporated into regulatory decisions made by managers (for example, NH Fish and Game Small Game Survey). In these cases, the agencies themselves have scientists that help set up the data collection, help vet and analyze the data, as well as publish the reports based on the findings.
As of 2016, the U.S. government has started to invest and value citizen science in a major way. Recognizing the power of engaging with communities to collect data, all federal agencies will be reporting on efforts to use citizen science and crowd-sourcing in all parts of the US government, including natural resources, transportation, space science, and more (see CitizenScience.gov). Here again, access to scientific expertise may be internal within the agencies, or via partnerships with other organizations. One important and growing aspect of many citizen science programs – government or otherwise – is the use of openly shared data repositories that allow anyone to access and use the data, provided proper attribution. The USGS’s National Phenology Network and iNaturalist are examples of shared citizen science data that receive support from federal agencies.
A significant number of citizen science programs are based in the not-for-profit community, part of nature centers, zoos, museums, conservation organizations, or groups with a mission to understand or appreciate a phenomenon. The ways these programs integrate scientific expertise is as varied as the programs themselves, and while many do not have scientists on staff, forming partnerships is one powerful way these programs build a strong sampling strategy. In the case of Cascade Pika Watch, a rigorous and systematic sampling protocol to monitor these rare mammals was developed using existing tools developed by citsci.org. By using standardized tools, citizen science programs can take advantage of existing training protocols and increase the confidence in data quality by both participants and data users.
The Loon Preservation Committee conducts an annual loon census that provides data to managers deciding where to place artificial loon nesting platforms. Photo by Dana Moos, CC BY-SA 2.0
The Cooperative Extension system, housed within all U.S. land-grant universities, has been involved in citizen science for decades. Extension operates programs such as the NH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program, that works with volunteers to monitor lake water quality and provides the analyzed data to lake associations to inform policy and local decisions. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension manages the Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System for invasive species, a free tool used by many citizen science programs to map the locations of and stewardship actions on invasive plants and insects. In this case, state-based designated experts verify the crowd-sourced observations and, if necessary, corroborate the sightings. Once verified by experts, the sightings data can be more confidently used by anyone working to mitigate the threat posed by invasives through community action.
Still other citizen science programs have been founded by concerned citizens investigating a problem in order to take action. The Loon Preservation Committee was founded in 1975 by concerned citizens in New Hampshire who wanted to “better understand the reasons for nest failures and the effects of contaminants” on loons (LPC 2015 report). To create a trusted data set to assess trends in loon populations, the group hired biologists to create a data collection system, including a volunteer annual loon census to track the success of nesting loons in the state. Data from these efforts has been used to shape state policy (new laws against lead sinkers) and stewardship decisions (where to place new loon nesting platforms).
Despite these diverse examples of citizen science programs incorporating scientific expertise, it isn’t always smooth sailing. The science profession has it’s own language and culture, which may present a barrier to project coordinators or citizen scientists. The good news is that everyone involved is likely motivated by the same thing: wanting the citizen science data to be accurate, effective and used to advance scientific understanding or inform community decision-making (or both). The Union of Concerned Scientists has a toolkit that addresses some of these issues in Scientist-Community Partnerships: Building Successful Collaborations. Although written for the science community, the guide illustrates some of the barriers – and how to address them – that may arise between scientists and community partners.
Do you have a story to share about how your citizen science project incorporated scientific expertise? What do you do to ensure the scientific integrity of your citizen science project?
Posted on: November 15, 2016 | Category: Blog, Professional Development Working Group
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3161
|
__label__wiki
| 0.830259
| 0.830259
|
Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli, Digital News Editor
Tags: Talkers, Halloween, News, Local
8 notorious Houston-area locations plagued by death
A Google Map view of the Hotel Galvez in Galveston.
HOUSTON – It's October, which means it's finally acceptable to bring out all your Halloween decorations and get ready for the spooky holiday.
The season is full of eerie things like scary movies and haunted houses, but those horrors don't compare to some of the real horrors that have happened over the course of history.
Houston is full of places said to be haunted by real ghosts and tragic stories.
Here are some of the most notorious places in Houston plagued by suicides, murders and death.
Hotel Galvez - 2024 Seawall Blvd
Audra, a young 25-year-old bride-to-be in the 1950s, was engaged to a mariner who frequently sailed in and out of the Port of Galveston. Audra stayed in room 501 of the Galvez, but when her fiancé set sail, she would climb up to one of the turrets of the hotel each day and wait for his ship to get back. One day after a storm, she got word that her fiancé's ship had gone down and there were no survivors. She maintained hope and continued to climb to the turret to wait, but eventually despair got the best of her, and she hanged herself. Unfortunately, a few days later her fiancé appeared at the hotel only to learn that he would never wed his beloved Audra.
Killing fields – Calder Oil Field
The fields are 25 acres of land along I-45 that served as the dumping ground for murder victims ranging in age from 12 to 25 years old. Thirty bodies have been found since the 1970s, most of whom were Texans. Four of those bodies were found in the Calder Oil Fields. Recently, two of the Calder Road victims were identified thanks to advances in DNA and genealogical research.
Andrea Yates home - 942 Beachcomber Lane
A Google Map view of the Andrea Yates house.
Andrea Yates and her husband Rusty Yates lived in their Clear Lake home with their five children ages 7 through 6 months. In June 2001, Rusty came home to find all of his kids dead at the hands of his wife. Andrea had drowned all her kids in a bathtub. KPRC 2 reporter Phil Archer was the first reporter to arrive. He said it was an emotional scene.
"Cops were crying. There was a lot of emotion there. They were the guys that had gone in that house and had to recover the bodies," Archer said. "They brought Andrea out and her clothes were still wet, and her hair was still wet from the bathtub. And they brought her out, and she looked like a zombie. There was a sort of wildness in her eyes."
Andrea was committed to a Texas mental hospital, where she remains.
Todville Mansion - 3300 Todville Rd
A Google Map view of the property that was once where the Todville Mansion stood.
The mansion, which has since been divided into multiple lots, belonged to William "Bill" List in the mid- to late-1900s. List was a known sex offender who was sentenced to prison in 1959 for molesting multiple teen boys. List lived in the Seabrook mansion along with boys who would stay there for stints of time.
In 1984, four of the young men staying at the mansion conspired to kill him, and one evening in October of that year, a man named Elbert Ervin Homan aka "Smiley" pulled the trigger. List was hit in the head with a bullet from his own gun and Smiley was later convicted and sentenced to 45 years in prison. One of the lots up for sale was on the verge of being purchased until the person backed out of the deal after learning of the property's grisly past.
Alley Theater Iris Siff - 615 Texas Ave
Iris Siff was the managing director of the Alley Theater in 1982. Siff had been working late one day in January, when a man came into her office and strangled her using a phone cord. Her body was found the following day and the charred remains of her vehicle were found near the theater. The killer was identified as Clifford Phillips, a security guard who had been fired in the days prior to Siff's killing. He was convicted and sentenced to death later that year. He was put to death in 1993.
Candy Man home - 2020 Lamar Drive
2020 Lamar Drive, Pasadena, Texas
Dean Corll - known as the "Candy Man" because his family owned a candy shop - was a notorious serial killer who, with the help of young boys, would lure victims back to his home where he would abuse and torture them before killing them with a .22 caliber pistol. One of accomplices, 15-year-old Elmer Wayne Henley, was coerced into bringing boys to Corll for $200. Two years later, Henley brought a girl and a boy to the Pasadena home. He got the young teens to drink and get high until they passed out. When the teens woke up, all three were bound and gagged. Henley was able to talk Corll into releasing him. Corll ordered Henley to abuse the girl while he violated the other boy. That is when Henley grabbed Corll's pistol and fired, killing Corll. Henley was convicted of six murders and is serving six 99-year sentences. He was not charged in Corll's killing because it was ruled self-defense. A KPRC 2 reporter caught Henley's confession on microphone.
Joan Hill death - 1561 Kirby Drive
John Hill and Joan Robinson Hill were married in 1957 and formed part of the Houston elite until their deaths in 1969 and 1972, respectively. John Hill was a respected surgeon and Joan was his socialite wife. She died of what was ruled to be meningitis and sepsis and her husband was accused of murdering his wife. He went to trial, which ended in a hung jury. Shortly after, John Hill was gunned down in the doorway of his River Oaks mansion. The case became the subject of the "Blood and Money" book and movie.
Brewery Tap - 717 Franklin St.
The old Houston bar was not the site of a grisly murder. However, in the 1920s, an employee known as William was killed when he was crushed under a stack of beer barrels that fell. William's ghost is said to remain at the establishment and is even credited with saving an employee's life.
Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli
Daniela Sternitzky-Di Napoli has been a digital news editor at KPRC 2 since 2018. She is a published poet and has background in creative writing and journalism. Daniela has covered events like Hurricane Harvey and the Astros World Series win. In her spare time, Daniela is an avid reader and loves to spend time with her two miniature dachshunds.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3163
|
__label__wiki
| 0.745805
| 0.745805
|
Sara Donchey
Tags: International, National, Local, News, Hurricane, Astros, Baseball, MLB
Carlos Correa talks about hurricane relief efforts in hometown after Maria
HOUSTON – It would be six days before Astros Shortstop Carlos Correa would hear from his family in Puerto Rico after a major hurricane plowed over the island.
"It was pretty hard to focus in the beginning, when I didn't hear from my family,” Correa said.
Eventually, he was able to reach his grandmother by phone, who explained to him some of what she had been through after Hurricane Maria made landfall.
"She said she was fine, that they lost everything in the house, that they had no power -- but they're alive and that's all that matters to me,” Correa explained.
The baseball star and World Series champion was born and raised in the coastal town of Santa Isabel, where much of his family still lives.
A crew from KPRC Channel 2 followed Correa to his hometown last year as part of his return for his annual charity golf tournament.
The town organized a hero’s welcome for Correa, with several little league teams donning Astros jerseys, a live performance from Correa’s church’s gospel choir, and a young boy reading a letter he wrote to Correa aloud to a crowd of a few hundred.
That was before Maria made its mark on the island, and photos published in a Univision report show a strikingly different picture of the beach town, with power lines toppled and roofs and walls torn to shreds.
Correa, at the time enthralled in postseason baseball, knew he had to do something to help.
He worked with the Astros Foundation in coordination with Crane WorldWide, FedEx, the Houston Mayor’s Office and pastor Jose Ortega to send a plane to Puerto Rico carrying more than 240,000 pounds of disaster relief supplies.
Correa is currently taking a four-day vacation, then plans to return to Houston before ultimately flying back to Puerto Rico for the first time since Maria made landfall.
He said he plans to bring clothing and shoes to the island in partnership with his sponsor, Adidas.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3164
|
__label__wiki
| 0.761676
| 0.761676
|
A basic income should be the Next Big Thing
PAULA DWYER
Now and then a worthy economic proposal comes along that seems as politically unattainable as it is sensible. Then, on closer inspection, you see that it's more than a policy-wonk's fantasy. And you wonder whether it could actually prevail.
This may be happening with the concept of a universal basic income. The notion that government should guarantee every citizen an annual stipend of, say, $10,000 — no strings attached, no questions asked — is being studied by politicians, economists and policy experts worldwide.
Think of it as Social Security for all. In the social democracies of Europe, Canada and South America, experiments are planned or underway. In the U.S., it's still little more than a concept — one that appears to have more conservative backers than liberal ones.
• A basic income is smarter than a minimum wage
• Wage insurance: One way to fight Trumpism
Bernie Sanders says he's "sympathetic" to the theory behind a universal basic income but stops well short of advocating it. Hillary Clinton seems even less enthusiastic. By contrast, conservative economists, politicians and think-tank scholars are not as hesitant. Marco Rubio, for example, proposed the beginnings of a basic income in his 2015 tax plan.
The rest of the world is taking the lead.
Switzerland will hold a June 5 referendum on whether to give every adult citizen 2,500 Swiss francs (about $2,600) a month. Ontario, Canada, will conduct an experiment with a basic income later this year. The city of Utrecht in the Netherlands is conducting a pilot program, and Finland is planning a two-year trial. A British proposal is gathering interest. In May, a nonprofit group will start giving 6,000 Kenyans a guaranteed income for at least a decade and follow the results.
Basic-income proposals come in many varieties, and have myriad rationales.
Some progressives see it as the ultimate expression of what a developed economy can achieve: a way to lessen poverty and inequality, and ease the pain of job loss and economic stagnation. But in the U.S., many liberals see it as naive and a distraction from more practical priorities, such as a $15 minimum wage and paid family leave.
For conservatives, the attraction is smaller government. Dozens of social-welfare programs now costing U.S. taxpayers about $1 trillion a year could be folded into a basic-income program, they argue.
With no eligibility criteria or enforcement needed, administrative costs would be bare-bones. Waste, fraud and abuse would be greatly reduced, the argument goes, if not close to zero.
In the 1960s, a basic income was part of the mainstream political discussion. President Richard Nixon even proposed an income floor, based on ideas developed by Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then a domestic-policy adviser. The proposal died in part because of liberal opposition to a work requirement and obstruction by a well-organized welfare lobby, Moynihan would later write.
The earned-income tax credit, a form of basic income, took its place, but only to supplement the earnings of the working poor. The tax credit was first proposed in 1962 by conservative economist Milton Friedman. One of his aims was to end the "earnings cliff," in which government aid disappears once income exceeds a cap. Such a limit discourages recipients from working, a consequence that keeps them poor and dependent.
The tax credit is still around and widely considered an effective anti-poverty program, but the earnings-cliff issue has only gotten worse: The U.S. now has 80-plus low-income programs, each with its own eligibility rules and earnings caps.
The idea of a universal basic income is enjoying a renaissance today, not only in Washington think tanks but in Silicon Valley, as my Bloomberg View colleague, Justin Fox, has written. Y Combinator, a venture-capital firm, is launching a five-year research project, for example. The goal is to give a randomly selected group of people a monthly check to see if they sit around and play video games or create economic value.
Why does Silicon Valley care? It can see the role of technology in accelerating job losses in the U.S. Two Oxford University professors wrote recently that about 47 percent of U.S. jobs are at risk of being replaced by automation. If that happens, the economy would shrink, and fewer and fewer people would be able to buy the goods that Silicon Valley creates.
The fear that people with a guaranteed basic income would become slackers may be unfounded. One economist who studied trials conducted in the 1970s in Canada found the opposite: Recipients were healthier and finished high school at higher rates. Adults with full-time jobs worked the same number of hours with one exception: Women took off more time after having a baby, an utterly reasonable outcome.
Yes, the costs of guaranteeing 322 million Americans $10,000 a year would be prohibitive — a whopping $3.2 trillion a year.
But by excluding 45 million retirees who already receive a basic income through Social Security, the cost falls to $2.7 trillion. And if the benefit is phased out for households earning more than $100,000 (that would be 20 percent of the U.S.'s 115 million households, or about 70 million people, assuming three to a household), the cost declines to about $2 trillion. You could confine the program to adults and shrink the price tag even more, possibly to as low as $1.5 trillion.
Now we're getting close to the $1 trillion cost of all those unemployment checks, tax credits, food stamps, housing vouchers and a myriad other means-tested benefits that a basic income could supplant.
Here is where liberals start to get queasy. They don't like that a basic income would replace the safety net, even when assured that some programs, including education, job training and entitlements like Medicare, would be maintained. They worry that the civil servants who now run programs would be laid off. And they fear that a basic income would, in the end, be less than what many people get when all the federal government's cash and social-service programs are combined.
Those are valid concerns. But as other countries test the idea and seek improvements in their social-welfare systems, will it make sense for the U.S. to maintain an expensive crazy-quilt of programs, many of which have not lifted people out of poverty and dependence? A Social-Security-for-all approach might not seem like such a fantasy after all.
Paula Dwyer writes for Bloomberg View.
Jamie Dimon's good works shouldn't be hidden
Dakota pipeline expansion would be all risk for Illinois
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3165
|
__label__wiki
| 0.88317
| 0.88317
|
10 people nominated by Trump to federal bench
NewsCrime & Courts
PUBLISHED: May 8, 2017 at 9:37 pm | UPDATED: April 20, 2018 at 5:01 am
A look at the 10 people picked by President Donald Trump for positions on federal courts:
NAME: Joan Larsen
CURRENT POSITION: She was a University of Michigan law professor when Republican Gov. Rick Snyder appointed her to the Michigan Supreme Court in 2015. Larsen was a law clerk for late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in the 1990s.
NOMINATED TO: 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
EDUCATION: Law degree, Northwestern University law school, 1993; bachelor’s degree, University of Northern Iowa, 1990.
NOTABLE: Because of her short tenure, Larsen has written only a handful of majority opinions on the Michigan court. She considers criminal law and constitutional law to be her strongest areas. “Family law is not something I spent a great deal of time with. That has been a learning curve,” she said before winning election in November.
NAME: David R. Stras
CURRENT POSITION: Associate justice on the Minnesota Supreme Court. Appointed by Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty in 2010.
NOMINATED TO: 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.
EDUCATION: University of Kansas School of Law, 1999. Bachelor’s degree and MBA from Kansas in 1995 and 1999, respectively.
BACKGROUND: Clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Served as a professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
NOTATBLE: State of Minnesota v. Larry Allen Nelson, 2014. Stras wrote the majority opinion overturning the criminal conviction of a man who failed to pay child support under a state law that required him “to provide care and support” to his children. Nelson argued that the state failed to prove that he didn’t provide “care” to his children. The majority concluded that that the law as written required the state to prove that Nelson failed to provide “both care and support” to his children — that the word “and” was critical.
NAME: Scott L. Palk
CURRENT POSITION: Palk was hired as assistant dean of students at the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 2011, following a 19-year career as a state and federal prosecutor.
NOMINATED TO: Federal district court judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City. Palk was nominated to the same judicial vacancy in 2015 by President Barack Obama, who expressed confidence that Palk would “serve the American people with integrity and a steadfast commitment to justice.”
EDUCATION: J.D., University of Oklahoma, 1992; B.S. in business administration: finance and economics, Oklahoma State University, 1989.
NOTATBLE: Palk has never been a judge, but he served as an assistant district attorney in Oklahoma for about 10 years before becoming a federal prosecutor for the Western District of Oklahoma in 2002. He was the lead prosecutor in the case against Sean Gillespie, a member of a white supremacist group convicted and sentenced to 39 years in prison for firebombing a Jewish temple in Oklahoma City in 2004.
NAME: Amy Coney Barrett.
AGE: 45.
CURRENT POSITION: Law professor, University of Notre Dame.
NOMINATED TO: 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago.
EDUCATION: University of Notre Dame Law School, J.D., summa cum laude, 1997; Rhodes College, B.A. in English Literature, magna cum laude, 1994.
NOTATBLE: The former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia researches the federal courts, constitutional law and statutory interpretation and teaches courses on those topics at Notre Dame.
NAME: Terry F. Moorer
CURRENT POSITION: U.S. magistrate judge since 2007.
NOMINATED TO: U.S. District Court, Middle District of Alabama.
EDUCATION: University of Alabama, juris doctor, 1986; Huntingdon College, bachelor of arts, 1983; Marion Military Institute, associate of arts, 1981.
NOTABLE: Assistant U.S. attorney in the Middle District of Alabama from 1990-2007; lead attorney for organized crime drug enforcement task force, 2001-2007; military attorney and judge for the Alabama National Guard.
NAME: Kevin Newsom
CURRENT POSITION: Attorney in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama.
NOMINATED TO: 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
EDUCATION: Harvard University, juris doctor, 1997; Samford University, bachelor of arts, 1994.
NOTABLE: Alabama solicitor general; law clerk to Supreme Court Associate Justice David Souter; law clerk to 9th U.S. Circuit Judge Dairmuid O’Scannlain.
NAME: Dabney L. Friedrich
CURRENT POSITION: Friedrich served on the U.S. Sentencing Commission from 2006 to 2016. She was initially appointed to the commission by President George W. Bush and nominated by President Barack Obama to a second term in 2010.
NOMINATED TO: U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
EDUCATION: B.A. in economics from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where she earned a full scholarship as a tennis player; diploma in Legal Studies from Oxford University; J.D. from Yale Law School.
NOTATBLE: Friedrich was a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission in 2011 when it unanimously decided that prisoners locked up for offenses involving crack cocaine should be eligible for early release. Congress had passed a law substantially lowering recommended sentences for people convicted of crack cocaine crimes to fix a longstanding disparity in punishments between crack and powder cocaine crimes. The commission’s vote allowed offenders who were locked up for crack offenses before the new law took effect to also benefit. Before serving on the commission she served as associate counsel to President George W. Bush from 2003 to 2006 where one of her primary responsibilities was assisting in the nomination and confirmation of federal judges.
NAME: David C. Nye
CURRENT POSITION: Appointed Idaho 6th District judge by Republican Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter in 2007 and elected without opposition in 2014.
NOMINATED TO: U.S. District Court for Idaho. He was first nominated by President Barack Obama in 2016 but never confirmed.
EDUCATION: J. Reuben Clark Law School at BYU, juris doctor, 1986; Brigham Young University, B.A., 1982.
NOTABLE: Nye has worked as an attorney specializing in medical malpractice and insurance in Pocatello. He now oversees felony drug court and helps train new Idaho judges.
If confirmed, Nye will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of U.S. District Judge Edward Lodge. Lodge announced his plans to retire in September 2014, but has kept working as a senior judge while the search for his successor was underway because Idaho is down to just one active federal U.S. district judge. Several other out-of-state federal judges have also been called in to help cover Idaho’s federal court caseload until a new judge is appointed.
NAME: Damien M. Schiff
CURRENT POSITION: Senior attorney at the Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit legal organization based in Sacramento, California.
NOMINATED TO: U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
EDUCATION: Georgetown University and the University of San Diego School of Law.
NOTABLE: Experience litigating cases concerning a variety of federal and state environmental and land-use issues, including Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a decision in which the Supreme Court upheld the right of landowners to challenge Clean Water Act compliance orders issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. Schiff also clerked for Judge Victor J. Wolski of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
NAME: John K. Bush
CURRENT POSITION: Partner in the Louisville, Kentucky, law office of Bingham Greenebaum Doll. His practice has included antitrust, securities, financial institutions, insurance, intellectual property and product liability disputes. Also heads the local chapter of the Federalist Society.
NOMINATED TO: 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
EDUCATION: Vanderbilt University, bachelor’s degree. Harvard, law degree.
NOTABLE: Early in his career, was one of President Ronald Reagan’s attorneys during Iran-Contra investigation. Bush also was involved in litigation related to the tobacco industry’s Master Settlement Agreement, in which some cigarette makers agreed to pay states for smoking-related health care costs.
Contributors to this report include Associated Press writers Ed White in Detroit; Jay Reeves in Birmingham, Alabama; Kimberlee Kruesi in Boise, Idaho; Nick Riccardi in Denver; Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Jessica Gresko and Vivian Salama in Washington; and Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Kentucky.
Deadline extended for tree removal sign-ups again; Butte County launches map
Packers or 49ers? The story behind that roadside ball | Editor’s notes
More in State
We’re not the worst state, but just how bad is California for drivers?
1 dead, 1 hurt in Lake Tahoe avalanche, Placer Sheriff reports
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3166
|
__label__wiki
| 0.563814
| 0.563814
|
Sub Rosa (Videoinstallation (Screenshot), 2019 (Detail) © Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques
07/12/19 to 29/02/20
Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques . Sub Rosa
Öffentliche Führungen . Sa + So und Feiertage . 14:00 + 16:00 (Deutsch) . 18:00 (Englisch)
Public Guided Tours . Sat + Sun and holidays . 2:00 p.m. + 4:00 p.m. (German) . 6:00 p.m. (English)
The Arco de la Victoria is a triumphal arch in the northwest part of Madrid. It was built in the 1950s at the behest of Francisco Franco to commemorate his victory over Republican troops in the Spanish Civil War. The over 40-meter-high arch stands to this day as a symbol of Spanish fascism. Lying outside the usual tourist areas in the middle of a multi-lane traffic circle on highway A6, it has long been among the city’s forgotten monuments, and is now more a ruin than a historic landmark. And like many of the city’s plazas and public squares, it is a meeting point for teenagers. In his most recent project, Sub Rosa (2017–2019), French artist Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques makes the arch the setting for his work. His large-scale video-sound installation extends a documentary approach into the conceptual realm: Couzinet-Jacques’ extremely slow-motion video oscillates between moving and still images, between film and photography. Dispersed across a number of independently edited film tracks, Sub Rosa breaks with all semblance of linear narrative. In collaboration with the musician Matthias Puech a self-generative sound scapes was composed. The length of the video corresponds precisely to C/O Berlin’s hours, and thus blends into the real daily routine of the place. Every visitor to the exhibition will experience a different, individual sequence of the work.
The work centers around young people. They talk, laugh, stare off disinterestedly into the distance, smoke and skate, flirt, chat, and surf on their smartphones. They wear baseball caps and hoodies, t-shirts, sneakers, and socks bearing brand names like Adidas, Puma, and Nike. Close-ups of the teenagers are combined with images of the triumphal arch and the car and bus traffic around it in the red-orange-violet glow of the setting sun. Couzinet-Jacques translates this everyday scene into an abstract picture of youth: extending his perspective beyond the young people of the Spanish capital, he portrays adolescence as a phase of inner turmoil, superficiality, narcissism, loneliness, and contradiction. At the same time, he unmasks this image as a commercial tool used by the world’s biggest fashion empires to market their products. By engaging with a specific social group, Sub Rosa creates an enlarged space for experience where photography expands into film, documentation into illusion, and distanced observation into the real experience.
Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques is the winner of the C/O Berlin Talent Award 2019. Couzinet-Jacques was also nominated last year and shortlisted for the C/O Berlin Talent Award 2018. His distinctive artistic signature and constant evolution are apparent again in his most recent work, Sub Rosa (2017–2019), which convinced the jury with its contemporary perspective, documentary visual language, and intelligent interplay of photography, video, and sound installation. Couzinet-Jacques will be recognized with an award in the amount of 7,000 euros and will be featured in the solo exhibition Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques . Sub Rosa at C/O Berlin.
A catalog accompanying the exhibition will be published by Spector Books, Leipzig. It is edited by Kathrin Schönegg of the C/O Berlin Foundation and includes an essay by Mira Anneli Naß, the recipient this year’s C/O Berlin Talent Award in the field of art criticism.
Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques, from the series Sub Rosa, 2018 © Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques
Sylvain Couzinet-Jacques (b. 1983, Sens, France) lives and works in Paris. He studied at the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Marseille, graduating in 2010, and the École Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie in Arles, graduating in 2012. His works have been exhibited at Le BAL in Paris, Fotofestival Mannheim-Heidelberg-Ludwigshafen and Aperture Foundation in New York. In 2015, Couzinet-Jaques held a fellowship at the Centre Photographique d’Ile-de-France in Paris, and from 2014–2016 he was artist-in-residence at the Cité Internationale des Arts program in Paris. In 2015, he was awarded the first Immersion Award by Fondation d’entreprise Hermès and Aperture Foundation. His first book, Eden (2006), was produced in collaboration with Fred Cave and published by Aperture. From 2017 to 2018, Couzinet-Jacques held a fellowship at the French Academy Casa de Velàzquez in Madrid. Most recently, he was selected as a 2019 Foam Talent by the Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.
Mira Anneli Naß (b. 1989 in Schwäbisch Hall, Germany) studied art history, literature, and theater studies in Munich and Florence, and the theory and history of photography at the Folkwang University of the Arts. She has been working as a research associate at the Institute of Art History and Aesthetic Theory at the University of Bremen since 2019. She is currently conducting research for her dissertation project dealing with artistic narratives of surveillance and power. Her recent publications include A Complete Negation of our Time. The Photo Book “Bäume” by Albert Renger-Patzsch and Ernst Jünger in PhotoResearcher 31 (2019) and Krupp’sche Panoramen als Sichtbarkeitsdispositiv. Visuelle Strategien der Narration von (industrieller) Macht in kritische berichte 4 (2018). Mira Anneli Naß lives and works in Bremen.
The C/O Berlin Foundation has supported the work of emerging photographers and art critics since 2006. To date, over 80 young talents have received support and been shared with a broad audience through exhibitions and publications. These include the photographers Stefanie Moshammer (2018) and Tobias Zielony (2017), as well as critics Andreas Prinzing (2018), Steffen Siegel (2009), and Florian Ebner (2006).
Exhibition space . Daily 11 am – 8 pm . Click here fo detailed information
Café . Daily 10 am – 8 pm
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3173
|
__label__wiki
| 0.525884
| 0.525884
|
Home > Guests > Brad Steiner
Brad Steiner
Brad Steiner is one of the few legitimate 10th degree black belt system-originators in the martial arts. He has been an avid student of the combat disciplines since approximately seven years of age, when a cousin taught him the rudiments of boxing. Since then his studies in the martial arts have been extensive and in depth. He was a student at one of the first martial arts “dojos” in NYC: Judo, Inc., run by Jerome Mackey.
Steiner has studied under Charles Nelson, from whom — after nearly three years of private lessons — he learned all aspects of the Nelson System, the WWII USMC “combat judo” system, and the fabled O’Neill System. Steiner’s studies also include having trained at the Sigward Sports Academy in the Sigward Ju-Jutsu System, and under Japanese ju-jutsu expert Kiyose Nakae. He also trained under Caesar Bujosa in his combat-oriented Goshin-Do Kempo.
Although he discounts nearly all of the technical instruction that he learned from his studies of them (for practical self-defense) Steiner trained to second degree black belt proficiency in two different styles of ju-jutsu, and in Korean taekwon-do. He was also a student of “Swami” Vrygananda who taught him Indian (Hindu) varmannie — a system Steiner hold in high regard. For more than 25 years Steiner was a personal student, friend, and associate of the late Col. Rex Applegate, from whom he holds certification to teach the Applegate and Fairbairn methods. Steiner is President of the International Stick and Knife Fighting Association in Berlin, Germany, and he is former Washington State Director of the American Society of Law Enforcement Trainers (ASLET).
americancombato.com
seattlecombatives.com
Self-Defense/ Psychic Dowsing
Bradley Steiner discussed self-defense techniques and strategies. Followed by Dan Baldwin who uses the pendulum as a psychic detective.
Self Defense/ Russian Anomalies
Bradley Steiner addressed the problem of violence and assaults in the US. Followed by Paul Stonehill on strange encounters and discoveries in Russia.
Violence and Self-Defense/ Prophetic Perils
In the first half, President and CEO of the International Combat Martial Arts Federation (ICMAF), Bradley Steiner, talked about self-defense, law enforcement issues, and the psychology of violence.
In the latter half, researcher Holly Deyo discussed her new book More »
Trajectory of Science
With a Ph.D. in theoretical physics from UC Berkeley, Leonard Mlodinow is the co-author with Stephen Hawking of the best-seller A Briefer History of Time. He discussed the trajectory of modern science from primitive tool making to modern quantum mechanics.
First hour guest, President and CEO of the International... More »
Preserving Personal Safety
Tuesday September 2, 2014
In the first half of the show, President and CEO of the International Combat Martial Arts Federation (ICMAF), Bradley Steiner, talked about the increase of violence and personal assaults in the U.S. and what the average person needs to know about technical and tactical readiness for trying socioeconomic times.
Appearing... More »
Tamara Laroux
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3174
|
__label__wiki
| 0.947576
| 0.947576
|
COMAP, an industrial adventure
From the very outset, COMAP has based its development on solid technical expertise, painstakingly refined over the years, and on its export plans, hatched early on and which became a reality in the 1980s. This explains why major industrial groups have always shown an interest in the company, a testimony to the longevity of its industrial and commercial capital.
Almost 100 years of know-how
The origins of COMAP go back to 1921, when the company Société des appareils à jet (SAJ) was founded in Paris to manufacture and sell industrial fittings, ejectors, pumps and valves. During the 1930s, SAJ added large weld fittings to its range of products. In 1938, the company opened a factory in Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel, near Orleans.
With the massive need for reconstruction after the war, the company’s turnover rocketed. From 1921 to 1945, the company continued to grow steadily, employing 150 people. This led in 1947 to the company being split in two: the manufacturing division under SAJ and the sales division under COMET (COmmercialisation METallurgique), which later became COMAP (Société COMerciale APpareils industriels).
Post-war boom
SAJ-COMAP swiftly took on a new dimension. Sudo capillary weld fittings were launched after the war. In copper, bronze or brass, they would be instrumental in the company’s success. By 1968, the two companies employed 929 people and had two factories (Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel and Abbeville), a warehouse for stocking agencies, and offices in Paris. In the same year the original managers retired and sold the company to the Société des Fonderies de Pont-à-Mousson, which merged in 1970 with Saint-Gobain to become Saint-Gobain-Pont-à-Mousson.
From Saint-Gobain to Aalberts Industries
When Pont-à-Mousson restructured its valves division in 1972, COMAP was dismantled. Restructuring continued during the 1980s, led by Jean-Louis Beffa. It was not until 1984 that COMAP SA was resurrected as a subsidiary of Saunier Duval, which was in turn a subsidiary of Pont-à-Mousson. Business picked up quickly, boosted by large productivity gains. 1986 marked another turning point for COMAP: Pont-à-Mousson decided to focus on its casting business and sold COMAP to Legris SA, which was then one of the world leaders in industrial fluid push-fit systems. The new group was named Legris Industries. COMAP, the division in charge of “domestic fluids” within the group, had new means at its disposal to develop its industrial and sales base. The ranges were extended and the markets grew, particularly export. In 1994, COMAP created 13 sales subsidiaries in Europe.
In 2006, after 20 years as part of the Legris Industries Group, COMAP became part of the Dutch Aalberts Industries Group.
1921: Société des appareils à jet (SAJ) is established.
1947: COMAP (Commercialisation d’appareils) is established.
1970: COMAP diversifies into weld fittings before being taken over by Pont-à-Mousson.
1981: PONT-À-MOUSSON merges COMAP with SAUNIER-DUVAL Eau chaude et chauffage.
1984: the Saunier-Duval heating valves business is spun off into a new company, which eventually adopts the name COMAP.
1986: COMAP joins the LEGRIS INDUSTRIES Group.
1987-1994: COMAP creates more than 10 commercial subsidiaries worldwide and acquires five companies with complementary expertise (CLESSE, RIME, RACCORDERIES BRESCIANES, NOVA COMET, SOVEG).
1992: COMAP moves its headquarters from the Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel site (Loiret) to Lyon.
1996: creation of the international distribution platform in Checy (Loiret).
2003: production at the Abbeville site is relocated to a new factory.
2006: COMAP joins the Aalberts Industries Group.
2007: COMAP merges with Aquatis (Aalberts Industries Group).
2008: spin-off of the water and gas business (under CLESSE, which is independent from COMAP).
2008: inauguration of the new factory in Saint-Denis-de-l’Hôtel (Loiret) and expansion of the platform in Checy (Loiret).
2009: Alphacan Nevers takes over the COMAP Group.
2013: COMAP gets a new look and repositions itself as a provider of comprehensive solutions for building energy efficiency.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3176
|
__label__wiki
| 0.861199
| 0.861199
|
You do not have javascript enabled - Javascript is required for this site to operate correctly.
Member Eligibility
Savings Options
Savings Account Rates
Checking Account Rates
Business Account Rates
Calculator Options
Other Financial Calculators
moveUP for Employers
Elizabeth Andersen
Board Member, Duval County School | District 2
We are Community First
Elizabeth Andersen's Story
Elizabeth Andersen is a former Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) teacher, an experienced non-profit agency worker in the mental health field, owns her own business, and is a newly elected School Board Member for DCPS in District 2. Throughout all of her roles of serving children and communities in Jacksonville, she recognizes a common thread in her work. “Everything is really rooted in what I see as a calling to help people realize their full potential. I believe in the goodness of people. Data points and dollar signs are certainly important, but if I am successful in four years, it will be about creating a culture throughout the district and in communities where we understand the value of relationships,” she said. She’s a long-time Community First member and her story of putting the community first inspired us to share her passion.
Roots in Community First
Elizabeth has been a member of Community First since the 1990s, back when we were Educational Community Credit Union. “I remember the first time I became aware (of what is now) Community First. I was an only child, my mom was a single mom while I was growing up, she was working all the time, and the woman who watched me was the front office worker at my elementary school. She was a good family friend of ours. Community First had a booth at the school to recruit teachers to become members.” Elizabeth remembers the old apple logo of Educational Community Credit Union and as a child, was really curious about a bank where only teachers could be members; it seemed like a very exclusive thing. “I distinctly remember that. My mom became a member and I remember thinking, ‘We got in!’ and to me it was like we were part of this very exclusive club.”
Naturally, when Elizabeth started working and needed a bank account, she turned to Community First. She grew up in Arlington and recalls, “It was a mile from my house. It was our corner credit union.” Elizabeth briefly switched to a larger bank when she attended college outside of Jacksonville, but after it was bought by an even larger, national bank, she said, “I just wasn’t interested in being a part of big banking. That wasn’t for me.” She said, “Nope! I don’t want to be a part of this, I’m out! I want to go back to my community credit union. So there was no other option for me.” Elizabeth established her second account in 2009 after returning home to Jacksonville.
To this day, Elizabeth has multiple accounts with Community First, including several checking and savings accounts. She also opened her business account for her mental health practice with Community First in 2014. When she ran for her School Board seat in 2018, she used Community First for her campaign account, too. Every car she has ever financed has been through a Community First auto loan. She is a dedicated and well-established member!
A Journey of Hard, but Important Work
High School Teacher and Master’s Degree Work
Elizabeth started her career in education by teaching high school at her alma mater, Terry Parker High School in the Arlington neighborhood of Jacksonville. She also taught at Edward H. White High School. While teaching, Elizabeth was simultaneously pursuing her master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. After teaching for three years, Elizabeth transitioned into the counseling field. Elizabeth’s degree required a full-time internship, which made it too difficult to stay in the classroom. “There weren’t enough programs that I could do after I left teaching high school at 3:00 p.m.,” she said. “I needed to have some day-time flexibility in my schedule, and there were very few internship options that I could only do in the evenings.” Her Clinical Internship was at Hope Haven, a non-profit organization serving children, young adults, and families with a variety of educational, developmental, and mental health needs.
Gateway Community Services
She then transitioned into a grant program with Gateway Community Services, which specialized in working with people who are experiencing homelessness, as well as substance abuse problems and other mental health diagnoses. “That was such a great opportunity to really understand the culture of homelessness and the culture of addiction,” Elizabeth said. When she later worked in the non-profit community agency world, she explained, “Having the background in addictions and homelessness really helped me understand the systems that create those kinds of circumstances for people, and that has been really invaluable.”
Child Guidance Center
“When that grant program ended, I didn’t know what I was going to do, but children keep finding me,” she said. That’s when she began working with the Child Guidance Center as a School-Based Therapist. At the time, the Child Guidance Center had a contract with Duval County Public Schools and Elizabeth was contracted to provide mental health services at several different schools throughout the county for a specific program. Funding for the program was eventually cut, and many people lost their jobs. Fortunately, Elizabeth was able to transition into another role there. She said, “I was really grateful to move into a role as a Full Service Schools Counselor.” Full Service Schools is a program that partners with agencies all around the community, such as the United Way and Kids Hope Alliance, to support mental health for Full Service Schools. Because of these partnerships, the Full Service Schools program has expanded to every school in Duval County so that all students have access to mental health services. “It’s really a true community initiative that comes together to provide those services,” she said. Elizabeth then transitioned into a role as the Supervisor for the Community and Family Services department, which addressed a higher mental health need. “Every position that I was in had an in-school component,” she said. Elizabeth ended up doing both in-home and in-school therapy while working for the Community and Family Services department. “That work brought me to almost half of the schools in Duval County,” she said, “as I would go around and meet with children to provide them with therapy at school.”
Foundations Therapy Jax
While working in the non-profit agency world, Elizabeth was also acquiring her licensure. She later received her license as a Mental Health Counselor. That’s when she decided to open her own business / private practice – Foundations Therapy Jax – while continuing her agency work. “All of my work in the non-profit world was all community based, but my private practice is more traditional, with people in an outpatient setting who come to an office,” she said. Elizabeth opened her private practice in the community where she lives, which is near the Beaches. The work she was doing with the agency was in other areas of Duval County, mostly in Northside and Westside neighborhoods, as well as Arlington areas. “Being out at the beaches, I was able to serve a different demographic,” she said. There was no conflict of interest for Elizabeth, as she didn’t feel like she was taking business away from the non-profit where she was simultaneously working.
Elizabeth maintains her private practice to this day (serving multiple clients a week), but is no longer doing community work for the agency, as her School Board position takes up about 30 hours of her week. “I do it because I love it, not because I’m trying to make an income,” she said.
A Common Thread of Taking Care of People
Whether it was working as a high school teacher, at a non-profit doing agency work in the community, seeing patients in her private practice, or working in the school system as a School Board Member, everything Elizabeth does has a theme. “Everything is really rooted in what I see as a calling to help people realize their full potential. I believe in the goodness of people. Unfortunately, there are things and circumstances that happen in people’s lives that sometimes get in the way of us being able to be our best. So anything I can do to remove those barriers… then that is what I’m called to do.”
Elizabeth was elected as the Board Member for Duval County Public Schools (District 2) in November 2018. She continued doing agency work until March 2019. “It was really important to me to not abandon that position, to make sure my staff were in a good place, and we were in the middle of some projects that I just couldn’t drop. I also wanted to give the agency time to evaluate how they wanted to continue the programming,” she said.
The Campaign and Election
The Advantage of Being a Former DCPS Teacher
Elizabeth knew she wanted to be more involved with the community and children. She conferred with her friend with whom she taught at Ed White, Brooke Hitzeman, who is now the Assistant Principal at Mayport Coastal Sciences Middle School. “I knew that the position for our district was opening up,” Brooke said. “[Elizabeth] was saying she wanted to get more involved, so I said, ‘I know this is coming up soon; you’d be great for it. You know the school, you have the mental health understanding, and you want to get more involved -- check it out!’”
When we asked Brooke why a former teacher would be good for the job, she said, “They understand what it’s like day to day. It’s not like you’re just passing policies and procedures and don’t realize how it’s impacts the people who are actually in there. You can visualize, ‘OK, I know what a typical day looks like in a school, in a classroom, working with kids.’ If you don’t have that mindset, it’s going to be hard to relate.”
Now that Elizabeth is a School Board Member, we asked her how being a former teacher influences her decision-making. She said, “I know what it is to have a constantly revolving door of curriculum, and feeling like you constantly have to train yourself before you can train a child. As a School Board Member, now I know to ask, ‘Is there adequate training and professional development that’s provided with this curriculum, or do you just get a book and you’re expected to teach a kid?’ Being able to bring that conversation (and asking if it’s being implemented as it's intended to be) is a huge advantage.”
Five Hopefuls, One Winner
When Elizabeth decided to run for the School Board seat in her district, she was one of five hopefuls in the race. Nick Howland, a businessman whose primary career included managing businesses owned by private equity firms and multinational companies, was her toughest opponent. He had more campaign contributions than all of the other candidates. Other candidates included Shannon Beckham (former DCPS teacher and PTA President), Sam Hall (retired scientist and city volunteer), and Casey Ayers (a local project manager and strategic consultant). Elizabeth honestly didn’t feel that she would win. Sure, she was a former DCPS teacher and mental health advocate, but didn’t have the same campaign funds as Howland, nor did she have any political experience. She recruited the help of her closest friends, current and former educators, and mental health advocates across the community to help her with her grassroots-style campaign. After the primaries in August 2018, the field narrowed down to Andersen and Howland.
As a former DCPS teacher, agency worker, and licensed mental health counselor, Elizabeth decided to run her platform on developing the whole child, with an emphasis on the need for increased awareness (and funding) for mental health and social-emotional learning. “I remember when I signed on for the campaign, I just said, ‘I’m just going to talk about mental health and child development and what’s good for kids’ and hopefully that will help people continue to talk about it, and at the end of the day, maybe someone will listen. I never anticipated how deeply it would resonate with people. I would say things that people didn’t know they wanted to hear. These were things that people felt like somebody should be talking about, and when speaking to people one-on-one, they would feel like I was really hitting a nail on a head. It was really resonating with them, and I was just speaking my truth and speaking what I believe based on my training and my experience and what I see happening in the community. People connected with that, and it was really easy for it to grow grassroots,” she said. Elizabeth won the race against Howland in November 2018 with flying colors.
People, Not Politicians
Elizabeth was not trying to be an opportunist by running for this position. “I really believe it is important to be genuine, to be authentic, to be vulnerable, and that is how, as human beings, we connect with one another. The more we are connected and the tighter our relationships are with the humans around us, the better our world will be.” When talking about other politicians, she said, “I see politicians talk to people. And it’s so different to see a politician talk to a group of people and to see a person talk to a group of people. I hope that I always remember what my purpose is and why I got into this – because people elect other people to represent their human needs. I am there to represent 90,000 people, to speak for them, not as a politician, but to really speak for what people need. People felt like we needed to address mental health and children’s social-emotional needs, so I am that voice for now. I don’t know how long I’ll get to have this space and get to be that voice, but I’m going to do it the best that I can.”
Elizabeth always thought that she would want to be involved in local community government or politics, but later in life. "I didn’t anticipate that now would be my time, but when people started talking about mental health and it became such a pressing issue, it just became really clear to me that the time is now,” she said. Elizabeth’s personal motto throughout the campaign was, “If not me, then who?” and says that she always asks, “What’s the problem and how do we tackle it? Even if it’s not fixing it or making it go away, but how are you able to best be part of the solution? If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem,” she said – something she used to preach to her students. “At some point,” she said, “it just became inevitable for me to step up and to take my experience and expertise, as fresh and young as that is, and offer it as part of the conversation. And people welcomed it at the table, so here I am.”
A Vision for Success
The School Board seat is a four-year term. Duval County does have term limits, with Board Members being able to run for two terms. Elizabeth has an opportunity to hold this role for eight years if the community wants to re-elect her. “If I am only here for four years, I would feel satisfied to have helped build a community – not just a school system, but a community – that understands the value of taking care of people’s social and emotional needs and that is the foundation for all of the rest of our success. I’m committed to being the voice for mental health,” she said. When asked if she wants to see certain data points by the end of her term, she said, “I care more about people and relationships and that’s harder to quantify. Numbers help mobilize people for a cause, but at the end of the day, sometimes it just about a feeling.”
“Children aren’t data points or dollar signs” was a big tagline throughout her campaign. “At the end of the day, they are children. We must continue to stay focused on children, what is good for children, what is good for people, and what is good for our communities. Our schools serve our children, but our children are part of families, those families are part of neighborhoods, those neighborhoods make up a larger community,” she said. “Data points and dollar signs are certainly important, but if I am successful in four years, it will be about creating a culture throughout the district and in communities where we understand the value of relationships,” she said.
Elizabeth has lived in Jacksonville nearly all of her life. She currently resides in the District she serves, near the Beaches, with her husband Martin and her toddler son, Cooper. She is currently one of only two School Board Members (out of seven) who were former DCPS teachers. She is currently the only School Board Member who is also a licensed mental health therapist.
The current School Board Members and Superintendent of DCPS, Dr. Greene
Elizabeth enjoying New Board Member training with Charlotte Joyce (District 6) and Darryl Willie (District 4)
Elizabeth visits Tallahassee to meet with state Legislators and advocates for DCPS students, staff, and communities
Elizabeth and Dr. Greene visit the Rotary Club of Jacksonville (Oceanside)
Friends, family, and supporters across District 2 helping Elizabeth on the campaign trail
Former District 2 hopefuls endorse Elizabeth after the primary election
How You Can Help Elizabeth
“It’s really important to me to be able to figure out how to move forward with our community partnerships,” Elizabeth said. “We live in a big community with a wide range of diverse skills and a lot of people want to give back. I find that we’re all moving in a good direction, just not the same direction. So how do we get the arrows from being scattered to align in the same way moving forward for our community and for children in the school system? I think that it’s important that whatever the barriers are, we figure out how to remove them,” she said.
Addressing Social-Emotional Needs and Turnaround Schools
Some of the initiatives that Elizabeth is working on personally, not just for District 2, but for all of Duval County, is their social-emotional learning program. “We need to make sure that we are supporting students’ and staffs’ social-emotional needs. It’s a critical need, and if we really want to see our kids move, then we’re going to have to remove some of these other barriers and we have meet those social-emotional needs because that primes their brain for learning,” she explained.
“I think that one of the places that is a critical need for us is our turnaround schools,” she said. “These schools have recently been renamed to ‘schools of innovation,’ which is great because we have to start thinking outside the box,” she said. “We need to be innovative with our approach with these children because most of our turnaround schools have children with a high level of poverty, who come out of systemic, inter-generational patterns of trauma. So when you’re coming to school and you haven’t had enough to eat or you were too cold when you were sleeping, or too hot, or have to share a mattress on the floor with three other kids, and all of the things that come along with living in tough circumstances, you are not primed for learning,” she explained. “We can put in the best academics, the most assessments to track their progress, we can keep testing and tutoring, but at some point, we have to get more innovative about meeting their needs so they can be primed for learning,” she said.
If you or someone you know can help support Elizabeth in her mission to address these initiatives, please contact the DCPS School Board.
NOW OPEN Neptune Beach Branch
Double Your Savings Challenge
New Year's Resolution Loan
DROP into Retirement
Mortgage Champion-Home Purchase
Mortgage Champion- Home Refinance
Buying a Car?
Refer a Friend-Share the rewards
Free Debit Cards
Reloadable Cards
Log in MPV
Become a moveUP Partner
Financial Wellness Program
moveUP
Community First CARES
UNF Branch
moveUP Financial Wellness Program
moveUP Events
Save My Change
Debit Card Fraud Text Alerts
Board of Dir. Petition
Raymond Vinson Scholarship
Info 24:
CommunityFirst@c1cufl.org
Corp. NMLS#: 379502
Your savings are federally insured to at least $250,000 and backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government. The National Credit Union Administration is a U.S. Government Agency.
© Community First Credit Union 2018 | All Rights Reserved
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3177
|
__label__wiki
| 0.790462
| 0.790462
|
Disney releases first look at ‘The Lion King’
Disney has released the first teaser trailer for its much anticipated live-action retelling of The Lion King.
Carmen Weld
Nov. 23, 2018 10:30 a.m.
A fond childhood memory for many is coming back to theatres with a new live-action remake of a Disney classic, featuring an all-star cast.
Disney’s remake of the 1994 classic The Lion King just released its very first trailer, setting the internet abuzz Thursday evening.
The quick minute and a half teaser was posted on social media and aired during the NFL’s traditional Thanksgiving prime-time game.
The film, produced by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by Iron Man’s Jon Favreau, is a set to a be a ‘realistic looking’, computer animated movie featuring a staggering number of high-profile voice actors including Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa.
Hans Zimmer is also returning to score the film, while Elton John is coming back to rework some of his original compositions that most 90s kids know word for word.
Other big names include B.C.’s own Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon and talk-show host John Oliver as Zazu.
In the trailer, we can see what looks like the opening moments of the movie, in which Rafiki presents a young Simba to the animals of the Pride Lands, with the quintessential shot of Simba being hoisted above the rock.
All the while, the iconic and memorable voice of James Earl Jones’ handles the narration as Mufasa while the original film’s opening track, “Circle of Life,” can be heard in the background.
Many online were quick to point out that this 2018 trailer is nearly frame for frame the same as the 1994 version. Disney has done this in the past with other live-action remakes like Beauty and the Beast.
The film is scheduled to come out on July 19, 2019.
Related: ‘Beauty and the Beast’ roars with monstrous $170M debut
Related: A doggone Disney day
To report a typo, email:
newstips@kelownacapnews.com.
@carmenweld
carmen.weld@bpdigital.ca
Wet and Wild: marine artist featured at Pearl Ellis Gallery
North Island Choral presents A Fantasy of English Carols
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3178
|
__label__wiki
| 0.931669
| 0.931669
|
Nerd Culture: HBO’s Silicon Valley
T.J. Miller and Thomas Middleditch in Silicon Valley on HBO.
As I wrote in my most recent review for Critics at Large, it seems these days as though the nerds have won. In both economic and cultural terms, many occupations and enthusiasms that would once have been looked down upon, or at least greeted with incomprehension, are now both mainstream and quite lucrative. In the TV world, the result has been a wave of new(ish) shows that reflect their cultural dominance, from the rapidly multiplying horde of superhero shows to darker fare like USA’s Mr. Robot. By contrast, a show like The Big Bang Theory feels almost quaint in its depiction of its nerdy protagonists as social outcasts whose goofily eccentric interests and behavior are virtually incomprehensible to the nice, normal Americans who watch network sitcoms.
However, not many shows have attempted to tackle the economic side of the rise of nerd-dom, at least not before the appearance of HBO’s Silicon Valley, which is about to wrap up its third season. Co-created by Mike Judge (of Office Space and Beavis and Butt-head fame), John Altschuler, and Dave Krinsky, it’s a remarkably funny and perceptive comedy that takes satiric aim at the industry that’s come to dominate so much of our daily lives.
The show follows the hapless Richard Hendricks (Thomas Middleditch) and his companions as they try to launch an Internet company called Pied Piper. Richard has (somewhat inadvertently) invented a brilliant new data compression algorithm with serious potential to change the way that people can save, store, and share their files. Pied Piper promises to make Richard and his friends billions of dollars – if they can ever get it off the ground. Their attempts to do so are not only frequently hilarious, but also often gut-wrenching, as they keep encountering one apparently insurmountable obstacle after another, from legal and financial troubles to problems with getting people to understand and use their software. I’m not sure I remember a TV program that achieved such a degree of white-knuckle narrative tension while still remaining an out-and-out comedy.
Judge and his fellow writers are adept at creating a believable yet warped take on the real-life Silicon Valley and its denizens. I’m consistently amazed at how they manage to draw both laughter and narrative suspense out of the practical details of writing software code and running a company. While Silicon Valley has been praised for the accuracy of its depiction of the tech industry, that’s almost beside the point. The real accomplishment is its ability to convincingly create – and skewer without mercy – a detailed milieu that’s reflective of how the technology business has affected the way that we live and do business.
The show benefits from its excellent ensemble, starting with Middleditch, who’s extraordinary. I hadn’t seen him do anything before this, but he’s apparently gained some renown as an improv comedian for his dark, bizarre humor. What I find so fascinating about his performance is the level of nuance that he imparts to the brilliant but irredeemably awkward and inarticulate Richard: you can see him react with befuddlement to every little shift in circumstance, and you squirm with him as he attempts (and usually fails) to translate what’s going on in his head into something approximating a coherent and convincing stream of words.
(from left) T.J. Miller, Zach Woods, Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr, and Thomas Middleditch in Silicon Valley.
Richard’s friends/coworkers at Pied Piper include the perpetually bickering Bertram Gilfoyle and Dinesh Chugtai (a delightfully deadpan Martin Starr and Kumail Nanjiani, respectively), as well as the pathetic but relentlessly optimistic Jared Dunn, played by Zach Woods, who’s another standout in the strong cast. They’re opposed by Gavin Belson (Matt Ross), the founder of Internet giant (and their former employer) Hooli. Ross’ character is the one that’s most clearly modeled on specific people in the tech industry, and the role is equal parts absurdity and malevolence.
There’s also Erlich Bachman (T.J. Miller), the rotund, pot-smoking, and supremely confident foil to Richard’s tense nervousness. Erlich’s owns the so-called “incubator” that spawned Piped Piper, which is really just a steadily deteriorating house that he bought with the proceeds from a deal early in his career, and which now has the vibe of off-campus college housing rather than a site of cutting-edge innovation. Miller has probably been the biggest breakout star from the cast, and it’s not hard to see why: he’s playing the sort of likable lout who often becomes an audience favorite. However, even though his character is less complex and more of a crowd-pleaser than a role like Richard, Miller manages to do some interesting things with Erlich, managing to somehow combine self-confident bombast with a stoner’s laid-back apathy. The latest season has seen Erlich’s irresponsibility catch up with him in dramatic fashion, landing him and would-be business partner Nelson Bighetti (Josh Brener) deep in debt, and both Miller and the writers have surprised me by giving him a hint of pathos that I would have thought impossible to achieve with that character.
Outside of Pied Piper proper, there’s a mixed bag of supporting characters. Due to unfortunate real-world circumstances, perhaps the most notable is the venture capitalist Peter Gregory, who had to be written off the show when actor Christopher Evan Welch died midway through the first season. Welch was good in the role, and you can guess at some of the shock and emotional turmoil that his death must have caused for the cast and crew, because his absence throws the second half of the first season off kilter, and it’s not until the Season 2 premiere that Judge & Co. manage to right the ship (by, among other things, coming up with a scene explaining Peter’s off-screen death that’s equal parts ridiculous and poignant). He’s been ably replaced by Suzanne Cryer as Laurie Bream, who takes over Peter’s firm after the character’s death. She’s assisted by Monica Hall, who’s played by the somewhat bland Amanda Crew.
It’s worth noting that the show’s drawn some criticism for depicting the world of Silicon Valley as an overwhelmingly white and male one, at least when it comes to the programmers who make the products on which the industry runs. However, I think this criticism (in addition to ignoring the unfortunate reality) misses the point: while the show doesn’t fall into the Big Bang Theory trap of treating expertise in science and computers as a strange, almost exotic, obsession or focusing so intently on (male and female) nerds’ clumsiness around the opposite sex, it also doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to mocking these characters for their social ineptitude and inability to see beyond the circumscribed boundaries of their fairly homogenous world. Perhaps the show’s greatest strength is that it makes us want to root for Richard and the rest of the Pied Piper team, even as we cringe almost every time that one of them opens their mouths. They’re accomplishing great things, but Judge, Altschler, and Krinsky never let us forget that they’re also deeply – and hilariously – flawed human beings.
– Michael Lueger teaches theatre classes at Northeastern University and Emerson College. He's written for HowlRound and WBUR's Cognoscentipage. He also tweets about theatre history at @theaterhistory.
Labels: Michael Lueger, Television
Garage Freak: All the President's Men at 40
Lost Man – O.J.: Made in America
For the Horde!: Warcraft
Podcast: Interview with Robert MacNeil (1986)
Broken Couples: This Is Living and Elegy
Rolling With the Punches: Randy Newman's Land of D...
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3180
|
__label__wiki
| 0.626916
| 0.626916
|
The Food Fighter
CSUN student Gabrielle Maestas was instrumental in establishing the CSUN Food Pantry.
Gabrielle Maestas has never personally experienced the struggle of not having enough to eat, but she knows the realities of food insecurity all too well. During the 2016-17 academic year, she helped to oversee the Matador Involvement Center’s launch of the CSUN Food Pantry.
“With the implementation of the pantry, CSUN equips its students with the ability to succeed in multiple aspects of their lives,” she says. “Including fulfilling basic needs such as fueling the body.”
A psychology major, Gabrielle first learned about the food pantry last year when her boyfriend was asked to help design the logo. Organizers needed help getting it up and running. Gabrielle’s interest ― and her leadership experience as president of Acasola, CSUN’s awarding winning a cappella group – made her a perfect fit for the job.
“I really wanted to be a part of developing the program and helping people get to know campus resources,” she says.
As the food pantry student assistant, Gabrielle supervised volunteers and interns, answered emails and other correspondence, managed social media, assisted clients and helped keep the operation stocked with enough healthy food donations.
Today, the CSUN Food Pantry provides much-needed nourishment to approximately 80 clients each week, and Gabrielle remains struck by their tremendous gratitude.
“People are overwhelmingly grateful,” she says.
One patron even delivered a handwritten note of appreciation during the middle of winter break.
Gabrielle won’t be returning to the food pantry as an employee next semester (she’s moved on to a new opportunity working with at-risk adolescent youth), but the experience will continue to shape her CSUN experience.
“Working so closely with the students and staff strengthened the connection between me and this campus by showing me the diversity, hope and possibilities it has to offer,” she says. “I truly feel like am a Matador.”
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3182
|
__label__wiki
| 0.753332
| 0.753332
|
New clinic treats patients with reversible condition often mistaken for dementia
Avis Favaro Medical Correspondent, CTV National News
@ctv_avisfavaro Contact
Elizabeth St. Philip CTV News
@LizTV Contact
Graham Slaughter CTVNews.ca Writer
@grahamslaughter Contact
Published Sunday, July 28, 2019 10:00PM EDT
Thousands of Canadians who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and dementia may actually have a rare “impostor” syndrome that can be reversed with surgery, and a new clinic in Toronto is hoping to identify and treat those patients.
The condition is called normal pressure hydrocephalus, or NPH, and it comes with symptoms deceptively similar to dementia and Parkinson’s: memory impairment, a shuffling gait, difficulty standing and walking.
In some cases, patients with NPH are misdiagnosed and never receive the treatment they need – a devastating and costly oversight for the healthcare system, according to Dr. Alfonso Fasano, staff neurologist with the Movement Disorders Clinic at Toronto Western Hospital.
“They are often in nursing homes or they are a burden for family and caregivers. And with the proper diagnosis and treatment, these people have a completely different path in their life,” Dr. Fasano told CTV News.
Some estimates have suggested that around 15,000 patients in Canada with NPH may be misdiagnosed with more serious conditions.
John Searle was one of those patients. Years ago, the Ontario man developed a number of troubling symptoms, including an inability to stay upright while standing, a shuffling walk, incontinence, and a shoddy short-term memory.
“I listened to him repeatedly say, ‘I don’t know how much more of this I can take,’ and it broke my heart,” recalled his wife, Barbara Gaal.
When Searle went to the doctor, he was told he had Parkinsonism, a disease marked by symptoms of Parkinson's Disease and additional unrelated symptoms, and signs of early dementia. The diagnosis left him feeling defeated.
“I kind of wondered where I was going to go in life, or if this was it,” he said.
But six years after Searle’s life-altering diagnosis, doctors realized that they were wrong. He actually had a buildup of spinal fluid in his brain characteristic of NPH. A shunt was surgically inserted into his brain to drain the fluid.
And the results were shocking. Searle saw a significant improvement in his physical and cognitive abilities. He described the feeling as if he was “a phoenix rising out of the ashes.”
“Life is starting to look a little brighter,” he said.
The shunt treatment has an 87 per cent success rate in NPH patients, according to a recent study, and almost all patients saw improvement after a second treatment.
Symptoms of NPH typically appear in patients 60 or older. Physical symptoms typically appear first and are sometimes followed by cognitive symptoms, such as forgetfulness and lack of concentration, as the condition progresses. When untreated, patients with NPH can suffer from seizures, and the buildup of spinal fluid can lead to brain damage.
To combat the misdiagnoses, Toronto Western Hospital has set up a new clinic specializing in treating and studying NPH. The clinic is one of just a handful in the country specializing in NPH, and Dr. Fasano says it is receiving five or six new patient referrals each week.
“The demand out there is huge,” he said. “We are receiving tons of requests from really every part of Ontario.”
Research is also a large part of the clinic’s mission. NPH, first discovered in 1965, is considered a relatively new condition, and researchers hope to better understand what factors may lead to the syndrome. Toronto Western Hospital’s team comprises neurologists, neuroscientists, neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists, who are all working together in hopes of learning more about the deceptive syndrome.
For patients like Searle, the clinic has provided a drastically different outlook on life.
“It allowed him to regain his independence and become his person again is just like, beyond words important,” said Gaal.
Before being diagnosed with NPH, John Searle thought he might have early signs of dementia.
Little-known disorder looks just like dementia -- but can be reversed
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3183
|
__label__cc
| 0.703215
| 0.296785
|
Dr Yael Danieli
HOME > SPEAKERS > Dr Yael Danieli
Dr Yael Danieli is a clinical psychologist in private practice, a victimologist, traumatologist, and the Director of the Group Project for Holocaust Survivors and their Children, which she co-founded in 1975. She has received several awards for her work, most recently, the Lifetime Achievement Award of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS). In 2008 she was appointed Advisor on Victims of Terrorism for the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. She is also Distinguished Professor of International Psychology at The Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
Her books are International responses to traumatic stress…; The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Fifty years and beyond; Sharing the front line and the back hills (Baywood) all published for and on behalf of the United Nations; International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma (Kluwer/ Plenum); and The trauma of terrorism: An international Handbook of sharing knowledge and shared care and On the Ground After September 11 [a finalist of Best Books 2005 Award of USA BookNews.com](Haworth Press).
Intergenerational Trauma Conference
Thursday 10 – Sunday 13 September 2009
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3185
|
__label__wiki
| 0.864029
| 0.864029
|
Picolight Raises $27.5 Million for VCSEL
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Start-ups
Picolight, a start-up based in Louisville, Colorado, completed a $27.5 million in funding, with the addition of $14.5 million in a combination of new equity investment and debt financing. Investor Growth Capital, a new investor, completed the second close with a $7 million equity investment, and was joined by ORIX Venture Finance, LLC, which provided an additional $7.5 million in debt financing. Investor Growth Capital joins previous investors BA Venture Partners, Vesbridge Partners and Coral Capital Management, who collectively invested $13 million in the first close of the round.
Picolight offers a line of 1310nm Vertical Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser (VCSEL) products, from 4 Gigabit fibre channel to 10 Gigabit Ethernet at long-reach over single-mode fiber. Picolight said its revenues and bookings for the past 12 months doubled year-over-year as the company continued to strengthen its product offering and expand its customer base.
http://www.picolight.com
Nortel and LG to Establish Joint Venture
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Packet Systems
LG Electronics and Nortel signed a definitive agreement to form a joint venture that will offer telecom and networking solutions in the wireline, optical, wireless and enterprise areas for South Korean and global customers.
Nortel will own 50 percent plus one share in the joint venture, in exchange for which Nortel will contribute its South Korean distribution and services business and pay US$145 million and other non-monetary consideration. Separately, LG Electronics may be entitled to payments over a two-year period based on achievement by the joint venture of certain business goals.
LG Electronics and Nortel will nominate certain key executives to the management team of the joint venture. It is the intention of the parties to nominate J. R. Lee from LG Electronics to be chief executive officer and Paul House from Nortel to be chief operating officer. The LG Electronics Infrastructure business and Nortel's South Korean operations had aggregate revenues of KRW 600 billion (US$530 million) in 2004.
"Today is another milestone for Nortel as we continue to demonstrate our commitment to open up the Asia region with a best-in-class technology leader," Nortel CEO Bill Owens said. "South Korea leads the world in embracing technology that enhances the human experience. Our relationship with LG better positions Nortel in the dynamic and growing Asia market, will expedite research and development, and will benefit our global customers. Nortel is clearly playing to win."http://www.nortel.com
http://www.lge.com
EMC to Acquire Rainfinity for Network File Virtualization
EMC Corporation agreed to acquire Rainfinity, a start-up based in San Jose, California that provides virtualization solutions for heterogeneous networked attached storage (NAS) and file system environments. The acquisition, valued at less than $100 million, is expected to be completed by the end of August.
Rainfinity's Network File Virtualization technology provides for full read/write access to Windows, Linux and Unix-based files during system migrations, regardless of where the data resides and with no threat of data loss. Customers leverage Rainfinity's heterogeneous NAS and file server virtualization to achieve a broad set of benefits including increased networked storage utilization, non-disruptive upgrades, optimized performance and accelerated networked storage consolidation.
Howard Elias, EMC Executive Vice President, Corporate Marketing and Office of Technology, said, "The rapid growth of unstructured file-based information, along with the rising complexity of its management, have customers demanding the same high utilization rates in their NAS and file system environments that they have come to expect from SANs. Rainfinity is the industry's first standards-based solution available today that virtualizes Windows, Unix and Linux file systems, giving customers improved total cost of ownership across all of their heterogeneous NAS and file server platforms.
http://www.EMC.com
In February 2001, Rainfinity raised $30 million in venture funding. Carlyle Venture Partners led the round with additional funding from Intel Capital and INVESCO Private Capital. Existing investors, including Alloy Ventures, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), and Spinner Asset Management, also participated. The round brought Rainfinity's total venture capital funding to more than $45 million since the company was started in 1999.
Veoh Networks Develops P2P IPTV Peercasting Network
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Service Providers
Veoh Networks, a start-up based in San Diego, announced its "VeohNet" protocol that will form the basis of a forthcoming video transport system "that significantly surpasses the capabilities of existing peer to peer (P2P) systems in effectively distributing high-quality video."
Veoh Networks intends to launch the first Internet Television Peercasting Network in the coming weeks. The company said its system will be built with copyright holder's interests in mind, providing DMCA compliance, unlike traditional P2P systems that do not take this into account and enable the rampant piracy of intellectual property. VeohNet will also use advanced firewall traversal technology that will not require users to open specific ports on their firewalls.
Veoh software, installed on consumers' PCs or Macs, creates a virtual television network that is able to distribute TV-quality, full-screen broadcast video to hundreds of millions of users with broadband Internet connections. The company hopes motion picture studios, television networks, organizations and individuals will publish unlimited amounts of broadcast video content to the network, providing consumers with unparalleled choice in television programming and control over their viewing experience.
A beta version of Veoh's software and service will be available later this month.
Veoh Networks was founded by Dmitry Shapiro, who is credited with creating P2P security software used by more than one million enterprise users today to manage and regulate applications like BitTorrent and Grokster. Its engineering team is led by Dr. Ted Dunning, who was previously the chief scientist at Musicmatch (now a division of Yahoo! Music), IDAnalytics and Aptex (an HNC company).
http://www.veoh.com
America Online Debuts AIM Enhancements
America Online unveiled new AIM.com home page and redesigned AIM Today companion screen. The company has also begun rolling out a system-wide upgrade of the AIM 5.9 service that will introduce the new AIM Today and deliver the AOL Explorer browser as an optional feature for AIM users.
"The AIM service has become the front door to more than 43 million Americans' social networks," said Bill Schreiner, vice president, Programming for America Online.
Some of the features of the new AIM.com home page and AIM Today companion screen include:
One-click access to AIM. It also includes the free, Web-based AIM Mail service, which lets AIM users use their AIM Screen Name as an e-mail address and offers industry-leading spam and e-mail virus protection plus two gigabytes of storage.
AIM Blogs, which supports photo blogging; 40 interactive AIM Games, and approximately 4,000 AIM Expressions.
A wide array of instant messaging robots ('bots') that allow users to interact, play and get essential information updates in real time. This season's hottest bots include the "MLB" Buddy for Major League Baseball stats, scores and updates, and the "MillionaireIM" bot, which lets users help stumped contestants as a part of the "Ask the Audience" lifeline on the syndicated "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" show from Buena Vista Television.
Access to the full range of AOL.com programming and interactive features, including pre-set and on-demand content from AOL News, AOL Music, AOL Television, AOL Radio, Moviefone and more.
A unique "LiveWeb" feature that surfaces what's hot on the Web in real-time so that users always know what people are gravitating toward online and talking about across the blogosphere.
A full range of AOL Search services
One-click access to the AIM Music Interview of the Week
http://www.aim.com
Qwest Reaches Tentative Settlement with Union
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Financial
Qwest Communications and the Communications Workers of America reached a tentative three-year labor agreement that covers 25,000 Qwest workers in 13 states. Among the highlights:
A wage increase of 7.5 percent over the three-year contract term.
Employees will continue to have employer-paid health care, with changes to the out-of-pocket cost structure that will reduce overall costs for many workers. There is a new enrollment fee for spouse and family coverage. Retired workers also will maintain their employer-paid health care, with some offsetting changes to retiree life insurance coverage.
Continuation of the 8-hour limit on mandatory overtime per week, enabling workers to balance their work and family lives.
http://www.cwa-union.orghttp://www.qwest.com
BellSouth Builds Business Broadband Suite
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Last Mille
BellSouth introduced new enhancements for its BellSouth FastAccess Business DSL customers:
Premium Internet Security
Business Domains
Business Class Support
The Internet Security offerings include anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and firewall software. For customers with multiple computers, suite pricing starts as low as $11.99 per month.
http://www.bellsouth.com/smallbusiness
T-Mobile to Deploy Nokia HSDPA in Germany, NL, UK
Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Mobile
T-Mobile and Nokia have signed an agreement for Nokia to deliver its HSDPA solution to T-Mobile in Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Under the agreement, Nokia will supply T-Mobile with its HSDPA solution as well as capacity expansions to T-Mobile's radio networks in the three countries. In addition, installation, commissioning and network optimization services are included in the deal. The rollout will begin in Germany in 2006 and then extend to the other countries. Financial terms were not disclosed.
http://www.t-mobile.net
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3186
|
__label__cc
| 0.61419
| 0.38581
|
What To Do When You've Been Raped Or Sexually Harassed
Here's a guide from lawyers.
by Stephanie Shi | Apr 15, 2017
We’ve heard stories about how some people were too stunned to do anything after being raped or sexually harassed. We can’t imagine their complete disbelief, horror, and disgust. Some are traumatized.
These victims can seek and reclaim justice. But how, exactly?
We asked three lawyers for basic advice on what sexual assault and harassment victims should do: Jenny Domino, a former associate for one of the Philippines’ biggest full-service law firms before joining the International Criminal Court’s internship program in The Hague, Netherlands, has assisted in giving legal aid to defendants charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kathy Panguban, a member of Gabriela National Alliance of Women and Gabriela Women’s Party, gives paralegal and counselling services to abused women and children. Kim Samson, a Filipina lawyer practicing in Singapore, Australia, and Hong Kong, handles civil and criminal proceedings.
What are the forms of sexual harassment that are prosecutable?
Continue reading below ↓
Jenny Domino: Sexual harassment has a particular meaning under the law. The law considers sexual harassment as that committed in the context of a work, education, or training-related environment. In such contexts, the offender exercises authority, influence, or moral ascendancy over the victim. This leaves the victim under pressure to give in to the demand, request, or sexual favor from the offender.
As such, it may be committed by an employer, employee, manager, supervisor, agent of the employer, teacher, instructor, professor, coach, trainer, or any other person who, having authority, influence, or moral ascendancy over another in a work or training or education environment, demands, requests or otherwise requires any sexual favor from the other.
It does not matter whether the demand, request, or requirement for submission is accepted by the victim of the sexual harassment.
In a work-related or employment environment, sexual harassment is committed when the sexual favor is made as a condition in the hiring or in the employment, re-employment, or continued employment of the victim. It is also committed when used to grant the victim favorable compensation, terms or conditions, promotions, or privileges. Likewise, if the refusal to grant the sexual favor results in limiting, segregating, or classifying the employee in order to discriminate, deprive, or diminish employment opportunities or otherwise adversely affect said employee, then sexual harassment may also occur. It may also be committed when the refusal to grant the demand, request, or sexual favor from the offender would impair the employee’s rights or privileges under existing labor laws or if such acts would result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the employee.
In an education or training environment, sexual harassment is committed against one who is under the care, custody, or supervision of the offender or against one whose education, training, apprenticeship, or tutorship is entrusted to the offender.
It is also committed when the sexual favor is made a condition to the giving of a passing grade, or the granting of honors and scholarships, or the payment of a stipend, allowance or other benefits, privileges, or consideration.
There is also sexual harassment when the sexual advances result in an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment for the student, trainee, or apprentice.
Kathy Panguban: The law, as it stands, limits the prosecution of sexual harassment under aforementioned circumstances. Unequal power relation between the perpetrator and his/her victim is an essential element so the case for sexual harassment can prosper. It does not cover peer-to-peer sexual harassment, or situations where the perpetrator is a person who occupies a lower position in employment or a student and the victim is a female teacher/professor or a lady boss, or situations where the act itself is committed outside the workplace.
If someone gropes you in your commute, that act is not prosecutable?
KP: If someone gropes you in your commute, the perpetrator cannot be held liable for sexual harassment under the law, but he may be held liable for unjust vexation, in my humble opinion. The vital question to be answered for the charge of unjust vexation to prosper is whether or not the act complained of caused irritation, annoyance, or disturbance to the mind of the complaining party.
If we are to look at the elements of the crime of unjust vexation, technically this contemplates/covers the abovementioned situation. Some authors and experts in criminal law would tell us that the term “is broad enough to include any human conduct which, although not productive of some physical or material harm, would unjustifiably annoy or irritate an innocent person.” (Nolledo, Jose N., Revised Penal Code Annotated, 2001.)
What counts as rape in the law?
JD: Under our penal laws, rape can be committed by both sexes. It is committed by a man who shall have sexual intercourse with a woman under any of the following circumstances:
Through force, threat, or intimidation;
When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
When the offended party is under 12 years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
To be prosecuted for rape, it is not necessary that there be full penetration.
As long as the penis touches the labia of the victim under the abovementioned circumstances, this is already considered rape. However, mere epidermal contact does not suffice. Neither will stroking or grazing of the organs, a slight brush or a scrape of the penis on the external layer of the victim’s vagina. There must be sufficient and convincing proof that the penis indeed touched the labias or slid into the female organ, and not merely stroked the external surface thereof, for an accused to be convicted of consummated rape.
The courts have rationalized this requirement as such: “As the labias, which are required to be ‘touched’ by the penis, are by their natural situsor location beneath the mons pubisor the vaginal surface, to touch them with the penis is to attain some degree of penetration beneath the surface, hence, the conclusion that touching the labia majora or the labia minora of the pudendum constitutes consummated rape.”
For victims under 12 years of age or if demented, rape is committed even when there is no force, threat, intimidation, deprivation of reason, fraudulent machination, or grave abuse of authority.
Rape can be committed by any person who, under any of the abovementioned circumstances, sexually assaults another by inserting his penis into another person's mouth or anal orifice, or by inserting any instrument or object into the genital or anal orifice of another person. This contemplates oral and anal penetration.
If the offender commits any lascivious act or lewd act that falls short of rape, but under the same circumstances required in rape, then the offender may be prosecuted for acts of lasciviousness under the penal code.
KP: The Anti-Rape Law, as it now stands, does not distinguish between male or female victims. Men and women can be victims or perpetrators of rape with the recognition of rape by sexual assault—that is, the insertion of any object or instrument to the genital, mouth, or anal orifice of the victim.
What should the victim do as soon as the assault or harassment happens? What institutions should the victim go to?
KP: For victims of sexual harassment, they should report the same to the Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI) within their workplace, schools, or training institutions. The establishment of CODI by the employer-company, school, and training administrators is provided for by law. The victims may also opt to file criminal charges for the unlawful acts of sexual harassment or independent action for damages. For criminal charges, the victim may seek the help of the women’s desk in the nearest police station.
Filing a complaint for sexual harassment with the institution/company/school’s CODI serves to address the administrative aspect of the charge, which when proven, may warrant the reprimand, suspension, or even dismissal of the said person from service depending on the institution/company/school’s rules in disciplining erring employees.
The seeking of assistance from the women’s desk should serve to facilitate the filing of a formal complaint for sexual harassment in the hopes of holding the person charged criminally liable. The filing of a sexual harassment complaint with the CODI does not in any way preclude the victim from pursuing the prosecution of his/her case and other forms of relief.
For rape victims, they should seek the aid of the women’s desk in the nearest police station to report the matter. They can also approach the University of the Philippines Women and Children Protection Unit. Victims need to undergo medico-legal examination and counseling to help them establish their case and be emotionally ready to undergo the rigors of trial.
In a medico-legal examination, the victim is examined for physical manifestations of penetration in her genitals. Usually, the medico-legal examination is done after the filing of a police report. The medico-legal certificate forms part of the documentary evidence of the private complaint to be presented before the prosecutor and before the court, if probable cause is found.
For legal services, indigent victims may approach the Public Attorneys’ Office or the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Legal Aid. They may also seek legal service from law schools under their program of giving free legal assistance.
JD: After the rape occurs, the victim should report the matter to the police. When the police receives the rape complaint, he has a duty to immediately refer the case to the prosecutor for inquest/investigation if the accused is detained. The police must also arrange for counseling and medical services for the offended party. The police is required to immediately make a report on the action taken.
The police officer and physician assigned to examine the rape victim must be of the same gender as the victim. They must ensure that only persons expressly authorized by the rape victim shall be allowed inside the room where the investigation or medical or physical examination is being conducted.
Kim Samson: For sexual assault cases, the victim should report the incident to the police as soon as possible. He or she should report it on the same day that it happened.
For sexual harassment cases, the victim should inform the perpetrator that his or her actions are unacceptable and unwelcome. The victim should not be timid. If the harassment continues, the victim should keep a log of times, places, and dates of the relevant incidents so as to prepare for the day that the victim decides to file a report or complaint to the police or HR department. Otherwise, the victim can also decide to report the incident straight away.
What if the victim doesn’t go to the police/government hospital ASAP? Will it weaken his/her case if he/she decides to file it in court?
JD: No, but there’s a period after which the victim can’t file cases anymore. For rape, it depends how severe the penalty for the act is.
The period for filing a complaint is determined by the imposable penalty. The imposable penalty in turn is determined by certain circumstances. For example, rape of a person under 12 years old may incur a harsher penalty than oral sex of an adult.
KP: Not necessarily. But it would have been best for a victim to come and speak up of the crime that was committed against her person immediately after the commission thereof.
The law provides that for rape, since it is a crime punishable by reclusión perpetua, the State has 20 years to prosecute the offender or file a criminal action from the day of discovery of the crime—from the time of the commission of the offense. In a long line of cases, the Supreme Court has pronounced that the failure of the victim to immediately report the crime of rape is not automatically an indication that the charges were fabricated.
What does it take to convince the court that the accused is guilty?
KP: Prosecution and conviction of crimes, as a general rule, require proof beyond reasonable doubt, because it is the life and liberty of the accused that are put on the line.
JD: Proof beyond reasonable doubt does not mean such a degree of proof as, excluding possibility of error, produces absolute certainty. Moral certainty only is required, or that degree of proof which produces conviction in an unprejudiced mind. Without this moral certainty, the presumption of innocence that the accused enjoys prevails and the accused will be acquitted.
What counts as evidence?
KS: Evidence can be oral or written testimony, CCTV footage, witness statements, and any other tangible items such as the victim’s stained clothing for example. The three main categories of evidence are 1) testimony, 2) documentary, and 3) tangible items.
KP: For rape and other cases of gender-based abuses to prosper, the statement of the private complainant is of primary importance since these crimes usually are not committed before the public’s eye. The private complainant’s statement, together with other pieces of evidence such as, but not limited to, the medico-legal certificate, birth certificate of the private complainant if alleged to be a minor at the time of the incident, can help establish the allegations of rape and abuses.
JD: There is no requirement under the law. The usual evidentiary standards and rules of procedure apply. Moreover, in prosecutions for rape, evidence of complainant's past sexual conduct, or any opinion about his or her reputation shall not be admitted unless, and only to the extent that the court finds, that such evidence is material and relevant to the case.
Are there victims who decide to no longer push through with a case? If yes, can you say why?
KS: Yes, it is common for a victim in Singapore to decide not to push through with a case or even file a report. In Australia, however, there are quite a number of complaints being filed by victims. The difference in attitude could perhaps be attributed to the Asian culture of “saving face” and avoiding confrontations.
There is a tendency for victims, in whatever jurisdiction, to fear backlash from other people or any sort of consequence (such as losing one’s job or a friend) that comes with filing a complaint. The perpetrator will definitely try to turn the table around by denying everything or fabricating an alibi.
KP: It is common to witness abused victims vacillate from time to time and later on, retract their complaints against their perpetrators. For one, they fear retaliation from their perpetrators, especially if they are persons in authority, of social, political and economic stature, of moral ascendancy, or men in uniform. Secondly, they fear the scrutiny of the public’s eye where they get blamed for what happened to them, as if they consciously placed themselves in that abusive situation. For rape and sexual harassment victims, they would often be questioned as to what they were wearing at that time the alleged incident happened, why did they not resist the aggression as if the only way to prove that she did not consent to the sexual act is to physically resist the same and end up in black and blue. Lastly, the need to rekindle, in court proceedings, the memory of that eventful moment disheartens many abused women from seeking justice. It’s as if the victim gets victimized again.
If there are victims who are too traumatized or afraid to report to the authorities, is there another way for them to seek justice? Is reporting the incident truly the best thing for them to do (when they're ready, of course)?
JD: Yes, [reporting is the best thing to do] because justice is about ensuring that there's no impunity, right? But it depends on the victim. One consideration would be: Is the victim willing to go through the legal process which could take years? Others just want to forget and move on. It may be hard to forget if you are asked to recount the harrowing experience at the investigation and litigation levels. On the other hand, some victims might regret not filing charges and doing something that could right the wrong did to them. Ultimately it depends on the victim—what she wants to achieve and what would ultimately contribute to her physical and emotional rehabilitation.
Follow Stephanie on Instagram.
assault,
CLAIM IT! APP
#CosmoHoroscope
Korean Actors
Best Face Moisturizer
© 2020 Cosmopolitan Philippines
Sorry, no results were found for
© 2017 Cosmopolitan
We use cookies to ensure you get the best experience on Cosmo.ph. By continued use, you agree to our privacy policy and accept our use of such cookies. Find out more here.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3187
|
__label__wiki
| 0.665796
| 0.665796
|
Polar bears will try again to have cub
Larry Penkava
ASHEBORO — There must be something in the water at the zoo in Columbus, Ohio.
The polar bears there have produced four cubs since 2015, half the total born in the United States during that time period.
Meanwhile, Anana and Nikita, the NC Zoo’s mating pair, have tried for four years but keep coming up childless.
According to a Dec. 25 article in The Columbus Dispatch, “The polar bears at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium are such successful breeders that they’ve made it difficult for zoo folks to brag about the most recent cub, born Thanksgiving Day.
“‘When I talk to my friends and guests and I say ’We have a baby polar bear,’ they say, ’Oh yeah, you always have those,’ said a joking Tom Stalf, the zoo’s president and CEO.
“When your local zoo boasts half of the country’s polar bears born in the past five years, it’s easy to lose perspective,” the article continues.
The NC Zoo and the Columbus Zoo are members of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Species Survival Plan, under which a group of scientists study various factors, including breeding of polar bears, according to Jennifer Ireland, NC Zoo curator of mammals.
Ireland said there are just 10 polar bear breeding zoos in the country. “They do hormone tests” and other studies, she said, “but it’s very complicated. (The scientists) are very generous in sharing.”
The problem with breeding polar bears is exacerbated by the fact, Ireland said, that there are no polar bear gynecologists and no pregnancy test for polar bears.
Added to the complication is delayed implantation in which the female polar bear’s egg, after fertilization by the male’s sperm, doesn’t become implanted to the uterine wall immediately but waits months.
During the interim, the bear’s body is assessing whether or not the female has gained enough weight to feed the cub through the winter.
Ireland said a factor with Anana is that she was “on birth control for a long time. That could be part of the problem. And Anana is in her 20s, which is a little on the older side.”
Anana is given an exam each year to make sure she’s in good health. “We’re doing our best based on the knowledge we have that she looks good,” Ireland said.
As for Nikita, it could be a matter of his sperm count or other matters. But it’s anybody’s guess at this time.
“Columbus (Zoo) is very fortunate that each of their girls have had cubs,” Ireland said.
“They breed every year,” she said of Anana and Nikita. “We’ll just keep trying.”
Plans are to put the pair back together in February and allow them to breed until early spring. It’ll be their fifth breeding season.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3188
|
__label__wiki
| 0.823851
| 0.823851
|
Two-Time Prison Escapee May Have Used A Drone As Part Of His Plan
The first time Jimmy Causey escaped from a maximum-security prison he and another inmate hid in a garbage truck and left undetected. For his second escape on Tuesday, Causey didn’t have a human partner at his side, but he may have been aided by a drone.
Causey, 46, was captured near Austin, Texas, on Friday morning after he escaped from Lieber Correctional Institution in Ridgeville, S.C. He was serving a life sentence after he held an attorney and his family hostage at gunpoint in 2002.
When he was captured, Causey had four cell phones, a shotgun, a pistol and almost $47,000 in cash with him. According to the Associated Press, Causey’s absence went undetected for 18 hours after he placed a dummy in his cell, a tactic he used during his first escape too.
Authorities in South Carolina believe a drone may have been used to deliver Causey the wire cutters he used to cut through four fences at the institution. Investigators have also said the inmate used a cell phone to arrange and execute his escape plan.
During his first escape, ordering a pizza led to Causey’s capture, but after Texas authorities found Causey early Friday morning, Mark Keel of the state Law Enforcement Division said “good old-fashioned law enforcement” is what made the search a success.
While authorities have not confirmed a drone was used in this instance, South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling says drones and cell phones are becoming more common in aiding inmates’ escapes according to The Summerville Journal Scene.
“We’re seeing this a lot,” Stirling said at a press conference. “There are going to be some very serious consequences, and some people are going to get hurt because of drones and cell phones.”
Stirling also said the South Carolina’s Department of Correction is planning on spending $7.65 million to try and combat the use of drones by installing nets around the facilities.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3189
|
__label__wiki
| 0.511312
| 0.511312
|
Intlantsi is the publication of the CPSA(M-L)
You are here: Home / 2014 / IMPERIALISM, THE STATE AND THE CURRENT REFORMS
IMPERIALISM, THE STATE AND THE CURRENT REFORMS
So much has been said and written about the problem of socialism to the extent that the intellect of many people especially those who have never been part of the proletarian –socialist movement have become numbered. It is true that for the greatest majority of the South African masses including progressive intellectuals and activists the stand, the viewpoint and method of scientific socialism are but little known. The bourgeoisie, whether of nationalist or imperialist or opportunist orientation have appointed themselves as the authorities on questions and problems of socialism and opportunism with those of Marxism – Leninism.
In as much as there is the class struggle going on in society today, in as such as the struggle for the survival of imperialism on the one hand and the victory of socialism on other-in so far as this is the case universally here on earth, of necessity, the stand, the viewpoint and method of the warring classes must be and is different in all things pertaining to human destiny. Should you not be firm, should you waver in matters concerning the interests and destiny of the masses, you must rest assured that the enemy will take full advantage of that weakness in order to drive its own interest home—for if you consider the world as a whole, the imperialist system, far from the bold face its champions And stooges try portray, is fighting for its very survival.
We belong to a developing country and with the correct orientation and attitude towards our enemies; we should know what we are talking about.
Let us elucidate our point a bit more. The fact of the disintegration of the Soviet Union as it then was is today a matter known to anyone with the least interest in world politics. And almost any fool will now tell you that at the time of its collapse, the soviet union was led or ruled if you like, by bureaucrats, indeed, bureaucrats who so mismanaged the economy that only a shadow of its former glitter remained when Gorbachov took over.
The imperialists and their lap-dogs the world over wasted no time in decrying socialism as the culprit for the soviet people` Woes. But hardly has the dust settled than many of the pieces are coming together supplied as they are by the imperialists themselves. When the Soviet Union was a super-power and was competing with what the other super-power i.e. the U.S.A imperialists- all the imperialists depicted it as a socialist or communist state in line with what soviet bureaucrats themselves used to claim. But now stories based on fact are all over to the effect that the tight political and military cliques that ruled the Soviet Union in the name of communism actually comprised rich and millionaire cliques including their surrogates. So that, yes, there was oppression and exploitation of the soviet people- yes, there was oppression and exploitation of the soviet and Warsaw pact nations and nationalities—indeed, almost all the general features of Tsarist rule were present and indeed there had to be the disintegration that did occur.
What was the political basis for all this? It was a rule of a bureaucratic clique—a clique that masked itself as Communist but was nevertheless a clique of oppressors and exploiters, as an imperialist block has gone first. Political bureaucracy, a revisionist bureaucracy! What was the socio- economic basis for this? It was like in every capitalist system, a system based on the exploitation of the labour-power of the soviet working classes and on the derivation of maximum profits in the oppression and exploitation of all the non-Russian people under their direct and indirect rule. It was socialism in words and capitalism in deeds—in a word, social- imperialism, part of the imperialist system of exploitation and having nothing to do with socialism.
The pursuit of an adventurous foreign policy based on rivalry with the U.S.A, a rivalry aimed at world domination is what contributed greatest in the final collapse of the Soviet Union, of revisionism and social-imperialism. But the rivalry also affected the U.S imperialists because for both super-powers military superiority became a priority for three whole decades—this greatly drained their national coffers. The Soviet – Warsaw Pact imperialist block has gone first. The U.S is also paying the price with its current 4trillion dollar foreign debt and almost 450bn dollar budget deficit.
I have touched on this question rather briefly in order to make one point quite clear and this is: Do not believe everything you hear from the imperialists and their surrogates especially when they try to teach or inform you on questions of socialism. You cannot trust them even when they speak about themselves except when they are denouncing one another—then you learn the truth about each by reading selectively between the line whilst you gather your own information about the whole system of imperialism.
Let us proceed. Recognition of the mutual exhaustion of the two super- powers as they were then, i.e. the U.S.S.R and U.S.A. was evidenced by the coming into power of Gorbachov in the Soviet Union after the successive deaths of Brezhnev and Andropov and Chernenko. A policy of approachment between the two super-powers led to the lessening of tensions in several regions of the world, particularly in the developing world. This policy was one that came out of necessity and not because of a change of heart between these belligerents. The necessity was one for a much-needed respite by both even for quite clearly different reasons although for both it was economic. The story of Soviet Union is well-known. Regarding western imperialism led by the U.S developments had been taking place towards the restructuring, consolidation and the more thorough implementation of the imperialist system.
We all know that the system of imperialism began to operate as much during the period of the Anglo-Boer War i.e. 1898 – 1902 and that it began to replace the capitalist system of colonialism, imperialism as the highest stage in the development of capitalism replaced the emphasis on raw materials from the colonies with the export of capital and in constructional politics it replaced the direct rule of colonialism with the granting of political independence to one country after another even though in many developing countries, the colonized peoples have had to take up arms before the imperialists made the necessary political adjustments.
The fact of the political independence even though developing countries have had to be dependent on imperialism economically, has the independent countries pursuing socio-economic programmes as they saw fit.
CITIZENS:
Believe us when we tell you that the situation is today completely different. And let us tell you why and you must judge for yourselves. When you do, remember what each and every nationalist politician has said to you, then see for yourselves as to what the role of nationalism is or has become in this changed global situation. Try to find out what difference of principle each nationalist organization has with another or for that matter with the racist minority regime, Inkatha or any of those that our experience has taught us that they are reactionaries. In this talk we shall pass no judgments, you do so yourselves:
Let us then proceed.
In an attempt to address the problems of imperialist political economy- problems which are recurrent and which will haunt imperialism down to its grave, a trend began developing first in Europe and then to America and currently has become the official policy of all imperialism. This trend was for one state controlled industry after another to be privatized—meaning to be converted into the ownership of big capital. Successive of Europe then America were at the same time coming up with the appropriate legislation for the deregulation of industries so as to make privatization more palatable to the monopoly capitalists. Side by side with this privatization and deregulation trend, corporate taxation has been adjusted to suit the big companies whilst measures are passed to retrieve some of the money through a higher personal tax. In short, this accompanying trend is towards lifting the burden of taxation from the corporations and putting it on the working masses. In this two pronged process, the capitalist trend of turning everything into a commodity has sprung to the fore because all social services have been turned into profit linked activities and they too become privatized, these are services such as schools, universities, housing, domestic electricity, etc.
The privatization and deregulation trend which the imperialists began in the advanced countries, they turned on the developing countries. As a conduct for these policies, there already existed two important economic and financial institutions. These are the Bretton Woods institutions, the IMF and the World Bank. They were created in 1944 and have operated in two phases, Mark1 and Mark 2. Mark 1 operated from 1944 until 1971 and was concerned with the rebuilding of post World War 2 Europe, played a role in developing and regulating the international money system and the payment system. Mark 2 came into operation from 1971 and particularly 1978/9 when emphasis of the Bretton woods institutions turned towards the developing countries.
The general repayment crisis of the developing world which screened in the newspaper headlines in the period 1979 to 1986 and included the American Banks’ debt exposure to Latin America in the mid ‘80s thrust the Bretton Woods Institutions into forward positions negotiating and setting up conditions for debt repayments, debt servicing and conditions for further loans, etc. This at the same time gave the imperialists the opportunity to dictate terms of the new imperialist world order
Apart from the privatization and deregulation general framework dictated by world imperialism to developing countries on the basis of investment and loans blackmail through the IMF and the World Bank, let us take a look at some salient points in their structural Adjustment Programme (SAP). The developing countries have been told and do not exclude South Africa:
Devalue your national currency severely so as to stimulate exports hence the so-called financial rand.
Price subsidies must be abolished – hence the revering price of bread, transportation etc.
Lower the wages – hence the so –called social contract that many of the respected trade unions have signed and put into practice with management behind the worker. We could put it this way that instead of struggles for real higher wages, feed the workers demagogy and keep them busy with imaginary political struggle which are anyway neither here nor there.
State investment must be reduced through privatization increasing opportunities for foreign capital.
Trade and exchange restrictions must be abolished or reduced so as to further give advantage to foreign corporations to the detriment of the South African small bourgeoisie ultimately.
In addition to these and few other conditions, there must be in existence constitutions of the so-called multi party democracy where the relevant bourgeois domestic classes are guaranteed monopoly directly or indirectly in the government and state.
It is clear from this and other related facts that the primary cause for the constitutional changes that have in the past decade or so swept the three continents of the developing countries has been pressure from the imperialists themselves, it has been the desperation of imperialism to implement its new world order, an order of restructured and consolidated imperialism the world over. In this pursuit, the genuine struggles of a particular people for progress are harnessed by using the popular organizations to short-circuit the peoples’ demands, to cheat the people of the control of their destiny – and instead, to realize the temporary solutions of the imperialist system and in the process be well rewarded with government positions to a relative extent
But as the restructured imperialism takes over the heretofore socio-economic upliftment roles of developing countries’ governments, it is clear that whoever assists imperialism in its new order must necessarily forego all previously cherished ideals and programmes for the people and must be prepared to serve imperialist super profits in exactly the same manner as Sebe and Mangope have served the regime – and must do so with subterfuge and plain lies. In such a hopeless lapdog position, is it surprising to hear a fully matured nationalist politician warning before the result of his capitulation reaches fruition in this fashion: “People must not expect miracles! People must have realistic expectations” and some such unwarranted confessions!
We have to ask: what must the people expect under a more direct imperialist yoke? What must the people expect when they put their trust and destiny in the hands of those who have used them – no, those who are using them to compete with reactionaries for a place in the imperialist lap? The following trend is to be expected for certain!
Between 1976 and1986 the total external debt of the Southern African countries more than doubled US $72 bn. Their debt servicing obligations as a percentage against exports has also more than doubled from 14% in 1979 to 31% in 1987, on average. Taking population growth in to consideration, living standards declined sharply and between 1980 and 1986 GDP per capita fell by an average of 3.4% p.s. and life expectancy at 50 years average is lower than anywhere else in the world. With almost one third of export earning earmarked for debt serving living standards are at the mercy of any further fall in the price of export commodities like that which reduced Africa`s export earnings by £19 bn in 1986 (the statistics are supplied by Laurence Harris in the Bretton Woods system and Africa a thesis) All of this picture becomes worse when these statistics are related to what all of you see happening today in your very lives. Retrenchments are on the order of the day, houses have become unaffordable for the majority and shacks are springing up by the day, students are excluded from universities indeed, the list is never ending. Despite what a particular demagogue of one nationalist organization or another might say at one time or another, in practice and this is what really matters all nationalist politicians today and through organizations queued up to be served at the imperialist banquet table. None of them makes any coherent democratic demands which they seriously pursue. It has now become a struggle amongst themselves jointly and severally of who is going to the bourgeois parliament the earliest!
Many of you frequent nationalist gatherings. What do they say? They are at pains to explain to the people that they are the ones who started the negotiations. The others say sure! But we are the ones that came in with the demand that the imperialists or their running dogs must come and supervise the negotiations! We are the ones who demanded a neutral venue! To this level has the South Africa nationalist degenerated.
When the ZANU`s, FRELIMO`s, and others fought for their freedom they for the most part had lofty ideals concerning the destiny of their people! It can be said that by suing for peace the imperialists colonialists in those countries were defending their interests and tricked the people into neo-colonialism. Our nationalists see neo-colonialism in its most barbarous form, yet they are over one another to serve it, prepared to tell lies and go to the extent of hoodwinking the masses as to their real goals.
There is only one way in which to see current reforms in their true light. It is by observing them as the unfolding of the dictates of the imperialist bourgeoisie through the Bretton Woods institutions which not only issue the orders but directly manipulates government relevant parties along these lines. Any other claim is a blue lie which can be afforded by experienced and political demagogue!
Because the shyster politician has no programme of his organization and because everything is dependent on the whims of the imperialists and various shades of South African monopoly capital and because the nationalist is proving to be the purveyor and bulwark of the liberal bourgeois interests, there is of course no relevance seen in the revolutionary replace mark of the present bourgeois and racist state with a people democratic republic.
We all know that a state is the organ of force in the hands of one or other ruling class. That history knows of no neutral or classless state. The slave master, the feudal-lord, the bourgeoisie! All of them in historical succession have had organized force to in the final analysis protect their interests. Each one of them in overthrowing the other one as ruling class and in order to impose its own dictatorship has had to fashion a state to enforce the relevant class will over the whole of society.
In this country and at least since the first racist republic in 1961, the racist bourgeoisie has had a firm grip on what is essentially a bourgeois state serving ultimately the interests of all big capitalists.
In the current reforms, not a single negotiator is talking of a different state from the present. The talk of additions to the SADF, the assurances to the mostly white bureaucracy , the smug satisfaction often expressed by the liberal nationalists on the fact that there are blacks in the SAP and prisons authorities all of this does not alter the position one bit. Essentially, what these people are saying is that the present state, complete with its bureaucracy, the army the police and the prisons, is just fine? The fact of the matter is that in so far as suppression is concerned the current state is aiming at the working people and in so far as the people`s needs are concerned , it has no will and shall never be tailored to serve the interests of the people even under the most liberal government of the day.
What the democratic classes and the revolutionary proletariat need for the crowning of the victory over their enemies is a revolutionary peoples dictatorship, a People`s Democratic Republic or a New Democratic Republic which shall be at the service of the people and at the same time a guarantee against the restoration of the counterrevolutionaries.
A New Democratic Republic executing the people`s policies of a new democratic economic system including the expropriation of big capital, the nationalization of all land and the 8hr working day is the surest guarantee that the revolutionary people shall govern their own destiny, the small bourgeoisie shall have a chance to develop free of the monopoly capitalist strangulation- the peasants shall till the land without big capitalist farmers` economic strangulation and the workers shall have time for themselves while there shall exist the potential for further investment for more jobs.
Today, the struggle against the regime is even closer than before linked to the struggle against imperialism. The social force most suitably and historically placed to lead this struggle is the revolutionary proletariat.
Forward to the New Democratic Republic - Forward!!!
Filed under: actualities, homepage
The Statement by the Communist Party Of South Africa ( Marxist-Leninist), CPSA(M-L) on the expulsion of NUMSA by Cosatu leadership. Dec 02, 2014
VICTORY TO THE AMCU MEMBERS IN THE PLATINUM BELT STRIKE. Jul 16, 2014
A call by the CPSA (M –L) to COSATU, FEDUSA and NACTU. Jul 06, 2014
A call by the CPSA (M –L) to COSATU, FEDUSA and NACTU Jul 03, 2014
Links Apr 03, 2014
94 Caxton Street, Quigney, East London, South Africa 5200
This Plone Theme brought to you by Simples Consultoria.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3190
|
__label__wiki
| 0.615369
| 0.615369
|
PrivateGREEN, ALBERT
Service Number 231
Died 31/05/1918
14th Bn.
Australian Infantry, A.I.F.
Son of James D. and Anna Jane Green, of Tavener St., Birchip, Victoria, Australia.
SACRED TO THE MEMORY OF OUR BELOVED SON & BROTHER OUR HERO R.I.P.
Download commemorative certificate (PDF)
Buried at CROUY BRITISH CEMETERY, CROUY-SUR-SOMME
Location: Somme, France
Number of casualties: 783
Cemetery/memorial reference: II. E. 16.
See cemetery plan
Cemetery details
CWGC Archives
Grave Registration (2)
Grave Registration Reports (GRRs) are standard forms which detail graves for which the Commission is responsible within a particular burial ground. They provide basic details of the individuals, such as name, service number, rank, regiment, unit and date of death, and are listed in Plot, Row and Grave order.
doc1993051.JPG
This collection of documents was assembled by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and its predecessors as part of the processes involved in the commemoration of individuals. As a result, they contain many corrections and alterations which reflect their use as working documents. For further information concerning the history of the collection, please see our About Our Records page. Please be advised that some of the documents, especially the burial returns and exhumation reports, may contain information which some people may find distressing. The original archive records and their digital copies remain the property of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, but are available for re-use for private and non-commercial purposes.
These documents provide details of what was actually inscribed on an individual’s headstone. Their main purpose was to help manage the enormous programme of headstone production and engraving embarked on by the Commission.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3196
|
__label__wiki
| 0.651213
| 0.651213
|
Central/Eastern Europe
Egypt (and MENA): ‘worst may be yet to come’
DemDigest August 14, 2018 August 14, 2018
On the five-year anniversary of Egypt’s Rabaa massacre, some human rights groups say the country has not done enough to address the human rights issues demonstrated in the killing, RFE/RL reports:
The Rabaa massacre was an attack in Cairo on supporters of ex-President Mohamed Morsi who were conducting a sit-in in the nation’s capital. A month earlier, Morsi had been ousted in a military coup. On July 3, 2013, current general-turned-president Abdel Fattah el-Sissi led the coup against Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected civilian president. According to the Human Rights Watch, 817 civilians were confirmed killed, but it is likely that at least a thousand died.
“The Egyptian authorities’ repeated failure to respect the rights of protesters, and their failure to hold anyone accountable for mass murders, has contributed to an environment in which the security forces feel empowered to violate human rights with absolute impunity,” said Najia Bounaim, North Africa Campaigns director for Amnesty International.
Gamal Abdel Nasser’s revolution marked a watershed moment in Egypt’s modern era, notes Brookings analyst Shadi Hamid. At its outset, the dueling ideologies of Islamism and secular nationalism were uncertain and still in flux. But they would soon come to define the seemingly intractable political conflict within not just Egypt but also the broader Arab world.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the contest played out in part through the bitter rivalry between two of the period’s most memorable personalities: Nasser, on the one hand, and the famed Muslim Brotherhood ideologue Sayyid Qutb, on the other. In Making the Arab World, Fawaz Gerges traces the intertwining biographies and intellectual trajectories of these two titans of Egyptian history, he writes for Foreign Affairs:
The ideological currents unleashed by Nasser and Qutb are now part of the fabric of the modern Middle East. The struggle between their inheritors continues, and one side is not likely to conclusively defeat the other. But that won’t stop partisans, ideologues, and autocrats from continuing to try. The Egyptian regime, for example, remains determined to crush the Brotherhood, believing that it can do today what it could not do before.
For this unfortunate reason, Making the Arab World—and its story of two impassioned, sincere, and reckless men—serves not just as an account of why one revolution went wrong in Egypt’s past but also as a warning that, for Egypt as well as the rest of the region, some of the worst may be yet to come, says Hamid, the author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World.
In July 2018, the U.S. Congressional Subcommittee on National Security held a hearing to examine the threat of the Muslim Brotherhood to the United States and its interests. This hearing—expected to pave the way for Congress to follow through on efforts to designate the Brotherhood as a terrorist group—has re-ignited the debate about the Muslim Brotherhood and its relationship to violence and terrorism, notes Alison Pargeter, a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at the School of Security Studies, King’s College London.
While some hot-headed elements who were either part of the Brotherhood or on its margins may have sought to fight fire with fire, there is still no concrete evidence of there being any real shift either among the base or the leadership toward adopting a violent strategy, she writes for the Jamestown Foundation:
The traditional leadership was well aware that such an approach would be suicidal, and would strip the movement of the moral authority it could still lay claim to through upholding its pacific stance and appealing to democratic legitimacy. It was also conscious of the fact that the Egyptian Brotherhood carries a particular weight as the mother branch of a transnational movement and any wrong move that could leave the movement open to accusations of violence would have major repercussions, including in the West.
The Brotherhood has been damaged by the post-2013 crackdown, but it has survived, say Carnegie analysts Nathan J. Brown and Michele Dunne, a board member of the National Endowment for Democracy. Now it appears determined to play a role when the opportunity for change next arises in Egypt, but a different role than it did last time, they wrote in a recent paper:
As of 2015, that role is vaguely conceived of as more “revolutionary,” with the movement pushing for deeper change than it did in 2011–2013. The Brotherhood might in time define its revolutionary goals more clearly, a process that is likely to be shaped partly by whether the organization continues to be isolated with only a few other Islamist groups as allies, or whether it becomes part of a broader opposition conversation that includes secular as well as Islamist groups.
The Brotherhood and the regime are locked in the same old stalemate, with neither ready at this current point to give any real ground in order to achieve national reconciliation, adds Pargeter:
The Brotherhood is still too bruised and battered from its disastrous experience following the revolution to be able to make any real compromises. Added to this, it has a long way to go to rebuild trust with the population, adds Pargeter, the author of several books on the Muslim Brotherhood including ‘Return to the Shadows: The Muslim Brotherhood and An-Nahda After the Arab Spring’ (2016):
While the movement still has a core constituency—many of whom support it because they equate it with Islam itself—the shambolic way in which it approached power has left the impression in the minds of many, including the rest of the opposition, that it is not fit for purpose. As such, the Brotherhood is facing a stark choice. It either bows down to the regime’s conditions in order to get a toehold back in the country—something it is in no mood to do at this stage—or its faces a very long wait indeed.
RTWT
Alliance for Securing Democracy Anne Applebaum Anti-corruption Carl Gershman China China Digital Times civil society Corruption Countering violent extremism (CVE) Cuba democracy assistance democracy promotion democratization disinformation Egypt Elliott Abrams Francis Fukuyama Freedom House Hybrid warfare Illiberal democracy information warfare International Republican Institute (IRI) Iran Iraq Journal of Democracy kleptocracy Larry Diamond Michele Dunne National Democratic Institute (NDI) National Endowment for Democracy National Endowment for Democracy (NED). North Korea populism Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) promoting democracy Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program Russia sharp power Soft power Solidarity Center Tunisia Ukraine Venezuela Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Yascha Mounk
Analysis, Arab Spring, Authoritarianism, Civil Society, Democracy Assistance and Promotion, Dictatorships, Egypt, Ideology, Islamists, Middle East/North Africa, National Endowment for Democracy Alison Pargeter, and autocrats, Egypt, Fawaz Gerges, ideologues, Making the Arab World, Muslim Brotherhood, National Endowment for Democracy, partisans, Rabaa massacre, Shadi Hamid
Iran’s theocrats ‘under growing pressure’ as sanctions intensify unrest
Kabila’s decision to step aside won’t change DRC’s power dynamics
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from Democracy Digest. Subscribe to get our daily update.
Archives Select Month January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 September 2014
Review our comprehensive list of links to essential media resources.
Democracy Blogs (13)
Journals/Magazines (57)
Democracy Assistance Organizations (25)
Democracy Digest is invaluable.
Read more Democracy Digest testimonials
Labour MP, Australia
Democracy Digest is an indispensable resource, providing valuable news and analysis on the challenges facing democrats and civil society, from authoritarian disinformation and kleptocracy to strategies for democratic renewal.
Anne Applebaum
Democracy Digest is an essential source for analysis of modern dictatorship, identifying democracy’s adversaries, while explaining their techniques and the threats they pose. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of freedom.
Arch Puddington,
Distinguished Scholar for Democracy Studies, Freedom House
An invaluable site for well-chosen, essential readings on democracy.
Thomas Carothers
Senior Vice President for Studies, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a leading authority on global democracy
COPYRIGHT © 2018 · DEMOCRACY DIGEST
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3201
|
__label__wiki
| 0.990792
| 0.990792
|
What does TWC deal mean for here?
Time Warner Cable employs close to 850 in the Rochester area.
What does TWC deal mean for here? Time Warner Cable employs close to 850 in the Rochester area. Check out this story on DemocratandChronicle.com: http://on.rocne.ws/1evVGfq
Staff writer Published 11:43 a.m. ET Feb. 13, 2014 | Updated 7:54 p.m. ET Feb. 13, 2014
Time Warner Cable’s office on Mount Hope Avenue in Rochester. (Photo: CARLOS ORTIZ , staff photographer )Buy Photo
The $45 billion acquisition by Comcast Corp. leaves a lot of question marks for local workers
The two cable giants said they expect the deal to close by year's end
A spokeswoman said the deal should have "very little impact" on most Rochester-area employees
Anytime you have a $45 billion business deal, expect some big winners and big losers.
But the ripple effects on local employees and subscribers of Time Warner Cable's proposed takeover by Comcast Corp. could take many months to settle.
Time Warner Cable employs 850 locally — with the bulk of them in customer care functions such as the company's call center and its field technicians. Its upstate subscribers are legion: roughly 300,000 subscribers in the Buffalo area, more than 350,000 in the Rochester area, more than 600,000 through central New York and close to 400,000 in the Albany area.
Rivals Comcast and Time Warner Cable announced the takeover Thursday. It still requires shareholder and regulatory approvals, but the two cable and Internet service provider giants said they expect the takeover to close by year's end.
Time Warner Cable spokeswoman Joli Plucknette-Farmen said the deal should have "very little impact" on most Rochester-area employees. "Comcast will need talented, motivated employees to operate the cable systems," she said.
However, the two companies said they had identified $1.5 billion in cost-cutting steps that likely would be taken in the acquisition. Comcast Chief Financial Officer Michael Angelikas declined to give details on how much of that would come from headcount cuts. But, he said in a conference call with reporters, "There's a lot of duplicative areas, obviously, when you have two large public companies. It's a variety of different things making up that savings. A minority are on the programming savings side."
In a statement Thursday, the Communications Workers of America union said, "The two companies have a high bar to meet to demonstrate that the merger would be in the public interest." The union urged that regulators pay particular attention to such issues as the effects on jobs and on consumer costs and options.
Between Timer Warner Cable and Comcast "there's no ZIP code overlap, which means if you're an installer, you're probably fine," said Barbara Jones, a professor of practice in television, radio & film in Syracuse University's Newhouse School of Public Communications.
But the deal does leave a question mark as to the fate of Time Warner Cable's local news operations in New York state, including Rochester. "What do they do with that?" Jones said. "I'm sure they'll be looking closely from a profit and loss standpoint."
If the news service continues, another name change might be in the works, assuming the new company takes the Comcast name. The cable channel changed its name from YNN to Time Warner Cable News in December.
When asked what operational changes Time Warner Cable subscribers can expect to see though Comcast, Comcast Corp. CEO Brian L. Roberts said, "The playbook at Comcast ... is an all-digital network with the fastest broadband, with the fastest in home Wi-Fi, with the most on-demand offerings, and a suite of capabilities on tablets and smartphones that lets consumers access that content whenever they want."
From a Time Warner Cable subscriber standpoint, Comcast's argument is that the acquisition would give it "more buying power," said Ted P. Schmidt, associate professor of economics and finance at Buffalo State College. But the big unknown is whether those better deals with television and movie production companies get passed on to subscribers in terms of lower prices or if they just create a fatter profit margin for Comcast, Schmidt said.
Ultimately for western New York consumers, the move from Time Warner Cable to Comcast might be almost indistinguishable, Schmidt said.
"Will they take advantage of that monopolistic power? Probably no more than Time Warner did," he said. "It's going to be the same service essentially. The (local) market is not changing, it's the name that's changing. It's the national market that's changing."
MDANEMAN@DemocratandChronicle.com
Twitter.com/mdaneman
Read or Share this story: http://on.rocne.ws/1evVGfq
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3202
|
__label__wiki
| 0.677756
| 0.677756
|
DF Bloggers
A Depression Peer to Peer Mental Health Social Community Support Group
DF Archive
Monthly donations are the lifeblood of Depressionforums.org. A small, monthly $2-$5 donation will help DF keep our mission and vision alive. Founded in 2001, our organization’s ongoing mission is to continue to fight the stigma of mental illness, encourage, inform, and inspire the public about mental health.
Powered by Good Therapy
Eating Disorders: A Midlife Crisis for Some Women
March 27, 2007 /No Comments
More middle-age women seeking treatment for anorexia and bulimia
SUNDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) — You starve yourself, shedding pounds, and it feels too good to ever stop. Or you eat lots — as much as you want, more than you want — and then sneak away from your loved ones to purge it all. But you’re not 16, not 19, not 21. Not a young woman at all. You’re in your 30s, 40s, or 50s. And you can’t stop.
More middle-age women are seeking treatment for anorexia and bulimia
Anorexia and bulimia used to be considered health problems that afflicted teenage girls. But doctors are finding that a growing number of older women are now being diagnosed with some sort of eating disorder. “It can happen to anybody at any stage of their life,” said Dr. Alexander Sackeyfio, a psychiatrist and eating-disorder specialist at the Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. “I think we’re becoming more aware of it and are better at diagnosing it.”
People tend to make another mistake in their perception of eating disorders — they assume they are relatively benign psychological problems that are easily treated and without lasting physical effects, said Doug Bunnell, clinical director of the Renfrew Center in Wilton, Conn.
“People are surprised when they learn these have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis, somewhere between 10 and 15 percent,” said Bunnell, who’s also a member of the National Eating Disorders Association board of directors. Anorexia produces dramatic weight loss caused by excessive or compulsive dieting. An estimated 0.5 percent to 3.7 percent of
women suffer from anorexia nervosa at some point in their lifetime, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Anorexics see themselves as overweight even though they’re dangerously thin. The process of eating becomes an obsessive minefield and unusual eating habits develop, such as picking out just a few foods and eating them in tiny, carefully measured quantities.
Bulimia is characterized by excessive binge eating followed by purging the food through vomiting, laxatives or over-exercising. An estimated 1.1 percent to 4.2 percent of American females will struggle with bulimia nervosa in their lifetime.
Because of the purging, people with bulimia usually weigh within the normal range for their age and height. But they still suffer the same fears about weight gain as anorexics. So, they often perform bulimic behaviors in secret, feeling disgusted and ashamed when they binge, yet relieved once they purge.
Bunnell said he’s seeing more middle-age or even older women coming in for treatment of an eating disorder. But, he’s not sure that all of these are new cases developing later in life. “My experience is that virtually all the women we’ve seen with eating-disorder symptoms in their 30s or 40s had some prior
activity in the more typical age range,” Bunnell said. “It may not have been diagnosed, or just short of being serious, but there was a period when they were really struggling with it. We’ve not seen a lot of brand new, out-of-the-blue eating disorder cases in older women.”
Other doctors believe that hormonal fluctuations that occur near menopause could set off an eating disorder, as could mid-life changes like divorce or the departure of grown children. As the family changes, some women find themselves grasping for some semblance of control — one of the needs that an eating disorder can fulfill.
Complicating matters for the older patient is the fact that women coming in for treatment later in life may find it harder to get the help they need. For decades, the focus has been young women, and only recently has the therapeutic field begun to expand into treatment for older women — and men, Sackeyfio said.
“No one is catering to their needs,” he said. “That’s the same problem that gentlemen had for a while.”
Bunnell said anorexics tend to be preoccupied with their body shape or weight, and often suffer from anxiety, perfectionism and obsessive-compulsive disorder. By contrast, bulimics tend to be depressed and impulsive, often struggling with substance-abuse issues.
“The anorexic style is more overly controlled, tense and rigid, while the bulemic style is less controlled, impulsive or disregulated,” Bunnell said. Treatment for eating disorders has evolved as well, with doctors now emphasizing a team-based approach, Sackeyfio said. “Originally, what people would look at was that it is a psychological problem, but it quickly becomes a physical problem,” he said. “You need somebody who’s aware of those physical changes to work with you if you’re a therapist.”
Ideally, someone with an eating disorder should be working with a team that includes a psychiatrist, a nutritionist and a physician, Sackeyfio said. Most important, the people surrounding someone with an eating disorder need to understand that the patient truly is out of control and needs help, Sackeyfio said. “They aren’t spoiled brats who are trying to make people’s lives harder,” he said. “They really have very little control over the physical changes that they cause in their own bodies.”
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Reviewed by Forum Admin 6- 16- 2009
Mental Health Diseases & Disorders
By Forum Admin
Women, Men and the Way We Write About Depression
When depressed gay men turn to each other for help
Reasons Not To Break Your New Year’s Resolutions
Join Our Forums!
Struggling with mental health or depression?
In need of peer-to-peer support?
Want to contribute to the community?
Sign In or Register!
@DepressionForum's Likes on Twitter
2019 © Depression Forums
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3203
|
__label__cc
| 0.554688
| 0.445312
|
Easiest Election Ever
Most Australians must be glad the farce is almost over. The federal election is only a few days away.
And the farce has surely led the country to an historical ebb, an international embarrassment for democracy. A debate shifted to make way for a reality TV show; a candidate who “rebrands” herself as her “real” self as a major campaign strategy; another candidate who has been roundly criticised for his extreme and anti-scientific statements; the almost complete absence of “minor” parties from the media; in addition to the usual vacuum of substance in discussions, debates, and the mainstream media.
While an international embarrassment for democracy, these developments do make the election itself easy.
Essentially, there is one question in this election with dwarfs all others. The approach to this question of both major parties is a scientific catastrophe. And the approach of the third party is not — at the very least, its concern for the question is encoded in its DNA.
First, it’s worth making clear that electoral politics is always insufficient. It is never enough to cast one’s vote and then switch off for the next 3 years. One should never put one’s faith in a representative beholden to party discipline, poll marginalism, and the democratic deficit of a faraway capital. But elections do have real effects, and in this election the effects are undoubtedly serious.
There is one question which dwarfs all others, because the future of the planet is in question, depending on actions taken in the term of the next government.
Yesterday, the Australian Academy of Science released a new climate change report. Once again, it reiterated and explained the scientific consensus that the earth is warming and that human greenhouse gas emissions are the main cause. Once again, it reiterated and explained the scientific consensus that if business continues as usual, global temperatures will increase significantly, and that this will have serious effects. And it went into some detail about what those effects might be.
This is not an ordinary peer-reviewed scientific paper. It is not just an opinion backed up by evidence and reviewed by experts. This is a synthesis of hundreds of academic papers. Like the international IPCC, it summarises the consensus of all of them. It is the sense of the entire community of experts. As such, it is inherently conservative. It is a minimal statement of what we are scientifically sure about; and it is extremely careful with questions we are not sure about.
This consensus includes: “business as usual” is expected to lead to lead to a warming of 4.5 degrees Celsius by 2100, possibly only 3 degrees, but possibly as high as 7 degrees.
This consensus continues: A warming of 4.5 degrees
would mean that the world would be hotter than at any time in the last few million years. Sea level would continue to rise for many centuries. The impacts of such changes are difficult to predict, but are likely to be severe for human populations and for the natural world. The further climate is pushed beyond the envelope of relative stability that has characterised the last several millennia, the greater becomes the risk of passing tipping points that will result in profound changes in climate, vegetation, ocean circulation and ice sheet stability.
In other words, the question is not marginal. That is how you say, in scientific language, that the fate of the planet is at stake.
Even a warming of 2 degrees Celsius
would lead to a significantly different world from the one we now inhabit. Likely consequences would include more heat waves, fewer cold spells, changes to rainfall patterns and a higher global average rainfall, higher plant productivity in some places but decreases in others, disturbances to marine and terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity, disruption to food production in some regions, rising sea levels, and decreases in Arctic ice cover. While aspects of these changes may be beneficial in some regions, the overall impacts are likely to be negative under the present structure of global society.
And, modelling emissions pathways, to have a “better than even” chance of preventing temperature rise of more than 2 degrees, global emissions “need to peak within 10 years and then decline rapidly”.
We are now about to elect a government for 3 of those 10 years.
To summarise: Australian society is about to elect a government for a time in which, in order to have a “better than even” chance of preventing a 2 degree temperature rise — which itself would still lead to a “significantly different” and more difficult world to live in — global emissions “need to peak within 10 years and then decline rapidly”. That requires a major structural shift in the global economy, starting immediately. Of course, that implies an immediate and major structural shift in the Australian economy too.
Three years ago, both Labor and Liberal parties were in favour of capping carbon emissions — that is, setting an upper limit on emissions, by law. A majority of the Australian public has consistently supported serious action on climate change regardless of international developments, despite disillusionment, the failure of the Copenhagen conference, and an upsurge in climate denialism. As the threat of climate change has worsened, and the state of scientific knowledge become even more disturbing, both major parties have responded by abandoning those policies.
The Labor party abandoned its policy of a cap-and-trade scheme after Tony Abbott became leader of the Liberal party. Abbott in 2009 described the scientific argument as “absolute crap”, and to this day disputes the scientific consensus — truly an heroic scientific dissent, since even his party colleagues describe him as “innumerate”.
Julia Gillard, Labor party leader, in her climate policy campaign speech, announced a new initiative: she would convoke a randomly-selected “Citizens’ Assembly” of 150 Australians, to examine the issue over 12 months, and wait for their opinion before taking any action. The policy has “become an ongoing joke in Labor ranks”. Needless to say, if emissions “need to peak within 10 years and then decline rapidly”, such a total abdication of policy is scarcely imaginable. The “policy” does not even appear on Labor’s policy website, such is the level of embarrassment. The independent Climate Institute estimates their policy will lead to no peak, no decline, but a 19% increase in emissions above 1990 levels by 2020.
On the other hand, the climate change policy of the Liberal/National party coalition, under Abbott, who describes the scientific argument as “absolute crap”, includes no limit on carbon emissions, and centres around an “emissions reduction fund”. Under this policy, their document proudly announces, “businesses will not be penalised for continuing to operate at ‘business as usual’ levels” — truly likely to lead to a major structural shift in the economy within a decade. The Climate Institute estimate for their policy is no peak, no decline, but an 8% increase in emissions above 1990 levels by 2020.
As far as I can find at the time of writing, neither major party has made any response to the Academy of Science report.
The Greens do have some commitments on the environment. In particular, their policy recognises “we have only 10-15 years to use our collective human intelligence to address the crisis of climate change and to prevent catstrophe.” They propose a cap on carbon, a 40% reduction on 1990 greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, and other serious action.
The only electoral outcome which can give a non-catastrophic, science-based Australian climate policy, in the period in which emissions “need to peak within 10 years and then decline rapidly”, is a large swing to the Greens.
In Australia, with mandatory and preferential voting, the electoral system makes this choice easier than elsewhere. In the US and elsewhere, With a first-past-the-post system, a vote for the Greens takes a vote away from other parties. With Australia’s preferential voting system, if the Greens do not get your highest first vote, then your vote switches to the lesser of the other evils, as you decide. You decide where your vote goes and in what order.
The Greens may well obtain the balance of power in the Senate, as well as a lower house seat here in Melbourne. An increased vote may give them real leverage to force climate action upon whatever government takes office.
Of course, a mere vote at this election is not enough. It will take serious, urgent, international and sustained action to make the changes necessary to maintain a liveable planet, as the science demands. This electoral campaign, if nothing else, should be an education to Australians about the bankruptcy of their political system, the oncoming crisis in the climate system, and the need for vast changes in their society.
Tagged on: australia climate change election politics
dan 2010-08-17 2017-11-11 etc 2 Comments
← Why international law?
Antiwar and queer liberation politics →
2 thoughts on “Easiest Election Ever”
Nice discussion.
Nice summary of what’s at stake here! Where do I go to register to vote in Australia? 🙂
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3204
|
__label__wiki
| 0.909041
| 0.909041
|
Anti-abortion activists push new bills at Iowa Capitol, preview battle over court picks
Gov. Kim Reynolds tells anti-abortion activists that new judges on the Iowa Supreme Court won't "inject their own philosophy."
Anti-abortion activists push new bills at Iowa Capitol, preview battle over court picks Gov. Kim Reynolds tells anti-abortion activists that new judges on the Iowa Supreme Court won't "inject their own philosophy." Check out this story on desmoinesregister.com: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/21/abortion-pro-life-rally-iowa-fetal-heartbeat-personhood-law-kim-reynolds-constitutional-amendment/2937530002/
Barbara Rodriguez and Stephen Gruber-Miller, Des Moines Register Published 4:03 p.m. CT Feb. 21, 2019
Anti-abortion activists, who suffered a major setback this week with the legal end of Iowa's "fetal heartbeat" law, gathered in force at the Iowa Capitol Thursday, refocusing their energy on a swath of new bills aimed at additional restrictions and reshaping the courts.
Among the activists' most vocal supporters was Gov. Kim Reynolds. She told the Statehouse crowd that her decision Monday not to appeal a court ruling that struck down the "fetal heartbeat" law was difficult. The law would have prohibited most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected.
"You know I'm a fighter. You know I don't give up. And I believe with all my heart and soul that we have an obligation as a society to protect the sanctity of human life," the Republican said.
Reynolds reiterated she didn't see a successful path to appealing the heartbeat decision after an Iowa Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down a 72-hour waiting period for abortions and found a fundamental right to abortion in the Iowa Constitution.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers a passionate speech about fighting to end abortions in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave, The Register)
"I believe and know that they got that decision wrong," Reynolds said. "And I'm here to tell you ... we are changing that because we are appointing judges to the bench that will apply the law and adhere to the Constitution of Iowa and the Constitution of the United States, not inject their own philosophy."
The remark drew cheers and previewed an effort by anti-abortion activists and Republican lawmakers to change the process for selecting judges to the Iowa Supreme Court.
Iowa Supreme Court the focus of fight
Throughout the Thursday rally, anti-abortion activists referenced the Iowa Supreme Court and the rulings in recent years that have thrown off their legislative strategy to restrict abortion.
Rep. Sandy Salmon, R-Janesville, at one point raised a copy of the Iowa Constitution as she told the crowd that abortion protections are not spelled out in the document.
Salmon highlighted a proposed constitutional amendment to state that the Iowa Constitution "does not secure or protect a right to abortion."
That proposal, a key priority for anti-abortion activists, is intended to nullify last summer's Iowa Supreme Court ruling. It has support from Reynolds and 29 Republican sponsors in the Iowa Senate. More than a dozen House Republicans are co-sponsoring an identical version of the bill in their chamber.
Photos: Iowa Rally for Life held at Capitol Building
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds delivers a passionate speech about fighting to end abortions in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Iowa Representative Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville) encourages anti-abortion supporters to continue their fight to end abortion in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Attendees of the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life applaud as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds is introduced to speak during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
A child rests on the lap of a woman as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks about the fight to end abortions in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
A man prays prior to the start of the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Danny Carroll, family advocate for the Family Leader organization, delivers a passionate speech about abortion statistics during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
A protester shouts down at Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds as Reynolds spoke about the continued fight to end abortions in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Families watch on as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds talks about the fight to end abortions in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds gets a hug from Iowa Family Leader vice-president Chuck Hurley during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Iowa Senator Jake Chapman (R-Adel) talks about the battle at the state legislature to make abortions illegal during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Ant-abortion supporters applaud as Rep. Sandy Salmon (R-Janesville) speaks during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
Families gathered to hear Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speak during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Bryon Houlgrave, The Register
"It's time for the Legislature to take back its power from the court," Salmon said.
Separately, Republicans are trying to change the selection process for judges to Iowa's court system. The bill, which is undergoing some changes, primarily would give lawmakers and the governor more say in a nominating commission that picks finalists for the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals.
Democrats have sharply criticized the GOP proposals.
"This has everything to do with why they want to change the structure of the Iowa court system and politicize our courts," said Senate Democratic leader Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines. "They want to stack the courts with people that will help them push through an extreme agenda that takes away the rights of women across our state."
Anti-abortion bills get hearings
Subcommittee meetings on three other abortion-related bills drew crowds Thursday.
Sen. Randy Feenstra, a Republican from Hull who is challenging U.S. Rep. Steve King for Congress, introduced a bill that would define the word "person" to mean "an individual living human being without regard to age of development from the moment of conception, when a zygote is formed, until natural death."
That would give a fetus equal constitutional and legal rights, according to the bill.
"I think people are starting to realize that wait a minute, these are children. These are little boys and little girls," Feenstra said. "And I think we have to understand that we have to protect these children."
Feenstra acknowledged that the Iowa Supreme Court's ruling makes things difficult for his bill.
Attendees of the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life applaud as Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds speaks on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave, The Register)
Legislation by Sen. Brad Zaun, an Urbandale Republican, would make it a class A felony, punishable by life in prison, to intentionally end someone's pregnancy without their consent.
A third bill would prohibit certain federal funds from going to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood. The funds are used for sexual health education programming. No state or federal funding pays for abortions in Iowa, though anti-abortion activists believe it indirectly supports abortion services.
Jamie Burch Elliott of the Planned Parenthood of the Heartland called the legislative efforts dangerous.
"These are personal beliefs that are trying to be imposed on Iowans," she said. "It is problematic in that way, but no matter what, Planned Parenthood is going to always provide access to safe and legal abortion, and we'll never back down from that."
Anti-abortion activists are fired up
Maggie DeWitte, executive director of Iowans for Life, said the number of abortion-related bills this session — which include other measures like one that would create an "abortion victims monument” on the state capitol grounds — reflect a rejection of recent, related legislation in states like New York and Virginia.
“I think that has really lit a fire in legislators and the pro-life community,” she said.
A new law in New York adds protections to abortion access; a failed Virginia bill would have loosened restrictions that allow someone to get an abortion in the third trimester.
The pieces of legislation have become anti-abortion rallying cries, especially after Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam gave a radio interview last month that anti-abortion groups believe showed support for killing live babies.
A spokesman for Northam told the news outlet Vox that the comments were “absolutely not” a reference to infanticide.
A protester shouts down at Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds as Reynolds spoke about the continued fight to end abortions in Iowa during the 2019 Iowa Rally for Life on Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. (Photo: Bryon Houlgrave, The Register)
Sheila Knoploh-Odole of Des Moines was on the upper level of the rotunda during Reynolds' speech. She periodically shouted at Reynolds to “keep your hands off my vagina” and added, “uncontrolled births are irresponsible.”
Knoploh-Odole said she didn’t come to the Statehouse to protest the event, but when she heard the speeches she said she felt that she had to speak out.
“I am an advocate for abortions and birth control and women’s right to choose so when I hear bullshit like what the governor is saying I’m going to speak out against it,” she said. “And if I have to yell at the top of my lungs that’s what I’m going to do.”
Read or Share this story: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/21/abortion-pro-life-rally-iowa-fetal-heartbeat-personhood-law-kim-reynolds-constitutional-amendment/2937530002/
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3207
|
__label__wiki
| 0.956446
| 0.956446
|
Confederate flag sets off debate in GOP 2016 class
South Carolina will host the nation’s third presidential primary contest in February, a critical step in the 2016 race
Confederate flag sets off debate in GOP 2016 class South Carolina will host the nation’s third presidential primary contest in February, a critical step in the 2016 race Check out this story on detroitnews.com: http://detne.ws/1LlWZU3
Associated Press Published 3:48 p.m. ET June 20, 2015 | Updated 3:48 p.m. ET June 20, 2015
The Confederate flag flies near the South Carolina Statehouse, Friday, June 19, 2015, in Columbia, S.C.(Photo: Rainier Ehrhardt / AP)
Washington — Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called for the immediate removal of the Confederate battle flag from outside the South Carolina Statehouse, scrambling the 2016 Republican presidential contenders into staking a position on a contentious cultural issue.
Some still steered clear from the sensitive debate, even after the shooting deaths of nine people in a historic African-American church in Charleston further exposed the raw emotions about the flying the flag.
Many see the Confederate flag as “a symbol of racial hatred,” the GOP’s 2012 presidential nominee tweeted on Saturday. “Remove it now to honor #Charleston victims.”
Romney joins President Barack Obama and civil rights leaders in calling for the flag to come down as the nation grapples with Wednesday’s murders. The man charged with the crimes, Dylann Storm Roof, held the Confederate flag in a photograph on a website and displayed the flags of defeated white-supremacist governments in Africa on his Facebook page.
So far, most of the Republican Party’s leading 2016 presidential contenders have been silent on flying the Stars and Bars.
South Carolina was the last state to fly the Confederate battle flag from its Capitol dome. A compromise in 2000 moved the flag to a 30-foot flagpole elsewhere on Statehouse grounds, where it has been flying at full staff.
The debate holds political risks for Republicans eager to win over South Carolina conservatives who support the display of the battle flag on public grounds. The state will host the nation’s third presidential primary contest in February, a critical contest in the 2016 race.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said Saturday his position is clear: “In Florida we acted, moving the flag from the state grounds to a museum where it belonged,” he said in a statement provided to The Associated Press, referring to his 2001 order to remove the Confederate battle flag from atop the historic Old Capitol building.
“Following a period of mourning there will rightly be a discussion among leaders in the state about how South Carolina should move forward, and I’m confident they will do the right thing,” Bush said.
Former technology executive Carly Fiorina said she agrees the flag is a “symbol of racial hatred” yet declined to call for its removal, saying her “personal opinion is not what’s relevant here.”
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said the last thing the people of South Carolina need is “people from outside of the state coming in and dictating how they should resolve it,” Cruz said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
He said he understands both sides of the debate — including those who see the flag as a symbol of “racial oppression and a history of slavery” and “those who want to remember the sacrifices of their ancestors and the traditions of their states — not the racial oppression, but the historical traditions.”
Both Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich ignored questions about the flag posed by reporters over the last 24 hours. Spokesmen for most of the other Republican presidential contenders also either ignored such questions or formally declined to comment. They include Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, businessman Donald Trump and Sens. Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.
Democrats have been more willing to offer their opinions.
A White House spokesman said Friday that Obama continues to believe the flag belongs in a museum. Democratic presidential contender Hillary Rodham Clinton has yet to address the issue this week, but in 2007 called for the flag’s removal, in part because the nation should unite under one banner while at war.
Read or Share this story: http://detne.ws/1LlWZU3
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3208
|
__label__wiki
| 0.614669
| 0.614669
|
Paul Cafcae Interview
Q: Can you talk about your musical history?
A: I attended what was called in the USSR a "music school" starting at the age of 6. Four days a week after school, I learned theory, harmony, solfeggio, rhythm and music literature, as well as how to play accordion and piano. When the iron curtain finally came up and a lot of Western music started pouring into Eastern Europe, I listened to a lot of "old school" music - Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Beatles, Elton John, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, CCR, John Lee Hooker, etc. At 15 I picked up my dad's old guitar and started learning to play it on my own. I remember being greatly inspired by Eric Clapton's Unplugged; I still consider it a true musical masterpiece, so genuine and pristine. Back then I dabbled in some songwriting, but because I was so young and inexperienced, it never really took off. I still wanted to do my own thing, so instead I started to reinvent popular songs such as "All My Loving" by The Beatles, which I played as a 6/8 time signature ballad. In the early 2000s, I grew more interested in arrangements and production, using DAWs to overdub myself playing various instruments and singing harmonies. I also experimented with electronic music, but that never really took off either. It wasn't until I arrived in Canada in 2009, when I was singing and playing guitar for some party bands, that people started telling me I should write my own material. I wrote a couple of tunes for a rockabilly cover band that I was in, and when they received good reception, I realized that I should write more, which brought me to the release of my first album Sophisticated which was released back in January. There's a lot more in store!
Q: What are some of topics and themes you explore on Sophisticated?
A: It's a little bit about myself and my history. There's some stories about immigration and nostalgia, as in "She's My Town,” some about relationships with friends and family ("Wonderful Day"), some about people I've met (“Sophisticated," "Single Flower in Her Hair") and of course about society - how we all dream of "making it" and how we should never give up on that dream ("Outlandish Graces"). Generally, I think the theme is love in all of its forms - love for your birthplace, for your friends, for your significant other, for the work that you do. Musically, the theme is variety. I wanted the song to represent my eclectic taste in music - from the ’60s vibe on "Single Flower in Her Hair,” to the homage to Nirvana on "Wonderful Day,” to the old country-folk balladeers on "Three Days,” to the cheerful reggae vibes on "She's My Town" and finally to the merciless country and western shuffle of "Bury Me Not.” Of course it's a challenge to take such a variety of songs and keep the overall sound of the record consistent. Another challenge on the record was giving almost all the lead solos to Brian, the keyboard player. I usually play lead guitar during live performances and I wanted to give audiences a different sound than they were used to when they come see me play live.
Q: I loved the way the album sounded from an engineering perspective. Can you talk about the process?
A: This will sound crazy, but we only rehearsed the songs as a four-piece once - the night before the recording. I've known Cam the bass player for several years, Justin played the drums with us live for a few months, and for Brian on the keys, it was literally the first time jamming with the band. That was enough to gel the band for us.
The studio itself is literally a tiny single-car garage in a residential area near the University of Toronto campus. It could barely fit the four of us and the engineer, Matthew. Everything was recorded live off the floor, and everything bled into each other's mics. Each track obviously had to be great from beginning to end, because we couldn't re-record individual instruments, but I told the guys I appreciated their individual interpretations and just set them loose. We were just having a great time jamming together. We recorded the whole album in one go, never doing more than three takes per song, which is why it sounds under-produced, but genuine. One of the songs, "Bury Me Not,” we didn't rehearse at all. I told the band the three chords and to watch me for starts, stops and solos. We did two takes and after the second one we all said, "This is it!". That's the beauty of sharing the space- - we made eye contact and gestures, which you cannot see on the record, but it was all really well-orchestrated right there in the room. Later that same day, after the guys left, I did a couple of overdubbed harmonies for "Outlandish Graces" and "Wonderful Day,” and then Matthew just did his engineering magic mixing the tracks.
Q: How do you approach songwriting?
A: Gingerly (laughs). Well, at least at first I did. I think it's a skill, requiring honing and training. The ideas are usually not a problem; I just write about my observations or experiences other people have shared. I start with the lyrics but I don't always write sequentially. Sometimes I splatter bits of imagery all over the canvas, so to speak, and then try to connect the pieces. Since English isn't my first language, in the beginning I used to rely a lot on a thesaurus and rhymezone.com, but not as much anymore. When the story is ready I grab my guitar and start jamming, figuring out the progressions and the melody. Sometimes the musical theme can evolve so much that it ends up having a completely different vibe or melody; sometimes even the lyrics change. A great example is the title song, “Sophisticated." I started writing it on the guitar and it just wouldn't come together. I was stuck on the first verse and couldn't find the chorus at all. So I put the song off for a time (a couple of years, in fact), and then one day I just sat at my little piano at home and started playing it. It all just exploded and I finished it in an hour, complete with another verse, chorus and a bridge.
Songwriting is hard, you have to get 'in the mood' and be 'in the zone' for it, and sometimes the hardest thing is to start. Lately I've challenged myself to write a new song every week. I know that at this pace they can't all be great, but that's the only way to get all these thoughts and emotions out of the system (laughs).
Q: Can you describe the energy of your live set?
A: This is a tough one, simply because I like variety and I like trying new things. Typically I start and finish with upbeat tunes - that's the rockabilly rebel in me- and I'll have a dip in the beginning of the last third of the set. But I also play to the audience and their mood. It's important to find a bridge to your listener, to make sure that you are creating something unique together and that they're not just watching you perform for them. It makes it easier for me to feed off their energy as well.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: I don't know if it's great or even good, I don't know if I will "make it,” but I will keep doing it because if even a few people like it and connect with my music, I'm able to make that connection with them. I'd love to meet them. I'd love to be able to get to know them better, and let them get to know me. I am sure we will become good friends. I have thoughts, feelings and ideas that can only be expressed through music, and I think if I ever lose the ability to make music, it will be a very dark day for me.
check out the full critique
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3211
|
__label__cc
| 0.504958
| 0.495042
|
Blog Kiosk: 11/17/2015 - Dodger Links - Genovese, Anderson and Yimi Signing Cards
Yimi Garcia is seen hard at work during the off-season signing cards for Topps in the photo above, as tweeted by Yimi. I'm not entirely familiar with the design he's signing, but I'd place my bet on those being an insert from the upcoming 2016 Topps flagship set. I can't wait to find one.
Below are more links to check out:
Mark Langill at Dodger Insider writes a great piece, "Remembering scout George Genovese (1922-2015)."
“George was one of the greatest scouts there ever was,” said Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda, a Dodger scout between 1960 and 1965. “I scouted against George and I scouted with George. He put a lot of guys in the big leagues. He was an exceptional man and one of my best friends. I’m going to miss him.”
“Believing in a player you have discovered is really believing in yourself, your judgement, your evaluation and projecting skills,” Genovese said in his 2015 autobiography, “A Scout’s Report: My 70 Years in Baseball,” co-written with Dan Taylor. “It can bring a scout tremendous satisfaction, but he has to be prepared because it can also bring its share of disappointment.”
Via Josh Jackson at MiLB.com, "Verdugo, Bellinger on the rise for Dodgers." (Hat Tip: Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider) Gabe Kapler shares his thoughts on a number of different Dodger prospects; including Julio Urias and Corey Seager. Here's more quotes from Kapler from the same interview.
On Bellinger: "He's got a loose, athletic, flexible, whippy swing that generates bat speed and he identifies he pitches he can drive and attacks them," Kapler said.
On Verdugo: "With Alex, it's cut and dry. He took huge steps forward -- his ability to be a good teammate and control his emotions on the field and to prepare his body and mind every single night on and off the field," Kapler said. "He has a strong arm and the ability to play all three outfield positions.
Via Rachel Heacock at Beyond the Boxscore, "Assessing the Dodgers' managerial options."
Black has experience, but if the Dodgers were impressed enough by Kapler and Roberts to let them get this far, it stands to reason that one of them would get the job. If the Dodgers were looking for a seasoned manager, they could have kept their old one. Instead, it looks like they'll be charting a new course, and Kapler or Roberts would serve as a good choice to do so. Soon enough, the Dodgers will name their 2016 manager and relieve themselves of the weight of being the last team in Major League Baseball without a skipper.
Joc Pederson came in 6th place in the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year race, via the BBWAA website. He received one single third place vote from an Agence France Presses (a French news service?) reporter Marcos Enrique Hernández out of the MIA chapter. Kris Bryant, of course, took home the prize.
Jon Weisman at Dodger Insider shares some quotes from Brett Anderson that answer why he took the Qualifying Offer. He just likes it in LA.
“My situation is a little bit unique in the fact that I’m younger than most to have been offered a qualifying offer,” said Anderson, who will be 28 next season. “I liked being in L.A., and I liked my teammates and I liked everything about it, other than the ending to the season. Everything in consideration, the one-year deal fit myself again, and hopefully (with) the stigma of a health record off my back, go into next year and see what happens.”
Via Tyler Maun at MiLB.com, "Glendale notes: Farmer catches up in AFL."
"It's definitely a learning process," Farmer said. "Especially if you want to make it to the big leagues, you have to know what the pitcher has, what he's going to throw, what his put-out pitch is, what he likes to do behind in the count to a hitter.
"There are so many things, it's like a chess match. Each inning, with a pitcher you don't know how to catch, it's a different chess match, and it's a tougher chess match when you don't know how to catch them. Once you see what they have, everybody's objective is to get the batter out."
Congrats! Via Chris Cwik at Big League Stew, "Yogi Berra and Willie Mays to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom."
By ernest at Tuesday, November 17, 2015
Labels: Alex Verdugo, Blog Kiosk, Brett Anderson, Bud Black, Cody Bellinger, Corey Seager, Dave Roberts, Gabe Kapler, George Genovese, Joc Pederson, Julio Urias, Kyle Farmer, Tommy Lasorda, Yimi Garcia
A Visual Checklist of Sandy Koufax Baseball Cards ...
Blog Kiosk: 11/17/2015 - Dodger Links - Genovese, ...
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3214
|
__label__wiki
| 0.641919
| 0.641919
|
About DonValley
Meet Solly Moeng
Brand Reputation Management
Brand Strategy Assessment & Development
Corporate & Strategic Communications
Stakeholder Engagement Strategies
Issues Management & Crisis Communications
Public & Media Relations Advice
Et tu, IEC?
I FELT relatively safe, even indifferent and not directly concerned when, soon after ascending to the US presidency, Barack Obama delivered his powerful “Africa needs strong institutions of democracy; not strong men” speech in front of the Ghanaian parliament in July 2009.
I felt that way because when I compared South Africa with the static and, in some cases, worsening status quo in much of Africa – where too many countries are still led by political and cultural dinosaurs – the country looked very different: far more enlightened and democratic, and determined to be the shining light in Africa.
At the time, our country was being led by its third president when one includes Kgalema Motlanthe, the acting president in between two elected presidents since the dawn of our post-apartheid democracy in 1994. The fact that all post-apartheid presidents come from the same political party did not matter.
The Africa we’d rather not be
Compared to countries such as Zimbabwe, Uganda, Angola, the Central African Republic, Guinea, Sudan, Algeria, Egypt and several others, we had everything to be proud of and, indeed, to boast about. Hundreds of thousands of African brothers and sisters from some of these countries were already flooding into South Africa in search of democracy and a better-run country to call home.
In private conversations, many warned us to make sure our leaders did not emulate the dinosaurs leading their countries. Many of them were the first to see the nascent signs of democratic decay in South Africa because they knew what they looked like, having witnessed them in the countries they came from. But they had been too helpless to stop the cancer from metastasizing throughout the body politic of their own countries.
In many of these countries archaic, paternalistic African norms still reign supreme. Women have their place in society and homosexuals are considered a non-African curse. The leader shall neither be criticised in public nor challenged. Those who dare to do so either end up dying sudden, mysterious deaths or disappearing without a trace.
There are no strong, independent institutions of democracy standing as buffers between the people and their vigorously kleptomaniac leaders. In many instances, such institutions were never created in the first place, as their ‘leaders for life’ deemed them unnecessary. To make them feel better, the cultural and political despots who still run many African countries consider such institutions Western tools with no place in Africa.
Living in denial
To assure ourselves that all was still good, many of us proudly cited our courts, the constitution of South Africa, the South African Revenue Service (Sars), the office of the public protector, and the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) – institutions which were still standing but whose strength was dwindling right before our eyes – as remaining proof that we were still fine, different and perched on the moral high ground above the rest on the continent.
Like battered spouses, we continued to live in denial, always hoping against hope that we’d never be like the others; that we were too good to be like them, even though we would never say so out loud.
The image of former president Nelson Mandela still loomed large and our political leaders still unashamedly claimed they were inspired to continue his legacy. Despite the growing evidence of cracks all around us, many of us preferred to keep our heads comfortably buried in the sand, hoping for the best.
The crumbling sandcastle
It took opening our eyes a bit more and looking into our collective mirror with honesty to realise that our South African sandcastle had begun to crumble several years earlier. The once-respected Scorpions had been dismantled, not because they were ineffective but because they were too fearless in their pursuit of criminals and defence of the rule of law.
With their undoing and replacement by the Hawks – who would be forced to fall under the direct control of the police minister – the fissures in our presumably unassailable political and democratic moral high ground began to grow.
With the Scorpions gone, the steadfastness of other institutions began to give in to the overwhelming weight of political impunity.
Under a series of pliant national directors of public prosecutions, criminal charges against the powerful and connected were dropped; they continue to be dropped. The credibility of the once-unassailable Sars was tainted by reported accusations of wrongdoing in its name by politically connected senior officials.
The office of the public protector was undermined and the incumbent insulted and treated like a child in public, her recommendations ignored and resources curtailed.
The IEC – our last bastion
This noble institution and our courts – especially the Constitutional Court – are arguably, the last buffers between where we stand as a democracy and hell. Together, their raison d’être is to safeguard our democracy through the hosting of free and fair elections on the one hand and, on the other, the assurance that all remain equal before our courts.
If these last standing buffers are allowed to fall, the hyenas will take over and a truly democratic South Africa will remain a dream deferred.
Accusations of malfeasance against former IEC chair Pansy Tlakula, who held on for dear life and refused to let go until all the odds were stacked against her, and recent revelations that the IEC has not been as meticulous as we have all assumed it to be, are very worrisome.
Our country is traversing a valley replete with monstrous political shadows. The stakes are high. Those tasked with managing our elections should appreciate the historic responsibility they carry on behalf of all of us, and ensure that this democracy we so love does not crumble on their watch.
As for the rest of us, nothing can be taken for granted any more. More than ever before, we need to be vigilant.
donvalley2015-12-09T07:55:56+02:00December 9th, 2015|
Enjoyed this article? Share it on your favourite social platform
Branding & Marketing (128)
In the Press / Current Affairs (184)
Public Relations & Communications (128)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60w8JNyOo7U
We (Ahem, that's a Royal "We") have our work cut out for us. ......................................................… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
Now, this is something. twitter.com/Amberrayc/stat…
@iamlesmaada @AlHaill_RSA Lol
Govt must stop recycling the same people – SA needs new faces and new ideas
Good for you, #ImStaying, but why shout about it?
Markus, Maimane, and the sinister rite of passage
Studio 103, Palmyra Junction,
9 Palmyra Road, Claremont,
7708 Cape Town, South Africa
Office: +27 (0) 21 671 4865
Cell: +27 (0) 71 133 7116
© Copyright | All Rights Reserved | Powered by Carbon Prime
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3215
|
__label__cc
| 0.658723
| 0.341277
|
Current: GAL-60-Z Z-Belt Conveyor
GAL-60-Z Z-Belt Conveyor
The GAL-60-Z, unlike the GAL-60-K on page 43, has a third section at the upper end of the frame. The upper section allows horizontal delivery of goods even though they have previously been lifted.
Equipped with a slatted belt and fixed side rails, it is particularly well suited for bigger parts. For smaller and more delicate parts it is better to use a belt with corrugated edges, as shown on page 49.
The GAL-60-Z has a TorsioDur frame, that is very resistant to torsion. It is 60 mm high. Along its side it has grooves for sliding blocks with M-8 threads, in which additional accessories can easily be fitted.
The length of both horizontal and rising section can be made to fit the required application. In total however, a length of 4 metres should not be exceeded.
The angle of inclination for the rising part can be infinitely adjusted between 40 and 60° from the ground.
For easy feeding of the goods onto the conveyor, in standard configuration it is equipped with a small receiving hopper. The hopper has a fall back flap made from belt material, to ensure safe run of the slats through the hopper.
In the lower horizontal section, small casters are mounted to make it easy to move the conveyor around. In the rising section, as shown in this picture, a double support can be used. But it is also possible to use an H-shaped support on wheels with brakes.
Belt widths:
100, 150, 200, 250, 300, 350, 400, 450 or 500 mm.
GAL-60-Z Operating Manual
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3216
|
__label__wiki
| 0.833383
| 0.833383
|
BELGIAN FOLK BAND SKRATT MIXES IT ALL UP WITH DPA MICROPHONES
The range of clip mounts available for d:vote™ Instrument Microphones makes it easy for Skratt to amplify unusual instruments like bagpipes and the hurdy-gurdy.
After experimenting with a number of different microphones, Belgian folk group Skratt has opted for DPA’s d:vote™ Instrument Microphones to capture the sound of a variety of unusual instruments, including accordion, bagpipes and nyckelharpa.
All seven members of the band have very different musical backgrounds covering a diverse range of styles, from heavy metal and pop to folk and classical. This allows their music to branch out from traditional folk and incorporate influences from all over the world and many different genres.
Skratt founder Mathias Van de Vliet says it was the search for a microphone that could truly capture the sound of an accordion that led the band to DPA.
“To begin with we tried other microphones but they sounded thin and were terrible on monitoring. We just could not hear the accordion,” he explains. “We also tried a condenser mic on a stand for the violin, but that wasn’t practical.”
The wide range of clip mounts available for d:vote™ microphones proved a big draw.
“The clip mounts are great because they are made for different kinds of instrument shapes, so they fit really well,” Van de Vliet says. “They are super versatile and that’s what I like most. You can use them on just about every instrument because they are so well thought out. With a bit of creativity, you can even fit the clip mounts to instruments they were not originally designed for – for example, I use the piano clips on the accordion with some small metal plates and the guitar clip on the nyckelharpa. The clip for wind instruments can be used for bagpipe or on drum cymbals and so on. They really are a blessing for bands like ours that use some strange instruments.”
Van de Vliet adds that sound quality was another important factor in the band’s decision to switch to DPA.
“The d:vote™ 4099s sound incredibly natural and clear and we get very little feedback compared to other microphones we have tried – even when we are using them on stage with very loud monitoring,” he says.
Alongside his live work with Skratt, Van de Vliet is also an instrument maker. He studied plucked instrument making at the International Lutherie School Antwerp and then went on to learn about instrument restoration.
“Mostly I make guitars, but I have also made drums and I recently started to make a hurdy-gurdy and a nyckelharpa. It is a passion of mine, from choosing the perfect wood in Italy until I finish the instrument with numerous layers of French polish. It is a long process because I always want to improve the instruments.”
Van de Vliet’s d:vote™ 4099 Instrument Microphones are occasionally used to create sound clips of the instruments he is making, so that he can check the audio quality.
“The d:dicate™ 4011 microphone would be a better choice for real measurements but unfortunately I don’t own one of those,” he says. “But when it comes to amplification, my d:vote™ is always nearby because no pickup can beat its audio quality, practicality or price point.”
Although not signed to a label, Skratt recently released its first CD, which was recorded in Van de Vliet’s living room with a very basic 8-channel set-up.
“I’ve always been interested in ancient instruments and I get inspiration from the diversity of musical instruments on show at the Musical Instrument Museum (MIM) in Brussels,” he says. “The instruments people play today are developed to perfection but they are just a small part of the story. I am also interested in the rough diamonds – the imperfect instruments and the unusual sounds they create.
“As a band, we are inspired by these instruments and we like to take unusual instruments and mix them into our songs. This allows us to play with different sounds and fit them together so that our music has its own twist. Hurdy-gurdy, glockenspiel, accordion, bagpipe, bouzouki, drums and a samba-whistle in one song, the sky is the limit!”
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3218
|
__label__wiki
| 0.552625
| 0.552625
|
Home » Eco-Farming Index » Understanding Insect Infrared Detection
Understanding Insect Infrared Detection
By Philip S. Callahan, from the introduction of his book, Tuning In To Nature
Tuning in to Nature was written in 1975 as a direct result of an experience I had shortly after World War II ended, when I was still attached to the RAF Coastal Command in northern Ireland.
During July 1945, I took a Jeep from Belleek to Castle Archdale in Fermanagh County, northern Ireland. The RAF Coastal Command had its western Ireland headquarters on Lough Erne not far from our American Radio Range Station near Belleek.
When I picked up a technical report by the RAF on the XAF (10 cm radar) the researcher pointed out that most boat hulls were in sharp focus since 10 cm is a short wavelength in comparison to a boat. Diesel launches under way, however, were “blurred with indistinct edges over the stern.” It did not take long to deduce that the XAF radar was “seeing” the diesel exhaust — in short, the radar was smelling exhaust by electronics. This rather simple observation led to my irreversible belief that insect spines (sensilla) are indeed real antennae.
It was a few years later, after corresponding with Dr. Ernst Okress of American Standard Corp., that I knew for certain that insect antenna sensilla were dielectric, or plastic-like, antennae. That is the subject of Tuning in to Nature. In other words, insects utilize frequencies, not scents, to find their way around in nature.
When radar picks up a ship or aircraft, as we all know, the beam bounces off the aircraft and reflects back to a receiver that plots time and space. The transmitter and receiver are usually a few feet apart so that the return path is separated by a small angle from the “out” path.
In phase conjugation, the opposite is true, as the return is by the same path as the emission path. In other words, it is like an ant trail; the photon “ants” come and go along the same pathway. A conjugate system adds up energy until it is many times stronger than a conventional beam. It is thus the radar gun that incinerates an aircraft.
I soon realized from these experiences that the components of a successful trap must be close together in order to obtain enough power to attract insects. That is exactly why small insects work so well, as do the small solid-state, man-made transistors — the components are close together and take advantage of phase conjugation.
Working for 30 years alone, with little help from other scientists, I have now developed a phase-conjugated insect trap (Patent No. 5,424,551 — Frequency Emitter for Control of Insects) that attracts by infrared wavelengths alone. A patent on the more efficient solid-state version, for use on stored grain insects, has recently been filed. It attracted, by infrared frequencies alone, 100% of released male Indian Meal Moths. Indian Meal Moths are said to destroy up to one-fifth of the world’s stored grain!
This solid-state trap is based on a knowledge of modern technology— radar. In particular on the concepts of phase conjugation. It is just as importantly based on the ancient knowledge of nature attained by the agriculturally-orientated farming pueblo Indians, in particular by the ancient Anasazi and the 19th-century Hopi Indians. Most of their astute knowledge of how nature works, as it was with myself, was based on observing the behavior of ants and ant communities in the desert. Lastly, it is based on the physics of the scent behavior of the ants in the hill.
None of these approaches are tolerated by modern entomologists. Computer guesswork and arrogance about how God designed things have been substituted for natural observations and for physical experimentation. Low physical energies and the connection of those electromagnetic energies to the atmosphere are rarely if ever considered.
Modern entomology fosters deadly poisons in place of observation of nature, and of experimentation utilizing the science of physics in the control of damaging insects.
The main ingredients of my work have been natural observation, respect for the Ancients, and prayer, all of which are unacceptable as methods of scientific research with our now sacred universities!
Early in my career, I studied pesticides, as did all entomologists. But the findings I released in this book, Tuning in to Nature, taught me that attempting to poison insects was at cross purposes to nature and would, in the end, prove futile.
Now, 25 years later, worldwide pesticide use is at an all-time high; crops lost to insect damage are also at an all-time high. As I witness our cancer epidemic, I take no joy in having been “right.”
A sick plant actually sends forth a beacon, carried in the infrared, attracting insects. It is then the insect’s role to dispose of this plant deemed unfit for life by nature. By learning how to “tune in to nature,” may you learn to better understand God’s beautiful design and come to work with nature by enhancing her energies, rather than attempting to overpower and rule over her.
Philip S. Callahan was born on August 29, 1923, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He entered the U.S. Army Air Force, San Antonio, Texas, in 1942, and served two years in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. Hiking around the world after the war, he worked as a freelance photographer and writer.
On his return to the United States he matriculated at Fordham University New York, New York. He received his B.A. and M.S. degree from the University of Arkansas and his Ph.D. from Kansas State University. He joined the staff of the Entomology Department at Louisiana State University in March 1956 as Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1959. He joined the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in Southern Grain Insects Research Laboratory, Tifton, Georgia, in July 1962 as Project Leader for insect biophysics. He was also Professor of Entomology on the Graduate Faculty of the University of Georgia.
In 1966, he received the Superior Service Award of the U.S. Department of Agriculture from the Secretary of Agriculture. He also received the annual award for distinguished research from the University of Georgia, Chapter of Sigma Xi and also the Sears Roebuck Foundation Award for contributions to agriculture. In 1969, he transferred to the USDA Insect Attractant and Behavior Laboratory at Gainesville, Florida. He authored over 106 academic papers and 12 scientific books throughout his career. Dr. Callahan passed away in 2017.
Tuning in to Nature by Philip S. Callahan
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3225
|
__label__wiki
| 0.770409
| 0.770409
|
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull calls on Pope Francis to sack archbishop
Australian Archbishop Philip Wilson has been charged with covering up sex abuse by another priest during the 1970s. He maintains his innocence and has refused to resign from his role as archbishop in South Australia.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Thursday called for Pope Francis to fire archbishop Philip Wilson, who has been convicted of covering up child sex abuse.
"He should have resigned, and the time has come for the pope to sack him," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney ahead of a meeting with senior Catholic officials.
Read more: Pope Francis: The Catholic Church's Superman?
"There are many leaders that have called on him to resign … and I think the time has come now for the ultimate authority in the church to take action," Turnbull said.
Wilson, 67, is one of the most senior Catholic Church officials to be convicted and was found guilty of concealing abuse by pedophile priest Jim Fletcher during the 1970s. He was sentenced to 12 months' home detention.
Read more: Opinion: 5 years of Pope Francis — it's a start
Fletcher was found guilty in 2004 of nine counts of child sexual abuse and died in prison in 2006 after a stroke.
Wilson has stepped down from his duties as archbishop of Adelaide in the state of South Australia but has refused to resign pending an appeal of his conviction, prompting Turnbull – who has previously called on Wilson to quit – to turn to the Vatican for help.
Australian archbishop guilty of concealing child abuse
Wilson denies charges
The archbishop has continually denied the charges and his legal team has made four attempts to have the case thrown out, arguing the he suffered from Alzheimer's and so should avoid trial.
Australia opened a royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse in 2012 following years of pressure to investigate widespread allegations of institutional paedophilia.
Read more: 6 facts about Catholic and Protestant influence in Germany
The royal commission – which ran for five years – spoke to thousands of victims and heard claims of abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools.
5 years of Pope Francis
'Buona sera!'
On March 13, 2013, Jorge Mario Bergoglio greeted the crowd in St. Peter's Square in the heart of Rome with a simple "good evening!" moments after the Conclave had selected him as the new pope. He thus began his term with a down-to-earth tone that has marked his stewardship of the Catholic Church ever since.
Reform committee 'K9'
The new pontiff immediately tackled topics that the Catholic Church had been discussing before his election. He set up a nine-person cardinal conference to reform the church's organization and direction. The guiding principle: the Roman Catholic Church is not an end in itself. Instead, it should seek to spread the teachings of the Bible and bring the Vatican and its followers closer together.
Supporting the weak
The deaths of migrants crossing from Africa to Europe are "a thorn in the heart," said Pope Francis on his first bridge building trip to Lampedusa. At the time of his visit in the summer of 2013, thousands of migrants were on the Italian island hoping to receive legal permits to continue their journey onto the European mainland.
Symbol of humility
It aligned perfectly with his own message of the "poor church:" the picture of Pope Francis with the 30-year-old Renault 4 that he had received as a gift from a pastor in Verona. Francis reportedly wanted to drive the car, but was not allowed to due to security concerns. The symbol of modesty has endured.
Francis the celebrity
Francis' worldly style quickly made him an icon for progressive Catholics and other Christians. Even non-Christians applauded the pope and rubbed their eyes in amazement at the contrast between Francis and his conservative and academic predecessor, Pope Benedict. After 10 months in office, Francis became the first pope to make the cover of "Rolling Stone" magazine.
Controversial bridge builder
Francis takes his task as bridge builder very seriously. He has acted as a mediator between warring parties in civil conflicts in central Africa and Colombia and also helped bring an end to frozen relations between the US and Cuba. With an eye toward the Mexican-US border, he has also urged US President Donald Trump to build bridges rather than walls.
Believers and religions from all corners of the earth
Francis has also tried to build bridges between confessions and religions. He prayed at the wailing wall in Jerusalem and met the Grand Mufti Mohammad Hussein. In Egypt, he visited the head of the Coptic Church, Tawadros II, and Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb. In Myanmar, he spoke to Buddhist monks and in Havanna, he met with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kyrill I (pictured).
Francis spontaneously wed a couple on an airplane during a trip to Chile in January 2018. The two crew members were traveling with the pope on a flight from the capital Santiago to the northern city of Iquique. They had apparently told Francis of their plans to marry.
Criticism from within the church
Francis' reform course has been too radical for some clerics. This poster in Rome accused Francis of showing no mercy within the church. He reportedly also has little time for dissent within the Vatican. Some church members think his course is too secular, his humility too bold, its display too media-orientated. The essence of religiosity – spirituality – some fear, could get lost in it all.
Sexual abuse scandal in the Church
But the major challenge now faced by Francis is the problem of sexual abuse, including of minors, by church representatives. In January, the pontiff was heavily criticized for supporting Chilean Bishop Juan Barros (pictured right), accused of an abuse cover-up. On a recent trip to Ireland, the pope begged for forgiveness amid an abuse scandal there. But critics say much more is needed.
Author: Jan D. Walter, Alexander Pearson
law/kms (AFP, Reuters)
Australia: Cardinal George Pell to stand trial on sexual abuse charges
Cardinal George Pell will be tried for multiple sexual abuse charges, an Australian judge has ruled. He will be the highest-ranking Catholic official to stand trial on sexual offense charges. (01.05.2018)
Chile: Police raid Catholic church offices in sexual abuse probe
Police in Chile retrieved documents from church offices in the cities of Santiago and Rancagua. The investigation implicates 14 priests accused of sexually abusing minors. (14.06.2018)
Chilean priest arrested over child abuse allegations
Chilean police have arrested a prominent Catholic priest who is accused of raping seven children. Oscar Munoz Toledo is one of dozens of priests to be implicated in a sex abuse scandal engulfing the country's church. (13.07.2018)
Since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has tried to reform the Catholic Church by preaching and exemplifying humility. Some have applauded him for his efforts, while others have hurled criticism. (12.03.2018)
Related Subjects Australia, Catholicism
Keywords Catholic Church, Royal Commission, Australia, child abuse, sexual abuse, pedophile, priest
Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/31j8J
Mexican Catholic order admits 175 minors abused over decades: report 22.12.2019
Marcial Maciel, the founder of the Roman Catholic Legionaries of Christ order, was accused of child abuse in the mid-1990s but the Vatican only took action in 2006, possibly due to his links with the late John Paul II.
New York expects flood of child sex abuse lawsuits 14.08.2019
The Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts, schools and hospitals are expected to be hit by hundreds of lawsuits under a new law lifting the statute of limitations on child sexual abuse cases.
Poland's Catholic Church admits clergy sexually abused hundreds of children 14.03.2019
Poland's Catholic Church has released a report admitting hundreds of clergymen abused children between 1990 and 2018. Germany's top cardinal said the airing out of past wrongs needs to be a turning point for the church.
Trump impeachment: Democrats and Republicans clash over rules 1h ago
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3229
|
__label__wiki
| 0.767128
| 0.767128
|
The Boris Johnson great Brexit distraction!
Would you trust Diane Abbott as Home Secretary?!
Trump, Security, Corbyn and the NHS!
Tolerating the intolerable!
Labour Brexit 2019 General Election Warning!
Public Sector Workforce to Shrink by 1.1 Million by 2019
Posted by Economic Voice Staff | Feb 14, 2014 | News, Politics | 0
Public Sector Workforce Shrinking Fast: Further Reductions Could Be Up To 30-40% Outside Of Education And NHS
The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts that general government employment will fall by 1.1 million (19%) by 2018-19 compared with 2010-11. If delivered, these cuts would be the largest recorded over the past fifty years: almost three times larger than the reductions in the early 1990s. A buoyant private sector labour market, though, means that up to now private sector employment has risen by more in every region than public employment has fallen.
With schools and NHS budgets currently protected from cuts the long run shift in the composition of the public workforce will continue. Already 57% of public sector workers are employed in these two sectors, up from 42% in 1991. This proportion could reach over 70% by 2018 if education and health were protected from future workforce cuts.
These are amongst the main findings of a new research, published today by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, with support from the ESRC through the Centre for the Microeconomic Analysis of Public Policy at IFS. This study provides, for the first time, a consistent picture of how the size and composition of the public sector workforce has changed over the past fifty years.
Delivering the falls in general government employment forecast by the OBR would dramatically change the nature of the UK labour market. The general government workforce stood at 5.4 million in mid-2013, and made up less than 19% of total employment in the UK, already a lower proportion than at any point in at least the last forty years. Since 2010-11, general government employment has fallen by 240,000. If the total forecast falls in general government employment (of 1.1 million by 2018-19) are delivered, they would dwarf the fall of 350,000 seen in the 1990s and more than undo the increase of over 600,000 seen during the 2000s. It would also leave the share of the workforce working in general government at about 15% compared with around 20% during the late 1990s and 2000s.
Delivering these falls without reducing the numbers working in health and education would be very challenging. At the extreme, if there were no reductions to the education and NHS workforces between mid-2013 an 2018-19, the OBR's forecasts could only be borne out if the rest of the general government workforce were to shrink by 40% (from 2.2 to 1.3 million) between mid-2013 and 2018-19. Even if the education and the NHS workforces were reduced by 200,000 over the next five years (a fall of 6%), the reductions in other areas of general government employment would still need to be about 30%.
Since the mid 1990s there have been big increases in the number of private sector employees delivering services historically dominated by the public sector. For instance, much of the expansion in nursery care has been driven by the private or not-for-profit sector. In the mid 1990s, private sector nursery nurses and assistants accounted for around 40% of the nursery workforce, but increased to more than 70% by 2010. For personal care, a similar story can be told. The number of care sector workers in the public sector has been largely flat since the mid 1990s, whilst numbers in the private sector have more than doubled since the mid 1990s and accounted for around three quarters of care sector workers by 2010.
Other key findings include:
People – FreeFoto.com
Women now make up two-thirds of the public sector workforce, a proportion which has been growing over time. This is likely to continue to increase as within the public sector women are more likely than men to work in areas where the budget is being relatively protected from cuts (such as health and education).
The percentage of workforce in the public sector varies across regions and countries of the UK. It is largest in Wales and smallest in London. It also varies across smaller geographical areas, with the public sector workforce making up the largest share of the workforce in areas of rural Wales and Scotland, and the smallest in areas of rural England and the M4 corridor.
Private sector employment has risen in each region by more than public employment has fallen between 2010Q1 and 2013Q2. However, regions with the largest falls in public employment are not seeing the strongest growth in private sector employment.
Jonathan Cribb, Research Economist at IFS and an author of the report, said:
"The public sector workforce grew by over 600,000 over the 2000s. Even so the scale of the reductions expected over the next few years looks challenging. If delivered, the 1.1 million drop in general government employment forecast by the OBR between 2010-11 and 2018-19 would be almost three times larger than the previous drop during the early 1990s.
"The workforce is a useful prism through which to look at the effects of cutting total spending whilst protecting the NHS and schools budgets from cuts. With limited falls in the health and education workforces the number of public sector workers in other areas could fall by 30-40% over the next five years."
Comment Here!
PreviousWind Power and the Recent Storms
NextStopping smoking linked to improved mental health
Prudential Regulation Authority and Financial Conduct Authority announce new rules on remuneration
Falling sterling hits the pensions of millions of expats
Nine out of ten want clear information on care options from their council
Housing Market Sales Reach A Ten Year High
There Are:
Please click here to adjust your cookie settings for this website.
The Economic Voice Ltd – Registered in England and Wales, company number: 06794958
c/o J & S Chartered Accountants Ltd., 6 Northlands Road, Southampton, Hampshire, UK SO15 2LF
Tel: +44(0)1722 770 043 | Email: info@economicvoice.com
© Copyright 2009-2018 The Economic Voice – All rights reserved
Science, Technology and Environment
About Us and Contact Us
Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy
Creative Commons Licences
FreeFoto.com
This website uses cookies to give you the best experience on our website, including Google services and other advertisers.
Any time you wish to adjust your cookie settings please visit our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy page.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3230
|
__label__wiki
| 0.660594
| 0.660594
|
The future of mind control
People already worry about genetics. They should worry about brain science too
LeadersMay 23rd 2002 edition
IN AN attempt to treat depression, neuroscientists once carried out a simple experiment. Using electrodes, they stimulated the brains of women in ways that caused pleasurable feelings. The subjects came to no harm—indeed their symptoms appeared to evaporate, at least temporarily—but they quickly fell in love with their experimenters.
Such a procedure (and there have been worse in the history of neuroscience) poses far more of a threat to human dignity and autonomy than does cloning. Cloning is the subject of fierce debate, with proposals for wholesale bans. Yet when it comes to neuroscience, no government or treaty stops anything. For decades, admittedly, no neuroscientist has been known to repeat the love experiment. A scientist who used a similar technique to create remote-controlled rats seemed not even to have entertained the possibility. “Humans? Who said anything about humans?” he said, in genuine shock, when questioned. “We work on rats.”
Ignoring a possibility does not, however, make it go away. If asked to guess which group of scientists is most likely to be responsible, one day, for overturning the essential nature of humanity, most people might suggest geneticists. In fact neurotechnology poses a greater threat—and also a more immediate one. Moreover, it is a challenge that is largely ignored by regulators and the public, who seem unduly obsessed by gruesome fantasies of genetic dystopias.
A person's genetic make-up certainly has something important to do with his subsequent behaviour. But genes exert their effects through the brain. If you want to predict and control a person's behaviour, the brain is the place to start. Over the course of the next decade, scientists may be able to predict, by examining a scan of a person's brain, not only whether he will tend to mental sickness or health, but also whether he will tend to depression or violence. Neural implants may within a few years be able to increase intelligence or to speed up reflexes. Drug companies are hunting for molecules to assuage brain-related ills, from paralysis to shyness (see article).
A public debate over the ethical limits to such neuroscience is long overdue. It may be hard to shift public attention away from genetics, which has so clearly shown its sinister side in the past. The spectre of eugenics, which reached its culmination in Nazi Germany, haunts both politicians and public. The fear that the ability to monitor and select for desirable characteristics will lead to the subjugation of the undesirable—or the merely unfashionable—is well-founded.
Not so long ago neuroscientists, too, were guilty of victimising the mentally ill and the imprisoned in the name of science. Their sins are now largely forgotten, thanks in part to the intractable controversy over the moral status of embryos. Anti-abortion lobbyists, who find stem-cell research and cloning repugnant, keep the ethics of genetic technology high on the political agenda. But for all its importance, the quarrel over abortion and embryos distorts public discussion of bioethics; it is a wonder that people in the field can discuss anything else.
In fact, they hardly do. America's National Institutes of Health has a hefty budget for studying the ethical, legal and social implications of genetics, but it earmarks nothing for the specific study of the ethics of neuroscience. The National Institute of Mental Health, one of its component bodies, has seen fit to finance a workshop on the ethical implications of “cyber-medicine”, yet it has not done the same to examine the social impact of drugs for “hyperactivity”, which 7% of American six- to eleven-year-olds now take. The Wellcome Trust, Britain's main source of finance for the study of biomedical ethics, has a programme devoted to the ethics of brain research, but the number of projects is dwarfed by its parallel programme devoted to genetics.
Uncontrollable fears
The worriers have not spent these resources idly. Rather, they have produced the first widespread legislative and diplomatic efforts directed at containing scientific advance. The Council of Europe and the United Nations have declared human reproductive cloning a violation of human rights. The Senate is soon to vote on a bill that would send American scientists to prison for making cloned embryonic stem cells.
Yet neuroscientists have been left largely to their own devices, restrained only by standard codes of medical ethics and experimentation. This relative lack of regulation and oversight has produced a curious result. When it comes to the brain, society now regards the distinction between treatment and enhancement as essentially meaningless. Taking a drug such as Prozac when you are not clinically depressed used to be called cosmetic, or non-essential, and was therefore considered an improper use of medical technology. Now it is regarded as just about as cosmetic, and as non-essential, as birth control or orthodontics. American legislators are weighing the so-called parity issue—the argument that mental treatments deserve the same coverage in health-insurance plans as any other sort of drug. Where drugs to change personality traits were once seen as medicinal fripperies, or enhancements, they are now seen as entitlements.
This flexible attitude towards neurotechnology—use it if it might work, demand it if it does—is likely to extend to all sorts of other technologies that affect health and behaviour, both genetic and otherwise. Rather than resisting their advent, people are likely to begin clamouring for those that make themselves and their children healthier and happier.
This might be bad or it might be good. It is a question that public discussion ought to try to settle, perhaps with the help of a regulatory body such as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which oversees embryo research in Britain. History teaches that worrying overmuch about technological change rarely stops it. Those who seek to halt genetics in its tracks may soon learn that lesson anew, as rogue scientists perform experiments in defiance of well-intended bans. But, if society is concerned about the pace and ethics of scientific advance, it should at least form a clearer picture of what is worth worrying about, and why.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "The future of mind control"
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3231
|
__label__cc
| 0.611624
| 0.388376
|
International Festival Reveals New Programme Strand
The Edinburgh International Festival has announced the final strand of its 2019 programme: You Are Here.
You Are Here completes the line-up for the Edinbugrh International Festival which returns for its 73rd year on 2 – 26 August 2019 and features 93 events, with 293 performances across 17 venues and 2600 artists from 40 nations - bringing the best of theatre, music and dance from across the world to Scotland’s capital.
How are First Nation's peoples in Greenland responding to our rapidly changing world? What does the #metoo movement mean to a young working mother in Lagos? What role is music playing in the search for peace in the Middle East? These are just some of the questions posed by You Are Here. In a season of performances, conversations, readings and fresh thinking, passionate artists from around the globe invite you to explore where we are now and, more importantly, where are we headed.
You Are Here is split into 4 strands:
Main Stage Performances
An extensive programme of 14 main-stage performances from world-leading artists and companies offering extraordinary insight and comment on a local, global and human level. From the experiences of women in modern-day Nigeria to the very real consequences of globalisation for First Nations peoples, these performances will lay bare striking and personal stories that connect our everyday.
The Departure Lounge
A new series of informal performances, conversations, readings and fresh thinking, The Departure Lounge is where the public meet with writers, directors, musicians, choreographers and performers, sharing fresh perspectives and diverse insights shaped by who they are and where they’re from.
A bespoke series of professional development programmes supporting emerging arts professionals and creatives from Scotland and around the world, to learn and exchange ways of working together.
A series of artist-led community projects connecting Edinburgh residents of all ages directly with the You Are Here programme, through working together with the extraordinary artists driving the conversation and engaging at a local and personal level with the crucial questions posed at its heart.
The Edinburgh International Festival sits within the wider summer season in the Festival City, which will see events and performances at Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, Edinburgh International Book Festival, Edinburgh Art Festival, Edinburgh Fringe, Edinburgh International Festival and The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3234
|
__label__wiki
| 0.770629
| 0.770629
|
Despite Concerns, Online Elementary Schools Grow
By Michelle Galley
A handful of 1st and 2nd graders have been attending an online school in Alaska for three years. Meanwhile, new cyber elementary schools have opened in Ohio the past year. And Arkansas had so much interest in the "virtual academy" it is opening this month for 450 pupils in grades K-5 that it had to hold an enrollment lottery.
Online schools—a phenomenon typically seen in secondary and higher education—are now filtering down to the nation's youngest students.
But not everyone is thrilled by the trend.
"One of the fundamental things elementary schools do is bring children together," said Dennis L. Evans, the director of programs for educational leadership development at the University of California, Irvine. "[With online schools], that entire major part of their education would be ripped away, and nothing would take its place."
States, school districts, and private companies are moving quickly into uncharted territory by opening virtual academies offering a full range of elementary school classes.
The nuts and bolts of each virtual school vary, just as in brick-and-mortar schools. But one mission that public virtual schools usually have in common is providing another choice for parents: home schooling with a public school connection.
Because young students need close supervision, online elementary schools tend to cater to home schooling parents out of necessity. And many home schoolers are taking advantage of that connection.
Yet online schools are hearing a rising chorus of criticism even within the home schooling world, where the concern differs from that expressed by Mr. Evans.
"The future of independent home schooling is put at risk as government-controlled home schooling grows," argued Thomas W. Washburne, the director of the Center for Home Education, a division of the Purcellville, Va.- based Home School Legal Defense Association.
If a majority of home schooling parents decide to participate in publicly run programs, "it is tempting for the government to come in and say that we are just going to have all home schooling done through the public system," Mr. Washburne said. "There is a point at which this could be a real problem."
'Demand Is There'
Despite the worries in some quarters, virtual schooling for younger students continues to grow.
For instance, the Florida Virtual School, the nation's largest publicly financed online school, recently changed its name from the Florida Virtual High School because it now offers middle school courses. And the school's administrators plan to offer elementary classes in the future.
"The demand is there [for elementary classes]," said Sharon Johnston, the director of curriculum and instruction for the Florida Virtual School.
Currently, about 6,500 students are enrolled in one or more of the school's online classes. (Technology Counts 2002, May 9, 2002.)
According to the report "Virtual Schools: Trends and Issues," released a year ago by the San Francisco-based research organization WestEd, virtual schools are the "next wave" in technology-based K-12 education.
WestEd found that 27 percent of all online schools included coursework for elementary pupils—a percentage that experts say is likely to be higher now.
Indeed, since that report was released, online elementary schools have opened in Arkansas and Ohio, and more are planned in California and Idaho.
Districts see important benefits in running virtual elementary schools, said Paul Young, the president of the Alexandria, Va.-based National Association of Elementary School Principals.
To begin with, districts are eligible to receive state and federal grant money for online schools' start-up expenses. "That is the carrot out there everyone wants to go after," Mr. Young said.
The 6,000-student Lancaster, Ohio, school district—where Mr. Young serves as a principal—opened its own online school last October with the help of a regional education group.
The school enrolls about 25 students, according to Steve Clippinger, the director of educational, informational, and technology services for the district. Seven of those students are in elementary school.
"This is an alternative for us to attract students in home schooling back into the public system," Mr. Young said.
SeeUOnline, an online K-12 school run by the 13,000-student Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, which covers about 25,000 square miles in southern Alaska, is the perfect combination of home schooling and public school, said Sandra Summitt, whose 5th grade son, Kaleb, is enrolled in the program.
At his traditional school, Kaleb figured out that his teachers could not make him do his work, according to Ms. Summitt.
"Now, I can sit on top of him the entire time and make him do his work," she said. "But the teacher does the grading and comes up with the curriculum and the field trips."
One of the biggest benefits Ms. Summitt said she sees with SeeUOnline is flexibility. Kaleb took a week off from school in the middle of December, for instance, to go trapping in the woods with his father.
That time outside allows Kaleb, who has been diagnosed as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, to burn off some energy so that he is more relaxed and focused when it is time to do his schoolwork, his mother said. "It's like his frustration level has gone straight down," she said.
SeeUOnline, which has been operating since 1998, currently enrolls seven elementary school pupils.
Dave Holmquist, the online school's principal, said he hopes that number increases in the future.
But because SeeUOnline is not for everyone, Mr. Holmquist said, he conducts interviews of potential students in which he looks for youngsters who are self-motivated, supported in their home study environment, and have an interest in and access to technology.
"We don't want this to be a warehouse of kids" who don't do well in traditional school environments, he said.
In Kaleb's case, the setup has worked, said Ms. Summitt.
When Kaleb started 4th grade at SeeUOnline, he was reading at a 1st grade level. Now, he's reading at his grade level, his mother said.
Using the online format, Ms. Summitt and Kaleb's teacher, Carol Drake, integrated Kaleb's love of the outdoors into his curriculum and assigned books they knew he would enjoy. "Because he was interested, he took off," Ms. Summitt said.
Creating individualized curriculum is one of the biggest benefits to teaching elementary school online, Ms. Drake said.
"One of the neatest things I can do is to focus on [students'] interests and get them involved so that they want to do the work," she said.
To find appropriate materials for her pupils, Ms. Drake scours the Internet. She also designs worksheets parents can download and puts together different projects that are done off-line.
For example, some of the older elementary school pupils made dioramas of a story they had read. And younger students have drawn pictures depicting the beginning, middle, and end of a book.
In addition, the teacher meets with each student for one hour each week at a school building.
"If I didn't meet with them, then I wouldn't get to know them and learn all of their skills," Ms. Drake said.
That weekly face-to-face contact is unusual in most online schools.
In fact, one of the largest suppliers of online curricula for elementary students, McLean, Va.-based K12, depends almost solely on parents to provide personal interaction.
Former U.S. Secretary of Education William J. Bennett started K12 three years ago with the backing of Knowledge Universe Learning Group, a Los Angeles-based conglomerate of education-technology companies.
K12, a for-profit company offers online coursework and assessments for kindergarten through grade 12 to 7,000 home schoolers. Its state partners include Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In addition, K12 partners with half a dozen districts in southern and central California, a cyber school and a charter school in Alaska, and a cyber school in Florida.
Each student enrolled in an online school managed by K12 receives a computer, a printer, and four to six boxes—or 90 pounds—of materials, including workbooks, textbooks, and "manipulatives" to study language arts, mathematics, science, history, art, and music, according to Bror Saxberg, the senior vice president for learning and content for K12.
All of those materials are necessary, he said, because K12 students spend only about 20 percent of their time actually logged on to the computer when they are in kindergarten and 1st grade.
In fact, according to Mr. Saxberg, the technology is more for the parents than for the children.
"We are not about having a child sit down in front of a computer, and 10 years later getting up and going to Harvard," he said. "The little kids need to be rolling around covered in dirt."
Critical Concerns
Still, some child- development experts flinch when they hear that elementary-age students are attending online schools. Such setups simply are not appropriate for children at that stage of development, they say.
"We are not at the point yet where the software [used by online elementary schools] is good enough that you can trust it to teach your child as well as you could," said Jane M. Healy, an educational psychologist. She wrote a 1998 book, Failure to Connect, that explored the problems that overuse of technology pose to children, including such physical ailments as eye strain, back strain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and headaches.
Other experts point to a lack of socialization as a serious problem associated with online schools.
Mr. Evans of the educational leadership program at the University of California, Irvine, said that "if everybody did this, we wouldn't have a very interesting society. If we were all isolated and didn't have a chance to engage with people with a different point of view, what would we be creating?"
Advocates of online education counter that the Internet actually has the power to bring together people from very diverse points of view.
Ms. Healy, though, echoed Mr. Evans' concerns in stark language.
"If you let your child be educated by a machine," she said, "don't be surprised if what comes out isn't totally human."
Coverage of technology is supported in part by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
Vol. 22, Issue 16, Pages 1, 12
Published in Print: January 8, 2003, as Despite Concerns, Online Elementary Schools Grow
"Technological Progress: An Oxymoron?," Commentary, Nov. 6, 2002.
"Bill Would Ease Copyright Limits for E-Learning," Oct. 30, 2002.
"E-Learning Goes to School," May 9, 2002, from our report Technology Counts 2002: E-Defining Education.
"Ohio Audit Reveals Difficulties of Tracking Online Students," Dec. 5, 2001.
"Cyber Schools Carving Out Charter Niche," Oct. 24, 2001.
"The Online Professional Seminar?," Commentary, Sept. 19, 2001.
"Teacher-Training Programs Turn to Cyberspace," Feb. 14, 2001.
"Virtual Schools: Trends and Issues A Study of Virtual Schools in the United States," 2001, from the San Francisco-based research organization WestEd, asserts that virtual schools are the "next wave" in technology-based K-12 education.
Read a briefing of an expert forum held on the Florida Virtual School by the American Youth Policy Forum, Oct. 18, 2002.
Visit seeUonline, an online K-12 program used by Alaska's Matanuska-Susitna Borough school district.
Read chapter one of Jane M. Healy's 1998 book, Failure to Connect, which explores the effects of overuse of technology on children. Posted by Simon & Schuster.
K12, the online educational service started by William J. Bennett, offers sample lessons and describes its educational approach.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3235
|
__label__cc
| 0.529198
| 0.470802
|
The EESC issues between 160 and 190 opinions and information reports a year.
It also organises several annual initiatives and events with a focus on civil society and citizens’ participation such as the Civil Society Prize, the Civil Society Days, the Your Europe, Your Say youth plenary and the ECI Day.
Find the latest EESC opinions and publications at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/opinions-information-reports/opinions and http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/our-work/publications-other-work/publications respectively.
The EESC is active in a wide range of areas, from social affairs to economy, energy and sustainability.
Learn more about our policy areas and policy highlights at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/policies
The EESC holds nine plenary sessions per year. It also organises many conferences, public hearings and high-level debates related to its work.
Find out more about our upcoming events at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/agenda/our-events/upcoming-events
Here you can find news and information about the EESC's work, including its social media accounts, the EESC Info newsletter, photo galleries and videos.
Read the latest EESC news http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/news and press releases http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/news-media/press-releases
The EESC brings together representatives from all areas of organised civil society, who give their independent advice on EU policies and legislation. The EESC's 350 Members are organised into three groups: Employers, Workers and Various Interests.
Find out more about our Members and groups at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/members-groups
The EESC has six sections, specialising in concrete topics of relevance to the citizens of the European Union, ranging from social to economic affairs, energy, environment, external relations or the internal market.
Find out more at http://www.eesc.europa.eu/en/sections-other-bodies
Binding UN treaty on business and human rights
EESC Building- Meeting room JDE 51
A system of corporate liability for human rights abuses is currently being negotiated in the UN, within the UNHRC’s open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business enterprises concerning human rights (OEIGWG), established by the UN General Assembly on 26 June 2014. The mandate of the working group is to elaborate an international legally binding instrument to regulate, in international human rights law, the activities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises. While the EU and its Member States play a role at the OEIGWG, the Commission has no mandate from the Council to conduct negotiations on behalf of the EU concerning its participation in the OEIGWG.
After three sessions dedicated to conducting constructive deliberations on the content, scope, nature, and form of the future international instrument', following the UNHRC mandate, on 16 July 2018, the Permanent Mission of Ecuador, on behalf of the Chairmanship of the OEIGWG, published a Zero Draft legally binding instrument and a draft optional protocol to be annexed to it. The fourth session of the OEIGWG, held from 15 to 19 October 2018, debated this draft and marked the start of formal negotiations. There was a significant civil society presence at the session.
In this context, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is drafting an own-initiative opinion on A binding UN Treaty for Business and Human Rights . With a view to gathering knowledge during the preparatory works for the above-mentioned opinion from a wide range of experts and other civil society stakeholders a hearing is organised at the EESC premises.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3237
|
__label__wiki
| 0.901255
| 0.901255
|
National Bonds announces 1.5% profit rate
Parag Deulgaonkar
National Bonds Corporation, a Shariah-compliant savings scheme, on Saturday announced a profit rate of up to 1.5 per cent for 2012, lower than what it had announced for 2011.
For 2011, the company had announced a profit rate of up to 2 per cent. In 2010, the profit rate was 3.78 per cent while in 2009 it was 3.54 per cent.
The company said the annualised returns were, however, 2.62 per cent, which comprise a profit rate of up to 1.5 per cent and earnings through 501,032 prizes and incentives equaling 1.12 per cent distributed through 2012 from its own funds.
The number of bondholder rose to 690,000 in 2012, registering an increase of 5.78 per cent compared to 2011. The company said that it has nearly 10 per cent of the UAE residents from over 200 nationalities investing in its bonds.
Mohammed Qasim Al Ali, Chief Executive Officer, NBC, said: “The rise in the number of bondholders is a clear indicator that both individuals and families are paying more attention to their future financial wellbeing. We anticipate a quantum leap in the attitude to savings among the communities we target. We are confident that the cumulative annual returns, which averaged 5.6 per cent during the period 2006-2012, will emphasize the advantages of adopting long-term saving plans whilst cascading the culture across a larger section of our society.”
Female bondholders saw a healthy increase of nine per cent during 2012 with a 10 per cent increase in the average holding period of its customer accounts.
Bondholders disappointed
A number of bondholders were using social media network seeking the date for profit announcement. The company had assured them that it would be announced in the first quarter.
Bondholders, however, are not happy with the low profit rate.
S. Shah, a bondholder since 2008, said: “I do understand that they (National Bonds) announced a lower profit rate in 2011 since the world economy was in doldrums. But, in 2012, the market was good. I was expecting them to announce profit better than 2011. I am not at all happy.”
Micheal J, another bondholder, added: “I was won a few times prizes of Dh50, but that doesn’t help. I was hoping that the profit rate would be better, but I am disappointment. Since there is no other investment avenues for small investors such as mutual funds, I do save in this scheme due to the liquidity it offers.”
119 millionaires to date
According to National Bonds, it has made 119 millionaires through its rewards programme and has awarded 1.8 million prizes to date for bondholders worth over Dh350 million.
Al Ali added: “I cannot emphasize enough how essential it is for individuals and families to recognize that the amount of money earned does not make a meaningful difference unless part of it is saved for the proverbial rainy day. The importance of planning financially for the future has been proven throughout history in the form of crises such as international disputes and economic downturns. I call upon all segments of society to act immediately to start saving before it’s too late.”
National Bonds is licensed and regulated by the UAE Central Bank. Minors can own bonds, provided they are purchased by their parent/guardian. Each bond costs Dh10 and the minimum purchase is Dh100.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3241
|
__label__wiki
| 0.673393
| 0.673393
|
Greg Daniels
More about Greg Daniels at:
21 Nominations 4 Emmys
Outstanding Comedy Series - 2015
Greg Daniels, Executive Producer
Deedle-Dee Productions, Fremulon, 3 Arts Entertainment and Universal Television
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series - 2013
"Finale"
Produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Reveille LLC in association with Universal Media Studios
Produced by Deedle-Dee Productions, Fremulon, 3 Arts and Universal Media Studios
Greg Daniels, Written By
"Goodbye Michael"
Greg Daniels, Writer
"Niagara"
"Death Picks Cotton"
20th Century Fox Television in association with 3 Arts Entertainment, Deedle-Dee Productions & Judgemental Films
"Gay Witch Hunt"
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING ONE HOUR OR LESS) - 1999
OUTSTANDING ANIMATED PROGRAM (FOR PROGRAMMING one hour or less.) - 1997
Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC AND LYRICS - 1994
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3242
|
__label__wiki
| 0.673645
| 0.673645
|
ATC Tucson: Chapter Two and The River Bride
Saturday, September 9, 2017 @ 7:00 pm - Saturday, November 11, 2017 @ 10:00 pm MST
« Tucson Girls Chorus Fall Events
ATC: Chapter Two »
Chapter Two, written by Neil Simon and directed by Marsha Mason, will be on stage at the Temple of Music & Art, 333 S. Scott Ave. in Tucson, from Sept. 9-30, 2017.
The River Bride, written by Marisela Treviño Orta and winner of ATC’s 2013 National Latino Playwriting Award, will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 11 at the Temple of Music & Art.
Single ticket prices range from $25 to $73 in Tucson and $25-$80 in Phoenix and can be purchased at the box offices at the Temple of Music & Art and the Herberger Theatre Center or online at www.arizonatheatre.org. Single tickets for the first two shows in Arizona Theatre Company’s (ATC) 2017-18 season, its 51st, – Chapter Two and The River Bride – go on sale August 1.
Chapter Two marks Mason’s return to ATC after directing last year’s blockbuster hit, An Act of God. The play is Simon’s semi-autobiographical comedy written as a tribute to Mason, his second wife, who was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe for playing the lead role in the film. The story is about a recently widowed writer, George Schneider, who is introduced by his press-agent brother to soap opera actress Jennie Malone.
Both are trying to come to terms with starting from scratch, and, through their friends who are determined to see the two happy again, the pair meet and begin a whirlwind romance.
The River Bride takes place once-upon-a-time in a fishing village along the Amazon where two sisters struggle to find their happily-ever-after. The Times Standard called The River Bride a “mesmerizing, magical tale of heartbreaking romance. A shining example of what live theatre is all about.”
Helena is dreading her sister Belmira’s wedding. The groom, Duarte, should have been hers! And she knows that her sister only wants to escape their sleepy Brazilian town for an exciting new life in the city. But, three days before the wedding, fishermen pull a mysterious stranger out of the river – a man with no past who offers both sisters an alluring, possibly dangerous future. Brazilian folklore and lyric storytelling blend into a heart-rending tale of true love, regret, transformation and the struggle to stay true to your family while staying true to yourself.
The River Bride, directed by Kinan Valdez, will be followed by a new production of Man of La Mancha (directed by David Bennett, choreography by Kathryn Van Meter) in Tucson, Dec. 2-31 and Phoenix, Jan. 5-27, 2018; Outside Mullingar (directed by ATC Artistic Director David Ivers), from the author of Doubt and Moonstruck, in Tucson, Jan. 20-Feb. 10 and Phoenix from Feb. 15 to March 4; Low Down Dirty Blues (directed by Randal Myler), in Tucson March 10-31 and in Phoenix, April 5-22; and The Diary of Anne Frank, directed by ATC Artistic Director Emeritus David Ira Goldstein, in Tucson April 21 to May 12 and in Phoenix, May 17 to June 3.
Season ticket packages are now available. Build-your-own subscriptions for 3, 4 or 5 play packages and Flex Passes also are on sale. Season-packages in Tucson range from $135 to $345 and in Phoenix from $135 to $435.
For more information, visit www.arizonatheatre.org or call the box office in Tucson at (520) 622-2823 or in Phoenix at (602) 256-6995.
Arizona Theatre Company (ATC) is the preeminent fully professional theatre in the state of Arizona, committed to inspiring, engaging, and entertaining – one moment, one production, and one audience at a time. Boasting the largest seasonal subscriber base in the performing arts in Arizona, ATC is the only resident company in the U.S. that is fully based in two cities providing its wide array of programming and community outreach across the region. Now in its 51st season, more than 130,000 people each year attend our performances at the historic Temple of Music and Art in Tucson, and the elegant Herberger Theater Center in downtown Phoenix. Each season of home-grown productions reflects the rich variety of world drama—from classics to contemporary plays, from musicals to new works—along with a wide array of community outreach programs, educational opportunities, access initiatives and new play programs. Designated The State Theatre of Arizona, ATC is led by Artistic Director David Ivers, Managing Director Billy Russo and a dedicated Board of Trustees.
Saturday, September 9, 2017 @ 7:00 pm
Saturday, November 11, 2017 @ 10:00 pm
Arizona Events, Marana, Oracle, Oro Valley, Tucson, Tucson Entertainment, Tucson Theatre
Arizona Theatre Company (ATC)
www.arizonatheatre.org
Temple of Music and Art
333 S. Scott Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85701 United States + Google Map
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3243
|
__label__wiki
| 0.611846
| 0.611846
|
US Healthcare Fails Everyone - Including the Doctors
Enzyme Health Team October 29, 2017
Doctors are miserable. And we all suffer the consequences. Speak candidly with any doctor about the profession and a clear theme emerges.
“American doctors are suffering from a collective malaise,” says Dr. Sandeep Jauhar, author of Doctored, The Disillusionment of an American Physician. “We’ve reached a tipping point,” says Dr. Darrell G. Kirch, president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges. “They’re feeling powerless and throwing in the towel,” says Dr. Tait Shanafelt. “more and more you’re witnessing physicians who feel they could have done better if they had done something different,” says Howard Forman, a professor at the Yale School of Management. “The frustrations that patients have about not getting enough time with their doctor is mirrored by the frustration their doctors have with not having enough time to spend with their patients,” says Christina Lamontagne, vice president of health at NerdWallet.
Oh, and According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, the median level of medical school debt for the class of 2015 was $183,000. For physicians who pay over the long term with interest, total cost of that debt can be over $400,000. One-third of emergency medicine and family physicians are still paying off school loans.
Doctors are broke, burned out, and losing autonomy over their careers. Yikes, a dangerous recipe for what remains one of the most valuable and noble professions possible.
Physician FOMO
Physicians’ have career envy compared to peers and family in more flexible professions. “The transformation of the field from independence and professionalism to being commoditized and feeling like you’re just another worker is disheartening,” says Howard Forman, a professor at the Yale School of Management who researches health policy and healthcare leadership. Forman believes that some doctors feel remorse about their job choice because they see their peers in finance and technology or other lines of business, making far more than they do.
A 2016 Mayo study appears to confirm this reality. Doctors’ dissatisfaction is not only “pervasive,” it “appears to be getting worse” – up an estimated 10% since a similar survey just three years ago, Dr. Tait Shanafelt and his co-authors report. The distress has pushed many doctors to the breaking point: Some are even leaving the profession. “They’re feeling powerless and throwing in the towel,” Shanafelt says. Physician’s career satisfaction with work-life balance is far lower than that of other professionals: only 36% versus 61% .
Doctors suffer from burnout in especially high numbers, according to the study, which was designed to offer a representative snapshot of doctors and the general U.S. working population. Nearly half of U.S. physicians – 49 percent – meet the definition for overall burnout , compared with 28 percent of other U.S. workers.
Physician temporary work shortages and burnout inflict massive costs on all of us. we don’t have enough physicians to meet demand if we rely only on traditional brick & mortar healthcare. T he U.S. faces a 90,000 doctor shortage by 2025.
The Tech Driven Healthcare Gig-Economy Bring Back Physician Freedom
Physicians are disheartened by the restrictive traditional job market. Yet, most physicians are completely unaware that thousands of telemedicine and digital health clinical jobs exist.
For doctor’s, it’s time to ignore the broken system and find the lifestyle, flexibility and financial freedom.
Provider Spotlight: A Seasoned Physician at the Intersection of Emergency Medicine, Sports Medicine, and Telemedicine
We sat down with well-respected emergency and sports medicine physician (and newly minted telemedicine provider)...
telehealth fundamentals
6 Barriers to Healthcare Access and How Telehealth Can Help
Telehealth technology is helping provide better access to healthcare and easing the healthcare disparity gap among...
More Enzyme
Enzyme Health
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3244
|
__label__wiki
| 0.76683
| 0.76683
|
EP UK Investments
EP UK Investments (EPUKI) is a UK energy company, primarily focusing on power generation from conventional and renewable sources.
EPUKI represents the UK interests of Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH), a leading Central European energy group that owns and operates assets in the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, Germany, Italy, the UK and Hungary. EPH is a vertically integrated energy utility covering the complete value chain ranging from highly efficient cogeneration, power generation, and natural gas transmission, gas storage, gas and electricity distribution and supply. EPH is the 6th largest producer of power in Europe, employing over 25,000 team members.
EPH entered the UK market through the creation of EPUKI which purchased Eggborough Power Limited (EPL) in 2015. From this platform, EPUKI has continued to grow.
EPUKI acquired 2.2 GW of Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power stations at Langage and South Humber Bank.
EPUKI acquired RVA Group, a specialist decommissioning, decontamination, dismantling and demolition consultancy based in the UK.
Successful conversion and commissioning of the 420MW Lynemouth biomass power station.
EPUKI gained development consent to construct a 2.5GW CCGT Power Station at the site of the former Eggborough Coal Power Station.
EPUKI gained planning consent for a 1.8GW CCGT power station in King’s Lynn, Norfolk. Together with the Eggborough site, EPUKI has consent to build 4.3GW of new CCGT power stations in the UK which is enough to supply over 4m households.
EPUKI was granted planning consent for an Energy Recovery Centre located on land adjacent to the South Humber Bank CCGT.
EPUKI acquired the 708 MW Ballylumford gas-fired power plant and the 701 MW Kilroot coal and oil-fired power plant, as well as the 10 MW Kilroot Energy Storage facility. This represents the first EPUKI acquisition within the energy market of Northern Ireland.
EPUKI acquired 80% of the shares of Tynagh Energy Limited, an independent power producer that owns a 400MW CCGT power plant in the Republic of Ireland. This represents the first EPUKI acquisition within the energy market of the Republic of Ireland.
With a significant operating platform, EPUKI's strategic focus is to establish a tier 1 position in the UK power generation market. The UK team has the objective of achieving substantial further growth, through acquisitions and investment in construction of new build generation assets.
epholding.cz
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3245
|
__label__wiki
| 0.841871
| 0.841871
|
Can't Stop Eating M&Ms?
New study of rats' brains could hold a key to understanding overeating and obesity.
Steven Reinberg
THURSDAY, Sept. 20, 2012 (HealthDay News) — Scientists served M&Ms to rats in an experiment that showed the brain can't resist sweet and fatty foods.
The University of Michigan researchers said the urge to overeat tasty treats comes from an unexpected area of the brain called the neostriatum, which produces an opium-like chemical that enhances such desire and may be partly responsible for overeating among people.
"Previously, people thought this area of the brain was only involved in motor function and learning, but we found it's involved in motivation and generating instant consumption," said lead researcher Alexandra DiFeliceantonio, a graduate student in biopsychology at the university.
This finding might have implications for people, she added, noting that it may be possible in the future to target the area with a drug that could block the impulse to overeat and thus may help people lose weight.
Experts note, however, that results in animal studies often don't translate to humans.
The new report was published Sept. 20 in the journal Current Biology.
For the study, DiFeliceantonio and her colleagues gave lab rats a drug to artificially boost the action of the neostriatum. The animals were then given M&Ms, and proceeded to eat twice as many as they normally would, she said.
"That's the same as a 150-pound human eating seven pounds of M&Ms in an hour," DiFeliceantonio said.
In addition, the researchers noted that the amount of a chemical called enkephalin, produced in the neostriatum, increased when the animals ate the chocolate treats.
12 Possible Intermittent Fasting Benefits
It is the increased production of this chemical that increases the desire to overeat sweet and fatty foods, DiFeliceantonio said. When presented with a choice of usual food or M&Ms, the rats with high levels of the chemical consistently ignored their regular food and gorged on chocolates.
Preferring sweet and fatty foods is probably one of the things that helped humans to thrive, said Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn.
"We tend to like flavors, such as sweet, that in nature are associated with life-sustaining foods, and tend to dislike flavors, such as bitter, more often associated with toxins," he said.
The impulses that once helped keep our ancestors from starving, however, now may contribute to eating disorders and epidemic obesity, Katz added.
"But the fault here is not with the world within us, which is the same as it ever was," he said. It is with what and how much people eat, which has made the brain's natural functioning "backfire rather badly."
Another expert thinks the research could have implications for addiction and obesity.
Paul Sanberg, director of the Center of Excellence for Aging and Brain Repair at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, said the findings "suggest areas of the human brain that might be looked at for eating disorders or addiction."
What are your food addictions? Tell us in the comments section!
Oprah’s Top Wellness Tips for 2020 and Beyond
More Americans Exceed 200 Pounds, But Fewer See a Need to Lose Weight
The Latest in Weight
What to Eat and Avoid on a Plant-Based Diet, and a 14-Day Sample Menu
A plant-based diet is one that eliminates or limits animal products including eggs, cheese, meat, and dairy. Indeed, a vegan, vegetarian, Mediterranean...
Lectin-Free Diet: Benefits, Risks, Food Choices, and More
Dr. Steven Gundry, author of 'The Plant Paradox,' popularized the lectin-free diet, which calls for eliminating beans, legumes, lentils, seeds, nuts, ...
By Jessica Migala January 07, 2020
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3247
|
__label__wiki
| 0.893275
| 0.893275
|
Dish, FirstNet, tower companies and FCC are the early winners in wildly successful AWS-3 auction
The FCC's AWS-3 auction, which is still going on, is now more successful than anyone ever dreamed.
Before the start of the auction, TMF Associate analyst Tim Farrar predicted the event could raise a total of up to $14 billion. BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk predicted up to $16 billion. And New Street Research analyst Spencer Kurn forecast up to $22 billion.
But as of this morning, the auction has raised a total of more than $24 billion in provisionally winning bids after just six days of bidding. And while there are some indications that activity in the AWS-3 auction is now slowing, some believe the AWS-3 auction could last up to five more weeks. "This auction, while now difficult to predict, is still far from over," Piecyk said in a note to investors last night.
Already, the AWS-3 auction is the FCC's most successful auction ever. It has surpassed the $13.7 billion raised during the AWS-1 auction in 2006, and the $18.9 billion raised during the 700 MHz auction in 2008.
The total amount of money generated by the FCC's AWS-3 auction could surpass $30 billion. Or maybe $35 billion. No one knows for sure.
But why is this year's auction so much more successful than previous ones? After all, the paired spectrum licenses up for grabs in AWS-3 sit between 1755-1780 MHz and 2155-2180 MHz and therefore do not have the superior propagation and in-building penetration characteristics of, say, 700 MHz spectrum.
The reason the AWS-3 auction has been so successful can be summed in one word: Smartphones. The FCC's last big auction was held in 2008--the year after the iPhone was first released. And if you remember, Apple only sold a few million iPhones in 2008. It wasn't until several years later that smartphones truly exploded into the U.S. market. Today, almost three out of every four Americans now owns a smartphone.
And what are people doing with their smartphones? To a large extent, they're downloading data via LTE networks. According to new numbers from Mobidia, U.S. subscribers consumed an average of 1.8 GB of cellular data every month during the third quarter.
And that's why the AWS-3 auction has been so wildly successful: Wireless carriers like AT&T Mobility (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) want to continue providing high-speed services to smartphones and other devices, and it appears they are willing to pay almost anything for the spectrum they need to continue to do that.
But beyond the big, round numbers, what other conclusions can we draw from the AWS-3 results so far?
FirstNet: Based on rules from Congress, the first thing the FCC has to do with its AWS-3 auction proceeds is fund the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet). FirstNet has been tasked with building a nationwide, interoperable LTE broadband network for first responders. That means police, firefighters and other emergency workers will get their own nationwide LTE network that they can use to more easily communicate with each other. Funding FirstNet is a big step forward for public-safety officials who have been asking for interoperable high-speed communications since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, revealed major communications problems among New York's first responders.
FCC: Tom Wheeler, the FCC's chairman, has been under fire for months due to the ongoing debate over net neutrality. With what appears to be a massively successful AWS-3 auction, Wheeler now has a feather in his cap after a little more than a year in his position.
TV broadcasters: The FCC has been working to convince TV broadcasters to participate in the upcoming 600 MHz incentive auction, currently scheduled for 2016. Based on the massive bids being made in the AWS-3 auction, the FCC can likely tell broadcasters that they stand to make a substantial profit by giving up their spectrum in the incentive auction. After all, low-band spectrum like 600 MHz is even more valuable than mid-band AWS-3 spectrum.
Dish: If there's one clear winner in the AWS-3 auction so far, it's Dish Network and its chairman Charlie Ergen. Indeed, at the close of trading yesterday, Dish's stock was up 10 percent. That's because Dish owns more than 50 MHz of spectrum, including 40 MHz in the AWS-4 band that is adjacent to the AWS-3 band. If carriers like AT&T and Verizon are so intent on purchasing AWS-3 spectrum in the auction, that means Dish's spectrum is more valuable than some initially believed. Even if Dish doesn't win much spectrum during the AWS-3 auction, the company will still emerge a winner based on its current spectrum holdings.
However, Ergen likely isn't making any friends if he's bidding up the price of AWS-3 spectrum in order to make AT&T, Verizon and others pay more.
T-Mobile: Although T-Mobile US (NYSE:TMUS) announced in September it would raise new debt in order to fund spectrum purchases, the carrier remains far more strapped for cash than its larger rivals AT&T and Verizon. And while T-Mobile is likely purchasing smaller chunks of spectrum to augment its network in specific locations, the big chunks of spectrum in major metro markets like New York City and Los Angeles may now be beyond T-Mobile's reach.
"If T-Mo is shut out of the current auction, either by its own choice or by aggressive VZ and T bidding, we believe that it will have to ratchet back on subscriber growth in 2015 and beyond," wrote Kevin Smithen at Macquarie Capital in a note to investors yesterday.
If T-Mobile and Dish are largely outbid by AT&T and Verizon in the AWS-3 auction, the chances that Dish and T-Mobile will merge--or at least team up on spectrum--are that much better.
Tower companies: "The high values that carriers are willing to spend on spectrum is indicative of their need for capacity, which is positive for the towers," wrote New Street Research analysts in an investor note yesterday. "We expect AWS-3 deployments to drive significant amendment activity from 2016-2018. … We continue to recommend the towers because the market is underestimating organic growth over the next five years and we prefer to play the towers through SBAC and AMT."
AT&T and Verizon: Although the identity of AWS-3 auction bidders will remain secret until the auction is finished, there's no doubt about which companies are putting up the most money. AT&T and Verizon, far and away the nation's largest wireless operators, are likely the ones that will win the bulk of the spectrum licenses up for grabs in the AWS-3 auction. But the astronomical prices they appear willing to pay for AWS-3 licenses probably will spark concern among investors; both companies' stocks fell slightly in trading yesterday.
But if AT&T and Verizon want to continue to connect smartphones and other devices to their respective wireless networks, the AWS-3 auction is really their only chance in the near future to bulk up their spectrum portfolios. After all, the FCC delayed until 2016 its next major spectrum auction, the 600 MHz incentive auction. And before they can recoup their investments in their AWS-3 licenses, AT&T and Verizon will first have to build out AWS-3 networks and seed the market with AWS-3 capable phones--a process that will likely take years.
Sprint: Sprint (NYSE: S) decided to sit out the AWS-3 auction, likely because the company already has vast troves of 2.5 GHz spectrum that it is building out. And based on the rising prices for AWS-3 licenses, some see Sprint's decision as a wise move. "We believe that the robust auction prices also validates our view that Sprint's superior spectrum position relative to the other Big 4 carriers is not currently reflected in its share price," Smithen at Macquarie Capital wrote, adding the firm now values Sprint's total spectrum portfolio between $31.5 billion to $49.9 billion. --Mike | @mikeddano
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3249
|
__label__wiki
| 0.677713
| 0.677713
|
Councilmember Austin Aslan
Councilmember Aslan was elected to a four-year term on the Flagstaff City Council in November 2018. Austin was born and raised in Arizona. He grew up the son of a firefighter in Prescott, and himself became a certified EMT, working as an ALS first responder for Life Line Ambulance. Austin received a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Biology at UofA, and earned a Master’s Degree in Conservation Biology at the University of Hawaii, Hilo. His research on rare Hawaiian plants located on the high slopes of Mauna Loa volcano won him a pair of destroyed hiking boots, a tattered rain jacket, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.
Austin has coupled his passion for writing with a career as a successful novelist. His debut Random House novel, The Islands at the End of the World, was named a Best Book of 2014 by Kirkus Reviews. It was ranked by The Guardian as a top-ten climate fiction read, and is listed by BookRiot as a top 100 must-read book in the category of young adult science fiction. He’s currently penning several action and environmentally-themed middle-grade series with Harper Collins.
In 2015, with the incredible support of his wife and two children, Austin solo thru-hiked the entire 800 miles of the Arizona National Scenic Trail, from Utah to Mexico. As a result, the bond he’s always felt with northern Arizona strengthened immeasurably.
“I hold a fundamental belief that Flagstaff is capable--and poised--to challenge the status quo and to take the steps necessary to turn our small city into a shining example of sustainability and social and environmental justice. And during a period when our national atmosphere is somewhat poisoned politically, our Council can provide a model of how to debate our viewpoints with mutual respect.”
Send an email to Councilmember Aslan
Vice Mayor Adam Shimoni
Councilmember Charlie Odegaard
Councilmember Jamie Whelan
Councilmember Regina Salas
Councilmember Jim McCarthy
Speak To Your City Council
Streaming City Council Meetings
Council Photo Archive
Travel and Miscellaneous Expenses
Council Budget Goals
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3252
|
__label__wiki
| 0.624201
| 0.624201
|
Court Dismisses Plaintiff’s Complaint As Sanction for Doctored Emails
On August 1, 2018, Judge Beetlestone (E.D. Pa.) granted Defendants’ motion for sanctions based upon unequivocal evidence that Plaintiffs manipulated and fabricated emails material to the litigation. Although the Court imposed the drastic sanction of dismissing Plaintiffs’ complaint, the Court provided a detailed and instructive analysis supporting its ultimate conclusion. The Court’s analysis, addressed below, can be read in full here.
The underlying matter arises from the sale of Second Opinion, Inc., (“SO”). SO was a service business that connected lawyers representing personal injury plaintiffs with medical professionals who could serve as experts in litigation. Plaintiffs entered into an agreement to purchase the assets of SO and eventually filed a lawsuit alleging fraud, misrepresentation and breach of contract against Howard and Wendy Weiss – the prior owners of SO and Defendants to the lawsuit. The gist of the dispute was that the Defendants made false representations about the nature of SO and the assets the Plaintiffs were to receive pursuant to the purchase agreement.
In response to a letter request by the Defendants, the Court held a hearing on the record in December 2017 to decide a discovery dispute concerning whether Defendants’ interrogatories contained an impermissible number of subparts. At that hearing, the Court was advised of a newly discovered issue – that there were a number of significant discrepancies between emails produced by Defendants and emails produced by Plaintiffs.
A forensic expert was retained to examine each party’s computer(s) and eventually the Defendants moved for sanctions. In late June 2018, the Court received an ex parte fax from Plaintiff requesting dismissal of the suit, including the counterclaims filed by Defendants.
On July 5, 2018 the Court held a conference upon the record to discuss Defendants’ pending motion for sanctions. During that conference Plaintiff – in a radical departure from his faxed letter– represented to the Court he had no knowledge of any counterclaim against him. At the conclusion of the hearing, the Court scheduled another hearing to address the spoliation motion.
At its core, the issue boiled down to 7 emails and which, among them, were authentic.
For example, Email 3 – an email purportedly from Plaintiff to Defendant — stated, “[w]e are interested in cutting off training. We are interested in taking over the business and moving it forward. We believe we can do this.”
Yet, Email 4 — an email sent at the exact same time as Email 3 and also from Plaintiff to Defendant stated, “[we] are not interested in cutting off training. We are interested in taking over the business and moving it forward while still learning. We believe we can do this.”
The forensic examiner testified that Email 3 was found only on Plaintiff’s computer and was a fabrication; and Email 4 was found on both Plaintiff’s and Defendant’s computer. In what the Court observed was the most telling indicia of purposeful fabrication, is that Email 4 (the authentic email) was located in three different locations in Plaintiff’s computer, indicating that he had deleted the file. Plaintiff testified but the Court found his testimony not credible, confused and riddled with inconsistencies.
In order to determine the appropriate sanction, a Court must weigh three factors:
(1) the degree of fault of the person who destroyed or altered the evidence;
(2) the prejudice suffered by the opposing party; and
(3) the existence of alternative sanctions.
In assessing these factors the Court concluded that Plaintiff “intentionally altered and manipulated evidence” and when confronted with the altered emails he “accused the Defendants of having manipulated the authentic emails. [Plaintiff] actively deleted emails and the evidence shows that he continued to delete pertinent files as recently as…after the deposition when he was confronted with the fabricated emails.” And so, the Court determined Plaintiff’s actions were intentional and willful.
The Court then determined that notwithstanding the early discovery of Plaintiff’s actions, the prejudice “was substantial.” Specifically, Defendants had to hire an expert and expend significant sums of money (motion practice, full day of testimony). Additionally, the fabricated emails materially assisted Plaintiff’s case against Defendants. Such actions, said the Court, is a “wrong against the institutions set up to protect the public….fraud cannot be complacently tolerated…” Thus, the Court found Plaintiff’s behavior threatened to undermine the public’s faith in courts and the discovery process.
Finally, the Court assessed the various sanctions available to it inherently and specifically pursuant to Rule 37. The Court chose not to impose an adverse jury instruction as that would not remediate the prejudice to Defendants, would not deter this type of egregious conduct, and would be a minimal sanction where, as here, there was significant effort and costs imposed during the process. In opting not to impose only a financial sanction the Court noted that doing so would convey the wrong message to litigants that money could cure one’s improper actions. And so, according to the Court, based upon well-established law in the Third Circuit, the only remedy available that was proportional to the deleterious and egregious fraudulent conduct involved here was the outright dismissal of Plaintiffs’ claims. Indeed, “[a] party’s resort to fabricated evidence justifies denial of all relief to that party.”
There is little that needs to be said about this decision, as we all understand the egregious and continual conduct that was at play in this matter and the need for swift and severe sanctions. The decision, however, reminds us of the vast discretion a Court has when imposing sanctions.
Have questions? Please contact me at kcole@farrellfritz.com.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3253
|
__label__wiki
| 0.599398
| 0.599398
|
The Best Yelp Reviews Unleashed On That Bigoted Indiana Pizza Parlor
The people have spoken. On Yelp. About Memories Pizza. It ain’t always pretty, but it’s delicious.
By KC Ifeanyi 1 minute Read
Last Thursday, Indiana governor Mike Pence signed into law the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which basically made it legal for business owners to refuse service to anyone who conflicts with their religious beliefs, such as the LGBT community.
Before the ink could dry on the bill, a firestorm of protests embroiled Pence as he stumbled his way through vague explanations and flimsy excuses for the RFRA.
Faced with mounting public pressure, the Indiana Republican legislative leaders announced today that lawmakers have reached an agreement to amend the “religious freedom” law so it’s not discriminating against LGBT customers—but this amendment is, for some, too little, too late.
Memories Pizza in Walkerton, Ind. was one of the first businesses to openly deny service to LGBT customers, with owner Crystal O’Connor saying, “If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no…We’re not discriminating against anyone, that’s just our belief and anyone has the right to believe in anything.”
That did not sit well with the Internet.
Memories Pizza endured a blitz of online (and in-person) protests so severe, the O’Connor family decided to close the business indefinitely. Although Memories Pizza is, for now, nothing but a memory, the biting reviews on Yelp are forever. But not everyone is dishing out one-star reviews. There’s actually a GoFundMe set up in support of the O’Connor family that has exceeded its goal of raising $200,000–and it did it in less than 24 hours. The mission of the campaign? “To relieve the financial loss endured by the proprietors’ stand for faith.”
Hmmm. Okay, but this isn’t an issue of impinging on someone’s faith–this is an issue of outright discrimination.
Call us crazy, but now a happy ending seems like it could actually happen. Here’s how: Thanks to this narrow-minded fundraising effort, the O’Connors will have the cash to reopen, and when they do perhaps they’ll have learned some important lessons about acceptance and not alienating customers. Isn’t that something we can all believe in?
KC covers entertainment and pop culture for Fast Company. Previously, KC was part of the Emmy Award-winning team at "Good Morning America," where he was the social media producer.
I don’t think you need a mentor—here’s why
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3254
|
__label__wiki
| 0.514349
| 0.514349
|
F*ck a False Arrest: How to Get out of Jail Free in NYC
Late at night on the NYC Subway, he was arrested for the heinous crime...of not having a working subway ticket. Fortunately, he had an ace in the hole - 1-833-3-GOODCALL (1-833-346-6322), New York City’s free lawyer hotline.
In America we all have the right to a lawyer. But news flash: not everyone can afford one, and even fewer have a number memorized for the legendary “one phone call” you get when you’re arrested. Now, in NYC, Goodcall is finally doing something about it. They have an easy to memorize toll free number anyone can call when arrested and talk to a free lawyer immediately. In a city where minorities are tired of years of stop and frisk, police brutality and harassment, this goes a long way to levelling the playing field with NYPD cops.
Conversations with Refugees
Aline Sara is changing the conversation around what it means to be a refugee by talking — literally. Through her...
By Teresa Carey
Aline Sara is changing the conversation around what it means to be a refugee by talking — literally. Through her startup, NaTakallam (Arabic for "we talk"), Aline pairs refugees with people from other countries who want to learn their language. The "conversation partners" chat over Whatsapp or Skype to improve their Arabic or Spanish. But Aline says that people gain more than just language skills: it is foreign language...
Future of Cities
Urban Sustainability is at the Heart of Copenhagen Culture
By 2050, 70% of the world’s population will live in urban areas (up from 50% now). With the climate crisis worsening, how can we support this urban trend in a sustainable way?
Welcome to Morgan’s Wonderland: A Truly Inclusive Amusement Park
This dad couldn’t find a theme park that worked for his daughter with special needs - so he built one.
Imagine seeing your child struggling or completely unable to enjoy normal recreational activities. Water parks, merry-go-rounds, theme parks - all childhood activities that unfortunately, many kids don’t not get to experience. Gordon Hartman couldn’t find an amusement park that would accommodate his daughter, a person with special needs. So he did one any father would do. Using the money from the sale of his successful insurance business, he created one. Hartman built a completely accessible amusement park for kids with special needs in San Antonio, Texas called Morgan’s Wonderland. And this massive, “ultra-accessible” amusement park has all of us wanting to buy tickets.
The Sound of Science
This Musician Transforms Scientific Data Into Elaborate Melodies
When we convert complex data into sound and listen to it, quite often what emerges is something we can understand through sound, even though we could never understand it visually.
If you think staring at rows of numbers and graphs seems humdrum, these musicians agree. They are on a mission to expose new scientific information through sound, by turning flat datasets into musical scores --- creating the soundtrack for science: Listen to Mark Ballora’s sonification of singularity with flutes and electronics: Jenni Evans first met Mark Ballora at a Penn State social gathering. Both were professors at...
Racing out of Homelessness
This running club that meets at 5:45am is helping the homeless transform their lives.
It’s 5am in New York City. Most people aren’t awake yet; a few might still be up from the night before. But a group of people with a special organization is gathering for a morning run. Back on My Feet is a nonprofit community that’s helping people struggling with homelessness or recovering from drug addiction begin their journey towards self-sufficiency: employment, housing, and a sustainable income. While members might...
The Badass Army Fighting Revenge Porn
They’re tracking down people who post revenge porn - and getting justice.
Sharing nude selfies with partners is increasingly common. Too often, though, these images end up posted online without consent. BADASS Army is an army of volunteers getting these images taken down and punishing people who upload them without consent—whether they’re exes posting revenge porn, a hacker releasing them, or someone stealing them through other means. What is Revenge Porn? Revenge porn, also known as...
Why Don’t Vaccines Work as Well in Poor Countries?
Our best tool for preventing disease is the least effective in the places where it's most needed.
By Dan Bier
Crossing The Divide
Having Your Views Challenged is a Good Thing
When we encounter ideas we don’t like, we often shut them down. Professor John Inazu explains why that’s a bad thing and what we can do to fix it.
When we encounter ideas we don’t like, we often shut them down. John Inazu, the author of Confident Pluralism and the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion at Washington University School of Law, explains why that’s a bad thing and what we can do to fix it.
The Conservative Radio Host Urging People to Break Out of Their Bubbles
Charlie Sykes, a conservative radio host and author of "How the Right Lost Its Mind", explains the dangers of...
Charlie Sykes, a conservative radio host and author of "How the Right Lost Its Mind", explains the dangers of “alternative facts” and why he thinks they are a threat to democracy.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3257
|
__label__wiki
| 0.57329
| 0.57329
|
Album Review: Foreigner with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Choir
Posted on June 12, 2018 at 10:00 PM
Foreigner – Foreigner with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Choir
Written by The Rock Man
Being a fan of English-American rockers Foreigner over the years has at times been challenging and somewhat frustrating. The market is overflowing with band compilations and re-recorded versions of the same classics from the ‘70s and ‘80s and it seems like every couple of years we get another of these cash grab offerings. I’m sure I’m not alone in saying, as fans, we’d like some fresh new studio material from Foreigner; but alas, once again the band have elected to go down the tried and true road of releasing yet another reworked compilation record... but this one has peaked my interest and here is why.
Someone, either at the record company or within the band, had the brilliant idea to put this multi-platinum album selling band in a room with the renowned 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Choir from Europe. To be honest, it doesn’t really matter whose idea it was, the fact is it was a master stroke of pure genius. Musicians of hard driving heavy rock are a dedicated and passionate bunch; the same can be said for craftsmen of classical music, who are equally and possibly more devoted. When the two forces come together something truly magical and intangible takes shape, just look to Metallica’s S&M offering with the San Francisco Symphony or Scorpions Moment of Glory album with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as examples of what is achievable.
So in May of 2017 Foreigner partnered with the 21st Century Symphony Orchestra and Choir for two sold out shows in Lucerne, Switzerland and the pay-off is dazzling to say the least. The event kicked off with the orchestra and choir, masterfully conducted by Ludwig Wicki performing a three-and-a-half-minute piece titled Overture which is gate crashed by the gritty guitar sounds for Mick Jones, Thom Gimbel and Bruce Watson as the open riff to Blue Morning, Blue Day bellows out of Marshall amps. As the rest of the band, accompanied by vocalist Kelly Hansen chimes in, it becomes clear very quickly this is going to be a once in a generational occasion.
From here it’s a string of hits, Cold As Ice, Waiting For A Girl Like You and Say You Will. All of which are taken to a new level, especially Waiting For a Girl Like You. I’ve never really been a big fan of the track, but this arrangement and the inclusion of the orchestra is simply marvellous. They should have recorded it like this in the studio for the album 4. As we work our way through the track list, we are treated to more classics like That Was Yesterday and Feels Like The First Time, but the standout moments of the record comes with this next block of tunes.
To fully understand the sheer power of rock music coupled with stirring orchestral majesty look no further than Double Vision. I’ll admit this song is one of my all-time favourite Foreigner tracks but this cut is off the page and worth the price of admission alone. The atmosphere is built on a bed of violins and the angelic choir, as this reaches its crescendo the drums and crunching melodic guitars kick in backed by further spellbinding violins and the result is unforgettable. In fact, unforgettable can also be used best to describe the fresh and slightly modified versions of hits Urgent, Jukebox Hero and I Want To know What Love Is.
By the time the CD (or DVD) has come to its conclusion, what fans of this iconic rock act are left with is a feeling of pure delight. Here is a collection of songs most of us have grown up with over the decades presented in a new light and backed by one of the best orchestra/choir combinations the world over. Even if you’re not a fan of Foreigner but just a fan of rock music, I would strongly urge you to consider checking this package out, if only, to bear witness to what is musically possible when two seemingly opposite genres collide.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3258
|
__label__wiki
| 0.873694
| 0.873694
|
Album Review: Steve Perry - Traces
Steve Perry – Traces
After 24 years, the legendary Steve Perry (Ex-Journey) returns to his solo career with "Traces"; undoubtedly the most anticipated album of recent years that has been in the works since May 2015. Much was speculated as to what would be a possible Perry album. Well, made up mostly of ballads, the new work is not exactly what the vast majority of fans - and I am included in that group - expected, given their musical direction. But it is absolutely undeniable that the mere fact that Perry is back on the stage is a cause for celebration, and with that in mind, "Traces" deserves a lot of attention.
The excellent rocker "No Erasin" opens the album with propriety, revealing Perry's unmistakable vocals in a fantastic contemporary AOR, with rising melody and an explosive, sticky chorus, as we all expected. On the other hand, "We're Still Here" is a ballad with a delicate melody and very well-crafted arrangement, whose tempo is almost like a mid-pacer, where the verses create an engaging aura that leads to a delicately striking chorus. "Most Of All" (written in partnership with Randy Goodrum) has accurate metrics and sweeping tempo, framed below in the foreground and elegant guitars that gently parade in a song that sounds familiar from the beginning. These early songs are enough to convince the most demanding of creatures, but there's still more. So much more…
The beautiful "No More Cryin '" (written in partnership with Semisonic's Dan Wilson) has a soul aura that perfectly fits Perry's vocals, especially in the thrilling chorus, and it's also worth noting the beautiful guitars carefully scattered throughout. Long song. And the beautiful "In The Rain" is absolutely intimate with a beautiful piano arrangement that accompanies Perry's vocals in the foreground, also featuring a punctual bass and precise orchestral inserts that add more body to the song. "Sun Shines Gray" is another sweeping rocker from the beginning, where guitars take the edge in this song that brings me to Journey’s "Trial By Fire", with a beautiful work of John 5 on guitars.
"You Belong To Me" brings bass and piano to the front line and is perhaps the most recognizable song of Perry's vocal age, but without any detriment. The arrangement is intimate and the melody engaging, not to mention the chilling chorus. "Easy To Love" has a slightly more dynamic tempo and solid bass line, punctuated by precise guitars and an occasional organ that adds brilliance to the ensemble. Still, the vocal arrangement is of a unique beauty and deserves your attention. The beautiful "I Need You" is a cover of the song originally recorded by the Beatles in 1965 and even being averse to covers, I have to give the arm a twist because Perry simply rocks with a precise interpretation and much higher than the original. Against facts there are no arguments, sorry. And closing the album we have "We Fly", whose intimate arrangement evidences Perry's vocals from the beginning. Counting on a subtle, delicate melody, this song is intense and plunges the listener into a deep, melodic chilling mood.
And this album, being the deluxe edition, has 5 additional tracks: “October In New York” is a 40s/50s jazz-influenced ballad, with a very classy arrangement with elegant orchestrations, while “Angel Eyes” reminds me of 60s Motown due to its catchy arrangement, besides having one of Perry’s finest performances. Then one of the most surprising tracks come up: “Call On Me” has a mid-tempo reggae pace, pretty much as he did on Journey’s “Baby I’m Leaving You” from “Trial By Fire”, and that might explain why this song sounds so familiar and why it grows on you instantly. And while listening to this track pay attention to the laughter from Kelly Nash (Perry’s deceased partner and directly responsible for his comeback). Another excellent track is “Could We Be Somethin’ Again”, a soft mid-pacer with a delicate and involving melody and backing vocals, while “Blue Jays Fly” presents a very relaxing, lullaby-esque, keyboard-driven melody with touching vocal mementos from Perry, closing the album in delicate note.
In summary, "Traces" is a fantastically surprising album, even having only two rockers. Of course, perhaps the commercial appeal would be greater with a more diverse set of songs, but it is astounding that so many ballads can sound so different from one another. You definitely have to be on top of your game to accomplish something like this. And from the top of his 69 years of age, Steve Perry gives an absolute lesson on interpretation and vocal versatility. Accompanied by excellent musicians, Perry performs masterfully written songs displaying body, soul and a whole lot of class (this last item also present in the flawless production of Steve Perry himself and Thom Flowers). When I learned the album would have ballads for most of the tracklist, I confess to having been fearful, imagining a tiring album. Today, I make a public mea culpa before an amazing album, cohesive as few and immersed in quality. May we not have to wait another 24 years for more stuff from Steve Perry, but right now, "Traces" is absolutely mandatory in your collection.
The fantastic “Traces” is out now.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3259
|
__label__wiki
| 0.947996
| 0.947996
|
Health News of Tuesday, 29 March 2016
Source: thefinderonline.com
9,700 die of tuberculosis annually
It is estimated that over 76,000 Ghanaians are afflicted with Tuberculosis (TB), with more than 9,700 people dying of the disease each year.
Mr. Alex Segbefia, Minister of Health, said the disease, although curable, had remained a global menace that afflicted over nine million people each year, of which a third did not have access to treatment as they were "missed" by health systems.
He said a third of all notified TB cases were women, with children constituting between five and nine per cent of the recorded cases in Ghana.
Mr. Segbefia said this was unacceptable considering the fact that the disease was preventable and could be cured, and called for closer collaboration between the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and the GHS to address the gender issues associated with the TB epidemic.
He, however, identified TB as a pro-poor disease that required stakeholders to find a common ground to remove the catastrophic cost on patients.
According to him, although Ghana was branded by a recent research as an important high TB and HIV burden country, fortunately, the country had put in place a National Response Plan to address the challenge, with Parliament approving a €13 million loan facility to support the implementation of the plan.
“This will be used to procure digital X-ray machines to be distributed to 49 district hospitals and use over 12 years to actively screen for TB among Ghanaians all over the country,” he said.
He said the MOH requested the support of corporate institutions to control the disease at the community level to complement government’s efforts in expanding healthcare delivery systems through the Community-Based Health Planning and Services (CHIPS) compounds.
Mr. Segbefia then named Ehunabobrim Nana Prah Agyensaim VI, the paramount chief of Assin Owirenkyi Traditional Area, as the new TB Ambassador, to work with the GHS, the MOH and other stakeholders to end TB in Ghana.
Dr. Frank Adae Bonsu, the Programmes Manager of the National TB Control Programme (NTP), said there was a paradigm shift in the global strategy for TB control, with an underlying principle that “we must end TB without any catastrophic cost to the patient”.
He said an average of $80 million would be needed annually to effectively control TB in Ghana, but the NTP had funding and human resource gaps, which were slowing down efforts towards achieving national goals for TB control.
On the current status of TB, Dr. Bonsu said the face of the TB epidemic in Ghana had changed although they had done well by detecting and controlling the easy-to-identify cases.
He said they still had a huge difficulty in detecting TB cases, and recent studies showed that there were some individuals with the disease who did not show any symptoms.
There were also emerging trends of drug-resistant TB, which was worrisome, but there was an ongoing study to establish the magnitude of this problem, he said.
Dr. Bonsu said the current low TB detection rate was a key challenge and it was expected that a total of 44,524 cases would be recorded annually, but “we detect averagely 15,000 a year and in 2015 14,999 cases were detected, which was a further reduction of the expected figure”.
He encouraged healthcare providers to strive to improve upon their current treatment success rate of 85 per cent, saying: “We are not proud of the deaths occurring among TB patients because these are preventable causes of deaths.”
He advised the public to observe good hygiene practices and ensure enough ventilation while observing symptoms which include excessive coughing over a long period of time and feverishness, and report early for diagnoses and treatment.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3262
|
__label__wiki
| 0.958793
| 0.958793
|
Startup View Receives $100M for Intelligent Glass
By Gabrielle KarolFOXBusiness
Dynamic-glass startup receives $100M
Silicon Valley-based View says it cuts energy costs up to 20% with its dimmable glass.
Think transition lenses – but for buildings.
Silicon Valley startup View says dynamic glass that dims based on light, occupancy and weather conditions is the future. The company just closed a fresh $100 million funding round from Madrone Capital Partners.
In total, View has raised $300 million from investors including Khosla Ventures, Corning and DBL Investors. The company, which was previously called Soladigm, was founded in 2007.
Since 2012, View has installed its high-tech glass in more than 50 projects. CEO Dr. Rao Mulpuri saws the new investment will enable View to accelerate its growth.
Dr. Mulpuri says buildings with View glass are able to cut back on lighting costs and HVAC costs by as much as 20% annually. He thinks dynamic glass will eventually become the status quo for architects. But for now, he says the company has found its success with large-scale developers.
“In the short- and medium-term, there are certain types of projects where the value is greater than others,” says Dr. Mulpuri, pointing to successful installations at universities, hospitals and hotels. In 2012, View kicked off its partnership with the W Hotel chain, installing View dynamic glass in the San Francisco location’s lobby and lounge areas.
Manufacturing in the U.S.
While R&D is based in California, View actually manufactures its glass in Olive Branch, Miss., where it employs about 200 workers.
Dr. Mulpuri says the location has been a smart choice for the company based on the logistical demands of delivering a delicate product.
“Glass doesn’t travel very well … It’s big, it’s bulky, it’s heavy, and logistically you want to be close to the point of use. If you broke a piece of glass, you want to be close enough to be able to transport a replacement fairly quickly,” says Dr. Mulpuri. He says that the company can reach two-thirds of the U.S. market in just 24 hours by truck.
View-ing the Future
The latest investment from Madrone follows closely on the heels of this summer’s $60 million Series E round, led by Corning. While Dr. Mulpuri says an IPO could be in the cards for the company, it won’t be any time soon.
“For the time being we’re focused on building the market,” says Dr. Mulpuri.
That said, manufacturing intelligent glass in the U.S. doesn’t come cheap.
“As we grow, we’ll have to build more and more plants like we have in Mississippi … an IPO is certainly one avenue to raise more capital,” says Dr. Mulpuri.
And though Madrone Capital Partners is the investment firm affiliated with the Walton family, it doesn’t sound like Wal-Mart will be the next big customer for the startup.
“You might see View’s glass in a Wal-Mart, but that’s not related to Madrone making the investment in the company. It is an independent investment arm – that doesn’t automatically mean that this is linked to Wal-Mart as a corporation,” says Dr. Mulpuri.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3265
|
__label__wiki
| 0.835776
| 0.835776
|
Alternate Channel Info
Printable Team Schedules
All Florida Videos
Florida Panthers Video
Florida Panthers – Hockey 101
Miami Heat Video
Miami Heat – Full Timeout
Miami Heat – My Signature
Miami Heat – My Hometown
Miami Heat – Social Media Profiles
Miami Marlins Video
Miami Marlins Clubhouse
Marlins minor league videos
Orlando Magic Video
Tampa Bay Lightning Video
Tampa Bay Rays Video
Tampa Bay Rays baseball demonstrations
Rays Prospect Spotlights
Florida Gators NCAA FB
Florida Gators NCAA BK
Florida State Seminoles NCAA FB
Florida State Seminoles NCAA BK
Miami (FL) Hurricanes NCAA FB
Miami (FL) Hurricanes NCAA BK
Setting goals: Recapping the year, picking 2015 resolutions for Florida teams
foxsports Jan 1, 2015 at 11:00a ET
Quick, scrub the old and prepare for the new.
Refocus. Make lists. Prioritize for a fresh beginning.
New Year’s resolutions are in season, these days a time to take notice of what has been done and what could come. Florida teams are no different, the flip of the calendar an opportunity to shape and remake themselves for 2015.
From Jacksonville to South Florida, from baseball to hockey and basketball with pigskin in between, all teams have reason to anticipate the coming year. Some have momentum. Others will try to create a spark. All have reasons to push for more.
Here’s a look ahead to 2015 with a glance back at what was done in the past year.
Roberto Luongo.
At this point, it may be easier to list what didn’t happen to the Panthers during an up-and-down year of transition in South Florida. From the hiring of former Montreal Canadiens assistant Gerard Gallant as head coach to the reacquiring of former franchise goaltender Roberto Luongo via trade, the former Eastern Conference cellar-dwellers barely resemble the team that finished 29th in 2013-14.
A year removed from missing out on the No.1 overall pick during the 2013 draft lottery, the Panthers jumped one spot ahead of the last-place Buffalo Sabres to win the 2014 lottery, where they selected 18-year-old defenseman Aaron Ekblad with the No. 1 overall pick.
In addition to these moves, the Panthers, armed with newfound funds thanks to co-owners Vinnie Viola and Doug Cifu, also made a big splash on the opening day of the NHL’s free-agency period by signing six players, including veteran forwards Jussi Jokinen and Dave Bolland.
The Panthers, who have quickly become one of the league’s hottest up-and-comers, enter 2015 right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff hunt.
Biggest 2015 wish
When Gallant arrived from Montreal during the offseason, he was heralded as somewhat of a power-play savant. So far, this hype has yet to materialize itself with the Panthers, as their power play looks only marginally better than the one that ranked 30th in the league just a season ago. As it stands now, Florida is converting 13.2 percent of their chances with the extra attacker, which is good enough for 28th in the league.
Currently scoring an average of 2.21 goals per game, the Panthers will need their power play to pick up if they hope to take some pressure of Luongo in net and evolve into a legitimate playoff contender.
Best-case scenario for 2015
A return to the playoffs should be the goal. When ownership invested heavily in roster upgrades during the offseason, they didn’t do so expecting gradual improvement. Yes, the Panthers’ core of Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Ekblad is still very young. But given the amount of veterans that were added during the offseason, a quick turnaround is expected.
Luongo, who boasts a 14-7-7 record with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage, will need to remain healthy as well. The Panthers pride themselves on defense, and Luongo has been their backbone. — Jameson Olive
Blake Bortles.
The giant new scoreboards were snazzy, and having the first stadium in the NFL featuring cabanas generated no shortage of national attention. But in terms of the on-field product, the Jaguars continued to rack up losses in largely unentertaining fashion — a double whammy if there ever were one.
With the third pick in the draft, they went against prevailing wisdom and selected quarterback Blake Bortles, who left UCF after leading the Knights to a Fiesta Bowl victory in his junior year. The plan was to have Bortles spend his rookie season watching and learning from veteran Chad Henne, but that was scrapped after the Jaguars lost 41-10 at Washington — yes, Washington — in Week 2 and trailed Indianapolis 30-0 at halftime of their home opener the following week.
Bortles took every snap the rest of the way and exhibited typical growing pains, throwing 12 interceptions in his first six games. The Jaguars finished with a 3-13 record, one game worse than in Gus Bradley’s first season as their head coach, and fired offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch two days after the season ended.
Cheerleader gallery
Jacksonville Jaguars cheerleader photo gallery
The biggest splash they made in free agency was for something that never panned out for them. The Jaguars signed center Alex Mack of the Cleveland Browns in April to a five-year, $42 million offer sheet, only to have the Browns match that.
General manager Dave Caldwell said Tuesday the Jaguars had planned all the while not to be especially active in bringing in free agents until his and Bradley’s third year. If they can add a running back and a wide receiver, it would help not only Bortles but an offensive line that gave up a league-high and franchise record 71 sacks.
While saying "Make no mistake: The draft is going to be the lifeline of this organization," Caldwell added it’s not a must for the Jaguars to take someone who can start right away with the third pick in the upcoming draft.
A lamentable season ended with even more of a thud when defensive tackle Sen’Derrick Marks tore the ACL in his right knee in the final game. If Marks, fellow tackle Roy Miller and middle linebacker Paul Posluszny have all recovered from their respective surgeries by the start of training camp or the preseason, it would be a tremendous boost to a defense that was adept at sacking quarterbacks and forcing fumbles.
The defense will need to continue to carry an offense that started eight rookies at some point in 2014. Can whoever replaces Fisch get the Jaguars to finish higher than 29th in total offense for the first time in five years?
Under Bradley, the Jaguars have a 1-15 record in September and October. At this point, going into next November at 2-6 or 3-5 would almost be warmly embraced by their fans. "We obviously appreciate their patience and their frustrations," Caldwell said. "I understand it. We get it." — Ken Hornack
Cameron Wake.
Team owner Stephen Ross promised big changes to the franchise and upgraded the roster in several areas after last season ended with a thud due to a poor December finish that pushed them out of the playoff picture with an 8-8 record.
A promising home victory against the New England Patriots in Week 1 gave hope that this season would be the one to send the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2008. But instead the team finished with another 8-8 record despite a career season from quarterback Ryan Tannehill, improved offense under first-year coordinator Bill Lazor, and Pro Bowl seasons from defensive end Cameron Wake and cornerback Brent Grimes.
Miami Dolphins cheerleader photo gallery
Losing close games to the Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and the Denver Broncos in the fourth quarter certainly hurt them, but it was a disheartening 2-3 December record that once again killed any chance of securing an AFC wild-card spot.
The goals for this team remain as straightforward and simple as they have been for several seasons: Own a winning record and make the playoffs.
Ross declared after a Week 16 victory against the Minnesota Vikings that Joe Philbin would stay on as head coach in 2015 for one more chance to make the playoffs in the final year of his contract. Tannehill must keep progressing in key areas of his game, but their implosion in the second half of the 2014 season was not entirely his fault.
The defense shouldered plenty of the blame, however, and they must avoid their fading production that took place as the season wore on. But for 2015 to be a successful year, the offense, defense and special teams must keep surging and build off each week with improved performance.
Philbin has his work cut out for him, but the hope remains that this new year will represent a major breakthrough.
In addition to improved play on both sides of the ball, the best-case scenario for the team would be that quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots start showing their age and allow Miami to capture the AFC East.
Failing that, a more realistic approach would be for the Dolphins to have a strong draft and continue developing promising young players such as wide receiver Jarvis Landry, linebacker Chris McCain and offensive tackle Ja’Wuan James. They also need to shore up their running back corps after Knowshon Moreno went down with a season-ending injury, though Lamar Miller played well and enjoyed a 1,000-yard season.
Their offensive line and linebacker units need upgrades, and they could use reinforcements in the secondary, especially if cornerback Cortland Finnegan chooses to retire. Should star receiver Mike Wallace return to the team — and that’s a big question mark after his meltdown on the sidelines in the second half of their final game against the New York Jets — perhaps he’ll finally be able to develop into the consistent deep ball threat that was envisioned by many when he signed with the team in 2013. — Surya Fernandez
Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade.
Midway through 2014, the Miami Heat were three victories away from their third straight NBA championship with homecourt advantage after taking Game 2 of the Finals against the San Antonio Spurs. Three consecutive routs later, the Heat would not only lose the series and their chance at the three-peat but would then lose LeBron James in free agency to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Pat Riley and the Heat’s front office did an admirable job afterward of filling out the roster with veterans Luol Deng, Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger while also retaining Dwyane Wade, Chris Andersen, Udonis Haslem and Chris Bosh in the hopes of competing in the East.
However, injuries to Wade, Bosh and McRoberts along with up-and-down play from their young players has forced coach Erik Spoelstra into making constant changes to his lineups, and it has derailed a promising 5-2 start to the 2014-15 season.
A perplexing 6-12 home record and poor play in the second half of many games now has them five games below .500 after a 5-12 record in December closed out a year with many highs and lows for the Heat.
Apart from the unrealistic hope from Heat fans that James would somehow opt out of his current contract with the Cavaliers next summer and take his talents back to South Beach, the Heat will have to stick with what they have for the time being and hope for good health.
Newcomer Josh McRoberts was unable to play consistently for the Heat because of a variety of ailments and setbacks — starting with rehabbing from his offseason toe surgery to start the season to straining his back as well as a painful blister. He was then ruled out for the rest of the 2014-15 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Several other players have missed time due to injury or illness and has made it difficult for the team to develop much chemistry.
Bosh and Wade also missed eight games each, and the Heat can’t afford to have their two stars missing any significant portion of the season in 2015, or their playoff hopes could very well vanish.
The Heat want to make the playoffs and compete in a wide-open Eastern Conference, but will need to play significantly better through the first three months of the year in order to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Ideally, the Heat would leapfrog the Brooklyn Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks in the standings and gun for home-court advantage in the first round. That would help them avoid a matchup with the Chicago Bulls or the Washington Wizards and instead perhaps face a vulnerable opponent such as the Cavaliers instead.
Beating the Cavs in the playoffs would be quite the best-case scenario for the Heat — though plenty of good fortune would have to come the Heat’s way, and why not after such a turbulent 2014?
Looking ahead to the 2015-16 season, Miami will want to preserve cap space for the all-important 2016 offseason and to do that they will likely avoid making any major roster moves. Instead, the franchise will continue to develop from within and seek continued improvement from a promising young trio of James Ennis, Hassan Whiteside and Shabazz Napier. — SF
Marlins Park.
They may have missed the playoffs for the 11th consecutive season, but 2014 certainly felt like a big step forward. Coming of a 100-loss season, Miami finished 77-85, their best record since going 80-82 in 2010. After a season of such dismay, the club’s 15-game improvement from 2013 should be looked at as potential jumping-off point in manager Mike Redmond’s second season with the team.
Marlins slugger Giancarlo Stanton led the NL with 37 homers and helped keep Miami’s postseason hopes alive into mid-September until an errant pitch to the face ended his season on Sept. 11. It was the first time that a Marlins player has won an NL home run crown. On Nov. 19, the organization made a large investment in both Stanton and their future by signing the 25-year-old to the richest contract in North American sports history: 13 years and $325 million.
A return to form for ace Jose Fernandez should be on top of the Marlins wish list heading into 2015. The 2013 NL Rookie of the Year, Fernandez was diagnosed with a right elbow ligament tear in early May, which required season-ending Tommy John surgery. Prior to his injury, Fernandez posted a 4-2 record with a 2.44 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings.
Playing without Fernandez, Henderson Alvarez blossomed into an All-Star and a capable arm atop the rotation. However, the team was 19th in the majors with a team ERA of 3.78.
When Fernandez is at his best, he’s one of the top pitchers in the game. And although Alvarez’s emergence, coupled with the arrival of former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Mat Latos during the offseason, bodes well for the rotation in 2015, they will need Fernandez to be at the top of his game when he returns sometime around the All-Star break.
Though a trip to playoffs isn’t out of the realm of possibility, capturing their first winning record since 2009 should be the goal of this young team.
With the offseason additions of Dee Gordon and Michael Morse to the lineup, the Marlins could surpass 650 runs scored if Stanton comes back healthy and continues on his current trajectory toward greatness. Additionally, the 1-2 punch of Fernandez and Alavarez at the top of the rotation could be a nightmare for opposing batters come August and September.
Expectations will be high heading into 2015 given the team’s busy offseason and Stanton’s mega-deal. However, the Marlins should be looking for progress more than the postseason as their young core continues to develop. — JO
Victor Oladipo and Kyle O’Quinn.
One of the NBA’s youngest teams got even younger when general manager Rob Hennigan traded Arron Afflalo and waived Jameer Nelson, the franchise’s all-time leader in assists, two months after the Magic finished a season where they went 23-59. Of those victories, only four came on the road.
Despite their current starting lineup having no one with more than three full years of pro experience, the Magic seem to have solved their persistent problems away from Orlando. But following a 23-point loss Tuesday night to the Detroit Pistons, their record at home is a lackluster 4-10. One of those wins required a shot by Tobias Harris as time expired, while another saw them almost squander a 27-point fourth-quarter lead to the Boston Celtics.
The Magic came away with two of the first 10 picks in the draft — forward Aaron Gordon and guard Elfrid Payton. Though Payton has already made 16 starts, Gordon is sidelined indefinitely after fracturing a bone in his left foot in November.
A healthy Gordon would be terrific. An ability to consistently put away opponents in the fourth quarter would be better.
Even before their near-implosion against the Celtics, the Magic had exhibited a disturbing habit of faltering in the closing minutes. Both Harris and Victor Oladipo have had their moments, but one or both of them needs to become reliable on a nightly basis. Harris didn’t get the contract extension he hoped for, but if he keeps playing like he has, he should be rewarded for his efforts.
Wishing for help through the draft next summer appears to be a waste of time and effort. There are too many other teams with worse records than the Magic, and there isn’t a Jabari Parker or Andrew Wiggins in this year’s class. This is the roster coach Jacque Vaughn has to work with, and he needs to get the 25-and-under portion of it to develop winning habits.
There are only five teams currently with winning records in the Eastern Conference. Though the Magic are a collective 1-10 against those five, they are .500 against everyone else they have faced.
Losing at home in the latter half of December to Utah, Philadelphia and Detroit was not an encouraging development. But in the midst of that, Vaughn decided to pair Payton with Oladipo in the starting lineup. If those two guards can ratchet up the defensive intensity of a team that is already not far from cracking the top 10 in fewest points allowed per game, the Magic should be in good shape for years to come.
Both Kyle O’Quinn and Evan Fournier have been pleasant surprises, making up for the limited use the Magic are getting from former first-round picks Maurice Harkless and Andrew Nicholson. And if Nikola Vucevic can avoid the injuries that slowed him down at this time a year ago, the Magic will continue to benefit from having one of the league’s best young centers. — KH
Kevin Pamphile.
What was supposed to be a year of renewal under new coach Lovie Smith became a miserable nightmare instead. The Bucs finished 2-14, their worst record since earning the same mark in 1986. The offense sunk to become one of the NFL’s most pathetic without a true coordinator following Jeff Tedford’s heart procedure in late August. The defense, without cornerback Darelle Revis after he was released in March, improved in the season’s second half. But too much bend sustained by the unit became breaks often.
Smith says his Bucs are close to turning a corner, but it’s hard to believe him. Even with the No. 1 pick at their disposal, the Bucs have too many holes for one potentially elite player to mean the difference between a 2-14 campaign and a run at the postseason next year. There are major weaknesses on the offensive line. There’s the ineffective backfield. There’s the horrible quarterback play. Tweaks at end and safety could be useful as well.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader photo gallery
Remember all that hope last January? It’s gone. Long gone.
Most of all, the Bucs need a dynamic offensive coordinator. Smith took a chance by pairing himself with Tedford, a former California coach, and the decision backfired in a big way. Will Smith go with someone with a college background again? Or will he opt for a proven NFL mind? Here’s guessing Smith will tap someone with NFL experience, though the choice likely must tailor the Bucs’ new scheme around a rookie’s strengths if Tampa Bay selects a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick.
The Bucs’ failures on offense this season are Exhibit A of how crucial it is to have an effective system in place with the mind behind the scheme at the controls. It’s hard to blame quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo for his struggles in calling plays this season. He was placed in an impossible position of trying to gain a feel for Tedford’s creation, and center Evan Dietrich-Smith put it best Monday when he said, "You can maybe kind of look at it as someone gives you a box full of stuff and gives you a picture of what it should look like but doesn’t give you instructions." But in this opportunity to begin anew on offense, the Bucs must not miss.
The Bucs hire the right man to be their offensive coordinator, they sign an effective free-agent class, they hit on the No. 1 pick and they win at least six games in Smith’s second season.
Be realistic: Tampa Bay is too far away to dream about contending in 2015. Heck, winning for the first time at Raymond James Stadium and claiming the first victory over an NFC South opponent in the Smith era would represent progress over the mess of 2014. Next season, the heat should be on the veteran coach to show signs of life. Another 2-14 finish can’t happen or ending Smith’s time in Tampa after just two campaigns would be justifiable.
This much can be said for the Bucs in 2014: Their season didn’t devolve into including off-the-field drama. If they remain drama-free in the coming year, and if they improve by at least four more victories, then it’s possible to build from there. — Andrew Astleford
Ben Bishop.
The Lightning found an identity under coach Jon Cooper, plain and simple. They became young and fast, exciting and full of life in their run to 101 points and their first Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance since the 2010-11 campaign. They lost in a sweep to the Montreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals in April, but overall, their showing was an impressive display after so many questions entering the 2013-14 season.
Ben Bishop, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat all emerged as key faces. Steven Stamkos returned from a broken right tibia sustained the previous fall. Still, even with all the good, the past year also included a controversial departure and reunion. Marty St. Louis, a symbol of gritty soul for Tampa Bay throughout 14 years, demanded a trade to the New York Rangers in March at the same time he served as the franchise’s ninth captain. He returned to Tampa for the first time in November and was met with a mix of cheers and boos. The Lightning, eying a second consecutive postseason berth, end 2014 as one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.
If Bishop remains healthy, Tampa Bay has a chance to go far. The Lightning learned how valuable he is when he missed the postseason series against Montreal after sustaining a dislocated left elbow against the Toronto Maple Leafs late in the regular season. Without him, Tampa Bay lived a quick dismissal in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
So far, Bishop has recovered well this season. Tampa Bay boasts veteran Evgeni Nabokov behind him, but the difference in ability between the two is obvious. Bishop has earned teammates’ trust, which translates to their play when he’s in net.
Winning at least one postseason series should be the goal. The Lightning are beyond trying to prove that they have staying power within the Eastern Conference. They’ve arrived, and they should carry themselves that way.
The loss to Montreal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs should be a lesson that can offer valuable perspective as Tampa Bay continues to work through its current schedule. Everyone is a little older, more grown-up and aware. With talents like Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov leading the Lightning’s early scoring threat, they’ll likely maintain their strong production outside of the occasional slump.
Tampa Bay isn’t flawless, but there are interesting parts that could make this roster something to contend with late in the regular season and beyond. But certainly, the Lightning are a different team when Bishop is absent. He must stay healthy for Tampa Bay to turn a good season into a potentially great one. — AA
Evan Longoria.
This was an uncommon year for a franchise that had enjoyed success and stability from 2008 to 2013. The Rays finished 77-85, their worst record since going 66-96 in 2007. They missed the playoffs for just the third time since 2008, offensive shortcomings a main reason for the slide. Ace left-hander David Price was dealt to the Detroit Tigers at the non-waiver trade deadline in July, a deal that brought closure to the constant chatter that surrounded him since Tampa Bay lost to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Division Series the year before.
After the season, both Joe Maddon and Andrew Friedman, the brains behind the Rays’ rise that included a World Series berth in 2008, left for new positions in the bright lights of Chicago and Los Angeles. Matt Silverman, formerly the Rays’ president, was tapped as the franchise’s new president of baseball operations. Kevin Cash, a Tampa native, was hired to replace Maddon after serving as the Cleveland Indians’ bullpen coach the past two seasons. Tampa Bay will begin spring training in February with a different look and feel.
A comfortable transition from an old era to the new one is a must for the Rays in the coming year. It’s too early to say whether they’ll compete in the American League East, but they should hope for a smooth acclimation by Cash in his first season as a manager of any kind.
Generating more offense should be on the wish list as well. Only three teams had fewer than the Rays’ 612 runs in 2014: the Cincinnati Reds (595), Atlanta Braves (573) and San Diego Padres (535). Tampa Bay’s payroll should be far below its franchise-record $80 million from last season, so the Rays must do more with less. Still, their rotation should be solid while featuring Alex Cobb, Matt Moore, Chris Archer, Jake Odorizzi and Drew Smyly. As always, Tampa Bay will be built on pitching and defense. Whether or not the Rays can produce enough runs to be competitive remains to be seen.
The Rays should have the pitching, both in the rotation and within the bullpen, to give them a chance to reach the playoffs. The largest question remains where run production will come from, especially after Wil Myers was traded to the San Diego Padres in a massive three-team, 11-player deal in December.
Clinching a postseason berth always should be Tampa Bay’s goal, but it wouldn’t surprise to see the Rays rebuild next season. Of course, there are many lessons to be learned about Cash, the offense and the roster turnover that has marked the first offseason with Silverman as president of baseball operations. Winter predictions can prove hollow by July anyway. Remember when the Rays were a trendy pick to advance deep in the postseason before this past spring? So much for that.
Expectations will be lower in 2015, which should be refreshing for Tampa Bay after so many whirlwind developments throughout the past year. — AA
FOX Sports Florida
FS1 | FOX | FOX News | Fox Corporation | FOX Supports | FOX Deportes
FOX and FOX SPORTS are trademarks of FOX Media LLC.
Use of this website (including any and all parts and components) constitutes your acceptance of these TERMS OF USE and PRIVACY POLICY.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3266
|
__label__wiki
| 0.654432
| 0.654432
|
Dr. Frank Rothwell, Principal
Dr. Rothwell is a lifelong resident of Massachusetts. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Master’s degree from The George Washington University and PhD from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Rothwell has over 25 years of experience in education. In Framingham, he has held positions as a teacher, department chairperson, and vice principal at Framingham High School prior to becoming principal at Brophy Elementary School in 2010. Outside of his work at Brophy School, Dr. Rothwell enjoys hiking, skiing, reading, and working on DIY projects around his house. He resides in Framingham with his wife and two children.
Ms. Susan Schuler, Office Manager
Kiana Ortega, Bilingual Secretary
Ms. Ramonita Santiago, Social Worker
Marcella Sancho, Social Worker
Ms. Sancho comes to Brophy Elementary School from Connecticut. She received her Bachelor’s Degree from Fairfield University in Fairfield, CT and her Master’s Degree in Social Work from Fordham University in Westchester, NY. Ms. Sancho has worked in outpatient mental health settings and within the Bridgeport, CT Public School system as a clinical social worker within their school-based health centers. Previous to her relocation to Massachusetts Ms. Sancho also held a private practice in Bridgeport, CT and was part of a group practice in West Haven, CT. Outside of work, Ms. Sancho enjoys the outdoors, painting, arts and crafts, and refinishing furniture.
Erica Toochin, Social Worker
Mr. Ramon Colon, Psychologist
Ms. Carolyn Pratt, School Nurse
Our school nurse, Carolyn Pratt, RN, NCSN, has been on our staff for 13 years. Carolyn graduated with her Bachelors degree in nursing from the University of Rhode Island in 1977. Carolyn worked for more than 30 years in the field of Oncology as a staff nurse at Beth Israel in Boston and Darthmouth Hitchcock Medical Center; Director of the Cancer Program at MetroWest Medical Center Natick and Framingham and as the Director of Radiation Oncolgy and Associated Services at the North Shore Cancer Center in Peabody. Carolyn joined the town of Framingham as a School Nurse in 2005, and remains today. Carolyn lives in Wayland and Bass River Cape Cod with her husband, where she hopes to retire when her home renovation is completed. Carolyn enjoys reading, knitting, exercising and skiing.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3267
|
__label__wiki
| 0.71994
| 0.71994
|
THE DEATH OF HADI-AL-AMERI'S SON AND NEPHEW FALLS ON DEAF EARS
Local reports announced the death of the son and nephew of current Iraqi minister of transport, Hadi al Ameri. Meanwhile, the Badr Brigade which al Ameri heads, remains silent.
They are believed to have died on March 3, 2015, following a fierce fire exchange south of al Dawr district, Iraq.
While state-media media outlets have said close to nothing about the incident, the below video purportedly shows followers mourning their death in Samarra. Eye witnesses said that on the day of his death, al Ameri's son was allegedly driving American tanks.
Al Ameri's son, who goes by the alias of Abu-Hassan, is also shown here in Salahuddin province.
AMATEUR FOOTAGE
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3268
|
__label__wiki
| 0.719463
| 0.719463
|
The role of the United States of America in the Israel-Palestine conflict – Government Essay
For centuries the Middle East has been an area of conflict over land sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews. The conflict between Israel and Palestine is one of the most enduring and explosive of all the world’s conflicts. It has its roots in the historic claim of the land
which lies between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan river.
For the Palestinians the last hundred years have brought colonisation and military occupation. For their filling they just lost there nationality and independence. Moreover they are persuaded, that the Jewish world with the help of the Western civilization will destroy their territory and religion. All of these facts make the Palestinians believe that the cruel and dreadful attacks are the only solutions of their problem.
For the Jewish people of Israel, on the other hand, the return to their historical land after centuries of persecution of around the world and years of genocide in Europe has not brought peace or security. Nowadays they still face many crises, dangers and fears in their own promised by God land.
Obvious there are a lot discussions about the Israel-Palestine question, where a lot of external parties are involved. All of the countries, which are involved have their own interests and profits from this war. For some countries it is a solidarity, which is based on the religion convictions, for the other it is a stride for power on the continent and for the international organisations such as United Nations it is a peace making process. But what is the role of the United States of America in this conflict?
According to the media and different historical sources United States has traditional a close relationship with Israel. Probable it depends on the foreign policy of American governments and on the motivation of the population of the United State
The U.S. aid relationship with Israel is unlike any other in the world. There are many reasons on many levels for the strong bond between the US and Israel. The US was the first country, which to recognized Israel, after it was officially created in 1948, consistent with a 1922 Congressional resolution backing the League of Nations mandate for a Jewish homeland in Palestine . It was the president Harry Truman to support the creations of the Jewish homeland. Since then, the two countries have developed a friendship that depends not only on the parties and governments in Washington or Jerusalem.
Of course, there were some misunderstandings and periods of political distance between the countries, but still, Israel is the only country in the Middle East, which resembles America and their democracy. Further, after the years of dilemma about the weapon sale to Israel, US decided to start the first sale of HAWK anti-aircraft missile in 1963. Moreover America supported Israel after the Yom Kippur War in 1973 . In the following decades, Israel and the US worked together to counter the greatest threats to American and Israeli interests in the Middle East. Later the cooperation was extended to programs for sharing technology and valuable intelligence, conducting for military exercises, researching and developing new weapons and establishing of anti-terrorism strategies. Today is Israel one of the United States largest arms importers. The U.S. weapons are usually used in the conflict between Israel and the Palestine.
Obvious, there is an economical vision about the foreign policy of the United States in the Middle East. For many years Israel received U.S. financial assistance. As the Israeli economy grew, this situation was a bit changed and nowadays there hundreds companies in the US, witch are sponsored by the powerful Israeli magnates. Moreover, in the USA are a lot of public known business leaders and politicians, who regularly receive financial support for the their electoral campaigns and co-operatives from very powerful American Jews, who do support Israel.
Moreover, it is advantageous for the government of the United States to carry a pro-Israel foreign policy, because of the position of the Jewish state in the Middle East. In the past, for example, Israel has kept Syria, for many years an ally of the Soviet Union, in check. Or because of Israeli intelligence service Mossad, which is one of the world’s most well-known intelligence agencies, and is often viewed in the same regard as the CIA.
The United States of America is probably the only country, which even formed a special Committee to support Israel. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee has control over the detailed information about the key issues facing Israel, Palestine and the United States. Besides that, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) plays an important role in the foreign policy making process. On the 2.May 2005 the Senate and the House with the help pf AIPAC expressed their support for Israel in its military actions against the Palestinians. There were a Israel lobby created. Today is remarkable that AIPAC is regarded as the most powerful foreign-policy lobby in Washington. The AIPAC is not the only pro Israel organization, with a lot of influence. There are fifty-two Jewish organizations involved in the lobby process. Situated in New York and abroad, these organisations have connections and long ties with the Israeli Likud Party. Obvious all these support is based on thousand hundreds of dollars which flow from the Jewish supporters to the American politicians.
However America does support Israel on the arena of the international politics, there are a lot of different opinions about the direction of the foreign policy of the US. Since the terrorist attacks against the United States on September 11, there were again some internal debate regarding how far the United States should support Israeli policies, now under the control of leader Ariel Sharon. Some political figures of the conservatives, such as Colin Powell, have cautioned that unconditional support of extremely right Sharon’s government during a period of unprecedented repression in the occupied territories would make it more difficult to get the full cooperation with the governments of the Islamic countries. In antagonism to these points of view, some of the more right elements, such as Paul Wolfowitz of the Defence Department, was arguing that Sharon was an indispensable ally in the war against terrorism and that the Palestinian resistance was essentially part of an international terrorist conspiracy against democratic societies.
The case of Israel and Palestine is different. However, there are significant sectors of the population that, that have different opinions about the foreign policy issue of the U.S. in Middle East.
Of course the United States consist of different population groups, which have different and sometimes even contradictory points of view about the conflict between Israel and Palestine. One of these groups are the Christians, specifically evangelical Christians. These Americans form the most powerful support group for Israel. They believe that God gave the land of Israel to the Jews. The return of the Jews to Israel was prophesied thousands of years ago in the Bible and God is a keeper of His promises. And of course they believe the Bible when it says, in Genesis: “God blesses those who bless the Jews, and God curses those who curse the Jews.” and that if they want America to be blessed by God, than they need to not be cursing the Jews.
Another ethnic minority, which supports Israel is the group of the American Jews. It seems, that this group in particular has a lot of influence on the foreign policy making process in the Middle East. They are better organized, more vocal and contribute money to political candidates and vote for the politicians who support Israel.
Of course there were some large rallies against Israel. Especially anti-globalization, antiwar and Muslim and Arab-American groups and supporters have demonstrated and protested against Israeli treatment of Palestinians and the American government’s policies in the Middle East.
But of course, there are an other level of the American society, where the most important decisions about these issues are made.
Each of the past six U.S. presidents has become deeply involved in the diplomacy surrounding the Arab-Israeli conflict. Remarkable that the political convictions of the leaders, were diverse and brought diverse changes and solution in the Middle East.
The same has certainly been true for President Bill Clinton. His relationship with Prime Minister of Israel of those time Yitzhak Rabin could be seen as very close and friendly. Clinton made the peace process in the Middle East one of his top priorities in the foreign policy. And that is why, with the inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993 a new era began for Israel. The United States became the stable and trustful mediator between Israeli and the Palestinian authorities. For about six years the relatively peaceful situation in both countries was achieved. But after the whole world shocked death of the leader Yitzhak Rabin the situation dramatically changed. Moreover, the foreign policy of the United States took a bit different direction as well.
Even President G.W.Bush never stopped to support Israel in the Middle East conflict, but the reasons to carry out this foreign policy were changed. As the matter of fact, the president is a Bible-believing Christian. In contrast to his father. George H.W. Bush was Christian as well, but his political consideration had more a mainstream Protestant shade.
And probably if the pro-Israel lobby was the priority in American’s foreign policy and if the support of Israel was based on the solidarity to Jews, President Bush would support of Israel, and if it were synonymous with Jews, President Bush would hardly be active with his boundless support. It is known, President Bush receives few Jewish votes and few Jewish money. Nowadays Bush’s mean goal in the Middle East is to improve the position of Israel. As it already have been said above, that except the strong bonds between the countries, Israel is still depended from the US on different areas. Receiving tree and a half billion dollars per year, Israel is the single largest recipient of U.S. By knowing these facts and using his foreign policy G.W.Bush tries to spread the American power over the Middle East.
While U.S. supports Israeli occupation policies, like U.S. support for its allies elsewhere, is primarily based on support for own security interests. U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and elsewhere is not reflecting the American public’s believes that U.S. international relations should be guided by humanitarian principles and ethics. Unfortunately, after month of the negotiations and attempts of the peace creation, international community was confronted with the announcement by Ariel Sharon and President Bush of new policies which are one-sided and illegal and which will cost yet more Israeli and Palestinian blood.
In fact, the so-called “special relationship” is a domestic political arrangement whereby lobbying organizations in the United States, directed or sponsored by the Israeli government, try to manipulate the power against Palestine. Unfortunately, here can be no talks about the creation of peace in the Middle East until every external member such as the United States of America, who is involved, still haunt their own interests in this war. And maybe this ideological motto of America “peace in the Middle East” is only a myth and an illusion, by using which G.W.Bush and his surrounding want to take control over the Arab countries.
Research Papers on The role of the United States of America in the Israel-Palestine conflict - Government Essay
Canaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion
Assess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 Europe
Never Been Kicked Out of a Place This Nice
Bringing Democracy to Africa
The Effects of Illegal Immigration
PETSTEL analysis of India
Relationship between Media Coverage and Social and…
Definition of Export Quotas
19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era
| Category: Government
Language in Literature – English Essay
Example of Classmate Speech Evaluation Essay
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3269
|
__label__cc
| 0.598394
| 0.401606
|
Understanding the Complexities of the Texas Penal Code
The main criminal code of the State of Texas, the Texas Penal Code was enacted originally in 1856 then revised in 1973. The revised Penal Code is based partly on the American Law Institute’s Model Penal Code. Before 1856, the common law was used to govern Texas criminal law with only a few penal statutes serving as exceptions. The fifth legislature passed an act that required the Texas governor to codify criminal and civil laws of the state. Only the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Penal Code, both of which were written by James Willie, were passed by the sixth legislature and became effective on February 1, 1857. These are referred to as the Old Codes.
The Texas Penal Code underwent a meaningful reconciliation and reorganization of the existing laws with the adoption of the current Penal Code in 1974. The Texas Legislative Counsel said that the revised code’s main objectives were as follows:
To consolidate, simplify, and clarify the substantive law of crimes
Modernize a Penal Code that had been designed for the state when it was rural, not industrialized, and underpopulated more than 100 years ago
Identify as precisely as possible all criminal conduct that is significantly harmful
Rationally grade all offenses according to the harm that they threaten or cause and then apportion the sentencing authority between the judiciary and the corrections system
Code the penal law’s general principles
Collect all significant criminal laws into a single code while transferring the statutes regulatory and similar laws that employ a penal sanction into a more appropriate location.
How the Texas Penal Code is Organized
To make it easy to find details about specific crimes and punishments, the Penal Code is divided into chapters with titles. It gets underway with the introductory provisions, which declare everyone is presumed innocent until they are proven guilty without a reasonable doubt. Other sections include:
General Principles of Criminal Responsibility
Inchoate Offenses
Offenses Against the Person
Offenses Against the Family
Offenses Against Property
Telecommunications Crimes
Offenses Against Public Administration
Offenses Against Public Order and Decency
Offenses Against Public Health, Safety, and Morals
Each section is specific and contains the current details for each topic as they apply to Texas law. This makes the punishment process more universal, and it also ensures that all defendants who are convicted of a specific crime will receive punishment within the same realm with little variation because the minimum and maximum punishments are specified for the court.
Purpose of the Texas Penal Code
The Texas Penal Code includes legal definitions, the classifications of the different crimes such as misdemeanors and felonies, and the punishment for each offense. After all, a penal code is the code of laws concerning the different offenses and crimes as well as their punishment as established by the law.
The Texas Penal Code lists offenses by punishment range. For example, there are penalties for repeat and habitual offenders. Here is a rundown of some of the different offenses:
All Felonies – If a person is going to trial for any felony with the exception of a state jail felony, and it is revealed at the trial that this individual has been convicted of two other felonies with the second prior felony conviction having been for an offense that happened subsequent to the first prior conviction having become final, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment for life upon conviction, or for no less than 25 years and no more than 99 years.
First Degree Felony – If a person is on trial for a first-degree felony after having been previously convicted of a felony that wasn’t a state jail felony, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment in the institution for life or no less than 15 years or no more than 99 years. In addition, the individual can be fined up to $10,000. If the person is older than 18 and on trial for a specific aggravated sexual assault offense and that defendant was convicted of certain violent sexual offenses, that individual shall be punished by being sentenced to life without parole if convicted of the second charge.
Class A Misdemeanor – If an individual is going to trial for a Class A offense and it has been proven that the individual was previously convicted of a Class A misdemeanor or any felony, if convicted, the individual will be punished by jail confinement of no less than 90 days but no more than 1 year and/or a fine of up to $4,000.
Class B Misdemeanor – If an individual goes on trial for a Class B offense after having been convicted of a Class B or a Class A misdemeanor or any degree of felony, upon conviction the individual will be punished by no less than 30 days but no more than 180 days in jail and a fine not to exceed $2,000 or both jail time and a fine.
Classifying Crimes
The different crimes are classified in the Penal Code as well. As an example, as it pertains to offenses against a person, it classifies capital murder as a capital felony. A first-degree felony could be murder, human trafficking, continuous human trafficking, aggravated kidnapping without voluntary release of the victim in a place that is safe, continuous smuggling of persons, continuous sexual abuse of a child, aggravated assault by or against a public servant in retaliation against an informant, witness, or individual reporting a crime.
The Court and the Penal Code
The Texas Penal Code is used by courts throughout the state to determine the punishment that will be given to a defendant who is convicted of a crime. The nature of the crime, the classification of the crime, and any prior convictions play a role in the outcome of the sentencing after a conviction.
It makes the punishment for specific crimes straightforward and establishes the same punishment for all perpetrators of the same crime with a similar criminal history. Criminal law attorneys who practice in Texas familiarize themselves with the law so they can better determine with their client’s case and work toward the least possible jail time and punishment in the event they are convicted.
If your life has been brought to a standstill due to criminal charges, then you need a dedicated team of experienced criminal defense attorneys like those at Fears Nachawati. We have successfully represented many cases in state and federal courts related to these most common criminal defense cases, and we maintain a formidable track record of dismissals, no bills, and acquittals, in part due to our in-depth understanding of the Texas Penal Code.
Our team will ensure that your best interests are represented, and we will stand by your side as you face this difficult situation.
Contact us today to schedule your free initial conversation by calling (866) 705-7584 or by visiting the offices of Fears Nachawati located throughout the great state of Texas, including in Houston, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and San Antonio. The sooner we can discuss your case, the sooner we will be able to get to work helping you.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3270
|
__label__wiki
| 0.709822
| 0.709822
|
Swamp Thing: Lawsuit Blaming Oil Companies For Wetland Loss Might As Well Blame The Plaintiffs
Daniel Fisher Forbes Staff
I cover finance, the law, and how the two interact.
Dead cypress trees stand in a sinking Louisiana marsh.
The multibillion-dollar lawsuit that Louisiana plaintiff lawyers launched against the oil industry last week is based upon a compelling theory: In their century-long quest for oil and gas, drillers helped destroy the state’s protective wetlands by digging a network of canals that introduced “corrosive salt water” into the delicate ecosystem.
The 24-page lawsuit on behalf of several local levee boards names a laundry list of oil companies that have done business in Louisiana, from Alta Mesa Services to Yuma Exploration, including majors like BP , Chevron and ExxonMobil. It blames them for causing erosion and loss of plant life that is causing the wetlands to shrink at a rate of more than 30 square miles a year.
There’s a few problems here: First, the Louisiana Supreme Court appears to have ruled out such claims in a 2005 decision. Second, lawyers tried the same arguments when they sued the Army Corps of Engineers for Hurricane Katrina damages to New Orleans, and got poured out of court. Finally, global warming and flood-control levees themselves probably have more to do with Louisiana’s shrinking coastline than anything the oil companies have done.
“This is just the latest chapter in the Louisiana entitlements saga,” said Ed Richards, a professor of public-health law at the Louisiana State University Law Center and expert on flood-related litigation. “A lot of the bad science that was developed for the Katrina levee cases is being recycled here.”
Richards is no right-wing climate-science denier. His concern is lawsuits like this distract Louisiana residents from the fact that the state’s wetlands are doomed to disappear into the Gulf of Mexico for other reasons, and the remediation measures the levee boards want the oil companies to pay for might only accelerate the process.
Some scientific background: Southern Louisiana and the City of New Orleans sit on a vast delta which, like the rest of the world’s great river deltas, is surprisingly young. The land formed 8,000 to 10,000 years ago when the Mississippi River was flush with runoff from retreating glaciers and the Gulf of Mexico sea level was hundreds of feet lower than it is today. A long period of relatively stable and rising temperatures, accompanied by rising sea levels, caused the sediment in the Mississippi to pile up where it entered the Gulf.
When the delta first started forming, Richards told me, “the Louisiana coastline was probably halfway to Cuba.”
As the sediments piled up and sea levels rose, several things happened. The river’s velocity slowed down and the weight of the sediments pushed the surface down in the process known as subsidence. Subsidence can be accelerated by industrial processes such as pumping groundwater out of sandy aquifers, although it is unlikely that simply pumping oil out of rock thousands of feet below the surface has much of an effect. Richards' late colleague, the LSU geologist Roy Dokka, showed that there has been significant subsidence -- more than two feet in the New Orleans area since 1955 -- even in areas with no oil drilling.
By the 19th century loggers got into the act, clear-cutting the cypress forests that once dominated the landscape south of New Orleans and digging canals to haul the valuable lumber out. Richards said the star-shaped pattern of the lumber canals can still be seen in aerial photos, overlaid by the straight canals oil drillers started digging in the early 1900s. What had been forest subject to flooding several times a year quickly became wetlands as the cypress trees were removed, he said.
"What you see with the Louisiana coast is pretty much all invasive species subsequent to the cypress," Richards said. "The oil companies didn’t start this process, and they didn’t cut the big trees."
In the lawsuit, the levee boards blame the oil companies for destroying the wetlands and increasing the financial burden on them to protect residents from floods:
These activities have changed not only the topography of the coastal lands, but the location, flow and natural pulsing patterns of the waters moving through those lands, and the process of sediment deposition that naturally renourishes them. The result has been to accelerate land loss and leave much of those coastal lands that remain in a diminished and vulnerable state.
But that same charge could be made against the government, for constructing hundreds of miles of levees that keep the Mississippi within its banks and prevent the flooding that used to dump sediment across thousands of square miles of low-lying delta land.
In addition to scientific objections, there's a big legal barrier in the way of this lawsuit. The Louisiana Supreme Court, in a 2005 decision called Terrebonne Parish v. Castex, rejected a lawsuit by a local school board trying to force an oil company to restore marshlands it owned to their original state. The school board, like the levee boards, argued drillers cut canals that destroyed vegetation and caused the land to flood. But nothing in the drilling lease provided for such remediation, the court held, and the court declined "to order piecemeal restoration of the coast in some fashion" instead of leaving that to legislators and environmental experts.
The lawsuit by the levee boards relies on Louisiana state law, including Civil Code 656, which protects the "natural servitude of drain." But the state Supreme Court considered similar state laws in the Terrebonne case and rejected them in favor of a simple analysis of the leases oil companies signed in order to drill.
The whole lawsuit, Richards told me, might be an effort to answer the "political question about whether the majority on the Louisiana Supreme Court has changed." Terrebonne was decided 4-3 and Chief Justice Pascal Calogero, who wrote the opinion, has since retired.
The levee boards, like Terrebonne Parish, want the oil companies to pay for billions of dollars worth of projects designed to halt the erosion of the Louisiana coast. But Richards is skeptical they'd help, and in some case they might actually make things worse. Most of the canals were cut by pushing mud into banks called spoils on either side. Those have since become home to trees and wildlife that would lose their habitats if they were bulldozed back into the canals.
The last time disaster struck New Orleans, plaintiff lawyers organized thousands of homeowners to sue the Army Corps of Engineers, claiming its negligence caused the levees to collapse and flood the city. A federal judge allowed those lawsuits to proceed, even granting class-action status in defiance of prohibitions in the Federal Tort Claims Act. The Fifth Circuit in New Orleans first ruled for the plaintiffs as well, then reconsidered, deciding that the 1927 Flood Control Act gave the government absolute immunity from suits over flooding damage.
This being Louisiana, and the defendants being corporations instead of the government, this case might also survive a trial judge's scrutiny. But the plaintiffs will have a tough time getting around Terrebonne Parish, unless the Louisiana Supreme Court has changed its views on contract law. And even if they win, it's unlikely the billions of dollars they get from the oil companies will halt the steady erosion of Louisiana's coastline.
"It’s an absolutely fascinating confluence of environmentalists and state people denying the reality of ocean rise, climate change and science," Richards says of he lawsuit. Down in Louisiana, he adds, "we’re all about other people’s money."
Daniel Fisher
I am a senior editor at Forbes, covering legal affairs, corporate finance, macroeconomics and the occasional sailing story. I was the Southwest Bureau manager for Forbes...
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3271
|
__label__cc
| 0.662896
| 0.337104
|
Best of 2019: Demystifying government procurement for start-ups
By Kate Cornick, CEO, LaunchVic
The public sector traditionally procures from well-established companies. It’s time to think about working with start-ups.
Governments have a responsibility to drive economic development and jobs, and departments and agencies such as LaunchVic are established to support this. Another driver of economic growth is procurement, and while this is widely recognised by government as a job creator, not many people understand the huge potential offered by procuring from start-ups.
Each time a trusted public sector organisation such as the Victorian Government purchases from a start-up, they provide that start-up with a valuable use case, sending a powerful signal to other purchasers that it’s ‘safe’ to buy from them.
However, government procurement processes, designed to minimise risk, can make it difficult for the public sector to purchase solutions from start-ups. The CivVic Labs Accelerator Program aims to address this and is looking for civic problems to solve.
A safe place to do something new
As Australia’s first GovTech accelerator, CivVic Labs aims to connect government challenges with start-ups who can solve them. From the start-up perspective, CivVic Labs helps them scale, securing more capital and creating more jobs. From a government perspective, problems are able to be solved in innovative ways without huge risk, and government teams are exposed to new ways of working.
How the program typically works is that the government presents a challenge to CivVic Labs, which in turn promotes it to the start-up ecosystem, inviting proposals for solutions. The best ideas from submissions are refined in the CivVic Labs pre-accelerator, with the best solution for each challenge moving to the accelerator phase. Here, a minimum viable product or prototype is built — with the backing of CivVic’s funding, mentors and resources. There is also an opportunity for the start-up to secure up to $185,000 in investment to develop the solution as a market-ready product, to sell to other customers and effect change on a larger scale.
So far, four start-ups have successfully been paired with government challenges, building their capability and connections in the government sector. St Vincent’s Hospital, for example, was looking for innovative ways to reduce the number of hospital-acquired conditions (HAC) that patients contract within hospital walls. Currently, one in nine hospital admissions result in a potentially preventable HAC, and a breakthrough in thinking was needed.
Kate Cornick, CEO, LaunchVic.
After posing the challenge to the CivVic cohort, the hospital partnered with data analytics start-up Sky Ledge to develop a platform that proactively predicts the occurrence of preventable HAC. Its solution has the potential to both save lives and ease the burden on the public health system caused by these preventable diseases.
In another positive outcome, the Department of Transport has started working with Envision Systems to understand how Victorians use public transport (trains, trams and buses) through sensory monitoring. The solution will hopefully help the state overcome current public transport data silos and gaps and meet future demand.
Other organisations in Victoria’s public system are in the process of linking up with the state’s approved innovators, and the call is out for further challenges to solve.
Bridge the middle ground — work directly with start-ups
Despite the perception that government is behind on its digital transformation journey, the public sector does want access to innovative thinking, and is committed to delivering citizen value through better services and increased efficiency. But public sector procurements traditionally rely on purchasing from larger, more-established companies. These enterprises are rarely working at the forefront of technology; where they are, they are likely to be working with start-ups. Can we remove the middle ground and see government working directly with start-ups?
CivVic Labs presents an opportunity for the public sector to progress the digital economy and accelerate the growth of the Victorian start-up ecosystem, which grew 40% in the past year alone. Government teams will also benefit from start-up collaboration in more intangible ways. For example, programs such as CivVic Labs offer a unique professional development opportunity, exposing public servants to agile start-up thinking.
Despite not always speaking the same language, public servants and start-ups share a passion for solving the same problems. Their differences, instead of keeping them apart, should be used to spark creativity and develop stronger solutions together.
I’d encourage any public servant who has ambitions to innovate to come forward and get involved. CivVic Labs is a great environment for Victorian Government professionals to learn from some of the best innovators in the world, whilst progressing the start-up sector, solving real challenges and realising economic potential. Both parties will benefit from the partnership, and Victoria’s economic development and job growth will follow suit.
Images courtesy LaunchVic.
This article was first published on 14 August, 2019.
Interview: Ray Greenwood, SAS Australia & New Zealand
In our annual Leaders in Technology series, we ask the experts what the year ahead holds. Today...
Interview: Ray Bradbery, NCB Group
Best of 2019: Open source's promise for local governments
Across the festive season we'll be reprising some of our best articles from 2019. Today we...
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3274
|
__label__cc
| 0.676488
| 0.323512
|
S. 1210 (113th)
S. 1210 (113th): A PLUS Act
A bill to allow a State to submit a declaration of intent to the Secretary of Education to combine certain funds to improve the academic achievement of students.
Sponsor. Senator for Texas. Republican.
Last Updated: Jun 20, 2013
This bill was introduced on June 20, 2013, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.
S. 1210 (113th) was a bill in the United States Congress.
GovTrack.us. (2020). S. 1210 — 113th Congress: A PLUS Act. Retrieved from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1210
“S. 1210 — 113th Congress: A PLUS Act.” www.GovTrack.us. 2013. January 22, 2020 <https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1210>
A PLUS Act, S. 1210, 113th Cong. (2013).
|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s1210
|title=S. 1210 (113th)
|date=June 20, 2013
|quote=A PLUS Act
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3275
|
__label__wiki
| 0.943094
| 0.943094
|
North Dakota dioceses name 53 Catholic officials accused of sexually abusing children
Written By: April Baumgarten / Forum News Service | Jan 2nd 2020 - 6pm.
FARGO — Catholic dioceses in North Dakota released on Thursday, Jan. 2, lists of clergy and religious members who have been accused of sexually abusing children, and prosecutors are investigating to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.
The Dioceses of Fargo and Bismarck issued the lists, which include only allegations that church officials believe are credible.
The release of Fargo’s list comes after the diocese reviewed its files dating back to 1950. The list names 31 alleged offenders: priests and deacons, as well as non-ordained religious figures.
“It is my hope that this release of names will open the way to a purification of our Church, especially in our own diocese,” Bishop John Folda said in a statement. “We all know the experience of grace that comes with the confession of sins, and I pray that our diocese will experience a similar outpouring of grace through acknowledgement of these sinful acts by those in positions of authority.”
The Forum has published the Fargo Diocese's two-page list below:
List of Fargo Diocese Clergy 1 by inforumdocs on Scribd
List of Fargo Diocese sexua... by inforumdocs on Scribd
The Dioceses of Fargo and Bismarck didn’t disclose any details about the allegations, including when and where they happened, how many victims were abused and which parishes the accused served in. Fargo Diocese spokesman Paul Braun declined to provide these details or comment on why the diocese decided not to disclose such information.
The Bismarck Diocese, which released a list of 22 names, also declined to provide additional information about its list.
Victim advocates and those who have worked to expose sexual abuse in the Catholic Church criticized the absence of detail in the lists. Zachary Hiner, executive director of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), said he expected at least a list that showed where each priest worked.
“It’s the barest of bare minimum,” he said. “How are people supposed to know if one of these men were in their community?"
Both dioceses took months to review their files, and this is the first time either has released a list of clergy who church officials believe have faced "substantiated" allegations of sexually abusing children.
"A substantiated allegation is one for which sufficient corroborating evidence establishes reasonable grounds to believe that the alleged abuse in fact occurred," the diocese said in a statement. "Substantiated is not equivalent to conviction in a court of law."
On Thursday, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said his office had been working with state’s attorneys from Cass and Burleigh counties for the past several weeks to thoroughly investigate the allegations.
“As the BCI investigation continues, if it leads to other offenders not already identified by the Dioceses, we will ensure, wherever possible, that all offenders are held accountable for their crimes to the fullest extent possible under the law,” Stenehjem said in a statement.
No details about allegations or where clergy worked
Over the years, many dioceses around the country have released similar lists. The Forum has previously pressed the Fargo Diocese on if and when it would release its list.
When issuing such lists, most dioceses release work histories of the accused, said Terry McKiernan, founder of Bishop Accountability. His website tracks accused clergy members and gives details about the allegations.
Still, McKiernan gave the North Dakota dioceses credit for releasing lists, even if they are late to the game. Fargo and Bismarck are the 148th and 149th out of about 200 dioceses in the U.S. to release lists, he said.
“A list is better than no list,” he said. “The transparency is significant.”
The North Dakota lists do contain the names of the accused, the year they were ordained, when they died and whether they were removed from ministry or imprisoned. The Forum has confirmed at least three of the accused served time behind bars.
According to the Fargo list, three-fourths of the accused are dead, and about a dozen were removed from ministry.
The lists also say whether clergy were members of a North Dakota diocese or from an out-of-state diocese and served in the state for some time.
Braun said Fargo Bishop John Folda would not provide any interviews for this story. The bishop, however, released a public statement about the list and a four-minute video of him reading the statement. Diocese churches plan to read his statement or play the video at Masses on Sunday.
In the video, Folda asks forgiveness for “the shameful acts of those … who caused harm to young people and abused the trust placed in them.”
“Even one instance of abuse would be too many, and I know this list of clergy and religious (officials) is a cause of deep sadness to us all,” Folda said.
Fargo Diocese staff worked with a review board consisting of volunteer laypersons who are experts in psychology, social services, law enforcement and medicine to determine which names to disclose, the diocese said.
The North Dakota lists have new names, meaning the dioceses are treating the situation with more honesty, McKiernan said. Fargo's list includes at least 15 new names previously not known to the public.
“That’s important for survivors of abuse because many of them have been suffering in silence all of these years,” he said. “You realize that you are not the only one.”
A chart released by the diocese shows it substantiated almost 90 allegations of child sexual abuse, almost half of which happened in 1970. That would amount to almost three allegations per accused church official, if evenly distributed.
But it’s likely some have more allegations than others. The Rev. John Gerald Brendan Smyth, who spent time serving in North Dakota, likely abused more than 50 children in Ireland and the U.S., according to Bishop Accountability.
It’s unclear whether the allegations against clergy on the Fargo Diocese list occurred in North Dakota or elsewhere. For example, the Rev. James C. Jeffrey was named last year by the Brownsville Diocese in Texas for allegations he faced in the 1980s. Law enforcement determined in 1987 the accusations were not valid, so Jeffrey, a Fargo Diocese priest, returned to North Dakota to serve as a priest until 1999, when he retired.
“The Diocese of Fargo has received no other accusations of childhood sexual abuse or sexual misconduct of any type against Father Jeffrey for the period from his 1959 ordination through his death on May 28, 2017,” Braun told The Forum in June.
Abusers of adults not included
The Fargo list does not include clergy members under investigation or those accused of abusing only adults.
The diocese is investigating whether allegations against priests Jack Herron and Wenceslaus Katanga are credible. The Forum reported last year that the church was conducting an internal investigation into Herron after a woman came forward with allegations he sexually abused her as an underage teen in the 1970s.
Prosecutors in Cass and McHenry counties have declined to pursue charges against Katanga, who was accused of sexually abusing a child in Fargo during the late 2000s.
Braun confirmed both men were still under internal investigation. "The list will be updated if any other clergy or religious (officials) have substantiated claims after an investigation," Braun said.
Another priest not included in Fargo's list was the Rev. Michael Wight. Last year, Kateri Marion of Belcourt, N.D., accused the priest of sexually abusing her when she was 30 years old.
Marion’s attorney, Michael Bryant, said the list is a start, but questioned the absence of priests who abused vulnerable adults. Bryant accused the church of protecting clergy over victims.
“There is a whole section about staying with our brothers,” he said. “That’s the problem is (diocese administrators) don’t protect the survivors from the beginning.”
He called on the state to lengthen the time allowed for victims to pursue criminal or civil cases against child sex abusers and for the church to release files on those accused.
Folda said in his statement his diocese takes seriously victims' allegations of clergy abuse.
There are several numbers that can be used to report sexual abuse by clergy. If a person is in immediate danger, they should call 911. Residents also should call local law enforcement to report sexual abuse.
Here's a list of phone numbers to call for help or to file claims of abuse:
North Dakota Child Protection Program — 800-472-2622
North Dakota Attorney General's Office — 800-472-2185
Fargo Diocese — 701-356-7945 or 701-356-7965
Bismarck Diocese — 877-405-7435 or 701-223-1347
FARGO DIOCESE
Crime and Courts Jul 11th 2019 - 1pm
Belcourt woman publicly accuses priest of sexual assault during confession, sues Fargo Diocese
Crime and Courts Nov 26th 2019 - 5pm
No criminal charges for North Dakota priest accused of sexual misconduct with a child
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3276
|
__label__wiki
| 0.919837
| 0.919837
|
Scotland 18
Jacobite 6
Highland Adventure
Sukie Chapman 81
Lorna Heatley 30
Jack Stacey 27
Katie Shaw 26
Persephone Hallow 22
The Jacobite Steam Train
Travelling through the beautiful Scottish Highlands, the Jacobite Steam Train runs 41 miles between Fort William and Mallaig. Two steam trains operate on this route, this means that it's the only regular route where two steam trains pass each other on the national network. The Jacobite Steam Train should be first on your list when planning Scottish highland railway holidays, the spectacular views and hardworking steam locomotives are a wonderful way to appreciate Scotland.
History of the West Highland railway
The Mallaig extension of the West Highland Railway opened in 1901. It opened up parts of remote rural Scotland and the Scottish Atlantic Coast. In 1967, regular steam services along the line were withdrawn as part of a modernisation attempt, they were replaced with more reliable and efficient diesel locomotives. However in 1984, in an effort to promote tourism steam locomotives were re-introduced along part of the line, it proved so successful that the service was continued.
In 1995, after the privatization of British Rail, the responsibility for running the line passed to West Highlander Trains. The service was re-named 'The Jacobite', after the many local connections to the Jacobite political movement in the Highlands. The Jacobite service runs twice a day between June and August.
The West Highland Line still has jointed tracks, not welded tracks, so the old fashioned clackity-clack of the wheels is still heard on the line. Due to the steep gradients of the West Highland Line powerful steam locomotives are required. The coaches are made up of first and standard class coaches, they are all ex-British Railways mark 1s from the 1960s. The beautiful scenery the line passes through is best appreciated from the open first class carriages.
Route of the Jacobite Steam train
The West Highland Line covers steep gradients and tight curves, these provide a great demonstration of the power of the steam locomotives. The eighty-four mile round trip has been described as one of the best railway journeys in the world. Beginning near the tallest mountain in the UK, Ben Nevis, and the route passes the deepest freshwater loch in Britain, Loch Morar, and the shortest river in Britain, The River Morar. The journey begins at Britain's most westerly mainland station, Arisaig, and ends near the deepest saltwater loch in Europe, Loch Nevis.
A notable stop along the route is the village of Glenfinnan. This is where Bonnie Prince Charlie raised his standard in 1745.
The Hogwarts Express
At King's Cross Station, on platform 9 ¾, the adventures of arguably the world's most famous wizard began aboard the Hogwarts Express. The steam train depicted followed the route of the Jacobite Steam Train. The most memorable part of the journey from the Harry Potter films is probably the Glenfinnan Viaduct. Built in 1901 by Robert McAlpine, it was one of the first rail viaducts to be built of concrete. It is also commemorated on the Scottish £10 note, as an example of fine Scottish engineering.
The traditional compartments the children are seen travelling in during the filming of Harry Potter are not available to book. However, they are sometimes used for latecomers if the rest of the train is fully booked.
Rail holidays in Scotland allow you to experience the beauty of the highlands, coupled with the romance of travelling by steam locomotive. Great Rail Journeys offer a number of train holidays to Scotland which include The Jacobite Steam Train.
The enchanting charm of Wales' railways
05/01/2018 · By Jack Stacey
The home of Arthurian legend, land of poetry and song and nation of magnificent landscapes made up of noble mountains, spectacular coastline and pretty towns, Wales has it all.
Celebrating India in Colour: Yellow
17/07/2015 · By Sukie Chapman
See the country united by colour on luxury train tours in India. In this blog we celebrate yellow, colour of the sun, and it’s warming, healing qualities.
Ireland – A land of myths and legends
12/01/2018 · By Lorna Heatley
Whether they are told in a rhyme, a ballad, or written in an ancient tome, the myths and legends of Ireland are some of the most well known in the world.
Phenomenal rail journeys of Asia
You love rail travel but also want to explore further afield than Europe; this is a conundrum many of our customers call us about.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3278
|
__label__wiki
| 0.845144
| 0.845144
|
Erdington
Curdworth / Minworth
Glen Guest House
747, Chester Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B24 0BY
CURDWORTH and MINWORTH
Curdworth is a village and civil parish in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire.
Curdworth is 11 miles east of the centre of Birmingham. North Warwickshire borders the Warwickshire borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth to the east, the county of Leicestershire to the north-east, Staffordshire to the north-west and Birmingham in the West Midlands to the south.
The village is sandwiched between Junctions T1 of the M6 Toll and Junction 9 of the M42 motorways and the busy A4097 Kingsbury Road.
Hams Hall road freight terminal (on the site of the old Hams Hall power stations) and The Belfry Golf Courses and Hotel are also close by.
In 1995 and 2000 Curdworth earned the title of Best Kept Village in Warwickshire, in the large village class. The village also earned the title in 2007 of Best Kept Village in North Warwickshire, in the medium-sized village class.
Curdworth is close to Drayton Manor Theme Park, Kingsbury Water Park and Ash End House Children’s Farm.
Curdworth is home to The White Horse pub and restaurant and the Beehive Inn, It also has a Village Hall located in the heart of the picturesque village.
Minworth is a village contiguous with Curdworth, Water Orton, Castle Vale, Walmley, Wishaw and Sutton Coldfield.
A large Asda Supermarket is situated on the Minworth border with Walmley. It opened in 1977 as a Carrefour hypermarket and following various take overs is now owned by Wal Mart. The original store remains and has been remodelled with the exterior refreshed in 2008, the store signage was changed to Asda Supercentre.
The site also has a Wickes and there is a B&M store on the adjacent site.
There are 2 pubs in Minworth, the Hare and Hounds and The Boat, which lies on the Birmingham and Fazeley Canal. There are also a variety of local convenience stores and takeaways.
On Forge Lane and Maybrook Road there are industrial units, home to Cadbury, Hozelock and various other companies.
The East of Minworth is home to the Water Treatment Works of Severn Trent. It is their largest treatment works, treating the waste from the equivalent of 1.7 million people from across Birmingham and the Black Country. The site includes a digester plant to generate biogas, fuelling the plant.
Minworth’s main public transport links consist of the one bus line that serves the village and 5 bus routes that serve the ASDA centre. All bus routes serve Sutton Coldfield with one bus to Chelmsley Wood, Wylde Green, Erdington and Birmingham.
Glen Guest House, 747, Chester Road, Erdington, Birmingham, B24 0BY
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3279
|
__label__cc
| 0.747817
| 0.252183
|
Moving to Tunisiaadmin2019-07-19T15:16:37+07:00
Moving to Tunisia
Relocating to any area can be an overwhelming task and much more so if not properly prepared to do so. A move to Tunisia should be approached with careful planning and a great deal of research in order to make a relatively smooth transition. Recognized as the tiniest country in North Africa, Tunisia is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea on the north and east ends. It is also proudly called home to one of the heaviest traditionally inspired cities, Carthage. Residents of Tunisia are deeply vested in their culture, arts, historical make-up and politics.
Living in Tunisia
There has been a consistent increase in real estate investment for foreigners in Tunisia. This comes shortly after the allowance of them to own real estate in the country. There are villas and apartments in Tunisia that require much less of an investment than homes around Mediterranean areas such as Spain, Morocco, Italy and Greece. The elite group or society typically resides in the suburbs of the north area of Tunis. Located in this area are elaborate and expensive homes that attract the high end business partners and associates. It’s relatively cheaper to live on the exterior of the urban edge of Tunis, where average home prices are much more accommodating for those looking to save or not invest as much initially.
Jobs in Tunisia
Expats expecting to move to Tunisia and find work should prepare for a challenge due to the high volume of students that are trained and quality educated for the available positions. If work is a must, it is best to have something lined up before moving to the country. In order to work in the country of Tunisia, expats must have a passport, residence and work permit. The work permit is typically acquired first, followed by the residence permit, which are both valid for a year. Some of the cities of Tunisia are sown below.
Call Us: +971 (4) 8855 611 to learn more about life in Tunisia.
Vehicle – Import Documentation
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3282
|
__label__wiki
| 0.979365
| 0.979365
|
Inside the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's French Home, "Villa Windsor," in Bois de Boulogne
Wallis Simpson and the former King Edward VIII may have been exiled from England, but they soon settled into the Parisian lifestyle.
By Chloe Foussianes
Dec 4 2019, 8:34 am EST
Horst P. HorstGetty Images
When Edward VIII abdicated the throne, he sacrificed any hopes of moving into the British monarch's grand primary residence, Buckingham Palace. But that doesn't mean he and his bride, Wallis Simpson, had to live in squalor.
The pair, now known as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, soon settled into a 14-room manse in the Parisian park Bois de Boulogne, which they rented for a small sum from the city. The duke and duchess knew it by its address, 4 Route du Champ d’Éntraînement; a later resident, Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed, would rename it the "Villa Windsor."
The edifice was originally designed as a summer home for Paris's famed urban planner, Georges-Eugéne Haussmann, back in the mid-1800s. It would become an event venue, and a home for Charles de Gaulle, before coming under the Windsors' purview in 1952.
The Duchess of Windsor, photographed by Horst P. Horst.
The duchess soon put her own stamp on the building with the help of Stéphane Boudin, a legendary interior designer who would go on to help Jackie Kennedy with some rooms in the White House. He'd also assist with the renovation of the duke and duchess's home in the Parisian suburbs, Le Moulin de la Tuilerie.
At Villa Windsor, Boudin created a swirl of French and English aristocratic styles. Eighteenth-century panelling and "Wallis blue" paint framed treasures like a Venetian Rococo console table and Japanese screen, purported to be a gift from Emperor Hirohito. Simpson, who once noted that "the possession of beautiful things is thrilling to me," was pleased. She also added her own touches, including copious sketches, photographs, and portraits of her many pugs; pug-themed trinkets also abounded.
The Duke of Windsor's Paris home, as shown on The Crown
Des WillieNetflix
When Vogue photographer Horst P. Horst went to shoot the home in 1963, he seemed impressed most of all by its pristine condition. "It is hard to believe that there can ever have been an interior more surpassingly clean," Horst said, per Architectural Digest, "where crystal was more genuinely scintillating and porcelain more luminous, or where wood and leather, polished to the consistency of precious stone, could more truthfully be said to shine."
It was in this environment that the Windsors hosted their famous dinner parties. The likes of Marlene Dietrich, Aristotle Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, and the Aga Khan. Once, Villa Windsor's future resident Al Fayed was invited. He later told the New York Times in 1986 that he remembered "the way they danced and their sense of fun."
The Duke, photographed by Horst P. Horst.
Later on, Al Fayed would sign a 50-year lease of the property, with the intent of restoring the home to its former splendor. (After the duke died, the duchess resided in Villa Windsor alone for 13 years, and it had fell into disrepair.) "It's like a mausoleum," Al Fayed told People in 1990, after completing a $12 million renovation. "It sometimes gives you the creeps—both of them having died here. But it's still a happy place, a great fantasy which I love to live in."
And an accurate fantasy at that. "This is how it used to be," the couple's former footman, Sidney Johnson, told the Times in 1989. "Except there are no dogs around."
Unfortunately, Villa Windsor is not open to the public, and is still under Al Fayed's 50-year lease. The park in which it is situated, Bois de Boulogne, is open to tourists.
From: Town & Country US
More From The Latest from Your Favorite Royals
A Royal Family Animated Series Is Coming to HBO
Kate Middleton Launches a New Children's Survey
Prince Harry Has Officially Returned to Canada
Meghan Markle Seeks Legal Action for Canada Photos
Kate Middleton Stuns in a Glittering Red Dress
Meghan & Harry Retain Their Royal Patronages
Prince Harry Opened Up About Princess Diana
Netflix Wants to Cut a Deal with Meghan & Harry
Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Had "No Other Option"
The Latest from Your Favorite Royals
The Duchess of Windsor's Royal Style
My Friend the Duchess of Windsor
The Duchess of Windsor's Fashion Moments
The Duchess of Windsor Talks Clothes With Fleur Cowles
Doris Duke: The Richest Girl in the World
Inside Jackie Kennedy's Hamptons Childhood Home
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3284
|
__label__wiki
| 0.573076
| 0.573076
|
Obituary for Floyd K Kizer
NORTHBOROUGH –
NORTHBOROUGH – Floyd K. Kizer, a lifelong resident of Northborough, passed away peacefully at the age of 76 on July 19, 2019, at the UMass Memorial Medical Center. He was surrounded by members of his loving family at the time of his death.
His devoted wife of 55 years, Geraldine A. ‘Gerry’ (Rose) Kizer, passed away in 2017. Floyd leaves three daughters, Kathleen R. Carey and her husband Sean of Oxford, MA, Danni L. Sennett of Brattleboro, VT and Jean M. Ouellette and her companion David Hunt of Northborough, MA; six grandchildren, Brian, Kevin and Samantha Carey, Zachary and Nicholas Sennett and Joseph Ouellette. Floyd was preceded in death by his three siblings, Franklin Kizer, June Bickford, and Betty Vancelette.
Floyd was born in Marlborough on January 21, 1943, a son to the late Frank and Myrtice (Hastings) Kizer. As a young man Floyd worked as a farmhand for the former Tyler Farm in Berlin and former Kizer Farm in Northborough. He worked over 30 years as a forklift operator at Corrugated Paper Co. in Westborough prior to serving as a custodian for many years at the St. Mark’s School in Southborough.
Floyd and Gerry had a wonderful life together. Taking rides in the truck, walking the beach together at Old Orchard and catching Red Sox games from their side-by-side recliners were just a few of their shared pastimes. In earlier years Floyd enjoyed riding motorcycles and talking on his CB radio under the handle “Crazy Kraut”. Floyd enjoyed spending time with his girls and six grandchildren, all whom he cherished.
Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, July 23rd, from 5-7 p.m.at Hays Funeral Home, 56 Main Street Northborough. Floyd’s funeral service will be held in the funeral home at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 24th. Floyd will then be laid to rest beside the love of his life- Gerry, in the Howard Street Cemetery, Northborough.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the American Heart Association, PO Box 417005, Boston, MA 02241-7005 (www.2.heart.org) To leave a condolence for Floyd’s family, please visit www.haysfuneralhome.com
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3285
|
__label__wiki
| 0.57246
| 0.57246
|
Avery County Election Update: Eight File as Candidates for 2018 So Far
Published Tuesday, February 13, 2018 at 5:25 pm
By Tim Gardner
This year will feature elections for county, state and national offices. At press time, eight have filed for offices that Avery County voters will elect or help elect.
Filing for most county and district offices and some for state and federal offices began Monday, February 12 at 12:00 noon and runs through Wednesday, February 28 at 12:00 noon.
Avery County offices open this year include: Commissioners, Board of Education, Sheriff, Clerk of Court and Soil and Water Supervisor. There are three seats open on the County Commission. The two candidates with the most votes will serve four-year terms, while the candidate with the third most votes will serve a two-year term. Two seats are open on the Board of Education. The winners for Sheriff, Clerk of Court, Board of Education and Soil and Water will all serve four-year terms.
Also, Avery County voters will join those from Watauga, Mitchell, Yancey and Madison counties in electing a District Attorney for their 24th District. And Avery voters will also join those from Mitchell and McDowell Counties in electing a State Representative (House member) for the 85th District and from Burke and Caldwell counties in electing a State Senator for the 46th District. The winners of the District Attorney, State Representative and State Senator races will serve four-year terms.
In county offices, Lisa Daniels filed for Clerk of Court and Kevin Frye for Sheriff. Both are seeking re-election to those offices. Also, Dennis Aldridge filed for county commissioner.
For district offices, Incumbent Seth Banks filed for re-election as District Attorney, Incumbent Warren Daniel for State Senate and Incumbent Josh Dobson for State House.
Nationally, incumbent Virginia Foxx and Jennifer Marshall filed for United States House (Congress) for North Carolina’s 5th Congressional District, which encompasses much of the northwestern portion of the state, including Avery County, and a portion of Winston-Salem.
All candidates are Republicans except Marshall, who is a Democrat.
The election primary is on Tuesday, May 8 from 6:30 a.m.-7:30 p.m.
A voting canvass will be on Friday, May 18.
A candidate of any political party can run for office in a primary. Candidates who win a primary or are unopposed in a primary would then be candidates in the general election on November 6.
The Board of Education is non-partisan and there will be only one election (the May primary) for its candidates. The Soil & Water Supervisor also is non-partisan and its candidates will only be on the General Election ballot in November. There will be no runoffs in either of those two elections. The top two candidates in votes received in both races will automatically win regardless of how many votes they win by. Filing for Soil & Water Supervisor can be done at the Board of Elections from June 11 at 12:00 noon through July 6 at 12:00 noon.
Candidates for District Attorney, State House and State Senate must complete a Notice of Candidacy in the county in which they’re registered to vote and then actually file for those offices at the State Board of Elections office in Raleigh.
All judicial filings also must be done with the State Board of Elections Office in Raleigh in June.
Write-in candidates for a county office must generate 100 petition signatures from registered voters in the county supporting their candidacy to be an official candidate. Those petition signatures would have to be submitted to the local Board of Elections office on or before ninety (90) days prior to the general election with a deadline date and time of July 24 at 12:00 noon. Additionally, write-in candidates for District offices must generate a petition signed by 250 registered voters and candidates for state offices have to obtain 500 signatures from registered voters in their districts and across the state, respectively, supporting their election bids, to be official candidates. And those petition signatures have to be submitted to the State Board of Elections Office 90 days before the general election with a deadline of July 24 at 12:00 noon.
Filing fees for a public office cost one percent of the position’s annual salary, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
October 12 is the voting registration deadline for general elections. One stop early voting begins October 18 and ends November 3. General election day is November 6, 2018, from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
According to Avery Election officials, early voting may be done at the Avery County Board of Elections office, located in the Avery County Court House at 200 Montezuma Street, #307, in Newland.
The early voting days and hours of operation are:
Thursday, April 19 – Friday, April 20 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, April 23 – Friday, April 27 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Monday, April 30 – Friday, May 4 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 (Only Saturday) 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Voting on the primary election day (May 8) can be done at polling sites only from 6:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Other important voting dates include:
Monday, March 19 Absentee Voting by Mail Begins for Primary Election
Friday, April 13 (until 5:00 p.m.) Voter Registration Deadline for Primary Election
Thursday, April 19 One Stop Early Voting Begins for Primary Election
Saturday, May 5 One Stop Early Voting Ends for Primary Election
The entire list of filing, registration and early voting dates involving the fall’s General Election includes:
June 11 – Soil & Water Candidate Filing Opens at 12:00 Noon
June 18 – Filing for All Judicial Offices Opens at 12:00 Noon
June 29 – Filing for All Judicial Offices Closes at 12:00 Noon
July 6 – Soil & Water Candidate Filing Closes at 12:00 Noon
October 12 – Voter Registration Deadline
October 18 – One Stop early voting begins
November 3 – One Stop early voting ends
General election day is November 6, 2018, with voting from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Information about One Stop Absentee Voting, can be obtained at the Elections Office or by calling (828) 733-8282.
Anyone eligible to vote must:
*Be a citizen of the United States
*Be a resident of North Carolina and Avery County for at least 30 days prior to an election
*Be at least 18 years of age by the next general election
*Not be registered to vote in another county or state
*If convicted of a felony, have had your citizenship rights restored
*If you move to another county in North Carolina, you will need to register in that county.
The deadline to register to vote in North Carolina and in Avery County is 25 days before the date of an election (April 13). Forms must be received in the Elections Office or postmarked by the deadline. Each voter will be sent a voter card showing his/her assigned precinct.
Avery County has the following nineteen voting precincts:
Altamont; Banner Elk; Beech Mountain; Cary’s Flat; Cranberry; Elk Park; Frank; Heaton; Hughes; Ingalls; Linville; Minneapolis; Montezuma; Newland 1; Newland 2; Pineola; Plumtree; Pyatte; and Roaring Creek.
Tagged Avery County Elections 2018
« Playing, Coaching Success Cont...
2018 Begins With Busy Month of... »
Watauga, Avery Obituaries – January 14, 2020
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3286
|
__label__wiki
| 0.604669
| 0.604669
|
Green Hill Presbyterian
Worship: Sunday 10:30am
Church Hours
Tue - Thur: 9am - 12pm
Sunday Worship: 10:30am
© 2019 Holly Clark-Porter Proudly created with Wix.com
"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith." Ephesians 4:11-16
The Rev. Tom Speers, III
Tom joined the Green Hill community in August 2016 when he began as Interim Pastor. A graduate of Connecticut College and Yale University, he has served as co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Hartford, CT, pastor of Overbrook Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA, and Dickey Memorial Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, MD. He was probationer assistant minister in the Old Parish Church of East Kilbride, Scotland.
Tom also served as Presbyter for Discerning the Way in the Presbytery of Southern New England and was co-chair of the Committee on Ministry. He currently serves on the Committee on Ministers and Congregtions of New Castle Presbytery and as a trustee of ChristianaCare Health System.
Tom is the brother, son and grandson of Presbyterian ministers—there are even some cousins and a great uncle who are or were ministers! He enjoys music and has been a member of the Westminster Presbyterian Church choir in Wilmington. Having lived for a time in Philadelphia, Tom knows the joy and occasional agony of rooting for Philadelphia sports teams.
Tom lives on the campus of the Tower Hill School where his wife, Bessie, is Head of School.
Diane Shorter
Diane Shorter joined our team in January 2016 and is a valuable member of the staff. She has been involved in the life of the Presbyterian Church for many years.
She worked for Penn State Brandywine for 31 years, retiring in December. Diane is in the church office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings from 9 to 12
Bruce Fine
As Director of Music at Green Hill, Bruce plays both the organ and piano as well as directs the Chancel and Handbell Choirs.
He studied the piano and organ while an elementary and high school student in western New York. More recently, he received organ lessons from University of Delaware music professor Larry Peterson. He attended the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, where he earned a BS degree in Chemistry and Biology.
He was employed at AstraZeneca for thirty years before retiring in 2011. Prior to becoming the Director of Music at Green Hill Presbyterian in 2002, Bruce directed the Chancel and Handbell choirs at Saint Andrew's Presbyterian in Newark, DE. He has also directed men's Barbershop choruses in both New Castle County as well as down state.
Pastor Search
Visitng Us?
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3288
|
__label__wiki
| 0.910481
| 0.910481
|
BUILDING PROJECTS IN NYC CO-OPS/CONDOS
> BRICKS & BUCKS > CO-OP BOARD RESTORES AN EMERY ROTH GEM IN BROOKLYN HEIGHTS
Co-op Board Restores an Emery Roth Gem in Brooklyn Heights
Marianne Schaefer in Bricks & Bucks on January 8, 2020
Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn
The St. George Tower & Grill co-op in Brooklyn Heights (images courtesy CTA Architects).
The 30-story, 275-unit St. George Tower & Grill co-op in the Brooklyn Heights Historic District has been restored to its original splendor. Notable architect Emery Roth designed the 315-foot tall tower in the late 1920s as the final expansion of the glamorous St. George Hotel, then the largest hotel in all of New York. The common roof deck on the 27th floor provides spectacular views of the Manhattan skyline and harbor. The building features extensive terra cotta ornaments: six-foot-tall Egyptian figures flank windows at the 27th floor, and five-foot-tall eagles rise from the base of the parapet wall. In the 1920s, the hotel was an instant success and a fashionable destination.
“It was built at an interesting time in New York building technology,” says Dan Allen, principal at CTA Architects, which oversaw the restoration. “They could build a steel frame, and they could build all the historic skyscrapers, but they did not yet have the true, thin curtain wall. This means that they built a thick masonry wall around the steel. Over time that steel can corrode inside those walls, and when that happens, the steel becomes much larger and pushes the masonry and the terra cotta outwards. That creates a dangerous situation.”
Because the building’s steel frame had corroded, crews needed to go the bones of the building. The top floors were most affected, and the steel had to be reinforced before the masonry and the terra cotta could be repaired. Each terra cotta element was removed from the facade to determine its structural condition. Most of the eagles and Egyptian figurines were salvaged, cleaned, and reinstalled with stainless-steel anchors that will not corrode. “Some ornaments, including several heads, could not be salvaged and had to be recreated and replaced,” says Frank Scanlon of CTA Architects.
The Landmarks Preservation Commission requires that new masonry, mortar and terra cotta has to match the color, texture, and pattern of the existing facade. The project also included the replacement of 11 monumental arched, steel-framed windows on the 25th and 30th floors. Those were replaced with new state-of-the-art stainless steel-framed windows that match the originals. “There were many challenges with the window installation,” says Hugo Ramirez, a sales executive at Adler Windows. “Every opening size was unique and required precise field measurements before shop drawings could be produced.” The window units were hoisted from the street along the exterior of the building. Altogether the renovation cost $2.8 million. In addition to replacing the ornamental units and installing the monumental new windows, workers had to replace approximately 13,000 square feet of brick, exactly matching the originals.
For a project of this magnitude and complexity, it was vital to have a precise and realistic budget. “Our budget had to include not only the contractor's estimate,” says Michael Vekassy, president of the St. George Tower & Grill co-op board. “We also had to budget the consulting fees, the Department of Buildings fees, the scaffolding charges, the site safety oversight, and the restoration of historic materials. It was also essential to budget for contingencies to handle the unforeseen items.” To raise the estimated funds, shareholders were assessed two years in advance. Once the capital assessment was depleted, the co-op had to dip into its reserve fund.
“They stepped up to the challenge and realized that the work had to be done thoroughly and correctly,” says Allen. “This is an example of a board doing the right thing.”
PRINCIPAL PLAYERS – ARCHITECT: CTA Architects. ENGINEER: GACE Consulting Engineers. PROPERTY MANAGER: Solstice Residential Group. WINDOW SUPPLIER AND INSTALLER: Adler Windows.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3291
|
__label__cc
| 0.508829
| 0.491171
|
Poster Print of The Boston Police Strike, Massachusetts, USA, September 1919. Artist: Unknown
The Boston Police Strike, Massachusetts, USA, September 1919. Artist: Unknown
The Boston Police Strike, Massachusetts, USA, September 1919. A 'loyal' policeman instructing a mounted State Guardsman. The majority of Boston's police force went out on strike on on 9 September 1919. Widespread civil disorder broke out in the city and the Massachusetts Militia was deployed to restore order. US President Woodrow Wilson desribed the strike as a crime against civilization. State Governor Calvin Coolidge intervened to end the strike.
The Boston Police Strike, Massachusetts, USA, September 1919. A 'loyal' policeman instructing a mounted State Guardsman. The majority of Boston's police force went out on strike on on 9 September 1919. Widespread civil disorder broke out in the city and the Massachusetts Militia was deployed to restore order. US President Woodrow Wilson desribed the strike as a crime against civilization. State Governor Calvin Coolidge intervened to end the strike, sacking 1100 of the striking officers and hiring 1574 replacements from the ranks of unemployed World War I veterans. The new officers received higher salaries, more holiday entitlement and uniforms provided by the city, some of the demands their predecessors had struck for. Cooloidge's actions gave a substantial boost to his political career and he was nominated as Warren Harding's Vice-Presidential candidate for the 1920 election
© Historica Graphica Collection / Heritage-Images
© Copyright Heritage Images - All Rights Reserved 2020
Orders made through www.heritage-print.com are fulfilled by Media Storehouse®
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3294
|
__label__wiki
| 0.991579
| 0.991579
|
Cannes: 'Rafiki' Director Reacts to Kenya Ban Over Film's Homosexual Scenes
4:17 PM PDT 4/29/2018 by Rhonda Richford
Fred Hayes/Getty Images
"They did not ask me to change any scenes of intimacy," Wanuri Kahiu said after the film was banned in its home country.
Wanuri Kahiu’s lesbian love story Rafiki, the first Kenyan film to compete in Cannes, has been banned in its home country.
The Kenya Film Classification Board took the step of banning the film after head Ezekiel Mutua said the homosexual scenes were illegal in Kenya.
Mutua said the script previously approved by the board had been altered, and that he will pursue legal action against the producers.
However, Kahui told The Hollywood Reporter the film is “absolutely” the same as in the script.
Mutua also said his objections were around romantic scenes in the film, and that he had asked the Kahiu to edit these scenes.
Kahiu counters that the board did not ask for changes to romantic scenes, and instead asked the director to change the ending of the film.
“They asked me to change the ending of the film because they didn’t feel the ending was ‘remorseful’ enough,” Kahiu told The Hollywood Reporter of the meeting, which took place April 16. Kahiu said she originally told the board she would consider their suggestion but returned April 25 and declined to make the change.
“They did not ask me to change any scenes of intimacy,” she said. The film is based on Monica Arac de Nyeko’s short story Jambula Tree, which won the Caine Prize in 2007. The story sees the two lovers beaten as their community turns against them.
“If they had asked us to reduce the intimacy because of classification, that would have been one thing, and we would have gladly done that," she said. "However, the change that they were asking for was for the ending to be changed to make it less hopeful.” The director had submitted the film for an over-18 rating.
“I refused to make it a sad ending, and I refused to make the characters remorseful and I do not believe in depicting images of Africans as sad and despairing or desperate. That is not my style, and that is not my ethos,” she said.
Kahiu said the film will still premiere in Cannes on May 9: ”We intend to celebrate the film, and it will be a film in exile.”
In a series of tweets Friday, Mutua said that the film contains “homosexual scenes that are against the law, culture and values of the Kenyan people. The film seeks to overtly promote lesbianism.”
“We will not allow the creation, distribution, broadcast, exhibition or possession of any film that offends the sensibilities of the Kenyan people,” he wrote.
“The objective is clearly to normalize homosexuality in Kenya and the message in the story is to celebrate the resilience of youngsters involved in lesbianism. These are material alterations without full disclosure on the nature of the film.”
Mutua even added the hashtag #KFCBbansLesibanFilm, which quickly went viral with comments and jokes as readers asked Mutua if he was now a lesbian after watching the film as well as pointed out the country’s corruption statistics and other social and political problems.
Under Mutua, the board has banned several films, including The Wolf of Wall Street and Fifty Shades of Grey for their sexual content.
But the board has a history of banning local gay-themed content, including a locally remixed video to Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ "Same Love" for its “graphic sexual scenes between people of the same gender” in 2016.
In 2014, the board also banned Stories of Our Lives, another Kenyan film with LGBT themes for “obscenity, explicit scenes of sexual activities, and homosexuality, which is contrary to national norms and values.”
Rhonda Richford
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3296
|
__label__wiki
| 0.765912
| 0.765912
|
Grants Round Up, Funding Round 3 2019
Image courtesy of the Christie Centre Inc. Image by Vision House Photography.
The Ian Potter Foundation
In this funding round, nine grants totalling $3,610,000 were awarded. These included two in the Major grants stream, and several by invitation program area grants
Launch Housing was awarded a major grant of $2.5M over five years towards its Families Supportive Housing project, an 8-storey permanent supportive housing with support services for women and their children escaping domestic violence. The building will be located in Dandenong and include 60 apartments, communal spaces, play areas, 24-hour security as well as an entire floor dedicated to support services, such as family counselling. By offering permanent housing, this project will support women and children in dire circumstances to stabilise their lives, allow children to maintain or re-engage with schooling and address their mental health concerns.
This will be the first project of its kind in Australia, in a single location, of this scale. While the need is much greater than can be addressed by this project, it is hoped it will be a successful ‘demonstration project’ allowing government to assess the social and economic value of permanent housing versus crisis accommodation which does not solve the issue of homelessness.
The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has been awarded $500,000 through the major grants stream for a pilot project to build the capacity of primary schools to address children’s mental health issues.
The project – announced by the Victoria Deputy Premier and State Education Minister, the Hon James Merlino in late November – sees the Foundation match State Government funding to enable the pilot project which will trial a tailored mental health program in up to 10 Victorian primary schools. The project will provide evidence-based training and resources to support dedicated school staff to better identify and respond to mental health issues of pupils. It will also help schools build strong connections with community-based health and other services so that students and families can be linked to these services as appropriate.
In the Early Childhood Development funding area, a $400,000 grant over three years was awarded to Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa (KJ) for the Martu Women and Families Program. KJ is a Martu-led organisation established in 2005 to support Martu to build strong, sustainable communities in a manner that is Martu-focussed and recognises and reinforces Martu values. Martu are traditional Western Desert Aboriginal people from the vast area of the Great Sandy, Little Sandy and Gibson Deserts in WA.
This grant will support the expansion of the early childhood programs in the Pilbara region in WA which have been delivered since 2009 by World Vision Australia (WVA) and have now been handed over to the KJ to manage and expand. The success of WVA’s project to establish early childhood programs in this community was the impetus for The Ian Potter Foundation awarding WVA a $2.2M major grant in 2018 to support an identical initiative around Derby in the Kimberley region of WA.
Critical to the success of these programs is the engagement with the children’s caregivers (parents, grandparents and older siblings). KJ is well-placed to enhance this family engagement by employing parents and family members as local facilitators of the program. Across three communities, the program will create up to 10 part-time positions – a significant economic investment for these remote communities – fulfilling a key part of KJ’s vision of economic empowerment for Martu people.
The remaining five grants were made in the Community Wellbeing funding area. The Christie Centre Inc was awarded a capacity building grant of $90,000 which will help fund the purchase of a Mildura native nursery. This will allow the Christie Centre to scale up its operations and expand the GrowAbility program (previously funded by the Foundation) which currently supports participants to attain Horticulture qualifications. Acquiring this business will enable the Christie Centre to create employment pathways for GrowAbility participants.
The new nursery business will be an addition to the social enterprise portfolio developed by the Christie Centre, providing employment pathways in a supported environment for people with disabilities. CEO of the Christie Centre, Florence Davidson, shares the organisation’s learnings along with other grantees on establishing and running social enterprises in episode three of the Ian Potter Summer Listening Series podcast.
Also awarded were four Impact Enhancement grants to assist current grantees to consolidate their impact. Two of these grants are unique in that they facilitate bringing together Karinya Young Women’s Service Inc (an existing grantee with a highly successful program) to share their knowledge and experience with Women Up North Housing (a not-for-profit social services provider in NSW) who are looking to pilot a similar program in Lismore NSW. These are small but significant grants ($5000 each) and are a first for the Foundation as we look to support the transfer of knowledge between organisations in the same sector.
funding round,grantees,newsletter
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3301
|
__label__cc
| 0.537268
| 0.462732
|
HISTORY IN PRINT AND PICTURES
The Society has available for sale varied interesting material dealing with the history of the riverside former mining village of Hook,
It includes: WHERE THE RIVER BENDS …..an eighty page well illustrated book which deals in detail with the industrial and social development of the community. The book sells at £5.
THE BLACK DIAMOND VILLAGE ….. is a highly acclaimed 40 minute dvd which relates aspects of the village ranging from the once thriving anthracite mining industry; the rare form of compass net fishing which is based in the village and in very few other areas in the United Kingdom; and from agriculture to the band of local heroes who laid down their lives in two world wars. The dvd is priced at £6.
There is also a fifteen minute dvd based on the Society’s successful attempt to restore an ancient lime kiln. Entitled the REBIRTH OF THE BOGGY LANE LIME KILN it can be purchased for £2 a copy.
There are also a walks leaflet and a leaflet dealing exclusively with the history of mining in Hook which are free of charge.
Most items would be available at the village shop but arrangements can be made for postal delivery via this web’s contact page. There would be a small charge to cover postage.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3304
|
__label__cc
| 0.627246
| 0.372754
|
Georgia Injury Lawyer Blog
Published By Suthers Law Firm
Nursing Home Resource Center
February 22, 2012 | John Suthers
Hospital acquired infections (HAI), also known as “healthcare-associated infections” or “nosocomial” infections, are infections that patients get while undergoing medical treatment in healthcare facilities. They are infections that are not present and without evidence of incubation at the time the patient is admitted to a healthcare facility. Most infections that become clinically evident after 48 hours of a patient’s hospitalization are considered hospital acquired. These infections occur in all types of medical facilities, including hospitals, outpatient surgical and care centers, and long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes and rehabilitation centers.
For example, consider the case of a patient who is admitted to the hospital to undergo orthopedic surgery, such as a hip or knee replacement. The surgery is successful from an orthopedic standpoint. However, while recovering in the hospital, the patient develops a life-threatening Staph infection. Or, consider the case of a patient who undergoes successful surgery to remove a benign growth from her body, only to develop an infection caused by a contaminated surgical instrument. In both cases, the surgeries were considered a success, but the outcomes were dramatically and negatively impacted by the hospital acquired infections. In its February 22, 2012 broadcast, the Today show on NBC featured a story entitled TODAY Investigates: Dirty surgical instruments a problem in the OR, reporting on other, real-life victims of hospital acquired infections.
Hospital acquired infections are among the leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States.1 HAIs cause more deaths in the U.S. each year than automobile accidents, fires and drownings combined. Such infections lead to extended hospital stays and result in substantially increased medical costs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study in 2009 which concluded that the medical costs to the U.S. of hospital acquired infections ranges from $28 billion to $34 billion annually.2 Considering the extraordinary costs of HAIs to the public and the government, one would hope that a greater emphasis would be placed on preventing such infections.
Among the more common pathogens that can cause healthcare-associated infections are:
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA or “Staph”),
• Vancomycin-resistant Enterotoccus (VRE),
• Clostridium difficile (C-diff),
• Escherichia coli (E-coli),
• Acinetobacter species, and • Enterobacter aerogenes.
The majority of healthcare-associated infections occur in the hospital setting. In 2002, the Chicago Tribune published its report of an undercover investigation entitled “Tribune Investigation: Unhealthy Hospitals.”3 The investigation found that for the year 2000, almost three-fourths of life-threatening HAIs were preventable, as they resulted from unsanitary facilities, unsterile instruments and unwashed hands. Placing a greater emphasis on hand-washing, proper skin preparation, and proper sterilization of medical devices have helped reduce hospital acquired infections. Still, new and different infections are manifesting themselves at an alarming rate in hospitals throughout the U.S. The CDC has estimated that approximately 1.7 million hospital-acquired infections cause or contribute to the cause of death in 99,000 patients each year.4
The pathogenic organisms capable of causing infections can survive for prolonged periods on hospital surfaces and medical equipment. The hands and gloves of nurses and other healthcare providers can acquire these pathogens upon contact with contaminated hospital surfaces. They can then transfer these organisms to patients they touch subsequently and to other surfaces in the hospital. Accordingly, there needs to be a greater emphasis on the importance of properly cleaning and disinfecting hospital surfaces and medical equipment. Unfortunately, this important component of infection prevention does not get as much attention as other components, such as hand washing. What good is a sterile operating room environment if one of the instruments to be used during surgery is contaminated?
For many years, healthcare facilities have characterized nosocomial infections as “known risks” or “unavoidable complications” of lifesaving care. Dr. Barry M. Farr, one of the leading infection-control experts in the United States, takes issue with these misleading characterizations of preventable infections. “The number of people needlessly killed by hospital infections is unbelievable, but the public doesn’t know anything about it,” said Dr. Farr. “For years, we’ve just been quietly bundling the bodies of patients off to the morgue while infection rates get higher and higher.”5 While various efforts are underway to implement and improve infection prevention programs, Georgia hospitals and surgical centers can and must do a better job of preventing healthcare-associated infections.
1. Klevens, RM, Edwards JR, Richards, CL Jr., et al. “Estimating Health Care-Associated Infections in U.S. Hospitals, 2002. Public Health Rep. 2007 Mar-Apr; 122(2):160-6.
2. Scott, R.D. II. The Direct Medical Costs of Healthcare-Associated Infections in U.S. Hospitals and the Benefits of Prevention. U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 2009.
3. Berrens, M. “Tribune Investigation: Unhealthy Hospitals.” Chicago Tribune July 21, 2002.
4. Pollack, Andrew. “Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics.” New York Times February 26, 2010.
John Suthers
Posted in: Medical Malpractice
Drugs & Medical Devices (35)
Nursing Home Abuse & Neglect (33)
Auto Accidents (9)
Staff Ran Fight Club for Dementia Patients at North Carolina Assisted Living Facility November 13, 2019
Recent Study Finds Understaffing of Nursing Homes Rampant Across the United States August 21, 2019
Government Study Finds Neglect in Nursing Homes Unreported June 14, 2019
119 W Perry St
Toll Free: 800.320.2384Phone: 912.232.6767Fax: 912.232.1958
Copyright © 2020, Suthers Law Firm
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3311
|
__label__cc
| 0.5614
| 0.4386
|
ILAC Update: How students and teachers are responding to zero-tech in the classroom
It has been four months since ILAC announced it would be going zero-tech in the classroom and asking students and teachers to “unplug to connect”. Since then, we have been collecting feedback from participants in the Young Adult Program (YAP) to measure in-class engagement, emotional responses and learning outcomes.
In a recent classroom survey, students ages 15-18 were asked to use one word to describe their zero-tech experience at ILAC. The most common responses were: ‘relaxed’, ‘cool’, ‘good’, ‘focused’, ‘serious’, ‘fun’, ‘happy’. One student wrote ‘difficult’ about having to turn off their phone while in class.
Despite its challenges, the majority of students are embracing the opportunity to be present (literally!) in the classroom. Colombian student Jose Cardona Arias is in a Cambridge English CAE preparation class at ILAC Vancouver. At 17 years old, he says he is already trying to add the habit of unplugging to his daily routine.
“I feel keener in the classroom,” says Jose. “The advantages are that you are more human, you interact more with others – that’s the idea of language.”
Jose has been at ILAC for only a short time but already says he is thinking in English more when not distracted by his phone. Many other students and teachers, even those who admit to being addicted to their cell phones, agree that removing mobile devices from classes was a necessary change for ILAC.
“Paradoxically, when you are texting and chatting with your friends you feel more and more alone,” says Jose. “The best advice is to be your best and be part of the experience!”
Michelle McNaughton teaches a Cambridge English CAE Young Adult preparation class (High-Advanced) which is participating in the Zero Tech pilot project. An ILAC Vancouver teacher for over five years, Michelle believes that the experience is a total game changer.
“I modeled the experience and I got the least resistance from the young adults,” Michelle says. “They’re just so engaged, it’s like a team project to figure things out. Instead of going to their phones, students are conversing and making plans…it’s awesome to witness.”
Teachers have been the most enthusiastic advocates of the pilot project and immediately noticed how removing cell phones in class had a direct increase in English usage, attention and communication with other students.
According to Michelle, the zero-tech movement at ILAC establishes a community in the classroom with more focus on chit chatting and conversation in the in-between moments. Her advice for other teachers at ILAC and elsewhere is to lead by example.
“I don’t take my phone at break times,” she says. “And I don’t even need to ask my students to put their phones away, they just know.”
The ILAC Zero-Tech Pilot Project was launched in response to the growing number of “screenagers’ – teenagers addicted to their screens – who were missing out on direct communication and connection with their teachers and other students in the classroom. To learn more about the program, see https://www.ilac.com/ilac-zero-tech/
Enjoy this post? Please share!
PrevPreviousAnnouncing the Winners of the ILAC Leadership Scholarships for Hispanic Women
NextHolocaust Survivor and Author Max Eisen Meets with Students at ILACNext
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3315
|
__label__wiki
| 0.941079
| 0.941079
|
Remember Brexit? It Hasn't Happened Yet and It's Already a Horrible Mess
Like a cranky toddler, Parliament says no to pretty much everything.
By Minda ZetlinCo-author, The Geek Gap@MindaZetlin
It's been two and a half years since the British electorate voted by a very narrow margin to leave the European Union, a move that's referred to as "Brexit." It's been just under two years since British Prime Minister Theresa May sent a letter to the European Union officially informing the body of Britain's departure and starting a two-year clock, at the end of which Britain's membership in the EU would end.
Those two years will be up on March 29, and that deadline means that May, the British Parliament, and the entire population of Britain are facing some very unpleasant choices. Two years ago, Brexit proponents dreamed of a future when their nation could stop paying the approximately $17 billion annual EU membership fee, and stop being constrained by European rules, while still maintaining a "deep and special partnership" with Europe as May put it in her letter.
They've have a rude awakening from that dream. Britain's time as an EU member is running out, and hopes for a trouble-free departure are fading. Meanwhile, Parliament is behaving much like a grumpy toddler who loudly answers "No!" to everything--Do you want dinner? Do you want to go to bed? Do you want a glass of milk?--and can't seem to say yes to anything.
Here's what Parliament has voted down so far:
No to May's negotiated deal with the EU.
Britain is the first nation to ever leave the EU, but in other nations, such as France and Greece, some citizens and political parties were also calling for departure. So EU leaders had every motivation to turn Brexit into a cautionary tale, frightening enough to scare any other nation from going down the same path.
Knowing this, it's easy to see why the best deal May could wrangle from the EU was not the "deep and special partnership" she hoped for. Instead, she negotiated a deal in which Britain remains in the EU but loses decision-making power for at least 21 months. That deal went down to a crushing defeat in Parliament--it literally lost by the widest margin of any Parliament vote ever.
No to the "Irish Backstop."
From the beginning, one of the stickiest problems with Brexit has been what to do about the border between Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., and the Republic of Ireland, which is part of the EU. Before the EU, there was a "hard" border between the two, an enforced division between two nations that had seen plenty of hostility over the centuries. During those bad times, the border crossings and checkpoints were a frequent focus of violence and bloodshed. Those bad times came to an end with the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, and one of the provisions of that agreement was that there would be no more hard border.
Absolutely no one in Ireland, Britain, or Europe wants to see those bad old days of violence return, which means no one wants a hard border. But how you avoid having border crossings at what will now be the border between two nations is a tricky question. So May and the EU negotiated an agreement with a safety measure. Once Britain leaves the EU, its leaders and May will have, at most, until the end of 2022 to negotiate a trade deal. If they can't, Britain will automatically remain part of the EU customs union--meaning they will not charge each other tariffs--until a deal can be worked out or until forever, whichever comes first. This is a particular sticking point for Parliament, but the EU says it will not budge on the issue.
No to removing Theresa May.
Some predicted that if May's negotiated Brexit deal went down to ignominious defeat, as happened, she would either resign, or be removed from office by Parliament in a vote of no confidence. She didn't resign. Parliament had its no confidence vote, and by a slim margin it voted to leave her in place.
No to taking over negotiations from Theresa May.
Having decided not to accept her deal, and also decided not to remove her from office, Parliament next voted on an amendment that would have given Parliament the power to instruct May to ask for an extension of the Brexit deadline. That extension would require unanimous approval from the EU's 27 other members, but there are signs that European leaders are indeed preparing to grant it if the U.K. asks for it.
May was sharply critical of this amendment, saying it would set a dangerous precedent for how the nation is governed. But perhaps not surprisingly, Parliament voted no in any case.
No to a "no deal" Brexit.
Now that the original deal has been rejected by Parliament, what happens if the EU and Britain don't have a deal by March 29? Unless there's an extension, the U.K. will default to a "no-deal" exit, in which it will have no special trading status with the EU, the two Irelands will have a hard border between them, and Britain will pay and receive full tariffs for any trade with Europe.
This is the frightening scenario that's causing companies to leave England, inspiring the British to stockpile medicines in anticipation of shortages, and has inspired a "Brexit
prepper" industry in which people are purchasing and storing 30-day supplies of food.
After all its other no votes, Parliament also voted against the idea of a no-deal Brexit. However, it was a nonbinding vote and even if it weren't, Parliament has no way to exert its will on the Europeans.
Parliament has told May it wants her to negotiate a new deal, while the Europeans insist they won't do that. So one possible scenario is that, right before the deadline, Parliament will vote to approve the original deal, or perhaps a very slightly improved version of it that the Europeans might agree to to help Britain save face. A no-deal Brexit is a second possible scenario. A third is that Britain might ask for and receive an extension past the March 29 deadline.
If the deadline is extended, there could be a repeat referendum on Brexit, as some in Parliament and hundreds of thousands of protesters have demanded. But if the departure is once again voted in, then Britain and its leaders will be right back where they started. And if the second referendum goes against Brexit, and May seeks to remain in the EU after all, then those who voted for Brexit and still support leaving might feel like their first vote counted for nothing.
Like this column? Sign up to subscribe to email alerts and you'll never miss a post.
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3317
|
__label__wiki
| 0.611908
| 0.611908
|
« Next Issue: Apr. 7, 2015
Previous Issue: Mar. 24, 2015 »
Volume 17, Issue 13: March 31, 2015
Basic-Income Guarantees: A Debate
Gun Prohibitions Kill
How Big Is Government in the United States?
Lessons for the U.S. from Great Britain
The Challenge of Liberty Summer Seminars
Selected News Alerts
1) Basic-Income Guarantees: A Debate
Should the current system of government programs for the poor be replaced with a uniform, annual cash grant for all? The Spring 2015 of The Independent Review features a symposium on this proposal, known as a basic-income guarantee (BIG). Journal co-editor Michael C. Munger and Matt Zwolinksi argue in favor of it, but David R. Henderson and journal managing editor and co-editor Robert M. Whaples take the opposing side. To whet your appetite, we’ve posted Munger’s introduction to the symposium.
To implement a basic-income guarantee in the United States, federal spending would need to rise by 30 percent and the size of the welfare bureaucracy would need to double, according to Henderson. If that weren’t sufficient reason to drop the idea, the moral argument against it puts the final nail in the coffin, he claims. Munger, who argues in favor of BIG, describes his case as “one and one-half cheers”; while the proposal falls short of a perfect ideal, he argues, using it in place of the existing array of government subsidies, transfers, in-kind payments, and set-asides would save tax dollars, put more money in people’s hands, and increase the recipients’ liberty and autonomy. Zwolinski takes a different approach, arguing that a government-guaranteed basic income is morally justified. Because the initial owners of land seized it, he claims, Lockean libertarian principles necessitate some form of compensation, and a basic-income guarantee is the alternative best suited to fill that role and can do so without violating individual property rights.
Whaples wraps up the symposium by countering both Munger’s practical arguments and Zwolinski’s moral claims. The intellectual underpinning of a government-guaranteed basic income, he argues, fails to overcome several objections on historical, economic, and moral grounds. Moreover, if it ever did, the adoption of a BIG would deserve only cautious consideration, he continues, because major policy changes always have numerous unknown and often irreversible consequences.
Who won the debate? Read The Independent Review (Spring 2015) and tell us who you think makes the best case.
Editor’s Introduction: The Basic-Income Debate, by Michael C. Munger (The Independent Review, Spring 2015)
Get your e-subscription or print subscription to The Independent Review today! (Print subscription includes FREE book.)
2) Gun Prohibitions Kill
Days after terrorists killed eleven workers at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and four shoppers at a kosher market in Paris on January 7, the head of the Rabbinical Centre of Europe and the European Jewish Association wrote to officials in each country of the European Union, urging them to authorize the arming of guards at Jewish sites across the continent. Sadly, Rabbi Menachim Margolin’s clarion call went unheeded, and on February 15 an unarmed security guard at a Copenhagen synagogue was murdered.
“The recent atrocities remind of us of a time in Europe when Jews were prohibited from mere possession of a firearm,” writes Independent Institute Research Fellow Stephen P. Halbrook, whose latest book examines German gun control policies in the lead up to Kristallnacht. “In response to street fighting in Germany in the 1920s, the Weimar Republic enacted stringent gun laws that gave the government discretion to deny permits to ‘untrustworthy’ persons and to register and confiscate guns for ‘public safety.’ ”
It’s an episode from history whose lessons have yet to fully sink in. “This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the end of the nightmare years of World War II,” Halbrook continues. “Fortunately, the recent atrocities against European Jews pale in comparison to the genocide that Hitler inflicted. But make no mistake: Anti-Semitism is alive and well in Europe. Its chief source is Islamic extremism. Every person, every community, has a basic human right to defend life. Rabbi Margolin is absolutely right.”
Rabbi’s Demand: Let Jews Defend Themselves from Terrorism, by Stephen P. Halbrook (InsideSources, 3/23/2015)
Gun Control in the Third Reich: Disarming Jews and “Enemies of the State,” by Stephen P. Halbrook
3) How Big Is Government in the United States?
Government spending at all levels has exploded over the past 100 years—but by how much? And how do we get an accurate measure of government’s role in the economy today? Economists often answer the latter question by providing calculations of government spending as a share of gross domestic product (GDP). From 2010 through 2014, for example, spending by federal, state, and local governments combined (G) amounted to about 35.8 percent of U.S. GDP, according to Independent Institute Senior Fellow Robert Higgs. But even that whopping sum underestimates the role of government in the economy, Higgs argues.
Honing in on a truer measure requires that we go deeper into technical concepts of aggregate economic accounting, so please bear with us as we explain why G/GDP underestimates government’s role in the economy. GDP is supposed to measure the dollar amount spent on final goods and services (as opposed to intermediate goods used in the production process, such as steel sold to make industrial machines and wheat sold to flour mills). Unfortunately, GDP doesn’t achieve this goal perfectly because it includes something called “capital consumption allowance”—that is, the amount spent to maintain the existing capital stock in the face of continuing wear and tear and obsolescence. If we jettison GDP and instead use national income (NI) in the denominator, then from 2010 through 2014, government spending accounted for 41.4 percent, according to Higgs.
Using national income (or its close relative, personal income) gets us closer to what we’re looking for, but we can do better still. Suppose we compare government spending to personal consumption outlays for the same five-year period, 2010 through 2014. Here we find that government’s relative size is 52.2 percent, according to Higgs. This represents a significant increase compared to G/GDP, but even so, it underestimates government’s role because it doesn’t count the costs that government imposes on private parties, in the form of various regulations and fines. Yet, even if we could somehow add up these costs and include them in G, we would still underestimate government’s role if we kept using GDP in our denominator. That’s because government spending—which is included in GDP—doesn’t necessarily create a final product with a measurable economic value, a fact that many economists who studied aggregate economic accounting acknowledged in the years before World War II. Writes Higgs: “Government spending either is completely wasteful, merely transfers income, purchases an intermediate rather than a final good, or purchases valuable final services whose value cannot be ascertained because the transaction is not made by private parties exchanging their own resources in a market setting.”
How Big Is Government in the United States?, by Robert Higgs (The Beacon, 3/20/15)
Crisis and Leviathan: Critical Episodes in the Growth of American Government (25th Anniversary Edition), by Robert Higgs
4) Lessons for the U.S. from Great Britain
Since his inauguration as Great Britain’s prime minister in 2010, David Cameron has pursued a radically different fiscal policy for coping with the aftermath of the Great Recession compared to that of his American counterparts. He has tightened government expenditures, cutting defense spending by 4.3 percent, and the British economy responded with a robust 3 percent growth rate in national output last year. The United States would do well to emulate Britain, according to Independent Institute Senior Fellow Ivan Eland.
Cameron has even defied NATO, by reducing defense spending to below the minimum threshold the alliance requires member nations to spend—2 percent of GDP. And despite an upcoming national election, and the temptation this creates to increase government spending, he has pledged to double down on austerity. If the next U.S. president possessed such vision and courage, the United States would reap considerable benefits in terms of economic progress and national security, according to Eland. To promote that end, one project the 45th president of the United States should initiate is the closure of numerous overseas military bases established during the Cold War.
“The next president, whether Republican or Democrat, should plan to substantially reduce such foreign overstretch over a period of four years, so that it could be completed in one presidential term and thus not be reversed,” Eland writes. “Unfortunately, with the hawkish Hillary Clinton the probable Democratic nominee for 2016 and a big-government Republican Party (Tea Party veneer aside) that has already forgotten the lessons of Afghanistan and Iraq and has become more bellicose by the day, a Cameron-style austerity program for defense (and everything else) is extremely unlikely.”
The United States Could Learn from Its British Ally, by Ivan Eland (The Huffington Post, 3/23/15)
Recarving Rushmore: Ranking the Presidents on Peace, Prosperity, and Liberty (Updated Edition), by Ivan Eland
5) The Challenge of Liberty Summer Seminars
Attention, College Students:
Do you like traveling to new places, making new friends, and learning about how to make the world a better place? So do we, which is why we think you would love our 2015 Challenge of Liberty Summer Seminars.
Our seminars are your one-stop summer experience to:
Learn from leading scholars and economists
Hang out with equally ambitious like-minded students
Deepen your understanding of free-market economics and philosophy
Bolster your resume and get career advice
Win prizes and take home free publications
Applications are still open for the 2015 Challenge of Liberty Summer Seminars in California and Colorado. Spaces are limited and scholarships are granted on a limited basis.
Refer your friends for a chance to win our special bundle featuring Ron Swanson and Beyond Politics.
Also, please “Like” us on Facebook to keep up with the Independent Student Network.
If you have any questions, please click here and send them to Student Programs Manager Amy Lee Andres.
6) New Blog Posts
More Bad News about the Medicare Doc Fix (3/30/2015)
John R. Graham
Higher Minimum Wage Leaves Working Poor Without Childcare (3/27/2015)
Mary Theroux
This Doc Fix Is an Outrage (3/26/2015)
Are Health Plans That Cover Yoga the 'Next Frontier'? (3/25/2015)
Time to KO the Idea of Boxing Bans (3/25/2015)
Abigail Hall
From MyGovCost News & Blog:
How to Rack Up $18 Trillion in Debt and How to Pay It Down
Craig Eyermann (3/27/15)
More Government IT Waste
K. Lloyd Billingsley (3/25/15)
Who Owns the ‘Public’ Portion of the National Debt?
You can find the Independent Institute’s Spanish-language website here and blog here.
7) Selected News Alerts
Video: Mary Theroux on childhood poverty and government failure
Audio: John C. Goodman on the break-up of the family
Video: Ivan Eland on the Yemen crisis
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3318
|
__label__wiki
| 0.81214
| 0.81214
|
« Next Issue: Jan. 5, 2004
Volume 3, Issue 37: September 17, 2001
Statement on the Terrorist Attacks
Counterterrorism, Inc.
Did Defense Misspending Cost Americans Their Lives?
Can the Arab World Liberalize?
1) Statement on the Terrorist Attacks
The Independent Institute offers condolences to all those suffering in the wake of the recent terrorist hijackings and attacks. We join the civilized world in condemning these horrific deeds. Americans seek security, but not as an end in itself. We seek security to enjoy the blessings of liberty. Attempts to “trade” liberty for security can only produce neither. Instead, we must achieve security in a manner consistent with a diverse and open society, individual liberty, and the rule of law. The peaceful spread of American ideals is our best and most enduring export. And we will win the hearts and minds of individuals the world over only if we adhere to these values—at home and abroad—with the fidelity that these values demand.
For more, see the “Statement on the Terrorist Attacks,” by David J. Theroux, founder and president of The Independent Institute.
2) Counterterrorism, Inc.
In the wake of the terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., a group of investors is setting up a bounty fund of $1 billion to “wipe out” the terrorists and harboring governments responsible.
Although the approach may seem farfetched, there is ample historical precedent for the practice.
In addition to granting Congress the power to declare war, Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution also follows with an authorization to “grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal.”
As described by Professor Larry Sechrest of Sul Ross State University, letters of marque and reprisal were issued by the U.S. government in the late 18th and early-to-mid 19th centuries to so-called “privateers.” Privateering “was a method by which a citizen of one nation who had been victimized by a citizen of another nation could achieve restitution for his losses.”
Although the practice was used whether or not two countries were at war, “privateering evolved into an instrument of war.” And it became a very effective instrument for the U.S. during its early years, so much so that our nation resisted efforts by European powers to ban privateering through the Declaration of Paris in 1851.
Privateers also posted bonds to “guarantee compliance with international laws of the sea,” writes Sechrest. Consequently, rather than destroy enemy ships, privateers captured them, spared the lives of their crews, and profited from the seizures by obtaining a ransom from the ship’s owner, or selling the enemy ships at auction.
Given that letters of marque authorized private citizens to outfit armed ships to seek justice overseas, one finds it increasingly problematic to take seriously claims that the drafters of the U.S. Constitution did not also intend for these same people to have a right “to keep and bear arms.”
But more relevant to the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks, those who issued letters of marque and reprisal in the 18th century were practicing smart economics by aligning the interests of victims with that of their champions.
In the face of opposition from government navies, privateering has largely fallen out of practice. Still, it’s not too difficult to imagine a group of popularly-funded modern-day privateers—armed with both state-of-the-art military technology and these congressionally-issued “letters”—undertaking a journey to a foreign land to say, “Osama bin Laden, you’ve got mail!”
See “$1 billion bounty on bin Laden.”
See also “Bring on the Bounty Hunters,” and “Congress Shall Have the Power to Declare War” by Alexander Tabarrok
Also see “Privateering and National Defense: Naval Warfare for Profit” by Larry Sechrest, (PDF File) and TO SERVE AND PROTECT: Privatization and Community in Criminal Justice, by Bruce Benson.
3) Did Defense Misspending Cost Americans Their Lives?
How could it have happened? Aside from the deeper reasons of foreign policy and philosophy, why was America so vulnerable to such a devastating attack? Aren’t U.S. armed forces and intelligence agencies empowered to defend Americans on their own soil?
Sadly, the answer is yes and no. The U.S. is well-equipped to fight conventional wars against other nations, but defense spending priorities have failed to adequately address America’s greatest security risk: terrorism. It’s as though America was still preparing to fight the Cold War, argues Robert Higgs, senior research fellow at The Independent Institute, in the Fall 2000 issue of the journal he edits, THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW, in an article written before the September 11th attacks.
The problem is not that U.S. defense budget is too small. The United States, in fact, is the world leader in defense spending, accounting for about 36% of world military spending. (By comparison, the next five largest defense spenders—Japan, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Italy—as a group account for about 26% of world military spending.) The way that the money is spent on defense is another story.
About every 15 years, in fact, a blue-ribbon panel is created to examine misallocation, waste, fraud and abuse in defense spending. Reports are written. Suggestions are made. A few problems get solved. But even the recommendations that get implemented are no match for the new problems that arise. The fact that allocation of funds between the three armed services has not changed in decades is enough to suggest that spending has not been re-allocated to meet America’s changing security needs.
This is unfortunate but hardly surprising, given the incentives of the defense establishment. Many observers, President Dwight Eisenhower among them, have called it the “military-industrial complex” but, argues Higgs, a better description is the “military-industrial-congressional complex” because Congress plays a central role in perpetuating the status quo of defense misspending—to the detriment of U.S. security. Military brass, for example, call for base closings, but Congress often lacks the political will; and whistle-blowers testify that a high-tech weapons system is dangerously temperamental, but Congress does little to reform weapons procurement.
Writes Higgs:
“The present U.S. military establishment is overwhelmingly the most powerful the world has ever known, and it has ample capacity to defend the nation against the military forces of any present or prospective foe in the kind of wars it is dedicated to fighting.
“If an enemy should decide to wage a different kind of war, however, such as really serious terrorism, the armed forces are not configured to deal with that kind of threat.... [America’s current defense] system has no constituency for the nitty-gritty, low-tech activity that an effective antiterrorism program would call for, such as the maintenance of a massive global corps of unsavory informants on the ground; there’s no money in it for Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and the rest of the boys. But if you want to talk about a Star Wars system that stretches from here to Mars, hey, let’s talk!”
See “The Cold War Is Over, but U.S. Preparation for It Continues,” by Robert Higgs (THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW, Fall 2001).
Click here for the Independent Institute archives on defense and foreign policy.
4) Can the Arab World Liberalize?
Why have none of the twenty-two countries of the “Arab world” participated in the worldwide move toward liberalization? Is illiberalism and despotism a given in the Middle East, or are Arab states vulnerable to the spread of liberty, just as the Soviet Union and its satellites were?
According to the late Nazih Ayubi, some Arab states might move toward liberalization, if, paradoxically, they were strong enough to overcome the political and cultural forces that favor authoritarianism. How, in Ayubi’s judgement, could such forces be overcome? The Ayubi thesis is intriguing, but does it hold up to scrutiny? Such questions were always important in the Middle East. Now, more than ever, they are important questions for the West.
See “The Vulnerability of the Arab State: Reflections on the Ayubi Thesis” by Timur Kuran, professor of economics and King Faisal Professor of Islamic Thought and Culture and the University of Southern California, in THE INDEPENDENT REVIEW (Summer 1998).
|
cc/2020-05/en_head_0062.json.gz/line3319
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.