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Current season, competition or edition:
No. of teams
champion(s)
Toronto Raptors (1 title)
Most titles
Boston Celtics (17 titles)
TV partner(s)
ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the world's top men's professional basketball league. It is one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. There are 30 teams in the league. 29 are in the United States and 1 is in Canada. It is a member of USA Basketball (USAB),.[1] The NBA is one of the 4 major North American professional sports leagues. NBA players are the world's best paid athletes. They have the highest average annual salary.[2]
The league was formed in New York City on June 6, 1946. It was called the Basketball Association of America (BAA). The league merged with the National Basketball League (NBL) in 1949. They then were known as the National Basketball Association. The league's head offices are in the Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue in New York City. Its international offices are in the same place. NBA Entertainment and NBA TV studios are in Atlanta, Georgia.
The NBA is widely considered the top level of competition in the world for basketball. With an average player height of about 6 foot 6 inches, it is also the world's tallest sports league.
1 History of the NBA
1.1 Creation and merger
3 Regular Season
4 Playoffs
4.1 NBA Finals
History of the NBA[change | change source]
Creation and merger[change | change source]
In 1946, The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was formed. Its founders were owners of the major ice hockey arenas in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Canada. On November 1, 1946, the Toronto Huskies hosted the New York Knickerbockers. This was the first game played in NBA history.[3] There were earlier attempts at professional basketball leagues. Examples are the American Basketball League and the NBL. The BAA was the first league to play in major cities. They played in large arenas. The level of play in the BAA was not very good. Competing leagues and other teams had similar talent. The Harlem Globetrotters are an example.
On August 3, 1949, the BAA combined with the NBL. The National Basketball Association was born.[4] The new league had 17 teams. They came from cities of different sizes.[4] The league got rid of several teams. It reached its smallest size of eight teams in the 1954–55 season. They were the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Philadelphia Warriors (now Golden State Warriors), Minneapolis Lakers (now Los Angeles Lakers), Rochester Royals (now Sacramento Kings), Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (now Detroit Pistons), Milwaukee Hawks (now Atlanta Hawks), and Syracuse Nationals (now Philadelphia 76ers). Teams in small cities moved to larger cities.
Japanese-American Wataru Misaka broke the NBA color barrier in 1947–48. He played for the New York Knicks. But 1950 is recognized as when the NBA integrated. African Americans joined several teams. Those players included Chuck Cooper, Nathaniel "Sweetwater" Clifton, and Earl Lloyd. They joined three different teams. During the 1950s, the Minneapolis Lakers won five NBA Championships. George Mikan was their leader. He played the center position. The Lakers were the league's first dynasty. In 1954, the league introduced the 24-second shot clock.[5] A team must try a shot in 24 seconds. If they cannot, the other team gets the ball.
Teams[change | change source]
The NBA contains 30 teams. 15 are in the Eastern Conference and 15 are in the Western Conference. Each conference has three divisions with 5 teams. Teams play other teams in their division often. All teams play all other teams in a season.
The Boston Celtics have won 17 championships. No other team has won more championships. Some teams have never won a championship. Another strong team is the Los Angeles Lakers. They have a television deal with Spectrum. The deal gives them lots of money in revenue.
29 teams are in the United States. The Toronto Raptors are in Canada. David Stern wants the league to expand to Europe. Some teams have played games in the United Kingdom.
Regular Season[change | change source]
Teams begin training camps in September. This allows the coaching staff to observe their players. Teams play preseason games. These do not count for a team's final season record. The weaker players get cut. Other players stay on the team and get paid. The NBA regular season begins in the last week of October. All teams play 82 games during a normal season. There are 41 home games and 41 road (away) games. Home games offer benefits to teams. They generally play better due to fan support and lack of travel. Teams play every other team during the regular season. The best players play in the NBA All-Star game in February. Fans vote for the starters. The coaches vote for the reserve (substitute) players. There is a pause in the season during the All-Star Game. Teams do not play games for about a week. Other events occur during the All-Star break. These include the Three-Point contest, the Skills course, and the Slam Dunk contest. Players participate in part due to fan interest.
Before the trade deadline, teams can trade players. This can cause changes in the balance of power. Team bosses want to get the best players for their team. Other bosses want to lower their costs. Trades often happen on the last day.
The regular season ends in the middle of April. Individual awards are given to players. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is given to the player most important to his team. The Defensive Player of the Year award is given to the player who plays the best defense. There are a few other awards. After the 2015-2016 season, Stephen Curry became the first player to win all votes for the MVP award.[6]
Playoffs[change | change source]
At the end of every NBA season, the NBA Playoffs begin after the regular season ends. 16 teams play in the playoffs. These are the 8 teams from the Western conference and the 8 teams from the Eastern conference that performed best in the regular season. Teams are assigned a seed number. The four top seeds are the division champions, plus the non-champion with the best record; those teams are seeded 1 to 4 by their regular-season record. The other four seeds, 5 to 8, are the next-best teams in each conference. Having a higher seed offers advantages. Teams with high seeds play weaker teams. They also (usually) play on their home court more often. However, a lower seed may play more games at home in a series than a higher seed, because home-court advantage is based solely on record, and not by seeding. All playoff rounds are best-of-7 series, meaning that a series can last up to 7 games, ending when a team has won 4 games. Since 2014 every round follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format. The team with the better record (usually, but not always, the higher seed) =is home in games 1, 2, 5, and 7. The lower seed is home in games 3, 4, and 6.
NBA Finals[change | change source]
To win a championship, a team needs to win four rounds. The fourth round is called the finals. A team from the Eastern Conference plays a team from the Western Conference. The team that wins this series is the NBA champion. The best player in the finals wins the Finals Most Valuable Player award. The finals are played in the same format as the other rounds, 2-2-1-1-1. The team with the worst record plays two straight at home, plus Game 6 if needed.
The Golden State Warriors are the most recent NBA champion. They beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–1 in the 2017 NBA Finals. This was their fifth title.
↑ "Inside USA Basketball". Usabasketball.com. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
↑ "Slam dunk: NBA the richest sports league in the world by average pay « Sporting Intelligence". Sportingintelligence.com. 2011-04-21. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
↑ "History of Basketball in Canada". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
↑ 4.0 4.1 "NBA is born". History. Retrieved July 29, 2010.
↑ "NBA Rules History". NBA. May 8, 2008. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
↑ "Stephen Curry Named Unanimous Winner of 2015-16 Kia NBA Most Valuable Player Award". NBA. May 10, 2016. Retrieved 9 December 2016.
Atlantic Central Southeast Northwest Pacific Southwest
Boston Celtics Chicago Bulls Atlanta Hawks Denver Nuggets Golden State Warriors Dallas Mavericks
Brooklyn Nets Cleveland Cavaliers Charlotte Hornets Minnesota Timberwolves Los Angeles Clippers Houston Rockets
New York Knicks Detroit Pistons Miami Heat Oklahoma City Thunder Los Angeles Lakers Memphis Grizzlies
Philadelphia 76ers Indiana Pacers Orlando Magic Portland Trail Blazers Phoenix Suns New Orleans Pelicans
Toronto Raptors Milwaukee Bucks Washington Wizards Utah Jazz Sacramento Kings San Antonio Spurs
Annual events: All-Star Weekend (All-Star Game (MVP) · Rookie Challenge · Shooting Stars Competition · Skills Challenge · Slam Dunk Contest · Three-point Shootout) · Draft · Finals (MVP) · Playoffs · Summer League
Other: 50 Greatest Players · Arenas · Criticisms and controversies · Dress code · Europe Live Tour · G League · Larry O'Brien Trophy · List of champions · List of current team rosters · List of head coaches · List of players (foreign players) · Midwest Division · NBA TV · Records (All-Star Game) · Salary Cap · WNBA
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Basketball_Association&oldid=6672016"
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Journalism in the Public Interest
allegheny.edu / Journalism in the Public Interest
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Brad Hersh, Chair
River Branch
Michael Crowley
Michael Keeley
Benjamin Slote
Lorri Drumm
Amanda Spadaro ’15
Caitie McMekin ’14
Cody Switzer, ’07
Erica Erwin ’02
Judge Susan Cox ’80
John Hillkirk ’78
Tom O’Boyle ’78
The Campus Newspaper Wins Five Keystone Press Awards
By Allegheny News and Events March 4th 2015
The Campus won two first-place awards and three honorable mentions in the four-year college category from the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. Sam Stephenson ’15, co-editor-in-chief of The Campus, and photo editor Meghan Hayman ’16 won a first-place Student Keystone Press Award in the category of general news. The staff of The Campus also won a first-place award for layout and design on “The Story Next Door,” a special edition of The Campus that published student work from a conference that explored community journalism in action. Honorable mentions were awarded to Amasa Smith ’17, in the category of feature photos; Meghan Hayman, in the category of news photos; and Elliott Bartels ’15, Sam Stephenson and Amanda Spadaro ’15, for The Campus’s website. Cheryl Hatch, visiting assistant professor of journalism in the public interest, serves as faculty adviser to The Campus.
Source: Academics, Publications & Research
Living Journalism in ‘Real Life in Real Time’
By Allegheny News and Events January 6th 2015
Allegheny Professor and Photojournalist Takes her Skills to Liberia
Cheryl Hatch, Allegheny visiting assistant professor of journalism in the public interest, won’t be in class for the first week of the spring semester.
CORRECTION: She won’t physically be in class – but she plans to be there via Skype.
That’s because Hatch has taken her photojournalism skills to cover stories in Liberia, thanks, in part, to funding she and writer Brian Castner received from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
According to its website, the Pulitzer Center “is an innovative award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to supporting the independent international journalism that U.S. media organizations are increasingly less able to undertake.”
While in Liberia, Hatch and Castner, who arrived on Dec. 29, 2014, are covering the U.S. military efforts to assist the Liberian government in combating the Ebola outbreak. Their first story, “‘Let This Ebola End’: Liberians Prepare for 2015 with Parties and Prayer,” served as Jan. 5’s headline for the international news organization VICE News.
“I believe a journalism professor needs to continue practicing journalism, and this is a timely story in Africa, where I’ve done much of my work in the past two decades,” said Hatch, explaining why she decided to spend her winter break more than 3,500 miles from Meadville. “I teach by example. I want the students to see me do the work I love outside the classroom and bring it back to the classroom. Journalism is real life in real time.
“Receiving support from the Pulitzer Center is a terrific honor and a big help, since this is an expensive story to cover,” she adds.
Hatch plans to Skype with her JOURN100 news writing and JOURN300 multimedia classes on Jan. 13.
UPDATE (1/13/15): Since this article was published on Jan. 12, Hatch successfully Skyped from Liberia with her news writing and multimedia classes on Jan. 13. Hatch conducted the course as though she were physically in the room, beginning by having the students come closer to the camera to introduce themselves so she could put a face with a name. “Even though I’m not physically there, I felt it was important as your professor to be there on your first day of classes,” she said.
Student Christina Smith from the news writing class said this was her first course with Hatch. Afterward, she said, “I’m really excited to hear about her experiences. She seems so knowledgeable; what a great person to learn from.”
Cheryl Hatch interacts with her class via Skype on Jan. 13. Photo by Bill Owen ’74.
During last semester’s news writing class, Hatch says the students interviewed NPR photojournalist and video editor David Gilkey via Skype as part of their final exam. Gilkey recently had returned from covering the Ebola outbreak in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Hatch met Castner, author of The Long Walk: A Story of War and the Life That Follows, when he spoke at Allegheny during the Combat Paper Project in September.
Hatch plans to return to the United States on Jan. 16. To follow her journey in Liberia, visit http://pulitzercenter.org/project/africa-liberia-ebola-war-veterans-US.
Read the Erie Times-News article about Hatch’s journey.
Faculty and alumni exhibit unusual combinations
By Allegheny News and Events November 7th 2014
By Rachel Wang, Staff Writer
The art galleries of Allegheny College held the reception of Annual Faculty and Alumni Art Exhibit on Tuesday, Nov. 4. The exhibit featured egg tempera, oil and watercolor paintings by alumnus Jeff Gola, ’82, and also included art works of Sue Buck, Heather Brand, Amara Geffen, Darren Lee Miller, Steve Prince, Byron Rich, Richard Schindler and Ian Thomas from department of art, as well as Cheryl Hatch, visiting assistant professor of journalism in the public interest and Mike Keeley, professor of communication arts.
“It’s always a challenge to figure out how pieces relate to each other, but we worked together as a group to find a good visual presentation so that one body of work by one person would flow in a logical way to another body of work,” said Darren Lee Miller, assistant professor of art and gallery director of Allegheny College. Each artist has different styles and ideas at work in different media. Considering this, Miller tried to make sense of organizing the gallery and locating drawings, paintings, printmaking, photographs and sculptures harmoniously in the gallery.
Photo by RACHEL WANG
Hatch’s Photos Featured in “The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceans”
Photographs of Annette von Jouanne by Visiting Assistant Professor in Journalism in the Public Interest Cheryl Hatch are in a new young adult book released on October 14. The Next Wave: The Quest to Harness the Power of the Oceans by Elizabeth Rusch, a Portland, Oregon author, is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Von Jouanne has been a professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Oregon State University since 1995. A review of the book can be found here.
Student Journalists To Host Celebration for Birthday of Ida Tarbell, Class of 1880
By Jesse Lavery November 5th 2014
The student journalists of The Campus, the award-winning student newspaper at Allegheny College, will celebrate pioneering journalist Ida Tarbell’s birthday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 5 in the newspaper’s newsroom, Campus Center 314. The public is invited for cake and an open house.
Traditional route to college doesn’t work for everyone
By Allegheny News and Events October 3rd 2014
By Lorri Drumm / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Gabriel Bouys/AFP/Getty Images
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the 2011 graduation rate was 59 percent within six years for full-time, first-time students who began pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year degree-granting institution in fall 2005.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Most people have different answers to that question as they mature. When you graduate from high school, still a teen, society expects you to have that answer. After at least 13 years of school, you must immediately know your purpose.
Some people have no problem determining their future.
It seems as if their destiny is mapped out for them from the moment they exit the womb. They have a particular strength or passion that they work hard at, and this leads to a fulfilling career.
For many of us, that one life-long ambition isn‘t as easily determined. Many start college and don’t finish even six years later. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the 2011 graduation rate was 59 percent within six years for full-time, first-time students who began pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year degree-granting institution in the fall of 2005.
I tried the traditional route. I attended Gannon University in Erie immediately after graduation from Karns City Area High School. My goal was to become a doctor and make lots of money. My reality was that although I had taken advanced science and math classes in high school, I struggled with those subjects. By sophomore year of college, I found myself in over my head. I changed majors, but lacking a goal, I eventually just gave up.
Then life happened. I met my husband, had four children, held different jobs — typically caring for others — and the years went by quickly.
As my children grew, I used my own experience and advice from a wise teacher to guide my children as they decided what they wanted to be when they grew up. Each of my three sons found a personal strength during their high school years and followed that path. Each of them got a college degree, including two master‘s degrees. Their careers are in the beginning stages, but their futures look bright. My daughter is in the process of discovering her strengths and will have my support and guidance.
Three years ago, the possibility of returning to the classroom became a reality for me.
I won a scholarship from Allegheny College in Meadville. As I chose my classes, I followed the advice I had given my children. A professor at my interview said that I had strong writing skills, so I started with freshman English and proceeded from that to journalism. I plan to add photography and other media skills to my resume. A bachelor’s degree is a goal that I will achieve, even if it takes a while. A new career, doing something that I love, would be a dream come true.
Changing careers is much more common in today‘s society than it was in the past. Many people, with or without a college degree, find themselves returning to the classroom out of necessity and/or the desire for a new career. Nontraditional students are a growing trend on many campuses.
Returning to a college classroom, or experiencing one for the first time, at an “older” age can be intimidating. Once you get beyond that insecurity, it can also be easier than it is for some of your younger classmates.
Older students don’t have the concerns and pressures that many typical students have. Partying, extracurricular activities and social acceptance don‘t get in the way of learning. When your sole focus is not on your social life or your GPA, you are free to learn and absorb information and get the most from your education.
Deciding what to do when you grow up is a big decision. Give it the consideration it deserves. When furthering your education becomes a goal in getting to where you want to go, then devote your efforts to that. Always be open to opportunities and never stop learning. Life is what you make of it. You’re never too old.
Lorri Drumm of Springboro, Crawford County, who was a summer intern at the Post-Gazette, is a junior at Allegheny College. She can be reached at localnews@post-gazette.com.
Uniforms-into-paper process both creative, therapeutic
By Earl Corp/MEADVILLE TRIBUNE
When Nathan Lewis came back from Iraq in 2004, he noticed things were different for him.
“You go to war, (and) you come back changed,” Lewis said.
Lewis didn’t let the change overcome him in a negative way. While he was a student at State University of New York at Potsdam, he became involved with the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), an advocacy group of active-duty U.S. military personnel, Iraq War veterans, Afghanistan War veterans and other veterans who have served since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks who were opposed to U.S. military in Iraq from 2003-11. On the weekends, the group came together and cut up uniforms to turn into paper for artwork and writing projects. It became a therapeutic outlet for Lewis and his group.
This week, Lewis has shared the paper making process with Allegheny College students as part of Combat Paper: Words Made Flesh. This week-long program is geared toward veterans issues, including art, dance, lectures and panels on a broad number of subjects such as psychology, returning home and military/civilian divide.
The combat paper making process may sound complex and timely, but it is for the most part unchanged since the paper making process began in China in 105 A.D.
Uniforms are cut into postage stamp-sized pieces, then moved into a beater. The beater is a trough filled with water which will turn the cloth pieces into pulp. The only change to the original process since 105 A.D. is Lewis has added a small electric motor to the beater.
The pulp is then moved to a tray, where a frame is dipped into it and sifted, similar to panning for gold. Once a layer of the pulp is gathered, the frame is removed, the water is drained and the paper is pulled off into a sheet onto a press. Once pressed, the sheet of paper is stuck to glass to dry into a sheet of usable paper.
Once the paper is dry, veterans, Allegheny College students and members of the community draw pictures, write poems or provide other artistic endeavors on the recycled uniforms. Lewis said paper making has been picked up as a therapeutic tool by military hospitals and the United Service Organization, a nonprofit organization also known as USO that provides programs, services and live entertainment to U.S. troops and their families.
“It helps vets to tell their story,” Lewis said. “They go through this intense experience (war), and it helps to listen.
“We’re not trained psychologists, we’re just guys who make paper.”
The paper making process ended Thursday, but veterans and community members are invited to design artwork today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Bowman-Penelec-Megahan Art Gallery inside the college’s Campus Center.
Allegheny College art professor Steve Prince was instrumental in bringing Lewis to campus for the week. Prince called Drew Cameron in California, director of the national Combat Paper Project, to schedule a workshop, and in turn was put in touch with Lewis, who is one of the project’s paper makers on the East Coast.
Prince said the week is an interdisciplinary approach with the art, dance and panels. The big question Prince had about veterans when planning the week was, “How do they get reintegrated back into society and how can we help with the process?”
A gallery of combat paper artwork begins on display Saturday through Oct. 28 at the Bowman-Penelec-Megahan Art Gallery. At the gallery opening on Saturday at 5 p.m. at center, there will also be performances by dance and movement studies students, and vocal and music students.
Prince said combat paper was sent to 26 renowned artists with a request to contribute artwork for the gallery. The pieces will be displayed prominently along with pieces done this week by students and community members.
Allegheny College senior Sam Stephenson is an English major from Portland, Ore., who plans to enter the Marine Corps as an officer following graduation. Stephenson was at the workshop as a member of one of Cheryl Hatch’s journalism classes. Stephenson said he could see where the combat paper would be useful to veterans in the healing process.
“(They are taking) a tool of the military and bridge that gap between military and civilian and make art,” Stephenson said.
“I like the way they’re taking something military and turning it from memorabilia and making something productive,” said sophomore Meghan Wilby, another member of one of Hatch’s classes, who is also participating in the workshop.
Colorado’s Kali Albern, an Allegheny art student, said she has made paper before but never from uniforms. But she enjoys the concept.
“Although it has symbology, because we don’t know what it will be used for, it has its original purpose and can now be used for beauty,” Albern said.
Though Lewis said he has gotten as much therapeutic benefits from making combat paper as he possibly could, he enjoys sharing the experience with students and other veterans and performs four workshops per year.
Making Pictures Worth a Thousand Words
By Allegheny News and Events August 29th 2014
By Heather Grubbs, Office of College Relations
Constructive criticism can be hard to hear.
But members of The Campus staff were soaking up words of wisdom and advice from renowned photojournalist Bob Lynn, who spoke to Campus staff on Aug. 22 as part of a four-day, on-campus workshop.
Campus Co-Editors-in-Chief Amanda Spadaro ’15 and Sam Stephenson ’15 organized the workshop for the newspaper staff members with Visiting Assistant Professor and Campus Adviser Cheryl Hatch.
“During last year’s photojournalism conference, we brought in Pulitzer Prize-winning photographers and designers and graduate students from Ohio University. That sparked a lot of passion within the newspaper and on campus,” said Stephenson, an English major with a focus on journalism. “So we decided to make this year’s Campus orientation a workshop to continue the momentum. That’s when Cheryl Hatch put us in touch with Bob Lynn.”
During the workshop, Lynn, who spent 17 years as an assistant managing editor/graphics at The Virginian-Pilot, shared advice on how to best use a photo and the importance of being a good writer.
“If you have a really powerful picture, you want to run it large enough so you can feel the emotion,” Lynn said. “And if you can express yourself in writing, no matter what you do in your future career, that will be to your advantage.”
The students hope to use Lynn’s advice as they work to enhance The Campus this year.
“We got to pick his brain about journalism and his knowledge of design,” Stephenson said. “He’s made himself available to us, which is amazing. We’re so honored that he’s here.”
“Bob is teaching us how important it is to have the visual aspect as well as the content when designing a paper; you need to be able to grab your readers and keep their attention,” added Spadaro, a biology major and English minor. “When we’re more mindful of that, it will make things more dynamic on the page.”
Lynn, who resides in Charleston, W.Va., also shared insights from his book, Vision, Courage & Heart. He said the principles in his book were instrumental in helping The Virginian-Pilot be recognized annually for its visual excellence.
“This is a remarkable opportunity for the students,” said Hatch, who worked with Lynn when she was a freelance photojournalist. “It’s good for the students to hear these tips from someone other than me. I want them to feel confident in what they do. Bob has left an amazing legacy of photographers. He’s a great contact and resource for them.”
Lynn said he enjoyed his time on Allegheny’s campus. “This is a great group of men and women,” he said about The Campus staff. “It’s been fun working with them.”
Hatch Receives Award for Column Writing
By Allegheny News and Events May 5th 2014
Cheryl Hatch, visiting assistant professor of journalism in the public interest, won second place in column writing in the 2014 Excellence in Journalism Contest sponsored by the Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association (PWPA). Hatch’s columns appear weekly in The Meadville Tribune.
Hatch Speaks to Pitt Journalists, Allegheny Students Tour Post-Gazette
By Allegheny News and Events December 16th 2013
Visiting Assistant Professor Cheryl Hatch spoke at the University of Pittsburgh on November 12. Cindy Skrzycki invited Hatch to speak to students in her Great Modern Journalists class about Great Female Correspondents at the Front. Hatch brought Allegheny students from their News Writing and We’ve Got the Beat courses with her for a field trip. Hatch showed her short film “A Luta Continua” about Eritrean women soldiers and ex-fighters, and she answered students’ questions about her time covering war and its aftermath in conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. Hatch and the journalism students then visited the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette at the invitation of executive editor David Shribman. Students took a tour of the newsroom and the presses. They also attended and observed the afternoon page-one meeting with the editorial board.
Contact Journalism in the Public Interest
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Brad Hersh
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PBS’s Heffner on ‘Civil Discourse in an Uncivil Age’
Mauroni Named Finalist in Mark of Excellence Awards
Hatch Earns Journalism Award for Newspaper Column
Student Journalist Angela Mauroni Is Finalist in Mark of Excellence Awards
“ Journalism is an exciting and vitally important job that gives you access to people and places you wouldn't have otherwise. Jump in.”
— Erica Erwin '02
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Las Iguanas Mermaid Quay
Ground Floor, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Cuisines: Brazilian, Cuban, Latin American, Mexican, Tapas Bars, Vegan, Vegetarian
Indian Restaurant, Asian Fusion Restaurant
Mowglis Indian Restaurant & Lounge
151 Crwys Road, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Cuisines: Asian Fusion, Indian/Pakistani, Middle Eastern, Vegetarian
Dessert Shop, Restaurant
CakeAway Cardiff
Hours: Mon-Sun: 16:00 - 00:00
Indian Restaurant, Asian Restaurant, Middle Eastern Restaurant
Mirchi Indo-Pak Halal Restaurant.
90-94 City Road, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Cuisines: Indian/Pakistani
Deli, Sandwich Shop, Specialty Grocery Store
Deli a GoGo
3 Penlline Road, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Cuisines: British
Hours: Open Now Mon-Sat: 08:30 - 17:00
Fast Food Restaurant, Halal Restaurant, Family Style Restaurant
Chicken House
The Red Dragon Centre, Hemingway Road, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Cuisines: American (New), American (Traditional), British, Brunch, Burgers, Diners, Fast Food, Vegetarian
Restaurant, Coffee Shop
The Pure Kitchen
Fast Food Restaurant, Burger Restaurant
Uncle Sam's
96 Crwys Road, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Cuisines: American (New), Fast Food
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Not “Blannie,” Just Annie: Remakes, Reimaginings and Representation
At one of our Christmas dinners this year, I mentioned that I was planning to take Husband to go see the new Annie remake. Hearing that, a relative smiled and said innocuously, “Don’t you mean Blannie?” Which, of course, is a hashtag that’s been appearing on Twitter in discussions of the new movie, a compression of “black Annie.”
“No,” I said. “I mean the remake of Annie.”
As a kid, I was a big fan of movie musicals. I watched and rewatched The Wizard of Oz. I remember sitting transfixed on the living room floor by West Side Story and The Sound of Music, and on the edge of the couch a few years later with Little Shop of Horrors and Jesus Christ Superstar. And as was the case for most kids who grew up in the ’80s, the story of the spunky orphan and her bald benefactor took its turn on-stage in my house, too. One of my never-quite-realized childhood ambitions was to cast and recreate these shows using my friends and family, and I have a very clear memory of discussing with my mother whether my best-playmate uncle might be willing to take on the role of Rooster, orphanage mistress Miss Hannigan’s no-good brother.
I don’t remember where Husband and I saw our first trailer for the 2014 Annie, and I don’t remember if I’d heard anything about the movie before seeing it. But I do remember how excited I got, just hearing snippets of the familiar songs. This was a story that had a special place in my heart as a kid; I was thrilled to hear it’d be coming back to the big screen. And when I saw Quvenzhané Wallis’s grinning face, I thought: “Oh, wow, the new Annie’s black? That’s amazing!”
I’ll freely admit that I might have had a different reaction before I started graduate school, before I took courses on the sociology of race that were the first place I read about how few characters of color (or diverse characters of any kind) have historically appeared in children’s books. Even a few years ago, I might still have balked at the idea that a classic, much-loved story could be reimagined with a protagonist of a different race and keep the spirit of the original story. But now, after a year of thinking about how to increase the representation in my own work, after reading Writing the Other and looking at the numbers on protagonists of color and following the efforts of the team at We Need Diverse Books to increase all kinds of diversity in children’s stories, I’ve come to the conclusion that there are more important things than respecting the canon.
It seems like the Marvel and DC universes provide a pretty good model for exactly this sort of thing. In 2011, the Ultimate Marvel universe killed off Peter Parker and replaced him with Miles Morales, the first black (and second Hispanic) Spiderman; there was some backlash, but the loudest voices, including that of Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, supported the impulse to make Spiderman a character who demonstrated that you didn’t have to be white to save the world. Both the Marvel and DC movie franchises are taking steps in the same direction, greenlighting films for, among others, an Aquaman played by Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa, and Marvel’s first black superhero, the Black Panther.
These stories don’t take away from the ones that came before them. Having a new Wonder Woman movie that’ll bring a female superhero into the imaginations of 21st-century little girls doesn’t undo the fact that The Dark Knight was a good movie, or that Bruce Wayne’s Batman is a fun character. Having a black Spiderman doesn’t erase the white Spiderman: it just gives more kids the opportunity to pretend to be a superhero who looks like them. And kids do notice that stuff. This Washington Post article, by writer Amina Luqman, about how her son didn’t want to dress as Harry Potter for Halloween because “I’m not tan, I’m brown” just about broke my heart.
One response to the unveiling of Miles Morales (archived here), by opinion writer Alexandra Petri, repeats a commonly-used phrase from those who object to what they see as the “forced” diversification of contemporary characters: “It doesn’t matter what the character looks like so long as he tells a compelling story!” As Petri suggests, the people who say this are absolutely right; we should all be able to enjoy a compelling story. And sure, part of pretending is imagining yourself to be somebody else. But increasingly, research and popular opinion seem to be assembling around the notion that it shouldn’t always be kids from underrepresented groups who have to stretch their imaginations the furthest to see themselves in the heroes of their favorite stories.
Husband had never seen the 1982 Annie, and so we watched it together last week so he’d be properly contextualized for the new movie. Seeing it for the first time in 20+ years, I was struck by its cheesiness (the adults all look a little too happy to be real) and its increasingly improbable plot (Miss Hannigan doesn’t recognize her brother with a fake mustache? Annie gets adopted by Daddy Warbucks only because she happens to be the one who overhears when his assistant first comes to the orphanage? There’s a mansion and substantial grounds somewhere on Manhattan’s 5th Avenue?). I was also struck by the movie’s casual racism: Daddy Warbucks’ two bodyguards are “Punjab” and “the Asp”; respectively, a tall, dark-skinned, turbaned man who can “put a spell on [the dog]” and make toy airplanes fly with a wave of his hand, and a smaller East Asian gent whose main jobs seem to be driving Daddy Warbucks around and teaching Annie how to do karate chops. I still hold some affection for the movie, and I might even show it to my own kids someday, but I wouldn’t do so without unpacking those stereotypes a little. And I suspect I would feel differently if I looked less like Aileen Quinn, who played Annie, and more like Geoffrey Holder and Roger Minami, who played the bodyguards.
The writers of the 1982 Annie, and its Broadway predecessor, took their own liberties with the original story. The comic strip Little Orphan Annie, which debuted in 1924, expressed its creator’s strong objections to (among other things) unions, the New Deal, and communism. If creator Harold Gray had known that his spunky red-head would someday be portrayed meeting with FDR to help set up the New Deal, he might’ve come back from the dead to protest. Stories change to fit the times they’re told in.
It’s true that when I saw the new Annie this weekend, I didn’t see a little girl with red hair. But I saw girls somersaulting around their group home singing “A Hard Knock Life”; I saw adults hamming it up in ridiculous dance numbers; I saw the message that a good-hearted youngster can have a positive impact on the world; and I saw a spunky kid with a sparkling smile who sang “Tomorrow.”
So no, I didn’t go see “Blannie” this weekend; just a new version of Annie, written to introduce the story to 21st-century kids of all backgrounds. And this movie musical nerd was glad to add it to all the others in her library.
by diana2261 on January 7, 2015 • Permalink
Posted in Geeky Activism, Representation, Reviews, Sociology
Tagged Annie, superheroes
Posted by diana2261 on January 7, 2015
https://sociologistnovelist.wordpress.com/2015/01/07/not-blannie-just-annie-remakes-reimaginings-and-representation/
My 2015 Reading Challenge
Writing Takes Time: On Vanquishing the Demon of “Productivity”
The Many Faces of Animal Stories | Sociologist Novelist
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Mars Science Laboratory. Credit: NASA.
Engineering Services Inc. Receives $3 Million Contract for Prototype Robotic Arms
Marc Boucher October 25, 2010 News, Technology Leave a comment
The Canadian Space Agency today awarded Engineering Services Inc. (ESI) of Toronto a $3 million contract to develop prototype robotic arms, control stations and exploration tools that will be integrated into prototype lunar or martian rovers. The contract also includes an option for second arm worth $500,000.
The investment from the Canadian Space Agency is a result of the 2009 Economic Action Plan the government created to help stimulate the economy. The Canadian Space Agency was the beneficiary of $110 million in stimulus money.
The robotic arm is expected to be delivered to the CSA in early 2012 where it will be integrated in a prototype rover for testing in a lunar or martian analog environment. The robotic arm will be fitted with a scoop, grippers and powered socket wrench and can be operated remotely or autonomously.
“For nearly three decades now, Canada has earned a reputation as a global leader in space robotics,” says Steve MacLean, President of the Canadian Space Agency. “The prototypes that will be built by ESI under this contract will build upon that legacy to ensure that Canada will remain a sought-after partner for future exploration missions to the Moon and Mars,” he adds.
According to ESI’s founder and president, Dr. Andrew Goldenberg, this robotic arm “expands the scope of what is possible with robots in space and on the Earth.” Designing space robots marks a return for Dr. Goldenberg, a designer of the original Canadarm before becoming a professor at the University of Toronto and founding ESI.
Tags Canadian Space Agency Engineering Services Inc
Previous The Space Shuttle Retirement and the Avro Analogy
Next This Week in Space for Canada
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ICC World Cup 2019 News
Khawaja set to miss England semifinal for Australia
Australia will play England in the Cricket World Cup semifinals and may be missing Usman Khawaja, while Marcus Stoinis will be assessed.
07 July, 2019 11:10 IST
Australia star Usman Khawaja - Getty Images
Usman Khawaja's Cricket World Cup may well be over after he suffered an apparent hamstring injury in Australia's defeat to South Africa.
Khawaja retired hurt before being forced to return in the 10-run reverse to the Proteas on Saturday, scoring 18 before diverting the ball onto the top of his stumps.
Captain Aaron Finch was pessimistic about Khawaja's condition in the post-match presentation, with a scan set for Sunday.
"It doesn't look ideal for Usman Khawaja at the moment," he said. "We'll have to wait and see.
"He's going to have a scan in the morning and we'll make a call based on what the results are there."
Marcus Stoinis also looked to be struggling, although Finch was slightly more positive on that front, but Australia at least have their A team on hand should either player need to be replaced.
"I'm not sure [on Stoinis]," Finch said. "At the moment, it feels okay. But until you get the definitive scans, it's tough to know.
"The whole Australia A squad is here, the four-day guys and the one-day guys. So if they need to be replaced, which I imagine Usman will, there's plenty of guys to come in."
The loss to South Africa saw Australia slip below India, winners against Sri Lanka, into second to set up a crunch semi-final with rivals and hosts England.
Finch added: "It doesn't get much bigger than that: England v Australia in a World Cup semifinal. Hopefully it's a great game."
Meanwhile, Proteas captain Faf du Plessis was left rueing his side's failure to produce such impressive performances earlier in the tournament.
Du Plessis himself scored 100 against Australia, but South Africa have long been out of contention after a dismal start to the group phase.
"After the tournament is when we start scratching our heads and try to figure it out," he said of his side's issues. "It's inconsistent cricket.
"To be in the semifinals, especially now with this new four-team format, you have to be at your best for most of the tournament.
"If you're not, you need guys to lift the team and win games almost on their own. We weren't at our best as a team and we had guys not doing enough to get us over the line."
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South Korea Capable of Countering Missiles Tested by Pyongyang - Seoul
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201908121076531144-south-korea-capable-of-countering-missiles-tested-by-pyongyang---presdential-spokesperson/
TOKYO (Sputnik) - The South Korean Armed Forces are capable of countering the short-range missiles that are now being tested by North Korea, a spokesperson for the South Korean presidential administration said on Monday.
"Our armed forces are capable of countering North Korea's short-range missile with the help of Patriot missile defence systems", the spokesperson said, as quoted by KBS broadcaster.
According to him, Seoul possesses weapons similar to those tested by North Korea.
"We are several steps ahead of North Korea. Reports saying that we are lagging behind in combat readiness are not true", the spokesperson added.
The remarks come amid Pyongyang's recent launches of what Seoul believes were short-range missiles. North Korea has called the launches a warning against South Korean-US joint military drills, which began on 5 August and will last through 20 August.
Korean Central News Agency
Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile
Commenting on the matter, US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in a letter expressed his readiness to start denuclearisation negotiations with Washington as soon as the US-South Korea exercises were over.
North Korea Fires Two Projectiles Into Sea of Japan - South Korea's JCS
North Korea's Kim Personally Oversaw Saturday's Test of 'New Weapon' - Reports
US Urges South Korea to Send Troops to Strait of Hormuz Amid Iran Tensions - Reports
Trump Says Kim Ready to Start Negotiations as Soon as US-South Korea Drills Over
missile tests, missile test, missiles, South Korea, Kim Jong-un, Democratic Republic of North Korea (DPRK)
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Remainers Hatching Shock Plot To Force Boris Johnson To Extend Brexit Deadline - Report
© REUTERS / Parliament TV
by Svetlana Ekimenko
Political Turmoil in UK as Boris Johnson Struggles to Deliver Brexit (58)
Svetlana Ekimenko. Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201909301076923843-remainers-hatching-shock-plot-to-force-boris-johnson-to-extend-brexit-deadline---report/
As tempers on both sides of the Brexit debate have become "inflamed", UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has stuck to his “do or die” pledge to leave the EU by 31 October with or without a deal, while the opposition alliance is reportedly studying “every mechanism and additional legal safeguard against a no-deal”.
The Remain coalition is allegedly meeting on Monday to plot a way to induce UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to request a Brexit extension as early as this weekend, reports The Telegraph.
It is claimed that the Opposition alliance will meet in Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s office to discuss amending the legislation to bring forward the date to 5 October when the Prime Minister legally has to ask Brussels to extend Article 50.
Corbyn is set to meet with Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, Ian Blackford, the SNP Westminster leader, and representatives of Plaid Cymru, the Greens and the Independent Group for Change in his office at 1:30 this afternoon.
Speaking of Boris Johnson and his determination to deliver Brexit at any cost, Ian Blackford said the SNP would back “anything that tries to close down his ability” to defy the so-called Benn Act, which puts the Prime Minister under a legal obligation to request an extension on 19 October if he has not agreed upon a Brexit deal by then.
“All of us have got to work together. I’m not precious. Everyone is much more aware of what he is capable of. There is no doubt that he will seek to frustrate the legislation in place as we head towards the second half of October,” the publication quotes Blackford as saying.
A senior Labour source said of the plan:
“We are looking at every mechanism and additional legal safeguard against no-deal.”
The move is said to be triggered by the belief that the current deadline of 19 October offers little time for a court challenge to avert a no-deal Brexit on 31 October if Boris Johnson defies the law and refuses to ask for an extension.
For their plan to work, the opposition parties will need to have control of all parliamentary business and then table a one-line bill which would amend the Benn Act.
Even if their ploy fell through, it would wreak disruption against the backdrop of the Conservative Party’s ongoing annual conference in Manchester, launched under the “Get Brexit Done” slogan, with MPs and ministers obliged to hurry back to Westminster to vote.
“Compromise candidate” debacle foils confidence vote in PM
Reports of the secret plan emerged on Sunday, after the opposition parties failed to agree on holding a confidence vote in the Prime Minister.
The SNP had tried to persuade the Lib Dems to support a confidence vote in the Prime Minister which would have either triggered a general election or put Corbyn in Downing Street if Johnson lost.
However, the Lib Dems insisted on a compromise candidate such as former foreign secretary Dame Margaret Beckett to become caretaker prime minister.
As a Labour MP, she could command the support of Labour and was seen as able to solicit support from the 21 Tory rebels who have lost the whip.
According to the plan, Dame Margaret would have agreed to stay in Downing Street for two months to ask Brussels for an Article 50 extension, and then called an election once no deal had been avoided.
But Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn refused to accept that anyone else could take on the role, as a Labour source said:
“It is the role of the Leader of the Opposition to form a government in the event of a no-confidence vote in a prime minister.”
© REUTERS / UK PARLIAMENT/JESSICA TAYLOR
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson gestures as leader of the opposition Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn (bottom) speaks in the House of Commons in London, Britain September 3, 2019
Johnson’s “do or die” pledge to deliver Brexit
It also reportedly emerged that Boris Johnson, who has stuck to his “do or die” pledge to leave the EU by 31 October with or without a deal, plans to prorogue Parliament a second time in order to press ahead with plans for a Queen’s Speech on 14 October.
A defiant Johnson has been hoping to use his Tory conference platform to attack Parliament for attempting to thwart his negotiating strategy on Brexit, reported The Guardian.
The conference opened just days after the Supreme Court’s ruling that Boris Johnson’s five-week suspension of Parliament was unlawful, and the order was "void and of no effect".
As Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have lost their majority in Parliament, with divisions over Brexit inflaming both sides of the political divide, Johnson has hinted that losing a no confidence vote would give him the general election he’s been “burning to fight”.
Questioned on BBC’s One’s Andrew Marr show, on whether he wants to win or lose a no confidence vote, Johnson noted he twice offered Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn a general election but both times was rejected as the Remain MP said the priority is to stop a no-deal Brexit.
Britain is not scheduled to hold an election until 2022, but one is expected in the coming months.
Boris Johnson Denies Any Wrongdoing Over Ties With Ex-US Model Arcuri
Boris Johnson Refuses to Comment on His Alleged Apology to the Queen Over Prorogation
Boris Johnson Denies Payment Improprieties in Arcuri Dealings
Rebel MPs Suggest Impeachment to Topple Boris Johnson and Block 'No-Deal' Brexit - Report
Tory, UK Labour Party, Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, UK Liberal Democrats, Article 50, Article 50, Brexit, Brexit, brexit, Boris Johnson
10:18Mysterious Structure Older Than the Pyramids Revealed in Wake of Devastating Australian Bushfires
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© AP Photo / Themba Hadebe
The Limpopo Factor: How SA's SMMEs Reap the Benefits of BRICS Membership
by Denis Bolotsky
Outgrowing Frontier Markets: How Small Businesses Reshape BRICS Economies (5)
Denis Bolotsky. Sputnik International
https://sputniknews.com/in_depth/201710181058337588-the-limpopo-factor-south-africa-brics-membership/
Even though it represents the last letter in the BRICS acronym, and it was the last country to join the association in 2010, South Africa has instantly become an equal partner for Brazil, Russia, India and China. Along with other member states, the country is now taking steps to develop its small and medium enterprises.
South Africa's economy accounts for 35 percent of the continent's gross domestic product, and the country is known for its well-developed banking and service sectors. Just like many other BRICS members, South Africa is trying to boost its small and medium enterprises, creating free economic zones and providing government support — both nationwide and locally.
South Africa's delegation was one of the largest at this year's Forum on Small Business hosted by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and BRICS Regions in Russia's Ufa.
According to Humphrey Maputha, who is the acting executive manager of the Limpopo Economic Development agency, his country is ready to do business with BRICS nations.
"We are inviting everybody to make business in South Africa. But what is key for us being a new member of BRICS is that we need to learn from one another."
Limpopo is the country's northernmost province, known for its game hunting industry, diamond and platinum resources, as well as mango, tea and coffee plantations. According to Humphrey Maputha, Limpopo's small businesses want to play a bigger role in the region's economy.
"Key growth sectors are mostly in agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and mining…. And now our national government has approved the implementation of a special economic zone in Limpopo, so we will need our SMMEs not to be left out, to participate in those special economic zones. We are here to learn best practices from other BRICS members."
At the forum in Ufa, South Africans had a chance to chat with their Indian colleagues, who shared their experience in supporting micro, small and medium enterprise. India's economy relies heavily on these types of businesses, and the country has a long history of providing support for SMMEs, including financial help and export assistance.
Russia, in turn, shared its experience in creating standards and databases for local franchisors, such as fast food owners who are planning to sell their licenses abroad.
The term BRIC first appeared at the turn of the millennium to describe the world's fastest-growing national economies. The association bearing this name was formed in the late 2000s and was later joined by South Africa.
The bloc has had its share of financial problems during the 2008 financial crisis, but with 3.5 billion people living in BRICS countries and with its five member states having a combined nominal GDP of $16.3 billion, the bloc's economic potential remains high.
The leaders of the BRICS nations gather annually to discuss political and economic issues. This year's BRICS summit was held in China's coastal city of Xiamen.
We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.com
business, investment, BRICS, Russia, South Africa
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Texas Bills Aim to Douse HOAs’ Limits on Xeriscaping
January 31, 2013 | 8:54 AM
By Kate Galbraith, Texas Tribune
Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
New bills would protect homeowners from fines levied by HOAs for getting rid of their lawns.
From the Texas Tribune:
Last January, as the Texas drought wore on, an Austin-area homeowners association called the Woods of Brushy Creek made a big change to its landscaping policies. No longer would homeowners be required to have grass covering the entire front yard. Instead, they could request permission to cover most of the yard with drought-resistant plants, a technique known as xeriscaping.
“You can see the writing on the wall, that there are so many people moving [to Texas] and there is only going to be so much water,” said Debra Johnson, who works for Goodwin Management and serves as the association’s property manager.
Like the Woods at Brushy Creek, a small but rising number of homeowners groups are easing requirements for installing turf, and now two Texas lawmakers are trying to ensure that the trend goes statewide. Two bills, Senate Bill 198 and House Bill 449, by Sen. Kirk Watson and Rep. Dawnna Dukes, both Austin Democrats, would prevent HOAs from restricting xeriscaping. It’s an issue that has received rising attention as the drought continues.
HB 449 “gives the average individual the opportunity to be conscious of water conservation through xeriscaping, and it allows them to do their part,” Dukes said.
HOA requirements to use grass are “very widespread,” said David Foster, the state program director for Texas Clean Water Action. Most HOAs, he said, “limit the ability of a homeowner to xeriscape.”
Outdoor watering accounts for an average of 50 percent to 80 percent of a home’s water use, according to the Texas Water Development Board. HOA residents must abide by local watering restrictions, meaning that lawns often turn brown during severe droughts like the current one.
The Legislature has tightened environmental controls on HOAs before. Last session, for example, lawmakers passed a law that prevented the associations from banning solar panels.
In 2003, then-state Rep. Robert Puente introduced a bill that would have dealt with concerns about homeowners associations and xeriscaping; however, the version that passed did not contain a ban on xeriscaping restrictions, and another attempt in 2005 did not pass. (Puente is now president of the San Antonio Water System.)
Dukes said she was “cautiously optimistic” about the legislation’s chance of passage, given the huge water needs of the state. But Sen. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, appears to be leaning against legislative action on HOAs and xeriscaping. Speaking on a water panel organized by StateImpact Texas, Hegar said, “Sometimes it’s most important to deal with it on the local levels rather than us to deal with it.” He added that concerned homeowners could take matters into their own hands by becoming HOA board members and voting on the issue.
Dukes’ bill, which is more detailed than Watson’s measure, would prevent municipalities and counties (as well as HOAs) from restricting xeriscaping. However, Dukes could not provide an example of a municipality that has such restrictions in place, and her office said that the bill’s language was modeled on xeriscaping laws in Arizona and Florida. A somewhat related example comes from Dallas, in which a homeowner was barred by city planners in 2009 from using artificial turf, rather than natural grass, in front of his historic bungalow.
Scott Norman, executive director of the Texas Association of Builders, said that although his organization had not taken a position on the legislation, it was “conceptually” supportive of it, although some language in Dukes’ bill concerned him.
“There’s a balance,” Norman said. “Obviously there’s a need in these drought times to do things to conserve water, and our organization is certainly supportive of those.” The builders’ group also strongly supports funding the state water plan to build necessary infrastructure for future growth, Norman said. (Gov. Rick Perry also expressed support for new water funding on Tuesday in his State of the State address.)
A key problem, according to San Antonio water officials, is that some HOAs forced residents to add new grass even as drought restrictions tightened. Karen Guz, the water conservation director for the San Antonio Water System, wrote in an email:
The attitude of the HOAs was that if the homeowners had taken enough care to start with, then their lawns would not need replacing. Some HOAs were willing to wait until the drought broke and others flat out did not care. They informed the homeowner that if they did not take care of it, the HOA would and charge them for it. This put homeowners in a tight spot as drought rules did not provide a variance for laying new sod for purely aesthetic reasons during drought. New sod requires a lot of water to get started before it can survive drought-restricted days and times.
San Antonio requires that all builders must allow homeowners the option of using 50 percent or less grass, Guz said, adding that “we have used this provision to discourage a neighborhood that has recently tried to go to 70 percent turf required.”
In HOAs that have changed their ordinances, the process has often been gradual. At 2009, Avery Ranch, a community of more than 4,000 homes in North Austin, decided to allow up to 75 percent of lawns to use xeriscaping. But homeowners must apply to a designated committee to get permission — a “variance” — to adopt the technique. Robert Beyer, a resident and master gardener, urged the community to adopt drought-friendly changes in 2009. “The facts are there. Water is running out. We cannot afford to waste water,” he said.
Steve Roebuck, the president of the homeowners group at Avery Ranch, said that about two to three requests come in each week to xeriscape and that the change has been “well-received.” But the community still requires 25 percent of the front lawn to have sod.
“We didn’t really want to go full xeriscape in the front yard because we still wanted to keep a Texas look and not an Arizona look,” Roebuck said. The HOA also recently relaxed its rules against dead grass and weeds in yards, but it is tightening them up again after yards grew “worse,” Roebuck said. “We’re trying to keep our values up out here, and traditionally we’ve done that,” he added.
Denise Hickey, a spokeswoman for the North Texas Municipal Water District, said that focus group surveys of HOA residents and board members last fall revealed some tensions between the two groups, which hindered efforts to advance water education.
HOA residents, she said, worried that suggesting water-efficiency improvements could result in retaliation, or a “nasty-gram,” from board members about their own landscaping. Board members, for their part, feared that even moderate water-education efforts would be construed as a move toward new rules.
As a result, there was a “strong reluctance on either side to reach out or try to include any water-efficiency measures,” Hickey said.
The issue has had far-reaching effects.
“I have a friend that if he has a dead spot in the yard, he will get a nasty-gram,” Hickey said.
StateImpact Texas contributed reporting.
Texas Tribune donors or members may be quoted or mentioned in their stories, or may be the subject of them. For a complete list of contributors, click here.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at http://www.texastribune.org/2013/01/31/texas-legislation-would-restrict-hoas-love-grass/.
Everything You Need to Know About the Texas Drought
What the Texas Water Development Board Means to You
Lawmakers Discuss How to Prioritize Water Plan →
← Mixed Results in New EPA Report on Toxins and Children
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Stones Cry Out
If they keep silent…
So Much For the "Reset Button"
Thursday, December 8th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
The problem with pretending everything is OK with Russian relations is that Russian politicians just don’t like to be criticized, especially by their own people. And they’ll find anyone to blame it on.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin strongly criticized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday, accusing her of encouraging and funding Russians protesting election fraud, and warned of a wider Russian crackdown on dissent.
By describing Russia’s parliamentary election as rigged, Putin said Clinton "gave a signal" to his opponents.
"They heard this signal and with the support of the U.S. State Department began their active work," Putin said in televised remarks. He said the United States is spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars to influence Russian politics with the aim of weakening a rival nuclear power.
Putin’s tough words show the deep cracks in U.S.-Russian ties despite President Barack Obama’s efforts to "reset" relations with the Kremlin. Ahead of the election, President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to deploy missiles to target the U.S. missile shield in Europe if Washington failed to assuage Moscow’s concerns about its plans.
Clinton has repeatedly criticized Sunday’s parliamentary vote in Russia, saying "Russian voters deserve a full investigation of electoral fraud and manipulation."
Tell the truth to the Russians, get blamed for everything. Obama naïvely blamed Bush for…well, just about everything. But the fact is, Russian relations have very little to do with being nice to them or presenting toy reset buttons.
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Conspicuous in Cairo
There was something exciting and adventurous about traveling to Cairo. The world watched Egypt’s Arab Spring live from Tahrir Square as the revolution unfolded. A revolution that was successful in ousting President Mubarak. But the honeymoon is over and Egyptians grow more frustrated each day with President Morsi. There’s exciting and adventurous and there’s ‘what…
Inconspicuous In Istanbul
It’s nice to blend in for a change. In India and Thailand if my DNA didn’t give me away, my camera, backpack and gaggle of travel companions certainly did. Clearly on the radar of every vendor, beggar, and scam artist, it becomes a bit much at times. Dark hair, one day’s beard, and sporting a…
Rajistani Retreat
Bumping along a rural road in Rajistan, we notice a fort on top of a hill. In the blur that is adventure travel – five hours on a public bus from Agra that morning and rising at 4 a.m. the day before to catch the train from Delhi to Agra – it had not registered…
Honk If You’re In Delhi
Crazy commuters, terrifying traffic, drivers with a death wish – I’ve seen them in Cairo, Cape Town, Dubai and Doha. But Delhi’s traffic trumps them all. I ask each taxi or tuk tuk driver what they think of Delhi: “Too much traffic,” they say. About half the population of Canada is crammed into Delhi –…
The Elegance of Elephants
Lumbering and languid, but certainly not lazy, elephants have had an important and honoured role in Thailand for thousands of years. They have been used to help fight wars, carry kings, build temples, and most recently in a sad irony, they have been used to clear their own habitat for the logging industry. At the…
Bangkok by Boat
One sees a place differently by water. I first discovered this sailing down the Nile. There are no vendors vying for your attention to make a sale. No mad drivers to mow you down mid-stride. No children tugging at your trousers or heartstrings. It’s a slower pace. A pace that allows you to absorb and…
In an exercise to exorcise my inner introvert, I accepted an invitation to spend New Year’s Eve with ten strangers in Sydney. One degree separated me from my host, Pauline, who is the sister of the mom at the farm I stayed at in Wingham a few weeks ago. With representatives from Italy, Switzerland, Lebanon…
As I lug my Arabic grammar books and dictionary from country to country in anticipation of my time in the Middle East, it never occurred to me that I should have packed similar tools to help me with the Australian language. Sitting at the dinner table at the farm in Wingham, we often joked how…
These Are the Creatures in My Neighbourhood
This past summer I scoffed at tourists stopping to take photos of foxes in the Prince Edward Island National Park. Their idling car convoys lining the side of the road, I asked myself, “Haven’t they seen foxes before? What’s the big deal?” Now, as I scan the eucalyptus trees for the elusive koala or roadsides…
Horse Dentists and Runaway Chickens
I have left the suburbs. I enjoyed my time living in the outskirts of Sydney and Brisbane, but I am now on a farm in Wingham, New South Wales, four hours north of Sydney. It’s not a large farm, but a lovely one with a cow and calf, and many chooks (chickens), as well as…
Turn Left at the Mosque
It happens in almost every city I visit. I am asked for directions – and I often know where to direct the lost souls. I was in Sydney less than twenty-four hours and was asked in a train station where was Platform 7. Up the stairs to the left. I had a flock of tourists…
Out and About in Brisbane
With the temperature forecast to hit 37 Celsius, I was loathe to venture from the suburbs into the city, but most of my four days spent in downtown Brisbane were rainy and I wanted to explore more of this great city. Brisbane is a smaller, more laid back city than Sydney at about half its…
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An iPhone Lover’s Take On The iPhone 4
MG Siegler @mgsiegler / 10 years
Regular readers will know that recently I’ve liked to state my bias in the title of my mobile device reviews: I love the iPhone. Some will call that being a fanboy, and that’s fine. But really, it’s just my opinion that the iPhone is hands down the best mobile device out there. If there were a better one, I would use it. But there’s not. So I use the iPhone. And that’s the angle I take towards these mobile device reviews. It’s simple: if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Well, one finally has: iPhone 4.
Yeah, if you hate these types of reviews, you’re really going to hate this one.
Before I dive into specifics, I’ll say right away that the iPhone 4 is easily the best mobile device I’ve ever used (notice I didn’t say phone, more on that later). But a lot of you probably already thought you knew I was going to say that. The more interesting question may be: how does it compare to the other iPhones? Or, perhaps even better: is it worth it to upgrade? The short answer is yes.
In my view, iPhone 4 is the biggest leap forward that any iPhone has taken yet over the previous generation. It’s not really any single thing that makes me say that, but it’s the combination of changes to the hardware. The screen is much better. The camera is much better. The video quality is much better. The form factor is much better. The device is faster. It can do more at once (thanks to double the RAM). The battery lasts noticeably longer. And, of course, it has FaceTime.
The main upgrade of the iPhone 3G from the original iPhone was the 3G chip which brought faster download speeds. The main upgrade of the iPhone 3GS from the iPhone 3G was the CPU speed increase and the video-taking capability. All of those were nice upgrades. But again, the iPhone 4 offers much more from a hardware perspective. And that makes it worth the upgrade from an older iPhone, as well as worth an outright purchase if you’re new to the platform.
I wrote down my initial thoughts about the iPhone 4 after playing with it for about 20 minutes after the WWDC keynote in June. This time, I wanted to play around with the device for an entire week, using it as much as possible before I wrote up a full review. Now I have, so here it is.
The Screen
The element most played up by Apple during the WWDC keynote was the iPhone 4’s screen. And rightly so, it’s fairly amazing. The so-called Retina display offers 960×640 pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch. And it has a great 800:1 contrast ratio. Those specs make it great for both reading text and for watching video content or looking at pictures.
The screen is so sharp that when you’re looking at it, it almost looks as if you’re looking at a sticker overlay that they may put on a display unit at an electronics store. It looks more like you’re looking at a printed out picture than an electronic display.
But here’s the curious thing about the screen: More than a few people I showed it to thought it looked great, but wondered what was exactly so different from the previous iPhone screen. Part of that is because the previous iPhone screen was already good. But then I showed it to them side-by-side with the iPhone 3GS screen and they were blown away.
If Apple really wants to emphasize the screen, I recommend they do the same thing in Apple Store. Of course, then they may have a hard time selling the iPhone 3GS.
But when you do put them side-by-side, it’s easy to see just how much sharper text is on the iPhone 4. And just how much better colors appear. If you bring both close to your eye, on the old one you can see the pixels. On the new one, you can’t. Just look at the picture below — I don’t think I have to tell you which is which.
As I said, previous iPhones already had pretty solid displays, but they had since been passed up by the screens on a few Android devices. For example, I love the Nexus One’s screen, which is 800×480. But the iPhone 4 now destroys that. And, as a bonus, you can actually see it in daylight (which the Nexus One’s use of OLED makes very difficult).
The Speed
The iPhone 4, which uses Apple’s A4 chip just like the iPad, is definitely faster than the iPhone 3GS. However, the most part, it’s not noticeably faster in the same way that the iPhone 3GS was noticeably faster than the iPhone 3G. But it is in some cases, such as photo manipulation. One of my favorite apps is one called CameraBag (you can find it here for $1.99). On the iPhone 3GS, it can take several seconds to apply various filters to pictures in this app. On the iPhone 4, the same tasks take about a second.
Likewise, some games are noticeably faster, even those not yet optimized for iOS 4 or iPhone 4. Also, the few lags that previously existed in things like typing are now gone as well.
When you’re on WiFi, browsing the web can actually seem like a faster experience than doing so from a desktop computer. This is undoubtedly mostly thanks to the proliferation of iPhone-optimized sites. But still, for getting at raw information, the iPhone is now faster in quite a few cases, I’ve found.
On top of the new chip, another factor in the speed boost is like the 512 MB of RAM now included in the device (double what it was in previous iPhones — and double what is even included in the iPad!). But more than speed, this helps with the iOS 4’s new multitasking capabilities. In the week I’ve been using the iPhone 4 with iOS 4, I haven’t noticed the device having to quit any app I’ve loaded that takes advantage of fast app switching. Of course, that’s sort of the point, you’re not supposed to notice this. But with the iPhone 3GS running iOS 4, I have noticed a few times when an app has to restart when I switch back to it.
But the biggest speed difference for the entire device has to be the vast improvements to upload speeds. I like to send pictures I take from my iPhone to Flickr via email. On the iPhone 3GS, this takes a while, as each picture tends to be a little over a megabyte in size. On the iPhone 4, sending these pictures is so much faster — and that’s despite the files being much larger (thanks to the new 5 megapixel camera).
This upload boost is thanks to the iPhone 4’s use of High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), a 3G data protocol which can boost upload speeds by as much as 10x. If you do a lot of media uploading from your phone, this alone may make the new iPhone worth it.
The Antenna
While we’re on the subject of connectivity speeds, there’s no point in beating around the bush any longer — you likely want to know about the antenna issues of the iPhone 4 that have been widely reported.
At first, during regular use, I didn’t notice anything abnormal about the device with regard to its connection. Of course, I also live in San Francisco where AT&T offers up shitty connections as standard practice.
Then I started reading all the reports and decided to see if I could get the signal to drop myself. Sure enough, I could. I even tried it on a second iPhone 4 in a different area — same result. When wrapping your palm around the lower left corner of the iPhone 4, at least on the two devices I tried, the reception bars definitely start to drop.
I also tried making calls and using data while doing this. In both cases I was able to push the connection to failure when I would shove the iPhone into my left palm. Calls would drop and data would stop. When I released from that specific area of the phone, things would start working again.
But then I decided to try something out. I did the same thing with the iPhone 3GS — and guess what? Same results. Granted, it is much hard to push the connection to this point of failure on that device, but it can be done (by wrapping your hand around the entire bottom of the phone, where the antenna resides). Interestingly enough though, when I would do this on the iPhone 3GS, the signal would degrade, but the bars wouldn’t fall. Perhaps this is why no one noticed this issue on the iPhone 3GS but they are noticing it now (though other videos show the bars falling on the iPhone 3GS as well).
Yesterday, Apple finally issued an official response to this antenna issue. The basic gist? It’s a software bug. More precisely, they claim that the iPhone software currently incorrectly shows signal strength to be better than it is. A software update is supposedly going to “fix” that. Of course, that’s not really a fix at all for the actual signal, it’s just a fix for being misleading about it in the first place.
This seems to go against Apple’s earlier suggestion that you hold the phone a different way or use a case (both of which, of course, imply there is something to the idea that the design of the new device impacting the signal). That said, I spent last weekend in Lake Tahoe which has areas of decidedly better AT&T service than San Francisco. There, I didn’t notice the same falling bar issue, even when I held it in the corner (it would sometimes drop one bar, but not more). Others have noted this as well — when you’re in an area with good service, the bar loss doesn’t seem to be an issue. When you’re in an area with bad service, it is an issue. So more accurate software should at least solve the bars being high enough to drop in the first place.
But all that being said, there is still clearly something to this notion that holding the phone in the lower left corner degrades signal quality. My tests show it, dozens of other tests have shown it as well. And Apple even somewhat acknowledges it, saying this is an issue with all cell phones to some degree.
Here’s my take on this (and while I’m no expert, this seems to be pretty common sense): Apple’s software update should alleviate some concern about the signal drop by being more accurate in the first place. But the signal drop when holding the phone is very real — again, just as it is on other devices like the iPhone 3GS. The fact that the iPhone 4 is the first phone with the antenna on the outside of the phone, I have to believe must exacerbate this issue. And this combination of software plus hardware issue is why we’re all talking about this for the first time.
But at the end of the day, all that matters is this: does the device work? While that’s a more complicated question for me to answer than it should be because I happen to live in an area with notoriously bad AT&T reception, the answer is yes. In regular use (so, not holding the device a certain way to try and get it to fail) the iPhone 4 seems to perform the same with regard to data usage as the iPhone 3GS did. Without all the hubbub over the signal issue, I don’t think I would have noticed a problem (aside from day one when AT&T’s network was clearly getting slammed harder than usual).
As for call quality, I think the iPhone 4 is actually a bit better, believe it or not. I’ve been to at least three spots where I couldn’t make a call before, and now I can. This lends some credence to the idea that the iPhone 4 actually has a better antenna than the previous iPhones, despite the fact that it’s now exposed and seemingly more susceptible to signal degradation.
I have also tried using the iPhone 4 with the new bumpers Apple sells for the device, and it definitely seems to help the lower left corner issue. It’s too bad these things cost $29.99 a pop. I know Apple’s current stance is not to give these things away, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t start doing it if the software update isn’t as effective as they hope.
All this antenna talk is the direct result of something else: design decisions Apple made for the iPhone 4. Ultimately, they may regret the exterior antenna choice, but it’s hard to argue with the overall package. The iPhone 4 is easily the best piece of mobile hardware I’ve ever laid my hands on.
In my initial thoughts (again, after playing with the device for about 20 minutes), I noted that the iPhone 4 made the iPhone 3GS feel a bit like a toy in comparison. Well, if the iPhone 3GS feels like a toy, most other smartphones out there feel like toys from the 99 Cent Store compared to iPhone 4. It’s just at a whole different level.
I happen to have 10 other recently popular cell phones laying around my apartment (dating back to the Motorola RAZR — the phone I used right before the original iPhone). I decided to pick each up just to see how they feel compared to the iPhone 4. It’s kind of a joke. Some feel okay (the EVO and Nexus One), but nowhere close to the iPhone 4. Some feel pure amateur by comparison (the Palm Pre and the myTouch 3G). And some feel like I’m holding a Zack Morris or Gordon Gekko-style brick (the G1). In fact, the best of the bunch was the original iPhone with its aluminum back, in my opinion.
There has never been an iPhone that feels more solid, looks so symmetrical, and has buttons that feel so right. I’m sure someone will tell me there’s a phone out there that’s crafted at least as well (perhaps in one of the European countries). But I have no doubt that if such a device exists, it’s one that 99.99% of us will never see or use because it probably costs thousands of dollars. That may be the most impressive thing about the iPhone 4 — it’s priced to move at just $199 (or $299 — both after AT&T subsidy, obviously).
No other phone in that price range can touch the iPhone 4 in terms of design and build quality. Not by a long shot.
That’s actually the other thing that saddens me about the bumper — it just makes the device feel (and look) cheaper. That said, the bumper is very useful when setting your device down flat because it provides some room between the all glass back and whatever surface it’s on. This glass is supposedly extremely strong, but that doesn’t mean sticky substances can’t muck up say, the back camera.
Speaking of the camera, it’s a thing of beauty. Maybe you’ve heard Apple’s marketing talk that “it’s about more than megapixels” — coined because the iPhone 4 has a 5 megapixel camera while rivals like the EVO have an 8 megapixel one. Well, it’s not actually just marketing talk, it’s absolutely true.
I have both devices and the iPhone 4’s camera is definitely better the EVO’s. And that’s just in quality — as previously mentioned, the camera software on the EVO seems to be buggy and often has issues saving pictures. I haven’t had an issue once on the iPhone. The EVO also makes it hard to switch between the back and front camera on the device. On the iPhone 4, it’s a one-click process right there on the screen.
What most impresses me about the iPhone 4’s camera though is its ability to shoot in low light. In that regard, it reminds me much more of my Canon S90, than any other camera phone I’ve ever used. The iPhone 4 includes an LED flash, and it works fine, but I’m tempted never to use it because this thing is so good in low light. (See: the picturea below taken with the iPhone 4.)
Just as impressive as the still camera is the iPhone 4’s ability to shoot HD video (720p). This matches the EVO and other Android phones in terms of quality and it also brings it up to par with the stand-alone Flip HD cams. The quality of HD videos taken with the iPhone 4 is excellent. There are some stability issues if your taking the video while walking, but standing still, things look amazing (see: below).
The other big element of the iPhone 4 Apple is playing up (and, in fact, the only element they’re playing up in commercials right now) is FaceTime. Yes, I know, other phones have done video chat for some time now. But the fact that seemingly everyone is talking about mobile video chatting for the first time with this release says just about all you need to say.
As a technological demo, FaceTime is impressive. It really is one-click-and-it-works provided both parties have iPhone 4s are are connected to WiFi. There’s nothing to set up, nothing to configure. You hit the button and it works.
As a real world usable technology, FaceTime is profound. It’s one thing to do demos for your friends. It’s another when you make your first real FaceTime call. There you are, somewhere in the world, face-to-face with someone else, someplace else in the world. Once the initial cool factor wears off, it’s like your in the room with them. And Apple is ingenious to play this up in their commercial (below).
But what’s even crazier about FaceTime is that Apple says they will open source the technology — something which Apple doesn’t often do. If third-party developers choose to utilize it, it could be really interesting.
During Google I/O this past year, Google didn’t beat around the bush: the updates they were making with Android 2.2 were aimed squarely at the iPhone. The problem that Android as a platform faces (with regard to challenging Apple) is that they don’t have the control over the software + hardware mix in the same way that Apple does with the iPhone. Yes, they may have taken charge of the design the Nexus One — and that is still, in my mind, their best phone to date — but they don’t have the type of industrial design expertise that Apple does in-house. And it seems unlikely that they ever will unless they change strategy.
Android now brings a lot to the table — plenty of things that the iPhone doesn’t offer such as WiFi hotspot creation, true voice search, and tight Google Voice integration. From a technological and spec sheet perspective, Android is impressive — and it continues to get more so. But from a regular consumer and practical perspective, iPhone remains the device to beat. There are just so many things you can do on the device with such ease that are kind of a pain in the ass on Android. It doesn’t appear that Apple is letting Android phase them — they still focus on quality over quantity.
But that doesn’t mean the moves Google is making with Android don’t alter Apple’s selective areas of focus for the iPhone. And I think it’s great that there are two companies playing off each other in that regard. They’re pushing one another to continue to innovate. And that means all of us, as consumers, win.
From a hardware perspective, iPhone 4 rises to the challenge brought by many Android devices in the year since the iPhone 3GS launched. And it surpasses those devices. It offers a better screen, better camera, better speed, and better battery life than any Android device. But I have no doubt that much of that will again change in the next year, as Android continues to rapidly iterate.
And then iPhone 5 will come out, and we’ll be having this discussion all over again.
Conclusion + One More Thing
In conclusion, if you said you were buying a phone today, I would absolutely tell you to get the iPhone 4. Are there antenna issues? Yes, but they don’t adversely affect the overall experience to the point where I wouldn’t buy this phone over all others. And in fact, in normal day-to-day usage they don’t seem to adversely affect the iPhone usage that I’m used to at all (and that’s not so much a statement in favor of Apple as it is a statement against AT&T).
That brings me to the caveat. And it’s a big one. Since the initial launch of the iPhone there have been rumors about the device coming to Verizon — but those rumors are now louder than ever. The current ones suggest a January 2011 launch date for such a pairing.
If I 100% knew that was the case, there is no way I would recommend anyone to buy the iPhone 4 right now. But, just as was the case last year, I simply don’t know that right now — and I’m not sure anyone besides Apple really does (including both AT&T and Verizon). Basically, buying the iPhone 4 right now is a several hundred dollar bet that it won’t launch on Verizon in 6 months. It’s a gamble.
But there is a silver lining if you choose to make the bet. Even if the Verizon iPhone does launch, it should help the iPhone on AT&T, because there will undoubtedly be defectors by the thousands (if not more). Those users switching will ease the strain on AT&T’s network and could actually render it usable at all times again. It really could be a win-win.
Speculation aside, the iPhone 4 is the smartphone to beat from this point going forward. It will be fun to watch Android try to answer and see if they can dethrone the king before iPhone 5. Leading up to iPhone 4, Android has kept inching closer, but this latest device from Apple is the biggest leap forward the product line has taken yet. It’s going to be hard to beat.
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Brennan Hearing Shows a Restless Congress on Drones and Terrorism
On drones, Brennan insisted that the president always acts legally—as defined by his own lawyers, that is—when ordering strikes against suspected terrorists.
By Michael Crowley @CrowleyTIMEFeb. 08, 2013
Jason Reed/REUTERS
Deputy National Security Adviser John Brennan testifies before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on his nomination to be the Director of the CIA, on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 7, 2013.
As you might expect from a public hearing about the activities of the CIA, John Brennan’s Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday was not exactly a font of detailed information about America’s intelligence and counter-terror operations. In an afternoon when he maintained a tough resolve against occasionally testy Senate questioners—Chuck Hagel could learn a few things from this guy!—Brennan revealed virtually nothing new about drones, torture or the war on al Qaeda.
On drones, Brennan insisted that the president always acts legally—as defined by his own lawyers, that is—when ordering strikes against suspected terrorists. But he also told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that he hoped Americans understood “the care we take, the agony we go through, to make sure we do not have any collateral injuries and deaths.”
On torture, Brennan acknowledged that he was aware of the practice while he was a senior CIA executive in the ‘00s, and that he left the agency believing it could yield useful information, although he opposed it. Yesterday Brennan said he’s now unsure, after reading the summary of a 6,000 page classified report recently produced by the Intelligence Committee, whether torture produce information that saved lives or led to the capture of Osama bin Laden. “At this point, Senator, I do not know what the truth is,” Brennan said.
But the word “torture” can mean different things to different people. And Brennan would not say whether his definition specifically includes the notorious practice of waterboarding, which he called “reprehensible and it is something that should not be done.” “I’m not a lawyer,” Brennan added.
As interesting as Brennan’s cautious, though generally effective, responses were the questions from his interrogators. Congress has generally played a hands-off role on counter-terrorism policy under Barack Obama. But several members of the Intelligence Committee seemed frustrated with various aspects of the ongoing campaign against al Qaeda. Democrats Diane Feinstein and Ron Wyden complained that the Obama administration had been too secretive about the drone program’s very existence, and Wyden pressed his case that the White House should more clearly explain to the public its legal rationale for killing a U.S. citizen believed to be aligned with al Qaeda. Republicans pressed Brennan on whether the Obama administration might be killing terrorists without trying in earnest to capture them because of newly limited interrogation and detention policies.
In one of the hearing’s most interesting exchanges, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine drew back further, asking Brennan whether some basic assumptions about the fight against al Qaeda should be challenged. Noting that the terror group continues to spread, Collins asked, “If the cancer of al Qaeda is metastasizing, do we need a new treatment?” Collins noted that even an experienced military official like former General Stanley McChrystal have begun wondering aloud whether America has become too reliant on drones, at the expense of breeding resentment and backlash within the Muslim world. (You can read about that and related issues in TIME’s recent drones cover story.)
“We have to be very mindful” of local reactions to drone strikes, Brennan answered. But he insisted that people in al Qaeda-infested areas have “welcomed” American strikes on terrorist leaders. It was another cautious and not terribly revealing answer. But Brennan’s response may have been less significant than the concern expressed by a senior Senator—a Republican no less—about America’s drone war. The Brennan hearing may have shed little light on Obama’s likely next CIA director. But it might have been a sign that, when it comes to our long counter-terror campaign, a long-acquiescent Congress is finally getting restless.
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Synonyms for scharinger or Related words with scharinger
schmeckenbecher greindl thomalla theissing rydl giering schwabl stadlober balkenhol protschka lucieer bermbach ablinger dorfer dermota feiersinger rockenschaub struppert nocke wohllebe ellend paryla poltera baierl glowacz wiesinger kirchschlager heltau gummelt kaljuvee siegl jarczyk henzi viktora bierbichler dworzak negritu brauss gindorf taillepierre pausin kurmann schafhausen sylke schopfandreas zingerle tannert gierlach herrndorf kotoski
Examples of "scharinger"
Albrecht/Lindsley/Wottrich/Wörle/Scharinger/Hermann,
Rainer Scharinger (born 4 March 1967) is a retired German footballer who is now a football manager. He was the manager of SC Rheindorf Altach.
In 2007 Richard Hagelauer was elected Rector. At present, Ferdinand Kerschner is head of the Academic Senate and Ludwig Scharinger is head of the University Council .
Dads is an American math rock band from Piscataway, New Jersey. The band, currently on indefinite hiatus, is composed of guitarist/vocalist Scott Scharinger, bassist Ryan Azada, and drummer/vocalist John Bradley.
1991 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt conducting Concentus Musicus Wien, with Monica Bacelli (Don Ramiro), Edita Gruberova (Sandrina), Uwe Heilmann (Il Contino Belfiore), Charlotte Margiono (Arminda), Thomas Moser (Podesta), Anton Scharinger (Nardo) and Dawn Upshaw (Serpetta). Teldec 9031-72309-2 (3 CD)
Scharinger was named manager of Karlsruher SC on 2 March 2011 as the successor of the sacked Uwe Rapolder Following a 5–1 defeat against Dynamo Dresden he was sacked on 31 October 2011.
In 2009, he reunited with Rainer Scharinger at VfR Aalen, whom was his coach with Sandausen, and Hoffenheim. He captained the team, and got them promoted into the 3. Liga. After a contract standoff, he left on a free transfer to the Turkish team, Gençlerbirliği. Due to his Turkish passport, he did not count as a foreign player for the team, but he only made a couple of appearances for the team. Following an unsuccessful year, he left the Turkish club on a free transfer. He again reunited with Scharinger who then managed the Austrian team SCR Altach, but lasted a couple of months before transferring in 2013 to SV Darmstadt 98.
Dads originally formed in the summer of 2010 as a trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Scott Scharinger, drummer/vocalist John Bradley, and bassist Michael Nazzaro. The band quickly gained the attention of the emo revival scene. Dads soon decided to part ways with Nazzaro as they found it easier to connect as a two-piece. Upon releasing several extended plays, the band released their debut LP, "American Radass (This Is Important)" in 2012 achieving minor commercial success, along with critical acclaim. Through extensive touring, the band built a national audience and released an EP in 2013 entitled "Pretty Good" via 6131 Records, which led to the band charting on various Billboard charts for the first time. The following year, Dads released their sophomore effort, "I'll Be the Tornado" which reached 17th on the "Billboard" Top Heatseekers album chart.
In January 2011, Hasenhüttl succeeded Rainer Scharinger as the coach of third-division VfR Aalen, then in 16th place, one point above the relegation zone. His first match was a 1–1 draw against VfB Stuttgart II. Aalen's survival in the 3. Liga earned him a year's contract extension. In the 2011–12 season, he completely rebuilt the team, bringing in eight new players and releasing 14, with the aim of a mid-table finish. After a slow start to the season, the team found itself in sixth place at the winter break, only a point behind the play-off position. The team's run continued into the second half of the season, which included an eight-game winning streak, earning Hasenhüttl a further two-year contract extension in November 2011. At the end of the season, Aalen finished in second place, earning automatic promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. During pre-season training in the summer of 2012, Hasenhüttl contracted a Hantavirus infection, but returned to work three weeks into the 2012–13 season. Hasenhüttl had switched from a 4–4–2 to a 4–5–1 formation, to facilitate a fast, counter-attacking game, with surprising success – by the winter break, Aalen were in fifth place. The team finished the season in ninth place, the highest of the newly promoted teams. After two-and-a-half successful years at Aalen, Hasenhüttl resigned in June 2013, following disagreements with sporting director Markus Schupp, who had imposed an austerity program for the following season, with several departing players not being replaced. He finished with a record of 36 wins, 28 draws, ans 29 losses.
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Department of Homeland Security Crazed Racist | Tennessee Valley Talks
Department of Homeland Security Crazed Racist
direstraitsOld Faithful
8/21/1310:13 PM
The man hates whites, gays, and a number of fellow blacks, including Obama. Basically, bat Shi'ite crazy.
"A Department of Homeland Security employee who works on, among other things, the procurement of guns and ammunition for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, spends his nights and weekends preparing for a coming race war and advocating for anti-gay causes, according to a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center. Meet Ayo Kimathi, a.k.a. “the Irritated Genie," who told his bosses at the DHS that his anti-white, anti-gay site, "War is on the Horizon," was just an entertainment site that sells concert and lecture videos.
You see, DHS employees, even those with office jobs like Kimathi's, have to get outside activities approved by their supervisors, according to the SPLC. Kimathi's former supervisor told the watchdog group, which tracks hate speech and groups in the U.S., that despite her former employee's banal description of his extracurricular activities, the actual content of the site left her "stunned." She continued: “To see the hate, to know that he is a federal employee, it bothered me." She added that had Kimathi's site been accurately described to the agency, there's no way the DHS would have signed off on it. Possibly to keep his bosses from looking up his work, Kimathi used only the site's acronym, WOH, in his permission request. In addition to his involvement in the purchase of ICE supplies, Kimathi also had a public profile for the agency, speaking at vendor events. As "Irritated Genie," Kimathi also has a public profile as a black supremacist advocate.
The content of Kimathi's advocacy demands some clarification. In some (white, conservative) circles, the term "black supremacist" is applied with a very wide brush. Black supremacy was the implication of Maine Governor Paul LePage's reported comments that President Obama "hates white people," for instance. Kimathi's site is not in this vein of this imagined threat — on the contrary, War on the Horizon calls Obama a "a treasonous mulatto scum dweller," and lists him among the movement's enemies (also on the list? Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Condoleezza Rice, among others) Instead, the DHS employee advocates for:
The mass murder of white people. His site says, "warfare is eminent, and in order for Black people to survive the 21st century, we are going to have to kill a lot of whites – more than our christian hearts can possibly count."
A conspiracy theory arguing that white people are trying to "homosexualize" black men in order to make them more effeminate and therefore weaker. As part of this, Kimathi, praises a series of laws in some African countries that criminalize LGBT behavior and people. Kimathi also advocates for the supremacy of black men above black women — he offers tips on his site, for instance, "to help every Black woman in the world understand what she needs to do to keep a strong Black man happy."
Conservatives don't tend to be fans of the Southern Poverty Law Center: this is the same group that labeled The American Family Association and pretty much the entire anti-Islam movement as hate groups. But their report seems primed to stoke the fires of a set of American conservatives who already believe the DHS is hoarding ammunition (contrary to the evidence), either to build a secret army, or to prevent gun owners from accessing it. ":
http://www.theatlanticwire.com...-race-warrior/68600/
I'll give the SPLC credit for this -- blind squirrel luck? However, considering the man's responsibilities, I'm calling the DHS IG's office tomorrow, just to be sure. Check to see that DHS got all their guns and ammo.
TRUTH -- THE NEW HATE SPEECH!
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ELLEN FOSTER
By Kaye Gibbons
Oprah and the Classics
C. Max Magee
Last summer Oprah’s book club returned from its hiatus touting Nobel Laureate John Steinbeck’s East of Eden as “the book that brought Oprah’s Book Club back.” By doing this she turned her powerful book club on its head. Up until this point, book industry types had been treating the Oprah book club as a lottery of sorts by which a previously unknown (but hardworking and extremely talented writer) could be lifted from obscurity and delivered into the homes of readers everywhere. Apparently, after much behind-the-scenes horsetrading and Jonathan Franzen’s high profile disdain for receiving the award for The Corrections, Oprah became disgusted with the politics and controversy surrounding her club and suspended it. Then, months later she brought it back, and now she is sticking, more or less, to the classics. Recently, in fact, she announced her next selection, which happens to be one of my favorite books of all time, One Hundred Years of Solitude by another Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez. (Between the two Nobel Laureates, by the way, was Cry, the Beloved Country a largely forgotten book from the 1940s by Alan Paton.) Many serious readers, and perhaps I might suggest that they are being a bit snooty, are inconsolably annoyed that the covers of books that they have adored for decades are suddenly besmirched by book club logos. If anything is to be blamed, though, it is not Oprah for placing her mark on these “sacred” books; it is, perhaps, our greater culture of reading. In a better world, Steinbeck and Marquez, to give two examples, would be so widely read, that naming them for this book club would seem utterly ridiculous. Instead, and we should be happy about this, East of Eden, thanks to Oprah, was one of the most widely read books of 2003, and the same will likely be true of One Hundred Years of Solitude in 2004. So, perhaps the earlier incarnation of the Oprah Club was getting ahead of itself as it steered readers to somewhat more obscure books though they had never read, or perhaps even heard of, many of the classics. In the end, one can hardly fault Oprah for making readers out of millions of Americans, though the marketing effort behind the whole thing can make one a bit queasy. In an excellent guest post to The Millions a few months back, the author Kaye Gibbons (Ellen Foster, A Virtuous Woman) wrote about her experience of being plucked from relative obscurity and brought to national prominence after being selected for the Oprah Book Club. If you haven’t yet read it, here it is.
The Millions Guest Contributor: Author, Kaye Gibbons
I had the pleasure of making Kaye Gibbons’ acquaintance via email, and I have very quickly become a big fan. Aspiring writers and precocious readers could learn a lot from her. One of the more noteworthy events of Gibbons’ distinguished career was the selection of two of her books, Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman by Oprah Winfrey for her eponymous book club. I asked Gibbons how she looks back on this experience as a writer, and she was kind enough to send us the following reply:You’d asked how I felt about having two novels of mine on the Oprah Book Club. There’s so much to say about it that I’ll talk about it chronologically. Before the Oprah call, I was doing fine, amazing fine. But it didn’t start out that way. My advance for Ellen Foster was 1500. But I’ve always had a strong work ethic, and as I worked, as rights were sold and awards won, the money began to catch up to the blood and time I was putting into it. Unfortunately, being a rather eccentric, free-thinking woman in the South led others and eventually me to conclude that there had to be something pathological about me, and it wasn’t until two years ago that a twenty-year old diagnosis of bi-polar disorder was eradicated. Doctors made me feel forced to take drugs that took the edge off my creativity, but I’ve taken nothing in two years and haven’t ever felt and written better.My theory is that I want to write the best literature possible and have it read by as many people as possible. Living in NC, now half-time in NY, there’s a long tradition of writers helping one another, reading manuscripts, finding agents. Lee Smith introduced me to my agent, and then in 1997 I was able to pass that along when I read the first pages of Cold Mountain. Chuck [Charles Frazier] and I had had children at the same Montessori school for years and had been close friends. Things like that happen here all the time.But there’s still a great deal of intellectual isolation here–and that’s probably why I write and read as much as I do. The other day in the grocery store, an acquaintance asked me what’d I’d been writing since I finished Divining Women. When I told her I’d been reviewing books for Atlanta and Chicago, she asked, “They let you review your own books?” This is a strange occupation to have in Raleigh, not so much in Chapel Hill, where Alan Gurganus, Reynolds Price, and others live. But sometimes 20 miles feels very far away.So, with regard to Oprah, one thing her call did was to give what I do for a living a certain amount of validation. I’d been knighted by the French, won awards galore, sold about a million books, had a movie made, done 12 thirty-city book tours, but dealing with the perception that I was a local writer was often frustrating. I’d have an audience of 2000 in Michigan and then 30 in Raleigh, for example.What it took to manage it was self-esteem, and that generally comes from having a firm grasp of reality and what’s important, my children. A digression, because I anticipate someone mouthing about the Oprah money: I have a hard time tolerating the starving artist in the garret whining about how a writer writes a brilliant book that the publisher won’t promote and that no one is reading. It’s easier to be a victim than take action, write a better book, listen to an editor’s input, find a new publisher. I truly believe, because I’ve seen it, that if a brilliant manuscript exists, that if that writer has had enough gall, brains, energy, etc. to write it that he or she can get it to the right people. When a person sends me something that deserves publishing, I see it through the process. But ninety-nine percent of what I’m sent just isn’t good. A writer has to be a superb editor, and wishing a book good doesn’t make it so. When someone sends me something drowning in cliches, I tell them that language is to use, not to take easy advantage of. When Oprah called and said she wanted to put the two novels on her show, I was nervous about it diminishing my literary reputation, which sounds pompous to say. When she held A Virtuous Woman up and said, “America, you’ve wanted a love story, well, here it is,” I thought, Well, here we go.But, you see, her selling, what now, about three million books that month, didn’t change the basic nature of the novels or me. When Jonathan Franzen started running his mouth about the maudlin trash or whatever he said about her choices, I smiled and remembered that the first novel, Ellen Foster, is taught all over the world beside The Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird. When it was finished, in 1986, it was sent to and read by Eudora Welty, Walker Percy, Gordon Lish, John Barth, and other people who, over the years, became dear to me. The whole Franzen thing got sort of tedious, and I didn’t have the time to get dragged into it.What someone like a Franzen doesn’t see was how poor I was growing up, a surreal state of poverty, and then that small advance, and how I worked my way up to financial security. I’m finally making now what many, many first, very young writers are getting, and I think it damages the soul. I finally have a house that doesn’t have something hanging off in disrepair. There’s the whole attitude now in music and writing of, I’m 21, Where’s my Big Deal? So, even though the Oprah thing seemed to come out of the blue, it had been earned. I think I’d have felt a little ridiculous if it hadn’t been. I used a lot of the money establishing a library at a local children’s home, which my daughters and I still maintain. We sat down and wrote checks, making decisions together about where the money went. Anything I put away personally was completely eradicated, gone, during a horrible divorce two years later. So, I found myself back at the beginning financially, having been reamed. But I’ve got this work ethic, and I’ve got the post-Oprah, broadened visibility. It’ll be okay. My daughter wasn’t able to go to college in NY, stayed here because of the financial drain of the divorce, but it remains, we will all be okay.I admire Oprah, enormously. As for the book club, she’s getting it done, getting people in bookstores. If there’s the criticism that the books she selects have taken on a certain sameness, well, so what? She’s not picked Danielle Steele, for crying out loud. I know for a fact, given the hundreds of letters, that people are reading, because of her, who haven’t read before.Let me tell you that when I got a letter from a mother who said her daughter’s impression of her totally changed when she saw her mother sitting down, reading a book at night in bed, how very proud this woman was, it is hard to say anything critical about the Oprah Book Club.The problem is that it is hard, to impossible, for people who live around books, who read them, own them, who have, like me, about 4000 books in the bedroom, to even process the notion that houses exist where there are no books except the ones the kids bring home from school. That’s a deplorable, elitist attitude. When I was house-shopping, I looked at about fifty upper middle-class houses, and only in a couple did I see more than a handful of books. I started asking the real estate agent if the sellers had hidden the books, thinking they were clutter.I have two younger teenagers, and I can tell you that seeing them reading anything is a blessing. I don’t go over and demand that they upgrade. And for those 350 kids who use the library Oprah made possible day in and day out because the public library in their town will not trust them to check out and bring back books, they’d wonder what all the snobbish hoopla was about. They’re able to do their homework better, their grades have improved, and that money was funneled directly from Oprah.I felt nothing but honored by the whole process, and only wish that I’d been in better emotional and physical shape at the time. I was 75 pounds heavier, weight that drugs I didn’t need had put on me, and I felt run down and a little thick in the head. But that was then. This is now. I’m the person I used to be before my marriage went to hell, and I’m nothing but glad that the Oprah thing is a part of my experience. If nothing else, local ladies who stop me in the grocery store don’t talk to me like I’m having to sell books out of the back of my car.I think anybody who wants to be successful at this whole ordeal of publishing has to take a certain amount of responsibility that I see so many people abdicating in favor of bitter comparisons. Language is a gift, and to be able to use language to make a living is one of the most joyful enterprises I can imagine. I try to take that joy and make what I’m writing a better book every time I edit it. I work 18-hour days. It is a long, lonely, spiritually hazardous occupation. But the joy I feel in putting even two words together in something of an original way has nothing to do with money or movies, nothing external. I think that people buy and read my books, regardless of Oprah, because I’ve always studied everything I’ve read, even packaging on the mascara I just bought, and tried to figure out why a particular word was chosen. You can get in a habit of alert, concentrated reading that comes back when the writing begins. I’ve learned to be honest with myself and cut what sucks.Kaye Gibbons lives in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her books include Charms for Easy Life, On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon, A Cure for Dreams, and Sights Unseen, as well as the titles mentioned above. Her latest novel, Divining Women will come out April 14th. And make sure to check out her cool new website, kayegibbons.com.Many ThanksThanks to Will Femia for allowing my self-promotion to extend to MSNBC’s Weblog Central. For those that are blog-fans, it is always a must-read.
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Animals | News | Science & Tech
| Feb 11, 2019 at 1:31 pm.
Scientists Warn Plummeting Insect Numbers Threaten Catastrophic ‘Collapse of Nature’
A new study has found that insect species are facing a critical decline in numbers, potentially spelling doom for the entire animal kingdom.
The research, first reported by the Guardian, reveals that a staggering 40 percent of all insect species are facing a dangerously steep decline while a third are endangered.
In a new review of scientific literature from the last 40 years published in Biological Conservation, the authors note the “dreadful” degradation of biodiversity, noting:
“The pace of modern insect extinctions surpasses that of vertebrates by a large margin.”
Continuing, the study adds:
“We estimate the current proportion of insect species in decline … to be twice as high as that of vertebrates, and the pace of local species extinction … eight times higher … It is evident that we are witnessing the largest extinction event on Earth since the late Permian and Cretaceous periods.”
The decline of insects – which has been eight times faster than that of mammals, birds and reptiles – has been holding steady at a startling 2.5 percent per year.
Researcher Francisco Sanchez-Bayo from the University of Sydney, Australia, told the newspaper that the “shocking” rate means that within the century we could see global insect populations simply vanish. Sanchez-Bayo went on to explain:
“It is very rapid. In 10 years you will have a quarter less, in 50 years only half left and in 100 years you will have none.”
Insects remain, by far, the most numerous and varied animals on the planet, with numbers estimated to outweigh all of humankind by at least 17 times. Likewise, they outnumber all sea creatures as well as land mammals. As such, the nearly 30 million species of insects form the backbone our ecosystems, playing an essential role as pollinators, nutrient recyclers, and base members of the food chain.
The implications of the loss of insects will be felt, first and foremost, by creatures whose diets are directly reliant on insects such as amphibians, birds, fish, and reptiles.“If this food source is taken away, all these animals starve to death,” Sanchez-Bayo said. Such was the case in Puerto Rico, where the ground insect population has fallen by 98 percent in just over 35 years.
Butterflies, bees, and moths have been among the worst-impacted insects.
While previous studies were largely restricted to certain regions – including a 2017 study from Germany noting a 75 percent decline in flying insects over the course of 30 years – the latest study shows that the decline in bug populations isn’t isolated to individual ecosystems alone, but encompasses the entire Earth-system.
Sanchez-Bayo pinned much of the blame on industrialized and capital-intensive agriculture, explaining:
“The main cause of the decline is agricultural intensification … That means the elimination of all trees and shrubs that normally surround the fields, so there are plain, bare fields that are treated with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.”
The researcher believes that newer classes of insecticides, such as neonicotinoids and fipronil, are likely culprits due to their routine use and lingering effects, noting that “they sterilize the soil, killing all the grubs.”
The study urges authorities to rethink the manner in which the food industry is run:
“A rethinking of current agricultural practices, in particular a serious reduction in pesticide usage and its substitution with more sustainable, ecologically-based practices, is urgently needed to slow or reverse current trends, allow the recovery of declining insect populations and safeguard the vital ecosystem services they provide.”
The study largely draws from research in North America and Europe, with tropical regions remaining largely unaccounted-for.
Yet the study shows that the impact on insect biodiversity has impacted a wide variety of insects, including both “generalist” insects that can adapt to other environments or food sources and “specialist” insects that rely on a tiny niche in the ecosystem, such as moths who rely on one particular plant to survive.
Mincing no words, the researchers stressed the gravity of the trends laid out in their paper:
“The [insect] trends confirm that the sixth major extinction event is profoundly impacting [on] life forms on our planet.
“Unless we change our ways of producing food, insects as a whole will go down the path of extinction in a few decades … The repercussions this will have for the planet’s ecosystems are catastrophic to say the least.”
It is imperative that humans re-think our agricultural processes. While there has been a recent increase in desire for organic produce, to prevent reaching a tipping point that we cannot return from, factory farming and capital-intensive agriculture should heed this warning and adjust accordingly. Organic and less harmful insecticides and pesticides are available but typically with a higher cost and insecticide producers like Bayer (formerly Monsanto), continue to make it far easier and cheaper for farmers and corporations to use their products than more environmentally friendly options.
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Please Stop Quoting Gandhi
JannaBanana
The widespread protests against the state-sanctioned murders of black men and women by police in the U.S. have got a lot of people talking. The conversations we're having about race as a result of these killings and subsequent protests are both necessary and important, if not utterly infuriating to have at times. The deep roots of racism across North America have resurfaced in full force, with even the most liberal people struggling to confront their own prejudice and privilege in these conversations.
There's something about massive social and cultural movements that tends to encourage the invocation of good old Gandhi quotes. "Be the change you want to see in the world" seems to be a favourite. People (mostly white) have taken to using this quote and others by Gandhi with the intent to shame "angry and aggressive" (aka outspoken) PoC in the world's most passive aggressive way. In other words, if you want to be treated like a human being, you need to just smile and ignore the literal threats against your life and, you know, be chill like Gandhi and then maybe people will deem you worthy of humanity. I mean the dude freed India from British rule "without violence"! He's the perfect symbol of "respectable" social movements, except for the fact that he was incredibly racist.
But how could a chill dude like Gandhi be racist? He was a kindly, old Indian man! Blasphemy, right? Wrong. Gandhi was seriously a huge racist. And this is not a new revelation, either. If you do a quick Google search of "Gandhi racist", the top hits direct you to some incredibly disgusting, hateful, and yes, racist quotes from Gandhi regarding his time spent in South Africa. He routinely referred to black South Africans as "kaffirs" in his writings, which is equivalent to the n-word in South Africa. He was staunchly opposed to the advancement of black South African civil rights, and repeatedly compared them to animals. And that's only a quick overview of the things he's said. Is this really the individual that should be exemplified in a movement that is being led by and is largely about black people? I think that's an obvious no.
The Gandhi None of Us Knew
How did the public get so hoodwinked by the divinity of Gandhi? The deification of Gandhi…
Gandhi was also pretty racist toward his fellow Indians. He was a firm believer of India's caste system; a system of institutionalized racism that ranks the worthiness of an Indian person based on his or her "caste" (or class, to simplify) and determines the opportunities that they can have and the people they can interact with. And that's not an exaggeration. A person is borne into their caste and there is no way to move "up" in the caste system; only down. Marrying outside of your caste is considered shameful and people have been murdered for doing so. It's not hard to imagine how an inherently prejudice system like this breeds hatefulness and despair. Officially, the caste system has been abolished in India, but it's still a major part of the Indian identity. I know what my caste is even though I was born in Canada decades after the caste system was abolished. My interactions with other Indians (especially older people) are influenced by their determination of my caste. Does that sound like freedom to you? Apparently it was by Gandhi's standards.
There is no denying that Gandhi did some great things for India in terms of freeing it from British oppression. His ideas regarding civil disobedience weren't wrong and they were certainly effective for what he set out to accomplish, but the racism that we're trying to overcome had strong roots in the person that Gandhi was. I understand why he was so revolutionary in his day and I would be a fool to deny his impact on India, but he is not the person we should be looking up to today. He is not the bar for this movement. I doubt he would've even supported this movement. We can do better than Gandhi, and we should.
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Paula is an emerging multi-media producer with experience in scripted and non-scripted content, as well as current affairs and reality-based programming.
She is currently an associate producer at CBC’s Cross Country Checkup.
Paula completed a Post Graduate Certificate in Television Writing and Producing in 2015 at Humber College in Toronto ON. She previously graduated from the University of King’s College in Halifax NS with a Bachelor’s of Journalism (Honours) in 2013.
She has a passion for sports journalism and politics. She has interviewed Juno Award winning artists, Olympians and major political figures. She has been published in publications such as Cottage Life Magazine, Dalhousie Gazette, the Chronicle Herald and the Town Crier. She has worked for Hot Docs, Babe Nation, Breakthrough Entertainment and Big Brother Canada.
She has expertise in data journalism, digital publications, and feature writing.
Outside of journalism Paula is an outdoors enthusiast.
She spends her summers swimming, kayaking and sailing in North Ontario at different summer camps. From 2013 to 2014, she worked as the camp photographer and videographer at Camp Oochigeas, a camp for children affected by childhood cancer, now she returns each year as a volunteer cabin counsellor. She is currently an elected member on Ontario Council with Girl Guides of Canada and has been awarded the Canada Cord, Gold Chief Commissioners Award and the Commonwealth Award in addition to being a Bronze Duke of Edinburgh recipient.
Paula spent six months working for World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in London, England. On weekends, she traveled around the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland and Iceland.
She is a lifeguard and swim instructor with the Lifesaving Society of Canada.
Paula is based in of Toronto, Ontario.
She likes Mexican food and cold beer.
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Home/Alcoholism, Drug addiction, Male Speaker, podcast, podcast set2/SHAIR 167: Racing for Recovery with Todd Crandell
SHAIR 167: Racing for Recovery with Todd Crandell
http://traffic.libsyn.com/theshairpodcast/Racing_for_Recovery.mp3
Todd Crandell is widely recognized as a leading expert on substance abuse. He has overcome a thirteen-year addiction to drugs and alcohol and is the founder of Racing for Recovery, an organization dedicated to preventing all forms of substance abuse and providing positive alternatives for those battling addiction.
Todd regularly competes in triathlons to bring awareness to his organization. His support group format is revolutionary in that everyone can attend, including people recovering from addiction, their families and friends, and community.
At Racing for Recovery, we see people as people. Not some label of what they did.
Listen to Todd’s story now!
Here are a few highlights from our interview. To get the full story please join us on the podcast now!
The first thing Todd does when he takes his first breath in the morning is to be grateful to be alive. He hits the floor and does a set up twenty-five pushups. Then he goes downstairs to feed his vegan pig, Mylo.
Todd credits his pig with enhancing his life and teaching him how to be more humble, compassionate, empathetic, and gracious for everything he has.Todd is also married and the father of four kids. Three of his children still live at home and Todd talks to his family and does the usual domestic duties. Then he goes out for a run and heads into his office to get going for the day for Racing for Recovery.
Todd took his first sip of alcohol in the 8th grade, knowing it was wrong and that he was making a huge mistake. He didn’t get drunk, but he knew he stepped onto a path that wasn’t going to be good.
The second time he drank was his freshman year. This time, he took speed with it. He passed out, turned blue and puked on himself. His friends put him in a room and closed the door. He didn’t die, but he urinated on his friends’ coat. He woke up sicker than he ever was in his life. His friends laughed as they told him what he did the night before. Todd was mortified. He said he would never do it again. The next weekend he did it again. And again, and again. This was the beginning of the hell his life would become for the next 13 years.
Todd’ Story
Todd hung out with troubled kids who acted out by doing crazy stunts. The only time he felt of value was when he was playing hockey. He felt inferior in every other area of his life. His talent at the sport could’ve lead to a promising life, but he kept making the choice to drink to the point of blacking out. He’d walk around drunk by himself and wake up in cornfields. His grades began to suffer. In junior year, he added marijuana, Valium, and LSD to his repetoire. By senior year, he did cocaine for the first time.
Nothing mattered after that.
His downfall continued. He once went to jail for beating up his own parents. At one point, he ended up living in Florida as a homeless meth addict. His life was chaos, lies, an emotionally tormenting people. He felt ashamed, disgusted, and suicidal, but he couldn’t stop.
When I woke up every morning, I was mad that I woke up.
His rock bottom was when he got arrested for the third time. He was driving while intoxicated and could’ve killed anybody. He was actually relieved that it was over.
Todd straightened his life out. He got married, had kids, and got a great job … as a salesman for a pharmaceutical company that sold drugs for external genital warts. Despite the not-so-glamourous job description, Todd had made it in society’s eyes. The funny things was, he was still miserable.
I hadn’t found me.
He was scrambling for the job, the family, and the security wondering if he was good enough for sobriety. His life started to change when he was fired. His house and cars were taken away. His marriage suffered, but it gave him the opportunity to find out who he was and what he needed, which was to find out why he hated himself.
Todd still struggled with self-esteem and self-worth. He got into Ironman competition and soon realized he could do something with his experience. He started Racing for Recovery to prevent kids from falling into the same trap of addiction. Todd has since earned a masters degree in counseling and developed Racing for Recovery as a federally approved non-profit. His organization has been doing a 5K run for 17 years. He also wrote his book, Racing for Recovery: From Addict to Ironman.
What kept Todd from getting clean?
It had been Todd’s choice to keep using. He didn’t want sobriety.
You either want to get sober or you don’t. You either do it or you don’t. There is no try.
The aha moment
Todd says he’s not a cliché guy, and he loves the traditional meetings, but he refused to be powerless over anything. He empowered himself to make a constant choice not to use anymore.
Racing for Recovery: From Addict to Ironman by Todd Crandell and John Hanc
There’s More Than One Way to Get to Cleveland: 10 Lifestyles of Recovery That Lead from Addiction to Freedom * Why Twelve-Step Programs Don’t Work For Everyone* by Todd Crandell and Tim Vandehey
The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx
Fast Girl: A Life Spent Running from Madness by Suzy Favor Hamilton
Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson
Best suggestion
Do your best to start liking yourself.
For the newcomer
Stop self-destructing. In order to get everything that not self-destructing brings.
We SHAIR our stories every Tuesday so subscribe to us on iTunes and Stitcher Radio!
Disclaimer – The opinions shared on this show reflect those of the individual speaker and not of any 12 step fellowship as a whole and though we discuss 12 step recovery and the impact it has had in our lives we do not promote or endorse any 12 step anonymous prog
By OmarPinto|2019-12-23T15:34:20+00:00April 24th, 2018|Alcoholism, Drug addiction, Male Speaker, podcast, podcast set2|0 Comments
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The UFC will be ending their year with a massive card and with it the reminders of an era gone by in 2013. The year began with what many would consider the most dominant group of champions ever assembled. A number of weight divisions would see their champions solidify their spot in 2012 and there did not seem to be much change coming. The lighter weight classes would be ruled by Demetrious Johnson and Jose Aldo who both seemed to be on their way to long rules. Renan Barao kept the Bantamweight belt warm for the entire year while waiting for Dominick Cruz to return from injury. The Heavyweight Division would be one of the few divisions that was a mystery heading into 2013 and it remained the same throughout the year. Then there were the three most dominant champions in UFC history standing at the top of the Welterweight, Middleweight, and Light Heavyweight divisions to start the 2013 season. Georges St. Pierre, Anderson Silva, and Jon Jones would begin the year with little doubt in their standing at the end of the year. The three champions were fully expected to run through the year with little problem but all would see their biggest challenges ever. In the Light Heavyweight Division Jon Jones would meet his match in Alexander Gustafsson in September. The fight would go down to the wire with many believing that Gustafsson had won the title. It was Jones who came out on top though escaping his biggest test with the title and remaining the champ although not unchallenged. The Welterweight title would see much of the same as Georges St. Pierre would face his biggest test in Johnny Hendricks and would fight a five round battle that many people believed he had lost. St. Pierre would remain the champion but only a month later would announce his semi-retirement vacating the title and ending one of the longest title reigns in UFC history. Another title reign would end in 2013 and it would be the biggest surprise in UFC history. This would be the end of the Middleweight reign of Anderson Silva. The man that nobody could beat and who was considered the best fighter to ever step in the octagon would see his title reign end this year. The man who would end the reign of the most dominant champion in UFC history would be Chris Weidman. Weidman would do it in spectacular fashion too when he would KO the champion in the second round. The win would shock the world and would signify the beginning of the end for the dominant champions. The top champions in the UFC would all look human again in 2013 but as the year ends one will look to gain back his legend. Anderson Silva will be back in the octagon at UFC 168 and will look to take back his title against Chris Weidman in the most anticipated rematch of the year. Silva will look to get back to his unbeatable self while Weidman looks to prove that he is the true champion. There is not a lot more to say that hasn’t been said about both fighters as they are both well-rounded with Weidman holding the edge on the ground and Silva holding the edge on the feet. Then again Weidman did earn a KO against Silva in their last fight showing that he has what it takes to win on the feet. The difference in this fight will be the fact that Silva has been humbled and will not do his usual dancing around as he is sure to take Weidman more seriously this time around. If Silva is back to his old form it is hard to see Weidman beating him but he has done it once before and could do it again. In the end Silva should be a different fighter after losing his title and a motivated Silva is a dangerous Silva as he will win back his title with a 4th round KO in what is sure to be a great way to end the year.
The dominant champions were not the only newsmakers of 2013 as women’s fighting would take another step forward. 2013 would see the Women’s Bantamweight Division added to the UFC and the first women’s champion crowned. This champion would be the most dominant women’s fighter in MMA as Ronda Rousey would convert her Strikeforce championship to the UFC being crowned the first women’s champion in UFC history. Rousey would announce the addition of women to the UFC with her first title defence against Liz Carmouche in February. The title defence was a display of just how dominant Rousey has been since entering MMA as she would finish the fight with an armbar in the first round. Despite struggling at the start of the fight Rousey would finish her fifth fight in a row with a first round armbar in what has become her signature move. While the rest of the women’s division would be introduced to the UFC fans Rousey would enter The Ultimate Fighter house as the next coach of the reality show. She would be joined by her longtime rival Meisha Tate as UFC fans were introduced to one of the fiercest rivalries in women’s fighting. Ronda Rousey does not get along with Meisha Tate and it all started in 2012 when Rousey would win the Strikeforce women’s championship against Tate. The fight ended as every Rousey fight does with a first round armbar. It would solidify Rousey as the best women’s fighter in the world and would begin a rivalry between the two fighters for supremacy. After spending plenty of time coaching against each other both fighters will now face off for the first time in the UFC for the second women’s title fight in history. There is no doubt what Rousey will be looking to do as she is always looking for the armbar and everyone knows it. Yet despite everyone knowing her gameplan nobody can stop it with every fight ending the exact same way. Tate will be the first fighter to face Rousey for the second time and has already experienced the armbar as she hopes to take that experience into the fight and win the title to make one more change before the end of the year in the UFC.
Fight Card
Main Event:
Chris “The All-American” Weidman vs. Anderson “The Spider” Silva [Middleweight Title] (Pay-per-View)
Undercard:
“Rowdy” Ronda Rousey vs. Meisha “Cupcake” Tate [Women’s Bantamweight Title] (Pay-per-View)
Josh “The Warmaster” Barnett vs. Travis “Hapa” Browne (Pay-per-View)
Jim Miller vs. Fabricio “Morango” Camoes (Pay-per-View)
Dustin “The Diamond” Poirier vs. Diego “DB” Brandao (Pay-per-View)
Chris “The Crippler” Leben vs. Uriah “Prime Time” Hall (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Gleison Tibau vs. Michael “The Menace” Johnson (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
Dennis Siver vs. Manny “The Anvil” Gamburyan (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
John “Doomsday” Howard vs. Siyar “The Great” Bahadurzada (Sportsnet 360/Fox Sports 1)
William “Patolino” Macario vs. Bobby “Vicious” Voelker (Facebook)
Robbie “Problems” Peralta vs. Estevan “El Terrible” Payan (Facebook)
Filed under MMA · Tagged with "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey, Anderson "The Spider" Silva, Anderson Silva, Chris "The All-American" Weidman, Chris Weidman, Meisha "Cupcake" Tate, Meisha Tate, Middleweight Title, MMA, Ronda Rousey, UFC, UFC 168, UFC 168 preview, UFC Middleweight Title, UFC Women's Bantamweight Title, Women's Bantamweight title
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2014 World Junior Update (Day 1) →
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About The Sports Arsenal
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Mike Mussina and Bob Caruthers
Posted on November 23, 2008 by Sandlapper Spike
Mike Mussina retired last week. Mussina finished his career with a 270-153 record and a 3.68 ERA, pitching his entire career in the American League for two teams, the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees. He won 20 games this past season, the first (and as it turns out, only) time in his career he reached the 20-win milestone.
There has been considerable discussion in the press about whether or not Mussina deserves to be in baseball’s Hall of Fame. In an article by Tyler Kepner of The New York Times, several writers interviewed by Kepner expressed reservations about voting for Mussina, mostly because he wasn’t perceived as a dominant pitcher. One of them, Dom Amore of The Hartford Courant, stated that while he hadn’t ruled out voting for Mussina, “his candidacy would be based on longevity, and longevity candidates need 300.”
This is probably the typical line of reasoning behind people not supporting Mussina’s candidacy, but there is a problem with it, namely that Mussina isn’t strictly a “longevity candidate”. Rather, he is a different sort of peak candidate. He never had a big-win season or won an ERA title, but he was really good almost every season, and as a result posted a career .638 winning percentage, which is extremely impressive. Sometimes you hear longevity-type Hall of Fame candidates dismissively referred to as “compilers”. A pItcher with a career winning percentage of .638 is definitely not a compiler. As pointed out in the article, the only pitchers with as many wins as Mussina and a better winning percentage are his former teammate Roger Clemens and four immortals of the distant past: Lefty Grove, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson.
Of course, all of them were demonstrably better than Mussina, with longer careers, but it speaks to the unusually successful nature of his career. Wins aren’t everything, obviously, and are often overrated, particularly in individual seasons, but over a long career wins generally give you a good idea of the value of a pitcher.
Even if you dispute that, there is no arguing that wins and winning percentage are key considerations for most writers who have a Hall of Fame vote. That leads me to this point: Mussina, by the Hall’s own standards, is a no-questions-asked Hall of Famer. He is 113 games over .500 in his career as a pitcher. That’s a very large win-loss differential, and every Hall-eligible pitcher who has finished his career at least 100 games over .500 has a plaque in Cooperstown. Every pitcher except one, that is. The lone exception, the man on the outside looking in, is Bob Caruthers, who had a career win-loss record of 218-99.
Caruthers debuted with the St. Louis Browns of the American Association late in the 1884 season, after starting his pro career with Grand Rapids, a minor league club in the Northwestern League. He was only 5’7″ and weighed less than 140 pounds, but the 20-year-old Caruthers impressed his new team immediately, appearing in 13 games with 7 starts and compiling a 7-2 record (125 ERA+). St. Louis finished fourth that season, but thanks to Caruthers and teammate Dave Foutz, the Browns would dominate the AA in 1885, winning the pennant by 16 games. Caruthers went 40-13 (158 ERA+), pitching 482 innings. He started and completed all 53 games he pitched. He led the league in wins, ERA, shutouts, and winning percentage.
During the winter he held out for more money. Caruthers had traveled to Europe, and did his negotiating from Paris via telegraph. That aspect of the contract dispute led to his nickname, “Parisian Bob”. Caruthers eventually returned and led the Browns to another pennant, with a 30-14 record and 148 ERA+ in 387 innings. Caruthers led the league in winning percentage and was second in ERA. He was more than just a pitcher, though — a lot more. That season, Caruthers played 43 games in the outfield when he wasn’t pitching (and also made two cameo appearances at second base). He batted .334 (with a .448 OBP) and a .527 slugging percentage. That added up to an OPS+ of 200. Caruthers led the league in OBP, OPS, and OPS+, was second in slugging, and was fourth in batting average.
Caruthers missed three weeks of the 1887 season with malaria, but still managed a 29-9 record with an ERA+ of 138 (341 innings), leading the league in winning percentage. As a batter, he continued to shine, batting .363 with a .453 OBP and a slugging percentage of .547, playing 54 games in the outfield and 7 games at first base when he wasn’t pitching. Caruthers finished third in OPS, OPS+, and OBP, and fifth in batting. The Browns won their third consecutive pennant.
The Browns lost a postseason exhibition series to the NL’s Detroit Wolverines, which angered eccentric (I’m being kind here) St. Louis owner Chris Von der Ahe. He accused the players of playing too hard off the field, and sold the contracts of those he considered blame-worthy. One of those players was Caruthers (a known cardsharp and an excellent pool player). Caruthers went to Brooklyn with Foutz and catcher Doc Bushong for $18,500.
Brief digression Number One: Bushong was a dentist as well as a catcher, and is credited by some sources as the inventor of the catcher’s mitt. Bushong was an alumnus of Penn who never let anyone forget that dentistry was his longterm career path, not baseball.
In 1888 Caruthers went 29-15 for Brooklyn (128 ERA+), pitching 391 innings. Caruthers also played 54 games in the outfield, but his batting declined substantially, with a .230 batting average (still an OPS+ of 111, though). Brooklyn finished second in the AA, as St. Louis managed to hang on for its fourth straight pennant.
The next season, Caruthers would win 40 games for the second time in his career. His 40-11 record wasn’t quite as impressive as his sensational 1885 season. In 1889 his ERA+ was only 112, although that was in 445 innings. He finished in the top three in the league in WHIP for a fifth consecutive season. He led the AA in wins, winning percentage, and shutouts. Caruthers rarely played the outfield this season, although his hitting was still quite respectable (OPS+ of 126).
Brief (okay, maybe not so brief ) Digression Number Two: The pennant race in 1889 would be a memorable one. Brooklyn had to play all its games on the road for a month after its home grandstand burned to the ground, but recovered to catch St. Louis in the standings in August. A crucial two-game series at home in early September against the Browns would turn into a farce.
In the first game, St. Louis led 4-2 in the eighth, with darkness approaching. Von der Ahe set up a row of lighted candles in front of the visitors bench in an effort to intimidate the umpire into calling the game for darkness, which would have given the Browns the victory. The umpire refused to take the bait, and the game continued even after Brooklyn fans threw beer at the candles and started a small fire. The Browns refused to take the field for the ninth inning, and the game was forfeited to Brooklyn. In protest, Von der Ahe also would not allow his team to play the next day.
After considerable deliberation, the AA president decided to call the two-game series a split, with the first game awarded to the Browns (because of darkness) and the second to Brooklyn (because of forfeit). Brooklyn would eventually win the pennant by two games, but in part because of the club’s unhappiness over how the situation was handled by the league office, Brooklyn resigned from the AA after the season and joined the National League.
In his first year in the NL, Caruthers went 23-11 in 300 innings (112 ERA+). He would finish in the top 10 in wins, winning percentage, and WHIP. Caruthers also played 39 games in the outfield. His batting average for the season was .265, with a high OBP (.397) and an OPS+ of 114. Brooklyn would win the pennant in its first season in its new league.
Caruthers would slip to 18-14 in 1891, although his pitching statistics were very similar to the year before, with the exception of WHIP (which rose noticeably). Caruthers only played 17 games in the outfield, although his batting improved from the 1890 season (.281 BA and an OPS+ of 120). Brooklyn would collapse to sixth in the standings, 25 1/2 games out of first.
Caruthers returned to St. Louis (which had by then joined the NL) in 1892, but he could no longer pitch effectively. His pitching career ended ignomiously, with a 2-10 record. However, Caruthers could still hit, and he wound up playing 122 games in the outfield. He compiled an OPS+ of 120 in over 600 PAs.
Caruthers would finish his major league career in 1893 with one appearance for Chicago and thirteen for Cincinnati, all in the outfield. He would play a few more years in the minors, and also umpired in the American League for two seasons. Caruthers died at age 47 in 1911 after a long illness (at least one source suggests he had a nervous breakdown).
The three main arguments against Caruthers’ candidacy for the Hall of Fame are 1) his career length, 2) the fact he played most of his career in the American Association, which while designated a major league (in retrospect) is generally considered to have been inferior to the National League, and 3) he won a lot of games because his teams were a lot better than their competition. Of the three arguments, I think the third is weakest, partly because Caruthers wasn’t just winning those games as a pitcher – he was helping his team at the plate, too. I’m not going to say he was Babe Ruth before there was a Babe Ruth, but he was a remarkable two-way player. His value to his club was enormous.
He did have a short career, but so did Addie Joss, and Dizzy Dean, and Sandy Koufax (no, I’m not saying he was as good as Koufax). None of them could hit like him, either.
What is held against Caruthers the most, though, is the level of play in the American Association. It’s a legitimate point (as is noting the shortness of his career), but if Caruthers is not a Hall of Famer because most of his career was in the AA, then why is the AA considered a major league? Also, his rate stats from 1889 (when he pitched in the American Association) and 1890 (when he pitched for the same team, but in the National League) are very similar. The difference is that he only pitched 300 innings instead of 445, which is a significant difference to be sure, but it seems obvious to me that by 1890 he was already on the downside of his career (even though he was only 26 years old). I suspect that he would have been dominant in the NL in his early years, probably to a similar degree as he was in actuality in the AA.
I’m not saying that Caruthers definitely should be in the Hall, but he is certainly a serious candidate, right on the border. The main thing held against him is the quality of his competition. Mike Mussina, on the other hand, pitched his entire career in the AL East. Nobody’s going to argue about the level of his competition. Given that, and the history of the Hall voters when considering pitchers with similar numbers, there shouldn’t be any question that Mussina will be (and by the Hall’s own standards, should be) enshrined shortly after he becomes eligible for election.
Filed under: Baseball | Tagged: Addie Joss, AL East, American Association, American League, Baltimore Orioles, Bob Caruthers, Brooklyn, Chris Von Der Ahe, Christy Mathewson, Dave Foutz, Dizzy Dean, Doc Bushong, Dom Amore, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Hall of Fame, Lefty Grove, Mike Mussina, National League, New York Yankees, Roger Clemens, Sandy Koufax, St. Louis, The Hartford Courant, The New York Times, Tyler Kepner, Walter Johnson | Leave a comment »
The Phils of ’15
Posted on October 21, 2008 by Sandlapper Spike
I was all set to make a long post about the 1915 World Series, in which the Phillies faced the Red Sox. Then the Rays had to go out and win Game 7 of the ALCS last night…
Philadelphia did win the NL pennant, though, and since that doesn’t happen too often, it’s probably worth looking back to the ’15 Phils, which won the franchise’s first pennant. In fact, Grover Cleveland Alexander’s victory in Game 1 of the 1915 World Series would be the only Series game won by the Phillies in the first 90 years of the club’s history. (The only other pennant won by Philadelphia during that time period, in 1950, resulted in a four-game Series sweep at the hands of the Yankees.)
The Phillies hadn’t been that bad in the years preceding 1915; they hadn’t been that good, either, but they were not yet the notorious sad-sack outfit they were destined to become (that slide would begin in 1918). In the five years before 1915, the Phils had finished second in the league once, fourth twice, fifth once, and sixth once. The runner-up finish in 1913 was marred by the sudden death of Phillies majority owner William Locke, which happened when Philadelphia was still in first place. The Phils would eventually finish second to the Giants by 12 1/2 games. Locke was replaced as head of the ownership group by former NYC police commissioner William Baker (for whom the Phillies’ home park, Baker Bowl, was eventually named).
By this time the Phillies had managed to acquire some fine players, including Sherry Magee (who is on the Veterans Committee ballot for the Hall of Fame this year) and Gavy Cravath, one of the outstanding power hitters of his time. Unfortunately for Cravath, his time happened to be the Deadball Era. If Cravath had played during any other time in baseball history, and if he had not had such a relatively late start to his career, I have no doubt he would be in the Hall of Fame.
Magee was traded prior to the 1915 season for Possum Whitted (in a somewhat puzzling move that worked out for the Phils; Magee was disappointed he had not been named manager, which was one reason for the trade), and the club picked up some other players of note, including future Hall of Famer Dave Bancroft.
Cravath had a great year in 1915, leading the NL in OBP, slugging, runs scored, RBI, homers, and walks. He also had 28 outfield assists, which led the league. Cravath’s 24 homers were a 20th-century record at the time. Playing in Baker Bowl certainly helped; the park’s dimensions in 1915 included 379 feet to the left-field power alley, 388 to straightaway center, 325 to right-center, and 273 feet to right field (which also had a 40-foot wall).
The Phillies had an excellent pitching staff, which included the young Eppa Rixey (also a future Hall of Famer; 1915 wasn’t one of his better years, however), and, most importantly, Alexander the Great. Alexander won the pitching triple crown in 1915, with 31 wins, a 1.22 ERA, and 241 strikeouts (in 376 innings). He also led the NL in shutouts, with 12. The Phils won the pennant by 7 games over the defending champion Boston Braves, leading the league in pitching, defense, runs scored per game, and attendance (just under 450,000 fans).
All this happened under the watch of a new manager, Pat Moran, who had been a reserve catcher for the Phillies before taking charge of the club. Moran is one of the more underappreciated managers in baseball history. In nine seasons Moran won two pennants and one Series title, along with four second-place finishes, all for two franchises (Philadelphia and Cincinnati) that in the fifteen seasons following his untimely death in 1924 would combine for no pennants and one second-place finish (but would combine to finish last or next-to-last eighteen times in those fifteen seasons). Moran had a serious drinking problem, which seems not to have affected his ability to manage, but after the 1923 season he apparently completely lost control, and showed up for spring training in 1924 essentially pickled. He died in March of that year in an Orlando hospital.
In the Series the Phillies faced the Red Sox, managed by Bill “Rough” Carrigan and featuring a great pitching staff. Because the Phillies were known to mash left-handed pitching, Carrigan elected not to start the youthful Babe Ruth at all and limited his lefty pitching usage to Dutch Leonard, a spitball pitcher for whom it didn’t seem to matter whether a batter was a lefty or a righty. Leonard pitched in the pivotal Game 3, beating Alexander 2-1 when Duffy Lewis singled in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. The entire Series featured great pitching. Alexander beat Ernie Shore 3-1 in Game 1, and then Boston proceeded to win three consecutive games by a 2-1 score. The Red Sox clinched the world championship with a 5-4 victory in Game 5 when Rixey was unable to hold a 4-2 lead, giving up a two-run homer to Lewis and a solo shot (in the top of the ninth) to Harry Hooper when the ball bounced into temporary stands set up in Baker Bowl’s center field section; under the rules of the day, it was a homer and not a ground-rule double.
In the following season Philadelphia actually won one more game than it had in 1915, but the Dodgers passed them in the standings and took the pennant. The Phillies would also finish second in 1917, but in the next 32 years would only finish above .500 one time (in 1932). Baker was a key reason for this, as his cheapness led to the de facto selling of Alexander in 1918 (for $60,000) and the eventual departure of Moran (who was forced to manage without the benefit of a coach). Baker would continue to run the club into the ground until his death in 1930.
Filed under: Baseball | Tagged: Babe Ruth, Baker Bowl, Bill Carrigan, Duffy Lewis, Eppa Rixey, Ernie Shore, Gavy Cravath, Grover Cleveland Alexander, Harry Hooper, Pat Moran, Phillies, Possum Whitted, Red Sox, Sherry Magee, William Baker, William Locke | Leave a comment »
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Home Top Stories
Earth Hour 2013: The Inspiration of One Hour Goes Beyond the Hour
Singapore – Earth Hour has just concluded another record sweep around our planet from Samoa on one side of the International Date Line to the Cook Islands on the other, with hundreds of millions again uniting to send a clear message – we are determined to create a sustainable future for our planet.
The event was observed in more than 7000 cities, towns and municipalities in more than 150 countries and territories, with many of the world’s best known human and natural landmarks going dark as the backdrop to a multitude of “beyond the hour” activities and initiatives generating outcomes for the movement and the planet on which we live.
“What is most important is the ever-increasing extent to which Earth Hour’s supporters are participating in or taking actions themselves,” said Earth Hour CEO and Co-Founder, Andy Ridley. “Now in its 7th year, Earth Hour is maturing from its origins as a consciousness raising event in one city, to a global movement that is not just calling for change but is engaging in it.”
Russian supporters, who last year helped secure legislation against oil pollution in the seas using the ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign, now have more than 100,000 signatures on a new petition calling for forest protection; while WWF and Earth Hour partners in Madagascar handed out 1000 wood saving stoves to victims of February’s cyclone Haruna, passing significant savings on to families while reducing charcoal producing and wood gathering impacts on forests.
From villages in India without electricity being lit up with solar energy for the first time, to Libya where participants took part in an 80-kilometre walk from Gharyan to the capital Tripoli to celebrate Earth Hour 2013 at 8:30 PM – people from all walks of life, all backgrounds went to amazing lengths to share what the planet means to them and what they are willing to do to protect it.
“In Earth Hour, people around the world, from all walks of life, have come together to express their concern about the planet’s well-being and to take action,” said Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International. “I am inspired to see their commitment. Earth Hour has created a global community, and together we really can make a difference.”
Countries across the world have used Earth Hour as a tool to engage children in environmental issues, with Earth Hour organisers the Society of Wilderness (SOW) continuing to run their year-long education program on climate change in schools throughout Taiwan, engaging over 70,000 students and volunteers.
Green Schools in Indonesia are also actively engaged in Earth Hour’s ‘beyond the hour’ campaigns, and Earth Hour was also used to promote the Low Carbon School Network, which incorporates energy-saving lessons in the curricula of Bangkok Metropolitan Authority-affiliated schools, in Thailand.
With a call to action to become the generation to change our planet for good, this year’s event was marked by public concerts aimed at youth as a platform to share their passion for the environment. A rap concert in Benghazi in Libya, a rock concert in Nepal’s second largest city Pokhara, a band concert in Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur, performances in Hanoi, Vietnam, and a free reggae show in Kingston, Jamaica, were among the key events that took place around the world.
In Singapore, where WWF-Singapore’s “One Degree Up” initiative for ‘I Will If You Will’ has given people a tangible and simple way to help reduce the country’s energy consumption, a dance floor completely powered by kinetic energy generated enough power for an outdoor cinema against the celebrated backdrop of Marina Bay.
From Space to Sudan, participants at switch-off events were connected along with unknown millions through the power of modern technologies and platforms to unite us in a common purpose.
Canadian Astronaut Commander Chris Hadfield tweeted images from space in celebration of Earth Hour with his unique perspective of seeing cities and natural wonders from above. Russian Cosmonaut Roman Romanenko also sent a video message from space, before one of the most historic moments in the movement’s history saw The Kremlin, the official residence of the President, and Red Square plunged into darkness for the first time in celebration of last year’s environmental outcome that saw the passing of legislation to protect Russia’s seas from oil pollution.
“The first time I stepped onboard of the International Space Station and saw the Earth from outside, I was amazed by how beautiful and fragile it was. Our planet is the most precious treasure that we have. It is our home and we fully depend on it. And its existence depends on us as well. It depends on our attitude to it and on how we use its resources,” said Romanenko from the International Space Station.
Six of China’s biggest social media sites with a daily reach of 200 million people also went dark to raise awareness for Earth Hour, and the official Instagram account posted a single image from Sydney’s switch off at the Opera House from their Headquarters in San Francisco that generated more than 180,000 Likes. More than 36,000 Earth Hour images were uploaded to the image sharing platform.
Anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela was one of the first to tweet his support, and ushered a timely message given the many reforestation projects around the world tied to Earth Hour’s ‘I Will If You Will’ campaign.
“The trees & forests were destroyed exactly because our people were so dependent upon them as sources of energy.” #NelsonMandela #EarthHour – he tweeted.
Countries and territories participating in Earth Hour for the first time included Palestine, Suriname, Rwanda and Tunisia; where WWF, the Tunisian National Agency for Energy Management and Tunisian Scouts focused celebrations in Habib Bourguiba Avenue, the birthplace of the Arab Spring. Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki inaugurated the event.
Celebrities endorsing action for and during Earth Hour included Lionel Messi, Yoko Ono, Amitabh Bachchan, Alejandro Sanz, Imogen Heap and more.
As the hour of inspiration reached Latin America, official Earth Hour organisers and WWF-affiliate Fundación Vida Silvestre in Argentina celebrated their campaign to raise support for the passing of a Senate Bill to make the 3.4 million-hectare ‘Banco Burwood’ the biggest Marine Protected Area (MPA) in the country. Incorporating this distinctive marine plateau important to fisheries and birds such as albatross, petrels and penguins will more than triple the proportion of Argentina’s Exclusive Economic Zone under protection.
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Arctic Sea Ice Avoids Last Year’s Record Low
ThinktoSustain - Oct 18, 2013
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Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test
K. R. Mittal, Robert Higgins, S. Lariviere
A coagglutination test for the identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae is described. A total of 360 H. pleuropneumoniae strains was isolated from pulmonary tissues of feeder pigs which died of acute pleuropneumonia. All of the isolated were serotyped by coagglutination, and the results were confirmed by the ring precipitation test. The most common serotype isolated in Quebec was serotype 1, followed by serotypes 5, 2, and 7. None of the isolates belonged to serotypes 3, 4, or 6. Mixed infections due to H. pleuropneumoniae of more than one serotype in the same animal were encountered. Serotype 1 was the only common isolate among the mixed-serotype infections. The coagglutination test was more sensitive than was the ring precipitation test. Serotyping by the coagglutination test is inexpensive, rapid, reliable, and easy to perform.
Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae
Serotyping
Coinfection
Pleuropneumonia
Serogroup
Mittal, K. R., Higgins, R., & Lariviere, S. (1983). Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 18(6), 1351-1354.
Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test. / Mittal, K. R.; Higgins, Robert; Lariviere, S.
In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology, Vol. 18, No. 6, 01.12.1983, p. 1351-1354.
Mittal, KR, Higgins, R & Lariviere, S 1983, 'Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test', Journal of Clinical Microbiology, vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 1351-1354.
Mittal KR, Higgins R, Lariviere S. Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 1983 Dec 1;18(6):1351-1354.
Mittal, K. R. ; Higgins, Robert ; Lariviere, S. / Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test. In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 1983 ; Vol. 18, No. 6. pp. 1351-1354.
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title = "Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test",
abstract = "A coagglutination test for the identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae is described. A total of 360 H. pleuropneumoniae strains was isolated from pulmonary tissues of feeder pigs which died of acute pleuropneumonia. All of the isolated were serotyped by coagglutination, and the results were confirmed by the ring precipitation test. The most common serotype isolated in Quebec was serotype 1, followed by serotypes 5, 2, and 7. None of the isolates belonged to serotypes 3, 4, or 6. Mixed infections due to H. pleuropneumoniae of more than one serotype in the same animal were encountered. Serotype 1 was the only common isolate among the mixed-serotype infections. The coagglutination test was more sensitive than was the ring precipitation test. Serotyping by the coagglutination test is inexpensive, rapid, reliable, and easy to perform.",
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T1 - Identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae by coagglutination test
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AU - Higgins, Robert
AU - Lariviere, S.
N2 - A coagglutination test for the identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae is described. A total of 360 H. pleuropneumoniae strains was isolated from pulmonary tissues of feeder pigs which died of acute pleuropneumonia. All of the isolated were serotyped by coagglutination, and the results were confirmed by the ring precipitation test. The most common serotype isolated in Quebec was serotype 1, followed by serotypes 5, 2, and 7. None of the isolates belonged to serotypes 3, 4, or 6. Mixed infections due to H. pleuropneumoniae of more than one serotype in the same animal were encountered. Serotype 1 was the only common isolate among the mixed-serotype infections. The coagglutination test was more sensitive than was the ring precipitation test. Serotyping by the coagglutination test is inexpensive, rapid, reliable, and easy to perform.
AB - A coagglutination test for the identification and serotyping of Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae is described. A total of 360 H. pleuropneumoniae strains was isolated from pulmonary tissues of feeder pigs which died of acute pleuropneumonia. All of the isolated were serotyped by coagglutination, and the results were confirmed by the ring precipitation test. The most common serotype isolated in Quebec was serotype 1, followed by serotypes 5, 2, and 7. None of the isolates belonged to serotypes 3, 4, or 6. Mixed infections due to H. pleuropneumoniae of more than one serotype in the same animal were encountered. Serotype 1 was the only common isolate among the mixed-serotype infections. The coagglutination test was more sensitive than was the ring precipitation test. Serotyping by the coagglutination test is inexpensive, rapid, reliable, and easy to perform.
JO - Journal of Clinical Microbiology
JF - Journal of Clinical Microbiology
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Biden, Sanders flex foreign policy muscles in 2020 U.S. Democratic race after Iran strike
Trevor Hunnicutt, Simon Lewis
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Democratic presidential front-runners Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders have seized on the killing of an Iranian military commander to tout their own leadership as the best antidote to what they call the reckless actions of President Donald Trump.
Biden blamed Trump on Tuesday for an “avoidable” rise in Iranian hostility that he said dated to the Republican president’s decision in 2018 to abandon a nuclear agreement with Iran signed when Biden was vice president.
“I have no illusions about Iran. The regime has long sponsored terrorism and threatened our interests. They’ve ruthlessly killed hundreds of protesters, and they should be held accountable for their actions,” said Biden, speaking in front of five American flags in New York.
“But there is a smart way to counter them - and a self-defeating way. Trump’s approach is demonstrably the latter.”
Sanders, a U.S. senator, has also slammed Trump’s actions but contrasted his own record as an anti-war campaigner with that of Biden, who voted in 2002 to authorise war in Iraq.
Last Friday’s killing of Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. drone strike has intensified U.S.-Iran tensions and raised fears of a wider Middle East war. Trump administration officials have said Soleimani was killed because of solid intelligence indicating forces under his command planned further attacks on U.S. targets in the region, although they have provided no evidence.
Trump campaign spokesman Tim Murtaugh said Democrats risked appearing as apologists for Iran by blaming the United States for responding to “terrorist acts and plans.”
“Americans want to see their president acting decisively and defending the nation’s interests and that’s exactly what President Trump did,” he said.
Reuters/Ipsos polling released on Tuesday found that 53% of U.S. adults disapproved of Trump’s handling of Iran, up 9 percentage points from a similar poll that ran last month.
Trump, Bloomberg plan campaign ads during Super Bowl
NATIONAL SECURITY TAKES PROMINENCE
With less than a month until Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, national security is now dominating the race to take on Trump in the November 2020 election.
The 14 Democrats competing for the nomination have all criticized Trump for the killing of Soleimani. But Biden and Sanders, who come first and second, respectively, in most national opinion polls, both see themselves as the strongest candidate on questions of foreign policy and have spoken repeatedly on Iran since the incident.
Biden aides said they saw a political benefit to putting voters’ focus on his foreign policy experience as a longtime former senator and as No. 2 to President Barack Obama.
A CNN poll conducted nationwide in November showed 48% of Democratic voters thought Biden was best able to handle foreign policy issues. Sanders was a distant second, with 14% of voters choosing him.
Sanders hopes to appeal to voters fatigued by the long U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, highlighting his opposition to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and promising to work in the Senate to avoid a war with Iran.
In Iowa on Friday, he called out Trump for going back on promises he made while campaigning for office in 2016 to end America’s “endless wars.”
In an interview on CNN on Monday night, Sanders also turned his fire on Biden.
“Joe Biden voted (for) and helped lead the effort for the war in Iraq, the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in the modern history of this country,” Sanders said.
FILE PHOTO: Former Vice President Joe Biden and Senator Bernie Sanders speak towards the end of the sixth 2020 U.S. Democratic presidential candidates campaign debate at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, U.S., December 19, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake
Biden’s long record, including his decision on Iraq as well as his support for international trade deals, meant he would not generate the “energy and excitement” needed for the Democrats to turn out voters and beat Trump in 2020, Sanders added.
Biden has said his vote on Iraq was a mistake, but has defended his foreign policy record. His campaign declined to comment on Sanders’ criticism.
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Simon Lewis; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Peter Cooney
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Six Months of Activities From URI West India
21 August 2019, 3:38 PM
URI West India News June 2019 (PDF with photos!)
Click the PDF above for many more great photos!
CC Beyond Sarhad organized a “Save Democracy and Women March for Change” rally on 26th April, 2019. This rally was also meant for awareness before the Parliamentary elections for people to exercise their voting rights and to register themselves for Voter IDs. The rally was led by members of URI Cooperation Circles (CCs). Also, a message of communal harmony was promoted by sharing the democratic values and principles of the Constitutions of India.
CC Janseva Prathishthan and the URI Regional Coordinator organized a meeting of the community leaders and CC members to highlight URI’s work and also to engage the CC members in quasi-judicial work to promote women’s empowerment and justice for all. The Janseva Prathishthan CC members spoke about principles of URI and how to remove any form of discrimination in the name of caste, class, religion or ethnicity. The program was organized on the premises of the Collector Office. The Deputy Collector and Secretary to Women Welfare Ministry graced the occasion. Magazines from the Ministry of Social Welfare were released and distributed to the community workers. The youth who supported URI’s cause were lauded for their role and winning competitions.
URI West India is collaborating with YAKA (YES AKADEMY), which is an organization in France mainly working with youth. The URI Regional Coordinator was invited for the Youth Forum and to deliver a lecture on the Composite Culture in India and in Indian history. There were 35 youth who came from France and were here for two months, working in community development projects in rural areas in Maharashtra, including organic farming and environmental protection. Their visit ended with the International Youth Forum at Sanskardham College in Mumbai. This program was held last year in August, but this year we also worked on our partnership - and hopefully from 2020 onward, URI will be there as one of the partners.
The CC Samaanta and CC Karni, based in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, convened a meeting of community leaders, religious leaders and social activists to address the issue of “Save the Girl Child” and also how to make interfaith efforts to address similar issues. This meeting was held on 28th March, 2019. At length, village heads discussed how to work to promote human rights of citizens, and to stop discrimination against the lower castes, women and other religious groups. They shared real stories of communal harmony. Since Jaisalmer district is situated very close to the Indo-Pak Border, this is sensitive, but people from both Hindu and Muslim communities live in harmony and share common culture. However there are some political groups who have started creating radical views and disturbing the harmonious relations.
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, 8th March 2019, the URI Regional Coordinator of URI West India, Mrs. Qutub Kidwai, was conferred with the ‘Exceptional Woman’ award for her books, articles and her work on women’s empowerment, as well as helping women and children in their legal cases. The award was given by the Mahila Samupdeshan, Home Department, and Government of Maharashtra.
URI West India, in partnership with Asia Humanity Foundation and Misaal Foundation, ran a campaign called “Let’s Go to School” in the 25 villages of Alwar District Rajasthan. The campaign was held in the month of June, 2019. The campaign began from one of the government schools. The objective of the campaign is to admit as many students who are dropouts as possible, and to stop child labor.
CC Kalrav Cultural Manch co-organized a meeting with human rights activists in the city of Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 15th April, 2019. This meeting was held in one of the iconic heritage places which is popularly known as Interfaith Temple. The speakers were concerned about growing intolerance. The cases of mob lynching, attacks on churches, atrocities committed on Dalits (lower-caste people), and an increased number of youth becoming cow vigilantes and using violence against other communities. The interfaith leaders urged the government to stop these acts of violence in the name of religion.
A meeting of women community leaders was held in Mumbai on 26th July, 2019. CC Leaders from Gujarat came to Mumbai to train women on how to do bridge-building between different religious and ethnic communities. The women who attended this meeting mainly reside in slums and ghettoes.
URI West India has been selected on the City-Level Committee for Police Reform since January, 2019. The Police Reform Committee is a network of 28 experts on various issues like child trafficking, women’s family law issues, crimes against women and children, crimes against senior citizens, communal problems, etc. There are lawyers, professors and activists who provide recommendations and suggestions to the Police and Home Department. This committee also works closely with zonal-level commissioners and IPS officers. The objective of the committee is access to justice for the marginalised groups. We help in implementing the Supreme Court’s guidelines on better policing. This meeting was held on 24th April, 2019 in Mumbai.
URI West India and Asia Humanity Foundation, Rajasthan, jointly organized a one-day State Level Workshop for the Youth. This workshop was held on 15th March 2019. There were 42 Youth from Rajasthan and Haryana. The workshop was for youth activists, young journalists, university post-graduate students, young religious leaders, etc. The topics discussed were: Constitution of India and people’s rights, transforming conflicts, composite culture in Rajasthan - a historical perspective, gender sensitization, and how to collaborate with government authorities to address local needs and issues.
URI CCs Ekta Sangathan and CC Safar in Gujarat planned a community rally on Environment Day, on 6th June, 2019. The community members, along with CC members, went door to door and distributed saplings. Some 500 tree saplings were distributed and this will continue every two months. The CC members also applied at the Municipal Corporation office for free saplings. URI West India is also planning to supply seed balls to the participants of URI events.
The CC members from CC St. Xaviers Social Service Society, Gujarat, organized a community meeting on 10th June, 2019, inviting the Station Head Officer from the local police station to have dialogue with the community members to promote interfaith harmony and also on better policing. The police assured all forms of help to promote safety and security. The officers highly appreciated the efforts of the URI CC members to organize such outreach for the police.
Click the PDF below for many more great photos!
Poverty Alleviation and Economic Opportunity
Beyond SARHAD
"Our purpose is to promote values that engender a peaceful society."
Janseva Pratishthan, Vita
“Our purpose is to understand the importance of being a human, respecting and spreading the ethical legacy of various cultures.”
Samaanta CC
“Our purpose is to promote peace and rights.”
Karni CC
"Our purpose is to promote communal harmony and peace among the youth."
Kalrav Cultural Manch
Peace, love, human rights, and gender equity through theatre.
Ekta Sangathan CC
"Our purpose is to promote communal harmony and empower women."
Safar CC
“Our purpose is to promote peacebuilding and interfaith unity by connecting different communities through common issues.”
Xavier's Cooperation Circle
“Our purpose is to empower people using humane community based on justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, compassion, and peace.”
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← COMIC: Not My Dictator
HEY DONALD TRUMP. LOVE THE HINDU? INDIA WILL BE US’ BEST FRIEND? HOW DARE YOU! →
For most American families, “India” evokes such positive images as India’s wonderful cuisines, its many cultural treasures such as the Taj Mahal and the great Hindu books, Gandhi’s historic civil disobedience campaign against British rule, the epic accomplishments of Indian scientists, and the physical and spiritual benefits of the discipline of yoga. Unfortunately, for a small group of American families, numbering in the hundreds, India does not evoke such positive thoughts. They are the families of US servicemen killed in India during World War Two – servicemen whose remains still lie unburied there because of the Indian Government’s long history of callousness toward their humanitarian plight. For these families, who only want the Indian Government to honor their right to repatriate their loved ones’ remains for proper burial, “India” only evokes thoughts of frustration and resentment.
A fundamental aspect of basic human decency, shared by all religions and all cultures worldwide throughout history, is that families have not only a right but an obligation to honor the mortal remains of their deceased loved ones ceremonially with a funeral ceremony as soon as possible after they die. If families are refused access to the mortal remains of their loved ones, they are illegitimately deprived of the ability to exercise this right and obligation, and those who refuse this access deserve the severest condemnation. This right is well-established in both the Geneva Conventions and the body of customary international humanitarian law.
.An estimated 400 US servicemen still lie unrecovered at or near a multitude of World War II crash sites in northeast India. Since the turn of the millenium, 15 of these crash sites have been located, photographed, and documented by the American MIA investigator Clayton Kuhles. From the late 1970s until late 2008, and then from 2010 to 2015, the Government of India did not permit US Defense Department recovery teams into the region of India – Arunachal Pradesh – where most of the remains of US airmen in India lie unburied. For a brief time only (late 2008 until late 2009), the Government of India permitted only one of the many well-known crash sites in Arunachal Pradesh to be investigated for remains, a crash site located on a mountainside in the Upper Siang district near the village of Damroh. In late 2009 the UPA Government withdrew that permission, without a word of protest by the Obama Administration, before any human remains could be recovered. From early 2010 until the assumption of the Modi Government, a de facto moratorium was imposed on Arunachal recoveries. Even after the Modi Government took over, the de facto moratorium continued for well over a year, until the Modi Government, faced with bad publicity over this situation in the Indian press, finally relented and permitted some token recovery efforts.
.During the years (2010-2015) the Indian Government imposed a de facto moratorium on remains recoveries in Arunachal Pradesh, many close relatives of these airmen died, forever deprived by the Indian Government of their right, recognized by the Geneva Conventions (to which India is a signatory). to reunite with the remains of their loved ones killed in wartime, and give them the honored funerals they deserve. Faced with this violation of such a foundational principle of humanitarianism, I (a nephew of one of these MIA servicemen) founded Families and Supporters of America’s Arunachal Missing in Action to lobby the Government of India to honor its obligation to allow the recovery of the bodies of these men from its sovereign territory, an obligation frequently supported by statements of Indian leaders, but almost never honored by action.
Secondarily, our efforts have focused on trying to get our own Government – the US Government – to pressure the Government of India to honor these obligations. The Obama Administration was more concerned with selling to arms to India, conducting joint military exercises, and concluding lucrative commercial contracts with Indian companies than with recovering our war dead. The Obama Administration even went so far as to make patently transparent excuses for the Indian Government’s inaction.
With the transition to the Trump Administration, it’s anybody’s guess whether President Trump will make recovery of our MIAs in India a higher priority. Disturbingly, when US Secretary of Defense Mattis recently talked with Indian Defence Minister Parrikar, published accounts of the conversation made no mention of US MIAs in India.
Those who counsel patience to the families of these men are tragically unrealistic. Many of these MIAs still have elderly brothers and sisters who deserve to have their right to bury their loved ones honored during their own lifetimes. These relatives do not have many years left themselves – patience is the one thing they cannot afford. They deserve to have the remains of their relatives repatriated NOW.
Gary Zaetz
Founder/Chairman of Families and Supporters of America’s Arunachal Missing in Action
Cary, North Carolina
Posted on February 15, 2017, in History, Politics/Diplomacy, Security and tagged Arunachal MIA, Arunachal Pradesh, US-India, US-India Relations, World War II, WWII. Bookmark the permalink. Leave a comment.
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The music in Journey was composed and orchestrated by Austin Wintory, who had previously worked with Thatgamecompany on the soundtrack for Flow. Wintory worked closely on the soundtrack with sound designer Steve Johnson, as well as the programming team, so the music would dynamically tie in to both the actions of the player and sound effects caused by nearby game objects, and feel as if it were "unfolding in real time".[28] Johnson felt having short pieces of music that looped without reacting to the player would be a "missed opportunity", and wanted to create music that changed while still containing a composed emotional arc. Jenova Chen met with Wintory at the start of the game's development to describe his vision for the project, and Wintory left the meeting and composed and recorded the main cello theme for the soundtrack that night. He continued to work on the soundtrack for the next three years, experimenting and discarding many ideas.[29] The game's orchestrations were performed by the Skopje Radio Symphonic Orchestra (Makedonskiot filmski orkestar "F.A.M.E.S.") in Macedonia.[30]
The first book is told from the perspective of More, the narrator, who is introduced by his friend Peter Giles to a fellow traveller named Raphael Hythloday, whose name translates as “expert of nonsense” in Greek. In an amical dialogue with More and Giles, Hythloday expresses strong criticism of then-modern practices in England and other Catholicism-dominated countries, such as the crime of theft being punishable by death, and the over-willingness of kings to start wars (Getty, 321).
Gattaca is a science fiction film directed by Andrew Niccol, starring Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and Jude Law. It depicts the life in the futuristic dystopian Earth society, in which quality genetic makeup controls the destiny of every person. The main protagonist Vincent was born in an old-fashioned way. He is seen as genetically inferior and is doomed to a life of servitude. He tries to change his destiny by buying identity of Jerome Eugene Morrow, a potential swimming star whose career ended in a car accident.
A new form of language called "newspeak" is being developed to facilitate the process of thought control, and there is a movement called "doublethink" whereby the most absurd ambiguities are propounded in all seriousness. The mottoes of the Party are: "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," and "Ignorance is Strength." The Ministry of Truth deals mainly with propaganda, the Ministry of Peace manages military operations, the Ministry of Love is concerned with matters of law and order, and the Ministry of Plenty regulates the economy.
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt to create an ideal society, and fictional societies portrayed in literature. It has spawned other concepts, most prominently dystopia. Many books that deal with "utopia" are actually putting out a plot or message of a "false utopia".
The first discussions with Raphael allow him to discuss some of the modern ills affecting Europe such as the tendency of kings to start wars and the subsequent loss of money on fruitless endeavours. He also criticises the use of execution to punish theft, saying thieves might as well murder whom they rob, to remove witnesses, if the punishment is going to be the same. He lays most of the problems of theft on the practice of enclosure—the enclosing of common land—and the subsequent poverty and starvation of people who are denied access to land because of sheep farming.
The one major work preceding More's in the field was Plato's Republic. Its influence on Utopia is extensive and unmistakable. To begin with, the central theme of both works is the search for justice. In the Republic, the rulers are to be a group of intelligent, unselfish men called the guardians or philosopher-kings, who conduct public affairs for the good of the whole nation. The principle of community of property is in effect: "No man calls anything his own." Gold and silver coinage is outlawed, and there is a rigid proscription against luxury and ostentation. Throughout the society, life is directed by a highly moral code of conduct. An educational system for the intelligentsia is elaborately and idealistically designed. Equality of men and women is proposed in both works, though with certain qualifications. There is allowance made in Plato's scheme for the practice of slavery, as there is in More's. There are, on the other hand, departures from Plato in Utopia, some quite radical. The Republic establishes sharply defined class distinctions — the ruling intelligentsia; the warrior class; commoners, consisting of merchants, artisans, and laborers; and finally, at the lowest level, the slaves. Utopians recognize no such gradations among their citizens. The religious beliefs and practices in the two books are, of course, quite different. There is also a sharp difference in the treatment of families. In the Republic, women and children are held in common — "there is no marrying nor giving in marriage" — and mating is regulated to serve eugenic ends; whereas in Utopia, the family unit is the core of the entire social structure.
Bergen has reported on al-Qaeda, Afghanistan, Pakistan, counterterrorism, homeland security and countries around the Middle East for a range of American newspapers and magazines. He is a contributing editor at The New Republic and writes a weekly column for CNN.com. He has also written for newspapers and magazines around the world, and he has worked as a correspondent or producer for multiple documentaries that have aired on National Geographic, Discovery and CNN.
Sir Thomas More, Utopia. This 1516 work is the book that gave us the word ‘utopia’ – from the Greek meaning ‘no-place’, though with a pun on eu-topos, ‘good place’, implying that such an ideal society is too good to be true. More’s island utopia has variously been interpreted as a sincere description of the perfect world and as a satirical work poking fun at the world’s excessive idealists. Mind you, given that in Utopia adulterers are taken into slavery, and repeat offenders are executed, it makes you wonder whether More’s Utopia isn’t more dystopian than anything…
The importance of More's Utopia in the history of utopian literature begins to be clear as we examine the documents published in the century following its publication. Patterns of uniformity and occasional divergences have been displayed. The utopian societies described — without exception — develop systems aiming toward equality and justice. Equality is attained in nearly every instance through community of property and the elimination of money, also through equitable sharing of labor, community rearing of children, and often community dining. Plain, uniform clothing is usually prescribed, and any kind of luxury or ostentation is discouraged, Bacon's New Atlantis excepted. The governments are made up of carefully selected elders of demonstrated character and competence. Variations appear in connection with the question of community of women, proposed by Plato but rejected by More. Campanella and some later writers follow Plato but most follow More. The acceptance of slavery in the community, approved by both Plato and More, is not adopted by their followers.
Journey is a wordless story told through gameplay and visual-only cutscenes. The player's character begins on a sand dune in a vast desert. In the far distance looms a large, mysterious mountain with a glowing crevice that splits its peak. As the character approaches the mountain, they find remnants of a once-thriving civilization, eroded by sand over time. Scattered throughout the ruins at the end of each area are stones where the traveler rests and has visions of meeting a large, white-robed figure in a circular room. Art adorns the walls, describing the rise and fall of the player character's civilization, which also mirrors the player's journey. The player must also contend with roaming, ancient automatons left over from a war that ended the civilization.
For students wishing to understand fully the extent of interest in the creation of imaginary commonwealths and fascination over accounts by mariners of remote regions, certain other works of fiction not precisely utopian ought to be examined. Examples are: Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, Voltaire's Candide (especially the Eldorado episode), Samuel Johnson's Rasselas, Henry David Thoreau's Walden, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance, and Herman Melville's Typee.
It is a fundamental disposition of humankind to concoct imaginary Utopias, although their names for such places may differ. The word utopia, which has become the familiar designation for such states, was More's creation. It is inevitable that people, recognizing the manifold stupidities, corruptions, and inequities current in their society, should attempt to devise a better system for people living together. Omar Khayyam voiced the attitude admirably in The Rubaiyat.
The optimistic views which the author held regarding the inevitable progress of human society were somewhat undermined by the events of World War I, as is demonstrated in his later writings. He came to question whether or not scientific progress would always achieve social improvement. His warning of the possibility of developing mind control through blatant advertising and through drugs is prophetic.
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Voyage centres on a young psychiatrist (played by Ryo van Kooten) who leaves Hong Kong to embark on a long lone voyage from Hong Kong along the coast of South-East Asia to try to overcome the emotional turmoil he has experienced in his relationships with former clients. While travelling, he tries to come to terms with his experiences by making a detailed record of their stories, and decides to visit those places himself.
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Of course! Eponymous founder of the genre; brilliant mixture of satire, political idealism, and obfuscation of the author's own views. More's book has been seen by some as an attempt to justify colonisation of the Americas, by others as a dreary state of Catholic dogma and by his champions as a proto-communistic vision. The book's very indeterminacy is testament to its constant inventiveness.
St. Augustine's famous De Civitate Dei (City of God, 413–26) is frequently cited as a source for Utopia. It was, of course, well known to More. He had delivered a series of lectures on the work, as has been mentioned. The basic plan of Augustine's book is different from the Republic, although Augustine was a devoted admirer of Plato. By the same token, More's work differs in basic concept from Augustine's, though inevitably echoes of Augustine are to be found in More.
One highly influential interpretation of Utopia is that of intellectual historian Quentin Skinner.[9] He has argued that More was taking part in the Renaissance humanist debate over true nobility, and that he was writing to prove the perfect commonwealth could not occur with private property. Crucially, Skinner sees Raphael Hythlodaeus as embodying the Platonic view that philosophers should not get involved in politics, while the character of More embodies the more pragmatic Ciceronian view. Thus the society Raphael proposes is the ideal More would want. But without communism, which he saw no possibility of occurring, it was wiser to take a more pragmatic view.
There are several religions on the island: moon-worshipers, sun-worshipers, planet-worshipers, ancestor-worshipers and monotheists, but each is tolerant of the others. Only atheists are despised (but allowed) in Utopia, as they are seen as representing a danger to the state: since they do not believe in any punishment or reward after this life, they have no reason to share the communistic life of Utopia, and will break the laws for their own gain. They are not banished, but are encouraged to talk out their erroneous beliefs with the priests until they are convinced of their error. Raphael says that through his teachings Christianity was beginning to take hold in Utopia. The toleration of all other religious ideas is enshrined in a universal prayer all the Utopians recite.
“ [A] permanent possibility of selfishness arises from the mere fact of having a self, and not from any accidents of education or ill-treatment. And the weakness of all Utopias is this, that they take the greatest difficulty of man and assume it to be overcome, and then give an elaborate account of the overcoming of the smaller ones. They first assume that no man will want more than his share, and then are very ingenious in explaining whether his share will be delivered by motor-car or balloon. ”
Utopia is placed in the New World and More links Raphael's travels in with Amerigo Vespucci's real life voyages of discovery. He suggests that Raphael is one of the 24 men Vespucci, in his Four Voyages of 1507, says he left for six months at Cabo Frio, Brazil. Raphael then travels further and finds the island of Utopia, where he spends five years observing the customs of the natives.
A Traveler from Altruria (1894) by William Dean Howells is a utopian novel that describes the differences between the late 19th century US and fictional island of Altruria. During the novel, visitor from Altruria compares the lifestyle of those two countries, discovering that US is still lagging in the political, economic, cultural, or moral aspects of life. This critique of capitalism and its consequences was greatly influenced by the previous utopian works - The City of the Sun, New Atlantis, Looking Backward and News from Nowhere.
The Renaissance age has been styled "this brave new world" by many historians, viewing it as a radically new and brilliant development in Western civilization. That view, however, is not universal, some scholars quarreling with the claim that it was new, representing a great change from the late Middle Ages, and other scholars doubting its brilliance. Debate seems perpetual over the nature and the importance of the Renaissance; nevertheless, it can scarcely be denied that the outlook and the life style of Western people were greatly affected by certain achievements of the period; namely, the invention of printing, the development of gunpowder, and the improvement of navigational instruments and ship designs. Somewhat later than those developments, but still important contributions of the Renaissance, were the Copernican revolution in astronomy and the development of the telescope by Galileo. All of these factors not only produced substantial changes in people's lives, but they also generated a charged atmosphere of excitement and curiosity throughout Europe.
Sir Francis Bacon, New Atlantis. Although he never completed it, this utopian novel by one of the great philosophers of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras is well worth reading. It was published posthumously in 1627 and outlines a perfect society, Bensalem (its name suggesting Jerusalem) founded on peace, enlightenment, and public spirit. Available in Three Early Modern Utopias Thomas More: Utopia / Francis Bacon: New Atlantis / Henry Neville: The Isle of Pines (Oxford World’s Classics) along with More’s Utopia and another early utopian novel, Henry Neville’s The Isle of Pines.
Prior to completing his M.D., Moody was an assistant professor of philosophy at East Carolina University from 1969-72. After completing his M.D., Moody was a visiting associate professor of philosophy at the University of Virginia from 1977-78, an as associate professor of psychology at the University of West Georgia from 1987-92, and the Bigelow Chair of Consciousness Studies at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas from 1992-2002.
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Another surprising feature is the attitude toward machinery. Several centuries earlier, the Erewhonians had attained a remarkable stage of sophistication in the development of machinery, but through the teachings of a prophet they had been persuaded that machines might some day become masters over men, with the result that they destroyed all of the machinery having any degree of complexity and outlawed any further experimentation in the field. They retained only the simplest kinds of implements — spades and scythes — and horses and wagons.
The publication of Utopia followed Columbus's first voyage to America by only 24 years. Utopia preceded by just one year Luther's publication of the Ninety-five Theses that fomented the Protestant Reformation. Michelangelo had completed his four years' labor on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in 1512. Henry VIII had recently come to the throne of England (1509), was still married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, and was being guided in his government by Cardinal Wolsey as his Lord Chancellor. Some of the principal literary figures of More's generation were Erasmus, Ariosto, Machiavelli, and Castiglione, along with More himself. One of the great periods in Western art was in full swing with Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Titian heading a long list. The chief explorers in the first decades after Columbus were Vasco da Gama, John Cabot, Amerigo Vespucci, and Balboa.
There is another passage in Rabelais's Gargantua that is cited among the celebrated Renaissance descriptions of an idealized society; namely, the section called the "Abbeye of Thélème." The society portrayed is confined to a monastery that is regulated in an original and thoroughly unconventional manner. All of the members are happy because, being exempt from any kind of restrictions or regimentation, they are at liberty to pursue their inclinations and encouraged to develop their special talents to their full potential. Among the unconventional monastic features are: the absence of bells to regulate a schedule of activities, the wearing of attractive clothes of varied colors and styles, and — most unconventional — the integration of male and female initiates. Finally, the members of the community are free to leave it at will and also to marry. The whole idea, which at first strikes the reader as one of Rabelais's absurd jests, is discovered to express a fundamental feature of Rabelais's serious philosophy. What he is saying is that people are, by nature, good and, if given free scope and encouraged to live full lives, will develop into healthy and bright creatures, full of grace.
(Ho Chi Minh City) Vietnam is known for its lush, emerald green mountains, outstanding cuisine, and welcoming citizens. Here you can explore the Cu Chi Tunnels where Viet Cong soldiers lived and fought, travel by boat through the Mekong Delta, sample world-class pho, or bike through small villages. Students often enjoy a three-day trip to Cambodia from Vietnam to interact with an NGO that educates and trains disadvantaged locals in rural areas for employment in the hospitality industry.
Although published only 25 years after The City of the Sun, Bacon's book belongs to the early enlightenment period. Bacon pictures a world in which scientific experiment could be the core of the progress of an enlightened state. As such, the book is testament to the changing conceptual framework of the early 17th-century, though, like Campanella and More, Bacon set his ideal state in a remote location, this time the South Pacific.
I bought a 1998 Mercedes-Benz ML320 from Starfire Auto, Santa Clarita (Valencia), CA on March 31st 2016. The owners, Abe and Key, were very accommodating, friendly, and knowledgeable It was a very pleasant experience and I was not pressured in any way. Kay even helped me return the rental (followed me in my MBZ and drove me back to Starfire). Kay also added extra gasoline so I could drive back to Palmdale without stopping at gas station. I highly recommend Starfire Auto to anyone looking to buy a car. I am very grateful to Abe and Kay for making this purchase a pleasant experience.. Thank you Abe and Kay!
The stress of the project led to the feeling there was not enough time or money to complete everything the team wished to, which added to the stress and caused arguments about the design of the game. The developers ended up reducing the overtime they spent on the project to avoid burning out, though it meant further delays and risked the company running out of money as the game neared completion. In a speech at the 16th annual D.I.C.E. Awards in 2013, Chen admitted that the company had indeed been driven to bankruptcy in the final months of development and that some of the developers had gone unpaid at the time.[10] Hunicke described the solution to finally finishing the game as learning to let go of tensions and ideas that could not make it into the game and be "nice to each other".[8]
What happens to those slaves (bondsmen) who helped feed the citizens of Utopia by butchering animals for food and thus suffering the apparent moral consequence of diminished compassion is not stated. Perhaps Utopia uses only slaves gotten from outside the citizenry of Utopia for their necessary killing. Utopia has slaves captured in wars they fought and other "foreigners who have been condemned to death" which the Utopians "acquire [...] sometimes cheaply, more often gratis and take them away." Foreign slaves are kept "constantly at work" and in chains. (95) Utopia also has slaves who entered into slavery by choice. These are "poor, overworked drudges from other nations [...] who chose to be slaves among the Utopians." Such slaves can relinquish their slavery whenever they choose, but in doing so they leave Utopia, although they are not "sent away empty-handed." (96)
It is mainly (or only) the slaves who kill for the Utopians, but it did not require any killing to become a slave. In fact, "the most serious crimes" (unstated, but clearly not only murder) are punished by "servitude" (slavery). "If slaves are rebellious or unruly, then they are finally slaughtered like wild beasts that cannot be restrained by bars or chains." On the other hand, if they are "tamed by long suffering and show that they regret the sin more than the punishment, their servitude may be either mitigated or revoked, sometimes by the ruler's prerogative, sometimes by popular vote." (100)
The film's director, Scud, explained that the idea for the film “originated from my own thoughts about suicide. One time, I had thought about walking into the central Australian desert until I am exhausted and die in a miserable way. These thoughts caused me to think about similar people in this situation.“ He continued that “All of the episodes are independent of each other and the stories are based on real experiences which some of the actors appearing in the film have gone through. Having an international cast and locations around the world is appropriate because depression and suicide are universal themes"" - wikipedia Add Synopsis In Portuguese
Voyage features many of Scud’s colleagues from previous films, such as the actors Byron Pang, Haze Leung, Adrian "Ron" Heung, and Linda So, as well as several technical staff, such as the Director of Photography, Charlie Lam, who worked on Scud’s 2010 film Amphetamine. During filming, Scud said, "I am really enjoying shooting in Europe because people are so film-friendly.. I can see myself coming back to film again in Europe". The German episode includes appearances by the UK actress Debra Baker (Junkhearts) and the German actress Leni Speidel, who was also the Production Manager for filming in Europe.[1]
The religious history of the period is a dramatic one. Christianity, which for more than a thousand years had been represented throughout all of Western Europe by one church, the Roman Catholic Church, experienced a tremendous upheaval during the 16th century. The first overt action of revolt came in 1517 when Luther defied the authority of Rome. That marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, the consequences of which were that Europe was divided into numerous divergent sects and into warring camps. Actually, all of that turmoil occurred after More wrote his Utopia, but the causes of the Reformation were of long standing and had been a source of concern to conscientious Christians for at least two centuries. Among the principal evils alleged in the attacks against the church were arbitrary exercise of papal authority, greed of the clergy as revealed in the selling of pardons and of church offices, and the traffic in holy relics. Intelligent people were indignant over the propagation of superstitions to anesthetize the common people, and social critics were bitter over the enormous opulence of the church amid the poverty and squalor of the majority of Christians.
The new Boston of 2000, Julian West discovers, is a city of beauty and grace, with many splendid public buildings, reflecting an undreamed of prosperity; but, more important, it is populated by people who are remarkably healthy and happy. The basic reason for these conditions is that equality has been attained throughout the population. There are no more rich, no more poor.
The exploration of a South Sea utopian commonwealth is of limited scope because of the author's overriding preoccupation with the sexual relations of the natives, leaving almost entirely unexplained such concerns as governmental organization, legal system, distribution of labor, and methods of warfare. Regarding the economy, we are simply told that there is no private property.
Unlike many games, where different songs have different themes for each character or area, Wintory chose to base all of the pieces on one theme which stood for the player and their journey, with cello solos especially representing the player. Wintory describes the music as "like a big cello concerto where you are the soloist and all the rest of the instruments represent the world around you", though he describes it as not necessarily orchestral due to the inclusion of electronic aspects.[28][31] The cello begins the game as "immersed in a sea of electronic sound", before first emerging on its own and then merging into a full orchestra, mirroring the player's journey to the mountain.[32] While the game's art style is based on several different cultures, Wintory tried to remove any overt cultural influences from the music to make it "as universal and culture-less as possible".[28] Tina Guo features as the cellist for the soundtrack. She is a close friend of Wintory and has since performed "Woven Variations" with him, an eight-minute orchestral variation on the Journey soundtrack.[31] All of the non-electronic instruments in the soundtrack were recorded with a live orchestra.[29]
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Cicero's De republica (54–52 B.C.) is largely indebted to Plato, not only to the Republic but also to several other Platonic dialogues. Cicero discusses the attributes of various types of government — monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, and dictatorship — but without committing himself to a preference. One point, however, is clear. His concept of an ideal state is one based on reason and justice, where those who possess natural superiority rule over the inferiors.
In Book 2 Raphael Hythloday describes Utopia. The word `Raphael' means "God's healer", and the word `hythloday', from Greek, means "peddler of nonsense". The word `utopia' is a Greek pun that means both "good place" and "no place". If Hythloday is speaking nonsense motivated by the deepest moral compassion, where is the nonsense? Is Utopia a good place that is no place, or is it no place that is a good place? (The second reading can mean it is not a place that is a good place.)
The film depicts the life in the futuristic and idyllic utopian society where wealthy people live very comfortable lives. Carefree life of one of those citizens - Freder Fredersen, comes to an end when he discovers that below the residences of the wealthy is located an underground world of the poor who work their entire life on maintaining the machinery that makes the Utopian civilization on the ground functioning. He becomes involved in the attempt of the underground leaders to unite the two societies, bringing equality among two classes.
Jonathan Swift, Gulliver’s Travels. In this work of 1726, which was an immediate bestseller, Lemuel Gulliver actually visits four different fantasy worlds, but the one that’s especially interesting here is the world of the Houyhnhnms, horses endowed with reason and speech, and a world in which humans are yobbish Yahoos flinging their muck around. Gulliver interprets the Houyhnhnms’ society as a utopian world, though whether Swift is inviting us to agree, or to distance ourselves from Gulliver, remains a contentious point.
Equality for all mankind is not a realistic goal in Wells's view. That, he believes, would mean a loss of individuality, and individuality is an inherent requirement of human nature. Similarly, competition is necessary to a thriving society. Taking what he considers a practical position, he sees the new society as divided into four classes of persons which he calls poietic, kinetic, dull, and base. There is a leader caste, called Samurai, which is drawn primarily from the poietic group, though some from the kinetic class may qualify. Persons who volunteer for Samurai membership must meet stringent requirements, both physical and mental; and they must pledge to conform to the rules of the caste, which forbid eating meat, smoking, drinking, gambling, and participation in public sports or entertainments. The Samurai furnish the World State with its administrators, legislators, lawyers, doctors, and other leaders. Furthermore, they are the only voters in the commonwealth. The male members of the Samurai are encouraged to marry women of comparable qualifications, and they are encouraged to produce children with the aim of improving the quality of the population. The lower classes of citizens, the dull witted, the criminals, and the deformed are exiled from society and prevented from childbearing.
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Part 2: Colonialism, Family Relations & the Regulation of Belonging in the Dutch East Indies
Posted on January 27, 2019 by Monica
By Dr Kathryn Pentecost, edited by Sierra Jacobs
The series is based on PhD thesis (2013) entitled: Selamat Jalan, sampai jumpa lagi (Farewell, until we meet again): Transcultural family stories from colonial and postcolonial Indonesia
Section Two: INTRODUCTION
Figure 1: My Maternal family The Berlers in Bandung 1939
Our metis (mixed) family composition – including people from various religious groups, social classes and ethno-cultural communities – exemplifies the complexity of the Indies society through the period c.1807 – c.1957[1]. Importantly, according to Pamela Pattynama:
The late colonial Indisch community is often portrayed as a static in-between group squeezed in somewhere between native and totok population. This is a stereotype that does not do justice to the differences and contrasts that existed within this group. The differences in economic well being and status were so vast that it is actually impossible to categorise them as a single group. Moreover, the image of this community as an oppressed group elides the dynamic processes they were involved in. Ideas, norms and habits were constantly changing and traditions were forever being modified as an effect of social and political developments. (2005: 49)
Nevertheless, Pattynama claims that ‘certain community traits can be ascribed to pre-war Indisch society’ (2005: 49). These traits characterise family life and include: ‘daily rituals of bed and bath, traditional ways of eating food, dressing, greeting, showing hospitality, and methods to raise children’ (2005: 49).
Coté also describes the society of the Dutch East Indies as one whose ‘racial heterogeneity’ created a ‘static tension’ or what he suggests was ‘a permanent ambiguity’; one which was ‘ritualized’ by the 1920s (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 19). Coté agrees with Pattynama in saying that, by the very last stages of Dutch colonialism, the Indisch/Indische mensen had their own ‘traditional lifestyle’ which was very distinct from both Dutch culture in the Netherlands and from the totok (newcomer) Dutch who had migrated from the Netherlands in the last stages of colonialism (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 19) and were still migrating even after 1945[2] (Gillisen, 2010).
The topic of social hierarchies of the Netherlands/Dutch East Indies is a contested area of research amongst scholars. The stories of what happened to Eurasian families have seldom been told. Joost Coté explains:
There has been no attempt to cover the long history of the evolution of this community from the 1600s to the beginning of the twentieth century since, largely, that history is coterminous with the broader history of Dutch colonialism for which good general histories exist. (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 19)
Defining an Indisch/Indische community is problematic. Ulbe Bosma suggests that it was only ‘at the end of the colonial period that the historical roots of the Indisch community were at last defined’ (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 20-21). Jean Taylor maintains that ‘ethnicity’ was ‘not a dominant issue’ until the late colonial period and stresses instead the ‘fluidity of racial, religious and ethnic categories’ within a group quite ‘distinct’ from the late colonial migratory Dutch (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 18). Stoler and Taylor broadly concur that European social mores only had a strong influence in the late colonial period, when the pressure to cultivate a European sense of identity meant ‘mixed-blood’ people/Indo-Europeans needed to adequately perform middle-class values (Protschky, 2011: 548). Coté and Westerbeek maintain that the boundaries of the Indisch community were never clearly defined (2005: 18). Interestingly, female (and/or feminist) scholars Stoler, Hellwig, Protschky (et al) emphasise the nexus between race and gender within the colonial mechanics of control, whilst male scholars, such as Bosma, Wiseman, Cribb (et al) seem to largely ignore this dynamic in their examinations of the social stratification of the society in the Dutch East Indies.
Presently, those who claim an Indisch/Indische/Indo identity[3] (or family connection) are keen to share stories about the former Dutch colony and the lives of their ancestors. All the more surprising, perhaps, is that second and even third generation descendants of those who left the Indies/Indonesia, are interested in knowing about their ancestral ‘home’, ‘histories’, ‘traditions’ and the events that forced their families to relocate. Bosma makes the point that:
For the second generation, free from the clutter of their parents’ painful memories, being ‘half-Indonesian’ can now be an exciting discovery. Some decades ago, this was not the case in the Netherlands[4]. It was also not possible in the racist climate of white Australia, where one interviewee has recalled, it was assumed in the late 1970s she must be Aboriginal since no other dark-skinned person had been let into the country. (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 2)
On a Postcolonial Search for ‘Home’
Figure 2: My Opa Andreas Bruno Berler 1933 with his new Chevrolet
To date, very little of the history of the Indisch Dutch, according to Coté, has been published in the English language (2009: 14). In the Netherlands, there has been some resistance over the years since World War II to conducting frank discussions about the former colony (Coté, 2009: 14). According to Willems, the process of decolonisation that has been taking place since Indonesian independence is still incomplete and it is only since the 1980s that interest in ‘the history and contemporary position of these colonial migrants’ has increased (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 252). Willems claims that the first research was conducted by the Dutch government in the 1950s but stopped after the assumption that the assimilation of new migrants from the former colony had been achieved (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 252). In the 1980s, novels and stories began to appear about the Indisch which led to a wider interest amongst journalists, sociologists and historians (Willems cited in Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 252). From the end of the 1980s and into the 1990s, a small group of academics at the University of Leiden initiated a series of conferences whose focus was Indische mensen and the Indies, and this created stimulating exchanges of ideas. (Willems cited in Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 252).
Out of this, has come a growing awareness that people from the Indies are themselves a rich source of knowledge about Dutch colonial history in the archipelago (Willems cited in Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 252). A large oral history project has taken place in the Netherlands[5] (Willems cited in Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 252) and another has recently been initiated in the USA (Dias Halpert, pers. comm. 2011[6]). Indies people in the Netherlands have also made a formal request for ‘a reassessment of their history in the colonial and postcolonial periods’ which has led to the development of a three-volume history (Willems cited in Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 253). One wonders whether the development of a ‘grand narrative’ about Indische mensen could lead to a simplified or less nuanced version of the period, than might be evident in a collection of oral histories.
In the last few years, new avenues of communication (via the internet), between the former inhabitants and their descendants have also arisen on such sites as the Old Dutch-Indonesian community on Facebook, The Indo Project and through online journals such as Inside Indonesia, to stimulate a growing interest in hidden histories and previously silenced voices. Even within Indonesia itself, some Indonesians are happy to acknowledge their Dutch ancestors and they have an interest in knowing more about their whole family history. This perhaps coincides with an emerging interest on the part of ‘younger researchers, novelists and artists’ in examining ‘from new perspectives’ the intertwined history of the colonials and their Indonesian ancestors (Coté, 2009: 14).
So, why should the particular history of the Indo-Europeans/Dutch-Indonesians be at all contentious? Is it because they were regarded as an ‘unstable’ group whose potentially divided loyalties were perceived as threatening to the established Dutch colonial order, the Indonesian nationalists and the Japanese occupiers? After repatriation[7] to other countries, did they find peace and security, or did they face prejudice and/or other issues in their adopted homelands?
In 2010, journalist Tifa Asrianti filed a story in The Jakarta Post entitled ‘Dutch Indonesians’[8] search for home’ (2010: 1). Asrianti reported on part-time teacher and history buff, Michael Hillis’s intention to make a documentary about the approximately 200,000 Dutch Indonesians living in the United States of America (2010: 1). The report claims that many Indos who initially repatriated to the Netherlands, subsequently left and settled in the USA because of racism they faced in Europe (Asrianti, 2010: 1) According to the article: ‘As Eurasians, the Dutch Indos’ physical features vary greatly, with some having blonde hair and blue eyes, and others having a dark complexion and black eyes. Many of these were believed to be Hispanic immigrants and faced racial slurs’ (Asrianti, 2010:1). Hillis believed that racism was the main reason that Indos left Europe, though his view has been contradicted by other people from the very group he insists to speak for, and the film project has failed to eventuate. This is just another example of how contested the postcolonial territory is regarding the history of ‘Dutch Indonesians’ or the Indisch/Indische Nederlanders/Indische mensen/Indos.
In Coté and Westerbeek’s Recalling the Indies: Colonial Culture & Postcolonial Identities former residents describe their ‘homeland’ in ‘Chapter Four – Our Indies Home: Memories of a Colonial Childhood’ (2005: 99 -132). Here the reader is presented with reminiscences of colonial childhoods by a ‘broad cross-section of former residents’: some ethnic Indisch, others echte (real/white) Dutch (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 99 -132). We are offered glimpses into family lives and the complex society of the Indies in the late colonial period in the words of the people themselves. Mr S, for instance, describes his family composition:
I am actually third generation Indisch. My great grandfather was a Hollander, from Friesland. I can remember there was a fine photograph him hanging in the living room in my grandparents’ house. He was a fine well-built man and he had married a tiny Indonesian woman who only reached up to here on him. So that was the first mixing, which produced my grandfather. Well, it was the same on my mother’s side. I do remember my great grandmother and she didn’t speak a word of Dutch… (Coté and Westerbeek, 2005: 109)
In Mr S’s words, I hear resonances with my own family stories; particularly in the descriptions of ‘difference’ between the Indonesians and the Dutch. I also note that, intentionally or not, the colonial framework seems to be the dominant one for these descriptions, especially when the author details the physical attributes of his great grandfather (‘fine well-built man’) and great grandmother (‘tiny Indonesian woman who only reached up to here on him’), and the linguistic differences (that his great grandmother on his mother’s side ‘didn’t speak a word of Dutch’). Similar ways of describing the family composition amongst my forebears indicate to me the internalisation of colonial racial ideology.
Asrianti’s article also makes mention of Jan Krancher’s 1996 compilation of stories entitled The Defining Years of the Dutch East Indies, 1942-1949: Survivors Accounts of Japanese Invasion and Enslavement of Europeans and the Revolution that Created Free Indonesia (2010: 1). This book contains first-hand accounts by people who were children or teenagers during the Japanese occupation; it and Shirley Fenton Huie’s (1994) The Forgotten Ones – Women and Children Under Nippon have been invaluable sources of background detail with regard to camp life during the Japanese occupation and the period known as Bersiap[9], especially since the details of these traumatic years are little known to many descendants of survivors, including me.
What follows on from this introduction is essentially from Chapter 3 of my doctoral thesis. It aims to throw light on the relationship between the colonial state and family life in the former Dutch East Indies, especially in the late colonial period ( after the British interregnum in the nineteenth century), when the pressure to perform a ‘Dutch identity’ was markedly greater than in the early days of the colony.
Dr Kathryn Pentecost studied at Charles Sturt University (NSW) and the University of South Australia (SA).
Author: Dr Kathryn Pentecost studied at Charles Sturt University (NSW) and the University of South Australia (SA).
Dr Kathryn Pentecost studied at Charles Sturt University (NSW) and the University of South Australia (SA). She teaches memoir and writing skills in country South Australia. Her Indo family lived in many places in Java, including Rangkasbitung, Surabaya, Jember, Puger etc. Van der Poel relatives now live in Netherlands, South Africa, Australia and Indonesia.
A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
School of Communications, International Studies and Languages, Division of Education, Arts and Social Sciences
[1] This is not meant to define the period of late colonialism, which is better described as mid-late nineteenth century to first half of the twentieth century. These dates are an indication of the time period during which many of my ancestors and immediate family lived in colonial Indonesia before ‘repatriating’ to the Netherlands and Australia – though other relatives remain in Indonesia still to this day.
[2] According to Albert Gillissen, who worked in Java and Sumatra as an immigration officer 1946-9, civil servants were still being recruited and sent to the Dutch East Indies after the declaration of independence (2010). The Dutch government was also recruiting administrators and plantation managers, oil company executives, entrepreneurs (and so on) with the purpose of returning to ‘business as usual’ (Gillissen, 2010).
[3] Loes Westerbeek makes the point that that ‘the question of ‘who is Indisch’ in relation to (future) research among second generation migrants is best answered by women, who often are referred to as the bearers of culture. She believes that they ‘are largely responsible for the intergenerational transmission of culture and as such shape and inform their children’s sense of cultural identity’ (2005: 291). The word Indo is often used now by younger generations in the diaspora, with positive connotations, but I have reason to believe that in colonial times, it was used (sometimes) in a derogatory manner by the Dutch (Gillissen, 2010).
[4] Bosma’s point here is contested anecdotally by my colleague Lolo Houbein who grew up in the Netherlands and suggests that ‘Although there were and are racist Dutch people …, the Dutch population had the liberty for each person to decide for him or herself whether to embrace the newcomers or to shun them, and anything in between. There was soon intermarriage. The Indies people, once organised, put on an annual cultural feast and market in The Hague which became hugely popular with the wider population. This gave impetus to a change in food culture of the Dutch who adopted nasi goreng …’ (2013: 1-2).
[5] This involves The Royal Institute of Language and Anthropological Studies (KITVL) in Leiden, in collaboration with the Department of Asian Studies at the University of Amsterdam and the State Institute for Research on World War II (NIOD).
[6] The project is under the auspices of Professor Azian Tajuddin, Chair of the Department of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh, USA.
[7] See further discussion in Chapter 5.
[8] Asrianti makes no attempt to define ‘Dutch-Indonesians’; suffice to say, it is a broad term which encompasses all those who repatriated after the independence, whether they were ethnically mixed-bloods or echte (real) Dutch who had lived in the Indies.
[9] Bersiap literally translates as ‘rise up’ or ‘purge’ and was a term used by the pemudas (young revolutionaries) after 1945 in the struggles against the Dutch (who were trying to reimpose colonial authority after World War II and the declaration of independence by Sukarno and Hatta).
Category: Blog, featured, Stories Tags: colonialism, Dutch-East Indies, family, Kathryn Pentecost, regulations
← Part 1: Colonialism, Family Relations & the Regulation of Belonging in the Dutch East Indies
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2 Comments on “Part 2: Colonialism, Family Relations & the Regulation of Belonging in the Dutch East Indies”
Finally I see some numbers about how many are still in Indonesia.
On a cruise to Japan many servers were Indonesians. One recalls calling her grand father “Opa”. IOW she was an Indo
J.Brnet
In the Netherlands there is an organisation Stichting Halin, that supports the Indo’s who were not able to leave Indonesia after the indepandence in 1949.
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August 27, 2018 / Tomothy Berry
John Carreyrou’s latest nonfiction book, released by Alfred A. Knopf almost automatically became a New York Time bestseller, and I longlisted by the McKinsey Book of the Year and Financial Times Award. According to the New York Times, the book reads like All the President’s Men, only a West Coast version of it.
Told by the award-winning journalist, Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in Silicon Valley offers the full story of the rise and breath-taking scandalous collapse of a Multibillion-dollar biotech start-up. It is seen through the eyes of the journalist who first uncovered the truth and then despite threats by lawyers and pressure from the CEO pursued the story until the shocking end.
The Full Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of Theranos
Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and founder of Theranos, was thought to be following in the footsteps of Steve Jobs. It was 2014, and the talented Stanford University dropout had the medical industry in turmoil with her machine that promised to revolutionise the industry, make blood testing significant easier and faster. The project back by big investors such as Larry Ellison and Tim Draper enabled Theranos to use a fundraising round to sell shares worth $9 billion. This puts Holmes net worth at $4.7 billion (estimated).
While it all sounds wonderfully well, there was one major problem, and that was that the technology never worked. John Carreyrou tells it all. Bad Blood is about the fascinating story of about corporate fraud in Silicon Valley.
The book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in Silicon Valley Startup is now a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence
Elisabeth Holmes, founder of Theranos, was only in her early 20s when she promised that her new technology could do all blood test via only a few drops. It was exciting for the medical industry who never expected that it was a typical scandal, one in which nothing goes as planned. Theranos management had to lie to keep their overpromising and underdelivering a secret. Theranos threatened staff as it was the only way to cover up so many shortcomings.
It did not take long before management expected something was to come from the WSJ. Still, Homes managed to get another investment from Rupert Murdoch, once she got the private investment worth $150 million she did everything she could to talk him into ending the WSJ story, at the time he owned WSJ.
Theranos Never Worked
Despite the claims, lies and promises, Theranos never worked, the blood tests used to sell the idea came from standard equipment, it was the results of what they tried at Walgreen and then later claimed was the result from their machines. Theranos finger-tip blood testing was a scam that cost investors millions. A world changing idea so many wanted to believe in, yet it was an idea of a manipulative and charismatic twenty-year college drop-out that costs the famous millions.
Categories: Blog, Book Review
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Understaffed Irish Come Out with W in Syracuse
Posted on January 6, 2018 at 5:40 PM
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish entered into their match-up with the Syracuse Orange in Upstate New York without their top two scorers, senior forward Bonzie Colson and senior guard Matt Farrell.
You would think that would create an advantage for the Orange.
But as much as the Fighting Irish were down by at the half (9), 28-19, they were not out.
Despite making a mere six field goals in the first 20 minutes of the game, Notre Dame came out striking in the second half, making three field goals within the first three minutes on an 8-0 run, keeping themselves close with Syracuse, who did not make their first field goal of the second half until the first three minutes of the half had already ticked off the clock.
Thanks to out-scoring Syracuse 24-16 in the first 16 minutes of the second half, Notre Dame trailed by only one, 44-43, with exactly four minutes to play.
With 2:25 to play, the Irish gained their first lead since 1-0, when sophomore guard T.J. Gibbs connected on both of his free throws to make it 45-44 Irish, off of a foul by Orange junior point guard Frank Howard which followed a turnover by Howard.
Syracuse was not done, as depicted when sophomore shooting guard Tyus Battle scored from long range coming out of a timeout, to knot things up at 49 with, ironically, 49 seconds to go.
But the "every man for himself" offensive style backfired on the Orange when Battle lost the handle on a potential game-winning try and senior forward Martinas Geben took the ball downcourt for the Irish with four seconds to go.
Geben would miss the layup try, but his teammate, junior guard Rex Pflueger, cleaned up, putting the ball back up and in with two seconds to play.
Pflueger made the headsy play by following Geben to make sure someone was there to try again if Geben was to miss it.
Syracuse, did not, failing to grab the defensive rebound or box out any Notre Dame players attempting to gain the offensive board. The Irish finish was fitting, with them out-rebounding the Orange on the offensive glass 21 to eight in the game overall.
Both teams came in at 12-3, with Notre Dame coming out at 13-3 while Syracuse fell to 12-4. The Irish remain undefeated in conference play inside the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) at 3-0, whereas the Orange have a losing record inside the ACC for the first time this season, at 1-2, on a two-game losing streak after falling to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on the road and now the Irish at home.
Gibbs led all Notre Dame players with 18, followed by Pflueger with 12. They combined to account for 30 of the team's 51 points in the game.
Syracuse forward Oshae Brissett attained his eighth double-double of his true-freshman season in this game. That makes eight in 16 games, meaning that 50% of the time, Brissett is grabbing at least 10 rebounds to go with at least 10 points.
Categories: Syracuse Orange Men's Basketball, Atlantic Coast Conference, NCAA
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Orange Rolling the Wrong Way Since Historic Win
Posted on November 19, 2017 at 11:25 AM
Making a stop...
Getting into the end zone...
Watching the clock wind down to all zeroes...
Rushing the field...
That moment when the Syracuse Orange football squad defeated reigning national champion and the then #2 nationally-ranked Clemson Tigers seems far away in the distance of our memories.
Since that wondrous glimmer of hope in a tumultuous recent history of Syracuse football, there has been little to want to recall and keep top of mind.
The Orange have lost four straight since their defeat of the "big bad wolf", blowing down the house that held any chance of attaining a bowl berth this season.
After holding Clemson to 24 points, Syracuse's defense has allowed their foes no fewer than 27 points and have given up as many as 64 and 56 points in their last two outings, respectively, leaving their defense resembling more of the unit that allowed a basketball game to play out at the end of the 2016 season versus the Pittsburgh Panthers than of that which halted a reigning champion in the middle of this season.
Syracuse followed up a week in which they gave up 734 yards of total offense to the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by allowing 727 yards to the Louisville Cardinals most recently. That means that in the last two weeks of play, the Orange have given just two of their opponents a combined 1,461 yards of total offense.
In the nine games prior, the Orange defense has allowed these totals: 167 yards (Central Connecticut State Blue Demons), 363 yards (Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders), 382 yards (Central Michigan Chippewas), 414 yards (LSU Tigers), 462 yards (N.C. State Wolfpack), 358 yards (Pittsburgh Panthers), 317 yards (Clemson Tigers), 480 yards (Miami Hurricanes), and 343 yards (Florida State Seminoles).
Therefore, on average over 11 games this season, Syracuse's defense is allowing 431.5 yards per game to their opponents. The national leader in yards allowed per game, the Wisconsin Badgers, are giving up 246.4 yards per game, meaning that Syracuse is allowing just shy of 200 yards per game above the nation's leading defense.
Even tougher to swallow is that the national average among 130 Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdvision, or FBS) teams in yards allowed per game this season is 399.8, leaving Syracuse's defense 31+ yards over the national average.
No matter how many points your offense may score, your defense has to prevent other teams from moving the ball downfield, something the Orange are not doing, as they head into their final game of the regular season ranked 111th out of 130 FBS teams in yards allowed per game.
Adding injury to insult, Syracuse has had to play the last two games without their starting quarterback, junior Eric Dungey.
Despite a three-touchdown start in the first two quarters with backup quarterback, senior Zack Mahoney, at the helm of the offense, the Orange have gone quiet offensively. In their last six quarters of play, beginning in the third quarter of the Wake Forest game and ending in the fourth quarter of the Louisville game, the Syracuse offense has amounted 13 points in 90 minutes of play.
Including their Week-11 loss, the team has not won a single road contest this season in five tries, falling to LSU, N.C. State, Miami, Florida State, and Louisville, respectively.
Against LSU, N.C. State, Miami, and Florida State, Syracuse fought to make a second-half comeback to remain in games where they started without momentum, but one half of play did not cut it.
Versus Louisville, Syracuse appeared to be out of the game from almost the moment the first whistle was blown.
What once was an above par season at 4-3 following the victory over the Tigers, needing a mere two wins in their final five games of the regular season in order to become bowl eligible, has now become an 0-4 spiral downward to last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Atlantic Division and another season without a bowl berth.
Syracuse's last trip to the postseason came at the end of the 2013 season, Scott Shafer's first season as the team's head coach.
Babers, currently in his second season, will not be heading to a bowl berth now in back-to-back opportunities with the Orange.
The team that once took down Clemson has since only taken down themselves.
A win over the reigning national champion without a bowl berth leaves the Orange looking like a Cinderella story, a moment where everything just clicked, as opposed to a team that has replaced their glass slippers with cleats.
Categories: Syracuse Orange Football, Atlantic Coast Conference, College Football
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Gaming has become a culture in many regions across the globe, where millions of people have embraced it. Being such a huge part of most people’s lives, the online gaming market has been on its toes to keep things as exciting as possible for its enthusiasts. This has led online gaming software developers to push the envelope on the development of games to keep things more fun with every release. This has especially been noticeable in the slot gaming arena, with the shift from traditional three-reeled slots to three-dimensional slots that feature realism and stunning graphics.
A huge area software providers have been able to play around with is slot themes. Even though slots carry the same basic functionality of spin-to-win, themes help keep things exciting by providing a story behind the gameplay. Numerous themes have been used in the development of these games such as celebrities, favorite Hollywood films, and widespread board games. A fine example of the latter is the famous Monopoly slots, which have seen various takes by different providers.
Popular Computer Game-Themed Casino Games
One of the most common themes that software developers have been able to exploit is computer games, otherwise known as video games. It is no secret that computer games are among the most enjoyed gaming pleasures that have been around even before the development of themed slots. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that casino game developers would draw inspiration from this arena. Below are five of the most prolific casino games developed around common computer games.
Tomb Raider is one of the most celebrated video games of all time that has been making waves since its first release back in 1996. The game features a beautiful archaeologist who goes on an adventure around the world looking for various relics while encountering dangerous tombs and caves along the way. The game was so successful that it saw not only slots developed around it, but also a film.
The Tomb Raider slot bears the same basic storyline where the gambler helps Lara collect artifacts and escape danger as they get winnings along the way. Microgaming is the online gaming software developer behind this creation and has it provided in video slot technology. It comes with fifteen win lines that are placed on five reels. The game has a jackpot of five hundred coins that is offered by triggering the bonus round.
This slot has been the center of attention in the past few years for being one of the best takes on computer games in the gambling world. The game places the player on the battlefield among other military soldiers where they engage in battle without having to endure the gruesome experience in real life. Cryptologic took note of the huge success of this development and created a slot around its theme. The video slot development has five reels with twenty-five win lines running through them. Like in the video game, the slot players aim to kill as many enemies as they can to get awarded freebies. Additionally, they can also get multipliers to push up their winnings. The highest jackpot offered in this ninety-five return to player rate game is five thousand coins. The coin value limits of between one and twenty coins make the game convenient for both low and high rollers.
Zuma is a traditional Aztec game that is quite similar to Tetris. Even though it has not gained the household name status of the latter, this indulgent has been able to captivate many. This computer game was introduced long before the online platform had developed to encompass the gaming scene. The game has a tribal touch to it with ancient looking statues and drum beats dotting the theme.
Gamesys, the software provider behind this game, did its best to maintain the same simple style that is seen in the original game to keep it as familiar as possible to players. The game has five reels and twenty bet lines that accept a coin value from point zero one to one.
Like Tomb Raider, the success of the Hitman video game has led it to make appearances on slots, console games, and Hollywood films. The game involves one man on a killing mission that the gamer has to help him accomplish.
Microgaming took the lead in the production of this slot after the huge success of Tomb Raider. The video slot has fifteen win lines that run through five reels, all of which have to be used during gameplay. The smallest coin value that can be used in the game is point zero one while the largest stands at point five, with a maximum of twenty coins going on each win line. This makes the maximum possible wager one hundred and fifty coins.
This slot can be described as a parody version of the Call of Duty Slot. The soldiers in the video game are replaced by fruits dressed for combat in the slot. Unlike the Call of Duty that is solely based on warfare and the destruction of enemies, this slot is made colorful and blowing up other fruits becomes quite fun. This creative development is produced by Barcrest. It has ten fixed win lines that are placed on five reels. The highest wager that can be placed on the game amounts to five hundred dollars.
Computer games have a big role in the gaming industry. Therefore, the online casino industry was bound to draw some of its inspiration from this predecessor. Most of the computer games maintain the storyline of the original game with the fun and easy playability of slots.
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Robert Nkemdeche
2012 Bobby Dodd National Lineman of the Year
Robert Nkemdeche, Grayson (Loganville, GA) 6’4″ 300 lbs.
Nkemdiche attended Grayson High School, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and track. He played as a defensive end and running back for the Grayson Rams high school football team. In his junior season, he registered 59 tackles and 18 sacks on defense while also running for 528 yards and scoring 17 touchdowns on offense. Grayson went undefeated throughout the season, finishing 15–0 with a GHSA 6A state title win over Marietta Walton. In his senior year, Nkemdiche registered 59 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and seven sacks on defense, whilst on offense he had 235 total rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. The Rams went on to a 10–2 season record, before losing to North Gwinnett in the second round of the GHSA 6A state playoffs. Nkemdiche was the Gwinnett Daily Post Defensive Player of the Year. He finished his career at Grayson with 41 career sacks. He was named first-team All-American as a junior by MaxPreps, as well as second-team as a senior.
ESPN & Rivals named him as the top recruit in the nation.
Nkemdiche also competed in track & field during his junior season. At the 2011 Gwinnett County T&F Championship, he earned second-place finishes in both the shot put, with a throw of 13.41 meters (43 ft, 8 in), and the discus, with a throw of 37.98 meters (124 ft, 5 in). In addition, he also had marks of a 350-pound max bench press, 335-poundpower clean, 500-pound squat and a 4.56-second 40-yard dash time.
← Vernon Hargreaves III Minton Williams →
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www.ahrq.gov
AHRQ Home | Questions? | Contact Us | Site Map | What's New | Browse | Información en español | E-mail Updates
Contents Introduction
AQA Mission & Governance
Report of the Performance Measurement Workgroup
Report of the Data Sharing & Aggregation Workgroup
Pilot Projects & Value Exchanges
You Are Here: AHRQ Home > Quality Assessment > Quality Information & Improvement > AQA Invitational Meeting
AQA Invitational Meeting
The AQA held its seventh meeting to review the activities of workgroups on the Alliance's mission and governance, performance measurement, and data sharing and aggregation. Updates were presented on measures for physician performance, cost of care, as well as principles of appropriateness, proposed new quality measures, and the role of health information technology. The meeting was held May 30, 2007.
Select to access the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth meetings.
The AQA, formerly known as the Ambulatory Care Quality Alliance, was founded in the fall of 2004 with a mission to improve health care quality and patient safety. The Alliance sought to achieve these goals through:
A collaborative process in which key stakeholders agree on a strategy for measuring performance at the physician or group level.
Collecting and aggregating data in the least burdensome way.
Reporting meaningful information to consumers, physicians, and other stakeholders to inform choices and improve outcomes.
The AQA's work focuses on key areas that can help identify quality gaps, control skyrocketing cost trends, reduce confusion and burdens in the marketplace, and otherwise address the challenges of the current health care system.
The timing of this stakeholder process has coincided with a growing interest in rewarding high-quality providers (through "pay for performance" or "p4p") and clinicians' burgeoning interest in adopting health information technology (HIT) to enhance the quality, safety, and efficiency of care delivery.
The May 30, 2007, AQA meeting was convened to review the activities of two of the AQA's three workgroups (on performance measurement, and data sharing and aggregation). Participants also discussed the AQA's governance processes, including membership and voting processes. In addition, participants received updates on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)/AQA pilot projects and value exchanges. Carolyn Clancy, M.D., director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), chaired the meeting.
Contents Next Section
AHRQ Home | Questions? | Contact AHRQ | Site Map | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Freedom of Information Act | Disclaimers
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | The White House | USA.gov: The U.S. Government's Official Web Portal
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality 540 Gaither Road Rockville, MD 20850 Telephone: (301) 427-1364
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The Band to Come to London’s West End
West End TheatrelandNewsTake That, The Band, Theatre Royal HaymarketLeave a comment
The hit musical The Band will be coming to London’s West End for a holiday run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket for the months of December and January. This fun, uplifting performance tells the story of a boy band trying to make it in the music industry and features songs by British pop band Take That. Written by Tim Firth, author of The Girls, and presented by David Pugh and Dafydd Rogers, this musical debuted last September at the Manchester Opera House and has taken the United Kingdom by storm.
This production of The Band will star members of British Sensation pop group Five for Five, who recently won the BBC’s Let it Shine competition. This is sure to make for a fantastic performance, as members AJ Bentley, Nick Carsberg, Curtis T Johns, Sario Soloman, and Yazdan Qafouri sing and dance their way to the hearts of the audience. They’ll be joined on the stage by Alison Fitzjohn, Emily Joyce, Rachel Lumberg, and Jayne McKenna, who play the girls that are trying to reunite with the band members they adore so much.
Directed by Kim Gavin and Jack Ryder, The Band is a run, light-hearted romp through the life of passionate heartthrob musicians. The performance has been well-received in its early run and promises to bring a strong performance to the West End as it takes over the historic Theatre Royal Haymarket. With Five to Five performing the classics by Take That, this will please both old and new fans alike.
Book your tickets here: www.londontheatredirect.com
https://www.dwin2.com/pub.528261.min.js
The Hero – A West End & Hollywood tribute
Don Quixote – Review
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By Emily Runyon, Senior Account Executive
Boxers with Parkinson’s Hit Back Hard
People bring all kinds of stuff to the gym when they work out — water bottles, headphones, yoga mats.
The boxers at the Rock Steady Boxing class for those with Parkinson’s are notable for what they don’t bring: their canes. Many of them have made such great progress, they can walk into the gym without them.
Since April is Parkinson’s Awareness Month, I talked to Tammy Smith, a volunteer and co-founder of the Rock Steady Harrisburg Boxing program, held at the West Shore Academy of Martial Arts (WSAMA), right around the corner from the Varsity offices. The program is one of 775 affiliates in the national Rock Steady program, a revolutionary boxing training designed especially for people with Parkinson’s.
The program is driven by a team of volunteers and certified Rock Steady Boxing coaches, including the owner of WSAMA, who are passionate about helping to improve the lives of those living with Parkinson’s disease.
The coaches are proud that many boxers in the early stages of Parkinson’s have improved their balance so much through the program that they are able to walk in without the use of a cane. And, unlike many people who sign up for a gym membership and quit a few weeks later, these boxers have nearly perfect attendance. “They don’t miss a class unless they have a serious reason,” said Smith. “They are literally fighting for their lives.”
She goes on to describe the Rock Steady training. “Boxers do a lot of vocal exercises — the coach has them yell out — which combats the issue of their voices tending to get slow and soft. They do a lot of floor exercises, and they also practice falling. If you have Parkinson’s, you have to be comfortable going to the floor because of balance issues. Our coaches teach them how to fall properly and how to get off the floor if they’ve fallen, as well as how to get off a chair — things that you and I may take for granted.”
The program opened its doors in October 2018, and the results have been phenomenal. “We’ve had a tremendous response,” Smith said. In a few short months, boxers’ accomplishments have included decreasing some of their medications, reducing tremors — especially during certain times of the day — and improving coordination and reaction time. “One boxer was thrilled that he can now put his foot on a chair and tie his shoe,” Smith said.
Then, there are the emotional wins. “The coaches are reporting that people who are close to the boxers have noticed a lot of changes in mood and attitude,” said Smith. “They are no longer embarrassed about their symptoms, which used to make them withdraw. In the class they all have similar symptoms, so they can really be themselves and laugh and let loose. Rock Steady brings them together, motivates them and helps with energy and mobility — it’s a win-win,” she said.
“There’s no cure for Parkinson’s,” she went on. “Rock Steady Boxing can improve quality of life and, in some cases, delay the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. I think people are starting to understand that if you want to fight back against it, this is what you have to do.”
The reason Smith pursued Rock Steady Boxing was her father, who has had Parkinson’s disease for over two decades. “For years, we struggled with any sort of resources for Parkinson’s disease in the area,” Smith said. “It was a huge goal of mine to get Rock Steady Boxing up and going, so I traveled to Indianapolis to become a certified coach and bring home the Rock Steady Harrisburg affiliation.”
Chief and Master Instructor Vince Vergara of the West Shore Academy of Martial Arts and one of his coaches, Allyson Halbach, heard through the grapevine that Smith was already certified and held an affiliation and was looking to sponsor a program for her business— so, the two parties came together.
They began with classes for people in the early stages of Parkinson’s and now have opened classes for people with more advanced symptoms. The program is growing rapidly, partly from physician referrals. Class fees are low and go right back into the program. “Anyone that is thinking about taking a class is welcome to come and observe,” Smith said.
Smith is also involved with the Parkinson’s Foundation, speaks about the benefits of Rock Steady and organizes Parkinson’s-related resources and fundraising events in the area, one of which is the 2nd Annual Knockout PD 5K. She invites everyone to come out to the event on Saturday, April 13, at Masonic Village in Elizabethtown. Learn more about the race here.
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A Robot Moves Into a Senior Community: the Caregiver Perspective
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Wandering through Time and Place
Exploring the world with Curtis and Peggy Mekemson
Chapter from The Bush Devil Ate Sam
Five Reasons to Travel
The Revolution of the 60s and the Occupy Wall Street Movement
Posted at 1:54 pm by Curt Mekemson
“If you can remember the 60s, you weren’t there.”
“We have to be careful not to allow this (the Occupy Wall Street movement) to get legitimacy. I am taking this seriously in that I am old enough to remember what happened in the 1960s…”
Peter King, Congressional Chair of the Homeland Security Committee
“Don’t trust anyone over 30.”
Jerry Weinberg during Berkeley’s Free Speech Moment in 1965
The forgotten 60s of Robin Williams is a legacy of the hippie era. Tune in and drop out became the rallying cry. Flower children flocked to San Francisco, Timothy Leary became the high priest of LSD and the Grateful Dead emerged out of the Bay Area. Ken Kesey, Neal Cassidy and the Merry Pranksters hopped on their psychedelic bus and toured America. “It is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius,” the Fifth Dimension sang and some 500,000 people trekked to Woodstock to see if it were true.
I skipped the drug-induced haze of the hippies, for the most part. I assume Peter King did as well. Our similarities end there. While he worked his way through private colleges in the East, became a lawyer and joined the National Guard, I went to UC Berkeley, majored in International Relations and joined the Peace Corps.
The challenge to become involved was what captured my passion in the 60s. “If you are not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem,” Pogo asserted.
John Kennedy kicked off the decade with his “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” Later, his perspective was broadened by Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream,” Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring,” and Betty Friedan’s “The Feminine Mystique” as well as others.
Like tens of thousands of young people across America, I felt that the times were changing, that we could make a difference, that there were solutions to international relations beyond endless war, that America could live up to her dreams of equality, that we could reverse and repair the damage we were doing to our earth, and that there were motivations to action beyond greed.
In other words, what was happening then with the civil rights, human rights, environmental and anti-war movements of the 60s, bears a strong resemblance to what is happening with today’s Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Then, like now, a massive, nation-wide grass-roots movement was founded on the concept of creating positive change, young people played a major role, and the establishment fought back. Those with wealth and power saw us as a direct threat to their ability to gain more wealth and power.
We were labeled as leftists, radicals and communists even though the vast majority of us were not. We were told we were anti-American bent on destroying the nation. And the police and the National Guard were called out to ‘restore order.’
Thus it is when the Peter King’s of the world describe participants of the Occupy Wall Street movement as “anarchists” who are “a bunch of 1960 do overs trying to create chaos” and that “ they have no sense of purpose other than a basic anti-American tone,” I feel compelled to respond.
What happened in the 60’s is relevant to what is happening today.
But the relevance lies in the vision of creating a better nation, not in Peter King’s McCarthy like posturing. I am proud of what we able to accomplish in the 60s. I am proud of how so many young people of the 60s and 70s would go on to create positive change throughout their lives. And I am proud of the folks who are now participating in the Occupy Wall Street Movement.
Over the next two weeks I will revisit the early to mid-60s and reflect on how these years impacted my life and thousands of others who shared my experiences. And I will strive to make those experiences relevant to today.
I will start with how a small community college in the Sierra foothills changed my world-view and then move on to look at UC Berkeley in 1963. Next I will provide an inside look at Berkeley’s Free Speech Movement in 1964 and give an overview of the nation’s first major anti-Vietnam War protest at Berkeley in 1965. I will conclude with my thoughts on how the Berkeley experience reflected and influenced what was happening in the nation.
Author: Curt Mekemson
Wanderer, writer, photographer and activist. I've now settled in Southern Oregon. 1.8 million acres of national forest are out the backdoor and the beautiful Applegate River is out the front door. I like travel, reading, history and wild places. I am married to the lovely, funny, bright Peggy.
Posted in Memoirs | Tagged first anti-Vietnam War protest, Free Speech Movement, hippie era, hippies, Merry Pranksters, Occupy Wall Street, Peter King, the 6os, Timothy Leary, UC Berkeley, Woodstock |
Bush Devil Ate Sam
The Bush Devil Ate Sam is an important record and a serious story, yet told easily, and with delightful humor. This is one of the most satisfying books I have ever read, because it entertained me thoroughly AND made me feel better informed. —Hilary Custance Green: British Author... Click on the image to learn more about my book, the Bush Devil Ate Sam, and find out where it can be ordered.
Special Thanks to Word Press for featuring my blog and to my readers and followers. You are all appreciated.
When Large Furry Animals with Long Claws and Sharp Teeth Come to Visit
Playing Hooky and Enjoying a Winter Wonderland
Hawthorne, Nevada: A Small Town with Explosive Potential… Big Time
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who won /
Who Won the First Melbourne Cup
07 Nov, 2013 who won
The Melbourne Cup is the most famous thoroughbred horse race in Australia. It is often called “the race that stops the nation” and parties are held to celebrate the race across the whole country. It is a 3,200 meter (almost 3500 yards or 2 miles) handicap race, which means that each horse carries a specified weight with the intent of equalizing the field. The total prize pool in 2013 was almost $6.2 million, which makes it the richest “two mile” handicapped race in the world. The race is open to horses over four years of age and there are a number of ways that a horse can qualify for the race. The race is held at the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria and is attended by more than 100,000 spectators. The first Melbourne Cup was held back in 1861, although the first trophy for the race wasn’t awarded until 1865. Let’s find out which horse was the first to win this prestigious race.
Who won the first Melbourne Cup?
The first winner of the Melbourne Cup was the horse Archer (pictured), who was ridden by jockey John Cutts and owned and trained by Etienne de Mestre. The first race, with 17 starters, was very eventful and three of the horses fell during the race (two of these died), one horse bolted off the track and two jockeys broke bones. Archer passed the favorite, Mormon, at the final turn and went on to win easily by six lengths. This was an astonishing win because Archer had been injured during training a few days before the race. Etienne de Mestre won 710 gold sovereigns and a hand beaten gold watch as a trophy. Archer’s time of 3:52.0 remains the slowest winning time in the race.
The next year Archer won the Melbourne Cup for the second time and remains one of only four horses to win successive cups! He was again ridden by jockey John Cutts and trained by Etienne de Mestre.
The Melbourne Cup is open to Australian and international horses, but international horses must undergo a special 14 day quarantine to be approved entry into Australia.
De Mestre went on to train 3 more Melbourne Cup winners (Tim Whiffler in 1867, Chester in 1877 and Calamia in 1878).
After racing Archer was retired and was offered to breeders for a stud fee of 10 guineas (a very high price at the time). However, none of his offspring reached the heights of their father! He died at the age of 16 in December 1872 when he ate too much green barley and died from inflammation of the lungs. His jockey, John Cutts, had died just three months earlier!
Which was the Last Horse to Win the Triple Crown
What are Horseshoes Made out of
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Disaster at Queenston Heights
An ambitious plan to invade Canada and bring it into the American fold floundered on the steep slopes above the Niagara River.
Categories: Military History
By Chuck Lyons
In June 1812, the United States, provoked by arrogant British actions on the high seas and its support of hostile Indians in the Northwest Territories, declared war on Great Britain and immediately began planning an invasion of British-held Canada. Four months later, a confused force of some 1,600 U.S. regulars and militia rowed across the Niagara River, landed in Upper Canada, and occupied the 230-foot-high Queenston Heights, setting the stage for what would rapidly become a comedy—or tragedy—of errors.
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Congressional war hawks had long believed that English forces were vulnerable in Canada. Because of the ongoing European war with Napoleon, only a handful of British regulars was available to protect the vast North American possession. In addition, the Canadian provinces were sparsely settled, with a population of only about 500,000 white residents as opposed to the six million people in the United States. Many of the Canadians were located in the Quebec and Montreal areas and were of French descent, with questionable loyalty to the British crown. Others, equally questionable, had American origins. Even worse for the Crown, the Canadian forces that were available—British and Canadian regulars, local militia, and Indian allies—were spread over an 800-mile frontier stretching from Fort Malden, across from Detroit, all the way to Quebec. The straits of Mackinac and Lake Superior were another 300 miles to the west, further stretching the thin British line.
Hoping to strike hard and fast and quickly end the war, American leaders developed a plan for a three-pronged attack against British Canada. Brig. Gen. William Hull was to attack Fort Malden across the river from Detroit, while Maj. Gen. Henry Dearborn hit Kingston on Lake Ontario and Maj. Gen. Stephen Van Rensselaer took Queenston, on the strategic Niagara River north of the falls. An assault on Montreal in Lower Canada also was contemplated, but to attack would require the use of New England militia. The Constitution specified that state militias could only be used to execute U.S. laws, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions. Citing these provisions, the governors of both Massachusetts and Connecticut refused to allow their militias to take part in an invasion of Canada.
Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Isaac Brock, governor of Upper Canada (Ontario) and an experienced British officer, came to believe that an attack on Detroit and Mackinac was essential to secure the alliance of wavering Indians and local militiamen and anchor the frontier’s western end. Brock intended to rely on naval power on the Great Lakes to patrol the frontier between Fort Malden at Detroit and the Niagara River, where he would concentrate whatever forces were available against the main American attack that he believed would come there. “All other attacks will be subordinate or merely made to divert out attention,” he wrote to Lt. Gen. George Provost, commander in chief of all Canadian provinces. “A protracted resistance upon this Frontier will be sure to embarrass their plans materially.”
Defeat in Detroit
Hull, the governor of Michigan, arrived at Detroit on July 5 with a force of about 2,000 men. At the time, and unknown to Hull, only 100 men of the 41st Regiment, along with 300 militiamen and 150 Indians, defended Fort Malden. While Hull dithered and delayed at Detroit, worrying about his supply lines through Ohio and along the Lake Erie shore, he received news that the American base at Mackinac had fallen to the British on July 17. Meanwhile, Brock had been moving to strengthen the garrison at Fort Malden, sending 60 men ahead in late July and then going to the fort himself with 300 men in August. Once there, Brock met with the Shawnee chief Tecumseh and strengthened his ties with his Indian allies. By mid-August, Brock reported to Provost that he had 300 regulars, 600 militiamen, and about 600 Indians under his command at Fort Malden.
On August 15, Brock demanded Hull’s surrender of Detroit. Using rudimentary psychological warfare, Brock maintained to his counterpart that “you must be aware that the numerous bodies of Indians who attached themselves to my troops will be beyond control once the contest commences.” Brock also let fall into American hands a false document saying that he had 5,000 Indians under his command, leading Hull to believe that the British force opposing him was much larger (and more savage) than it actually was.
Hull at first rejected the surrender demand, and Brock’s land-based artillery, accompanied by the gunboats Queen Charlotte and General Hunter, began a bombardment of the city. Finally persuaded by Hill’s ruses and the subsequent bombardment that he was greatly outnumbered and fearing an Indian massacre of his men and the civilians huddling in the fort—including Hull’s own daughter and her two children—Hull surrendered on August 16. The surrender at Detroit was greeted with shock throughout the United States, and Hull was believed by many to have sold out his country. Two years later, he was court-martialed for his involvement in the fiasco at Detroit, tried for cowardice, and condemned to death. Because of Hull’s honorable service in the Revolutionary War, President James Madison remitted the penalty.
When news of his victory at Detroit reached London several weeks later, Brock was immediately knighted by a grateful King George III. Meanwhile, not resting on his laurels, Brock hurried back to the Niagara frontier to prepare for another American attack. The Niagara River was crossable below the falls from just north of Queenston to just south of Chippewa, a considerable stretch that had to be protected by Brock’s limited forces. He knew that his best chance to do so was to detect any attack quickly and move to meet it while keeping the full American force from crossing.
Van Rensselaer’s Grab-Bag Army
Brig. General William Hull
Brock had no way of knowing it, but the American commanders he faced at Niagara had spent most of their time arguing with one another. Van Rensselaer commanded a polyglot force comprising five regiments of New York militia that had been called into federal service in April and several companies of regulars—two from the 6th Infantry, a veteran regiment; two companies of the 13th Infantry; and three companies of the 23rd Infantry. A light artillery regiment provided another 40 men who would fight as infantry, while two companies of the 2nd Artillery, recruited in January, would man the batteries firing from the American shore.
The majority of his officers, like Van Rensselaer himself, were political appointees and were as new to warfare as the men they commanded. Van Rensselaer had never led troops in battle and had in fact opposed the war. At the time, he owned perhaps more land than any other man in the country and was a leader in forming public opinion in upstate New York. He also was considered a likely Federalist candidate to oppose New York Governor Daniel Tompkins for that office. Van Rensselaer managed to secure the services of his second cousin, Lt. Col. Solomon Van Rensselaer, the adjutant general of the state and an experienced military commander, as his aide-de-camp.
Meanwhile, Dearborn was forming his army for an attack directly north at Greenbush across the Hudson River from Albany, gathering raw recruits as they signed up in New England and the Middle Atlantic states and training them at Greenbush. It was a grab-bag army imbued with the republicanism of the new nation and troubled by many of the same problems that plagued Van Rensselaer’s force. Desertion was an ongoing evil, and captured deserters were made to run a gauntlet of their fellow soldiers armed with tree branches while a band played a mocking march. Afterward, the culprits were restored to good standing. Duels were frequent between officers and even enlisted men. Many of the army’s officers were elected by the men and, as a result, were on familiar terms with them, sometimes obsequiously so. One officer complained that his fellow officers were “too democratic in their intercourse.”
In September, Dearborn moved his force north to Plattsburgh on Lake Champlain, near the Canadian border, where he was joined by seven regiments of regular troops, all of which were understrength, and the entire Vermont militia. Few of his top officers, as with Van Rensselaer, were regulars, most having received political appointments. While Dearborn prepared to invade Canada and worried about the 5,000 Canadian militiamen and volunteers gathering to oppose him, Van Rensselaer unexpectedly acted with decisiveness, if not indeed rashness.
Feeling public pressure to attack Canada and erase the disgraceful surrender at Detroit, Van Rensselaer set October 11 as the date for the Canadian invasion and moved on the Niagara River leading a force of 6,000 regulars, volunteers and militia, as well as another smaller force under the command of Brig. Gen. Alexander Smyth, inspector general of the regular army. Van Rensselaer feared that he would not be able to hold his volunteer and militia forces in place once cold weather hit; he wanted to press them into action as soon as possible. If the British barracks at Fort George, near the mouth of the Niagara River, could be captured, Van Rensselaer believed it would provide more comfortable winter billets and help keep the militia in the field.
Problems arose almost immediately. Smyth, a regular army officer, was openly contemptuous of Van Rensselaer. He refused to report to him or attend councils called by the general, and likewise he refused to obey Van Rensselaer’s orders. Rather than deploy his men as ordered near Lewiston, across the river from Queenston, Smyth instead placed his 1,650 men near Buffalo. He then wrote to Van Rensselaer that “the conclusions I have drawn as to the interests of the service have determined me to stop at this place” and went on to advise Van Rensselaer, his commanding officer, where the attack on Canada should take place.
Van Rensselaer had planned for Smyth to attack Fort George from the rear while the main force attacked the high bluffs of Queenston Heights. Rather than delay the attack, Van Rensselaer altered his plans to proceed without Smyth. Almost immediately, something went wrong. As the American army formed on the east shore of the river on the morning of October 11 preparatory to the attack, one of the lead boatmen, either from treachery or simple error, rowed away on the boat containing all the oars needed for the other 13 boats to cross the river, thus making the crossing impossible. The militia troops, grumbling, returned to camp.
Brock, who had hurried back from Detroit with 1,900 men under arms—British regulars, militia, and Indians—hoped to cross the river himself. He planned to attack the Americans and seize a large hunk of New York State, a plan that had been vetoed by the more cautious Provost, who in fact had negotiated an armistice during the summer that allowed both sides to use the Niagara River. By the time the armistice ended on September 1, Van Rensselaer’s troops were considerably better supplied than they would have been had the armistice not been arranged, a fact that understandably angered Brock.
The Battle of Queenston Heights
The meeting of General Isaac Brock (1769-1812) and Tecumseh (1768-1813), 14 August 1812: line drawing by C.W.Jefferys.
Having gotten wind of the halting American preparations, Brock expected the American attack to come on the night October 12-13 and hit his headquarters at Fort George. In anticipation of such an attack, he had stationed 1,000 crack British troops there and waited for the Americans to strike.
The American river crossing was planned for a place where the river was about 250 yards wide and the boats to be used were to carry 20 men each. It was determined that 30 such boats were needed for the crossing, but on October 13 only 12 were available to ferry the planned 4,000-man invasion force. It was clear that the men would have to be taken across in shifts, the boats delivering one contingent and coming back to get another. In addition, the boats were too small to carry any of the Americans’ artillery. Before sunrise, 200 American troops led by Solomon Van Rensselaer crossed the river in a rainstorm and were landing on the Canadian side when a British sentry discovered them and gave the alarm. Men of the British 49th Regiment and militiamen from York and Lincoln counties began contesting the landing, and Brock’s artillery, under Captain James Dennis, opened up on the boats ferrying the men across the river.
Awakened at 4 am by sounds of firing seven miles upriver from Fort George, Brock hurried toward Queenston unsure if he was hearing the main American attack or merely a feint that would be followed by an attack against the fort. Along the way he passed captured American troops being herded to Fort George under guard. “The road was lined with miserable wretches,” wrote one of his subordinate officers, “suffering under wounds of all descriptions, and crawling to out houses for protection and comfort.”
As soon as his boat had scraped the Canadian shore, Colonel Van Rensselaer had jumped out and almost immediately was hit by a musket ball. He continued to rally his men and was hit five more times, knocking him out of action. Meanwhile, a boat containing Lt. Col. John Chrystie, the next senior officer under Van Rensselaer, had become disoriented during the crossing, perhaps when the boat crew panicked, and drifted out of the action. Chrystie eventually made it to the Canadian side of the river, but only after a foothold had been established. Van Rensselaer and other officers later blamed him for the American defeat and accused him of cowardice in the face of the enemy.
Van Rensselaer’s wounds and Chrystie’s absence left 25-year-old Captain John E. Wool in charge on the beach, and he was able to break the British resistance to the landing and secure a beachhead. Wool then turned his attention to a British 18-pounder firing on the Americans still crossing the river. The 18-pounder was in a redan on the 230-foot-high Queenston Heights. Wool led his men up the heights by means of a steep fisherman’s path that the British, believing impassable, had left unguarded. The Americans advanced laboriously, often pulling themselves along by grasping rocks and bushes. Brock himself had also arrived at the redan and, unaware that the Americans were behind and above him, had begun correcting the fire of the 18-pounder
British Counter-Attacks
When the Americans attacked, Brock was driven back from the gun along with the gun’s defenders, who were able to quickly spike the gun as they retreated. Brock then rallied the defenders and launched an attack to recapture the position, but it was repulsed by the Americans after a tough fight. Brock was wounded in the hand but nonetheless continued rallying his men for another attack when he was hit by a musket ball in the chest and killed instantly. Brock’s aide, Lt. Col. John Macdonell, a lawyer and politician, took over command and led another charge against Wool’s position. According to legend, he was riding “Alfred,” Brock’s horse, during the attack.
Following Brock’s death, there was a lull in the fighting, and by 2 pm, several hundred Americans were on the Canadian side of the river. By this time, Lt. Col. Winfield Scott, who like Wool was later to gain fame in the Mexican War, had taken over command of the Americans. Scott had been among Smyth’s men at Buffalo when he learned of the impending attack. Without seeking Smyth’s permission, Scott had broken camp and led his regiment through a stormy night to join Van Rensselaer. Brig. Gen. William Wadsworth of New York, a large landowner and politically appointed officer, had happily handed over command to Scott.
A devestating battle on the shores of Niagara falls.
Before he was killed, Brock had ordered Maj. Gen. Roger Sheaffe, who commanded the garrison at Fort George, to hasten from the fort with all available men. By this time, Sheaffe was approaching with about 1,000 men and a party of allied Indians. Van Rensselaer, meanwhile, was trying to rally his troops and get as many Americans as possible across the river. The militia troops, however, seeing the nature of the fighting across the river and the wounded being carried back across, refused outright to attack, claiming that they had signed on to fight only in New York State. The Constitution, they argued, proscribed their service outside the United States without their permission. Smyth, likewise, remained at Buffalo with the bulk of the regular troops and took no part in the action. “I found that at the very moment when complete victory was in our hands,” Van Rensselaer later wrote, “the ardor of the unengaged troops had entirely subsided. All I could do was send a fresh supply of cartridges.” The American troops already on the Canadian side of the river were on their own.
Scott, an experienced officer with the 2nd Artillery, was working with a group of about 350 men trying to repair the captured 18-pounder when, at 4 pm, the group was attacked by Sheaffe and his reinforcements. Sheaffe, a loyal British subject who had been born in Boston, had followed Brock’s orders, gathering British regulars, some companies of Canadian militia, field artillery, and a number of Mohawk Indians, all of whom were anxious to avenge Brock’s death. He had led the force on a flanking march up the escarpment and hit the Americans unexpectedly from the inland side. The Indians led the attack, their screams unnerving the raw Americans, many of whom slipped away to hide in the rocks and woods. British regulars and Canadian militia followed the Indians into the fight, firing a heavy volley and then attacking with bayonets at the ready.
What American resistance there was quickly evaporated, and the survivors ran down the heights to join about 250 men on the beach. Getting word of Sheaffe’s approach, Van Rensselaer had ordered the boats to return to Canadian soil to rescue the troops on the west side of the river, but his boatmen refused to do even that.
Wadsworth, realizing he was in a hopeless position, sent Sheaffe a white flag, but the bearer was cut down by the Indians and was unable to make it to Sheaffe. Scott, meanwhile, worried (with good reason) that the Indians would massacre his men, forced his way into the village with a white flag attached to his sword and surrendered. The Indians might have killed him, too, had not two Canadian officers intervened. After surrendering his sword, Scott was shocked to see a large number of American militiamen come out of hiding and surrender as well. The Americans had suffered 100 dead, 300 wounded, and another 925 men captured, including Scott, Wadsworth, four other lieutenant colonels, and 67 other officers. Most of the American militiamen were released to go home after giving their word that they would not rejoin the war until they had been exchanged. The captured regulars and officers were marched off to Quebec. British casualties were 14 dead and 77 wounded, including General Brock.
A Third Failed Invasion
Van Rensselaer resigned following the attack, but only after ordering the American troops to fire a salute in honor of Brock when the general was buried three days later at Fort George. (Today, a 150-foot monument stands in Queenston Heights Park in memory of the general.) His aide, Colonel Macdonell, is buried next to the general. A smaller monument, a bronze statue in a glass case, stands in the village near the cairn marking the place where Brock fell; it commemorates “Alfred,” Brock’s horse, which both officers had ridden to their deaths.
Scott was exchanged the following January, made a full colonel in March, and was promoted to brigadier general a year later. He received the brevet rank of major general the following July. On July 5, 1814, his men, dressed in drab gray homespun uniforms, defeated British forces on the Chippewa River near the mouth of the Niagara River in Ontario. (Today’s West Point cadets wear gray uniforms in memory of that victory.) After the war, Scott fought against the Indians in Florida and the West, took part in the Mexican War, and in 1841 was named commander of the United States Army, a post he held for the next 20 years.
The United States had suffered humiliating defeats at Detroit and at Queenston. Van Rensselaer had resigned. The British had lost Brock—a fine officer—but had secured their Canadian frontier from Mackinac to Niagara. On November 20, following the defeat at Niagara, Dearborn moved his advance guard, commanded by Major Zebulon Pike, across the border into Canada, where some of the regulars mistakenly got into a firefight with members of the New York militia. Shortly after that error had been cleared up, the British attacked with Canadian volunteers and about 300 Mohawk Indians. The ensuing fight was indecisive, but it convinced Dearborn to pull back from the border.
By then, Van Rensselaer had been replaced by Smyth, who wrote to Secretary of War William Eustis: “Give me here a clear stage, men and money, and I will retrieve your affairs or perish.” Refusing to give up the plan of a three-pronged attack, Smyth proposed that his force, called the Army of the Center, join Dearborn and General William Henry Harrison’s army in the west to strike Canada at the same time. Such an attack would have presented severe problems for Provost and the thin line of British defenders. Fortunately for them, the Americans were unable to coordinate Smyth’s proposal, and the general launched a separate attack on Canada on November 28, this time from above the falls.
Smyth believed that Van Rensselaer had made a major error in not having enough boats available to take his full force across the river at one time. Besides dividing his force, Smyth believed it gave the raw militiamen on the American side too much time to think about what they were getting into by entering the boats. Consequently, he made sure to have sufficient boats on hand to carry his full force of 4,000 across the river at once. He would never need them.
Full force charges were led in row boats across the river.
Smyth issued a proclamation declaring to his men that the Canadian people were not the enemy. They would soon be American citizens, he said, anticipating an annexation of Canada. The enemy was the British. On November 28, two parties of 200 men each, whose job it was to clear the way for the main army, crossed the river before daylight. They captured and spiked two batteries and damaged but did not destroy a bridge on the road from Chippewa down which any British reinforcements would come. In the action, the two sides came out evenly, with both suffering about 100 casualties and prisoners. If the main American army had continued to move quickly, it might have stood a good chance of success. Smyth delayed, however, demanding the surrender of Fort Erie across from Buffalo. The British refused his demand and were able to take advantage of the delay to recover the captured batteries and repair the Chippewa bridge.
Smyth put off the main invasion several times and, beset as Van Rensselaer had been by widespread sickness in camp and by the continuing reluctance of the militia to fight on Canadian soil, abandoned the plan altogether. Smyth left the army, returned to his native Virginia, and was elected a congressman. Despite his failure at Niagara, Van Rensselaer’s popularity remained high. He was nominated to run against Tompkins for New York governor, a campaign he lost before going on to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The Niagara fiasco had shown that a large part of the American population was not in sympathy with the war—at least not with annexing Canada. Niagara also showed that the United States needed a more professional regular army, properly commanded and disciplined, to contest with the British and regular officers. Militia were not to be depended upon in combat, and inexperienced, politically appointed generals were simply not up to the task.
The war itself ground on for two more years. Harrison defeated a combined force of British and Indians in the west, and American troops burned York (the current Toronto) but were unable to take Montreal. America won naval victories in the Atlantic, on Lake Champlain, and on the Great Lakes, and the British attacked and burned Washington, D.C., in retaliation for the attack on York. Treaty negotiations began in 1813 and were settled with the Treaty of Ghent, signed in Belgium on December 24, 1814. General Andrew Jackson, unaware of the treaty, defeated a British force at New Orleans on January 8. The United States Senate ratified the treaty five weeks later.
The treaty did not secure America’s rights on the high seas—a particular bone in its craw—but the end of the Napoleonic wars assured that the British would no longer need to impress American seamen. Indian opposition to American expansion in the Northwest was ended. The nation emerged with a new sense of itself and, equally important, with an army that was more professional, better trained, and better led. It was the army the nation would take into Mexico 30 years later and the army that would provide the backbone for Union hopes in the Civil War 20 years after that. In a way, the United States—however painfully—had come of age on the slopes of Queenston Heights.
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Mohammad Mohamedou:: The 1970s Redux — In Politics and at the Movies
Dave Meyer - June 6, 2006
The parallel between Richard Nixon’s and George W. Bush’s second mandates has been noted before (failing war, divided society, calls for investigations) but an interesting dimension playing out is how popular culture is echoing the mood from that period. Hollywood, of course, never fails to join the political bandwagon during wartime. This time around, it has done so in a rather unimaginative manner, essentially reflexively replaying its 1970s output – and not necessarily picking the better releases from that era.
Since 2002, we have essentially witnessed the dominant proliferation of three types of movies, respectively concerned with fear, catastrophe, and militarism — underscored by a loose flying paranoia (“Red Eye”, “Flightplan”, “Snakes on a Plane”). Remakes have included “The Exorcist” (re-released twice, provided with two prequels, and remade into “The Exorcism of Emily Rose”), “The Omen” (now “Damien”, out tomorrow), “The Amityville Horror”, “The Poseidon Adventure” (“Poseidon”), “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, and “King Kong”. The horror genre has been particularly prolific with a full playing out of the Japanese trend (“The Ring”, “Dark Water”, “The Eye”, “The Grudge”) to primal, childhood fears of the unknown (“The Skeleton Key”, “Creep”, “Alone in the Dark”, “Hide and Seek”, “Darkness”, “The Forgotten”, and “The Dark” inspired by 1973’s “Don’t Look Now”) to more sadistic productions (“The Devil’s Rejects”, “Saw”, “Saw II”, “Hostel”).
With “Munich”, Steven Spielberg reflected on current ‘global war on terror’ dilemmas by examining a 1972 case of transnational terrorism that had similarly triggered (secret) extraterritorial retaliation over several years. Next is Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center”. Will it be the decade’s “Apocalypse Now”? Doubtful.
In other words, the soft militarization of an increasingly fearful, violence-numbed American society can be seen as the byproduct of the September 11 trauma and an open-ended warrior zeitgeist. On a positive side, the country began its reemergence from the decade of nightmares with Richard Donner’s 1978 “Superman”. Aptly timed, the new version of that one, “Superman Returns”, comes out later this month.
Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou is Associate Director of the Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research at Harvard University.
Bruce Schneier: Data Mining and Terrorism
John Stuart Blackton: A Lesson from Haditha
One comment on “Mohammad Mohamedou:: The 1970s Redux — In Politics and at the Movies”
Hydrocodone says: August 27, 2006 at 3:05 pm
Welcome to Great Blog here!
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Unisys hit by declines in services, technology sales
Company's technology and services business arms also suffered from sales drop
By Matthew Weigelt
Unisys Corp. continued to tighten its operations to deflect a 13 percent third-quarter decline in revenue from lower technology and project-based services sales, the company said today.
The quarter's revenue declined from $1.11 billion in the third quarter of 2009 to $961 million during the same period in 2010. The company attributed two of those percentage points to divested businesses.
Overall, Unisys had $28.3 million in net income in the third quarter, compared to $61.1 million net income in the same period in 2009. It also earned $21.8 million in overall income from continuing operations, compared to $52.4 million in 2009, according to its quarterly financial report.
“We made further progress on many fronts in the quarter as we continue to reshape the Unisys business model,” said Ed Coleman, Unisys chairman and CEO.
The company's various business arms also suffered from lower sales.
Unisys’ services segment declined 10 percent compared to last year. Revenue fell from $952.8 million in the third quarter of 2009 to $855.2 million in 2010. Services orders showed double-digit declines from last year, which included a significant business process outsourcing contract renewal, the company said.
The technology segment’s revenue fell 31 percent from the third quarter of 2009. Revenue declined from $153.6 million in 2009 to $105.4 million this year, driven by lower sales of Unisys’ ClearPath servers.
“After three straight quarters of strong growth, sales of our ClearPath servers declined, impacting our net income comparisons against a strong third quarter a year ago,” Coleman said.
Unisys recently introduced new models of ClearPath servers and new secure partitioning virtualization technology. The new models allow users to improve the efficiency of their data center environments.
Coleman said Unisys is offering more technology and solutions, such as the new ClearPath servers, to push for profitable growth.
“Our more competitive portfolio positions us to capitalize on emerging growth markets in our areas of strength,” he said.
Unisys, of Blue Bell, Pa., ranks No. 38 on Washington Technology's 2010 Top 100 list of the largest federal government contractors.
Matthew Weigelt is a freelance journalist who writes about acquisition and procurement.
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Mariah Carey Details Her Breakdown and the 'Debacle That Was Glitter' in New Memoir
Johnny Lopez
Mariah Carey is ready to set the record straight in her new memoir.
The pop diva is currently in the midst of writing her autobiography, which will detail the ups and downs of her personal and professional life, according to Variety.
One topic that she isn’t shying away from is her reported breakdown for which she was hospitalized for “extreme exhaustion” in 2001.
Mariah Carey says that she had "a whole supposed breakdown, alleged" and shares that her therapist told her: “You didn’t have a breakdown; you had a diva fit and people couldn’t handle it” https://t.co/lDrquGlWx6
— Variety (@Variety) October 8, 2019
“I had a whole supposed breakdown, alleged,” the 50-year-old told the industry publication. “All of this to be revealed in the book, by the way, which I’m obsessed with writing right now. It’s so cathartic.”
And while she doesn’t deny having suffered a traumatic episode, the GRAMMY winner refutes it had anything to do with her mental health.
“It was an emotional and physical breakdown, but it wasn’t a nervous breakdown, because you don’t recover from that really,” she added. “And even my therapist was like, ‘You didn’t have a breakdown; you had a diva fit and people couldn’t handle it.’” Mimi may have just made “diva fit” a thing!
The “Vision of Love” singer will also delve into one of the lowest points of her career, the release of her 2001 movie Glitter and its soundtrack.
Proud to be in the company of such powerful, talented and beautiful women. Thank you @variety! And Thank you for acknowledging @thefreshairfund #campmariah ---- @chakaikhan #jenniferaniston @brielarson @danawal @awkwafina
A post shared by Mariah Carey (@mariahcarey) on Oct 8, 2019 at 6:12am PDT
The fact that both projects bombed critically and financially was problematic for Carey following a decade of success and on the heels of failed relationships with both ex-husband Tommy Mottola, and later on Latin singer Luis Miguel.
“I would say the 'Butterfly' album obviously is a huge turning point; thus, the name and the whole thing,” Carey continued. “And then fast forward, after the debacle that was 'Glitter,' which everybody can read about in the book, because it’s a real moment we’re getting into.”
While 'Glitter' was Carey’s least successful album at the time, debuting at #7 on the charts, 17 years later a viral campaign, entitled #JusticeForGlitter, helped propel it to the top of the charts in 2018.
“That was a huge achievement for [my fans] the Lambs, who by the way named themselves,” she revealed. “I did not name my fans, and I think it’s insulting that other people have named their fans.” Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Rihanna are shook!
While Carey has yet to finish the unnamed memoir, she promises it will be out by “... 2020 for sure, but not early 2020.”
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Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention 2019: September 12 – 14, 2019
July 21, 2019 • Posted under: Comic Cons by Martin Grams
Tags: Angie Dickinson, Loni Anderson, MANC, Maud Adams, Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, Nancy Kwan, Richard Thomas, Tatum O’Neal
Once viewed as a disease, nostalgia is now considered to be an important resource. Revisiting cherished memories from drive-in experiences to classic television programs of the 1950s and 1960s provide feelings of social connectedness. That is why the staff of the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention (MANC) provides people the opportunity to meet their childhood heroes. For three days every year in September, Hollywood celebrities are flown into Maryland to meet and greet fans, answer questions, pose for photos and sign autographs. The celebrities at MANC, however, are not the same that attend those heavily-publicized Comic Cons. The convention itself is something altogether different.
Dawn Wells (GILLIGAN’S ISLAND) poses with a fan at the Nostalgia Con.
From the outset, an attendee would not consider the Nostalgia Con too much different from Comic Cons, science-fiction and horror conventions. But closer examination reveals a variation-on-a-theme. Instead of actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe or popular Netflix programs, the celebrity guests are more of appeal to a fan base over the age of 50. Over the past thirteen years, MANC has brought over 100 celebrities to Maryland including Patty Duke, Davy Jones, Shirley Jones, Robert Wagner, Stefanie Powers, Robert Conrad, Lee Majors, Robert Fuller, the cast of Lost in Space, Tony Dow (Leave it to Beaver), David Hedison (The Fly), Roy Thinnes (The Invaders) and many others. Celebrities are welcome to the convention based on the requests of attendees, it was explained by volunteer staff Terry Salomonson. WWE Wrestlers and Playboy Playmates are instantly rejected; the decision is not based on who is playing the starring lead in today’s hottest television program. “We have to maintain a standard at the Nostalgia Con,” he explained. “We have turned down celebrities who wanted to charge too much for an autograph. Convention policy is to never ask for a percentage of the autograph fees so we can ensure the pricing does not creep up into an uncomfortable number. We have the attendees to keep in mind.”
Modern technology is applied to ensure the volunteer staff of the nostalgia event are on the same page. “I recall reading unfavorable reviews on a website once where attendees were complaining about how they were fed conflicting information from multiple staff members,” Michelle explains. “We have a system in place so if there is a change in schedule or venue, everyone on the staff will be aware of the change within seconds.” During the weekend, it was explained, staff members oftentimes have to make a judgment call in their positions. The answer most paramount is often the simplest: whatever is best for the attendee.
Shirley Jones (THE PARTRIDGE FAMILY) poses with a fan at the Nostalgia Con.
If all of these bullet points gives pause to question the success of an unconventional business model, check this out: statistically attendance numbers are growing between 14 to 19 percent every year. Last year showed the smallest growth, 14 percent, but two major celebrities had to cancel due to professional and personal commitments (celebrity cancellations are not uncommon at conventions) and a hurricane roared up the coast to threaten attendance numbers. “To add, last year we missed a few opportunities due to a busy schedule and as a result, we conducted the least amount of publicity in the history of the convention,” recalls Martin Grams, events coordinator. “The fact our attendance still grew in size was a testament to the retention rate of returning attendees, along with word of mouth recommendations from fans. That is impressive.”
Thousands of people attend the convention annually from all over the globe; attendees fly in from Britain, Belgium, Finland, Germany, and Australia. “What I value most about MANC is the personal attention,” says Josh Michnik of Vancouver, Canada. “At comic cons, we are numbers and cattle. The convention promoters make it obvious that it is all about money. They herd you into a room to pose for a photo with the celebrity, you pose for five to ten seconds, hand you a number for your photo, and herd you out. At the nostalgia convention, we are treated like family and the celebrities take their time answering questions and sign autographs. There is a laid-back atmosphere here.”
Wes Shank displayed the silicone used for The Blob in the 1950s classic.
For many of the actors and actresses, there is no shortage of accolades from attendees. Kent McCord, co-star of television’s Adam-12, was a guest at the show a few years ago and was pleased to hear from many who were inspired to become police officers because of his portrayal on the weekly program. “There were so many fans who came from so far away that I stayed behind my table until nine in the evening to sign autographs,” recalled Robert Conrad (The Wild, Wild West). Davy Jones insisted on not charging for his autographs. Ron Ely, television’s Tarzan, spent the evening hanging out with fans while sharing drinks in the hotel bar. Mark Goddard paid a visit to the movie room to provide commentary during a screening of television’s Johnny Ringo, which he co-starred back in the late fifties. Patrick Duffy decided not to do his Q&A panel on the stage; instead choosing to stand off the stage to answer questions from fans in a more intimate setting.
Martine Beswick (Hammer horror star) and Caroline Munro (Bond girl)
sharing a vodka martini on a local newscast to promote the convention.
“Fans bring everything to be autographed from LP records, board games, lunch boxes, and original art,” explained Michelle Vinje, volunteer staff. “But all of the celebrities have glossy photographs for fans to choose for free when getting an autograph. Sometimes the collectibles are more appealing – especially when the actors stop to take a close look and admire their image on a product they never even knew was produced years prior. Patrick Duffy was amazed when he saw a Man from Atlantis collectible produced in Brazil that he never knew existed.”
Captain Chuck of Chuck’s Comics displays some of the goodies he sells at the show.
“Like hundreds of fans lining the red carpet during the Academy Awards, we fanboys flock to this same hotel every year in September determined to memorialize a celebrity moment,” adds Mark Gross, staff photographer. “The time-honored scrawl on a glossy photo, or vintage memorabilia, that we now consider the gold standard of that brush with greatness now warrants bragging rights to our friends.” The photo of oneself for posting on Facebook and social media has become so popular that it has added a new word to the lexicon – “selfie.” Yep, more bragging rights. “Almost since the beginning of the convention’s inception, I have been able to snap photography of fans admiring the tens of thousands of collectibles on vendor tables, fans interacting with celebrities, fans enjoying the slide show seminars upstairs. Those, to me, have become the keepsakes that exceed Hallmark excellence.”
Connie Stevens (HAWAIIAN EYE) signing autographs for fans.
“Among my fondest memories was bonding with Davy Jones (The Monkees) who consented to a filmed interview about his career,” Mark continued. “Afterwards, he asked me subtlety if I could please take him over to meet the great Patty Duke and introduce him to her. Turned out Davy Jones was a huge fan of hers and was just as nervous of meeting her as most of us. According to Davy Jones, that was how a gentleman meets someone of Patty Duke’s stature. An introduction from an associate. I walked him over to her and he acted like a giddy fanboy.”
In an era where Comic Cons (fan gatherings primarily focusing on comic books and superhero motion pictures) dominate social media, the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention focuses on days gone by where people can attend slide show seminars hosted by museum curators and historians, watch old movies in a large dark room and shop with the vendors who offer vintage toys and collectibles. “We have been blessed to have the Hunt Valley Delta Marriott in Maryland host our annual convention,” Michelle remarks. “There are very few venues in the state larger than this hotel. It is large enough to allow for more than 200 vendor booths.”
Stefanie Powers and Robert Wagner with staff photographer Mark Gross.
It remains difficult to compare the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention to comic cons across the country simply because the business model is different from other counterparts. Besides being non-profit to benefit children with treatable cancer, the attendees come first and foremost. “No one is referred to as a number,” explains Michelle Vinje. “When an attendee asks a question, whether they ask for directions to the nearest bathroom or what time a specific celebrity starts signing, we ask them what their name is and refer to them by name at least twice. And we never give directions; instead, we take them to what they are looking for.”
The evolution of fan gatherings is defined by the events schedule, explains Martin Grams, the events co-ordinator. “Over the years a number of conventions along the East Coast dropped seminars and movie screenings to favor autograph hunters,” he explained. “Over time, many of those events simply evolved into an autograph venue. At the Nostalgia Con, we insist on screening rare movies and presenting slide show seminars through the weekend – often hosted by museum curators, authors, and historians – so our event will always maintain the convention aspect. We even have a 52-page program guide in full color, like a magazine, provided free to attendees. We will have celebrities signing autographs and vendors selling vintage toys and collectibles, but never will we diminish what the convention represents… a throwback to when conventions were about thousands of fans gathering together to share a common interest.”
Vintage collectibles for sale at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention.
“Fourteen years have made us realize how vital it is to continue the tradition of bringing people together who share a common interest,” adds Michelle. “This is the weekend when we learn what has been happening in the hobby during the past year, examine vintage treasures on the vendor tables, meet our heroes and icons who flew in from California to sign autographs, and hang out for lunch and dinner with friends we see once a year.”
“We have a lot of young people attending who admit that black and white movies are cool, they try out for old-time radio re-enactments on stage and proudly pose for the camera to show off their celebrity meet and greet on Facebook and Instagram,” adds Martin. “The majority of our attendance may not be youngsters in superhero pajamas and costumes, but we do not discourage cosplay. If anything, I would describe our attendance as more appreciative of retro pop culture because they attend seminars to learn something new about something old. They go home not just with collectibles to proudly display in their homes, but with experiences they will treasure for years.”
A Batmobile replica was on display one year at the Nostalgia Con.
Every weekend contains a number of memories for the attendees. Whether it be a slide show seminar offering recent historical finds that change the way we thought about a particular television program or Hollywood icon, or the screening of a recently-preserved motion-picture found in a film archive, attendees have much to return home with. “A few years ago Lee Majors, Lindsay Wagner, and Richard Anderson from The Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman attended the convention,” recalled Mark Gross. “As Lindsay pointed out on stage at the beginning of the question and answer panel, this was the third time all three of them had been together for the same convention since the programs went off the air in 1978. That was history in the making; there can be no doubt that I snapped tons of photos from that event.”
In the grand scheme of things, fourteen years is not such a long time. But the world changed since the first Nostalgia Con in 2005. By the fourth year, the size of the attendance outgrew the four walls of the hotel in Aberdeen, giving cause to move to the present-day Hunt Valley location. “Success is relative,” says Martin, “but in my view success is based on the size of the attendance. If the attendance continues to grow in size every year, we did our job. And we must be doing something right because our attendance continues to grow every year.”
This year’s event will be held September 12 to 14, 2019 at the Hunt Valley Delta Marriott, in Maryland just north of Baltimore. Celebrity guests include Angie Dickinson, Richard Thomas, Maud Adams, Nancy Kwan, Loni Anderson, Tatum O’Neal, and many others. For more information, visit www.MidAtlanticNostalgiaConvention.com
Martin Grams Jr. is a Contributing Editor of Second Union: Pop Culture News and Entertainment. Radio host, convention organizer and author of more than 20 books about old time radio and retro television.
Sideshow Collectibles presents Online Comic-Con
In celebration of pop-culture’s mecca of nerdom that is San Diego Comic-Con, Sideshow Collectibles presents Online Comic-Con from …
Panels at Great American Comic Con 2019!
Audio of panels at Great American Comic Con 2019 including Mark Bagley, David Michelinie, Kevin Van Hook and a lot more!
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The Constitutional Oak
By Florence Goodman, August, 2000
The story of this oak tree dates back to the early beginnings of the Connecticut Colony in 1639 when the original Constitution was adopted. Parts of the Constitution of the United States were modified from Connecticut’s original document.
In 1818, another Constitutional Convention was held to design a new constitution. This was favorably passed by the people of the state and declared by Governor Oliver Wolcott to be “Supreme law of the state.”
In October of 1901, a vote was taken to hold another convention to revise the existing constitution. Although the electors voted to hold the convention, they were concerned about the proposed changes. In 1902, they voted against any changes. In the same year, 168 pin oak trees were obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and presented to each of the delegates at the Constitutional Convention in Hartford. The purpose was that they were to be planted in their hometowns as memorials to the expected new state constitution. They were to be planted in public places and were to be known as “Constitutional Oaks.”
The Constitutional Oak in Wolcott was planted on Spindle Hill Road on the property that was then owned by Mr. Evelyn Upson, who was the delegate from Wolcott to the Constitutional Convention in 1902. Mr. Upson planted the pin oak seedling on his property so that he could maintain it while it was young. It was his intent to eventually transplant the tree to the town green. The transplanting never occurred and thus, the tree continues to grow after 98 years on the side of Spindle Hill Road across from the James Alcott homestead. When Mr. Upson died in 1918, the property was sold to the Peterson family. It was used as a dairy farm until the 1960’s. Today, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Current own the property.
The tree should not be confused with the Charter Oak, which is a totally different tree and another story in Connecticut history.
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End to basketball row?
BRITISH BASKETBALL has ended its power struggle with an international ban on English players looming that threaten the team's participation in the 2012 Olympics.
World's hottest basketball star to play for Britain
LUOL DENG (pictured), currently the world's hottest star in the NBA, has today been named for the first time in Britain's squad that is building up towards the 2012 Olympics.
British Basketball appoint Fast Track
FAST TRACK has been appointed by British Performance Basketball Ltd as their commercial and event partner, with a view to transforming the sport’s fortunes ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
MAY 9 - FAST TRACK has been appointed by British Performance Basketball Ltd as their commercial and event partner, with a view to transforming the sport’s fortunes ahead of the 2012 Olympics.
British Performance Basketball Ltd is a recently formed ‘Special Purpose Vehicle’ set up by UK Sport and Fast Track will assist the company in building a strong future for the sport.
The agency, founded by London 2012 vice-chairman Alan Pascoe, will conduct research into developing the attractiveness of British Basketball to commercial partners and the wider public, starting at the highest level of the GB team.
Fast Track and British Basketball will look to make the sport commercially attractive, stage world class international fixture and generate grass roots excitement for and participation in basketball.
Simon Tuckey, a director of British Performance Basketball Ltd, said: “The creation of British Performance Basketball Ltd was the first step in promoting our sport in the coming years and we are delighted to partner with Fast Track to assist in this crucial role.
"The sport of basketball has a huge opportunity to galvanise participants at all levels ahead of 2012 and improve standards across the board and we fully hope that working with Fast Track, we can achieve this.”
Jon Ridgeon, the managing director at Fast Track, said: “We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with British Performance Basketball on this project and look forward to delivering results.
"There is a huge potential for Basketball to take advantage of the positive impact of the 2012 Olympics and I hope we can demonstrate the possibilities throughout the sport.”
Bronze medal for Britain's basketball players
BRITAIN'S men’s wheelchair basketball team beat Holland by 37 points to win bronze at the Visa Paralympic World Cup in Manchester.
Basketball row rumbles on
THE row over alleged Government interference in English basketball that threatens Britain's participation in the 2012 Olympics continues to rumble on today.
British basketball to receive help from US
BRITISH BASKETBALL'S hopes of being successful in the 2012 London Olympics could receive a boost after a new cooperation deal with the United States' oldest professional league was signed today.
Finch embarrassed after latest British defeat
By Duncan Mackay
August 28 - Britain's basketball coach Chris Finch (pictured) admitted he was embarrassed after his side lost 78-67 to Macedonia in Ankara in their final match before next month's European Championships.
British basketball player to make history in US
JOHN AMAECHI (pictured), a London 2012 ambassador, is set to cause a major stir in the United States next week by becoming the first NBA player to admit publicly he is gay.
Australian appointed to new position by British Basketball
August 22 - Australian Warwick Cann (pictured) has been appointed as the new performance pathways coordinator to ensure basketball in Britain exploits the opportunities offered by London 2012.
Toronto Raptors sign British basketball star
MARCH 6 - BRITAIN'S Pops Mensah-Bonsu (pictured) today signed for the Toronto Raptors for the final 20 games of the NBA season, two days after he was released from a 10-day contract with San Antonio.
The 25-year-old Londoner, who has helped Britain qualify for the European Championships in Poland this summer, appeared in three games for the Spurs, averaging 5.0 points and 3.3 rebounds.
He played in 12 games with Denver in the 2006-2007 season, averaging 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds.
Mensah-Bonsu, who is 6ft 10in tall, is expected to be in the line-up tonight when the Raptors host the Miami Heat.
Toronto were in need of a big man after trading centre Jermaine O'Neal to Miami last month and sending rookie centre Nathan Jawai to the Idaho Stampede of the NBA Developmental League.
Israel praise British basketball progress
March 30 - Britain's basketball team have some of the best quality players in Europe, including Luol Deng (pictured) according to the coach of one its biggest rivals.
British basketball coach resigns after relegation
FEBRUARY 10 - BRITISH BASKETBALL today announced the resignation of Mark Clark (pictured) as head coach of the British women's team following the team's relegation from EuroBasket Division-A which has left their 2012 Olympic hopes in the balance.
British basketball begin long march towards London 2012
SEPTEMBER 1 - BRITAIN'S basketball coach Chris Finch (pictured) has announced the team for the vital match against Slovakia tomorrow in their first match of the 2006-2007 European Championships B-Division tomorrow.
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100 Mile House Flying Club
promoting the passion of flying...
VISITING PILOTS
A Little History Of The 100 Mile House Flying Club
While the early years of aviation in the Cariboo are but a gentle tailwind in history now, the 100 Mile House Flying Club has had a colourful beginning since the early 1960's. The very first original local airstrip was located on the pastures along Watson Lake at nearby 105 Mile House, an early gold miners' roadhouse and wagon stop. The current airstrip at 100 Mile House saw its beginnings in the early 1950's, with the assistance of the Jens brothers, who were sawmillers near Canim Lake.
Today’s airport property had been part of the historic Bridge Creek Estates Ranch among their sprawling ranch holdings. Now known as “CAV3” in the Transport Canada register, the airport was cordially donated to the District Municipality of 100 Mile House for $1 back in 1979, by the ranch owner Lord Martin Cecil, the Marquess of Exeter. The ranch has always played an important role in the early growth of 100 Mile House since 1912.
Original Flying Club members included well-known locals Dave Ainsworth, Gordon Maitland, Ross Marks and Slim Jens. Back then, the local aviation community hosted many large fly-ins with as many as 30 small aircraft visiting.
Then, and to this day, CAV3 is still a favourite stopover aerodrome for pilots travelling to and from Alaska, the Yukon and other points North. The airport location is unique, as one can easily land and be only steps from town for a meal, one of many hotel rooms and a hot shower. “Where else can you land and walk across the street for lunch?”
Nowadays, the Club has been hosting several annual free Kids Fly Days for local school children in order to foster an interest in aviation as a potential career path. The 100 Mile House Flying Club gratefully acknowledges that both local governments have been forthcoming to quietly extend some support ensuring that these worthwhile endeavours for the local youth may continue.
The 100MHFC was first incorporated in February of 1961 and is still alive and well today with its Club aircraft, a C-172, registered: C-GICT. Understandably, the membership has been somewhat cyclical over the decades, mostly due to the significant costs of aircraft ownership and operation, as well as an aging demographic…. Yikes, full stop. However, on the bright side, the current members number is in the 20's, young and old (no, mature), boys and girls and we are an active and happy group! Several members fly their own airplanes and an attractive rental program is offered for the Club's aircraft.
We welcome any inquiries, so kindly contact one of the Club directors.
CAVOK to everyone from the 100 Mile House Flying Club!
© 2018 100 Mile House Flying Club
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OPINION: Here’s What Tolerance For Sexual Deviancy Has Reaped
Commentary by Erik Rush | May 30, 2019
URL of the original posting site: https://freedomoutpost.com/heres-what-tolerance-for-sexual-deviancy-has-reaped/
Last Sunday on Fox News’ “The Next Revolution,” referencing the effluvia of slander and histrionics being doled out by prominent leftists, host Steve Hilton stated that the Washington, D.C., political and media establishment have “lost their minds.”
While this may sound like hyperbole, some of the rhetoric coming from the left does have elements of clinical insanity. The insistence on the part of prominent Democrats that President Donald Trump colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 election despite having been cleared of this charge certainly qualifies. Claims that restrictions on abortion being considered in some states will kill black women (an abject fallacy in itself) whilst ignoring the black babies being killed by abortion in the absence of such measures also qualifies.
The most bizarre and incoherent ideas currently being advanced by the left have to do with gender. Only 20 years ago, the idea of same-sex “marriage” was considered ridiculous by a majority of Americans. Similarly, biological males competing in sporting events as females would have been considered not only absurd, but grossly unfair to biologically female athletes.
Today, these “institutions” are practically commonplace, and they’ve become so largely because those who considered them ridiculous remained silent rather than being labeled as bigots.
The most recent incarnation of the left’s efforts to promote sexual ambivalence has to do with the nature of gender itself. Not only does a segment of the tiny but extremely vocal LGBTQ lobby advocate for biological males and females being able to “choose” a preferred gender with which to identify, this bunch also contends that there are multitudes of genders, perhaps even hundreds.
I remember quite well during the Sexual Revolution of the 1960s and ’70s, when the political left was pushing sexual permissiveness with all the urgency of avoiding the next planetary extinction-level event, catty, mincing liberals accused those who resisted going along with the program of being prudes. As far as they were concerned, a prude was just as bad as a segregationist – and if you ran afoul of their budding doctrine, they certainly let you know it.
Also during this period, court cases and discussions in the public square arose with regard to how these “new sensibilities” would be represented in media and education. Oh, the controversy over sex ed in schools! Many will recall the liberal argument that sexual function and reproduction were “only knowledge,” and that keeping this valuable knowledge from our youth was simply wrong. Further, that argument added that an ignorance of sexuality and reproduction would lead to young people getting into trouble should they become sexually active.
There was a great deal of concern about sexuality being represented in films and TV , and particularly its effect on children, as well as concern over the proliferation of pornography and its effects on society at large.
In November of 1968, the first voluntary Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) film rating system took effect, not so much because the public was concerned about sexual content in movies, but because the MPAA brass deemed the Hays code (in place since 1930) archaic. Movie makers had been increasingly pushing the envelope in this area anyway; the new ratings code actually gave filmmakers more license to produce explicit material.
While millions of Americans possessing traditional values were alarmed at these emergent sensibilities, there was a certain congruity in the disposition of courts and regulatory agencies, which decided that if a segment of the population wished to expose themselves to smut, it was not the role of the Christian majority or those or secular folks who held to traditional values to dictate mores to them.
Unfortunately, like our Constitution itself, this has become a double-edged sword. Fast-forward 50 years and any child with a computer , tablet or smartphone can navigate to the most aberrant and disgusting pornographic fare ever conceived. American consumers are hard-pressed to find movie and TV offerings that do not aggressively promote leftist sexual orthodoxy, and even TV shows featuring comic book superheroes are peppered with gratuitous pro-LGBTQ messages.
As is occurring today, back in the ’60s and ’70s, the perceived “rights” of individuals to engage in sexually deviant behavior superseded any consideration of how propagating sexually deviant behavior might impact society at large.
Well, at this point, I think that the jury is in, and it’s apparent that we’ve pretty much screwed ourselves (pun intended).
An interesting perspective comes from Christine Caine, an Australian activist who has firsthand experience with sexual abuse and trauma. Caine founded A21, a global anti-trafficking organization that operates in 15 countries and aids in prosecuting sex traffickers and rescuing victims.
Now, one could claim that the increasing incidence of sex trafficking, especially that involving children, has nothing whatsoever to do with the phenomenon of an increasing sexual permissiveness in Western culture – but I think that most reading this will know better. Ms. Caine asserts that the proliferation of pornography and other sexually ambivalent materials has fueled human trafficking, and I tend to agree. We’re human beings, and, by our nature, the only ones who’ll find themselves immune to morally ambivalent materials of any kind are those who do not partake in them.
So, we have confirmation that the atmosphere of sexual permissiveness we’ve cultivated has severely compromised us culturally. Also, we can now see that the left (via the LGBTQ lobby) has no intention of exhibiting the same tolerance to people who hold traditional values as was shown them. Indeed, having been extended an olive branch, they continue to cry “oppression” amidst calls for traditional values to be relegated to criminal status.
So much for tolerance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR/COMMENTATOR:
Erik Rush
Erik Rush is a New York-born columnist, author and speaker who writes sociopolitical commentary, and host of the FULL-CONTACT With Erik Rush LIVE! streaming radio show. He is also the Founder and Chief Editor of the Instigator News Network. In February of 2007, Erik was the first to break the story of Barack Obama’s ties to militant Chicago preacher Rev. Jeremiah Wright on a national level. His book, “Negrophilia: From Slave Block to Pedestal ~ America’s Racial Obsession,” has been called “the definitive book on race politics in America.”
ICE Agent: Migrants Trade Children to Get Smuggling Discounts from Coyotes
Reported by NEIL MUNRO | 30 May 2019
URL of the original posting site: https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/05/30/ice-agent-migrants-trade-children-get-smuggling-discounts-coyotes/
AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio
Coyotes are giving smuggling discounts to migrant parents who lend their young children to other migrants at the border, says a report by the Center for Immigration Studies.
“The child, real parent, unrelated adult client, and smuggler often make the trip together,” said the report by Todd Bensman, a former manager at the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division. ”Only at the border is the child and bogus birth certificate given over to the paying migrant, who is expected to return the child days or weeks later once everyone is inside the United States,” he said.
Bensman spoke with Monica Mapel, an ICE agent in San Antonio, Texas, after she led a study into the novel child-trading scheme.
“I have current examples where they [the unrelated adult male] had never met them [the child] until the transportation to the U.S. began,” Mapel told Bensman. The adult male told the ICE agents that “I have no idea who the child is. I never met him before until I got on the transport. The child was given to me and the birth certificate was provided. The mom was on the bus,” she added.
The child-trading is made profitable by Congress’ refusal to fix the 2015 Flores Catch-and-Release loophole. The policy bars the detention of adults for more than 20 days, so the migrants and the cartel-tied coyotes have an incentive to bring and share many children so every migrant can get a child and walk through border fences via the Flores loophole.
Once through the border, the migrants are supposed to return the children to the mother, and then get blue-collar jobs to repay the cartel’s labor-trafficking business.
Democratic legislators have been silent about the child trading and the loopholes which make the journey possible, but very vocal about young migrants who die on the last stage of the journey into the United States. Republicans did little to close the loopholes when they held the House and Senate in 2017 and 2018.
Democrats and Republicans are also silent about the harms suffered by children of blue-collar Americans who are stuck in classrooms alongside migrant children who speak little or no English.
Bensman reported how the child trade works:
Mapel said human smugglers or brokers in home countries cut package deals where a parent provides a child (especially if parents have more than one) to a child-less migrant for a fee or an in-kind reduction in the real parent’s own smuggling fee. Such packages can reach $7,000 for transportation, food, doctored birth certificates, and the child.
“If you have children to spare during your trip to the U.S., your trip is not as expensive,” she explained.
To best maintain a ruse where the child is unable to blow the cover, Mapel said, young children are preferred, especially infants and toddlers who can’t answer questions or make mistakes. Border Patrol has often reported the arrival of single men carrying infants without baby formula, bottles, diapers or any other accoutrements indicating infant caretaking.
“I think it’s because they [a young child] won’t make a mistake in a facility. To them, it’s just a trip. They clearly have no idea what’s happening,” Mapel said.
The trade is dangerous and traumatizing for the migrant children, Bensman reported:
“In the cases I’m looking at,” Mapel said. “the mother lost track of that child. That child is now in another person’s custody because they didn’t reunite or something, somewhere.”
Others may be abandoned in the field. Plenty of abandoned-child cases have come to the attention of federal agents, such a 3-year-old boy found recently near McAllen, Texas, crying alone in a corn field, the only tie to his family possibly the phone number written on one of his shoes. While it’s unclear whether those children had been used for the asylum loophole entry, Mapel described the vulnerability that complicit parents allow by turning their kids over to others, during detention and after release, as “just foul.”
“It’s a new low for humanity that you would give your child away like this to a stranger or friend,” she said. “I’d hate to see something happen to that child after the handoff occurs. They are with somebody who is not their parent. What if fake mom or fake dad needed to make medical decisions for the child? Just some random guy is going to be saying it’s ok to do this procedure at a hospital? It’s just not right; the person who is supposed to be protecting them is not there.”
Mapel said she believes true mothers and fathers who participate in faux family schemes should be subjected to child endangerment charges and perhaps something new that could bring [a] higher penalty.
“DHS has seen many examples of family unit fraud; you’ve victimized your child. A young, young child is sitting in a facility. If these children ended up with ORR, there’re no hugs. There’re no kisses. What are they, Facetiming? What are you doing to see your child? And yes, you did do that to him. That seems like child endangerment. So yes, I think children are the pawns in this scheme.”
The inflow of children is huge. The Washington Post reported May 28:
Nearly 169,000 youths have surrendered at the southern border in the first seven months of this fiscal year, and more than half are ages 12 and under, according to federal records and officials familiar with Customs and Border Protection statistics. Minors now account for nearly 37 percent of all crossings — far above previous eras, when most underage migrants were teenagers and accounted for 10 percent to 20 percent of all crossings.
The migration is also emptying towns in Central America. On April 21, the Wall Street Journal reported:
COLOTENANGO, Guatemala—Gloria Velásquez is used to saying goodbye. Four of her six siblings have migrated to the U.S. and she, too, is thinking about heading north with her 9-year-old daughter.
Ms. Velásquez said her four siblings in the U.S. are encouraging her to join them. Her daughter Helen Ixchel likes to teach language and mathematics to fellow children. She wants to learn English and become a teacher.
“I’m a bit scared [about going to the U.S.] after hearing all the news about the suffering of migrants at the border. But it’s my daughter’s greatest dream,” Ms. Velásquez said.
But the flow of migrants provides U.S. employers with an extra supply of tough, compliant, low-wage workers just as labor shortages are forcing companies to raise pay for Americans. The extra labor supply also reduces U.S. employers’ incentive to hire the population 12 million unemployed or underemployed Americans, some of whom are sidelined by disability, underinvestment in rural areas, or drugs, or even to hire U.S. factory workers to build labor-saving machinery.
Data released by the Department of Homeland Security shows that a huge volume of migrants is getting work permits for U.S. jobs.
From October 2015 to September 2016, for example, 270,000 migrants got work permits via the (c)(8) process, and another 78,000 migrants got paroled and got work permits via the “Paroled pursuant to INA 212(d)(5)” category.
In the next fiscal year of 2017, the regular number spiked to 403,000, but the parole number dropped to 59,000 as Trump’s deputies curbed the parole number. In 2018, the regular number dipped to 345,000, and the parole number lurched down to 18,000.
DHS officials have refused to tell Breitbart News how long the work permits last, so they are hiding the number of migrants getting new work permits or extended work permits.
Each year, roughly four million young Americans join the workforce after graduating from high school or university.
But the federal government then imports about 1.1 million legal immigrants and refreshes a resident population of roughly 1.5 million white-collar visa workers — including roughly one million H-1B workers — and approximately 500,000 blue-collar visa workers.
The government also prints out more than one million work permits for foreigners, tolerates about eight million illegal workers, and does not punish companies for employing the hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants who sneak across the border or overstay their legal visas each year.
This policy of inflating the labor supply boosts economic growth for investors because it ensures that employers do not have to compete for American workers by offering higher wages and better working conditions.
This policy of flooding the market with cheap, foreign, white-collar graduates and blue-collar labor also shifts enormous wealth from young employees towards older investors, even as it also widens wealth gaps, reduces high-tech investment, increases state and local tax burdens, and hurts children’s schools and college educations. It also pushes Americans away from high-tech careers and sidelines millions of marginalized Americans, including many who are now struggling with fentanyl addictions. The labor policy also moves business investment and wealth from the heartland to the coastal cities, explodes rents and housing costs, shrivels real estate values in the Midwest, and rewards investors for creating low-tech, labor-intensive workplaces.
Bannon and Kobach unveil crowdfunded border wall amid unspent millions
Reported by Anna Giaritelli | | May 31, 2019 12:05 AM
URL of the original posting site: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/steve-bannon-kris-kobach-unveil-crowdfunded-border-wall-amid-about-unspent-millions
A group of immigration hardliners who used millions of crowdfunded dollars to build a border barrier on private land along the U.S.-Mexico border unveiled the nearly completed half-mile steel bollard fence Thursday following construction delays.
The 2,300-feet-long project marks the first time a nongovernment organization or individual has built a wall on privately owned land on the international boundary. It runs up a rocky 320-feet-tall hill and is 18 to 20 feet tall, depending on the point on the hill where it is measured.
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, former Kansas State Secretary Kris Kobach, World Series MLB player Curt Schilling, Blackwater USA founder Erik Prince, and other longtime supporters of President Trump were on site at the project in Sunland Park, N.M., to showcase the fence, which stands on less than half a mile of the 1,954-mile border.
The undertaking has evolved, prompting questions about how money is being spent and the Trump administration’s involvement in the process.
Brian Kolfage, a triple amputee veteran, created a crowdfunding page in December with the intent of raising $1 billion for border wall construction following the Trump administration’s failure to obtain $25 billion for the project last December. The GoFundMe website did not state where the wall would be built or any other details. Kolfage vowed to return everyone’s money if the project did not reach $1 billion.
Kolfage insisted the campaign was not a scam despite having run a since-shuttered Facebook “news” page known for spreading conspiracy theories. He was also sued in 2017 after he reported the wrong name of the suspect involved in the fatal car accident during a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Va.
Kolfage’s page did not come close to its $1 billion goal and topped out at $22.9 million earlier this year. The more than 330,000 people who donated were informed by GoFundMe that they were eligible for a refund because Kolfage had changed the terms of the fundraiser to move to a different fund money people did not request back.
Weeks ahead of the crowdfunding campaign’s failure, Kolfage had launched We Build the Wall, Inc., a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization. Bannon, Kobach, and other staunch conservatives who have been criticized as anti-immigrant were appointed to the organization’s board. The money from the crowdfunding campaign was then funneled to the outside organization.
About the same time this spring, Bannon and fellow board members, including former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, held a couple rallies in Midwestern cities to raise money for the organization, though they have not shared how much they raised in addition to the crowdfunding dollars.
Tommy Fisher, president and CEO of Fisher Industries, was paid to install the steel fence and said it is expected to come in at $7 million after taxes.
We Build the Wall has raised nearly $23 million for the project, though it is unclear how the nonprofit group plans to spend the remaining donations. The group did not respond to a request for comment.
Fisher told the Washington Examiner on Thursday he got involved in the project in April after receiving a call about his company’s claims it could build a mile of border wall per day. We Build the Wall officials, including Kobach, attended a demonstration of the construction in Coolidge, Ariz., last month.
Fisher said the organization signed a contract for him to build the half-mile portion of steel fence over the course of eight days, but it took longer because the city of Sunland Park shut down construction for two days. The suspension was lifted Wednesday.
Despite the board’s connections to Trump, organizers have insisted the project is not affiliated with the White House.
That claim was called into question in a recent Washington Post article that said Trump was adamant about the Army Corps of Engineers hiring Fisher Industries to carry out border wall projects.
Fisher dismissed being described as having lobbied Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., to get his name in front of Trump and insisted Trump was calling for the Pentagon to hire his company because of personal frustration with the less than 40 miles of border wall that has been installed in the two years and four months that he has been in office.
“I’d be mad if I were him,” Fisher said.
Today’s TWO Politically INCORRECT Cartoons by A.F. Branco
A.F. Branco Cartoon – The Torch Has Passed
A.F. Branco | on May 30, 2019 at 7:40 am | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-the-torch-has-passed/
Mueller says no evidence of collusion nor is there any evidence he is innocent and that is all the proof Nadler and the Congress need to move ahead on impeachment.
A.F. Branco Cartoon – Sharpshooter
A.F. Branco | on May 31, 2019 at 7:40 am | https://comicallyincorrect.com/a-f-branco-cartoon-sharpshooter/
Some feel Pelosi is trying to hold back many in the Democrat party from impeaching President because it could hurt their chances in the coming 2020 election.
More A.F. Branco Cartoons at The Daily Torch.
Branco’s Faux Children’s Book “APOCALI” ORDER HERE
Donations/Tips accepted and appreciated – $1.00 – $5.00 – $10 – $100 – it all helps to fund this website and keep the cartoons coming. – THANK YOU!
A.F. Branco has taken his two greatest passions, (art and politics) and translated them into the cartoons that have been popular all over the country, in various news outlets including “Fox News”, MSNBC, CBS, ABC and “The Washington Post.” He has been recognized by such personalities as Dinesh D’Souza, James Woods, Sarah Palin, Larry Elder, Lars Larson, the great El Rushbo, and has had his toons tweeted by President Trump.
Anti Trump Bias
Muslims Emboldened: List Of Islamists Looking To “Represent” You in 2020 (Updated)
Reported by Tim Brown May 28, 2019
URL of the original posting site: https://freedomoutpost.com/muslims-emboldened-list-of-islamists-looking-to-represent-you-in-2020/
Those holding to the false teachings of Islam are at odds not only with Christianity, which our country was built upon but also against our Constitution. Yet, with this last election, we saw many Muslims elected to office and in the coming election, we are sure to see many more.
The following is a list of Muslims who are already preparing to run for office to “represent” you.
Movita Johnson-Harrell is a Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania House of Representatives, District 190, in the general special election on March 12, 2019. Read more about Johnson-Harrell here. – UPDATE: Movita Johnson-Harrell was elected to Pennsylvania House of Representatives.
Ali Saleh is a Democratic candidate for California State Senate in District 33. Saleh is running in the primary special election on March 26, 2019. Read more about Saleh here. UPDATE: Ali Saleh was defeated in the primary election.
Ammar Campa-Najjar is a Democratic candidate for Congress in California’s 50th District, for the 2020 election. Campa-Najjar claims he is not Muslim but his grandfather was a Muslim terrorist, therefore I thought he should be added to this list. Read more about Campa-Najjar here.
Imtiaz Ahmad Mohammad is a Democratic candidate for Florida House of Representatives, District 104, for the 2020 election. Read more about Mohammad here.
Dr. Mohammad “MoDar” Dar is a Democratic candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Massachusetts, District 8, in the 2020 election. Read more about Dar here. UPDATE: Mohammad Dar has dropped out of the race.
Altaf Ahmed is a Democratic candidate for Broward County Commission District 1, in the 2020 election.
Yasmine Taeb is a Democratic candidate for State Senate in Virginia’s 35th District for the 2019 election. Read more about Taeb here.
Nabila Mansoor is a candidate for Sugar Land City Council, District 2 in Texas. The General Election is on May 4, 2019. UPDATE: Nabila Mansoor will face Naushad Kermally in the runoff election on June 8th, 2019.
Naushad Kermally is a candidate for Sugar Land City Council, District 2 in Texas. The Election is on May 4th, 2019. UPDATE: Naushad Kermally will face Nabila Mansoor in the runoff election on June 8th, 2019.
Mohammad Usman Aijaz is a candidate for Sugar Land City Council, District 1 in Texas. The General Election is on May 4, 2019. UPDATE: Aijaz was defeated on May 4th.
Abrar Omeish is a candidate for Fairfax County School Board in Virginia.
Omar Sabir is a candidate for Philadelphia City Commissioner in Pennsylvania. The primary election is on May 21, 2019.
Qasim Rashid is a candidate for Virginia Senate, District 28. The primary election is on June 11th, 2019. Read more about Rashid here.
Ibrahim Moiz is a Democratic candidate for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors in Virginia.
Khurrum Wahid is a candidate for Coral Springs City Commission, seat 2, in Florida.
Mahmoud Mahmoud is a candidate for the New Jersey General Assembly, District 32. The primary election is on June 4, 2019.
Kaisar Ahmed is a candidate for the 3rd District seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, in California, for the 2020 election. Read more about Ahmed here.
Sharafat Hussain-Babu is a Democratic candidate for Virginia State Senate in the 33rd district. The election is on June 11th, 2019. Read more about Hussain-Babu here.
Hassan Ahmad is a progressive Democrat running for the Virginia House of Delegates, District 87. The election is on June 11th, 2019.
Aisha Wahab is a progressive Democrat running for Congress in California, district 15. Read more about Wahab here.
Adil Syed Ahmed is a progressive candidate for Commissioner in West New York, NJ. The election is on May 14th, 2019.
Sri Preston Kulkarni is a Democratic candidate for Congress in Texas, District 22, in the 2020 Election.
Ghazala Hashmi is a Democratic candidate for Virginia State Senate, District 10. The primary election is on June 11th, 2019.
Awais Qazi is a Democratic candidate for New Jersey General Assembly, District 29. The primary election is on June 4th, 2019.
Zulfat Suara is a candidate for Nashville Metro Council at Large. The election is August 1, 2019.
We’ll update the list as more file to run for office.
I ask, where are you Christian Americans who will stand and be counted and represent your people and faithfully execute your duty before God (Romans 13:1-5)?
Where are true, God-fearing Americans that take seriously the responsibility of the civil magistrate as the minister of God? Where are those who seek to uphold the law rather than violate it like Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Attorney General Keith Ellison?
Where are you Christians? Are you willing to simply sit back and let your country be taken by antichrists? (1 John 2:22; 2:18; 4:2–3; 2 John 1:7).
If your idea is to simply live and let live and not war against the schemes of the devil and not bring forth the true Gospel that saves, along with opposing those who are at war with God, then your Christianity is missing something important.
I encourage you, if you believe you should move into the political realm to represent your people, as well as honor your Creator, I would implore you to do so. Contact me, and I’ll support you as best I am able by the means God has given me.
Article posted with permission from The Washington Standard
2020 Genaerl Elections
Opinion: Sharyl Attkisson: “Continued Focus On Supposed Obstruction Of Crime That Wasn’t Smacks Of Desperation”
Tim Brown May 28, 2019
URL of the original posting site: https://freedomoutpost.com/sharyl-attkisson-continued-focus-on-supposed-obstruction-of-crime-that-wasnt-smacks-of-desperation/
Most people no matter their political leaning, most people would think that investigative journalist Sharyl Attkisson attempts to be fair and factual in her reporting. So, when the former CBS reporter took to The Hill in an op-ed concerning the continued pursuit by Democrats on alleged obstruction of a crime that wasn’t, she wrote that it smacked of “desperation.”
Attkisson wrote:
A friend of mine who is — I’ll just say it — a devoted Trump-hater recently was talking about President Trump’s obstruction and asked what I thought.
After listening to his views, I told him there’s plenty about which to criticize the president, as is true of any political leader. But the obstruction charge doesn’t make logical sense. I used an analogy to explain why. When I finished, this friend still hated Trump — but surprised me by saying, “Nobody’s ever explained it that way. That makes sense. You should write about it.”
Obviously, I don’t kid myself that this analogy will “make sense” to everyone. But after listening to both sides and looking at the publicly available evidence, here’s how I see it:
If you were a person of some authority and murdered someone, and prosecutors set out to investigate, and if you spoke publicly against the investigation, proclaiming your innocence and calling the probe a “witch hunt,” and if you worked behind the scenes to use your influence to fire the lead investigator on the murder case — that would seem to be a pretty clear case of obstruction of justice. You, as a guilty man, would be trying to stop authorities from finding out the truth.
But imagine, on the other hand, that you are innocent — accused of a murder you didn’t commit. Not only that, imagine you knew there was no murder to begin with because you saw the victim walking around after the supposed murder. Then, imagine you found yourself the target of the murder investigation by a team that included people who had declared you to be their sworn enemy and expressed strong desires to take you out. Then, imagine this team that included biased investigators began leaking false information to the national media to implicate you in this crime that you knew you didn’t commit.
Imagine that this cloud of the murder you knew was never committed hangs over you, month after month, until it drags on for years. It’s distracting you from your ability and authority to do the job in the public’s interests. But every time you speak publicly to defend yourself and proclaim your innocence, the media and your political enemies declare you to be a liar and say you are obstructing the investigation.
It begins to look like the fix is in.
Under these circumstances, you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t possess a desire to stop a potentially conflicted investigation by your political enemies into a crime that was never committed — least of all by you. Since you are innocent, your attempts to stop an unfair investigation could be fairly seen as an attempt to see justice done, not to obstruct it.
She went on to add, “If special counsel Robert Mueller is correct and there was no coordination of any kind between any American and Russia, then the latter analogy seems more applicable to President Trump than the former.”
“If Mueller is right, then Trump knew from the start that he didn’t conspire with Russian President Vladimir Putin,” she added. “Nonetheless, he became the target of a supposedly independent investigation which, it turned out, included top team members who expressed personal disgust and hatred for him as well as a desire to take him out.”
Attkisson pointed out that every time President Trump decided to defend himself, it seems that the Mueller Report has sided with that defense despite the wranglings of his opposition.
She then made a clear point about any attempts Trump may have thought about in replacing Mueller in the investigation.
This cloud of supposed collusion, a crime that never happened, hung over Trump month after month until it dragged on for years. For someone who’s innocent, it would obviously begin to look like the fix was in.
Trump’s alleged conversations about trying to switch out Mueller, as documented in interviews with the special counsel, could fairly be interpreted as attempts to seek justice, not to obstruct it.
Attkisson even admits that she and others thought the outcome of the Mueller report could have produced evidence that Trump was Putin’s agent, based on leaks and reporting, but she concluded, “it wasn’t the case.”
She then said that all those who publicly opposed him for two years might “carry more weight” if only they would admit to the fact that they “chased their tails” for those years and that “when they finally snagged it, realized they hadn’t captured the enemy.”
Following that admission, Attkisson adds that those people would at least regain some bit of credibility in acknowledging they were wrong to then possibly target actual Trump policies that they oppose or find objectionable.
Instead of Trump being a liar on this point, his critics were found to be just that. Even Robert Mueller has admitted that Trump was exactly right when he said that his campaign had not colluded with Russia.
Attkisson then concluded, “I’m no political expert but, to me as an Average Joe, the continued focus on supposed obstruction of a crime that wasn’t committed simply smacks of desperation.”
I think that’s exactly how most Americans who actually have listened to a sliver of what has taken place over the past two years think.
Despite my disagreements with President Trump over what I see are serious constitutional issues, which I’ve made no bones about, it has always seemed clear to me that when it came to “Russian collusion,” there was nothing there, except the wasting of the American people’s time and money and a lawless push for impeachment.
Article posted with permission from Sons Of Liberty Media
Missouri’s last abortion provider is about to shut down, Planned Parenthood says
Reported By Andy Marso | May 28, 2019 11:24 AM, Updated May 28, 2019 02:32 PM
URL of the original posting site: https://www.kansascity.com/news/business/health-care/article230896539.html
Missouri could soon be the first state without a single place providing legal abortions. Planned Parenthood officials said Tuesday that the state is on the verge of pulling the license from its St. Louis location, which is the last one still providing abortion services following the passage of a series of restrictive laws.
But in a conference call Tuesday, Leana Wen, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said that clinic will likely end those services Friday because of a “weaponization of the licensing process.”
“This is not a drill. This is not a warning. This is a real public health crisis,” said Wen, a physician from Baltimore. “This week, Missouri would be the first state in the country to go dark — without a health center that provides safe, legal abortion care.”
Wen said Planned Parenthood will sue in an effort to continue providing abortions past this week. Wen said the Missouri Department of Health and Human Services plans to pull the St. Louis clinic’s license because of a refusal to submit employees to “interrogation” by regulators.
“The state is insisting that seven doctors, including residents and fellows who are obtaining medical training, be subject to interrogation that could result in them losing their medical license or even be subject to criminal prosecution,” Wen said.
Colleen McNicholas, a physician at the St. Louis clinic, said the state is attempting to strictly enforce a law requiring women seeking abortions to get a pelvic exam that she said is “invasive” and “medically unnecessary.”
A spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which regulates abortion licenses, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Planned Parenthood used to offer abortion services in Kansas City and Columbia, in addition to St. Louis.
But those clinics had to stop offering them due to a law requiring that doctors who perform the procedure have admitting privileges at a local hospital. The Columbia clinic was also damaged earlier this year by an arson fire that the FBI is investigating as a possible hate crime.
The path forward for the clinics is further complicated by a bill just signed into law by Gov. Mike Parson that prohibits all abortions past eight weeks of pregnancy. That law, which takes effect in August, would practically rule out all abortions except those done by taking pills that can be received through the mail and don’t require a brick-and-mortar clinic.
“By signing this bill today, we are sending a strong signal to the nation that, in Missouri, we stand for life, protect women’s health, and advocate for the unborn,” Parson said in a statement. “All life has value and is worth protecting.”
That law is expected to be challenged in court.
The ACLU also filed a petition drive Tuesday to get it reversed through voter referendum.
“This week, Missouri may become the first state without a health center that provides abortion, even without the courts having to say they are overturning Roe v. Wade,” said Jennifer Dalven, the director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project. “This is a direct result of a years-long effort by anti-abortion politicians to pass medically unnecessary restrictions that burden providers with the goal of forcing them to shut down. This has been their end game for years, but it’s contrary to what the overwhelming majority of people in this country want.”
According to a Gallup poll, about 80% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in some or all circumstances.
Legal abortions are available just across the state line from Missouri at a Planned Parenthood in Overland Park and the Hope Clinic for Women in Illinois.
According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, about half of the 7,048 legal abortions performed in the state in 2018 were done on women who came in from other states. The vast majority of those out-of-state women — 3,279 out of 3,498 — were from Missouri.
Andy Marso
Kansas City Star health reporter Andy Marso was part of a Pulitzer Prize-finalist team at The Star and previously won state and regional awards at the Topeka Capital-Journal and Kansas Health Institute News Service. He has written two books, including one about his near-fatal bout with meningitis.
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NEWS ROUNDUP: President Obama Grants 95 Commutations, Calls Slain Teen A ‘Hero’…AND MORE
Stories about gun violence within our country are becoming all too common. President Obama is utilizing the incidents as an avenue to open up the conversation about the need for stricter gun control laws. He recently released a statement about the killing of Zaevion Dobson, a high school football star from Knoxville, Tennessee who was fatally shot after protecting his friends from a hail of bullets. “Zaevion Dobson died saving three friends from getting shot,” President Obama tweeted. “He was a hero at 15. What’s our excuse for not acting?” A memorial fund for Dobson has reached nearly $60,000 from 1,455 donors. According to police officials, the shooting was a random act of violence. Read more.
Obama Grants 95 Commutations
President Obama has been very vocal about issues concerning our country’s prison system. This summer, after saying there are many men and women behind bars whose prison sentences are unjust for the crimes they committed, Obama ended up releasing 46 people who were convicted of drug offenses. Last week, President Obama furthered his mission for amnesty by commuting the prison sentences of 95 more inmates. Most of the inmates who had their sentences commuted were behind bars for drug-related non-violent crimes. “President Obama is committed to restoring the sense of fairness at the heart of our justice system,” read a blog post on the White House’s website. “In 2010, he signed the Fair Sentencing Act, a bill that reduced the sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses. Most of the commutations the President has granted have been to non-violent offenders sentenced under those unjust — and now outdated — drug crime sentencing rules. If these individuals had been convicted for the exact same crime under today’s laws, nearly all of them would have already finished serving their time.” He penned a personal letter to each person, writing, “I believe in your ability to prove the doubters wrong, and change your life for the better.” President Obama has granted 184 pardons in total. Read more.
The Schomburg to Get a $22M Makeover
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, a notable cultural institution that encompasses extensive research about African-American history, will be getting a $22 million makeover. Last week, local community leaders gathered at the Schomburg for a groundbreaking ceremony. “Today we break ground on this $20 million project … We need the next generation to (come) into this great research center so that they can be inspired by their history so they can aspire to learn how to shape the future,” said New York Public Library President Tony Marx. “We are so thankful to those who made this possible, and are excited to get started.” The renovation project will include a revamp of the Schomburg’s second floor reading room, an upgrade of the interior of the Schomburg’s landmark building, a high-definition LED signage system, video displays, and an improved streetscape. Read more.
Miss Puerto Rico Suspended After Discriminatory Tweets about Muslims
Destiny Velez, who represented Puerto Rico in the Miss America competition, put her foot in her mouth after tweeting discriminatory statements about Muslims. Velez, 20, addressed a film director who held up a “We Are All Muslim” sign outside of Trump Tower. “Muslims use our constitution to terrorize USA & plant gas stations,” she tweeted. She also posted that Muslims “terrorize this country & many others.” Velez was suspended indefinitely due to her comments. “Miss Velez’s actions were in contradiction to the organization, and therefore as a consequence of her actions, she has been suspended indefinitely,” read a statement by the Miss Puerto Rico Organization. “The Miss Puerto Rico Organization will not tolerate any actions or behavior contrary to the Miss Puerto Rico Organization.” Velez later issued an apology, saying the last thing she wanted to do was bully anyone. Read more.
21 Of President Barack Obama's Best Photos Of 2015
1. JANUARY: President Obama delivers the State of the Union address with the support of vice president Joe Biden. Obama gained mass support after his joke about winning both terms.
2. JANUARY: President Barack Obama has an adorable moment with Akira Cooper at the Community Children's Center, one of the nation's oldest Head Start providers, in Lawrence, Kan.
3. JANUARY: President Obama greets Prime Minister Narendra Modi upon arrival at Air Force Station Palam in New Delhi, India.
4. JANUARY: President Barack Obama greets neighbors after visiting a model home at the Nueva Villas at Beverly, a single-family housing development owned by local nonprofit organization Chicanos Por La Causa Inc. in Phoenix, Ariz.
5. FEBRUARY: President Barack Obama fakes a jump shot during an Affordable Care Act video taping for BuzzFeed in the White House Library. The video went viral thanks to jokes about his presidency and ultra-cool swag.
6. FEBRUARY: Obama pals around with one of his biggest supporters, vice president Joe Biden. While he chose not to run in the 2016 presidential election, Obama said he would be in his corner.
7. FEBRUARY: President Barack Obama talks with 13-year-old student Vidal Chastanet as "Humans of New York" founder Brandon Stanton photographs during a blog interview in the Oval Office. Obama was greatly inspired by Chastanet's comments on the popular "Humans of New York" Instagram page, where he shared his troubles finding courage in school and and life despite living in a dangerous area of Brooklyn, NY.
8. MARCH: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama join hands with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. as they lead the walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches, in Selma, Ala., March 7, 2015. Malia and Sasha Obama join hands with their grandmother, Marian Robinson.
9. MARCH: Obama is a classic man as he puts on a green tie in observance of St. Patrick's Day.
10. MARCH: President Barack Obama delivers remarks during the event to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Bloody Sunday and the Selma to Montgomery civil rights marches at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala.
11. APRIL: During the Correspondents' Dinner, his anger translator - played by Key & Peele comedian Keegan-Michael Key - helped Obama get out his biggest frustrations.
12. APRIL: President Obama arrives in Jamaica to meet with the 15-member Caribbean Community. His trip marked a first for the sitting president and second since the country's independence.
13. APRIL: Obama speaks with newly appointed Attorney General Loretta Lynch in the Oval Office.
14. JUNE: President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are seen talking during the president's trip to the G7Summit in Bavaria, Germany.
15. JUNE: President Obama sings "Amazing Grace" during the eulogy for South Carolina state senator and Rev. Clementa Pinckney during Pinckney's funeral service. Clementa was one of the nine victims who died after suspected shooter Dylann Roof entered the AME church and opened fire.
16. SEPTEMBER: President Obama is featured on the popular show "Running Wild With Bear Grylls." Obama took the trip to highlight the importance of climate control.
17. SEPTEMBER: The First Couple serve as "love goals" at the White House's state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Madame Peng Liyuan. Obama and Xi announced an agreement on controlling climate change and a mutual outlook on cyber security.
18. OCTOBER: President Obama meets with Ahmed Mohamed, the student who was detained by Texas police for his homemade clock. The president stood by the teen, who many believe was the victim of Islamophobia.
19. NOVEMBER: President Obama issues a warning to his critics who "pop off" at his policies towards Syrian refugees. Speaking at the OP 21 United Nations conference on climate change, Obama welcomed his Republican critics to the White House to lay down their own policies. No one has responded.
20. DECEMBER: President Obama addresses the public from the Oval Office regarding the San Bernardino shooting.
21. DECEMBER: All grown up! The First Family, including Obama's mother-in-law Marian Robinson, is seen at the White House's national Christmas tree lighting ceremony on Dec. 2.
Continue reading 21 Of President Barack Obama’s Best Photos Of 2015
NEWS ROUNDUP: President Obama Grants 95 Commutations, Calls Slain Teen A ‘Hero’…AND MORE was originally published on newsone.com
Barack Obama , Criminal Justice Reform , Destiny Velez , Gun Violence , Miss America , Miss Puerto Rico , Pardons , President Obama , prison , roundup , Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture , Zaevion Dobson
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← LONDON – Tortured and Murdered by Empire – Stations of the Cross through Westminster
Invitation from Palestinian novelist – The Hearts of Anxious Cities →
Queensland: a state of mind
[Editor’s Note: After the once-in-a-generation result in the 2012 Queensland state elections, it is timely to reprint Queensland: a state of mind by Humphrey McQueen. The Labor Party in Queensland was destroyed by the split with the catholics in the 1950s and re-built in the 1970s and 80s by Dennis Murphy, George Georges, Bille Watts, Ian MacLean and Peter Beattie. It has now been destroyed again. Will unions rebuild the party that was born on rural labourers’ backs? Now Queensland is urbanised and multicultural. Liberal elites in the city are happy to build mines on the backs of migrant labour. These elites live off middle class welfare, government jobs and superannuation pensions. Queensland may be a state of mind but it is a different one to that Humphrey described when this piece was first published by Meanjin in 1979. With thanks to Humphrey and Meanjin – comments are welcome in the space allocated below. Ian Curr, April 2012.]
By Humphrey McQueen
For a majority of Australians, Queensland is more a state of mind than a state of their nation. As such, ‘Queensland’ excuses them from doing much about what is wrong in their own states: ‘If things are so bad there, then we can’t be too bad here’. A similar process works inside Queensland, where the awfulness of Joh is occasionally used as an excuse for not doing anything about him. A mood of waiting for Joh to go has been broken by Aboriginals, by strikes, and most recently by opposition to the street march legislation. Yet a commonly encountered response is either a despairing ‘Anything’s possible in Queensland’, or an incredulous ‘Were you born in Queensland?’, as if nothing radical ever came out of Brisbane.
Against Joh’s attempt to convince Queenslanders that they live in a sovereign state and are in some way superior to the rest of their fellow Australians, ALP apologists push the counter-view that Joh is the odd man out and that Queensland is, and has been, very much the same as the rest’ of Australia. For party political reasons neither side in this argument can face up to the facts of the situation. The past is too embarrassing for present-day Labor reformers, while the present is too revealing to be good propaganda for a premier seeking re-election.
On a number of important counts Queenslanders are different, although no one has yet suggested that, like Tasmanians, we all have pointed ears. As Byron implied, inbreeding is usually not the problem where the climate’s sultry. The differences which exist are in population distribution, educational attainments and work-force participation, all of which are anchored in the primary industry bias of Queensland’s political economy. Queensland’s economic pattern is not unique; Tasmania’s and Western Australia’s are fairly much the same. What is unique is the spread of primary industries and population across so much of the state.
Brisbane is the only mainland capital to contain less than half its state’s population: 857,066 out of 2,037,197. The percentage of Queenslanders living in rural areas is the highest for all mainland states: 20 per cent against a national average of 14. Brisbane is closer to Melbourne than to Cairns, and closer to Canberra than to Townsville. Compared with either far northern city, Kingaroy is just another outer Brisbane suburb.
It is the economic matrix and not distance which makes regionalism more significant in Queensland than in any other state. Even before separation from New South Wales in 1859, there were proposals to slice Queensland horizontally into three. The sugar industry’s demand for Pacific Island labour was at the root of separatist, anti-Federal, and finally secessionist movements in the far north. Regionalism was bolstered by a rail system which spread inland out from a string of ports from Brisbane up to Cairns, which were not linked to each other by rail until 1924. Brisbane was never the focus of Queensland’s economic life. Indeed, there never has been such a focus. As well as competing against Brisbane for the state’s trade, eight ports battled their nearest neighbours for regional supremacy. Bowen’s annoyance at the Cloncurry-Mt Isa railway ending in Townsville helps to explain why Bowen returned Australia’s only acknowledged communist parliamentarian, between 1944 and 1950.
Twenty years of non-Labor rule have not altered the primary bias of Queensland’s economy. With 13 per cent of Australia’s civilian employees in 1976, Queensland had 19 per cent of the nation’s rural workers but only 10 per cent of those engaged in manufacturing. Moreover, the structure of manufacturing is skewed towards rural products. Food, beverage and tobacco processing employ a third of Queensland’s manufacturing workers, twice the national figure. The proportion of working wives is lower: 37.5 against 42 per cent. The population is very slightly weighted towards the under 20 year-olds and the over 55 year-olds, suggesting that people leave the state to work but go there to retire.
The reluctance to industrialise meant that fewer migrants went to Queensla’1d. Between 1947 and 1961, Queensland’s overseas-born rose by 56 per cent, against an Australian average of 139 per cent. The proportion of overseas-born remains substantially lower; 13 per cent for Queensland and 20 per cent for Australia; 16 per cent for Brisbane and 25 per cent for all major urban centres in the country. The percentage of Italians and Greeks in Brisbane is 1.4, compared with a mainland range between the next lowest of 4.4 in Perth up to 7.7 in Melbourne.
Well into the 1920s, Queensland’s tropical and semi-tropical latitudes were considered by many scientists to be a major cause of mental and physical debilitation amongst its population. The 1920 British Medical Association Congress, held in Brisbane, was specially charged with determining if whites would thrive in the tropics; the Congress found that they could, but only with more and better sanitation. (Most of Brisbane was not sewered until the mid-1960s.) The University of Queensland has collected a large body of evidence showing that some people still find it hard to work and think in hot and humid conditions and often drink too much.
Partly because of the economic pattern outlined, but more because of a complex cultural inheritance discussed below, educational levels are markedly lower: 36 per cent of Queenslanders left school after only five or six years, compared with a national average of 24 per cent; only 12 per cent of Queenslanders have more than nine years schooling, as against 18 per cent for Australia as a whole. Inevitably, the number of people with qualifications and degrees is noticeably smaller. And this pattern of early school leaving is continuing, so that while only 43 per cent of sixteen year old Queenslanders are still at school, the Australian average is 57 per cent.
So there is something to the view that Queensland residents are different; on average, they are much less educated, very much less urbanised, more likely to be Australian-born, and less likely to work in a factory.
In no sense do I wish to argue that centralisation and industrialisation make people good, or that schooling and migrants will, of themselves, make us better. Yet, irrespective of the value of these experiences, people who possess them will have values which differ from those who do not, especially where such differences have existed for three or more generations, as they have in Queensland.
Important as economic and geographic forces remain, they always have to work through politics, of which parliament is only one small part. Queensland is different because arrangements made out of rural circumstances largely held in place until the mid-1950s. Underneath the accommodations reached in the 1920s and 1930s with the major companies operating in Queensland – Colonial Sugar Refinery, Mt Isa Mines, Vestey’s meat, and the London bond market -a governing stratum of Labor party politicians, Australian Workers Union officials, state public servants and Catholic clergy built a political culture that offered most Queenslanders some of what they then wanted most: for example, public instruction rather than education, and free hospitals rather than more of either. The repressiveness of this alliance grew as the old grouping was challenged by militant workers. When Bjelke-Petersen declared a State of Emergency during the 1971 Springbok football tour, he used a section of a strike-breaking Act that Labor had introduced in 1938, and had buttressed during the 1948 rail strike. The police bludgeoning of communist MLA, Fred Paterson, while he stood on the footpath watching a protest march against these 1948 amendments, is only the most notorious example of how Labor governed.
The linkages are clear. At root, there was a shared commitment to rural life as morally, politically and economically sound. The A.W.U. machine was a prize in itself but its voting strength extended its officers’ ambitions to the Labor party, and through it to the government. Industrialisation threatened this power flow by strengthening craft unions open to ‘communist’ influence. The A.W.U. believed that it could be secure as Queensland’s one big union, covering all kinds of unskilled and all grades of semi-skilled labour, only if Queensland’s rural bias was maintained. The Labor party was Labor in name but represented more rural seats than. city ones; its leadership was non-metropolitan and usually derived from within the A.W.U .. The Catholic Church favoured farming as the best bulwark against the Syllabus of Errors, arguing that everything from ‘race suicide’ to communism was less likely away from urban industry.
The church had a special interest: state aid, which it had got for its secondary schools in 1900 by having the Scholarship moneys won in competitive public examinations paid directly to its schools. Thereafter, proposals to raise the school leaving age above 14, or to open secondary education to everyone, were opposed by the Church: such reforms would undermine the Scholarship system upon which its colleges and convents depended. The Church also opposed modernising the curriculum because such changes were invariably subversive and often beyond the teaching capacities of their own poorly educated religious orders. There was no Jesuit college in Queensland. Support for the Scholarship became a question of faith and morals. As so often before, the church had adapted a pagan instrument, in this case, of liberal progress, to its own conservative ends.
In addition, the Scholarship system offered some social advancement, especially into the state’s teaching and public services, whose recruitment standards were kept at Junior (Intermediate) level in order to aid this emancipation. One result was that the public service and the state’s teachers became defenders of the Scholarship and of low entry requirements, if only because their promotion prospects were threatened by matriculants and graduates. At the close of Labor’s rule in the late 1950s, two-thirds of Queensland’s 91 senior public servants had entered the service with Junior or lower qualifications. Senior did not become the entry standard for clerks until 1974. The public service tended to be not only catholic and Labor, but also rural-minded and inept. Even when Labor governments recruited outside experts, they brought similar attitudes: Colin Clark and Raphael Cilento.
Between 1938 and 1953, Colin Clark was Queensland’s economic brains trust. His religious commitment to small scale rural production gave a veneer of respectability to the prejudices of and problems that were the Queensland economy. By 1921, employment throughout Australia in manufacturing almost equalled employment in pastoral pursuits and agriculture combined. Not so in Queensland, where pastoral and agricultural employment were each greater than that manufacturing. In the first quarter of the century the state’s railway mileage was more than doubled. This massive public underwriting of rural expansion meant that the government had no funds to join in Australia’s limited industrialisation in the 1920s, even if it had really wanted to. The rural bias of the economy helped to conceal under-employment throughout the 1930s while the assured domestic sugar market, although at reduced prices, somewhat sheltered Queensland from the depression’s worst effects. The lesson learnt was that agriculture was sounder than manufacturing. The 1940s reinforced this experience with its great demand for food to supply Australian and U.S. armies, and later, British civilians. Queensland was considered unsafe for war industries and so missed out on another stimulus to manufacturing. A committee which reported on the Development of Secondary Industry in 1946 was soberly optimistic because the war had left Queensland with one empty munitions factory to lease to manufacturers. The government equated mining with machinery and most of the loans from its Secondary Industry Division went to copper, tin and cement extracting firms.
Cilento’s 1936 appointment as Director-General of Health saw the start of a public hospital program, especially concerned with maternity cases, in which the government’s desire to populate the whole state coincided with a Catholic concern for large families. There can be no doubt of the program’s popularity, indeed, of its almost mystical presence. One of my firmest childhood memories is of being reminded that the professor of gynaecology had delivered me free of charge in a public ward. Ned Hanlon, the then Health Minister, is remembered less for his premiership (1946-1952) than for the building of Brisbane’s Women’s Hospital, in whose forecourt stands his statue. After Commonwealth finance ended in 1950, Queensland was the only state to keep free hospitals, which it managed to do at the expense of secondary education. Such priorities suited the Catholic ascendency, and did not conflict with the ailing nonindustrial economy.
The free hospitals versus high schools question captures the spirit of Labor’s rule because its remoteness from immediate political and economic demands shows how pervasive the rural-Catholic outlook became, even under the premiership of a Scottish Protestant, William Forgan Smith, who added four faculties to the University: Agriculture, Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science.
Although the constituents of the ALP-AWU-Catholic alliance came with the Labor government in 1915, it was during Forgan Smith’s decade as premier from 1932 to 1942 that they were consolidated. His initial cabinet of ten comprised nine non-metropolitan members, seven Catholics and six AWU men. In the first period of Labor’s rule from 1915 to 1929, there was substantial internal opposition to the dominant clique, who were occasionally brought into line. Under Forgan Smith, these elements were eliminated from the ALP and the AWU but they reformed around the Trades and Labour Councils and the Communist Party. Labor’s ferocious anti-communism delighted that political architect and admirer of Mussolini, James Duhig, who had been priest and bishop in Queensland for twenty years before being Archbishop of Brisbane from 1917 to 1965. Duhig’s ideological contribution to the Labor alliance is not surprising until his conservatism is recognised; unlike most Australian Catholic bishops, Duhig was a Tory. What is no less surprising was his involvement in the administrative side of the state’s political and economic life. Like Theodore, whom he greatly admired, Duhig promoted the development of primary industries, and his presidency of the Royal Geographical Society was in keeping with his enthusiasm for oil exploration. Duhig took care to court the Anglican hierarchy and to avoid offending Protestant sensibilities, but his political successes made it inevitable that the Nonconformists would be implacably resentful. At the 1938 elections, a Protestant Labor Party polled well enough to gain one seat. Sectarianism was no less bitter in Queensland than in Victoria, even if Duhig could be more gracious in victory than Mannix was in defeat.
Thus Queensland was administered by a Catholic rural movement long before Santamaria met Archbishop Mannix. The Hanlon and Gair governments (1946-1957) did not need the Industrial Groups to show them the shortest way with communists. Santamaria’s early ideal of ‘The Earth -Our Mother’ was being realised in Queensland, though almost everyone involved there would have been embarrassed by the intellectual pleading which Santamaria provided. A general mentality of feudal clericalism proved as good a way as any of sustaining the rule of monopoly capital on behalf of Mt Isa Mines and CSR. Colin Clark recently reported that when he returned to Queensland in the late 1930s he found that the Labor government ‘purported to control the entire production and distribution of sugar, using the C.S.R. Company as agent. But it very much looked as if the reverse was taking place …’)
The potential for northern development to puzzle outside observers is indeed great, and several writers confuse it with the corruption practised in other states. In 1883, the premier, Sir Thomas Mcllwraith, showed his faith in Queensland by proposing that his government allow a land grant railway company 12 million acres. In 1896, Mcllwraith was acutely embarrassed by the unexpected death of the general manager of the Queensland National Bank, which had lent him £255,000 on securities of £60,700. This lesson in public finance was not lost on a subsequent Treasurer who, in 1899, concealed the colony’s bankruptcy by using £500,000 of Government Savings Bank deposits without any authority. It was from this stimulating intellectual climate that E.G. Theodore emerged as a pre-Keynesian mine-owner. Although his failure to anticipate the multiplying effects of public expenditure on his private enterprises cost him the Federal treasurership.
Not all Queensland politicians have been so large-minded. In 1946 Commonwealth police found 250 kilos of black market tobacco stored in the garage of the house occupied by the Minister for Health. Ten years later, a Royal Commission found the same minister guilty of collecting bribes for Labor party funds. Magistrates acquitted him on both occasions. Most rumours and allegations of corruption were either not investigated or were dismissed. In 1940, when bridge contractors presented the premier with a portable radio, the main point of public dispute was the value of the banknotes inside: £10,000 being a favoured sum. The frequency and grandeur of such allegations made it too easy for the opposition to suggest that only Labor politicians operated with one hand in the till and the other in the ballot box. Time has not weakened nor coalition government stifled the venality of public life. In 1966, the state parliamentary Labor leader resigned on the day before the Courier Mail announced that he had understated his taxable income by over $66,000 as a result of importing tin plates from Taiwan. The 1970 Comalco share handouts went to cabinet ministers, public servants, ALP officials and the Labor member for
Gladstone. Many of the checks on government available in the Westminster model have long been absent from Queensland. The Legislative CouncIl was abolished in 1922 under Gilbertian circumstances and preceded by one of the most remarkable devices ever: a proxy voting bill which allowed Theodore to exercise personally the vote of absent members. In the words of an opposition squib,
Whenever the government is found in a fix
My voice shall carry for those of six.
Significantly, Bjelke-Petersen has not demonstrated his loyalty to the British way by re-establishing a house of review. Two innovations which he has been forced to live with are a few parliamentary committees, and questions without notice, which are answered in kind.
Labor’s grand old alliance was broken from outside in the aftermath of Evatt’s splitting the Federal party, and from within when the AWU temporarily allied itself with the communist-led Trades and Labour Council following the 1956 shearers’ strike. When Labor was defeated in May 1957 it was succeeded by Australia’s only Country Party-dominated government, which had no more idea of how to break out of Queensland’s malaise than had its predecessors. These economic difficulties were highlighted by the Federal government’s 1960 credit squeeze and the 1961 swing to Labor which brought Calwell within one seat of forming a government. The credit squeeze blinded some commentators to the state’s chronic unemployment, which had been much higher than the Australian average throughout the 1950s, despite (or because of) a relatively slower rate of population increase. In 1962-63, an investigation of Queensland’s manufacturing industry found too few new factories to draw statistically significant conclusions.
The 1961 swing to Labor has been added to a list of alleged proofs that, despite the past decade, Queensland is inherently radical. To support this cheeriness, a long tradition is established from the armed camp at Barcaldine in 1891, through the world’s first Labor government in 1899, Australia’s first general strike in 1912, the anti-conscription stance of premier Ryan, forty years of nearly continuous Labor rule, Australia’s only communist parliamentarian, and the militancy of certain Queensland unions in the 1920s and 1940s. Just as it has been shown that the Labor party was in reality a country party, so it can be argued that most of the other examples cited are either misinterpreted or extrapolated out of context. For example, the militancy of the Twenties and Forties was directed against the Labor government’s reactionary policies. Other dissenting highpoints were protests by depressed rural producers or disadvantaged regions, that is, by forces which today are marshalled behind Bjelke-Petersen’s government. Change over time is history’s divisive equation. Broken or blunted are the tough realities which once brought forth shearing-shed anarchism and bush populism, or determined railway workers in their militancy.
likewise, the experience of Queensland’s blacks is not only different from that of whites, it is also more of a piece than that of blacks elsewhere. Well before other colonies started, and long after other states stopped, Queensland’s government took an activist approach towards Aboriginal management. Despite some recent window dressing, the philosophy of preservation and protection, first enacted in 1897, still prevails. The health of the whites was protected by locking away on penal settlements, like Palm Island, those blacks to whom whites had given tubercular, leprous and venereal infections. The wealth of pastoral companies was preserved by using other settlements as breeding grounds for cheap station labour. Blacks under this system acquired a healthy respect for a law which was custodian of such wealth as they were allowed to earn and able to keep from swindling police sergeants. Under this regime, Aboriginal numbers increased, the militant moved to Redfern, those under church control developed centres of resistance, and Uncle Toms abounded. Today, the militant are driven out of, rather than into, the camps which officially are hailed as the antidote to the apartheid of land rights. Within that old frame-work, change has moved slowly over time, establishing new forms of oppression before provoking fresh resistance.
Bjelke-Petersen is both inheritor and destroyer of these old ways. He uses ALP laws from the 1930s and ’40s to bolster the transformation of Queensland from being a hillbilly Tennessee to become a Texas bonanza. The over-used metaphor of a ‘Deep North’ entirely misses the point. Queensland is no longer like the Deep South, but is the New South. Its faults are those of progress, growth and development -as foreign monopoly capital understands those words. Under post-depression ALP governments, Queensland was indeed like Tennessee, or, more accurately, like County Clare in Ireland. To label Queensland by its civil liberties is to ignore the substance of Bjelke-Petersen’s regime, which cannot be as easily authoritarian as some of its Labor predecessors were precisely because it has unleashed on Queensland that ‘Constant revolutionising of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainty and agitation’2 which Marx identified in the bourgeoisie.
History judges Bjelke-Petersen to be the farmer who killed rural idiocy, the lay preacher whose policies ensure that all things holy will be profaned. (Hasn’t Joh himself started to take a little white wine with his meals?) From his first equipment-hiring ventures and aeroplanes to his current use of a professional image-maker, Bjelke-Petersen is stamped as capitalist moderniser, not as feudal throwback. He knows the relative significance of mineral and peanut oils, even if his opponents do not. The votes of a few small farmers help him to realise the interests of certain big corporations. His party’s name change from Country to National and the votes won by National Party candidates in urban areas are the signs to read. It is the Liberals, not the ALP, who have lost most and have the most to fear, in parliamentary terms, from Joh’s successes. Forget about Joh Bananas, and remember that his life-long hero has been Henry Ford.
Not that Bjelke-Petersen wants to industrialise. He ridicules southern manufacturing as a charge against Queensland’s wealth. To the extent that he has any long-term economic plan, it is that growing mineral exports can lever overseas meat and sugar contracts; will need construction work; can support service industries; and be supplemented by tourism. As evidence he can point to state government expenditures which have quadrupled since he became premier in 1968, while mining royalties are twenty times greater. Beyond a pride in these superficial trends, he places his faith in foreign investors rebuffed by the Commonwealth, which has to watch the broader and longer-term interests of Australia and of capital.
As an advocate of states’ rights, Bjelke-Petersen ruris a poor third to Labor premiers Forgan Smith and Hanlon. His far greater success derives from those people whose rights he actually is defending, namely, anyone avoiding Commonwealth regulation, or with speculative capital: Utah and CRA; Wiley Fancher and the Moscow Narodny Bank; Mr Iwasaki’s Yeppoon resort and -in time to come -Great Barrier Reef Oil Drilling (Aust) Pty Ltd. They are Joh’s constituency. The book-burning bible bashers who want to castrate poofs and shoot reds merely get the pleasure of playing with his gerrymander. States’ rights have always been a mask for class interests, or more usually, for the interests of some section of capital which is on the outer at Melbourne and Canberra. United secession by Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland would serve Japanese capital better than the old Brisbane Line.
In encouraging miners and speculators, Joh has attached himself to one predicted Australian future. The small farmers and bush workers who kept Labor in office are going, and Joh is using their dying resentment to reward the very people who have killed them off and who are already undermining factory and office jobs. The regrowth of massive opposition in Queensland is coming from such newly threatened groups, as well as from Aboriginals and mine workers, who are once more in the front line of the profit-making. Radicalism cannot be born again from the glory that was Labor’s Portuguese-style fascism.
If mining is allowed to conquer manufacturing until all of Australia becomes, in Sir Roderick Carnegie’s words, ‘the Uruguay of the South Pacific’, then fascist will be a far more appropriate description of all of Australia than it ever has been of Queensland. The rule of capital could not survive such a total economic reverse without open dictatorship. In such a pass we might be tempted to apply to Bjelke-Petersen, and even to his Labor predecessors, the Bulletin’s 1922 obituary judgement of an earlier Queensland Premier: ‘We had no idea how good a man he was till we found out how rotten subsequent men could be.
Quadrant, December 1978, p.9.
K. Marx & F. Engels, Collected Works, Volume 6 (Lawrence and Wishart, London 1976) p487.
Bulletin, 22 June 1922, cited by G.C. Bolton, ‘Robert Philp’, in D.J. Murphy & H B. Joyce, (eds.) Queensland Political Portraits, (University of Queensland Press 1978) p.220
Rupert Goodman, Secondary Education in Queensland, 1860-1960 (A.N.U. Press, Canberra, 1968). Marion Gough, et al., Queensland: Industrial Enigma (Melbourne University Press, 1964).
Glen Lewis, ‘Queensland Nationalism and Australian Capitalism’, in E.L. Wheelwright and Ken Buckley, (eds.), Essays in the Political Economy of Australian Capitalism, Volume Two, (A.N.Z. Book Co., Sydney 1978), pp. 110-147.
B B. Schaffer and K.W. Knight, Top Public Servants in Two States (University of Queensland Papers, Brisbane, 1963). ‘Political Chronicle’, Australian Journal of Politics and History, 1955-1978 passim.
Social Indicators, No.2, (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, 1978).
Queensland Year Book, 1977 (Australian Bureau of Statistics, Brisbane, 1977).
Posted on April 8, 2012 by Workers BushTelegraph 2 Comments
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Tag: DC United
MLS Quarterfinals Leg 1: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Categories: Columbus Crew, DC United, FC Dallas, Leagues: Major League Soccer, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls
Tags: columbus crew, DC United, Major League Soccer, MLS, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Thierry Henry
The first legs of the MLS Cup Quarterfinals are in the books and we finally got to see what teams really have to offer with their seasons on the line. Some stepped up while others crumbled. As is usually the case, the difference between a win and a loss is one or two moments of brilliance from a single player. Lets take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly to come out of the MLS Cup Quarterfinals first legs. GOOD: Charlie Davies (New England Revolution/Forward) – Charlie Davies, along with teammates Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen were ... Read more
Preview Of The MLS Knockout Round Matches
Categories: FC Dallas, Leagues: Major League Soccer, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City, Thierry Henry, Vancouver Whitecaps
Tags: DC United, FC Dallas, Major League Soccer, MLS, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders, Sporting KC, Vancouver Whitecaps
Major League Soccer wrapped up its regular season with one final weekend that saw teams eliminated from playoff contention and other teams cement their spot in the postseason. Before the league’s best get to play their first game in the postseason, the MLS Knockout Round must be held to finalize the field. Four teams will battle it out for the final two spots. In the Western Conference, FC Dallas and Vancouver Whitecaps will meet in Frisco, TX on Wednesday night. Both teams are trying to return to the playoffs as neither qualified last season. FC Dallas qualified in 2011 and Vancouver ... Read more
3 Ways MLS Can Combat the Fierce Competition From Foreign Leagues
Robert Hay
Categories: Leagues: Major League Soccer
Tags: Chivas USA, DC United, Major League Soccer, MLS, Montreal, New England, New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC, U.S Soccer
As we’ve discussed for weeks now on this site, the new MLS brand (“MLS Next”) comes at a time of incredible importance to the league. For most of the front office and media, the focus has been on the league’s future and how bright it looks. However, the league needs to take a hard look at the present if it even wants to have a future considering the American soccer landscape is more challenging than it seems. The league office decided to launch its rebrand to coincide with some major changes to the league. You can argue the last major ... Read more
Analyzing The MLS Playoff Race In Detail
Categories: Leagues: Major League Soccer, Los Angeles Galaxy, New York Red Bulls, Seattle Sounders
Tags: chicago fire, Chivas USA, Colorado Rapids, columbus crew, DC United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, la galaxy, Major League Soccer, MLS, Montreal Impact, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Philadelphia Union, Portland Timbers, Real Salt Lake, San Jose Earthquakes, Seattle Sounders, Sporting Kansas City, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps
There’s about a month to go in the MLS season, which will wrap up at the end of October. That means playoff races are reaching their apex, as the field is set for the November tournament that is the best of what the league has to offer. MLS doesn’t have promotion and relegation – and no, it’s almost certainly not happening in your lifetime – the playoffs function as the alternative drama to the race against the drop. Some would say it’s better drama. David Villa marveled at the playoff system, saying at the MLS NEXT launch in New York ... Read more
Candidates Who Could Replace Tim Howard During His Leave Of Absence
Caitlin O'Connell
Categories: Brad Guzan, Leagues: EPL, Leagues: Major League Soccer, US, US National Team, US Soccer, World Cup 2014
Tags: Aston Villa, Bill Hamid, Brad Guzan, chicago fire, Cody Cropper, DC United, Nick Rimando, Sean Johnson, Tim Howard, USMNT
While Tim Howard continues to play for Everton and spend more time with his family, there will be sizeable void in the United States Men National Team’s defense in a very literal sense. Between the two back-up goalkeepers who traveled with the team to Brazil, and a few scattered amongst MLS and the English Premier League, the fight for a starting birth should become very interesting during the next year. A handful of friendlies and the 2015 COCACAF Gold Cup will present candidates with a great opportunity to stake a claim. Who Klinsmann will bring to those games is, as ... Read more
DC United is the Antithesis of MLS 3.0
Categories: DC United, Leagues: Major League Soccer
Tags: Ben Olsen, Bobby Boswell, DC United, Eddie Johnson, Fabian Espindola, MLS
MLS 3.0 is in full force and the sports media have focused like a laser on the growth of the league. Soccer-specific stadiums have sprung up across the country, academies are churning out young talent, big names are coming across the Atlantic to play in North America, and suddenly U.S. men’s national team players are booking tickets to places like Houston and Philadelphia to remain relevant for Jurgen Klinsmann. Yet despite this glut of self-congratulations and celebration of an arriving league, the vestiges of the old MLS 2.0 remain and threaten to spoil the party. DC United was the toast ... Read more
NBC Highlights Two of MLS’s Best Rivalries to Mixed Results
Categories: 2013 MLS Schedule, Leagues: Major League Soccer
Tags: DC United, Dwayne de Rosario, MLS, New York Red Bulls, Portland Timbers, Seattle Sounders
Despite some of the more odd pairings for MLS Rivalry Weekend/Day (you can just taste the hatred between the Union and Revs!) the attempt by MLS and its TV partners to drive attention and viewers on a crowded sports weekend by putting so many hated teams on the pitch over two days led to some interesting matches. While we wait to see if the marketing moved the dial, the schedule did put on the same day two of the best, most high-profile rivalries in MLS. The first is one that has existed since the inception of the league and the ... Read more
MLS ’13 – The End of the Western Conference’s Dominance
Categories: Leagues: Major League Soccer, Uncategorized
Tags: chicago fire, Colorado Rapids, columbus crew, David Beckham, DC United, FC Dallas, Houston Dynamo, la galaxy, landon donovan, Los Angeles Galaxy, Major League Soccer, MLS, MLS Cup, New England Revolution, New York Red Bulls, Real Salt Lake
For the past three years, the gulf between the two MLS conferences has seemingly been as deep as the Grand Canyon. In 2011 and 2012, the East’s representative in MLS Cup was Houston, a convert from the West. The last time MLS Cup featured an original Eastern Conference team was 2008 when two teams from the East played for the championship (those silly meaningless geography days). In discussions of the best teams in MLS, the conversation has naturally gravitated from who would come out of the West. The dominance makes sense in a number of ways. Los Angeles has taken utmost ... Read more
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Home > Model Behavior
From Paper to Pixels
Lindsey Gerdes
Devon Scott has walked the runway for Armani and Dior, but the successful male model and aspiring actor references Landers (as in Ann) over Lagerfeld in conversation – a practice influenced by a childhood in a strict, but supportive, military household with parents who routinely left motivational messages on his pillow.
Scott, 24, cites their example as a motivating factor in avoiding the shallow excesses associated with his industry. “Everybody in my family has always told me that as long as you know where you’ve been, you always know where you’re going. I know where I’ve come from so, for me, to try to be someone else and look like this or be like this doesn’t mean everything.”
Another influence has been Scott’s mentor, Duane West, a prominent motivational speaker he met in Atlanta two years ago. Says Scott, “We passed each other in the gym and we spoke. I knew who he was because he does the Maury Povich show and you’ll see him on there talking to kids who are coming from battered households.” West, who had once been a celebrity fitness trainer, began workout sessions with Scott, providing a disciplined example that even led Scott, who was an occasional social drinker, to quit alto-gether. (West says that a par-ticularly brutal training day after Scott had gone out the night before ultimately encouraged this decision.)
Scott realized he also wanted to provide mentorship to others, and a year and a half ago Scott and West co-founded Teen Focus, an upbeat magazine geared towards a teen audience, but also written and managed by kids (ages 7 to 19) themselves. “They’re doing marketing, adver-tising, providing different concepts as far as layout. They’re becoming entrepreneurs at a very early age,” he says. The magazine is set to debut this spring (the pair are still seeking additional sponsors) and a TV magazine component has begun airing on Georgia public television.
The kids have the opportunity to interview inspirational business and community leaders, going to their offices and even sitting in their chairs. “They realize that if I follow these steps, keep the faith, and am able to overcome adversity, then I have the opportunity to sit in the same chair.” Scott’s own journey has involved a measure of each.
The native of High Point, N.C., (the hometown of American Idol Fantasia Barrino, he notes) was offered the opportunity to model after high school, but decided he wanted to be the first in his family to go directly to college. “I wanted something to step up on,” says the perennial optimist, who uses the term in place of the more negative “fall back on.”
He left his small, tight-knit community, and traveled to Marine Military Academy in Harlingen, Texas, on a track and football scholarship. “In high school I was an average talent but I had a work ethic above other classmates that allowed me to work hard and put up with the losses.”
During his time at the academy he also honed a disciplined approach that includes a 6 a.m. start to the day (four years of a 5:30 a.m. “wake-up call” of loud horns will do that). His daily routine includes a trip to the gym, 30-45 minutes writing in a journal, and a call to his parents, even as his work has become increasingly time-consuming.
Since moving to the highly competitive New York market this summer, Scott has balanced casting calls, acting classes, and part-time jobs to help pay rent with his work at Teen Focus.
Current Teen Focus activities include setting up an escrow account that will aid program participants in obtaining the necessary funds for college and provide assistance for cost-prohibitive events like prom, although Scott stresses the program is geared toward kids in any financial demographic. “I feel you have kids from households with lots of money also lacking love and support.”
West – who serves as personal mentor, as well as business partner, to Scott – also notes that Scott sends a powerful message to kids that they shouldn’t neglect their educa-tion in pursuing a dream. “Many of these kids feel they’ll lose the opportunity. We use Devon as an example because he’s gotten his degree and it’s an asset and shows he has much more to offer.”
Does Scott worry that the modeling industry perpetuates a beauty myth that conflicts with his upbeat, positive message? “I think about it sometimes. People say it’s based on your looks, but I get more jobs on my personality. Each character I’m portraying or becoming excites me. It’s about longevity for me.”
Scott recently landed his first national commercial (a promo for ABC’s The Bachelorette) although he admits that New York has been a “big challenge,” financially and otherwise. “I’m out there pounding the pavement.” Then he quickly brushes aside this momentary complaint to share his motto. “Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.’” The author of that? Ann Landers.
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Kidston: Building a true community partnership
May 17, 2016 By cmsadmin
Four months and 13 days ago, we started out with a guess. Sure, the Missoula Current went live days before in a test run, but it was on Jan. 4 – my last day as a corporate-paid reporter – that we now count as our official launch date (and what I hope doesn’t count as career suicide).
The product began on a shoe-string budget and an equally limited digital platform. We had two slots for unique local content and a larger section for national news and food, both courtesy of Reuters and its digital wire service. It seemed like a lot at the time, but looking back, it hardly registered as a drop in the proverbial bucket.
Over the past few months, Missoula Current has evolved away from national news under the belief that savvy readers can get their national news just about anywhere, from Yahoo to CNN to their favorite daily metro.
Why reinvent the wheel when you’re aiming for originality?
In recent weeks, we began revamping our homepage to reflect several suggested changes that will position us to grow our focus on local news and information. I did my best to lay it out during a presentation to the Missoula Senior Forum last week, but my public speaking skills are on par with my golfing abilities.
At any rate, recent changes include the addition of more local stories, and we’ve made it possible for readers to comment on those stories. We’ve also worked with Molly Bradford at MissoulaEvents.net to incorporate a calendar of local actives at Missoula Current.
What’s more, we’ve added a popular new section dedicated to community voices. Contributing to the new section is a staple of talented local columnists who write on a number of issues – and from a number of political views. They include Robert Seidenschwarz, chairman of the board of directors at the Montana World Affairs Council who writes on, well, world affairs as they pertain to Big Sky Country.
Just down the highway in Lolo, writers Suzanne Miller and Jeff Taylor provide a weekly column giving artful insight on the challenges of running a Montana guest ranch. “The View from Dunrovin,” as they’re calling it, is both serious and lighthearted, and always entertaining.
More recently, Lauren Gonzalez has joined our staple of burgeoning columnists. Gonzalez, a dedicated mother and parenting coach, would be the first to tell you that being a mom may be the world’s hardest job. She overcame her own emotional struggles and now dishes advice to new and expecting parents while encouraging women to take life by the horns.
As I sit here on a Tuesday morning, we’re also working with several local startup incubators to add a weekly column exploring new Missoula businesses. A portion of our city’s future and economic health depends upon the success of today’s entrepreneurs, and who better to tell their story than the entrepreneurs themselves?
Sorry that sentence ended in a reflexive pronoun.
While we’ve added a lot – and accomplished much in four short months – we’ve got a long ways to go. With our dedication to providing a true community product, we’re always looking for productive insight and advice. Our food section will be going away any day now, but we haven’t decided how to replace it, if at all. Suggestions are welcome, so long as those suggestions are realistic and sustainable.
Several months ago and early in our evolution, Ed Kemmick, founder of Last Best News and an old peer of mine over in Billings, gave me a good bit of advice. Among it, he urged transparency at all stages of the process. It is, he said, what separates our digital news product from the practice of corporate media, which is happy to report on others but is rarely forthcoming in its own endeavors.
Okay, I said the last part, but his point was well taken.
People always ask about the revenue side of our upstart digital news magazine, and my answers are generally positive, and for good reason. We hired an advertising rep to head our sales “department” on a commission basis roughly six weeks ago. At this moment, there are several other goals in play to help bolster that effort – and it does need bolstering. By this time next week, we’ll have more information on what shape that will take.
I met Russ Fletcher last week at City Club Missoula. As founder of the Montana Associated Technology Roundtables, he knows something or two about launching a digital product. On the issue of revenue, he noted several media models in place elsewhere in the country, including The Frontier in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which relies exclusively on subscriptions. They don’t come cheap at $30 a month. Others have taken the nonprofit route, relying on grants to make ends meet.
At the Missoula Current, we’ve decided against a paywall for the time being, believing the news should be free and available to all readers, regardless of economic standing. Instead, we’ll see if advertising and the occasional donation will be enough to survive. As our readership grows, I believe this combination will work, though the challenge will come when it’s time to add a few more reporters.
That will take community support and an engaged readership. It will also serve as a test to whether Missoula truly wants more than one source for daily news. If it does, the thinking goes, the support will come. At any rate, give us a read, like us on Facebook and share an occasional story. It all goes a long way in growing our readership.
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All posts for the day July 15th, 2008
Many evangelicals do now support a two-state solution and creation of a new Palestinian state that includes the vast majority of the West Bank. They support justice for both Israelis and Palestinians. If all of the learned men are going to be truly historically honest, surely they must admit that the Jews have every right to inhabit the land of their fathers, the covenant land given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by none other than God himself and admit that right was the same God who took them next away from that land now twice too… THE NEW TESTAMENT DOES NOT talk about the Jews return next to it too. But God still wants the Jews and Palestinians brothers to live in peace together.
The following article appeared in the New York Times:
Letter to President Bush From Evangelical Leaders
Dear Mr. President:
We write as evangelical Christian leaders in the United States to thank you for your efforts (including the major address on July 16) to reinvigorate the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to achieve a lasting peace in the region. We affirm your clear call for a two-state solution. We urge that your administration not grow weary in the time it has left in office to utilize the vast influence of America to demonstrate creative, consistent and determined U.S. leadership to create a new future for Israelis and Palestinians. We pray to that end, Mr. President.
We also write to correct a serious misperception among some people including some U.S. policymakers that all American evangelicals are opposed to a two-state solution and creation of a new Palestinian state that includes the vast majority of the West Bank. Nothing could be further from the truth. We, who sign this letter, represent large numbers of evangelicals throughout the U.S. who support justice for both Israelis and Palestinians. We hope this support will embolden you and your administration to proceed confidently and forthrightly in negotiations with both sides in the region.
As evangelical Christians, we embrace the biblical promise to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you.” (Genesis 12:3). And precisely as evangelical Christians committed to the full teaching of the Scriptures, we know that blessing and loving people (including Jews and the present State of Israel) does not mean withholding criticism when it is warranted. Genuine love and genuine blessing means acting in ways that promote the genuine and long-term well being of our neighbors. Perhaps the best way we can bless Israel is to encourage her to remember, as she deals with her neighbor Palestinians, the profound teaching on justice that the Hebrew prophets proclaimed so forcefully as an inestimably precious gift to the whole world.
Historical honesty compels us to recognize that both Israelis and Palestinians have legitimate rights stretching back for millennia to the lands of Israel/Palestine. Both Israelis and Palestinians have committed violence and injustice against each other. The only way to bring the tragic cycle of violence to an end is for Israelis and Palestinians to negotiate a just, lasting agreement that guarantees both sides viable, independent, secure states. To achieve that goal, both sides must give up some of their competing, incompatible claims. Israelis and Palestinians must both accept each other’s right to exist. And to achieve that goal, the U.S. must provide robust leadership within the Quartet to reconstitute the Middle East roadmap, whose full implementation would guarantee the security of the State of Israel and the viability of a Palestinian State. We affirm the new role of former Prime Minister Tony Blair and pray that the conference you plan for this fall will be a success.
Mr. President, we renew our prayers and support for your leadership to help bring peace to Jerusalem, and justice and peace for all the people in the Holy Land.
Finally, we would request to meet with you to personally convey our support and discuss other ways in which we may help your administration on this crucial issue.
Ronald J. Sider, President
Evangelicals for Social Action
Don Argue, President
Northwest University
Raymond J. Bakke, Chancellor
Gary M. Benedict, President
The Christian & Missionary Alliance
George K. Brushaber, President
Gary M. Burge, Professor
Wheaton College & Graduate School
Tony Campolo, President/Founder
Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education
Christopher J. Doyle, CEO
American Leprosy Mission
Leighton Ford, President
Leighton Ford Ministries
Daniel Grothe, Pastoral Staff
New Life Church (Colorado Springs)
Vernon Grounds, Chancellor
Denver Seminary
Stephen Hayner, former President
InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
Joel Hunter, Senior Pastor
Northland Church
Member, Executive Committee of the NAE
Jo Anne Lyon, Founder/CEO
Gordon MacDonald, Chair of the Board
World Relief
Albert G. Miller, Professor
Richard Mouw, President
David Neff, Editor
Glenn R. Palmberg, President
Evangelical Covenant Church
Earl Palmer, Senior Pastor
University Presbyterian Church Seattle
Victor D. Pentz, Pastor
Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta
John Perkins, President
John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation & Development
Bob Roberts, Jr., Senior Pastor
Northwood Church, Dallas
Leonard Rogers, Executive Director
Evangelicals for Middle East Understanding
Andrew Ryskamp, Executive Director
Christian Reformed World Relief Committee
Chris Seiple, President
Institute for Global Engagement
Robert A. Seiple, Former Ambassador-at-Large,
Luci N. Shaw, Author, Lecturer
Regent College, Vancouver
Jim Skillen, Executive Director
Center for Public Justice
Glen Harold Stassen, Professor
Richard Stearns, President
Clyde D. Taylor, Former Chair of the Board
Harold Vogelaar, Director
Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice
Berten Waggoner, National Director
Vineyard USA
http://jerusalemprayerteam.org/articles/080107.html
THE CHRISTIAN AND MISSIONARY ALLIANCE, Update from Dr. Benedict – By Gary M. Benedict – August 16, 2007
I recently joined other evangelical leaders in signing a letter to President Bush concerning peace in the Middle East. The letter represents my personal conviction and does not represent the official position of The Alliance or the Board of Directors of the C&MA. The Christian and Missionary Alliance has been ministering in the Arab lands since 1890. For more than 110 years, we have been working among Israelis and Palestinians. We are seeking to fulfill Jesus’ Commission to take the gospel to people in all nations.
The letter I signed encourages President Bush to continue to pursue a peaceful solution to the conflict in the region. We are instructed in the Bible to “seek peace and pursue it,” yet I understand that the only true and lasting peace will come when the Prince of Peace returns. Please join me in praying for the peace of Jerusalem and that many will find the peace that passes all understanding through Jesus.
We share a common concern for peace in the region and the commitment to obey Jesus’ command to spread the gospel to all people. May God be pleased to reach many and bring glory to our Lord.
Living the Call together, Gary M. Benedict President U.S. C&MA
http://www.cmalliance.org/peaceLetter.jsp
Now does Stephen Harper PM of Canada support his Alliance church position? or his own?
Now for many decades I too have studied the Bible and the prophetic scriptures, dispensational views related to Israel too.. The Jews alone have by their return to Israel have usurped the authority of the Lord God of Hosts Himself, who alone has the right to give and take away the land of Israel as so far there is no New testament word confirming any of it’s return.. …the Land belongs now to Jesus Christ alone and his bride the Church… it is all his, he had undeniably bought it with his life and redeemed it alone!
“The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which has almost five million members in the US, took a step toward a partial boycott of Israeli goods at its 2007 Churchwide Assembly in Chicago where the assembly, the church’s top legislative authority, passed a resolution calling to work toward a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and urging investment in the Palestinian Authority. The assembly then urged “consideration of refusing to buy goods or invest in activities taking place in Israeli settlements, and a review of other economic options,” according to Bishop Christopher Epting, the presiding bishop’s deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations, quoted on the Episcopal Life Online Web site.”
It is interesting that professing Christians people who oppose this proposed peace process, and the related New Testament Biblical truths now they wrongfully, mostly have to resort to personal slander, personal attacks on the others even with clearly emotional, angry statements of “More ‘Orthoheretics’, Anti-Semitic ‘evangelicals’! Buffoons join the fray! outrageous, absurd, “replacement theology” adherents , “un-evangelical”, rabid dog , blind eye , an abomination to the Lord, a swindle , capitulating to the terrorist tactics, not an honest assessment of Israeli policies, an inaccurate indictment, raises similar questions about church leaders, activists and intellectuals , reprobate so-called Christian leaders now join the ranks of another traitor, Jimmy Carter and former Willow Creek pastor John Ortberg, a great embarrassment to Bible believing Christians , a traitor to the Jews. , misrepresented the views of conservative Evangelical Christians…bearing false witness against them…an abomination to the Lord. God Help You! , heretical doctrine , twisted doctrinal , openly heretical and apostate positions by heretics , a cheap political crusade with a social gospel., abject theology and bogus economics in his attempts to repackage Christianity , sanctified socialism , void of authentic biblical substance and economic common sense, Hypocrisy of hypocrisy , hideous diatribe, long departed from their biblical origins. , logical deficiency , lack of exegetically sound biblical foundation , hypocrisy, further , backslidden and/or biblically, historically, politically ignorant theocratic hooligans than a bona fide list of “Evangelical Leaders” by any scriptural understanding of the term.” is rather more reflective of the unspiritual nature of the critics clearly now too to all.
for they the false Jewish supporters can solely refer to the Old Testament verses now such as Jeremiah Chapter 31, Joel 3:2, Amos 9:15 and Psalm 83: for they undeniably have no New Testament substantiations, support for Israel’s return or possession now of the past promised land.
Tagged Arabs, Bible, Christian and Missionary Alliance, CMA, Daystar, Evangelical, Evangelicals, Faith, God, Israel, Jesus, Jews, New Testament, Palestine, Politics, religion
https://witnessed.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/israel-and-palestine/
Canadian Political Christians.. 1
Part 1: It should be clear, apparent to any one reading this post that it seems even very difficult to even try to believe that the New Conservative party of Canada , it’s leaders, it’s supporters, evangelical supporters now too, are even really Christians.. persons who do really care about the good welfare of others.. for the ministry of Jesus and the Apostle undeniably and clearly involved helping the poor and needy people.. not rather the established rich get richer.. Now I do not have to agree with all that was written here, but under the right of free speech they too are allowed to be heard now too.
There has been definite an attempt by some Canadians to associate the Albertan – New Conservatives Party of Canada as being right winged Christian Nazis, dictators, abusive persons, oppressors of the poor people, supported by the rich Jews now too, and there has been undeniable Hitler, Nazi support in the recent decades amongst even the German North American Baptist community in Alberta, as I have personally witnessed also.
But let me also remind you in fairness too that it was the immoral Nazi Hitler, who falsely not only had committed murder of Jews and many others, but he also was the first one to establish a State Social welfare and medical care system.
A true Christian should also still be a balanced Christian, a right winger as well as a left winger.. they should respect law and order, but as well be considerate of, compassionate for all of his neighbors, even the poor and needy persons too.
“The Canadian National Newspaper: Stephen Harper government’s public policy motivations linked to far right affiliations by Paul Chen. Author Trevor Harrison links Preston Manning to Northern Foundation ideological interests
Trevor Harrison links Stephen Harper and his government, along with Conservative Party founders like Preston Manning (right) to bona fide fascist ideologues.
The Stephen Harper government’s systematized negligence on defending Canada’s social fabric proves one thing, beyond any reasonable doubt. Mr. Harper is apparently using Canadian governmental authority to advance the ultra right wing ideological goals that Trevor Harrison outlines in his book. Mr. Harrison documents in the book entitled Of Passionate Intensity, that Prime Minister Stephen Harper was a member of the ultra-right wing Northern Foundation in 1989. Mr. Harrison documents that this Foundation was comprised of Neo-Nazi social Darwinist intellectuals.
The original Nazis, under Adolf Hitler, believed in that Ayrans were destined to rule, and other groups, as inferior populations, were destined to serve the ruled. Neo-Nazis or “modern Nazis”, who are also inspired by “Eugenics”, further believe that these racially superior group of whites, are destined to once again rule the world, under the religious guidance of these “Aryans”, through the creation of a “New World Order” (NWO). “Globalization” is a project among these elites, toward the creation of the NWO.
As social Darwinists, Canada’s Neo-Nazi intellectuals believe that society and the world in general, would be strengthened when weaker “mongrel races” accept their “inferiority” and are allowed to perish, without the protection of social policy, like universal public healthcare, and human rights.
Neo-Nazis view war i.e. the “War on Terrorism”, as desirable, to create a “warrior society”, and to ensure that the resources of the world are under the direction and exclusive control of “Aryan descendants”. A “warrior society” glorifies militarism and military service to defend against “enemies of society”, which include human rights and social activists.
The Northern Foundation of which Mr. Harper was a member, is a male-dominated and self-anointed “white brotherhood”. Females are not excluded though, provided that they accept its highly conformist and male chauvinistic culture of fascism.
Mr. Harper would eventually “officially” break-away from this group. Indeed, it would be unfair to Mr. Harper, to continually link him ideologically to a group that he may have simply sought to explore, in his process of political exploration and outreach. However, upon closer examination, the substantive policy direction of the Conservative government, appears to be emphatically driven by the expressed agenda of the Northern Foundation. This includes massive cuts to programs aimed, for example, at advancing the status of women; and protecting minorities from institutionalized discrimination.
A national social housing group on 12 July 2008, gave the Stephen Harper government a failing grade when it comes to putting roofs over the heads of needy Canadians. Members of ‘ACORN’ say the Conservative government has stood by while housing in Canada has dipped below international standards, and they want action of the issue.
However, the apparent continued apparent support for Eugenic inspired Northern Foundation ideology, suggests that Canadians can expect further worsening of Canada’s quality-of-living under the Stephen Harper government.
Through Eugenics, ruling elites seek to “prune Canada”, and the human race in general, of what are considered by some to be “physically, mentally, socially and even economically ‘unfit’ persons. ” LINK
This is not a “conspiracy theory”. Representatives of ruling elite affiliated with the Northern Foundation, who support the depopulation agenda of Eugenics have openly spoken and written about their objectives. Eugenics is a social Darwinistic related “super-religion” which has operated with the religious circles of elites who subscribe to the principle that only the “fittest should survive”.
The “need” to divert expenditures away from vital social spending into “investments” in a bloating American-linked military-industrial complex, is in turn, the socially engineered result of the corresponding Eugenic-inspired Iraq War.
The unethically perpetrated Iraq War, has in turn been used to rationalize the leaching of billions dollars from defending Canada’s quality-if-life, is designed to intentionally create the conditions for socio-economic dislocation in Canada.
It is apparent that the Iraq War, was motivated by an apparent Eugenic desire by the U.S. George W. Bush administration, to destroy America’s “middle class” resistance to elite desire for “total control”. It is further apparent, that the far-right in Canada through the Harper government, seeks to import that agenda into Canada.
The Harrison documented Neo-Nazism, that is associated with the Northern Foundation, ideologically embraces sexual repression; homophobia; and seeks to prevent constructive measures to redress the plight of the poor, which include senior citizens and children.
The apparent goals of the Northern Foundation, through the Harper government, appear to be to replace Canada as we know it, (as a progressive society), into being a regressive society under the U.S. colonial control, under the direction of a self-anointed clique, that now pursues the clandestine “North American Union” (NAU) agenda. In other words, Mr. Harper appears to be attempting to use public office designed to defend the national interests of all Canadians, to carry out the apparent private agenda of a clique, whose members are determined to transform Canada into their own bleak fascist image under U.S. control.
The support of the Harper government for the undermining of civil rights through the rationalization of the so-called “War on Terrorism”; operates to execute the glorification of militarism and war; messianic Zionism; an apparent bias toward ‘eugenics’ in relation to ignoring the global threat of the HIV-AIDS pandemic, (and the corresponding environmental-related “life and death” issue of Global Warming); and use religion as a means to manipulate the masses. All of these are being conducted to support the desire for Canada to become a U.S. colony through the endorsement of the Security and Prosperity and Partnership of North America (SPPNA); and are all supported by the expressed ideology of the Northern Foundation. More on Stephen Harper and the Northern Foundation as documented by Trevor Harrison
Stephen Harper was Reform Party Policy chief, at a time when it had numerous members of the white supremacist group Heritage Front as members. Trevor Harrison, further documents that Mr. Harper even had Heritage Front members doing security for Preston Manning at Reform Party events in Ontario. The Reform Party would evolve into the Alliance Party of Canada, which sought to take over the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC Party) toward the formation of the “Conservative Party of Canada”. The taking over of the PC Party was sought to provide legitimacy to a movement that was largely continued to be perceived a fringe group from Alberta. However, the current Conservative Party is still apparently governed by the same fringe Reform Party mentality, which in turn is linked with the architects of the far right Northern Foundation.
When Stephen Harper was a member of the ultra-right-wing Northern Foundation in 1989, Mr. Harrison documents that this was a group that had numerous Neo-Nazi skinheads as organizers, as well as a leadership that included a well-known white supremacist and anti-feminist crusader as a prominent leader that sought to take over the mass-media to enable the fulfillment of a right wing agenda.
The Northern Foundation, with the support of corporate allies was able to get Mr. Harper elected in the first place by indeed, taking over the mass-media in Canada. This was done to shelter Mr. Harper from the kinds of critical journalism which had kept him out of power, in the first place. Corporate mass-media owners would seek to remake Mr. Harper and the Conservative Party from being ultra right, into a fabricated image of a non-threatening “moderately conservative” party.
Trevor Harrison also documents that “He [Mr. Harper] had little trouble doing so, as the media had been largely muffled by one fact: press baron Conrad Black, then reaching the height of his powers was also a member of the Northern Foundation and equally shy about having it publicly known.” Mr. Harrison elaborates that, “Journalists feared incurring his wrath as he employed many of them at the time, and was a potential employer for those whom he didn’t employ. Had they made the membership list public, Mr. Black would have been exposed.”
Now that Mr. Harper has been able to seize power by taking over the PC Party (through a breach of contract law), and with the help of, for example, media owners of CanWest Global (that form example, controls many Canadian newspapers including the National Post, and the Ottawa Citizen) who donated money to his political campaigns, the Conservative Party in association with the Northern Foundation now seeks to focus on the fulfillment of an NWO agenda.
Complaining of “socialist/progressive thinking”, and a media/political system controlled by ‘lib/left’ elites, who had been ‘able to impose their agenda on the Canadian people because “small-’c’ conservatives” had been divided. Mr. Harrison further documents that the Northern Foundation was the creation of a number of generally extreme right-wing conservatives, including Anne Hartmann (a director of REAL Women), Geoffrey Wasteneys (A long-standing member of the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada), George Potter (also a member of the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada), author Peter Brimelow, Link Byfield (son of Ted Byfield and himself publisher/president of Alberta Report), and Stephen Harper.
Mr. Harrison, also links former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, who continues to be a leading intellectual of the Conservative Party, right-wing author David Frum (linked to the current U.S. Bush administration), Toronto Sun columnist Peter Worthington and others, as having been affiliated to the Northern Foundation.
The roster of conservative adherents speaking at Foundation conferences in 1989, 1990 and 1992 is equally instructive, further to Mr. Harrison’s very detailed documentation. Among speakers were Dr Walter Block (the Fraser Institute), Ed Vanwoudenberg (leader of the Christian Heritage party), Lubor Zink (an extreme right-wing columnist with the Sun chain — now owned by Quebecor), Dr. John Whitehall (of the Canadian Christian Anti-Communist Crusade), Ron Leitch (president of the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada), Gwen Landolt (founder of the right wing organization REAL Women), Ken Campbell (founder of Renaissance Canada), Paul Fromm (former member of the Western Guard, a neo-fascist group, and later of CFAR), and author William Gairdner. The Foundation’s quarterly, The Northern Voice, had sought to regularly provide advertising space for these same individuals, their fascistic visions, and their related organizations.
Ostensibly, therefore, the Northern Foundation has sought to be a vehicle for bringing together several disparate right-wing groups and otherwise for disseminating a Neo-Nazi ideology. Significantly, it also had cultivated substantial connections to the Reform Party, which would eventually evolve into the current Conservative Party of Canada.
Mr. Harrison also documents, that the Reform Party under the watchful eye of Preston Manning and Stephen Harper, housed former Neo-Nazi Western Guard (an infamous Toronto-area hate group launched in the 1960’s) members like Leigh Smith, and Wolfgang Droege. Mr. Droege had gone on to form Heritage Front and brought other members of that group into the Reform Party and eventual Conservative Party political interests.
More on the makings of the Northern Foundation
The Northern Foundation’s president was Rita Ann Hartmann, widow of former Western Guard radical Paul Hartmann. Ms. Hartmann had moved to Ottawa in 1987 with her six children, two of whom were skinheads who would go on to recruit on behalf of the Heritage Front in the national capital. The Hartmann family, the Toronto Star elaborates. lived in a huge home at 25 Delaware Avenue, in the well-to-do Golden Triangle neighbourhood. From there, Hartmann maintained connections with Neo-Nazi groups across North America. In March 1990, for example, she wrote to the ultra-violent Confederate Hammerskins of Tulsa, Oklahoma, using an alias she favours, Eleanor Cameron. Out of the same address, Ann Hartmann busied herself with REAL Women of Canada. Ms. Hartmann, who has a law degree from the University of Toronto, provides legal advice to REAL Women. In April 1989, for example, she gave an anti-abortion speech to a REAL Women conference at the Radisson Hotel in Ottawa.
Author, Mr. Harrison also further documents that the Northern Foundation’s inaugural conference was also attended by a well-known Conservative MP; a founder of Alberta Report magazine; a senior representative of the Alliance for the Preservation of English in Canada; and a columnist for the Toronto Sun. Many of those associated with the Northern Foundation would go on to play key roles in the Neo-Nazi Heritage Front. These persons include Steve Dumas, the Foundation’s research officer, who would write a regular column in the Front’s Up Front publication under the pseudonym Steve Baker; Geoff Lupton, who had made an unsuccessful attempt in 1989 to establish a Nationalist Party club at Carleton University and who used the pseudonym Geoff Edwards when working on behalf of the Heritage Front; and Eric (Stilts) Hartmann, son of Paul and Ann, who was moved to pen an anti-abortion editorial for Mr. Droege.
“The Northern Foundation Conference was the start of it all for the Heritage Front,” recalls Droege. “From that point on, things really took off.” So too, did things take-over for Mr. Harper who became Prime Minister of Canada, and leader of a party which has apparently sought to fulfill the agenda of the Northern Foundation. That agenda apparently includes blocking candidates like Mr. Warner, which do not present the ideology of the Northern Foundation, that in turn endorses the U.S. President George Bush administration.
Further links with the neo-con National Citizens’ Coalition (NCC)
“The connections between the National Citizens’ Coalition (NCC) and the Reform Party/Canadian Alliance/Conservative Party go back a long way,” also documents Mr. Harrison. Their political agendas have been virtually identical: so called “deficit reduction” against progressive social policies; restriction of immigration; ending universal social programs; lowering taxes for corporations and high-income earners, and ending universal public healthcare,” further elaborates Mr. Harrison.
Colin Brown, the founder of the NCC, began his conservative crusade in 1967 with a full-page ad in the Globe and Mail attacking the federal Liberal government’s plans for a national medicare scheme. Brown would eventually incorporate the far right National Citizens’ Coalition in 1975.
There are no direct ties between the Conservative Party and the National Citizens’ Coalition. Furthermore, with the former President of the National Citizens’ Coalition as leader of the Conservative Party formal ties, with that organization, would be redundant.”
http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2008/07/14/02460.html
Continued at http://postedat.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/canadian-political-christians-2/
PS: A Catholic Priest had rightfully said that the professing Christian the now ex Liberal Prime Minister Paul Martin should be excommunicated from the Catholic church also, FOR HIS SUPPORTING GAYS, GAY MARRIAGES, AND NEVER MIND HIM ALSO SUPPORTING ABORTION AND ALCOHOLISM, and while the Liberal spin doctors next said this was a non critical issue, well it appears Paul Martin should have been excommunicated from the Church but should have also been also excommunicated from the Liberal party for HIM BEING ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS HIS PARTY LOST DEFEAT TO THE NEW CONSERVATIVE PARTY AND IT NO LONGER CAN GET BACK UP ON IT’S FEET AS A RESULT IT SEEMS TOO.
Finally in Canada the LIBERAL NEWS MEDIA IS NOW SERIOUSLY RECOGNIZING, NOTICING THE EFFECT OF THE RELIGIOUS PERSON’S VOTES.. it is kind of too late for them and others to do it too once they the relgious right had helped to form and to elect the Reform Party to eliminate next the Progressive Conservative federally and also had next helped to form, elect the new Conservative Party to to defeat the Liberals..
I have been detailing for decades the significant influence in Canada that the Christian priests and pastors have on their congregation, others. Few people had wanted to admit it at all.
So the Federal Liberals for their past support of gays, abortions are now paying a big price for it .. they are even broke.. no money.. and had lost too many supporters.. they reaped what they had sowed..
Liberal G Kennedy in Ontario is the choice of the religious right as well. Thanks to even ex PM Paul Martin who seems to be dreaming of a comeback too Canadian Catholics flee the Liberal Party in droves too.
“Catholics flee Liberals in droves Catholics have always voted Liberal, until recently As Canada’s once-mighty Liberals consider their future, they might be advised to visit a local church-and not just to pray for the party. The religious vote, it seems, played a major role in their recent election defeat. According to new data from Angus Reid Strategies provided exclusively to Maclean’s, Catholics-who make up 44 per cent of Canada’s population and have preferred the Liberals for decades-are flocking to the Conservatives. Catholic voters back parties that are community-minded, says Andrew Grenville, Angus Reid’s chief research officer. And in 2006, for the first time, they shifted their support to the Tories. This year’s results confirm the trend: outside Quebec, 49 per cent of Catholics who attend church weekly voted Conservative, compared to just 38 per cent in 2004. Within Quebec, where upwards of 80 per cent of the population identifies as Catholic, the switch away from the Liberals is even more striking. In 2008, just 22 per cent of Quebec Catholics voted Liberal, compared to 56 per cent in 2004. “Looks like we have a new status quo,” Grenville says. It’s not just Catholics who’ve had a change of heart. Protestants, who make up 30 per cent of the population, tend to split their vote between the two major parties, but over the last four years, there’s been a big shift toward the Tories. In 2008, 64 per cent of church-going Protestants outside of Quebec chose the Conservatives, compared to 51 per cent in 2004. Voters who attend so-called conservative churches (such as Baptist, Mennonite, and Stephen Harper’s own Christian and Missionary Alliance) prefer the Tories in even greater numbers: a whopping three-quarters of them voted Conservative this year. What does it mean? “The Liberals have alienated their base, which shows how weak their support really is,” Grenville says, adding that he isn’t very optimistic about the party’s immediate future. “I can’t see Bob Rae or Michael Ignatieff appealing to that vote either, which is in part why their prospects aren’t too bright.” http://blog.macleans.ca/2008/11/24/catholics-flee-liberals-in-droves.
And my own experiences with Canadian liberal news media, liberals, liberal politicians are so blind they had undeniably now underestimated the starch of the all of evangelical churches, who had themselves formed the Reform, Alliance, and the new Conservative party, and next had wiped out both the old Conservatives under Brian Mulroney, and the Liberals under Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin.. I saw it coming , wrote about it 2 decades ago, but you did don’t see it coming. Do get an honest job now.. http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/the-spin-game-evangelicals-and-their-leaders-pastors-do-play-now/
“SUSAN LAZARUK and ANGUS LOTEN Montreal Gazette Just four people turned out for a rally against gay marriages in front of Paul Martin’s constituency office in LaSalle yesterday afternoon. Calling themselves “true Christians,” the tiny group joined hundreds of others across the country yesterday at what they called a national prayer vigil urging MPs to vote against same-sex marriage legislation. Organizers had hoped to draw 100,000 people to more than 200 prayer rallies across Canada. “I have nothing against gay unions. What I don’t like is the prime minister telling us what to do in our churches,” said Paul Kambulow. Kambulow said he learned about the rallies, organized by a coalition of religious groups, over the Internet. “I believe in democracy and God plus one is a majority vote,” he said. Martin, who could not be reached for comment, was not in his office yesterday. Elsewhere in Montreal, similar prayer vigils also appeared to fizzle, as few people showed up at the riding offices of other federal MPs. Journalists outnumbered protesters in front of Justice Minister Martin Cauchon’s office. “Same-sex marriage is completely opposed to God, his principles and why he formed man and woman,” said Jackie Bourque, one of nine protesters, including a couple of children, who gathered on the steps of Cauchon’s office. “He did not form Adam and Steve, but Adam and Eve.”http://thenonconformer.blogspot.com/
PS Only 4 persons had showed up to pray against the then Prime Minister Paul Martin MP and he Paul Martin unexpectedly, unbelievably shortly after that had lost his office of Prime Minister, and why did so many people show up in the first place? God only needed 2 persons to agree in prayer on this in Jesus name and he would have acted upon it as well. The prayer meetings had fizzled out? you now got to be joking.. they had did their job.
Tagged Baptists, Brethren, Canada, Catholics, Christian, Christianity, Christians, Conservatives, Evangelical, Evangelicals, Free speech, Liberals, Pentacostal, Platform, Politics, Poor, Preston manning, Relgious discussions Christianity, Stephen Harper
https://witnessed.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/canadian-political-christians-1/
Continued from http://postedat.wordpress.com/2008/07/15/canadian-political-christians-1/
Still to me a bad Conservative is the same as a bad Liberal… I support neither of them.. http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/the-laws-still-do-need-to-be-enforced-in-reality/
“The Canadian National Newspaper: http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/home/Frontpage/2008/07/14/02459.html
Encore: Conservatives Put Canada’s Most Vulnerable on Chopping Block Compiled by John Stokes
Prime Minister Stephen Harper Of Canada…
The Liberal Opposition chastises the Conservative government for cutting $1 billion in funding that targets the most vulnerable Canadians, despite at the same time reporting a near-record surplus of $13.2 billion for 2005-06. “The vindictive, mean-spirited cuts targeted at the weak, the needy, the vulnerable and the marginalized in Canada, could only have been dreamt up by the insider group of Conservative Mike Harris hold-over ministers in this government,” said Liberal Leader Bill Graham. “Conservatives have continued their “them versus us” mentality. People without money or clout get clobbered by them. In a country as blessed as ours, how does the Prime Minister justify cuts to funding for immigrant youth, aboriginal women, adults with literacy problems, housing for the disabled and vulnerable workers? “When the Liberal Party inherited the Government of Canada, we had a $42 billion deficit, and we managed it for the people of this country” Mr. Graham continued. “The Conservatives got a $13 billion surplus that they’re squandering and they won’t give a cent to poor people. Mr. Graham further critically observes that “Why on earth is the Prime Minister eliminating research on the health of visible minorities, on child abuse, trafficking of women, support to voluntary group for soup kitchens and for training Canadians with disabilities? Aren’t they Canadians, too? Don’t they deserve value for their money?” Liberals argue that the proposed funding cuts directly target women, Aboriginal Canadians, those in need of affordable housing and to other groups for which the Conservatives have traditionally shown little concern.
Chair of the Liberal Women’s Caucus Belinda Stronach berated the Harper government for cutting $5 million from the Status of Women Canada.”Why is this government anti-women? Or is it they simply don’t care about the well being of 51 percent of the population?” she asked.
The only minority group the Conservatives are interested in supporting is the minority of Canadians who supported them in the last election. Through this latest round of spending cuts, the Harper government has sent a message to Canadians: if you don’t fit the profile of a potential Conservative voter, you are out of luck.
Mr. Harper as a “Christian Pretender” In Canada, Mr. Harper has continued this dubious tradition by campaigning on a platform supposedly inspired by Christianity. In fact. Mr. Harper has proven once again through the belligerent actions of his government against Canada’s social fabric, that he is as a “Christian Pretender”. Mr. Harper shows that as a self-professed ‘Christian’ disciple of Jesus, he, like his “boss” Mr. Bush in the United States, is also a complete fraud.
Tommy Douglas, voted the “Greatest Canadian”, who was a Baptist Minister, and devout Christian showed in the political areas, the spirit of a disciple Jesus. In contrast with Mr. Harper, Tommy Douglas defended the plight of poor; fought for women’s rights; for the creation and affirmation of a universal healthcare system in the context of the affirmation of human rights. Mr. Douglas did this while balancing the budget, and earning even the respect and praise of U.S. financial institutions who had previously feared the spectre of “socialism” in Saskatchewan.
It is further apparent that Mr. Harper does not follow the teaching expressed in the Bible, on the vital ethic of social responsibility to each other and to our planet Earth. Instead, it is apparent that in Mr. Harper’s seeks cuts in taxes for multi-millionaires in particular, who own the largest and most exploitative Corporations in Canada, while at the same time cutting more than a billion dollars from government support to disenfranchised. In so doing, Mr. Harper arguably serves the apparent “emissaries of the anti-Christ” who worship what the Bible referred to as Mammon.
It is unfortunate that many Canadians have mistaken Mr. Harper’s agenda as being that of a devout Christian. His self-professed Christianity is nothing more than a “cover story”. This apparent “cover story” is somewhat reminiscent of a criminal who tries to mislead others from within an ultimate hidden agenda.
It is apparent that Mr. Harper’s agenda, is to destroy Canada’s social fabric that had been championed by Tommy Douglas and by other Canadians. Mr. Harper with his U.S. Republican mentors, seeks to destroy and replace a Canadian cultural identity associated with peace and social justice. “
http://groups.msn.com/CanadaToday6, http://pkbulow.tripod.com/Canada.today.htm
http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/
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Vol. 4 (Black Sabbath album)
Volume 4 (Joe Jackson album)
Sām
Volume Four, Volume 4, or Volume IV may refer to:
All Hope is Gone (Slipknot album), Slipknot's fourth studio album, commonly referred to as 'Vol. 4' before its release
Black Sabbath Vol. 4, Black Sabbath's fourth studio album, 1972
Lucio Battisti Vol. 4, Lucio Battisti's fourth album
Volume 4: Songs in the Key of Love & Hate, Puddle of Mudd's fourth album, 2009
Volume 4 (Joe Jackson album), 2003
Vol. 4, an album by Lullacry
Volume IV: The Lions of Love, a 2007 album by Two-Minute Miracles
Volume Four, a 1992 album published by Volume magazine
Volume Three (disambiguation)
Volume Five (disambiguation)
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Volume_4
Vol. 4 is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in September 1972. It was the first album by Black Sabbath not produced by Rodger Bain; guitarist Tony Iommi assumed production duties. Patrick Meehan, the band's then-manager, was listed as co-producer, though his actual involvement in the album's production was minimal at best.
In June 1972, Black Sabbath reconvened in Los Angeles to begin work on their fourth album at the Record Plant Studios. The recording process was plagued with problems, many due to substance abuse issues. In the studio, the band regularly had large speaker boxes full of cocaine delivered. While struggling to record the song "Cornucopia" after "sitting in the middle of the room, just doing drugs",Bill Ward feared that he was about to be fired from the band. "I hated the song, there were some patterns that were just horrible", Ward said. "I nailed it in the end, but the reaction I got was the cold shoulder from everybody. It was like 'Well, just go home, you're not being of any use right now.' I felt like I'd blown it, I was about to get fired". According to the book How Black Was Our Sabbath, Bill Ward "was always a drinker, but rarely appeared drunk. Retrospectively, that might have been a danger sign. Now, his self-control was clearly slipping." Iommi claims in his autobiography that Ward almost died after a prank-gone-wrong during recording of the album. The Bel Air mansion the band was renting belonged to John DuPont of the DuPont chemical company and the band found several spray cans of gold DuPont paint in a room of the house; finding Ward naked and unconscious after drinking heavily, they proceeded to cover the drummer in gold paint from head to toe.
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Vol._4_(Black_Sabbath_album)
Volume 4 was an album released in 2003 by British musician Joe Jackson. It was the first album to feature the Joe Jackson Band since the 1980 release, Beat Crazy, and it was Jackson's first rock 'n' roll album since Laughter and Lust, which was released in 1991. As before, the Joe Jackson Band consisted of Jackson, Graham Maby, David Houghton and Gary Sanford. It was released to moderately positive reviews. Rolling Stone rated it 3/5, stating that it was less visceral than his early-1980s music, but that "when it comes to edgy, sensitive-guy rock, he proves on Volume 4 that he still is the man."AllMusic rated it 3.5/5, stating that "Volume 4 isn't as lively or vital as his first five albums, but it's also more satisfying as a pop record than anything he's done since Body & Soul, which is more than enough to make it a worthy comeback." The album was followed by a lengthy tour.
All songs composed by Jackson.
"Take It Like a Man" – 3:24
"Still Alive" – 3:42
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Volume_4_(Joe_Jackson_album)
Sām /sɑːm/ (سام), also transliterated Saam is a mythical hero of ancient Persia, and an important character in the Shahnameh epic. He was the son of Nariman, grandson of Garshasp and father to Zāl. He was Iran's champion during the rule of Fereydun, Manuchehr and Nowzar. He was appointed by Manuchehr to rule Zabulistan (Sistan), and then Mazandaran. After Manuchehr, because of Nowzar's corrupted and failed rulership, Iranian champions asked Sām to rule Iran. Sām didn't accept, he supported Nowzar and advised him to follow Fereydun and Manuchehr. Sām returned to Mazandaran, and died soon after that. Afrasiab then attacked Zabulistan.
The name Sām is equivalent to the Avestan name 'Saama', which means dark and Sanskrit 'Shyaama' which means the same.
A king's book of kings: the Shah-nameh of Shah Tahmasp, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains material on Sam
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Sām
Søm is a district in Kristiansand, Norway with a population of 9,500 (2013). It is the third largest district and is a part of the Oddernes borough. Søm has borders with Hånes to the North, Randesund to the South, Lillesand to the East and has the ocean to the West. Søm is the second richest district in Kristiansand after Lund.
Bliksheia
Elgstien
Fuglevika
Gudbranslia
Haumyrheia
Kjelleviktoppen
Knarreviktoppen
Korsvik vest
Korsvik øst
Nordlia
Strømme
Strømsdalen
Søm øst
Sømslia
Torsvik
Vardåsen
Rona senter
Coordinates: 58°09′N 8°04′E / 58.15°N 8.06°E / 58.15; 8.06
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/Søm
S&M may refer to:
S&M (Metallica album), 1999 live album
S&M (Le Shok album), 2001
"S&M" (song), by Rihanna from Loud
"S&M", a song by Thin Lizzy from Black Rose: A Rock Legend
"S and M", a song by 2 Live Crew from Move Somethin'
Sam & Max, a comic series that was adapted into video games and a TV series
Sales and Marketing Expenses, an accounting concept
SM (disambiguation)
M&S (disambiguation)
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - https://wn.com/S&M
junoplay.com
kpowermanagement.com
webdesignes.com
managementspeaksvolumes.com
playingpower.org
playingpower.net
nigeriaspower.com
milanopower.com
solarpower4.com
Volume 4, Henry Rollins
Volume 4, Moe Bandy
Volume 4, Joe Jackson
Volume 4, Rollins Band
I spend time, searching my mind, walking blindly
I'm a live but I don't know why my thoughts threat me
Paranoia, fear and guilt, I hope I don't explode
I'm a bomb that ya can't diffuse,
a gun that ya can't unload.
I don't listen, I don't know, man: I don't care!
You're talking 'bout all the hell you've seen...
Man: I live there!
Talk to me and it goes right through
I never heard a word you said.
Save your breath 'coz it's no use:
You're talking to the living dead!
Ooh.bullet driven eyes... yeah, what can you tell me?
Ooh.I'm living in a nightmare, yeah!
I'm on the edge, shrinking back from the ledge
Looking out my window, down upon my heritage
Strip malls, thin walls, people paralyzed beneath the sun
Why me, why now?
I see the dirty millions and I try to survive somehow...
Got no reasons, got no needs
I hear gunshots, I hear screams
What can you do to me, what can you say?
I used to be alive but I threw it all away
I used to have problems, I used to live a lie
I've seen the sidewalk bleed
And I watched the mother cry
I used to have a mind, I used to wonder why
But now I go from day to day and wait around to die...
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Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards
Federal Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR 200
On December 26, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards in the Federal Register. This "Uniform Guidance" replaces the administrative, accounting, audit rules and principles currently promulgated in the OMB Circulars, including A-21, A-110, and A-133.
In order to view PDF files on your computer, you must have a PDF reader program installed. If you do not already have such a reader, you can download a free reader at Adobe's website: Download Adobe Acrobat Reader Software
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Profile – Pat Fallon
The Driving Force behind ABC Magic
Pat Fallon is without question The Irish Magician with an International Reputation. His professional career began on a concert tour with Foster and Allen in the spring of 1984 and his versatility as a performer has taken him too many different areas of the entertainment world. Since then he has appeared in some of the most spectacular arenas and prestigious venues throughout Ireland and the UK plus mainland Europe, the USA and Australia.
In addition to appearing and touring with many of the stars of Irish show business, Pat has worked as a magical advisor and consultant for Stage, Screen and Television. He has also performed for product launches, promotions and official openings for retail outlets and nightclubs. You name the situation-he’s worked it!
Pat Fallon was the first non British act ever to win the British Magical Championships in 1995 and is also the first Irish based magician ever to be a Gold Star member of the Inner Magic Circle. He was presented with the Merlin Award (the Oscar of the magic world) by the president of the International Magicians Society live on national television for the best family magic show performer of 2009. He regularly appears at some of the world’s largest magic conventions; presenting a formal close up act, a classical stage act and also lectures to delegates on the art, showmanship and performance of magic.
With over one hundred television appearances and numerous radio interviews and performances to his credit, Pat Fallon is undoubtedly the most successful all round magician in the history of Irish entertainment.
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Governor-General launches ABS Year Book Australia (Media Release)
Year Book Australia 2007- media story-lines (Media Release)
Contents >> Information and Communication technology >> Article - Re-engineering the Census
RE-ENGINEERING THE CENSUS
Hundreds of thousands of Australians took advantage of the opportunity to use the Internet to respond to the 2006 Census of Population and Housing, conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in August 2006. The census has been held every five years since 1961. The introduction of a secure online option was a significant departure from the tradition of physical collection and despatch of completed paper census forms. However, use of the Internet was only one of the many innovative ways advanced technology was adapted in 2006 to bring in the answers in Australia’s biggest survey.
The gross figures of the operation alone begged for new and clever ways to capture the data: the details of over 20 million people, on up to 10 million hand-completed forms, collected by a workforce of nearly 30,000 from every occupant of the country’s 7.7 million square kilometres - plus the Australian Antarctic Territory and occupied offshore islands - delivered to area supervisors by foot, bicycle or private car, then forwarded under strict security by road transport to one single point on the land mass; and most of this work completed over a period of less than three weeks.
In these beginning years of the 21st century, the scale of the census demands the maximum use of digital data processing and communications technology to help contain labour costs and minimise human error. Yet the constitutional importance of the data alone dictates that any adoption of new techniques or emerging technology can occur only after thorough testing on a scale in keeping with the magnitude and watershed timing of the census.
AUSTRALIA'S BIGGEST SURVEY
The census is a huge undertaking by national standards. It represents a major investment in time and money for the ABS, in return for which the Bureau - and the country - obtains a vast electronic storehouse of data of exceptional quality: a detailed picture of the circumstances of each of Australia’s more than 20 million people on one night every five years. Apart from its obvious value in government administration and planning, census data forms the basis of the allocation of each state and territory’s seats in the House of Representatives, and is used in the distribution by the Australian Government of Goods and Services Tax revenue to the states and territories. It is also invaluable to business and community organisations, researchers and students.
To achieve this outcome, the ABS goes to great lengths to ensure two primary requirements are met - practically nobody is missed, and every completed census form finds its way to the Data Processing Centre (DPC) safely and securely. Security is a matter of overriding importance. Until the data is separated in processing from personally identifiable information - such as the name and address details shown on an original census form - it can be seen only by a restricted number of ABS employees.
The continuous effort required to bring about the 2006 Census is illustrated by the fact that by census night on 8 August 2006, ABS staff had already been working for well over a year on preparations for the next census, scheduled for 2011. Given the six to seven-year preparation time needed, the rate of convergence between the census and current technology may seem to lag behind the take-up of new techniques by the private sector, or even by individuals. But this is to be expected. Put simply, census night is not the time to trial last week’s headline technology development, let alone tomorrow’s beta applications.
The established technique of having a form delivered and retrieved in person by a census employee, or collector, has produced a fund of amusing or thought-provoking stories of intrepid collectors going to unusual lengths to reach people in remote or unlikely locations. A more mundane but equally important process is the logistical effort involved in transporting the completed forms securely from all the far-flung corners of Australia.
Hence the question '... how can we do this more easily and cheaply without sacrificing thoroughness and security?' In setting out to develop practical answers, the ABS and its predecessor, the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics, have established an international reputation for responsible early adoption of technology.
ADVANCES IN 2006
The 2006 Census saw the introduction of important improvements. These included advances in field operations and administration, including advanced mapping techniques; the introduction of the Internet-based version of the census form; utilisation of more advanced processing technology, and improvements to the output of census data.
Producing maps for the census field force involved what might well be the largest individual map production project in Australia. Innovative mapping technology was used to produce individual maps for each of the 39,000 collection districts (CDs). These displayed the CD boundary over a topographic base with a level of detail suited to the size of the individual district. For large rural CDs, inset maps were also included to provide helpful detail. Purpose-designed jurisdiction maps were available to area supervisors together with copies of the individual CD maps. Census district managers had maps covering the larger territory for which they were responsible.
The ground for an innovative census was further prepared using new techniques to recruit the field workforce of 43,000. Instead of paper application forms, recruitment was carried out using call centres or Internet-based application forms. Job applications were uploaded frequently to a database, making it possible to track the progress of recruitment throughout the country, so that extra resources could be quickly applied in any areas where it was proving difficult to attract enough suitable people.
THE eCENSUS
The 2006 Census was the first to provide all participants with the option of completing and submitting their census forms via the Internet. This process was known as the 'eCensus'.
An early version of the eCensus had been trialled on a small scale during the 2001 Census, but it was clear from the outset that protecting the privacy of Census responses, coupled with the potential scale of a national Internet census option, called for a great deal of preparation and testing. A census ‘dress rehearsal’ held in a number of communities in August 2005 included an eCensus option, and resulted in 8% of participants electing to submit their forms online.
ABS’s industry surveys have charted the rapid growth in Internet subscribers in recent years, including the very fast growth in the number of higher speed or broadband subscribers (see Internet activity). There was reason to believe that a significant number of Australians would take advantage of an Internet census option.
Apart from the convenience for some households of submission via the now familiar medium of the Internet, there were other advantages for users. Many people with visual impairment or other disabilities, who might normally require the assistance of family or friends to complete a paper census form, could use applications such as screen readers to complete a form independently online. In addition, people who were difficult to reach to collect paper forms - for reasons including geographical remoteness or even security provisions in blocks of flats - could more easily lodge their forms via the Internet.
The information technology company IBM Australia was contracted by ABS to build and host the eCensus application, using the strongest available encryption technology. Because of the strict security provisions in the contract, IBM itself did not have access to census responses, with the ‘private key’ or decryption technology being available only to the ABS.
The resulting Internet census form was highly interactive. Participants electing to complete the online form were able to log in using a unique twelve-digit personal identification number (PIN - the ‘eCensus number’) supplied to householders in a sealed security envelope delivered by hand with each paper census form. This was coupled with the accompanying individual census form number to give access to the eCensus.
Once logged in, participants were able to move through the various ‘pages’ of the form, completing the details, navigating back to make any corrections, or electing to partially complete the form and retrieve the saved data later for finalisation. Printed guidance booklets delivered to every household provided instructions on using the eCensus, and a technical support telephone help line was available. Early reaction to the eCensus on Internet forums, such as the broadband choice forum Whirlpool, was generally positive. Forum participants commented favourably on how quickly they were able to fill out and submit the form.
Shortly after census night it was clear that almost 780,000 households, or 9.0% of all households, had opted to complete their forms online - the Australian Capital Territory recorded the highest take-up (15.9% of households), and the Northern Territory the lowest (6.3%). Expeditioners wintering in Australia's Antarctic Territory went online to complete their 2006 Census forms. Census information from Australians based at Casey, Davis, Mawson and Macquarie Island stations was collected in a matter of hours; previously the completed paper forms could only be processed once they were physically shipped out on the summer resupply voyages at the end of the year.
Both ABS and IBM expressed satisfaction with the response of the eCensus application to the demands placed on it, particularly on census night. Usage peaked at 72,000 submissions between 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm on the actual night, and at one point 55,000 users were logged on simultaneously. ‘During the 24-hour period of 8 August, eCensus delivered more than 12.5 million page views,’ a joint statement affirmed.
The eCensus form included a feedback or comment facility, and users were encouraged to comment on their experience. Overall feedback had been very positive, and comments will be examined as part of preparations by the ABS for the next census.
For processing, data from each eCensus form was loaded into the same file format as that used for data extracted from paper forms, and processed in the same way as all other census data. The processing system generated an image of the eCensus data to match that produced from the paper forms.
If participation in the eCensus was dependent on receiving hand-delivered login information, what impact if any did eCensus uptake have on the labour involved in census collection? The answer lay at least partly in the way eCensus submissions were linked to field operations through mobile telephone technology.
While the eCensus was a major step forward for Australia, an Internet-based census option had already been trialled successfully in Canada and New Zealand. It was in the area of census field communications that Australia broke new ground in management of the 2006 Census. ABS was aware of keen interest from other national statistical agencies as the system was developed, trialled and put into operation.
The receipt of a completed eCensus form, for example, automatically generated a text message sent to the mobile telephone of the Census collector for the relevant CD, advising that there was no need to call at that particular address to retrieve a paper form. Nearly 1.6 million short message service (SMS) messages were sent to collectors during the census field operation.
As an employer of a large mobile workforce, the census field force, ABS embraced SMS technology in various ways for the 2006 Census, primarily to help manage the 30,000 Census collectors working across the country. Whereas in the past operational developments and essential information had been communicated to collectors through field supervisors, SMS made it possible to advise a collector instantly and directly of any important development in their area, such as the receipt of an eCensus form from a particular address, or a request for a form - for example, through the Census Inquiry Service telephone help line - from a householder who might have been missed in the first distribution. The time and labour-saving benefits of such a system are obvious.
Another innovative use of SMS was in promoting the census to young adult Australians, identified by research as a group requiring targeted advocacy to encourage them to participate. Promotional messages were sent to the mobile phones of 80,000 young subscribers in metropolitan areas shortly before census night.
If SMS was of practical assistance in maintaining ‘quality assurance’ for the census, an advanced online field management system also played a major role. This system, linking the Census Management Units in each state and territory capital with field supervisors by computer, gave state management teams the ability to track field activity with great immediacy.
PROCESSING THE FORMS
Improvements in the use of intelligent character recognition (ICR), automatic repair and automatic coding proved a major step forward in efficient, accurate and thorough processing of paper forms from the 2006 Census. More efficient techniques for handling of forms and of the captured data itself within the DPC also represented major advances on previous censuses.
Twenty years ago, the 1986 Census DPC employed 1,600 people and took 18 months to complete processing and release the data. At its peak, the 2006 DPC employed half that number, but expects to finish its job in less than twelve months, with the first release of detailed data scheduled to occur eleven months after census night. Yet from the point of view of DPC management, advances in technology and increased efficiency have enabled better outcomes from the census and better quality data than ever before. Australia boasts the fastest output of census data of any country.
By the morning after census night, information technology experts at the DPC calculated that they had 92 different applications in place to commence processing Census responses. Each of the applications inherited from the 2001 Census had been either replaced or significantly updated, and fresh applications were still being added.
'Flow control’ at the DPC employed innovative wireless tracking of paper forms. Forms were received in boxes containing the intake from one CD, a 'rule-of-thumb' measure of the workload of a single census collector. As the boxes were moved around the DPC, logistics staff passed hand-held wireless scanners or ‘wands’ over bar codes on the boxes and then over similar bar codes at the entrance to each processing section of the centre. In this way every box of forms was accounted for throughout processing, and could be traced instantly if needed.
After checking on arrival to ensure each form was in suitable condition to be scanned, the forms were trimmed. The individual pages were passed in large batches, at the rate of up to 6,000 pages an hour, through 13 high technology scanners which captured an electronic image of each page. These images were stored in a central database, together with similar images derived from eCensus forms, ready for further processing. At a later stage, those images relating to individuals who had elected to have their details stored for 99 years in the Census Time Capsule would be transferred to microfilm for that purpose. For those who submitted paper forms, their descendants will be able to see an image of their ancestor’s handwriting.
The major advance in data handling at the DPC for the 2006 Census was the advent of simultaneous processing of different topics from the census forms, allowing far greater flexibility. This was made possible through storage of the individual census records on a highly advanced central database. In the 2001 Census, data had been captured on text files which were then moved through a series of separate databases as topics were completed in a strict sequence. By 2006 the coding workload on any single topic, such as occupation or industry, could be distributed in large tranches to any arrangement of teams, whereas in the past the records had to be processed in CD lots to ensure the orderly progress of the data through the system.
A major challenge in the automatic coding of handwritten responses on census forms is the almost unlimited variety of handwriting styles the computers will encounter in processing millions of images of pages. Major strides had been made in ICR between the 2001 and 2006 Censuses. Improved automatic coding, using much more powerful indexes against which to code responses and more accurate automatic repair processes, greatly reduced the need for manual assessment and correction. Quality assurance processes, that in the past involved manual checking of sample records to ensure a high level of accuracy was being maintained, were largely automated in 2006, with the added benefit that individual coders received direct electronic feedback. Overall, this greatly improved flexibility substantially increased the efficiency and speed of processing.
Most questions on the paper census form called for small horizontal pen marks to indicate householders’ responses from a list of possible answers. However, a number of questions required words and figures to be written. The ICR process translated these written submissions - now in the form of electronic images rather than on the original paper or eCensus files - into classification codes. Where the applications could not resolve a word, figure or letter successfully, an image of the problem character could be diverted to a staff member for manual coding, or ultimately a ‘snippet’ from the image of the original census form could be examined to decide on the meaning of a piece of handwriting.
Processing is divided into two ‘runs’ to speed up the output of census data. First release processing (FRP) covers topics which are simpler to process, such as age, sex and religion, and which achieve a high degree of automatic coding. Second release processing covers complex topics such as industry, qualifications and occupation, which require more manual intervention to decipher responses. FRP is geared to a release of data as early as possible in 2007.
How accurate is the overall count, and how do we know? The answer is through the post-enumeration survey (PES), which is conducted by the ABS on a selected sample of households to test the accuracy of the original count. In 2001 the PES was conducted using paper forms. In 2006 the PES interviewers used a new application on notebook computers, designed to check on the original data captured from the census forms completed by the test households.
NEW DEAL FOR USERS
Developments in the release of census data are making it more accessible for users than ever before. The advent of free access to statistical publications and a wide range of other data on the ABS web site since 2005 have been followed by major innovations on the site.
Traditionally census data has been offered to the public on a ‘one-size-fits-all’ basis, where users were presented with geographical information in batches designed to meet straightforward needs, but which required them to employ the ABS statistical consultancy service to adapt the data for more specialised uses. This was largely because the data was retained in a pre-formatted state. The new system maintains the data in a raw form that can be adapted ‘on the fly’ to more easily respond to the specific needs of the user.
Users can already access small area census information easily and quickly on the web site in a variety of forms, including through interactive maps, and manipulate the figures online to show desired results. Tables or graphs can be produced online with a few clicks of a mouse.
By the time of the final main release of 2006 Census data in mid-2007, the site will feature a new ‘table builder’ which will enable users to create their own tables in a variety of forms using multiple variables.
THE CENSUS OF THE FUTURE
The success of the first eCensus application has ensured that this option will continue to be available in future censuses. No doubt a greater proportion of households will opt to use the eCensus as the application is further refined and public familiarity with the Internet further expands.
Improved processing and coding techniques offer the real possibility of expanding the actual content of the census. The two main barriers to expansion have been ‘respondent load’ (the magnitude of the householder’s task in completing the census form) and processing cost. New solutions are already reducing the cost of processing. The ABS is already considering possible options for the future. One of these options might be for broadening the content of the census without increasing the load on the householder is to conduct a '50/50' sample-census. This might involve, for example, half the households in Australia providing information on social questions, such as family details, background and education, and the other half responding to economic questions such as income and employment. Statisticians believe such a census would produce a great deal more information at the same cost, while retaining the advantages of the single-form census: quality small area statistics and a very large sample of population. Relieved of the burden of asking every householder for the same demographic and economic information, the census could expand into new areas such as the interactions of families across households - for example, where one family provides support for aged parents living independently - or providing data about people with multiple jobs.
However, the ABS believes the one-night ‘snapshot’ or ‘as enumerated’ census is here to stay. Where other countries have moved to a census taken over longer periods of time, or ‘place of usual residence’ counts, the Bureau believes such censuses cost more to run and have resulted in little or no improvement in the quality of the data. The snapshot technique is seen as simpler for respondents to understand while avoiding errors brought about by different conceptions of a ‘normal’ or ‘usual’ place of residence.
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Home / Adam F. Goldberg / G.I. Joe / M.A.S.K. / Sectaurs / The Goldbergs / Thunderhawk / Transformers / Turbo Teen / 'The Goldbergs' Creator Chimes In On M.A.S.K. In Recent Interview
Adam F. Goldberg G.I. Joe M.A.S.K. Sectaurs The Goldbergs Thunderhawk Transformers Turbo Teen
'The Goldbergs' Creator Chimes In On M.A.S.K. In Recent Interview
If you are an "80s-oholic" like Wyatt and I, you've probably watched the sitcom "The Goldbergs" on ABC. The show is pure '80s pop culture and creator Adam F. Goldberg (born in 1976) uses his real-life experiences to feed the shows storylines and backdrops through its youngest character.
If you follow Adam on social media, you might have heard recently that he has pitched a Gobots movie to Hasbro. According to a recent appearance on the Goldnerds podcast, he first pitched the movie out of pure fandom and was invited back to pitch again! It was pretty cool to hear his passion and I liken it to our quest to see M.A.S.K. on the big screen. Of course, the quest to pitch our movie script would be a little shorter if we had a hit sitcom and some leeway in Hollywood. But it seems the possibility of a M.A.S.K. movie has also been on Adam's mind the past couple years. Although not as passionate as GoBots, a recent interview with Newsarama revealed that Adam holds M.A.S.K. in high accord.
The interview was quite lengthy and ended with a "ultimate '80s nerd quiz." While giving his answers, Adam talks about M.A.S.K. a few times. After being stumped on what triggered "Turbo Teen's" transformation, Adam says:
"Yeah! And it was also lame to me, because the car he turned into kind of looked like the M.A.S.K. car, and I thought they’d ripped off M.A.S.K."
This was the first time M.A.S.K. was brought up in the interview, so its apparent Adam knows the franchise well. And to think that the short-lived "Turbo Teen" car was made to look like Thunder Hawk tells me Adam was a fan.
After answering a question about Sectaurs and discussing '80s franchises coming back as comic books, Adam surprisingly states:
Goldberg: A M.A.S.K. movie has come to me like three, four times now. But I just don’t think I’m the guy for that.
Nrama: I only really liked the theme song. I hated that kid with the robot.
Goldberg: But a truly underrated toy line of the 1980s. I would say I liked them better than G.I. Joe. Is that a crazy thing to say?
Nrama: No, no – I worked at a toy shop, and we sold a ton of them.
Goldberg: They were so damn sturdy by most toy standards. I felt like Transformers, for example – they got very plasticky with the Insecticons, the Constructicons. But M.A.S.K., a lot of those were thick and rubbery. Very durable.
WOW! 3 or 4 times he's turned down a pitch for a M.A.S.K. movie? Well, I can honestly say that Wyatt and I were not one of those times mentioned, but it's cool that there are more M.A.S.K. fans writing scripts and actively pursuing a chance to pitch them. Although Adam mentions he's not that guy for that, I think if his GoBots idea gets off the ground, he might give M.A.S.K. a chance in the future. He might not be the right producer, but his comments above about liking the toyline above G.I. Joe sounds to me like he could make a great pitch for a comeback.
It was really great to hear M.A.S.K. mentioned by someone actually in the business. I feel like it's going to take someone like Adam who is passionate about M.A.S.K. and can truly see the potential to motivate Hasbro to revamp the franchise its been setting on for decades. We'll be keeping up with Adam on Twitter as should all M.A.S.K. fans. He interacts with his fans so follow him and tell him to put more M.A.S.K. on "The Goldbergs!"
I tweeted Adam last night and told him to put more M.A.S.K. toys in his show. He followed us today and retweeted this article with a little message...
“@AgentsOfMASK: 'The Goldbergs' Creator Chimes In On M.A.S.K. http://t.co/P31oJKnrqF” If Gobots gets made then I'll do mask next!
— Adam F. Goldberg (@adamfgoldberg) March 27, 2015
YES!!!!!!! Thanks for that vote of confidence, Adam!! Looks like I just became the #1 fan for a new Gobots movie!! Let's all get the Gobots theme stuck in our heads!!
Image courtesy Goldnerds, enciclopediadecromos.blogspot.com
#Adam F. Goldberg #G.I. Joe #M.A.S.K. #Sectaurs #The Goldbergs #Thunderhawk #Transformers #Turbo Teen
Turbo Teen
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Andy earns 40th career shutout in NHL100 Classic win over Habs
Anderson41 December 17, 2017 17-18 Season, A41 Hockey, Blog, Home, Post Game
Shutout #40:
Postgame:
OTTAWA — The frigid conditions couldn’t cool off the suddenly surging Ottawa Senators.
Craig Anderson made 28 saves; Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Bobby Ryan and Nate Thompson scored; and Erik Karlsson had eight blocked shots to help the Senators defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 in the 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic at Lansdowne Park on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 33,959.
The temperature at puck drop was 12.5 degrees Fahrenheit, making it the second coldest NHL outdoor game behind the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton, where it was zero degrees Fahrenheit at puck drop.
“It was cold,” Ryan said. “Every period it got colder, but it was worth every second. We had a blast.”
The Senators (11-13-7), who also beat the New York Rangers on Wednesday, have won two games in a row for the first time since beating the Colorado Avalanche twice in the 2017 SAP NHL Global Series in Stockholm on Nov. 10 and 11.
Ottawa is 3-10-2 since returning from Stockholm.
“Hopefully it’s going to give us some confidence,” Senators center Derick Brassard said. “We know we can put on a winning streak.”
Carey Price made 35 saves in his 10th consecutive start for Montreal since returning from a lower-body injury. The Canadiens (14-15-4) have lost four of their past five games (1-3-1).
They were outshot 38-28 and won 29 percent of the face-offs (19-of-65).
“We need more,” Montreal coach Claude Julien said. “We need to create more and we need to create more from the inside. Some nights we have that and tonight we didn’t. Until we figure that out and become more consistent, that’s what you are going to see.”
Pageau, who grew up across the Ottawa River in Gatineau, Quebec, scored at 14:55 of the second period.
Seconds after Senators forward Tom Pyatt got the puck back after a lost in-zone face-off, Pageau found space in the high slot and deflected Karlsson’s low wrist shot from the right point past Price for his fourth goal of the season.
His goal would eventually become the game-winner.
“To score that goal was pretty special,” Pageau said. “When your goalie doesn’t give up one it makes it easier.”
Karlsson’s assist added to his record-setting night. His ice time (32:55) and eight blocked shots are NHL regular-season outdoor game records.
“It was greater than we could have hoped for,” Karlsson said. “The atmosphere was amazing.”
The Canadiens never found a way to use the energy in Lansdowne Park to their advantage.
Not only did Ottawa have a 1-0 lead, it had a 29-16 advantage in shots on goal after two periods. A turnover by Montreal center Jonathan Drouin in the defensive zone led to Ryan’s breakaway goal at 17:02, giving Ottawa a 2-0 lead.
Thompson scored into an empty net with 11 seconds remaining.
“A couple times we tried to make plays when they weren’t there, and a couple times we tried to put it deep and forecheck when we could have made plays,” Montreal forward Max Pacioretty said. “It just seems like we’re always on the wrong end of those decisions right now. It doesn’t allow for any sustained pressure.”
Limiting Montreal’s pressure was the Senators focus.
“We made it our game plan to not necessarily get in there and be physical, but be in front of them and make them uncomfortable,” Ryan said. “It paid off over the course of the game.”
That’s two games in a row that style has paid off for the Senators. It’s the same style that helped them get to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last season.
“The old-fashioned way, the fashion that we’re accustomed to, tight defense leads to offense,” Ryan said. “Sometimes people tend to think it’s opportunistic hockey, but it worked for us last year. We identified it again this week that we have to get back to it, and it worked tonight.”
Goal of the game
Pageau’s goal at 14:55 of the second period.
Save of the game
Price’s save on Matt Duchene at 17:17 of the second period.
Highlight of the game
Ryan’s goal off a takeaway and a breakaway at 17:02 of the third period.
They said it
“When the home team gets two points and the city can rally around for a great event makes it all the better. It was well done by the NHL, the city, and something that I’ll look back on forever, absolutely.” — Senators forward Bobby Ryan
“Before the game a couple guys went outside and it was like there’s no way people are going to be standing for three or three and a half hours, but they did. It shows a lot of passion. They really enjoyed it. For us players, we really appreciate that.” — Senators forward Derick Brassard
“Half a period in a game of sustaining pressure and creating offense, you’re just never going to score enough goals to win.” — Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty
Pageau has eight goals in 18 regular-season games against the Canadiens. He also had a hat trick against Montreal in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. … This was the fourth shutout in 23 NHL outdoor regular-season games.
Canadiens: At the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; SNP, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Senators: Host the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, FS-N, NHL.TV)
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Advocacy and Caring for Children (ACC), continues to do great work in funding grants through fundraising and donations from ACC members and supporters. ACC has granted $2,802,378 to the very needy in Western Washington over the course of it's century long history.
During the fiscal year 2018-19, ACC's board awarded over $139,000 in grants to nineteen agencies in Western Washington.
● ACC recognizes that well-supported families, women, and children are crucial for healthy communities.
● ACC has supported 38 organizations with $1.5 million in just the last decade, and almost 3 million in under 20 years.
● Total served by category 2018-19:
Children and Families : 10,750 : 66% of served : $40,500 : 29% of grants funded
Education and Emergency Services : 2525 : 15% : $47,000 : 34% of grants funded
Adoption and Immigration : 413: 2.5% : $27,500 : 19.7% of grants funded
Infant Care – Specialty Services: 2647 : 16% : $24,000 : 17.2% of grants funded
Below find a brief summary of the programs and the funding they have received from ACC, fiscal years 1999-2019*. Complete details by funding period available via this link. *Fiscal year July 1 - June 30
Adoption Services (CCS King Co.) - $134,500
Adoption services provides essential services to children who are without stable families and support systems to care for them. Essential services include preparation of a formal Home Study, education regarding what adoption means to the adoptive applicants and to the child, placement of a child, supervision of that placement, assistance with final legal adoption, post adoption services as needed and legislative advocacy. There is a heavy Special Needs component to adoption services.
Autumn Leaf Supportive Housing - $2,500
A supportive housing service in Snohomish, WA. (Supported 2010)
Caring Place (Bellingham) - $14,000
Supported 2006-2008
Child and Family Counseling (CCS WW) - $98,000
Child and Family Counseling provides counseling services for children and their families throughout the Greater Seattle and South King County regions. We serve clients and their families in a variety of settings, including family homes, schools, and our counseling offices. Our skilled clinicians provide counseling services in schools, homes, office settings, and throughout the community. Services are strengths-based, flexible, and client-driven.
Eastside Shelter for Families (CCS King Co.) - $34,500
The Eastside Shelter for Families provides shelter to families experiencing homelessness. In it's third year of service, the 50 unit emergency shelter operates from October through May with two CCS staff on shift each night to ensure the safety and comfort of families. ESWF serves single and two parent households with one or more children age 17 or under.
Elizabeth House (closed) - $25,000
For pregnant or parenting teens; transitional housing for individuals and families. (Supported 2004-2008)
Emergency Assistance (CCS King Co.) - $189,500
Emergency Assistance of King Co. attempts to meet the needs of at-risk, low-income families in crisis and to help create greater family stability, safety, health and self-sufficiency through ongoing support. In addition to providing direct financial assistance for rent, utilities, motel vouchers, food, and gasoline, families also receive case management services.
Emergency Assistance (CCS South King Co.) - $30,000
The Emergency Assistance program assists at-risk, low-income families in crisis by addressing their basic, essential housing needs, which help foster stability, safety, health and self-sufficiency within the context of community. The program operates out of two sites, one in Bellevue and one in Kent. Emergency assistance supports low-income families in housing retention through direct financial contributions towards rent, utilities, food and transportation.
Family and Children’s Services (CCS Everett) - $25,900
Family and Children's Services include Foster Care, Early Family Support Services (EFSS) and Layette Services. We provide case management to families and children in need, primarily targeting persons of low income who otherwise would remain under-served in our community. The purpose of Foster Care, EFSS and Layette Services is to support the family and prevent child abuse and neglect. ACC funds will be used to purchase direct care items for infants, toddlers and children of low-families in Snohomish County. The funds will also help pay the fees for some foster children, in order for them to participate in school and community learning programs. Purchases will include clothes, gloves, shoes, backpacks, school supplies; school sports, camp and music fees; basic supplies for newborns and infants and foster parent training facilities and related event fees.
Family Education and Support (CCS Pierce Co.) - $17,000
Tacoma Parenting Program, classes and counseling serve primarily Tacoma and Pierce County. The classes serve approximately 500 affected clients and family members from several major sources: Washington’s Dept. of Social and Health Services and Child Protective Services, Pierce County’s Family Court; and individual referrals. ACC funds will be used to introduce and promote parenting class offerings and child care options, Low to No Income Fee Assistance and offer parenting classes with childcare. -
Family Housing Network (CCS Tacoma) - $17,500
Family Housing Network serves low-income families in Pierce County and military veteran households in King, Pierce, Thurston, Snohomish, Kitsap, Mason, Grays Harbor, Lewis, Cowlitz, Pacific or Wahkiakum counties. We provide assistance to house families experiencing homelessness, while helping to connect them with resources that maximize stability and self-sufficiency, in order to prevent future homelessness. Specialists meet with people to help them figure out a solution to their homelessness. The conversation includes problem-solving dialogue to explore options outside of the over-burdened homeless services system, as well as an assessment of strengths, vulnerability, and housing barriers in order to be prioritized for potential referral to an appropriate housing program.
Family Law CASA (King County) - $68,500
CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) volunteers continue to advocate for those children who have the greatest need. Half of the children served are under age five. The typical family has low to moderate income, with allegations of substance abuse, domestic violence or mental health issues. CASA volunteers are dedicated to helping ensure a safe, nurturing environment for children in high risk custody cases. They focus on the needs of the child, while striving to strengthen family relationships and parenting skills.
Feed The Hungrey (Aberdeen) - $8,000
Foster Care (CCS King County) - $76,087
Foster Care provides stable, nurturing, well-trained foster families for children who either temporarily or permanently cannot live with their biological family. Although their first priority is always to work towards the reunification of parents and children, sometimes returning the child to the family is not a viable option. Children served come from a variety of backgrounds, often have significant medical needs, developmental delays, or have experienced multiple traumas prior to coming into care.
Foster Care (CCS SW) - $87,500
CCS SW Foster Care Program has been serving families in Tacoma and surrounding communities for more than 60 years. They provide stable, nurturing, well-trained foster families for children who either temporarily or permanently cannot live with their biological family. Although their first priority is always to work towards the reunification of parents and children, sometimes returning the child to the family is not a viable option. Children served come from a variety of backgrounds, often have significant medical needs, developmental delays, or have experienced multiple traumas prior to coming into care.
Grays Harbor Youth Center (CCS WW) - $80,500
This youth center provides emergency shelter and homeless prevention services for youth aged 13-17. Their goal is to assist in providing vulnerable youth with housing stability, while supporting them with progressive and client driven case management. It is the only shelter for youth age 13-17 in a very large county.
Grays Harbor Youth Tutoring Program (CCS Grays Harbor) - $99,100
Employs the time and talents of many volunteers to provide educational support for elementary-age students who need the extra help of a one-on-one tutor and an individualized curriculum. Students are provided with two hours of intensive, individualized help after school for elementary age students. Tutors work one-on one with students in three areas: homework, basic skill building and social skills development. ACC funds will be used for non-salary related operating expenses such as occupancy expenses, shared facilities and technology expenses, telephone costs, postage, nutritious snacks for participants and non-salary placement costs relating to the Jesuit Volunteer who manages the program.
Goundwork Project (CCS King Co.) (closed) - $30,500
Provided wraparound service for homeless youth across King County. The Groundwork Project builds on strengths and develops natural support systems for youth while planning and accessing needed professional services and providing dedicated mental health, chemical dependency and coordination support. The Groundwork Project is the first program in the U.S. to use this proven wraparound strategy with a homeless youth population. Over the three years of this pilot project, Groundwork’s wraparound program has been successful in connecting resources to youth and families and building a stronger network of care. During this process, we may provide youth with funding for basic essentials such as first month’s rent, school tuition and bus passes. The Groundwork Project works with youth and young adults in King County, Washington between the ages of 16-22 years old who are at risk of or are experiencing homelessness. We also currently partner with the City of Kent to provide supportive services to young people who access their severe weather shelters. (Supported 2012-2016)
Harrington House (closed) - $88,250
Provided a temporary safe place for homeless women and children and attempts to ensure healthy births and children through prenatal health care, build parenting skills and foster economic self-sufficiency. ACC funds will be used to help pay for the direct services positions that play a vital role in Harrington House’s staff. Funds will help women become more self sufficient and support efforts to improve child safety and well-being. Mothers are equipped to maintain a safe home environment where the child is adequately cared for so they will experience healthy emotional and social development. (Supported 2005-2015)
Humble Design - $5,000
International Foster Care: Unaccompanied Refugee Minor Program (Tacoma) - $15,000
The International Foster Care Program (IFC) through Catholic Community Services is part of a national network of care providers who create a safe haven for children from around the world fleeing violence, abuse and persecution by providing highly specialized federally-funded foster care. These refugee and immigrant children have been separated from their adult family members or their family members are not willing or able to care for them. The program staff and foster parents are trained to address the cultural, linguistic, religious, educational, and emotional needs of the youth. For forty years, Catholic Community Services’ has been providing safe and stable homes for unaccompanied youth so they can receive needed support services while pursuing family reunification or transition to independent living.
Integrated Family Services (Skagit Family Center) - $10,000
(Supported 2005-2006)
Katharine's Place (CCS King Co.) - $44,000
Provides 25 units of safe, affordable, permanent housing for low-income and homeless families, which include African immigrant and refugee families living in the Rainer Valley neighborhood of Seattle. The majority of residents are single mothers with young children. More than 60 children and youth live in these apartments, ranging in age from 0-17 years.
Kid’s Place (Tacoma) - $3,000
Kindering (CHERISH program) - $22,000
Kindering serves infants and children whose development are affected by biological disabilities or environmental factors that impact an array of skill areas including: hearing, vision, cognitive, motor, communication, feeding and behavioral. Kindering is recognized worldwide for leadership in early intervention, implementing impactful services based on research. CHERISH directly serves foster families in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Kindering will use to use funding to support statewide expansion of their CHERISH program.
King County Kinship Collaboration - $37,000
Proving that it takes a village...this program is a diverse community of relatives who are raising relatives and public, and private social service providers from across the county. Kinship Collaboration strives to improve the lives of thousands of children who are being raised by their relatives through support to caregivers, such as legal guidance, financial assistance, emotional support and self care.
Latino Outreach Coordination Program (Tacoma) - $2,000
Martin Luther King Day Home Center - $73,000
Mental Health Counseling (Everett) - $3,000
(Supported 2006)
Our Place Day Care - (closed 2006) - $10,000
New Bethlehem Day Center - Center being developed - $10,000
Pediatric Interim Care Services (CCS SW) - $79,500
Pediatric Interim Care Services (PICS) provides specialized foster care, as well as home based support services for drug-exposed infants and their families. PICS goal is to reduce the long-term effects of prenatal drug abuse on children and families by assisting drug-exposed infants to overcome the effects of prenatal exposure to toxic substances, and support the efforts of parents to succeed in treatment and resolve underlying barriers.
Phoenix Housing - $11,500
Homeless housing services. (Supported 2007-2010)
Pregnancy and Parenting Support (CCS King Co.) - $163,000
(PPS) is an outreach program for pregnant and/or parenting women with children 0-3 years of age. PPS provides comprehensive services that assist with the many difficulties clients face during their pregnancy and while parenting an infant. ACC funds will be used to provide support to women and their families, enabling them to cope with the crisis brought about by an unplanned pregnancy. PPS will offer counseling; prenatal, parenting, and life skills education; and comprehensive case management assistance. Funding will also support the purchase of vital maternal supplies such as diapers, wipes and formula.
Pregnancy/Family Support (CCS Pierce Co.) - $66,500
Pregnancy and Family support for pregnant women of Pierce County that are poor, somewhat isolated and lack access to resources. The CCS Pregnancy Support counselor offers pregnant women counseling and case management to help them cope with the crisis, identify natural supports and set achievable goals for the future. ACC funds will allow this program to continue to support pregnant and parenting families struggling to survive. Primary material needs are for shelter and housing assistance, transportation and essential baby items including cribs, car seats and diapers.
Prepares (CCSWW) - $37,500
PREPARES will “walk the journey” with pregnant and parenting women, men, and families, who find themselves lacking a healthy support network. Families will be able to access mentors and holistic wrap-around services from the time of awareness of pregnancy to the child’s fifth birthday. Once fully realized, the PREPARES network will provide meaningful, professional and sustainable support to vulnerable Washington mothers, fathers, and families as they nurture their children through pregnancy and early childhood.
Rise n’ Shine Foundation - $11,500
Formerly Rise n’ Shine – the mission of Inspire Youth Project is to provide the missing social and emotional links for at-risk children. Their goal is to create an emotionally and socially healthy child, a child who will grow and contribute to our society rather than be dependent. Goals include; inspire them to hope, dream and give them a springboard to attain those dreams. (Supported 2005-2008)
Sacred Heart Shelter (CCS King Co.) - $67,500
Located on lower Queen Anne, Sacred Heart Shelter is a temporary shelter that offers a safe, home-like refuge to homeless families in Seattle. Sacred Heart Shelter mission is to empower homeless families to achieve stability with the help of community resources, gain further self-sufficiency, and obtain permanent housing equipped with the skills and resources to sustain it.
St. Mike’s Tikes (Olympia) - $78,000
St. Mike's Early Learning Center provides high quality care and an early learning program to over 100 children per year. They serve a diverse group of children from different demographic and socio-economic backgrounds. In order to support families with limited resources, the provide a sliding scale tuition and scholarships. They also partner with the Child Care Action Council to provide childcare free of charge to families in crisis.
St. Olaf’s Child Care and Early Learning Center – Poulsbo (closed) Supported through 2012. $42,500
St. Stephen’s Housing - $3,000
Transitional housing for homeless families in Kent, near the city’s border with Des Moines. St. Stephen Housing Association manages admission to Nike. (Supported 2010)
Secret Harbor - $19,500
Secret Harbor provides skilled mental health services for youth who have experienced trauma. It serves its mission by providing three programs for minors faced with out-of-home placement: Foster Care Resources, Residential Treatment, and In-Home Family Connections.
Supervised Visitation (CCS Whatcom) - $63,500
Whatcom Family Center’s program provides supervised visits between parents and their children in foster care through collaboration among CCS, the courts, a local church, and community volunteers, as well as attorneys and advocates for victims of domestic violence. This program remains the only no-fee supervision resource for families whose circumstances almost always preclude their ability to pay, Without this program, there is no doubt that a.) more parent-child visits would occur in unsafe circumstances and/or b.) many parent-child visits would not occur at all. ACC funds will be used to fund high-risk visits supervised by the salaried Coordinator. -
The Community Kitchen (Olympia) – $43,500
With the help of volunteers, The Community Kitchen serves 8,000-10,000 meals per month. TCK serves breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day of the year. In addition to the primary meal site at the Salvation Army, The Community Kitchen also prepares lunches that are served to homeless youth at the Rosie's Place Program four times per week.
University District Youth Center - (Youthcare.org) - $91,720
UDYC (now Youthcare) provides homeless, at risk, runaway, and/or street involved youth ages 13-22 the opportunity, tools, & support in transitioning to improved living while creating a safe, nurturing environment that value and respects the cultural diversity of the youth we serve. UDYC offers a drop in and basic needs service every Monday – Thursday afternoons providing a hot, nutritious meal and an opportunity to meet our staff and receive access to their free clothing room, laundry and showers, activities, bus tickets and connections to ongoing services such as case management, school and employment programs. (Supported through 2016)
Whatcom Family Center (CCS NW) - $2,000
Whatcom Family Center has provided state-licensed community mental health services through its Whatcom Family Center for over five decades. Young clients are Medicare eligible and come seeking treatment for diagnosed mental health conditions that meet statewide access to care criteria. The children and youth served often have severe histories of trauma, as do their parents. Most families who access CCS mental health services for their child(ren) have multiple and complex needs, often related to or complicated by other challenges with housing, education, poverty, social isolation and problems such as drug/alcohol addiction, child abuse, domestic violence and other disabilities or impairments.
Youth Tutoring Program (CCS King Co.) – $149,250
Seattle provides after-school and evening educational enrichment for at-risk elementary, middle and high school children who live in six Seattle public/affordable housing communities. This grant will be used to support the YTP’s Summer Learning Program – helping students who are behind in their academics and would benefit from continued engagement over the summer. New curriculum will be purchased. ACC’s support will pay for the printing of new curriculum materials, storage supplies to keep the curriculum organized and time and labor needed to develop and implement additional math curriculum.
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UK debt reaches $1.3 trillion
Britain gripped by debt equivalent to 56.6 per cent of the country's GDP.
Tue Jul 21 2009 19:39:19 GMT+0000
Mervyn King recently said the government's borrowing levels were 'extraordinary' [EPA]
'Extraordinary borrowing'
Alan Clarke, UK economist at BNP Paribas, a French bank, said: "It wasn't a terrible number on the day ... but it doesn't change the bigger picture that public sector finances are in bad shape."
In the April to June period, public sector net borrowing stood at $68bn, nearly double the level in the same period a year ago.
Alistair Darling, Britain's finance minister, has forecast borrowing for the full year of $288bn, a record post-war high - but several economists say $312bn is more likely.
Mervyn King, the governor of Britain's central bank, recently said the government's borrowing levels were "extraordinary".
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Canada 'had role in torture'
Canadian officials "contributed" to the torture of three citizens, inquiry finds.
Iacobucci concluded the men had been beaten and burned while in Syrian jails [Reuters]
Iacobucci said in his report the mistreatment of the men did not result directly from any Canadian action, but Canadian officials indirectly led to the torture of El Maati and Almalki and probably to that of Nureddin, who he concluded had also been tortured in Egypt.
Each of the three, born in Kuwait, Syria and Iraq respectively, had claimed upon return to Canada to have been tortured and that Canadian security officials had labeled them as "terrorists" and supplied their captors with intelligence and lists of questions to ask them.
'Life ruined'
Iacobucci concluded: "I found no evidence that any of these officials were seeking to do anything other than carry out conscientiously the duties and responsibilities of the institutions of which they were a part."
He found that the officials had not been careful enough in applying labels such as "imminent threat" to the men and in preparing questions for Syrian authorities.
But Almalki later told a news conference: "The RCMP [Royal Canadian Mounted Police] fully knew that I would be tortured if they sent questions.
"My life had been ruined, my reputation has been ruined."
The Canadian government ordered the probe in 2006 after an earlier inquiry found that Canadian Maher Arar had been deported to Syria by the United States and tortured there, after what the inquiry said was the false identification of him as an Islamic extremist by Canadian police.
Stockwell Day, the Canadian public security minister, said security agencies had taken steps to correct shortcomings following the Arar affair.
He declined to say if compensation would be offered, saying civil lawsuits were in progress.
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Pakistan votes to change rape law
Musharraf praises parliament vote as a step forward for women's rights.
Musharraf praised the vote to change
the country's "unjust" rape laws
They are angry at what they say is the curtailment of Islamic law.
The changes must still be approved by the Pakistani senate in order to take effect.
Unfair treatment
Under the Protection of Women Bill, judges will now have the discretion to try rape cases in a criminal rather than an Islamic court.
Until now, rape victims had to produce four – usually male - witnesses to the rape in order to result in a conviction. If not, they could themselves be prosecuted for adultery.
"We are fully aware of the fact that we still have a lot more to do"
Shaukat Aziz,
Pakistani prime minister
The laws formed part of the Hudood Ordinances introduced in 1979 by Pakistan’s then military ruler, Zia-ul-Haq.
The changes, if approved, will allow convictions to be made on the basis of forensic and circumstantial evidence.
Shaukat Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister, said after the vote would "help lessen to a great extent the unfair and illegal treatment meted out to women".
But, he added, "we are fully aware of the fact that we still have a lot more to do."
Women’s rights groups meanwhile have given the vote a cautious welcome.
"We wanted a total repeal of the 1979 rape law, but the government has not done it," Hina Jillani, a leading Pakistani activist, told the Associated Press news agency.
Conservative opposition politicians have said they will fight to make sure the bill does not pass the senate stage.
"We reject it," said Malaun Fazlur Rahman, head of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (Islamic Party of Religious Leaders).
He said the vote was a "dark day" for Pakistan.
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Home / Publications / Traditional Rights and Freedoms—Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws (ALRC Interim Report 127) / 10. Fair Trial / Conclusions
10.160 Criminal trials must always be fair and it will generally not be justified to depart from the accepted attributes of a fair trial. However, both the common law and statute feature some limits on fair trial rights. This chapter has identified a number of Commonwealth laws that limit fair trial rights, for example, to protect vulnerable witnesses and in the interests of national security. For example, although justice should usually be done in public, it may sometimes be justified to close a court to protect a child or to protect trade secrets.
10.161 There is a tension between national security and fair trial rights, as highlighted by submissions criticising laws that limit these rights for national security reasons. Some limits on fair trial rights for national security reasons are justified, but any such limit clearly warrants ongoing and careful scrutiny, given the importance of fair trial principles. Reviewing laws that limit fair trial rights falls within the role of the INSLM, who reviews the operation, effectiveness and implications of Australia’s counter-terrorism and national security legislation on an ongoing basis.
10.162 Laws that protect communications between client and lawyer and between people and their religious confessor may also warrant review, to ensure there are adequate exceptions for defendants seeking to adduce evidence in criminal proceedings. These privileges are themselves important traditional rights, but arguably should sometimes be limited to allow defendants to adduce evidence of their innocence.
10.163 Other chapters of this Interim Report highlight laws that limit other fair trial rights, including laws that reverse the legal burden of proof and laws that abrogate the privilege against self-incrimination.
10.164 The ALRC is interested in further comment on which laws that limit fair trial rights merit further review.
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Home / Publications / Traditional Rights and Freedoms—Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws (ALRC Interim Report 127) / 2. Scrutiny Mechanisms / Parliamentary scrutiny processes
2.16 Parliamentary debate during the passage of legislation is the ultimate forum for the scrutiny of, and judgments about, encroachments on fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges. However, in order to ensure the Parliament is well-informed in conducting such debates, a number of scrutiny committees specifically consider whether Commonwealth laws encroach upon fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges. This began with the Regulations and Ordinances Committee, established in 1932 to review disallowable instruments. The scrutiny function was expanded to the Scrutiny of Bills Committee in 1981. Both committees have a long-standing history of conducting a technical scrutiny function, which does not delve into the policy merits of a particular provision.[17] In 2011, the Human Rights Committee was established to consider a wider range of human rights—specifically tied to Australia’s international human rights obligations—in conducting its review. The Human Rights Committee specifically considers the policy merits of provisions as part of its scrutiny.[18]
2.17 Additionally, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (Intelligence Committee), Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement (Law Enforcement Committee) and the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee) review legislation which impact on fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges, particularly in relation to migration, counter-terrorism and national security legislation.
Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances
2.18 The Regulations and Ordinances Committee was established in 1932. It is required to review, and, if necessary, report on whether disallowable instruments:
are in accordance with the statute;
unduly trespass on personal rights and liberties;
unduly make the rights and liberties of citizens dependent upon administrative decisions which are not subject to review of their merits by a judicial or other independent tribunal; or
contain matter more appropriate for parliamentary enactment.[19]
2.19 The Regulations and Ordinances Committee is comprised of six members supported by a legal adviser who reviews all disallowable instruments against the principles above, and provides a report on compliance.[20]
2.20 Where an instrument raises a concern with respect to the matters being tested, the Regulations and Ordinances Committee usually writes to the responsible Minister for further explanation, or to seek an undertaking for specific action to resolve the concern.[21] This process is usually completed within 15 sitting days of the instrument being tabled, to allow the Committee to seek disallowance of an instrument if its concerns are not allayed. Where the scrutiny process is not completed, the Regulations and Ordinances Committee may move a notice of motion for disallowance in order to provide it with sufficient time to complete its review, and retain its power to seek disallowance if concerns about compliance with its scrutiny principles are not addressed.[22]
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills
2.21 The Scrutiny of Bills Committee was established in 1981, on a six month probationary basis, with its functions carried out by the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee.[23] In May 1982, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee was constituted as a separate committee, but it was not until 1987 that it was made a standing committee of the Senate.[24] The scrutiny principles applied by the Committee are drawn from those applied by the Regulations and Ordinances Committee, and require it to consider whether bills or Acts:
trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties;
make rights, liberties or obligations unduly dependent upon insufficiently defined administrative powers;
make rights, liberties or obligations unduly dependent upon non-reviewable decisions;
inappropriately delegate legislative powers; or
insufficiently subject the exercise of legislative power to parliamentary scrutiny.[25]
2.22 The Committee is comprised of six members, supported by a legal adviser who reviews all bills against the scrutiny principles, and provides a report on whether and how the principles are breached. Based on this advice, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee publishes, on each Wednesday of a sitting week, an Alert Digest containing an outline of each of the Bills introduced in the previous sitting week, along with any comments it wants to make in relation to a particular Bill.
2.23 If concerns are raised in the Digest, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee writes to the Minister responsible for the bill, inviting a response to its concerns, and sometimes suggests an amendment. The Minister’s response may include a revised version of a section of legislation, a slight alteration to the legislation or explanatory memorandum, or the response may better explain why the bill has appeared in its current form. If these responses do not allay the Scrutiny of Bills Committee’s concerns, it will draw the provisions in question to the Senate’s attention through its Report, and leave it to the Senate to determine the appropriateness of the relevant encroachment.
2.24 The Scrutiny of Bills Committee’s concerns, the Minister’s responses and the Committee’s conclusions are published in a Report. Since February 2015, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee also publishes a newsletter highlighting key scrutiny issues. It focuses on ‘information that may be useful when bills are debated’.[26]
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights
2.25 The Human Rights Committee was established under section 4 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) (Parliamentary Scrutiny Act). The Human Rights Committee must examine all bills and legislative instruments that come before either House of Parliament for compatibility with human rights, and report to both Houses on that issue.[27] It is an extension of existing parliamentary rights review mechanisms, and draws an explicit connection with international human rights instruments.
2.26 Unlike the Regulations and Ordinances Committee and the Scrutiny of Bills Committee, which draw their scrutiny principles broadly from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),[28] the Human Rights Committee’s scrutiny is tied directly to international human rights instruments. The Parliamentary Scrutiny Act defines human rights as those rights and freedoms declared in the ICCPR and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESR),[29] as well as a number of other international instruments which relate to the rights in the ICCPR and ICESR.[30]
2.27 The Committee is comprised of 10 members,[31] and is supported by a legal adviser and secretariat. If the Human Rights Committee is not initially satisfied with the human rights compatibility of a bill, it will write to the relevant Minister seeking further detail about the bill. The Committee also has the power to request a briefing, call for written submissions, hold public hearings and/or call for witnesses.[32]
2.28 On each Tuesday of a sitting week, the Human Rights Committee publishes a report commenting on provisions raising human rights concerns, or where insufficient information has been provided to allow it to undertake an analysis. It also comments on responses received in response to comments in earlier reports.
2.29 In conducting its examination, the Human Rights Committee categorises bills and instruments into three groups: legislation which does not give rise to human rights concerns; legislation which potentially raises human rights concerns; and legislation that raises human rights concerns the Committee considers require closer examination.[33] The third category refers to those pieces of legislation that raise human rights concerns of such significance or complexity that the Committee may examine it more closely, and use its powers to hold hearings or request a briefing.[34]
2.30 The primary focus of the Committee is ‘determining whether any identified limitation of a human right is justifiable’.[35] It does so by reference to what are known as the Siracusa Principles,[36] which broadly invite an analysis of whether the limitation is prescribed by law, in pursuit of a legitimate objective, rationally connected to its stated objective, and proportionate to the achievement of the objective.[37]
Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs
2.31 First established in 1970, eight legislative and general purpose standing committees, including the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, are appointed under Senate Standing Order 25.[38] It is comprised of a pair of committees, the Legislation Committee, which deals with bills, estimates processes and oversees departmental performance, and the References Committee, which deals with references from the Senate.[39] The Legislation Committee is required to take into account, in its review of bills, comments made by the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.[40] As a result, the Constitutional and Legal Affairs Committee considers encroachments on fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges to the extent that the Scrutiny of Bills Committee raises these issues in its reports. As discussed above, the Scrutiny of Bills Committee is specifically required to review bills to determine whether they trespass on personal rights and liberties.
2.32 Each committee is allocated a group of departments and agencies to oversee.[41] The Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee has coverage of the Attorney-General’s Department and Department of Immigration and Border Protection.[42] As part of its oversight, it scrutinises a number of legislative frameworks which may have an impact upon fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges, such as migration law, and counter-terrorism and national security legislation.
2.33 The Legislation and References Committees of the Legal and Constitutional Affairs committee are comprised of six members each, with a Government majority in the Legislation Committee and an Opposition majority in the References Committee.[43] In the Legislation Committee, three of the members are nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, two are nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and one by minority groups and independent senators.[44] In the References Committee, three members are nominated by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, two by the Leader of the Government and one by minority groups and independent senators.[45] The Committees have the power to appoint persons with specialist knowledge.[46]
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security
2.34 The Intelligence Committee was established in 2001, under s 28 of the Intelligence Services Act 2001 (Cth) (Intelligence Services Act). It is comprised of eleven members, the majority of whom must be Government members.[47] Five members are drawn from the Senate and six from the House of Representatives.[48]
2.35 The Intelligence Committee is required to review any matter, including bills before the Parliament, relating to Australia’s intelligence and security agencies referred to it by the Attorney-General or a resolution of either House of Parliament.[49] It may also request the Attorney-General to refer a matter to it.[50] Some examples of bills the Intelligence Committee has reviewed since January 2014 include the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014(Cth), Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014 (Cth), and the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014 (Cth).
2.36 The Intelligence Committee also has a role in post-implementation review. It is required, under s 29 of the Intelligence Services Act, to review the operation, effectiveness and implications of the following provisions by 7 May 2018:
pt III div 3 of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (Cth);
pt 1AA div 3A of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth);
divs 104 and 105 of the Criminal Code 1995;[51] and
ss 119.2 and 119.3 of the Criminal Code 1995.[52]
2.37 While the Intelligence Services Act does not expressly require that the Intelligence Committee consider fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges as part of its review of bills, in practice, the Committee considers whether the bill provides adequate safeguards and accountability mechanisms.[53] These are matters that are relevant to whether encroachments on fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges are justified.[54] The Intelligence Committee has the power to conduct private hearings,[55] which may allow it to conduct a more thorough evidence-based review of justifications for encroachments on fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges based on national security concerns.
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement
2.38 The Law Enforcement Committee was established in December 2013, and is comprised of ten members,[56] with a Government majority. Five members are drawn from the House of Representatives and five from the Senate.[57] The five members of the House of Representatives are comprised of three members nominated by the Government Whip and two by the Opposition Whip. The five members of the Senate are comprised of two members nominated by the Leader of the Government in the Senate, two members by the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and one by any minority group or independent senator. [58] The Committee is chaired by a Government member,[59] and a non-Government member is the deputy chair.[60]
2.39 The Law Enforcement Committee is concerned mostly with the activities of the Australian Crime Commission (ACC) and the Australian Federal Police (AFP). It reviews annual reports of the ACC and the AFP, providing additional oversight of agencies with ‘strong, coercive powers’.[61] It is required, among other things, to examine trends and changes in criminal activities, practices and methods and report on changes it thinks desirable to the structure, functions, powers and procedures of the ACC and AFP.[62] It is also required to oversee the operation of pt 2–6 and s 20A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth).[63]
2.40 The Law Enforcement Committee is not expressly required, under the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010 (Cth), to consider fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges as part of its review. However, its oversight functions are designed to monitor the implementation and operation of legislative frameworks which may encroach upon fundamental rights, freedoms and privileges.[64]
Laura Grenfell, ‘An Australian Spectrum of Political Rights Scrutiny: “Continuing to Lead by Example?”’ (2015) 26 Public Law Review 19, 22, 27.
Ibid 27.
Senate, Parliament of Australia, Standing Order 23 (24 August 1994). The overlap between these scrutiny principles and the Terms of Reference for this ALRC Inquiry are discussed in text below.
Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances, Report on the Work of the Committee in 2012–13 (Report No 118, 2013), [1.12].
Ibid [1.13].
Ibid [1.14]–[1.15].
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Ten Years of Scrutiny—A Seminar to Mark the Tenth Anniversary of the Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills (Senate, Parliament of Australia, 1991), 6.
Senate, Parliament of Australia, Standing Order 24 (15 July 2014). The overlap between these scrutiny principles and the Terms of Reference for this ALRC Inquiry are discussed in text below.
Senate Standing Committee for the Scrutiny of Bills, Parliament of Australia, Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee News (2015), 1.
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) s 7(a). The Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) formed part of the government response to the National Human Rights Consultation. The National Human Rights Consultation Committee recommended the adoption of federal human rights legislation modelled on the Victorian and ACT charters. It extends the existing parliamentary rights review model, rather than adopting a judicial review model of rights protection. The overlap between the human rights considered by the Human Rights Committee and the Terms of Reference for this ALRC Inquiry are discussed in text below.
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, opened for signature 16 December 1966, 999 UNTS 171 (entered into force 23 March 1976).
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, opened for signature 16 December 1966, 993 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 January 1976).
Namely, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, opened for signature 21 December 1965, 660 UNTS 195 (entered into force 4 January 1969); Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, opened for signature 18 December 1980, 1249 UNTS (entered into force 3 September 1981); Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Opened for Signature 10 December 1984, 1465 UNTS 85 (entered into Force 26 June 1987); Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened for signature 20 December 1989, 1577 UNTS 3 (entered into force 2 September 1990); UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Opened for Signature 30 March 2007, 999 UNTS 3 (entered into Force 3 May 2008).
Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) s 5(1).
Commonwealth, Hansard, House of Representatives, 20 June 2012, 7177 (Mr Harry Jenkins).
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Annual Report 2012–13 (2013), [1.19].
See, eg, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Human Rights Scrutiny Report—Nineteenth Report of the 44th Parliament (2015), v.
See Ch 1.
Harry Evans and Rosemary Laing (eds), Odgers’ Australian Senate Practice (Department of the Senate, 13th ed, 2012), ch 16.
Senate, Parliament of Australia, Standing Order 25 (15 July 2014) cl 2.
Ibid cl 2B.
Harry Evans and Rosemary Laing, above n 38, ch 16.
Ibid cl 5(a).
Ibid cl 5(b).
Ibid cl 17.
Intelligence Services Act 2001 (Cth) s 28(3).
Ibid s 28(2).
Ibid s 28(1)(b).
Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth) sch 1 (Criminal Code).
Intelligence Services Act 2001 s 29(1)(bb).
See, eg, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, ‘Advisory Report on the National Security Legislation Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2014’ (Parliamentary Paper 199/2014, 17 September 2014), 2; Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Parliament of Australia, Advisory Report on the Counter–Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill (October 2014), 2; Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, Parliament of Australia, Advisory Report on the Telecommunications (Interception and Access) Amendment (Data Retention) Bill 2014 (February 2015), 2.
This is reflected in the Terms of Reference to this ALRC Inquiry, which requires the ALRC to consider ‘any safeguards provided in the laws, such as rights of review or other accountability mechanisms’.
Intelligence Services Act 2001 (Cth) sch 1, cl 6–7.
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010 (Cth) s 5.
Ibid s 5(2).
Commonwealth Hansard, House of Representatives, 21 November 2013, 968-9 (The Hon. Chris Pyne MP) cl 1(a).
Ibid cl 1(c)(i).
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, Parliament of Australia, Examination of the Australian Crime Commission Annual Report of the 2014, June 2015, [1.3].
Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement Act 2010 (Cth) s 7(1)(g).
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) s 179U.
The Attorney-General, in discussing the Law Enforcement committee’s role, stated that it exemplifies the ‘commitment to improving oversight and accountability in relation to the exercise of the functions of Commonwealth agencies’: Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement, Parliament of Australia, Examination of the Australian Crime Commission Annual Report of the 2014, June 2015, [1.3].
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October 2003 (Volume 12, Number 10)
HEPAP Meeting Emphasizes Prioritizing Large Scale Facilities
Trends toward large-scale facilities in many fields of science, and how to prioritize and pay for them, were among the topics discussed at a two day meeting of DOE's High Energy Physics Advisory Panel (HEPAP) in July. Participants also discussed the importance of high-performance computing, and the impact on the high energy physics (HEP) program of last year's National Research Council report on the intersection of physics and astronomy, "From Quarks to the Cosmos."
Ray Orbach, director of DOE's Office of Science, discussed his attempts to prioritize a wish list of facilities across the Office's programs in a 20-year plan. Orbach said that both his office and NSF are attempting to prioritize research across fields, and while it is a difficult task, "somebody has to make a decision." He admitted, though, that "in some cases it was simply impossible to decide on the scientific merit between various projects."
Regarding future funding for high energy physics, Orbach said that "the issue of expectations and accomplishment is terribly important." Recognition of the quality and importance of the HEP program's performance has been demonstrated by the fact that appropriators in both the House and Senate have recommended "augmentations" above the President's request. "I can't impress on you enough the importance of credibility," he said. "We have to remain credible, or people will lose confidence in us." Orbach also described his office's difficulties with the international aspects of programs like the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor and the Large Hadron Collider (LHC).While the schedule for completing the LHC has slipped by at least two years to 2007, the US detectors were on budget and on schedule for completion in 2005.
"Most of our time is spent worrying about large-scale facilities," said Patrick Looney, OSTP Assistant Director for Physical Sciences and Engineering. He noted that some existing facilities are underutilized, some redundant, and many need upgrades. At the same time, traditional fields are requesting significant new investments for facilities, while facing increased competition from fields that have not relied on large facilities in the past. Looney estimated that the total cost of the many recommended facilities "exceeds optimistic budget projections by more than a factor of two."
Given the stiff competition for funding, how do appropriators decide which areas they should be investing in? Looney advocated a uniform policy for making the case for a facility to OSTP and OMB?a policy that would address the project's consistency with agency missions and national goals, coordination with other federal agencies, and impacts on other fields of science. His advice: "Don't tell us what you want to build; tell us what you want to do." Looney also reported that a panel of the National Science and Technology Council was looking into the issue of large-scale facilities, while another was developing recommendations, based on the "Quarks to the Cosmos" report, on interagency research at the intersection of physics and astronomy.
Finally, Robin Staffin, who heads the high energy physics program at the Office of Science, emphasized the need to develop consensus on the future of high energy physics, and the importance of communicating that vision to the public and to policymakers. "It's easy to believe we are not a special interest," he said, but to policymakers who deal with a wide variety of programs, "I'm sure we sound like a special interest. We need to communicate ourselves as an important social, economic and intellectual resource." In his remarks, Staffin also commented that "globalization is an important new criteria for how decisions will be made," and he noted that while the issue of evaluating program performance "is not going away," the choice of appropriate performance measures "is largely up to us."
In a related meeting, the multinational collaboration to build the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and the project's impact on the domestic fusion program, was a main topic of discussion at a July 31-August 1 meeting of the Fusion Energy Sciences Advisory Committee.
N. Anne Davies, the director of DOE's Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program, described the current status of the FY 2004 appropriations process and her efforts to develop a financial plan for the year in the absence of a final appropriations bill. Using the lower of the House and Senate appropriators' recommendations ($257.3 million, equal to the request), Davies warned, "We will not be able to do all of what Congress told us to do." Her guiding principles for the FY 2004 financial plan include supporting ITER transitional arrangements; partially restoring cuts to other international collaborations; increasing the level of facility operations over FY 2003; and minimizing personnel disruptions.
Davies said that the budget request for FES was premised on emphasizing the activities necessary to support ITER participation, while delaying or postponing longer-term efforts. However, she noted that both the House and Senate appropriations committee reports raised concerns about the imbalance between ITER and the domestic fusion program.
Orbach told the committee that the promise of fusion "has made an impression on the Secretary of Energy and the White House?There is momentum here," he declared. The ITER negotiations are "more important than just ITER," Orbach remarked. They are "setting the framework" for future collaborations and, "as a consequence, if something goes wrong?if we are unable to bring it to conclusion...it will have ramifications far beyond fusion."
Across the US scientific enterprise, "we have tremendous numbers of facilities that exist, and more that are being proposed," said Looney, who offered his own personal suggestions for investment criteria, including whether the facility addresses important scientific questions; how it impacts other efforts in the field and other fields of science; whether there is coordination and collaboration both domestically and internationally; whether the planning is realistic; and how the program is performing with current funds. "My feeling," he said, "is that we are in danger of saturating our available budgets with low-priority, redundant, and uncoordinated activities."
Associate Editor: Jennifer Ouellette
Richter argues for DOE's Office of Science Before Senate Committee
Here Comes the World Year of Physics
U.S. Team Wins Top Honors at 34th International Physics Olympiad
APS Sponsors Second Conference on Opportunities for Physicists in Biology
APS, AAS, AMS Honor Three with 2003 Public Service Awards
Media Give Widespread Coverage to APS Missile-Defense Study
Playing with Sand Helps Scientists Study Earthquakes
Research Corporation Helps Young Scientists Get Going
Zero Gravity: The Lighter Side of Science
Inside the Beltway: A Washington Analysis
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New challenges for a new generation of Tanzanians
The Rev. Linus Buriani (right) translates, while Mwasifa Mohamedi Matumbaku and Flora Mohamedi Makotha, health workers for Ruponda village, give a report on the progress of a PWRDF project. Photo: André Forget
Masasi, Tanzania
The Rev. Linus Buriani is not the sort of person who draws a lot of attention to himself. But during a weeklong visit to the diocese of Masasi by a delegation of volunteers and staff from the Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF), the Anglican Church of Canada’s relief and development agency, he is a visible presence.
Serving as both interpreter and guide to the work the Anglican church is doing in southern Tanzania, Buriani has an affable, down-to-earth manner. He is possessed of an infectious sense of humour, constantly on display as he leads the delegation around the diocese of Masasi from May 13-20 to learn more about how it is implementing the All Mothers and Children Count (AMCC) project, now in its second year.
On long drives between villages with the delegation, he slips easily from explanations of Tanzania’s decentralized political structure to digressions on how previous PWRDF projects have impacted health care in the region, to anecdotes about his years as a project planner for the seminary he attended. (A passionate amateur musician, he spent his whole first paycheque on a sound system and subsisted on rice for the next two weeks.)
But behind Buriani’s easygoing banter is a serious work ethic. As an AMCC project staff person, he works six days a week, Monday to Saturday. On paper, this means 48 hours. But given that his work requires that he travel long distances on roads that are in poor repair, meeting with program beneficiaries, government workers and village councils across the diocese, it is not unusual for him to exceed this. On Sundays, he fulfills his obligations as a clergy person in the diocese.
Despite his relative youth, the 28-year-old Buriani has proved himself to be a dedicated and energetic development worker. The Rev. Geoffrey Monjesa, development officer for the diocese of Masasi, is preparing him to take over his role upon his retirement in 2020.
Buriani is part of a younger generation of Tanzanians who came of age after the economic turmoil that accompanied liberalization of the economy in the late 1980s, and the worst years of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s and 1990s.
He grew up on a farm in the Masasi district and studied development in the capital, Dodoma. At 24, while still pursuing his degree, he was ordained a deacon and then a priest. After a stint working at a seminary in Rondo in the neighbouring Lindi Region, he was hired as assistant to Monjesa in the development office.
Buriani is optimistic about the future of his country, but he believes strongly that if his generation is to thrive, they need to take their future into their own hands. In a country with a population of 55 million (according to the United Nations), more than a third are under age 35, and according to Buriani and many of the other Tanzanians who spoke to members of the delegation, unemployment is a serious concern.
“I have to raise [their] awareness to use opportunities we have to create jobs,” he says. “We don’t have formal sectors to employ us, but we have different informal sectors that can be used to create more jobs in this country.”
A large part of Buriani’s work, both within the AMCC program and outside it, is cultivating a more entrepreneurial outlook among young Tanzanians. Given that the dream of many students is simply to land a government job when they finish university and draw a regular salary for the rest of their lives, this can be something of a challenge.
“This country is not a poor country, in terms of resources,” he explains. “We have big portions of land that are not being cultivated, so we can use the resources available to create jobs and think outside of the box.”
One of the practical ways he is doing this is by helping students set up community-based organizations, or CBOs, which use land donated by village leadership to set up small-scale farming operations to cultivate crops like peanuts.
“It started with coming together, talking together, and opening their minds to see other opportunities,” he said. “My role is just encouraging people.”
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Home / Blog / DOL Reviews Annuity Exemptions in Fiduciary Rule
DOL Reviews Annuity Exemptions in Fiduciary Rule
By Rachel Summit, with Annuity FYI in Annuities, Fixed Indexed Annuities
This week, the Department of Labor requested information on the fiduciary rule giving some industry players hope that the sales of fixed indexed annuities (FIA) may be placed under a less stringent exemption. According to a recent InsuranceNewsNet article, DOL regulators implied that they might be interested in exploring the advantages and drawbacks of expanding the types of annuities covered under the Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 84-24, which is much less stringent than the Best Interest Contract Exemption, or BICE.
“Would it facilitate advice to expand the scope of PTE 84-24 to cover all types of annuities after the end of the transition period on January 1, 2018?” asked regulators on Thursday. Of course, the annuity community has answered with a unanimous YES. Additionally, regulators also showed interest in looking at the possible expansion of the definition of what constitutes a financial institution beyond banks, insurers, broker-dealers, and registered investment advisors (RIA). The expansion could mean the inclusion of more independent marketing organizations (IMO), which are responsible for the majority of the $60 billion worth of FIAs sold every year.
In April 2016, indexed annuities were included under the rigorous BICE along with variable annuities. Fixed annuities were excluded from the move. The DOL claimed that FIAs didn’t meet the standard required by the fiduciary rule to limit conflict of interests among financial advisors. Industry groups were quick to point out that IMOs were not addressed in the new rule, so regulators revised. The solution then presented set the standard for IMOs (to qualify as financial institutions) so high, that many couldn’t even contemplate an attempt. According to Judi Carsrud, government affairs director for the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, regulators now need to either move all FIAs back to the 84-24 exemption or develop a workable exemption so that the majority of IMOs operating in the U.S. can continue to sell FIAs. “Or they can redefine what is a financial institution,” she added.
The request of information by the DOL in the Federal Register on Thursday doesn’t necessarily indicate how the DOL is leaning, rather that they are just complying with President Trump’s order to review the impact of the fiduciary rule on the marketplace.
“We’re still looking forward to working with the new (DOL) team and rolling up our sleeves,” said Carsrud. Only time will tell if FIAs will be moved back under PTE 84-24, like so many are hoping, or not.
Unhappy With Your Annuity? Consider a 1035 Exchange
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Annuity Sales Rules To Be Adopted By Year’s End
Vantis Life Launches New Annuity Line-up
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Rangers pay tribute to former Scotland goalkeeper and manager Bobby Brown
Former Scotland goalkeeper and manager Bobby Brown has died at the age of 96.
Brown, from Dunipace, joined Rangers from Queen’s Park in 1946 and went on to become a club legend.
In his decade-long spell at Ibrox, he made 296 appearances, keeping 109 clean sheets and he was part of the 1948/49 side when Rangers became the first team to win the treble.
Everyone at Rangers Football Club is in mourning today after learning that club legend and former Scotland goalkeeper and manager Bobby Brown has sadly passed away at the age of 96.
Bobby Brown 1923-2020 | https://t.co/lMsDVhkDwmpic.twitter.com/9pAO0M4VY6
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) January 15, 2020
He played part-time throughout his Gers career, while also working as a schoolmaster.
In February 1967 he was appointed manager of Scotland, a position he held until July 1971.
It was during his reign that the national side had a famous 3-2 victory over then-world champions England in a European Championship qualifier at Wembley in 1967.
He was inducted into the Scottish Football Hall of Fame in 2015.
Rangers chairman Dave King said: “All of us connected with Rangers are deeply saddened to hear that Mr Brown, a genuine Rangers and Scotland legend, has passed away. Our thoughts are with Mr Brown’s family at this time.
“He was a wonderful servant of our club and we will remember him with great fondness.
“He was a gentleman of the game and set standards which typify what Rangers is about.”
A minute’s silence will be held prior to Friday’s Scottish Cup tie with Stranraer at Ibrox.
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Atlanta Car Accident Lawyers Warn Against Drunk Drivers over the Weekend
A new study by the American Automobile Association shows just how concerned Atlanta car accident lawyers should be over the New Year’s weekend. According to the survey, approximately one in every 10 drivers drove under the influence of alcohol at least once over the past 12 months. This was even as 9 persons out of 10 in the survey agreed wholeheartedly that driving under the influence was a serious public safety hazard.
According to an analysis of data by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an average of 80 people a year die over the New Year’s Day holiday. That’s approximately 2 ½ times as many fatalities that occur on other days of the year in drunk driving accidents. In fact in 2009, there were a total of 79 alcohol-related accident fatalities across the country on New Year’s Day.
This year, the risks of being involved in an accident with an intoxicated motorist are likely to be much higher because New Year’s Eve also falls on Friday. The last time we had the New Year’s holiday on Saturday was in 2005, when a total of 90 people died in alcohol-related accidents. Georgia law enforcement agencies are bracing for a spike in alcohol-related crashes this year, as the New Year’s holiday combined with the weekend encourages reckless behavior.
The sad part about drunk driving accidents is that every death in alcohol-related crashes is entirely preventable. It’s not as if people aren’t aware of the dangers of driving under the influence. There are studies indicating that an overwhelming majority of Georgians and Americans are aware of the hazards of drunk driving.
The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety warns drivers of the severe and cumulative penalties that will occur when an impaired driver is convicted.
Possible jail time up to one year
Fine of $300 minimum, up to $1,000
License suspension of up to one year
40 hours of community service, minimum mandatory
$210 license reinstatement fee
Second Offense Within Five Years Of First Offense
Minimum mandatory 48 hours in jail, possible 90 days to one year
License suspension of three years
Minimum 30 days community service
$210 set license reinstatement fee
A mandatory clinical evaluation and, if indicated, completion of a substance abuse
treatment program at the offender’s expense
Third Offense Within Five Years Of Second Offense
Minimum mandatory 15 days jail time
Fine of $1,000 minimum, up to $5,000
License revocation for five years
Minimum mandatory 30 days community service
Violator’s name, photo, and address published in local newspaper at violator’s expense
Declared as habitual violator, the license plate for his/her vehicle will be seized by the sent to the court and forwarded to the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety
Face a mandatory clinical evaluation and, if indicated, completion of substance abuse treatment program at the offender’s expense
It simply makes no sense at all to drink and drive. Stay sober. If that’s not possible, use public transit, call for a taxi, or hitch a ride home.
Robert J. Fleming has been handling wrongful death cases, dental malpractice, bus accidents, car accident cases and premises injury cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 20 years. He practices in and around the Atlanta, Georgia area including handling lawsuits in Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Gwinnett, Cobb and other counties and nearby cities including Alpharetta, Austell, Avondale Estates, Chamblee, College Park, Conyers, Duluth, Decatur, Doraville, Hapeville, Johns Creek, Jonesboro, Lawrenceville, Norcross, Peachtree City, Riverdale, Roswell, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain, and Smyrna. If you have been seriously injured in a car accident and would like discuss your case, contact Robert J. Fleming directly on (404) 525-5150 or contact us online.
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Pennsylvania man sentenced to 18 months for celeb hacking
The man wasn’t charged with the leaks of intimate snaps of female celebrities
John Ribeiro (IDG News Service) 28 October, 2016 17:42
A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison on charges of hacking the Google and Apple email accounts of over 100 people including celebrities, and getting access to nude videos and photographs of some people.
The sentencing against Ryan Collins, 36, of Lancaster is the offshoot of a Department of Justice investigation into the online leaks of photographs of numerous female celebrities in September 2014, widely referred to as "Celebgate."
But DOJ has not found any evidence linking Collins to the actual leaks or the sharing and uploading of the content.
Between November 2012 and early September 2014, Collins is said to have sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked them to provide their usernames and passwords. Having gained access to the email accounts, he got hold of personal information including nude photographs and videos, and in some cases used a software program to download the entire contents of the victims' Apple iCloud backups, according to DOJ.
Some victims were also tricked into providing nude snaps for a modeling scam, DOJ said.
Collins case is akin to that of Edward Majerczyk, 28, a resident of Chicago and Orland Park, Illinois, who authorities said has admitted in a plea agreement entered in July in a U.S. federal court in Los Angeles that between Nov. 23, 2013 through August 2014, he had obtained usernames and passwords from his victims through a phishing scheme. Majerczyk got access to personal information including sensitive and private photographs and videos from his victims, the DOJ said at the time.
Majerczyk is also charged only with illegal access to email accounts and not the actual leaks of the nude photographs. While announcing his guilty plea in July, DOJ did not make any reference that suggests that he and Collins worked together.
Collins accessed at least 50 iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts, many of which belonged to female celebrities, while Majerczyk accessed at least 300 Apple iCloud and Gmail accounts, and at least 30 accounts belonging to celebrities, according to officials.
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Edmond Dede
Male | Composers
http://www.naxos.com/person/Edmond_Dede/22542.htm
Edmond Dédé was a black creole born in New Orleans about 1829, a contemporary of McCarty and of Snaer. A violin prodigy, he first studied in New Orleans under the tutorship of skillful and conscientious teachers. After having mastered everything in his field available to a black man in the city, he went to Europe on the advice of understanding friends. He visited Belgium first, but not finding in that little kingdom the object of his search, he traveled to Paris, where he received a ready welcome. In this enlightened capital, in which everyone acknowledges talent wherever it exists, Edmond Dédé met with sympathy and assistance. In this hospitable country, he found the opportunity he was seeking, namely, that of perfecting his gift in music and of going as far as he possibly could in his profession as a violinist. Through the intervention of friends, he was soon admitted as an auditioner for the Paris Conservatory of Music. His progress and his triumphs quickly attracted the attention of the musical world, and he was given all the consideration awarded to true merit. He was the conductor of the Theater of Bordeaux for twenty-five years. The violin always remained his instrument. In 1893 Dédé returned to New Orleans, where he presented a number of concerts. The music critic of L\\'Abeille, among others, honored him by attending one of his performances. He was greatly impressed at seeing Dédé play "Le Trouvere" without a score, and gave him ample praise in the columns of his newspaper. His compositions were all of high quality. He even began the composition of a grand opera called Le Sultan d\\'Ispahan (The Sultan of Spain), which he never completed because of illness. Edmond Dédé died in Paris in 1903.
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Home » FDA to review PHO food additive petition
FDA to review PHO food additive petition
By Donna Berry
On Oct. 1, 2015, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted for review a food additive petition from the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA). The group seeks approval for a specified set of low-level uses of partially hydrogenated oil (PHOs) in food products. This includes continued use as color and flavor carriers and to deliver consumer-desired textural characteristics that other oils cannot provide, such as flakiness in doughs. PHOs also function as essential processing aids, such as pan release agents that prevent products from sticking to baking trays and rollers during the manufacturing process.
“FDA’s acceptance of our food additive petition marks the beginning of the agency’s formal review process, and we look forward to working with FDA on achieving approval for these proposed low-level uses of PHOs,” said Leon Bruner, GMA’s chief science officer. “Our petition shows that the proposed PHO uses are as safe as the naturally occurring trans fat present in the normal diet.
“GMA’s food additive petition is based on a comprehensive and highly detailed analysis of the latest scientific information available and provides the most current information about the amount of PHO consumed in US diets today,” he continued. “Food and beverage companies have already voluntarily lowered the amount of trans fat added to food products by more than 86% and will continue lowering PHO-associated trans fats to levels similar to naturally occurring trans fats found in the diet.”
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76459 LCPL. T. MASSAM. SHER.FOR.
Thomas Massam was born n 1889 in Birkdale, near Southport. His father was Henry (Harry) Massam (b. 1848 in Scarisbrick), a railway labourer and later farmer. His mother was Ann Foster (b. 1849 in Southport). Harry and Ann were married in Southport in 1876 and they had 7 children, all of whom survived infancy: John (b. 1878), William (b. 1880), Ann (b. 1883), Henry (b. 1885), Margaret (b. 1886), then Thomas and finally Jane (b. 1893). They moved to Bamber Bridge in 1892 and lived first at 11 Duddle Lane, and by 1911 they had moved to a farm on Green Lane, Bamber Bridge (now Green Drive, off Todd Lane). Tom was an engineering fitter’s labourer.
Tom enlisted in late 1914 or early 1915, first in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps with service number 02533. He landed in France on 10 July 1915 with the RAOC but at some stage he was transferred to the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Regiment with service number 76459. He was posted first to 12th Battalion and then to 2/5th Battalion. 12Bn was a Pioneer battalion so that was a logical place for a man with an engineering background. 2/5Bn served in Ireland during the first part of the War quelling disturbances after the Easter Rising of 1916, but in January 1917 they moved to France, so that is probably when Tom was transferred. At some stage he was promoted to Lance Corporal.
2/5Bn came under orders of 176th Brigade in 59th (2nd North Midland) Division. In 1917, the Division was first engaged in the pursuit of the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line (April) but then they had a lengthy period of training before being committed to the Third Battle of Ypres in September. They fought at the Battle of the Menin Road Ridge (23-25 September) and the Battle of Polygon Wood (26-30 September). They were also engaged in the Battle of Cambrai, in the capture of Bourlon Wood (28 November) and in the German counter-attacks (30 November – 3 December). They suffered heavy casualties especially on 1 December, but eventually withdrew to Flesquières.
After a period of rest and training, the Division was back at the front line at Bullecourt in February 1918 where much work was done on strengthening the defences against an anticipated enemy attack. On 2 March they moved from Croisilles to Mory where they were engaged in more training and every third night working parties were sent out to strengthen defences. It was during this period that Tom was killed. He was 28 years old.
Rank: Lance Corporal
Service Number: 76459
Aged: 28 (CWGC says 30)
Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment), 2nd/5th Bn.
Cemetery/memorial reference: III. A. 8.
Cemetery: MORY ABBEY MILITARY CEMETERY, MORY
Additional Information: Son of Harry and Ann Massam, of Green Lane Cottage, Bamber Bridge, Preston.
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The Trailblazing Women Who Ran Britains Most Extraordinary Military Hospital During World War I
by Wendy Moore
Discover the true story of two pioneering suffragette doctors who transformed modern medicine, raised standards for patient care, and shattered social expectations for women in WWI-era London.
A month after war broke out in 1914, doctors Flora Murray and Louisa Garrett Anderson set out for Paris, where they opened a hospital in a luxury hotel and treated hundreds of casualties plucked from France’s battlefields. Although, prior to the war, female doctors were restricted to treating women and children, Flora and Louisa’s work was so successful that the British Army asked them to set up a hospital in the heart of London. Nicknamed the Suffragettes’ Hospital, Endell Street soon became known for its lifesaving treatments and lively atmosphere.
In No Man’s Land, Wendy Moore illuminates this turbulent moment when women were, for the first time, allowed to operate on men. Their fortitude and brilliance serve as powerful reminders of what women can achieve against all odds.
Genre: Nonfiction / History / Women
On Sale: April 28th 2020
Price: $30 / $38 (CAD)
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"How can a spectacular story like No Man's Land just disappear? Luckily for us, it fell into the hands of one of our finest biographers. Wendy Moore's rich storyteller's voice has brought back the lives and achievements of these brave and brilliant women."—Andrea Wulf, author of The Invention of Nature and Founding Gardeners
"No Man's Land is an absolute delight. Wendy Moore has performed an incredible feat of historical detective work, and the result is a gripping account of courage and determination in the face of death. It is impossible not to love the 'suffragette surgeons' as they fought for the wounded abroad and for women's rights at home."—Amanda Foreman, author of The Duchess and A World on Fire
"Few authors write as colorfully and compellingly about the past as Wendy Moore. In her deft hands, the horrors of the First World War and the heroic efforts of the suffragette surgeons are conjured back to life. Meticulously researched and beautifully executed, No Man's Land is an important book that shows Moore to be the masterful storyteller that she is."—Lindsey Fitzharris, author of The Butchering Art
"The story of the extraordinary women who ran the 'Suffragettes' Hospital' is visceral, timely, urgent, and spellbinding. Wendy Moore's book is utterly involving and deeply thought-provoking, and all I can do is urge you to read it."—Helen Castor, author of She-Wolves and Joan of Arc
"No Man's Land is an extraordinary story, and beautifully told.—Anita Anand, author of Sophia
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Babbacombe & St Marychurch Local History Society
South Devon history on the web
Babbacombe Village
St Marychurch Village
A girl’s life in a newsagents’ shop in the 1950’s.
While browsing websites featuring St Marychurch, I came across the excellent and evocative piece written by Jim and Mary Gill, written in 2016, and I would very much like to add my own reminiscences to that of my time in St Marychurch.
We arrived in the village in July 1951. My parents had had a newsagents’ shop in Toad Lane, Rochdale, Lancashire, but because of my recent illness (pneumonia) they thought living in Torbay would be more beneficial to my health, so we moved to where there would be fresh sea air.
Hampton Court School c1955. Mr Lewis had become Headmaster by then
I was enrolled as a pupil at the then Hampton Court School where Miss James was the headmistress (she lived there with her parents, the elderly Mr and Mrs James; Mrs James being a dead ringer for Queen Mary, the grandmother of our present Queen.)
The shop when we bought it in 1951.
Our shop, 51 Fore Street, situated between Bunce’s pram and toy shop on one side and Cutmore’s chemist shop on the other, had been owned by the Misses Peters, two elderly spinsters. One had died and the one that was left was selling the business. The two women didn’t get on with one another and had divided the shop so that they could live separately. When we arrived at the shop, there was a staircase from the shop to a room over the carriage way as well as a staircase from the hall, behind the shop.
What possessed my parents to buy this particular business, I have no idea, but it was in a deplorable state; the two women had had 17 cats and the first job was to eliminate the fleas. There was an open lavatory in what passed for a ‘kitchen’, no more than a scullery with sink and elderly (and unsafe) gas cooker. There was also a lavatory upstairs, but no bathroom, and wash stands in the bedroom. Wash stands, for younger readers, were tables with usually marble tops on which would be a basin and ewer, with a bucket beneath for the ‘slops’, i.e. the used water for washing.
The cottages behind our shop.
After eliminating the fleas, the first job was to install a modern bathroom upstairs (a pale green modern suite) which was at one end of the room above the carriageway – the ‘bathroom end’ overlooked the cottages at the back of the shop (these are no longer there; they were demolished several years ago) and the other end of the room overlooked Fore Street, from which we had a view of the butcher’s shop and, behind it, the spire of the RC Church.
It wasn’t long before a painter and decorator (Mr Pope) arrived to make the place habitable, a new gas cooker also arrived, and the lavatory in the kitchen was removed. Before it had been a newsagents and tobacconist’s shop 51 Fore Street had been a grocer’s shop, and remnants of this trade were still in evidence: grey marble counter tops at the side of the shop adjoining Bunce’s toy shop. These were removed, along with the staircase from the shop to what became our sitting room over the carriageway, and the interior of the shop was painted in pleasing shades of pale grey and daffodil yellow.
Painting the shop.
Please bear in mind that all this was taking place not long after the end of WW2 and building materials were still in short supply. The exterior of the shop was painted, removing – if I remember correctly, for I was only seven years old at the time – black paint, and giving the outside a new coat of maroon and cream paint, and a sign writer inscribed my parent’s trade name above the shop, Gays (with, in smaller writing: F G and G Sidlow). They had traded under the name of Gays before, and of course, in the 1950s ‘gay’ didn’t have the alternative meaning it has today. Many customers referred to my parents as Mr and Mrs Gay although their name was Sidlow.
After my parents had been in the shop for a few years my father ordered three smart new greetings card stands, and two of them are still in the shop today more than 60 years later. Things were then built to last. There was also a small circulating library, the Allied Library, just four shelves of books, mainly light romance, thrillers and western (known as “cowboy books” in those days, and which were very popular.)
There was very little trade at first – not surprisingly as there was little stock when my parents took over the shop – but before long the local people began to come to our shop to buy their newspapers, tobacco (then still on ration) and sweets and chocolates (ditto.) Indeed, my parents sold all kinds of things, not just newspapers, magazines, sweets and cigarettes: from razor blades and Amami setting lotion to Pond’s Vanishing Cream and Harley Bond writing paper, it was an Aladdin’s cave of items.
My parents behind the counter.
The locals were a little suspicious of us at first because moving from Lancashire to Devon was the equivalent of moving from the earth to the moon in those days; people tended to remain where they were born. Furthermore, they didn’t always understand our Lancashire accents and, indeed, I had elocution lessons at school to eliminate my ‘Coronation Street’ accent. Also, my parents didn’t always understand what the villagers said, and when one of them asked after the health of “the little maid” my father quickly explained that “we weren’t rich enough to employ a maid!” “No, your little daughter,” was the response. My father had no idea that a little maid was a daughter to a Devonian. Clearly, we had a lot to learn!
And so, the business grew and by the time my parents sold in April 1962 it was the largest newspaper business in the Bay, with around 14 newsboys in both St Marychurch and in Torquay.
I can remember many of the shops in Fore Street, and I query what Jim and Mary Gill have said about the shop on the corner of Rowley Road. Yes, Drowers was on the corner closest to the Links Hotel, but on the opposite corner where the Happy Apple now is, there was a butcher’s shop the name of which escapes me. I can clearly remember it as the doorway was set at an angle, i.e. across the corner of the premises.
Next door was the fruit and vegetable shop belonging to Arthur and Cathy Clow (brother and sister.) Next was a small antiques/junk shop run by a Mrs Heapie (not sure of the spelling, it might have been Heapy.) It was from Mrs Heapy that my mother bought for me a lovely desk and chair at which I used to do my homework (and I still have this in our hall.) Then Hockin’s sweet shop, then Mr and Mrs Percy Renshaw’s shop (another grocer’s shop, but all I can remember them selling was tea, their own homemade jam, flour, sugar, and biscuits which were in tins along the edge of the counter; you asked for how many you wanted and they were weighed for you and put into a paper bag, unlike the hygienically wrapped packets you buy today.)
Next to Mr and Mrs Renshaw’s shop was Bunce’s (pram and toys), then our shop was followed by Cutmore’s the chemist. Next was the Iolanthe café (owned by a couple called Millward; their daughter Broncie – or some such name – was at school with me). Next was Joyce’s hairdresser and jewellery (owned by Mr and Mrs Francis) and then, before the Foxland’s Walk was Leach’s Dairy, with the dairy behind the shop where there are now pretty, modern cottages.
After Foxland’s Walk (then the entrance to the dairy) was Hanson’s furniture shop, and Biddick & Avery, the television and radio shop, and Miss Philips’s shoe shop (currently having a closing down sale.) The shop which today sells clothes (the name of which I do not know) and which has an array of socks and so forth in ‘bins’ on the pavement, was then the International Stores and, again, begging to differ from the Gills’ account, what is now the Silver Goose café was Skinner’s bakery. The shop that is now the Bazaar was once a grocer’s shop, but the name of this escapes me even though I distinctly remember going with my mother to buy groceries there; there would be, as in most such shops in those days, a bentwood chair by the counter for elderly folk to rest while they asked for their sugar and tea. At the end of the row of shops and before the lane leading to the fields and walks around the cliffs where we would stroll with our Corgi dog, Sherry, was the Midland Bank.
If we now walk over to the other side of the Precinct and return up Fore Street, there was, of course, the lovely Hampton Court Hotel, with smart revolving doors, this beautiful building sadly demolished to make way for what is now the Co-op. Next, was the Manor public house and off licence, the landlady was Sally Price and her husband, Reggie. Along this stretch of Fore Street there was Mr Stenport (not sure of the spelling of his name; I think he was a Polish emigre) a tailor – he made some golfing skirts for my mother, as sports’ wear was unheard of in those days, and you wore to golf whatever you were most comfortable wearing, and trousers were not acceptable for women in those days – and close by was Jowett’s, a stationer’s and bookshop (now the Oxfam shop, I think.)
Further up the street was the fish shop where we would sometimes have fish and chips of a summer’s evening after my parents returned after a round of golf at Torquay Golf Club, and Mrs Frearson’s, the fireplace shop. During our time in St Marychurch this became a hairdresser’s shop, owned and run by Jean Jones and named for her daughter, Maison Cheryl. It is still a hairdresser’s shop (opposite The Coffee House).
Looking down Fore Street from our shop. The Goss chapel is on the right.
Kiddy’s, the newsagents, was on the corner of St Margarets Road and then Gilbert’s, the pet shop. The chapel was still there in those days, and then a block of flats with, on the ground floor, Miss Lamble’s baby wear shop (where the clock and watch shop is today.)
Look at all the pork hanging.
Next, the butcher’s shop which is now Lloyd Maunder and which was and still is directly opposite my parent’s shop. It was then owned by Freddy Pryor, a big cheese in the village in those days, with his name over the shop: F.H.Pryor. His wife, Mabel, would sit in the little kiosk that butcher’s and some grocer’s shops then had, where you would pay her for your meat.
When his daughter, Anne, married and her reception was at the rather lovely Links Hotel (a very smart hotel in those days, I might add!) Freddy Pryor arranged for a red carpet to be placed across the road from the Lych Gate of the church to the Links Hotel. All traffic was stopped to allow the bridal party to cross the road.
Next to Pryor’s was Mottas, the bakery and cake shop (and which is still run thus.) Following these two shops were a few private houses before, further up, there was the fur shop which (I think) was owned by a Miss (or a Mrs Ferrer) – can you imagine a shop selling fur coats in the village today? Mink, Musquash, Fox? No, neither can I. But this was the 1950s – some changes are definitely for the better.
Along this stretch of Fore Street, my memory is a little hazy regarding in which order the shops came, but there was Mr Blackmore’s, another grocer (we were well catered for in the food department in St Marychurch!) and a wool shop owned by Barbara Hoy, and on the corner of Priory Road was The Bookmark, another book shop selling (if I remember correctly) both new and 2nd hand books.
In Priory Road was Avon House, owned by Mr and Mrs Holman, a B&B. Between Priory Road and Church Road was Mayne’s, yet another grocer’s shop – during our time in the village this became The Silver Pixie, an antiques’ and collectables shop. On the corner of Fore Street with Church Road was Stoneman’s television shop. Stoneman was the builder in Torbay at the time (he built the houses in Rock End near Daddyhole Plain as well as some in the Maidencombe end of Watcombe) but his St Marychurch shop sold televisions, radiograms and records – the new LPs and the older 78 rpms. It was from this shop that I bought The Shadows first LP.
Gould’s fruit and vegetable shop was next to Drower’s ironmongers shop (in the direction of the Links Hotel) and then Callard’s, the baker’s shop. Past the Links Hotel was Chris Sizer, yet another fruit and vegetable shop, and also a pet shop owned and run by Mrs Horsefall. She was known as “the dog lady” as she bred Corgis and that is where my parents acquired the most bad-tempered-ankle-nipping dog in the world, our Corgi, Sherry.
There were one or two other businesses along this part of Fore Street, one of them being Lakeman’s, a draper’s shop (‘draper’ is a word that has vanished from our 21st century vocabulary!) and on the corner of Petitor Road was a café, I think the proprietors were called Addison. On the opposite side of Petitor Road, right on the corner and next to the Crown and Sceptre Inn, was a gent’s outfitters, again the name of which escapes me.
Right. That’s the upper part of Fore Street as far as I can recall. Now come with me down the street to Hampton Court School, now the Abbey School, which I attended for a few years until a Mr Lewis (ex-Army band master) took over and things at the school went, as they say today, pear-shaped. I then left this school and attended Cary Park School (owned and run by Mrs Kelly, a retired Grammar School English teacher) which is now The Lorens Health Studio in Cary Park
In those dim and distant days before the St Marychurch bypass, there were two houses adjoining the school, Little Hampton and Hampton Dene. One of them was demolished to make way for the bypass. Beyond the school, heading towards Babbacombe, in the widest part of St Marychurch, i.e. beyond Chilcote Memorial (and under the Tudorbethan upper storeys which look much the same today as in the 1950s) was first Mrs Fulcher’s baby wear and wool shop; then Lisette’s, the ladies’ gown shop (‘gown’ is another relic of our past vocabulary) owned by Mrs Audrey Geen, with her hairdresser’s shop at the back. She opened this during our time at our shop.
Next to Lisette’s was the Post Office, still such a business, owned by Mr and Mrs Thompson. Next door, a doorway led to premises (above the ground floor shops) of a wholesaler from where my parents bought tobacco for their shop (I think!) and then came The Tudor Café and Tudor Cinema and, finally, Barclays Bank.
Opposite, by the pelican crossing, now John Lake’s estate agent, was Harry Frank’s chemist’s shop; next, the National Provincial Savings Bank, and then another chemist shop, this time owned by ‘Bob’ Shilling. There was also a photographic business along that parade of shops, Sean Hickey, before you came to Lloyd’s Bank (now the TSB) on the corner, opposite the Chilcote Memorial.
Me serving in the shop.
I hope that this has filled in some gaps in people’s memories of St Marychurch from the 1950s. It was a very happy time for me, but a very hard-working time for my parents. They left to become hoteliers in Paignton (a hotel on the sea front) which was even harder work than running a newsagents shop, but they didn’t know this at the time, of course!
Margaret Powling (nee Sidlow)
One shop I forgot to mention was an optician which would be about opposite the entrance to Rowley Road. Why I remember this is because of something funny. Well, not at the time. And this is what happened: … more from Margaret Powling
………..and more. A Grammar school tale.
An update from Margaret: After reading the piece on ‘A Walk up Park Road’, it ends with the gents’ outfitters, and the proprietor’s name was Kellow. How could I have forgotten. I now recall Bob Kellow’s shop and can even recall what the man looked like, with crinkly hair, rather a chubby fellow, but certainly not a pudding by today’s standards of obesity!
So now all I need to remember is the name of the family who had Motta’s bakery!
Margaret has her own blog and occasionally writes an article or two for the Herald Express.
…...a reply and some answers from John Rowse.
© 2020 Babbacombe & St Marychurch Local History Society
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1080 Signal Company (Service Group) (USA)
1080 Signal Company (Service Group) stayed at Horsham St Faith Norfolk on 01 may 1944
The 1080 Signal Company (Service Group) is one of the units on the UK Station List made by Mr. Grinton. This and other records on Back to Normandy was compiled from Headquarters, European Theater of Operations, Kingdom Station List, and dated September 1944.
(-) minus sign behind unit name indicates that part of the unit was elsewhere.
Counties are mentioned as the so called pre-1974 British counties. The map co-ordinates are automatically made with Google Maps. If you have more accurate location, photos, stories or links, please sent your information to Back to Normandy. The unit is also know as member of the US Army, Army Air Force. In this period, around this date of 01 mei 1944 the 1080 Signal Company (Service Group) were here in Horsham St Faith, Norfolk.
The original station list was obtained from the National Archives Records Administration (NARA) at College Park, Maryland. The NARA describe it as HQ/ETO Station List, 4/30/44 and reference Box 15, 270/48/32/2. In the European and Mediterranean theater the US Army had 3.5 million troops there. About 1.7 million were combat troops and around 700.000 were service troops along with 592.000 army air force troops and the rest were replacements, patients, overhead and staff. The correct count of support- and line troops in this context is difficult.
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The location is in this area
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Government Compliance
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SUMMARY: An Act
Relating to Medicaid fraud; amending RCW 74.09.210; adding new sections to chapter 74.09 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.131 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 74 RCW; creating a new section; prescribing penalties; and declaring an emergency.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Washington: Washington Medicaid Fraud Provisions
New Section: Section 101
The legislature intends to enact a state false claims act in order to provide this state with another tool to combat Medicaid fraud. The legislature finds that between 1996 and 2009 state-initiated false claims acts resulted in over five billion dollars in total recoveries to those states. The highest recoveries in those cases were from claims relating to billing fraud, off-label marketing, and withholding safety information; these cases were primarily related to the pharmaceuticals industry and hospital networks, hospitals, and medical centers. By this act, the legislature does not intend to target a certain industry, profession, or retailer of medical equipment, or to place an undue burden on health care professionals. This act is not intended to harass health care professionals, nor is intended to be used as a tool to target actions that are related to incidental errors or clerical errors, which should not be considered fraud. The intent is to use the false claims act to root out significant areas of fraud that result in higher health care costs to this state and to use the false claims act to recover state money that could and should be used to support the Medicaid program.
RCW 74.09.210 and 2011 1st sp.s. c 15 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
No person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, agency, institution, or other legal entity, but not including an individual public assistance recipient of health care, shall, on behalf of himself or others, obtain or attempt to obtain benefits or payments under this chapter in a greater amount than that to which entitled by means of:
(a) A willful false statement;
(b) By willful misrepresentation, or by concealment of any material facts; or
(c) By other fraudulent scheme or device, including, but not limited to:
(i) Billing for services, drugs, supplies, or equipment that were unfurnished, of lower quality, or a substitution or misrepresentation of items billed; or
(ii) Repeated billing for purportedly covered items, which were not in fact so covered.
Any person or entity knowingly violating any of the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall be liable for repayment of any excess benefits or payments received, plus interest at the rate and in the manner provided in RCW 43.20B.695. Such person or other entity shall further, in addition to any other penalties provided by law, be subject to civil penalties. The director or the attorney general may assess civil penalties in an amount not to exceed three times the amount of such excess benefits or payments: PROVIDED, That these civil penalties shall not apply to any acts or omissions occurring prior to September 1, 1979. RCW 43.20A.215 governs notice of a civil fine assessed by the director and provides the right to an adjudicative proceeding.
A criminal action need not be brought against a person for that person to be civilly liable under this section.
In all administrative proceedings under this section, service, adjudicative proceedings, and judicial review of such determinations shall be in accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW, the administrative procedure act.
Civil penalties shall be deposited (( in the general fund)) upon their receipt into the Medicaid fraud penalty account established in section 103 of this act.
The attorney general may contract with private attorneys and local governments in bringing actions under this section as necessary.
A new section is added to chapter 74.09 RCW to read as follows:
The Medicaid fraud penalty account is created in the state treasury. All receipts from civil penalties collected under RCW 74.09.210, all receipts received under judgments or settlements that originated under a filing under the federal false claims act, and all receipts received under judgments or settlements that originated under the state Medicaid fraud false claims act, chapter 74.–- RCW (the new chapter created in section 215 of this act) must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation and must be used only for Medicaid services, fraud detection and prevention activities, recovery of improper payments, and for other Medicaid fraud enforcement activities.
For the purposes of this section:
(a) “Employer” means any person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, agency, institution, or other legal entity.
(b) “Whistleblower” means an employee of an employer that obtains or attempts to obtain benefits or payments under this chapter in violation of RCW 74.09.210, who in good faith reports a violation of RCW 74.09.210 to the authority.
(c) “Workplace reprisal or retaliatory action” includes, but is not limited to: Denial of adequate staff to fulfill duties; frequent staff changes; frequent and undesirable office changes; refusal to assign meaningful work; unwarranted and unsubstantiated report of misconduct under Title 18 RCW; unwarranted and unsubstantiated letters of reprimand or unsatisfactory performance evaluations; demotion; reduction in pay; denial of promotion; suspension; dismissal; denial of employment; or a supervisor or superior behaving in or encouraging coworkers to behave in a hostile manner toward the whistleblower; or a change in the physical location of the employee’s workplace or a change in the basic nature of the employee’s job, if either are in opposition to the employee’s expressed wish.
A whistleblower who has been subjected to workplace reprisal or retaliatory action has the remedies provided under chapter 49.60 RCW. RCW 4.24.500 through 4.24.520, providing certain Protection to persons who communicate to government agencies, apply to complaints made under this section. The identity of a whistleblower who complains, in good faith, to the authority about a suspected violation of RCW 74.09.210 may remain confidential if requested. The identity of the whistleblower must subsequently remain confidential unless the authority determines that the complaint was not made in good faith.
This section does not prohibit an employer from exercising its authority to terminate, suspend, or discipline an employee who engages in workplace reprisal or retaliatory action against a whistleblower. The Protections provided to whistleblowers under this chapter do not prevent an employer from: (a) Terminating, suspending, or disciplining a whistleblower for other lawful purposes; or (b) reducing the hours of employment or terminating employment as a result of the demonstrated inability to meet payroll requirements. The authority shall determine if the employer cannot meet payroll in cases where a whistleblower has been terminated or had hours of employment reduced due to the inability of a facility to meet payroll.
The authority shall adopt rules to implement procedures for filing, investigation, and resolution of whistleblower complaints that are integrated with complaint procedures under this chapter. The authority shall adopt rules designed to discourage whistleblower complaints made in bad faith or for retaliatory purposes.
The following must be Medicare providers in order to be paid under the Medicaid program: Providers of durable medical equipment and related supplies and providers of medical supplies and related services.
MEDICAID FRAUD FALSE CLAIMS ACT
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:
(a) “Claim” means any request or demand made for a Medicaid payment under chapter 74.09 RCW, whether under a contract or otherwise, for money or property and whether or not a government entity has title to the money or property, that:
(i) Is presented to an officer, employee, or agent of a government entity; or
(ii) Is made to a contractor, grantee, or other recipient, if the money or property is to be spent or used on the government entity’s behalf or to advance a government entity program or interest, and the government entity:
(A) Provides or has provided any portion of the money or property requested or demanded; or
(B) Will reimburse such contractor, grantee, or other recipient for any portion of the money or property which is requested or demanded.
(b) A “claim” does not include requests or demands for money or property that the government entity has paid to an individual as compensation for employment or as an income subsidy with no restrictions on that individual’s use of the money or property.
“Custodian” means the custodian, or any deputy custodian, designated by the attorney general.
“Documentary material” includes the original or any copy of any book, record, report, memorandum, paper, communication, tabulation, chart, or other document, or data compilations stored in or accessible through computer or other information retrieval systems, together with instructions and all other materials necessary to use or interpret the data compilations, and any product of discovery.
“False claims act investigation” means any inquiry conducted by any false claims act investigator for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person is or has been engaged in any violation of this chapter.
“False claims act investigator” means any attorney or investigator employed by the state attorney general who is charged with the duty of enforcing or carrying into effect any provision of this chapter, or any officer or employee of the state of Washington acting under the direction and supervision of the attorney or investigator in connection with an investigation pursuant to this chapter.
“Government entity” means all Washington state agencies that administer Medicaid funded programs under this title.
(a) “Knowing” and “knowingly” mean that a person, with respect to information:
(i) Has actual knowledge of the information;
(ii) Acts in deliberate ignorance of the truth or falsity of the information; or
(iii) Acts in reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the information.
(b) “Knowing” and “knowingly” do not require proof of specific intent to defraud.
“Material” means having a natural tendency to influence, or be capable of influencing, the payment or receipt of money or property.
“Obligation” means an established duty, whether or not fixed, arising from an express or implied contractual, grantor-grantee, or licensor-licensee relationship, from a fee-based or similar relationship, from statute or rule, or from the retention of any overpayment.
“Official use” means any use that is consistent with the law, and the rules and policies of the attorney general, including use in connection with: Internal attorney general memoranda and reports; communications between the attorney general and a federal, state, or local government agency, or a contractor of a federal, state, or local government agency, undertaken in furtherance of an investigation or prosecution of a case; interviews of any qui tam relator or other witness; oral examinations; depositions; preparation for and response to civil discovery requests; introduction into the record of a case or proceeding; applications, motions, memoranda, and briefs submitted to a court or other tribunal; and communications with attorney general investigators, auditors, consultants and experts, the counsel of other parties, and arbitrators or mediators, concerning an investigation, case, or proceeding.
“Person” means any natural person, partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, including any local or political subdivision of a state.
“Product of discovery” includes:
(a) The original or duplicate of any deposition, interrogatory, document, thing, result of the inspection of land or other property, examination, or admission, which is obtained by any method of discovery in any judicial or administrative proceeding of an adversarial nature;
(b) Any digest, analysis, selection, compilation, or derivation of any item listed in (a) of this subsection; and
(c) Any index or other manner of access to any item listed in (a) of this subsection.
“Qui tam action” is an action brought by a person under section 205 of this act.
“Qui tam relator” or “relator” is a person who brings an action under section 205 of this act.
Subject to subsections (2) and (4) of this section, a person is liable to the government entity for a civil penalty of not less than five thousand five hundred dollars and not more than eleven thousand dollars, plus three times the amount of damages which the government entity sustains because of the act of that person, if the person:
(a) Knowingly presents, or causes to be presented, a false or fraudulent claim for payment or approval;
(b) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim;
(c) Conspires to commit one or more of the violations in this subsection (1);
(d) Has possession, custody, or control of property or money used, or to be used, by the government entity and knowingly delivers, or causes to be delivered, less than all of that money or property;
(e) Is authorized to make or deliver a document certifying receipt of property used, or to be used, by the government entity and, intending to defraud the government entity, makes or delivers the receipt without completely knowing that the information on the receipt is true;
(f) Knowingly buys, or receives as a pledge of an obligation or debt, public property from an officer or employee of the government entity who lawfully may not sell or pledge property; or
(g) Knowingly makes, uses, or causes to be made or used, a false record or statement material to an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the government entity, or knowingly conceals or knowingly and improperly avoids or decreases an obligation to pay or transmit money or property to the government entity.
The court may assess not less than two times the amount of damages which the government entity sustains because of the act of a person, if the court finds that:
(a) The person committing the violation of subsection (1) of this section furnished the Washington state attorney general with all information known to him or her about the violation within thirty days after the date on which he or she first obtained the information;
(b) The person fully cooperated with any investigation by the attorney general of the violation; and
(c) At the time the person furnished the attorney general with the information about the violation, no criminal prosecution, civil action, or administrative action had commenced under this title with respect to the violation, and the person did not have actual knowledge of the existence of an investigation into the violation.
A person violating this section is liable to the attorney general for the costs of a civil action brought to recover any such penalty or damages.
For the purposes of determining whether an insurer has a duty to provide a defense or indemnification for an insured and if coverage may be denied if the terms of the policy exclude coverage for intentional acts, a violation of subsection (1) of this section is an intentional act.
The office of the attorney general must, by rule, annually adjust the civil penalties established in subsection (1) of this section so that they are equivalent to the civil penalties provided under the federal false claims act and in accordance with the federal civil penalties inflation adjustment act of 1990.
Any information furnished pursuant to this chapter is exempt from disclosure under the public records act, chapter 42.56 RCW, until final disposition and all court ordered seals are lifted.
The attorney general must diligently investigate a violation under section 202 of this act. If the attorney general finds that a person has violated or is violating section 202 of this act, the attorney general may bring a civil action under this section against the person.
A person may bring a civil action for a violation of section 202 of this act for the person and for the government entity. The action may be known as a qui tam action and the person bringing the action as a qui tam relator. The action must be brought in the name of the government entity. The action may be dismissed only if the court, and the attorney general give written consent to the dismissal and their reason for consenting.
A relator filing an action under this chapter must serve a copy of the complaint and written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information the person possesses on the attorney general in electronic format. The relator must file the complaint in camera. The complaint must remain under seal for at least sixty days, and may not be served on the defendant until the court so orders. The attorney general may elect to intervene and proceed with the action within sixty days after it receives both the complaint and the material evidence and information.
The attorney general may, for good cause shown, move the court for extensions of the time during which the complaint remains under seal under subsection (2) of this section. The motions may be supported by affidavits or other submissions in camera. The defendant may not be required to respond to any complaint filed under this section until twenty days after the complaint is unsealed and served upon the defendant.
If the attorney general does not proceed with the action prior to the expiration of the sixty-day period or any extensions obtained under subsection (3) of this section, then the relator has the right to conduct the action.
When a person brings an action under this section, no person other than the attorney general may intervene or bring a related action based on the facts underlying the pending action.
If the attorney general proceeds with the qui tam action, the attorney general shall have the primary responsibility for prosecuting the action, and is not bound by an act of the relator. The relator has the right to continue as a party to the action, subject to the limitations set forth in subsection (2) of this section.
(a) The attorney general may move to dismiss the qui tam action notwithstanding the objections of the relator if the relator has been notified by the attorney general of the filing of the motion and the court has provided the relator with an opportunity for a hearing on the motion.
(b) The attorney general may settle the action with the defendant notwithstanding the objections of the relator if the court determines, after a hearing, that the proposed settlement is fair, adequate, and reasonable under all the circumstances. Upon a showing of good cause, the hearing may be held in camera.
(c) Upon a showing by the attorney general that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the relator would interfere with or unduly delay the attorney general’s prosecution of the case, or would be repetitious, irrelevant, or for purposes of harassment, the court may, in its discretion, impose limitations on the relator’s participation, such as:
(i) Limiting the number of witnesses the relator may call;
(ii) Limiting the length of the testimony of the witnesses;
(iii) Limiting the relator’s cross-examination of witnesses; or
(iv) Otherwise limiting the participation by the relator in the litigation.(d) Upon a showing by the defendant that unrestricted participation during the course of the litigation by the relator would be for purposes of harassment or would cause the defendant undue burden or unnecessary expense, the court may limit the participation by the relator in the litigation.
If the attorney general elects not to proceed with the qui tam action, the relator has the right to conduct the action. If the attorney general so requests, the relator must serve on the attorney general copies of all pleadings filed in the action and shall supply copies of all deposition transcripts, at the attorney general’s expense. When the relator proceeds with the action, the court, without limiting the status and rights of the relator, may nevertheless permit the attorney general to intervene at a later date upon a showing of good cause.
Whether or not the attorney general proceeds with the qui tam action, upon a showing by the attorney general that certain actions of discovery by the relator would interfere with the attorney general’s investigation or prosecution of a criminal or civil matter arising out of the same facts, the court may stay such discovery for a period of not more than sixty days. The showing must be conducted in camera. The court may extend the sixty-day period upon a further showing in camera that the attorney general has pursued the criminal or civil investigation or proceedings with reasonable diligence and any proposed discovery in the civil action will interfere with the ongoing criminal or civil investigation or proceedings.
Notwithstanding section 205 of this act, the attorney general may elect to pursue its claim through any alternate remedy available to the state, including any administrative proceeding to determine a civil money penalty. If any alternate remedy is pursued in another proceeding, the relator has the same rights in the proceeding as the relator would have had if the action had continued under this section. Any finding of fact or conclusion of law made in the other proceeding that has become final is conclusive on all parties to an action under this section. For purposes of this subsection, a finding or conclusion is final if it has been finally determined on appeal to the appropriate court of the state of Washington, if all time for filing the appeal with respect to the finding or conclusion has expired, or if the finding or conclusion is not subject to judicial review.
(a) Subject to (b) of this subsection, if the attorney general proceeds with a qui tam action, the relator must receive at least fifteen percent but not more than twenty-five percent of the proceeds of the action or settlement of the claim, depending upon the extent to which the relator substantially contributed to the prosecution of the action.
(b) Where the action is one which the court finds to be based primarily on disclosures of specific information, other than information provided by the relator, relating to allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a legislative or administrative report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, the court may award an amount it considers appropriate, but in no case more than ten percent of the proceeds, taking into account the significance of the information and the role of the relator in advancing the case to litigation.
(c) Any payment to a relator under (a) or (b) of this subsection must be made from the proceeds. The relator must also receive an amount for reasonable expenses which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. All expenses, fees, and costs must be awarded against the defendant.
If the attorney general does not proceed with a qui tam action, the relator shall receive an amount which the court decides is reasonable for collecting the civil penalty and damages. The amount may not be less than twenty-five percent and not more than thirty percent of the proceeds of the action or settlement and must be paid out of the proceeds. The relator must also receive an amount for reasonable expenses, which the court finds to have been necessarily incurred, plus reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs. All expenses, fees, and costs must be awarded against the defendant.
Whether or not the attorney general proceeds with the qui tam action, if the court finds that the action was brought by a person who planned and initiated the violation of section 202 of this act upon which the action was brought, then the court may, to the extent the court considers appropriate, reduce the share of the proceeds of the action which the person would otherwise receive under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, taking into account the role of that person in advancing the case to litigation and any relevant circumstances pertaining to the violation. If the person bringing the action is convicted of criminal conduct arising from his or her role in the violation of section 202 of this act, that person must be dismissed from the civil action and may not receive any share of the proceeds of the action. The dismissal may not prejudice the right of the state to continue the action, represented by the attorney general.
If the attorney general does not proceed with the qui tam action and the relator conducts the action, the court may award to the defendant reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses if the defendant prevails in the action and the court finds that the claim of the relator was clearly frivolous, clearly vexatious, or brought primarily for purposes of harassment.
Any funds recovered that remain after calculation and distribution under subsections (1) through (3) of this section must be deposited into the Medicaid fraud penalty account established in section 103 of this act.
In no event may a person bring a qui tam action which is based upon allegations or transactions which are the subject of a civil suit or an administrative civil money penalty proceeding in which the state is already a party.
a) The court must dismiss an action or claim under this section, unless opposed by the attorney general, if substantially the same allegations or transactions as alleged in the action or claim were publicly disclosed:
(i) In a state criminal, civil, or administrative hearing in which the attorney general or other governmental entity is a party;
(ii) In a legislative report, or other state report, hearing, audit, or investigation; or (iii) By the news media;
unless the action is brought by the attorney general or the relator is an original source of the information.
(b) For purposes of this section, “original source” means an individual who either (i) prior to a public disclosure under (a) of this subsection, has voluntarily disclosed to the attorney general the information on which allegations or transactions in a claim are based, or (ii) has knowledge that is independent of, and materially adds to, the publicly disclosed allegations or transactions, and who has voluntarily provided the information to the attorney general before filing an action under this section.
Any employee, contractor, or agent is entitled to all relief necessary to make that employee, contractor, or agent whole, if that employee, contractor, or agent, is discharged, demoted, suspended, threatened, harassed, or in any other manner discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment because of lawful acts done by the employee, contractor, agent, or associated others in furtherance of an action under this chapter or other efforts to stop one or more violations of this chapter.
Relief under subsection (1) of this section must include reinstatement with the same seniority status that employee, contractor, or agent would have had but for the discrimination, two times the amount of back pay, interest on the back pay, and compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discrimination, including litigation costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, and any and all relief available under RCW 49.60.030(2). An action under this subsection may be brought in the appropriate superior court of the state of Washington for the relief provided in this subsection.
A civil action under this section may not be brought more than three years after the date when the retaliation occurred.
A subpoena requiring the attendance of a witness at a trial or hearing conducted under section 204 or 205 of this act may be served at any place in the state of Washington.
A civil action under section 204 or 205 of this act may be brought at any time, without limitation after the date on which the violation of section 202 of this act is committed.
If the attorney general elects to intervene and proceed with a qui tam action, the attorney general may file its own complaint or amend the complaint of a relator to clarify or add detail to the claims in which the attorney general is intervening and to add any additional claims with respect to which the attorney general contends it is entitled to relief.
In any action brought under section 204 or 205 of this act, the attorney general is required to prove all essential elements of the cause of action, including damages, by a preponderance of the evidence.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law or the rules for superior court, a final judgment rendered in favor of the government entity in any criminal proceeding charging fraud or false statements, whether upon a verdict after trial or upon a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, estops the defendant from denying the essential elements of the offense in any action which involves the same transaction as in the criminal proceeding and which is brought under section 204 or 205 of this act.
Any action under section 204 or 205 of this act may be brought in the superior court in any county in which the defendant or, in the case of multiple defendants, any one defendant can be found, resides, transacts business, or in which any act proscribed by section 202 of this act occurred. The appropriate court must issue a summons as required by the superior court civil rules and service must occur at any place within the state of Washington.
The superior courts have jurisdiction over any action brought under the laws of any city or county for the recovery of funds paid by a government entity if the action arises from the same transaction or occurrence as an action brought under section 204 or 205 of this act.
With respect to any local government that is named as a co-plaintiff with the state in an action brought under section 205 of this act, a seal on the action ordered by the court under section 205 of this act does not preclude the attorney general or the person bringing the action from serving the complaint, any other pleadings, or the written disclosure of substantially all material evidence and information possessed by the person bringing the action on the law enforcement authorities that are authorized under the law of the local government to investigate and prosecute the action on behalf of the local government, except that the seal applies to the law enforcement authorities so served to the same extent as the seal applies to other parties in the action.
(a) Whenever the attorney general, or a designee, for purposes of this section, has reason to believe that any person may be in possession, custody, or control of any documentary material or information relevant to a false claims act investigation, the attorney general, or a designee, may, before commencing a civil proceeding under section 204 of this act or making an election under section 205 of this act, issue in writing and serve upon the person, a civil investigative demand requiring the person:
(i) To produce the documentary material for inspection and copying;
(ii) To answer in writing written interrogatories with respect to the documentary material or information;
(iii) To give oral testimony concerning the documentary material or information; or
(iv) To furnish any combination of such material, answers, or testimony. (b) The attorney general may delegate the authority to issue civil investigative demands under this subsection (1). Whenever a civil investigative demand is an express demand for any product of discovery, the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, or an assistant attorney general must serve, in any manner authorized by this section, a copy of the demand upon the person from whom the discovery was obtained and must notify the person to whom the demand is issued of the date on which the copy was served. Any information obtained by the attorney general or a designee of the attorney general under this section may be shared with any qui tam relator if the attorney general or designee determines it is necessary as part of any false claims act investigation.
(a) Each civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) of this section must state the nature of the conduct constituting the alleged violation of this chapter which is under investigation, and the applicable provision of law alleged to be violated.
(b) If the demand is for the production of documentary material, the demand must: (i) Describe each class of documentary material to be produced with such definiteness and certainty as to permit the material to be fairly identified;
(ii) Prescribe a return date for each class which will provide a reasonable period of time within which the material so demanded may be assembled and made available for inspection and copying; and
(iii) Identify the false claims act investigator to whom such material must be made available.
(c) If the demand is for answers to written interrogatories, the demand must: (i) Set forth with specificity the written interrogatories to be answered;
(ii) Prescribe dates at which time answers to written interrogatories must be submitted; and
(iii) Identify the false claims law investigator to whom such answers must be submitted.
(d) If the demand is for the giving of oral testimony, the demand must:
(i) Prescribe a date, time, and place at which oral testimony must be commenced;
(ii) Identify a false claims act investigator who must conduct the examination and the custodian to whom the transcript of the examination must be submitted;
(iii) Specify that the attendance and testimony are necessary to the conduct of the investigation;
(iv) Notify the person receiving the demand of the right to be accompanied by an attorney and any other representative; and
(v) Describe the general purpose for which the demand is being issued and the general nature of the testimony, including the primary areas of inquiry, which will be taken pursuant to the demand.
(e) Any civil investigative demand issued under this section which is an express demand for any product of discovery is not due until thirty days after a copy of the demand has been served upon the person from whom the discovery was obtained.
(f) The date prescribed for the commencement of oral testimony pursuant to a civil investigative demand issued under this section may not be sooner than six days after the date on which demand is received, unless the attorney general or an assistant attorney general designated by the attorney general determines that exceptional circumstances are present which warrant the commencement of the testimony sooner.
(g) The attorney general may not authorize the issuance under this section of more than one civil investigative demand for oral testimony by the same person unless the person requests otherwise or unless the attorney general, after investigation, notifies that person in writing that an additional demand for oral testimony is necessary.
A civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section may not require the production of any documentary material, the submission of any answers to written interrogatories, or the giving of any oral testimony if the material, answers, or testimony would be protected from disclosure under:
(a) The standards applicable to subpoenas or subpoenas duces tecum issued by a court to aid in a special inquiry investigation; or
(b) The standards applicable to discovery requests under the superior court civil rules, to the extent that the application of these standards to any demand is appropriate and consistent with the provisions and purposes of this section.
Any demand which is an express demand for any product of discovery supersedes any inconsistent order, rule, or provision of law, other than this section, preventing or restraining disclosure of the product of discovery to any person. Disclosure of any product of discovery pursuant to any express demand does not constitute a waiver of any right or privilege which the person making such disclosure may be entitled to invoke to resist discovery of trial preparation materials.
Any civil investigative demand issued under this section may be served by a false claims act investigator, or by a commissioned law enforcement official, at any place within the state of Washington.
Service of any civil investigative demand issued under (a) of this subsection or of any petition filed under subsection (25) of this section may be made upon a partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity by:
(a) Delivering an executed copy of the demand or petition to any partner, executive officer, managing agent, or general agent of the partnership, corporation, association, or entity, or to any agent authorized by appointment or by law to receive service of process on behalf of such partnership, corporation, association, or entity;
(b) Delivering an executed copy of the demand or petition to the principal office or place of business of the partnership, corporation, association, or entity; or
(c) Depositing an executed copy of the demand or petition in the United States mail by registered or certified mail, with a return receipt requested, addressed to such partnership, corporation, association, or entity at its principal office or place of business.
Service of any demand or petition may be made upon any natural person by:
(a) Delivering an executed copy of the demand or petition to the person; or
(b) Depositing an executed copy of the demand or petition in the United States mail by registered or certified mail, with a return receipt requested, addressed to the person at the person’s residence or principal office or place of business.
A verified return by the individual serving any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section or any petition filed under subsection (25) of this section setting forth the manner of the service constitutes proof of the service. In the case of service by registered or certified mail, the return must be accompanied by the return post office receipt of delivery of the demand.
(a) The production of documentary material in response to a civil investigative demand served under this section must be made under a sworn certificate, in the form as the demand designates, by:
(i) In the case of a natural person, the person to whom the demand is directed; or
(ii) In the case of a person other than a natural person, a person having knowledge of the facts and circumstances relating to the production and authorized to act on behalf of the person.
(b) The certificate must state that all of the documentary material required by the demand and in the possession, custody, or control of the person to whom the demand is directed has been produced and made available to the false claims act investigator identified in the demand.
Any person upon whom any civil investigative demand for the production of documentary material has been served under this section shall make such material available for inspection and copying to the false claims act investigator identified in the demand at the principal place of business of the person, or at another place as the false claims act investigator and the person thereafter may agree and prescribe in writing, or as the court may direct under subsection (25) of this section. The material must be made available on the return date specified in the demand, or on a later date as the false claims act investigator may prescribe in writing. The person may, upon written agreement between the person and the false claims act investigator, substitute copies for originals of all or any part of the material.
(a) Each interrogatory in a civil investigative demand served under this section must be answered separately and fully in writing under oath and must be submitted under a sworn certificate, in the form as the demand designates, by:
(ii) In the case of a person other than a natural person, the person or persons responsible for answering each interrogatory.
(b) If any interrogatory is objected to, the reasons for the objection must be stated in the certificate instead of an answer. The certificate must state that all information required by the demand and in the possession, custody, control, or knowledge of the person to whom the demand is directed has been submitted. To the extent that any information is not furnished, the information must be identified and reasons set forth with particularity regarding the reasons why the information was not furnished
The examination of any person pursuant to a civil investigative demand for oral testimony served under this section must be taken before an officer authorized to administer oaths and affirmations by the laws of the state of Washington or of the place where the examination is held. The officer before whom the testimony is to be taken must put the witness on oath or affirmation and must, personally or by someone acting under the direction of the officer and in the officer’s presence, record the testimony of the witness. The testimony must be recorded and must be transcribed. When the testimony is fully transcribed, the officer before whom the testimony is taken shall promptly transmit a copy of the transcript of the testimony to the custodian. This subsection does not preclude the taking of testimony by any means authorized by, and in a manner consistent with, the superior court civil rules.
The false claims act investigator conducting the examination shall exclude from the place where the examination is held all persons except the person giving the testimony, the attorney for and any other representative of the person giving the testimony, the attorney general, any person who may be agreed upon by the attorney for the government and the person giving the testimony, the officer before whom the testimony is to be taken, and any stenographer taking the testimony.
The oral testimony of any person taken pursuant to a civil investigative demand served under this section must be taken in the county within which such person resides, is found, or transacts business, or in another place as may be agreed upon by the false claims act investigator conducting the examination and the person.
When the testimony is fully transcribed, the false claims act investigator or the officer before whom the testimony is taken must afford the witness, who may be accompanied by counsel, a reasonable opportunity to examine and read the transcript, unless the examination and reading are waived by the witness. Any changes in form or substance which the witness desires to make must be entered and identified upon the transcript by the officer or the false claims act investigator, with a statement of the reasons given by the witness for making the changes. The transcript must then be signed by the witness, unless the witness in writing waives the signing, is ill, cannot be found, or refuses to sign. If the transcript is not signed by the witness within thirty days after being afforded a reasonable opportunity to examine it, the officer or the false claims act investigator must sign it and state on the record the fact of the waiver, illness, absence of the witness, or the refusal to sign, together with the reasons given.
The officer before whom the testimony is taken must certify on the transcript that the witness was sworn by the officer and that the transcript is a true record of the testimony given by the witness, and the officer or false claims act investigator must promptly deliver the transcript, or send the transcript by registered or certified mail, to the custodian.
Upon payment of reasonable charges therefore, the false claims act investigator must furnish a copy of the transcript to the witness only, except that the attorney general, the deputy attorney general, or an assistant attorney general may, for good cause, limit the witness to inspection of the official transcript of the witness’ testimony.
(a) Any person compelled to appear for oral testimony under a civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section may be accompanied, represented, and advised by counsel. Counsel may advise the person, in confidence, with respect to any question asked of the person. The person or counsel may object on the record to any question, in whole or in part, and must briefly state for the record the reason for the objection. An objection may be made, received, and entered upon the record when it is claimed that the person is entitled to refuse to answer the question on the grounds of any constitutional or other legal right or privilege, including the privilege against self-incrimination. The person may not otherwise object to or refuse to answer any question, and may not directly or through counsel otherwise interrupt the oral examination. If the person refuses to answer any question, a special injury proceeding petition may be filed in the superior court under subsection (25) of this section for an order compelling the person to answer the question.
(b) If the person refuses to answer any question on the grounds of the privilege against self-incrimination, the testimony of the person may be compelled in accordance with the provisions of the superior court civil rules.
Any person appearing for oral testimony under a civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section is entitled to the same fees and allowances which are paid to witnesses in the superior courts.
The attorney general must designate a false claims act investigator to serve as custodian of documentary material, answers to interrogatories, and transcripts of oral testimony received under this section, and must designate such additional false claims act investigators as the attorney general determines from time to time to be necessary to serve as deputies to the custodian.
(a) A false claims act investigator who receives any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony under this section must transmit them to the custodian. The custodian shall take physical possession of the material, answers, or transcripts and is responsible for the use made of them and for the return of documentary material under subsection (23) of this section.
(b) The custodian may cause the preparation of the copies of the documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony as may be required for official use by any false claims act investigator, or employee of the attorney general. The material, answers, and transcripts may be used by any authorized false claims act investigator or other officer or employee in connection with the taking of oral testimony under this section.
(c)(i) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (21), no documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony, or copies thereof, while in the possession of the custodian, may be available for examination by any individual other than a false claims act investigator or other officer or employee of the attorney general authorized under (b) of this subsection.
(ii) The prohibition in (c)(i) of this subsection on the availability of material, answers, or transcripts does not apply if consent is given by the person who produced the material, answers, or transcripts, or, in the case of any product of discovery produced pursuant to an express demand for the material, consent is given by the person from whom the discovery was obtained. Nothing in this subsection (c)(ii) is intended to prevent disclosure to the legislature, including any committee or subcommittee for use by such an agency in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities.
(d) While in the possession of the custodian and under the reasonable terms and conditions as the attorney general shall prescribe: (i) Documentary material and answers to interrogatories must be available for examination by the person who produced the material or answers, or by a representative of that person authorized by that person to examine the material and answers; and
(ii) Transcripts of oral testimony must be available for examination by the person who produced the testimony, or by a representative of that person authorized by that person to examine the transcripts.
Whenever any official has been designated to appear before any court, special inquiry judge, or state administrative judge in any case or proceeding, the custodian of any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony received under this section may deliver to the official the material, answers, or transcripts for official use in connection with any case or proceeding as the official determines to be required. Upon the completion of such a case or proceeding, the official must return to the custodian any material, answers, or transcripts so delivered which have not passed into the control of any court, grand jury, or agency through introduction into the record of such a case or proceeding.
If any documentary material has been produced by any person in the course of any false claims act investigation pursuant to a civil investigative demand under this section, and:
(a) Any case or proceeding before the court or special inquiry judge arising out of the investigation, or any proceeding before any administrative judge involving the material, has been completed; or
(b) No case or proceeding in which the material may be used has been commenced within a reasonable time after completion of the examination and analysis of all documentary material and other information assembled in the course of the investigation: Then, the custodian shall, upon written request of the person who produced the material, return to the person the material, other than copies furnished to the false claims act investigator under subsection (10) of this section or made for the attorney general under subsection (21)(b) of this section, which has not passed into the control of any court, grand jury, or agency through introduction into the record of the case or proceeding.
(a) In the event of the death, disability, or separation from service of the attorney general of the custodian of any documentary material, answers to interrogatories, or transcripts of oral testimony produced pursuant to civil investigative demand under this section, or in the event of the official relief of the custodian from responsibility for the custody and control of the material, answers, or transcripts, the attorney general must promptly:
(i) Designate another false claims act investigator to serve as custodian of the material, answers, or transcripts; and
(ii) Transmit in writing to the person who produced the material, answers, or testimony notice of the identity and address of the successor so designated.
(b) Any person who is designated to be a successor under this subsection (24) has, with regard to the material, answers, or transcripts, the same duties and responsibilities as were imposed by this section upon that person’s predecessor in office, except that the successor may not be held responsible for any default or dereliction which occurred before that designation.
Whenever any person fails to comply with any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, or whenever satisfactory copying or reproduction of any material requested in the demand cannot be done and the person refuses to surrender the material, the attorney general may file, in any superior court of the state of Washington for any county in which the person resides, is found, or transacts business, and serve upon the person a petition for an order of the court for the enforcement of the civil investigative demand.
(a) Any person who has received a civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section may file, in the superior court of the state of Washington for the county within which the person resides, is found, or transacts business, and serve upon the false claims act investigator identified in the demand a petition for an order of the court to modify or set aside the demand. In the case of a petition addressed to an express demand for any product of discovery, a petition to modify or set aside the demand may be brought only in the district court of the United States for the judicial district in which the proceeding in which the discovery was obtained is or was last pending. Any petition filed under this subsection (26)(a) must be filed:
(i) Within thirty days after the date of service of the civil investigative demand, or at any time before the return date specified in the demand, whichever date is earlier; or
(ii) Within a longer period as may be prescribed in writing by any false claims act investigator identified in the demand.
(b) The petition must specify each ground upon which the petitioner relies in seeking relief under (a) of this subsection, and may be based upon any failure of the demand to comply with the provisions of this section or upon any constitutional or other legal right or privilege of the person. During the pendency of the petition in the court, the court may stay, as it deems proper, the running of the time allowed for compliance with the demand, in whole or in part, except that the person filing the petition shall comply with any portions of the demand not sought to be modified or set aside.
(a) In the case of any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section which is an express demand for any product of discovery, the person from whom the discovery was obtained may file, in the superior court of the state of Washington for the county in which the proceeding in which the discovery was obtained is or was last pending, and serve upon any false claims act investigator identified in the demand and upon the recipient of the demand, a petition for an order of the court to modify or set aside those portions of the demand requiring production of any product of discovery. Any petition under this subsection (27)(a) must be filed:
(i) Within twenty days after the date of service of the civil investigative demand, or at any time before the return date specified in the demand, whichever date is earlier; or
(b) The petition must specify each ground upon which the petitioner relies in seeking relief under
(a) of this subsection, and may be based upon any failure of the portions of the demand from which relief is sought to comply with the provisions of this section, or upon any constitutional or other legal right or privilege of the petitioner. During the pendency of the petition, the court may stay, as it deems proper, compliance with the demand and the running of the time allowed for compliance with the demand.
At any time during which any custodian is in custody or control of any documentary material or answers to interrogatories produced, or transcripts of oral testimony given, by any person in compliance with any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the person, and in the case of an express demand for any product of discovery, the person from whom the discovery was obtained, may file, in the superior court of the state of Washington for the county within which the office of the custodian is situated, and serve upon the custodian, a petition for an order of the court to require the performance by the custodian of any duty imposed upon the custodian by this section.
Whenever any petition is filed in any superior court of the state of Washington under this section, the court has jurisdiction to hear and determine the matter so presented, and to enter an order or orders as may be required to carry out the provisions of this section. Any final order so entered is subject to appeal under the rules of appellate procedure. Any disobedience of any final order entered under this section by any court must be punished as a contempt of the court.
The superior court civil rules apply to any petition under this section, to the extent that the rules are not inconsistent with the provisions of this section.
Any documentary material, answers to written interrogatories, or oral testimony provided under any civil investigative demand issued under subsection (1) or (2) of this section are exempt from disclosure under the public records act, chapter 42.56 RCW.
Beginning November 15, 2012, and annually thereafter, the attorney general in consultation with the health care authority must report results of implementing the Medicaid fraud false claims act. This report must include:
The number of attorneys assigned to qui tam initiated actions;
The number of cases brought by qui tam actions and indicate how many cases are brought by the attorney general and how many by the qui tam relator without attorney general participation;
The results of any actions brought under subsection (2) of this section, delineated by cases brought by the attorney general and cases brought by the qui tam relator without attorney general participation;
The amount of recoveries attributable to the Medicaid false claims; and
Information on the costs, attorneys’ fees, and any other expenses incurred by defendants in investigating and defending against qui tam actions, to the extent this information is provided to the attorney general or health care authority.
This chapter may be known and cited as the Medicaid fraud false claims act.
Sections 201 through 214 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 74 RCW.
A new section is added to chapter 43.131 RCW to read as follows:The Medicaid fraud false claims act as established under chapter 74.– RCW (the new chapter created in sections 201 through 214 of this act) shall be terminated on June 30, 2016, as provided in section 217 of this act.
A new section is added to chapter 43.131 RCW to read as follows:
The following acts or parts of acts, as now existing or hereafter amended, are each repealed, effective June 30, 2017:
Section 201 of this act;
Section 213 of this act; and
Section 214 of this act.
This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.
For more information, email quitam@bafirm.com.
This website is designed to provide general information only. This information is not and should not be construed to be legal advice. The transmission of the information found on this website also does not result in the formation of a lawyer-client relationship.
You should be aware that qui tam claims are subject to a Statute of Limitations. The area of limitations periods is complex. There are also first to file rules, public disclosure bars, original source issues, and varying limitations in pursuing retaliation claims. If you wish to pursue your claims, you should promptly seek the opinion of an attorney regarding the merits of your qui tam claim and the applicable statute of limitations.
Page Updated: 03/09/13
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Video & Audio selected
Video Top Stories selected
People rehoused 'within three weeks' Jump to media player Theresa May says £5m will be available for survivors, and the cause of the London fire is being looked at.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/40306526/london-fire-people-rehoused-within-three-weeks
China coronavirus: What we know so far Jump to media player The BBC's online health editor explains what we know about the coronavirus.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51197655/china-coronavirus-what-we-know-so-far
'Incredible' signs of life return to burned bush Jump to media player Australia's bushfire crisis has crippled habitats, but in some places life is starting to return.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51186238/australia-fires-incredible-signs-of-life-return-to-burned-bush
Troops called in amid record Canada snowfall Jump to media player The Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador was hit with more than 70cm of snow.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51200459/troops-called-in-amid-record-canada-snowfall
Greta v Trump at Davos Jump to media player The Swedish climate activist and the US president gave very different speeches at Davos.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51200508/davos-greta-thunberg-donald-trump-clash-on-climate-change
'They call me names for playing football' Jump to media player Women in Sudan are taking on the patriarchy and challenging social norms.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/50892130/the-sudanese-women-breaking-taboos-by-playing-football
The four classic signs of 'burnout' Jump to media player Nerina Ramlakhan explains the four signs of burnout that people can exhibit, due to stress at work.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51141219/mental-health-how-to-spot-if-you-are-suffering-burnout
Black women speak out about Meghan Jump to media player As Meghan and Harry start their new lives in Canada, do people think race is an issue in the way she is treated?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51189969/prince-harry-and-meghan-black-british-women-on-meghan
Windrush: 'A billion pounds can't buy back my life' Jump to media player Chiplyn Burton was denied entry back into the UK after a trip to Jamaica in the 1970s.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51185996/windrush-scandal-a-billion-pounds-can-t-buy-back-my-happiness
Windrush: Reunited over 70 years later Jump to media player The BBC has brought together two men in their nineties who came to Britain from Jamaica in 1948 on the Empire Windrush.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/video_and_audio/headlines/51179993/windrush-reunited-over-70-years-later
Forget about net zero, we need real zero - Greta Thunberg Jump to media player The 17-year-old activist tells world leaders that 'fiddling around with numbers' will not be enough.
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'This is not a time for pessimism' - Trump Jump to media player The US president called for the rejection of "the perennial prophets of doom" during his speech.
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South African man breaks own barrel-sitting record Jump to media player After no-one surpassed the record he set in 1997, Vernon Kruger set out to beat it himself.
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London fire: People rehoused 'within three weeks'
Theresa May says £5m will be available for survivors, and the cause of the Kensington fire is being looked at.
Police say at least 30 people died when fire spread through a tower block on Tuesday night.
Go to next video: China coronavirus: What we know so far
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North Koreans in Japan remain loyal to Pyongyang
By Roland Buerk BBC News, Tokyo
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-11534233
Image caption Dozens of schools in Japan for the country's ethnic Koreans are supported by North Korea
Above the blackboard, gazing out over the classroom of students hunched over their books, are framed portraits of North Korea's Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il and his father, the country's dead but Eternal President Kim Il-sung.
Beneath them the boys are dressed in dark blue blazers, the girls in traditional Korean costumes.
All the lessons are in Korean - it could be a school in Pyongyang.
But the Tokyo Korean Junior and Senior High School is in Japan.
It's one of dozens, from kindergartens to university, for Japan's ethnic Koreans supported by North Korea.
"From 1957 to this day North Korea has been sending us money every year - hundreds of millions of yen in all," says the deputy headmaster, Yun Te Gil.
"North Korea really helped us out during the very difficult times that we had. The students all go to North Korea on a school trip in their final year. That's the kind of relationship we have."
Hundreds of thousands of ethnic Koreans were brought to Japan as forced labourers or migrants when the peninsula was a Japanese colony before 1945.
Some have taken Japanese citizenship, others have South Korean passports, but a significant minority remain loyal to Pyongyang.
They are the people who send their children to the schools, which are run by Chongryon, the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan.
The organisation says its guiding principle is "Juche", the philosophy of self-reliance developed by North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung.
Image caption From a young age girls in North Korea are taught how to dance in unison
"They want their kids to learn to be a Korean, learn Korean ethnicity," says the deputy headmaster, Mr Yun.
"When you look at schools in Japan these are the only ones that can teach children to be Korean."
The lessons include the Korean language, history, as well as Japanese.
In the afternoon the students practice playing traditional Korean instruments, some of the girls learn how to dance in unison, in an echo of North Korea's huge mass displays.
Japan has always been uneasy about these outposts of North Korea in its education system.
And the row over school funding has brought the Korean schools back into the spotlight.
The government has excluded them from new subsidies which make high school education in Japan free.
There have been protests from some ethnic Koreans, who say its another example of the discrimination they have suffered.
"In the neighbourhood where I live people are very nice," says one of the students Kim Sul-a.
"I wear traditional Korean clothes as a uniform when I come to school. Everyone notices but they don't say anything, they accept me as the way I am.
"But when I am on the train I can feel people stare. I can feel the discrimination in those stares."
Media captionLee Yonghwa and Lee Seongho on being Korean in Japan
Three nationalities
The students are growing up in Japan, but with their hearts in Korea.
But theirs is a complex identity.
We are taught in school... to have pride in being Korean
Ri Song-chan, North Korean in Japan
The families of most hail not from what is now North Korea, but from South Korea.
Their grandparents and great-grandparents left before the Korean War, which divided the peninsula.
Their loyalty to North Korea and Kim Jong-il is because they hope to see it unified again.
"It's not that we regard them as Dear Leader," says Ri Song-chan, a burly member of the school rugby team.
"But we are taught in school, and it's something I believe to be important, to have pride in being Korean.
"That's the ideology, if you trace it back, of Kim Il-sung and now Kim Jong-il, and North Korea. So I do respect that ideology."
The Korean schools were where members of the Lee family got their education.
They are very proud of their roots, and take part in traditional Korean dancing at the weekends.
But like many other ethnic Koreans in Japan, these days they are feeling less certain of who they are.
In fact between them they've got three nationalities.
North Korea's nuclear tests and its abduction of Japanese citizens in the 1970s and 80s to train its spies, undermined support in the community.
And after the sinking of the South Korean warship, the Cheonan, in March, blamed by an international investigation on North Korea, Lee Yonghwa found he was no longer welcome in South Korea.
"I thought that we should not be too hung up about our nationality," he says.
"By changing to a South Korean passport I can travel to South Korea. And I can show them that there are a group of us in Japan who are keeping up the traditions of Korea."
Lee Yonghwa's sister opted to become Japanese, but his brother disagrees.
"What I believe in is a unified Korea," says Lee Seongho. That's why I didn't switch and stayed being a North Korean."
Likely N Korea heir Kim Jong-un appears with father
North Korea's secretive 'first family'
Tears and goose-steps for North Korea's heir apparent
Timeline: North Korea
Is North Korea following the Chinese model?
Inside North Korea
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Being Kind
There is an official Random Acts of Kindness Day celebrated every February. The concept has also found a home during the “season of giving,” so whether you choose to observe on the official day, (February 17, 2020) or when it works for you, we encourage you to connect these acts with B'nai B'rith. Our organization has a long history of bringing acts of kindness to the world and initiating new ideas. There are hundreds of ideas about what one can do to be part of this initiative, as individuals and as a group. It can be just one thing you do, or it can become a tradition. You can do it alone, with your family and with a B’nai B’rith group.
A new film about Fred Rogers turns a spotlight on his life teaching generations about kindness. He said, "There are many ways to ultimate success. The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind. A similar thought has been attributed to the novelist Henry James, who said, “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” An eight-year-old girl has written a book called “BE KIND, Silly: A Child’s Quest for a Kinder World” to combat bullying. A young man who lost his life to mental illness is remembered by his family with an organization and award in his name called Matt’s Kindness Ripples On.
Kindness has its roots in the Torah, as many of the deeds of our forefathers and mothers stressed their acts of kindness for others. Kindness is also emphasized in Perke Avot, The Ethics of the Fathers. It tells us that the world is upheld by three things - Torah, Service and Gemilut Chassadim (Acts of Loving Kindness).
At B'nai B'rith, we can say that most everything we do is because it is the right and kind thing to do. Our founders based their mission on kindness for widows and orphans, providing for their financial needs. We offer kindness, community and a home to senior citizens via B'nai B'rith housing. We support the people of Israel as they deal with daily attacks against their country. We join with our fellow community members to stand up against hatred and violence against others by providing disaster funds to support projects that help the community heal. Our community service programs are daily, weekly or annual events filled with kindness. Volunteers bring breakfast to children in schools and shelters in the Greater San Fernando Valley in California. Hundreds of families receive Passover food each year to help them celebrate the holiday, recognizing that without this project, they could not provide this for themselves. We bring assistance to people who are dealing with devastation and destruction due to natural or man-made disasters. We are on the scene when it counts, at the time of a disaster and long after it has occurred during the recovery and rebuilding stages.
The kindness meter in B'nai B'rith heats up during Christmas, when volunteers make sure that workers or volunteers who want to be home with their families can do so because a B'nai B'rith volunteer is stepping in for them that day. It has also become a time to thank community workers serving in VA hospitals and the veterans who are receiving care in these facilities. We bring teddy bears to children who need a loveable hug to help them face difficult situations. Volunteers collect and deliver books, clothing and household goods in their communities and support food banks and schools with the donations.
Do we need a day to remind us to be kind? Looking at the wide assortment of service events in the B'nai B'rith community, we can say that we remind ourselves of this every day of the year. But sometimes, it is nice to point out something we take for granted. This year at the B'nai B'rith Leadership Forum, International President Charles Kaufman instituted a President's Award for individuals who went above and beyond in their efforts to provide leadership and service. Of the thirty awards presented, more than half were for volunteers who make community service programming a reality.
Kindness Day can be a time for those who may have been thinking about getting involved to help make something happen in their community. Lodges and units can support these efforts by providing the link individuals are looking for something meaningful to do and funding for the project.
So yes, we need to remind ourselves and others that B'nai B'rith has kindness at its core. It confirms that kindness is the way to ultimate success and doing something important. Come get started and be kind with us.
Rhonda Love is the Vice President of Programming for B'nai B'rith International. She is Director of the Center of Community Action and Center of Jewish Identity. She served as the Program Director of the former District One of B'nai B'rith. In 2002 she received recognition by B'nai B'rith with the Julius Bisno Professional Excellence Award. Rhonda has served on the B'nai B'rith International staff for 41 years. To view some of her additional content, click here.
The Moon is Celebrating an Anniversary
The moon is celebrating an anniversary.
We are fascinated by the moon. It is referenced in song lyrics and featured in works of art called moonscapes. We look for the face of the man in the moon, perhaps recalling the opening visual of The Honeymooners. The distance from the earth to the moon is often used to define the depth of our love with the statement, “Love you to the moon and back.”
The moon will celebrate a 50th anniversary this year, recalling July 20, 1969, when the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed on the moon. I remember watching the landing live on television, the words of Neil Armstrong (“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’’) and the reaction of the newscasters and the NASA engineers and scientists at mission control. This gives the event its place in history for me and many others. It was not to be the only news event of the summer of ‘69. I did not get to Woodstock, but I really love the music and the significance of what brought people together for that gathering.
Israel’s recent mission to the moon connected every Jew to Israel’s attempt to land the Beresheet robotic spacecraft this past April. Funded by private investors, it evoked the positive feelings we share about Israel and the challenge of space. Watching live coverage, this time online, the sign attached to the spacecraft defines the nation of Israel for many Jews: “Small Country, Big Dreams.” The landing turned into a crash, but this setback has not stopped the plans to try again. The investors are prepared to put in more money to make the next landing a successful one.
The moon is a celestial body that waxes and wanes. It appears each night, providing light in the darkness. It plays a role in Judaism as the regulator of the Jewish calendar. Each month begins with the appearance of the new moon and ends when the next moon appears.
There is a prayer to bless the new month called Kiddush Levanah. It is expected to be one that is fulfilled as early as possible when the new moon is visible at the end of Shabbat. The prayer is said under the night sky and provides the opportunity to acknowledge one of G-d’s creations. It also recognizes the importance of the community, as it is said with a minyan, and as the prayer ends, the participants greet the others they are with by saying Shalom Aleichem, wishing them peace.
Anniversaries of historic events are internalized as we remember our own experience when the subject is called to mind or what we may have heard about from a parent or someone from another generation. That is how history is taught as we share information about an event in history that is remembered. That memory is usually followed by where they were when they heard the news. This brings us closer together with the people we know, as well as with new connections as we share something about our own life experience.
Memories of experiences within B’nai B’rith help us keep and grow our collective memory. As B’nai B’rith continues to observe its 175th anniversary year, we hope to capture the memories that members and supporters have about their own experiences in B’nai B’rith. Please consider sharing your thoughts about memorable B’nai B’rith milestones, people or other influences on your B’nai B’rith experience with us. We will share them on the BB and I Blog page on the B’nai B’rith website, which brings these memories together for our B’nai B’rith community. You can even write them under a moonlit sky for additional inspiration.
Rhonda Love is the Vice President of Programming for B'nai B'rith International. She is Director of the Center of Community Action and Center of Jewish Identity. She served as the Program Director of the former District One of B'nai B'rith. In 2002 she received recognition by B'nai B'rith with the Julius Bisno Professional Excellence Award. Rhonda has served on the B'nai B'rith International staff for 41 years. To view some of her additional content, click here.
Thirty Years of Unto Every Person There is a Name
Cal State Northridge participates in the B'nai B'rith and AEPi Walk to Remember and Unto Every Person reading on Yom HaShoah
Lists of names, sorted by country of origin. Columns that provide ages and places of birth and death. Last names listed alphabetically, first names that you can find on a typical Hebrew school roster. Entire families follow, line by line. A grandparent, Mark, age 75; his child, Emanuel, age 40; and then the grandchild, Benjamin, age 7. An entire family, murdered by the Nazis.
These names became a program with the goal of remembering the victims of the Holocaust by reading their names aloud and in public spaces. This is the tribute to the six million Jews, one and a half million of them children, who were murdered. As the names of victims are read aloud, they are remembered. For many on these lists, it is the only time their name will be said aloud, as their entire family was murdered or there is no one left to remember them.
The program was inspired by the poem “Unto Every Person There is a Name” by Zelda, which begins “Unto Every Person there is a Name bestowed upon him by God and given him by his father and mother”. The program is held each year on Yom Hashoah, which is observed on the 27th of Nissan. The date was chosen by the Israeli Knesset to serve as Holocaust Remembrance Day. This year, the commemoration will be on May 2nd.
The program was created to remind us that the victims were not just a number. Every individual had a name. They loved, worked and enjoyed their lives until they were murdered by the Nazis.
How do we remember each year? How do you bring more information to the participants who are part of the remembrance ceremonies? As survivors are passing away, the second and third generations of their descendants have committed themselves to bear witness. It is up to the Jewish community to support them in this task. B’nai B’rith became the North American coordinator of this program in 1989 and has brought the program to the community and campus for 30 years. Those who participate share stories of their experiences. Dignitaries and schoolchildren from public and parochial schools attend as readers. Passersby stop to listen and then ask if they can read as well. The readings take place in public places such as parks, in front of Holocaust monuments, the US Capitol (before 9/11), courthouse steps and shopping malls. It has also been held in cooperation with community events with synagogues, JCCs and Holocaust museums.
I remember when Congressman Jerome Nadler came to the District One ceremony in New York City in 1994. The program chair that year, Charles Friedman, president of the Leo Baeck Unit, shared a story about his family’s experiences during Kristallnacht. At another ceremony, B’nai B’rith leader Margarete Goldberger, who was saved as a child by the Kindertransport, was randomly given a list to read that included the name of a school friend in Germany who had not been able to flee the country in time. There are many memories that span the program’s 30-year history. Please share your own experiences at a program with us so that we can include these personal stories in our commemorations.
Names are also read on campus in conjunction with our partner, the Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity. This year, over 130 campus programs were scheduled on campuses as part of their “We Walk to Remember” program. The brothers of AEPi wore stickers that said “Never Forget” and passed out information about the Holocaust as they walked silently through their campus. They proudly recognize their duty to be part of the remembrance, and we are grateful for their commitment to make this a part of their campus activity.
An international committee convened in Israel develops a theme and includes readings that relate to the topic. Alan Schneider, director of the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem, represents B’nai B’rith on this committee. The program is also under the auspices of the of President of Israel Reuven Rivlin, who sends a message of thanks to the communities that take on this important activity. This year, the theme is “The War Within the War: The Struggle of the Jews to Survive during the Holocaust”.
The names are available via a database. In many communities, the printed pages become part of an “Unto Every Person There is a Name” binder and are saved from year to year, as the lists take on a special significance to those who gather to remember them. Treated as a sacred object, the pages are brought out for special commemorations.
There is an ongoing project to collect as many names as can be found as part of the “Pages of Testimony Project”. In accordance with the Yad Vashem Law passed by the Israeli Knesset in 1953, Yad Vashem established a Hall of Names and maintains a database of information about victims of the Holocaust. To date, there have been 4.8 million names of Shoah victims documented in the Central Database of Shoah Victims.
B’nai B’rith International is grateful to Kurt and Tessye Simon (of blessed memory) for their support of the Unto programming. You can find information about the Unto Every Person There is a Name program at this link: http://www.bnaibrith.org/unto-every-person.html.
The Roots of the Menorah in B’nai B’rith
As B’nai B’rith continues to celebrate its 175th anniversary, the menorah continues to be a link to the past, a commitment to the present and a promise for the future.
The founders of B’nai B’rith found their inspiration in the Torah. The name they chose, “Sons/Children of the Covenant,” referred to the covenant that the Jewish people have with God. That definition made them a Jewish organization, with the Torah as a guide to living a Jewish life. B’nai B’rith’s founders wanted each of the members of the organization to commit to becoming a better person by developing good character. This would be accomplished through their personal relationships as well as by helping others that needed assistance in their community.
They chose the menorah, one of the ritual objects described in the Torah, as their emblem. The seven-branched menorah is described in detail in Parashas Terumah. The placement within the Tabernacle is very specific.
We are told that the menorah should be made out of one piece of gold and God shared its creation in a vision to Moses. Commentaries have interpreted the design to have several meanings.
The Italian commentator Sforno interprets the branches, saying that the three branches on the right represented intellectual ideas and the ones on the left represented ideals that applied to how one made a living. The central candle represented the Torah. The six candles on the left and right are connected to the candle in the middle.
The menorah would stand in the outer chamber of the Tabernacle as an inspiration to those who saw the light it emitted. It was not to be placed in the Holy of Holies, as that was the place for the Torah, which did not need any additional light beyond its own. In Parsha Beha’aloscha, we find out that the job of lighting the menorah was given to Aaron, Moses’s brother, and the tribe of Levi. While other tribes were involved in the creation of the Tabernacle, the tribe of Levi did not have a special role until this important responsibility was given to Aaron. The menorah becomes a central piece of history later on later in the Chanukah story, as the Hasmoneans, descendants of Aaron, were the ones who drove the Syrian-Greeks out of the Temple.
The menorah has continued to be the emblem of B’nai B’rith, and in each of our districts, regions and communities we find its counterpart. We have seen it used in many ways; on the large display banner surrounding a stage of leaders and dignitaries at special events, on invitations or on certificates of service. It is proudly displayed on a lapel pin and used as a signet ring. You will see it on T-shirts, hats or neckties.
The menorah candles are used for the induction of members, installation ceremonies, conferences and special occasions. Each candle represents an ideal that B’nai B’rith members are expected to strive for. Light, justice, peace, benevolence, brotherly and sisterly love, harmony and truth are the words and concepts described in the reading. These words and concepts are also referenced in daily prayers, often as attributes of God and how man treats his fellow man. The traditional ceremony used today is one found in B’nai B’rith guides to ritual, but many other creative interpretations exist. The honor of lighting the menorah is one that is taken very seriously, and the ceremony is given a place of honor. The candle lighting ceremony has also been used to share the work of the B’nai Brith Program Centers and /or events in Jewish history, with each candle assigned a special project or event.
B’nai B’rith has been described by scholars as an organization that helped create civil society in America. The desire and need that existed for a Jewish civil society organization helped create the mission that continues to this day. As the Jewish community spread its wings across America, activities that support the Jewish and general community grew. Across the globe, the Jewish community adopted the organization as their means of organizing themselves within the Jewish community. The menorah came with them and the ritual demonstrated a link for all of those involved.
The menorah’s message for today’s members and supporters becomes even more meaningful when it is shared at events that bring together leadership from around the world. At these gatherings, individuals are honored for their good work in the community when they are called to light one of these candles. You will see the menorah used in the logo of B’nai B’rith International. It also is a symbol of the Jewish people and our bond with Israel, as it is part of the official seal for the country and stands outside the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
Help us keep the candles burning by introducing people you know to the wonderful work of B’nai B’rith as members and supporters. There is a pin with a menorah waiting for them.
Rhonda Love is the Vice President of Programming for B'nai B'rith International. She is Director of the Center of Community Action and Center of Jewish Identity. She served as the Program Director of the former District One of B'nai B'rith. In 2002 she received recognition by B'nai brith with the Julius Bisno Professional Excellence Award. This June will mark her 38th anniversary at B'nai B'rith. To view some of her additional content, Click Here.
“If music is the food of love, play on.”
If someone asked you what your favorite song is, I am sure you would have an answer. You may have to say there are several and want to offer a favorite band or genre.
For me, I am particularly taken with “The Wheels on the Bus,” because it is a favorite of my grandson. It is also one he is singing to his new baby sister. Pediatricians tell new moms that singing to their newborn is one of the best ways to introduce language.
Prayers are songs. A particular tune connects us to the High Holidays or Sabbath service. Singing the words aloud is the delivery system for our prayers. As families gather on Friday night, they welcome the Sabbath with “Shalom Aleichem.” No matter where you may go in your travels, you will usually find something familiar in the prayers in synagogues around the world.
Music was used by the Daniel Pearl Foundation in response to the 2002 kidnapping and murder of journalist Daniel Pearl by terrorists in Pakistan. The Foundation created Daniel Pearl World Music Days because of his love of music and asked people to remember him by sharing music during the month of October in honor of his birthday. You can post a concert or program to their calendar at www.danielpearlmusicdays.org.
Teams have their theme or fight song. Schools have their school song. Couples have “their song,” mine is Chicago’s “Color My World,” and Broadway musical numbers become ingrained in our culture as the lyrics become part of our lexicon. Radio stations have carved out music decades for their specialty, 50s, 90s, classics or a combination of it all, can be found at Sirius XM Radio. Public television brings us the groups of 50s and 60s for reunion concerts. Nostalgia floods our brains and the music transports us back to the days of when that song was new. We marvel at how well they can still hold the notes, and notice the changes as well. We are sad when singers announce farewell tours, recognizing that their health has impacted their ability to perform, or they just do not want to have to do it anymore.
Before there were television shows called “Name That Tune” or “Don’t Forget the Lyrics,” there was party game with a music theme. The next time you have a group together try it as an ice breaker. People are divided into teams and themes for the songs are announced. Groups compete to name them. The team naming the most songs wins. Song categories such as girl names, boy names, colors, geographic locations are all possibilities. Try playing without using the internet as a real challenge.
As we get close to the preparations for Passover for our family and group Seders, we will be checking to make sure we have the song sheets and Hagadahs for the family favorites. The inclusion of these traditional medleys, are all part of the experience. This is also the time to introduce something new. There are many songs with Pesach content written to the tune of a popular song. In our house, it is “The Ballad of the Four Sons,” which is sung to the tune of “My Darling Clementine,” that keeps its honored place after the Four Questions are sung.
Popular Hebrew songs find their way into the international audience. In the spring of 1967, “Jerusalem of Gold (Yerushalayim shel Zahav)” was written by Naomi Shemer, a musician and poet at the request of the mayor of Jerusalem, Teddy Kollek for the Israeli Song Festival. After the Six Day War that June, it became an unofficial anthem, expressing how Jews felt after Jerusalem was reunified, whether they lived in Israel or the Diaspora.
If Israel has sent a team to the Olympic Games we hope that we will hear “Hatikvah,” Israel’s national anthem played on this international stage. We were angry to learn that Israelis at a competition held in Abu Dabi, UAE, were not treated equally. Tal Flicker, the winner of a gold medal in Judo, received his medal without the flag of Israel raised or “Hatikvah” played, but the world saw him singing it to himself on the podium.
Please share how music has impacted your life. You can reach us at the B’nai B’rith Center for Jewish Identity at cji@bnaibrith.org.
We Love Volunteers
There is a certain day in February that gets a good deal of attention. Advertisements suggest a variety of gifts to help express the way we feel about someone special in our lives. These are all wonderful things to do, but I would like to add a special group of people that we should add to our list. Let’s appreciate and acknowledge all that volunteers do on behalf of B’nai B’rith.
Volunteers enable organizations to do the work they do every day. Often working hand in hand with staff, they help move our agenda forward. They contribute their time and money towards projects that make a difference in their community and around the world. Their love of volunteer work breathes life into the projects and our organization. You may not see them, as they are often behind the scenes raising money, working on publicity or outreach to involve others and usually shying away from attention when they work the day of the event.
While we can never mention all of these dedicated men and women, we want offer our thanks. Whether their project is held every day or once a year, you can be sure a volunteer is involved. In Los Angeles, there are volunteers working every day, before the sun comes up, to bring donated bagels and baked goods to school children in need in their community. When school is not in session, they bring the food to them at shelters.
I was recently involved in an e-mail exchange that demonstrates how volunteers work. A gentleman and his wife in Atlanta wanted to donate gently-used stuffed animals to a program they knew B’nai B’rith did in their community. This is the B’nai B’rith Cares for Kids project, which puts a loveable huggable in to the arms of a child facing a difficult time. I passed the request on to the B’nai B’rith volunteer coordinator who answered the e-mail immediately. He arranged the pick up for the next day at a convenient location for both of them. His e-mail closed with “yours in service” and that said it all.
Studies show that people who volunteer are happier and healthier. Most likely, this is because volunteers enjoy being with others who think similarly about life and the community they live in. It is a great way to make new friends who care about the same thing—helping others. So, if you are not already a volunteer, please think about getting involved.
We can never thank volunteers enough. So, I hope that you will think about someone you know who volunteers for B’nai B’rith and take the time to thank them. We can offer a wonderful way, sort of like the gifts in the ads this month. You can make a donation in their honor and we will send a tribute card that will tell them that this has been done to support the organization and programs they love so much. You can reach me at rlove@bnaibrith.org with your request.
If you put the words “quotes about volunteers” into a search engine, you will find thousands of quotes attributed to famous and unknown authors.
I liked a simple one from an unknown author. “Volunteers are love in motion.” A perfect message for February and all through the year!
What do we talk about when we talk about B’nai B’rith?
I am a very sentimental person. I have trouble throwing things away that are important to me. So, I was not surprised to find a folder with thank you notes and art work from my daughter’s second grade class after I delivered a “job talk” to them. This was part of the curriculum: to learn about how communities work, and learn more about how people who work in their community contribute to society.
The kids had drawn American flags, circles with CVS (Community and Veterans Services) in them and one had an “I love you” from my daughter. It was easy for me to recognize the subject of my talk. It was B’nai B’rith of course, and since it was October 1993, the content centered around the 150th anniversary of B’nai B’rith and our community service agenda. I had handed out our Flag Code of the United States, produced by B’nai B’rith as part of the then CVS and some volunteer buttons as an example of some of the things that B’nai B’rith did.
Packing Passover dinners for Project H.O.P.E.
I had explained how caring about the people of our community and doing things that helped someone could be a profession and something that they and their families can do as volunteers. I also explained why we as Jews care about society because of something we call “tikun olam,” repairing our world.
We recently gave a similar challenge to leaders of B’nai B’rith at the 2016 Leadership Forum, held in Washington, D.C. We assembled a panel of experts who are the chairs and community leaders who deliver community programming year after year. They were given the task to describe in just five minutes their program and provide a take away to provide information on how it is done. The subject matter was diverse and each representative was able to deliver a message from their own heart and experiences and in record time. The time limit was to provide an “elevator speech,” about what can be said to involve people in what we do. The audience in that “elevator” or in your office or living room, is a potential participant, donor or member. If one can describe what a program or mission is all about in this short period, you have done justice to the cause and project you represent.
It is not an easy task, we must thank all of the presenters who shared their information. Presenting at the session were the very talented chairs and community leaders: Mark Ross, president of Tristate Region; Harold Miller, chair Project H.O.P.E.; Harold Steinberg, chair of the Disaster Relief Committee; Eduardo Weinstein, senior vice president of B’nai B’rith Latin America; Eric Engelmayer, senior vice president of B’nai B’rith Europe; Bill Berger, president of the Denver Lodge; Lila and Steven Zorn, co-chairs of Participation; and Eduard Redensky, chair of the Young Leadership Network. Peter Perlman, chair of the Executive Board of B’nai B’rith, served as the moderator.
Volunteers at the annual Leadville Cemetery cleanup in Colorado.
The content of this workshop was a diverse list of topics. Programs were presented to promote adult learning, provide opportunities for participation in activities such as sports and community service projects. It also described the Holocaust remembrance and awareness program, “Unto Every Person There is a Name,” held on Yom Hashoah. The programming is done each November for the annual observance of the anniversary of Kristallnacht, held in Latin America. They heard about the European Days of Jewish Culture, a vehicle to explore Jewish Culture across Europe. The secret to raising funds through community award dinners (recognizing community leaders and spotlighting B’nai B’rith) was shared. The audience also learned how the lodge and unit structure provides meaningful programming in many communities and how the Young Leadership Network is reaching out to young people with unique opportunities to participant in the B’nai B’rith agenda.
There is always more information on any of these subjects if you want it from the Program Department and the leaders mentioned above. We are always interested in what you talk about when you talk about B’nai B’rith.
B'nai B'rith partnered with the City of Ft. Lauderdale’s Neighbor Volunteer Office, bringing more than 100 AEPi brothers to Snyder Park in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., to pull vines, mulch and weed.
B’nai B’rith Commemorates the Anniversary of Kristallnacht
Presentation of gift from Leo Baeck Unit in honor of the rededication of the Memorial to the 6,000,000 presented by the Friedman and Lissner families. (Left to right) William Peirez, Charles Friedman, Lilli Friedman.
This week we were honored to hold a rededication for the Memorial to the Six Million that is located in the New York office of B’nai B’rith. It was originally dedicated 40 years ago, on November 10, 1976 by a Holocaust committee in New York comprised of representatives of three survivor groups: Leo Baeck Lodge and Chapter; Joseph Popper Lodge and Chapter; and the Liberty Lodge and Chapter.
The memorial is made of oak with the Hebrew words, Zahor (remember), and the first lines of the Mourner’s Kaddish (Yitgadal v'yit kadash sh'mei raba) engraved.
We chose Nov. 1 as the date of the rededication to recognize the anniversary of Kristallnacht (“the Night of Broken Glass”). A candle lighting ceremony was included to remember the 91 Jews who were murdered on that night, 78 years ago, and the 30,000 more who were arrested and sent to concentration camps where hundreds of them died. This gathering was the commitment of one generation to continue to support future generations with an allocation of funds for educational programming for young leadership. The rededication gift was made by the Lissner and Friedman families on behalf of the Leo Baeck Unit, which now also include the members of the Popper and Liberty lodges and chapters.
In B’nai B’rith, programs in observance of Kristallnacht, are held throughout the world, especially those coordinated by B’nai B’rith in Latin America. In 2012, it was hosted by Pope Francis, who was still a cardinal at the time, at the Cathedral in Buenos Aires.
In 2015, the attendees at the B’nai B’rith Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. participated in a commemoration ceremony in remembrance of Kristallnacht. After comments by B’nai B’rith leaders about their personal family experiences and the Holocaust, we shared an audio tape that featured the Children’s Choir of the synagogue of Worms, located in Worms, Germany. On the 50th anniversary of Kristallnacht—the Memorial Committee of Jewish Victims of Nazism from Worms decided to reunite the members of the children’s choir in New York led by Cantor Kurt Wimer. Cantor Wimer was the cantor of the synagogue in Worms from 1933 until the synagogue was destroyed on the night of November 9, 1938. This tape was presented to B’nai B’rith in 1988 after that anniversary event, by a member of B’nai B’rith who was also in the choir to be added to our collection of Shoah awareness programming. The choir sang melodies of the Friday evening synagogue service they had sung as children and described their remembrances of Worms, and the events of Kristallnacht. They dedicated the tape to their families and the other children who were murdered during the Shoah. They knew they were leaving a legacy of memories behind, and a lesson for the world as the tape was also presented to the city of Worms for their archives.
Our candle lighting ceremonies and programming events exist to not just remember the victims of the Holocaust, but to also honor the survivors— eye witnesses who have shared the horror of their experiences with us to remind us to never forget. They rebuilt lives and communities determined to create a future for their children and grandchildren. We depend on future generations and the dedicated members of B’nai B’rith who bring community programming for Holocaust education and awareness to never forget. Educational and cultural programs held throughout the year, help us remember and honor the heritage of the Jewish people lost in the Holocaust and B’nai B’rith’s loss of 175 lodges in Europe.
At this time when our world sees rising anti-Semitism and attacks against Israel, we must remember that there was no Israel at the time of the Shoah. We need to credit the survivors of the Holocaust who helped build the Jewish homeland and their descendants that protect and defend Israel.
I have been fortunate to get to know many people while working for B’nai B’rith. It is a people organization, and I am especially grateful for the connection to the survivors and their families who have made B’nai B’rith a part of their lives. We have much to learn from them and their families. I recall one survivor, sharing what they do when they address students at high school programs. The survivor asks each student to hold her hand, so the students remember that they touched the hand of a Holocaust survivor. She tells the students that there will come a time that they will not be on this earth, and that the students must tell others that they touched a survivor who was real—that they heard and saw this eyewitness to the Holocaust.
Thank you to the Friedman, Lissner and members of the Leo Baeck Unit and all of the survivors and their families who are part of our B’nai B’rith family for touching our lives and making sure we remember.
Rhonda Love is the Vice President of Programming for B'nai B'rith International. She is Director of the Center of Community Action and Center of Jewish Identity. She served as the Program Director of the former District One of B'nai B'rith. In 2002 she received recognition by B'nai B'rith with the Julius Bisno Professional Excellence Award. This June will mark her 39th anniversary at B'nai B'rith. To view some of her additional content, Click Here.
Thinking about Programming: What is Important to You?
Most of my professional life has been spent creating and running programs for B’nai B’rith International, having spent the last 39 years as a member of the professional program staff. I cannot look at a newspaper, magazine article or television show without thinking about how the subject can be utilized as a program. As social media brings this content to us at a rapid fire pace, I get this information even faster. The challenge is putting this content into perspective and seeing that there are some issues that will always be relevant for a program that will interest a B’nai B’rith audience.
As the years go by, the specifics may have changed, but I see each program taking form as a six point star (especially since it makes a very nice visual on a power point presentation!).
How do we relate to Israel as Jews?
How can we care about and connect with international Jewry?
How do we define ourselves as Jew and seek an identity?
How do we provide for the financial needs of our family and the institutions we support?
How do we relate to our family as we move through the stages of our lives?
How we can stay happy and healthy by making a difference in the world?
There are professional trend spotters that will look for cultural and societal trends in the world. Some are called futurists and invent terms we use without even realizing that someone has coined that phrase. In B’nai B’rith, we look at these trends as well and what we see in the news to connect issues to our audience.
You do not have to be a trend spotter or a programmer to see these subjects as important to people. It is most likely a topic that is important to you. In B’nai B’rith, these topics are reviewed by the program centers and committees that provide content for the events that are brought to B’nai B’rith and the community audiences.
We have also offered an interest census to help us understand what is important in programming. The topics come from the themes mentioned above, the news headlines, or as we see them defined during an election year, the topics that are on political party platforms. It may have been a recent lecture topic at other organizations or the result of the consensus of coalitions we are part of, to provide a thematic approach to a subject for the Jewish community to educate itself and act with a unified communal response.
In B’nai B’rith lodges or units, the interest census topics are solicited during a discussion and then ranked by individuals as programs that participants would like to see in their group. I invite you to offer your own topics and comments on what you think are important topics to explore in this way. The Program Department is here to help you with this and other program information you will find on the B’nai B’rith website.
I hope that you will be attending the Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. this Sept. 10 to Sept. 12. The agenda is packed with issues that are facing the Jewish community here in the United States and around the world. It is always especially interesting to hear the perspective of leaders from other countries and the diversity of thinking of those who live in another part of the United States, that impact their position on an issue. We will be taking a closer look at how to bring these programs to your community at a special session focused on programming at the forum.
Fore more information, contact me at rlove@bnaibrith.org.
Rhonda Love is the Vice President of Programming for B'nai B'rith International. She is Director of the Center of Community Action and Center of Jewish Identity. She served as the Program Director of the former District One of B'nai B'rith. In 2002 she received recognition by B'nai B'rith with the Julius Bisno Professional Excellence Award. This June will mark her 39th anniversary at B'nai B'rith. To view some of her additional content, Click Here.
Remembering and Honoring
Members from AEPi and other students participate in "We Walk to Remember" by wearing black and "Never Forget" stickers.
Last month, we had the opportunity to remember and honor. This began on Yom Hashoah, when we remembered the victims of the Holocaust. B’nai B’rith has made this remembrance a part of its calendar of activities by bringing the program, Unto Every Person There is a Name, to communities and campuses in North America. On Yom Hashoah, the names of victims are read aloud as part of ceremonies that brings the community together to commemorate and observe the day. There are readings, poems and personal stories shared by survivors. This also includes second and third generations of families. It is a time to salute the liberators of the concentration camps and recognize rescuers of Jews, whether they be Jewish themselves or of another faith.
Since 1989, B’nai B’rith has been responsible for the distribution of program materials provided by Yad Vashem and an international committee each year. B’nai B’rith is represented by the B’nai B’rith World Center on the committee and assists in the selection of an annual theme that is incorporated into the observance. In addition to the community events, we are especially proud that the program is linked to campuses across North America, via the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi’s program, We Walk to Remember, held on 161 campuses this year. B’nai B’rith provides the materials for the campus program and AEPi brothers walk through their campus in silence, beginning and/or ending with name readings. They pass out a fact sheet about the Holocaust and proudly wear a simple message “Never Forget” on their tee shirts. The sticker reminds them and those who they pass that they are committed to remembering and bringing awareness about the Holocaust each year.
A week later, communities gathered to observe tributes to Israel. On Yom Hazikaron, the Jewish community remembered the soldiers who have given their lives to create and protect the Jewish state. The day precedes Yom Haaztzmaut, designated to remember the anniversary of Israel’s founding. Both days offer the opportunity to remember and honor, bringing pain and joy together as one day ends and the other begins. These days remember and celebrate the creation of a homeland for the Jewish people. B’nai B’rith leaders and representatives of lodges and units across the globe, joined with the Jewish communities to remember and celebrate the fact that we are all connected to Israel no matter where we live.
We concluded the month of May here in America with Memorial Day, created as a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of our country. It was proclaimed after the Civil War in 1868, to honor those who had died and to decorate their graves.
As continued, it became a day to remember those who gave their lives fighting for their country around the world. It has also become a time to remind us that while it is a day off, it should not be known as the time to have a barbeque, get to the official opening of swim clubs or to take advantage of a sale at the shopping mall. B’nai B’rith’s commitment to remember those members who lost their lives is evident in archival information and in memorials around the country. Another way to remember and honor those lost and those who have been wounded is through community service at programs at Veteran’s Affairs hospitals.
The Jewish people remember and honor their history. Individuals also observe the days such as those described above and in another very personal way, when we observe the anniversary of a family member’s death. This is dedicated to my mother Rochelle Boltino, whose Yahrzeit was observed on May 31.
Analysis From Our Experts
B'nai B'rith International has widely respected experts in the fields of:
Supporting & Defending Israel
Senior Housing & Advocacy
Adriana Camisar
Afro Semitic
Alan Schneider
Alina Bricman
Australian Jewish News
Bambi Sheleg
Barr Foundation
Benjamin Naegele
B'nai B'rith Anti-defamation Commission
B'nai B'rith Housing
Breana Clark
Caregiver Credits
CEIRPP
Cheryl Kempler
CSS Housing
Cuban Jewish Relief Project
Daniel Mariaschin
Dept. Of Housing And Urban Development
Disabled Americans
Dr. Howard Weiner
Dvir Abramovich
Eduardo Kohn
Eighth Summit Of The Americas
Eric Fusfield
Evan Carmen
Homecrest House
Human Rights Public Policy
Ibrahim Yassin
Inter-American Commission On Human Rights (IACHR)
Israel Nation-state Law
Janel Doughten
Jeremy Havardi
Jewish-catholic Relations
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Jewish Film Festival
Jewish Identity
Jewish Leadership
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JRJ
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Laura Hemlock
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Low-income Seniors
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Oren Drori
Pat Wolfson Endowment
Perlman Camp
Rachel Goldberg
Rachel Knopp
Rebecca Rose
Rep. Cheri Bustos
Rep. Jamie Raskin
Rhonda Love
Roberta Jacobson
Senior Housing Advocacy
Seniors Issues
Sienna Girgenti
Summit Of The Americas
Supporting Defending Israel
Unto Every Person
Voter ID Laws
World Heritage Committee
YLN
Young Leadership Network
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Jewish Rescuers Citation To Be Presented To Holocaust Heroes
The B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem and the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jews who Rescued Fellow Jews During the Holocaust (JRJ) will induct more than 30 Jewish rescuers into the ranks of their joint Jewish Rescuers Citation.
The current list includes members of the French Jewish Resistance: Henri Pohoryles, Leo Cohn, Ernest Lambert, Abraham Polonsky, David Knout, March Levi, Robert Gamzon, Emmanuel Racine, Regine Ariane Knout, Fanny Ben-Ami, Mila Racine, Anne-Marie Lambert-Finkler, Betty Knout Lazaros and Marianne Cohn.
Additional rescuers include: Eduard Laufer from Slovakia; Chava Rose-Bornstein, a nurse in the Dutch underground; Sig Menko, Gerard Sanders and Isidoor van Dam, heads of the Jewish Community in Enschede, Holland; Fabius Ornstein, head of the Judenrat in Kopaygorod, Ukraine; Oswald Rufeisen and Dov Reznick members of the Mir Ghetto underground; Mala Zimetbaum, an inmate at Auschwitz; Miriam and Menachem Pinkhof, heads of Chalutz group in Holland; Karl Demerer, camp elder at Blechhammer concentration camp; Ronia Rozental from the Kovno Ghetto; Polia and Moshe Musel from the Kovno Ghetto and Ricardo Cavaligon who assisted Jewish refugees in northern Italy.
The citation is conferred in honor of the devotion, courage and heroism exhibited by these individuals under inhumane conditions in order to save their brethren. All the citations except to Polia Musel and Fanny Ben-Ami will be presented posthumously to relatives of the rescuers.
The Jewish Rescuers Citation was established in 2011 by the B’nai B’rith World Center-Jerusalem and JRJ to rectify the historical record regarding Jewish rescue. The phenomena of Jewish rescue and the instructive stories of thousands of Jews who labored to save their endangered brethren throughout Europe have yet to receive appropriate public recognition and resonance. Many who could have tried to flee chose to stay and rescue others; some paid for it with their lives. With great heroism, Jews in every country in occupied Europe employed subterfuge, forgery, smuggling, concealment and other methods to ensure that Jews survived the Holocaust, or assisted them in escaping to a safe place, and in doing so foiled the Nazi goal of total genocide against the Jews. To date more than 200 heroes have been honored with the citation for rescue activities in Germany, France, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Yugoslavia, Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Italy and Holland.
Some of the citations will be presented at a joint B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem/ Keren Kayemet Le' Israel — JNF Holocaust and Martyr's Day ceremony commemorating Jewish rescuers during the Holocaust, to be held April 12 at the B'nai B'rith Martyr's Forest, "Scroll of Fire" plaza. The ceremony will begin at 10 a.m. with the siren peal. Fanny Ben-Ami’s story is memorialized in the book “The Little Commander” by Galila Ron-Feder (Hebrew, 1986) and in the film “Fanny’s Journey” (2016).” Ben-Ami will address the ceremony on behalf of the Jewish rescuers.
For more information contact Alan Schneider, director, B'nai B'rith World Center-Jerusalem, 972-2-6251743, 972-52-5536441 or aschneider@bnaibrith.org.
Rep. Gene Green Visits Low-Income Seniors At Pasadena Interfaith Manor
B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
U.S. Rep. Gene Green (D-Texas) toured one of B’nai B’rith International’s housing facilities to meet with residents and discuss the critical importance of housing for adults with limited means. Pasadena Interfaith Manor in Pasadena, Texas is a residential facility sponsored by B’nai B’rith in partnership with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
“I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to visit a facility like the Pasadena Interfaith Manor that provides crucial services and a supply of affordable, comfortable housing to the 29th District. I commend B'nai Brith’s diligent work in advancing Section 202 housing, a vital program for many low-income seniors in the 29th District of Texas, and I share their goal of doing all we can to protect federal funding for Section 202,” Green said.
Green’s tour of the building included a resident’s apartment, the library, resident computer room, community room, resident grocery store and the building’s grounds which include a dog park.
After the tour the Congressman spoke with residents on a variety of senior issues such as affordable housing, Social Security, health care, nutrition and Supplemental Security Income. Residents were able to explain to their elected representative how important these federal programs are in their life.
This type of housing is in constant demand, and researchers say for every low-income senior housing apartment nationwide there are 10-12 seniors waiting for a spot.
Before the tour began Green met with B’nai B’rith International Senior Housing Program Chair Seth Riklin, Pasadena Interfaith Manor Board Member Mort Peltzman, Regional Property Manager for BHC Property Management Phyllis Davis and On-site Manager Mike Garcia.
The B'nai B'rith Senior Housing Network in the United States consists of 38 buildings in 27 communities, includes some 4,500 apartment units and serves more than 8,000 people.
B’nai B’rith Lauds Successful March For Our Lives Gun Control Efforts
B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
We support and commend the participants in today’s March For Our Lives events around the nation and the world. The more than 800 rallies, launched and led by students, are an encouraging reminder of the power of a united voice.
B’nai B’rith has long called for comprehensive gun reform measures including appropriate waiting periods, volume sales restrictions and background checks for all firearm sales, together with criminal and mental health reviews. It is imperative that we as a nation unite to restore the safety of our schools and public spaces. Meaningful legislation is desperately needed to limit access to the most dangerous weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines whose sole purpose is to maximize death counts. Today’s spirited marches and rallies are a bold call to action as participants declared “Enough is Enough!”
The enthusiasm and passion for change we witnessed today encourages us to renew our efforts on the issue of gun control reform. We will work in broad-based coalitions with public officials and leaders of both political parties to promote bipartisan solutions.
B'nai B'rith Deplores Five Anti-Israel UNHRC Resolutions, Including Resolution Warning on Arms Sales to Israel
B’nai B’rith International strongly deplores the five unjust anti-Israel resolutions the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) passed today. One resolution, which seeks to call in to question the legitimacy of sales of military equipment to Israel, provides new evidence that the Council is entirely indifferent to the rights and well-being of those on one side of the conflict — the citizens of the State of Israel defending their right to life, the most basic human right of all. This resolution passed with 27 votes in favor, four against and 15 countries abstaining. We condemn Belgium and Slovenia as the only European Union members of the Council choosing to vote in favor of this outrageous resolution.
We commend the United States and Australia for taking a principled stand by voting against all five resolutions.
Today’s vote again shows that the Council has run amok. Only the Security Council can level binding sanctions or an arms embargo, yet when it comes to Israel, the UNHRC has felt empowered over the last few years to create a blacklist of Israeli and multinational companies operating in Palestinian-claimed territory and now threatens states and companies that sell arms that Israel uses to defend itself against hostile regimes and terrorist groups. The Council is clearly in urgent need of reform.
B’nai B’rith International last week wrapped up its annual mission to the Human Rights Council, where we held high-level meetings with numerous countries and made an intervention at the Council.
See the full statement here.
B’nai B’rith Delivers Intervention Criticizing The Biased UNHRC
B’nai B’rith International Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) yesterday advocating for Israel. The Human Rights Council has on its permanent agenda “Item 7,” which is a basket of anti-Israel condemnations reviewed and discussed each time the council meets. No other nation is singled out for review and opprobrium in this way.
In his speech, Michaels said: “Although some might assume that this Council’s decisions are impartial, we know that this is a political body, in which self-interest guides voting and rights abusers sit in judgment of those with more admirable records.
No country is perfect, but Israel alone stands as a democracy in the Middle East, a bastion of global humanitarianism.
It is Israel that is characterized by pluralism — with Arab citizens serving in government, women achieving high office, the Christian minority growing and civil liberties upheld.
It is Israel that despite surviving multiple wars has extended unparalleled offers and sacrifices for peace, repeatedly seeing these followed by yet more terrorism.”
Click here to read Michaels’ full remarks.
Click here to view the entire speech
B’nai B’rith Delegation Advocates For Israel And Human Rights At UNHRC In Geneva
Participants in our mission to the UNHRC met with Margret Mary Lungu Kaemba, Chargé d'affaires of Zambia.
B'nai B'rith leaders and volunteers met with Indian Ambassador Rajiv Chander at the UNHRC.
B’nai B’rith International concluded its annual leadership delegation to the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, where top volunteer leaders and staff advocated on important human rights issues and challenged the body’s relentless bias against Israel.
From March 14 to March 16, some 25 B’nai B’rith leaders and supporters met with senior diplomats from roughly 30 countries, including the United States, India, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Jordan, Mexico, Togo and the United Kingdom. B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin led the delegation.
“The Council spends an inordinate amount of its resources attacking Israel — a thriving, open democracy living in a dangerous region frequently characterized by tyranny and chaos — at the expense of helping the victims of acute human rights abuses throughout the world. Member states that want this Council to have any credibility on human rights issues must undertake a concerted effort to eradicate the bias inherent in the UNHRC,” Saltzman and Mariaschin said from Geneva.
During the trip, the delegation held meetings with member states to discuss serial human rights abusers such as Iran and Syria, and the UNHRC’s obsessive focus on Israel under “Item 7” — a permanent agenda item aimed only at Israel, while all other country situations are handled under a different agenda item.
The delegation also hosted a diplomatic reception at the Palais des Nations, the U.N.’s European hub, with numerous ambassadors. The chef de cabinet of the Geneva U.N. director-general and the Israeli ambassador addressed the assemblage and saluted B’nai B’rith for its 175-year history and unparalleled record of engagement at the world body.
In addition to Saltzman and Mariaschin, B’nai B’rith was represented by: Chairman of the Executive Peter Perlman, Detroit; Senior Vice President Sheila Mostyn, Toronto; B’rith B’rith primary UNESCO representative and Executive Board of Directors member Stéphane Teicher, Paris; B’nai B’rith Executive Board of Directors member Seth Riklin, Houston; B’nai B’rith Executive Board of Directors member Brad Adolph, Chicago; Chair of the International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy Charles Kaufman, Austin, Texas; B’nai B’rith Canada Senior Honorary Counsel David Matas, Winnipeg, Canada; International Council of B’nai B’rith member Paolo Foa, Milan; Board of Governors member and Executive Director of the AEPi Foundation Andy Borans, Indianapolis; Board of Governors member Dan Tartakovski, Mexico City; Director of the London Bureau of International Affairs Jeremy Havardi, London; Uri Strauss-Aronowitz, Miami; President of the Mordecai Lodge Ada Sadoun, Grenoble, France; B’nai B’rith Young Leadership Network member Jessica Kreger, Miami; Mindy Stein, New York; David Calo, Milan; Azaria Acher, Geneva; Nurit Braun, Geneva; B’rith B’rith primary UNHRC representative Klaus Netter, Geneva; Richard Sadoune, Geneva; Felipe Corbal Vidal, Mexico City; and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels, New York. Isaac Besalel, Efrem Edel and Alon Vita represented AEPi.
Michaels coordinated the meetings in Geneva together with U.N. Affairs Program Officer Oren Drori, from New York.
Photos from the Delegation's Visit
B’nai B’rith Delegation Meets With UNESCO Director-General And Ambassadors To UNESCO To Advocate For Israel
Our delegation at UNESCO in Paris, meeting with Director-General Audrey Azoulay. From Left: B’nai B’rith President Gary P. Saltzman, Azoulay, B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, B’nai B’rith U.N. Affairs Director David Michaels, Stéphane Teicher, our main UNESCO representative.
A high-level B’nai B’rith International delegation concluded a visit to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Paris, where top lay leaders and staff challenged the body’s growing exploitation as a political tool against Israel. The group met with new UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and diplomats accredited to the body.
On March 12 and March 13, B’nai B’rith leaders met with some two-dozen ambassadors and other diplomats from countries including Germany, Russia, Japan, Kenya, Greece, Italy and Nigeria. B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin led the delegation.
UNESCO Mission of Honduras: Senior Vice President Eric Engelmayer, Executive Board of Directors Member Dan Tartakovski, B’nai B’rith President Gary P. Saltzman, Deputy Permanent Representative for Mission of Honduras Carlos Maradiaga, B’nai B’rith CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin, Uri Straus-Aronowitz, , Executive Board of Directors Member Seth Riklin and Executive Board of Directors Member Brad Adolph.
“In the fall, the United States withdrew from UNESCO because of its frequent misuse as a weapon against Israel. UNESCO needs to be reformed and its member states must understand that delegitimizing Israel negates UNESCO’s own mission and standing,” Saltzman and Mariaschin said from Paris. “Most notoriously, UNESCO has even voted to whitewash the Jewish connection to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall — which are the holiest sites in Judaism.”
In addition to Saltzman and Mariaschin, B’nai B’rith was represented by: Chairman of the Executive Peter Perlman, Detroit; Senior Vice President Sheila Mostyn, Toronto; Senior Vice President Eric Engelmayer, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; B’nai B’rith main UNESCO representative and Executive Board of Directors member Stéphane Teicher, Paris; B’nai B’rith Executive Board of Directors member Seth Riklin, Houston; B’nai B’rith Executive Board of Directors member Brad Adolph, Chicago; Executive Board of Directors member and B’nai B’rith Young Leadership Network Chair Ed Redensky, Chicago; Chair of the International Center for Human Rights and Public Policy Charles Kaufman, Austin, Texas; B’nai B’rith Canada Senior Honorary Counsel David Matas, Winnipeg, Canada; Board of Governors member Jacques Jacubert, Paris; Board of Governors member and Executive Director of the AEPi Foundation Andy Borans, Indianapolis; Board of Governors member Dan Tartakovski, Mexico City; UNESCO alternate representative Annie Cohen-Ganouna, Paris; UNESCO alternate representative Irene Ores, Paris; Uri Strauss-Aronowitz, Miami; B’nai B’rith Young Leadership Network member Jessica Kreger, Miami; Mindy Stein, New York; Felipe Corbal Vidal, Mexico City; and Director of U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels, New York. Efrem Edel represented AEPi.
Michaels coordinated the meetings in Paris together with U.N. Affairs Program Officer Oren Drori, from New York.
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Leitz GmbH & Co.KG
It all started in Oberkochen/Ostalbkreis, Germany. From 1876 onwards, Albert Leitz took advantage of the proximity to the Royal Swabian Smelting Works and secured high quality steel in order to produce drills, saw blades and axes.
He was convinced that the signs were pointing towards industrialisation and he was right, meaning that he was able to pass to his successors a company producing and selling precision tools worldwide as a premium manufacturer and full range supplier to this day. The company is still based in Oberkochen, but nowadays does business all over the world.
From a small Swabian factory, an internationally operating group of companies has developed, manufacturing at 14 sites on 3 continents and employing around 4000 employees worldwide. Leitz holds 250 patents and forward-looking technologies such as the intelligent tool with RFID chip have made Leitz not only a global market leader, but also an innovation leader.
The fact that Leitz achieved this greatness and importance and is still family-owned is primarily due to Dr. Ing. Dieter Brucklacher. He shaped the group of companies in the last four decades: from 1974 until 2014 he led Leitz as Chairman of the management board, then as a member of the advisory board. He determined the strategic focus of the companies and stood for growth and internationalisation through innovation, progressive technology and quality. Furthermore it was important to him that the customers of the premium manufacturer could receive expert advice locally. To this end, he continuously expanded the network of his own sales and service companies, particularly in emerging areas.
On September 27, 2016, Dr. Dieter Brucklacher passed away. Nowadays his daughter Dr. Cornelia Brucklacher, Chairman of the advisory board of Leitz, determines the strategy of the family-owned company. In the fifth generation, she builds on the values and strategic focus implemented by her father and her ancestors: „The satisfaction of our customers - from small companies up to global industrial enterprises - and their commercial success stood and stand at the heart of our actions in our 140-years-old tradition“, she says.
The great-great-granddaughter of the founder Albert Leitz has clear targets: she wants to expand the position as world market and innovation leader and focus particularly on the technological side of Industry 4.0 and the production network with intelligent tools. Brucklacher also wants to further expand the sales and service network in emerging areas which is so important for customer satisfaction.
Following her father’s values it is important to Dr. Cornelia Brucklacher not only to keep an eye on products and key figures, but also to cultivate a corporate culture - "a culture of responsibility for people, nature, society and environment“, as she says. This culture is shaped by long-term thinking and sustainable actions at Leitz.
This can be seen, for example, in the apprenticeship quota of approximately 10 percent, which is considerably above the average for German companies. Leitz trains young people in commercial, technical and industrial occupations and subsequently employs them all within the company. In additional to traditional vocational training, Leitz also supports Dual Study Courses and external qualification programmes to become a master, technician or engineer.
Since the company’s success is based on the motivation and the knowledge of its employees, Leitz offers them the opportunity to learn continually throughout their whole professional life in their own “workshop for the future”. This offer also includes a worldwide exchange programme between the company sites which gives the employees the chance to gain international experience, develop language skills and get to know other cultures.
Leitz understands that companies are part of society and assume the associated responsibilities. Therefore this family business supports educational partnerships and aid projects in Germany and worldwide. Thanks to its decentralised structure, Leitz is present in numerous locations in the world. The company has put down its roots in these locations – as in Oberkochen, where everything began and where Leitz still has its headquarters today. Leitz is also involved here: 27 years ago the company initiated the international Jazz Festival "Jazz Lights" in Oberkochen and is still significantly involved in its organisation.
Carbides and tools from Boehlerit are the pace-setters for new standards in the machining of metal, wood, synthetic and composite materials. The cutting materials and tools specialist from the steel town Kapfenberg in Styria has the answers for the most challenging machining tasks for materials of the future with its direct line to the 'steel lab'. Reliable and efficient processes are ensured worldwide with cutting materials, semi-finished products, precision tools and tooling systems for milling, turning, drilling and forming.
The comprehensive Boehlerit product range includes highly specialised tools for crankshaft machining, tube and pipe machining, bar peeling and heavy-duty machining operations in the steel industry. Further Boehlerit strengths include carbides for structural components and for wear-protection. In coating technology, Boehlerit achieved a world first and unique positioning globally with its Nano CVD adhesion layer through to the hardest diamond coatings. Added to this, Boehlerit is the expert development partner for toolmakers with its unrivalled know-how and many years of mastery in metallurgy, coatings systems and the latest pressing technologies.
Contact Leitz
Contact Boehlerit
BOEHLERIT GmbH & Co KG
Werk VI-Straße
A-8605 Kapfenberg / Österreich
Tel.: +43 (3862) 300-0
Email: info@boehlerit.com
www.boehlerit.at
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Innocent Transfer of DNA Through a Load of Laundry
By Brandon Barnett | DNA
What is Transfer DNA and Why is it Important in Criminal Cases?
When a person thinks of DNA evidence, they typically think of blood, semen, or some sort of bodily fluid left at a crime scene that indicates a suspect in a crime. However, this is no longer the case. With the advances in technology, DNA can be detected from just sitting near another person. In a study done by Australian forensic scientist Roland van Oorschot, he found that in 50% of volunteers who sat at a table and shared a jug of juice they ended up with another’s DNA on their hands. The volunteers never touched one another and some of the DNA found was from individuals who were not even at the table. They found that DNA was much easier to transfer than anyone had previously thought. This means that at any given crime scene, there could be hundreds of DNA profiles. The DNA found by investigators could be from an innocent person or the suspect. This is concerning because, while there is a way to discover whose DNA it is, there is not a way to discern how it got there. Who’s to say they won’t find yours?
The DNA Phantom Case From Germany
That is exactly what happened in the case of the Phantom of Heilbronn. In Germany, DNA from one woman was found at crimes scenes ranging from murders to thefts. This woman’s DNA was connected to 40 crimes extending as far back as 1993 and covering the countries of Germany, Austria, and France. However, the DNA that was found did not belong to the perpetrator, it belonged to a woman who made the cotton swabs used to collect DNA samples from the crime scene. Even though the cotton swabs went through the proper sterilization process, they still contained traceable amounts of DNA. The Phantom of Heilbronn is an example of how easily DNA can be innocently transferred to a crime scene.
How DNA Can Be Transferred Through Laundry in Child Sexual Assault Cases
When it comes to child sexual abuse cases, researchers have found that DNA can be transferred innocently by the laundry even after clothes are supposed to be “clean.” A Canadian study discovered that when undergarments are washed with sheets containing bodily fluids, the undergarment too will have DNA on them. The DNA from the sheets transfers to the undergarments in the washer and the washer itself. This is problematic because a person’s DNA can end up on every household member’s clothing in one wash. This DNA can later be collected during an investigation, but investigators might make the wrong assumption as to how it got there.
To help distinguish between innocent DNA transfer from laundering and DNA that was left during a crime, the researchers studied the location of the DNA on the items of clothing. In the process of this experiment, the findings strongly suggest that bodily fluids that were transferred during laundering were absorbed deeper into the fabric. Swab samples that yield significant quantities of bodily fluids are indicative of the fluid being deposited directly on the clothing as opposed to transfer during laundering. DNA that is transferred during the laundering process is both found in a different location and lesser in quantity than DNA deposited through abuse.
What Does This Mean for the Future of DNA Analysis?
The findings from this research are important for the future of DNA evidence, especially in the case of child sexual abuse cases. This research shows that DNA does not immediately indicate sexual abuse. This research emphasizes that the mere presence of DNA on a child’s undergarments does not confirm abuse. Investigators should gather all available evidence before they come to a conclusion.
DNA Testing of Biological Evidence Under CCP 38.43
Does a defendant charged with capital murder have an absolute right to have all of the biological evidence of the crime tested?
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Section 38.43 deals with “Biological Evidence,” and outlines the rules and responsibilities for testing such evidence. In the mandamus case summary that follows, the relator (the defendant) is requesting that ALL of the biological evidence be tested, while the trial judge has ruled that only some testing is sufficient.
In Re Solis-Gonzalez (Tex. Crim. App. – Mandamus 2016)
A Triple Homicide and Hundreds of Evidence Samples
Luis Solis-Gonzalez was indicted by a grand jury for capital murder for the 2012 triple murder of his ex-wife, her daughter, and her companion. Before trial, the State moved for DNA testing of over 200 pieces of biological material that was collected at the scene. The trial court granted that the testing be done by the Texas Department of Public Safety forensics laboratory.
A few months later, after the lab had already tested a portion of the samples, the lab communicated to the trial court that testing all of the evidence would be a lengthy process, taking three years to complete. Because of such a delay, the trial court asked the defense to identify any specific articles of biological material that it wanted tested, along with reasons why that material should be tested.
At the pretrial hearing, the State asserted that testing each and every piece of the evidence was unnecessary because the testing that the lab had already completed was sufficient for trial. Solis-Gonzalez claimed that Article 38.43 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure created an “absolute right to have all evidence tested.” The trial court found that testing all of the biological evidence was unnecessary, as “Article 38.43 does not mandate that every piece of evidence seized by law enforcement in a capital murder case where the State is seeking the death penalty must be forensically analyzed.” Further, the trial court added, “the defense’s response [does] not legally support further delay of trial.”
Should the Trial Judge Have Ordered Tested of All Biological Evidence?
On a petition for a writ of mandamus, the CCA reviewed the case to determine whether Article 38.43 does, in fact, create an absolute right to have all biological evidence collected at a crime scene, especially when the death penalty is at stake.
Article 38.43 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure
Article 38.43(j) states, “if the State and the Defendant agree on which biological materials constitute biological evidence, the biological evidence shall be tested…if the State and the Defendant do not agree on which biological materials qualify as biological evidence, the State or the Defendant may request the court to hold a hearing to determine the issue.” The statute defines biological evidence as the contents of a rape kit, blood, semen, hair, saliva, skin tissue, finger nails, fingernail scrapings, bone, bodily fluids that might establish the identity of a suspect or exculpate (show the innocence of) a potential suspect.
Justice Delivered Swiftly, or Justice Delivered Meticulously?
Here, the CCA defers to the legislative policy rationale behind Article 38.43, saying, “it thus appears that the legislature granted discretion to the trial court to separate the evidentiary wheat from the chaff and prevent delay of the proceedings because of needless testing.” Like the CCA, the trial court stated the evidence submitted and analyzed was sufficient for trial in “substantial compliance with the [legislative] intent of the statute.” It appears that the intent behind the statute is to deliver justice swiftly, not meticulously by testing each and every single piece of biological evidence. Accordingly, the CCA affirmed the decision of the trial court, and denied relief to Solis-Gonzalez.
The Last Man Exonerated – Kerry Max Cook
By Luke Williams | DNA, Murder
I usually do not repost articles that others writers send to my email, but I decided to make an exception for this one. Reposted below is a compelling article written by Michael Hall with Texas Monthly, regarding the current plight of Kerry Max Cook, a man who hopes to obtain a complete exoneration for a murder that he did not commit (as later demonstrated by DNA evidence). You can either read the story below, or see the original article HERE. You can also check out an updated Article by Michael Hall HERE.
Kerry Max Cook walked off Texas’s death row in 1997, but earlier this week he filed two motions in the 241st District Court in Smith County that he hopes will finally clear his name. Cook (pictured above) and his Dallas lawyers, working with the New York-based Innocence Project, petitioned for post-conviction DNA testing on untested evidence he is certain will show once and for all that he is innocent of killing Linda Jo Edwards in Tyler in 1977. He also asked to have the DNA motion considered by a judge from outside Smith County, where he claims he was a victim of “the most well-documented and notorious instance of prosecutorial misconduct in the annals of Texas jurisprudence.”
Now would seem to be a good time to file these motions. Since 2000, four dozen Texans have been exonerated, most by DNA evidence. Recently we’ve seen several high-profile cases in which men sent to prison—including death row—were exonerated and freed, to great fanfare. Timothy Cole, convicted of rape in Lubbock in 1985, was exonerated posthumously in 2009 after a court of inquiry found him innocent. Anthony Graves, a former death row inmate, was freed in 2010 after a special prosecutor found his trial prosecutor had “handled this case in a way that would best be described as a criminal justice system’s nightmare.” Michael Morton, convicted of killing his wife in 1987, was freed in October after tests revealed his wife’s blood and another man’s DNA on a bandana near the crime scene.
Cook was released when these other men were still in prison. Any yet, unlike them, he is not legally an exoneree. That’s because, even though his death sentence was overturned twice by higher courts, and even though DNA taken from the murder victim didn’t match him, when prosecutors were preparing to put him on trial for a fourth time, Cook pleaded no contest instead of not guilty. Thirteen years later, his murder conviction is still on his record.
Why did Cook plead no contest to a murder he didn’t commit? Good question. Cook’s case is a strange one, one of the strangest in Texas history. He was arrested in June 1977 for the rape and murder of Linda Jo Edwards, who had been stabbed, beaten, and mutilated in her apartment. Her roommate told of seeing a man at the apartment whom she assumed was James Mayfield, a married man with whom Edwards had been having an affair. But the affair had ended three weeks before the murder. Police instead zeroed in on Kerry Max Cook, who lived in the same complex and whose fingerprints were found on a patio door of the apartment. Cook said he was innocent.
The prosecution made a strong case at Cook’s first trial in 1978. A police detective testified that his fingerprints could actually be dated as having been left there within hours of the murder. The roommate who originally thought the killer was Mayfield now said it was Cook. A jailhouse snitch said Cook confessed to him that he’d killed Edwards. And a gay hairdresser named Robert Hoehn said that on the night of the murder he and Cook had watched the movie The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea; Hoehn said he had performed sex acts on Cook, who also had masturbated during a scene involving the torture of a cat. The prosecution’s theory was that Cook, aroused by the torture scene, had rushed out to rape, kill, and mutilate Edwards, a total stranger. Cook, who says he knew Edwards and had visited her apartment by invitation (thus accounting for the prints), was found guilty, convicted, given the death penalty, and sent to death row.
Ten years later, stories in the Dallas Morning News began alleging serious improprieties at the original trial. For example, the snitch admitted that he had lied as part of a deal with prosecutors (his pending murder charge was reduced to involuntary manslaughter in exchange for his testimony), and the detective’s testimony about being able to tell the age of fingerprints was shown to be highly misleading, if not downright absurd. In 1991 Cook’s sentence was overturned on a technicality and sent back to the trial court.
By this point, the state’s case was in the hands of a tough prosecutor named Jack Skeen, who had been elected Smith County DA in 1983. Cook had found his own advocate in Jim McCloskey of Centurion Ministries, a New Jersey group that helps the wrongly convicted. Centurion did some research and found four dozen people who knew Mayfield, the man Edwards had been having an affair with; none had ever been interviewed by police. McCloskey became convinced of Cook’s innocence and wrote a report titled “Why Centurion Ministries Believes Jim Mayfield Killed Linda Jo Edwards.”
Cook’s second trial was moved to Williamson County in 1992, but it ended in a hung jury and a mistrial. By this point other evidence that suggested prosecutorial misconduct had been revealed—the state hadn’t turned over evidence that Mayfield’s teenaged daughter had repeatedly threatened to kill Edwards in the weeks before her death. The state also withheld evidence that Cook and Edwards did indeed know each other and that Hoehn had originally told the grand jury that he had not had sex with Cook (who, he had also said, didn’t pay any attention to the movie). Finally, the state hadn’t revealed a written statement from the detective who had testified about the age of the fingerprint in which he said he had told prosecutors this opinion was unsound and couldn’t be backed up by any science. Still, he stated, prosecutors pressed him to give it, and he did, to devastating effect.
At trial number three, in 1994, even without the testimony of the snitch or the detective regarding the age of the fingerprints, the state was allowed to use the testimony of Hoehn, who had recently died. Cook was again found guilty and again given the death penalty.
In 1996 Cook finally got his first vindication. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the latest conviction, pointing to the massive official misconduct. “Prosecutorial and police misconduct has tainted this entire matter from the outset,” the majority opinion declared. Cook made bail in 1997, but the state prepared to try him again. Skeen, who was elected Prosecutor of the Year by the State Bar of Texas, remained convinced of Cook’s guilt.
In an attempt to head off a fourth trial, Skeen’s office offered Cook a deal: plead guilty, be sentenced to time served, and go home. Cook refused. He was innocent, he swore. In early 1999, Edward’s underwear was sent to a DPS lab for modern forensic testing. On February 5, the lab confirmed the presence of semen. Six days later a hopeful Cook gave a blood sample. The next day, before the results of the DNA test came back, the DA’s office made another offer: a no contest plea, in which he would maintain his innocence while acknowledging that witnesses against him “would testify sufficiently to prove beyond a reasonable doubt” that he’d killed Edwards. Again Cook refused. On February 16, the DA came back with a final offer: a no-contest plea in which Cook would maintain his innocence while only acknowledging the evidence the state would offer to try and convict him. Cook took the deal. He didn’t want to run the risk of another trial, another guilty verdict, and another death sentence in law-and-order Smith County.
Two months later, the test results came back: the semen belonged to Mayfield—who had given a blood sample a month after the plea deal. Skeen’s office maintained that the results didn’t prove anything—after all, Mayfield had recently had a sexual relationship with Edwards, and who knew when that semen had been deposited there? Cook was still guilty. As Assistant DA David Dobbs said later, “The important thing for us was to insure that he got a conviction for murder that would follow him for the rest of his life.”
In 2003, Skeen became judge of the 241st District Court. One of Cook’s motions filed Tuesday specifically asks for his case to be tried by someone other than his former prosecutor. In this motion for recusal, Cook’s attorneys note new evidence that they say suggests Skeen failed to follow the law. In particular, in May 2011 Cook’s lawyers say they found a polygraph report on the jailhouse snitch that indicated deception during his 1977 questioning—a report that was never turned over to any of the defense lawyers, either in 1978 or 1994. Cook’s lawyers write, “the State was unquestionably obligated to provide this highly exculpatory document to the defense.”
The CCA, in its review, concluded that the improprieties in the case were confined to the original investigation, in the late 1970s. A footnote to its majority decision in 1996 reads: “We note the acts of misconduct … took place nearly 20 years ago and we do not imply any complicity in said acts on the part of the current District Attorney or current members of the Tyler Police Department.” But Judge Charlie Baird, in a separate opinion, disagreed, saying that he thought the misconduct went further: “the State’s misconduct in this case does not consist of an isolated incident or the doing of a police officer, but consists of the deliberate misconduct by members of the bar, representing the State, over a fourteen year period—from the initial discovery proceedings in 1977, through the first trial in 1978 and continuing with the concealment of the misconduct until 1992.” By that point, Skeen had been DA for nine years.
One of the more intriguing questions is whether Skeen knew the results of the DNA test before making the plea offer in 1999. In Chasing Justice, a book Cook wrote about his experience, he says that McCloskey suspected so. “I’ll tell you what I think,” Cook remembers McCloskey saying. “I think they ran a preliminary test on the semen stain and have at least got a blood type; they know you aren’t the donor.” In the DNA motion, Cook can only speculate on what happened:
Based on statements made by the District Attorney, what likely occurred between February 12 and February 16, 1999 is that an initial analysis was performed on Mr. Cook’s blood sample for purposes of comparison to the semen stain on Ms. Edwards’ clothing, which had only been provided the day before the prosecution’s offer to Mr. Cook of 40 years in prison. And in hindsight it is apparent that this initial analysis excluded Mr. Cook as the individual that raped and murdered Ms. Edwards. Just after Mr. Cook entered his no-contest plea, a local newspaper reported that, ‘[t]esting continues on a recently discovered semen stain on the dead woman’s underwear, said Skeen. But initial indications were that the new evidence would not prove helpful to prosecutors, he [Skeen] said.’ The prosecution knew that once a jury was informed that the semen from Ms. Edwards’ panties did not belong to Mr. Cook, the State would not be able to convict Mr. Cook of her rape and murder. Again, Mayfield did not submit his blood until after the plea agreement was entered, so when the prosecution made the deal with Mr. Cook they may not have known with scientific certainty who did rape and kill Ms. Edwards, but they absolutely knew who did not—Kerry Max Cook.
The intent of the DNA motion seems to be to start the ball rolling to get Cook eventually declared actually innocent. This is a tall order in Texas, especially this long after the verdict. The motion states:
Mr. Cook is factually and actually innocent of the 1977 rape and murder of Ms. Edwards and requests further DNA testing to verify and corroborate the other powerful evidence of his innocence. While previous DNA testing has already provided exculpatory evidence and established overwhelming proof of Mr. Cook’s innocence, there is a substantial volume of additional un-tested evidence that will further corroborate Mr. Cook’s innocence.
The motion is referring to things taken from the bloody crime scene that were never tested for DNA, including Edwards’ bloody blue jeans, a hair found on her body, and other biological samples taken from her bra and a knife.
One of the great mysteries of the case is why Mayfield, whose semen was found inside Linda Jo Edwards’ lifeless body, was never tried for her murder. If his DNA profile were to be found in the untested blood or hair, could Mayfield (who lives in Houston and has refused requests for interviews for 35 years now) ultimately be prosecuted? Could Cook be exonerated?
Cook’s case is a deeply tragic one. He was one of the first of the modern wave of men to be freed after years of wrongful imprisonment. And yet Cook never experienced a profound public vindication. He never got to raise his arms high as he was cheered leaving the courthouse—like Morton recently did. He doesn’t get millions of dollars in compensation from the state for those wasted years—like the others do. He doesn’t have a brotherhood of fellow exonerees—like the men in Dallas have. He isn’t even, technically, an exoneree.
“Every day I fight against the darkest depression imaginable,” he says, “because of what Smith County did to me and continued to do to me for 35 years. First there was the horror of my prison experience as an innocent man, then my fate when I was freed, which in some ways was almost as bad. I developed severe PTSD. I was forced to move five times by people who found out about my past. Kids won’t play with my son because they find out he’s the son of a man who was on death row. My wife and I–we have no insurance. I can’t get an apartment, I can’t get a real job. It’s been unbelievable. Nobody knows what it’s like. It’s like I’m behind another set of bars. I’m not free.
“I want the official exoneration. I want what Ernest Willis and Tim Cole and Michael Morton got. I deserve it. It’s my turn.”
Post Conviction DNA Testing – How It Works
What follows is an excerpt from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ recent published decision in Ex Parte Gutierrez regarding the propriety of post-conviction DNA testing. It does not reflect new law on the subject, but is helpful as a refresher. These are the statutory hurdles a person must jump in order to have the original evidence tested for DNA in hopes of proving his/her innocence:
There is no free-standing due-process right to DNA testing, and the task of fashioning rules to “harness DNA’s power to prove innocence without unnecessarily overthrowing the established system of criminal justice” belongs “primarily to the legislature.” In Texas, Chapter 64 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires the judge of the convicting court to order DNA testing when requested by a convicted person if it finds all of the following:
(1) evidence exists that by its nature permits DNA testing;
(2) the evidence was either:
(a) justifiably not previously subjected to DNA testing [because DNA testing i) was not available, or ii) was incapable of providing probative results, or iii) did not occur “through no fault of the convicted person, for reasons that are of such a nature that the interests of justice require DNA testing”]; or
(b) subjected to previous DNA testing by techniques now superseded by more accurate techniques;
(3) that evidence is in a condition making DNA testing possible;
(4) the chain of custody of the evidence is sufficient to establish that it has not been substituted, tampered with, replaced, or altered in any material respect;
(5) identity was or is an issue in the underlying criminal case;
(6) the convicted person has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the person would not have been convicted if exculpatory results had been obtained through DNA testing; and
(7) the convicted person has established by a preponderance of the evidence that the request for DNA testing is not made to unreasonably delay the execution of sentence or administration of justice.
An indigent convicted person intending to file a motion for post-conviction DNA testing now has a limited right to appointed counsel. That entitlement used to be absolute, but it is now conditioned on the trial judge’s finding “that reasonable grounds exist for the filing of a motion.” If all of the prerequisites set out above are met, the convicting court must order testing. Then, after “examining the results of testing under Article 64.03, the convicting court must hold a hearing and make a finding as to whether, had the results been available during the trial of the offense, it is reasonably probable that the person would not have been convicted.” Exculpatory DNA testing results do not, by themselves, result in relief from a conviction or sentence. Chapter 64 is simply a procedural vehicle for obtaining certain evidence “which might then be used in a state or federal habeas proceeding.”
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1 Samuel 20 English Standard Version (ESV)
Jonathan Warns David
20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah and came and said before Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life?” 2 And he said to him, “Far from it! You shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small without disclosing it to me. And why should my father hide this from me? It is not so.” 3 But David vowed again, saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your eyes, and he thinks, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved.’ But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever you say, I will do for you.” 5 David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit at table with the king. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field till the third day at evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ 7 If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him. 8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” 9 And Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?” 11 And Jonathan said to David, “Come, let us go out into the field.” So they both went out into the field.
12 And Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness![a] When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? 13 But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; 15 and do not cut off[b] your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May[c] the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. 19 On the third day go down quickly to the place where you hid yourself when the matter was in hand, and remain beside the stone heap.[d] 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side of it, as though I shot at a mark. 21 And behold, I will send the boy, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I say to the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are on this side of you, take them,’ then you are to come, for, as the Lord lives, it is safe for you and there is no danger. 22 But if I say to the youth, ‘Look, the arrows are beyond you,’ then go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 And as for the matter of which you and I have spoken, behold, the Lord is between you and me forever.”
24 So David hid himself in the field. And when the new moon came, the king sat down to eat food. 25 The king sat on his seat, as at other times, on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat opposite,[e] and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty.
26 Yet Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, “Something has happened to him. He is not clean; surely he is not clean.” 27 But on the second day, the day after the new moon, David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, “Why has not the son of Jesse come to the meal, either yesterday or today?” 28 Jonathan answered Saul, “David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Let me go, for our clan holds a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. So now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away and see my brothers.’ For this reason he has not come to the king's table.”
30 Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said to him, “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.” 32 Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34 And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out into the field to the appointment with David, and with him a little boy. 36 And he said to his boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” As the boy ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. 37 And when the boy came to the place of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry! Be quick! Do not stay!” So Jonathan's boy gathered up the arrows and came to his master. 39 But the boy knew nothing. Only Jonathan and David knew the matter. 40 And Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go and carry them to the city.” 41 And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap[f] and fell on his face to the ground and bowed three times. And they kissed one another and wept with one another, David weeping the most. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, because we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord shall be between me and you, and between my offspring and your offspring, forever.’” And he rose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.[g]
1 Samuel 20:12 Hebrew lacks be witness
1 Samuel 20:15 Or but if I die, do not cut off
1 Samuel 20:16 Septuagint earth, 16let not the name of Jonathan be cut off from the house of David. And may
1 Samuel 20:19 Septuagint; Hebrew the stone Ezel
1 Samuel 20:25 Compare Septuagint; Hebrew stood up
1 Samuel 20:41 Septuagint; Hebrew from beside the south
1 Samuel 20:42 This sentence is 21:1 in Hebrew
1 Samuel 20:1 : ch. 1:19
1 Samuel 20:3 : See Gen. 33:15
1 Samuel 20:3 : ch. 25:26; 2 Kgs. 2:2, 4, 6; 4:30; See Ruth 3:13
1 Samuel 20:5 : ver. 18; Num. 10:10; 28:11
1 Samuel 20:5 : ch. 19:2, 3
1 Samuel 20:6 : ver. 18
1 Samuel 20:6 : ch. 16:4
1 Samuel 20:6 : [ch. 9:12]
1 Samuel 20:7 : ch. 25:17; Esth. 7:7; [ver. 33]
1 Samuel 20:8 : ver. 16, 42; ch. 18:3; 23:18; [2 Sam. 21:7]
1 Samuel 20:8 : 2 Sam. 14:32
1 Samuel 20:9 : [See ver. 7 above]; ch. 25:17; Esth. 7:7; [ver. 33]
1 Samuel 20:13 : [Ruth 1:17]
1 Samuel 20:13 : Josh. 1:5, 17; 1 Kgs. 1:37; 1 Chr. 22:11, 16; [ch. 17:37]
1 Samuel 20:15 : 2 Sam. 9:1, 3, 7; 21:7
1 Samuel 20:16 : [ch. 25:22; Josh. 22:23]
1 Samuel 20:17 : ch. 18:1, 3
1 Samuel 20:18 : ver. 5
1 Samuel 20:18 : ver. 25, 27
1 Samuel 20:21 : ver. 3; See Ruth 3:13
1 Samuel 20:22 : ver. 37
1 Samuel 20:26 : Lev. 7:21; See Lev. 11:24-28; 15:1-4
1 Samuel 20:27 : [ver. 34]
1 Samuel 20:27 : [See ver. 25 above]; ver. 18
1 Samuel 20:32 : ch. 19:5
1 Samuel 20:33 : ch. 18:11; 19:10
1 Samuel 20:42 : ver. 13; ch. 1:17
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Available as an ebook at:
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The Limits of Matter: Chemistry, Mining, and Enlightenment
by Hjalmar Fors
eISBN: 978-0-226-19504-9 | Cloth: 978-0-226-19499-8
Library of Congress Classification BD646.F67 2015
Dewey Decimal Classification 117
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC | REQUEST ACCESSIBLE FILE
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Europeans raised a number of questions about the nature of reality and found their answers to be different from those that had satisfied their forebears. They discounted tales of witches, trolls, magic, and miraculous transformations and instead began looking elsewhere to explain the world around them. In The Limits of Matter, Hjalmar Fors investigates how conceptions of matter changed during the Enlightenment and pins this important change in European culture to the formation of the modern discipline of chemistry.
Fors reveals how, early in the eighteenth century, chemists began to view metals no longer as the ingredients for “chrysopoeia”—or gold making—but as elemental substances, or the basic building blocks of matter. At the center of this emerging idea, argues Fors, was the Bureau of Mines of the Swedish State, which saw the practical and profitable potential of these materials in the economies of mining and smelting.
By studying the chemists at the Swedish Bureau of Mines and their networks, and integrating their practices into the wider European context, Fors illustrates how they and their successors played a significant role in the development of our modern notion of matter and made a significant contribution to the modern European view of reality.
Hjalmar Fors is a researcher and teacher in the Department of History of Science and Ideas at Uppsala University, Sweden.
“In this excellent book, Hjalmar Fors explores the changing domains and deployments of chemistry from roughly 1670 to 1770. While Sweden is central to his account, Fors deftly reintegrates Scandinavia into the wider European scene, such that the book is revelatory also of linked developments in Germany, England, France, and elsewhere. Institutional structures such as the Bureau of Mines and governmental entities play an important role in this story as do key figures such as Urban Hjärne, and Fors compellingly details the intersections of commercial and political interests with the technical, scientific, and social. Fors’s study is a significant contribution to the literature, and one that will certainly provoke discussion and further exploration. The Limits of Matter will be of interest not only to historians of science but also to those of Scandinavia, industrialization, mining, commerce, and of the Enlightenment generally.”
— Lawrence M. Principe, author of The Secrets of Alchemy
“Fors has produced a clever and perceptive study of the chemists working at the seventeenth and eighteenth century Swedish Bureau of Mines, one of the most important centers of technical expertise and administration in early modern Europe. He uses this study to propose a remarkably ambitious and effective reinterpretation of the transformation of the European worldview: the discredit of notions of spirits, witches, and mutable nature, and their displacement by a mechanical and utilitarian system of material elements and technological systems. Fors’s study shows how these fascinating changes were intimately linked with the reorganization of the institutions in which chemical experts plied their trade. As laboratories and government ministries allied themselves in the name of economic development and state power, so the places and the groups amongst which traditional beliefs about magical and occult powers flourished were simultaneously changed. Nor, so Fors urges, was this ever confined to a matter of local concern: rather, his study dramatizes the Europe-wide networks that linked chemical expertise, mining folklore and administrative policy in vividly characterized systems of exchange, debate, and controversy. This brilliant essay establishes itself as a major point of reference for future historical understanding of the relations between knowledge, culture, and society in the early modern world.”
— Simon Schaffer, University of Cambridge
“While philosophers for two centuries have asked what the Enlightenment could be, Hjalmar Fors here excavates it from the files of the Swedish Bureau of Mines and puts it on display. Gnomes and trolls and alchemical transformations, considered still in the early eighteenth century as part of everyday mining experience, were not at first the victims of logical or experimental demonstration, but began to be excluded as impractical, and then as undignified. Modern chemistry was shaped in critical ways by the bureaucratic mobilization of technical knowledge. Fors’ history of this important topic is not merely instructive, but passionate and paradoxical.”
— Theodore M. Porter, University of California, Los Angeles
In this path-breaking study, which examines an astonishing range of knowledge practices—from witchcraft, magic, alchemy, assaying, minerology, and mining—at the dawn of European modernity, Hjalmar Fors masterfully demonstrates the decisive role of the officials of the Swedish Bureau of Mines in defining the nature of reality, of matter and the imagination, of science, and who was authorised to practice it. His command of primary and secondary sources and languages is awe-inspiring. This is a learned, original, and important work that is bound to be a game-changer in 18th-century studies, both in terms of historiography and geography.
— Kapil Raj, École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales
"In the early part of the 18th century, the rise of rational thinking in Europe was marked by a cultural shift that gave voice to the Enlightenment, as the world of the 17th century changed from mysticism to mechanics. There were no 'chymical miracles,' no transmuted lead, no dragons or trolls, no witchcraft or malevolent magic—only the drudgery of experiments done for the nth time, producing reason based on evidence. Base metals were no longer change agents for making gold but, like gold, metallic elements in their own right. Leading the way were Sweden and its Bureau of Mines, an early agent of economic and social change driven by mineral wealth. However, this book is not just about Sweden. Fors offers readers a concise, informed, and scholarly case study in the history of science. In seven crisply written chapters, he describes how these newly inquisitive artisans and engineers pushed the limits of knowledge into unmapped territory. Please be sure to note the elegant dust jacket, subtle and sublime. Kudos to author, publisher, and designer! Highly recommended."
— CHOICE
"Fors has written a meticulously researched study of chemistry and mineralogy in Sweden, especially at the Bureau of Mines in Stockholm, in the period from 1680 to 1760. The Limits of Matter is grounded in a thorough exploration of the archives of the bureau and such other institutions as the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the University of Uppsala. His bibliography and endnotes also provide ample citations to the secondary literature on early modern chemistry in several languages."
— Isis
“[I]f alchemy was not simply delusory or charlatan, why and how did it ‘go under’ in the eighteenth century? And in what ways was its demise connected to those of related supernatural convictions and activities like magic, astrology and the belief in activities and influence of angelic or devilish creatures? And how was the demise of this constellation of associated supernatural beliefs related to/caused by the new epistemic cultural configuration associated with the Enlightenment, in particular, knowledge as public, rational and useful? And how were Enlightenment views of knowledge, in turn associated with/caused by the hegemony, in the eighteenth century, of the bureaucratic, cameralist state and its institutions of learning and industry? Fors gets at all of these issues and questions through the detailed study of a number of late seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century administrators and advisors at the Bureau of Mines.... Many scholars of eighteenth-century chemistry will now have their work cut out for them. All in all, this is a complex, stimulating and important study."
— Seymour Mauskopf, Lychnos: Annual of the Swedish History of Science Society
"Hjalmar Fors’s The Limits of Matter is an erudite and absorbing book. Its general, ambitious aim is that of tracing and delineating a major transition in early modern European culture: the construction and establishment, in the first half of the eighteenth-century, of the “modern notion of materiality.” By the term 'materiality,' Fors identifies a wide intellectual territory, generally comprising sets of beliefs, worldviews and theories about the nature of matter. This is of course a daunting task, which Fors wisely approaches by considering the case of Sweden, in the period between the end of the seventeenth-century and the first half of the eighteenth-century."
— Cesare Pastorino, Bulletin for the History of Chemistry
"Fors moves in a fascinating way from the details of the Bureau of Mines and its developments during 100 years to the political and societal situation in Sweden in the late 17th and early 18th century to a general discussion of how the modern notion of matter emerged, and how these men made an important contribution to European views of reality and the development of the Enlightenment. The book should be of interest not only to specialists in its field but to a wider range of economists, geologists and mining engineers who want to ground their specific knowledge on a wider understanding of the present discourse among historians of science."
— Magnus Ericsson, Mineral Economics
"In the history of chemistry, so often focused on work with gases in England and France, Swedish mineralogists have long been characterized as peripheral, if overachieving, innovators. Through its detailed exploration of the establishment of mineralogical chemistry at the cosmopolitan Bureau of Mines, Fors’s book foregrounds the rich intellectual milieu of eighteenth-century Sweden and reestablishes Swedish chemists’ collective contributions and influence within our understanding of early modern natural philosophy."
— Charlotte A. Abney Salomon, Endeavour
"Hjalmar Fors offers us an intriguing and powerful account of the origins of chemistry as exhibited in the practical, economically driven concern of the Swedish Bureau of Mines with the identification, purification and profitable extraction of metals in the middle decades of the eighteenth century....there is little doubt that Fors’s thoughtful and innovative analysis helps to provide a foundation upon which a new history of the origins of chemistry in the eighteenth century can be built."
— David Philip Miller, Annals of Science
"[A] very interesting contribution to the history of chemistry in that it fully considers several neglected aspects of chemical science in the Enlightenment."
— Ferdinando Abbri, Nuncius
"The origin of the concept of the chemical element has been a topic of historical debate since the beginning of the history of science. Hjalmar Fors has written a fascinating book, which places this debate within the context of eighteenth- century Swedish mining culture....This is a well researched and a subtly argued book that I highly recommend to anyone interested early modern chemistry, mining, or materials in the European Enlightenment."
— John Powers, Early Science and Medicine
"Mapping the social dynamics within and around the Bureau of Mines in eighteenth-century Sweden, The Limits of Matter contributes to a new image of Enlightenment chemistry."
— Francesco G. Sacco, The British Journal for the History of Science
"It is unusual for a book on the history of chemistry to open with an account of a witch trial, but this is only one of a number of original ideas mobilized by Hjalmar Fors in his history of the Swedish Bureau of Mines (the Bergskol- legium) in the 17th and 18th century. Indeed, the author’s desire to engage the reader and get his message across makes the book a much more enjoyable read than most contributions to this field....while the 17th and 18th century constitute a well-explored period in the history of chemistry, by his choice of subject and his way of dealing with it, Fors breaks new ground. Thus, he offers us an accessible and informative book centered on the Swedish Bureau of Mines that represents not only an excellent contribution to the field of the history of chemistry but also a noteworthy contribution to the history of early modern science in general."
— Jonathan Simon, Centaurus
1 Introduction: The Edges of the Map
2 Of Witches, Trolls, and Inquisitive Men
3 Chymists in the Mining Business
4 From Curious to Ingenious Knowledge
5 Elements of Enlightenment
6 Capturing the Laughing Gnome
7 Conclusion: Material Reality and the Enlightenment
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See other books on: 17th Century | 18th Century | Enlightenment | Limits | Mining
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eISBN: 978-0-226-19504-9
Cloth: 978-0-226-19499-8
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Calhoun, Craig
Internationalism and Its Betrayal
by Micheline R. Ishay
foreword by Craig Calhoun
Paper: 978-0-8166-2470-6
Library of Congress Classification JC362.I73 1995
Dewey Decimal Classification 320.54
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Internationalism and Its Betrayal was first published in 1995. Minnesota Archive Editions uses digital technology to make long-unavailable books once again accessible, and are published unaltered from the original University of Minnesota Press editions.
A new world order, proclaimed Western leaders after the cold war, could extend liberal democracy and human rights around the globe. Yet the specter of nationalism once again haunts the world, threatening to extinguish the spirit of internationalism.
Although internationalism is typically understood to be diametrically opposed to nationalism, Micheline Ishay argues to the contrary, maintaining that internationalism often incorporates an individualist element that manifests itself as nationalism during critical periods such as war. For example, the new liberal internationalism invoked after the cold war is now revealing its limits-as reflected by the UN's inability to interfere promptly to stop ethnic and nationalist conflicts in Bosnia, Rwanda, and elsewhere.
Internationalism and Its Betrayal explores the tensions and contradictions between ideas of nationalism and internationalism, focusing on the major political thinkers from the early modern period into the nineteenth century. Ishay examines the writings of Vico, Grotius, Rousseau, Kant, Paine, Robespierre, Burke, Fichte, de Maistre, and Hegel. She speaks to an audience of individuals interested in the spread of democracy, students of human rights and international relations, historians of the French Revolution, and political theorists.
Micheline Ishay was born in Tel Aviv, and raised in Israel, Luxembourg, and Brussels, Belgium. She is currently assistant professor at the Graduate School of International Studies at Denver University, where she is also serving as director of the human rights program and executive director of the Center on Rights Development. She is coeditor of The Nationalism Reader (1994).
Craig Calhoun is professor of sociology and history and director of the University Center for International Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the editor of the Contradictions of Modernity series for the University of Minnesota Press.
Craig Calhoun is the University Professor of the Social Sciences at New York University. He is also President of the Social Science Research Council.
See other books on: Calhoun, Craig | History | Internationalism | Nationalism | Political Science
See other titles from University of Minnesota Press
Nearby on shelf for Political theory. The state. Theories of the state / Forms of the state:
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Political & Legal
New King Palmers
5 (1 rating by Goodreads)
By (author) Peter Cowlam
Winner of the 2018 Quagga Prize for Literary Fiction. Set in the late 1990s, in the months up to and after the death of Princess Diana, New King Palmers is narrated by its principal character Humfrey Joel, a close friend of Earl Eliot d'Oc. The earl's ancestry is bound up with the Habsburgs and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. D'Oc is a member of the British Privy Council and a close friend of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. In the months preceding Diana's death, he commissions a young theatre professional to develop a play. The play's theme is constitutional issues surrounding Prince Charles, with the heir's interests served by UK withdrawal from the EU, before it becomes a federal superstate. The commissioned play is called New King Palmers, and d'Oc maintains rigorous editorial control over it. When d'Oc's death shortly follows Diana's, Joel is named as d'Oc's literary executor, with the task of bringing the play to the English stage. Supposedly written into the text is an encoded message from the British Privy Council on behalf of the House of Windsor, addressed to the stewards of the EU. When news of this leaks out no one in the British literary and theatrical worlds believes it. In fact most come to see Earl d'Oc as an invented character behind which Joel shields himself, when his own motives are themselves sinister. So sinister, an MI5 spook is put on the case.
Publication date 15 Jul 2016
Publisher CentreHouse Press
Publication City/Country Totnes, United Kingdom
Illustrations note black & white illustrations
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The Nowhere Child
4 (6,104 ratings by Goodreads)
By (author) Christian White
Available. Dispatched from Australia in 3 business days
'Her name is Sammy Went. This photo was taken on her second birthday. Three days later she was gone.'
On a break between teaching photography classes in Melbourne, Kim Leamy is approached by a stranger investigating the disappearance of a little girl from her Kentucky home twenty-eight years earlier. He believes Kim is that girl.
At first she brushes it off, but when Kim scratches the surface of her family history in Australia, questions arise that aren't easily answered. To find the truth, she must travel to Sammy's home of Manson, Kentucky, and into a dark past. As the mystery of Sammy's disappearance unravels and the town's secrets are revealed, this superb novel builds towards an electrifying climax.
Inspired by Gillian Flynn's frenetic suspense and Stephen King's masterful world-building, THE NOWHERE CHILD is a combustible tale of trauma, cult, conspiracy and memory. It is the remarkable debut of Christian White, an exhilarating new Australian talent.
Publication date 26 Feb 2019
Publisher Affirm Press
Publication City/Country Mulgrave, VIC, Australia
Bestsellers rank 371
Hugely entertaining ... a multifaceted, unsettling debut. - The Age
Tight, gripping and impressive in all the right places. - The Saturday Paper
About Christian White
Christian White is an Australian author and screenwriter whose debut novel, The Nowhere Child, became an instant bestseller when it was published in 2018. An early draft of this novel won the 2017 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for an Unpublished Manuscript, and rights were quickly sold into seventeen countries. He also co-wrote Relic, a psychological horror feature film currently in production, to be produced by Carver Films (The Snowtown Murders, Partisan).
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'ROUND MIDNIGHT: THE MATTHEW EMPSON TRIO
20 July | 11.15pm
Every Friday and Saturday, following the 9.15PM ticketed event earlier that night, our distinctive cabaret space will play host to this late-night music show.
With a different band each day, playing from around 11.00pm until 12.30am, the diverse line-up will champion the likes of Blues, Jazz, Swing, Cuban, Calypso, Americana, African Highlife and everything in between.
Please do not book tickets. This show is completely free of charge with no reservation required. Entry will be on a first come, first served basis.
THE MATTHEW EMPSON TRIO
After taking up piano at age eight, Matt was baptised into the world of Blues and Soul music via his father's vinyl collection and school nights spent in smoke-filled jazz clubs. He'd found his calling and by age fourteen Matt began honing his piano and vocal skills playing short interval sets at the same clubs.
Now a virtuoso singer/pianist, Matt has performed all over the world, played with Eric Clapton, supported Van Morrison and played for Mick Jagger at a Rolling Stones end of tour party. Matt also had the curious privilege of playing one of his heroes in the West End show Million Dollar Quartet - wild rock and roll legend Jerry Lee Lewis.
Whether belting out a Ray Charles stomper or singing Bob Dylan in the languid late-night style of Sam Cooke, Matt's brand of Soul and Jazz always reaches for the heart and the truth of the music.
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‘Lost’ boy who ran off when police were called has been identified
Concerns were raised about the youngster after he approached a member of the public in Easton
Alex Ballinger
16:48, 6 SEP 2017
The police have identified a young boy who told a member of the public he was lost before he ran off.
Concerns were raised for the boy’s welfare after he approached someone in Easton at around 7.30pm on Monday, September 4.
The boy said he was lost but ran away when the police were called.
Bishopston Sainsbury's broken into just two weeks after burglary
Officers issued a public appeal for any information about the boy after he was believed to have been dropped off by a relative in a red Mercedes AMG near Beaumont Street.
The boy has been and is safe and sound
The boy had told the member of the public that he was visiting his aunt in Bristol from Birmingham, but police have now found him.
Avon and Somerset Police confirmed on Wednesday afternoon (September 6) that they had identified the boy and that he is safe and well.
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Harsha
Indian emperor
Alternative Titles: Harṣa, Harshavardhana
Harsha, also spelled Harṣa, also called Harshavardhana, (born c. 590 ce—died c. 647), ruler of a large empire in northern India from 606 to 647 ce. He was a Buddhist convert in a Hindu era. His reign seemed to mark a transition from the ancient to the medieval period, when decentralized regional empires continually struggled for hegemony.
The second son of Prabhakaravardhana, king of Sthanvishvara (Thanesar, in the eastern Punjab), Harsha was crowned at age 16 after the assassination of his elder brother, Rajyavardhana, and an encouraging “communication” with a statue of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. He soon made an alliance with King Bhaskaravarman of Kamarupa and warred against King Shashanka of Gauda, his brother’s assassin. At first he did not assume the title of king but merely acted as a regent; after making his position secure, however, he declared himself sovereign ruler of Kannauj (in Uttar Pradesh state) and formally transferred his capital to that city. Though never defeating Shashanka, his large army waged incessant warfare for six years, conquering the “five Indies”—thought to be Valabhi, Magadha, Kashmir, Gujarat, and Sindh. His influence extended from Gujarat to Assam, but the area directly under his control probably comprised no more than modern Uttar Pradesh state, with parts of Punjab and Rajasthan states. He attempted to conquer the Deccan (c. 620) but was driven back to the Narmada River by the Chalukya emperor Pulakeshin II. Bringing most of the north under his hegemony, Harsha apparently made no attempt at building a centralized empire but ruled according to the traditional pattern, leaving conquered kings on their thrones and contenting himself with tribute and homage.
Harsha is known mainly through the works of Bana, whose Harṣacarita (“Deeds of Harsha”) describes Harsha’s early career, and of the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang, who became a personal friend of the king, though his opinions are questionable because of his strong Buddhist ties with Harsha. Xuanzang depicts the emperor as a convinced Mahayana Buddhist, though in the earlier part of his reign Harsha appears to have supported orthodox Hinduism. He is described as a model ruler—benevolent, energetic, just, and active in the administration and prosperity of his empire. In 641 he sent an envoy to the Chinese emperor and established the first diplomatic relations between India and China. He established benevolent institutions for the benefit of travelers, the poor, and the sick throughout his empire. He held quinquennial assemblies at the confluence of the Ganges (Ganga) and Yamuna (Jumna) rivers at Allahabad, at which he distributed treasures he had accumulated during the previous four years. A patron of men of learning, Harsha sponsored the chronicler Bana and the lyric poet Mayura. Himself a poet, Harsha composed three Sanskrit works: Nāgānanda, Ratnāvalī, and Priyadarśikā.
A period of anarchy, or at least a splintering of his empire, followed Harsha’s death, with the later Guptas ruling over a portion of it.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Maren Goldberg, Assistant Editor.
India: Successor states
…status during the reign of Harsha (Harsavardhana). Sthanvishvara (Thanesar) appears to have been a small principality, probably under the suzerainty of the Guptas. Harsha came to the throne in 606 and ruled for 41 years. The first of the major historical biographies in Sanskrit, the Harshacarita (“Deeds of Harsha”), was…
South Asian arts: The theatre
To the 7th-century king Harṣa of Kanauj are attributed three charming plays: Ratnāvalī and Priyadarśikā, both of which are of the harem type; and Nāgānanda (“The Joy of the Serpents”), inspired by Buddhism and illustrating the generosity of the snake deity Jīmūtavāhana.…
Uttar Pradesh: The Buddhist-Hindu period
A later famous ruler, Harsha (reigned c. 606–647), was based within the state’s present borders. From his capital at Kanyakubja (present-day Kannauj), he was able to control the whole of Uttar Pradesh as well as parts of what are now Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, and Rajasthan.…
Ancient History Encyclopedia - Harsha
IndiaNetzone - Harsha Vardhan, Indian Emperor
ILoveIndia.com - Biography of Harshavardhan
Cultural India - History of India - Biography of Harshavardhan
Harsha - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)
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Tay Son Brothers
Vietnamese rebels
Tay Son Brothers, collective name for Nguyen Hue (b. c. 1752—d. 1792), Nguyen Nhac (b. c. 1752—d. Dec. 16, 1793), and Nguyen Lu (b. c. 1752—d. 1792); the name was derived from their home village, Tay Son, Vietnam.
They were the leaders from 1771 of an insurrection that was initially local in character but became a national movement known as the Tay Son rebellion. By 1778 the brothers were dominant in central and southern Vietnam, and they finally overcame their opponents in northern Vietnam in 1786–87. The revolt initially had a broad social base, drawing from peasant and merchant classes, and sought political and social reforms. The brothers have been regarded by many historians as precursors of the 20th-century Vietnamese nationalist movement.
Nguyen Hue (later Emperor Quang Trung), the youngest and most capable of the brothers, overthrew the imperial Le dynasty (see Later Le dynasty) and the two rival feudal houses of the Nguyen in the south and the Trinh in the north, reuniting all of Vietnam. Reigning from about 1788 to 1793, the brothers each governed a portion of Vietnam. Nguyen Hue ruled in the north, and in 1788–89 he led a peasant army to victory over invading Chinese forces.
Although the brothers initiated some reforms, they failed to attack the basic evils of the landownership system, and their following became disillusioned and drifted away. Nguyen Anh (later Emperor Gia Long), the last surviving member of the Nguyen dynasty, defeated the brothers successively in 1792–93. By 1802, with the help of French armaments, Gia Long had eliminated the descendants of the Tay Sons.
Later Le Dynasty
Later Le Dynasty, (1428–1788), the greatest and longest lasting dynasty of traditional Vietnam. Its predecessor, the Earlier Le, was founded by Le Hoan and lasted from 980 to 1009. The Later Le was established when its founder, Le Loi, began a resistance movement against the Chinese armies…
Vietnam: Two divisions of Dai Viet
The Tay Sons overthrew the southern regime in 1777 and killed the ruling family. While the Tay Sons waged war against the north, one member of the southern royal family—Nguyen Anh, who had escaped the massacre—regained control of Saigon and the deep south in 1778, but…
Vietnam, country occupying the eastern portion of mainland Southeast Asia. Tribal Viets inhabiting the Red River delta entered written history when China’s southward expansion reached them in the 3rd century bce. From that time onward, a dominant theme of Vietnam’s history has been interaction with…
Nguyen Dynasty
Trung Sisters
Tran Dynasty
Later Ly dynasty
Trinh Family
Mac Family
Rothschild family
GlobalSecurity.org - Tay Son Uprising (1776-1802)
Academia - Brothers in arms: the Tay Son uprising
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Brown's Program in Literary Arts provides a home for innovative writers of fiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, literary translation, electronic writing and mixed media.
Program in Literary Arts
Modern Culture and Media
Theatre Arts and Performance Studies
The concentration allows student writers to develop their skills in one or more genres while deepening their understanding of the craft of writing. Many courses in this concentration require a writing sample; students should consult a concentration advisor or the concentration website for strategies on getting into the appropriate course(s).
Develop an understanding of literary theory and literary genres
Learn to critique their own and others
Expand their aesthetic sensibility by working in more than one medium
Cultivate critical acumen and fluency
Produce a substantial body of creative work
Student Leaders: Grace Layer, Mirabella Roberts
Alumni of Brown's program in Literary Arts are now fiction writers, poets, playwrights, artists of literary hypermedia, and university teachers of creative writing and literature. Alumni have won the MacArthur Fellowship, a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award, an Obie, O. Henry Awards, a National Book Award, and many others. Books by Literary Arts alumni have been published by dozens of publishers, such as Routledge, Doubleday, Penguin, Random House, McMillan, Knopf, New York University Press, and Oxford University Press. Plays and musicals by alumni have been produced at the Trinity Repertory Company, the Kennedy Center, on National Public Radio, in the New York Shakespeare Festival and by the Los Angeles Modern Dance and Ballet.
What are Literary Arts concentrators doing...
Director of Undergraduate Studies/Advisor: Peter Nelson
Open details for Literary Arts
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Is China really that important?
By Dave Lowery2011-03-04T09:16:19.68+00:00
China is a big country and it has a massive population, the bulk of which still lives in its vast countryside. Its industrialisation since the 1970’s has been continuous and has transformed the world’s most populous nation into the world’s second largest economy. During 2010 it overtook Japan and its GDP was $5.9tn.
Development on this scale has had massive consequences, not just internally but also on the rest of the world. It’s not exaggerating to say that China could be the single biggest driver of world economic growth for the next 20 years.
This growth is likely to see massive spending internally as the Chinese government invests in long term infrastructure projects, which will help provide housing, power, transport links and clean water.
Previously, the government had targeted GDP growth of around 10% as part of its ongoing series of ‘5 year plans’, with these plans taking little consideration of the environmental impacts of the growth.
Now, it is targeting growth of around 7% - 7.5% over the next five years and it will also place a greater emphasis on the environment. Despite this desire to slowdown the rate of growth in China, the sheer size and scale of the projects needed are massive.
Such strong growth from a massive country results in impressive statistics:
354 million people will move from the countryside into Chinese cities between 2005 and 2025
There will be 221 Chinese cities with more than one million inhabitants in 2025 – in Europe there are currently 35 such cities
50,000 skyscrapers could be built up to 2025 – equivalent to ten New York cities
It is investment on this huge scale which has meant that China has and will continue to act as a vacuum for the commodities it needs in order to build the infrastructure it requires.
Firms now sourcing materials in a global market are competing with a cashed up financial powerhouse and in a competition like that, there will only ever be one winner. The upshot is that whatever the Chinese are willing or able to pay for resources, that will become the global benchmark price.
The impact on the UK is likely to be negative. Higher costs will combine with flat or falling tender prices and result in lower margins – not just in construction but also in other industries. Nowhere is immune to the potentially higher costs. But construction firms could feel the pinch more than others as there is no pricing power and clients are unwilling to foot the bill.
It’s a reality that will not go away and one which will take some adjusting to – on all sides.
Chinas impact on materials prices
Decline in Chinese property causes fears of collapse
Drop in property demand could affect steel and copper prices
Health bosses start race to replace P22 deal with £20bn framework
New initiative will be called P2020
Former Rok boss Garvis Snook dies
Former boss of collapsed contractor had been chairman of bathroom installer Meddo
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Trustee System
In the exercise of her inherent right of administering property, the Church often appoints deputies who are responsible to herself. Technically, such administrators, whether cleric or lay, are called the "fabric" of the Church. In very early times ecclesiastical goods were divided into three or four portions, and that part set aside for the upkeep of the Church began to take on the character of a juridical person. The Eleventh Council of Carthage (can. ii) in 407 requested the civil power to appoint five executors for ecclesiastical property, and in the course of time laymen were called on to take their share in this administration, with the understanding, however, that everything was to be done in the name and with the approbation of the Church. A number of early and medieval synods have dealt with the administration of curators of ecclesiastical property, e.g. can. vii, Conc. Bracar. (563); can. xxxviii, Conc. Mogunt. (813); can. x, Conc. Mogunt. (847); can. xxxv, Conc. Nation. Wirceburg. (1287). The employment of laymen in concert with clerics as trustees became common all over Christendom. In England such officials were called churchwardens. They were generally two in number, one being chosen by the parish priest, the other by the parishioners, and with them were associated others called sidesmen. The churchwardens administered the temporalities of the parish under the supervision of the bishop, to whom they were responsible. An annual report on the administration of church property was made obligatory in all countries by the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII, can. ix, "De Ref."): "The administrators, whether ecclesiastical or lay, of the fabric of any church whatsoever, even though it be a cathedral, as also of any hospital, confratemity, charitable institution called mont de piété , and of any pious places whatsoever, shall be bound to give in once a year an account of their administration to the Ordinary."
At the present time, the Church nowhere absolutely forbids the employment of laymen in the administration of ecclesiastical property , but endeavours, generally by means of concordats, to have her own laws and principles carried out on this subject when laymen are among the trustees. According to the present discipline, the fabric of the church is distinct from the foundation of the benefice, and sometimes the fabric, in addition to the goods destined for the upkeep of divine worship, possesses also schools and eleemosynary institutions (S.C.C., 27 Apr., 1895, in caus. Bergom.). All lay trustees must be approved by the bishop, and he retains the right of removing them and of overseeing the details of their administration. In countries in which the church organization was entirely swept away in the troubles of the Reformation period, as in the British Isles, laymen are not generally employed as trustees at the present day. For the trustee System, as far as it can be called such, in use in the Catholic Church in England and Ireland see Taunton, "The Law of the Church", pp. 15, 316. In Holland, laymen were admitted to a share in the administration of church temporalities by a decree of the Propaganda (21 July, 1856). The bishop is to nominate the members of the board, over which the parish priest is to preside. Trustees hold office for four years and may be reappointed at the expiration of that term. When a vacancy occurs the board presents two names to the bishop, from which he selects one. In necessary cases the bishop may dismiss any member and even dissolve the entire board of trustees. In this instance, as in all others where laymen are in question, the Holy See is careful to guard the prescriptions of the sacred canons as to the management and ownership of church goods [see ADMINISTRATOR (OF ECCLESIASTICAL PROPERTY)].
In the United States the employment of lay trustees was customary in some parts of the country from a very early period. Dissensions sometimes arose with the ecclesiastical authorities, and the Holy See has intervened to restore peace (see HENRY CONWELL; ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA; ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK). Pius VII vindicated (24 Aug., 1822) the rights of the Church as against the pretensions of the trustees, and Gregory XVI declared (12 Aug., 1841): "We wish all to know that the office of trustees is entirely dependent upon the authority of the bishop, and that consequently the trustees can undertake nothing except with the approval of the ordinary." The Third Plenary Council of Baltimore (Tit. IX, no.287) laid down certain regulations concerning trustees: It belongs to the bishop to judge of the necessity of constituting them, their number and manner of appointment; their names are to be proposed to the bishop by the parish rector ; the appointment is to be made in writing and is revocable at the will of the bishop ; the trustees selected should be men who have made their Easter duty, who contribute to the support of the Church, who send their children to Catholic schools, and who are not members of prohibited societies ; nothing can be done at a board meeting except by the consent of the rector who presides; in case of disagreement between the trustees and the rector, the judgment of the bishop must be accepted. A decree of the Congregation of the Council (29 July, 1911) declares that the vesting of the title to church property in a board of trustees is a preferable legal form, and that in constituting such boards in the United States the best method is that in use in New York, by which the Ordinary, his vicar-general, the parish priest, and two laymen approved by the bishop form the corporation (see ECCLESIASTICAL PROPERTY IN THE U.S.).
The legal standing of church trustees according to British law is treated by Taunton, "The Law of the Church", pp.15, 315. In the United States the legal rights of trustees vary slightly in different States, but the following prescriptions (selected from Scanlan, "The Law of Church and Grave") hold almost everywhere: When the statute provides that two lay members of the corporation shall be appointed annually by the committee of the congregation, the members of the congregation have no right to elect said two members, and those appointed in the proper manner are lawful officers. When the election of new trustees is invalid, the old trustees hold over until there shall have been a valid election of their successors. The president and secretary of a church corporation have no authority to make a promissory note unless authorized by the board of trustees. When the laws of the organization give control of matters to the board of trustees, the majority of the members of the church cannot control the action of the trustees contrary to the uses and regulations of the church. A court has no authority to control the exercise of the judgment or discretion of the officers of a church in the management of its funds so long as they do not violate its constitutions or by-laws. Excommunication does not always remove an officer of a church corporation. The legal rights of a bishop in regard to the temporalities of a church, where they are not prescribed by the civil law, must rest, if at all, upon the ecclesiastical law, which must be determined by evidence. When property is conveyed to a church having well-known doctrine, faith, and practice, a majority of the members has not the authority or power, by reason of a change of religions views, to carry the property thus designated to a new and different doctrine. The title to church property is in that part of the congregation which acts in harmony with the law of the denomination; and the ecclesiastical laws and principles which were accepted before the dispute began are the standard for determining which party is right.
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'I would rather use my vaporizer': Medical pot users say clinical proof could help fight stigma
While moving to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, Toronto Public Health acknowledges that there may be therapeutic benefits associated with cannabis. Still, some medical marijuana users and producers say there is a lack of definitive scientific evidence.
Some say pot helps treat everything from PTSD to multiple sclerosis, HIV-AIDS and even cancer
Philip Lee-Shanok · CBC News · Posted: May 31, 2016 5:00 AM ET | Last Updated: May 31, 2016
Mark Zekulin is president of Tweed Marijuana Inc., one of the big players in medical marijuana production. The Smith Falls, Ontario operation is one of the first licensed marijuana companies in Canada to go public. (CBC)
While moving to regulate medical marijuana dispensaries in the city, Toronto Public Health acknowledges that there may be therapeutic benefits associated with cannabis, such as help with pain relief, nausea and inflammation.
That acknowledgement comes in a report considered and endorsed by the Toronto Board of Health on Monday, which calls on the federal government to use a public health approach to regulating the drug.
The claims around what marijuana can specifically treat, and even cure are broad, ranging from anxiety to PTSD to Multiple Sclerosis, HIV-AIDS, glaucoma, even cancer. Still, the problem when it comes to how it's being used and accessed, say researchers and medical marijuana producers, is a relatively low volume of definitive clinical research.
Terry Remaine uses cannabis to relieve muscle spasms caused by Multiple Sclerosis instead of the pharmaceuticals. But she got the same excuse when she first tried to get a prescription for marijuana.
"I'm seen by an M.S. clinic, but they will not prescribe [pot] because they say it hasn't been clinically trialed," she says. "They can give me medication, but I would rather use my [marijuana] vaporizer. The medication makes me drowsy."
Toronto looks to Vancouver for help licensing medical marijuana dispensaries
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Provinces lost 'in the weeds' on medical marijuana dispensaries, Premier Kathleen Wynne says
Riley McGee, a former soldier living in Edmonton, served in Afghanistan and uses marijuana to treat Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He's with Marijuana For Trauma Inc., a company that seeks to provide veterans with access to medical marijuana.
"What it really helps me with is it levels my mood and it helps me focus, with PTSD can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster. You can get angry or agitated quickly," he says.
He says more scientific studies on the effectiveness of cannabis could counter value judgements, biases and stigma.
However, giving pot to veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder directly contradicts the military's stance on the issue. The Canadian Forces has said there's not enough proof to authorize marijuana as a treatment for PTSD and that some evidence suggests it could be harmful.
And the Canadian Medical Association has not endorsed the prescribing of medical cannabis for therapeutic purposes due to lack of evidence related to the drug's efficacy, harms, and mechanism of action.
While there is anecdotal evidence cannabis can be effective for chronic pain management, there are very few large long-term studies to back up claims, say researchers.
'Green rush'
"Humans have never had a panacea in terms of something that will cure such a wide range of conditions as has been claimed," says M-J Milloy, an Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia, who researches how Canadians are using cannabis as medicine.
But he says there are a number of promising small studies that show that marijuana could be a substitute for opioids, treat cancer, even shrink inflammation caused by HIV-AIDS and a broad range of other conditions.
"What we need now is human studies to really determine the effectiveness of cannabis for these conditions," he says.
In the midst of a "green rush" as investors look to get into the marijuana industry — medical and otherwise — some say a portion of the money rolling in should be earmarked for research.
"Some of the funding should definitely come from industry and we are seeing that, along with government," says Pradyum Sekar, co-founder of Lift Resource Centre, which organizes the Cannabis Expo, a national marijuana industry trade show.
"But interested parties that would want to see cannabis having more clinical-based evidence should put more effort and resources into it."
A person was dressed up as a marijuana leaf at the Lift Cannabis Expo at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto on the weekend. (CBC)
Tweed Marijuana Inc. is one of the big players in medical marijuana production. The Smith Falls, Ont., operation is one of the first licensed marijuana companies in Canada to go public.
Company president Mark Zekulin says they are committed to taking on a leadership role when it comes to research.
"This product has been prohibited for so long that there just hasn't been the basic research that we would all like, so we are funding clinical trials. We are funding research partnerships with universities."
He says the medical community is more used to dealing with big pharmaceutical companies.
"They are used to seeing a certain thing which is pharmaceutical pills. And this is different. And there is some evidence, but they want to see more. And it's incumbent on us to build that."
While he admits that soon people won't need a medical reason or a prescription to acquire cannabis, even with full legalization around the bend, he says scientific evidence could dispel some of the ongoing skepticism people who use cannabis as medicine routinely face.
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