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Accademia di Vino
About ADV
Chef Biography
Owner Profile
Anthony Mazzola, Managing Partner/Proprietor of Accademia di Vino, is a Bronx native with a rich Italian heritage and esteemed gastronomic background. Anthony brings his proven reputation for tradition and excellence to his latest concept, the spacious and evocative Accademia di Vino. Having won over New York’s east side with the first location, Anthony opened the second Accademia di Vino on Broadway in 2009.
Influencing his future success, good food featured largely in Anthony’s early life. His parents emigrated from the town of Leonforte in southern Sicily. His mother, having cooked for a prominent Sicilian family before coming to America, and his father, proprietor of a fresh pasta, ravioli and salumeria store in the Bronx, laid the foundation for an innate love of food. “We never knew we were poor,” he recounts “there was always good food on the table, every night.”
Always an entrepreneur, Anthony opened his first retail wine-and-liquor store by the age of 25, eventually amassing a total of eight retail wine-and-liquor stores in the tri-state area. The showcase among them was the highly regarded, and much frequented, Sutton Wine Shop on 57th and 1st Avenue.
Deciding it was time to pursue a new goal he sold his retail operations and moved to Rome, Italy where he researched the idea of owning his own vineyard and producing his own wine. Over the next two years he traveled extensively, exploring the wines and foods unique to every region of Italy.
Understanding that his soul would always be in Italy, but he belonged at home in New York, he returned. Eager to share his inspiration, he launched into restaurant ownership. First with Ouest, along with Chef Tom Valenti, he achieved an unprecedented success for fine dining on the Upper West Side. With an eye for a unique opportunity and knowing the importance of firsthand experience, Anthony then traveled throughout the southern U.S. experiencing its many forms of BBQ. As a result Big Bubbas was established at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, CT, bringing authentic southern cuisine north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Next he returned to his roots and opened ‘Cesca on W. 75th Street, an upscale Italian dining experience that was an immediate success by both popular and critical standards.
And today, with two Accademia di Vino locations joining ‘Cesca, all three New York restaurants benefit from Anthony’s annual trips back to Italy. He continues to explore the authentic Italian tastes and traditions that inspire exciting new additions to each menu. Make a date to get to know Accademia di Vino… and Anthony. He’ll be there to welcome you, so join us soon!
Accademia di Vino is an Italian restaurant and wine bar located on Third Avenue at 63rd Street offering an impressive wine list of some 800 bottles and a dynamic wine-by-the-glass program with over 50 wines. There’s even a Wine School with weekly wine classes. And don’t miss the Accademia di Vino West-Side experience. Please plan to visit our Broadway location soon!
Contact us for more information on either location:
For our East-Side Accademia di Vino location, please contact Wine Director, Michael Doctor, at doctor@accademiadivino.com, or General Manager, John Fanning, at fanning@accademiadivino.com.
For our West-Side Accademia di Vino location, please call Carlo Stanisci or David Patten at 212-787-3070.
Anthony Mazzola
Managing Partner/Proprietor
Nutrition and Emotions: How income affects your food choice
Places To Eat and Drinks in New York
1081 THIRD AVENUE
© 2010 ACCADEMIA DI VINO
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ExposeFacts
Myths of Pakistani Election
JUNAID AHMAD, junaidsahmad at gmail.com
Ahmad is assistant professor at the University of Lahore in Pakistan, and Secretary-General of the International Movement for a Just World. See Ahmed’s interviews on The Real News.
He said today: “With more than 100 million eligible voters, Pakistan is witnessing one of its most highly contested elections ever. And democratic elections are important here, since half the country’s history has been under military rule.
“The cricketer-turned politician [Imran Khan] and his political party, PTI (‘The Movement for Justice’) stand a good chance in putting a significant dent in the PML(N) dominated by the Sharif family and their single party dominance of the influential Punjab over the past few decades.
“In all of Western mainstream and even alternative media, there’s the simplistic and erroneous narrative advanced that claims Khan is just riding on the coattails of the military. It actually may be the reverse, i.e. the military is exploiting the popular political campaign of Khan.
“But the Western political establishment, along with the rulers in New Delhi and Riyadh, love who they deem (not without merit) their businessman puppet-partner Nawaz Sharif — now jailed in Pakistan for being implicated in gross corruption. The Western press couldn’t seem to help itself in regurgitating nonstop this past week how this is the ‘dirtiest election’ ever in Pakistan’s history. In fact, it’s deemed so ‘dirty’ because the wrong guy, i.e. Khan, who has taken forceful positions against Pakistan’s involvement in the U.S./NATO ‘war on terror,’ stands a chance of winning or at least having his party gain enormously.
“However, defeating PML(N)’s stranglehold over the political life of Pakistan’s most influential and populous province, the Punjab, is certainly a Herculean task for Khan and his PTI.
“The other political parties, including secular ones like the PPP or ANP, as well as some religious parties, may become more significant in the context of a hung parliament where coalitions will be necessary.”
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« Low-Level Employee At Nuke Tech Plant Steals Aluminum Tubes, Information About Uranium Enrichment To Sell To Foreign Buyers | Main | Terror Bombing Kills 50 In Pakistan, Including Chinese Workers »
Bible-Level Mega-Flood Separated Britain From Europe
Dude, those maps in the beginning of every Conan book? Totally real.
A flood of biblical proportions cut the British Isles off from mainland Europe sometime between 450,000 and 200,000 years ago, according to a new study.
The research, based on three-dimensional sonar mapping of the English Channel, provides the strongest evidence yet that a catastrophic megaflood broke a land bridge that once connected what is now Britain and France.
"It is probably one of the largest floods ever identified," said Phillip Gibbard, a geographer at the University of Cambridge who wasn't involved in the study.
At its peak, the flood would have discharged water at a rate of about 264 million gallons (a million cubic meters) a second, gushing at speeds of up to 62 miles (100 kilometers) an hour, the researchers say. This is roughly equivalent to ten times the combined flow rate of all the rivers in the world.
The flood also marooned many animals and plants, so those species gradually evolved into different forms than their mainland cousins.
And humans appear to have avoided the newly made island altogether, leaving it unoccupied for over a hundred thousand years.
The great flood could help explain why Britain remained an uninhabited region for a large chunk of the archaeological record.
"There seems to be a large gap in the evidence for human occupation [of Britain] during cold and warm phases from about 180,000 until about 60,000 years ago," said Nicholas Ashton, an archaeologist at the British Museum in London.
"It wasn't until 60,000 years ago," Ashton said, "that humans—late Neanderthals—had the technological capabilities, such as more effective clothing and shelter, to survive the cold conditions."
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Selling Exhibition of Key Modern British Sculpture at Robert Bowman Modern
Robert Bowman Modern presents works by the key modern British sculptors.
LONDON.- Robert Bowman Modern is holding a selling exhibition of Modern British Sculpture. On view until April 7, 2011, the show coincides with that of their neighbour the Royal Academy who is hosting its first 20th-Century British Sculpture exhibition for 30 years.
Robert Bowman Modern presents works by the key modern British sculptors including Kenneth Armitage, Michael Ayrton, Jacob Epstein, Elizabeth Frink, Barbara Hepworth and Leon Underwood.
The exhibition features a number of works by Jacob Epstein (1880-1959), one of the leading pioneers of Modern British Sculpture. In his lifetime he championed many of the concepts central to modernist sculpture, including truth to material, direct carving, and inspiration from so-called primitive art, all of which became central to twentieth-century practice.
Among the highlights of the exhibition is a rare Epstein maquette for Rush of Green commissioned by Lord Samuel for Bowater House, Knightsbridge, London. Property developer Harold Samuel built Bowater House between 1956 and 1958 at the beginning of the first post-war redevelopment of London. To commemorate the commission, Lord Samuel also requested Epstein cast four maquettes for Lady Samuel and their three children. This maquette is from the estate of Lady Samuel who said that work on the monumental sculpture was completed on the day of Epsteins death, 19 August 1959. The original project drawings for this sculpture are in the Henry Moore Institute.
Lord Samuel, the man behind the maxim; There are three things you need in property, location, location and location, was an avid art collector and connoisseur who built up one of the finest collections of Dutch and Flemish paintings in the UK, since bequeathed to the Mansion House art collection.
Another highlight of the exhibition is Epsteins portrait bust of Albert Einstein. Einstein posed for Epstein in 1933, sitting for him each day for two hours over a three day period before Einstein left to take up a professorship at Princeton. Epstein said of the encounter; Einsteins manner was full of charm and bonhomie
(he) appeared dressed very comfortably in a pullover with his wild hair floating in the wind. His glance contained a mixture of the humane, the humorous, and the profound. This was a combination, which delighted me. He resembled an ageing Rembrandt
Epstein is undoubtedly the most versatile and famous portrait sculptor of the twentieth century. The Einstein bust is the most impressionistic of Epsteins portraits partly as a result of the speed with which the work had to be done, but also because of a conscious decision to play up to the Rembrandt-esque humanity of Einsteins head. The deeply broken surface, in which each modelling gesture is distinctly visible, results in a sculptural impasto.
The portrait of Albert Einstein was first exhibited at Tooths in 1933. Two casts entered public collections within a year, one at the Fitzwilliam Museum and the other at the Tate. Further casts are now at the Hirshhorn Museum, Princeton University, London Science Museum, and Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.
Leon Underwood (1890-1975) has been called the father of the modern sculpture in Britain and Robert Bowman Modern is delighted to show The Liar, a unique bronze, cast by the artist himself in 1953. Like Epstein, Underwood drew his inspiration from Tribal Art. In 1928 he travelled in Mexico studying Mayan and Aztec sculpture and wrote several books on African Art. These influences are evident in this mask-like bronze.
Although the development and range of Underwoods work clearly show the importance of his achievements, his work has received a fraction of the acclaim that has been afforded to his pupil Henry Moore whom he taught at the Brook School of Art in Hammersmith, the college he founded in 1921.
For Kenneth Armitage (1916-2002), the 1952 Venice New Aspects of British Sculpture exhibition was really the beginning of my professional life. The show also featured work by Adams, Butler, Chadwick, Clarke, Meadows, Paolozzi and Turnbull, provoking intense interest and ushering in a new wave in British sculpture. Peggy Guggenheim, Elsa Schiaparelli, the Museum of Modern Art in Rome and MoMA all bought pieces at this seminal exhibition.
Included in the Robert Bowman Modern exhibition is the maquette for Diarchy which featured in Armitages one-man show at the Venice Biennale in 1958 where he won the David E. Bright Foundation Award. Diarchy was purchased by the Tate in 1971.
Two of the foremost modern British female sculptors, Barbara Hepworth (1903-1975) and Elizabeth Frink (1930-1993) are also represented in the exhibition.
Hepworth revealed her move towards abstraction at her exhibition at Tooths in 1932. This became the abiding direction of her work, epitomised by the pioneering piercing of the block. A further highlight in the exhibition is the only Barbara Hepworth sculpture ever to be executed in glass. Two Forms (Gemini) was commissioned by the Carborundum Company of Niagara Falls, New York, and created at the Barthmann Cristall Foundry in Wolfach, Germany.
Horse and Rider by Elizabeth Frink was originally commissioned in 1974 by de Beers as the trophy (complete with diamonds) for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes- Britains most prestigious annual open-age flat race, which takes place at Ascot in July.
Frinks affection for horses stemmed from her Suffolk childhood. Her father was a brilliant horseman, a good polo player and an amateur jockey. One of the leading lights of the post-war school of British sculptors, Frinks work is characterised by her scarred surfaces created by repeatedly coating an armature with wet plaster; each coating is distressed and broken, eliminating detail and generalising form.
The Modern British Sculpture show responds to the increasing interest in this genre and follows the success of Wild Thing! and the Henry Moore retrospective at the Tate. Modern British Sculpture has continued to perform strongly at auction even creating record prices in the dark days of the recession. In 2008 Henry Moores Draped Reclining Woman sold for a record price of over four million pounds.
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British Sculpture Survey at the Royal Academy in London Sharply Divides Critics
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Brooklyn-Based Artist and Photographer Lorna Simpson Opens Solo Exhibition at Brooklyn Museum
Exhibition of Drawings and Sculptures by Italian Artist Marisa Merz at Gladstone Gallery
The Romanovs, Tsars and Art Collectors at the Pinacotheque de Paris
Auction Record Set for Titian at Sotheby's Old Master Paintings Sale in New York
Statues Devastated in World War II Go on Show at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin
Milwaukee Art Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art Wager Masterpiece on Super Bowl XLV
Team of Researchers Says Humans May Have Left Africa Earlier than Thought
Bronzino & Portraits of Power Exhibition at the Palazzo Strozzi Attracts 230,000
Malmo Konsthall Presents Exhibition Presents Photographs by Ake Hedstrom
Paul Kasmin Presents Dual Exhibition of New Works and Iconic Paintings by Kenny Scharf
Indeterminate Stillness: Berkeley Art Museum Exhibition Looks at James McNeill Whistler
Trove of Previously Unseen Letters Written by J.D. Salinger Reveal His Human Side
British Museum and Rio Tinto Announce Australian Season: Broad Program of Exhibitions
Italy's Largest and Most Important Art Fair Arte Fiera Art First Celebrates Contemporary Art
Henry Scott Tuke Painting of a Sleeping Sailor to Sell at Bonhams
Museo d'Arte Moderna di Bologna Presents Matthew Day Jackson Exhibition
The Bronx Museum of the Arts Presents Exhibition Exploring Work of Elizabeth Catlett
Christie's 2010 Global Art Sales Total $5.0 Billion, Highest Sales Total in History
An Evening Sale of South African Masterpieces at Bonhams in London
Jon Stewart to Join 9/11 Memorial Foundation Board
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Patent Office finds voice, calls for software patent sanity
The US Patent and Trademark Office is a convenient whipping boy for problems with the patent system.
By Timothy B. Lee | Published: July 28, 2008 - 10:25AM CT
The USPTO famously approved the junk patents at the heart of the legal battle between Research in Motion and a patent-trolling firm called NTP. The USPTO belatedly recognized its mistake and began invalidating the patents, but didn't finish the job in time to save RIM from being forced to pay $612.5 million to avoid having its whole BlackBerry network shut down. Perhaps shaken by the negative publicity generated from that case and others, the USPTO seems to have gotten religion on patent quality. Over the last year, the courts have heard a series of cases in which the Patent Office has rejected software-related applications. The legal theories advanced by the Patent Office in these cases are causing consternation among software patent supporters.
In an article last week at Patently-O, law professor John Duffy warns that the Patent Office has staked out positions that, if accepted by the courts, would amount to the de facto abolition of software patents. He's right that the Patent Office has become increasingly hostile to software patents in the last couple of years. However, it's far from clear that the end of software patents is imminent. And Duffy is dead wrong to suggest that fewer software patents would be bad for innovation. [ARS Technica...] [Comments...]
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Banff Book Discussion Weekend 2020
May 22-24 59th Annual
Terry Fallis
Jessica Shattuck
Robertson Davies
Facilitator’s Information
What does a Facilitator Do?
Facilitator Tips
Banff Centre Accommodation
Society’s Bylaws
Home The Reluctant Fundamentalist
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
“Extreme times call for extreme reactions, extreme writing. Hamid has done something extraordinary with this novel.”—Washington Post
“At a café table in Lahore, a bearded Pakistani man converses with an uneasy American stranger. As dusk deepens to night, he begins the tale that has brought them to this fateful encounter . . .
Changez is living an immigrant’s dream of America. At the top of his class at Princeton, he is snapped up by an elite valuation firm. He thrives on the energy of New York, and his budding romance with elegant, beautiful Erica promises entry into Manhattan society at the same exalted level once occupied by his own family back in Lahore. But in the wake of September 11, Changez finds his position in his adopted city suddenly overturned, and his relationship with Erica shifting. And Changez’s own identity is in seismic shift as well, unearthing allegiances more fundamental than money, power, and maybe even love.
Mohsin Hamid was born in 1971 in Lahore, Pakistan, and moved to the US at the age of 18 to study at Princeton University and Harvard Law School. He then worked as a management consultant in New York, and later as a freelance journalist back in Lahore.
His first novel was Moth Smoke (2000), winner of a Betty Trask Award and shortlisted for the PEN/Hemingway Award. Moth Smoke was made into a television mini-series in Pakistan and an operetta in Italy, and was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year in 2000.
In 2007 his second novel, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, was published and shortlisted for the 2007 Man Booker Prize for Fiction. In 2008, it won the South Bank Show Annual Award for Literature and was shortlisted for the 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize (Eurasia Region, Best Book) and the 2008 James Tait Black Memorial Prize (for fiction). A short story based on the novel was also published in The Paris Reviewin 2006.
Mohsin Hamid discussing his novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist
History of the Banff Book Discussion Weekend
Historical Book List 1961 – 2019
Katherena Vermette Video
Elisabeth Hay video 2018
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City Tallahassee
Land Area 96 mi2
Valdosta, Albany, Jacksonville
Listings Near Tallahassee, FL
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern United States. It borders Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. Much of the state's land mass is a large peninsula with the Gulf of Mexico to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Florida Straits and Caribbean to the south. Florida was admitted as the twenty-seventh U.S. state in 1845, after a three hundred year period of European rule.
With an area of 53,900 square miles, it is ranked twenty-second in size among the fifty U.S. states. Florida has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States, encompassing approximately 1,350 miles. The state has four large urban areas, a number of smaller industrial cities, and many small towns.
Florida is nicknamed the "Sunshine State" because of its generally warm climate-subtropical in the northern and central regions of the state, with a true tropical climate in the southern portion. The United States Census Bureau confirmed that the state population was 18.8 million on April 1, 2010, ranking Florida as the fourth most populous state in the U.S. Though Tallahassee is the state capital, Jacksonville is the largest city, and the South Florida metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida
http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=tallahassee,+fl
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Terry Precision Bicycles for Women and Advanced Sports, Inc. Sign License Agreement
PHILADELPHIA (September 23, 2009) - Terry Precision Bicycles announced today that it has signed a license agreement with Advanced Sports, Inc. (ASI) to distribute an expanded line of women's performance and lifestyle bicycles. Terry, the premier women's cycling company, has been at the forefront of women-specific design for over two decades. ASI is an established leader in the design, development and production of bicycles producing more than 250,000 units worldwide in 2008 under its primary brands Fuji, SE, Kestrel and Breezer, as well as various private label models.
ASI will manufacture, sell and distribute the Terry line of women's bicycles worldwide that will be available for sale Spring 2010. A preview of the collection will be presented to retailers and the media at Interbike in Las Vegas, September 23, 2009. Look for Terry at booth #3207 and ASI at #1825.
"Partnering with Advanced Sports, a leader in bicycle distribution and sourcing, is a strategic decision that will help us re-launch our bikes to tie in with our successful line of clothing and accessories," says Liz Robert, new CEO of Terry. "We expect these new bikes to complement our existing apparel and accessory lines and provide performance to our consumers who participate in cycling activities."
Terry Precision Bicycles, founded by industry pioneer Georgena Terry, has been producing women's-specific bicycles longer than any manufacturer in the industry. Terry's designs for frames and saddles have won numerous awards for innovation, style and comfort. Georgena will continue to be the driving force behind the line's design moving forward.
The first ASI-produced models that will launch at Interbike include the Susan B, the Symmetry, and the Tailwind. The Susan B, Terry's hybrid bike, has reworked componentry to fit with today's current market trends. The Susan B will be available in five sizes from 11" to 20". The Symmetry, a fitness road bike, which will be sold in two versions - a flat bar or drop bar configuration - and the Tailwind, a performance road bike, will be available in six sizes from 40cm to 58cm. All four models feature Terry's signature comfort geometry and are spec'd with current components and materials. Plans for 2011 call for a wider range of women's products, including a custom carbon frame.
"Our focus and our strength is designing, producing and selling high quality bicycles," says Patrick Cunnane, president of Advanced Sports, Inc. "Terry has built a fierce brand loyalty around fit and comfort and the bicycles we design will stay true to these core values."
In addition to manufacturing the bicycles, the license agreement gives ASI the ability to sell the products through its existing retail sales channel. ASI will also handle warranty for Terry Bicycles produced post agreement.
About Terry Precision Bicycles
Terry Precision Bicycles was founded in 1985 by Georgena Terry. The company was purchased in April of this year by Elisabeth Robert, former CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear Company. In addition to women-specific bicycles, Terry designs and markets a comprehensive apparel line for women and a revolutionary line of comfort saddles for men and women. Information about Terry products can be found on its website www.terrybicycles.com.
About Advanced Sports, Inc.
Advanced Sports, Inc. (ASI) is a privately held corporation located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with distributors in over sixty-five countries. Operating in the U.S. through the independent bicycle dealer network (IBD), ASI markets a full line of high performance bicycles including road, mountain, women's, comfort, BMX and recreational bicycles under the Fuji, Kestrel, SE and Breezer brands. For more information, visit:fujibikes.com, sebikes.com, kestrelbicycles.com, breezerbikes.com.
Sony’s PlayStation 3 game consoles will be able to stream movies and TV shows from Netflix
Last night, Sony rolled out the 3.0 firmware for the Playstation 3, just in time for the launch of the new, lower priced "PS3 Slim.
A little off topic, Guys... I have a question. Two days ago I trapped on this site:
[url=http://www.rivalspot.com]Rivalspot.com - Wii tournaments for money[/url]
They say you can play online Madden game tournaments on any console for cash... had anyone tried that before? Looks like a cool idea...
Are there any other sites where you can play sports games for real moneys? I Googled and found only Bringit.com and Worldgaming.com but it looks these guys don't specialize in sport gamez. Any suggestions?
A little off topic, Guys... I have a question. Yesterday I looked at this site:
They say you can play online NHL game tournaments on any console for cash... had anyone tried that before? Looks like a cool idea...
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Atlanta's Black History Maker
Stories and highlights of the best black history makers in Atlanta
About The Project & Writer
Men History Makers
Joseph Lowery is more than a history maker; he is a warrior who took up the sword of civil rights and made monumental history
Posted By: Bunnie Jackson-Ransom 0 Comment
I wrote this story in 2015. It is time for an update. Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, age 96 years young, is still giving advice and making more history today than he did in his hay-day. I discovered that Reverend Lowery loves neck bones, and every now and then I prepare this dish, the way my grandmother did, and I share it with my dear friend.
The Reverend Dr. Joseph Echols Lowery is my neighbor and my friend. As a matter of fact, his family is near and very dear to me and my family. We make our homes in Southwest Atlanta and we are neighbors. I realize that nothing I have mentioned so far makes him the history maker that he is; however, it clearly shows the readers that I am partial to this man and his legacy.
Minister, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher, husband and father, Joseph Lowery has fought against bigotry, prejudice and discrimination wherever he saw it imposed against the downtrodden, the undeserved, poor people, and Black people for most of his lifetime. His actions have truly changed the course of history.
Born on October 6, 1921 in Huntsville, AL, we must give the credit for getting Joseph started on the right path to his parents, Leroy and Dora Lowery, a businessman and a teacher. He attended middle school in Chicago while staying with relatives, but he returned to Huntsville where he completed William Hooper Council High School. He grew up in the segregated South and learned firsthand the hardships and cruelty that many African-Americans experienced. At the age of 12, he was assaulted by a white officer as they attempted to enter and exit through the same door. Lowery matriculated at Knoxville College and Alabama A&M College, Paine Theological Seminary and the Chicago Ecumenical Institute. He was ordained in the Methodist Church in 1952.
Lowery found his soul-mate Evelyn Gibson and they were married in 1947. A civil rights activist and leader in her own right, she was the sister of the late Rev. Dr. Harry Gibson, an activist, and Elder member of the Northern Illinois Conference of the United Methodist Church, Chicago Area. She passed away on September 26, 2013. They had three daughters: Yvonne Kennedy, Karen Lowery, and Cheryl Lowery; and a host of grandchildren.
As an ordained Methodist minister, Lowery brought his new wife to Alabama where he served as pastor for the Warren Street United Methodist Church in Mobile. He became active in the evolving civil rights movement and began to follow his God-given purpose toward fighting against social injustice. He headed the Alabama Civil Affairs Association, the organization which led the movement to desegregate buses and public accommodations.
In 1957, Lowery worked with the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Ralph David Abernathy, and others to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He became the organization’s vice president and helped the group with efforts to fight for equality through nonviolent actions. In 1961, he was one of four Alabama ministers (Lowery, Abernathy, Solomon Seay) sued for libel by a Montgomery commissioner because of a 1960 newspaper ad that made critiques of the city’s police department. Their assets were taken when the court ruled against the SCLC members. After an appeal, the case, was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1964.
Lowery moved to Birmingham, Alabama, in 1964, and served as the pastor for St. Paul’s Church. Continuing to speak out about civil rights, he participated in copious protests including the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery. He was chosen by Dr. King to Chair the delegation delivering the demands of the Selma-to-Montgomery March to Alabama Governor George Wallace. These demonstrations were part of the campaign for voter’s rights and a response to the killing of Jimmie Lee Jackson, a civil rights protestor, by an Alabama state trooper.
The Black Leadership Forum, a group of Black advocacy leaders and organizations, was yet another organization co-founded by Lowery which was dedicated to protesting Apartheid in South Africa through the end of the white-minority rule. Lowery was one of the first Black men arrested at the African Embassy in Washington, D. C. during the free South Africa movement.
In 1968, the same year that Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Lowery took over as pastor at the Central UM Church in Atlanta. He also became the chairman of the SCLC around this time, serving as one of the organization’s leaders who spoke with the voice of the people. In 1977, Lowery won the presidency of the SCLC over more radical factions. He helped revitalize the organization, bringing in new members and focusing on such pressing issues in the African-American community as police brutality and human rights.
Lowery was called to a new United Methodist Church in the mid-1980s. As the pastor of the Cascade United Methodist Church, he helped increase the size of the congregation and improve its financial situation. Lowery remained politically and socially active, campaigning against the ills of the city. His sermons in the churches around Atlanta were illustrious and most notable – not a vacant seat in the audience. (I know this because I was one who squeezed myself in to the pews to witness this skillful speaker.)
Even after his retirement in 1992, Lowery continued to fight for causes against social injustice and for the rights of others. He was extremely active in the effort to remove the Confederate symbols from the Georgia state flag. While chairing the MARTA Board of Directors, he was the reasonable voice in the community’s planning process as the city of Atlanta prepared for 1996 Olympics.
President Barack Obama, the nation’s first African-American president, selected Lowery to deliver the benediction at his inauguration in January, 2009. In his speech, Lowery quoted from the “Negro National Anthem” (Lift Every Voice and Sing) and called for the president and the rest of the nation “to work for that day. . . when justice will roll down like waters and righteousness as a mighty stream.”
In 2009, President Obama named Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors.
Rev. Lowery is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and attends Cascade United Methodist Church. He has received numerous accolades for his work, including Ebony magazine’s Black Achievement Award. Clark Atlanta University established the Joseph E. Lowery Institute for Justice and Human Rights in his honor. He is known as the “Dean of the Civil Rights Movement.” The City of Atlanta renamed Ashby Street to Joseph E. Lowery Boulevard. His footprints are embedded in the Civil Rights Walk of Fame housed near the Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site. The NAACP gave him a lifetime achievement award. He has received the Martin Luther King Jr. Center’s Peace Award; and the National Urban League gave him the Whitney Young Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award; and he was awarded the Fred Shuttlesworth Human Rights Award from the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. He has been awarded many honorary doctorate degrees from prestigious colleges and universities.
Not finished with what God called him to do, Lowery founded the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda which continues to meet every Tuesday at noon in the SCLC offices on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta. He shows up at community events and participates in worthy causes, and primarily dedicates and reserves his efforts to help sustain the Lowery Institute. Dr. Lowery recently celebrated his 94th birthday with a host of friends and family in October, 2015 at the Delta Flight Museum, a fundraising effort to promote and sustain the work of the Lowery Institute.
Happy Birthday Dr. Lowery . . . and many more. Genuinely loved and revered by countless, Reverend Lowery is one of our treasures. History will reflect his genius and his service to mankind and woman kind alike. What a life! What a legacy! What a man! I agree, God is not finished with you yet!
Georgia “Gee Gee” Dickens – A One-Of-A-Kind History Maker
Andrew Patterson – A History Maker who knows how to make “good” history.
A Recent Visit to the Legacy Museum and The National Memorial for Peace and Justice Museum in Montgomery
Young Black History Maker Ashley Derby is making history at Chick-fil-A
Copyright © 2019 Atlanta's Black History Maker. Theme: ColorNews by ThemeGrill. Powered by WordPress.
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Autopsy reveals Michigan shooting victim McBride shot in face
Civil rights groups have called for vigorous prosecution, saying McBride was targeted because of race
November 11, 2013 11:16PM ET
In this file photo, a mourner holds an obituary displaying a picture of shooting victim Renisha McBride during her funeral service in Detroit, Mich. on Nov. 8
Joshua Lott/Reuters
An autopsy on a 19-year-old woman allegedly killed by a homeowner on a suburban Detroit porch – where she had reportedly gone to seek help after a car crash – confirmed that she died of a gunshot wound to her face.
Renisha McBride, of Detroit, was fatally shot Nov. 2 in predominantly white Dearborn Heights.
Civil rights groups have called for a vigorous prosecution in the case, saying that McBride, a black woman, was targeted because of her race.
The homeowner, who has not been publicly named, has told investigators that he thought someone was trying to break into his home and that he accidentally discharged his shotgun.
The Wayne County Medical Examiner's Office report, released Monday, said McBride's death was a homicide.
Prosecutors said they were reviewing the case and deciding whether to charge the homeowner, a 54-year-old man.
Messages seeking comment were left with police and the homeowner's attorney.
Time to tame the dietary supplement industry by Lynn Stuart Parramore
Iran is negotiating with the wrong US officials by Christopher A. Bidwell
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Protesters demand action following the kidnapping of more than 200 girls in Nigeria at a demonstration at Union Square in New York on Saturday. Yinka Ajakaiye for Applause Africa
Yinka Ajakaiye for Applause Africa
Global outrage over kidnapping of Nigerian schoolgirls
Activists with #BringBackOurGirls lambaste Nigerian government’s perceived inaction in the face of girls’ abductions
May 6, 2014 3:18PM ET
by Lisa De Bode @lisadebode Google+
Dozens of protesters rallied at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington on Tuesday against the kidnapping of 276 girls, and their alleged sale as "brides" for as little as $12, with the hope of pressuring authorities to take action against Boko Haram, the armed group responsible for their abduction.
They gathered outside the embassy, dressed in red and holding signs that read “Bring back our girls,” and “276 stolen dreams.”
Molly Alawode, a leader of the Bring Back Our Girls campaign, told Al Jazeera the protests would continue “if the government doesn’t live up to its duty of service and protect the Nigerian population.
“We think it’s really important to send this message today to let him [President Goodluck Jonathan] and other leaders know that the world is really watching,” she added.
On April 14, 276 girls were kidnapped from their dormitories at the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a city in the northern state of Borno. On Monday, the leader of Boko Haram, an armed group that seeks to create an Islamic fundamentalist state in Nigeria’s north, claimed responsibility for the attack and said he would sell the girls as slaves.
“I abducted your girls. I will sell them in the market, by Allah,” Abubakar Shekau said, according to Agence France-Presse, which reported it had obtained a video from the group.
The rally comes after hundreds of protesters at Union Square in New York staged a similar demonstration on Saturday. The demonstrators, in solidarity with the parents of the missing girls, use the hashtag #BringBackOurGirls to raise awareness about the kidnapping.
Michael Ikotun, who is involved with the campaign, said its goal is twofold.
“We want to know exactly how many girls were kidnapped, the names of these girls, [and] the actual steps being taken to bring [them] back,” he said.
“We want the U.S. government to be involved.”
World leaders, meanwhile, will gather for two days starting May 7 for a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja. The event has local authorities focused on international concerns about the country’s security and military instability.
Activists are using the WEF meetings to highlight what they claim are a tepid government response to the kidnappings.
“It’s very rare in a country to have more than 200 girls kidnapped, and it’s business as usual,” Ikotun said.
A day after the April kidnappings, Nigerian authorities claimed that the number of abducted was just over 100 young women, and that most had already been rescued. But that number later rose, and the military was forced to recant its statement and acknowledge that it had not rescued any of the girls.
On Tuesday, three weeks after the abduction, suspected Boko Haram members kidnapped eight more girls ages 12 to 15 from a village in northeastern Nigeria, police and residents said.
Protesters have also organized marches in London and Los Angeles in the past days. In Germany, an online petition created by Nigerian student Ify Elueze, which calls on Jonathan and world leaders to bring the girls home, gathered more than 200,000 signatures in less than a week. Its signatories include supporters from South Africa, Canada and the United Kingdom.
“It started because I believe everyone feels the pain, and all you want is for these girls to be brought back,” Elueze said. “And I really hope that this would create awareness, which would ultimately bring them back.”
With wire services
Anger swells against Nigeria government in response to girl abductions
Three weeks after the abduction of hundreds of schoolgirls, protests have erupted against perceived state fecklessness.
Boko Haram forcing kidnapped girls to marry, rights group says
Protesters decry weak government response as US offers help in locating students who have been missing for two weeks.
Fears mount that Boko Haram could bring Nigeria to the brink
As government closes schools in response to targeted bombings on students, analysts say violence likely to increase.
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Leah Mahan
Leah Mahan is an independent documentary filmmaker whose work has been nominated by the Directors Guild of America for Outstanding Directorial Achievement. She has been a fellow at the Sundance Institute Documentary Editing and Story Lab and the Producers Institute for New Media Technologies. Leah’s film Sweet Old Song (2002) was featured on the PBS series P.O.V. and was selected by film critic Roger Ebert to be screened at his Overlooked Film Festival (“Ebertfest”). The film tells the story of Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong, an old-time string band musician who undertakes a bittersweet journey with the woman he loves. In 2013 she completed Come Hell or High Water: The Battle for Turkey Creek, about a group of determined Mississippians who struggle to save their endangered Gulf Coast community in the face of rampant development, industrial pollution and disaster. She worked with Gulf Coast NGOs to develop a related community journalism project titled Bridge the Gulf. Leah began her career as a research assistant for filmmaker Henry Hampton on the groundbreaking PBS series on the civil rights movement Eyes on the Prize. A sequel to her first film, Holding Ground: The Rebirth of Dudley Street (1996), was completed in 2013. The films tell the story of a vibrant community organization that transforms a devastated Boston neighborhood through grassroots organizing. Leah’s work has been supported by the Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, Independent Television Service, Ford Foundation and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. She holds a BA in anthropology from Cornell University and an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and their two children.
Leah’s Website
Leah’s Facebook
Leah’s Twitter
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“The Future of Warfare Is Warfare in Cyberspace,” NSA Declared
Bernd Pulch in BERND PULCH, THE NATIONAL SECURITY, THE NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCY (NSA) May 4, 2013 April 23, 2018 13,606 Words
Washington, D.C., April 26, 2013 – Since at least 1997, the National Security Agency (NSA) has been responsible for developing ways to attack hostile computer networks as part of the growing field of Information Warfare (IW), according to a recently declassified internal NSA publication posted today by the non-governmental National Security Archive (“the Archive”) at The George Washington University. Declaring that “the future of warfare is warfare in cyberspace,” a former NSA official describes the new activity as “sure to be a catalyst for major change” at the super-secret agency.
The document is one of 98 items the Archive is posting today that provide wide-ranging background on the nature and scope of U.S. cyber activities.
Activities in cyberspace — both defensive and offensive — have become a subject of increasing media and government attention over the last decade, although usually the focus has been on foreign attacks against the United States, most notably the Chinese government’s reported exploitation of U.S. government, commercial and media computer networks. At the same time, the apparent U.S.-Israeli created Stuxnet worm, designed to damage Iranian centrifuges, has put the spotlight on the United States’ own clandestine cyber efforts.
The NSA’s new assignment as of 1997, known as Computer Network Attack (CNA), comprises “operations to disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy” information in target computers or networks, “or the computers and networks themselves,” according to the NSA document.
Today’s posting by the Archive highlights various aspects of U.S. cyberspace activities and concerns going back to the late 1970s. The documents — obtained from government and private websites as well as Freedom of Information Act requests — originate from a wide variety of organizations. These include the White House and National Security Council, the National Security Agency, the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security, the military services, the General Accounting/ Government Accountability Office, and the Congressional Research Service — as well as three private organizations (Project 2049, Mandiant Corporation, and Symantec).
Source: Department of Homeland Security (see Document 52).
Among the highlights of the documents are:
The NSA’s earlier concerns about the vulnerability of sensitive computer systems to either viruses or compromise through foreign intelligence service recruitment of computer personnel (Document 1, Document 2, Document 3, Document 4, Document 9)
The Secretary of Defense’s March 1997 authorization of the National Security Agency to conduct computer network attack operations (Document 11)
Detailed discussions of Chinese computer network exploitation activities (Document 66, Document 79, Document 83)
Analyses of the Stuxnet worm (Document 40, Document 42, Document 44, Document 88)
Extensive treatments of intelligence collection concerning U.S. technologies through computer network exploitation (Document 18, Document 55, Document 63)
Cyberspace and U.S. National Security
By Jeffrey T. Richelson
In an October 2012 speech (Document 78), then-Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told a group of business executives that “a cyber attack perpetrated by nation states [or] violent extremist groups could be as destructive as the terrorist attack on 9/11,” and raised the prospect of a “cyber Pearl Harbor.” In his February 2013 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama asserted that “our enemies are … seeking the ability to sabotage our power grid, our financial institutions, our air traffic control systems.” Later that month, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper led off his annual threat assessment (Document 90) appearance before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence with a discussion of the Intelligence Community’s assessment of the cyber threat.1
Stuxnet: “The world’s first precision cybermunition.” Source: Department of Homeland Security (see Document 52)
Concern about the potential damage of cyber attack did not originate in the current administration. Even before the establishment of the computer connectivity of the current Internet-era, there was concern, including in the National Security Agency, about the threat of computer viruses (Document 1, Document 2, Document 3, Document 4, Document 5, Document 6) or the vulnerability of computer systems due to recruitment efforts by hostile intelligence services (Document 9). More recently, the William J. Clinton and George W. Bush administrations focused on the connection between cyberspace and national security, issued policy directives, and considered and/or authorized both public and covert actions.
Occasionally, some of those concerns have been met with skepticism. Critiques have included the assertion that the very structure of the Internet means it is not subject to a ‘Pearl Harbor’ type attack — that is, an attack at single point. The association of power outages in the northeastern United States in 2003 and Brazil in 2007 with cyberattacks has been challenged by reviewers and experts — who point to studies that concluded there were other, more mundane, causes. One writer has asserted that cyberwar is not here, and that it is not coming. Additional issues that have been raised include the lack of disclosed evidence with regard to more extreme claims concerning the threat, the dangers of threat inflation (including facilitating the expenditure on ‘cyber pork’), and the extent to which the costs of other types of criminal activity (such as car theft) dwarf the cost of cyber crime.2 What is indisputable, however, is the dramatic increase in attention — both in the U.S. Government and private industry — to activities in cyberspace in the last decade — which has been reflected in both media coverage and the release of private and government documents.
Attacks & Exercises
Source: Defense Science Board. See Document 81.
Significant attention has been devoted, in both the classified and unclassified realms, to actual attacks as well as exercises that have sought to determine the vulnerability of key government and infrastructure systems to attack.
The Government Accounting Office (renamed the Government Accountability Office in 2004) reported (Document 6) that between April 1990 and May 1991, a period that encompassed Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, computer hackers from the Netherlands penetrated 34 Department of Defense sites. According to that report, the hackers were able to access “unclassified, sensitive information” concerning military personnel, logistics, and weapons systems development. The report also asserted that, particularly during times of international conflict, “such information … can be highly sensitive.”
In March and April 1994, according to GAO reports (Document 10a, Document 10b), the Air Force’s Rome Laboratory, in upstate New York, was targeted by a pair of hackers (a 16-year old British student and a 22-year old Israeli technician) who, using “Trojan Horse” and “sniffer” programs, managed to take control of the lab’s networks. In addition to taking all of the lab’s 33 subnetworks offline for several days, the hackers also stole air tasking order research data and gained access to systems at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, and a variety of defense contractors.
In February 1998, several Department of Defense networks were attacked through a commonly understood vulnerability in the Solaris (UNIX-based) computer system — the investigation of which was designated SOLAR SUNRISE. The attack involved probing Defense Department servers to determine if the vulnerability existed, and then exploiting it — entering the system and planting a program to collect data. The hackers, ultimately discovered to be two California high school students, also mounted at least a second intrusion to extract data from the penetrated computers.3
In 2003, a series of computer intrusions were directed against the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the U.S. Redstone Arsenal, the Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, and several DoD contractors – but they apparently went undetected for several months. That series of intrusions was labeled TITAN RAIN, and Defense Department investigators believed it to have originated in China. In June 2006, Department of Energy officials acknowledged that the names of and personal information of more than 1,500 National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) employees had been stolen due to network intrusion that apparently began in 2004.4
Another set of attacks that attracted attention (Document 27) was directed against former Soviet-controlled territories, and was widely believed to have been the work of the Russian government. On July 20, 2008, the Georgian president’s website was subjected to a denial-of-service attack. On August 8, a coordinated, distributed denial-of-service attack occurred on other Georgian government websites. At that time, Russian forces were engaged in combat with Georgian forces. Additional cyber attacks on Lithuanian and Kyrgzstan targets took place in June 2008 and January 2009, respectively. The attack on Lithuanian websites occurred three days after that country passed legislation outlawing the use of Soviet and communist symbols, while the January 2009 attack took place on the same day that Russia tried to pressure Kyrgyzstan to revoke U.S. access to the Bishkek airbase being used as a transit point for supplies to Afghanistan.5
Since that time there have been numerous reports of cyber incidents. Included have been a series of attacks on global energy targets, dubbed NIGHT DRAGON, a 2012 cyber attack on the Saudi Arabian state-owned Aramco oil company, and cyber attacks on U.S. banks and companies — attacks alleged to have been the responsibility of Iran.6
Along with the actual intrusions that have been taking place for over two decades, the United States has also conducted a number of exercises and studies in an attempt to assess the extent of computer network vulnerability. The first exercise, designated ELIGIBLE RECEIVER, was conducted over 90 days in 1997, and involved a Red Team consisting of 35 individuals. Simulated, and apparently successful, cyber attacks were made against government and private power and communications networks in Oahu, Los Angeles, Colorado Springs, St. Louis, Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Fayetteville, and Tampa. The head of the Pentagon’s Joint Task Force – Computer Network Defense, wrote that the exercise “clearly demonstrated our lack of preparation for a coordinated cyber and physical attack on our critical military and civilian infrastucture.”7
A subsequent exercise, designated LIVEWIRE, was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security. In 2005, the CIA’s Information Operations Center conducted a three-day exercise, codenamed SILENT HORIZON. The objective of the exercise was to practice defending against a cyber attack that would be on the same scale as the September 11, 2001, events, and would target both governmental and private sectors.8
Intelligence and Threat Assessments
Intelligence/threat assessments concerning cyberspace include estimates of the current and projected future cyber capabilities and activities of a variety of nations and groups. They can also include assessments of the specific threats faced by government and private organizations in relation to the current state of cyber security.
In late 2012 and early 2013, several press sources reported that a national intelligence estimate focused on worldwide cyber activities had either been completed or was in the process of completion. An earlier estimate was produced in February 2004: NIE-2004-01D/I, Cyber Threats to the Information Infrastructure. An additional national intelligence product was produced for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) by the Intelligence Science Board – a January 2008 report titled Technical Challenges of the National Cyber Initiative. 9
None of those products has been released, even in redacted form. Estimates and assessments which have been released include those produced by the Congressional Research Service, the Defense Security Service, a ODNI component, and a contractor for the U.S.-China Security and Economic Review Commission. In 2007, the CRS examined (Document 24), inter alia, examples of vulnerabilities that terrorists might decide to exploit in attempting a coordinated cyberattack and ways that terrorists might be improving their cyber skills. The report, Terrorist Capabilities for Cyberattack: Overview and Policy Issues, noted different views concerning the ability of Al-Qaeda (or other terrorist groups) to launch a significant cyberattack and the related danger of a “Digital Pearl Harbor.” It also noted a CIA assessment, provided in April 2002 to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, that “cyberwarfare attacks against the U.S. critical infrastructure will become a viable option for terrorists as they become more familiar with the technology required for the attacks.”
A 2004 assessment of the intelligence threat (Document 18), particularly from nations or others seeking to conduct economic espionage was produced by the Interagency OPSEC Support Staff. One chapter focuses on ‘Computers and the Internet’. In addition to providing a history of Internet security and discussing the relationship between website content and operational security, it also explores the roots of network vulnerability and eight outsider attack techniques – including scanning, packet sniffing, and malware.
Several unclassified assessments (Document 26, Document 43, Document 63) by the Defense Security Service have focused on foreign attempts to acquire advanced U.S. technology. The most recent version (Document 63), as with previous versions, examines a variety of methods for acquiring information on U.S. technologies — including “suspicious network activity,” which was the most prevalent collection method for “entities originating from East Asia and the Pacific.”
A similar type of assessment (Document 55) was produced in October 2011 by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, a component of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The report, Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace, examines the vulnerability of US technologies and trade secrets to cyberspace operations, the threat from specific collectors (including Russia, China, and U.S. partners), and the outlook for the future (including both “near certainties” and “possible game changers”).
Key assessments of Chinese computer network exploitation that are in the public domain have been produced either by contractors in response to tasking from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission or by private organizations. In October 2009, the review commission released Capability of the People’s Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation (Document 30). It examined Chinese computer network exploitation activities, strategy and operations during a military conflict, key entities in Chinese computer network operations, cyber-espionage, an operational profile of an advanced cyber intrusion and a chronology of alleged Chinese computer network exploitation activities.
A second report (Document 66), also produced for the U.S.-China review commission, and released in 2012, Occupying the High Ground, focused on Chinese capabilities for computer network exploitation. It included a look at the key entities and institutions supporting Chinese computer network operations, potential risks to the U.S. telecommunications supply chain, and the risks and reality of collaboration between U.S. and Chinese information security firms. Along with the reports for the review commission, two private organizations have produced detailed reports on PRC computer espionage activities. In 2012, a research group focused on China released a study (Document 79) based on open sources and computer-based investigations, examining the roles of several PLA organizations in cyber operations, including the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Department, its 2nd Bureau as well as its Beijing North Computer Center. Early the next year, the Mandiant computer security company released its study (Document 83) on the 2nd Bureau — which discussed the tasking of the unit, its past espionage operations, attack lifecycle, and the unit’s infrastructure and personnel.
In contrast to the extensive public documents concerning China’s computer attack and exploitation activities, far less has appeared concerning similar Iranian activities. In 2012, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper did characterize them as “dramatically increasing in recent years in depth and complexity.” 10 A hearing in 2012 featured statements on Iranian cyber activities from two members of Congress and two non-governmental experts. (Document 71a, Document 71b, Document 71c, Document 71d).
Directives, Strategies, Policies, and Plans
While a number of presidential directives in earlier years addressed subjects such as communications security and information security, Presidential Decision Directive 63 (Document 12), Critical Infrastructure Protection, signed by President William J. Clinton on May 22, 1998, focused on protecting both “physical and cyber-based systems essential to the minimum operations of the economy and government.” Among the steps Clinton directed was the establishment of a National Infrastructure Assurance Plan, increased intelligence collection and analysis devoted to the cyber threat, and creation of a National Infrastructure Protection Center.
The George W. Bush administration produced a number of classified as well as unclassified documents concerning cyberspace. The first, National Security Presidential Directive 16 (NSPD-16) was reported to have been issued in July 2002 and provide guidelines for the conduct of offensive cyber operations. A public document, The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (Document 16), was released in February 2003 and was followed by the classified NSPD-38, with the same title, of July 7, 2004. A third classified directive, NSPD-54, Cyber Security and Monitoring, was issued on January 8, 2008. 11
President Obama has signed two Presidential Policy Directives concerning cybersecurity — the still classified PPD-20 (title unknown) and PPD-21, “Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience” (Document 86) — the latter following the failure of two proposed pieces of cybersecurity legislation to make it through Congress. Its key components are its delineation of roles and responsibilities, of officials and agencies, its identification of three strategic imperatives, and its direction to the Secretary of Homeland Security on steps to take to implement the directive. Issued the same day was an executive order (Document 87) that focused solely on critical infrastructure cybersecurity — including information sharing, reduction of cyber risk, and identification of critical infrastructure at greatest risk.
On May 8, 2009, the White House issued the results of its cyberspace policy review — Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Trusted and Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure (Document 28). It produced a plan that included establishing performance metrics, preparing a cybersecurity response plan, and instituting a national public awareness and education campaign to promote cybersecurity. In May 2011 the White House released its International Strategy for Cyberspace: Prosperity, Security, and Openness in a Networked World (Document 46), which discussed the building of U.S. cyberspace policy, the future of cyberspace, as well as U.S. policy priorities and concludes with the a discussion of the implementation of U.S. strategy. Then, in early 2013, along with PPD-21 and the related executive order, the administration released Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets (Document 82). Part of the strategy concerns mitigating cyber theft and describes four action items – diplomatic efforts, voluntary practices by industry, enhancing domestic law enforcement operations, improving domestic legislation, and promoting public awareness.
Numerous departments also have produced cyber strategy documents at various levels of classification. In 2006, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff produced the National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations (Document 23), which was classified Secret. Its introduction described it as the “comprehensive strategy of the U.S. Armed Forces to ensure U.S. military superiority in cyberspace.” Since released under the Freedom of Information Act, the document identified four strategic priorities in implementing the strategy – including gaining and maintaining the initiative to operate within adversary decision cycles and integrating cyber capabilities across the full range of military operations using cyberspace. In July 2011, that strategy was replaced by the unclassified Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace (Document 50) — which noted five strategic initiatives with regard to DoD operations in cyberspace. Those initiatives include treating cyberspace as an operational domain with regard to organization, training, and equipment as well as employing new concepts to protect DoD networks and systems.
The individual military services and their components have also produced their own policy and planning documents concerning cyberspace activities. In February 2010, the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command published an unclassified pamphlet (Document 33) on how cyber operations would be integrated into the full spectrum of Army operations. The next year, the Air Force produced Air Force Doctrine Document 3-12, Cyberspace Operations (Document 60), which included a discussion of the design, planning, execution, and assessment of cyberspace operations.
Civilian departments have also produced their own strategy documents — such as the Department of Homeland Security’s November 2011 Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future (Document 58), which listed four cybersecurity goals (including reducing exposure to cyber risk and increasing resilience) and nine means for achieving those goals.
In addition to presidential directives, departmental directives also serve to state policies as well as assign responsibilities. Thus, the 2006 DoD Directive 3600.01 (Document 22), “Information Operations,” assigned the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration responsibilities with regard to computer network defense — a responsibility since assumed by the department’s Chief Information Officer.. A January 2010 directive (Document 31) focuses on protection of unclassified Defense Department information that passes through or resides on Defense Industrial Base information systems and networks.
The Department of Energy has also issued its own directives concerning cybersecurity — including a September 2010 directive (Document 36) on the department’s cybersecurity management policy, including a statement of objectives, principles, responsibilities, and implementation, as well as a May 2011 directive (Document 48) which stipulates that the department’s cybersecurity policy be based on a risk management approach.
U.S. government organizations involved in cyberspace activities (excluding those involved in evaluating programs) can be found in the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and several civilian departments or agencies – including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.
The most senior U.S. official concerned with the analysis of intelligence concerning foreign cyber capabilities and activities is a member of the DNI’s National Intelligence Council — the National Intelligence Officer for Cyber Issues — a position first established in May 2011. Sometime in the late 1990s, an Information Operations Center was established within the CIA’s Directorate of Operations (now the National Clandestine Service). It absorbed some of the functions of the Directorate of Science and Technology’s Clandestine Information Technology Office. The office was officially described as being responsible for addressing “collection capabilities within emerging information technologies.” The Center’s Analysis Group is located in the Directorate of Intelligence and evaluates foreign threats to U.S. computer systems, particularly those that support critical infrastructure. 1 2
The National Security Agency’s involvement in cyber security is a consequence of its long-time role in insuring first communications and then information security for various components of the government and private sector as well as its need to insure the security of the computers it has relied on heavily for decades (e.g. Document 2, Document 3, Document 4). Its role in computer network exploitation – of gathering electronic “data at rest” is a natural extension of its signals intelligence role of gathering “data in motion.” In March 1997, according to an article (Document 11) by a former deputy director, it was also assigned the mission of computer network attack.
A major step in the organization of U.S. cyberspace activities, indicative of an upgrade in attention, occurred in late June 2009, when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates ordered (Document 29) the establishment of a unified U.S. Cyber Command subordinate to the U.S. Strategic Command. In his memo Gates noted that he would recommend to the president that he appoint the director of the National Security Agency as commander of the Cyber Command, that the command would reach initial operating capability by October 2009 and full operating capability by October 2010. He also directed disestablishment of STRATCOM’s Joint Task Force — Global Network Operations (JTF-GNO) and Joint Functional Component Command — Network Warfare (JFCC-NW) prior to the new command reaching full capability. In addition, Gates wrote that his memorandum “reinforces, but does not expand, USSTRATCOM authorities and responsibilities for military cyberspace operations.”
According to a brief fact sheet (Document 38), the Cyber Command is responsible for planning, coordinating, and conducting the operations and defense of specified Department of Defense information networks.” It also, when directed, conducts “full-spectrum military cyberspace operations.” Its current headquarters organization, as depicted in an organization chart (Document 92), was released in April 2013.
Subordinate to the Cyber Command are its component commands — Army Forces Cyber Command; the 24th Air Force (a component of the Air Force Space Command); the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command (Document 69), which oversees the Navy Information Operations Command; the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group; the Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command; and the Marine Forces Cyber Command.
In June 2002, the Director of the FBI established a Cyber Division. The division is responsible for coordinating and supervising the FBI’s investigation of federal violations “in which the Internet, computer systems, or networks are exploited as the principal instruments or targets of terrorist organizations, foreign government-sponsored intelligence operations, or criminal activity, and for which the use of such systems is essential to that activity.” 13
The Department of Homeland Security established the National Cyber Security Division (NCSD) in June 2003 “to serve as the national focal point for cybersecurity and to coordinate implementation of the February 2003 national cyberspace strategy (Document 16). Its mission (Document 52) is to “serve as the Federal Government’s lead in assessing, mitigating and responding to cyber risks in collaboration with Federal, State and local governments, the private sector, academia, and international partners.”
Cybersecurity White Papers
The most public aspect of U.S. activities in cyberspace centers around standard cybersecurity operations. In addition to documents such as presidential and departmental directives or strategy documents that stipulate cybersecurity goals, objectives or specific activities, there are a variety of other relevant documents.
Included are a number of “white papers” which described cybersecurity efforts. In March 2010, the White House released The Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative (Document 34), which described details of the initiative launched in the previous administration and provided details of a dozen different components of the effort. In February 2010, the Department of Homeland Security released a paper (Document 32) describing various cybersecurity activities — such as the operation of the EINSTEIN intrusion detection system. In July 2011 a DHS official briefed his audience (Document 52) on a variety of topics — including the department’s National Cyber Security Division, hacking activities directed at both government and private organizations, the Stuxnet worm, and the NIGHT DRAGON exploitation effort, and cybersecurity advisory activities.
Computer Network Exploitation
Computer network exploitation (CNE) has been defined (Document 22) as “enabling operations and intelligence collection to gather data from target or adversary automated information systems or networks.” Such exploitation operations can be intended to produce information about the computer systems and networks as a prelude to a network attack or as another method of gathering economic or military intelligence. 14
CNE operations are examined in a number of intelligence threat assessments, including the Defense Security Service (Document 26, Document 43, Document 63) assessments, as well as the report by the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive. (Document 55). As noted above, Chinese CNE operations are discussed in two reports (Document 30, Document 66) for the U.S-China review commission as well as the reports by Project 2049 (Document 79) and the Mandiant Corporation (Document 83). In addition, an Army War College paper (Document 72) also examines Chinese cyber, including CNE, capabilities.
Computer Network Attack
Computer Network Attack (CNA) has been defined (Document 22) as “operations to disrupt, deny, degrade or destroy information resident in computers and computer networks, or the computers and networks themselves. According to former NSA official William B Black Jr. (Document 11), on March 3, 1997, the Secretary of Defense officially delegated to the National Security Agency the authority to develop CNA techniques. Prior to U.S.-led airstrikes against the Qaddafi government in March 2011, the U.S. reportedly considered a cyber offensive designed to disrupt and even disable the Libyan government’s air-defense system.15
What is widely believed to be the product of a joint U.S-Israeli CNA operation was the worm Stuxnet — part of a U.S. CNA effort designated OLYMPIC GAMES.16 The worm was reported to have infected Iranian industrial control systems at the Natanz nuclear facility and damaged Iranian centrifuges. While there has been no official U.S. or Israeli confirmation of their involvement in the operation, it has been the subject of reports by the RAND Corporation (Document 42) and Congressional Research Service (Document 40) as well as the Symantec computer security corporation.
The CRS paper (Document 40), The Stuxnet Computer Worm: Harbinger of an Emerging Warfare Capability, provides an overview of the worm, an exploration of possible developers and future users, a discussion of whether Iran was the intended target, as well as coverage of industrial control systems vulnerabilities and critical infrastructure, national security implications, and issues for Congress. RAND’s study, A Cyberworm that Knows No Boundaries (Document 42), explores the issues raised by the Stuxnet case, the vulnerabilities exploited, the difficulties in defending against such malware, and the problems posed by organizational and legal restrictions. It also provides a short assessment of the status of U.S. defensive capabilities and efforts required to improve those capabilities.
Symantec’s initial analysis (Document 44) provided a technical analysis of the worm, exploring the attack scenario, timeline, Stuxnet architecture, installation, load point, command and control, propagation methods, payload exports, payload resources, and other topics. A subsequent Symantec report (Document 88) stated that the company had “discovered an older version of Stuxnet that can answer questions about its evolution.”
Computer Network Defense
See Document 23.
Computer network defense is defined in the DoD Information Operations directive (Document 22) as “actions taken to protect, monitor, analyze, detect, and respond to unauthorized activity within DoD information systems and computer networks.” Those actions can include counterintelligence, law enforcement, and other military capabilities. The first of these is the subject of one classified DoD directive (Document 41) — “Counterintelligence (CI) Activities in Cyberspace.” That directive makes clear that those activities include not only counterintelligence collection and support but offensive counterintelligence operations.
Techniques for computer network defense are also the subject of two Naval Postgraduate School theses. A 2003 thesis (Document 17) explores the feasibility of employing deception against cyberterrorists, where cyberterrorists are defined by two criteria – that the aim of launching unlawful attacks or threatening such attacks on computers, networks, and the information stored in them is to intimidate or coerce a government or its people in pursuit of political or social objectives, and that the activities result either in violence against persons or property or cause enough harm to generate fear.
A 2008 thesis (Document 25) examines what the author believes to be the key elements of deterrence in cyberspace – including denial, the development and demonstration of overt punishment techniques, the establishment of thresholds, and the development and articulation of national policy – and the prospects for cyber deterrence.
Audits and Evaluations
Audits and evaluations of cybersecurity and other cyberspace operations have been conducted by the GAO and the inspectors general of the Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, and Justice departments.
The inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security produced a classified report, released with redactions (Document 54), which examined the department’s capability to share cyber threat information with other federal agencies and the private sector. A subsequent classified report, also released with redactions in August 2012 (Document 75), addressed the department’s international cybersecurity program and noted areas that could be targeted for improvement — including developing a strategic implementation plan for foreign engagement and improving communications between the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team and foreign entities.
The Department of Energy’s inspector general issued a report (Document 56) in October 2011 on the department’s unclassified cybersecurity program, which examined whether that program provided sufficient protection of its data and information systems. According to the report, corrective actions for only 11 of 35 cyber security weaknesses identified in the inspector general’s 2010 report had been completed. It also reported that there was a 60 percent growth in identified weaknesses over the 2010 report. In early 2013, the department’s inspector general issued a report (Document 84) on the cybersecurity program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The Justice Department’s inspector general produced a 2011 audit report (Document 45) on the FBI’s ability to address the national security cyber intrusion threat. It reported on the FBI’s efforts in developing and operating the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force, and the ability of the FBI field offices to investigate national security cyber cases.
The GAO also produced a report (Document 47), released in May 2011, that evaluated the extent to which the Department of Defense and the U.S. Cyber Command had provided the military services with adequate guidance with respect to roles and responsibilities, command and control relationships, and mission requirements and capabilities with regard to cyberspace operations. Other GAO reports have examined continued challenges facing DoD (Document 49) and protection of critical infrastructure (Document 51, Document 62). A 2012 GAO report (Document 70) assessed the cyber threats to federal and other computer systems and vulnerabilities present in federal information systems and supporting critical infrastructure. A February 2013 report (Document 85) focused on the challenges facing the federal government in producing a strategic approach to cybersecurity.
Some GAO evaluations have focused on cybersecurity issues with respect to single components of critical U.S. infrastructure – including the electricity grid (Document 74), and pipelines (Document 76). The GAO’s report on securing the electricity grid examines cyber threats to the grid, actions taken to prevent attacks, and remaining challenges. The office’s pipeline study cybersecurity risks, U.S. pipeline security initiatives, and the adequacy of voluntary pipeline cybersecurity.
The increasing attention to cyberspace issues has also been reflected in the examination of associated legal issues — both in law journals and government documents.17
In November 1999, the Office of the General Counsel of the Department of Defense issued a second edition of An Assessment of International Legal Issues in Information Operations (Document 13). The section “Application to Computer Network Attacks” (pp.16-23) concludes with a one-paragraph assessment which begins, “It is far from clear the extent to which the world community will regard computer network attacks as ‘armed attacks’ or ‘uses of force,’ and how the doctrines of self-defense and countermeasures will be applied to computer network attacks.” More recently, an Air Force instruction (Document 53) specifies the responsibilities of different Air Force components for legal reviews of weapons and cyber capabilities as well as the content of such reviews.
Legal issues have also been examined by the Congressional Research Service. In a March 2012 paper (Document 65), CRS explored Fourth Amendment, civil liberties, and privacy issues related to the protection of critical infrastructure and the sharing of cybersecurity information — as well as the possibility of conflicts between state and federal cybersecurity law. Another CRS study (Document 73) examines possible cyber-related changes to 28 different statutes.
The question of whether the U.S. Cyber Command had sufficient legal authority to carry out its mission was the catalyst for an exchange of letters (Document 68a, Document 68b, Document 68c), beginning in March 2012, between Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and General Keith B. Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency and the commander of the U.S. Cyber Command. In his initial letter McCain posed six questions, while in his second letter he notes a number of disagreements with the content of Alexander’s responses.
The Documents
Document 1: [Deleted], National Security Agency, “Computer Operating System Vulnerabilities,” Cryptolog, VI, 3 (March 1979). Unclassified.
Source: http://www.nsa.gov
This article, which appeared in a classified NSA journal, explores seven common computer operating system vulnerabilities, several penetration techniques, defensive measures, and future research areas.
Document 2: Robert J. Hanyok, National Security Agency, “Some Reflections on the Reality of Computer Security,” Cryptolog, IX, 6-7 (June-July 1982). Confidential.
The author of this article argues that while computer users at NSA have been confident that the security of their systems is “ironclad and invulnerable” the reality is quite different. He then notes a number of user practices and implementation problems that make those systems vulnerable.
Document 3: [Deleted], “Computer Virus Infections: Is NSA Vulnerable?,” Cryptologic Quarterly, 4, 3 (Fall 1985). Top Secret.
This paper examines the nature of computer viruses, whether there is an algorithm to determine whether a program is infected with a virus, different classes of attack (including compromise, spoofing, and denial of service), and solutions.
Document 4: [Deleted], “A First Generation Technical Viral Defense,” Cryptologic Quarterly, 7, 2 (Summer 1988). Secret.
This paper examines a defense, involving encryption, that can be used to respond to the detection of a computer virus — and means for checking the effectiveness of the response.
Document 5: General Accounting Office, GAO/IMTEC-89-57, Computer Security: Virus Highlights Need for Improved Internet Management, June 1989. Unclassified.
The catalyst for this report was a November 1988 computer virus that caused thousands of computers, in the United States and overseas, to shut down. The report provides details on some of the networks disrupted by the virus, the means of infection, and notes the vulnerabilities highlighted by the incident.
Document 6: General Accounting Office, GAO/T-IMTEC-92-5, Computer Security: Hackers Penetrate DOD Computer Systems, November 20, 1991. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.gao.gov
This testimony of a GAO official concerns his division’s investigation of the attacks by Dutch hackers on Army, Navy, and Air Force computer systems — which the official characterizes as containing unclassified but sensitive information — during Operation Desert Storm/Shield. It examines how the hackers penetrated the systems, agency responses, and the need for greater attention to computer security.
Document 7: Richard Sylvester, National Security Agency, “NSA and Computer Viruses,” Cryptolog, XIX, 3 (1992). Unclassified/For Official Use Only.
This one-page article reports NSA classification guidelines with respect to any discussion of computer viruses with regard to NSA systems. Classification of specific facts ranged from Unclassified to Top Secret/Handle Via Comint Channels Only.
Document 8: [Deleted], National Security Agency, “Global Network Intelligence and Information Warfare: SIGINT and INFOSEC in Cyberspace,” Cryptolog, XXI,1 (1995). Top Secret/Handle Via Comint Channels Only.
This heavily-redacted article extends beyond cyber issues, but does note that “sophisticated telecommunications and data networks … make it possible to deny and degrade a potential adversary’s command and control communications and sensitive commercial and diplomatic communications from great distances with little or no risk to life and limb.”
Document 9: [Deleted], “Out of Control,” Cryptologic Quarterly, Special Edition, 15, 1996. Secret.
This article, in another National Security Agency journal, discusses the threat to computer systems containing classified information via human intelligence operations directed at systems administrators. A largely redacted section is titled “”Foreign Intelligence Services Are Already Targeting Computer Personnel,” while the final section offers recommendations on how to address the problem.
Document 10a: Government Accounting Office, GAO/AIMD- 96-84, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, May 22, 1996. Unclassified.
Document 10b: Jack L. Brock, General Accounting Office, GAO/T-AIMD-96-92, Information Security: Computer Attacks at Department of Defense Pose Increasing Risks, May 22, 1996. Unclassified.
This report and testimony by a GAO official reports on an examination of hacker attacks on Defense Department computer systems, including a 1994 episode that involved over 150 attempts to access the computer systems of Rome Laboratory — which resulted in the theft of air tasking research data and damage to the laboratory’s air tasking order research project “beyond repair,” according to lab officials. The report and testimony also discuss the challenges faced by DoD in securing its computer systems.
Document 11: William B. Black, National Security Agency, “Thinking Out Loud About Cyberspace,” Cryptolog, XXIII, 1 (Spring 1997). Secret.
This article, by a senior NSA official, notes that NSA was assigned the mission of computer network attack in March 1997, and argues that the world was on the verge of a new age — “the information age” — and that the future of war would be warfare in cyberspace.
Document 12: William J. Clinton, Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-63, Subject: Critical Infrastructure Protection, May 22, 1998. For Official Use Only/Unclassified.
Source: Federation of American Scientists (www.fas.org)
The introduction to this directive notes that the military and economy of the United States are “increasingly reliant upon certain critical infrastructures and upon cyber-based information systems.” The remainder of the 18-page directive specifies the President’s intent “to assure the continuity and validity of critical infrastructures” in the face of physical or cyber threats, states a national goal, delineates a public-private partnership to reduce vulnerability, states guidelines, specifies structure and organization, discusses protection of Federal government critical infrastructures, orders a NSC subgroup to produce a schedule for the completion of a variety of tasks, and directs that an annual implementation report be produced.
Document 13: Office of General Counsel, Department of Defense, An Assessment of International Legal Issues in Information Operations, Second Edition, November 1999. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.dod.gov
The introduction to this assessment notes that information operations includes information attack which, in turn, includes computer network attack. It goes on to consider the implications of a variety of domestic and international laws and treaties with regard to information operations.
Document 14: Steven A. Hildreth, Congressional Research Service, Cyberwarfare, June 19, 2001. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.fas.org
This report discusses the definition of cyberwarfare, and contains three case studies — including the Rome Laboratory incident (Document 8a, Document 8b) and two exercises — and, inter alia, reviews U.S policy and doctrine, organization, and legal issues. It also discusses selected foreign views and activities with regard to cyberwar.
Document 15: Michael Vatis, ESDP Discussion Paper-2002-04, Cyber Attacks: Protecting America’s Security Against Digital Threats, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, June 2002. Not classified.
Source: Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University (www.beflercenter.hks.harvard.edu)
This paper, written by the first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Infrastructure Protection Center, examines: the range of cyber attackers (including insiders, criminal groups, virus writers, foreign intelligence services, foreign military organizations, terrorists, “hacktivists,” and recreational hackers), types of cyber attacks, the international component of cyber attacks, the federal response to cyber attacks, Presidential Decision Directives 62 and 63, and the policy of the George H.W. Bush administration. Vatis also offers recommendations concerning cyber research and development, alert status during conflict, and identifying best practices related to cyber security.
Document 16: The White House, The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace, February 2003. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.us-cert.gov
This 76-page document discusses the strategy’s strategic objectives (including preventing cyber attacks against critical U.S. infrastructures), the government’s role in cyber security, the anticipated role of the Department of Homeland Security in cyber security, and five critical priorities for cyberspace security (including a national cyberspace security response system and international cooperation). A classified National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD-38), with the identical title, was issued on July 7, 2004.
Document 17: Kheng Lee Gregory Tran, Naval Postgraduate School, Confronting Cyberterrorism with Cyber Deception, December 2003. Unclassified.
Source: Dudley Knox Library, Naval Postgraduate School (www.nps.edu/library)
This master’s thesis examines the possibility of using deception to defeat or mitigate the damage from cyberterrorism. It examines, inter alia, the cyberterrorism threat, the values and risks of deception, nine varieties of cyber deception (including concealment, camouflage, false and planted information, ruses, and feints) and cyber defense, and the pitfalls of cyber defense.
Document 18: Interagency OPSEC Support Staff, Intelligence Threat Handbook, June 2004. Unclassified.
Source: Author’s Collection
The scope of this handbook is broader than cybersecurity, but one section — Computers and the Internet — addresses the history of Internet security, threats to computer network security, roots of network vulnerability, outsider attack techniques, insider attack techniques, and countermeasures.
Document 19: Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, OIG-04-29, Progress and Challenges in Securing the Nation’s Cyberspace, July 2004. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.dhs.gov
This document reports on the inspector general’s evaluation of the Department of Homeland Security’s efforts to implement The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace (Document 14). It notes “major accomplishments” — including the creation of a Computer Emergency Readiness Team, creation of the National Cyber Alert System, and sponsorship of the National Cyber Security Summit. It also notes “a number of challenges to address long-term cyber threats and vulnerabilities” — including the DHS National Cybersecurity Division’s need to prioritize its initiatives, identify resources required to carry out its mission, and develop strategic implementation plans.
Document 20: President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, Report to the President, Cyber Security: A Crisis of Prioritization, February 2005. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.nitrd.gov/pitac/reports
The two main chapters of this report, prior to the concluding chapter, address the importance of cyber security and examine federal cyber security research and development efforts. In its concluding chapter the committee states its findings and recommendations with regard to federal funding for fundamental research in civilian cyber security, the cyber security research community, technology transfer efforts, and the coordination and oversight of federal cyber security research and development.
Document 21: Donald Rumsfeld, to Steve Cambone, Subject: Cyber Attack Issue, November 04, 2005, Unclassified/FOUO .
Source: http://www.rumsfeld.com
In this “snowflake” directed to his under secretary for intelligence, Rumsfeld suggests that Cambone consider establishing a group to review organization, budgeting, and presentation issues with regard to cyber attacks.
Document 22: Department of Directive O-3600.01, Subject: Information Operations, August 14, 2006. Unclassified/For Official Use Only.
Source: Department of Defense Freedom of Information Act Release
This directive states Department of Defense policy and responsibilities with regard to information operations (defined as the integrated deployment of electronic warfare, computer network operations, psychological operations, military deception, and operations security). Among those whose responsibilities are identified is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration.
Document 23: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, The National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations, December 2006. Secret.
Source: Department of Defense Freedom of Information Act Release.
This strategy document was issued to provide guidelines to the Defense Department — including military service organizations, the unified commands, and DoD components (including agencies, field activities and other entities) — with regard to planning, executing, and allocating resources for cyberspace operations. Its main chapters focus on the strategic context, threats and vulnerabilities, strategic considerations, the military strategic framework, and implementation and assessment. Several enclosures address topics such as examples of threats and threat actors, examples of vulnerabilities, and strategic priorities and outcomes.
Document 24: John Rollins and Clay Wilson, Congressional Research Service, Terrorist Capabilities for Cyberattack: Overview and Policy Issues, January 22, 2007. Unclassified.
This study examines possible terrorists’ objectives in conducting cyberattacks, computer vulnerabilities that might make cyberattack against the U.S. homeland’s critical infrastructure viable, and emerging computer and technical skills of terrorists. It also examines the cybersecurity efforts of several government agencies, changing concerns about cyberattack, and a number of additional issues concerning terrorist or criminal cyber activities.
Document 25: Ryan J. Moore, Naval Postgraduate School, Prospects for Cyber Deterrence, December 2008. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.nps.edu/library
The author of this thesis argues that with “more sectors of critical national infrastructure [being] interconnected in cyberspace,” the risk to national security from cyberattack “has increased dramatically.” He explores the fundamentals of strategic deterrence, the evolving cyber threat, deterrence strategy in cyberspace, and the prospects for cyber deterrence.
Document 26: Defense Security Service, Targeting U.S. Technologies: A Trend Analysis of Reporting from Defense Industry, 2009. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.dss.mil
This assessment of foreign attempts to illicitly acquire U.S. technologies concerns a variety of techniques, including “suspicious internet activity” — which includes, but is not limited to “confirmed intrusion, attempted intrusion, [and] computer network attack.”
Document 27: Major William C. Ashmore, School of Advanced Military Studies, United States Army Command and General Staff, Impact of Alleged Russian Cyber Attacks, 2009. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/fr/fulltext/u2/a504991.pdf
This monograph was written to examine the implications of alleged Russian cyber attacks against Estonia and Georgia for the Russian Federation, former Soviet satellites, and international organizations.
Document 28: The White House, Cyberspace Policy Review: Assuring a Trusted and Resilient Information and Communications Infrastructure, May 8, 2009. Unclassified.
Source: The White House (www.whitehouse.gov)
This paper reports the results of a presidentially-directed 60-day comprehensive review to evaluate U.S. policies and organizational structures related to cybersecurity. The review produced seven main conclusions which included: “The Nation is at a crossroads,” “The status quo is no longer acceptable,” “The United States cannot succeed in securing cyberspace if it works in isolation,” and “The Federal government cannot entirely delegate or abrogate its role in securing the Nation from a cyber incident or accident.”
Document 29: Robert M. Gates, Memorandum to Secretaries of the Military Departments, Subject: Establishment of a Subordinate Unified U.S. Cyber Command Under U.S. Strategic Command for Military Cyberspace Operations, June 23, 2009. Unclassified.
This memo from the Secretary of Defense directs the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command to establish a U.S. Cyber Command and that the command reach an initial operating capability by October 2009 and a full operating capability by October 2010. It also informs the recipients of the Secretary’s plan to recommend to the president that the National Security Agency director also become commander of the Cyber Command.
Document 30: Bryan Krekel, Northrop Grumman, Capability of the People’s Republic of China to Conduct Cyber Warfare and Computer Network Exploitation, October 9, 2009. Unclassified .
Source: Air University (www.au.af.mil)
This study, prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, focuses largely on Chinese computer network exploitation (CNE) as a strategic intelligence collection tool. It examines Chinese CNE operations strategy and operations during conflict, key entities in Chinese computer network operations, cyber-espionage, an operational profile of an advanced cyber intrusion, and a chronology of alleged Chinese computer network exploitation events.
Document 31: Department of Defense, DoD Instruction 5205.13, Subject: Defense Industrial Base (DIB) Cyber Security/Information Assurance (CS/IA) Activities, January 29, 2010. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/520513p.pdf
This Defense Department instruction states policy, establishes responsibilities, and delegates authority with regard to the protection of unclassified DoD information that passes through or resides on unclassified Defense Industrial Base information systems and networks.
Document 32: Department of Homeland Security, Computer Network Security & Privacy Protection, February 19, 2010. Unclassified.
This white paper describes the Department of Homeland Security’s computer network security activities, which includes the operation of the EINSTEIN intrusion detection systems — including the systems collection methods and the implications for privacy protection. It also discusses topics such as oversight and compliance, the role of the National Security Agency, and future program development.
Document 33: U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, TRADOC Pamphlet 525-7-8, The United States Army’s Cyberspace Operations Concept Capability Plan, 2016-2028, February 22, 2010. Unclassified.
This pamphlet explores how “the Army’s future force in 2016-2028 will leverage cyberspace and CyberOps” and how CyberOps (which is specified to consist of four components — cyberwarfare, cyber network operations, cyber support, and cyber situational awareness) will be integrated into full spectrum operations.
Document 34: The White House, The Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, March 2, 2010. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov
The release of this document by the Obama White House revealed details of the cybersecurity initiative launched during the previous administration. It provides basic details of twelve different components of the initiative — which include intrusion detection and prevention systems across the federal government, coordination and redirection of research and development efforts, enhancing situational awareness, increasing the security of classified networks, developing enduring deterrence strategies, and defining the role of the federal government for extending cybersecurity into critical infrastructure domains.
Document 35: Keith Alexander, Director, National Security Agency, Advanced Questions for Lieutenant General Keith Alexander, USA Nominee for Commander, United States Cyber Command, April15, 2010. Unclassified.
This 32-page documents consists of 28 questions (some with multiple parts) posed to, and answered by, General Alexander in advance of his appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee with respect to his nomination to head the newly formed U.S. Cyber Command.
Document 36: Department of Energy, DOE P 205.1, Subject: Departmental Cyber Security Management Policy, September 23, 2010. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.energy.gov
This Department of Energy policy directive covers the six components of the department’s cyber security management policy — its objectives, guiding principles, core functions, mechanisms, responsibilities, and implementation.
Document 37: Janet Napolitano and Robert Gates (signators), Memorandum of Agreement Between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense Regarding Cybersecurity, September 27, 2010. Unclassified.
The purpose of the agreement, signed by the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense, is specified as establishing the terms by which the two departments “will provide personnel, equipment, and facilities” in order to increase interdepartmental collaboration in strategic planning as well as operational activities concerning cybersecurity.
Document 38: Department of Defense, Cyber Command Fact Sheet, October 13, 2010. Unclassified.
This fact sheet provides basic information about the U.S. Cyber Command — including its mission, focus, and components.
Document 39: JASON, JSR-10-102, Science of Cyber-Security, November 2010. Unclassified.
This report, by the Defense Department’s JASON scientific advisory group, was a response to the department’s request that the group examine whether there were underlying fundamental principles that would make it possible to adopt a more scientific approach to the issue of cybersecurity. The sciences they examine for possible guidance are economics, meteorology, medicine, astronomy, and agriculture.
Document 40: Paul K. Kerr, John Rollins, and Catherine A. Theohary, Congressional Research Service, The Stuxnet Computer Worm: Harbringer of an Emerging Warfare Capability, December 9, 2010. Unclassified.
This short paper provides an overview of the Stuxnet worm, an exploration of possible developers and future users, a discussion of whether Iran was the intended target, as well as industrial control systems vulnerabilities and critical infrastructure, national security implications, and issues for Congress.
Document 41: Department of Defense, DoD Instruction S-5240.23, Subject: Counterintelligence (CI) Activities in Cyberspace, December 13, 2010. Secret.
According to this instruction, DoD counterintelligence activities in cyberspace are to be directed against foreign intelligence services and international terrorist organizations. The two key portions of the instruction define the responsibilities of DoD components and establish procedures for counterintelligence activities. While much of the segment concerning procedures is redacted in the declassified version, the table of contents indicates three different types of CI-related activities in cyberspace: counterintelligence support, counterintelligence collection, and offensive counterintelligence operations (OFCO).
Document 42: Isaac R. Porsche III, Jerry M. Sollinger, and Shawn McKay, RAND Corporation, A Cyberworm that Knows no Boundaries, 2011. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.rand.org
The catalyst for this paper were the reports of the Stuxnet worm (Document 40). It explores issues raised by “sophisticated yet virulent malware” — including the nature of the threats, the vulnerabilities exploited and the difficulties in defending against Stuxnet-type worms, and the problems posed by organizational and legal restrictions. It also provides a short assessment of the status of U.S. defensive capabilities and efforts required to improve those capabilities.
This report updates the Defense Security Service’s 2009 assessment of foreign attempts to illicitly acquire U.S. technologies, and concerns a variety of techniques, including “suspicious internet activity.” It notes a high level of suspicious network activity “in the form of cyber intrusion attempts directed at cleared contractor networks.”
Document 44: Nicolas Falliere, Liam O. Murchu, and Eric Chien, Symantec, W 32. Stuxnet Dossier, Version 1.4, February 2011. Not classified.
Source: http://www.symantec.com
This study, prepared by the Symantec computer security firm, provides a technical analysis of the Stuxnet malware — exploring the attack scenario, timeline, Stuxnet architecture, installation, load point, command and control, propagation methods, payload exports, payload resources and other topics.
Document 45: Office of the Inspector General, Department of Justice, Audit Report 11-22, The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Ability to Address the National Security Cyber Intrusion Threat , April 2011. Secret.
Source: http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a1122r.pdf
The audit which is the subject of this report was conducted to evaluate the FBI’s efforts in developing and operating the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force in response to the national security cyber threat, and assess the FBI field offices’ capabilities to investigate national security cyber cases.
Document 46: The White House, International Strategy for Cyberspace: Prosperity, Security, and Openness in a Networked World, May 2011. Unclassified.
This policy document discusses the process of building U.S. cyberspace policy, the future of cyberspace (including the preferences of the U.S. and its role in achieving its preferred outcomes), and U.S. policy priorities (with regard to economic issues, network protection, law enforcement, and several additional issues). It concludes with a discussion of U.S. implementation of its strategy.
Document 47: Government Accountability Office, GAO-11-421, Defense Department Cyber Efforts: More Detailed Guidance Needed to Ensure Military Services Develop Appropriate Cyberspace Capabilities, May 2011. Unclassified.
This study was conducted to determine the extent to which the Defense Department and U.S. Cyber Command had provided the military services with adequate guidance with respect to roles and responsibilities, command and control relationships, and mission requirements and capabilities with regard to cyberspace operations.
Document 48: Department of Energy, DOE O 205.1B, Subject: Department of Energy Cyber Security Program, May 16, 2011. Unclassified .
This Energy department order states requirements for the department’s Cyber Security Program, which requires a risk management approach. It also specifies the responsibilities of over a dozen department components or officers in formulating and implementing the program.
Document 49: Government Accountability Office, GAO-11-75, Department of Defense Cyber Efforts: DOD Faces Challenges In Its Cyber Activities, July 2011. Unclassified.
This is an unclassified version of a previously classified report. It examines DoD’s organization for addressing cybersecurity threats as well as assessing the extent to which the Defense Department had developed a joint doctrine for cyberspace operations, assigned command and control responsibilities, and identified and addressed key capability gaps involving cyberspace operations.
Document 50: Department of Defense, Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace, July 2011. Unclassified .
Source: http://www.defense.gov
The core of this strategy document is the discussion of five strategic initiatives with regard to DoD operations in cyberspace — treating cyberspace as an operational domain with regard to organization, training, and equipment; employing new defense operations concepts to protect DoD networks and systems; collaboration with other U.S. government departments and the private sector; cooperation with U.S. allies and international partners; and leveraging “the nation’s ingenuity” through the cyber work force and technological innovation.
Document 51: Gregory C. Wilshusen, Government Accountability Office, GAO-11-865T, Cybersecurity: Continued Attention Needed to Protect Our Nation’s Critical Infrastructure, July 26, 2011. Unclassified.
The focus of this study is the federal role in enhancing cybersecurity related to the private sector’s operation of critical infrastructure. It describes cyber threats facing cyber-reliant critical infrastructures; discusses recent federal government actions, taken in cooperation with the private sector, to identify and protect such infrastructures; and identifies challenges to the protection of those infrastructures.
Document 52: Bradford Willke, Department of Homeland Security, Moving Toward Cyber Resilience, July 27, 2011. Unclassified.
Source: Pubic Intelligence (http://info.publicintelligence.net/DHS-CyberResilience.pdf)
This briefing covers a number of topics, including the origins, organization, and mission of the DHS National Cyber Security Division, hacking activities directed at a number of government and private entities (the CIA, Booz Allen Hamilton, Lockheed Martin), the Stuxnet worm, an effort designated Night Dragon that involved cyber-theft of sensitive information from international oil and energy companies, and cyber security advisory activities.
Document 53: Department of the Air Force, Air Force Instruction 51-402, Legal Reviews of Weapons and Cyber Capabilities, July 27, 2011. Unclassified.
This instruction focuses on the responsibilities of different Air Force components for legal reviews of weapons and cyber capabilities, as well as the contents of such reviews.
Document 54: Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, Review of the Department of Homeland Security’s Capability to Share Cyber Threat Information (Redacted), September 2011, Unclassified.
The Fiscal Year 2010 Intelligence Authorization Act required the inspectors general of the Intelligence Community and DHS to provide Congress with an assessment of how cyber threat information is being shared among federal agencies and the private sector, the means used to share classified cyber threat information, and the effectiveness of the sharing and distribution of cyber threat information. In addition to providing such an assessment, the Inspector General made three recommendations to DHS.
Document 55: National Counterintelligence Executive, Foreign Spies Stealing US Economic Secrets in Cyberspace: Report to Congress on Foreign Economic Collection and Industrial Espionage, 2009-2011 , October 2011. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.ncix.gov
This report, produced by a component of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, consists of three major sections. One is the vulnerability of U.S. technologies and trade secrets to cyberspace operations and the appeal of cyberspace collection. Another examines the threat from specific collectors, including Russia, China, and U.S. partners. The third provides an outlook for the future, divided between sections on “near certainties” and “possible game changers.”
Document 56: Office of Inspector General, Department of Energy, DOE/IG-0856, Evaluation Report: The Department’s Unclassified Cyber Security Program – 2011, October 2011. Unclassified.
The Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 required an independent evaluation to determine whether the Department of Energy’s unclassified cyber security program adequately protected its data and information systems. According to the report, corrective actions for only 11 of 35 cybersecurity weaknesses identified in the inspector general’s 2010 report had been completed. In addition, there was a 60 percent growth in identified weakness over the 2010 report.
Document 57: Department of Homeland Security, Preventing and Defending Against Cyber Attacks, October 2011. Unclassified.
This DHS paper focuses on the department’s efforts in assisting federal executive branch civilian departments with securing their unclassified computer networks. It reports on the department’s efforts with respect to cybersecurity coordination and research, cybersecurity initiatives and exercises, the promotion of public awareness of cybersecurity, cybersecurity workforce development, and privacy and civil liberties issues.
Document 58: Department of Homeland Security, Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future: The Cybersecurity Strategy for the Homeland Security Enterprise, November 2011. Unclassified.
This blueprint contains two main components. It lists four cybersecurity goals (reducing exposure to cyber risk, ensuring priority response and recovery, maintaining shared situational awareness, and increasing resilience) — to be attained through nine objectives. Secondly, it specifies four goals for strengthening the cyber system (to be attained via eleven objectives).
Document 59: Department of Defense, Department of Defense Cyberspace Policy Report: A Report to Congress Pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011, Section 934 , November 2011. Unclassified.
This 14-page document describes the legal and policy issues associated with cyberspace, reports on decisions of the secretary of defense, and notes that there are no plans to update the National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations (Document 23) but that the Department of Defense Strategy for Operating in Cyberspace (Document 50) would provide strategy guidance. In addition, it describes the use and application of cyber modeling and simulation.
Document 60: United States Air Force, Air Force Doctrine Document 3-12, Cyberspace Operations, November 30, 2011. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.e-publishing/af.mil
This document examines cyberspace fundamentals (including U.S. national policy and the challenges of cyberspace operations); command and organization (including a description of U.S. cyberspace organizations as well as command and control of cyberspace operations); and the design, planning, execution, and assessment of cyberspace operations.
Document 61: National Science and Technology Council, Executive Office of the President, Trustworthy Cyberspace: Strategic Plan for the Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Program, December 2011. Unclassified .
Source: http://www.cyber.st.dhs.gov
This plan specifies four interconnected priorities for U.S. government agencies that conduct or sponsor research and development in cybersecurity. The priorities are organized along four lines: inducing change, developing scientific foundations, accelerating transition to practice, and maximizing research impact.
Document 62: Government Accountability Office, GAO-12-92, Critical Infrastructure Protection: Cybersecurity Guidance Is Available but More Can Be Done to Promote Its Use, December 2011. Unclassified.
This GAO report examines the use of cybersecurity guidance in seven critical infrastructure sectors (including banking and finance, energy, and nuclear reactors) from national and international organizations. It reports that while such guidance is being employed, sector officials do not believe it is comprehensive, and DHS and other sector-specific agencies have not identified key cybersecurity guidance applicable to each of their critical infrastructure sectors.
The main focus of this report, by the Pentagon’s Defense Security Service, is not cybersecurity but the attempts to gather information on U.S. technologies — by whatever method. However, as did previous DSS reports (Document 26, Document 43), it does discuss “suspicious network activity” (SNA) as one acquisition method. It notes that SNA is “the most prevalent collection method for entities originating from East Asia and the Pacific,” although it is no higher than fifth with regard to collection methods associated with other regions.
Document 64: 624th Operations Center, Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance Division, Air Force Space Command, Cyber Threat Bulletin, 2012 Top Ten Cyber Threats, January 9, 2012. Unclassified/For Official Use Only.
Source: http://www.publicintelligence.net
This bulletin passes along the conclusions of the McAfee computer security firm concerning the top 10 cyber threats for the coming year. The top five are attacking mobile devices, embedded hardware, “legalized” spam, industrial attacks, and hacktivism.
Document 65: Mark Mateski, Cassandra M. Trevino, Cynthia K. Veitch, John Michalski, J. Mark Harris, Scott Maruoka, and Jason Frye, Sandia National Laboratories, SAND 2012-2427, Cyber Threat Metrics, March 2012. Unclassified.
This report was prepared in support of the DHS cyber-risk and vulnerability assessment program intended to aid federal civilian executive branch agencies. It reviews alternative cyber threat metrics and models that might be employed in any operational threat assessment.
Document 66: Bryan Krekel, Patton Adams, George Bakos, Northrup Grumman, Occupying the Information High Ground: Chinese Capabilities for Computer Network Espionage and Cyber Espionage, March 7, 2012. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.uscc.gov
This report, prepared for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, focuses on six topics: information warfare strategy, Chinese use of network warfare against the United States, key entities and institutions supporting Chinese computer network operations (the Third and Fourth Departments of the Peoples Liberation Army’s General Staff Department), potential risks to the U.S. telecommunications supply chain, the comparison between criminal and state-sponsored network exploitation, and the risks and reality of collaboration between U.S. and Chinese information security firms.
Document 67: Edward C. Liu, Gina Stevens, Kathleen Ann Ruane, Alissa M. Dolan, and Richard M. Thompson II, Congressional Research Service, Cybersecurity: Selected Legal Issues, March 14, 2012. Unclassified.
The authors of this report address legal issues related to the protection of critical infrastructure, the protection of federal networks (including Fourth Amendment as well as civil liberties and privacy issues), and the sharing of cybersecurity information. In addition, the authors explore the possibility of federal cybersecurity law preempting state law.
Document 68a: John McCain to General Keith B. Alexander, Letter, March 29, 2012. Unclassified.
Document 68b: Keith B. Alexander, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command to The Honorable John McCain, May 3, 2012. Unclassified/For Official Use Only.
Document 68c: John McCain to General Keith B. Alexander, May 9, 2012. Unclassified.
Sources: http://www.washingtonpost.com, http://www.federalnewsradio.com, http://blog.zwillgencom
This series of letters begins with Senator John McCain (R-Az.) writing to Cyber Command chief Keith Alexander concerning the issue of whether the U.S. government needs additional authorities to deter and defend against cyber attacks. Alexander’s May 3 letter contains responses to the six questions posed by McCain in his March 29 letter. In turn, McCain’s May 9 letter notes a number of disagreements with the content of Alexander’s responses.
Document 69: Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, OPNAV Instruction 5450.345, Subj: Mission, Functions, and Tasks for Commander, U.S. Fleet Cyber Command and Commander, U.S. Tenth Fleet, April 4, 2012. Unclassified.
Source: http://doni.daps.dla.mil/Directives
This instruction specifies the authorities and missions of the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command, as well as the relationship between the commander, Fleet Cyber Command, and the commander, U.S. Tenth Fleet. It also specifies a number of Navy entities under the administrative control of the Fleet Cyber Command — including the Navy Information Operations Command (which conducts signals intelligence operations), the Navy Cyber Warfare Development Group, and the Navy Cyber Defense Operations Command.
Document 70: Gregory C. Wilshusen, Government Accountability Office, GAO-12-666T, Cybersecurity: Threats Impacting the Nation, April 24, 2012. Unclassified.
This report describes GAO’s assessment of cyber threats posed to federal and other computer systems, and vulnerabilities present in federal information systems and supporting critical infrastructure. It also describes reported cyber incidents and their impacts. It characterizes the number of cybersecurity incidents reported by federal agencies as rising and that “recent incidents illustrate that these pose serious risk.”
Document 71a: Pat Meehan, Statement to Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, “Iranian Cyber Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” April 26, 2012. Unclassified.
Document 71b: Dan Lungren, Statement to Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, “Iranian Cyber Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” April 26, 2012. Unclassified.
Document 71c: Frank J. Cilluffo, Director, Homeland Security Policy Institute, George Washington University, Statement to Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, “The Iranian Cyber Threat to the United States,” April 26, 2012.
Document 71d: Ilan Berman, American Foreign Policy Council, Statement to Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies, “The Iranian Cyber Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” April 26, 2012. Unclassified.
Source: http://homeland.house.gov
Substantial attention has been devoted to Chinese cyberwarfare activities in the reports of private and government organizations as well as in Congressional hearings. While Iranian cyber activities were noted in the 2012 testimony of Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who characterized them as “dramatically increasing in recent years in depth and complexity,” they have received less attention that those of the People’s Republic of China. These hearings, before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Homeland Security, involve assessments of the Iranian cyber threat by two Congressmen and representatives of two private organizations.
Document 72: Colonel Jayson M. Spade, U.S. Army War College, Information as Power: China’s Cyber Power and America’s National Security, May 2012. Unclassified.
Source: U.S. Army War College (www.carlisle.army.mil)
This research paper examines the growth of Chinese cyber capabilities — including those for offensive, defensive, and computer network exploitation operations. It also compares China’s capacity and potential in cyberspace to United States efforts with regard to cybersecurity. In addition, the author suggests a number of steps to improve U.S. cybersecurity policy.
Document 73: Eric A. Fischer, Congressional Research Service, Federal Laws Relating to Cybersecurity: Discussion of Proposed Revisions, June 29, 2012. Unclassified.
This analysis contains an introduction reviewing the then-current legislative framework on cybersecurity, executive branch actions, and legislative proposals. It then discusses proposed cybersecurity-related revisions to 28 different statutes — from the Posse Comitatus Act of 1879 to the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.
Document 74: Gregory C. Wilshusen, Government Accountability Office, GAO-12-962T, Cybersecurity: Challenges in Securing the Electricity Grid, July 17, 2012. Unclassified.
This testimony, by a GAO official, concerns cyber threats to critical infrastructure — including the electricity grid — as well as actions taken to prevent cyber attacks on the grid and challenges that remain. Mr. Wilshusen notes the actions taken by a number of entities (including the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), and identifies challenges such as a focus by utilities on regulatory compliance instead of comprehensive security and the lack of electricity metrics for evaluating cybersecurity.
Document 75: Office of Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security, OIG-12-112, DHS Can Strengthen Its International Cybersecurity Program (Redacted) , August 2012. Unclassified.
This is an unclassified version of a DHS inspector general report. In addition to reviewing actions taken to establish relationships with international cybersecurity entities, the report notes four areas that could be targeted for improvement — developing a strategic implementation plan for foreign engagement, streamlining the National Programs and Protection Directorate’s (NPPD) international affairs program and processes, improving communication between the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team and foreign entities, and strengthening NPPD information sharing capabilities.
Document 76: Paul W. Parfomak, Congressional Research Service, Pipeline Cybersecurity: Federal Policy, August 16, 2012. Unclassified.
As a means of aiding Congressional consideration of possible measures to enhance pipeline security, this report examines pipeline security risks (including general security threats, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security risks, and cyber threats to U.S. pipelines), U.S. pipeline security initiatives, and the adequacy of voluntary pipeline cybersecurity.
Document 77: Brian McKeon, Executive Secretary, National Security Staff, The White House, Memorandum, Subject: Papers Deputies Committee Meeting on Executive Order on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Practices, September 28, 2012 w/atts: Discussion Paper for Deputies Committee Meeting on Executive Order on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Practices; Draft Executive Order on Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Practices. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.lawfareblog.com
In the face of Congressional rejection of the Administration’s proposed cybersecurity legislation, work began on producing an executive order intended to accomplish the desired objectives. The first attachment (Tab A) to the covering memo discusses the key components of the cybersecurity legislation as well as how the executive order relies on current agency authorities to accomplish those objectives. The second attachment is a draft of the executive order.
Document 78: Leon E. Panetta, Secretary of Defense, “Defending the Nation from Cyber Attack,” Speech to Business Executives for National Security, October 11, 2012. Unclassified.
In this speech, Secretary Panetta warns of the possibility of a “cyber Pearl Harbor” — which could involve the derailing of passenger trains, contamination of the water supply in major cities, or the shutdown of the power grid across large parts of the country.
Document 79: Mark A. Stokes and L.C. Russell Hsiao, Project 2049 Institute, Countering Chinese Cyber Operations: Opportunities and Challenges for U.S. Interests, October 29, 2012. Not classified.
Source: http://project2049.net
This report, by a private organization, examines the role of several Chinese organizations — including the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Department, its Second Bureau, and its Beijing North Computing Center — in cyber operations. It also explores a number of possible reactions — including deception, an international code of conduct, an Asian cyber defense alliance, and what the report terms a “forceful response.”
Document 80: Richard Colbaugh and Kristin Glass, Sandia National Laboratories, SAND2012-10177, Proactive Defense for Evolving Cyber Threats, November 2012. Unclassified.
This technical/mathematical analysis seeks to characterize “the predictability of attack/defender coevolution” — which is then used to create a framework for designing proactive defenses for large networks.
Document 81: Defense Science Board, Resilient Military Systems and the Advanced Cyber Threat, January 2013. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.acq.osd.mil/reports
This report (consisting of eleven chapters and six appendices) examines and evaluates the Defense Department’s defensive and offensive cyber operations. It concludes that DoD cyber security practices “have not kept up” with the tactics of cyber adversaries. It characterizes the threat as “serious” and “insidious” and objects that current Defense Department actions are “fragmented,” intelligence against targeting of DoD systems is “inadequate,” and that “with present capabilities and technology it is not possible to defend with confidence against the most sophisticated cyber attacks.”
Document 82: The White House, Administration Strategy on Mitigating the Theft of U.S. Trade Secrets, February 2013. Unclassified.
This document describes the administration strategy on mitigating the theft of U.S. trade secrets — including those stolen through cyber operations. It describes four action items — involving diplomatic efforts, promoting voluntary practices by private industry, enhancing domestic law enforcement operations, improving domestic legislation, and promoting public awareness.
Document 83: Mandiant, APT 1: Exposing One of China’s Cyber Espionage Units, February 2013. Not classified.
Source: http://www.mandiant.com
As a result of its investigation into computer security breaches around the world, Mandiant identified 20 groups designated Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups. The focus of this report is APT 1 — which the report concludes is the People Liberation Army’s Unit 61398 — the military unit cover designator for the 2nd Bureau of the Third Department of the PLA General Staff Department (also discussed in Document 79). The key elements of the report are the discussions of tasking to the unit, its past espionage operations, attack lifecycle, and the unit’s infrastructure and personnel.
Document 84: Office of Inspector General, Department of Energy, DOE/IG-0880, Audit Report, Management of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Cyber Security Program, February 2013. Unclassified.
Based on its audit of the Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) cyber security practices, the DoE inspector general observes that “LANL had made significant improvements to its cybersecurity program in recent years,” but that there were continuing concerns for several reasons – including a failure to address the full set of “critical and high-risk vulnerabilities.” The inspector general also makes three recommendations to improve LANL cybersecurity.
Document 85: Government Accountability Office, GAO-13-187, Cybersecurity: National Strategy, Roles, and Responsibilities Need to Be Better Defined and More Effectively Implemented, February 2013. Unclassified.
This study reports a 782-percent increase in cybersecurity incidents between 2006 and 2012. It examines the challenges facing the federal government in producing a strategic approach to cybersecurity and the degree to which the “national cybersecurity strategy adheres to desirable characteristics for such a strategy.”
Document 86: The White House, Presidential Policy Directive/PPD-21, Subject: Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, February 12, 2013. Unclassified.
This directive states basic U.S. policy with regard to the protection and recovery of critical infrastructure from both physical and cyber attacks. The key components are its delineation of roles and responsibilities of officials and agencies, its identification of three strategic imperatives, and its direction to the Secretary of Homeland Security on steps to implement the directive.
Document 87: The White House, Executive Order – Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity, February 12, 2013. Unclassified.
Source: Federal Register, 78, 33 (February 19, 2013)
In contrast to PPD-21 (Document 86) this executive order focuses solely on critical infrastructure cybersecurity. It address cybersecurity information sharing, a framework to reduce cyber risk to critical infrastructure, and the identification of critical infrastructure at greatest risk.
Document 88: Geoff McDonald, Liam O. Murchu, Stephen Doherty, and Eric Chien, Symantec Corporation, Stuxnet 0.5: The Missing Link, February 26, 2013. Not classified.
This analysis follows up on Symantec’s earlier examination of the Stuxnet worm (Document 44, also see Document 40). It reports that Symantec “discovered an older version of Stuxent that can answer the questions about [its] evolution.”
Document 89: Eric A. Fischer, Edward C. Liu, John Rollins, and Catherine A. Theohary, Congressional Research Service, The 2013 Cybersecurity Executive Order: Overview and Considerations for Congress, March 1, 2013. Unclassified.
This paper identifies a number of types of individuals or groups that are considered threats to cybersecurity. It also provides an overview of President Obama’s executive order (Document 87), considers the question of the scope of presidential authority, and examines the relationship between the executive order and legislative proposals.
Document 90: James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, Statement for the Record to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, March 12, 2013. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.dni.gov
In his annual worldwide threat assessment, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper begins with a discussion of global threats, and his discussion of global threat with an examination of the cyber threat. Specific topics addressed include the risk to U.S. critical infrastructure, the impact on U.S. economic and national security, information control and internet governance, and the activities of hacktivists and cybercrimnals.
Document 91: General Keith Alexander, Commander, United States Cyber Command, Statement before the Senate Committee on Armed Services, March 12, 2013. Unclassified.
Source: http://www.armed-services-senate.gov
In this statement, Alexander describes the organization and personnel strength of the Cyber Command, the strategic landscape, the command’s priorities, and plans for the future.
Document 92: U.S. Cyber Command, U.S. Cyber Command Organization Chart, n.d., Unclassified.
Source: U.S. Strategic Command Freedom of Information Act Release
This chart depicts the headquarters organizational structure of U.S. Cyber Command as of April 2013.
1. Leon Panetta, Address to Business Executives for National Security, “Defending the Nation from Cyber Attack,” October 11, 2012, http://www.defense.gov; Barack Obama, “Remarks by the President in the State of the Union Address,” February 12, 2013, http://www.whitehouse.gov; James R. Clapper, Statement for the Record, Worldwide Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community, March 12, 2013, pp. 1-3, http://www.dni.gov; “Senate Armed Services Committee Gets Grim Briefing on Cyber Threats,” March 20, 2013, http://www.matthewaid.com.
2. See Ted Lewis, “Cyber Insecurity: Black Swan or Headline?,” Homeland Security Watch (www.hlswatch.com), February 8, 2013; Ryan Singel, “Richard Clarke’s Cyberware: File Under Fiction, http://www.wired.com, April 22, 2010; John Arquilla, “Panetta’s Wrong About a Cyber ‘Pearl Harbor’, http://www.foreignpolicy.com, November 19, 2012; Jerry Brito and Tate Watkins, “Loving the Cyber Bomb?: The Dangers of Threat Inflation in Cybersecurity Policy,” Homeland National Security Journal, Vol. 3, 2011, pp. 39-83; Thomas Rid, “Cyber War Will Not Take Place,” Journal of Strategic Studies, 35, 1 (February 2012), pp. 5-32; Ronald Bailey, “Cyberwar Is Harder Than It Looks,” Reason, May 2011, pp. 50-51.
3. Steven A. Hildreth, Congressional Research Service, Cyberwarfare , June 19, 2001, p. CRS-4
4. John Rollins and Clay Wilson, Congressional Research Service, Terrorist Capabilities for Cyberattack: Overview and Policy Issues , January 22, 2007,pp. CRS-16-17.
5. Major William C. Ashmore, United States Army Command and General Staff College, Impact of Alleged Russian Cyber Attacks , 2009, pp. 11-14.
6. McAfee, Global Energy Cyberattacks: “Night Dragon”, February 10, 2011; “Three Saudis Sent to Prison for Stealing Info From Aramco Computer Systems,” http://www.matthewaid.com,March 19, 2013; Ellen Nakashima, “Iran blamed for cyberattacks on U.S. banks and companies,”www.washingtonpost.com, September 21, 2012.
7. Michael Vatis, Cyber Atttacks: Protecting America’s Security against Digital Threats,” ESDP Discussion Paper ESDP-2002-04, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, June 2002, p. 15, n.42.
8. Ted Bridis, “‘Silent Horizon’ war games wrap up for the CI A,” http://www.usatoday.com,May 26,2005
9. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, The National Military Strategy for Cyberspace Operations , December 2006, p. C-2.
10. James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence, Unclassified Statement for the Record on the Worldwide Threat Assessment for the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence , January 31, 2012, p. 8.
11. “National Security Presidential Directives [NSPD] George W. Bush Administration,”www.fas.org, accessed March 30, 2013.
12. “Sean Kanuck – National Intelligence Officer for Cyber Issues, Office of the Director of National Intelligence,” http://www.security-innovation.org/bios, accessed April 5, 2013; Jeffrey T. Richelson, The U.S. Intelligence Community (Boulder, Co.: Westview, 2011), pp. 23, 29;”The Information Operations Center Analysis Group (IOC/AG),” http://www.cia.gov, accessed April7, 2013; John Rollins and Clay Wilson, Congressional Research Service, Terrorist Capabilities for Cyberattack: Overview and Policy Issues, January 22, 2007, p. CRS-8.
13. Jana D. Monroe, Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Testimony before House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property,” June 17, 2002,www.fbi.gov/news/testimony/the-fbis-cyber-division; “Cyber Division,” http://www.fbigovs.gov/311132.asp, accessed March 31, 2013.
14. A computer virus designated FLAME has been reported to have been designed to gather information needed for the U.S. and Israel to employ the Stuxnet worm. See Ellen Nakishima, Greg Miller, and Julie Tate, “U.S., Israel developed Flame computer virus to slow Iranian nuclear efforts, officials say,” http://www.washingtonpostcom, June 19, 2012; Kim Zetter, “Meet ‘Flame,’ The Massive Spy Malware Infiltrating Iranian Computers,” http://www.wired.com, May 28, 2012.
15. Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker, “U.S. Weighed Use of Cyberattacks To Weaken Libya,” New York Times, October 18, 2011, pp. A1, A7.
16. David E. Sanger, Confront and Conceal: Obama’s Secret Wars and Surprising Use of American Power (New York: Crown, 2012), pp. 188-225; Marc Ambinder and D.B. Grady, Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry (New York: Wiley, 2013), pp. 261-279.
17. Some law review articles include David E. Graham, “Cyber Threats and the Law of War,” Journal of National Security Law and Policy , 4, 2010, pp. 87-102; Matthew C. Waxman, “Cyber-Attack and the Use of Force: Back to the Future, Article 2(4),” Yale Journal of International Law, 36, 2011, pp. 421-459; Eric Talbot Jensen, “Computer Attacks on Critical National Infrastructure,” Stanford Journal of International Law, 38, 2002, pp. 207-240.
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Nsa Wannacry
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Published May 4, 2013 April 23, 2018
Video – The Future of News: Investigative Journalism – Bob Woodward
Michael Moore – Sicko – Full Movie
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MyUS has made every effort to provide the best available shopping options for our members. However, some merchants listed may have established purchase restrictions, may not take all forms of payment or may restrict purchases to certain countries. Always check the merchant’s site for terms of sale, shipping guidelines or terms and conditions for more information.
Some workers, "pickers", who travel the building with a trolley and a handheld scanner "picking" customer orders can walk up to 15 miles during their workday and if they fall behind on their targets, they can be reprimanded. The handheld scanners give real-time information to the employee on how fast or slowly they are working; the scanners also serve to allow Team Leads and Area Managers to track the specific locations of employees and how much "idle time" they gain when not working.[183][184] In a German television report broadcast in February 2013, journalists Diana Löbl and Peter Onneken conducted a covert investigation at the distribution center of Amazon in the town of Bad Hersfeld in the German state of Hessen. The report highlights the behavior of some of the security guards, themselves being employed by a third party company, who apparently either had a neo-Nazi background or deliberately dressed in neo-Nazi apparel and who were intimidating foreign and temporary female workers at its distribution centers. The third party security company involved was delisted by Amazon as a business contact shortly after that report.[185][186][187][188][189]
On October 16, 2016, Apple filed a trademark infringement case against Mobile Star LLC for selling counterfeit Apple products to Amazon. In the suit, Apple provided evidence that Amazon was selling these counterfeit Apple products and advertising them as genuine. Through purchasing, Apple was able to identify that nearly 90% of the Apple accessories sold and fulfilled by Amazon were counterfeit. Amazon was sourcing and selling items without properly determining if they are genuine. Mobile Star LLC settled with Apple for an undisclosed amount on April 27, 2017.[164]
Between texting, directions, and social media, it's easy to drain your battery when you're out and about. To assure that you have enough power to make an emergency phone call while still being able to use various apps, you should always have a portable charger on hand. This one from Anker has fast charging capabilities, can charge an iPhone 8 up to 2.5 times, and it's slim, meaning it's easy to carry in a purse or back pocket.
When you first move into a new apartment, you're always missing a few things—like say, a complete knife set. If you're not looking to spend too much, this colorful, stainless steel set from Vremi is one of the best knife sets we've tested under $100. They come with hard plastic covers that are ideal for storage and right now, you can get them at their lowest price. They're not the sharpest knives out there, but they make a great set for a basic kitchen.
Prime membership will set you back $12.99/£7.99 per month ($6.49 if you're a student) or $119/£79 annually. But if you're not a Prime subscriber already and don't want to commit, you can sign up for a free 30-day Amazon Prime trial and you'll be eligible for Lightening deals (as well as all the other Prime benefits). You can then cancel any time within that 30 days with no strings attached. Just don’t sign up yet – wait until 1st November.
As one of its daily deals, Woot via Amazon offers the refurbished Samsung 28" 4K LED-Backlit LCD Monitor for $229.99 with free shipping. Although it was $10 less for a refurb in August, it's still $65 cheaper than the best price we could find for a new unit today. It features a 3840x2160 4K native resolution, 1ms response time, DisplayPort, and two HDMI inputs. A 90-day Samsung warranty applies. Deal ends today.
BuyDig offers the Sony 69.5" 4K HDR Flat LED Ultra HD Smart Television, model no. XBR70X830F, bundled with a $150 Visa Gift Card for $1,598 with free shipping. (The gift card will be emailed within six to eight weeks.) Assuming you'll use the gift card, that's $52 under our mention from two weeks ago and the lowest price we could find now by $150. This 2018 model features:
Mevol via Amazon offers its Mevol Stainless Steel Tub Drain Hair Catcher for $12.99. Coupon code "WDLK8SZM" cuts that to $8.96. Plus, Prime members receive free shipping. That's tied with our mention from two weeks ago, $4 off, and the lowest price we could find. It fits drains from 1.5" to 1.8" diameter and comes with four rubber gaskets. Deal ends October 31.
Gimme Shopping Australia is a great Australian price comparison website that allows customers to find the best product prices online. Store owners can choose to have their products listed on the platform for free. They pride themselves in being an ad free platform to avoid biasing their customers. The platform can help store owners drive more traffic to their online stores. However, you will need to pay a commission for traffic that leads to sales.
Our favorite is DealNews.com, which has a team of deal hunters who keep their eyes on a million products at more than 2,000 reputable online retailers and update the site with new deals at least 200 times a day. Plus, it works with merchants to offer exclusive deals you won't find elsewhere. There's a picture of each product and ample information, including the original price, sale price and whether it's the lowest price DealNews has found for the product. You can sign up for e-mail alerts for products or stores you're interested in and get shopping advice from the site's buying guides.
Now Discount’s price comparison app helps customers get online prices from local retailers. It helps brick and mortar retailers compete with online retail pricing to draw in more customers into stores. Brick and mortar retailers can choose whether or not to sell the item at the online price or for a discounted price. The app connects consumers to stores in their geographical location. This means that customers can also use this app to compare supermarket prices in their geographic location.
Brilliance Audio is an audiobook publisher founded in 1984 by Michael Snodgrass in Grand Haven, Michigan.[93] The company produced its first 8 audio titles in 1985.[93] The company was purchased by Amazon in 2007 for an undisclosed amount.[94][95] At the time of the acquisition, Brilliance was producing 12–15 new titles a month.[95] It operates as an independent company within Amazon.
Amazon puts all of its daily deals into a Gold Box. Check the Today's Deals page to access these daily deals and get limited-time savings of up to 80% off select items, coupons to instantly clip and access to Lightning Deals. Lightning Deals are available only for a limited amount of time and have a countdown timer showing how much time is left to get the discount. Shop before the deal expires or the item sells out.
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Magnum Venus Products Celebrates 50th Anniversary and New Facility
Last week, Magnum Venus Products (MVP), a premier manufacturer of composite application equipment, celebrated its 50th anniversary and broke ground on a new $12 million, 80,000-square foot manufacturing facility near the company headquarters in Knox County, Tenn.
“We are excited to announce the site of our future home in East Tennessee,” MVP President Pete Hedger, Sr. said. “This facility will provide for increased production on the East Coast and allow us to better serve our customers and partners in the composites industry. Additionally, this facility will be home to our headquarters operations, including corporate functions as well as state-of-the-art research and demonstration areas.”
MVP says that with growing market demand for its products in many industries, as well as the large number of composite-related businesses moving into the area, the new plant further solidifies the company’s ties to the Knoxville area.
“One of the reasons this 50 year anniversary is so important is that breaking ground on the new facility not only cements a true milestone for our company, but also shows that we are committed to the Knoxville community and to our employees,” said Ron Blackburn, MVP Marketing Coordinator. “We live here, we love it here, and that’s why we are putting down roots to expand further as the business grows.”
MVP expects to hire 70 additional employees to staff the new facility during the second half of 2017. In order to educate prospective new hires, some of the partner organizations set up tabletop booths at the company’s groundbreaking event, with information about the opportunities East Tennessee has to offer.
For more information, watch the video below:
This Dye Eliminates the Need for Tough-To-Remove Solvents in Graphene-Polymer Composites
World’s Largest Carbon Composites Superyacht Launched
Big Opportunities in the Bio-Based Resin Market
3-D Printed Car “Strati” Gets Ready to Rev Up
Carbon Fiber Prices Could Drop by As Much As 90 Percent
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Visit the National Edition
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View all blogs »
Sibling Success with The Band Perry
By Pat Reavy, Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 3:02 pm MST
The Band Perry have been busy writing songs for their next album, finding inspiration in their experiences over the past year-and-a-half for their new music.
“A great song is, ‘I could use some sleep,'” Reid Perry joked during a recent tour stop in Kansas.
But the trio could also be writing songs with titles like, “Our skyrocket ride to the top” or “Our first album did really really really well” or “You May Have Heard Our Song On The Radio.”
Since their self-titled debut album in the fall of 2010, The Band Perry – siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar), Neil Perry (mandolin) and Reid Perry (bass, the one with the David Cassidy/ Keith Richards circa 1970s haircut) – have achieved widespread success, thanks in no small part to their single, “If I Die Young,” which made an impact in much the same way Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” did a year earlier, bridging country, pop and rock radio genres.
“If I Die Young” was a song written by Kimberly.
“She said she wrote it on a cloudy day in east Tennessee,” Reid Perry recalled.
The “seize the day” type anthem was written on the eve of the band going into the recording studio for their first independent project.
“We were completely content and happy with what we had accomplished already,” Reid Perry said. “We said, if it all ended today, we’d be completely happy with what we did.”
But the recording didn’t stop for siblings. In fact, it only got bigger.
In October of 2010, The Band Perry released their major label self-titled debut. With the popularity of “If I Die Young,” the band won Grammy awards for Top New Artist and Top New Vocal Duo or Group as well as the CMT Breakthrough Video of the Year, and the CMA single and song of the year awards.
“We kind of knew from the beginning it was a special song,” Neil Perry said, noting that their mother cried the first time they played it for her. “There’s old soul wisdom behind the song.”
Even today, it’s still a song the band loves playing.
“Honestly, it’s one of our favorite moments live,” he said.
The band will usually stop singing midway through the song and let the audience take over the vocals. It’s a feeling that the Perrys say is very special to them knowing fans have taken the song that much to heart.
But “If I Die Young” isn’t the only good song on the album. The band’s follow-up singles, “You Lie” and “All Your Life” are more upbeat and less likely to be played on mainstream pop radio. But are actually some of the best songs on the album.
When asked whether The Band Perry’s “sound” is more in the style of “If I Die Young” or the other upbeat songs on the album, the Perry brothers say it’s all the above.
“We wanted every single song to have it’s own personalty,” Reid Perry said. “You put it all together, you get a complete picture.”
The songs, he said, cover all parts of life.
“We have cheating songs, romantic songsevery song is our child. We love them all equally.”
Growing up, the Perry siblings say their parents exposed them to a wide range of music, from Loretta Lynn to Led Zeppelin. When Kimberly was 15 she joined a band in high school and her younger brothers asked to be her roadies. Eventually, the brothers formed their own band. But after they found themselves in need of a lead singer, they asked if their sister wanted to join them.
This will be The Band Perry’s second trip to Utah. The first coming last summer during the Tim McGraw tour. This time, the group is opening for a man who frequently finds his way to Utah, Brad Paisley.
Paisley is renowned for being a practical jokester while on tour. After being the victims of a small prank early in the tour, The Band Perry got a little payback. Each night on the tour, the band performs the solemn “Whiskey Lullaby” on stage with Paisley. One night, the band walked out on stage wearing “pointy alien ears.” Reid Perry said Paisley did a double take with Kimberly cams up next to him and sing and got then cracked up.
The Perrys are now bracing for their payback as they get closer to the end of the tour.
The Band Perry and Brad Paisley will be at the Maverik Center on Friday night along with reigning American Idol winner Scotty McCreery.
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152 BUSINESS HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC
explosion in which he so nearly lost his life. Miller was an English¬ man and claimed to be a regularly educated gas engineer, but if so he must have been very careless, for he had a number of accidents of various kinds while in charge of the works here. Jn at least one of them it is a wonder that he was not killed.
The Fond du Lac Gas Works until now have not had a fair chance. They were cheaply put in at the start and when in need of repairs and improvements, the money to pay the cost was not forth¬ coming. The owners were too poor or too stingy to do the work needed, and the result has been that the works were not satisfactory to the people. The present owners are believed to have ample capital and that the gas works will be greatly improved and made what they ought to be.
When the gas works were started, gas was used for lighting purposes only, now the use has extended to heating and cooking, and who can tell to what other purposes it may be applied in the not distant future? The scientific genius may soon find other uses for it. At different times efforts have been made to cheapen the product at the works by the use of rosin, petroleum and even wood. At one time hundreds of cords of tamarack wood was used annually to adulterate or cheapen the product to the manufacturer but were abandoned. Gas can be made from such articles, but after all is but an adulteration and is satisfying to neither manufacturer nor con¬ sumer. Straight coal gas properly made, is the only product that is satisfactory to all concerned. That which is now made at the Fond du Lac Gas Works is understood to be of this character and the coal used is of a high grade. There is some complaint about the gas furnished consumers, but such complaints will come at times though the best material is used.
In this connection it is appropriate to speak of the lights in use when the gas works came into existence. Fifty years ago the people were using lights of which the present generation has no knowledge. The people now do know a little about candles, but what do they know about lard oil lamps, fluid lamps and camphene lamps? Prac¬ tically nothing. Camphene was made of alcohol, turpentine and gum camphor, and fluid the same without the turpentine. Both were very explosive but generally used. The first kerosene oil brought to Fond du Lac was by J. R. and J. W. Partridge, the druggists, about 1855. They brought lamps to burn it which were very different from those of today. It was liked very much but after the first invoice of oil was sold, no more could be obtained for several months. Crude petroleum would not work in the lamps and Mr. Partridge could not get refined oil and the old lamps had to be brought into use again. Finally some refined oil was obtained along in the spring of 1856, and since then the refiners kept up with the demand.
The lamps given to us to burn the first kerosene, were as crude as was the oil, and would be amusing to the modern consumers, but after all were so much of an improvement in methods of lighting then in use, that they were gladly accepted. And the oil—well, it was
Full Text 152 BUSINESS HISTORY OF FOND DU LAC explosion in which he so nearly lost his life. Miller was an English¬ man and claimed to be a regularly educated gas engineer, but if so he must have been very careless, for he had a number of accidents of various kinds while in charge of the works here. Jn at least one of them it is a wonder that he was not killed. The Fond du Lac Gas Works until now have not had a fair chance. They were cheaply put in at the start and when in need of repairs and improvements, the money to pay the cost was not forth¬ coming. The owners were too poor or too stingy to do the work needed, and the result has been that the works were not satisfactory to the people. The present owners are believed to have ample capital and that the gas works will be greatly improved and made what they ought to be. When the gas works were started, gas was used for lighting purposes only, now the use has extended to heating and cooking, and who can tell to what other purposes it may be applied in the not distant future? The scientific genius may soon find other uses for it. At different times efforts have been made to cheapen the product at the works by the use of rosin, petroleum and even wood. At one time hundreds of cords of tamarack wood was used annually to adulterate or cheapen the product to the manufacturer but were abandoned. Gas can be made from such articles, but after all is but an adulteration and is satisfying to neither manufacturer nor con¬ sumer. Straight coal gas properly made, is the only product that is satisfactory to all concerned. That which is now made at the Fond du Lac Gas Works is understood to be of this character and the coal used is of a high grade. There is some complaint about the gas furnished consumers, but such complaints will come at times though the best material is used. In this connection it is appropriate to speak of the lights in use when the gas works came into existence. Fifty years ago the people were using lights of which the present generation has no knowledge. The people now do know a little about candles, but what do they know about lard oil lamps, fluid lamps and camphene lamps? Prac¬ tically nothing. Camphene was made of alcohol, turpentine and gum camphor, and fluid the same without the turpentine. Both were very explosive but generally used. The first kerosene oil brought to Fond du Lac was by J. R. and J. W. Partridge, the druggists, about 1855. They brought lamps to burn it which were very different from those of today. It was liked very much but after the first invoice of oil was sold, no more could be obtained for several months. Crude petroleum would not work in the lamps and Mr. Partridge could not get refined oil and the old lamps had to be brought into use again. Finally some refined oil was obtained along in the spring of 1856, and since then the refiners kept up with the demand. The lamps given to us to burn the first kerosene, were as crude as was the oil, and would be amusing to the modern consumers, but after all were so much of an improvement in methods of lighting then in use, that they were gladly accepted. And the oil—well, it was
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638 HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY
Menasha. He lived a long and useful life, saw his land cleared and in cultivation, and he and his wife spent their last years in comfort and plenty, though in the early days they more than once had to put their dependence upon wild berries and the game supplied by the forest, as the only thing between them and starvation.
Mr. and Airs. Butler are the parents of five children: Molly, Alar¬ garet, Clara, Edward and Frances. They are all members of the Catholic Church. Besides the practical work he has done as a farmer, Mr. Butler has served as treasurer of his home school district and also as path master.
August E. Domke. Though Mr. Domke now has one of the fine farms in Royalton Township, in his early years he was on intimate terms with hard work and poverty, and he has been the master of his own destiny. As a young man he learned how to swing an axe and help clear off the forest which covered many acres of some of the best farming district in Wisconsin. Besides industry he had the fine asset of thrift and with these two resources he has never failed to make a living and to get a little bit further ahead in the world each year.
Mr. Domke was born in Germany February 11, 1862, a son of Stephen and Caroline (Steinberg) Domke. His father died in Ger¬ many when August was about eighteen months old. There was one older child, a son, who died in infancy. The widowed mother then married Mr. Lewis Strochine, and they all came to America about 1864, locating in Bloomfield Township of Waushara County, Wisconsin. Air. Strochine had to cut down some of the trees in order to make a clearing for his first cabin home, and he continued the work of clearing and improvement until he had a good farm. He died there in 1909, and his widow still resides on the homestead.
August E. Domke attended the public and parochial schools of Bloomfield Township in Waushara County. He grew up a strong and resourceful man, and before he started out on his own account there was no lack of demand for his services as a helper on other farms.
At the beginning of his independent career Mr. Domke came to Waupaca County and bought a tract of land in Weyauwega Township. In 1894 he bought the ninety-six acres comprising his present well improved place in Royalton Township. Nearly all the improvements on that farm represent his labor and management. Practically all the buildings were erected under his ownership. Air. Domke is a general farmer and he contributes his share to the aggregate of products for which Waupaca County is justly famous.
In 1893, the year before he came to his present homestead, on the sixteenth day of November, he married Miss Emma Pagel. Mrs. Domke was born in the State of Aiinnesota, a daughter of Ferdinand and Kate (Mundinger) Pagel. Her mother was born near Fremont, Wisconsin, and her father was a native of Germany, having been brought to America by his parents when he was a boy. The Pagels originally settled in Bloomfield Township of Waushara County. Ferdinand
Full Text 638 HISTORY OF WAUPACA COUNTY Menasha. He lived a long and useful life, saw his land cleared and in cultivation, and he and his wife spent their last years in comfort and plenty, though in the early days they more than once had to put their dependence upon wild berries and the game supplied by the forest, as the only thing between them and starvation. Mr. and Airs. Butler are the parents of five children: Molly, Alar¬ garet, Clara, Edward and Frances. They are all members of the Catholic Church. Besides the practical work he has done as a farmer, Mr. Butler has served as treasurer of his home school district and also as path master. August E. Domke. Though Mr. Domke now has one of the fine farms in Royalton Township, in his early years he was on intimate terms with hard work and poverty, and he has been the master of his own destiny. As a young man he learned how to swing an axe and help clear off the forest which covered many acres of some of the best farming district in Wisconsin. Besides industry he had the fine asset of thrift and with these two resources he has never failed to make a living and to get a little bit further ahead in the world each year. Mr. Domke was born in Germany February 11, 1862, a son of Stephen and Caroline (Steinberg) Domke. His father died in Ger¬ many when August was about eighteen months old. There was one older child, a son, who died in infancy. The widowed mother then married Mr. Lewis Strochine, and they all came to America about 1864, locating in Bloomfield Township of Waushara County, Wisconsin. Air. Strochine had to cut down some of the trees in order to make a clearing for his first cabin home, and he continued the work of clearing and improvement until he had a good farm. He died there in 1909, and his widow still resides on the homestead. August E. Domke attended the public and parochial schools of Bloomfield Township in Waushara County. He grew up a strong and resourceful man, and before he started out on his own account there was no lack of demand for his services as a helper on other farms. At the beginning of his independent career Mr. Domke came to Waupaca County and bought a tract of land in Weyauwega Township. In 1894 he bought the ninety-six acres comprising his present well improved place in Royalton Township. Nearly all the improvements on that farm represent his labor and management. Practically all the buildings were erected under his ownership. Air. Domke is a general farmer and he contributes his share to the aggregate of products for which Waupaca County is justly famous. In 1893, the year before he came to his present homestead, on the sixteenth day of November, he married Miss Emma Pagel. Mrs. Domke was born in the State of Aiinnesota, a daughter of Ferdinand and Kate (Mundinger) Pagel. Her mother was born near Fremont, Wisconsin, and her father was a native of Germany, having been brought to America by his parents when he was a boy. The Pagels originally settled in Bloomfield Township of Waushara County. Ferdinand
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ALEX GALCHENYUK GROWS INTO HIS SUPERSTAR STATUS
The fashion / tech story of a hockey star …
January 13, 2017 by Erik Leijon in Profiles
When star Montreal Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk first arrived in the city as a talented but raw 18-year-old, his future was considered bright. Fast forward five years and the American-Belarussian has lived up to the hype: he’s now the team’s first-line centre, one of the league’s top scorers and his physique has transformed from thin teenager into chiseled adonis.
He’s also grown into a superstar off the ice, thanks in large part to technology like social media. His Instagram feed has become legendary for its footage of his unbelievable offseason workouts in the forests of Belarus, and his emerging fashion sense earned him accolades at last year’s glitzy McLaren Formula One party at the Ritz-Carlton hotel.
Galchenyuk is currently the face of Montreal-based Frank & Oak’s casual State Concepts line, and it’s a partnership that suits him well.
“I signed on with them over the summer, and it’s great for me because I like their clothes,” Galchenyuk says. “I’m always on the lookout for what’s cool and new, and they’re cool so I like wearing them.”
Although it’s only been recently that the 22-year-old has started to turn heads for his sense of style, he says it’s always been something that’s important to him.
“I spent my whole first paycheque on Louis Vuitton and Gucci,” he says with a laugh.
“When you make it, you get into the mindset where you should do something to recognize that you’ve made it. There were things that I used to see in stores and I would think to myself ‘one day you’ll be able to get them.’ And when you get to a certain point where you can, you have to do it. It’s satisfying.”
As for trying to describe his budding style, he points out that comfort is a priority. He also doesn’t sweat the details, admitting that he only takes about five minutes to get ready every morning.
“I wouldn’t say I’m trying to follow trends, but I have my own style and so far it’s been working for me,” he says. “I think it’s my mood. Whatever I feel like, I’ll dress accordingly. Sometimes I’ll wear all black, or sometimes I’ll wear more colours. The thing is I have a lot of clothes so no matter what I do, chances are I’ll find something that works.”
His sister Anna, a Montreal celeb in her own right, helps out as well.
“She went to New York recently and picked up some cool stuff for me that’s hard to find. When I entered the league I was always trying to buy the high-end brands – now I’m more into limited edition clothes, ones that are harder to find,” he says.
Growing up the son of a hockey player also helped broaden his horizons. His dad, Alexander Galchenyuk, moved around the United States and Europe during his playing career. He eventually settled in Russia, where Alex grew up, but the Milwaukee, Wisconsin native returned to North America as a teen to pursue his hockey career.
“In Russia, people are fashionable,” Galchenyuk says. “And then, when you’ve been fortunate enough to live in places like Italy and Switzerland, you learn about different brands. I was also exposed to so many cultures growing up; in my life I’ve been able to take aspects of each.”
He’s a huge fan of Old Montreal, saying that it captures the history and culture of the European cities he spent time in as a child.
“I think it’s [Montreal] a creative city,” he adds. “It isn’t like any other city in Canada.”
If fans want to know what he’s wearing, or what sort of mind-blowing workout he’s been doing, his Instagram feed is the place to go.
Galchenyuk is exactly what professional hockey needs: a social media savvy star who doesn’t mind showing what life is like away from the rink. Last summer, he went viral after posting a video of himself shirtless, running through the forest while pulling a tire that was tied to his waist.
“I’ll give credit to my dad for the idea,” he says. “We were tired of the same old workout and we wanted to try something else, just to keep my mind fresh.”
The minute he started pulling the tire up the slope, he knew it had to be Instagrammed, he recalled. Although he likes to drown out the noise during the season, in the summer he likes to get creative with his social media..
“I think the key is to not just post hockey stuff,” he says. “Everyone who follows you knows you’re a hockey player. What’s important to give is these little life moments. You want to show that you’re a normal person, but with hard work anything is possible.”
Given his comfort level connecting with hockey fans online, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’s glued to his iPhone when he’s not at work. It’s the one piece of technology he couldn’t live without.
“There’s always something to read or watch on it,” he says. “I can’t even get into my car without putting on some music on my phone first or checking the news.”
Photography NEIL MOTA (Rodeo Productions)
Styling JESSY COLUCCI
(FIRST LOOK) Hoodie and pants FRANK + OAK STATE CONCEPTS. Bling VERSACE V1969 ITALIA JEWELLERY MEN’S COLLECTION (Delmar Jewelers). Watch ROLEX YACHT- MASTER.
(SECOND LOOK) Shirt and pants HUGO BOSS. Shoes NIKE RED OCTOBER. Bling VERSACE V1969 ITALIA JEWELLERY MEN’S COLLECTION (Delmar Jewelers). Smart Watch FREDERIQUE CONSTANT (BIRKS).
Special thanks to Maria Antonopoulos and the Antonopoulos Group for kind hospitality at the new William Gray hotel, Anna Galchenyuk for being the superstar she is and Na’eem Adam and the Parvin team for great support.
Tags: CANADIENS, DIARY VOL 6, hockey star, MONTREAL CANADIENS, PROFILES, TECHNOLOGY
PROFILE: THE MASTERFUL WORLD OF PHILIPPE MALOUIN
FURNITURE PHENOM ANTOINE ROSET
ACTOR CHRIS NOTH
A TATTOO ADVENTURE WITH ARTIST SCOOTER LAFORGE
OLIVIER ROYANT, THE ULTIMATE ( PARIS ) MATCH
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You are what you cook: Alum blends heritage, French styles in restaurant
By Linda Xu
Arts, Lifestyle
Alumnus Bryant Ng opened Cassia in Santa Monica in 2015 with a menu that incorporates Southeast Asian flavors as well as French influences. His pot au feu dish, a traditional one-pot French stew, incorporates the beef broth from Vietnamese pho as well as other Vietnamese flavors such as cinnamon. (Farida Saleh/Daily Bruin)
Bryant Ng comes from a family of restaurateurs.
The alumnus used to help out in the kitchen of his parents’ restaurant, Wok Way, washing dishes and peeling shrimp. Sometimes, they even let him put food in the fryer.
Ng’s grandparents also opened a Polynesian- and Cantonese-style tiki restaurant, Bali Hai, in Culver City more than 60 years ago when drinks were still 50 cents. He said his family’s history of running restaurants eased his transition into cooking and gave his parents a sense of security when he switched from a stable career path into the more uncertain restaurant industry.
“I loved the environment, the immediacy of everything,” he said. “We serve the food, it goes out, someone eats it.”
Ng graduated from UCLA in 2000 with a degree in molecular, cell and developmental biology and began working as a consultant in San Francisco’s biotech industry. However, Ng said he soon grew tired of his 9-to-5 lifestyle, which involved sitting in front of a computer and drudging through a daily routine, and made the permanent switch to pursue cooking a couple years later. He made his first forays into the culinary world by taking a three-month course at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, the shortest one it offered so that he could start working as soon as possible, he said.
After years of working in French and Italian kitchens in Los Angeles and New York, Ng opened his own restaurant, Cassia, in Santa Monica as co-owner and head chef in 2015, just 3 miles from the restaurant his grandparents had owned. Ng said Cassia’s menu ultimately represents the natural product of his family’s heritage and his experience working in French kitchens.
The menu’s Southeast Asian influence combines Ng’s Chinese heritage and his wife’s Vietnamese upbringing. Although Ng has worked in French kitchens in LA and New York, much of the restaurant’s French influence was already present in Vietnamese cuisine because of French colonialism, he said.
Andrea Nguyen, a food writer and friend of Ng’s, said when the French arrived in the 19th century, they introduced a romanized system of spelling that facilitated clearer communication, especially with regards to food and the assimilation of culture. As a result, French-influenced food became popular in Vietnam, and the Vietnamese began to adopt parts of French cuisine as their own.
“What we know as popular Vietnamese food – banh mi sandwiches, pho, flan, coffee with condensed milk – all this stuff that has become super popular in terms of the Vietnamese repertoire is somehow attached to the French,” Nguyen said.
Near the beginning of the 20th century, people referred to the Vietnamese baguette as “French” or “Western” bread, but after the Vietnamese began consuming bread on a regular basis, they dropped the French modifier and it became known as “banh mi,” said Nguyen.
Nguyen said the cultural adaptability appears in another popular Vietnamese dish, pho. Prior to French colonization, cows were used as draft animals in Vietnam. But after arriving, the French began consuming the cattle, eating only the tender cuts. The Vietnamese used the components that were left over – the scraps and the bones – to create a broth for their noodle soup.
Ng said he incorporated the history of pho into his Vietnamese version of “pot au feu,” a traditional French one-pot stew. He infused the stew with the beef broth along with other Vietnamese flavors such as cinnamon and charred vegetables.
“It’s not like this huge crazy change. I mean you look at the dish, it can be traditional in certain ways, but the broth is different,” he said. “So when you eat it, there’s just subtle sort of changes in there.”
Cassia's interior was modeled after a French brasserie, with touches such as wired bird cages from Vietnam. (Farida Saleh/Daily Bruin)
Kim Luu-Ng, Ng’s wife and co-owner of Cassia, said when researching for the menu, Ng asked her what she grew up eating. Luu-Ng’s family, who fled Vietnam as refugees when she was 2 years old, originally lived in Quang Ngai, a small province located in the central region of the country. She said the typical fare of the region was comprised of what was known to be peasant food, which included boiled and stir-fried vegetables prepared for dipping in a Vietnamese fish sauce.
As a result, Luu-Ng grew up eating meals consisting of cooked cauliflower and cabbage. This inspired a fried cauliflower dish on the menu, along with the traditional fish sauce. Many of the vegetable and seafood dishes are reminiscent of the Vietnamese food Luu-Ng said she’s accustomed to eating – fresh and prepared on the day.
“A lot of the dishes are just a reflection of the way that I ate growing up with my mom,” she said.
The hybridity of the menu extends to the physical space occupied by the restaurant. Ng said the expansive interior is modeled after a French brasserie, a large, bustling restaurant, with concrete walls and long stretches of mirrors. However, next to the stone walls, wired bird cages from Vietnam house hanging light bulbs, and pots of vermicelli broth sit on kitchen stoves ready for prep.
The restaurant itself encompasses more than just Southeast Asian and French cuisines, Ng said. He also incorporates American flavors and local ingredients, as is the case with his long beans and avocado dish, an experimental combination of California produce and traditional Chinese food. Although typically labeled as a fusion restaurant, Ng said he finds it difficult to categorize the food he creates.
“What I’m trying to cook is not some contrived thing that we sit in the boardroom and put on a PowerPoint (to) try to figure out … flavor combinations for,” Ng said. “It’s actually more organic … and it’s part of who I am, what we do and the environment that I’m in.”
Linda Xu
Xu is a senior staff reporter for the Arts and Entertainment section. She was previously the assistant editor for the Lifestyle beat of Arts.
Alumnus reflects on past experiences to cook up his own restaurant
Restaurant review: Seoul House of Tofu
Restaurant Review: Nong Lá Cafe
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Agendas, Minutes and Meetings
Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panel
Minutes Monday 16 January 2017
Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panel Minutes
Spencer Room, Town Hall, Middlesbrough
Attendance Details
Present:
J Sharrocks (Chair), Davison, J Hobson, Mawston, McGloin, G Purvis, D Rooney.
C Kemp, C Lunn and A White.
Apologies for absence:
Councillor L Lewis
Declarations of interest:
There were no Declarations of Interest made at this point in the meeting.
Item/Resolution
16/1 MINUTES - AD HOC SCRUTINY PANEL - 21 APRIL 2016
(Attachment: 1)Copy of Minutes (60K/bytes)
The Minutes of the Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 21 April 2016 were submitted and approved as a correct record, subject to the following amendment:
Councillor Lewis had attended this meeting. The 'PRESENT' details would be amended to reflect this.
16/2 APPRENTICESHIPS
(Attachment: 2)Report (44K/bytes)
|(Attachment: 3)Appendix 1 (44K/bytes)
The Chair welcomed Members and invited representatives to this first meeting of the Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panels investigation into apprenticeship programmes within Middlesbrough Council. C Kemp, the Councils Community Learning Service Manager, and A White, the Apprentice and Work Skills Co-ordinator, were in attendance to provide the Panel with information pertaining to the topic.
It was explained to the Panel that, at present, the apprenticeship programmes running within the Council were funded by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA). It was anticipated that national changes scheduled for introduction on 6 April 2017 would alter these arrangements significantly; however, two budget lines were currently in place. The first consisted of approximately £84,000 for apprentices aged 19+ (who were usually pre-existing employees of the Council undertaking training within the context of an apprenticeship scheme), and the second consisted of approximately £300,000 for apprentices aged 16-18 years.
Members heard that, on average, the Middlesbrough Community Learning Service (MCL), which was responsible for the delivery of Government-funded apprenticeships for Middlesbrough Council, recruited 120 apprentices each year. It was highlighted that some excellent outcomes had been achieved for the apprenticeships undertaken, e.g. 81% of those completing apprenticeships in 2015/2016 had progressed into employment. It was felt that the service had been a very positive provider, with reference being made to the figures outlined in Appendix 4 of the submitted report to support this.
MCL had been inspected by Ofsted in February 2016, where overall it was found to have been performing 'good', although 'outstanding' in some areas. Members requested that a copy of the report be circulated for information.
In response to an enquiry, the Panel was informed that, at present, in light of funding from the SFA, the only expense to the Council was the salary payments for apprentices, which were based on the age and training level of the individuals concerned. For example: the commencing rate of pay for a Level 2 qualification was £3.40 per hour; this was a minimum amount that gradually increased as the apprentices age and experience increased.
A Member made reference to the Councils Living Wage policy and queried how the current pay arrangements reflected this. In response, it was explained to the Panel that those embarking upon an apprenticeship programme had no practical experience of a particular job role. The Government had identified that a minimum payment of £3.40 per hour could have been set in order for that experience and those qualifications to have been gained. However, it was highlighted that all of Middlesbrough Councils apprentices were considered internal employees and therefore, in respect of job vacancies, should a suitable position have become available within their respective department, they would have been eligible to apply for that role, and still have completed their qualification, if successful.
With regards to the impending national changes to apprenticeships, Members were informed that the first change related to funding. At present, budgets utilised for the payment of training apprentices were the responsibility of providers. From 6 April 2017, however, that funding was being transferred to large employers with a salary bill of over £3million. This was known as the Apprenticeship Levy. As part of this, the Council would have been taxed on 0.5% of its total payroll amount, which equated to £500,000. The allocation would have subsequently been held in a virtual digital account, and then spent on the delivery of apprenticeships. It was felt that there were complications around this arrangement, with reference being made to maintained schools. It was explained that, of the £500,000 total, £300,000 had been calculated from Council employees, and £200,000 from maintained school employees. The allocation of this funding to apprenticeship training was complex, as theoretically £200,000 could have been utilised by schools; however, the practicalities of recruiting, training and funding apprentices may have extended beyond this.
The second change revolved around the introduction of public sector targets for apprenticeships. It was explained to Members that targets were based on the size of the company; the Councils target was 120 new-starts every year (those that were continuing their apprenticeships would not have been included in this figure).
The third change revolved around standards. Members heard that, at present, apprentices worked towards a framework, which included a number of qualifications and/or specific requirements that required completion in order for full accomplishment of the framework to be achieved. From 6 April 2017, frameworks would become known as standards, which may not have encompassed qualifications, but other elements such as a list of competencies that the apprentice would need to have fully addressed in order to complete potentially quite lengthy standards. It was indicated that, in some cases, this could have doubled the length of the apprenticeship, for example: a management programme apprenticeship at Level 5 currently took one year to complete; after April 2017, this would have increased to two years.
It was highlighted to the Panel that the Government had identified costs associated with each standard, which varied considerably. It was felt that the Councils target of 120 new-start apprentices was achievable, however, the cost of some standards, Legal and Planning-related for example, were particularly high. It was felt that this may have resulted in significant challenge for the future in terms of managing the delivery of programmes. Reference was made to the types of apprenticeships currently undertaken at the Council. It was indicated that the majority of these were at a lower level, for example: Business Administration Level 2 and Customer Service Level 2; each apprenticeship at this level offered approximately £3,000 in funding.
Mention was made of schools and the further work that was required in ensuring the effective delivery of apprenticeships within those in the future.
Members considered the potential impact of the Governments target of 120 new apprentice starts each year, particularly in relation to the Councils salary payments. It was felt that an increase may have been seen within two years of the introduction of the changes, but this would have required further monitoring/analysis as time elapsed.
A Member made reference to the higher costs of some of the standards and queried the impact of total fund expiration. In response, it was indicated that businesses could have employed as many apprentices as they wished; however, they would have been expected to have paid 10% of the overall apprentice cost. Consideration was given to the Apprenticeship Levy allocation and the utilisation of the funds across the different areas of the Local Authority.
A discussion ensued in relation to schools. In response to an enquiry regarding the number of apprentices currently in schools, it was indicated that there were 20 on the Support in Teaching and Learning programme, and 20 on the Business Administration programme, making a combined total of 40. These figures referred to a combination of both maintained and Academy schools. Members were informed that some of the apprenticeships within the schools were being undertaken by pre-existing employees. It was felt that one of the fundamental advantages of the new system related to facilitated staff re-training and development, which would have been of particular benefit to schools. It was indicated to the Panel that no age limit would have been placed on this. The Panel was advised that in order to have met the Governments target, 40 apprentices from schools would have been required.
Members heard that, in light of the impending changes, the Workforce Development Team had been heavily involved in the development of the service, with discussion also being held with the Leadership Management Team. It was felt that the Councils apprenticeship programme offering could have been widened (for historical reasons it currently offered seven different programme types); consequently, a further eleven areas were currently being considered.
A discussion ensued in relation to the recruitment of apprentices. It was explained to the Panel that external agencies were not used. The Council advertised its vacancies via the SFA website; a notice had also been placed on the North East Jobs website to request that potential apprentices follow a link to the SFA website in order to apply. Reference was made to referrals and requests for further information that had been made by individuals in relation to apprenticeship vacancies. It was explained that schools in Middlesbrough, Stockton and Redcar, as well as recruitment fairs, were visited on an annual basis, and a fortnightly recruitment day was held at the Multi-Media Exchange in Middlesbrough.
Regarding school visits, it was explained to Members that these were undertaken annually, generally in respect of Year Groups 9 and 10. School staff often requested that visits be undertaken in relation to the provision of CV or interview technique advice, which was often agreed to as it was felt that the more presence and interaction that was achieved, the more information young people would have received about the Councils apprenticeship programmes.
A Member queried the assistance provided in relation to the support offered to unsuccessful apprenticeship applicants (e.g. assistance with CV preparation), and the uptake of this. In response, it was indicated that there was a high level of uptake for this support. It was felt that this activity had supported individuals well, as it may have also encouraged them to consider wider training/employment options that they would not have necessarily considered previously.
It was conveyed to the Panel that, at the Multi-Media Exchange recruitment days, individuals were assessed of their readiness for undertaking an apprenticeship. Reference was made to foundation training programmes and a Youth Employment Initiative (YEI) programme, for those aged 15-29, which were also available.
With regards to the YEI programme, it was explained that this had involved substantial mentoring activity in supporting young people, particularly in terms of developing their interview skills and preparing them for vocational work. The initiative had received a large take-up, with 230 individuals currently enrolled. The Community Learning Service Manager agreed to ascertain the statistics in terms of how many of those involved in the initiative were recruited via the recruitment days. Mention was made of the funding received from the Government with regards to participation in the YEI, including access to travel payments for interview attendance. It was felt that the initiative had offered a very positive approach in supporting young people.
With regards to the assessment and development work undertaken as part of an apprenticeship, it was explained to the Panel that apprentices attended the training centre for classroom-based sessions for one morning or one afternoon per week. Progress reviews were undertaken every 10-13 weeks, with workplace observation also being completed. It was envisaged that this practice would have continued beyond April 2017; however, increased involvement from employers in terms of the standards work would have been required.
Members were advised that, following the implementation of the changes in April 2017, in addition to the delivery of Council-based apprenticeships, MCL would have continued to work with external SME employers (who would not have been affected by the Levy changes). It was explained that the Council would have delivered and received payment for the apprenticeships, but the apprentices worked for external employers. Mention was made of current apprentices that worked for organisations such as Cleveland Police and the NHS. In response to an enquiry, the Panel was advised that any external apprenticeships were not included in the Governments 120 new-start target figure.
The Panel was informed that the Apprenticeship Levy payments were only applicable to businesses with a salary bill of over £3 million. Consideration was given to the SME businesses within Middlesbrough that would not have been required to pay a Levy. It was explained that the only way that those businesses could have attained training for their apprenticeships would have been via the historical route of approaching providers. It was indicated that two separate funding routes would be in place from April 2017: one relevant to Apprentice Levy-affected businesses and one relevant to the SME businesses. Mention was made of the availability of different financial incentives around both areas.
A Member queried whether, via the incentives available, this was a payment by results scheme. In response, it was indicated that there were a number of incentive payments available, e.g. payment if providers recruited apprenticeships aged 16-18 years, and payments in relation to recruitment from certain postcode areas. It was unclear at present as to exactly how much the Council would have received in incentive payments, as the only guidance currently available was data from the previous year. Reference was made to the processes involved in forwarding payment claims to the Government, and the frequency that these were paid. It was felt that this was potentially a payment by results scheme and that, at some point, the Council may have needed to make upfront payments, prior to receiving reimbursement at a later date.
A Member queried the retention of apprentices within the Council. In response, it was indicated that the retention figure was high at present (for 2015/2016 it was 92%), and was regularly monitored. It was explained to the Panel that an eight-week grace period was given to new apprentices; if an individual left their placement during this time, this would not have impacted upon the retention statistics.
A discussion ensued in respect of employment opportunities being made available to apprentices at the end of their programmes. It was explained to the Panel that neither promises nor guarantees could have been given to any apprentice in this regard, unless an employer had specifically recruited an individual, were paying them the full-rate for that position, and had then subsequently enrolled them onto an apprenticeship programme. It was explained that work could not have been guaranteed, as this would have been dependent upon a number of factors, including the availability of budgets and the performance of the respective apprentice. Consideration was given to the Governments new-start target figure and the potential impact upon employment opportunities in the future; it was felt that this may have caused an issue at some point. To date, there had not been any guidance issued as to the penalties that would have been faced had the target not been met. Consideration was given to the example scenario of the Apprenticeship Levy being spent, but only 100 (albeit high calibre) apprentices being recruited. Reference was made to Appendix 2 of the submitted report, which detailed Middlesbrough Councils apprentice destinations for 2011-2016.
A Member referred to the costs involved in completing the more expensive apprenticeships, such as those that incorporated Planning and Legal standards. It was indicated to the Panel that these were generally two years in length, were pitched at a higher level, and may have evolved into qualifications when completed. Reference was made to the funding difference between apprenticeships that, following the introduction of the new regime in April 2017, may have had significant implications in relation to programme and financial management. Members were advised that the Apprenticeship Levy would have most likely been utilised for paying for the 120 apprenticeships at the varying programme levels; however, it was acknowledged that any additional requirements may have impacted upon the cost to the Council, at some point.
A Member queried whether there had been any difficulties encountered in the recruitment of apprentices to any particular department. In response, the Panel heard that there had not been any difficulties in recruiting to any departments; however, it was important to have ensured that candidates held the appropriate pre-requisites, in order to have ensured successful allocation and progression. It was indicated that, at present, there had not been any problems encountered in terms of what was being delivered.
It was explained to Members that although the Council had a high number of apprentices placed across multiple service areas, they were the same generic types of apprenticeships - e.g. Customer Service and Business Administration. It was felt that one particular challenge of the new regime revolved around the preparation of managers in thinking differently of apprenticeships. Work was currently on-going between MCL and the Workforce Development Team in this regard (which included meeting managers and promoting the need for apprentices within their respective service areas). It was felt important that consideration be given to matters such as career strategy and long-term goal planning for those undertaking apprenticeship programmes. In response to a Member enquiry, it was indicated that apprentices had been allocated to Environment Services, and had also undertaken environmental conservation work.
A discussion ensued regarding the varying levels that were available within the apprenticeship programmes. It was indicated that apprentices generally commenced at Level 2, with Level 3 being made available for progression (as appropriate to the needs of both the employer and the individual completing the apprenticeship). In instances where apprentices had deferred commencing Level 3 of a programme, e.g. for a one year period, during that time they would have continued to work within their respective department in order to increase their knowledge, experience and understanding of their role.
It was indicated to Members that Level 1 referred to pre-apprenticeships: the Council had operated these previously, but they were part of a separate scheme to the apprenticeship programme; payment for these placements was received from an alternative funding stream. In response to an enquiry, Members were advised that the changes due in April 2017 were not expected to have had any impact on the number of Level 1 pre-apprenticeships being undertaken.
Consideration was given to the Councils management structure. A Member queried whether the impending changes would have created potential difficulties for managers, particularly in relation to the increase in the number of apprentices, and the continued provision of good quality service. In response, it was felt that the vast majority of service areas would not have recruited too many apprentices at once, as managers would have wanted to manage them appropriately - e.g. providing them with the correct training and assigning them to a suitable mentor.
In response to an enquiry regarding the training offered to service areas in preparing them for employing apprentices, it was indicated that MCL would have undertaken an induction with both the employer and the apprentice in order to ascertain the requirements and expectations of both parties. It was indicated that, within the new system, there would have been an increased level of ownership on managers, as it was competency based, i.e. as the person supporting the apprentice, managers would have been required to sign those competencies off; continued 1-to-1 and group support would have been made available in relation to this.
The Chair thanked the Councils Community Learning Service Manager and the Apprentice and Work Skills Co-ordinator for their attendance and contributions to the meeting.
During discussion, Members agreed that, in terms of progressing the review, a selection of current apprentices be invited to the next Panel meeting in order to share their experiences.
The Panel considered wider Middlesbrough in the context of the review, with reference being made to external businesses and organisations. Mention was made of Community Councils and the potential forwarding of apprenticeship programme information to them, for increased circulation around the wider community. Members discussed the role of schools in respect of apprenticeships; it was agreed that a school Careers Adviser be invited to the next meeting of the Panel for discussion around this.
A Member suggested that, in light of the impending changes, the Panel should re-visit this topic again in the future.
AGREED that:
A copy of MCLs Ofsted inspection report would be forwarded to the Panel Members for information.
The Community Learning Service Manager would provide the Panel with statistics regarding the YEI programme, specifically to ascertain how many of the 230 individuals involved in the initiative were recruited via recruitment days.
A selection of current apprentices would be invited to the next Panel meeting in order to share their experiences of undertaking an apprenticeship.
A school Careers Adviser would be invited to the next meeting of the Panel to discuss the role of schools in apprenticeships.
That the information, as provided, be noted.
16/3 ANY OTHER URGENT ITEMS WHICH IN THE OPINION OF THE CHAIR, MAY BE CONSIDERED.
DATE OF NEXT MEETING - MONDAY, 13 FEBRUARY 2017
Members were advised that the next meeting of the Ad Hoc Scrutiny Panel had been scheduled for Monday, 13 February 2017, commencing at 14:00 in the Spencer Room, Town Hall, Middlesbrough.
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UK Cricket Fans in November fuel Sri Lanka’s Tourist arrivals to hit 2 Mn in 2018
The recently released official data as at 30th November 2018 points out that 2,080,627 tourists had visited Sri Lanka for this year reporting 11.2% growth over last year when 1,871,871 tourists had visited the country during the same period. Analysts are in the view, the Cricket fans from the United Kingdom had made it possible to help Sri Lanka to cross the 2 million tourists this year in November 2018. The data points out that the total number of international tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka during November 2018 was 195,582. In comparison to November last year, there is a growth of 16.8% when the arrivals were 167,511. United Kingdom accounted for 11% of the total traffic, while China, Germany and Australia accounted for 10%, 10% and 5% respectively. Europe accounted for 43% of the total traffic, America 6%, Middle East 3% and Africa 1%.
This month, the largest source market for tourists is India, followed by United Kingdom and China. Almost 94% of tourists travelled by air to Sri Lanka. Asia and Pacific continued to be the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 47% of the total traffic received in November 2018.
India, United Kingdom, China, Germany and Australia were Sri Lanka’s top five international tourist generating markets in the month of November this year. India was the largest source of tourist traffic to Sri Lanka with 20% of the total traffic received in November 2018.
Reporting by Devendra Francis
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A chat with Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman, the NFL’s first deaf offensive player
Posted by Paul Eide (01/11/2014 @ 12:11 am)
One of the most famous episodes of the legendary sitcom “Seinfeld” was called “The Lip Reader.” In it, George borrows Jerry’s deaf girlfriend at a party to spy from across the room and lip-read his former girlfriend’s interactions with a presumed prospective beau. As with any typical Costanza situation, the plan ended in failure. But for Seattle Seahawks fullback Derrick Coleman and partner Duracell, the 2013 NFL season has been anything but.
Duracell hopes to inspire people, especially children, to trust the power within to achieve their dreams. And Coleman is a living example. Check out this fantastic video from Duracell detailing his road to the NFL:
Coleman, who is legally deaf and has mastered the art of lip reading, entered the preseason as an undrafted running back a year removed from UCLA and was just hoping to be included on the Seahawks’ 53-man roster. After contributing on special teams and offensively (including a 6-yard TD catch) in the preseason, the Seahawks kept Coleman and converted him to fullback.
Coleman is the first deaf athlete to play offense in the NFL, which inspired Duracell to feature and promote his story of success.
“Duracell saw that I had an inspiring story to tell and they want to inspire people, especially children, to achieve the dreams they have like I did,” Coleman said. “That’s how we linked up based on the similarities.”
The 6-foot, 233-pound former Bruin scored his first career regular season touchdown on Monday Night Football in a 34-7 thrashing of the New Orleans Saints.
Posted in: Interviews, Lifestyle, Sports
Tags: Deaf NFL Player, Derrick Coleman, Derrick Coleman Deaf, Derrick COleman Seattle Seahawks Deaf, Duracell, George Costanza, Marshawn Lynch, Sanints versus Seahawks NFL Playoffs, Seattle Seahawks, Seinfeld, The Lip Reader, UCLA
The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Greg Mottola (“Clear History”)
Posted by Will Harris (08/07/2013 @ 1:19 am)
Greg Mottola first came to prominence as the director of the indie comedy “The Daytrippers,” but he began a much quicker rise in mainstream recognition when he helmed the comedies “Superbad” and “Adventureland.” Currently, Mottola is making the rounds to support his work as the director of Larry David’s new HBO movie, “Clear History,” but he’s not entirely confident if the word “director” really sums up his efforts on the film. Bullz-Eye chatted with Mottola during the TCA press tour, and we talked about how surprisingly easy David is to work with, how he came to appear in a couple of Woody Allen films as an actor, and what a hassle – and what fun – it was to make “Paul.”
Bullz-Eye: So directing Larry David has got to be at least somewhat of a challenge.
Greg Mottola: Um…
BE: I’m not saying good or bad, just…challenging.
GM: It’s… Well, I mean, the process was so specific. I don’t even know if my job title should be called “director” on this movie. [Laughs.] “Associate collaborator” is probably closer to it. But that’s the way it should be. I’m not sure if, in the press notes, they talk so much about how we made it, but essentially it’s the same way Larry does “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” with some key differences. But Larry writes a script-ment, they call it, so this was about 35 pages of paragraphs of what happens in this scene, with an occasional line of dialogue or joke that Larry or his co-writers thought, “Oh, we should definitely get that in.” So they write that in, but, really, no other dialogue.
And we get to the set, we walk through the scene, and we’ll just sort of block it very generally. Like, “You’re gonna enter from that door, you’re gonna be sitting here, you’re gonna come over here, talk about this, you’re gonna leave.” Y’know, just sort of walk through all the little bits of blocking, but never rehearse it at all. So the first time anyone is acting, the cameras are rolling. And it’s usually two cameras, sometimes three if we can squeeze another one in there. And Larry by and large never does the same thing twice. [Laughs.] So as a director, you’re constantly strategizing, “Okay, we did that one time, I’d like to try and get something like that line, maybe in a tighter size, so…let’s switch lenses right now while we’re in the zone, and we’ll swap back and do wide shots again.” So you’re constantly just sort of improvising the directing style as everyone’s improvising the lines.
So directing Larry is just sort of endless conferences between takes about, “We’d like this from that, we didn’t like that,” just sort of honing in on what worked, sometimes stopping entirely and saying, “This doesn’t work at all, let’s start from scratch and just approach it completely differently and do a different version of the scene.” And that happened a few times. We’d have two completely different versions of the same scene…and usually the one that ends up in the movie is the second one. You know, the one thing about Larry is that he’s an absolute pleasure to work with. Despite his sort of screen persona and his point of view about human nature, which—between “Seinfeld” and “Curb”—is pretty clear… [Laughs.] He’s a really happy guy! He’s a guy who walks around whistling and practicing his golf swing. He’s, like, in a good mood 99% of the time. So it’s great to work with him.
BE: I…can’t really wrap my head around that.
GM: [Laughs.] It is hard to believe.
Posted in: Entertainment, Interviews, Movies, News, Television
Tags: Celebrity, Clear History, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Doug McGrath, Greg Mottola, HBO, Hollywood Enmding, Jon Hamm, Larry David, Louis C.K., Melanie Griffith, Paul, Philip Baker Hall, Seinfeld, Sidney Lumet, Simon Pegg, The Daytrippers, The Light from the TV Shows, W.C. Fields, Will Harris, Woody Allen
The Light from the TV Shows: TGS: 30 Great Shows (That Don’t Actually Exist)
Posted by Will Harris (01/31/2013 @ 12:55 am)
With “30 Rock” departing the airwaves after a not-unrespectable seven seasons – a particularly incredible achievement when you consider what an incredibly off-the-wall, insider-y sort of sitcom it was throughout its run – it seemed only appropriate to offer up some sort of tribute to the show in this week’s column. Unfortunately, since everyone else seems to have swiped all of the good angles that are 100% show-specific (indeed, I actually wrote a piece on the 30 best “30 Rock” guest stars for the “Today” blog, The Clicker), I had to think a little bit outside the box, but since a key aspect of the series was its show within a show, “TGS with Tracy Jordan,” it seemed like a perfectly reasonable concept to spotlight 30 of TV’s great fictional TV series. Lord knows these aren’t all of them, of course. Hell, even limiting myself to a one-fake-TV-series-per-real-TV-series rule…with the only exception being “30 Rock,” which seemed only fair, given the reason for the list in the first place…there are still thousands of omissions, so feel free to offer up your personal favorites that didn’t make the cut, “Family Guy” fans. (There’ve been so many on that show, I didn’t even know where to start.)
1. TGS with Tracy Jordan (“30 Rock”)
For those who can remember back to the pilot of “30 Rock,” Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) was originally in charge of a not-terribly-great sketch comedy series called “The Girlie Show,” but when GE’s new Head of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming, Jack Donaghy made an executive decision to add the completely unpredictable Tracy Jordan (Tracy Morgan) to the show, the comedian’s ego necessitated a change in the show’s title to feature his name more prominently. 136 episodes later, we’ve scarcely seen a single “TGS” sketch in its entirety, and what bits we have seen have rarely been funny (at least not intentionally), but the shenanigans surrounding the series have been consistently hysterical.
2. The Alan Brady Show (“The Dick Van Dyke Show”)
Dick Van Dyke has discussed on many occasions how many TV writers have come up to him over the years and told him that the biggest reasons they decided to break into the business in the first place was because Rob Petrie and his cronies on Alan Brady’s variety show made it look like one of the most entertaining occupations in the world. Strangely, he hasn’t spoken nearly as much about how many of those writers finished their comments by yelling, “Thanks for nothing, you big liar!” I’m betting it’s about 50/50.
By the way, although “The Alan Brady Show” wasn’t real, the folks at MeTV talked Carl Reiner into doing a promo for the addition of “The Dick Van Dyke Show” to their line-up where he reprised the character. Funny stuff.
3. Invitation to Love (“Twin Peaks”)
If you’re not a David Lynch obsessive, you may not remember this soap opera, but those with keen eyes will recall that it turned up at least once in each of the first seven episodes of “Twin Peaks.” It’s also worth noting that “Invitation to Love” pointedly features identical-twin characters played by the same actress, which – in no way coincidentally – was more or less what Sheryl Lee did as Laura Palmer and Maddy Ferguson.
4. The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy (“Spongebob Squarepants”)
The best bit about this cartoon-with-a-cartoon was the fact that the “Spongebob” show runners reunited former “McHale’s Navy” co-stars Ernest Borgnine and Tim Conway to prove the characters’ respective voices. It doesn’t get much cooler than that.
5. The Terrence and Phillip Show (“South Park”)
Disproving a longstanding theory that Canadians can’t be funny while cementing the not-really-in-question suspicion that farts are always funny, it need only be said that Terrence and Phillip are a stone-cold gas. Sadly, this clip is from their movie, “Asses of Fire,” rather than their series, but it’s basically the same thing. Y’know, except filthier. Much, much filthier.
Tags: 30 Rock, Androids, Arrested Development, Astro Quest, Bastard Squad, C.S.I.: Crime Scene Investigation, Chuckles the Clown, Community, Entourage, Episodes, Everybody Loves Hypnotoad, Friends, Futurama, FYI, home improvement, How I Met Your Mother, Inspector Spacetime, Invitation to Love, Jerry, King of the Hill, Los Dias y Las Noches de Monsignor Martinez, Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E., Married...with Children, MILF Island, Million Dollar Heads or Tails, Mock Trial with J. Reinhold, Monty Python’s Flying Circus, Murphy Brown, Pigs in Space, Psycho Dad, Pucks!, Questions for Kids, Red Dwarf, Saturday Night Live, Seinfeld, Shinrock, So Random!, Sonny with a Chance, South Park, Spongebob Squarepants, Spot the Loony, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, TGS with Tracy Jordan, The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, The Alan Brady Show, The Brady Bunch, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Flintstones, The Itchy and Scratchy Show, The Light from the TV Shows, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Muppet Show, The Simpsons, The Terrence and Phillip Show, The Young Ones, Tool Time, Twin Peaks, Viking Quest, Wayne's World, Will Harris
The Light from the TV Shows: A Chat with Ivana Milicevic (“Banshee”)
Ivana Milicevic is one of the sexiest dorks you’ll ever meet. Hey, don’t laugh: if you were wise enough to tune in to the premiere of her new Cinemax series, “Banshee,” when it made its debut on Friday, then you already know that my assessment of her sexiness is on the money, but having actually sat in her presence and chatted with her one-on-one for 20 minutes or so, trust me, she’s a big ol’ dork. But if you’re wondering, let me assure you that this is an amazingly awesome combination. During our conversation, there was much discussion of “Banshee,” of course, but we also touched on more than a few of her earlier credits as well, including everything from “Seinfeld” to “Casino Royale” to “Jerry Maguire” to “Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest,” a range which I think we can all agree is very wide indeed.
Bullz-Eye: An obligatory question to start out: how did you find your way into “Banshee”?
Ivana Milicevic: [Places palms flat on table.] Will, let me tell you.
BE: Please do.
IM: I read the script – ‘cause I was reading millions of scripts, because it was pilot season – and I was, like, “Wha…?!?”It was so good. I loved it. And I was madly in love with Greg Yaitanes because I had done an episode of “House” with him. Like, a season-finale “House” episode that was really fun to do, and he was so fun and easy to work with. And I had been touch with him because of…he was getting me on Twitter in the early days. This was, like, five years ago. But I loved “Banshee.” I had to go in a lot of times. I had to fight for it. I met Antony, we had this instant chemistry that just…
BE: That’s what he said.
IM: He said that, too?
BE: Yeah. In fact, I think he even made the same hand gesture to indicate “instant chemistry.”
IM: [Laughs.] Did he really? That’s so funny. But we do! It’s kind of true. We get along, but we’re also like black and white. So that makes exactly what you’re looking for: a polarity. It just worked. And I think that’s how come I got the job. And then I was really happy, Will, because… [Drops voice down to a whisper.] I had to play it. I had to play this part.
BE: You don’t say.
IM: I did! Because I get to be a mother, so I get to love my family. And I love my real family, so I just love to play that. And I get to be in love…with two men! [Laughs.] And I get to kick ass. And I get to be sexy. Because if not now, Will, when? When?
BE: I hear you.
IM: Because I’m European, and I like that sexy stuff.
BE: Well, Americans are rather fond of it, too.
IM: Well, sure. Who isn’t? [Laughs.]
Posted in: Celebrities, Entertainment, Interviews, Television
Tags: Antony Starr, Banshee, beautiful Bond women, best Bond girls, best James Bond babes, Bond babes, Bond girls, Cameron Crowe, Casino Royale, Charlize Theron, Children of the Corn III, Children of the Corn III: Urban Harvest, Cinemax, Freddie Prinze Jr., Friends, Greg Yaitanes, Harry Thomason, Head Over Heels, House, Ivana Milicevic, James Bond actresses, James Bond babes, James Bond girls, Jerry Maguire, Judy Greer, Larry the Cable Guy, Lily Tomlin, Linda Bloodworth Thomason, Love Monkey, Monica Potter, Seinfeld, The Light from the TV Shows, The Mind of the Married Man, Tom Cavanagh, Vanilla Sky, Will Harris, Witless Protection
Weekly Web Series Review: Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Posted by Ezra Stead (09/20/2012 @ 9:00 am)
There may have never been a more self-explanatory title for a web series than Jerry Seinfeld‘s latest project, “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.” The format is simplicity itself: for each episode, Seinfeld picks a different car, picks up a different comedian friend, and they go and get coffee and, often, a meal. Throughout the drive and the meal, they talk about various things, all improvised and frequently very funny. The main charm of the series, though, is watching the comedians make each other laugh. At best, it is almost like actually hanging out with a couple of very talented people for a little while. At worst, it is rather lazy and inconsequential, and Seinfeld sometimes seems to be exaggerating his reactions to the jokes told by his guests.
The series begins with Seinfeld’s most obvious guest, Larry David, with whom he co-created one of the most successful sitcoms of all time, “Seinfeld.” There seems to be some effort on Seinfeld’s part to pick a car that reflects his guest’s personality, as in this first episode, in which he chooses a 1952 VW bug as a symbol of David’s humble, unassuming nature. David, along with his other dietary idiosyncrasies, slightly messes up the premise right off the bat by ordering tea, but he offers one of the series more interesting insights. Discussing the difference between cigars and cigarettes, he suggests that a cigar imbues the smoker with an air of wisdom because of the time it takes to smoke, which lends itself to a “contemplative” posture.
Another very intelligent guest is “Mystery Science Theater 3000” creator Joel Hodgson in episode 5, who offers some interesting insights about nostalgia and economics. On the former, he says that the reason people love to look back at the past is that “You know what you’re going to say … you know what to say about the past, and you don’t know what to say about the future.” When Seinfeld brings up the mysterious economics of a restaurant, Hodgson offers a musical analogy: “The guy who sells the guitars makes the money, and not the guy in the band … How many guitars have you bought over the years … I’ve bought … six, and I don’t play the guitar.”
One of the series’ most enjoyable episodes is the third, in which Seinfeld’s guest is the great stand-up comic Brian Regan. The reason it works so well is that their conversation throughout feels like a joke-writing session, as if the two comedians are co-writing a sitcom or a stand-up set, often finishing each other’s sentences and collectively brainstorming jokes on each topic that comes up. Another especially good one features Alec Baldwin, whose overall attitude toward Seinfeld is playfully hostile, though he shows great humility when he credits the cast and writers of “30 Rock” for teaching him how to be funny. His story of a Rip Torn bar fight is not be missed, and this is where “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” excels: it presents very funny, interesting people just being naturally funny and interesting.
Posted in: Entertainment, Humor, Videos
Tags: 30 Rock, Alec Baldwin, Brian Regan, cigarettes, Cigars, Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee, comedy, Ezra Stead, guitars, Jerry Seinfeld, Joel Hodgson, Larry David, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Rip Torn, Seinfeld, stand-up comedy, Volkswagen, web series, Weekly Web Series Review
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Topas /
Topas is a World Champion Manipulator. His dexterity has taken him around the world. He was awarded Grand Prix Magiques de Monte Carlo and World Magic Award 2008 in the USA. In 2010 Topas will tour his illusion show, Surprise, in China.
Idea Society
Manipulation and Meaning
World Champion of Manipulation
1972 - TOPAS was born on July 20 in Stuttgart, Germany. At the age of seven years, he encounters the art of magic for the first time - by receiving a Ravensburger magic set. Soon it becomes clear; this bond will last for a lifetime. Indeed, Topas became one of the youngest world champions in the history of magic and has won this title twice.
With virtuosic dexterity, novel effects and great illusions Topas has been succeeding internationally for two decades. Las Vegas, Yokohama, Monte Carlo. Topas has performed in more than 50 international TV shows, such as NBCs The World Greatest Magic - Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Les plus grands spectacles du monde (France TV 1) and in several shows on German TV.
TOPAS was awarded “Grand Prix Magiques de Monte Carlo†and "World Magic Award" 2008 in the USA.
As the only German magicians performing illusions on tour Topas and his partner Roxanne premiered their first full evening magic show in September 1996 under the title Magic & More. 5 tours, 7 ensuite-runs and countless single shows have been brought to the stage since then.
For Magic Affairs (a later version of Magic & More) Topas and Roxanne were awarded “Illusionists of the year 2004" in St. Louis, USA.
On November 27 2008 the new illusion show Surprise was presented to the public in the Theaterhaus Stuttgart and on Tour in Germany. From April to June 2010 Surprise is touring in China.
Website: topasmagic.de
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TopasMagic
Youtube: user
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Surprising that the question, "is darts a sport?" is still being asked. But that's exactly what London's Times paper asked - with Giles Smith saying yes, and Patrick Kidd saying no. Here, Mr Smith could also very well be talking about chess:
[I]f we have nothing but confidence in calling darts a sport, then it's with reason. Things are sport because enough people choose to call them sport - to think of them that way and discuss them as such. To that extent, calling darts a sport is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
In any case, the traditional objections melt away. “But you don't even have to be fit,” people say. Not in the conventional sense, no. And I'll go farther: you can even be fat. But you don't have to be fit to play golf, either, and no one ever says that Lee Westwood isn't svelte enough to be a sportsman.
Read more in The Times Online.
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Chinese History at Columbia University
As one of the founding places of American Sinology, Columbia’s study of the history and culture of China has been admired for both its breadth and depth. The program’s disciplinary strengths range across institutional and legal history, social and cultural history, economic history, as well as the history of philosophy, intellectual thought, and religion, augmented further by research in gender, family, material culture, technology, and the practice of field archaeology. The program’s strengths lie in all major periods of Chinese history, with particular emphasis on Early China, the Five Dynasties-Song, late imperial and the modern periods.
The terra-cotta army accompanying China’s First Emperor, 221-210 BC
Teaching and Research
The foundation for Columbia’s study of Chinese history and culture is rigorous language training in modern Chinese, classical Chinese (which teaches a wide range of texts from pre-Qin philosophy to Ming-Qing literature), and related languages including Japanese, Korean, and Tibetan, available in the department, and relevant European languages elsewhere on campus. We offer two Chinese bibliography and documents courses, with one focused on traditional textual scholarship and the other on Qing and twentieth-century documents. In addition to deep training in Chinese history, culture, and language, the program provides engagement with critical methods, comparative perspectives, as well as transnational and global analyses.
Professors Li Feng and Guo Jue are the primary scholars of the Early China period. Building on the legacy of early scholars at Columbia such as Burton Watson and Hans Bielenstein, Li Feng offers both introductory courses and graduate seminars in early Chinese history and archaeology. He conducts research and advises students in bronzes and inscriptions, paleography, Western Zhou history, Bronze-Age archaeology. He also trains students in archaeological fieldwork. Guo Jue teaches courses mainly on Warring States-Han manuscripts and tomb archaeology, the history of early Chinese philosophy and religion, as well as the history of everyday life. While placing the newly excavated inscriptions and manuscript texts at the center of our research and teaching, the program encourages studies that critically explore the value of all types of evidence to answer questions of cross-regional or cross-cultural importance. The Tang Center for Early China, located in the departments, provides a critical venue for discussion of Early China scholarship in the region.
PhD students of Early China can pursue dissertation research on a wide range of topics in any subperiod from Shang to Han along either the history track or archaeology track. The archaeology track involves substantial work with Columbia’s anthropologists and archaeologists of other world regions. The programs sees archaeology as a discipline with a broad scope and diverse practices adapting to regional natural and cultural perimeters, a discipline that is integrally related to and complementary with both the study of history (as both are ways to understand the human past), and with anthropology (as both are ways to understand patterns of human behavior). Columbia’s program in Chinese archaeology has grown together with the Guicheng archeological survey and excavation project, jointly conducted with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Beijing), and the Shandong Provincial Institute of Archaeology in 2006-2011.
The archaeology track operates in close connection to Columbia’s Department of Anthropology, the Department of Art History and Archaeology, and the Columbia Center for Archaeology. MA students of Chinese archaeology are encouraged to take theoretical and methodological courses in anthropology. PhD students are expected for more substantial work with Columbia’s anthropologists and archaeologists of other World regions.
“Gathering of the literati” (Wenyuan tu), believed to have been a work by Zhou Wengui of the Five Dynasties period, 907-960.
The middle period has been a long-standing strength at Columbia. Wm. Theodore de Bary made the department a worldwide center for the study of the Neo-Confucianism of the Song through the Ming, and David Johnson established our strength in the social history of the Tang and pre-Tang great clans and their replacement by the new elites of the Song. Robert Hymes works in the social and cultural history primarily of the Song and Yuan with a particular focus in the history of elites, their cultural self-definition and their relation to the state, the history of medicine, and religious Daoism and its relation to lay religion. Currently he is working on the problem of “believing” (xin) in both secular and religious contexts in the Song, and on bubonic plague in the Jin-Yuan and Yuan-Ming transitions and its relation to the European “Black Death” of the fourteenth century. He advises PhD dissertations on a wide range of topics from Tang to early Ming. The middle period and the study of the early-modern and late-imperial periods are closely collaborative at Columbia.
Dorothy Ko is the primary scholar of late imperial China at Columbia. Dorothy Ko’s research and teaching focus on the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries, from the mid-Ming to mid-Qing. Her earlier research centered on gender and women’s writings, whereas her current research concerns artisanal knowledge and technology. She is particularly interested in guiding students who work, as she does, on the interstices of cultural history, art history, and the history of science. Depending on their topic, students will also receive guidance from specialists in literature, religion, or art and material culture of the period.
A Republican-era advertisement poster for British medical imports, China,1919, C.V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University
Professors Eugenia Lean and Madeleine Zelin teach and advise in modern and contemporary Chinese history, vibrant fields of history at Columbia. Madeleine Zelin, who earlier studied the fiscal and political history of the early Qing, has more recently been conducting research on the legal, economic and institutional histories of China from the eighteenth to twentieth centuries. Her courses cover subjects as diverse as the relationship between law, culture and society, global industrial revolutions, state-building in China’s long twentieth century and merchant and business practices. She also guides students who study China’s frontier regions. Eugenia Lean teaches and writes about the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Her earlier work focuses on cultural and legal history, media culture, gender and the history of emotions in modern China. Her current research has turned to the history of science and technology, the cultural history of industrialization and mass production, as well as intellectual property and questions of ownership in law and culture. She teaches broadly covering a wide range of topics in modern Chinese history. Both advise students in a diverse range of fields including those interested in global and transnational history related to modern Chinese history.
The East Asian community on campus offers a variety of programs related to Chinese history. The department’s Pre-modern China lecture series brings in up to eight guest speakers a year. The Weatherhead East Asian Institute has a range of talks, events, and programs focusing on early modern, modern and contemporary China, along with diverse offerings in Japanese, Korean and Tibetan studies. The Institute also runs the Modern China Seminar, a forum for modern China scholars from the tri-state area to share scholarship. The Confucius Institute sponsors large-scale workshops and conferences on Chinese history and culture.
All historians in EALAC are affiliated with Columbia’s History Department and our graduate students in Chinese history are admitted either through EALAC or History, have access to the courses and resources of both departments, and are expected to fulfill shared requirements as stipulated by the joint History-East Asia Program that bridges the two.
With the C.V. Starr East Asian Library, Columbia University has one of the richest library collections in the world for Chinese history. It has very extensive holdings on paleographic materials as well as archaeological publications. Reference works including various traditional and modern encyclopedias and local gazetteers are other areas of the library’s strength. Its modern collection is particularly notable for significant digital databases and electronic resources, including an electronic version of the early twentieth-century journal, Ling Lung, and a searchable database for wenshi ziliao, and for a growing collection of modern Chinese film and ephemera such as posters and advertisements.
The Starr and other Columbia libraries own a large number of oracle-bones, bronze vessels, as well as stone pictorial carvings, steles, and sculptures readily accessible to faculty and students for teaching and research. The Rare Book and Manuscript Library houses 5000 pages of Peter and Edith Chang’s papers dating from 1930s to 2001, together with manuscript pages from Chang’s interviews.
The PhD students in the program come from all over the world and are noted for their diversity of interests and expertise. The PhD program provides full funding (covering both tuition and stipend) for five years, as well as five summers of research support. Additional opportunities for graduate student funding are available on campus, including from the Weatherhead East Asian Institute. The thriving MA program has trained many students to go on to the PhD programs and to professional careers. Please see the list of recent graduates and their dissertation topics as well as the current PhD student profiles.
Please feel free to contact the faculty by email (list on the faculty profiles) to find out more about the program.
MA Program Requirements
PhD Program Requirements
Planning Sheets & Forms
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Home/Conference Cities, Featured, Milwaukee/Milwaukee Keynote Presentation: Theaster Gates
Milwaukee Keynote Presentation: Theaster Gates
NCECA is thrilled to bring Theaster Gates to Milwaukee to deliver the 2014 keynote address, Yamaguchi, Soul Manufacturing Corporation and A Potter Named Dave. The Need for Blackness Within Contemporary Ceramics.
Theaster Gates is an artist whose creative endeavor represents a critical enlargement on familiar realms and roles of artistic practice. He produces installations, performances and discreet objects that explore notions of self, resilience, home and community set in the context of racism and poverty in America. Gates also works to create positive change in disenfranchised communities in his home city of Chicago and other cities across the country. The Director of Arts and Public Life at the University of Chicago, in 2010 Gates founded the Rebuild Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that concentrates on creative use of space in underserved black neighborhoods in Chicago, St. Louis, Omaha, and Detroit.
Through his imagination, influence and prodigious work ethic, Theaster Gates is making cultural impact within and beyond the art world, rapidly gaining widespread attention. In the past few months alone, Theaster Gates has been the subject of feature length articles in the New York Times Sunday Magazine and the New Yorker magazine. A bold American artist with a global vision, he has presented recent solo exhibitions at galleries and museums in Chicago, Philadelphia, London, Sao Paulo and Hong Kong to name just a few.
Gates studied ceramics, theology and urban planning; all of which play critical roles in his work as an artist. At its core, his practice is grounded in African-American history and culture, and in his own experience growing up in Chicago. Slavery, industrial exploitation, and the Civil Rights Movement feature prominently in his sculptures, installations, urban interventions and performances. He has said, “I think I’m a full-time artist, a full-time urban planner, and a full-time preacher with an aspiration of no longer needing any of those titles,”
Not easily categorized, in all instances the work Gates creates pushes us to think deeply and expansively, encouraging creative solutions to real world problems. One example of this can be found in Dorchester Projects, located on Chicago’s South Side. Housed in a cluster of formerly abandoned buildings, Gates has renovated several structures that now provide space for a cinema house, soul food kitchen, a listening room containing nearly 8,000 vinyl LPs comprising the final inventory from Dr. Wax Records, a store formerly located in the nearby Hyde Park neighborhood; and a reading room and temporary home for the Johnson Library, a comprehensive collection of Ebony and Jet magazines founded by John H. Johnson.
Using repurposed materials from all over Chicago, the aesthetic of Gates’s Dorchester Projects is both practical and poetic, bridging the creation of new art with the adaptive reuse of resources. Within this multi-functional and growing space, community-driven initiatives and experiences foster neighborhood revitalization and serve as a model for greater cultural and socioeconomic renewal. Dorchester provides its neighbors and local youth the opportunity to perceive built and living environments as spaces worth constructing, exploring and critiquing. It empowers community members to engage in the movement of radical hospitality by physically transforming their surroundings and filling them with beautiful objects, diverse people and innovative ideas. – Theaster Gates
Gates also directs and performs with The Black Monks of Mississippi, an experimental music ensemble of Chicago-based vocalists and musicians founded in 2008, producing music and spoken performances influenced by diverse traditions, including Gospel, Blues and Buddhist and Zen chants. Yaw Agyeman, principle vocalist for the Black Monks of Mississippi will join Theaster Gates for what is sure to be an extraordinary evening and a wonderful start to the 48th annual NCECA conference. “Yamaguchi, Soul Manufacturing Corporation and A Potter Named Dave. The Need for Blackness Within Contemporary Ceramics” promises to be a meditative and thought provoking reflection on the legacy of makers that has never gone away, love for the hand, and its embodiment in people’s cultures and conceptual practices.
Thanks to the Chipstone Foundation for their generous support of this keynote presentation.
Theaster Gates (b.1973) lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. His work has been included in solo and group exhibition internationally. Selected exhibitions include: The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Pulitzer Museum of Art, The Whitney Biennial and Documenta 13, Kassel, Germany among many others. Gates has received awards from the Joyce Foundation, Driehaus, Artadia, and the Graham Foundation. He was the inaugural recipient of the Vera List Center Prize for Art and Politics and a Loeb Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Design.
He is represented by Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago and White Cube in London.
Don’t miss his Keynote Speech, Yamaguchi, Soul Manufacturing Corporation and A Potter Named Dave. The Need for Blackness Within Contemporary Ceramics, on Wednesday night, March 19 at 7:15pm in the Milwaukee Center Ballroom
By Paul Sacaridiz, President-Elect|2014-03-05T11:21:42-05:00March 5th, 2014|Categories: Conference Cities, Featured, Milwaukee|4 Comments
About the Author: Paul Sacaridiz, President-Elect
Lenny Dowhie March 6, 2014 at 10:33 am
Are we finally video taping these presentations? If not, isn”t it about time we got into doing this?
Cindy Bracker, Communications Director March 6, 2014 at 10:36 am
Yes, we will be recording the keynote. We do, in fact, have several past keynote speeches recorded and archived. Look for better dissemination of this conference content in coming years. We are working hard on overcoming some of the contractual and post-production challenges to make conference footage accessible to NCECA members!
Teddy Poneman March 26, 2014 at 10:51 am
I’m a student who was unable to make it to NCECA, but really want to watch Theaster’s address. Is there a url available? Thanks so much!
Cindy Bracker, Communications Director March 26, 2014 at 11:36 am
We will be working with the Chipstone Foundation to get that footage up online as quickly as possible. Stay tuned here on the blog.
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Nokia 8 or P1
Cristy Smartphones 0
Nokia is making significant statements in the tech market as it makes a reasonable return to the tech market with Android-powered devices. Recall that the tech company in partnership with HDM Global released the Nokia 6, its first Android-powered device into the market some weeks ago after unveiling it at the CES 2017.
The Nokia 6 gathered several specks of dust as the device garnered as much a two hundred and fifty thousand registrations on the day of its launch and further went on sale in one minute when it was introduced on Chinese e-commerce site, JD.com.
However, the major disappointment came when HDM Global announced that the device would only be available to the Chinese market. Nokia proceeded to release more devices after the Nokia 6 as the tech company promised to release at least seven devices before the year runs out with it unveiling the rebooted Nokia 3310 in Barcelona during the Mobile World Congress.
Nokia in line with its promise, however, looks to be working on the much rumored Nokia 8 which is also branded as the Nokia P1 which according to rumors will be hitting the market as early as June 2017.
The device has been rumored to be making its way first to the Chinese market than to the rest of the world on orders from HDM Global will come to a sequel to the release of the Nokia 3, Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 devices designed to cause a ripple effect in the market.
On the specs sheet, the Nokia P1 or the Nokia 8 is expected to come into the market dwarfing other mid-range releases from the tech company as it will feature a QHD display and run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 chipset which is the latest processor in the market.
The device will come into the market sporting the same processor as will be found in Samsung’s latest flagship device, the Galaxy S8, and S8 Plus which spells excellent quality for the company.
Along with the processor, the device according to new rumors will be coming to town with a metal unibody design and will be released in two distinct variants based on the size. This also lends further credibility to the company’s return to the tech market as it looks to follow in the line of Apple and Samsung which releases two variants of their latest flagship devices based on size.
Possible pricing of the device indicates that it may not be priced more than €500 or a little over the price line which is relatively cheap when it enters into the US market.
The latest report claims that the device may be introduced into the market come June 2017, and along with this if true, projections indicate that the devices may also be available in variants based on the RAM as there will most likely be the 4GB and 6GB variants of the Nokia 8.
On the camera front, the Nokia 8 is expected to come packing dual camera set up on the rear panel with at least 23MP on the rear panel.
The Nokia 8 is also rumored to be coming into the market sporting the Corning Gorilla Glass 5 layered on the screen along with an out of the box Android 7 Nougat OS.
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« Mike McFadden, Republican Contender in Minn.'s Senate Race, Banks on Education | Main | Arne Duncan to Head South for Annual Back-to-School Bus Tour »
Obama Administration's Education Policies at the Heart of New Lawsuit
By Lauren Camera on August 27, 2014 12:07 PM
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a Republican, plans to file a lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan for its role in forcing states to adopt the Common Core State Standards and aligned assessments.
The 29-page lawsuit, to be filed at the U.S. District Court's Middle District of Louisiana, argues that Race to the Top, the administration's signature competitive-grant program, used federal money to coerce states into adopting the common core and herded them toward a national curriculum.
It also charges that the administration's offer of No Child Left Behind Act waivers similarly forced states to adopt the standards and aligned assessments, and that the education secretary has no legal authority to offer waivers on a conditional basis.
Taken together, the grant competition and waivers represent "an attempt by the executive branch to implement national education reform far beyond the intentions of Congress," the lawsuit states.
Race to the Top, a $4 billion competition authorized as part of the federal stimulus package in 2009, awarded states money to, among other things, adopt college- and career-ready standards. The competition also included $360 million for the development of tests aligned to new academic standards.
States that decided to adopt common standards and assessments scored higher on their competition applications. As a result, several states decided to adopt the Common Core State Standards and sign on to one of the consortia developing assessments, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers or Smarter Balanced.
Louisiana, which is part of the PARCC consortium, won $17 million from Race to the Top (one of the smaller, runner-up grants), and also scored a waiver from the Education Department from provision of the NCLB law.
At the heart of Jindal's lawsuit:
"Through regulatory and rule making authority, [Duncan and the Education Department] have constructed a scheme that effectively forces states down a path toward a national curriculum by requiring, as a condition of funding under the President's Race to the Top programs, that states join 'consortia of states' and agree to adopt a common set of content standards and to implement the assessment protocols and policies created by that consortium, all under the direction of the United States Department of Education."
[UPDATE 4:05 P.M.: Dorie Nolt, a spokeswoman for Duncan, said late Wednesday afternoon, "The most important thing is that children in Louisiana have gone back to school this year with high academic standards in place in their classrooms to help prepare them to succeed in college, career, and life."
Nolt did not comment on the actual lawsuit, which has now officially been filed.]
Latest Wrinkle
This is not Jindal's first common-core rodeo. In fact, it's just a new wrinkle in an increasingly complicated and ugly battle over the common-core standards and tests playing out in the Pelican State between the governor, state legislators, the Louisiana state education board, and a group of parents and teachers.
In June Jindal announced his intentions to withdraw the state from using the standards and aligned assessments.
In opposition, the state board and the group of parents and teachers sued Jindal to challenge his decision, which they say will hamstring teachers and create uncertainty for schools in the 2014-15 academic year.
Jindal immediately filed a countersuit.
Separately, a group of state legislators requested a temporary injunction as part of a lawsuit against the state board that would have required schools to immediately stop using the common core.
The request was denied last week, but the lawsuit is still moving forward. In it, lawmakers allege that the state board adopted the common core without following proper administrative procedure, and that the public did not have a real chance to review and comment on the state's move to use the standards.
If this is all a little confusing to follow, have no fear. My colleague, Andrew Ujifusa, crafted this nifty timeline to help us follow the developments.
But all this is to say that Jindal's newest lawsuit—the one against Duncan and the Education Department—is just the next step in his quest to decouple the state from the common core.
"Louisiana now finds itself trapped in a federal scheme to nationalize curriculum," Jindal's latest lawsuit reads. "What started as good State intentions has materialized into the federalization of education policy through federal economic incentives and duress."
Congressional Lawsuit Looms
Jindal's lawsuit also comes just weeks after the U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution on party lines that allows Speaker of the House John Boehner to sue President Barack Obama for a series of executive actions that House Republicans argue were an overreach of his legal authority.
Though that forthcoming lawsuit will specifically focus on the health care law, Republican lawmakers in building their case against the president said the administration's waiver offering is one of several examples of executive actions they claim represent an abuse of authority.
Obama and Duncan haven't apologized for their approach, and instead have argued that in the face of a historically dysfunctional Congress, it's their obligation to use every tool at their disposal to bring relief to states—in this case, from the broken and widely-criticized NCLB law.
It's unclear how Jindal's lawsuit will fare. Race to the Top was a competition that states could choose not to participate in if they didn't like the policies attached to it, and the NCLB law provides the secretary broad waiver authority.
In fact, report from the Congressional Research Service, the nonpartisan research arm of Congress, found the administration was acting within its legal authority in offering conditional waivers.
Jindal is, however, the first governor to officially sue the Education Department for overstepping its legal authority—something that's been at the heart of Republican discontent for the Obama administration for years now.
Arne Duncan
race to the top
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It's about two-and-a-half times as tall as Shaq.
In other words, the height of Shaq is 0.40 times 556.90 centimeters.
(Shaquille O'Neal) (1972-) (professional basketball player, most famously of the Los Angeles Lakers)
Shaq is 220 centimeters tall. Shaq maintains an active interest in police work and has served as a reserve officer in both Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida while playing for NBA franchises in those cities.
It's about two-fifths as long as a Semitrailer.
In other words, 556.90 centimeters is 0.38070 times the length of a Semitrailer, and the length of a Semitrailer is 2.6270 times that amount.
(a.k.a. semi-trailer truck, a.k.a. semi, a.k.a. tractor-trailer, a.k.a. truck and trailer, a.k.a. eighteen-wheeler, a.k.a. big rig, a.k.a. Mack truck, a.k.a. transport, a.k.a. lorry, a.k.a. artic; for box truck; United States Federal length limits)
According to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT), the maximum allowable length of a semitrailer pulled by a road tractor truck is 1,463 centimeters (unless superseded by state law). These regulations also allow the vehicles to tow up to 36,000 kg in gross weight.
It's about two-fifths as tall as The Hollywood Sign.
In other words, 556.90 centimeters is 0.370 times the height of The Hollywood Sign, and the height of The Hollywood Sign is 2.70 times that amount.
(a.k.a. Hollywoodland Sign) (Mount Lee, Hollywood Hills, Santa Monica Mountains, California)
Each of the white letters in the Hollywood Sign measures 1,500 centimeters tall. Built as an advertisement in 1923, the sign was intended to stand for only eighteen months.
It's about two-and-a-half times as long as a Queen Size Bed.
In other words, 556.90 centimeters is 2.7410 times the length of a Queen Size Bed, and the length of a Queen Size Bed is 0.36480 times that amount.
(North American/Australian standard; length; mattress only)
A Queen-Size mattress measures 203.20 centimeters from head to foot. Although most antique beds were smaller than modern beds, it was not uncommon for beds in the medieval Europe to reach 5 sq. m (49 sq. ft) for those in positions of wealth or power.
It's about two-and-a-half times as long as a King Size Bed.
In other words, 556.90 centimeters is 2.7410 times the length of a King Size Bed, and the length of a King Size Bed is 0.36480 times that amount.
A King-Size mattress measures 203.20 centimeters from head to foot. Although most antique beds were smaller than modern beds, it was not uncommon for beds in the medieval Europe to reach 5 sq. m (49 sq. ft) for those in positions of wealth or power.
It's about three times as tall as Michael Jordan.
In other words, 556.90 centimeters is 2.780 times the height of Michael Jordan, and the height of Michael Jordan is 0.360 times that amount.
(1963-) (professional basketball player, most famously of the Chicago Bulls)
Michael Jordan is 198 centimeters tall. While a sophomore in high school, Jordan was about 20 cm shorter and was denied the opportunity to play on the varsity team, supposedly because his coach considered him too short.
It's about three times as long as a Full Size Bed.
In other words, 556.90 centimeters is 2.9230 times the length of a Full Size Bed, and the length of a Full Size Bed is 0.34210 times that amount.
A Full-Size mattress measures 190.50 centimeters from head to foot. Although most antique beds were smaller than modern beds, it was not uncommon for beds in the medieval Europe to reach 5 sq. m (49 sq. ft) for those in positions of wealth or power.
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Blog Predicted Obama's Popularity
Just about a year ago, a majority of the readers of this blog accurately predicted where Obama's popularity would be now.
Remember -- Obama's popularity was exceptionally high when he took office. He was scoring in the 70s.
We asked: "What will Barack Obama's popularity be in January, 2010?"
About 52% felt his popularity would be 50% or less.
And, indeed Obama's popularity has dropped below 50%!
Nearly a quarter (23%) said his popularity would be only 30 to 40%.
And then another 12% saw him at less than 30%.
So, more than a third -- 35% of the respondents -- actually saw President Obama's popularity at 40% or less. That's quite low. But, as we move toward the first anniversary of Obama's inauguration, his popularity may actually drift into those low 40s and high 30s.
That's a real danger zone.
For now, though -- congratulations to our readers for accurately pegging the President's popularity one year out.
Labels: Inaugural, Obama, Polls, Presidency
10 People To Watch in 2010
With the new year upon us, here are 10 people to keep an eye on as we move through 2010.
The fate of these 10, and others, may determine what lies ahead. I list them below in no particular order:
1. Harry Reid - With Reid and other weary old Congressional Democrats, we may be watching the final sequel to Grumpy Old Men. Harry has already faltered, but if he falls they will topple like a row of dominoes.
2. Mitt Romney - He'll have to start speaking up and making his moves soon if he hopes to make another run at the presidency. This will also be his year to back key GOP aspirants and build up more IOUs.
3. Chris Christie - The new Governor of New Jersey faces huge hurdles but if he succeeds in getting the Garden State to turn the corner and move away from tax 'n spend recklessness, he will chart a new path for the GOP.
4. Arlen Specter - Snarlin Arlen played a wildly risky game in '09. But in the real world, it's not so easy to have nine lives. And right now, the calendar says 10. Times up, Arlen.
5. Janet Napolitano - She made it into 2010 but just barely. She may very well be the first Obama cabinet member to go Kabooom!
6. Eric Cantor - This bright shining start of the GOP faces a Huge Year. If everything falls into to place he could be one of the most formidable members of Congress in the new decade.
7. Blanche Lincoln - This Arkansas Senator who voted for the Obamacare swindle is high on the Republican target list. Things don't look good.
8. John Runyan - If Big John really does run for Congress in Jersey's third congressional district, he just may make freshman Congressman John Adler's $2 million dollar war chest look real small, real fast. It could get dicey.
9. Rahm Emanuel (pictured) - If the Obama slide continues, more and more attention will be focused on this guy. Hey, somebody's gonna have to take the blame and it won't be Mr. Cool, that's for sure.
10. Sarah Palin - We know she likes to surprise us and you gotta admit, she's fun to watch most any year. In any event, she ain't goin away.
Yes, 2010's destined to be a fun year.
Don't you just love it when things heat up?
Labels: Adler, Christopher Christie, Democrats, GOP, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Politics, Reid, Romney, Specter
Rush Resting Comfortably
Rush Limbaugh's web site says he's resting comfortably in the hospital in Hawaii.
Rush was admitted yesterday after suffering chest pains while golfing during his annual Christmas vacation.
Rush Limbaugh's spokesperson says that El Rushbo will keep us up to date on his web site.
You can bet that Rush will make every effort to be back on the air as soon as possible, consistent with his medical condition. He is due to return January 4 but if he can't, there is no shortage of outstanding conservative talkers who would be more than happy to fill in for him.
Still, there is only one Rush and our prayers go out to him for a speedy recovery.
Finally: Is it necessary for us to tell our liberal friends and assorted Rush-haters to behave themselves during this period? We hope not.
Posted by Dan Cirucci at 8:45 AM
Labels: Conservatism, conservatives, Limbaugh, Radio
Mickey Rooney Deserves Honor
The Kennedy Center Honors recently bestowed its 32nd annual annual awards. Many great luminaries of stage, screen, music and the movies have been honored by the Kennedy Center over the years.
But one of Hollywood's greats has been neglected year after year.
Crawling onto the stage during his father’s Vaudeville act at 18 months in 1922, Mickey Rooney began a truly legendary career - one that has spanned nine decades.
Now celebrating his 85th year in show business and with more than 200 films to his credit, Mickey Rooney is one of the last great stars of Hollywood's Golden Age. Recently he appeared in the hugely successful movie comedy "A Night At The Museum."
Mickey earned an Honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, a special Juvenile Oscar he shared with Deana Durbin in 1939, five Oscar nominations, one Emmy Award, five Emmy Nominations and two Golden Globes. Mickey's career has extended through many generations and in many different directions.
Mickey Rooney is also an American patriot who served in the Army during World War II. As a regular GI, during the war he entertained frontline troops with the "Jeep Shows". The "Jeep Shows" consisted of three men in a jeep who delivered much needed entertainment to the troops in foxholes at the front. For his services in the war, Mickey was awarded the Bronze Star with clusters. In 2004 he braved the cold weather to ride with fellow World War II vets in the Inaugural Parade honoring President Bush. He has been welcomed to the White House by nearly every American president since FDR.
But Mickey Rooney has never been chosen for Kennedy Center Honors.
How long will the Kennedy Center wait to recognize this great American talent?
Labels: Hollywood, John F. Kennedy, Stars
As Napolitano Turns . . .
What is it with Cabinet members named Janet whose last names end in "o"?
First came Janet Reno, the Clinton attorney general who helped set the fire at Waco (with some help from the ATF) and had trouble with an illegal Elian.
But as wacky as she was (wrestling with crocs, both real and rhetorical), she looks positively competent compared to Janet Napolitano, the Obama administration head of homeland security who declared in the wake of the foiled terror attack on Christmas Day that "the system worked really very, very smoothly." (She also oversaw a report that equated political opponents of President Obama and some veterans with terrorists and hate groups. Apparently, she has a tenuous grip on reality.)
To read the rest of Christine Flowers' wonderful column from today's Philadelphia Daily News, click here.
Labels: Christine Flowers, Obama, Philadelphia Daily News, security, Terrorists
Lure Of The Live Oak
One of the joys of the South is the lush greenery enjoyed throughout the year -- even in December, January and February.
This would not be possible without the live oak tree.
Though they do shed leaves, live oaks remain green throughout the year. They replenish their tiny green leaves constantly. So, they never go bare. They retain their fullness, their greenness, their lushness.
Naturally, Hilton Head abounds in live oaks, many of which are truly magnificent.
Live oak or evergreen oak is a general term for a number of unrelated oaks in several different sections of the genus Quercus that happen to share the characteristic of evergreen foliage. The "live" comes from the fact that the leaves don't die in the autumn. They remain live.
The name is used mainly in North America, where evergreen oaks are widespread in warmer areas, along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Florida, west along the Gulf Coast to Texas and across the southwest to California and southwest Oregon.
But the live oak is mostly associated with the South. The tree has been depicted in so many movies, photos, paintings, stories and novels about the South that it is even the official state tree of Georgia.
Live oaks are magnificent natural treasures. And as I write this I'm looking out over more than a few of them just outside my window.
Like the South itself, the tree retains a timeless allure.
Photo by Dan Cirucci
Labels: environment, Hilton head
A Dumb, Dumb New Year
About all the silly hoopla over the new year: I just don't get it. Never have gotten it, in fact.
New Years Day is a dumb "holiday." It signifies nothing. It's merely the first day of the year - just a unit of measurement, that's all. It's just a way to keep time.
New Year's Eve is equally as dumb if not dumber.
Just because the clock moved ahead an extra second we're supposed to get all worked up? I don't think so.
This is simply an excuse for clubs and restaurants to make a big deal of nothing and charge you big bucks for it. The rudest, loudest, most obnoxious people come crawling out of the woodwork on New Year's Eve. These are the people who don't get around very much (and don't go out very much) during the rest of the year. Trust me, you don't want to be around these people.
This is a sadly artificial holiday - a holiday that reeks of beer, tobacco and lost dreams; a holiday plagued by sticky champagne stains, stale leftovers, weary Christmas decorations and nothing to look forward to but cleaning up and getting ready for the two dreariest months of the year.
Happy New Year, everybody!
Labels: America
New Year's Wrench Drop?
The Times Square Ball Drop is a New Year's Eve tradition -- a dumb tradition, but still a tradition.
But did you know that many other cities have their own midnight "drops" on New Year's Eve? No joke.
Here is a list of some of the other drops:
Raleigh, N. C. - Acorn drop
Carlisle, Pa. - Car
Miami - Orange
Atlanta - Peach
Marion, Ohio - Popcorn
Harrisburg, Pa. - Strawberry
And my two personal favorites:
Mechanicsburg, Pa. - Wrench (Whoa - Watch out when that wrench drops!)
Dillsburg, Pa. - Pickle (Beats me why anyone would celebrate a "pickle drop" or droop.)
Groundhog Day. And strawberry, car, wrench and pickle drops. The Mummers. Something about Pennsylvania seems to attract sometimes silly faux-folk customs.
Labels: Ohio, Pennsylvania
John Adler Wants You To Know
I recently encountered freshman Democrat Congressman John Adler of New Jersey's third congressional district at a holiday social event and we had a pleasant chat.
I asked John Adler what he wants the readers of my blog to know about him.
He told me that he wants you to know that he's working very hard in Washington, that he's trying to do the right thing, that he wants to make the right decisions, that he wants to provide the services and good judgement and commitment that you expect from a public official. Unspoken, but nonetheless implied was this: He wants to be viewed as an independent-minded Congressman who doesn't put party first. He understands that he's serving a district that has almost always been Republican.
For my part, I thanked John for voting against the House version of Obamacare and effectively defying the House leadership under Speaker Pelosi. Alas, the measure passed anyway.
It's been quite a number of years since I first met John when he came to my door to solicit my vote in Cherry Hill, seeking his first public office. I have no doubt that he's a good vote counter. He knows the realities of politics in the trenches. He realizes that he faces a tough fight for re-election in the new year.
But anyone who comes up against John Adler is also going to face a tough fight. He's smart, quick, clever, tenacious and determined. That's how he got where he is.
Still, we live in a time when we expect to know not just where politicians stand on any given public issue but also who they are -- how they feel, how they live, what they value, and what, if anything, they're passionate about. We want to know what makes them tick and that means seeing through to the heart.
I suppose you could say that in a plastic age more than a few of us crave "realness." It's not enough for us to know where you stand. We want to know the why of the equation: how you're wired, how you're grounded, what anchors you, who you really are.
I know that this might seem like a Big Question to have to answer. But if you don't want to answer it (or if you can't answer it) you have the option of not climbing into the public arena in the first place.
If you put yourself out there, we have the right to know the answer.
And when all is said and done, this may be the most important factor in the upcoming district contest and in so many others across the country.
Of course, John Adler has a significant war chest and more than a few people (I'm sure) who are advising him and will advise him (quite strategically) on this and other matters.
I simply told him I'd relay his message to you, and so I have.
And I extend to John Adler and his family best wishes for a Happy New Year.
Labels: Adler, Cherry Hill, Congress, Democrat Party, New Jersey
The Year's Biggest Jerks
From Joe Biden's messups, misspeaks and gaffes to Charlie Sheen's inability to stay out of trouble with the law, you could call 2009 The Year of The Jerk.
Goodness knows (though goodness had nothing to do with it) there were more than enough jerks to go around.
Rudeness, crudeness, infidelity, boorishness, arrogance and the near epidemic flaunting of bad behavior all characterized the past year.
So, in no particular order, here are the Biggest Jerks of 2009.
Harry Reid - Jerk on a power trip, complete with wild allegations, lies, middle-of-the-night schemes, secret deals, the seizure of one-sixth of the US economy and the first Christmas Eve Senate vote in more than 100 years. It's hard to top this guy.
Tiger Woods - "Transgressions." Need we say more?
Barbara Boxer - Madame bitch slaps decorated Army brass who offers her nothing but respect and snaps: "Call me Senator!"
David Letterman - Dirty old man jerk tosses out sick, snide references to Palin's younger daughter, then tries to back away and then finally admits his own indiscretions with much younger staff members.
Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. - Pulls rank on a police officer who's simply trying to do his job, prompting Gates' friend, The President to trip up almost as badly as Gates himself. Kabooom!
Alan Grayson - Congressman says GOP want sick people to "die soon," compares health care system to the Holocaust, calls Cheney a "vampire" and refers to female federal reserve official as a "whore." Maybe the gentleman from Florida has spent too much time in the sun.
Kanye West - In this case "attention deficit disorder" means "I can't get enough attention and I will continue to make a fool of myself until you recognize me for the jerk I am."
Mark Sanford - Governor finds soul mate on the Applachian Trail or in South America or in South Carolina or in the rain forest of Brazil or in Argentina or in Panama or in Mexico or . . . awww, shutup!
Arlen Specter - Hypocritical jerk says he'll never leave the party and then, just days later, he does. Take that to the bank -- or the voting booth, Pennsylvania!
Al Franken and the People of Minnesota - Franken for his peevish, disgusting, repulsive behavior and the people of Minnesota for allowing the election to be swiped out from under them. Not since Jesse "The Body" Ventura . . .
2009's Notable Deaths
2009 marked the loss of many luminaries in politics, the arts, the media, sports, etc.
Here is a partial list of some of the notable losses:
Author, novelist John Updike.
Broadcast pioneer Paul Harvey (pictured).
Congressman Jack Kemp.
Actor David Carradine.
King of Pop Michael Jackson.
Pitchman Billy Mays.
Anchorman Walter Cronkite.
Author Frank McCourt.
Philippine leader Corazon Acquino.
Philanthropist Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
Musical pioneer Les Paul.
Journalist extraordinaire Robert Novak.
TV producer Don Hewitt.
Lion of the Senate Ted Kennedy.
Author, social critic Dominick Dunne.
Actor Patrick Swayze.
Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss.
Evangelist Oral Roberts.
Actress Brittany Murphy.
Labels: history, Hollywood, Media, Music, Politics, Radio, Theater, TV
Kennedys Called 'Chintzy Bunch'
I've just finished reading C. David Heymann's Bobby and Jackie, A Love Story.
This is sad and tragic story and we all know how it ends.
Indeed, those of us who lived through that era of American history know the story all too well. Or at least we thought we knew at the time.
But there was so much that we didn't know.
I suppose it was inevitable that Jackie Kennedy and Bobby Kennedy would be drawn closer and closer together after JFK's assassination. Each would not have made it without the other.
And no one should be surprised that their attachment became more than platonic.
But this book is about so much more than the untold story of Jackie and Bobby. It's also about the vast dysfunctional family of Kennedys.
At one point in the book, contrasting the family with Jackie herself, the author describes the Kennedys this way:
"The Kenedys were chintzy when it came to their personal lives. They never tipped. Their homes were always in need of repair. The interior of all of their houses looked liked the inside of a Howard Johnson's motel. Their household employees - gardeners, drivers, cooks and maids - were undocumented illegals, mostly from the Domenican Republic, and were paid the minimum hourly wage. Members of the family never carried cash with them. They charged everything and took months, sometimes years, to repay their debts. They went to Stop n Shop supermarkets in search of bargains. They spent generously on clothes but this had more to do with outward appearance - a necessary feature of the political arena - than it did with any intrinsic interest in fashion."
Labels: John F. Kennedy, Kennedy, Politics
Help Us Hit 100,000!
Our goal is to hit 100,000 visits by midnight, December 31.
And you can help us.
Keep visiting our site.
Keep logging on.
And tell others to visit as well.
Send out some e-mails with links to this blog.
Ask other blogs and web sites to mention us, link to us and place us on their blog rolls.
Tell your friends, neighbors, relatives, co-workers to vivit us now.
Keep spreading the word.
You brought us this far. You made us one of the top blogs in the region.
Now you can put us over the top. Help us hit 100,000 before 2010 dawns. We know you can do it!
Labels: Blogs, Internet
Hilton Head's Tranquil Beach
The beach at Hilton Head this morning was absolutely tranquilizing under a panoply of bright sun, blue, blue sky and just a wisp of a sleek cloud to frame the scene. Positively dreamy!
Last night we dined on creamy mushroom soup, French dip and Hogan's Black 'n Blue salad at one of our favorite spots, the intimate British Open Pub in Wexford Village.
Today there are people cavorting on the beach and in the pool. Easy to take!
Labels: Hilton head
Top Ten Heroes Of '09
Amidst all the scoundrels and scandals of the year, there were some real heroes -- people who stood out for their bravery, persistence, endurance, successes or just plain, old common sense.In no particular order, here are our 10 heroes and heroines of 2009.
Political Hero - Chris Christie. The tough prosecutor took on the enigmatic zillionaire and liberated the Garden State with a refreshing authentic style that captivated Joisey's hard-edged voters.
Broadway Heroine - Angela Lansbury. The unsinkable octogenarian returned to the Great White Way for back-to-back triumphs: First in Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit and then in Sondheim's Send In The Clowns. Bravo!
True Life Hero - Captain C.B. Sully Sullenberger. The US Airways hero of Flight 1549 restored our faith in people who put service ahead of self and naturally seem to do the right thing. What a way to start the year!
Music Hero - Beyonce. Her grace and dignity in handling the callous treatment of Taylor Swift at the MTV Awards will long be remembered.
Hollywood Heroine - Meryl Streep. The multi award winning star boasts boffo box office hits Julie & Julia and It's Complicated, proving that there's still a future for sophisticated, adult comedies.
Everyday Heroes - The passengers aboard Northwestern Flight 253 flying from Amsterdam to Detroit who helped to subdue alleged terrorist Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.
Literary Hero - Michael Chabon. The Pulitzer Prize winning novelist turned to non-fiction with a remarkably candid and engaging series of essays entitled Manhood for Amateurs: The Pleasures and Regrets of a Husband, Father, and Son. It's a great read!
Legendary Heroine - Sophia Loren. Nearly a half century after her movie debut she re-emerges as a calendar pinup gal and dazzles in her return to the big screen in Nine.
Sports Hero - Brett Favre. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore his list of achievements which continued into 2009 when he made his 500th career touchdown. He probably holds more sports records than nearly any other pro athlete.
Grassroots Heroes - The Tea Party Goers. While the mainstream media drank the Obama Kool Aid, these courageous, ordinary citizens awakened America to the dangers of Obamunism and ignited a new populist movement that continues into 2010.
Labels: America, Broadway, Movies, New York, Politics, Stars, Washington
Top 10 Scrooges Of '09
This was surely the Year of the Scrooge.
So compiling our list of Top Ten Scrooges of the year was difficult because we had more than enough choices.
Anyway, here are the Top Ten meanest, most selfish, most despicable jerks of the year:
10. Nancy Pelosi: Private government jets, limos and other perks while the unemployment rate continued to soar and she continued to hoard her own $$$ for more cosmetic surgery.
9. Jon Corzine: Spent this year as he did most others -- lavishing $$$ on his own campaigns and self-glory. Alas, we finally sent him packing.
8. Senator Ben Nelson and Senator Mary Landrieu - You pay for extra $$$ for their states while they sell their health care votes to the highest bidder.
7. Timothy Geithner - Prints $$$ at an alarming rate, yet forgets to pay his own taxes.
6. Wall Street Bonus Boys - Those big, bloated bonuses seem to have no end, especially at Goldman Sachs.
5. Jon Gosselin - Drenched in instant fame, he allegedly neglects the support of his own family.
4. Major airlines - forcing us to pay for baggage and incidentals while adding other fees and raising fares.
3. Barack Obama - Laps in the luxury of a $9 million Hawaiian mansion while lending little or no support to unemployed and/or destitute family members.
2. Entertainment Ticketing Services - Hey, that $75 ticket is likely to cost you $20 or $30 more after you add on services fees and other charges while you do all the work, including actually printing your own ticket.
1. HARRY REID - Raises taxes, cuts Medicare, name-calls, threatens and intimidates while he feathers his own Nevada nest with sweetheart deals. This scoundrel even looks like Scrooge!
Labels: airlines, Corzine, Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Senate, Taxes, Wall Street
Joy Of Goin South
"Good Mawnin!"
It's so nice to hear that lilting greeting once again.
Yes, we've headed south.
We're here at our southern comand center on beautiful Hilton Head Island. And we're lovin it.
We just took a long walk under lush live oaks and tall pines.
You see, after the thieves in the United States Senate passed the dreaded "health care" bill we felt a need to head to a red state as soon as possible.
And what better choice is there than South Carolina?
After all, this is the home of Senators Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint. Senator DeMint is a new favorite of ours. And while we don't always agree with Senator Graham, he is a damned sight better than Senator Frank LOUTenberg or Senator ROB Menendez -- not to mention those horrid neighboring Senators: Benedict Arlen and Clueless Casey.
The sun has just appeared here on Hilton Head and we notice that the Democrat House Whip, Congressman James Clayburn is on Face the Nation and he's here in Hilton Head as well.
Democrats and Republicans can agree that surely, this blessed island retains its alluring appeal.
Labels: Democrats, Hilton head, Republican Party, Senate
Obamas Luxuriate As Nation Suffers
Snow and ice abound in much of the nation.
The unemployment rate of 10% is at a 26-year high.
The greatest economic slowdown since the great depression drags on.
With President Obama's vigorous support the Democrat Congress continues to spend money, raise taxes, increase government control over our lives and raise the debt ceiling to new heights.
And, on Christmas eve the Senate passed a health care bill that does an end run around the prohibition of government-funded abortion. On Christmas eve!
But none of this stopped the Obama family from renting an 8.9 million Hawaiian mansion for the holidays, along with houses on either side of the lush, palatial property.
The mansion comes with every conceivable luxury.
And, on Christmas, the Obama's began the day with worship at the secular alter of vanity: an early morning workout. Christmas gifts waited till later in the day and traditional church worship was nowhere on the agenda.
Here's a report on the President's super-fancy digs from ABC News:
Labels: ABC News, Christmas, Obama
Video: Queen's Christmas Message
Among all nations, America has no greater friend in the world than Great Britain. Along with this treasured ally, we are also supported by the commonwealth of nations that are united with Great Britain.
It is with this knowledge and deep appreciation that we bring you this informative and inspiring Christmas message from Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth
Labels: America, Britain, Christmas, England
Nochumson Firm Holiday Party
Last night our round of holiday parties concluded with a party at Tavern 17 in the Warwick Hotel hosted by Philadelphia lawyer Alan Nochumson and his partners at the Nochumson firm.
We were delighted to see Alan and our dear friend Natalie Klyashtorny who is Of Counsel to the firm (both shown above).
Among the many guests that we saw and/or chatted with were Sheryl Axelrod, Eric Weitz, Harold Datz, Kim Jessum, Ken and Lisa Carraway and Mark Tarasiewicz.
We enjoyed an open bar as well as crabcake, vegetable, tuna and beef sliders and as a host of other treats.
It was great seeing Alan and Natalie again and chatting with old and new friends -- a warm respite on a bitterly cold evening in the city.
Labels: Lawyers, Philadelphia, Philadelphia lawyers
Magical NYC Christmas Windows, 2010
Christmas would not be Christmas without the Christmas windows at Manhattan's speciality and department stores from Macy's on Broadway all the way up to Bergdorf's on Fifth Avenue and Barney's on Madison Avenues.
We enjoyed all the windows this year but none more than Bergdorf's which focus on Alice in Wonderland (above). The Bergdorf tableauxs from the story of Alice rekindle your imagination and excite the senses. They are absolutely lush -- rich in texture, color and design.
Bravo to Bergdorf's for pulling out all the stops this year.
Here's a roundup of the others:
Macy's - A delightful animated story for children that follows the journey of an old-fashioned snail mail letter to Santa. This nostalgic subject is updated with hi-tech features.
Lord & Taylor - Once again, a traditional Christmas story that features Lord & Taylor turn-of-the-century and Victorian favorites. Many classic elements stressing the comfort and security of home and family. As always, the most Christmas of Christmas windows.
Saks - The tale of a snowflake and its journey from the heavens to New York City teases us with a touch of political correctness as it stresses the joys of diversity amidst the vast community of snowflakes. And just to make sure the lesson is now lost on the little ones, a children's book is available for purchase as well.
Henri Bendel - No decorated windows but the entranceway is a sight to behold -- all sparkle and aglow with flash and glitter. Sure to pull you in.
As always, the Rockefeller Center tree dazzles but we were somewhat put off by all the corporate sponsorship and shameless promotion of Swarovski. Well, somebody's got to pay the bills.
We also visited the beautiful nature-inspired tree at Astor Court in the New York Public Library -- always a favorite.
And, we dropped by the new shops at The Plaza. We weren't bowled over but we did enjoy the new Eloise store featuring paraphernalia celebrating the famous little girl who lives at The Plaza.
We mourn the loss of the Palm Court at The Plaza just as we mourn the loss of the wreaths that adorned the lions in front of The Library. The Palm Court gave way to the Plaza rehab and the wreaths were dumped because apparently some enviro-nut decided that they were harmful to the stone lions.
We lunched at Redeye Grill, one of our new favorites. If you haven't been there, check it out. You won't be disappointed.
Labels: Christmas, Macys, Manhattan, New York, Rockefeller
Christmas In Italy!
On Christmas Eve in Italy, Christmas trees are decorated, but the focal point of decoration is the Nativity scene.
Italians take great pride in the creation of the manger, which was thought up in 1223 by St. Francis of Assisi, who wanted to involve the peasants in celebrating the life of Jesus.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City possesses a presepio from Naples that contains figurines carved from wood and dressed in garments of satin, along with 30 gold-trimmed angels of the Magi, all framed by majestic columns.
Bagpipes are the most common Italian Christmas sound. The zampognari, the shepherds who play the bagpipes, come down from their mountain homes at Christmas time and perform in the market squares. The playing of bagpipes is popular in the regions of Calabria and Abruzzo, and in the piazzas of Rome.
The melodies played are adapted from old hill tunes. Modern zampognari wear the traditional outfits of sheepskin vests, leather breeches, and a woolen cloak.
The tradition of bagpipes goes back to ancient Roman times. Legend says that the shepherds entertained the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem.
On Christmas, the zampognari perform their own private pilgrimage, stopping before every shrine to the Madonna and every Nativity scene.
Children in Italy believe in a female version of Santa Claus called La Befana, an old woman who flies on a broom and brings presents.
According to Italian legend, Three Wise Men asked La Befana for directions to Bethlehem. La Befana was asked to join them but declined three times. It took an unusually bright light and a band of angels to convince La Befana that she must join the Wise Men, but she was too late.
She never found the Christ child and has been searching ever since.
On January 6, the Feast of Epiphany, La Befana goes out on her broom to drop off stockings filled with treats to all the sleeping children of Italy.
Just as children in America leave milk and cookies for jolly Santa Claus, La Befana collects messages and refreshments throughout the night.
Buon Natale e tutti!
Labels: Catholics, Christians, Christmas, Italy, Jesus
Gerlach: Obamacare Bad For PA
Republican Jim Gerlach on Wednesday sent letters to Gov. Ed Rendell and the Commonwealth’s two senators, Robert P. Casey Jr. and Arlen Specter, urging them to stand up for Pennsylvania's families and businesses by opposing the health care bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is frantically pushing to a vote on Christmas Eve.
“This bill is bad for Pennsylvania," Gerlach said. "That's why I made one last appeal for commonsense to prevail and for the governor and our two senators to put Pennsylvania's interests ahead of partisanship. Majority Leader Reid spent this past weekend cutting deals to benefit Nebraska and other states at Pennsylvania’s expense. If enacted, this legislation would lead to higher taxes or significant cuts to services for Pennsylvania residents. The governor needs to speak out and our senators should not be rubber stamps for Harry Reid's severely flawed bill.”
Below is the text of the letter sent Wednesday morning:
The Honorable Ed Rendell
Governor, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
200 Main Capital Building
U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter
7711 Hart Office Building
U.S. Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.
363 Russell Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510
I am writing to urge you to oppose the U.S. Senate health care bill due to the huge burden it would place on Pennsylvania families and employers and the fiscal peril it poses to the Commonwealth’s already-strained budget.
Chief among my concerns is the federal Medicaid mandates contained in Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid’s 2,000-plus pages that call for expanding Medicaid to 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. The National Conference of State Legislators has estimated that this expansion would increase state Medicaid spending in Pennsylvania by approximately $2.2 billion over the next 10 years.
Asking Pennsylvania families and employers struggling to shoulder this huge, unfunded federal mandate would be bad enough in the midst of one of our nation’s greatest economic recessions. But to make matters worse, the Senate bill would force taxpayers in
Pennsylvania to underwrite an estimated $1.2 billion Medicaid bailout for Nebraska, Vermont and Massachusetts. This is an incredibly bad deal for Pennsylvanians who will either pay higher taxes or possibly see important state services significantly reduced.
In addition to the unfunded Medicaid mandate, the Senate bill would include a $2 billion per year tax on our Commonwealth’s thriving biotechnology and medical device manufacturing industries. Pennsylvania has approximately 600 medical device manufactures that employ roughly 20,000 people in jobs that often pay more than $50,000 per year. Executives at these companies have been very clear that this tax would hamper their ability to hire new workers and siphon money away from life-saving research and product development.
It is extremely disappointing that the Senate bill is laced with sweetheart deals and certainly appears aimed more toward scoring political points than making insurance affordable or improving the quality of health care in our Commonwealth. That’s why I am respectfully request that you oppose this severely-flawed legislation.
With kind regards, I am
Jim Gerlach
Labels: Casey, Congress, Ed Rendell, Legislation, Pennsylvania, Senate, Specter
Bribing Senators With Public Funds
Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gerlach has issued the following statement on the U.S. Senate's attempt to pass a health care bill before Christmas:
"As your families and loved ones gather to celebrate this joyous Holiday season, the U.S. Senate is plowing ahead toward a critical Christmas Eve vote to radically change our country's health care system. The vote will occur thanks in large part to what should be known as the Harry Reid Blizzard of 2009. While Mother Nature was blasting much of Pennsylvania with a record-setting amount of snow this weekend, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his colleagues in Democrat leadership unleashed a blizzard of taxpayer dollars in a frantic attempt to pass a health care bill that has more to do with scoring political points than making insurance affordable and improving the quality of health care. Believe me, taxpayers will still be trying to dig out from this spending squall long after the snow melts.
"Pennsylvania was directly in the path of the Harry Reid Blizzard. The backroom deals Reid struck with his Democratic bretheren will force Pennsylvania taxpayers to help finance a $1.1 billion Medicaid bailout during the next 10 years for Nebraska, Massachusetts and Vermont. That hefty amount is in addition to an estimated $2.2 billion increase in Medicaid spending that Pennsylvania taxpayers will have to cover during the next decade if the Democrats' health care proposal becomes law.
"This avalanche of spending would be a heavy enough burden for Pennsylvania taxpayers. But the Senate bill also retains the same job-crushing taxes and big government bureaucracy contained in the House health care bill, which I voted against on November 7th. Taxes would climb by about $400 billion per year. That includes a $2 billion per year tax on medical testing products that help detect ovarian, breast and pancreatic cancer; products used in hip-replacement surgery and to help patients heal broken limbs; heart stents used in life-saving operations; and other medical devices.
"This tax would hit Pennsylvania particularly hard because of the approximately 600 medical device manufactures in the Commonwealth that employ roughly 20,000 people in jobs that often pay more than $50,000 per year.
"All of this taxing and spending will result in a bill that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office confirmed would raise health insurance premiums by $300 per year for individuals and $2,100 per year for middle-class families. That's why I will not support the Senate bill if it comes to the House floor for a vote."
Labels: Congress, Legislation, Pennsylvania, Reid, Senate
How To Survive Winter
Yesterday was the shortest day of the year - the day with the least amount of daylight
Which means it seemed like the l-o-n-g-e-s-t day.
Here's how to get through the rest of December and the two dreadful months that lie ahead. Remember that starting today, it's all downhill to summer.
Each day that follows will now have more daylight. From that standpoint, each day will be a little bit nicer. And each day will have less darkness.
We've reached the low point. Now we're on the way back up again.
So, even though winter technically just began, winter's demise is already underway.
In other words, the dead of winter is really the beginning of the death of winter.
Specter's Disgraceful Performance
Over the next four days, Arlen Specter will vote for a mammoth health care bill, totaling 2,733 pages and nearly $1 trillion, providing the Reid/Pelosi Congress with the crucial 60th vote needed to pass the bill. Over the next four days, we will inspect the worst elements of this monstrosity, starting with the bill’s huge tax increases.
According to the Congressional Budget Office’s report released on Saturday, the Reid health care monstrosity will raise taxes by $518.5 billion and violates President Obama’s pledge not to raise taxes on the middle-class.
The $518 billion in new taxes include:
A $149 billion tax increase on private health insurance plans that will affect many middle-class people in high cost areas.
$43 billion in new taxes and fines on individuals and businesses as part of the bill’s new health insurance mandate.
More than $100 billion in new taxes and fees on firms in the health sector, including a tax on manufacturers and importers of medical devises. According to the CBO, these taxes and fees “would be largely passed through to consumers in the form of higher premiums for private coverage.”
$87 billion in new Medicare payroll taxes.
But President Obama was not the only one to break his pledge when Reid’s health care monstrosity was voted on in the wee hours of the morning today. Senator Arlen Specter had signed a Taxpayer Protection Pledge against raising taxes. Last night, he broke that pledge. (RC #385, 12/21/09)
Senator Specter was given the opportunity to vote separately against the huge tax increases in this bill, but preferred to be a rubber stamp for Harry Reid’s extreme agenda. Specter voted against an amendment to strip the bill of tax increases on people earning less than $250,000 a year. Even though five Democrats supported the amendment, Specter voted “NO.” (RC #376, 12/15/09)
“Over the past nine months, Senator Specter has gone from being opposed to a public option to being a rubber stamp for Harry Reid’s extreme liberal agenda,” Toomey Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik said. “It is shame to see Specter putting his political career ahead of the needs of Pennsylvania taxpayers. Unlike Specter, Pat Toomey supports commonsense health care reforms that will lower health care costs and introduce competition into the system. These include comprehensive tort reform, allowing individuals to purchase health insurance across state lines, allowing the formation of health associations, and giving individually purchased health insurance the same tax benefits as employee provided health insurance.”
“Pat’s principled and thoughtful approach to health care reform is just one of the many reasons why Pennsylvanians are rallying to his side and rejecting Specter’s rampant political opportunism.”
Labels: Legislation, Obama, Pennsylvania, Senate, Specter
Christmas With Dead People
It's Christmas, a joyous time of the year.
And here in the northeast, it's a white Christmas -- the traditional dream come true Christmas.
Yes, it's Christmas. And I see dead people.
They are all around me and they are here to celebrate Christmas with me.
I turn on the TV and Jimmy Stewart is racing down Main Street in Bedford Falls hoping to escape the confines of a small town but knowing that he never will.
And Alastair Sim, the quintessential Scrooge, is grimacing in the classic black-and-white version of everyone's favorite Christmas tale.
And in living color I still see Judy Garland and Bing Crosby and Perry Como and Dinah Shore and Andy Williams singing Christmas songs. Judy's still full of pathos as she tenderly sings Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.
Jack Benny is here too and so is Lucy in a tender episode that ends with two Santas where there should be only one. One of the Santas is clearly Fred (William Frawley) but who's that other guy?
And when I turn on the radio I hear Christmas carols by Luciano Pavarotti and Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra and Mahalia Jackson and Mario Lanza.
On You Tube I watch President Reagan deliver a Christmas message from the White House. The President is warm and reassuring and he speaks confidently of faith in God and our Judeo-Christian heritage.
My mind tumbles back to the gritty, industrial city that I grew up in -- a riverfront city that didn't realize back then that its glory days were already behind it. It's a bleak, damp, gray December day but I'm warm and secure in the confines of my father's old Plymouth as we rush from place to place through narrow city streets marked by row houses and the occasional corner store.
We don't speak very much but I'm so happy to be with him. He's making lots of stops, picking up small treats and gifts from a variety of friends and businesspeople for whom he may have done odd jobs during the year. Whatever he manages to gather will help to make our Christmas a bit happier.
Even in the run up to Christmas, he's a tough negotiator. He barters with merchants and grocers. as he tries to select just the right provisions for our Christmas feast.
He maneuvers through and around streets, neighborhoods and landmarks with the swiftness of a true native.
His energy fills the room wherever he goes. He's not a big guy but he makes a huge impact. And I know that as long as I'm by his side, no harm can come to me.
On Christmas eve aunts, uncles, cousins and neighbors come and go as the all-night feast of the fishes drifts into the wee hours of Christmas day.
On Christmas morning the uncles begin their ritual home visitations, gathering more participants as they move from house to house. Loud, boisterous and well-lubricated, they pass out silver dollars to the children. These will be accepted as treasured tokens and saved in a safe place.
Through it all I see my mother, full of wry wit, optimism and just a the right perspective on the whole panoply. She's got a sharp eye and she's a great mimic as she jokes about people, places and personalities.
If you press her, she may even remember some of the people from her own earlier Christmases but she'd rather dwell in the present. She's very much about her own family, right here, right now.
Of course, now I understand why she took that approach.
As you get older, this is what happens.
Christmas isn't totally joyous. It isn't always candy canes and sugar plums.
So many Christmas memories; so many Christmases past.
Christmas with dead people is bittersweet.
Not to worry, though.
The memories are good. And the sights, sounds and glad tidings live within me.
Plus, at this time of year all of these people seem to come alive once again -- alive in a very special way. They are with me. They are part of me. And I treasure them.
And I suppose that's one of the lessons of Christmas: Let all the people and the events and the memories of the Christmases past deepen and enrich your understanding of this wonderful holiday. Savor it all.
Bring them along with you. Let them walk by your side. Be strengthened by their presence and pass on what you know, who you are, how you feel, what you have learned.
And be proud, strong and tender -- especially for the children who watch you more closely now than at any other time of the year.
In that way, you'll keep the true spirit of Christmas.
Best Christmas Songs Ever!
In no particular order, here are ten of the best (and most original) Christmas songs I know:
This Christmas - This song has been getting more airplay in recent years. There are two good versions; one by Harry Connick, Jr. and another by Danny Hathaway.
Goin Home For Christmas - This haunting piece by Merle Haggard summons up so much feeling. It's a perfect pastiche.
Santa Baby - Don't buy any updated versions. Trust only the original by Eartha Kitt.
Christmas In Dixie and Santa Claus (I Still Believe In You) - Both by Alabama and both on Alabama's first (red) Christmas album. These are two of the best songs and this is one of the best Christmas albums you will ever find.
Christmas Was Made For Children - I really like the Mel Torme version on his album, Christmas Songs.
Christmas in New Orleans and Christmas Night In Harlem - Both feature the great Louis Armstrong with the Benny Carter Orchestra. Check them out on The Best of Louis Armstrong and Friends, The Christmas Collection.
When It's Christmas Time In Texas - By King George himself, George Strait. Full of wonderful imagery!
New York City Christmas - By the Cover Girls. This may be hard to find but it's got plenty of high energy. It turns up on a lot of compilation albums.
As you can see I like Christmas songs that evoke certain times and places.
That's because Christmas is a time for memories, dreams and imagination.
And these songs trigger memories, enrich dreams and enliven imaginations.
Labels: Christmas, Country Music, Music
Northeast: White Christmas!
To say it will be a white Christmas here in the northeast -- well, that's an understatement.
It will be a very, very WHITE Christmas, indeed.
The above is a photo that I took just a few moments ago. And the storm is intensifying as I write this. Right now we're in a total white out situation.
It looks like we may get as much as a couple of feet of snow.
As I've said before . . . so much for global warming!
Labels: Christmas, New Jersey, weather
Don't Blame the GOP!
Don't blame the Republicans.
They did their best to stop this bill.
And they remained solidly united.
Our only hope now (and it's a long shot) is that the House and Senate will have a difficult time agreeing on a resolution of two widely different pieces of legislation passed in each chamber.
The Democrats will live or die by this bill. This is their choice. It's what they wanted.
As always, the people will have the final say. But we will have to wait till November, 2010. Don't let the Dems distract you. Remember December. Remember what they did this Christmas week.
Labels: Congress, Democrat Party, GOP, Legislation, Republican Party, Senate
Justinians Christmas Party
On Wednesday evening we were back in Philadelphia at the spectacular Ballroom At The Ben for the big, gala Justinian's Christmas Party sponsored by the Justinian Society of Italian American lawyers.
For the Philadelphia legal community, it simply isn't Christmas without the Justinian's Christmas party and this year was no exception. More than 300 people attended the event and were treated to a two-hour, fully stocked open bar as well as colossal shrimp, crab claws, salad, pasta, turkey with all the trimmings and succulent roast beef followed by coffee and an array of wonderful desserts.
We saw so many of our favorite people at the event including Justinian Society Chancellor Gina Furia Rubel (shown above with National Italian American Foundation President Joe Del Raso). And of course we saw Rochelle Fedullo (shown above) who is the glamorous half of the talented lawyer team of Bill and Shelly Fedullo.
We also chatted with Matt DiDomenico, Judge Denis Cohen, former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Gabe Bevilacqua, Hank Lunardi, John Padova, Philadelphia Bar Association Vice Chancellor Rudy Garcia, Alex Giacobetti, Terri Italiano, Judge Anne Lazarus, former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Jane Dalton, Vito Canuso, Carmen Nasuti, the legendary A. Charles Peruto, Chuck Peruto and many others.
It was great to see so many familiar faces and share the sentiments of the season.
We particularly enjoyed sharing ideas with Joe DelRasso about how to combat stereotyping, on shows such as the disgustingly insensitive Jersey Shore. NIAF, UNICO and OSIA are all united in opposition to this piece of trash disguised as entertainment.
BTW: We hear that several Justinians are in line to become Chancellor of the Bar Association, including our dear friends Bill Fedullo and Gaetan Alfano. To that we say: "The more the merrier. Let Justinians reign supreme!"
Labels: Christmas, Italian-Americans, justice, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia lawyers
Smirking, Franken Muzzles Lieberman
Senator John McCain came to the defense of Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor after far left Minnesota Senator Al Franken cut Lieberman off.
McCain says he has never seen this happen in his 20 years in the Senate.
But then again we've never had a Senator like Al Franken.
Al Franken is a disgrace to the people of Minnesota and an insult to sensible thinking people everywhere.
It's sad that the Democrat party is so desperate for power (and that all-important 60th vote) that it would embrace somebody like Franken.
Al Franken isn't fit to shine John McCain's shoes, let alone preside over the US Senate. Shame on him!
Hat Tip: Gateway Pundit and Michelle Malkin
Labels: Democrat Party, Democrats, Liberalism, liberals, Lieberman, McCain, Senate
Remarkable Swim Coach Tells Story
On Tuesday we attended the South Jersey Chamber of Commerce luncheon at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill where we were welcomed by Chamber President and CEO Debra DiLorenzo and treated to a wonderful motivational talk by James Ellis, Swim Coach and Founder of the Philadelphia Department of Recreation Swim Team.
Jim Ellis was the subject of the extraordinary 2007 feature film Pride.
In 1971 Ellis formed the PDR (Philadelphia Department of Recreation) swim team which was the first African-American swim team and located at the Marcus Foster Recreation Center in Nicetown, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood in Philadelphia. As of February 2007, Ellis still coaches swimming at the Marcus Foster pool and had begun a sabbatical from teaching mathematics at Bodine High School.
Ellis' protégés include Michael Norment, the first black swimmer on the U.S. national team. His program at the Marcus Foster pool has sent swimmers to the swimming trials for every U.S. Olympic team since 1992.
In May 2007, Jim Ellis received the President's Award from the International Swimming Hall of Fame.
Bringing a swimmer to the Olympics is still his great dream.
While at the luncheon we chatted with Deb DiLorenzo who has just been appointed Chair of New Jersey Governor-Elect Chris Christie's Subcommittee on Labor and Workforce Development.
In just a few moments it was clear to us that Chris Christie has made an excellent choice.
Deb DiLorenzo impresses us as a dynamo. She's obviously done wonderful things with the Chamber and she cares deeply about the future of New Jersey. She's quick, smart, vivacious, and clearly passionate about her work.
If this is any indication of the type of people who will surround our new Governor, then Chris Christie & Co. are on the right track. And we're delighted he's choosing bright, independent-minded professionals from South Jersey.
BTW: Thanks to our dear friend Lisa Simon of the Simon Public Relations Group for inviting us to the luncheon.
Labels: Christopher Christie, economy, New Jersey, Olympics, Philadelphia, Public Relations, South Jersey, Sports
PPRA Gives Gardner The Gold
We've had an incredibly busy week full of so many special events that it's difficult to chronicle everything we've done and everywhere we've been.
But we'll try our best and begin with the region's most illustrious media personality, Jim Gardner.
On Monday, the Philadelphia Public Relations Association (PPRA) presented 6 ABC TV's Action News anchorman with its prestigious Gold Medal recognizing the distinction and acclaim that he has brought to Philadelphia and the entire region. The luncheon event was held at Philadelphia's Ritz Carlton Hotel on the Avenue of the Arts.
To call Jim Gardner an anchorman only begins to scratch the surface. Quite simply, Jim Gardner is to Philadelphia what Walter Cronkite was to the nation. He is the most trusted person in the Delaware Valley.
Shown above (in top photo) are PPRA President Bill Cowen, Gardner and Gold Medal Committee co-chairs Lisette Bralow and Mark Tarasiewicz.
Jim Gardner's career is a testament to his professionalism and his enduring appeal.
On June 1, 1976 Gardner became a reporter and noon anchor of WPVI-TV in Philadelphia.
In November 1976 he became the anchor of the 5:30 p.m. broadcast. In 1977 he became the anchor of the coveted 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. time slots, a position he has held ever since. In the May 2009 sweeps, Action News was rated # 1 in all news broadcasts beating out rivals KYW-TV and WCAU-TV in all time slots.
Important events that Gardner covered include:
following John Cardinal Krol to Vatican City after the death of Pope Paul VI
the return of American hostages taken during the Lebanese Civil War to Rhein-Main Air Base in West Germany
reporting the fall of the Soviet Union from Russia
reporting in Israel and the West Bank after the 2000 Camp David Summit
every Democratic and Republican political convention since 1980
interviewing every President and major presidential candidate since 1976
As main anchor, Gardner has also helped Philadelphians through the deaths of two popular Action News personalities: Jim O'Brien in 1983 and Gary Papa in 2009.
Gardner is active in the Philadelphia metropolitan area and supports several charities. He has sponsored the Jim Gardner Scholarship for journalism and broadcasting students at Temple University (since 1987), as well as awarding the Jim Gardner Scholarship at Columbia. With the exception of 2005, he has read the Declaration of Independence aloud at Philadelphia's Independence Hall every Fourth of July.
Gardner's remarks upon receiving the award were compelling and inspiring.
I cannot tell you how proud I was to serve on the Committee that planned this memorable event.
Bravo, Jim Gardner!
Labels: ABC News, Media, Philadelphia, PPRA, Public Relations
Our Favorite Christmas Classics
Here are more of our favorite Christmas classics:
1) Have A Holly Jolly Christmas - The original version by Burl Ives is still the best!
2) I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - The Jimmy Boyd original is tops! It reached number 1 on the Billboard charts in 1952, and on the Cash Box magazine chart at the beginning of the following year. The song was commissioned by Neiman Marcus to promote their Christmas card for the year, which featured an original sketch by artist Perry Barlow, who drew for the New Yorker magazines for many decades.
3) Christmas Time's A 'Comin (and I know I'm goin home) - Don't settle for anything less than the Bill Monroe bluegrass version.
4) It's A Wonderful Life - If you miss this class Frank Capra Christmas movie, you've missed Christmas itself!
5) A Christmas Carol - Watch ONLY the black and white 1951 movie version of this classic tale starring Alistair Sims. No others can match it.
Christmas reached a sort of zenith in America in the 1950s. It was a glorious time for home, family and Christmas. Maybe it was the aftermath of the war and the prosperity that followed that made everything so Christmasy. Or maybe it was just those crazy 50s novelty songs, all that sentimentality and brave new inventions like spray snow that made the difference. Who knows?
Labels: Christmas, Country Music, Movies, Music
Christie Names Secretary Of State
New Jersey Governor-Elect Chris Christie today announced Lieutenant Governor-Elect Kim Guadagno as New Jersey’s next Secretary of State.
Christie cited Lieutenant Governor-Elect Guadagno’s record as a tough, independent and experienced former prosecutor and Chief Executive of Monmouth County’s largest law enforcement agency.
Governor-Elect Christie said, “Kim has been an extraordinarily capable member of my leadership team and our transition efforts, and I’ve tasked her specifically with the critical task of leading my administration’s economic development efforts. Our campaign was about reviving our economy, creating good, lasting jobs and getting our state back on track. I am honored to have Lieutenant Governor-Elect Guadagno’s continued service in this expanded role as we put New Jerseyans back to work and meet the many fiscal challenges our state faces.”
Guadagno is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney, where she served as Deputy Director of the Division of Criminal Justice and Deputy Chief of the Corruption Unit. Guadagno was elected as Monmouth County Sheriff in 2007, where she served as Chief Executive of the county’s largest law enforcement agency. This included managing an annual budget of $65 million, a 695 member team and three divisions including the Law Enforcement Division, Correctional Facility, and Youth Detention Center. Guadagno was elected as New Jersey’s first Lieutenant Governor on November 3rd, 2009.
In addition to the traditional duties of the New Jersey Secretary of State, Guadagno will be charged with leading the development and implementation of the “New Jersey Partnership For Action,” a new agency within the Department of State to consolidate the state’s fragmented economic development activities.
The New Jersey Partnership For Action will serve as a one-stop shop for new businesses to make opening in or relocating to New Jersey easier. This agency will walk new companies through the regulatory process and assist with tax incentives to make the process more efficient. By creating these public-private partnerships to implement economic growth strategies, New Jersey will more successfully foster private sector job growth.
Lieutenant Governor-Elect Guadagno said, “I am humbled to have the opportunity to serve my fellow New Jerseyans in this capacity. New Jersey faces great challenges, but I firmly believe that there are always opportunities in the challenges we face. Our state is in need of new, creative solutions to make it a place where businesses and the jobs they bring can flourish. I am confident that with the New Jersey Partnership for Action we will serve our new and homegrown businesses to create sustainable, quality jobs and grow our economy.”
The New Jersey Secretary of State oversees 16 separate departments and agencies within the Department of State, including the Divisions of Elections, Travel and Tourism, Community Service, Archives and Records Management, and the Governor’s Office of Volunteerism.
The mission of the Department of State is to advance and support the arts, heritage, and historic record of New Jersey through public participation in cultural programs, quality of life initiatives and community service activities. The Department is committed to educating and empowering the State’s citizens in the areas of faith and community based service, history, the arts, and the collection of fine and decorative art objects, ethnological and archeological material, and scientific specimens. The Department also provides records administration and records management services to the State’s citizens.
Labels: Christopher Christie, economy, jobs, New Jersey
Kean Praises Dow Nomination
New Jersey Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean congratulated Paula Dow on her nomination as attorney general, and praised Governor-elect Chris Christie for the selection of a well-respected, experienced prosecutor as his first pick for a Cabinet-level appointment.
“Paula Dow stands out even among the many talented New Jersey lawyers qualified to fill the post of attorney general,” Senator Kean said. “I applaud both the governor-elect for his choice in this key nomination, and Paula Dow for her willingness to serve the people of New Jersey.”
Senator Kean said he looked forward to the nomination process in the Senate and vowed to help it move forward in the smoothest and most efficient way possible.
“Paula Dow has years of experience after serving in the U.S. Attorney’s Office and as the manager of New Jersey’s largest county prosecutor’s office,” Senator Kean said. “Her record of competence and success should speak for itself.”
Kean also praised the highly experienced group of supporting managers named along with Dow to positions in the Christie attorney general’s office. In addition to Dow, the governor-elect will name Phillip Kwon, now a deputy chief of the criminal division at the U.S. Attorney's Office, as first assistant attorney general; Marc Ferzan, another deputy chief of the criminal division, as executive assistant attorney general; and First Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray as counsel to the attorney general.
Labels: Christopher Christie, justice, Kean, Law, New Jersey
Christie Names Attorney General
Governor-Elect Chris Christie today named former federal prosecutors with proven records of battling corruption to the New Jersey Attorney General’s office leadership team. Christie appointed Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow as Attorney General; Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s office Marc Ferzan, as Executive Assistant Attorney General; Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division at the U.S. Attorney’s office Phillip Kwon, as First Assistant Attorney General; and First Assistant Essex County Prosecutor Carolyn Murray, as Counsel to the Attorney General.
The incoming leadership team at the Attorney General’s office will work hand in hand with the U.S Attorney’s office to make fighting corruption a priority. Dow has experience both in the U.S. Attorney’s office where she led the corruption case against former Irvington Mayor Sara Boas and as Essex County Prosecutor. Dow currently oversees the largest office in the state, managing 430 total employees, including investigators, assistant prosecutors and support staff.
Governor-Elect Christie said, “The only way we are going to change the culture of corruption in New Jersey is by making it a priority at all levels of government. I am confident that this strong team will only reinforce that corruption will not be tolerated in the Christie administration.
“I am honored to have Paula’s experience, know-how and tough approach leading this dedicated group of federal prosecutors who know exactly what we need to do to root out waste, fraud and corruption because they’ve done it before,” concluded Christie.
Paula Dow, New Jersey Attorney General
In October 2003 Paula T. Dow of Maplewood, New Jersey assumed the office of Acting Essex County Prosecutor. In this position, Prosecutor Dow oversees an office of over 400 assistant prosecutors, investigators, and support staff and serves as the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in New Jersey’s busiest County.
Before joining the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, Paula Dow worked for eight years in the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey. From 2001 to 2003, she served as Counsel to U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.
As an Assistant United States Attorney, Ms. Dow previously handled criminal prosecutions in the Special Prosecutions Division and the Criminal Division of New Jersey’s United States Attorney’s Office. From 1987 to 1994 Ms. Dow served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Civil Division of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Ms. Dow earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in 1977 from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where she majored in government and economics. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School in 1980. Ms. Dow is admitted to the Bars of New Jersey, New York and Texas; the United States Supreme Court; the Second and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals; the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, District of New Jersey, and Northern and Southern Districts of Texas. Ms. Dow presently serves as President of the New Jersey Association of County Prosecutors. Ms. Dow is also a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association, where she served as Co-Chair of the Judicial Administration Committee and previously chaired the Minorities in the Profession Section. She is also a member of the Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey, Inc. and the Garden State Bar Association. Before being named Acting Essex County Prosecutor, Ms. Dow served as the New Jersey U.S. Attorney Liaison for the Orange and Newark Weed and Seed programs. Ms. Dow and her two sons are active members of St. Paul Baptist Church in Montclair.
Paula Dow has received numerous awards and recognitions, including the Essex County Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Award, the Hispanic Law Enforcement Officers & Firefighters Assocation of Essex County Law Enforcement Award, the Clinton Hill Weed and Seed Outstanding Achievement Award, the Christian Love Baptist Church (Irvington, NJ) Community Service Award, the New Jersey State Law Enforcement Officers Assn. Outstanding Police Work Award, the Miller Street Academy Award for Service to Youths, the New Jersey Chapter Achievement Award from the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, and the N.A.A.C.P. (Newark Branch) Leadership in Community Advocacy Award.
She has also received certificates of appreciation for her work in law enforcement and community outreach from many federal, state and local departments and organizations.
Marc Ferzan, Executive Assistant Attorney General
In August 2001 Marc-Philip Ferzan joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey where he’s held various positions, including: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Chief of the Commercial Crimes Unit, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division focusing on the Office’s white collar crimes program, as well as Acting Deputy U.S. Attorney and Acting Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney.
Before joining the U.S Attorney’s Office, Mr. Ferzan also served as a trial attorney with the Tax Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and a Senior Counsel with the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He has also spent time in private practice at law firms in New York and Philadelphia.
Mr. Ferzan earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from Rutgers College in New Brunswick, New Jersey where he majored in political science. He graduated from Fordham University School of Law School in New York, New York in 1992. Marc is admitted to the Bars of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
During his tenure of more than fifteen years in public service, Mr. Ferzan has received numerous awards and recognitions in connection with the investigation and prosecution of violations of banking, securities, healthcare, tax and other economic crimes.
Phillip Kwon, First Assistant Attorney General
In September 1999, Phillip Kwon joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division, focusing on crimes involving drugs, gangs, counterfeiting, white-collar fraud, and immigration fraud. Mr. Kwon then became an AUSA in the Special Prosecutions Division where he worked specifically on corruption cases and trials, including those involving Robert Janiszewski, Nidia Davila-Colon, William Braker, Zachary Turner, and others. He also secured convictions of those involved in the sale of fraudulent birth certificates from the Hudson County Registrar’s Office. Mr. Kwon was also a prosecutor on the trial team that convicted Sharpe James and Tamika Riley in their federal corruption case.
In 2005, Mr. Kwon was named as the Chief of the Violent Crimes Unit where he supervised the Office’s gang prosecutors. In 2006, Mr. Kwon was named as the Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division where he directly oversaw the Commercial Crimes Unit, the Terrorism Unit, and the Violent Crimes Unit.
Mr. Kwon earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1989 from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where he majored in history. He graduated from Rutgers University School of Law School in Newark, N.J. in 1994. From 1994 to 1997, Mr. Kwon was an associate at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in Newark, N.J. From 1997 to 1999, he was a law clerk to the Honorable Harold A. Ackerman, a Federal District Court Judge sitting in Newark, N.J.
Carolyn Murray, Counsel to the Attorney General
Carolyn Murray received her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University, in 1984, and her law degree, in 1987, from the New York University School of Law. She joined the law firm of Tompkins, McGuire & Wachenfeld in Newark, New Jersey, after graduation, and in 1988, she became an Assistant Prosecutor in the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office.
During the next seven years in Essex, she tried criminal cases in the Superior Court of New Jersey, including homicide, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence and aggravated assault cases. In 1995, she joined the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey where she continued to try criminal cases, conducted narcotics wiretap investigations, coordinated multi-agency enforcement initiatives, and served as Violent Crime Coordinator. In 2002, she was named Chief of the Public Prosecution Unit.
Carolyn returned to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in 2003 to serve as First Assistant Prosecutor.
Labels: Christopher Christie, justice, Law, New Jersey
Newest, Best Tiger Jokes!
I just figured out who the secret father of Octomom's kids is . . . Tiger Woods!
Tiger picked up two new sponsors. He took them for the money, even though he doesn't use the products...Trojan Condoms and Viagra.
Nike just announced they are producing a new "Elin Signature" line of golf clubs guaranteed to beat Tiger.
Tag Heuer watches announced it will continue its association with Tiger Woods. Although Woods had many affairs, he was never late for any of them.
Global consulting firm Accenture ended its relationship with Tiger Woods. Fortunately, Woods has a real knack for starting new relationships.
What's the difference between Tiger Woods and other married men?
Tiger is awesome at golf.
Elin Nordegren asked her marriage counselor why, next time, she should go after Tiger with a 9-iron instead of the 3-iron she used the morning after thanksgiving?
The counselor said “Because, now you’re closer to the green.”
Houston's new openly gay Mayor may be the only blonde in America safe from the sexual advances of Tiger Woods.
Labels: Sports, Stars
The Cousins At Christmas
The Cirucci Family cousins came together over the weekend at the huge Shawn and Danielle Senior Christmas party in Evesham.
Plenty to eat. Plenty to drink. Lots of kids. That spectacular Christmas tree. And Santa himself.
It's rare for so many of the cousins to be at one place at one time, so here they are.
Have you ever seen so many good lookin people in your life?
Pennsylvania Society Weekened, NYC
We headed up to New York over the weekend (along with Adam Cirucci) to attend the events surrounding the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Society at the Waldorf Astoria.
Since Adam is intimately involved with the workings of Pennsylvania government (as Communications Director for State Senator Andy Dinniman) we allowed him to take the lead in guiding us through the maze of receptions and events surrounding the Society's weekend confab.
Having maneuvered our way through a full day of Society events, all we can say is "Whew!"
We began on Friday at ESPN Zone on Times Square with the Pennsylvania Society Scrimmage sponsored by the law firm of Buchanan Ingersoll. There, we met and chatted with Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, Buchanan partner and Philadelphia Bar Association Vice Chancellor Rudy Garcia and Dan Hirschhorn, reporter, editor and publisher of PA2010.com. In the crowd we also spotted Philadelphia City Councilman Frank Rizzo.
Then it was on to the Jack Wagner for Governor reception at the Waldorf. While we enjoyed more eats and drinks as we met Jack Wagner and members of his family and we also chatted with former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Abe Reich and Philadelphia Common Pleas Court President Judge Pamela Dembe.
We then decided to take a brief break from our party rounds and we ran into Comcast honcho and honcha David L. Cohen and Charisse Lillie. Both seemed to be hurrying from one event to another.
Soon, we were back alongside Cole Porter's piano near the Waldorf lobby and into the Hilton Room where we enjoyed the Dan Onorato Reception. While there we chatted with Montgomery County Controller Diane B. Morgan and Philadelphia's newly elected District Attorney Seth Williams.
By this time one event was blending into another and we began to lose track of people, places and events.
We saw former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Michael Pratt rushing to the Cozen O'Connor law firm reception at the 21 Club. We ran into Frank Messina and Greg Cirillo and Ralph Wellington and Bonnie Squires and Scott Sigmund.
Then we found ourselves at the big IBEW Reception where we were welcomed by Johnny Dougherty and we chatted with Natalie Klyashtorny and Kera Walters and Jeff Jubelirer.
But soon it was time for the Blank Rome law firm reception at the Intercontinental Hotel. So we braved sub-freezing temperatures to leave the Waldorf and head one block south where we found former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Larry Beaser and Chancellor-elect Scott Cooper (both Blank Rome partners) along with Abe and Sherri Reich, Steve Sheller and Lynn Marks of Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts.
By this time the parade of luminaries was becoming staggering: Judge Gene Cohen, broadcaster and Lt. Governor candidate Joe Watkins, Pennsylvania Society Executive Director Carol, Fitzgerald, Mark Alderman, former State Senators Rob Rovner and Bob Jubelirer, NAACP Director J. Whyatt Mondesire, Kim Jessum and Jim Wells, Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham, City GOP leaders Michael Meehan and Vito Canuso, State Representative Kathy Manderino and of course State Senator Andy Dinniman and his lovely wife, Margo.
Before we knew it midnight was approaching.
Yes, we were tempted to attend something called Joe Hoeffel After Dark at the W Hotel but we just couldn't make it.
If you've never attended Pennsylvania Society weekend in New York there is no way to explain it to you. Suffice it to say that it attracts thousands of participants to dozens of venues all over midtown Manhattan and it includes nearly all of the Commonwealth's movers and shakers.
And this was only Friday.
The events continued throughout the day on Saturday as well!
Labels: Law, Lawyers, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvanians For Modern Courts, Philadelphia, Philadelphia Bar Association
South Jersey Christmas Houses
There are always houses that Go All Out for Christmas.
Two of these homes are actually in South Jersey, on Mercer Street across from Town Hall in Cherry Hill.
Lights cover every available inch on these neighboring homes. The overall effect is nothing short of spectacular. You can find the homes on Mercer Street just off of Haddonfield Road between Chapel Avenue and Route 38. Don't worry: You'll see the lights (and the traffic) before you reach the homes.
Not far from Mercer Street, more spectacularly decorated homes are found on Deer Road in Cherry Hill just off of Chapel Avenue east of Kings Highway. Proceed almost to the end of Chapel Avenue until you see the lights. Then, make a right and a quick left onto Deer Road. An entire block is flooded with Christmas lights. Again, you will see the lights before you get there.
The owners of these homes have given us a wonderful Christmas gift. They are blessed with the Christmas spirit and we thank them and share in their joy.
Don't miss these inspiring displays!
Labels: Cherry Hill, Christmas, New Jersey, South Jersey
Greatest Country Christmas Songs
There is no Christmas like a Country Christmas.
And somehow Christmas and country music just seem to go together.
So it should come as no surprise that many of the best Christmas songs you will ever hear are country Christmas songs.
To begin with the single best Christmas album I've ever heard is by Alabama and it's simply titled "Christmas." This is the first Alabama Christmas album issued in 1985.
Every song on this album is wonderful but some of my favorites include Santa Claus (I Still Believe In You), Christmas Memories, Tennessee Christmas and Christmas in Dixie.
I also like all of the songs on Clint Black's 1995 album "Looking for Christmas."
Favorites from a variety of other albums include: 364 Days to Go by Brad Paisley, This Is My Prayer by Reba McEntire, When It's Christmas Time In Texas and Christmas Cookies by George Strait, Goin' Home for Christmas by Merle Haggard, and Christmas Times A-Comin' by Bill Monroe.
Among non-country Christmas songs I like Santa Baby, the original by Eartha Kitt, When My Heart Finds Christmas and I Pray On Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr., It Happened In Sun Valley by Mel Torme and Christmas in New Orleans by Louis Armstrong.
A friend who takes a somewhat dimmer view of Christmas has asked that I add Merry Christmas From The Family by Robert Earl Keen and Granma Got Run Over By A Reindeer by Elmo and Patsy Shropshire.
So there, I've added them.
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Darrel J Butlin
Good business can change the world
DJB | April 6, 2017 | Entrepreneur, Insight
Success is a measure of performance and if a person is serious about achieving a goal, then commitment and vision are qualities needed to overcome the challenge ahead – so your journey can unfold.
My journey with #hexology has been profound, and it has only just begun. I started with a vision of how to encourage mindfulness and well-being in others by creating life-changing experiences that are shared through digital technology. The first step was to build an app that empowers people with an ability to share rich multimedia messages in the physical world.
New Media Technology is a Pandora’s box, dazzled and overwhelmed by the wave of new skills, ideas and possibilities, my transition from Film-maker to Film & New Media Entrepreneur has been a challenge. I’ve had to develop new skills, change my beliefs, thinking and behaviour to meet the demands of the new role.
I’m lucky because I have great mentors and a great team around me, and whenever anyone has said “it’s just business” they’re trying to sell me a lie because “business is personal.”
Good business can change the world!
Created to empower people with a voice and control over the social media they publish, #hexology is made up of a team who are working together to bring this vision to life and soon we will take our next big step in the hope that we too will change the world.
We have created #hex, a beacon that can store a message and broadcast it in a 20 metre radius. Using our free app simply compose a message and send it to #hex and it will broadcast it to others who are nearby. Over the next few weeks I’ll be showing you ways you can use this technology in everyday life.
As part of our launch, we’re planning a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to raise the money we need to manufacture a first order of the hex beacon.
We believe hexology has the potential to change the world for the better, please help us spread the word by joining our campaign and we’ll keep you updated via email.
Success is not just about natural ability, it’s about teamwork, passion, confidence, vision and determination to achieve a goal, and change the world.
Join #hexology and let’s shape the future together!
By DJB
Utopia: A Romance with AI
May 10 2017 By DJB
Today, there is no mystery. Social Media is becoming more sophisticated. The media giants Facebook…
Value Proposition under a minute
Mar 27 2017 By DJB
With only 10 seconds to hook a reader, a further 10 seconds to engage their…
Darrel J Butlin | darrelbutlin@icloud.com
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Soup and Salad: Michel Faber's Last (?) Novel, The All Things Oz Museum, Karen Russell's Talk-Talk Solution, The Hemingwrite, Jennifer Weiner on Writers vs. Reviewers, The Writing Life in 1991, Writers' Sheds, Writing on the Rails (U.S. and French versions), Slow-and-Steady-Wins-the-Race Authors
On today's menu:
1. “I wanted this to be the saddest thing I’d ever written,” the writer Michel Faber said over coffee last month in Midtown Manhattan, looking tired and disoriented. That’s from an article in the New York Times in which Faber (author of Under the Skin and The Crimson Petal and the White) says his latest novel, The Book of Strange New Things, will be his last. As a fan of The Crimson Petal and the White, I hope this isn’t true, that these are only words spoken in the emotion of the moment--which, as it turns out, come from the bottom of a well of sorrow:
Those who work closely with Mr. Faber say that his decision to stop writing novels may be a manifestation of grief for Eva Youren, his companion of 26 years and his wife since 2004.
“Eva was the one he wrote for, and he was blessed in having someone of her intelligence and judgment be his constant sounding board,” said Jamie Byng, the publisher of Canongate, which has published Mr. Faber’s books in Britain for 16 years. “In terms of his creative process, she was the absolute center of it.”
Mr. Byng said that Mr. Faber’s decision to end with a novel that eulogizes his wife was fitting.
“It’s such an extraordinary novel about grief and loss and people being forced apart, and the emotional integrity and power comes from the very heartbreaking things that he was going through when he was writing it,” he said. “If it’s the last novel that he ever writes, so be it.”
2. The All Things Oz museum is housed in a square, green (natch!) building on Genesee Street in downtown Chittenango, New York. “You could easily drive past the building without being aware of the cultural treasures housed inside,” Francis DiClemente writes at Narratively. The yellow-brick sidewalks lining both sides of the street might be a giveaway, though.
Visitors to All Things Oz enter a small gift shop up front, dubbed “Baum’s Bazaar,” in reference to the name of a fine china and gift store L. Frank Baum and Maud owned in Aberdeen, South Dakota, on the western frontier. It failed, however, as Marc Baum (museum volunteer and no relation to Frank L.) explains. “People on the western frontier didn’t need china. So it was an utter failure. He always had kind of lofty aspirations and they didn’t always work out.”
And where did the name of Baum’s kingdom come from?
One day L. Frank Baum was sitting in his parlor, telling his stories to some neighborhood children.
“And one of the kids said, ‘Mr. Baum, Mr. Baum, what is this magical place with the Wizard and Dorothy, and where is this?’ And he said, ‘Oh it’s a magical place.’ And they said, ‘Does it have a name?’ And he said, ‘Of course it has a name.’”
Marc Baum says the writer noticed a filing cabinet with two drawers in a nearby room. He says the top drawer was labeled “A to N” and the bottom one “O to Z.”
“And he said, ‘Of course it’s Oz.’”
3a. From the Dept. of Oil and Water: Karen Russell vs. Cell Phones:
“Ninety-nine percent of people have no issue using this kind of phone,” she said, holding her iPhone overhead. “Um, I can’t do it. I can’t hear or be heard. The shape of my face is either wrong, or when I smile I turn it off. And poor Adam, the first name in my phonebook, fifty times a day.”
As Nick Fuller Googins reports at The Story Prize blog, Russell’s solution is a device known as Talk-Talk (pictured above), “a bright pink cell phone plug-in made to resemble a land line handset that she found at a Portland, Oregon, gag store.” Which reminds me....
3b. ....I'm looking forward to checking out the Hemingwrite when it’s finally released onto the market.
4. Should writers respond to bad reviews? Jennifer Weiner has a few words on the subject at New Republic: “Clearly, there are people who believe that readers and writers—at least the right kind of readers and writers—are special snowflakes, existing on a more exalted plane than mere mortals.”
5. As Weiner notes, a lot has changed since the advent of the Internet. At the Powell’s blog, novelist Karen Karbo (The Diamond Lane) further illuminates the differences in writers’ lives between 1991 and 2014:
The Diamond Lane, published in May 1991, was my second novel, and what is most striking about the difference between the publishing process 23 years ago and now is not that the book was written on a Kaypro, Xeroxed at Kinko's, and sent overnight in a FedEx box to G. P. Putnam's Sons, but that after the manuscript was accepted and given a pub date, I asked my esteemed editor, "What should I do now?" and she said, "Just write the next one."
Before I get too far down the road extolling the good old days, let me say that I'm not particularly nostalgic by nature, that Xeroxing manuscripts and sending them FedEx was a pain in the ass, as was hanging around the house waiting for your editor to call, which felt exactly like waiting for a boy to call in 8th grade; that I love my Kindle, enjoy a lively love/hate relationship with social media, admire the pioneering souls that have forged the way for quality self-publishing, and have no desire to hop in the way-back machine.
That said, in 1991, the main job of a writer was to just write the next one. Publicity-wise, you were expected to be able to show up to a reading (arranged by your more charming publicist) and read from your own work in a manner that didn't put people to sleep. You were expected to be socially awkward, possibly unkempt, and a little wild-eyed — bonus points awarded for not being falling down drunk. After your book tour, whether large or small, you were expected to disappear into your scribe-cave.
6. While you're getting down to the business of "just writing the next one," maybe you're doing it in a shed like the ones used by Roald Dahl, Virginia Woolf, Dylan Thomas, Philip Pullman, or (most famously) Henry David Thoreau.
Roald Dahl's chair, preserved right down to the ashtray with his cigarette butts.
7. Or maybe you're doing it on a train. Amtrak's first writer-in-residence, Bill Willingham, offers a few tips for writing on the rails:
Bring pajamas (there being a shared corridor between your bed and the bathroom)
Bring a power strip or charging outlet; there's only one outlet in the Roomette
Stock up on small bills (tipping is on you)
Bring shampoo and conditioner (soap and towels are supplied, hair stuff is not)
Don't put anything on the shelf above the bed that might spill on you while you're sleeping (like, say, a glass of water)
8. Better yet, maybe your railroad writing residency is on a trip from Paris to the Côte d’Azur. Sigh.
9. At Huffington Post, Louise Disalvo reminds us that it's the journey, not the arrival, that matters:
When I meet with writers who want to rush through their work, so eager are they to finish, so imbued are they with the "hurriedness" of our times, I tell them what I've learned. That many famous writers work slowly. That it takes many writers five or ten years to pen their works. That when Virginia Woolf was writing To the Lighthouse, for example, she often penned no more than 460 or so words a day. Learning this -- they, too, can let themselves work slowly and take all the time they need to complete a work.
Disalvo offers up the slow-and-steady example of writers like Michael Chabon, Henry Miller, Jeffrey Eugenides, Elizabeth Gilbert and others.
Labels: Michael Chabon, Soup and Salad, The Writing Habit
Kelley Christensen October 29, 2014 at 11:18 AM
I really enjoyed this post, David!
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CIVIC | HOUSING | REAL ESTATE
The Case for Reparations
Inside the Battle for Fair Housing
DSL Team
Civic / Housing / Real Estate
And if thy brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy winepress: of that wherewith the LORD thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the LORD thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing today.
— Deuteronomy 15: 12–15
Besides the crime which consists in violating the law, and varying from the right rule of reason, whereby a man so far becomes degenerate, and declares himself to quit the principles of human nature, and to be a noxious creature, there is commonly injurydone to some person or other, and some other man receives damage by his transgression: in which case he who hath received any damage, has, besides the right of punishment common to him with other men, a particular right to seek reparation.
— john locke, “second treatise”
By our unpaid labor and suffering, we have earned the right to the soil, many times over and over, and now we are determined to have it.
— anonymous, 1861
“So That’s Just One Of My Losses”
Clyde ross was born in 1923, the seventh of 13 children, near Clarksdale, Mississippi, the home of the blues. Ross’s parents owned and farmed a 40-acre tract of land, flush with cows, hogs, and mules. Ross’s mother would drive to Clarksdale to do her shopping in a horse and buggy, in which she invested all the pride one might place in a Cadillac. The family owned another horse, with a red coat, which they gave to Clyde. The Ross family wanted for little, save that which all black families in the Deep South then desperately desired—the protection of the law.
Clyde Ross, photographed in November 2013 in his home in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago, where he has lived for more than 50 years. When he first tried to get a legitimate mortgage, he was denied; mortgages were effectively not available to black people. (Carlos Javier Ortiz)
In the 1920s, Jim Crow Mississippi was, in all facets of society, a kleptocracy. The majority of the people in the state were perpetually robbed of the vote—a hijacking engineered through the trickery of the poll tax and the muscle of the lynch mob. Between 1882 and 1968, more black people were lynched in Mississippi than in any other state. “You and I know what’s the best way to keep the nigger from voting,” blustered Theodore Bilbo, a Mississippi senator and a proud Klansman. “You do it the night before the election.”
The state’s regime partnered robbery of the franchise with robbery of the purse. Many of Mississippi’s black farmers lived in debt peonage, under the sway of cotton kings who were at once their landlords, their employers, and their primary merchants. Tools and necessities were advanced against the return on the crop, which was determined by the employer. When farmers were deemed to be in debt—and they often were—the negative balance was then carried over to the next season. A man or woman who protested this arrangement did so at the risk of grave injury or death. Refusing to work meant arrest under vagrancy laws and forced labor under the state’s penal system. (more…)
Addressing Social Segregation in Mixed-Income Communities
Community / Environment / Equity / Housing / Real Estate
Much scholarly attention has been given to metropolitan and city-level segregation; however, comparatively little consideration has been devoted to within community segregation. In some newly created mixed-income, mixed-race communities, we are witnessing “diversity segregation,” where people of different backgrounds, races, ethnicity and incomes live next to one another but not alongside one another. In these diverse communities, micro-level segregation is thwarting meaningful interactions, making it less likely that these “integrated” communities will enhance the life chances of the poor.
For over a decade, I have studied transitioning low-income minority communities that became more racially, ethnically, and economically diverse in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Additionally, as a public housing authority board chair, I have overseen the financing, construction, and maintenance of mixed-income housing projects in Alexandria, Virginia. During this work, I constantly ask myself, “Are these diverse communities and housing developments sufficiently designed to facilitate social interactions that benefit low-income residents?” (more…)
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Journal of Glaciology
Volume 37 Issue 127
Non-climatic control of glacier...
Core reader
Non-climatic control of glacier-terminus fluctuations in the Wrangell and Chugach Mountains, Alaska, U.S.A.
Terminus Advance in the Wrangell Mountains Associated with Volcanic Heating
Terminus Advance and Retreat Due to Tide-Water Interactions in College Fjord
Journal of Glaciology, Volume 37, Issue 127
1991 , pp. 348-356
Matthew Sturm (a1), Dorothy K. Hall (a2), Carl S. Benson (a3) and William O. Field (a4)
U.S.Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory–Alaska, Fort Wainwright, Alaska 99703-7860, U.S.A.
NASA-Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 974, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, U.S.A.
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska–Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, U.S.A.
Formerly of the American Geographical Society, New York; now Box 583, Great Barrington, Massachusetts 01230, U.S.A.
Copyright: © International Glaciological Society 1991
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
Figures:
Fig. 1. Mount Wrangell in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska, showing the 15 glaciers that radiate from its summit. The inset shows the location of Mount Wrangell and College Fjord in the Chugach Mountains.
Fig. 2. The terminus of Chetaslina Glacier, Mount Wrangell, 1902–89. Little or no change in the terminus occurred between 1957 and 1989.
Fig. 3. Terminus pontion of the glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Wrangell, 1902–88. The glaciers were in essentially the same positions in 1957 and 1964.
Fig. 4. Hypsometric curves (area-altitude) for glaciers on Mount Wrangell.
Fig. 5. The joint accumulation basin of Harvard, Yale and Columbia Glaciers in the Chugach Mountains. Surface slope of Harvard Glacier is 3° ; surface slope of Yale Glacier is 5° . College Point is the tip of land between Harvard and Yale Glaciers.
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Fluctuations of glacier termini were studied in two regions in Alaska. In the Wrangell Mountains, 15 glaciers on Mount Wrangell, an active volcano, have been monitored over the past 30 years by surveying, photogrammetry and satellite. Results, which are consistent between different methods of measurement, indicate that the termini of most glaciers were stationary or retreating slightly. However, the termini of the 30 km long Ahtna Glacier and the smaller Center and South MacKeith Glaciers began to advance in the early 1960s and have advanced steadily between 5 and 18 m a−1 since then. These three glaciers flow from the active North Crater, where increased volcanic heating since 1964 has melted over 7 x 107 m3 of ice. We suspect that volcanic meltwater has changed the basal conditions for the three glaciers, resulting in their advance.
The terminus fluctuations of six tide-water and near-tide-water glaciers in College Fjord, Prince William Sound, have been monitored since 1931 by surveying, photogrammetry and, most recently, by satellite imagery. Harvard Glacier, a 40 km long tide-water glacier, has been advancing at an average rate of nearly 20 ma−1 since 1931, while the adjacent Yale Glacier has retreated at approximately 50 ma−1 during the same period though, for short periods, both of these rates have been much higher. The striking contrast between the terminus behavior of Yale and Harvard Glaciers, which parallel each other in the same fiord, and are derived from the same snowfield, supports the hypothesis that their terminus behavior is largely the result of dynamic controls rather than changes in climate.
The advance or retreat of a glacier may be a good indicator of climate change, especially when many glaciers in a region are considered. However, several dynamic processes can result in terminus changes that are independent of climate. Best known of these is the phenomenon of surging, which has resulted in terminus advances of many kilometers in just a few years (Meier and Post, 1969). There are a number of excellent studies of surge-type glaciers including Variegated Glacier in Alaska (Kamb and others, 1985; Raymond and Harrison, 1988) and Trapridge Glacier in neighboring Yukon Territory, Canada (Clarke and others, 1984).
Several lesser known dynamic processes can result in non-climatic terminus changes. Mud and ash emitted by volcanic eruptions can blanket the ablation area of a glacier, reducing melt and triggering an advance (Muller and Coulter, 1957; Sturm and others, 1986, 1988). In a similar fashion, massive amounts of rock can fall from over-steepened slopes or be shaken down by earthquakes, covering part of a glacier in a thick mantle of debris. This debris increases the load, decreases the ablation, and can result in an advance of the glacier (Miller, 1960; Ragle and others, 1965; Shreve, 1966; Bull and Marangunic, 1967; Field, 1968; Post, 1968; Tuthill and others, 1968; Reid, 1969; Marangunic, 1972; Gardner and Hewitt, 1990). In this paper we focus on termini changes resulting from two other non-climatic phenomena: volcanic heating and the tide-water glacier cycle. The examples presented here from the Wrangell and Chugach Mountains of Alaska demonstrate the importance of understanding the dynamic setting when attempting to interpret changes in climate from glacier-terminus fluctuations.
The examples also demonstrate the way in which methods of monitoring glacier-terminus fluctuations have evolved during this century and how they can be combined to produce long records (80–100 years) of terminus fluctuations. In 1926, one of the authors (W. O. F.) began making measurements on Alaskan tidewater glaciers. At that time, an expedition of several months’ duration was required to get to the glaciers and do the mapping. Termini were surveyed using a theodolite from control points established by triangulation. Such surveys are accurate to within a few meters. By the 1940s, aerial photography of Alaskan glaciers began to be used to monitor terminus fluctuations. With proper ground-control points, photogrammetric techniques can be used to produce maps from which terminus changes of about 10 m or less can be measured. The photogrammetric measurements can be related to the older surveys if the control points can be identified on the photographs. Within the last two decades, it has become possible to measure glaciers from space (Swithinbank and others, 1988). Using digital processing, images taken from satellites can be used to measure terminus changes accurate to approximately ±80 m without the need for control surveys. This is especially valuable in areas where terrestrial surveys are difficult or impossible. The satellite images can be related to aerial photographs by matching topographic features, and to the older terrestrial surveys by identifying topographic features near the survey points. While the advent of remote sensing has greatly reduced the time and effort necessary to make glacier-terminus measurements, highly accurate measurements still require surveying or controled aerial photography, but this may change in time.
Specific details of the three methods used in the study are:
(1) Terrestrial surveys. Intersection surveys using a theodolite from a base line of known length, or bearing-distance surveys using a theodolite and distance ranger from a known point have been used to map glacier termini with an accuracy of ± 5 m or better, depending on how well the base line was established. Glaciers in College Fjord in the Chugach Mountains were surveyed in this manner by W. O. F. in 1931, 1935, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1974 and 1976. A survey in 1957 was done by M. T. Millett. The most recent survey was done in 1989 by M.S. and C. S. B. Earlier surveys in College Fjord were done in 1899 (Gilbert, 1903), 1905, 1909 (Grant and Higgins, 1913) and 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914). Glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Wrangell were surveyed annually from 1977 to 1983 by the authors.
(2) Photogrammetry. Changes in the terminus positions of glaciers were determined by comparing aerial and terrestrial photographs. On Mount Wrangell, the first aerial photographs were taken by Bradford Washburn in 1937. Subsequent aerial photography was done by the USGS in 1948 and 1957. We have taken oblique and vertical aerial photographs of the summit and flank glaciers from 1961 to the present. Orthophoto maps * (scale = 1:25 000) were made from the photographs taken in 1957, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1988 (Sturm, 1983; Benson and Follett, 1986). Comparison of these ortho-photo maps allows changes in glacier termini to be measured to ±10 m. In College Fjord, terrestrial photographs are available from 1899 (Gilbert, 1903), 1909 (Grant and Higgins, 1913), 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914) and 1914 (Keen, 1915). We (primarily American Geographical Society parties with W. O. F.) have continued the series with photographs taken from the same vantage points during the survey years mentioned above. Austin Post supplied data from vertical aerial photographs taken of Yale Glacier in 1987 and 1990.
(3) Satellite imagery. Landsat Multispectral Scanner (MSS; 80 m resolution) and Thematic Mapper (TM; 30 m resolution) images were analyzed to determine terminus changes (Krimmel and Meier, 1975; Hall and others, 1988). Lower-resolution MSS images were registered digitally to the higher-resolution TM images using rock outcrops as control points. Fifteen or more control points were matched in each 512 by 512 pixel image to ensure good registration. Once registered, changes in terminus positions could be determined for all the glaciers in the image with a resolution of about 80 m. The images we have used are:
Mount Wrangell:
MSS (18 September 1973) vs TM (16 September 1986), College Fjord:
MSS (15 August 1973) vs TM (1 August 1985).
Terminus changes measured from satellite images were consistent with positions determined by photogrammetry or surveying.
Mount Wrangell (elevation 4317 m) is an active volcano located near the northwestern end of the Wrangell Mountains (Fig. 1, inset) (Benson, 1968). Its summit caldera is about 6 km across and filled with ice to depths greater than 500 m (Clarke and others, 1989); along its rim are three craters, 0.5–1.0 km in diameter, and several active fumarole fields. Fifteen glaciers radiate from the summit ice cap (Fig. 1). Mount Wrangell’s recent volcanic history includes probable minor phreatic eruptions in 1899, 1902, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1921 and 1930 (Motyka, 1983). No lava flows younger than several thousand years have been identified nor are they likely to exist (personal communication from C.J. Nye, Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys, 1990).
An abrupt increase in the volcanic heat flux centered under the North Crater (Fig. 1) took place in 1965 (Benson and others, 1975; Benson and Motyka, 1978; Motyka, 1983; Benson and others, 1985). We believe this was a result of the great Alaska earthquake of 27 March 1964 centered in nearby Prince William Sound (National Academy of Sciences, 1968). The change in heat flux was manifest in increased fumarolic activity along the rim and increased melting of the ice in the North Crater. Between 1908 (Dunn, 1909) and 1965 this ice-filled crater was in equilibrium, with accumulation balanced by glacier flow and basal melting due to geothermal heat (there is no surface melting at this elevation). Since 1965, more than 7 x 107 m3 has melted in the crater (Benson and Motyka, 1978; Motyka, 1983, Benson and others, 1985; Benson and Follett, 1986). Some of the meltwater percolated into the hot rocks of the crater floor and increased the local heat flux by forming hydrothermal convection cells; some was lost to the atmosphere as steam (Motyka, 1983), and some ran off as subglacier flow at the rock/ice interface. When melting exceeded the removal processes, a lake would form in the crater, such as happened in 1974, 1979, 1981 and 1983.
The increased heating was strongly focused under the North Crater and on the northeast flank of the volcano near the crater. Changes in ice-surface contours measured in 1961, 1965 and 1975 (Bingham, 1967; Benson, 1968; Motyka, 1983) show that the snow-surface elevation in the summit caldera did not change (±1m). The same measurements indicate that heating extended about 0.5 km from the North Crater rim on its northeast side. Due to the local topography, most of the subglacial meltwater produced by volcanic heating outside the crater probably drained down the northeast flank of the mountain.
Between the end of the 19th century and 1957 when aerial mapping photographs were taken, there was a general retreat of all the glaciers on Mount Wrangell. Comparison of the USGS maps made from the 1957 photographs with plane-table maps made in 1902 (Mendenhall, 1905) show that most of the glaciers retreated between 100 and 400 m (e.g. see Fig. 2). The MacKeith Glaciers on the northeast flank of the volcano were unusual because they retreated 3–5 times further during the same period (Fig. 3). When first observed in 1902 (Mendenhall, 1905), they were confluent with Ahtna Glacier, which was connected to Betseli Glacier. The deglaciated area is now covered by thin, discontinuous ice-cored moraine with kettle lakes, sparse vegetation and lichen cover consistent with recent déglaciation (Sturm, 1983). (MacKeith, Ahtna and Betseli are unofficial names.) The reliability of the 1902 maps has been checked by comparing topographic features depicted on the map with the same features shown on the 1957 USGS maps prepared from aerial photographs. There is good agreement between maps, suggesting that 1902 terminus positions are reliable to ± 250 m.
The hypsometric characteristics (distribution of area with altitude) of the MacKeith Glaciers are also unusual (Fig. 4). Because they are unconfined by valley walls, they have hypsometric curves that are similar to those of a piedmont-lobe glacier (Ahlmann, 1948). Their areal maximum occurs at an altitude that is slightly higher than the equilibrium-line altitude (ELA). Consequently, they are likely to be sensitive to small shifts in the ELA resulting from climate change. The other glaciers on Mount Wrangell, including Ahtna Glacier on the northeast flank (Fig. 3), and the Chctaslina Glaciers on the west flank (Fig. 2), have hypsometric curves (Fig. 4) which are similar to those of typical valley glaciers (Ahlmann, 1948).
About 1965, the South, Center and North MacKeith Glaciers, and the 30 km long Ahtna Glacier (Fig. 1 and 3) began to advance and have continued to do so for the past 25 years. While these glaciers, which are adjacent to one another and flow directly from the active North Crater, have been advancing, all other glaciers on Mount Wrangell and on nearby Mount Sanford (4950 m) have remained stationary or continued to retreat. Photographs show that MacKeith and Ahtna Glaciers had retreated to their minimum positions by the 1940s. They were nearly stationary from the 1940s to the 1960s, then in 1965 (±2 years) they began to advance. North MacKeith Glacier, which flows from an accumulation area that is only partly on Mount Wrangell, with about half its accumulation coming from nearby Mount Sanford (Sturm, 1983) advanced about 300m between 1957 and 1981, but has been stationary since that time. The other three glaciers on the northeast flank have advanced 320–480 m in the past 25 years. Average rates of advance measured by comparing orthophoto maps, terrestrial surveying and comparison of satellite images are given in Table 1. The start of these advances coincided with the abrupt increase in volcanic heating of the North Crater.
Table 1. Advance and retreat rates of glaciers on Mount Wrangell.
In summary, in 1902 the glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Wrangell were 1–2 km advanced from their present positions. The ice was probably quite thin and debris-laden. Between 1902 and the 1940s the MacKeith Glaciers retreated, leaving behind a thin, ice-cored moraine. Other glaciers on the mountainretreated during the same period, but a much smaller distance. About 1965, the glaciers which flow from the vicinity of the North Crater began to advance and have continued to do so to the present day. No other glaciers in the Wrangell Mountains have shown similar behavior. The start of these advances coincided with an abrupt increase in volcanic heating of the North Crater.
College Fjord, a 40 km long fiord in the northwest part of Prince William Sound, cuts into the heart of the Chugach Mountains (inset, Fig. 1) and contains five tide-water glaciers, five large valley glaciers and dozens of smaller glaciers (Fig. 5). The glaciers of College Fjord have been described by Gilbert (1903), Tarr and Martin (1914) and Field (1932a,b). A summary of all historical references to glaciers in College Fjord and an extensive discussion of their terminus behavior was prepared by Field (1975). The two largest tide-water glaciers in the fiord are Harvard and Yale Glaciers. They are derived from the same snowfields, which connect with the snowfields of Columbia Glacier (Fig. 5). Four other glaciers in the fiord (Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers) descend the west wall of the fiord to the sea. Observations show that Harvard Glacier has advanced, while there has been a simultaneous retreat of Yale Glacier, with the retreat rate more than twice the advance rate.
Harvard Glacier has been advancing since 1905, and possibly earlier (Fig. 6). It was seen from a distance of about 20 km and mapped by Whidbey in 1794 and by Applegate in 1887 (Tarr and Martin, 1914; Field, 1975). Members of the Harriman expedition, who were able to get closer, photographed and described the glacier in detail (Gilbert, 1903), but the first reliable maps were prepared by Grant and Higgins (1913) in 1905 and 1909. It was mapped again in 1910 (Tarr and Martin, 1914) and 1914 (Keen, 1915). This record has been extended by surveys which were begun by one of the authors (W. O. F.) in 1931 and continued every few years to the present. Comparison of maps and descriptions suggests that the terminus was nearly stationary between 1887 and 1905. In 1905, it began to advance. In 1935, it was still advancing and knocking over 250 year-old trees (Cooper, 1942; Viereck, 1968), indicating that it had not been that far advanced since at least 1685. The advance was continuing when the glacier was surveyed in July 1989. Between 1905 and 1969, it advanced at an average rate of 12–20 m a−1 (Field, 1975; Brown and others, 1982; Meier and Post, 1987); since 1969, its rate has averaged 18–30 m a−1 (Table 2)
Fig. 6. Terminus positions of Yale and Harvard Glaciers, Prince William Sound, College Fjord, Alaska. Position for 1973 (Harvard Glacier) and 1973 and 1985 ( Yale Glacier) are from satellite images. 1987 and 1990 positions for Yale Glacier are from data supplied by A. Post.
Table 2. Advance rates of Harvard Glacier
Yale Glacier has been retreating since the early 19th century (Fig. 6). In 1794, when College Fjord was first visited, Whidbey of Vancouver’s expedition was unable to proceed more than 5 km up the fiord due to floating ice. In 1887, Applegate got about the same distance (near the present-day Coghill Point) (Tarr and Martin, 1914; Field, 1975). From these observations, it is reasonable to conclude that rapid calving was taking place from a large tide-water glacier, probably Yale Glacier. Botanical evidence (Cooper, 1942; Viereck, unpublished) suggests that Yale Glacier reached its maximum advance sometime between Whidbey’s and Applegate’s visits. At that time, the terminus was located near the entrance of Yale Arm at College Point (Fig. 5). By 1910, when Tarr and Martin (1914) mapped its terminus, Yale Glacier had retreated between 3.5 and 5 km. The thick alder growth in front of the glacier suggested that most of the retreat had occurred before 1860. Between 1910 and 1957, Yale Glacier had a complex history (Field, 1975) with a net retreat of 0.5 km.
In 1957, the glacier began a rapid retreat which continued unabated until about 1987. Retreat rates during this period were highly variable (Table 3). In July 1989, the terminus of Yale Glacier had retreated so far that it could not be surveyed from the existing control points. Therefore, the most recent terminus positions of Yale Glacier shown in Figure 6 are based (a) on satellite imagery for 1985, (b) on observations and terrestrial photographs taken in 1989, and (c) data from vertical aerial photographs taken in 1987 and 1990 supplied by A. Post (personal communication, 1991). By 1974, Yale Glacier had retreated into a reach of the fiord which was only half as wide as the reach it occupied prior to 1974; according to Mercer (1961), this should have caused a decrease in the retreat rate. Instead, its retreat rate accelerated, reaching a maximum value of 345 m a−1 between 1974 to 1978 (Table 3). This was apparently due to the greater water depth in this reach of the fiord (personal communication from A. Post), which caused a higher rate of calving. We think it is unlikely that Yale Glacier will continue to retreat much longer. The active calving terminus is only a few hundred meters downglacier from a distinct rise in the glacier surface, indicating a step in the subglacial topography. The glacier has probably reached its stable retracted position.
Table 3. Retreat rates of Yale Glacier
The smaller glaciers in College Fjord (Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers) reached their maximum positions at the end of the 19th century, as did Yale Glacier (Field, 1975). Since that time, they have undergone modest retreat punctuated by small advances. Around 1910, all four glaciers experienced a small advance. In the mid-1930s, Bryn Mawr and Wellesley Glaciers experienced another small advance; these same two glaciers, along with Smith Glacier, experienced a third advance in the late 1960s. Our most recent observations suggest that Bryn Mawr Glacier has advanced since last observed in 1976, while the others have shown little change.
The advance of the glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Wrangell does not appear to be the result of climate change. We suspect that volcanic meltwater has changed the basal conditions of these glaciers, changing their flow dynamics and thereby resulting in their advance. It is only glaciers flowing from the northeast side of the North Crater that are advancing, and they began to advance in 1965 when volcanic activity and the abundance of meltwater in the North Crater increased. Changes in ice-surface contours indicate that most run-off from subglacial melting outside the crater would flow down the northeast flank.
There is other supporting evidence: volcanically produced subglacial run-off is not subject to seasonal variation, as is surface run-off; therefore we would expect to see little seasonal variation in the flow characteristics of the glaciers which are advancing, and that is indeed the case. The glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Wrangell show little or no seasonal variation in surface speed. In contrast, Chetaslina Glacier on the west side of Mount Wrangell shows more than a 50% increase in surface speed during the spring and summer (Sturm, 1983). Chetaslina Glacier is closer to the “normal” mode of glacier flow, showing an increase in speed in spring and summer when surface run-off penetrates to the bed of the glacier and increases sliding (Sturm, 1983; Echelmeyer and Harrison, 1990).
It is true that the MacKeith Glaciers have the type of hypsometry which makes them sensitive to changes in climate (Fig. 4). Their configuration favors a more pronounced terminus retreat if the altitude of the equilibrium line shifts upward, and a greater advance if it shifts down than would be observed for a normal valley glacier. We speculate that this is why the MacKeith Glaciers retreated 2—4 times farther than the other glaciers on Mount Wrangell during the climatically induced general retreat between 1902 and the 1940s. However, the hypsometry cannot explain the recent advance of glaciers on the northeast flank of Mount Wrangell. Ahtna Glacier, which has a “normal” hypsometry that is similar to that of Chetaslina Glacier (Fig. 4) is advancing, while Chetaslina Glacier is not. Our conclusion is that the recent volcanic activity on Mount Wrangell is the cause of the advance of all the glaciers on the northeast flank of the volcano.
The striking contrast between the terminus behavior of Yale and Harvard Glaciers, which parallel each other in the same fiord and are derived from the same snowfield (Fig. 5), supports the hypothesis that their terminus behavior is largely the result of dynamic rather than climatic controls. If climate was controling the terminus behavior, we would expect more synchronous behavior between the two glaciers. With a shared accumulation area, their mass balance must be roughly the same. Their lengths are comparable, hence their response times to changes in mass balance should be roughly equal. Yet their terminus behavior has been distinctly opposite for greater than 100 years, suggesting dynamic control.
In general, the terminus positions of tide-water glaciers are thought to be the result of a complex interaction of fiord depth, ice thickness and calving rate, with climate and mass balance playing a secondary role. Recognition of a distinct cycle of dynamically contraled advance and retreat of tide-water glaciers began with the work of Hoppe (1959) and was developed by Post (1975) and Meier and Post (1987). The tide-water glacier cycle consists of three phases:
(1) A period of slow advance (advancing 20–40 m a−1) during which the glacier moves down the fiord through deep water by maintaining a submarine moraine shoal in front of the terminus. This shoal, which is moved in front of the glacier by continuous erosion on the proximal side and deposition on the distal side, greatly reduces iceberg calving, thereby maintaining the glacier in a positive mass balance.
(2) A period of relative stability during which the terminus is nearly stationary, terminating in shallow water on a submarine moraine. Again, calving is reduced, and calving, ablation and accumulation are in approximate balance.
(3) A period of rapid “catastrophic” retreat ( 100-2000 ma−1), during which the terminus retreats off its submarine moraine shoal into deep water. This produces calving at a high rate which causes the terminus to retreat up the fiord. The high rate of calving overwhelms the ability of the glacier to supply ice to the terminus, and the retreat continues until the glacier stabilizes on another submarine shoal or becomes grounded at the head of the fiord, where it can begin building another terminal moraine.
Though the cycle listed above may be triggered by climatic change, at any given time the terminus position of the glacier is primarily controled by the balance between glacier flow and calving activity and the phase of cycle. Yale Glacier appears to be near the completion of the catastrophic retreat phase; Harvard Glacier is in the advancing phase.
Though the advance and retreat of glaciers can be good indicators of climate, non-climatically induced changes, such as surging and the examples presented here, are often larger than those produced by climate. It is important to understand and consider these phenomena when interpreting glacier behavior as a climatic indicator.
Hundreds of people have been involved in collecting the more than 50 years of field data we have presented here and we thank them all. In the most recent surveys and in preparing this paper we had help from C. F. Benson, the late P. MacKeith, R. Motyka, D. Solie, B. Sturm and C. Tobin. A. Post generously supplied data showing the 1987 and 1990 positions of Yale Glacier and suggested the reason for its increased retreat rate in 1974. We also thank W. M. Kovalick for processing the Landsat data.
The accuracy of references in the text and in this list is the responsibility of the authors, to whom queries should be addressed.
page 349 note * Orthophoto maps are composites made from stereo pairs of vertical photographs that have been corrected for the perspective distortion that occurs naturally in aerial photographs. The result is a photographic map that is an orthographic projection on which the scale is constant at all points.
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Benson, CS., Bingham, D.K. and Wharton, G. B. 1975. Glaciological and volcanological studies at the summit of Mt. Wrangell, Alaska. International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 104 (General Assembly of Moscow 1971-Snow and Ice), 95–98.
Benson, CS., Motyka, R. Bingham, D. Wharton, G. MacKeith, P. and Sturm, M. 1985. Glaciological and volcanological studies on Mt. Wrangell, Alaska. In Kotlyakov, V.M., Vinogradov, V.N. and Glaz-ovskiy, A. F.eds.. Interaction between volcanism and glaciology. Academy of Sciences of the USSR. Soviet Geophysical Committee, 114—133. (Glaciological Researches 27.)
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Echelmeyer, K. and Harrison, W. D. 1990. Jakobshavns IsbrE, West Greenland: seasonal variations in velocity — or lack thereof. J. Glaciol., 36(122), 82–88.
Field, W. O., Jr. 1932a. The glaciers of the northern part of Prince William Sound, Alaska. Geogr. Rev., 22(3), 361–388.
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Field, W.O. 1968. The effect of previous earthquakes on glaciers. In National Research Council. Division of Earth Sciences. Committee on the Alaska Earthquake. The great Alaska earthquake of 1964. Hydrology. Part A. Washington, DC, National Academy of Sciences, 252–265. (Publication 1603.)
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Posts tagged ‘International Development’
And We Climate Skeptics Get Called Evil
From the Gaurdian via Bishop Hill
The Guardian is reporting that UK climate change aid money has been used to fund forced sterilisation programmes in India.
Tens of millions of pounds of UK aid money have been spent on a programme that has forcibly sterilised Indian women and men, the Observer has learned...
Court documents filed in India earlier this month claim that many victims have been left in pain, with little or no aftercare. Across the country, there have been numerous reports of deaths and of pregnant women suffering miscarriages after being selected for sterilisation without being warned that they would lose their unborn babies.
Yet a working paper published by the UK's Department for International Development in 2010 cited the need to fight climate change as one of the key reasons for pressing ahead with such programmes. The document argued that reducing population numbers would cut greenhouse gases, although it warned that there were "complex human rights and ethical issues" involved in forced population control.
Tags: Bishop Hill, Climate, climate change, India, International Development, UK, victims
Category: Climate | 13 Comments
A Tribute to Norman Borlaug
Norman Borlaug, the founder and driving force behind the revolution in high-yield agriculture that Paul Ehrlich predicted was impossible, has died at the age of 98 95. Like Radley Balko, I am struck by how uneventful his passing is likely to be in contrast to the homage paid to self-promoting seekers of power like Ted Kennedy who never accomplished a tiny fraction of what Borlaug achieved. Reason has a good tribute here. Some exceprts:
In the late 1960s, most experts were speaking of imminent global famines in which billions would perish. "The battle to feed all of humanity is over," biologist Paul Ehrlich famously wrote in his 1968 bestseller The Population Bomb. "In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now." Ehrlich also said, "I have yet to meet anyone familiar with the situation who thinks India will be self-sufficient in food by 1971." He insisted that "India couldn't possibly feed two hundred million more people by 1980."
But Borlaug and his team were already engaged in the kind of crash program that Ehrlich declared wouldn't work. Their dwarf wheat varieties resisted a wide spectrum of plant pests and diseases and produced two to three times more grain than the traditional varieties. In 1965, they had begun a massive campaign to ship the miracle wheat to Pakistan and India and teach local farmers how to cultivate it properly. By 1968, when Ehrlich's book appeared, the U.S. Agency for International Development had already hailed Borlaug's achievement as a "Green Revolution."
In Pakistan, wheat yields rose from 4.6 million tons in 1965 to 8.4 million in 1970. In India, they rose from 12.3 million tons to 20 million. And the yields continue to increase. Last year, India harvested a record 73.5 million tons of wheat, up 11.5 percent from 1998. Since Ehrlich's dire predictions in 1968, India's population has more than doubled, its wheat production has more than tripled, and its economy has grown nine-fold. Soon after Borlaug's success with wheat, his colleagues at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research developed high-yield rice varieties that quickly spread the Green Revolution through most of Asia.
The contrast to Paul Ehrlich is particularly stunning. Most folks have heard of Ehrlich and his prophesies of doom. But Ehrlich has been wrong in his prophesies more times than anyone can count. Borlaug fed a billion people while Ehrlich was making money and fame selling books saying that the billion couldn't be fed -- but few have even heard of Borlaug. Today, leftists in power in the US and most European nations continue to reject Borlaug's approaches, and continue to revere Ehrlich (just this year, Obama chose a disciple of Ehrlich, John Holdren, as his Science czar).
Continuing proof that the world moves forward in spite of, rather than because of, governments.
Update: More here.
Update #2: Penn and Teller on Borlaug
Tags: Asia, fed, Green Revolution, India, International Development, Norman Borlaug, Pakistan, paul ehrlich, Population Bomb, Ted Kennedy
Category: Government, Science | 20 Comments
The Perfect Political Bludgeon
I am often asked, "why, if the threat of global warming is really so overstated, does the issue have such legs with politicians, media, and activists?"
Answer: Because it is the perfect political bludgeon. One of the reasons I felt like high school debate really was broken (I don't know if it has been fixed since) was because every single debate eventually devolved into which side was more likely to cause a nuclear war. It didn't matter if you were arguing about energy policy or the presidential primary system, no good debate case stopped short of blaming the other side for nuclear war.
Today, with nuclear weapons mostly forgotten (unfortunately not gone), global warming is the new nuclear war. It doesn't matter what you are arguing about:
There was Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and Secretary
for International Development under Prime Minister Tony Blair until she
resigned in 2003 over the Iraq war. Claiming that Israel is actually
"much worse than the original apartheid state" and accusing it of
"killing (Palestinian) political leaders," Ms. Short charged the Jewish
state with the ultimate crime: Israel "undermines the international
community's reaction to global warming." According to Ms. Short, the
Middle East conflict distracts the world from the real problem:
man-made climate change. If extreme weather will lead to the "end of
the human race," as Ms. Short warned it could, add this to the list of
the crimes of Israel.
Tags: British Parliament, Clare Short, climate change, global warming, International Development, Israel, media, Middle East, race, warming
Category: Climate | 3 Comments
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Cedar Springs chooses top candidates for city manager position
Posted on 27 July 2012.
The Cedar Springs City Council met Friday evening and chose seven candidates to interview to fill their vacant City Manager position, including a couple of them with ties to Cedar Springs. Over thirty people applied.
“The field is stronger than I have seen,” noted consultant Frank Walsh, Manager of the City of St. Joseph. “I think the reputation of the community and the proximity to Grand Rapids may have had something to do with it.” He said that the seven they chose was a good group and they had a wide variety of candidates to choose from..
The candidates they chose, in no particular order:
Meg Mullendore-Cluckey, Village Manager at Cassopolis, Michigan since January 2011, and City Manager of Buchanan, Michigan 2005-2010.
Thad Taylor, City Manager of Alpena, from December 2007-April 2012, and interim City Manager at Alpena 2006-2007. He was also Public Safety Director there from 1992-2007.
Jared Olson, Assistant to the Assessor in the City Clare, December 2011 to present, and City Management Intern May to September 2011.
Roger Belknap, former DPW Director for the City of Cedar Springs, October 2010 to June 2012, and transportation planner for the Kent County Road Commission, August 1999 to October 2010.
Patrick T. Reagan, Downtown Development Authority/Main Street Manager for the City of Portland, Michigan, April 2009 to present; DDA/Main Street Manager for the City of Iron Mountain March 2008-April 2009.
Adam Poll, Associate Planner for the City of Waterloo, Iowa, October 2008 to present. Poll is a Cedar Springs graduate. Between 2004 and 2008 he held several positions for the City of Grand Rapids, including financial assistant in the water department, property inspector, assistant to the assessor, and several interim intern positions.
Jonathan Greene, Executive Director of Downtown Development Authority for the City of Jackson, February 2009 to present; economic development and housing coordinator County of Eaton, March 2005 to January 2009.
The candidates will come for a public interview on August 4. There will be a tour of the city for the candidates at 8:30 a.m. and the first interview will start at 9 a.m. Each one will last 45 minutes with a break for lunch at 12:30 p.m.
City’s 1929 fire truck to get face-lift
By Linda Branyan, clerk for City of Cedar Springs
A piece of Cedar Springs history is being given new life! The old 1929 Model A Fire Engine, the City’s pride and joy, is going to be brought back to its original glory through the efforts of Carl and Rich Straub, owners of Pro Autoworks, in Cedar Springs.
Fire Chief Marty Fraser announced plans for the refurbishment of the vintage fire truck at a recent City Council meeting. The Straubs plan to do a quality restoration job complete with the truck’s original gold leaf and brass ornamentation. They estimate it will take about 200 man-hours and approximately $7,500.00 to bring the vehicle to museum quality.
“The preservation of this truck is important to all of us, as well as the community,” they said.
Cedar Springs Clipper Editor Nina Babcock gets a ride on the old Model A fire engine during a Red Flannel celebration, year unknown.
The Cedar Springs Fire Department will be taking donations toward the restoration’s expenditures. Those wishing to make a donation should contact Fire Chief Marty Fraser at 616.813.6209 or by email at mfraser@gmail.com. Donations may also be dropped off at Cedar Springs City Hall. All donations are tax-exempt and receipts will be issued.
To begin the fund raising campaign, members from the Cedar Springs Fire Department will be participating in the Chamber of Commerce’s Community Celebration Day August 11. They will be holding a car wash at the Fire Station on Maple Street and offering area children the opportunity to see the station’s fire trucks up close and personal, as well as getting some hands on experience with a fire hose!
Story first published on the City of Cedar Springs website cityofcedarsprings.org.
Man killed in hit and run
A man was killed in a hit and run accident last Friday morning in the Village of Howard City.
According to the Montcalm County Sheriff Department, a passerby saw a body lying in West Edgerton Street shortly before 2:30 a.m., on Friday, July 20. The passerby proceeded home (a few blocks away) and told his father, who called 911.
Police said it was evident that the man had been struck by a vehicle and was dead when emergency responders arrived at the scene. He was identified as Scott Michael Gregory, 25, of Howard City.
The passerby was arrested at the scene for operating while intoxicated. As deputies investigated the scene, they found evidence that may link the passerby’s vehicle to the accident. Crime scene technicians are analyzing his vehicle to see if it was involved in the crash. As of July 24, police were still waiting on a report from the crime lab. The passerby has not been charged in the death.
The Howard City Police Department and the Montcalm County EMS assisted deputies at the scene.
Police chief named acting city manager
Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent has been appointed as acting city manager now that former City Manager Christine Burns is headed to the Village of Spring Lake. Her last official day was July 25.
Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent
Parent is used to wearing more than one hat. He most recently did double duty as both Police Chief and Fire Chief for over a year. But this position is expected to last only about a month, while City Council searches for a replacement. “I’m a team player,” he said. “We’ll get the job done.”
According to consultant Frank Walsh, who is heading up the search, 33 people have applied for the position of City Manager. “It’s a deep pool of talent,” remarked Walsh, who is City Manager for St. Joseph, and a former Cedar Springs City Manager. “The level of candidates is outstanding. It’s a great bunch of candidates to choose from.”
There will be a special City Council meeting this Friday, July 27, at 7 p.m., where the field will be narrowed down to six finalists. Walsh has given the council a list of who he considers are the top 13 candidates, but council is free to choose any six they wish. Their names will be available to the public after that meeting. The six semi-finalists will then be interviewed in a special meeting on Saturday, August 4, starting at 9 a.m. Each candidate will be interviewed for about 45 minutes each. Both meetings are open to the public.
The City Council held a goodbye party for Burns before the council meeting on July 12. During the council comment time, Burns, who has been here 5 years, commented on her time in Cedar Springs. “I just celebrated 21 years of municipal service, and I’ve never worked with a better group of people,” she remarked. “This is an amazing community, and it’s been a great learning experience for me. I will always have a special place in my heart for Cedar Springs.”
Cedar Springs man pleads guilty in Montana
A Cedar Springs man that led police in Montana on a high-speed chase in a stolen car earlier this year pled guilty to several charges last week in Columbus, Montana.
Nathaniel James Purdy, 28, of Cedar Springs, pled guilty to one count of felony Criminal Endangerment, one count of felony Assault on a Peace Officer and one misdemeanor count of fleeing and eluding. Under the plea agreement, the Stillwater County Attorney’s office will recommend that Purdy be sentenced to five years with three years suspended. He will also be given credit for time served, about seven months.
Nathaniel Purdy (center) was arrested in Montana last January. Montana Highway Patrol Trooper Joe Hensley, left, and Stillwater County Undersheriff Woody Claunch, right, assisted in the pursuit. Photo by Brenna McElhinny, editor of the Stillwater County News.
The saga started with a car that was stolen from a Cedar Springs gas station. According to Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent, a 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix was stolen from the Admiral Gas Station at 194 S. Main in Cedar Springs, about 8:45 p.m. January 2. The 43-year-old female driver left it running while she went inside to pay for gas. Surveillance footage shows a short, stocky person wearing a hooded sweatshirt and baggy clothing get into the car and drive away. Police say it appeared to be a smaller size female.
Two days later, on January 4, the Stillwater County Sheriff’s Department in Montana arrested Nathaniel James Purdy, 28, of Cedar Springs, after a high-speed chase topping 100 mph. According to the Stillwater County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy located the stolen vehicle about 10:15 a.m., after it was involved in a gas theft in Billings, Montana. The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle in the Park City area of I-90, but the driver fled, leading the deputy and two highway patrol troopers on the high-speed chase. As they neared Columbus, Montana, Sheriff’s deputies and the Columbus Police Department put down spike strips, but Purdy still refused to stop, and exited into the town of Columbus. Purdy’s damaged tires gave out when he turned down an alley and he crashed into a building. He then fled on foot, but police pursued him and ordered him to the ground at gunpoint about 50 feet away from where he had crashed.
He has not been charged in connection to the vehicle being stolen. Anyone with info on the original theft of the auto should contact the Cedar Springs Police Department at 696-1311.
Cedar Springs Police community alert system
Would you like to know if there are break-ins in your neighborhood? If a child has gone missing? If police are searching for a suspect? Residents can now sign up for community alerts from the Cedar Springs Police Department.
Like other area police agencies, such as Rockford and Howard City, the Cedar Springs Police Department has become an active member of Nixle. Nixle offers a free program for law enforcement agencies to send out police alerts, messages and other community news. Those who sign up can receive messages by text or e-mail, and there are no advertisements sent out to those who register.
Howard City Police were recently able to identify and arrest a couple on fraud charges in one day after sending out their photo on Nixle to area subscribers.
To receive Cedar Springs Police Department alerts and news, you must first register at nixle.com. From this site you can select the police agencies you wish to receive news from. The police do not see who has registered and they do not receive this information from Nixle.
“My goal is to publish messages that are pertinent and timely,” said Cedar Springs Police Chief Roger Parent. “Look at this as one more way to receive your community news. Remember, our news may not make the evening news on TV but is still very important to us who live or work within the City of Cedar Springs.”
Chamber to hold Community Celebration Day
The newly formed Cedar Springs Area Chamber of Commerce is holding its first Cedar Springs Community Celebration Day on August 11. There will be activities on Main Street sidewalks from Muskegon to Maple Streets. Look for sidewalk sales, artists, musicians, face painters, a flea market, a dunk tank, food, and more! The fire department will also be doing a car wash to raise money to restore the antique fire truck and standing by to cool folks off with a spray down.
The celebration will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, August 11. For more information, contact the chamber at 616.773.5126. Check out their web page at cedarspringsareachamber.org, or follow them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CedarSpringsAreaChamberOfCommercecsacoc.
Posted in Arts & Entertainment, NewsComments (0)
Candidate would like his signs back
Most local candidates running for office don’t have a big budget for advertising, and that includes Solon Township Supervisor Bob Ellick, who is running for reelection. And right now he is wishing he hadn’t spent money on signs, because they keep being stolen.
“Every year you always have a couple come up missing, or pulled out of the ground and thrown down, but this year is the first I’ve had that many come up missing,” he explained.
Over the last couple of weeks, he said he’s had at least a dozen of them stolen out of people’s yards in Solon Township. “I had specific permission from landowners to have them there,” he noted. In one instance, his sign was next to the sign of another person running for trustee in Solon Township but Ellick’s was the only one stolen.
“A thief is a thief. Somebody knows where they are and I’d love to have them back,” said Ellick. “It makes you wonder what else they are stealing. I’d put one in my yard but they would probably steal that, too.”
Stealing political signs is a crime, and Ellick has reported the thefts to the Kent County Sheriff Department. But he would rather the signs were just returned. “Whoever stole them can leave them in the foyer of the Solon Township Hall,” he said.
Nelson Township August primary candidates
Candidates for Supervisor
Tom Noreen is running as Republican for the seat of Nelson Township Supervisor. He is originally from Nelson Township and a graduate of Cedar Springs High School. He grew up on the farm where he now lives. He spent over 26 years in the Army and moved back to Cedar Springs in 2001. After retirement, he has worked for Senior Neighbors, Howard Christensen Nature Center, and as a military consultant. Since 2006, he has published The Bugle, which has served the Cedar Springs community for over 30 years. Tom and his wife, Nancy, have four adult children. Tom said that since he began serving as trustee, he has considered running for Supervisor should the opportunity occur. Other boards he has served on include secretary of the CS Rotary Club, trustee on the CS Education Foundation, Committee Chairman for Boy Scout Troop 222 and Venture Crew 2222, and Chairman for CS United Methodist Church Council. He has also served as treasurer for the CS Theatre Association and as a member of the board of directors for Howard Christensen Nature Center. Tom said the main strengths he can bring to the position are over 35 years of public service, eight of which are as a Trustee for Nelson Township. “As a 26-year Army veteran, I led organizations with hundreds of personnel and managed budgets in excess of $30 million. I thrive on challenge and seek opportunities to give back to my community,” he explained. Tom said the township does not face any major challenges and it is fiscally sound. “I want to make sure we preserve the rural character of our township while encouraging responsible growth in the commercial corridors. One service I would like to explore is a way to provide broadband internet service to all areas of the township,” he said.
Kirk Thielke is running as a Republican for Nelson Township Supervisor. He is a 47-year-old married father of four, and a 25 year resident of Nelson Township. He is currently fulfilling his 3rd term as village president for the Village of Sand Lake and has recently been appointed as the Nelson Township Deputy Supervisor. Thielke says he offers the township excellence through experience. “I am a military veteran with practical and financial experience in both private and public sectors,” he explained. Kirk has started and owned 2 retail businesses within the township; volunteered for many years on the local chamber of commerce; and coached several local sports teams. He has also served on both local police and fire departments, which he said contributed to his ability to be provide for the needs of both. “I believe a good leader must be a great servant. As my record clearly exhibits, I am dedicated whole-heartedly to our community. I am not afraid of hard work or tough decision. I was an unequivocal opponent of the disincorporation of the Village of Sand Lake and consider the significant victory by the voters, a great accomplishment for the entire community,” said Kirk. “I retain excellent problem solving skills and if given the opportunity, I will approach all township issues with the same diligence, honest and integrity I live by and that the township and its people deserve. I believe strongly that the township should be more accessible and accountable to the people it serves. I feel that with unambiguous job descriptions and clearly defined objectives this can be accomplished benefiting all residents.”
Candidates for Clerk
Laura Hoffman is running for as a Republican her seat as Nelson Township Clerk. She is currently uncontested. She and her husband Curt have been married for 26 years and have two married daughters and three grandchildren, who speak three foreign languages between them. After moving to Nelson Township in the fall of 1987, she began working elections the following year and has worked every election since. In 1992, she was offered the deputy clerk position, and in 1995 was appointed township clerk. Shortly afterwards she was asked by the Kent County Clerk to administer two recall elections in neighboring townships. “I take great pride in running local elections and pledge to uphold the law and its integrity,” said Laura. She is currently the treasurer for Kent County MTA Chapter, the Vice Chair of the Friends of the Sand Lake/Nelson Township Library, and the secretary for the Nelson Township Planning Commission. The primary reason she is running for a fifth term is to continue helping residents by promoting services such as Passport agency and notary services. “One of my long term goals includes improvements to our township cemeteries. Throughout my years serving Nelson Township, I’m most proud of assisting township residents in resolving community issues,” she said.
Candidates for treasurer
Katy Austin is running as a Republican for Nelson Township treasurer. She did not return a questionnaire.
Candidates for Nelson Township trustee (2) seats 4 – candidates
Glen Armstrong is running as a Republican for Nelson Township trustee. He has lived in Nelson Township his entire 56 years, and is employed at GE Aviation as a manufacturing engineer. He and his wife have raised three children in Nelson Township. Glen believes his main strength is the experience he has in township government. Glen has served for over 25 years on the planning commission, as a trustee, and most recently as Supervisor. He said his primary reason for running is that he would like to see the government serve the people and not the other way around. He would also like to see paving roads become a priority again.
Maureen Mahoney is running as a Republican to hold on to her seat as a Nelson Township trustee. She has lived in Nelson for 12 years, and moved here from Kansas City, Missouri to be closer to her family. She is single and has no children. She is currently employed at Advantage Health Physician Network as a Medical Assistant. She was elected four years ago and knew little about government but has enjoyed the learning process and would like to continue to serve. She is currently President of the Friends of the Sand Lake/Nelson Township Library. What is the main strength she would bring to the board? “I think I’m a very fair minded person. I listen to all sides before making a decision or voting,” she said.
Warren Hanson is running as a Republican for Nelson Township trustee. He has lived in Nelson Township his whole life. For 20 years he owned Hanson’s Radiator and Auto Repair on Main Street in Cedar Springs. He also served for five years for the Department of Defense in Iraq, and just returned in November of 2011. Warren was a member of the Cedar Springs Lions Club for 20 years. He said the reason he is running for office is because he would like to see the assessor removed.
Gabrielle Warner is running as a Republican for Nelson Township trustee. She moved here from Toledo, Ohio and has lived in Nelson Township 12 years. She is a financial services professional with Mass Mutual and owner/agent at Innovative Solutions Agency. She has been married to her husband, Bill, for 31 years, and they have two grown children. Gabrielle said her primary reason for running is to stay involved with her township and get to know her neighbors better. She hopes to bring her skills in business efficiency to the Nelson Township board to benefit residents. Gabrielle has served on the Nelson Township Board of Review for four years, been on the board for the Cedar Springs Rotary Club, and is 2010 past-president. The major challenge she sees facing Nelson is providing expected services for the township despite budget pressures due to the economy and reduced state funding. “I hope to bring fresh ideas with a business owner’s efficiency to the board,” she said.
See next week’s paper for more candidates.
Solon Township August primary candidates
Election time is here, and there are a lot of candidates running for both local and state government. Voters will go to the polls on August 7 to make their selections.
Robert Ellick, the current Solon Twp. Supervisor, has lived in the district 40 years, and is running as a Republican. He is a self-employed builder, and owns and operates Ellick and Sons. He has served in several capacities in the township, including a member of the Solon Zoning Board of Appeals, Chair of the ZBA, four years as trustee on the Solon Twp. Board, eight years as Supervisor, and had 30 years in business in Solon. Bob said he is running again to see Solon Township into the future with a new township hall, pavilions, and walking trails. “It will be a place the community can take pride in,” he said. Ellick feels the main strength he brings to the board is his common sense and logic. He said the main challenge facing Solon is the planning for the development of the new township land, fire barn, and continued paving of the roads.
Michele Andres is running as a Republican for Solon Twp. Supervisor. Michele, her husband Nick, and children Matt and Meghan have been residents of Solon Township since 2000. For the last 20 years, Andres has worked in supply chain management, and the last eight years in healthcare administration. She currently works at North Ottawa Community Hospital as Director of Supply Chain Management. “My primary reason to run for Solon Township Supervisor is to use my unique, varied and proven non-profit and government leadership experience to bring a servant leadership alternative to the residents,” said Andres. She said her main strength is organizational leadership and proven success and results in past organizational achievements. Michele has served on the Red Flannel board of directors since 2002, and been President since 2003; served on the Cedar Springs City Council 1998 to 2000; chaired the Solon Township Zoning Board of Appeals 2000-2004; served on West Michigan Regional Planning Commission 2006-2010; and served in several other agencies. Michele said Challenges facing all municipalities are reduction in tax dollars. “Collaboration with our neighbors to reduce the overall cost of government is vital. A strong, local economy is an important element of what a community needs to function… Continuing the business friendly attitude to partnership with entrepreneurs to facilitate growth along the 17 Mile corridor and developing the commercial, taxable areas will help the sustainability of the township.”
Mary Lou Poulson is running as a Republican. She is currently Deputy Clerk. She did not return a questionnaire.
Heather Zenker is running as a Republican for her seat as Solon Township Treasurer. Heather has held that position for the last seven years. She has lived in the township for 12 years with her husband, Kevin, and two sons. She said she has an extensive background in banking and customer service. She received her title of Michigan Certified Professional Treasurer from the Michigan Municipal Treasurer’s Institute. Heather said she is running for office because she loves working with the people of Solon Township. She is currently President of the Kent County Treasurer’s Association, has served as President of the Cedar Springs Area Parks and Rec, treasurer of the Red Flannel Festival, treasurer of the Cedar Springs Public Library Board, and more. Heather feels that her experience as treasurer for the township and experience with boards and committees will bring strength to the position. She said she would love to see the new township hall built and the grounds developed for a community park, as well as see continued development of the 17 Mile Road corridor.
James Dean is running as a Republican write-in candidate for Solon Township Treasurer. He has been a resident of Solon Township for almost 20 years. His family has roots in the community for over 80 years. He works at Meijer and is pursuing a degree in Business Management at GRCC/Ferris State University. James said he is running because he would like to make a difference and serve the people of the community where he lives. “Through more interactive communication, I will promote the voice of the residents of Solon Township and represent them to the best of my ability,” he said. James currently volunteers as Chairman for the Solon Township Site Plan Committee that has been charged with developing a master site plan for the property surrounding the future township hall. He has worked closely with the current township board, chaired meetings, and helped create and deliver a site plan survey to Solon residents. James said his main strength will be to bring a fresh perspective to the challenges facing the community today. “With hard work and determination, I will join with other community leaders to create a business and resident friendly environment where everyone will have the opportunity to express their ideas, opinions and concerns,” he said. He believes the biggest challenge facing the township (as with everyone) is spending their budget in the most responsible way possible. “I will work diligently with the township board to identify cost saving opportunities within our budgeted expenditures. Through careful review and analysis, we can eliminate excess spending and be more fiscally responsible,” he said.
Candidates for Solon Township trustee (2) positions, 4 candidates
Fred Gunnell is running as a Republican for his seat as Solon Township trustee. He’s lived in Cedar Springs and the surrounding area, including Solon Township, for over 40 years. He graduated from Cedar Springs High School, and married Carollee Crane, who also lived in Solon Township. He graduated from Mich. State Univ. with a Master’s Degree and took some post-graduate work at Western Mich. Univ. and Univ. of Mich. His professional career was at Mich. Tech. Univ. for 25 years. He’s been serving Solon Township for about 18 years. First, as a planning commissioner, and later as a trustee to the Solon Twp. Board since the mid nineties. Fred said he is running for office because he has always supported strong local government and encouraged economic growth, yet with appropriate controls. “I believe in residents’ input in all major decisions the township board is required to make. The constituents must have a say in governing our township,” noted Fred. Other boards he’s served on include the Michigan Township Association, the Cedar Springs Education Foundation, several Rotary Clubs, Red Flannel Rod and Gun club member, chairman of the trustees of Cedar Springs United Methodist and member of their administrative board. He is currently President of the Cedar Springs Historical Society. Fred sees two major challenges facing Solon Township. “Commercial growth is one area that must be monitored at all times by adhering to the Master Plan to the township and applying ordinances and codes stringently, yet fairly,” he explained. The second is “that the township board must continually be fiscally responsible in managing taxpayers taxes fairly and efficiently and effectively. It is the board’s responsibility to be transparent to the public in all its transactions.”
Rich Straub is running as a Republican for his seat as Solon Township trustee. He did not return a questionnaire.
Tony Owen is running as a Republican for Solon Township trustee. He has lived in West Michigan from Grand Rapids to Saranac, where he worked for the Michigan Department of Corrections. He retired after 28 years to the Cedar Springs area and currently works for the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel as a manager in their Housekeeping Department. He holds a Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a Masters in Public Administration from Grand Valley University and currently teaches Management and Criminal Justice at the University of Phoenix in Grand Rapids. He has been married to his wife, Dolores, for 39 years and they have 3 children and 5 grandchildren. Tony currently serves on the Cedar Springs Public Library Board for Solon Township, and said his primary reason for running for office is to be a more productive resident. Other experience on boards includes the Gerald R. Ford Council and Membership Chair and Trustee for the Michigan Corrections Association, a statewide organization of professionals from all areas of the Criminal Justice field. He feels the main strength he would bring to the board is the commitment to service and to being open to communication from all parties involved in issues. “My background in union leadership and as a manager also allows me to view issues from different perspectives,” he said. He sees a major challenge to the township in dwindling state revenue. “Because of the state taking revenue back and the township tax base not growing I see the budgeting and finding of new business to move into the township, which would create jobs for those in the township, of great importance. Proper zoning and outreach would help in this area.”
John Rideout, who is currently the clerk, is running as a Republican for one of the open trustee seats. He has lived in the township for over 40 years, with his wife Diane and four children. He holds business degrees from Davenport and Grand Valley State University. He served four years in the Marine Corps, including two tours in Viet Nam and is a life member of the Disabled American Veterans. He was a manager with the U.S. Postal Service before retiring in 2002. He has been active with the Kent County Veterans Advisory Board, Kent County Veterans Honor Guard, Boy Scouts and United Way. As township clerk for eight years, he has been involved with the everyday affairs of running the township and believes he is uniquely qualified to help lead the township for the next four years. Some of John’s top priorities if elected are to continue development of the new township hall site, with emphasis on developing a new recreational park once the office and community room is finished; and the continual development of the 17 Mile corridor and improvements to the fire department.
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Chile Epcenter
Ethiopian Approch of Doom’s Day ጥፋተ ዓለም End of Calendar New Time New Earth
posted on November 17, 2012 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
The Horn of Africa is breaking apart a new ocean is been made a Magnitude 4.8 just hit the region as a recent manifestation risk to dams in the valley
Geologists working in the remote Afar region of Ethiopia say the ocean will eventually split the African continent in two, though it will take about 10 million years seems it is that end of time now we are in. As Many researchers are described the events as “truly incredible”. Used to understanding changes in the planet on timescales of millions of years have seen amazing changes in Afar in the past five years, where the continent is cracking open, quite literally underneath our feet. In 2005, a 60km long stretch of the earth opened up to a width of eight metres over a period of just ten days. Hot, molten rock from deep within the Earth is trickling to the surface and creating the split. Underground and eruptions are still continuing and, ultimately, the horn of Africa will fall away and a new ocean will form. Thus producing risk in the dams being constructed in the Ethiopian side of the valley
2012 July 01 16:19:13 UTC
This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Date-Time
Sunday, July 01, 2012 at 16:19:13 UTC
Sunday, July 01, 2012 at 07:19:13 PM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
13.351°N, 41.779°E
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
ERITREA – ETHIOPIA REGION
64 km (39 miles) S of Eid, Eritrea
110 km (68 miles) WNW of Assab, Eritrea
190 km (118 miles) WSW of Zabid, Yemen
193 km (119 miles) NNE of Dubti, Ethiopia
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 6.6 km (4.1 miles); depth fixed by location program
NST= 47, Nph= 47, Dmin=232.5 km, Rmss=0.74 sec, Gp= 72°,
M-type=body wave magnitude (Mb), Version=4
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
us2012cmay
Did you feel it? Report shaking and damage at your location. You can also view a map displaying accumulated data from your report and others.
Major Tectonic Boundaries: Subduction Zones -purple, Ridges -red and Transform Faults -green
“The East African Rift System (EARS) is one the geologic wonders of the world, a place where the earth’s tectonic forces are presently trying to create new plates by splitting apart old ones. In simple terms, a rift can be thought of as a fracture in the earth’s surface that widens over time, or more technically, as an elongate basin bounded by opposed steeply dipping normal faults. Geologists are still debating exactly how rifting comes about, but the process is so well displayed in East Africa (Ethiopia-Kenya-Uganda-Tanzania) that geologists have attached a name to the new plate-to-be; the Nubian Plate makes up most of Africa, while the smaller plate that is pulling away has been named the Somalian Plate (Figure 1). These two plates are moving away form each other and also away from the Arabian plate to the north. The point where these three plates meet in the Afar region of Ethiopia forms what is called a triple-junction. However, all the rifting in East Africa is not confined to the Horn of Africa; there is a lot of rifting activity further south as well, extending into Kenya and Tanzania and Great Lakes region of Africa. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the general geology of these rifts are and highlight the geologic processes involved in their formation.” www.geology.com
Map of ERITREA
posted on July 2, 2012 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
The fault line in the Horn of Africa’s earthquake is working actively for the opening of the new ocean while the local dictator pursue blindly his project of “Death Dams”
Scores of earthquakes have struck the Horn of Africa in the region known as the Afar triangle in this month of June cumulating in a volcanic eruption. May sky gazers claim as the approach of the most expected planet x or nibirue while the other attribute the movement of the comet Elenin which is approaching the earth with a rendez-vous on the 1st of September 2011, the new year of Ethiopia.. Geologically the horn of Africa is in movement since millions of years for the opening of the new ocean by splitting the region for creating a new ocean. The government of the dictatorial regimes of Ethiopia continues his project of mega dams on these dynamic fault lines even seen the volcanoes and the continues earthquakes . this will menace not only the local inhabitants by immediate danger but will have a direct consequences on Sudan and Egyptian populations.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rgvF8oPL1o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbTwU9k5THU
Is your family prepared for an M 5.5, Eritrea – Ethiopia region earthquake? Preparedness experts recommend that area families be equipped to survive up to 72-hours without public services in case of emergency. The simplest way to meet this minimum requirement is with a 72-Hour Survival Kit which will meet your family’s food, water, shelter, first-aid, light, heat, sanitation and communication needs.
Read the United States Geological Survey’s full report on this earthquake activity atM 5.5, Eritrea – Ethiopia region. An important part of the USGS mission is to maintain and improve comprehensive earthquake monitoring in the United States with focus on “real-time” systems. The earthquake information above is preliminary and this event may not yet have been reviewed by a seismologist.
A moderate earthquake struck near the Nabro volcano in Eritrea Friday, five days after the stratovolcano first sent an ash plume more than 15km into the air.
Volcanic activity decreased overnight but a 5.5 magnitude earthquake on Friday morning could lead to a further increase in volcanic activity. Images from sat24 , however, show what appears to be a much smaller plume being omitted from the volcano.
Volcanic activity has increased at the Nabro volcano in Eritrea, just four days after the stratovolcano sent an ash plume more than 15km into the air.
The ash drifted westnorthwest over Sudan Thursday evening threatening to bring further disruption to air traffic in the east Africa region.
Sunday night’s eruption led to some flight cancellations in neighbouring Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia, and saw a massive ash plume being carried as far away as Saudi Arabia, Israel, Turkmenistan, the Central African Republic and Egypt.
The below MODIS Terra 1km True Colour satellite image, captured Thursday afternoon, shows the ash plume drifting hundreds of kilometres west of Nabro.
posted on June 23, 2011 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
Ethiopian Ocean on making :- Earth Quake 4.5 on 31/05/2011 hit gulf of Aden stretching afar triangle and Omo river tectonic fault line of menacing dams
Today an earth quake of 4.5 – GULF OF ADEN – 2011-05-31 00:36 UTC hit the gulf of Eden streaching to Afar triangle.
This seismicity on the the fault line of the tree tactonic plates is working to open the coming new ocean dividing the Horn of Africa. The last three month has been actively moving. This is not a good news for the Omo river dams in preparation by the Ethiopian regime since they are located on the fault line of this active plate movements. [stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D77ksc00NYLg%26feature%3Dplayer_detailpage img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/77ksc00NYLg/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=440 height=360 dock=true controlbar=none bandwidth=high autostart=false /] [stream provider=youtube flv=http%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DRbTwU9k5THU img=x:/img.youtube.com/vi/RbTwU9k5THU/0.jpg embed=false share=false width=440 height=360 dock=true controlbar=none bandwidth=high autostart=false /]
posted on June 1, 2011 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
Star of Doom & Gloom, Kokeb of the 8th millennium, will approach the Earth on the Ethiopian New Year day 9/11/2011 8ተኛው ሺ ኮከብ በንቁጣጣሽና በኅዳር 1፤ 2004
In the Ancient Geez ( Ethiopic) the language of the ancient Abyssinian astrological Codex, known as Awede Negest, Kokeb is a star body rather than Moon or Sun or a planet or comet. This is one of the kokeb that is waited to arrive to words our earth on September 11, 2011 on the Ethiopian Enoch’s (ሄኖክ)* calendar New Year. The Ethiopian calendar is predates that of the ancient Egyptian with certain similarities to the Copts by error it is called Julian calendar too. That day it will be September 1, 2004 seven year and eight months behind the Gregorian calendar, when our planet will be close to the Star. It is a calendar made by the ancient Abyssinian star gazers. Ethiopia is located inside the tropics and is the closest place to the sun than any where on earth for observing the sky in the naked eye. Ethiopians of old times were raised up studying heavens from plate of water or hole filled with water on the ground than looking up though a telescope.
The 2and important date 11/11/2011 of Elenin falls significantly on the 1st date of the Ethiopian 3rd month Hedar 1, 2004 having a great sign in the Abyssinian astrological book Awede Negest. In Ethiopia is counted the 8th millennium though the dictatorial regime try to reduce it to two millennium thus confusing the population not to follow the stars.
On that day the “Comet” known to the ancient will cross the ecliptic on line up with Mercury, the Sun, and the Earth. It will be getting close to Earth’s proximity that its orbit will reach during its turn around the sun. The Russian astronomer Leonid Elenin in December 10, 2010 observed the “Comet” which he gave his name. Many claimed NASA knew it earlier and kept in silence to keep the excitement down.
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9/11/11 is the date of the arrival “Comet/ planet /star/” of Doom or Gloom is not Hoax but rather a scientific fact recognized by many astrophysicists and NAZA.
When the Kokeb was first discovered in December 20 last year, there was no concern of it coming close enough to the Earth the path seems to be getting closer to Earth than they originally projected, could there be a Comet Elenin Collision Course with Earth?
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Most of the astrophysicists and NAZA have identified the current path of Elenin with some degree of accuracy. Though the length of time to complete its ellipse is not so well defined but based upon one set of data, Elenin s period could be 11,000 years.
Solar and Heliospheric Observatory SOHO – is a specific spacecraft that was created to observe the Sun, a cooperative between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA. SOHO has been observing Comet Elenin for a while.
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The Hopi’s Kachina**
. According to Hopi’s prophecy, the Blue Star Kachina acts as a warning, an alarm bell that announces the imminent arrival of the Red Star Kachina. The story is about the cyclical nature of life; it is a story about humanity forgetting to remember its purpose; it is a story of destruction and purification; it is a story repeated a thousand times throughout history; and as always, it is ultimately a story of renewal.
The Sumerian Nibiru ***
The Sumerians 6000 years ago referred to an ancient planet called Nibiru, the 12th planet of our solar system. It was a rogue planet, causing havoc in our solar system as it passed through because its orbit was in the opposite direction of the planets. When it appeared, it did so in the shape of a red cross in the night sky before flipping the Earth’s poles.
Nemesis of the Greeks ?
The theory of a companion sun is not new. It has often been described as Nemesis, after the Greek figure in mythology.
The mythological Nemesis was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris, vengeful fate personified as a remorseless goddess. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word meaning “to give what is due”.
Nemesis is now often used as a term to describe one’s worst enemy, normally someone or something that is the exact opposite of oneself but is also somehow similar. For example, Professor Moriarty is frequently described as the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes.
“Opposite yet similar” is the perfect description for a companion to our Sun. But the name Nemesis also implies a sinister nature. Will this new Nemesis be beneficial or harmful to our lives?
Planet X of the Spanish ****
“Scientists at places like NASA and famous observatories have deflected inquiries about the discovery for a few years now, mainly because they feared being associated with these “fringe” theories. But like it or not — it has happened. Well… according to a team of Spanish artronomers who call themselves the StarViewer Team.
The group made the rounds of all the news web sites in the past two weeks, claiming they discovered something very significant. It’s almost twice the size of Jupiter and just beyond our furthest planetoid, Pluto. Although it’s not a planet, it appears to have planets or large satellites encircling it. It’s what astronomers call a “brown dwarf star” and its official name is “G1.9″.”
Concerning Elenin little is known about this comet because of its relatively recent-discovery status, therefore, information regarding its size, mass, and orbit still vary widely or are missing altogether due to a lack of observational data. Still, astrophysicists have been plugging away at Elenin ever since it was discovered last year.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory has an interactive diagram of Elenin’s orbit with the known information about the object plugged into variable positions. What is known is that Elenin is scheduled to make its perihelion turn around the sun in August of this year [2011]. Shortly after making its u-turn, Elenin will perform a fly-by of Earth, coming within 21,000,000 miles of Earth. As a point of reference, the moon is roughly 240,000 miles from Earth.
Space distance is measured in astronomical units [a.u.], with 1 a.u. being the distance from the Earth to the sun. Elenin is currently estimated to pass within 0.24 a.u. of Earth after it makes its turn around the sun it suppose to begin heading back out into space.
The ecliptic is a horizontal field created by the planets and sun orbiting on a relatively flat plane. Many of these long-period objects do not travel along the ecliptic plane. They either come up from below the ecliptic, cross the ecliptic, or travel out above the ecliptic plane, or they do the opposite. As many astrologist though about planet X making havoc to the earth
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From October 10-24, 2011 comet Elenin is forecast to be within 0.25 a.u. of Earth, according to NASA JPL diagram.
*An Enochian year is completed in 364 days, Enoch 82:4-7 and Jubilees 6:23-28. More precisely, a 365-day-solar-year and the 365-year-solar-cycle appear as a 365-days-and-years single term. From the three books of Enoch, a curious 364-day length of calendar year lends new insight by reserving the last day of the solar year. *65 is the year Enoch lived on earth before transfiguration according to the Bible.
**Comet Elenin and Hopi prophecy; Scribd
*** Sumerian description of our solar system; Mars-Earth
**** Spanish astronomers claim dwarf star beyond pluto; ViewZone
posted on April 9, 2011 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
Japan doom’s day Earth Quake & Tsunami 3 days after Hawaiian Volcanic high movement showing the scenario of the coming days
The New Earthquake and Tsunami that followed March 12, 2011 devastation will join our past and the coming history of two remote times in Japanese and world civilization. In the Antediluvian time of pre 12000BCE, the region of Yonaguni not far from the joining point of the three tectonic plates Eurasian, Pacific and Pilipino, once existed the Japanese Atlantis. It was constructed with great curved rock hewn city similar to the Ethiopian highland Lalibela churches. Today under water vanished from our memories swept away by the moving plates of the earth. One thing sue the Japanese civilizing had had build cities hewn from rocks predicting the coming danger. We hope the nuclear stations and the coming cities are built out of such stones by dispersing the population in larger areas…
Ethiopian Dome is Moving rapidly than expected creating an ocean, with approaching 2012 galactic alignment
As expected and predicted in the recent past here in our site the Eastern African tectonic plates started moving faster menacing the megalomaniac dams constructed in the moving rift valley rivers ( GebeI, GebeII, GebeIII and that of the Nile, power Awash dams ) . These destructive dams have been constructed against the international criticism due to their disastrous effects on the inhabitants of the riparian countries around Ethiopia, since the Abyssinian highland plateau has being the main source of life giving water as far as Egypt. Shebelle River for Somalia, Omo for Kenya, the rest is watering for Sudan and Djibouti. These destructive dams are not supported by geological and scientifically based nature friendly studies. They are rather build for the water power to be used against the surrounding countries domination as recently manifested in the regime’s declaration of war against Egypt, a country only depending on the dammed water of the Nile for her survival.
Triple Junction in the Afar region of Ethiopia. Image shows areas of stretched and oceanic crust as well as areas of exposed flood basalts that preceded rifting. Areas unshaded or covered by flood basalts represent normal continental crust. As the crust is pulled apart you end up with thinned crust with a complex mixture of continental and volcanic rock. Eventually the crust thins to the point where oceanic-type basalts are erupted which is the signal that new ocean crust is being formed. This can be seen in the Gulf of Aden as well as a small sliver within the Red Sea. The original extent of the flood basalts would have been greater, but large areas have been buried within the rift valley by other volcanic eruptions and sediments. Nasa photos
A magnitude 5.1-5.3 earthquake hit Hosanna town in Southwestern Ethiopia on Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 12:14:24 UTC Local time at epicenter : Sunday, December 19, 2010 at 03:14:24 PM (at epicenter, Depth (Hypocenter) : 9.8 km
Send an “earthquake experience report” for this earthquake Geo-location(s) (horizontal uncertainty +/- 15.3 km) : Approx. 10 km from Hosanna, Fonka and Jajura 200 km (124 miles) SW (215°) from ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia 219 km (136 miles) N (9°) from Gidole, Ethiopia.
Last month, an earthquake swarm at Yemen caused alarm. The swarm was situated at the opening to the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aden, and seemed to be an unusual place for seismic activity.
“According to the history of the area, at USGS, the Yemen-Gulf of Aden-Djibouti area IS seismic, but in a minor way. Between 1950 through Sunday in Hosanna this area had 56 earthquakes ranging between mag 4.0-5.9. There were no quakes greater than mag 5.9 during that date range. But in 2010 there have been 31 (as of 1:00pm), which is 2/3 as many as in the last sixty years. “
This famous volcanic landscape of the Afar Triangle region results from tectonic forces working deep below the surface as we have seen it above. The tectonically active nature of the Ethiopian Rift expresses itself in the many volcanic features in this area, including Erta Ale, one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and numerous other volcanic cones and fissures.
Colored Digital Elevation Model showing tectonic plate boundaries, outlines of the elevation highs demonstrating the thermal bulges and large lakes of East Africa. The basemap is a Space Shuttle radar topography image by NASA.
“The highly active volcanic boundaries along the edges of tectonic ocean plates may suddenly break apart in large sections, instead of little by little as has been predominantly believed. In addition, such sudden large-scale events on land pose a much more serious hazard to populations living near the rift than would several smaller events”, Prof. Cindy Ebinger, professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Rochester .
Rift segment names for the East African Rift System. Smaller segments are sometimes given their own names, and the names given to the main rift segments change depending on the source. Space Shuttle Atopography image by NASA.
Starting 2010 up unto the 2012 the earth is passing through an intensified magnetic filed in the galaxy centers increasing solar flares having a direct effect on seasons and climate change. This has been manifesting through extreme weathers and tectonic movements causing – freezing winters, hot summers, heat waves, foods , landslides, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, tsunamis etc.. Over a quarter million people in 2010 perished – the deadliest year in more than a generation.
The earth has gone in its geological histories in the past the same destructive and cleansing acts. In its historical records such events has been recorded in past civilizations. Based on the past events the ancient not only recorded but predicted such coming events. Ancient Ethiopic apocariftic writing had predicted the coming events at the end of times as being the 8th millennium events. The Ethiopian prediction is based on books like the pre deluvian Book of Enoch, and other secretly kept books coming down from the past .
The German meteorologist Alfred Wegener (1880-1930) called such movement as Continental Drift. He believed that the continents had at one time been joined together in a supercontinent that he named Pangaea, meaning “all lands.” In the other words if we follow Wagner’s theory ,it seems the earth was smaller from what we know it today as it is constantly bulging like a balloon drifting the continent and land shift apart. But if we look at tectonic theory the earth is the same see the following videos and compare:-
This new tectonic activity on Sunday December 19, 2010 in Hosanna on in the East African Rift Valley has aggravated to widen the vast fissures where the African Plate is being split into two parts. Five years ago , there was a major tectonic event in the Afar region when a rift 60 km (35 miles) long and 8 meters (26 feet) wide was torn apart just in a few days. It was with a series of earthquakes, and a volcanic eruption.
The Nubian Plate or the main plate of the African continent and on the eastern coast the Somalian Plate, are in constant movement in opposite directions at a divergent plate boundary creating an ocean. The region which will soon be under water is known as the Afar Triangle. The meeting point of this tectonic movement which includes north-eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and the southern Red Sea region of Eritrea. The news ocean is created by theses diverging three plates moving away from each other due to an upwelling of magma from the mantle, which melts the crust and causes it to thin and pull apart. Horn of Africa or the part known as the Somalian Peninsula will secede from the rest of the continent, creating an island. This phenomenon is similar to the mid-ocean ridges, where hot magma rises up and pushes the oceanic crust out to each side in the process of seafloor spreading.
posted on December 23, 2010 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
H.A.R.R.P considered as New Arm of Armageddon of DOOM’s day as men play God?
Decades have passed since HAARP has been suspected being responsible and an instrument of Armageddon bringing all recent earth quakes, floods, forest fires, drought that our planet is enduring. While others put the responsibility on the coming Doom’s day effect which will culminate on 2012 at the end of Maya calendar cycle. The Ecologists put the main culprit being pollution caused by excessive use of fossil fuel all over the world. The religious leaders claimed a sign of the end of the time as prophesied, when men play as God. These days’ voices have been raised against the installation of HAARP even among some political leaders. Most of the denunciation of the HAARP comes from some people one way or another worked in and around the project.
HAARP The High frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) is a program focused on the study of upper atmospheric and solar-terrestrial physics and Radio Science.
It has been there since the 1950s to investigating the fundamental physical principles which govern the earth’s ionosphere.
Brabcheces are found in Puerto Rico, near the Arecibo Observatory, and the other (known as HIPAS) in Alaska near Fairbanks.
The European Incoherent Scatter Radar site (EISCAT), a premier ionosphere research facility located in northern Norway near Tromso the offspring of HARRP. It has some reflect factlties all around the earth Jicamarca, Peru; near Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod (“SURA”) and Apatity, Russia; near Kharkov, Ukraine and in Dushanbe, Tadzhikistan.
HAARP in its offical site gives the follwing mains resons of its funtioning:-
The Ionospheric Research Instrument (IRI), a high power transmitter facility operating in the High Frequency (HF) range. The IRI will be used to temporarily excite a limited area of the ionosphere for scientific study.
A sophisticated suite of scientific (or diagnostic) instruments that will be used to observe the physical processes that occur in the excited region.
HAARP is composed of power, high-frequency (HF) phased array radio transmitter (known as the Ionosphere Research Instrument (IRI), used to stimulate ionosphere, geophysical research instruments including an HF ionosonde, ELF and VLF receivers, magnetometers, riometers, a UHF diagnostic radar and optical and infrared spectrometers and cameras which are used to observe the complex natural variations as well as to detect artificial effects produced by the IRI.
HARRP is a big big capacitor whcih only stores and releases electrical energy, without dissipating any. In reality, all capacitors have imperfections within the capacitor’s material that create resistance.
Men through centuries were trying to harness energy similar to the Ark of covenant. Th king of o kings of Ethiopia Menilk the II used the holy Ark to bit the invading Italian troops in 1896 at the hills of Adwa . The Biblical account relates that during the trip of the Israelites, the Ark was carried by the priests ~2,000 cubits (Numbers 35:5; Joshua 4:5) in advance of the people and their army or host (Num. 4:5-6; 10:33-36; Psalms 68:1; 132:8). When the Ark was borne by priests into the bed of the Jordan, the river was separated, opening a pathway for the whole of the host to pass over (Josh. 3:15-16; 4:7-18). The Ark was borne in a seven day procession around the wall of Jericho by three priests sounding seven trumpets of rams’ horns, the city taken with a shout (Josh. 6:4-20). When carried, the Ark was always wrapped in a veil, in tachash skins (the identity of this animal is uncertain), and a blue cloth, and was carefully concealed, even from the eyes of the Levites who carried it.
HARRP is like a man made Ark which is made to control nature.
According to the its institute HARRP to ensure the safety of all flight operations in the vicinity of HAARP, the facility employs an aircraft alert radar (AAR) to automatically shut off appropriate transmissions when aircraft are detected either within or approaching a defined safety zone around the facility. Flight tests are conducted regularly to demonstrate the capability of the HAARP radar to detect even very small targets. Research operations are not conducted unless the AAR is operating satisfactorily.
haiti earthquake harrp
CLG says U.S.’s HARRP Program Responsible for the Chili ..
Harrp – The Petition Site
Is HARRP hazardous to our health?
Hacking HARRP with the Faith Frequency
2012 Precession the end of the old and beginning of new dimension
by Dan Eden for ViewZone [See Dan Eden’s Confidential Message]
Note: Since this article was first published, viewzone has received more information on “doomsday,” including visual and scientific evidence that a solar “extinction event” happened in the past. See Part 2 – The Previous Doomsday of 12,950 BC: what was it like? for details.
ViewZone asked me to write a story about the Mayan Calendar. There is a common belief that the calendar holds a prophecy that the world will end in 2012. I knew very little about the whole topic when I began doing the research. I like to think I had an open mind. My investigation began with mainstream archaeology and expert interpretations of the calendar. But it soon took a turn that made my hair literally stand on end. I am now convinced that these prophecies are true.
To understand what is likely to happen to Earth and its people, you will need to remain calm and try to follow the facts. It’s not as simple as some people describe. It requires an understanding of some fairly complicated science, but I think I can explain this in a way that you will easily understand.
The Calendar — A Descrption
First, the Mayan calendar is also sometimes called the Aztec Calendar. This calendar is recorded as a carving on the Aztec “sun stone,” currently on exhibit in the National Museum of Anthropology and History located within Chapultepec Park, Mexico City. There’s a lot we could say about this carved stone but most of those details are irrelevant to the “end times.”
Our modern calendar, called the Gregorian Calendar, has days, weeks, months and years. In the Mayan Calendar it’s more complex. In fact, it’s really three calendars at the same time.
First there’s a religious calendar that takes 260 days to complete a full religious cycle. There are 20 “weeks” made up of 13 days. Each week has a special name, a graphic logo and unique meaning associated with it. This reminds me of the Chinese years which cycle through “the year of the rat” and “the year of the monkey,” etc., each with it’s special image and meaning.
Graphic logos for each of the 20 religious weeks.
Next there is the solar calendar. This has 365 days, like our modern calendar. It’s divided in 18 months of 20 days each. At the end of the cycle there’s five special days considered to be unlucky because they don’t belong to any month. Each of the months has a special name, graphic logo and some special significance, similar to the icons for the weeks in the religious calendar.
So it is possible, for any specific date, the calculate the religious week and the solar month and to predict the influences that might be guiding fate. But that’s not really what’s involved with the prophecy of 2012. To understand that we must look at the third calendar, called the long count.
While the first two cycles could be thought of as cogs or gears (see below) revolving through time, the long count is a linear number of days, starting from the first day, “1,” and counting through each day to the present. Any day in history can be recorded using the long count and, with some simple mathematics, the corresponding religious week and solar month can also be found.
In writing this article, I thought about creating a javascript program that would do this calculation. My friend, Gene Matlock, then told me that when he was in Mexico, he found a place that sold wooden, mechanical calculators with gears that did just that. He said that Mexicans sometimes used these mechanical calendars to foretell the future or to find auspicious times for special events like marriage or births. Anyway, although it might be nice to know the religious and solar significance, it’s the long count that foretells Doomsday.
Cog or “gears” can be used to compute the religious and solar cycles for any date.
The days of the long count are numbered with an unusual system. Instead of writing numbers as we do, from right to left with each place being a multiple of 10 (i.e. 10000, 1000, 100, 10, 1), the Mayans had only 5 places.
The first place recorded a number from 0 to 20. To the left, the second place could have a range from 0 to 17; the third from 0 to 19; the fourth from 0 to 19 and the last from 0 to 12. The numbers were written from right to left, like our system, separated by a dot. Instead of multiples of 10, the first place had a multiple of 1 (like our system); the second place a multiple of 20; the third a multiple of 360; the fourth a multiple of 7200 and the fifth a multiple of 144000.
So a long count number, for example, could be written as 4.12.5.9.0 and would be calculated as follows:
(4 x 144000) + (12 x 7200) + (5 x 360) + (9 x 20) + (0 x 1) or a long count of 664,380.
It’s not too difficult to realize that the maximum number which can be recorded this way would be12.19.19.17.20, although some researchers like to write it as 13.0.0.0.0. This amounts to a long count number of 1,872,000 days or 5125.36 years of our modern calculations. Obviously, the calendar is very old!
Over the years, archaeologists have found carved monuments that recorded the long count for known dates in Mayan history. Once a date was fixed in time, it was easy to determine “day 1” as August 11th, 3114 BC. And it was also easy to calculate the date at which the calendar would end —December 21st, 2012.
Trust me, just because the calendar ends doesn’t prove that time, or the world, or life will end. We need to look carefully at December 21, 2012 and try to understand why the Mayans never calculated a date beyond this point in time. To do this we must move from Archaeology to the science of Astronomy and Astrophysics.
It’s all about the Sun
It’s ironic (or maybe not) that the Mayan Calendar is often called the “sun stone.” While the calendar does have “solar” days, acknowledging the 365 days it takes for Earth to rotate around the Sun, it is also true that the Sun plays a key role in the final day of the “long count.” To understand what will happen to the Sun on December 21, 2012, we need to review some scientific terms like “ecliptic,” “barycenter,” and “sunspots.” These are important in the discussion that follows. We’ll start with the most difficult one first.
Terms we will encounter…What is the Barycenter?
You’ve no doubt heard that Earth revolves around the sun. Well, actually, that’s not quite true!
Have you heard the term “center of gravity”? It’s a technical-sounding term for something pretty simple. It’s the exact center of all the material (that is, mass) that makes up the object. For example, if you have a straight stick, like a ruler or yardstick, there’s a place at the middle where you can balance it on your finger. That’s its center of gravity.
But the center of gravity may or may not be the point that is exactly in the middle, distance-wise, of the object. Some parts of the object may be heavier (denser) than others. If you have something like a sledge hammer that is heavier on one end than the other, the center of gravity will be much closer to the heavy end than the lighter end.
To get an idea of where the center of gravity is, rest the ends of any object like the ruler or a pencil on one finger from each hand. Slowly move your fingers together without dropping the object. Your fingers will meet underneath the object’s center of gravity. You can balance the object on one finger at that special place.
The actual center of gravity could be close to the surface or deep inside, depending on whether the object is flat like a ruler or a dinner plate, or “three-dimensional,” like a box or a ball. And if you let the object spin (like when you throw it), it will try to spin about that point.
In the case of the Earth and the sun, both bodies actually revolve, or spin, around the very center of the mass (similar to center of gravity) between them. This point is called the “barycenter.” Earth and the sun are “connected” by the gravity pulling them together. It’s just like the light end and heavy end of the sledge hammer. Compared to the size of the sun, Earth is about like a flea on a cat! So the center of mass between the Earth and the sun is almost–but not quite–the very center of the sun.
In the case of a planet the size of Jupiter, which is 318 times as massive as Earth, the barycenter of Jupiter and the sun is a bit further from the sun’s center. So, as Jupiter revolves around the sun, the sun itself is actually revolving around this slightly off-center point, located just outside its center. Thus, a planet the size of Jupiter will make the sun (or any star) appear to wobble a tiny bit. This picture shows you that the center of mass and barycenter can be slightly different points. It isn’t meant to be very accurate!
We can take advantage of this bit of knowledge and look for large planets in other solar systems by learning to detect this type of tiny wobble in the star’s position.
For now, let’s forget all the small planets and focus on Jupiter. It makes one complete trip around the Sun every 11.861773 years. There’s a new theory put forth by Dr. Rollin Gillespie which shows that Jupiter, and to a smaller degree the other less massive planets, may trigger the 11 year cycle of sunspots and solar flares.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HUc62XYpvI
The is not a single point in the Sun. Because the Sun is a rotating gaseous sphere, the barycenter forms a vertical, cylindrical “sleeve” that is partially inside and outside the main solar body. All of the planets have such a “sleeve,” one inside the other, depending on their relative mass and the location of their barycenters. The particular sleeve representing the mass of Jupiter intersects the solar surface at 35.9 degrees North and South. This is precisely where sunspot and flare activity begin and end during each 11 year cycle.
The new cycle has already begun with the recent observation of a solar spot with reverse polarity. But some surprising activity on March 27, 2008, showed some huge eruptions with M-class radiation at about the equatorial region of the Sun. [ See Solar Map]. These surprising eruptions suggests a barycenter of disturbance from an object even more massive than Jupiter, placing the “sleeve” outside the Sun. Could this be the beginning of the Galaxy’s effects (keep reading to learn more about this) on our Sun?
Scientists have noted that when Jupiter and Saturn are aligned on the same side of the Sun, the solar maximum (the period when we have the most sunspots and flares) is at its weakest; when they are on opposite sides of the Sun the solar maximum is at its strongest. The positions of these two planets on December 21, 2012 are ideal for extreme solar activity.
Above: Position of Jupiter and Saturn on 12/21/2012.
We recently learned that we had overlooked an even more significant alignment that we are presenting here for the first time [Above]. There is a straight-line alignment from Jupiter, the Earth, the Sun and (most significantly) the Galactic Center (a black hole). This alignment happens on December 20th, 2012 — just a few hours before the actual “doomsday.”
These cylinders are usually quite orderly because the planets adhere to a narrow plane, called theecliptic which resembles a thin plate extending from the equator of the Sun. The planets hang out here because (in simple terms) this is the zone where the gravitation of the system is the strongest.
These cylinders are usually quite orderly because the planets adhere to a narrow plane, called the ecliptic which resembles a thin plate extending from the equator of the Sun. The planets hang out here because (in simple terms) this is the zone where the gravitation of the system is the strongest. (see below)
These cylinders are usually quite orderly because the planets adhere to a narrow plane, called theecliptic which resembles a thin plate extending from the equator of the Sun. The planets hang out here because (in simple terms) this is the zone where the gravitation of the system is the strongest. (see below)
The planets orbit the Sun in a narrow plane called the ecliptic.
But nature is never perfect. The Sun rotates at a slight angle (7.25 degrees), much as our Earth does. As it wobbles, it tilts the sleeves, causing them to clash with eachother and eventually disrupt the surface. Having the barycenters of the to most massive planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in maximum misalignment is especially disruptive. This disturbance, to put it simply, works its way to the surface and erupts in sun spots and solar flares or CME’s (Coronal Mass Ejections).
The last solar cycle was at its maximum in 2001. Each active solar cycle has a period when the flares are strongest, usually happening near the solar equator, called the “solar maximum.” This is significant because the next “solar maximum” event will coincide with December 21, 2012. But wait — there’s much more!
Solar flares are pieces of the sun which leap into space, discharging radiation and strong electrical currents that travel outward into space. They often fall back to the surface of the Sun. Sometimes, a very strong flare, called a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), actually leaves the Sun and this deadly mass shoots out from the Sun towards the planets like a bullet. Usually these CME’s don’t hit anything but occasionally they hit a planet like Earth. Some believe a powerful CME once hit Mars.
Most solar flares are small. But even a small flare can be dangerous. In 1989 a flare hit the North American continent and fried electric lines, zapped power grids in the US and Canada, and created large power backouts. Flares can also effect our moods and physical health. In theory, a large flare impacting the Earth could zap the ionosphere (there goes all the satellites, cellphones, GPS…) and irradiate the surface, killing every living organism that it touched.
Solar flares and sun spots have an average cycle of 11.120412 years (estimated from one “solar maximum” to the next). Right now, 2009, we are just entering the active period of cycle number 24, after an unusually long period of quiet solar activity. This quiet period led some people at NASA to conclude that cycle 24 would be a very quiet cycle — contradicting the earlier predictions they made for an extremely violent cycle. Now they have redacted their call for a quiet cycle since the activity has again commenced. The scientists who study the Sun have also recently announced that they have measured the solar currents, deep inside the Sun, which correspond the Dr. Gillespie’s barycenter currents. But to date they have not been able to agree what causes these deep currents of solar material.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNWRIKGwNlg
The small discrepancy between the average 11.120412 year solar cycle and the 11.861773 year period of Jupiter is close enough to be significant but suggests that something else is also influencing solar disturbances. Sure, it could be attributed to the various positions of the other less massive planets, but it could also be something even more significant — the Milky Way.
The Galactic Alignment of December 21, 2012
Our solar system is part of a huge disc shaped collection of stars and planets called the Milky Way. We’re located somewhere on the edge of the disc, slightly on top of the narrow disc. But very soon we’ll be moving to the bottom of the disc. This change, from top to bottom, begins on December 21, 2012.
Yes, that’s right. On the same day when our Sun is at it’s solar maximum, something will happen that’s never happened for thousands of eons of time — the ecliptic of our solar system will intersect with the Galactic plane, called the “Galactic Equator” of the Milky Way! [see star chart].
If you imagine our solar system as a bunch of peas on a plate, with a huge meatball in the center, imagine the Milky Way as a city-size pizza with the “Guiness World Book Record Meatball” in its center!
Prior to December 2012 we have been drifting on the top of the pizza, never really able to see the bottom. The plate and pizza are not parallel. They are moving at different angles. We’ve been drifting down, down, down… and on December 21st, 2012, we will be exactly level with the crust — forming an “x” at the Galactic Equator where galactic gravity is the strongest. After 2012, if we are still here, we will be passing through the bottom zone, viewing the Milky Way pizza from the South.
Yes, there’s even more!
By some amazing coincidence, not only will we be intersecting with the Galactic Equator, but we will be doing this precisely aligned with the center of the Galaxy where there is maximum mass! More mass means more gravity. More gravity means more influence from those barycenters in our Sun. That means exponential increases in solar disruptions — all coinciding on the same day! Whew
Magnetic Somersaults – Other possibilities on December 21, 2012:
In the first quarter of 2001, the Sun switched magnetic poles. This occurs every eleven years. Prior to this the Sun’s north magnetic pole was at the north rotational pole. Now the Sun’s north magnetic pole is at its south pole. Since opposite poles attract, the magnetic poles of the Earth and Sun are now at their most stable.
Just about the time of 2012 Winter Solstice, the Sun’s poles will switch back. During this switch there will be a tendency for the Sun’s magnetic field to pull the Earth’s field with it.
If the Earth’s magnetic poles switch, this would put stress on the planet aggravating earthquakes and volcanos, not to mention destruction of the electrical power distribution grid. And, if the switch happens fast enough don’t ever expect your computer to work again. But if you have old tube type equipment, keep it. It should survive just fine. It will work if you can find electricity.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y576t7PXF9U
posted on May 23, 2010 by Prof. Muse Tegegne
Ethiopian Yellow stone & Iceland type volcano can create an ocean over night in the horn of Africa
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1ztg0wUqKY
Map showing the Mid-Atlantic Ridge splitting Iceland and separating the North American and Eurasian Plates. The map also shows Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, the Thingvellir area, and the locations of some of Iceland's active volcanoes (red triangles), including Krafla.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Vn6kxfD3Ek
Dramatic Geologic Activity in East Africa
A New Ocean Will Eventually Form as Tectonic Plates Split Apart
Read more at Suite101: Dramatic Geologic Activity in East Africa: A New Ocean Will Eventually Form as Tectonic Plates Split Apart http://geologyecology.suite101.com/article.cfm/dramatic-geologic-activity-in-east-africa#ixzz0lMNjZBJR
The splitting apart of the African Plate in the East African Rift Valley shows how continents change and oceans are created through the process of plate tectonics.
The huge, brittle tectonic plates that make up Earth’s crust normally move only a few centimeters per year, not fast enough to be noticeable in a human lifetime. However, in the East African Rift Valley, this tectonic motion is happening with remarkable speed.
The East African Rift System
The East African Rift System is the most extensive continental rift zone on Earth, as well as one of the most active geologic regions. Stretching more than 6,000 km (3,700 miles), it begins in Lebanon and Syria to the north, proceeds along the Red Sea where it marks the boundary between the African and Arabian Plates, and continues through to Mozambique in the south.
The area of east Africa is defined by extremes. Volcanic activity along the Great Rift Valley has produced some of the world’s highest mountains, including Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Kenya, while the Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the lowest points on the planet.
The Afar Triangle, which includes north-eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti and the southern Red Sea region of Eritrea, is the location of a tectonic triple junction where three tectonic plates meet. These three plates are moving away from each other due to an upwelling of magma from the mantle, which melts the crust and causes it to thin and pull apart. The phenomenon is similar to that which occurs at the mid-ocean ridges, where hot magma rises up and pushes the oceanic crust out to each side in the process of seafloor spreading, but it is rarely observed on Earth’s surface.
The African Plate is Tearing Apart, Forming a New Plate and Ocean Basin
Recent tectonic activity in the East African Rift Valley has created vast fissures where the African Plate is being split into two parts. The Nubian Plate that comprises most of the African continent, and the Somalian Plate, on the eastern coast, are moving in opposite directions at what is known as a divergent plate boundary. As the plates pull apart, a new ocean will eventually form, and the Horn of Africa will separate from the rest of the continent, becoming an island.
Read more at Suite101: Dramatic Geologic Activity in East Africa: A New Ocean Will Eventually Form as Tectonic Plates Split Apart http://geologyecology.suite101.com/article.cfm/dramatic-geologic-activity-in-east-africa#ixzz0lMNal53K
The Horn of Africa is Becoming an Ocean
For the first time – humans were able to witness the birth of an ocean. Geologist Dereje Ayalew and his colleagues from Addis Ababa were the first to witness this up-to-the-minute experience. With a shake of the earth as soon as they arrived they were tempted to run back to the helicopter that had brought them there but in moments they were able to witness this horrific yet fascinating event. After a few moments, a dense crack in the earth appeared – an event that usually takes a lifetime to occur. This would be an amazing experience to view in a lifetime, it has been recently added to my “things to see in my lifetime” list.
“In north-eastern Africa’s Afar Triangle, though, recent months have seen hundreds of crevices splitting the desert floor and the ground has slumped by as much as 100 meters (328 feet). At the same time, scientists have observed magma rising from deep below as it begins to form what will eventually become a basalt ocean floor.”
“The process happening here is identical to that which created the Atlantic Ocean,” Parts of the region have sunk to nearly one-hundred meters below sea level.
The red sea will soon flood this crevice, and the scientists are able to unearth what is to be the floor of the newly forming ocean. The African and the Arabian plates meet at the Afar triangle and are considered to be the largest natural construction site on the planet. The event witnessed was the first visual proof of the formation. Now, this would have been something to witness.
Locals visit the site regularly and notice new cracks forming constantly. Also, fumes as hot as 400 degrees arising from the area accompanied by magma and sulfur. This is evident in the recent volcanic activity within the area. It won’t be a very long time until this area is flooded by the current red sea and becomes the youngest ocean
Ethiopian Enochian pre deluge Calendar coincides Mayan 2012 in prediction; while the accelerated Quantum Leap of Volcano Earth Quack and Tsunami around the world is confirming Prof. Muse Tegegne
“Everyone knows that planet earth rotates from west to east, causing the sun to rise in the eastern sky and to set in the western horizon. Interestingly, ancient Egyptian priests told the Greek historian Herodotus that within the historical ages since Egypt became a kingdom, “four times in this period (so they told me) the sun rose contrary to his wont; twice he rose where he now sets, and twice he set where he now rises” (Herodotus, Bk.II, 142).”
“The Ethiopians were the first who invented the science of stars, and gave names to the planets, not at random and without meaning, but descriptive of the qualities which they conceived them to possess; and it was from them that this art passed, still in an imperfect state, to the Egyptians.” The Ethiopian origin of astronomy is beautifully explained by Count Volney in a passage in his Ruins of Empires, which is one of the glories of modern literature, and his argument is not based on guesses. He invokes the weighty authority of Charles F. Dupuis, whose three monumental works, The Origin of Constellations, The Origin of Worship and The Chronological Zodiac, are marvels of meticulous research. Dupuis placed the origin of the zodiac as far back as 15,000 B.C., which would give the world’s oldest picture book an antiquity of 17,000 years. (This estimate is not as excessive as it might at first appear, since the American astronomer and mathematician, Professor Arthur M. Harding, traces back the origin of the zodiac to about 26,000 B.C) In discussing star worship and idolatry, Volney gives the following glowing description of the scientific achievements of the ancient Ethiopians, and of how they mapped out the signs of the zodiac on the star-spangled dome of the heavens:
Ethiopia and the Origin of Civilization Part 2
By John G. Jackson (1939)
Genesis 5:23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years
5:24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
Much of Biblical prophecy seems to be based on a 360 day year, but as we all know, the solar year is 365.25 days in length. Was the original calendar a solar calendar, and was the original year precisely 360 days in length. The Ethiopian inherited from Enoch.
If we notice the statement regarding the length of the months during the Noachian deluge. We read in Genesis 7:11, “in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heaven were opened” (Gen.7:11). Then we read: “At the end of one hundred fifty days the waters had abated; and in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat” (Gen.8:3-4). The Flood lasted five months, to the very day, and those five months equaled 150 days. Simple division shows us that therefore 5 months of 150 days each gives 30 days per month. Therefore, 12 months would have been precisely 360 days! each month having 30 days like that of the today’s Ethiopian Enochian calandar.
The Ethiopian Enoch made a calendar of 360 days per year which is still practiced in Ethiopia. The Book of Enoch was taken to Europe by James Bruce was publicized around 1790 A.D.
The earliest known date is 4236 B.C.E., the founding of the Egyptian calendar. The ancient Egyptian calendar was lunar. The Ecnochian Ethiopian calendar, oldest in history, originated three millennia before the birth of Christ. It is believed thatImhotep, the supreme official of King Djoser C.2670 B.C. had a great impact on the construction of the calendar. Egyptians initially used a civil calendar based on a solar year that consisted of 360 days only, without making any adjustment for the additional quarter of a day each year. Each year had 12 months. The heliacal rising of Sirius coincides with the arrival of the highest point of river Nile flood at Memphis marking the first day of the year. The new year of the ancient Egyptians started on Meskerem 1 that of Nisan of Hebrews comming out of Egypt. This date is an Ethiopian new year signaling the end of Noah’s flood. (The Hebrew new years also start in Meskerem. The Egyptian solar calendar consisted of 12 30-day months with five extra festival days at the end of the year.
The connection between Egypt and Ethiopia from at least as early as the Twenty-second Dynasty was very intimate and occasionally the two countries were under the same ruler, so that the arts and civilization of the one naturally found their way into the other.
-@
“Should it be asked at what epoch this system took its birth, we shall answer on the testimony of the monuments of astronomy itself, that its principles appear with certainty to have been established about seventeen thousand years ago, and if it be asked to what people it is to be attributed, we shall answer that the same monuments, supported by unanimous traditions, attribute it to the first tribes of Egypt; and reason finds in that country all the circumstances which could lead to such a system; when it finds there a zone of sky, bordering on the tropic, equally free from the rains of the equator and the fogs of the north; when it finds there a central point of the sphere of the ancients, a salubrious climate, a great but manageable river, a soil fertile without art or labor, inundated without morbid exhalations, and placed between two seas which communicate with the richest countries; it conceives that the inhabitant of the Nile, addicted to agriculture from the facility of communications, to astronomy from the state of his sky, always open to observation, must have been the first to pass from the savage to the social state; and consequently to attain the physical and moral sciences necessary to civilized life.
It was, then, on the borders of the upper Nile, among a black race of men, that was organized the complicated system of the worship of the stars, considered in relation to the productions of the earth and the labors of agriculture. … Thus the Ethiopian of Thebes named stars of inundation, or Aquarius, those stars under which the Nile began to overflow;stars of the ox or bull, those under which they began to plow, stars of the lion, those under which that animal, driven from the desert by thirst, appeared on the banks of the Nile; stars of the sheaf, or of the harvest virgin, those of the reaping season; stars of the lamb, stars of the two kids, those under which these precious animals were brought forth. Thus the same Ethiopian having observed that the return of the inundation always corresponded with the rising of a beautiful star which appeared towards the source of the Nile, and seemed to warn the husbandman against the coming waters, he compared this action to that of the animal who, by his barking, gives notice of danger, and he called this star the dog, the barker (Sirius). In the same manner he named the stars of the crab, those where the sun, having arrived at the tropic, retreated by a slow retrograde motion like the crab of Cancer. He named stars of the wild goat, or Capricorn, those where the sun, having reached the highest point in his annuary tract, … imitates the goat, who delights to climb to the summit of the rocks. He named stars of the balance, or Libra, those where the days and nights being equal, seemed in equilibrium, like that instrument; and stars of the scorpion, those where certain periodical winds bring vapors, burning like the venom of the scorpion. (Volney’s Ruins of Empires, pp. 120-122, New York, 1926)
The Book of Enoch was dropped from the Jewish scriptures shortly after Christ, most likely because it apparently referred to him as the Messiah. It was quoted as scripture by the early Christian Church fathers until the middle of the third century A.D., accepted as a divine work having been written by Enoch himself.[5] It then fell into disrepute and was banned from the canon of scripture in the fourth century, partly because it didn’t agree with how Christianity came to be redefined after the death of the apostles.
The book also doubtlessly raised questions with its unusual imagery, referring to things such as “the stone which supports the corners of the earth” and “the four winds, which bear up the earth” (Enoch 18:2 {18:2-3}). That may have sounded primitive to the sophisticated science of the fourth century, but that is the same imagery used by many great prophets. For example, John the Revelator states, “I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth” (Rev. 7:1; compare imagery of Isa. 11:12, Jer. 49:36, Ezek. 37:9, Dan. 7:2, Mat. 24:31). As is discussed later in this article, often what appears to be primitive science in the scriptures turns out to be the sophisticated concepts of God simplified for us. Note that the prophets have 100% chance of success when predicting the weather, so those angels may have more to do with the wind than we might suppose.
Thus, for a variety of reasons, the Book of Enoch was systematically purged from the scriptures until it became a “lost book” of the Bible. In 1773 the famous explorer James Bruce discovered it in Ethiopia (then called Abyssinia), and brought back three copies. Fortunately, the Ethiopians had kept it in their Bible, where it was located immediately after the Book of Job.
(John P. Pratt)
The Book of Enoch the Prophet is the oldest known, existing mystical document and is referred to in the Hebrew Zohar, The Epistle of St. Jude, and other ancient books. Legend dates the text to antediluvian times, saved from the flood by Noah himself, while serious scholarship places its origin in the second
century b.c.e., as old as ancient Sumeria and Babylon. Providing insight into the foundation of Christianity and the pre-Christian Gnostics, the text is perhaps most remarkable for its significant deviation from the apocryphal story that appears in the Bible. The final Christian version of the apocalypse leaves the damned on a hellish earth, while welcoming the chosen to heaven. The Book of Enoch the Prophet draws a very different picture–“upon the return of the Messiah, evil will be banished from the face of the earth, resulting in a heaven on earth.A new introduction to this edition by esoteric scholar R.A. Gilbert places the book in context, including an overview of the modern history of The Book of Enoch. It’s an Indiana Jones-like story: lost for thousands of years after being banned by the early Christians, the ancient manuscript was rediscovered in the late eighteenth century. This sparked research for other fragments, which were subsequently found and together revealed the complete ancient text, first translated into English and published in 1821. “A new introduction makes this most-important non-Biblical apocryphal text accessible to modern readers. “Reveals a vision of a new age of heaven on earth that figures in esoteric and occult practices. “Banned by the Christian hierarchy and thought lost for millennia.R H Charles The Book of Enoch the Prophet
The four winds was the four magnetic forces that suspends the earth around the Sun “the stone which supports the corners of the earth” and “the four winds, which bear up the earth” (Enoch 18:2 {18:2-3}).
Immanuel Velikovsky, a phenomenal Jewish scholar and historian, and friend of Albert Einstein, wrote dramatically of this period, when Israel came out of Egypt, and stood before God Himself atMount Sinai:
“The Talmud and Midrashim describe the Mountain of the Law-giving
as quaking so greatly that it appeared as if it were lifted up and shaken
above the heads of the people; and the people felt as if they were no
longer standing securely on the ground, but were held up by some
invisible force [cf. Ginzberg, Legends, II, 92, 95]” (Worlds in Collision,
Joshua10:11 wrote At that same time, “the sun stood still, and the moon stopped,, till the people had revenge upon their enemies” (verse 13).
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-prt5d6m6s
“In the tomb of Senmut, the architect of Queen Hatshepsut, a panel on the ceiling shows the celestial sphere with the signs of the Zodiac and other constellations in ‘a reversed orientation’ of the southern sky,” says Immanuel Velikovsky (p.108)
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiFD8pM4Mcs
At that very time, according to the book of Exodus, God instituted a NEW calendar for His people! We read in Exodus 12, when God instituted the Passover celebration for His people: ‘Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, ‘This month shall be your beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you” (Exo.12:1-2).
Prior to that time, from the time of Adam and Eve and Creation, the years had been counted from fall to fall reckoning. But now God introduced a NEW calendar! In this calendar, each month began with a new moon, and the year began in the SPRING! Being a luni-solar calendar, since the new moon appears every 29.5 days, the months varied between 29 and 30 days, to adjust for the fraction of a day. The 12 month year varied from a minimum of 354 days, to a maximum of 385 days – as in a leap year when an extra month had to be inserted (seven years during every 19-year time cycle, to make the total lunar years equal to the solar years in every 19 years).
Judging from the evidence, this change was necessitated due to the change in the earth’s orbit around the sun at the time of the Exodus! The earth “fell down,” i.e. its orbit changed, and hasn’t changed back to the original orbit since that time!
The length of the year changed from 360 days, to the modern calendar’s 365.25 days, in a solar year. Apparently the orbit of the moon also changed, from a 30 day orbit to one of 29.5 days. All this caused a need to change the calendar!
“Numerous evidences are preserved which prove that prior to the year of 365 ¼ days, the year was only 360 days long” . In ancient India, “The texts of the Veda period know a year of only 360 days.” Passages in which this length of year are clearly stated are found in all the Brahmanas. Those texts nowhere mention an intercalary period of five extra days which are currently part of the solar year. This Hindu year of 360 days is divided into twelve months of thirty days each. The texts describe the moon as crescent for fifteen days and waning for another fifteen days; they also say that the sun moved for six months or 180 days to the north and for the same number of days to the south” .
In their astronomical works, the Brahmans used “very ingenious geometric methods,” Velikovsky states, and so their apparent “failure” to discern that the year of 360 days was 5 ¼ days too short seemed baffling to western historians. Their perplexity fails to account for the fact that the terrestrial year may have once been 360 days.
In the ancient Persian calendar, “The ancient Persian year was composed of 360 days or twelve months of thirty days each. In the seventh century [B.C.] five Gatha days were added to the calendar,” Velikovsky continues (p.332).
The old Babylonian year was also 360 days. Ctesias wrote that the walls of Babylon were 360 furlongs in compass, “as many as there had been days in the year” (quoted on page 333). The Babylonians divided the heavens into 36 decans, a decan being the space the sun moved relative to the fixed stars in a 10-day period. 36 decans in a year would make a year of 360 days – no more, no less.
Historians realize that at first the Babylonians recognized a year of 360 days, “and the division of a circle into 360 degrees must have indicated the path traversed by the sun each day in its assumed circling of the earth” (Cantor, Vorlesungen uber Geschichte der Mathematik, I, 92, )
The ancient Assyrians also had a 360 day year with each month containing 30 days. Assyrian documents refer to months of 30 days each, only, and count the months from the moon’s crescent to crescent. These facts all puzzle astronomers who cannot understand why all these ancient civilizations were so consistently erroneous in their calculation of the months and the year.
The ancient Mayansalso had a year of 360 days, in remote antiquity. The Mexicans, at the time of the conquest, called a thirty-day period a moon, even though they knew that the moon’s synodical period is 29.5209 days. Their calculations were even more accurate than the Gregorian calendar. “Obviously, they adhered to an old tradition dating from the time when the year had twelve months of thirty days each, 360 days in all” (p.339).
The ancient China the people had a year divided into twelve months of 30 days each, comprising a 360 day year. “A relic of the system of 360 days is the still persisting division of the sphere into 360 degrees; each degree represented the diurnal advance of the earth on its orbit, or that portion of the zodiac which was passed over from one night to the next. After 360 changes the stellar sky returned to the same position for the observer on the earth” . After the year changed from 360 days to 365 ¼, the Chinese added 5 ¼ days to their year Like that of the the Enochaian Ethiopian Caledar of today 5 and 6 days each lip year. Suffice it to say, the 360 day year is well attested to in ancient history.
The 360-day usage in calculating Biblical prophecy, therefore, seems to be a carry-over from the ancient world and its times and seasons, prior to the shift and alteration in the calendar which occurred during the time of Moses and the Exodus.
Why did the world and the Jews use solar months instead of lunar months prior to the Exodus? Hints that this was so are indicated in the books of Jubilees and Enoch, extra-canonical ancient Jewish literature.
As Dr. Velikovsky demonstrates, great changes occurred in the cosmos at the time of the Exodus, which necessitated a change. If the original solar calendar was a 360-day calendar, with 30 day lunar months, then it would be true that “Adam [also] used lunar months and that this continued throughout the time of the patriarchs,” as Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer says. Declares aish.com, “However, as we have shown, there are many sources that say that solar months were used before the Exodus” (ibid.). How could this have been true if the solar year differed from the lunar year? Such a practice would have caused disruption in the months and annual holy days. The book of Jubilees shows that the annual holy days, which depend on the new moons, were observed during the times of Noah, Abraham, and the patriarchs!
The Bible itself uses the 360 day year in calculating the “prophetic years” in prophecy. A 360-day year is called a “prophetic year” by students of Bible prophecy.
As many Scriptural commentators have pointed out years ago, a “time” equals a “year” in prophetic fulfillment. In the book of Revelation, we find “the woman” – a reference to the Church of God – is to be protected “in the wilderness” for “1260 days” (Rev.12:6). Later on in the same chapter, we read that the woman is to be protected in the wilderness for “a time, times, and half a time” – three and one half “times” (Rev.12:14). Thus 1260 days equals 3 ½ times. Simple division shows us that dividing 1260 days by 3 ½, gives us 360 days in a “time.” This implies that a “year” in prophecy calculations refers to a period of 360 days – yet the real year today is 365.25 days in length. Why this anomaly? This seems very strange. What mystery lies at the root of this question?
Why, then, does the Bible use the 360-day calendar, where 1260 days equals 3 ½ years (Rev.12:6, 14), which also equals 42 months (Rev.13:5)? The Bible speaks of no other year existing before the 360 day calendar of the Flood (derived from 5 months equaling 150 days, or 30 days per month, as in the 360-day year).
My own belief is that the 360 day year is the “original” year, which existed from Adam to the Flood and possibly to the Exodus, when God instituted a NEW calendar (Exo.12:1), due to phenomenal changes in the earth’s orbit caused by the awesome plagues which fell upon Egypt at the Exodus – when many miracles occurred, and God Himself came down to Mount Sinai. This original calendar will be re-instituted when the Messiah returns and “restores all things.” The knowledge of this original 360-day “year” was preserved and used in the prophetic writings, as a reminder that it is important and ought to be remembered. So we use it as the “idealized” year when calculating prophecies, and ignore the fractions and complexities of the temporary “present” Roman calendar.
A “prophetic year” contains 360 days, apparently based on the fact that the original “year” was 360 days in length. Evidence that the year was once 360 days in length is found in many places, as we have seen.
Like the ancient calender of Noah’s time, the Mayan calendar also has 360 days in a year. It also dates to a time before the Noachian deluge.
According to the Mayan calendar, we are now living in the Mayan “end times.” The Great Cycle of the Mayan Long Count calendar ends at the winter solstice in 2012 A.D., less than eight years from now.
In Mayan mythology, the winter solstice sun corresponds to the deity known as One Hunahpu, or “First Father.” The dark rift of the Milky Way, in Mayan cosmology, is known as the “Black Road,” the mouth of the Cosmic Monster, and the birth canal of the Cosmic Mother.
The Mayan calendar has a Great Cycle, ending 13 “bactuns” or a period of 5,125 years. To the ancient Mayans, this conjunction of the sun and Milky Way center or mid-point will occur on the winter solstice, December 21, in 2012 A.D. This date represents a major transition point, the creation of a new World Age.
The Mayan Long Count calendar is strikingly different from the Roman calendar, or any other for that matter. A “month” is 20 days, and 18 months is a year of 360 days. Twenty 360 day years comprise a “katun,” and a “baktun” is 20 katun, equaling 144,000 days.
The number 144,000 is very interesting, as it is the number of the “firstfruits” redeemed to God at the coming of the Messiah (Rev.14:1-4).
Authorities agree that the Mayan Long Count calendar began August 11, 3114 B.C. (Gregorian calendar). Why it begins at this date is anybody’s guess. This would have been during the life of the prophet Enoch, who was born in 3545 B.C. He lived for 365 years before he “was taken,” in 3180 B.C. Methuselah was born in 3480 B.C. and lived for 969 years. So the Mayan calendar begins 76 years after Enoch disappeared (was taken to a place of safety from his many enemies), and 376 years after Methuselah was born.
The present Great Age of the Mayas, the fifth, is believed to have been initiated by the famous Quetzalcoatl in 3,113 B.C. Who was this figure? Could it have been no less than Enoch the prophet, himself?
Quetzalcoatl was the “plumed serpent” of the Aztec mythology, the “god” of learning and of the priesthood. He was an ancient ruler who was subsequently deified and identified with the planet Venus – the morning and evening star – and as a “god” of vegetation. He was a benign figure, a teacher, and his name became the title for Mexican high priests. The name became frequent in early Mexican history, like Roosevelt or Adams. There are many traditions about his arrival, and departure. He taught the way of peace. He was noted as “the bringer of civilization and good ways of life, who was frequently locked in conflict with gods of evil” (The Indian Heritage of America, Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., p.201). Aztec legends say he sailed across the sea, but would one day return.
The patriarch Enoch was also a priestly figure before the Flood, and a man of vast learning and understanding.
Immanuel Velikovsky points out that during the time of Quetzalcoatl, according to ancient Mexican records, many people died, that “the sun refused to show itself and during four days the world was deprived of light” (quoting Brasseur; see Worlds in Collision, page 157). At that time, according to legends from Polynesian peoples, “the earth was battered by countless fragments,” says Velikovsky (p.160).
During that time the sequence of seasons and the duration of days and nights became disarranged.
Says Velikovsky, “When Quetzal-cohuatl, the lawgiver of the Toltecs, disappeared on the approach of a great catastrophe and the Morning Star that bore the same name rose for the first time in the sky, the Toltecs ‘regulated the reckoning of the days, the nights, and the hours according to the difference in time’” (p.177). Thus when the original Quetzal-cohuatl lived there was a great catastrophe on the earth.
Could this be why God “took” Enoch, and he “was not found”? (Gen.5:24). God “took” him to a place of safety, to protect him from the oncoming cataclysm, which was brought about during his time by the wickedness of mankind! Likewise, God promises to protect His faithful servants during this present age who are zealous for Him and loyal to His truth (Rev.3:10; Luke 21:36; Rev.12:14-17).
In Mayan chronology, 3,113 B.C. is written as 13.0.0.0.0. When the cycle or age is complete, in December 2012 A.D., the date will once again be written 13.0.0.0.0 – a complete cycle of 13 baktuns. That date will also complete the end of a katun cycle (of 20 years). The last katun of this Age began in 1992 and will finish in 2012. The Mayan “glyph” of this katun is “storm” followed by “sun” – a period of darkness, followed by one of light.
Note that in esoteric tradition, the number “13” represents Christ, the Messiah! There were twelve disciples; Jesus as the Christ was “13.” The number “13” also denotes superabundance – the “baker’s dozen.”
Is there any significance to this? The Mayan calendar is obviously pre-Flood because it is based on a 360-day year which was pre-Flood. Enoch was a scribe of the Lord, who wrote the book of Enoch, which contains much celestial and calendrical material, as well as prophetic warnings and exhortations. It may well be that the Mayan calendar was originally inspired and contains material going back to the pre-Flood patriarchs.
The Long Count calendar began in 3114 B.C. – during the time of Enoch – and its termination date is 2012 A.D., when the cycle will be completed, and a new cycle begins. This fact certainly seems to be significant when weighed with all the Biblical evidence regarding the prophecies of the “End of Days.”
The origins of the Mayan calendar are obscured by the mists of time. The Mayas themselves were adept skywatchers. Their classical period is thought to be from 200-900 A.D. However, large ruins with Mayan features have been found dating back to before the time of Christ, before the present era began. The Mayans attributed the origin of their incredibly complex calendar system to a people who existed before them, whose origin was lost in the dim past.
Researchers believe that the Mayan calendar actually hinges upon its calculated end point. What is so important about the winter solstice of 2012? The Milky Way seems to have played an important part in Mayan mythology. The Mayan Sacred Tree appears to be the crossing point of the sun’s path, the ecliptic, with the Milky Way. The conjunction of the sun with the Milky Way at the winter solstice in 2012 A.D. appears to have had apocalyptic significance. The crossing of the Milky Way with the ecliptic represents a doorway – pointing both to the sacred source and origin – the finishing of the old and the beginning of a new birth. Thus the world, in 2012, is pictured as being at a celestial “crossroads.”
To the Mesoamerican Mayas, the approach of the end of a World Age – the time when the winter solstice “Doorway” opened up the Sacred Tree to the Center of the Milky Way and the Heart of the Sky – was a very significant and epochal time. The Mayan Long Count was also known to the Yucatan Maya as a “prophecy cycle.”
Students of the Mayan calendar see this as confirmation that we are indeed living in the twilight of this present age and approaching the beginning of a New Age – the end of one prophetic cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. The Mayans stated that “time would collapse” at the end of their calendar cycle.
The “collapsing of time” is a mysterious phrase. How would time itself “collapse”? This could refer to ANOTHER GREAT CHANGE IN THE CALENDAR ITSELF!
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCQ3uMo7A2w
2012 doomsday Shelter Vivo & HAARP of Earth Quake
Vivos shelter system set to save a select few on 2012 doomsday
It’s the end of the world as we know but those at Vivos will survive. That’s the plan of founder Robert Vicino whose network of underground shelters are posed to save the human race with about 3,000 members.
Del Mar, United States – There’s 1000 days until the end of the world for those that believe Mayan and Hopi Indians. One California company is cashing in on doomsday with a network of underground shelters. The $200 million project has been named Vivos, the Latin word for to live. “The Vivos complexes are deep-underground, airtight, fully self-contained blast proof shelters, designed to survive virtually any catastrophe or threat scenario including: natural disasters, a nuclear blast, chemical and biological weapons, or even widespread social anarchy.” Each facility costs more than $10 million. Each shelter will house 172 to 200 people for up to a year. Members who are also co-owners, will reside in furnished living quarters, with semi-private bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens. Don’t worry if you’re one of those living below about getting bored with the menu abundant supply of gourmet foods for 1 year. That includes gourmet coffee. Unlike Noah’s Ark animals aren’t the main focus, but there is a DNA depository available for every living species on Earth in Vivos refrigerated vaults. The shelters should be finished by mid-2011 giving plenty of time for the Mayan deadline of life in 2012. Vicino is selecting people of all ages, ethnicities, religious beliefs, professions and skills to populate the shelters, designed for long-term comfort during the end of days. Those lucky enough to be selected won’t have to be bored as the rest of the world perishes instead they can catch a movie or hit the gym. “Disasters are rare and unexpected, but on any sort of long timeline, they’re inevitable. Where else would you go with just a few days’ notice?” Vicino concluded in a press release.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUxc2Uqzi2w&feature=player_embedded
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ahoPGzL50Q&feature=player_embedded
Evidence of previous pole shift and wandering poles on Earth. The Earth’s past is recorded in its Geology and Folklore, Mythology. Immanuel Velikovsky, Zecharia Sitchin, Anunnaki Sumerian Sumer Mayan Maya Inca Aztec Egypt Egyptian Pyramid ancient mutation extinction 2012 prophecy Doomsday prediction polar solar sun alignment Planet X Nibiru
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW9MTPKXrYw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGzGqb-nVvE&feature=player_embedded
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qA7U6-A14c
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gLckLFobyY@
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR6O3kJTqaI@Nibiru 2012 Pole Shift and Galactic Alignment is possible scientists say!!!!! Pole Shift and Galactic Alignment Obama Martial Law Beast Mark 666 paranormal supernatural spirit demon giant horror hell ghost scary antichrist death war exorcism heaven tribulation revelation apocalypse Armageddon catholic secret nwo 2010 Swine Flu New World Order Super Volcanoes Alien UFO Planet X Nibiru 2012 Doomsday Magnetic Storms Exposed prophecy end time meteorite impact rapture.
httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dyS6A-3kSI
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Do you think Apple Watch is a good time to change shapes?
via:威锋网 time:2017/8/15 16:38:28 readed:1542
As early as last year, there are rumors that Apple will give a new generation of Apple Watch and LTE communication module, make it more capable of independent operation, but the function of what effect is there is no answer, Samsung in a few years ago tried to insert the SIM card mobile phone, but the costs of electricity and increase machine body product, the user is not feel much use. The hardware of the watch is so weak that it is decided that people are still used to cutting out their cell phones. But later, due to battery life and other factors, Apple's program was temporarily stranded. This year, more than a month after the release of the new generation of Apple Watch, the device's integration of LTE functionality has emerged.
Apple plans to launch LTE Apple Watch this year, Bloomberg said in a news release earlier this month. In addition, often broke the news and high credibility of the John Gruber said, there is also a new shape design of Apple Watch in development. He was also cautious about the news, saying he was getting the news through well-informed sources, but it was impossible to prove how high the credibility of the news was.
But earlier today, from the well-known KGI securities analyst Guo Mingji said that he believes that Apple will release Apple Watch Seiries later in the year 3, but this product appearance does not have big change, just like iPad is divided into LTE and non LTE models. The new product will still have 38 millimeters and 42 millimeters in two sizes.
So, do you think the design of Apple Watch will change this year?
Apple Corp launched a new product category, Apple Watch, in 2014. At that time, the design of the product caused great controversy, the focus of both sides of the debate on the Apple Watch square fuselage. The unsupported side naturally believes that the Apple Watch should adopt a round body, one of the reasons is that the classic models of the famous watch makers are all round. In addition, at that time, Android camp also has many manufacturers launched round body smart watches, some users feel that contrast, or round version of the fuselage looks more comfortable.
The supported side thinks the square fuselage is higher than the round body in usability. Apple uses this design, on the one hand is functional needs, to display information and functional icons on the screen, the circle of the top and bottom of the circle narrow, difficult to use. Another point is that traditional table is round, is a single function, only to meet the need of hand rotation space, so the definition of smart meters need to consider the needs of more applications. However, no matter how controversial the outside world, apple still adhere to its own way, let others quarrel to go. On the second generation of Apple Watch, apple did not make any adjustments to the design of the device, the only change is that the body becomes a little bit thicker.
Now, in the third generation Apple Watch shape design will change this thing, the Apple community with the highest confidence two people have exposed the different news, for a time we also difficult to determine whether the Watch Apple variable is not changed.
If the shape design of Apple Watch has changed, it is not known what effects these changes will have. The interface and function of Apple Watch are set according to the current design of the fuselage, if the Apple Watch shape design of Apple adjustment, whether Apple or application developers, this change will bring about a series of changes and adjustment work. Although iPhone has had this precedent, from 3.5 inches iPhone to 4 inches iPhone, and then 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches iPhone, but these transition process will bring a lot of new work.
Of course, if the factors such as body thickness change, then, for developers, this change basically does not have any impact on them. Only if Apple apple to add the LTE module in the device, want to go up in the foundation to reduce the thickness of the body if it is too strong.
There is also the possibility that the LTE Apple Watch and the so called new shape design are completely different.
Suppose the LTE version follows the current Apple Watch's shape design, and the battery life can remain the same. Then Apple quotes the same energy-saving features of the LTE version on the non LTE version, so apple can then select one of the following features for this version of the Apple Watch:
The first option is to extend battery life, which will satisfy users who have been feeling that the Apple Watch battery is too short.
The second option is to reduce the battery capacity, so that the non LTE version of the Apple Watch fuselage becomes thinner. So, users who have been feeling Apple Watch are too happy this time, and may attract users who did not buy this device because Apple Watch is too thick before.
From Apple Corp in recent years, "thin a little thinner," the obsession to read, if you can choose, then Apple should choose to let Apple Watch turned thinner, rather than extended battery life.
In fact, for most Apple Watch users, they are satisfied with the current design of this device, that is, the thickness of the fuselage, in some cases really feel too thick, it seems a bit cumbersome. It would be great if Apple could design Apple Watch a little thinner.
What do you think? Apple Watch has been released this year for 3 years, do you think its shape design should change? Is this a big change or a minor change, or do you think the design is so classic now that there's no need to change it at all?
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Jesse Alexander Helms (born October 18, 1921, Monroe, North Carolina) is a former Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina.
3 Occupations before politics
4 Senate Career
5 After Politics
6 Awards and Achievements
Helms attended Wingate (NC) Junior College and Wake Forest College. He holds honorary Doctor of Law degrees from many universities including, Bob Jones University, Grove City College, Campbell University, and Wingate University.
He is married to the former Dorothy Jane Coble of Raleigh. He is the father of three children: Jane (Mrs. Charles R. Knox), Nancy (Mrs. John Stuart) of Raleigh and Charles of Winston-Salem, and has seven grandchildren.
Occupations before politics
During World War II Helms served in the United States Navy. Upon leaving the Navy, Helms held numerous positions in numerous fields. These included serving as the Director of the North Carolina Cerebral Palsy Hospital in Durham, the Director of the United Cerebral Palsy of North Carolina, the Director of the Wake County Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Center in Raleigh, serving on the Board of Trustees of Meredith College, John F. Kennedy College, Campbell University and Wingate College. He served as a deacon and a Sunday School teacher at Hayes Barton Baptist Church in Raleigh and was was one of the founders and serves as a director of Camp Willow Run, a Youth Camp for Christ at Littleton, North Carolina. From 1953 through 1960, Helms was Executive Director of the North Carolina Bankers Association.
In addition, he had an affinity for positions in journalism and broadcasting. These positions included the city editor of The Raleigh Times, the Director of News and Programs for the Tobacco Radio Network and Radio Station WRAL in Raleigh, and the editor of the Tarheel Banker. In 1952, Helms directed the radio-television division of the presidential campaign of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. of Georgia, who was seeking the United States Democratic Party nomination. He went on to become the Executive Vice President, Vice Chairman of the Board and assistant Chief Executive Officer of Capitol Broadcasting Company, Raleigh, North Carolina, from 1960 until his election to the Senate.
He also wrote and presented daily editorials on WRAL-TV and the Tobacco Radio Network. His editorials were printed regularly in more than 200 newspapers throughout the United States. They were broadcast by more than 70 radio stations in North Carolina.
Senate Career
Helms began his first term in the Senate in January 1973; was reelected to a second term on November 7, 1978; to a third term on November 6, 1984; a fourth term on November 6, 1990; and a fifth term on November 7, 1996. Helms retired on January 3, 2003. His seat was taken by Elizabeth Dole, a former Red Cross official, presidential cabinet member, and 2000 presidential candidate.
Helms is noted as a staunch conservative and as a rigid anti-Communist.
Helms's retirement was both applauded and mourned by the homosexual community. His anti-gay stance was well-known, but many homosexuals appreciated that his vitriol was so great that it drew mass opposition in their favor. He voted to reject Roberta Achtenberg, President Bill Clinton's nominee for a position at the Department of Housing and Urban Development. When asked by a newspaper why, Helms replied, "because she is a damn lesbian." Oddly enough, celebrated gay writer Armistead Maupin once worked for him at WRAL-TV. In addition, his campaign manager for many of his electoral victories was Arthur Finkelstein who was outed in 1996 as a homosexual who later married his male partner in 2004.
After Politics
Since retiring from the Senate in 2003, Helms has continued working with the Jesse Helms Center in Union County. In September, 2005, Random House is expected to publish Here's Where I Stand, Helms' 303 page personal memoir.[1] (http://www.newsobserver.com/politics/story/2485637p-8889388c.html)
North Carolina Press Association Award for Enterprising Reporting (1941) was awarded to Helms at age 20, making him the youngest reporter, up to that time, to win the award.
The Annual Freedoms Foundation Award for Television Editorial Judged Best in America (1962)
The Golden Gavel (1973 & 1974) for presiding over the Senate for 117 hours in 1973 and 120 hours in 1974.
The Gold Medal of Merit from the Veterans of Foreign Wars
The North Carolina American Legionaire Award
Legislator of the Year Award by Christians for a Better America (1980)
National Man of the Year in Politics by Christian Voice, Inc. (1980)
North Carolina Public Service Award (1980)
Most Admired Conservative in Congress by readers of Conservative Digest (1980, 1981, 1982)
American Security Council Award (1982)
Conservative Caucus 97th Congress Statesman Award (1983)
The Golden Eagle Award from the American Federation of Police (1987)
The "Spirit of Enterprise" Award from the US Chamber of Commerce (1989)
The Guardian of Small Business Award from the National Federation of Independent Business
The Watchdog of the Treasury Award from the National Associated Businessmen (every year since 1973)
The Taxpayer's Best Friend Award from the National Taxpayers' Union (ever year since 1981)
Former President of the Raleigh Rotary Club
Former President of the Raleigh Executives Club
33rd Degree Freemason, Grand Lodge of Masons of North Carolina (Grand Orator 1965, 1982, 1991)
Shriner
On Bill Clinton:
"No, I do not. And neither do the people in the armed forces. Mr. Clinton better watch out if he comes down here. He'd better have a bodyguard." - Spoken on the 31st anniversary of the Kennedy assassination when asked on CNN if he thought President Clinton was "up to the job" of serving as the commander-in-chief[11/23/94]
On "Latins":
"All Latins are volatile people. Hence, I was not surprised at the volatile reaction." - Stated by Helms after Mexicans protested his visit to Mexico in 1986 to investigate allegations of political corruption
On his beliefs:
"I fight for what I believe. If you are not willing to stand up for what you believe, your beliefs are not strong enough." (1984)
On The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
"The University of Negroes and Communists." - Helms' name for the school during the mid-1960's, shortly after it began admitting black students. (FAIR 9/1/01, National Review 8/23/01)
On diversity:
"White people, wake up before it is too late. Do you want Negroes working beside you, your wife and your daughters, in your mills and factories? Frank Graham favors mingling of the races." - From an attack ad Helms helped create while working on the 1950 campaign of Republican Willis Smith against Democrat Frank Porter Graham. Another ad featured photographs Helms himself had doctored to illustrate the allegation that Graham's wife had danced with a black man. (FAIR 9/1/01, The News and Observer 8/26/01)
The Jesse Helms Center (http://www.jessehelmscenter.org/index.asp)
B. Everett Jordan U.S. Senator (Class 1) from North Carolina
1973-2003 Succeeded by:
Elizabeth Dole
Template:End box
Retrieved from "http://footwww.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Jesse_Helms"
Categories: 1921 births | American World War II veterans | People from North Carolina | United States Senators
This page was last modified 01:26, 12 Jun 2005.
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»Statutes Related
46.03(34) (34) Fetal alcohol syndrome and drug danger information. The department shall acquire, without cost if possible, information that describes the causes and effects of fetal alcohol syndrome and the dangers to a fetus from the mother's use of cocaine or other drugs during pregnancy and shall distribute the information free of charge to each county clerk so that each county clerk may provide information to marriage license applicants under s. 765.12 (1) (a) and domestic partnership applicants under s. 770.07 (2).
46.03(37) (37) First aid instruction. In connection with first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation instruction to fitness center employees required under s. 100.178, do all of the following:
46.03(37)(a) (a) Promulgate rules establishing standards and procedures under s. 100.178 (5) (a) to (c).
46.03(37)(b) (b) Approve individuals, organizations or institutions of higher education which teach fitness center employees basic first aid and basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation under s. 100.178 (2).
46.03(38) (38) Automatic external defibrillator instruction. Approve individuals, organizations, or institutions of higher education to provide instruction in the use of an automated external defibrillator, as defined in s. 256.15 (1) (cr), for persons who are required as a condition of licensure, certification, or registration to have current proficiency in the use of an automatic external defibrillator.
46.03(40) (40) Grants for pilot programs or demonstration projects. Comply with all of the following whenever the department provides a grant after August 15, 1991, for a pilot program or demonstration project:
46.03(40)(a) (a) State on the grant application that the funding for the program or project will be provided by the department once or for a limited period of time, whichever is applicable.
46.03(40)(b) (b) Require the applicant to provide, as part of the grant application, a plan that describes:
46.03(40)(b)1. 1. How activities funded by the grant will be phased out or how the program or project will be eliminated; or
46.03(40)(b)2. 2. What other funding sources will be available to support the program or project when state funding is eliminated.
46.03(41) (41) Consolidation of allocated tribal funds. The department may consolidate funds appropriated under s. 20.435 that are authorized or required to be allocated to federally recognized American Indian tribes or bands into a single distribution for each tribe or band in each fiscal year.
46.03(42) (42) Administrative hearings and appeals. Any hearing under s. 227.42 granted by the department may be conducted before the division of hearings and appeals in the department of administration.
46.03(43) (43) Compulsive gambling awareness campaigns. From the appropriation account under s. 20.435 (5) (kg), award grants to one or more individuals or organizations in the private sector to conduct compulsive gambling awareness campaigns.
46.03(44) (44) Sexually transmitted disease treatment information. Prepare and keep current an information sheet to be distributed to a patient by a physician, physician assistant, or certified advanced practice nurse prescriber providing expedited partner therapy to that patient under s. 448.035. The information sheet shall include information about sexually transmitted diseases and their treatment and about the risk of drug allergies. The information sheet shall also include a statement advising a person with questions about the information to contact his or her physician, pharmacist, or local health department, as defined in s. 250.01 (4).
46.03 History History: 1971 c. 270 s. 104; 1973 c. 90; 1973 c. 284 ss. 2, 32; 1973 c. 333; 1975 c. 39, 82; 1975 c. 189 s. 99 (1), (2); 1975 c. 224, 377, 413, 422; 1977 c. 29, 193; 1977 c. 196 s. 131; 1977 c. 203, 205, 271, 354; 1977 c. 418 ss. 287 to 289m, 924 (18) (d); 1977 c. 447, 449; 1979 c. 32 s. 92 (1); 1979 c. 34; 1979 c. 175 s. 46; 1979 c. 221, 331, 352; 1981 c. 20, 81; 1981 c. 314 s. 144; 1981 c. 390; 1983 a. 27, 193; 1983 a. 435 s. 7; 1983 a. 447, 474; 1983 a. 532 s. 36; 1985 a. 19, 29, 120, 176, 234, 285, 328, 331; 1985 a. 332 s. 251 (3); 1987 a. 3, 5, 27, 161, 186, 307, 339, 385, 399, 403, 413; 1989 a. 31 ss. 938m to 951, 2909g, 2909i; 1989 a. 56, 105, 107, 122; 1991 a. 39, 277; 1993 a. 16 ss. 851 to 859, 3072d; 1993 a. 98, 377, 385, 446, 481; 1995 a. 27 ss. 2026m to 2038b, 9126 (19); 1995 a. 77, 201, 225, 352, 370, 404, 448; 1997 a. 3, 27, 111, 283, 292; 1999 a. 9, 83; 2001 a. 16, 59, 61, 109; 2003 a. 33; 2005 a. 25, 293, 406; 2005 a. 443 s. 265; 2007 a. 20 ss. 800 to 823, 9121 (6) (a); 2007 a. 96, 104; 2009 a. 28, 180, 280; 2011 a. 32; 2013 a. 20, 246; 2015 a. 55, 162, 170; 2017 a. 204.
46.03 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also DHS 1- and DHS 30-, Wis. adm. code.
46.03 Annotation The legislative intent underlying sub. (22) (d) supports a holding that a community living arrangement with a capacity of 10 persons was not barred by a deed covenant limiting use to a single-family residence. Crowley v. Knapp, 94 Wis. 2d 421, 288 N.W.2d 815 (1980).
46.03 Annotation Sections 46.03 (18) and 46.10 do not constitute an unlawful delegation of legislative power. In Matter of Guardianship of Klisurich, 98 Wis. 2d 274, 296 N.W.2d 742 (1980).
46.03 Annotation Retroactive application of sub. (22) is constitutional. Overlook Farms v. Alternative Living, 143 Wis. 2d 485, 422 N.W.2d 131 (Ct. App. 1988).
46.03 Annotation Sub. (18) and s. 46.10 (3) permit the department to promulgate rules that consider non-liable family members' incomes in determining a liable family member's ability to pay. In Interest of A.L.W. 153 Wis. 2d 412, 451 N.W.2d 416 (1990).
46.03 Annotation Sub. (18) (b) imposes liability upon minors and parents for the costs of services, but does not give counties an automatic right of recovery. Section 46.10 governs enforcement procedure and allows courts to exercise discretion. In Matter of S.E. Trust, 159 Wis. 2d 709, 465 N.W.2d 231 (Ct. App. 1990).
46.03 Annotation The uniform fee system under sub. (18) and s. 46.10 allows imputing income and, consequently, looking beyond tax returns to determine ability to pay. Interest of Kevin C. 181 Wis. 2d 146, 510 N.W.2d 746 (Ct. App. 1993).
46.03 Annotation “Prisons and jails" as used in sub. (22) (a) are defined. 69 Atty. Gen. 52.
46.031 46.031 County social service and mental hygiene budget and contract.
46.031(1)(1) Budget.
46.031(1)(a)(a) Each county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42 or 51.437 shall submit to the department by December 31 annually its final budget for services directly provided or purchased.
46.031(1)(b) (b) The department shall submit a model of the contract under sub. (2g) (a) to each county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42 and 51.437 by May 1 annually.
46.031(2) (2) Assessment of needs. Before developing and submitting a proposed budget to the county executive or county administrator or the county board or the Milwaukee County mental health board, the county departments listed in sub. (1) shall assess needs and inventory resources and services, using an open public participation process.
46.031(2g) (2g) Contract.
46.031(2g)(a) (a) The department shall annually submit to the county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board in Milwaukee County for matters related to mental health, or the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department a proposed written contract containing the allocation of funds and such administrative requirements as necessary. The contract as approved may contain conditions of participation consistent with federal and state law. The contract may also include provisions necessary to ensure uniform cost accounting of services. Any changes to the proposed contract shall be mutually agreed upon. The county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board in Milwaukee County for matters related to mental health, or the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department shall approve the contract before January 1 of the year in which it takes effect unless the department grants an extension. The county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board in Milwaukee County, or the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department may designate an agent to approve addenda to any contract after the contract has been approved.
46.031(2g)(b) (b) The department may not approve contracts for amounts in excess of available revenues. The county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board in Milwaukee County for matters related to mental health, or the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department may appropriate funds not used to match state funds under ss. 46.495 (1) (d) and 51.423. Actual expenditure of county funds shall be reported in compliance with procedures developed by the department, and shall comply with standards guaranteeing quality of care comparable to similar facilities.
46.031(2g)(c) (c) The joint committee on finance may require the department to submit contracts between county departments under ss. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42 and 51.437 and providers of service to the committee for review and approval.
46.031(2r) (2r) Withholding funds.
46.031(2r)(a) (a) The department, after reasonable notice, may withhold a portion of the appropriation allocated to a county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42 or 51.437 if the department determines that that portion of the allocated appropriation:
46.031(2r)(a)1. 1. Is for services which duplicate or are inconsistent with services being provided or purchased by the department or other county departments receiving grants-in-aid or reimbursement from the department.
46.031(2r)(a)2. 2. Is inconsistent with state or federal statutes, rules or regulations, in which case the department may also arrange for provision of services by an alternate agency. The department may not arrange for provision of services by an alternate agency unless the joint committee on finance or a review body designated by the committee reviews and approves the department's determination.
46.031(2r)(a)3. 3. Is for the treatment of alcoholics or persons who are drug dependent in treatment facilities which have not been approved by the department in accordance with s. 51.45 (8).
46.031(2r)(a)4. 4. Is for inpatient treatment in excess of an average of 21 days, as provided in s. 51.423 (12), excluding care for patients at the centers for the developmentally disabled.
46.031(2r)(a)5. 5. Is inconsistent with the provisions of the county department's contract under sub. (2g).
46.031(2r)(b) (b) If the department withholds a portion of the allocable appropriation under par. (a), the county department affected by the action of the department may submit to the county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department or to its designated agent, to the Milwaukee County mental health board if related to mental health in Milwaukee County, or to the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department or their designated agents a plan to rectify the deficiency found by the department. The county board of supervisors or its designated agent in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board if related to mental health, or the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department or their designated agents may approve or amend the plan and may submit for departmental approval the plan as adopted. If a multicounty department is administering a program, the plan may not be submitted unless each county board of supervisors which participated in the establishment of the multicounty department, or its designated agent, adopts it.
46.031(3) (3) Open public participation process.
46.031(3)(a)(a) Citizen advisory committee. Except as provided in par. (b), the county board of supervisors of each county, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or the county boards of supervisors of 2 or more counties jointly shall establish a citizen advisory committee to the county departments under ss. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42, and 51.437. The citizen advisory committee shall advise in the formulation of the budget under sub. (1). Membership on the committee shall be determined by the county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county committee, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or by the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty committee and shall include representatives of those persons receiving services, providers of service and citizens. A majority of the members of the committee shall be citizen and service consumers. The committee's membership may not consist of more than 25 percent county supervisors, nor of more than 20 percent service providers. The chairperson of the committee shall be appointed by the county board of supervisors establishing it or by the Milwaukee County mental health board, if it establishes the committee. In the case of a multicounty committee, the chairperson shall be nominated by the committee and approved by the county boards of supervisors establishing it. The county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county committee or the county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty committee may designate an agent to determine the membership of the committee and to appoint the committee chairperson or approve the nominee.
46.031(3)(b) (b) Alternate process. The county board of supervisors, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or the boards of 2 or more counties acting jointly may submit a report to the department on the open public participation process used under sub. (2). The county board of supervisors or the Milwaukee County mental health board may designate an agent, or the boards of 2 or more counties acting jointly may designate an agent, to submit the report. If the department approves the report, establishment of a citizen advisory committee under par. (a) is not required.
46.031(3)(c) (c) Yearly report. The county board of supervisors or its designated agent, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or the boards of 2 or more counties acting jointly or their designated agent, shall submit to the department a list of members of the citizen advisory committee under par. (a) or a report on the open public participation process under par. (b) on or before July 1 of each year.
46.031 History History: 1977 c. 29 ss. 543, 544b; 1977 c. 418; 1979 c. 34 s. 2102 (20) (b); 1979 c. 221 ss. 337 to 347m, 2202 (20); 1979 c. 336, 355; 1981 c. 20 ss. 741 to 745, 2202 (20) (a); 1983 a. 27; 1985 a. 29 ss. 808, 3200 (56), 3202 (23); 1985 a. 120, 176, 332; 1993 a. 16; 1995 a. 27, 225; 2007 a. 20; 2013 a. 203; 2017 a. 34.
46.034 46.034 Authority to establish services integration and coordination pilot programs.
46.034(1)(1) The department, in order to discharge more effectively its responsibilities under this chapter and chs. 51, 250, and 251 and other relevant provisions of the statutes, may establish community human services pilot programs for the study, implementation, and evaluation of improved human services delivery systems. In the implementation of those pilot programs, the requirement of statewide uniformity with respect to the organization and governance of human services shall not apply. The department and local governmental bodies may establish such departments, boards, committees, organizational structures, and procedures as may be needed to implement the pilot programs. The departments, boards, committees, and organizational structures may assume responsibilities currently assigned by statute to the departments, boards, committees, or organizational structures that are replaced.
46.034(2) (2) The number of pilot programs shall be limited by the department's capacity to coordinate and adequately monitor pilot activities and by the availability of state and federal funds.
46.034(3) (3) With the agreement of the affected county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department, effective for the contract period beginning January 1, 1980, the department may approve a county with a single-county department or counties participating in a multicounty department to administer a single consolidated aid consisting of the state and federal financial aid available to that county or those counties from appropriations under s. 20.435 (7) (b) and (o) for services provided and purchased by county departments under ss. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42, and 51.437. Under such an agreement, in the interest of improved service coordination and effectiveness, the county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department may reallocate among county departments under ss. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42, and 51.437 funds that otherwise would be specified for use by a single county department. The budget under s. 46.031 (1) shall be the vehicle for expressing the proposed use of the single consolidated fund by the county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board, as applicable, or county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department. Approval by the department of this use of the fund shall be in the contract under s. 46.031 (2g). Counties that were selected by the department to pilot test consolidated aids for contract periods beginning January 1, 1978, may continue or terminate consolidation with the agreement of the affected county board of supervisors in a county with a single-county department, the Milwaukee County mental health board, or county boards of supervisors in counties with a multicounty department.
46.034 History History: 1975 c. 39; 1977 c. 29, 418; 1979 c. 34; 1981 c. 20, 390; 1983 a. 27 s. 2202 (20); 1985 a. 120, 176, 332; 1987 a. 27 s. 724e; Stats. 1987 s. 46.034; 1989 a. 31; 1993 a. 27; 1997 a. 27; 2001 a. 16; 2005 a. 25; 2007 a. 20; 2013 a. 203.
46.035 46.035 Department, additional powers to provide structures, facilities and permanent improvements.
46.035(1)(1) As used in this section unless the context requires otherwise:
46.035(1)(a) (a) The term “existing building" in relation to any conveyance, lease or sublease made under sub. (2) (a), (b), and (c) means all detention, treatment, administrative, recreational, infirmary, hospital, vocational and academic buildings; all dormitories and cottages; all storage facilities, heating plants, sewage disposal plants, and such other buildings, structures, facilities and permanent improvements as in the judgment of the secretary are needed or useful for the purposes of the department, and all equipment therefor and all improvements and additions thereto which were erected, constructed or installed prior to the making of such conveyance, lease or sublease.
46.035(1)(b) (b) The term “new building" in relation to any conveyance, lease or sublease made under sub. (2) (a), (b), and (c) means all detention, treatment, administrative, recreational, infirmary, hospital, vocational and academic buildings; all dormitories and cottages; all storage facilities, heating plants, sewage disposal plants, and such other buildings, structures, facilities and permanent improvements as in the judgment of the secretary are needed or useful for the purposes of the department, and all equipment therefor and all improvements and additions thereto which are erected, constructed or installed after the making of such conveyance, lease or sublease.
46.035(1)(c) (c) The term “nonprofit corporation" means a nonstock corporation that is organized under ch. 181 and that is a nonprofit corporation, as defined in s. 181.0103 (17).
46.035(2) (2) In order to provide new buildings and to enable the construction and financing thereof, to refinance indebtedness hereafter created by a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of providing a new building or buildings or additions or improvements thereto which are located on land owned by, or owned by the state and held for, the department or on lands of the institutions under the jurisdiction of the department or by the nonprofit corporation, or for any one or more of said purposes, but for no other purpose unless authorized by law, the department has, subject to s. 16.848, the following powers and duties:
46.035(2)(a) (a) Without limitation by reason of any other provisions of the statutes except ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.848 (1), the power to sell and to convey title in fee simple to a nonprofit corporation any land and any existing buildings thereon owned by, or owned by the state and held for, the department or of any of the institutions under the jurisdiction of the department for such consideration and upon such terms and conditions as in the judgment of the secretary are in the public interest.
46.035(2)(b) (b) The power to lease to a nonprofit corporation for a term or terms not exceeding 50 years each any land and any existing buildings thereon owned by, or owned by the state and held for, the department or of any of the institutions under the jurisdiction of the department upon such terms and conditions as in the judgment of the secretary are in the public interest.
46.035(2)(c) (c) The power to lease or sublease from such nonprofit corporation, and to make available for public use, any such land and existing buildings conveyed or leased to such nonprofit corporation under pars. (a) and (b), and any new buildings erected upon such land or upon any other land owned by such nonprofit corporation, upon such terms, conditions and rentals, subject to available appropriations, as in the judgment of the secretary are in the public interest. With respect to any property conveyed to such nonprofit corporation under par. (a), such lease from such nonprofit corporation may be subject or subordinated to one or more mortgages of such property granted by such nonprofit corporation.
46.035(2)(d) (d) The duty to submit the plans and specifications for all such new buildings and all conveyances, leases and subleases made under this subsection to the department of administration and the governor for written approval before they are finally adopted, executed and delivered.
46.035(2)(e) (e) The power to pledge and assign all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of such new buildings as security for the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease of such new buildings under par. (c).
46.035(2)(f) (f) The power to covenant and agree in any lease or sublease of such new buildings made under par. (c) to impose fees, rentals or other charges for the use and occupancy or other operation of such new buildings in an amount calculated to produce net revenues sufficient to pay the rentals due and to become due under such lease or sublease.
46.035(2)(g) (g) The power to apply all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of existing buildings to the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease made under par. (c).
46.035(2)(h) (h) The power to pledge and assign all or any part of the revenues derived from the operation of existing buildings to the payment of rentals due and to become due under any lease or sublease made under par. (c).
46.035(2)(i) (i) The power to covenant and agree in any lease or sublease made under par. (c) to impose fees, rentals or other charges for the use and occupancy or other operation of existing buildings in an amount calculated to produce net revenues sufficient to pay the rentals due and to become due under such lease or sublease.
46.035(2)(j) (j) The power and duty, upon receipt of notice of any assignment by any such nonprofit corporation of any lease or sublease made under par. (c), or of any of its rights under any such sublease, to recognize and give effect to such assignment, and to pay to the assignee thereof rentals or other payments then due or which may become due under any such lease or sublease which has been so assigned by such nonprofit corporation.
46.035(3) (3) The state is liable for accrued rentals and for any other default under any lease or sublease made under sub. (2) (c), and may be sued therefor on contract as in other contract actions pursuant to ch. 775, except that it is not necessary for the lessor under any such lease or sublease or any assignee of such lessor or any person or other legal entity proceeding on behalf of such lessor to file any claim with the legislature prior to the commencement of any such action.
46.035(4) (4) Nothing in this section empowers the secretary or the department to incur any state debt.
46.035(5) (5) All laws, except s. 16.848 and ch. 150, that conflict with any provisions of this section, are, insofar as they conflict with this section and no further, superseded by this section.
46.035 History History: 1975 c. 39 ss. 341, 732 (2); 1977 c. 29; 1979 c. 32 s. 92 (5); 1989 a. 31, 107; 1997 a. 79; 2005 a. 25; 2013 a. 20.
46.036 46.036 Purchase of care and services.
46.036(1)(1) All care and services purchased by the department or by a county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, 46.23, 51.42, or 51.437, except as provided under subch. III of ch. 49 and s. 301.08 (2), shall be authorized and contracted for under the standards established under this section. The department may require the county departments to submit the contracts to the department for review and approval. For purchases of $10,000 or less the requirement for a written contract may be waived by the department. When the department directly contracts for services, it shall follow the procedures in this section in addition to meeting purchasing requirements established in s. 16.75.
46.036(2) (2) All care and services purchased shall meet standards established by the department and other requirements specified by purchaser in the contract. Based on these standards the department shall establish standards for cost accounting and management information systems that shall monitor the utilization of such services, and document the specific services in meeting the service plan for the client and the objective of the service.
46.036(3) (3)
46.036(3)(a)(a) Purchase of service contracts shall be written in accordance with rules promulgated and procedures established by the department. Contracts for client services shall show the total dollar amount to be purchased and for each service the number of clients to be served, number of client service units, the unit rate per client service and the total dollar amount for each service.
46.036(3)(b) (b) Payments under a contract may be made on the basis of actual allowable costs or on the basis of a unit rate per client service multiplied by the actual client units furnished each month. The contract may be renegotiated when units vary from the contracted number. The purchaser shall determine actual marginal costs for each service unit less than or in addition to the contracted number.
46.036(3)(c) (c) For proprietary agencies, contracts may include a percentage add-on for profit according to rules promulgated by the department.
46.036(3)(d) (d) Reimbursement to an agency may be based on total costs agreed to by the parties regardless of the actual number of service units to be furnished, when the agency is entering into a contract for a new or expanded service that the purchaser recognizes will require a start-up period not to exceed 180 days. Such reimbursement applies only if identified client needs necessitate the establishment of a new service or expansion of an existing service.
46.036(3)(e) (e) If the purchaser finds it necessary to terminate a contract prior to the contract expiration date for reasons other than nonperformance by the provider, actual cost incurred by the provider may be reimbursed for an amount determined by mutual agreement of the parties.
46.036(3)(f) (f) Advance payments of up to one-twelfth of an annual contract may be allowed under the contract. If the advance payment exceeds $10,000, the provider shall supply a surety bond for an amount equal to the amount of the advance payment applied for. No surety bond is required if the provider is a state agency. The cost of the surety bond shall be allowable as an expense.
46.036(3)(g) (g) Notwithstanding pars. (b) and (d), if a county has an existing system, approved by the department, to monitor and assess the outcomes of a contract and if the county is so authorized by the department, the county may contract with providers to pay in advance or after provision of services a fixed amount for each person served by the provider in return for a defined set of expected outcomes that are determined by the county.
46.036(4) (4) For purposes of this section and as a condition of reimbursement, each provider under contract shall:
46.036(4)(a) (a) Except as provided in this paragraph, maintain a uniform double entry accounting system and a management information system which are compatible with cost accounting and control systems prescribed by the department.
46.036(4)(b) (b) Cooperate with the department and purchaser in establishing costs for reimbursement purposes.
46.036(4)(c) (c) Unless waived by the department, biennially, or annually if required under federal law, provide the purchaser with a certified financial and compliance audit report if the care and services purchased exceed $100,000. The audit shall follow standards that the department prescribes.
46.036(4)(d) (d) Transfer a client from one category of care or service to another only with the approval of the purchaser.
46.036(4)(e) (e) Charge a uniform schedule of fees as defined under s. 46.03 (18) unless waived by the purchaser with approval of the department. Whenever providers recover funds attributed to the client, such funds shall offset the amount paid under the contract.
46.036(5) (5) Except as provided under sub. (5m), the purchaser shall recover from provider agencies money paid in excess of the conditions of the contract from subsequent payments made to the provider.
46.036(5m) (5m)
/statutes/statutes/46 true statutes /statutes/statutes/46/031/2g/a Chs. 46-58, Charitable, Curative, Reformatory and Penal Institutions and Agencies statutes/46.031(2g)(a) statutes/46.031(2g)(a) section true
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2017-18 Wisconsin Statutes updated through 2019 Wis. Act 5 and through all Supreme Court and Controlled Substances Board Orders filed before and in effect on April 21, 2019. Published and certified under s. 35.18. Changes effective after June 1, 2019, are designated by NOTES. (Published 6-1-19)
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Joomla! Security Strike Team
The Joomla! Project has assembled a top-notch team of experts to form the new Joomla! Security Strike Team. This new team will solely focus on investigating and resolving security issues. Instead of working in relative secrecy, the JSST will have a strong public-facing presence at the Joomla! Security Center.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 07 July 2007 09:54
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Archive | Fingerpicking RSS feed for this section
Rare 78s Found of Blind Blake’s Lost Sessions
By Mokai on August 26, 2009 in Acoustic Guitar, Blind Blake, Country Blues, Fingerpicking, Fingerstyle Blues, Fingerstyle Guitar, Great Folk-Blues Players
Rare 78 rpm record has been found–the only known copy of some of Blind Blake’s final recordings that had never been compiled into a modern collection.
The two songs, A and B sides of a recording issued in 1932, were among the last Blake recorded. “Night and Day” and “Sun to Sun”
What is Fingerstyle Guitar Anyway?
By Mokai on July 29, 2009 in Acoustic Guitar, Country Blues, Fingerpicking, Fingerstyle Blues, Fingerstyle Guitar, Folk Blues, Great Folk-Blues Players, Guitar Obsession, Modern Fingerstyle Players, Piedmont Blues, Vicki Genfan
A discussion of fingerstyle techniques, categorization, and the advent of modern fingerstyle, percussive guitar. The music of Vicki Genfan.
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AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sonny & Cher
Artist:Sonny & Cher
Song:The Beat Goes On
Album:The Beat Goes On: The Best Of Sonny & Cher
I think most folks remember Sonny & Cher more for their 70s variety show than anything else. It turns out that in the 60s they only had two top ten hits, I Got You Babe and The Beat Goes On. And though I Got You Babe was a bigger hit, The Beat Goes On is considered to be Sonny Bono's signature song. It was played at his funeral. They also had a couple of top ten hits in the early 70s. I thought they had more hits than that. Salvatore "Sonny" Bono was born Feb. 16, 1935 in Detroit and went to high school in Inglewood, CA. After one of his songs was recorded by Sam Cooke, Bono worked for Phil Spector and co-wrote Needles and Pins with Jack Nitzsche which was a hit for Jackie DeShannon and then The Searchers. Meanwhile he met Cherilyn Sarkisan in a Los Angeles coffee shop in 1962. They married and he brought her in to sing backup on Phil Spector records. They started out recording as Caesar and Cleo. When that didn't take off, they recorded Baby Don't Go and that was a regional hit. Sonny also had a solo hit with Laugh At Me. They signed with Atco Records and their first single I Got You Babe topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1965. They seemed to have trouble following that. A couple of singles reached the top 20 but The Beat Goes On was their only other top ten hit in 1967. It reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. Things went south at Atco when they made the 1967 film Good Times. The film bombed and Atco dropped them in 1968. Sonny & Cher became big stars in Las Vegas and then in 1970, CBS programming head Fred Silverman saw them host The Merv Griffin Show and offered them a variety show. It ran for three years until their marriage fell apart. They also signed with Kapp Records and had top ten hits with All I Ever Need Is You and A Cowboy's Work Is Never Done in 1972. Cher also started recording solo and of course she has had a long career. This budget comp has their Atco recordings only. Rhino did release a 2CD comp containing Atco and Kapp recording but it is no longer in print. Sonny & Cher divorced in 1975 and reunited occasionally. Sonny Bono did some acting on TV before he became a California congressman and died on Jan. 5, 1998 as the result of a skiing accident. Here's Sonny & Cher performing The Beat Goes On on a French TV show 1967.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Sylvers
Artist:The Sylvers
Song:Boogie Fever
Album:The Best Of The Sylvers
Of course The Sylvers are frequently compared to The Jacksons because they are also a family group. Nine of the ten Sylvers siblings were in The Sylvers. They had success on the R & B charts in the 70s and Boogie Fever was their only number one pop hit in 1976. The Sylvers were originally from Memphis but the family moved to Los Angeles in the early 60s. Generally, the oldest brother Leon Sylvers III was the group leader. He played bass and wrote a lot of the songs. Along with sisters Olan and Charmaine and brother James, they performed in LA as Little Angels. They appeared on TV and recorded a couple of singles. By 1970, Edmund and Ricky were added to the act. After winning a local talent contest, they signed with MGM Records and MGM President Mike Curb changed the group name to The Sylvers. They recorded three albums for MGM and though a couple of singles like Wish That I Could Talk To You did well on the R & B charts, The Sylvers didn't break through to the pop charts. By this time sisters Angie and Pat and youngest brother Foster were added to the group. Foster recorded a couple of solo albums for MGM and he was obviously supposed to remind you of Michael Jackson. In 1975, The Sylvers signed with Capitol Records and Capitol vice president Larkin Arnold hired producer Freddie Perren away from Motown. Of course Perren produced The Jackson 5. Arnold suggested that Perren record a song with the word boogie in it. Perren wrote Boogie Fever with partner Ken St. Lewis. Boogie Fever topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1976. Legendary Motown bassist James Jamerson stole the bass line from The Beatles' Day Tripper. Their other top five hit was Hot Line in 1976. Charmaine left in 1976. For their 1977 album New Horizons, The Sylvers chose not to work with Perren and Leon took over as producer. The album didn't do well and when Capitol rejected the next album, they moved to Casablanca Records. Then Leon took a house producer position with the new label SOLAR Records owned by Soul Train host Don Cornelius. He had a lot of success there in the 80s. The Sylvers continued but recorded their final album for Geffen in 1984. You can get all their Capitol hits on this budget comp. Boogie Fever got a big boost when it appeared in the 2010 film Despicable Me. Leon Sylvers had a lot of success producing SOLAR Records acts in the 80s. After a dry spell, he worked with Blackstreet in the 90s and most recently produced N'Dambi's 2009 CD Pink Elephant. Edmund Sylvers died in 2004 but the others have done studio work over the years and they even appeared on the TV One reality show Unsung in 2011. Leon Sylvers announced plans to produce the next generation of The Sylvers featuring his son Leon Sylvers IV. Here's The Sylvers performing Boogie Fever on The Midnight Special 1976.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Burton Cummings
Artist:Burton Cummings
Song:Stand Tall
Album:Burton Cummings
Of course Burton Cummings is best known as the lead singer and keyboard player for the legendary Canadian band The Guess Who. But he also had success as a solo artist after they split up in 1975. Stand Tall was his only top ten hit in 1976. He was born Dec. 31, 1947 in Winnipeg. Cummings recorded with The Deverons in the early 60s. The Guess Who recorded at the same studio in Minneapolis. Cummings was hired by The Guess Who to replace pianist Bob Ashley in 1965. Then Chad Allen left and Cummings became the new lead singer. Of course The Guess Who were very successful and Cummings wrote many of their hits with guitarist Randy Bachman including These Eyes. After Bachman left The Guess Who to form Brave Belt and then Bachman Turner Overdrive, The Guess Who began a decline that led to their 1975 split. Cummings signed with Columbia and Burton Cummings was his 1976 debut album. Stand Tall reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was his only significant US hit. His subsequent albums sold well in Canada but he stalled elsewhere. He continued to record in the 80s with decreasing success. The Burton Cummings album is available as a budget CD with two bonus tracks. Cummings toured with a reformed Guess Who in 2001 and he has also toured and recorded with Randy Bachman as The Bachman-Cummings Band. Cummings was named to the Order Of Canada in 2009 and received a star on Canada's Walk Of Fame in Oct. 2011. He last recorded in 2008 but I'm sure we'll hear from this Canadian music legend again. Here's Burton Cummings performing Stand Tall 1976.
Happy Hour joshi trainee Miwako Nomura dead at 21
RIP Miwako Nomura
I am sorry to report that Happy Hour trainee Miwako Nomura died at age 21 on Dec. 27. Happy Hour is the offshoot of Womens Pro Wrestling Diana owned by retired AJW and Pro Wrestling Sun wrestler Hikaru. Hikaru introduced Nomura in September with plans to debut her in December. That was delayed until March as the December show was cancelled. Nomura's athletic background was in softball. According to the police investigation, Nomura complained of headaches on November 15. She went to hospital and was cleared. The next day, she collapsed during practice and was rushed to the hospital. She underwent surgery for a cerebral hemorrhage and never regained consciousness. Cause of death seems to be acute heart failure but police are still investigating and will issue an official statement in January. Her death is being treated as an accident and it does not appear that there will be any criminal charges. My guess is they are trying to determine if a blow to the head led to Nomura's death. Hikaru hasn't issued a statement so I'm not sure how this death affects Happy Hour's future. But it's always a sad day when a wrestler dies and this girl never got the chance to make her debut. RIP Miwako Nomura.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-John Anderson
Artist:John Anderson
Song:Swingin'
Album:RCA Country Legends
John Anderson was a fixture on the country music charts in the 80s and 90s. Swingin' was one of his five number one country hits and is considered his signature song. He was born Dec. 13, 1954 in Apopka, FL which is a suburb of Orlando. He played in rock bands until he discovered Merle Haggard at age 15 and then turned to country music. His sound is in the tradition of honky tonkers like Haggard. He moved to Nashville in 1971 and played clubs at night while working during the day. Anderson signed with Warner Bros. in 1977 and his first top 40 country music hit was The Girl At The End Of The Bar in 1978. Anderson became a fixture in the top ten with songs like 1959, I'm Just An Old Chunk Of Coal and Chicken Truck. But his 1982 album Wild & Blue launched him to country music stardom. The title song was his first number one country music hit but Swingin' not only reached number one on the country music charts but it crossed over to pop and reached #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Wild & Blue album was certified Gold. Anderson wrote the song with long time songwriting partner Lionel Delmore. Anderson's success continued until he left Warners in 1986. Albums for MCA and Capitol were not as successful. In 1991 he signed with BNA Records which was the new name for RCA Nashville and clicked with veteran producer and former Giant Records president James Stroud. His 1992 album Seminole Wind got him back to the top of the country charts and was certified 2XPlatinum. And Straight Tequila Night was a number one hit. The success continued for a couple of albums. But Anderson faded and left BNA in 1996. This budget comp is a good intro to his music. Anderson has also recorded for Mercury and Columbia and his latest CD Bigger Hands was released on his own label June 2009. He is currently working on a gospel album. Here's John Anderson performing Swingin' on an awards show in 1984.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-REO Speedwagon
Artist:REO Speedwagon
Song:Can't Fight This Feeling
Album:The Hits
REO Speedwagon were around for over a decade before they achieved the kind of mainstream success they wanted and became one of the most popular bands of the 80s. Can't Fight This Feeling was one of their two number one hits. They started out in 1967 and were all students at the University Of Illinois in Champaign, IL. REO Speedwagon was a vintage truck created by Oldsmobile founder Ransom Olds. Keyboard player Neal Doughty and drummer Alan Gratzer were the only founding members to remain with the group. Terry Luttrell became lead singer in 1968. But the key figure in the development of REO Speedwagon was guitarist Gary Richrath who joined in 1970. He brought songwriting ability the others didn't have. The bass player was Gregg Philbin. They signed with Epic Records in 1971 and their debut album was produced by Paul Leka, the man behind Steam's Na Na Hey Hey (Kiss Him Goodbye). They went on tour but Luttrell left in 1972 and was replaced by Kevin Cronin. Cronin left after their second album and was replaced by Michael Bryan Murphy. He stayed for two albums and then Cronin returned in 1976. My impression is that Cronin and Richrath were not buddies. The band convinced Epic to let them record a live album. Live albums were hot at the time. the 1977 album Live: You Get What You Play For and the 1978 album You Can Tune A Piano But You Can't Tuna Fish were both certified Platinum. Philbin was replaced by Bruce Hall. With the 1980 album Hi Infidelity, REO Speedwagon finally hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 with Keep On Loving You and several more singles. Can't Fight This Feeling also topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1985 when the group performed it on Live Aid. Both number one hits were written by Kevin Cronin. You can get all their hits on this budget comp. REO Speedwagon began their decline when Al Gratzer retired in 1988. But conflict over the band direction between Cronin and Richrath forced Richrath to leave. They thought they had replaced him with keyboard player Jesse Harris from Sammy Hagar's band but that didn't work out and he left in 1991. Richrath started his own unsuccessful band. After Epic dropped them, REO Speedwagon recorded occasionally and continue to tour led by Cronin and Doughty. Bruce Hall is still with them and guitarist Dave Amato and drummer Bryan Hitt have been with the group since 1989. Here's the video for Can't Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Sneaker Pimps
Artist:Sneaker Pimps
Song:6 Underground
Album:Becoming X
The British group Sneaker Pimps had a brief bit of success in the US when DJs picked up on 6 Underground when it appeared on the soundtrack of the 1997 film The Saint. The success was short lived because by the time the song got airplay, lead singer Kelli Dayton had already left the group. Sneaker Pimps musical style is very similar to the very successful group Portishead. Liam Howe and his childhood friend Chris Corner were attending Reading University and had a group called F.R.I.S.K. They were experimenting with electronic instruments. Howe decided to turn it into a pop group in 1994. He brought in his friend Ian Pickering to write the lyrics and Howe wrote the music. And they hired lead singer Kelli Dayton from the groups Psycho Drama and The Lumieres. They recorded Becoming X and the album and a couple of the singles including 6 Underground had some success on the British charts. When they started recording their second album, Corner sang the vocals and Howe decided they didn't need Kelli anymore and they dismissed her. The problem was that 6 Underground was on the soundtrack of the 1997 film The Saint. It started getting airplay but Sneaker Pimps couldn't tour to support it because Kelli was no longer in the group. The Saint soundtrack is out of print but the remix of 6 Underground that was on The Saint has been added to Becoming X as a bonus track. Howe and Corner attempted to continue Sneaker Pimps but didn't have the same success without Kelli Dayton. She has recorded three solo CDs as Kelli Ali. Liam Howe and Chris Corner have recorded solo and both produce and record with other artists. I guess Sneaker Pimps can best be described as an opportunity missed. Here's the video for 6 Underground by Sneaker Pimps.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Punch Brothers
Artist:Punch Brothers
Song:Punch Bowl
Album:Punch
Mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile formed Punch Brothers after his very popular group Nickel Creek split up in 2007. Punch Brothers has become one of the biggest concert draws on the roots music circuit. When Nickel Creek split up, Thile was also going through a divorce. He decided to get together with a bunch of his musician buddies to whine about relationships and maybe form a band. The other guys were session fiddle player Gabe Wichter, banjo player Noam Pikelny of Leftover Salmon, guitarist Chris Eldridge of The Infamous Stringdusters and bassist Greg Garrison of Leftover Salmon. At first Thile wasn't sure what kind of music he wanted to do. But after jamming, he decided on bluegrass. At first they were called The How To Grow A Band and then The Tensions Mountain Boys. But they settled on Punch Brothers based on the Mark Twain short story A Literary Nightmare. They signed with Nonesuch Records and the centerpiece of their 2008 CD Punch was Thile's four movement suite The Blind Leaving The Blind. Thile has said that the entire CD was written to deal with his divorce. The CD topped the Bluegrass Album chart and Punch Brothers went on a very successful tour. Greg Garrison was replaced by Paul Kowert after the tour. Their 2010 CD Antifogmatic also sold well and the Punch Brothers new CD Who's Feeling Young Now? will be released in February. Punch Brothers are also the subject of the 2011 documentary How To Grow A Band which premiered at the Nashville Film Festival in April 2011. So if you're a bluegrass or roots music fan and you like guys who are great musicians, check out Punch Brothers. Here's Punch Brothers performing Punch Bowl at Kent Stage in Kent, OH 2008.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Shadows Of Knight
Artist:The Shadows Of Knight
Song:Gloria
Album:Dark Sides: The Best Of The Shadows Of Knight
By the mid-60s, the British Invasion was so dominant on the pop charts that US bands thought that imitating British Invasion bands was the only way to get anywhere. The Shadows Of Knight took the British interpretation of Chicago blues and reinterpreted it. This cover of Them's Gloria was their only top ten hit. The band was originally called The Shadows but there was already a British group with that name. Lead singer Jim Sohns, guitarists Warren Rogers, Roger Spielmann and Norm Gotsch, bassist Wayne Pursell and drummer Tom Schifflour all went to high school in Mount Prospect, IL. The football team nickname was The Knights. The band was called The Shadows Of Knight. Joe Kelley replaced Pursell and then Gotsch was drafted into the military and was replaced by Jerry McGeorge. They played gigs in the Chicago area and signed with Dunwich Records producer Bill Traut. Gloria was their first single. It started out as a regional hit and eventually broke nationally and reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was probably a bigger hit than the chart placement but may have been adversely affected by Dunwich not having national distribution. And of course Them's version was already a hit and some markets didn't play the cover. So The Shadows Of Knight recorded an album and more singles. But they couldn't find the magic of Gloria and The Shadows Of Knight split up in 1967. This budget comp is a good intro to their music. Jerry McGeorge left to join H.P. Lovecraft and the others left. Jim Sohns attempted to continue The Shadows Of Knight. He moved to New York in 1969. He continues to lead versions of Shadows Of Knight today. Here's The Shadows Of Knight performing Gloria on Where The Action Is 1966.
Kaori Yoneyama doesn't retire
Commando Bolshoi, Kaori Yoneyama, Kayoko Haruyama
A funny thing happened on the way to Kaori Yoneyama's retirement show today at Korakuen Hall. She didn't retire. I'm not kidding. In all the years I have covered joshi puroresu, and I've been around a long time, this has never happened before. Sure, sometimes wrestlers retire and return. It doesn't happen that much but it happens. But a wrestler has never gone through a retirement show complete with ceremony and ten bell salute and decided not to go through with it. After the ceremony, Yoneyama grabbed the mic and said that she is being replaced by Yoneyama Revolution Chapter 2 and she's coming after Hailey Hatred's JWP Open Weight Championship. So why did Yoneyama want to retire in the first place? Well, after twelve years in the joshi business, a lot of wrestlers think about retirement. She had also just ended a run with the JWP Open Weight Championship and she thought she was satisfied with that. But the main reason Yoneyama wanted to retire is she was off with a broken jaw last year and she admitted it took a lot out of her and was concerned about her health. So the retirement show was booked and Yoneyama went on her retirement tour. But at a press conference last week to promote the retirement show, her long time pal and retirement match opponent Kayoko Haruyama told Yoneyama she didn't want her to retire. Yoneyama had a stunned look on her face. But these two have worked together for years. You can be sure they discussed this. Of course by this time it was too late to cancel the show. So Yoneyama went through the motions of the retirement show and then announced that she changed her mind. I think she decided a while ago not to retire and should have announced it earlier. I guess it's hard to give up that Korakuen Hall full house and the residual merchandise sales. The reaction has mostly been positive There were some boos but the crowd at the show mostly cheered. I'm sure no one will believe her the next time she announces her retirement. It was also announced that Arisa Nakajima will return to JWP after quitting in June 2009. She trained at A To Z back in 2006 and looked to have some potential. But severe depression forced her to quit. Well, that's two pieces of good news for JWP owner Commando Bolshoi.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans
Artist:Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans
Song:Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah
Album:Wall Of Sound: The Very Best Of Phil Spector 1961-1966
By now we all know Phil Spector is a strange paranoid little man whose fascination with guns has landed him in jail as a convicted murderer. But in the 60s he produced some of the best pop music ever recorded. This 1963 cover of the Disney classic Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was the only top ten hit for Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans. The leader of the group was supposed to be Bobby Sheen. He was a member of The Robins from 1958-61. This was the reformed version of The Robins, not the original group that became The Coasters. When The Robins split up, Sheen recorded a solo single for Liberty Records and also recorded with The Ding Dongs and The Lovables. So Spector brought Sheen into the studio with Darlene Love and Fanita James of the girl group The Blossoms. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was the first single. For some reason, Spector chose to use Darlene as lead singer instead of Sheen. When the song reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1963, Sheen's fate was sealed. Darlene was going to be the lead singer. Spector also used Darlene as lead singer of The Crystals when he had problems with the group. She got annoyed with him and eventually he recorded Darlene under her own name. Needless to say, she was a very versatile singer. Darlene was also lead singer on Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans other hits Why Do Lovers Break Each Others Hearts? and Not Too Young To Get Married. Sheen did sing some lead on the Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans album. But nobody remembers that and it's not available anyway. He left and was replaced by Blossom Gloria Jones. Sheen went on to be a member of The Coasters and he died in 1986. You can get all three Bobb B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans hits on this budget various artists comp. Here's a video for Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah by Bob B.Soxx & The Blue Jeans featuring Darlene Love and a guitar solo by Tommy Tedesco.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Kim Carnes
Artist:Kim Carnes
Song:Bette Davis Eyes
Album:The Best Of Kim Carnes
It might surprise music fans to know that Kim Carnes was around the Los Angeles music scene for 15 years before she became on overnight sensation with the 1981 chart topper Bette Davis Eyes. She was born July 20, 1945 in Los Angeles. She joined The New Christy Minstrels in 1966 and then left with husband and songwriting partner Dave Ellingson to form Kim & Dave. She also appeared in the 1967 film C'Mon, Live A Little. Kim signed her first publishing deal with producer Jimmy Bowen in 1969. Others working there at the time included Don Henley, Glen Frey and JD Souther. She sang Nobody Knows on the soundtrack of the 1971 film Vanishing Point and her song Sing Out For Jesus also appeared in the film recorded by Big Mama Thornton. She released her debut album Rest On Me in 1972. It led to a contract with A & M Records. She recorded two unsuccessful albums and was dropped. Her 1978 duet with Gene Cotton You're A Part Of Me broke the top forty. But Kim's big break came when Kenny Rogers recorded Don't Fall In Love With A Dreamer with her and it reached #4 on the Billboard Hot 100. She had been pals with Rogers since the New Christy Minstrels days. Then she earned her first top ten pop hit with More Love in 1980. Bette Davis Eyes topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks and the album Mistaken Identity was certified Platinum. It earned Record Of The Year and Song Of The Year Grammys. Bette Davis Eyes was written by Jackie DeShannon and Donna Weiss and Jackie recorded it in 1974. Producer Val Garay and keyboard player Bill Cuomo came up with the hook that sold the song. Even Bette Davis approved and she became friends with Kim Carnes. Some of her other singles charted mostly on the Adult Contemporary chart. But by 1986, Capitol dropped her. You can get all her hits on this budget comp. After one album for MCA, Kim and her husband moved to Nashville and continue to write songs for others. She sure caught lightning in a bottle that one time. Here's the video for Bette Davis Eyes by Kim Carnes.
Beth Phoenix retains the WWE Divas Championship
Here's the match video from Sunday's WWE PPV with Beth Phoenix defending her WWE Divas Championship against Kelly Kelly. The match was criticized pretty heavily online. It's an OK match but as usual, the WWE chooses not to put the Divas in a PPV quality match. There was nothing special about it other than maybe Kelly's costume was tinier than usual. I noticed that Kelly is screaming louder than before. I guess she is being told to do that. Beth wins with a flapjack variation. The Pinup Strong angle has been hurt by the WWE's indecision about what to do with it. They even did a heel turn on Smackdown recently and then decided not to air it. Even CM Punk has criticized the WWE for handling this angle indecisively. I'm definitely concerned this angle will fizzle and it can be a good angle. But that's the WWE for you. Enjoy the match with French commentary.
WWE TLC 2011 Divas Championship Beth Phoenix vs. Kelly Kelly Vidéo Sionidjin sélectionnée dans Sport
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Johnny Duncan
Artist:Johnny Duncan f/Janie Fricke
Song:It Couldn't Have Been Any Better
Album:It Couldn't Have Been Any Better
Not to be confused with the Johnny Duncan who was a big skiffle star in England in the 50s, this Johnny Duncan had success on the country music charts in the 70s working with legendary producer Billy Sherrill. Two of his three number one hits were duets with then country music newcomer Janie Fricke. He was born Oct. 5, 1938 in Dublin, TX into a musical family. His family had a bluegrass group and his cousins were Jimmy Seals of Seals & Crofts and Dan Seals of England Dan & John Ford Coley. Duncan moved to New Mexico in 1959 and recorded some singles with Buddy Holly's producer Norman Petty that went nowhere. He moved to Nashville in 1964 and signed with Columbia Records in 1966. Duncan may have looked like a country music outlaw but his music was easy going country pop. His music didn't catch on until he got together with Billy Sherrill and Larry Gatlin in 1972. Gatlin was a country music star who also worked behind the scenes at Columbia. Sweet Country Woman was Duncan's first top ten country hit in 1973. Janie Fricke came to Nashville from Indiana in the mid-70s and was working as a session singer when Sherrill signed her to Columbia and decided to feature her on Duncan's records. All four of their duets were top ten hits and Thinkin' Of A Rendezvous and It Couldn't Have Been Any Better both topped the country charts. Of course Fricke went on to country music stardom in the 80s. It Couldn't Have Been Any Better was written by Canadian country music star Ray Griff. His songs were popular in Nashville in the 70s. Duncan had one more number one hit with She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed (Anytime) in 1978. But by the early 80s he faded and Columbia dropped him. You can get all of Duncan's hits on this comp. Duncan moved back to Texas and the last time he recorded was 1986. He died on Aug. 14, 2006 at age 67. Here's Johnny Duncan with Janie Fricke performing It Couldn't Have Been Any Better on Pop Goes The Country 1977.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Barrett Strong
Artist:Barrett Strong
Song:Money (That's What I Want)
Album:The Complete Motown Collection
This 1960 hit was the song that allowed Berry Gordy to start Motown Records. For Barrett Strong, it was his only hit as a recording artist. But he was a Motown staff songwriter usually working with producer Norman Whitfield. And he's still around today. Strong was born Feb. 5, 1941 in West Point, MS and grew up in Detroit. He was one of the first artists signed to Gordy's new Tamla label and Money was the very first Motown hit single in 1960. It reached #2 on the R & B Singles chart and #23 on the Billboard Hot 100. Gordy wrote the song with long time Motown employee Janie Bradford. It generated enough revenue so Gordy could open Motown and the rest is history. Many artists have covered Money including The Beatles. The Kingsmen had a top 20 hit with Money in 1964. But the most significant cover was the goofy novelty hit by The Flying Lizards in 1979. Strong recorded other songs for Motown but most of them weren't released. 10 of the 22 songs on this Motown UK comp were never released. You can also get Money on plenty of Motown various artists comps. Among the songs Strong wrote with Whitfield were I Heard It Through The Grapevine, War and a lot of the "psychedelic soul" songs for The Temptations including the Grammy winner Papa Was A Rolling Stone. Barrett Strong left Motown in 1972 and recorded for Capitol in the mid 70s He continues to record occasionally on independent labels. Here's the DTV video for Money by Barrett Strong.
Cris Cyborg demolishes HIROKO
Here's the match video from last night's Strikeforce show with Cris Cyborg winning over HIROKO by TKO in 16 seconds. Cris came out and a right to the chin knocked HIROKO down. She decided not to go for a rear naked choke and let HIROKO get up. A couple more shots and HIROKO folded like a cheap suitcase and the ref stopped it. Was it an early stoppage? Maybe but why delay the inevitable? Supposedly afterwards HIROKO said she didn't remember anything from the match. Yikes! HIROKO's biggest mistake was not leaving Japan two years ago to train in the US. She works for a company that doesn't use full MMA rules. How is that supposed to prepare her for Cris Cyborg? It's delusional for her to think she can just waltz in here and compete with Cris. So now Strikeforce is asking Cris to drop to 135lb so she can keep busy. She says she will try. But my guess is this experiment won't pan out. Cris walks around at 170. That's a massive weight cut. And even if she makes 135, she might not be comfortable fighting at that weight. So what will Strikeforce do with Cris if she can't make 135? Eventually she will fight Ronda Rousey. But Strikeforce has already said that won't happen for a while. There just aren't many fighters at 145. But the first thing Strikeforce could do is bring back Marloes Coenen who I know would love another shot at Cris. Another fighter worth looking at is Romy Ruyssen of France. She has a 5-1 record and her only loss was to Marloes Coenen. I've seen her and she's a pretty good grappler. Match her up with Germaine de Randamie and see how she does. Other than those two, there ain't much. I wish Randi Miller would finally turn pro. That HIROKO with her heavily padded 12-1 record was ranked so high shows how weak the division is. As many long time readers will know, I don't bother with rankings so I didn't know where HIROKO was ranked until someone told me. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Ricky Skaggs
Artist:Ricky Skaggs
Song:I Don't Care
Album:16 Biggest Hits
Ricky Skaggs used a total of 11 number one country music hits in the 80s to establish himself as the heir to Bill Monroe's bluegrass legacy. He continues that legacy today. I Don't Care was the second of those number one hits in 1982. He was born July 18, 1954 in Cordell, KY. At age seven he appeared on TV with Flatt & Scruggs. And by age 15, Skaggs and fellow teen prodigy Keith Whitley were members of Ralph Stanley's band. In the 70s, he was a member of bluegrass bands The Country Gentlemen, J.D. Crowe & the New South and led his own band Boone Creek. But it was his time with Emmylou Harris' Hot Band from 1977-80 that likely got the attention of Epic Records. Skaggs replaced Rodney Crowell in Harris' band and moved her band in a more traditional bluegrass direction. After recording two solo albums for the bluegrass label Sugar Hill, he signed with Epic. They wanted Skaggs to break out of bluegrass into the mainstream country market. His 1981 Epic debut album Waitin' For The Sun To Shine reached #2 on the Country Album chart and was certified Gold. Skaggs' cover of the Flatt & Scruggs hit Crying My Heart Out Over You was his first number one country music hit and his cover of Webb Pierce's 1955 number one country hit I Don't Care was Skaggs' second number one hit. Skaggs' success on the country charts continued through the 80s and he won a lot of awards. You can get all his 80s hits on this budget CD. When country music changed in the early 90s, Skaggs simply went back to his bluegrass roots. He left Epic in 1992 and after recording for Atlantic and Rounder, he has recorded for his own Skaggs Family label since 1999. His latest CD Country Hits Bluegrass Style is a CD of his 80s hits newly recorded with bluegrass arrangements. It was released July 2011. Ricky Skaggs continues to be a popular concert act today known for his versatile musicianship playing mandolin, guitar and fiddle. Here's Ricky Skaggs performing I Don't Care on Nashville Now 1982. I believe the legendary Jerry Douglas is playing dobro.
Incompetent judge ruins year end JEWELS show
Ayaka Hamasaki, Sugi Rock
So when you run a year end show, you're supposed to go out on a high note and look towards the future. Today's JEWELS show went out with an unfortunate finish to the main event and a string of matches ruined by what appears to be an incompetent and inexperienced judge. It looks like it was his first event ever. In the main event, Ayaka Hamasaki successfully defended her JEWELS Lightweight Championship over Ham Seo Hee. It appears that round one was fairly even with a slight edge to Hamasaki. But Ham was unable to get up at the end of the round. The fight was stopped and she was taken to the hospital with a possible sprained back. Very disappointing but these things happen sometimes. Hamasaki said she wants to defend against Yuka Tsuji. Tsuji is currently out recovering from minor surgery but will return in 2012. In the JEWELS Featherweight Championship tournament, Misaki Takimoto won over Yukiko Seki by unanimous decision. The other semi final match was the first indication that there was a problem with one of the judges. Though Japanese reports indicate that Sugi Rock should have won over Kikuyo Ishikawa by unanimous decision, judge Akira Yamazaki inexplicably scored it in Ishikawa's favour. Sugi Rock wins by split decision. In the final, Sugi Rock won over Takimoto by armbar at 4:09 of round one. Takimoto's corner threw in the towel. Congratulations to Sugi Rock. I'm not surprised. She is the class of this weight division. In a Featherweight tournament reserve match, SACHI won over Yasuko Tamada by split decision. But again reports indicate that SACHI should have won by unanimous decision but Yamazaki scored it in Tamada's favour. Then it happens again when Emi Tomimatsu wins over Rina Tomita by split decision and for the third time Yamazaki scored it in favour of the obvious loser. And then he did it for the fourth time. I saw plenty of Tweets from fans who believe Mika Nagano won a very close match over VV Mei. One judge scored it for Nagano. The second judge scored it for Mei. Yamazaki scored it for Mei. She wins by split decision. Of course the problem is that by this time Yamazaki has already messed up three times and can't be trusted to give a competent decision. Once is fine. Judges make mistakes. But after the third time, he should have been tossed out of the building. Fans and fighters deserve competent judges. He cost Mika Nagano a win and that kind of incompetence usually results in needless rematches. So who is Akira Yamazaki?. He's a boxer from Osaka. His record is 12-6-4 and he last boxed last year. So it appears this may have been his first job as a judge. He also lost his only MMA fight in 2006. Of course in Japan the promoter hires the judges. There is no athletic commission. JEWELS matchmaker Shigeru Saeki's lame response to Yamazaki's incompetence was that fighters shouldn't leave things to the judges. There's something fishy going on. In other matches, Emi Fujino won over Celine by unanimous decision, Shino VanHoose won over Asami Higa by unanimous decision and Yuka Okumura won over anna by heel hook at 4:41 of round one. Afterwards it was announced that former VALKYRIE matchmaker Yasuko Mogi has been hired as a producer for JEWELS. It's unknown what her role really is as she may butt heads with Saeki over his methods. And owner Yuichi Ozono is out to lunch. JEWELS' first 2012 show will be Mar. 9 at Shinjuku FACE. Mogi did say she wants to run a show in Osaka. But I don't know if she'll try to affect rule changes and I know they can't afford to run in a cage. We'll see how that goes.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Rough Trade
Artist:Rough Trade
Song:High School Confidential
Album:Birds Of A Feather: The Best Of Rough Trade
Rough Trade certainly did their part in shaking up the stodgy Canadian music scene in the 70s. But I don't think it converted to much success outside Canada and the music hasn't worn that well. I guess High School Confidential was a product of the times. Singer Carole Pope and pianist Kevan Staples had a group called O in 1968 in Toronto. The third member Clive Smith went on to found the Nelvana animation studio. When he left O in 1970, the duo performed for a while as The Bullwhip Brothers but by 1974 they decided to expand to a full band and change the name to Rough Trade. The band had several different lineups but Pope and Staples were always the leaders. The band concept was to write controversial almost lurid songs and have Pope prance around the stage in bondage gear. That sort of thing will get attention especially in a Puritanical backwater like Toronto. They recorded Rough Trade Live in 1976 and then they produced the short lived musical Restless Underwear co-starring Divine. That closed over financial disputes. In 1980, Rough Trade signed with True North in Canada and Stiff Records in the US. High School Confidential reached #12 on the RPM chart in Canada and the album Avoid Freud did well. It didn't take off in the US as Stiff was having financial problems. For their second album For Those Who Think Young, they moved to Boardwalk Records. The result was no different. They did well in Canada but not in the US. Their next album Shaking The Foundations wasn't released in the US. That's a bad sign. The pattern continued until Rough Trade split up in 1986. A band can't make a living from Canadian record sales. You can get all their hits on this comp. Carole Pope and Kevan Staples have reunited Rough Trade occasionally and continue to be part of the Toronto music scene. There's always that nagging feeling that they never reached their potential. I always thought a more consistent band lineup would have made a big difference. Here's the video for High School Confidential by Rough Trade.
Showtime renews Strikeforce for two more years
It was finally announced yesterday that Showtime has renewed their Strikeforce contract for two more years. A lot of us in the MMA media have been aware of the likely renewal from the moment Ken Hershman left Showtime for HBO. He was the final barrier as he doesn't like Zuffa. Apparently there will be eight shows per year and they will be carried on SuperChannel in Canada. And of course the good news is that women's MMA will continue in Strikeforce. When Zuffa first bought Showtime in March, I can't tell you how many supposed experts insisted that they would just kill Strikeforce. I just thought this deal was different from PRIDE or WEC. Zuffa paid a big premium for Strikeforce and no one pays $40M just to kill the company. What they really wanted to do was prevent ProElite or anyone else from being on Showtime. So once it was determined that Showtime wanted to remain in the MMA business, Zuffa would do what was necessary to make a deal. Hershman's departure just made it easier. Zuffa isn't making money on the deal but it does close a door that would have opened if Strikeforce had closed. I expect the 135lb division to continue as it is and you can expect Strikeforce to sign more fighters. I'd like to see Shayna Bazsler and Sheila Bird in Strikeforce. After Cris Cyborg disposes of HIROKO, she's supposed to drop to 135. I'll believe it when I see it. I'd like to see Strikeforce start a 125lb division. It would close another loophole. Besides, I don't believe the two companies planning a 125lb division will do it properly. Bellator owner Bjorn Rebney keeps talking about doing a 125lb tournament but it's just talk. I don't expect him to actually do it this year. And if Strikeforce does a 125lb division, I expect him to drop it. It's best to assume that Rebney is just giving lip service. Talk is cheap. And today, the British company Cage Warriors announced plans to have a 125lb tournament in May with four fighters. Of course there should be eight fighters if you want to make a big splash. But it's also too soon to announce it. Things change in this business weekly. What will they do if two fighters suffer training injuries and have to be replaced? And that's why I don't believe in six months lead time for anything in MMA. Stuff happens. And here's a message to both Bellator and Cage Warriors. Any 125lb tournament without Tara LaRosa is a waste of time. Why bother if you won't hire one of the best female fighters in the world? I know her price is high. She's worth the money. Maybe Strikeforce will scoop her up and upstage both of you.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Paul Overstreet
Artist:Paul Overstreet, Tanya Tucker & Paul Davis
Song:I Won't Take Less Than Your Love
Album:Cryin' Lyin' Lovin' & Leavin'
This one off single was a number one country music hit and was recorded for the 1987 Tanya Tucker album Love Me Like You Used To. But the song led to a solo contract for songwriter Paul Overstreet and he had success in the early 90s. Overstreet was born Mar. 17, 1955 in Newton, MS. He moved to Nashville after graduating from high school and played in bands at night while working during the day. He finally got his big break when George Jones had a top five country hit with Overstreet's Same Ole Me. Then The Forrester Sisters topped the country chart in 1984 with I Fell In Love Again Last Night. This was followed by the Randy Travis hit Diggin' Up Bones. So now everybody is recording Overstreet's songs. But he still wanted to perform. So he formed S-K-O with Thom Skyler and Fred Knobloch and they had a number one hit in 1986 with Baby's Got A New Baby. He also won awards for the Randy Travis hits Forever And Ever Amen and On The Other Hand. Overstreet wrote I Won't Take Less Than Your Love with longtime partner Don Schlitz. It topped the country charts and appearing on TV with Tanya Tucker and Paul Davis got Overstreet much needed exposure. After that S-K-O was supposed to reform but when MTM Records was sold to Warner Bros., Overstreet signed with RCA Records instead. He had several top ten country hits but Daddy's Come Around was the only one to top the chart in 1991. There is a Paul Overstreet comp on RCA but I Won't Take Less Than Your Love is on Capitol. You can get it on this budget various artists comp. Overstreet left RCA in 1994. He records for his own label and his songs are more religious these days. But for a long time, Paul Overstreet was one of the hottest songwriters in Nashville and I'm sure those royalty cheques still come in the mail. Here's Paul Overstreet with Tanya Tucker and Paul Davis performing I Won't Take Less Than Your Love on Hee Haw 1987.
Sakura Emi to step down as Ice Ribbon booker
Sakura Emi
So after Sunday's Ice Ribbon show, company owner Sakura Emi said she would have a big announcement on Jan. 7. The whole thing was supposed to be kept a secret but Tsukasa Fujimoto appeared on Samurai TV and spilled the beans. Sakura Emi plans to quit as Ice Ribbon booker. Emi later revealed on UStream that she is turning the company over to former NEO President Tatsuya Koda. Fujimoto was very upset with Emi and suggested that maybe she should just shut down the company. I'm not particularly surprised that Emi wants out. For all the mistaken perception of Ice Ribbon's success, Emi was clearly uncomfortable with the company's growth. She knew she needed to change the direction of Ice Ribbon if she wanted to continue to grow. The company needed to operate more professionally. But Emi started Ice Ribbon as an after school diversion for pre teen girls and she was fond of those roots. It clearly affected Ice Ribbon's bottom line. They run too many shows in front of too few fans. And the ring work is spotty at best. For every Hikaru Shida who turns out pretty good, there are a host of young girls who will never be any good in the ring and shouldn't be wrestlers in the first place. She couldn't have it both ways. And as we saw with Makoto, the chances that most of these girls will leave Ice Ribbon for greener pastures is high. And that has to hurt Emi. She founded Ice Ribbon and trained all the girls. So will the rats leave the sinking ship? Will they work for Koda? Remember that his inability to produce new talent is the main reason NEO closed. It's obviously not a good situation. Even if Sakura Emi says Ice Ribbon will continue, what if all the wrestlers get together and quit? I wonder how final this decision really is. Of course Emi will continue as an active wrestler. She just doesn't want to be a company owner anymore.
Syuri's opponent named for Jan. 9 KRUSH show
Syuri, Miyako "SMILE" Masahori
KRUSH held a press conference today to announce the first kickboxing opponent for SMASH pro wrestler Syuri on their Jan. 9 Korakuen Hall show. In a match contracted for 52kg, Syuri will face Miyako "SMILE" Masahori. The thing that's odd about this is Syuri is competing as a kickboxer fully supported by SMASH owner Tajiri. So his intention is to use Syuri's kickboxing experience in pro wrestling angles. I'm not sure what he'll do if she loses. Masahori has a 4-3 record. She's actually in a kickboxing match on this Saturday's JEWELS show facing the soon to retire Mai. That match is at 49kg. And as you can see by the pic, Syuri has a definite size advantage. They're selling Masahori as a kickboxing mom so I guess she's been around the block a few times. Obviously Syuri is being set up to win. KRUSH producer Misuru Miyata claimed he had ten kickboxers wanting to fight Syuri. Another women's match was added at 57kg. Kimiko Sasaki will face Shiho Mizuno. Both matches are scheduled for three two minute rounds.
Kyoko Kimura added to Jan. 28 PANCRASE show
Kyoko Kimura
PANCRASE announced today that they have added a women's match to their Jan. 28 Differ Ariake show. In a match contracted for 64kg, Kyoko Kimura will face Mizuho Sato. The match is scheduled for two five minute rounds. Kimura is the veteran pro wrestler who made a successful MMA debut with a win over Megumi Yabushita on the Nov. 12 PANCRASE show. She trains at Sakaguchi Family Dojo. Kyoko has said her goal is to face Rin Nakai. If she wins this fight, she should get closer to that goal. Sato is a VALKYRIE veteran. She now trains at BJJ Top. Her record is 6-5. Her last fight was a loss to Rin Nakai on the Nov. 28, 2010 VALKYRIE show in the finals of the VALKYRIE Open Weight Championship tournament. The fight was stopped when Sato suffered a broken orbital bone. This will be her return to MMA. She has lost to Rin Nakai twice but has also lost to Megumi Yabushita and Super Benkei. She has never beaten a top fighter. So I don't know if she is a better test for Kimura than Yabushita. Probably not.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Tammy Wynette
Artist:Tammy Wynette
Song:Stand By Your Man
Album:Anniversary: 20 Years Of Hits
Tammy Wynette was one of the most popular country music artists of the 70s. She had 17 number one country music hits but Stand By Your Man was the only one to cross over to the pop charts. It is considered her signature song. She was born Virginia Wynette Pugh May 5, 1942 in Itawamba County MS. She was always known by her middle name Wynette or Nettie. Her father died from a brain tumor when she was nine months old. He was a farmer and local musician. Her mom had to move to Memphis to work so Wynette was raised on her grandparents' farm. She learned to play guitar as a child. While still in high school, Wynette married her first husband Euple Byrd. The marriage didn't last long but Wynette had three children and the youngest had spinal meningitis. She went to beauty school and became a hairdresser but earned extra money singing in clubs at night. An appearance on a 1965 Birmingham TV show led to a move to Nashville in 1966. After many auditions, producer Billy Sherrill signed her to Epic Records. The first thing he did was change her name. He thought she looked like Debbie Reynolds in Tammy & The Bachelor so she was named Tammy Wynette. Sherrill not only produced Wynette's records but wrote a lot of the songs. And though he became one of the top producers of the 70s, this was his first big gig. Wynette had several country music hits but really caught on with D-I-V-O-R-C-E and Stand By Your Man in 1969. Not only was Stand By Your Man a number one country hit but it reached #19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Sherrill and Wynette wrote the song in 15 minutes while in the recording studio. It also won her a Grammy and appeared in Bob Rafelson's 1970 film Five Easy Pieces. She also married George Jones and had some hits with him. They divorced in 1975. Tammy Wynette ruled the country charts for the first half of the 70s. Then she started to fade but continued to perform through the 90s. You can get all her hits on this budget comp. She married George Richey in 1978 and they remained together until her death. Tammy Wynette had several health problems including an addiction to painkillers. She died in her sleep on Apr. 6, 1998 at age 55. When her daughters accused Richey of being responsible for her death, Wynette's body was exhumed in 1999 and Richey was cleared. She died of natural causes. There's not much question that Tammy Wynette was a legend of country music. She was a tremendous singer. Here's Tammy Wynette performing Stand By Your Man in the 1969 film From Nashville With Music.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Foghat
Artist:Foghat
Song:Fool For The City
Album:The Best Of Foghat
Foghat was a very successful 70s spinoff of the 60s band Savoy Brown. Though Foghat did get some radio airplay, their success was built on live shows. And their biggest selling album was Foghat Live. Guitarist, lead singer and main songwriter Lonesome Dave Peverett, bassist Tony Stevens and drummer Roger Earl all left Savoy Brown in Dec. 1970 and formed Foghat. They added guitarist Rod Price who was a Brit living in New Hampshire. They signed with Bearsville Records and their 1972 debut album Foghat was produced by Dave Edmunds. Their brand of blues rock was well received and it laid the foundation for success. Fool For The City was their fifth album in 1975. Stevens tired of the endless touring and was replaced by Nick Jameson who produced Fool For The City and then was replaced permanently by Craig MacGregor. The album was certified Gold. Fool For The City and Slow Ride charted as singles. Their biggest hit album Foghat Live sold over two million copies in 1977. Live albums were very popular at the time. Foghat started to fade in the late 70s and Rod Price left in 1980 and was replaced by Erik Cartwright. This Rhino comp has all their hits. They disbanded when Peverett left in 1984 but Earl, MacGregor and Cartwright reformed Foghat in 1986. They toured and then Peverett formed his own version of Foghat in 1990. Producer Rick Rubin convinced the original members to reform in 1993. The resulting album, tour and DVD did well. Peverett and Price both retired from the road. Peverett died in 2000 and Price died in 2005. Roger Earl continues to lead Foghat today. Here's Foghat performing Fool For The City during their 1997 reunion tour.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nelly Furtado
Artist:Nelly Furtado
Song:I'm Like A Bird
Album:The Best Of Nelly Furtado
Fame is so fleeting in the music business and listener attention spans are so short that a musician needs to be able to adjust musical style very quickly. When Nelly Furtado first emerged with I'm Like A Bird in 2000, it had this 60s retro hippie vibe. When that seemed to fade, she reinvented herself as a dance music diva complete with previously untapped sex appeal. She even tapped into the Latin music market in 2009. She was born Dec. 2, 1978 in Victoria, BC to Portuguese immigrant parents. She grew up singing in church and began writing songs at age 12. While visiting her sister in Toronto in 1996, she met Tallis Newkirk of the hip hop group Plains Of Fascination. She moved to Toronto and formed Nelstar with him. It didn't work out and she was going to move back home. But she was spotted performing at a talent show by Philosopher Kings singer Gerald Eaton. The resulting demos led to a contract with DreamWorks Records and her debut CD Whoa, Nelly! was produced by Furtado with Eaton and partner Brian West. They call themselves Track & Field. I'm Like A Bird reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Whoa, Nelly! reached #24 on the Billboard Hot 200 and was certified 3XPlatinum. The follow up Turn Off The Light did even better. Nelly's second CD Folklore did not do as well partially because it was more mellow than Whoa, Nelly! but also DreamWorks was having problems and was sold to Universal. Nelly is now on Geffen Records. For her 2006 CD Loose, Nelly went in a more hip hop direction with producer Timbaland and emphasize sex appeal not previously seen. This makeover was very successful and Nelly says it's the kind of music she enjoys anyway. Her 2009 Latin music CD Mi Plan is her latest CD though she should have a new CD coming in the summer of 2012. She is still working with Timbaland so you can expect it to be a continuation of Loose. Geffen released The Best of Nelly Furtado last year. I would expect her next CD to do very well. Here's the video for I'm Like A Bird by Nelly Furtado.
Gail Kim successfully defends her TNA Knockouts Championship
Here's the match video from last night's TNA PPV with Gail Kim defending her TNA Knockouts Championship against Mickie James. The match begins at around the 15 minute mark of the video. As is typical of TNA, the match was pretty good until the predictably overbooked ending. A few weeks ago I was asked about this match and I thought Gail would retain the title with outside interference. You'd think TNA would get the message that their booking style is predictable and stale but they don't. Both Mickie and Gail redeemed themselves from that terrible match they had on RAW a couple of years ago. I'm sure that was in the back of their minds. This match got off to a slow start but once they got going, it went well. Gail was fortunate to be unharmed when she flew out of the ring and hit the metal steps. I thought it was a nice touch to have Gail grab the belt and try to leave. That's a good heel move. But the fans in Orlando still won't boo Gail. I guess she's too hot to boo. That's why they put her with Vicki Guerrero...er...Karen Jarrett. I'm sure this feud will continue. Enjoy the video!
desifunz-net-TNA.Final.Resolution.2011.720p.Pt3_2 by Priyank_Pardeshi
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Little River Band
Artist:Little River Band
Song:Reminiscing
Album:The Definitive Collection
The Aussie group Little River Band had six top ten hits from 1978-81. Reminiscing was the first and biggest of those hits. In Australian terms, Little River Band was a supergroup. Glenn Shorrock was the lead singer of the 60s group The Twilights and the early 70s group Axiom. Guitarist Beeb Birtles was in the 60s band Zoot. Bassist Graeham Goble led the folk group Alison Gros and then Mississippi. Birtles and drummer Derek Pellicci were also in that band. Lead guitarist Ric Formosa was a Canadian who moved to Australia in 1974. When LRB was formed, they wanted to have international success. They hired manager Glenn Wheatley to help them do that. Before they began touring, Formosa was replaced by David Briggs and original bassist Roger McLachlan was replaced by George McArdle. They signed with Capitol Records and hotshot producer John Boylan was hired. The 1977 album Diamantina Cocktail went Gold. But then they hit the jackpot when Reminiscing reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album Sleeper Catcher was certified Platinum. Goble wrote Reminiscing. Their 1979 album First Under The Wire was also certified Platinum and they had five more top ten hits. McArdle left to become a minister and was replaced by Wayne Nelson. Briggs was replaced by Stephen Housden in 1981. But the big change was when Glenn Shorrock was forced out of the band and replaced by veteran Aussie pop singer John Farnham. Many fans objected to this change and it led to the band's decline and 1986 split. You can get all their hits on this comp. LRB reformed in 1988 and signed with MCA. They weren't very successful and split up in 1996. Stephen Housden owns the copyright to the LRB name and Wayne Nelson leads a version of LRB today. Birtles, Goble and Shorrock reunited in 2002 but couldn't use the LRB name. They toured as Birtles Shorrock Goble. The current version of Little River Band has no original members. Here's the video for Reminiscing by Little River Band.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Nicolette Larson
Artist:Nicolette Larson
Song:Lotta Love
Album:The Very Best Of Nicolette Larson
Nicolette Larson was a veteran backup singer in the Los Angeles studio scene when she had a top ten hit with the Neil Young song Lotta Love in 1979. She also had success in country music in the 80s and continued to perform and record sessions until her 1997 death. She was born July 17, 1952 in Helena, MT. Her father worked for the US Treasury Department so the family moved around a lot. She went to high school in Kansas City, MO and attended the University Of Missouri. But she got the music bug and moved to San Francisco. In 1975, she auditioned for Hoyt Axton and performed with him. He was producing Commander Cody at the time so she became a member of that group. She moved to Los Angeles and started recording backup vocals for all kinds of artists. She became friends with Linda Ronstadt and she recommended Nicolette to Neil Young. She went on tour with him and sang on American Stars 'n' Bars. She also signed a contract with Warner Bros. Young told her she could use the song Lotta Love. Her debut album Nicolette Larson was produced by Doobie Brothers producer Ted Templeman and arranged by Jimmie Haskell. Lotta Love reached #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the album was certified Gold. The flute solo was played by jazzman Plas Johnson and Jim Horn played sax. Nicolette's subsequent Warners albums weren't as successful and she left in 1982. She continued her session work. An appearance in the touring cast of the musical Pump Boys and Dinettes got her a contract with MCA Records in 1983. Her 1986 duet with Steve Warriner That's How You Know When Love's Right reached #9 on the Country Singles chart. But other than that, she was unsuccessful and MCA dropped her in 1988. She went back to session work until her death on Dec. 16, 1997 of liver failure at age 45. She may have been addicted to drugs prescribed for depression. At the time she was married to session drummer Russ Kunkel. They have one daughter. This comp is a good overview of Nicolette Larson's career. Here's Nicolette Larson performing Lotta Love 1979.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Pursuit Of Happiness
Artist:The Pursuit Of Happiness
Song:I'm An Adult Now
Album:When We Ruled: The Best Of The Pursuit Of Happiness
I'm An Adult Now is the signature song of the Canadian band The Pursuit Of Happiness. This is a band that should have been bigger but they had personnel problems, record company problems, you get the idea. Though the band was from Toronto, the roots of the band were in Edmonton. Lead singer and songwriter Moe Berg was born in Edmonton in 1959. He had been in several local bands and along with drummer Dave Gilby, moved to Toronto in 1985. They formed The Pursuit Of Happiness with bassist Dave Sinclair and backup singers Tamara and Natasha Amabile. I'm An Adult Now was released as a single independently and became a hit in Canada when the video went into heavy rotation on Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. After the Amabile sisters were replaced by Kris Abbott and Leslie Stanwyck, TPOH signed with Chrysalis Records in the US and Capitol in Canada. Todd Rundgren produced their debut album Love Junk which included a re-recording of I'm And Adult Now. The album did well in Canada but it underperformed in the US. Rundgren also produced their 1990 CD One Sided Story. Sinclair and Stanwyck left and were replaced by Brad Barker and Susan Murumets. Conflict with Chrysalis forced TPOH to leave and they recorded the 1993 CD The Downward Road for Mercury Records. Despite some success with the single Cigarette Dangles, TPOH left Mercury and recorded a couple more albums for a small label. They never split up but they might as well have because they were through. This comp is a good intro to their music. Moe Berg is now a record producer and TPOH has reunited occasionally. Here's the video for I'm An Adult Now by The Pursuit Of Happiness. This is the US video with the re-recorded version of the song. The Canadian video mostly shot on Queen St. W. in Toronto that a lot of us liked is not out there.
Yes, I was hit by a car last week
If you follow me on Twitter, you will already know that I was hit by a car last Saturday. I tweeted the accompanying pic of the offending vehicle immediately after the accident. I was coming home from the supermarket rolling down Royal York Rd. I always use the bike lane on Royal York because I don't like the curbs. And there was construction blocking the sidewalk anyway. I was crossing at an intersection when a car making a left turn didn't stop and rammed the right side of my chair. She says she didn't see me. I don't think I'm very hard to spot. I guess I need to start shooting flares so that clueless self absorbed idiots can see me coming. Fortunately, she was going very slowly so other than shock, I was unharmed. The EMTs checked me out and there was no problem. But my powerchair was damaged. It worked but it would need repairs. A cop came and gave me her insurance info and I went home like nothing happened. I could not believe that someone could be that dumb. I called H.M.E. to let them know that I would call ODSP on Monday and I would need a loaner for a few days. I have said many times the ODSP may be the worst bureaucracy in the history of bureaucracies. I guess my worker is off so I got a call from someone else on Tuesday. So the first thing she asks me to do is call the driver's insurance company. I told her to issue the work order to H.M.E. as usual and fix the chair first and deal with the insurance company afterwards. We don't need to delay the repair. So Eugene of H.M.E. came on Tuesday and brought me a loaner. It was terrible. I could barely drive it. And I got a call from Aviva Insurance on Wednesday. They wanted an estimate so they could approve payment. I told her that H.M.E. normally sends the estimate to ODSP and they have to approve it. It turned out to be a minor repair. The left front caster was replaced. It had a flat spot. And they had to adjust the fork and the footplates. Total cost $170. I thought it could have been a lot worse. But the idiot from ODSP sat on a small repair concerned about the insurance company. This is the kind of small minded nonsense that is typical of the ODSP. I have informed H.M.E. that if there delays with future repairs, call me and I will leave a pissed off voicemail to smarten them up. I also called Aviva. I actually spoke to a supervisor because the woman I spoke to on Wednesday was off. The supervisor took care of it. Thanks to Elena of H.M.E. for sending my chair today. I may have to call them back for an adjustment to the footplates. But other than that, the chair is as good as new. The problem is the ODSP uses voicemail to avoid talking to anyone. The main beef is you can never get through to a live person. And that's part of the reason we all hate dealing with them.
Two matches added to Dec. 17 JEWELS show
Shino VanHoose
JEWELS announced today on their blog two more matches have been added to the Dec. 17 Shinjuku FACE show. This will be headlined by Ayaka Hamasaki defending her JEWELS Lightweight Championship against Ham Seo Hee and the final of the JEWELS Featherweight Championship tournament. In a Featherweight match, Asami Higa will face Shino VanHoose. Higa trains at S-KEEP. Her record is 0-2 and her last fight was a loss to Megumi Morioka on the May 14 JEWELS show. Shino VanHoose is 16 years old and was born in The Netherlands but grew up in Japan. She trains at Pareastra. Her record is 1-0. She beat Nanachanchin on the Oct. 2 PANCRASE show. It was a PANCRASE Gate match so it was not full MMA rules. She has also had success in amateur grappling and as you can see by her picture, she's cute. In a match contracted for 54kg, Yuka Okumura will face anna. Okmura trains at JAPAN SOUL Fighters. Her record is 1-8 and her last fight was a loss to MIYOKO on the July 9 JEWELS show. She returned this year after a four year break. anna trains at Fight Chix. Her record is also 1-8 and her last fight was a loss to Rina Tomita on the Sept. 9 JEWELS show. JEWELS has also added a couple of kickboxing matches and an amateur match. This card is complete.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Billie Jo Spears
Artist:Billie Jo Spears
Song:Blanket On The Ground
Blanket On The Ground was the only number one country music hit for Billie Jo Spears. She had a total of five top ten hits and when her recording career faded in the early 80s, she continued to be a live draw in England. She was born Billie Jean Spears Jan. 14, 1937 in Beaumont, TX. At 13 years of age, she recorded the single Too Old For Toys, Too Young For Boys as Billie Jean Moore for Jack Rhodes' Abbot label. After recording some demos with guitarist Pete Drake, Billie Jo moved to Nashville looking for a record deal in 1964. She signed with United Artists Records house producer Kelso Herston. When he moved to Capitol a couple of years later, she went with him. Billie Jo had little success until Mr. Walker, It's All Over reached #4 on the Country Music Singles chart in 1969. Just when she was getting some momentum, Billie Jo was diagnosed with polyps on her vocal cords and had surgery to remove them. She returned to United Artists in 1975 and Blanket On The Ground topped the Country Music Singles chart. This tale of a married couple trying to get their mojo back was written by Roger Bowling who also co-wrote Lucille and Coward In The County for Kenny Rogers who also recorded for United Artists. The song was also a top ten hit in the UK. Billie Jo Spears had three more top ten hits with What I've Got In Mind and Misty Blue in 1976 and If You Want Me in 1977. By 1981, she faded and was dropped around the time Capitol bought United Artists. This 2CD comp is the only one that has all of Billie Jo's top ten hits. Billie Jo continued to remain a popular live act in England and has been called The Queen Mother Of Country Music. She had triple bypass surgery in 1993 and continues to tour England today. She lives in Texas. Here's Billie Jo Spears performing Blanket On The Ground on Music Shop 1975.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-EMF
Artist:EMF
Song:Unbelievable
Album:ESPN Presents Jock Jams Vol. 1
Here's a song that shows the value of a good hook. Unbelievable topped the charts in 1991. And though EMF is long forgotten, the hook remains popular mostly as a sports anthem. The members of EMF were all veterans of the Cinderford, England music scene. They formed in 1989. EMF stands for Epsom Mad Funkers though it is rumoured that it started out as profanity. Lead singer James Atkin, guitarist Ian Dench, keyboardist Derry Brownson, bassist Zac Foley and drummer Mark Decloedt only played four concerts before they signed with EMI Parlophone in England and Capitol in the US. At first they were criticized as being too similar to Jesus Jones. But the two bands were good friends. So EMF was doing well on the dance charts on both sides of the Atlantic when Unbelievable topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. It was a worldwide hit. The spoken word heard in the background is a sample of comedian Andrew Dice Clay. The song has lived on as a sports anthem especially by the Cleveland Indians. ESPN and Tommy Boy released a series of Jock Jam CDs in the mid-90s and you can get Unbelievable on volume one. EMF split up after their 1995 CD Cha Cha tanked. Ian Dench went on to work for singer Amanda Ghost. EMF reunited in 2001 and played a few gigs. Zac Foley died of a drug overdose in 2002. They reunited again in 2007 and played a couple of shows and then announced in 2009 that there would be no further EMF shows. But the Unbelievable hook lives on forever. Here's the video for Unbelievable by EMF.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Wynton Kelly
Artist:Wynton Kelly
Song:Action
Album:Piano
Pianist Wynton Kelly was mainly a very busy sideman with Miles Davis, Charles Mingus and many others. But he also recorded some great solo albums including the 1958 album Piano. He died prematurely so he is somewhat forgotten today. He was born Dec. 2, 1931 in Jamaica but he grew up in Brooklyn, NY. As a teen, he played with Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, Hal Singer and Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis. After making his solo debut for Blue Note in 1951, Kelly worked with Dinah Washington, Dizzy Gillespie and Lester Young. After two years in the military, Kelly again worked with Washington, Gillespie and Charles Mingus. He is best known for his stint with Miles Davis from 1959-63. He replaced Bill Evans during the recording of Kind Of Blue. The 1958 album Piano was the first of two albums Kelly recorded for Riverside Records. Musicians on the album are Kenny Burrell on guitar, Paul Chambers on bass and Philly Joe Jones on drums. Kelly recorded on several classic Miles Davis albums including Someday My Prince Will Come. When he left, he took Paul Chambers and drummer Jimmy Cobb and recorded for Vee-Jay and Verve. Kelly also recorded as a sideman with Cannonball Adderley, Hank Mobley, Wes Montgomery and many others. Wynton Kelly died on on Apr. 12, 1971 at age 39 of an epileptic seizure while on tour in Toronto. Many jazz pianists have acknowledged Kelly as an influence. Bassist Marcus Miller is Kelly's cousin and his daughter Tracy Matisak is a Philadelphia TV personality. Here's a video for Action by Wynton Kelly.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Elaine Stritch
Artist:Elaine Stritch f/Barbara Barrie & Charles Kimbrough
Song:The Little Things You Do Together
Album:The Sondheim Songbook
Singer and actress Elaine Stritch is probably best known for her long career on Broadway. Her performance in the 1970 Original Broadway Cast of Company may be her best known role. She was born Feb. 2, 1925 in Detroit. She trained at the Dramatic Workshop of The New School in New York City. Other students at the time included Marlon Brando and Bea Arthur. Elaine made her stage debut in 1944 and appeared in several Broadway shows including Pal Joey, Bus Stop, Goldilocks, Noel Coward's Sail Away and the national touring production of Call Me Madam. She also appeared on TV and was the original Trixie Norton in the pilot of Jackie Gleason's classic sitcom The Honeymooners. Her role as Joanne in the 1970 production of Stephen Sondheim's musical Company is one of her best known roles. You can get the original cast album on CD. But you can also get The Little Things You Do Together on this Sondheim sampler released by Sony in 1992. It is an excellent intro to Sondheim's music. Barbara Barrie & Charles Kimbrough are both veteran Broadway performers. Elaine moved to England in 1972 to appear in the London production of Company. She and her husband John Bay remained in England and Elaine did a lot of TV. She starred with Donald Sinden in the 1975 sitcom Two's Company which ran for four seasons. After Bay died in 1982, Elaine moved back to the US. She continues to do shows including her one woman show Elaine Stritch At Liberty. And she's done a lot of TV. Many will recognize her as Alec Baldwin's mother on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock. Last year she replaced Angela Lansbury in a revival of the show A Little Night Music. So Elaine Stritch is going strong today. Here's Elaine Stritch performing The Little Things You Do Together at the Original Broadway Cast recording session of Company 1970. This was intended as a pilot for a proposed TV series that was supposed to go behind the scenes of Broadway shows. It never got past the pilot stage. The film was directed by DA Pennebaker and is available on DVD.
Big Bad Blog Video Theater-Carla Esparza vs Felice Herrig
Today's edition of Big Bad Blog Video Theater is from Friday's XFC show in Tampa. It's Carla Esparza vs Felice Herrig. When I last saw Carla, she lost to Jessica Aguilar on a June Bellator show. Carla is a two time All American wrestler. For some reason in that fight, she decided she wanted to be a kickboxer. Anytime a fighter goes against her strength, that fighter will lose. I don't know why she did that but based on this fight, I think she learned her lesson. Most of us first saw Felice in the reality show Fight Girls. She started out as a Muay Thai fighter and has made some strides at improving her ground game at Jeff Curran's camp in Chicago. She's a good self promoter and that made her the favourite in this match. Carla came out very aggressively and took Felice down from the very start. She attempted some submissions but for the most part pounded Felice and kept her from doing anything. Carla seemed much stronger than Felice and she won the first two rounds easily. Felice did a little better in the third round but it wasn't enough and she needed a finish anyway. Carla Esparza won by unanimous decision to get back on the winning track. Enjoy the video!
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-The Bobby Fuller Four
Artist:The Bobby Fuller Four
Song:I Fought The Law
Album:Chart Toppers: Rock Hits Of The 60s
The Bobby Fuller Four had a top ten hit in 1966 with I Fought The Law. Fuller was on his way to a long career in music when he died in a suspicious manner in 1966. If you think Fuller reminds you of the late great Buddy Holly, you're on the right track. He was born Oct. 22, 1942 in Baytown, TX. His family moved to Salt Lake City and then back to El Paso in 1956. Fuller idolized fellow Texan Buddy Holly and was inspired to become a musician. Along with his brother Randy on bass, Fuller played local clubs and recorded a few singles. He moved to Los Angeles in 1964 and The Bobby Fuller Four was signed to the Mustang subsidiary of Del-Fi Records. Del-Fi owner Bob Keane discovered Richie Valens. Along wirh Bobby & Randy Fuller, the band was Jim Reese on guitar and Dewayne Quirico and later Dalton Powell on drums. Fuller didn't mess around. He wanted to be Buddy Holly. He had several hits but I Fought The Law reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1966. I Fought The Law was written by Sonny Curtis of The Crickets. So if Holly had lived, he might have recorded it. The Crickets recorded it in 1960. I Fought The Law got a huge boost when The Clash covered it in 1979. Joe Strummer told fans to listen to Fuller's version. You can get it on this budget various artists comp from PolyGram's Priority label. Sadly Bobby Fuller was found dead in a car outside his Los Angeles apartment building on July 18, 1966 at age 23. The Los Angeles medical examiner ruled it as suicide though Fuller's family and friends have always believed he was murdered. It could have been a mob hit. One of Sam Cooke's relatives thought it was similar to Cooke's murder. Randy Fuller attempted to keep the band together unsuccessfully and he later joined a reformed Buffalo Springfield and Dewey Martin and Medicine Ball after Buffalo Springfield split up. Here's The Bobby Fuller Four performing I Fought The Law on Hullaballoo 1965.
AccuRadio Song Of The Day-Patty Smyth
Artist:Patty Smyth f/Don Henley
Song:Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough
Not to be confused with legendary singer songwriter Patti Smith, Patty Smyth was lead singer of Scandal for their 1984 top ten hit Warrior. She had her only solo success with the 1992 top five hit Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough. She has been married to tennis star John McEnroe since 1997. She was born June 26, 1957 in New York City. She joined Scandal in 1981. They recorded two albums for Columbia. By the time Warrior reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984, internal conflict disintegrated the band and only Patty and guitarist Keith Mack remained. The plan was for them to continue to record as Scandal. That did not work out. Eddie Van Halen invited Patty to replace David Lee Roth in Van Halen. She turned that down and recorded the 1987 solo album Never Enough. It did not sell and Patty left Columbia. She returned with the 1992 CD Patty Smyth for MCA Records and Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It featured vocals by Don Henley of Eagles. The album was certified Gold. Patty co-wrote Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough with Glen Burtnik of Styx. They have written several songs together. E Street Band keyboard player Roy Bittan produced the album. Other than a couple of songs on movie soundtracks, Patty Smyth has not recorded since then. You can get both Warrior and Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough on this comp. VH1 got Scandal to reunite in 2004 and they released an EP in 2008 with the intention of recording a full album. But that was a couple of years ago and nothing has come of it. As I said, Patty has been married to John McEnroe since 1997 and they have six children living with them. I'm sure they keep her busy. Here's the video for Love Sometimes Just Ain't Enough by Patty Smyth featuring Don Henley.
Sara McMann vs Hitomi Akano added to Jan. 21 Pro Elite show
Hitomi Akano
Pro Elite announced a couple of weeks ago that 2004 Olympic wrestling silver medalist Sara McMann would be on their Jan. 21 show in Hawaii. It was reported today that veteran submission specialist Hitomi Akano will be her opponent. Hitomi trains at AACC with her long time best pal Megumi Fujii. Her record is 18-8 and 14 of those wins have been by submission. Her last fight was a win over Roxanne Modafferi on the July 9 JEWELS show. Hitomi's calling card is her ability to get submissions from any position. That ability means that opponents need to be very careful with her as she will try stuff like flying armbars routinely. Apparently Hitomi signed a three fight deal with Pro Elite. A couple of years ago she talked about retiring. She was just married at the time. As I said at the time, Hitomi and Megumi have been best friends for over twenty years. So I expect them to retire together. And of course Megumi will be in her corner for this fight. Sara McMann trains at Revolution MMA. Her record is 4-0 and her last win was over Raquel Pa'aluhi on the Aug. 27 Pro Elite show. Sara won by submission in round three but I thought Sara should have finished the undersized Raquel a lot sooner. And in July, she won over Tonya Evinger by unanimous decision. She seemed to have trouble with Tonya in round three. And again Tonya was undersized as Sara refused to drop to 135 which is Tonya's normal fighting weight. This fight is contracted for 135lb.
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Fremont Catholic Men's Group
Catholic men of the Fremont, Ohio, community, gathering together in God's name to engage and spread the WORD.
Events – Calendar
DONATIONS WELCOMED
Catholic Links for Men
How to Save the Soul of Our Catholic Schools
R. Jared Staudt
“How can we make our school more Catholic?” This is a real question schools ask, some with perplexity. Is it a new curriculum? Better religion classes? Having the kids come to Mass? The answer is vital for the future of Catholic education. The sociologist Christian Smith notes, from his extensive research on the life of young Catholics, that “we cannot report that Catholic schooling and youth group participation have robust effects on emerging adult faith and practice.”
It is obvious to just about everyone that Catholic education currently is sliding into free-fall. As Smith further reports: “Between 1964 and 1984, 40 percent of American Catholic high schools and 27 percent of Catholic elementary schools closed their doors” and the rate has not decreased. Those that remained open “proved less well grounded in the Catholic faith and therefore less capable of passing on a robust Catholicism to their students.” This reality should lead to some serious soul searching among Catholic educators and clergy. We need to do things differently!
We tend to think of the “Catholic” in Catholic schools like sprinkles that are added on top of an ice cream cone. What makes a school Catholic is religion class and an occasional Mass, but otherwise a school is just a school. Our teachers and administrators have been formed in a secular model and don’t always know how to approach Catholic education as a distinct method of formation. There is not a bureaucratic solution from a committee or focus group that can save a school. Instead, we need a spiritual and intellectual renewal.
The Catholic faith must be the heart and soul of the school, not an add on. A few accidental elements, however important they may be, are not enough to make a school Catholic. Catholicism should permeate everything the school does, not in an exterior and artificial way, but by naturally shaping the approach to education and formation. There are two general ways of conceiving this. First, the school should form a distinctively Catholic environment or culture. Second, the curriculum must flow from and lead to a Catholic worldview.
On the first point, Pope Benedict XVI made clear that “Catholic schools should therefore seek to foster that unity between faith, culture and life which is the fundamental goal of Christian education” (“Address to the Participants in the Convention of the Diocese of Rome,” June 11, 2007). Note, the goal of education is not employment or practical skills. It is to unite one’s faith and life, to provide integration that should last into adulthood. We could say that Catholic education should teach us how to be a Christian in the world, or to go even deeper, how to be a saint.
Secondly, faith should shape the curriculum, not by artificially trying to make the content Catholic, but by uniting all subjects within a Catholic world view. One great example of this can be found in Stratford Caldecott’s Beauty for Truth’s Sake, in which he shows that the logical and mathematical structure of the world flows from the Logos, God’s own truth through which he created the world. He shows how numbers and music reflect this order. Another example can be found in Simon Weil’s relation of mathematics to prayer, which shows how studies affect the soul in a way that flows into the spiritual life.
Here are some practical points of what must be done to make a school more Catholic. Most of them are actually quite simple.
First, just as the Eucharist is the source and summit of the faith, so it must be the heart of the school. The culture of the school should form around the rhythm of the liturgy. At a minimum the school should have Mass weekly, but daily Mass more than anything else would make the Eucharist a priority in our Catholic formation. Eucharistic adoration should also occur on a weekly basis, teaching the kids how to adore and honor Jesus in the Eucharist.
The next most important element consists in the witness of teachers and administrators. They embody the faith in their example and way of teaching and leading. Pope Benedict taught that teachers “must also be ready to lead the commitment made by the entire school community to assist our young people, and their families, to experience the harmony between faith, life, and culture” (“Address to Catholic College Presidents,” April 17, 2008). Hiring must include mission fit and dedication to forming children in the faith. Formation for current teachers is essential to help them grow in their relationship with God and knowledge of the Catholic tradition.
In addition to teachers, we need the witness of clergy and religious as an active presence in the school. Their role will make clear that the school exists as part of the Church’s mission of evangelization. Their presence also will plant seeds for vocations. How will children discover a vocation with a model to guide them? Two dioceses with the highest rate of vocations have all of their high school religion courses taught by priests.
Even secular people expect that a faith-based school will provide strong human formation. If our graduates are not more virtuous and mature than students graduating from the public schools, we have fundamentally failed. Without this formation, how else will our students navigate the challenges of our culture, let alone exercise leadership? Students also need to experience Jesus in a living way, not only in prayer, but also by encountering the poor. Human formation and service should make the teaching of the faith concrete. If it is just words in a book, it will be quickly discarded, as happens more often than not.
Continuing this point, another crucial way of making the faith come alive entails teaching our students how to pray. Prayer is where we meet God most directly. Pope Benedict made this point very clearly at the beginning of Deus Caritas Est: “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” Do our students encounter Christ or do they just pass a test on doctrine? We have to teach them to pray, especially through lectio divina, where they learn to enter into a conversation with God, listening to his voice in Scripture and responding to him.
Catholic education is part of a long tradition. One of the first Christian schools opened in the second century, the Catechetical School of Alexandria, with teachers such as Clement and Origen, taught not only the faith, but also philosophy and mathematics. After the fall of Rome, Boethius and Cassiadorus advocated for Christian, classical education, writing textbooks on the trivium and quadrivium. The Church also founded the first universities. Catholics have access to an overwhelming educational, artistic, literary, and cultural legacy. But, graduates of Catholics schools generally don’t encounter this tradition much and if they do it will be remote and abstract. As Christopher Dawson argues in The Crisis of Western Education, we have to immerse our students in the living legacy of Christian culture so they can be formed by it, live it, and pass it on to the next generation.
Education is largely a matter of language, which we use to communicate and express ideas (this is true even outside the liberal arts). Latin is the Church’s language and learning it opens a doorway to Catholic history, tradition, and liturgy. It helps to impart a distinct identity, including being able to pray in common with other Catholics throughout the world. Practically speaking, it sheds light on the English language as at least thirty percent of its vocabulary comes from Latin and another thirty from French (which itself originates in Latin). Also, Latin helps us to grasp the basics of grammar more easily than through English (probably because of English’s much simpler grammar).
The arts provide immersion into the Catholic tradition. The Church has an unrivaled literary, musical, and artistic tradition. As we emphasize the technical elements of education, it is important to remember that deep thinking and expression are something that computers will never master. The liberal arts will be more relevant than ever with the rise of robotics! Literature helps situate students within the story of the Catholicism and to explore moral and spiritual themes in an embodied way. Building on Latin, Gregorian Chant provides a simple and beautiful way to help form a contemplative mind and it also laid the foundation for the development of classical music. The visual arts are essential for cultivating an imagination informed by the faith. Students should be familiar with the great, Catholic artists and their works.
Immersion in the beauty of the tradition should overflow into school Masses. School Masses are not known for their reverence or beauty, especially in music. If students learn to be prayerful in school, this should express itself primarily at Mass, as the children will know how to enter into its mysteries to meet God there. The homily should confidently lead the children into the mystery of the liturgy and its readings, reserving a conversation and Q&As for their increased presence in the classroom.
Finally, the school should look Catholic. The environment should be enriched by Catholic symbols and the beauty of Catholic art. Archbishop Michael Miller, in The Holy See’s Teaching on Catholic Schools, expresses this point well:
If Catholic schools are to be true to their identity, they should try to suffuse their environment with this delight in the sacramental. Therefore they should express physically and visibly the external signs of Catholic culture through images, signs, symbols, icons and other objects of traditional devotion. A chapel, classroom crucifixes and statues, signage, celebrations and other sacramental reminders of Catholic ecclesial life, including good art which is not explicitly religious in its subject matter, should be evident.
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Catholic schools must be more Catholic or they will not be differentiated enough from public schools to survive. As we witness an enormous crisis of public education, we should reflect on how we have followed these schools in their methods to our own demise. The Church has its own legacy of education, which has been marginalized in the last fifty years, but which must be revitalized. If we truly embrace our faith in our own schools, in forming a Catholic culture and worldview, we can save our schools and begin to shape the culture more broadly through the lives of our graduates. By saving the soul of our schools, we’ll help save our own souls!
Editor’s note: Pictured above are four of the seven liberal arts painted by Francesco Pesellino.
Tagged as Catholic renewal/reform, Catholic Schools, education reform, liberal arts, Pope Benedict XVI, Religious Education, Stratford Caldecott
By R. Jared Staudt
R. Jared Staudt works in the Office of Evangelization and Family Life Ministries of the Archdiocese of Denver. He earned his BA and MA in Catholic Studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN and his PhD in Systematic Theology from Ave Maria University in Florida. Staudt served previously as a director of religious education in two parishes, taught at the Augustine Institute and the University of Mary, and served as co-editor of the theological journal Nova et Vetera. He and his wife Anne have six children and he is a Benedictine oblate.
This entry was posted in Adult Catholic Education and tagged Catholic Schools, crisis magazine, education reform, R. Jared Staudt on July 18, 2018 by ManofFaith.
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UE BOOM 2 speaker boosts volume, range and ruggedness
September 16, 2015 JarvisAudio & Videoapp, battery, bike, Bluetooth, Green, IPX7, Review, Slashgear, smartphones, sonos, speaker, speakers, UE, UE BOOM 2, ultimate ears, wireless
In a world where Bluetooth speakers are practically giveaway items, you have to do something special to command a $200 sticker, and Ultimate Ears believes it has the answer. The new UE BOOM 2 takes the cylindrical BOOM of 2013 and gives it a refresh, cranking up the volume by 25-percent while delivering a promised fifteen hours of wireless battery life.
Range is up over the old speaker, too, now at 100 feet versus the original’s roughly 50 feet. It’s still a stubby tube, made of fabric and sturdy rubber, and while there’s a ring on the bottom to attach it to a lanyard or similar, it’s also just the right size to slot into the bottle holder on a bike.
Where the first BOOM was IPX4 rated, the new BOOM 2 steps that up to IPX7. That means it can handle not only splashes and sprays – as well as snow – but immersion in up to a meter of water for up to thirty minutes.
It’s also drop-proof, from up to five feet off the ground anyway.
As before, there’s control through the companion app for smartphones and tablets, with which a second UE speaker can be paired for louder sound. It needn’t be a second UE BOOM 2, either; if you have one of the recent UE ROLL speakers, for instance, that will work too.
However, it’s also possible to control the basics without unlocking your phone. As well as the sizable volume buttons on the side, you can handle play/pause along with skipping to the next track: once you enable “tap controls” in the app, holding the speaker in one hand and tapping its top flips between play and pause. Double-tapping skips on in the playlist.
I’ve been listening to the BOOM 2 for the past few days, and it’s certainly a powerful little speaker. At maximum volume it’s more than sufficient for out in the garden; with the volume notched down lower, while it won’t replace a Sonos setup, the quality is solid, with a surprising degree of burbling bass at the bottom end.
As before, Ultimate Ears has opted for color schemes that fall on the “striking” end of the scale. I might not personally go for the bright blue and green of this particular review unit were I buying it myself, but it certainly made it easy to spot when I knocked it into a bucket of water (all in the name of testing, of course).
You pay for the design and ruggedness, however. Ultimate Ears expects the UE BOOM 2 to be priced at $199.99 when it hits the US along with select European and Asian countries later this month.
(slashgear.com)
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LinnCo, LLC - FORM 10-Q - August 8, 2014
EXCEL - IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT - LinnCo, LLC Financial_Report.xls
EX-99.1 - LINN ENERGY, LLC'S FORM 10-Q Q2 2014 - LinnCo, LLC exhibit991line630201410q.htm
EX-32.2 - CERTIFICATION OF CFO SECTION 906 - LinnCo, LLC q214exhibit322lnco.htm
EX-32.1 - CERTIFICATION OF CEO SECTION 906 - LinnCo, LLC q214exhibit321lnco.htm
QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
for the transition period from _______________ to _______________
LinnCo, LLC
(IRS Employer
600 Travis, Suite 5100
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer x Accelerated filer ¨ Non-accelerated filer ¨ Smaller reporting company ¨
Indicate by check mark whether registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x
As of July 31, 2014, there were 128,544,174 common shares outstanding.
Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013
Statements of Operations for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, and June 30, 2013
Statement of Shareholders’ Equity for the six months ended June 30, 2014
Statements of Cash Flows for the six months ended June 30, 2014, and June 30, 2013
Notes to Financial Statements
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Item 1A.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
(in thousands, except
share amounts)
Accounts receivable – related party
Income taxes receivable
Deferred offering costs
Deferred income tax
Noncurrent assets:
Investment in Linn Energy, LLC
Total noncurrent assets
Noncurrent liabilities:
Income taxes liability
Total noncurrent liabilities
Contingencies (Note 8)
Voting shares; unlimited shares authorized; 1 share issued and outstanding at June 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013
Common shares; unlimited shares authorized, 128,544,174 shares and 128,503,236 shares issued and outstanding at June 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, respectively
(1,265,894
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these financial statements.
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
Equity income (loss) from investment in Linn Energy, LLC
(66,987
General and administrative expenses
(668
(2,531
Loss on transfer of Berry
Income (loss) before income taxes
(100,261
Income tax (expense) benefit
Net income (loss) per share, basic and diluted
(0.34
Weighted average shares outstanding
Dividends declared per share
STATEMENT OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Issuance of common shares
Capital contributions from Linn Energy, LLC
Dividends to shareholders
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash provided by operating activities:
Equity (income) loss from investment in Linn Energy, LLC
Noncash general and administrative expenses paid by Linn Energy, LLC
Deferred income taxes
Cash distributions received
Net cash provided by operating activities
Dividends paid to shareholders
Net cash used in financing activities
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents:
Note 1 – Basis of Presentation
LinnCo, LLC (“LinnCo” or the “Company”) is a Delaware limited liability company formed on April 30, 2012. LinnCo’s initial sole purpose was to own units representing limited liability company interests (“units”) in its affiliate, Linn Energy, LLC (“LINN Energy”). In connection with the acquisition of Berry Petroleum Company (“Berry”) (see Note 2), LinnCo amended its limited liability company agreement to permit, among other things, the acquisition and subsequent transfer of assets to LINN Energy for consideration received. As of June 30, 2014, LinnCo had no significant assets or operations other than those related to its interest in LINN Energy. LINN Energy is an independent oil and natural gas company that trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LINE.” At June 30, 2014, LINN Energy’s last reported sales price per unit, as reported by NASDAQ, was $32.35 and the Company owned approximately 39% of LINN Energy’s outstanding units.
Principles of Reporting
The information reported herein reflects all normal recurring adjustments that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for the fair presentation of the results for the interim periods. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with United States (“U.S.”) generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted under Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and regulations; as such, this report should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. The results reported in these unaudited financial statements should not necessarily be taken as indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year.
Investments in noncontrolled entities over which the Company exercises significant influence are accounted for under the equity method.
Reimbursement of LinnCo’s Costs and Expenses
LINN Energy has agreed to provide to LinnCo, or to pay on LinnCo’s behalf, any legal, accounting, tax advisory, financial advisory and engineering fees, printing costs or other administrative and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by LinnCo, along with any other expenses incurred in connection with any public offering of common shares representing limited liability company interests (“shares”) in LinnCo or incurred as a result of being a publicly traded entity. These expenses include costs associated with annual, quarterly and other reports to holders of LinnCo shares, tax return and Form 1099 preparation and distribution, NASDAQ listing fees, printing costs, independent auditor fees and expenses, legal counsel fees and expenses, limited liability company governance and compliance expenses and registrar and transfer agent fees. In addition, LINN Energy has agreed to indemnify LinnCo and its officers and directors for damages suffered or costs incurred (other than income taxes payable by LinnCo) in connection with carrying out LinnCo’s activities. Because all general and administrative expenses and certain offering costs are actually paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf, no cash is disbursed by LinnCo.
For the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, LinnCo incurred total general and administrative expenses and certain offering costs of approximately $749,000 and $1.5 million, respectively, all of which had been paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf as of June 30, 2014. The expenses for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, include approximately $471,000 and $941,000, respectively, related to services provided by LINN Energy necessary for the conduct of LinnCo’s business, such as accounting, legal, tax, information technology and other expenses. In addition, during the six months ended June 30, 2014, LINN Energy paid approximately $11 million on LinnCo’s behalf for general and administrative expenses incurred by LinnCo in 2013.
For the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, LinnCo incurred total general and administrative expenses and certain offering costs of approximately $3 million and $15 million, respectively, of which approximately $8 million had been paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf as of June 30, 2013. The expenses for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, included approximately $2 million and $13 million, respectively, of transaction costs related to professional services rendered by third parties in connection with the Berry acquisition. The expenses for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, also included approximately $344,000 and $806,000, respectively, related to services provided by LINN
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - Continued
Energy necessary for the conduct of LinnCo’s business, such as accounting, legal, tax, information technology and other expenses.
Within five (5) business days after receiving a cash distribution related to its interests in LINN Energy units, LinnCo is required to pay the cash received, net of reserves for its income tax liability (“tax reserve”), if any, as dividends to its shareholders. The amount of the tax reserve is calculated on a quarterly basis and is determined based on the estimated tax liability for the entire year. The current tax reserve can be increased or reduced, at Company management’s discretion, to account for the over/(under) tax reserve previously recorded. Because the tax reserve is an estimate, upon filing the annual tax returns, if the actual amount of tax due is greater or less than the total amount of tax reserved, the subsequent tax reserve, at Company management’s discretion, could be adjusted accordingly. Any such adjustments are subject to approval by the Company’s Board of Directors (“Board”).
The preparation of the accompanying financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management of the Company to make estimates and assumptions about future events. These estimates and the underlying assumptions affect the amount of assets and liabilities reported, disclosures about contingent assets and liabilities, and reported amounts of income and expenses. These estimates and assumptions are based on management’s best estimates and judgment. Management evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors, including the current economic environment, which management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Such estimates and assumptions are adjusted when facts and circumstances dictate. As future events and their effects cannot be determined with precision, actual results could differ from these estimates. Any changes in estimates resulting from continuous changes in the economic environment will be reflected in the financial statements in future periods.
Accounting for Investment in Linn Energy, LLC
The Company uses the equity method of accounting related to its ownership interest in LINN Energy’s net income (losses). The Company records its share of LINN Energy’s net income (losses) in the period in which it is earned. At June 30, 2014, the Company owned approximately 39% of LINN Energy’s outstanding units. The Company’s ownership percentage could change as LINN Energy issues or repurchases additional units. Changes in the Company’s ownership percentage affect its net income (losses).
At June 30, 2014, the carrying amount of the Company’s investment in LINN Energy exceeded the Company’s ownership interest in LINN Energy’s underlying net assets by approximately $1.3 billion. The difference is attributable to proved and unproved oil and natural gas properties, senior notes and equity method goodwill. These amounts are included in “investment in Linn Energy, LLC” on the balance sheet and are amortized over the lives of the related assets and liabilities. Such amortization is included in the equity income from the Company’s investment in LINN Energy. Equity method goodwill is not amortized; however, the investment is reviewed for impairment. Impairment testing is performed when events or circumstances warrant such testing and considers whether there is an inability to recover the carrying value of an investment that is other than temporary. As of June 30, 2014, no impairment had occurred with respect to the Company’s investment in LINN Energy.
Note 2 – Capitalization
LinnCo’s authorized capital structure consists of two classes of interests: (1) shares with limited voting rights and (2) voting shares, 100% of which are currently held by LINN Energy. At June 30, 2014, LinnCo’s issued capitalization consisted of $3.9 billion in shares and $1,000 contributed by LINN Energy in connection with LinnCo’s formation and in exchange for its voting share. LinnCo is authorized to issue an unlimited number of shares and voting shares. Additional classes of equity interests may be created upon approval by the Board and the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares and voting shares, voting as separate classes.
Berry Acquisition
On December 16, 2013, the Company completed the transactions contemplated by the merger agreement between the Company, LINN Energy and Berry under which LinnCo acquired all of the outstanding common shares of Berry and the contribution agreement between the Company and LINN Energy, under which the Company transferred Berry to LINN Energy in exchange for LINN Energy units. Under the merger agreement, as amended, Berry’s shareholders received 1.68 LinnCo common shares for each Berry common share they owned, totaling 93,756,674 LinnCo common shares valued at approximately $2.7 billion. Under the contribution agreement, LinnCo transferred Berry to LINN Energy after which Berry became an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of LINN Energy. As consideration for the transfer of Berry to LINN Energy, the Company acquired 93,756,674 newly issued LINN Energy units, valued at approximately $2.8 billion and equal to the number of LinnCo shares issued as consideration for Berry.
On the Berry acquisition date, the Company transferred Berry to its affiliate, LINN Energy. Accordingly, the assets, liabilities and results of operations of Berry are not included in the Company’s financial statements. The acquisition of 93,756,674 LINN Energy units, which are equal to the number of LinnCo shares issued as consideration for Berry, increased the Company’s ownership of LINN Energy’s outstanding units from approximately 15% to approximately 39%.
The following unaudited pro forma financial information presents a summary of the Company’s results of operations for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, assuming the transactions had been completed as of January 1, 2013:
Equity income from investment in Linn Energy, LLC
Net income per share, basic and diluted
The pro forma condensed combined statements of operations includes adjustments to:
Reflect the impact of the transactions on the equity income (loss) from investment in LINN Energy. The Company uses the equity method of accounting related to its ownership interest in LINN Energy’s net income (losses).
Reflect the impact of the transactions on taxes.
Exclude transaction costs incurred during the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, consisting of investment banking fees, legal fees and other acquisition-related transaction costs from the pro forma statements of operations as they reflect nonrecurring charges not expected to have a continuing impact on the combined results.
Reflect approximately 93.8 million LinnCo common shares assumed to be issued in conjunction with the transaction on January 1, 2013.
Note 3 – Business
In October 2012, LinnCo completed its IPO. At no time after LinnCo’s formation and prior to the IPO did LinnCo have any operations or own any interest in LINN Energy. After the IPO, LinnCo’s initial sole purpose was to own units in its affiliate, LINN Energy. In connection with the Berry acquisition (see Note 2), LinnCo amended its limited liability company agreement to permit, among other things, the acquisition and subsequent transfer of assets to LINN Energy for consideration received. As of June 30, 2014, LinnCo had no significant assets or operations other than those related to its interest in LINN Energy.
Note 4 – Summarized Financial Information for Linn Energy, LLC
Following is summarized statements of operations and balance sheet information for LINN Energy. Additional information on LINN Energy’s results of operations and financial position are contained in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, which is included in this filing as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Summarized Linn Energy, LLC Statements of Operations Information
Revenues and other
Other income and (expenses)
Summarized Linn Energy, LLC Balance Sheets Information
Noncurrent assets
Noncurrent liabilities
Unitholders’ capital
LinnCo is a limited liability company that has elected to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for temporary differences between the basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities for financial and tax reporting purposes. At June 30, 2014, and December 31, 2013, the majority of the Company’s temporary difference and associated deferred tax benefit resulted from its investment in LINN Energy.
Note 6 – Distributions and Dividends
The following provides a summary of distributions paid by LINN Energy to LinnCo and dividends paid by LinnCo to its shareholders during the six months ended June 30, 2014:
LINN Energy Distributions to LinnCo
Date Paid
Distributions Per Unit
Total Distributions
(in millions)
LinnCo Dividends to its Shareholders
Total Dividends
On July 1, 2014, LINN Energy’s Board declared a cash distribution of $0.725 per unit with respect to the second quarter of 2014, to be paid in three equal monthly installments of $0.2416 per unit. The first monthly distribution with respect to the second quarter of 2014, totaling approximately $31 million, was paid to LinnCo on July 16, 2014.
On July 1, 2014, the Company’s Board declared a cash dividend of $0.725 per common share with respect to the second quarter of 2014, to be paid in three equal monthly installments of $0.2416 per common share pending the receipt of the applicable cash distribution from LINN Energy. Company management has determined that no income tax reserve is required to be deducted from the cash dividend declared on July 1, 2014. The first monthly dividend with respect to the second quarter of 2014, totaling approximately $31 million, was paid on July 17, 2014, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 11, 2014.
Note 7 – Supplemental Disclosures to the Statements of Cash Flows
For the six months ended June 30, 2014, and June 30, 2013, LinnCo incurred and recorded approximately $1.5 million and $15 million, respectively, of general and administrative expenses and certain offering costs, all of which had been paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf as of June 30, 2014. Of the expenses and costs incurred for the six months ended June 30, 2013, approximately $8 million had been paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf as of June 30, 2013. In addition, during the six months ended June 30, 2014, LINN Energy paid approximately $11 million on LinnCo’s behalf for general and administrative expenses incurred by LinnCo in 2013. All of these expenses and costs are paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf, and therefore, are accounted for as capital contributions and reflected as noncash transactions by LinnCo.
Note 8 – Contingencies
In the summer of 2013, several class action complaints were filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of Texas and the United States District Court, Southern District of New York (the “SDNY”) against LINN Energy, LinnCo, certain of their officers and directors and the various underwriters for LinnCo’s initial public offering (these cases were subsequently consolidated in the SDNY (the “Combined Actions”)). These cases collectively asserted claims based on allegations that LINN Energy made false or misleading statements relating to its hedging strategy, the cash flow available for distribution to unitholders, and LINN Energy’s energy production in its Exchange Act filings and additional claims based on alleged misstatements relating to these issues in the prospectus and registration statement for LinnCo’s initial public offering.
In November 2013, LINN Energy and the other defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Combined Actions. On July 8, 2014, the Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims with prejudice concluding that the plaintiff failed to demonstrate any material misstatement or omission by LINN Energy or LinnCo.
On July 10, 2013, Judy Mesirov, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against Mark E. Ellis, Kolja Rockov, David B. Rottino, Arden L. Walker, Jr., Charlene A. Ripley, Michael C. Linn, Joseph P. McCoy, George A. Alcorn, Terrence S. Jacobs, David D. Dunlap, Jeffrey C. Swoveland, and Linda M. Stephens in the District Court of Harris County, Texas (the “Mesirov Action”). On July 12, 2013, John Peters, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against many of the same defendants in the District Court of Harris County, Texas (the “Peters Action”). On August 26, 2013, Joseph Abdalla, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against many of the same defendants in the District Court of Harris County, Texas (the “Abdalla Action”) (the Mesirov Action, Peters Action, and Abdalla Actions together, the “Texas State Court Derivative Actions”). On August 19, 2013, the Charlote J. Lombardo Trust of 2004, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against many of the same defendants in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (the “Lombardo Action”). On September 30, 2013, the Thelma Feldman Rev. Trust, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against many of the same defendants (the “Feldman Rev. Trust Action”). On October 21, 2013, the Parker Family Trust of 2012, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against many of the same defendants (the “Parker Family Trust Action”) (the Lombardo Action, Feldman Rev. Trust Action, and Parker Family Trust Action together, the “Texas Federal Court Derivative Actions”) (the Texas State Court Derivative Action and Texas Federal Court Derivative Actions together, the “Texas Derivative Actions”). On May 28, 2014, Bill McKinnon, derivatively on behalf of nominal defendant LINN Energy, filed a shareholder derivative petition against many of the same defendants (the “McKinnon Action”) in the Delaware Court of Chancery (the “Delaware Derivative Action”) (the Delaware Derivative Action and the Texas Derivative Actions collectively, the “Derivative Actions”). The Derivative Actions assert derivative claims on behalf of LINN Energy against the individual defendants for alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, waste of corporate assets, mismanagement, abuse of control, and unjust enrichment based on factual allegations similar to those in the Combined Actions. The cases are in their preliminary stages and it is possible that additional similar actions could be filed in the District Court of Harris County, Texas, the Delaware Court of Chancery, or in other jurisdictions. As a result, the Company is unable to estimate a possible loss, or range of possible loss, if any.
Note 9 – SEC Inquiry
As disclosed on July 1, 2013, the Company and its affiliate, LINN Energy, have been notified by the staff of the SEC that its Fort Worth Regional Office has commenced an inquiry regarding LINN Energy and LinnCo (the “SEC inquiry”). The SEC staff is investigating whether any violations of federal securities laws have occurred. The SEC staff has stated that the fact of the inquiry should not be construed as an indication that the SEC or its staff has a negative view of any entity, individual or security. Both LINN Energy and LinnCo are cooperating fully with the SEC in this matter. LINN Energy and LinnCo are unable to predict the timing or outcome of the SEC inquiry or estimate the nature or amount of any possible sanction the SEC could seek to impose, which could include a fine, penalty, or court or administrative order prohibiting specific conduct, or a potential restatement of LINN Energy’s or LinnCo’s financial statements, any of which could be material. No provision for losses has been recorded for this exposure.
The following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect the Company’s future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. The forward-looking statements are dependent upon events, risks and uncertainties that may be outside the Company’s control. The Company’s actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those factors set forth in “Cautionary Statement” below and in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and elsewhere in the Annual Report. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed may not occur.
The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. A reference to a “Note” herein refers to the accompanying Notes to Financial Statements contained in Item 1. “Financial Statements.”
LinnCo, LLC (“LinnCo” or the “Company”) is a Delaware limited liability company formed on April 30, 2012, under the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, that has elected to be treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Linn Energy, LLC (“LINN Energy”), an independent oil and natural gas company that trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “LINE,” owns LinnCo’s sole voting share.
LinnCo’s success is dependent upon the operation and management of LINN Energy and its resulting performance. Therefore, LINN Energy’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, has been included in this filing as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
At no time after LinnCo’s formation and prior to the initial public offering (“IPO”) did LinnCo have any operations or own any interest in LINN Energy. After the IPO, LinnCo’s initial sole purpose was to own units representing limited liability company interests (“units”) in its affiliate, LINN Energy. In connection with the acquisition of Berry Petroleum Company (“Berry”) (see Note 2), LinnCo amended its limited liability company agreement to permit, among other things, the acquisition and subsequent transfer of assets to LINN Energy for consideration received. As of June 30, 2014, LinnCo had no significant assets or operations other than those related to its interest in LINN Energy.
The Company’s equity income (loss) primarily consists of its share of earnings of LINN Energy attributed to the units the Company owns. As a result of acquiring additional LINN Energy units in exchange for the transfer of Berry, the Company increased its ownership of LINN Energy’s outstanding units from approximately 15% to approximately 39% (see Berry Acquisition above). The percentage ownership of LINN Energy could continue to change due to the Company’s ownership of additional units or other issuances or repurchases of units by LINN Energy. The Company uses the equity method of accounting for its investment in LINN Energy.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Continued
Following is summarized statements of operations information for LINN Energy. Additional information on LINN Energy’s results of operations and financial position are contained in its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, which is included in this filing as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.
Linn Energy, LLC
The Company’s general and administrative expenses are associated with managing the business and affairs of LinnCo. For the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, LinnCo incurred total general and administrative expenses of approximately $668,000 and $1.4 million, respectively, all of which had been paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf as of June 30, 2014. The expenses for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, include approximately $471,000 and $941,000, respectively, related to services provided by LINN Energy necessary for the conduct of LinnCo’s business, such as accounting, legal, tax, information technology and other expenses. In addition, during the six months ended June 30, 2014, LINN Energy paid approximately $11 million on LinnCo’s behalf for general and administrative expenses incurred by LinnCo in 2013. For the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, LinnCo incurred total general and administrative expenses of approximately $3 million and $14 million, respectively, of which approximately $8 million had been paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf as of June 30, 2013. Because all general and administrative expenses are actually paid by LINN Energy on LinnCo’s behalf, no cash is disbursed by LinnCo.
The loss on transfer of Berry of approximately $1 million for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, reflects acquisition accounting adjustments to the fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed from Berry that were subsequently transferred to LINN Energy. The adjustments impacted the deferred income taxes assumed by LinnCo in the Berry acquisition that were not transferred to LINN Energy.
Income tax benefit of approximately $26 million and $38 million, respectively, for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2014, and income tax expense of approximately $25 million and $10 million, respectively, for the three months and six months ended June 30, 2013, are based on the Company’s net income (loss) for the periods, primarily associated with equity income (loss) from its investment in LINN Energy.
The Company’s authorized capital structure consists of two classes of interests: (1) shares with limited voting rights, which were issued in the IPO and (2) voting shares, 100% of which are held by LINN Energy. At June 30, 2014, LinnCo’s issued capitalization consisted of $3.9 billion in common shares representing limited liability company interests (“shares”) and $1,000 contributed by LINN Energy in connection with LinnCo’s formation and in exchange for its voting share. Additional classes of equity interests may be created upon approval by the Board and the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares and voting shares, voting as separate classes.
LINN Energy has agreed to provide to LinnCo, or to pay on LinnCo’s behalf, any legal, accounting, tax advisory, financial advisory and engineering fees, printing costs or other administrative and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by LinnCo, along with any other expenses incurred in connection with any public offering of LinnCo shares or incurred as a result of being a publicly traded entity. These expenses include costs associated with annual, quarterly and other reports to holders of LinnCo shares, tax return and Form 1099 preparation and distribution, NASDAQ listing fees, printing costs, independent auditor fees and expenses, legal counsel fees and expenses, limited liability company governance and compliance expenses and registrar and transfer agent fees.
The Company expects neither to generate nor to require significant cash in its ongoing business. Any cash received from the sale of additional shares will be immediately used to purchase additional LINN Energy units. Accordingly, the Company does not anticipate any other sources or needs for additional liquidity.
Distributions and Dividends
Within five (5) business days after receiving a cash distribution related to its interest in LINN Energy units, LinnCo is required to pay the cash received, net of reserves for its income tax liability (“tax reserve”), if any, as dividends to its shareholders. The following provides a summary of dividends paid by the Company during the six months ended June 30, 2014:
See Part II. Item 1. “Legal Proceedings” for information regarding legal proceedings that the Company is party to and any contingencies related to these legal proceedings.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The discussion and analysis of the Company’s financial condition and results of operations is based upon the financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires management of the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, expenses and related disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities. These estimates and assumptions are based on management’s best estimates and judgment. Management evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Such estimates and assumptions are adjusted when facts and circumstances dictate. Actual results may differ from these estimates and assumptions used in the preparation of the financial statements.
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Because substantially all of LinnCo’s assets consist of its interests in LINN Energy’s units, these risks and uncertainties primarily relate to LINN Energy’s business which include the following:
business strategy;
acquisition strategy;
financial strategy;
effects of the pending SEC inquiry and other legal proceedings;
ability to maintain or grow distributions;
drilling locations;
oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids (“NGL”) reserves;
realized oil, natural gas and NGL prices;
production volumes;
capital expenditures;
economic and competitive advantages;
credit and capital market conditions;
regulatory changes;
lease operating expenses, general and administrative expenses and development costs;
future operating results, including results of acquired properties;
plans, objectives, expectations and intentions;
taxes; and
integration of acquired businesses and operations, which may take longer than anticipated, may be more costly than anticipated as a result of unexpected factors or events and may have an unanticipated adverse effect on LINN Energy’s business.
All of these types of statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be found in Item 2. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursue,” “target,” “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are largely based on LINN Energy and Company expectations, which reflect estimates and assumptions made by LINN Energy and Company management. These estimates and assumptions reflect management’s best judgment based on currently known market conditions and other factors. Although the Company believes such estimates and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and involve a number of risks and uncertainties beyond its control. In addition, management’s assumptions may prove to be inaccurate. The
Company cautions that the forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are not guarantees of future performance, and it cannot assure any reader that such statements will be realized or the forward-looking statements or events will occur. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated or implied in forward-looking statements due to factors set forth in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013, and elsewhere in the Annual Report. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and, other than as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The nature of the Company’s business and operations is such that no activities or transactions are conducted or entered into by the Company that would require it to have a discussion under this item.
For a discussion of these matters as they pertain to LINN Energy, please read Item 3. “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk” of LINN Energy’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, which is included in this filing as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference as activities of LINN Energy have an impact on the Company’s results of operations and financial position.
The Company maintains disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to management, including the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, and the Company’s Audit Committee of the Board of Directors, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives, and management is required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
The Company carried out an evaluation under the supervision and with the participation of its management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based on this evaluation, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2014.
Changes in the Company’s Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
The Company’s management is also responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting, as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act. The Company’s internal controls were designed to provide reasonable assurance as to the reliability of its financial reporting and the preparation and presentation of the financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not detect or prevent misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
There were no changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting during the second quarter of 2014 that materially affected, or were reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
Our business has many risks. Factors that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or the trading price of our shares are described in Item 1A. “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. Except as set forth below, as of the date of this report, these risk factors have not changed materially. This information should be considered carefully, together with other information in this report and other reports and materials we file with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
We will incur corporate income tax liabilities on income allocated to us by LINN Energy with respect to LINN Energy units we own, which may be substantial.
We are classified as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, in most states in which LINN Energy does business, for state income tax purposes. Under current law, we will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at rates of up to 35% (and a 20% alternative minimum tax in certain cases), and to state income tax at rates that vary from state to state, on the net income allocated to us by LINN Energy with respect to the LINN Energy units we own. The amount of cash available for distribution to you will be reduced by the amount of any such income taxes payable by us for which we establish reserves.
Item 1A. Risk Factors - Continued
The amount of income taxes payable by us depends on a number of factors including LINN Energy’s earnings from its operations, the amount of those earnings allocated to us and the amount of the distributions paid to us by LINN Energy. Our income tax liabilities could be substantial if any of the following occurs:
LINN Energy significantly decreases its drilling activity;
an issuance of significant additional units by LINN Energy without a corresponding increase in the aggregate tax deductions generated by LINN Energy;
tax carryforwards available become subject to further limitations on their annual usage;
proposed legislation is enacted that eliminates the current deduction of intangible drilling costs and other tax incentives to the oil and natural gas industry; or
there is a significant increase in oil and natural gas prices.
We entered into a contribution agreement with LINN Energy with respect to the issuance of LINN Energy units to us in connection with the transfer by us of Berry Petroleum Company (“Berry”) to LINN Energy. Under the contribution agreement, at the end of each calendar year 2014 and 2015, we and LINN Energy will work in good faith to evaluate whether, in addition to any distribution to which we are entitled with respect to LINN Energy units we own, LINN Energy will make one or more special distributions to us solely out of funds available to make “operating cash flow distributions” (as such term is defined in Treasury Regulations Section 1.707-4(b)(2)) to reasonably compensate us for the actual increase in tax liability to us, if any, resulting from the allocation of depreciation, depletion and amortization and other cost recovery deductions using the “remedial allocation method” pursuant to Treasury Regulations Section 1.704-3(d), with respect to the assets acquired in the transfer. The transaction is not currently expected to give rise to any additional tax liability for us for the next two years over and above our current estimates.
The total tax liabilities generated from the remedial allocation will be recognized over the remaining life of the underlying assets, which could extend beyond 50 years. The total deferred income tax liabilities impact from the transactions is estimated to be approximately $871 million (included in the total approximate $721 million of net deferred income tax liabilities shown on the balance sheet). These tax liabilities will be partially deferred when considering the tax shield that we receive with respect to the LINN Energy units we currently own. If we were to sell or otherwise liquidate the LINN Energy units acquired, the deferred tax liabilities of approximately $871 million would be payable.
Further, as noted in LINN Energy’s risk factor related to unitholders’ potential tax obligations, we may be required to pay taxes on our allocated portion of LINN Energy’s taxable income if LINN Energy is unable to divest certain of its higher decline, capital intensive properties and acquire more mature, long-life oil and natural gas properties with lower decline rates in a tax efficient manner or it receives proceeds from the sale of these properties in excess of the purchase price for the acquisition portion of those transactions.
We are subject to statutory tax audits of our income tax returns and our income tax liabilities could be substantially higher than we project after such audits.
We and LINN Energy are subject to statutory tax audits pursuant to federal and state regulations, in particular for tax positions taken by Berry in prior fiscal years. After such audits, the tax authorities may disagree with and disallow certain tax positions that we and LINN Energy have inherited from Berry in the Berry acquisition in 2013. If we and LINN Energy are unable to prevail in an administrative or court proceeding to sustain some or all of the positions taken by Berry, we may be subject to substantial income tax liabilities and corresponding penalties and interest, which may be immediately due. Any adverse decision by the tax authorities or in an administrative or court proceeding may result in our reducing or eliminating our cash dividend for a period of time, which could be lengthy, to reserve cash to fund any such potential or actual income tax liabilities.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
In August 2014, the Board of Directors of the Company authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million of the Company’s outstanding shares from time to time on the open market or in negotiated purchases. The repurchase plan does not obligate the Company to acquire any specific number of shares and may be discontinued at any time. The Company did not repurchase any shares during the six months ended June 30, 2014.
Exhibit Number
31.1*
Section 302 Certification of Mark E. Ellis, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of LinnCo, LLC
Section 302 Certification of Kolja Rockov, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of LinnCo, LLC
Linn Energy, LLC’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014
101.INS**
101.SCH**
101.CAL**
101.DEF**
101.LAB**
101.PRE**
Filed herewith.
Furnished herewith.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
/s/ David B. Rottino
David B. Rottino
Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
(As Duly Authorized Officer and Chief Accounting Officer)
LinnCo, LLC Page
LinnCo, LLC Reports
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Restoration of Haji Ali Dargah
Haji Ali Dargah is one of the most popular religious places in Mumbai, is a landmark monument, one of it's kind in the world. The Dargah Sharief is more than 500 years old. The pictures above show the Dargah Sharief as it existed before the present structure prior to 1960.
The present form structure of Haji Ali Dargah Sharief was reconstructed between 1960 and 1964 and the pathway leading to the Dargah Sharief was constructed between 1944 and 1952 by utilizing the funds of the Trust.
The structure has white domes and minarets reminiscent with the architecture of the Mughal period. Below images show the Dargah Sharief in it's present state and form.
The present and earlier structures are made of RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) reinforced with steel. The structure as observed by many a visitor has severely corroded due to it's proximity to the sea and salt-content in the breeze coming from over the sea. Even non-ferrous metals have been observed to corrode at Haji Ali Dargah.
The structure needed repairs and restoration, however reusing RCC placed the same challenges in front of the Trustees who wanted to restore the beauty and ambience of the Dargah Sharief as well as ensure the longevity of the Dargah Sharief buildings.
The Trustees in consultation with their structural engineers and architects decided to restore the entire mausoleum in solid pure white marble stone obtained straight from the famous mines of Makrana in Rajasthan (India) and create a semblance similar to the famous Taj Mahal.
Being a heritage structure and in the middle of the sea, the Trust had to obtain various permissions from various departments of the government at all levels in the city, state and center took it's own process.
Work was commenced in 2009 after obtaining all necessary permissions and clearances. Above are images of the sketch and layout plan of the proposed structure. On the right are images of the sketch, Glasswork design of the proposed dome and the work-in progress on the Minaret of the Masjid.
The work is being carried out in a phased manner in smaller proportions in order to accommodate the thousands of visitors and devotees who come to the shrine everyday and cause minimal disruption in their paying homage to the revered Saint of Mumbai Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.).
The trustees of Haji Ali Dargah Trust make a humble request and appeal to all visitors, devotees and followers of Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.) to send in their donations, offerings and contribute towards the magnanimous and missionary task of the renovation, reconstruction and beautification work of the Dargah of your beloved Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.). And whenever you see it, visit it, or come to hear about it, you will feel that somewhere in the structure you have left an imprint of your heart and love for your beloved Saint Pir Haji Ali Shah Bukhari (R.A.) and in it will be your impression of the city of Mumbai where many a soul has found home and livelihood.
To send your donations, offerings, please click here. You may also contribute in general and towards other specific activities carried out by the Trust. To know more about the Trust and it's activities please click here.
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http://havanajournal.com/business/entry/herzfeld-caribbean-basin-fund-cuba-related-mutual-fund/
HavanaJournal.com: Cuba Business
Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund - Cuba related mutual fund
Posted August 08, 2006 by publisher in Cuba Business.
http://yahoo.smartmoney.com/barrons/
THOMAS J. HERZFELD was early to the party — very early.
In 1994, the closed-end fund guru based in Miami launched the Cuba Fund. Its aim was to provide a way to invest in the rebuilding of a free Cuba.
Later that year, it was renamed the Herzfeld Caribbean Basin Fund (CUBA: 8.21, 0.23, 2.9%). The fund trades on Nasdaq, and since its founding, its assets have grown to $14 million — not much, but not bad for an investment that, in essence, is a bet on a not-so-sure thing — that once Fidel Castro dies, his brand of hard-core communism will be kicked off the island, the U.S. will lift its longtime trade embargo against Havana and Herzfeld can convert his Cuba-related holdings into big gains.
Herzfeld’s ship may have come in — although Castro, who came to power in Cuba in 1959 and has ruled with an iron fist, hasn’t gone quite yet. But word last week of Castro’s hospitalization and intestinal surgery, not to mention rumors of his death, pushed up the value of the Caribbean Basin Fund’s shares overnight. (The illness, by the way, inspired some editor at the New York Daily News to pen a truly great headline: “Fidel Gastro.”)
On July 31, the shares traded at 7.05, a 6.6% discount to the fund’s underlying net asset value. The following day, when word of Castro’s illness surfaced, the shares closed at 7.95, a 5.4% premium. On Aug. 2, the shares jumped to a more than a 20% premium before ending up at 8.81, a 15.8% premium. (Unlike open-end funds, closed-ends have a fixed number of shares that trade on an exchange. They can be bought or sold throughout the trading day, with their shares trading in relation to their perceived net asset value.)
“When we selected the portfolio, we knew there was no way to time when the [trade] embargo with Cuba would be lifted,” Herzfeld says.
While Cuba has, by and large, a state-run economy, it has opened up joint-investment ventures to certain foreign countries, including Spain, in sectors such as tourism. But pure-play investments there aren’t prevalent, and the embargo prevents Americans from investing there directly.
Herzfeld’s fund is hardly a pure play on Cuba. It has plenty of exposure to Mexico, with such holdings as Cemex (CX: 28.80, -0.20, -0.7%), Telefonos de Mexico (TMX: 24.35, -0.44, -1.8%) and Am�rica M�vil (AMX: 35.94, -0.15, -0.4%), and to U.S. companies, several in Puerto Rico. Other countries where it invests include Panama, Colombia, Belize and the Cayman Islands.
Herzfeld has invested in U.S. companies that he maintains would benefit if Cuba opens up to U.S. investment. One is Florida East Coast Industries (FLA: 51.36, 0.19, 0.4%), which has real-estate and railroad holdings, including a freight line whose business would likely increase from trade between Cuba and the U.S. He also holds Royal Caribbean (RCL: 34.56, -0.14, -0.4%) and Carnival (CCL: 38.13, 0.17, 0.5%), cruise lines that could get a boost from an opening of the Cuban economy.
In terms of direct investment in Cuba, the fund does hold $165,000 of sovereign debt, now in default, issued in the pre-Castro era. Herzfeld is betting that if Cuba does liberalize its economy, the government will agree to repay a portion of that debt, which was due in 1977.
A similar bet is Cuban Electric, a thinly traded U.S. firm no longer in operation whose investors filed thousands of claims against the Cuban government after it seized the company’s assets. Herzfeld maintains those claims are worth $74 a share, excluding interest. Whether the Cuban government will ever make good on the claims is uncertain, although Herzfeld thinks Washington would demand they be addressed before lifting the embargo.
Over the years, even as Cuba has shown no sign of changing its leadership and economy, the fund has made money for its shareholders. As of Aug. 2, the closing share price of 8.81 represented a 102% gain since inception, adjusted for distributions. The net asset value, also adjusted for distributions, was up 86%.
But predicting geopolitics is dicey.
And any liberalization of the Cuban economy is “more than likely to be a gradual process, but it all depends on how things unfold,” says Robbert Van Batenburg, head of Global Research at Louis Capital Markets in New York.
Bill Rocco, an analyst at Morningstar who follows international funds, doesn’t know of any other funds besides Caribbean Basin with as much of a Cuban focus. (Herzfeld has filed an application to launch another fund, this one with holdings even more concentrated on Cuba.)
Emerging-market funds with a Latin American focus, Rocco says, are mostly a play on Brazil and Mexico, with countries like Chile and Peru at the margins. “The Caribbean is generally not what they are concerned about,” he says. And if Cuba does open to foreign investment, “We’re not talking about the development of China here by any stretch of the imagination,” he adds. Cuba’s proximity to the U.S. could make for a powerful economic combination, Rocco says, “But the Caribbean as a whole is not really a big place.”
Herzfeld, however, senses plenty of opportunities. “It will take billions of dollars just to rebuild the infrastructure” in Cuba, he says.
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Why China isn’t an innovation powerhouse
By Guy de Jonquières, Special to CNN
Editor’s note: Guy de Jonquières is a senior fellow at the European Centre for International Political Economy. This article is based on his recently published paper, Who’s Afraid of China’s High-Tech Challenge?
Some of the sheen may be wearing off China’s miracle growth story as it faces a growing array of economic challenges. But the country’s drive to become an innovation powerhouse and global leader in science and advanced technologies continues to inspire shock and awe abroad.
China has already overtaken the United States and Japan to become the largest recipient of patent applications and is forecast to outstrip the U.S. as the biggest source of scientific publications by 2020. Its universities turn out about 2 million engineering graduates annually, more than any other country.
Beijing’s plans are more breathtaking still. The most far-reaching is the Strategic Emerging Industries initiative, which is backed by state funding of as much as $2 trillion over five years and aims to leapfrog today’s global leaders in sectors such as clean energy, information technology, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and new materials.
However, as so often in China, all is not quite as it seems. Surging national patent applications, it turns out, have been spurred less by an explosion of innovation than by numerical government targets for filings and lavish state incentives to ensure they are met. This looks suspiciously like a case of “Never mind the quality, just feel the weight.”
In 2011, for example, fewer than a third of patent applications in China were classified as “innovation” patents, and these accounted for only one tenth of all patents granted between 1985 and 2010. Studies have also found patents granted to Chinese owners generally to be of lower quality than those held by non-Chinese.
More from GPS: Why American innovation will beat out China's
The difference is reflected in the huge imbalance between the income China receives from foreign royalties on patents it has issued – $1 billion in 2011 – and its $18 billion royalty payments that year to patent holders abroad. Though internal technology transfers by multinational companies to their Chinese affiliates account for some of the $17 billion deficit, China clearly still relies far more on imported technologies than on those it has developed itself.
The country’s fast-growing research and development efforts will be critical to closing that gap – and China is certainly throwing money at the problem: last year, it spent almost $300 billion on R&D, second only to the United States and more than Japan and Germany, the next two largest spenders, combined.
However, R&D spending measures only input, not output, which is what matters to technological and industrial success. By that yardstick, there are many questions about how well China performs. It possesses many clever – even brilliant – scientific brains and engineers. But they are minority. A 2008 study by Duke University found engineering degrees in the U.S. were generally superior to those in China, while all but a few of 80 companies worldwide surveyed in 2005 by McKinsey, the management consultancy, judged U.S.-educated engineers to be far more employable than those educated in China or India.
Other constraints also hinder R&D in China. In its universities, intense rivalry for career advancement among researchers has led to widespread academic plagiarism and corruption; fear or intolerance of failure, especially in the large state sector, tend to deter imaginative risk-taking, while political repression of dissent and an education system heavily based on rote learning hardly encourage original thinking and creativity.
More from CNN: Can Apple win over China?
Innovation also involves far more than invention. It requires the ability to translate laboratory breakthroughs into successful products and services that tap into market demand. That, in turn, means harnessing a far wider and more complex combination of skills and capabilities than just technical competence.
A widely-used indicator of a country’s progress towards that goal is Total Factor Productivity (TFP), which measures all the economic inputs that cannot be explained by productivity of capital and labor: for example, technical skills, management capabilities, organizational competence, accumulated knowhow and the ability to apply as well as to develop technology.
In the decade or so up to 2007, China achieved rapid annual gains in TFP. Since then, however, they have fallen by as much as half. A recent study by Ernst & Young, the accountancy firm, says that instead of moving closer to the “technology frontier” – the TFP benchmark set by the most advanced economies – China is slipping steadily further away from it.
If China is to fulfill its leaders’ dreams of dominating world markets for the products and services of the future, it will need capable companies to deliver them. It boasts some nimble, enterprising and fast-growing technology companies, such as Huawei in telecom equipment and Baidu, Sina and Alibaba in online services, which have been adept at pioneering new markets. But they are still few in number and many have yet to venture far beyond China’s borders.
So how should China respond? To breed more industrial winners, the country needs to overcome several self-inflicted handicaps. Perhaps the biggest is a highly unbalanced economy that depends excessively on fixed asset investment – about half of GDP – for growth. This is the result of a skewed financial system that floods banks with abundant artificially cheap capital, much of which is then lent to manufacturers, construction companies and property developers. The system, combined with local governments’ frenzied efforts to boost growth and employment, has spawned massive excess capacity, eroding borrowers’ profitability and their capacity to repay mounting debt.
More from CNN: Should you look for work in China?
The economy is distorted further by political favoritism, which channels preferential financing and many other privileges to the state-owned enterprises (SoEs) that dominate many sectors of the economy. However, the SoEs are slow-moving and far less efficient than the private companies that are the main innovators and pace-setters in many of China’s high-tech growth markets. Indeed, some studies have found that collectively the SoEs destroy, rather than create, wealth.
China’s new leadership, headed by President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, are well aware of the need to tackle these problems. Effecting change, however, means confronting an array of thorny challenges, starting with entrenched resistance from the many politically powerful interests that profit handsomely from keeping things as they are. It’s still unclear which way the battle over reforms now raging in the ruling Communist party will go.
Another of China’s disadvantages is that few of its companies yet possess an international presence or much experience of operating abroad. Most lack globally recognized consumer brands and the marketing expertise and distribution channels needed to control the downstream activities where established western competitors often earn much of their profit.
Increasingly, Chinese companies are seeking to make up for those deficiencies by acquiring businesses in the West. But despite the state’s deep pockets and a reputation for paying fancy prices, that route can also be an obstacle course. Many “crown jewel” foreign companies aren’t for sale – and if they are, Chinese bidders can run into local political opposition or barriers erected on national security grounds, especially in the United States.
Far from being poised to sweep to global dominance in innovation and high-technology, China is still struggling to catch up with the established world leaders. It has made some notable progress, including breeding some resourceful and fast-growing companies. However, many of these advances have been achieved in spite of, rather than because of, China’s state and its extensive control over the economy.
Whether China can ever produce fundamental breakthroughs or innovators to match Thomas Edison, Henry Ford or Steve Jobs remains an open question. What is increasingly apparent, though, is that China’s capacity to transform the global order in science and technology depends critically on its ability to confront tough challenges it faces at home.
Topics: China • Technology
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15 years ago! Why did USA betrayed Great Britain. Hong Kong would never have been lost to Chinese, without US betrayal. Now, USA and Great Britain, both NATO members, cannot trust each other. No one can trust USA after this betrayal.
October 24, 2013 at 10:37 am | Reply
Nelson,
If you expect one nation to spend blood and treasure to guarantee what another nation originally grabbed from China in a successful war fought over the right of British merchants to profitably addict Chinese to opium, you have another think coming.
Happily, virtually all Brits nowadays vehemently disagree with you, so Amis and Brits get along great. Except when a certain G.W.B. and T.B. go crazy over Iraq. But, hey, even the best of relationships have their rough spots! We live and learn, together.
The British may have taken Hong Kong by force, but it was never legally owned by the Chinese communist government until the Brits gave it to them. The communist army sought to take Hong Kong by force, along with everything else, with no more legitimacy than the British.
Hong Kong should have been either given to the Republic of China based on Taiwan, or made a permanent independent state. Gifting it to the commies was ridiculous.
October 24, 2013 at 6:37 pm |
To start with, China has to instil a new spirit of volunteerism. Children should be inspired to learn and not forced to do so. China should take a look at schools in Finland and Sweden, where children are taught to explore and develop.
October 25, 2013 at 8:31 am |
scourge99
Its cliche how any criticism of the Chinese is ignored and the US or some other nation is brought up to distract from the point. Apparently Chinese commentators aren't familiar with the Tu Quoque fallacy.: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tu_quoque
October 24, 2013 at 12:26 pm | Reply
Just like how tian an men's brought up for every argument? When the US done way worse in recent years? i.e. the wars in ME, spying on the global, MIC complex etc... It's not distracting from the problem, when you have no moral or ethical grounds of bring it up in the first place.
October 24, 2013 at 12:38 pm |
@Really
Thank you for demonstrating the tu quoque fallacy in all its glory. Let me copy and paste what the tu quoque fallacy is since you seem unwilling or unable to learn about it on your own:
tu quoque fallacy – the appeal to hypocrisy, is a logical fallacy that attempts to discredit the opponent's position by asserting the opponent's failure to act consistently in accordance with that position; it attempts to show that a criticism or objection applies equally to the person making it. This dismisses someone's point of view based on criticism of the person's inconsistency, and not the position presented, whereas a person's inconsistency should not discredit their position. Thus, it is a form of the ad hominem argument. To clarify, although the person being attacked might indeed be acting inconsistently or hypocritically, this does not invalidate their argument.
They are set to out do us there, because they keep stealing our own designs and plans with cyber warefare. If we invested in that when we started the world wide web and pioneered it, contructed a great security for it, we would be in these shoes. But China got on their patent/idea stealing game, so now they just need to log in, steal plans, make them chinese and voila
The Chinese must have hacked into you azz and stolen your virginity. As a result, your azz is still bleeding. Even though you are in agony you still enjoy it, am I right?
juanmoretime
Read your history, there was no betrayal. In 1898, the British and Chinese governments signed the Second Convention of Peking, which included a 99-year lease agreement for the islands surrounding Hong Kong and Hong Kong, called the "New Territories." The lease expired, so in honoring that agreement, Britain had to relinquish the territory.
You're partly correct. In the Convention, Britain took a 99-year lease on the New Territories, which occupy 86.2% of Hong Kong's land area. Britain did own Kowloon and Hong Kong Island in perpetuity due to the 1842 treaty ending the Opium War. However, keeping only the islands and Kowloon would have been problematic, as water supplies and other things are located in the New Territories.
February 9, 2014 at 10:20 am |
Don Task
Nelson, what are you talking about? Hong Kong was leased to Britain for a certain period of time, and when that lease expired in 1997, it became Chinese again. It was known for a long, long time before it happened. The return of Hong Kong was a properly executed deal.
Hong Kong island, Kowloon and some other parts were not leased. They were ceded in perpetuity.
The New Territories were leased. Big difference. Thatcher was persuaded/forced (against her better
nature) to sign a deal to return the whole package rather than just the New Territories.
Jack 2
They don't need to be innovative. Our American corporations selll us out and trade China our tech for cheap labor.
Yes1fan
I don't think it's limited to strictly American Corporations, but at this point, also Global Corporations, who have written off the U.S. as an object to be plundered to suit their own whims.
No longer multi-nationals, they now consider themselves beyond the reach of mere country boundaries & rule.
You sound like an innovative American kwok zucking kwok zucker. Can you please show us how innovative your kwok zucking skill is?
Agree with Jack 2! Corporations that send jobs overseas for cheap and most times child labor should be made to pay extra taxes for these actions! If one really put some thought into it it would even appear to be a form of treason against the american citizens! And if they were charged extra taxes it may deter them from shipping jobs out!
My dear Chrissy, it is much worse than you think it is............ not only did our wonderful American and European CEO's give over 100 million jobs (on a silver platter!!!!) to Asia, over the last 20 years, but in the last 12 months, there has been approx 2 TRILLION US dollars sitting in Asian banks, that is owned by US Corporations, and that US Corporations are required to pay taxes on, if they want to transfer these funds into America.......... well guess what.......... those same greedy, profit motivated CEO's, have recently negotiated a secret "back door" deal with our wonderful politicians in Washington DC (and the IRS!!!!), to bring all that money back into the US, without paying one red cent in taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!!................ and this, at a time when the money coming in to our government coffers is less than half of what the government is spending every year............. shameful beyond imagination........ and how many Americans are aware of this??????????
We aren't in China but we are stationed in South Korea they tax everything that is imported heavily. So when you buy foreign you think twice about it. So most of the time locals buy local. But in America buying something from Asia is cheaper and we don't hesitate. I think we should have that same tax and the see how fast American production comes back.
mrglobal
China is still emerging. the people there are as bright as anywhere else. It's emerging from chaos, for corruption and pollution and a stringent political system. Since 1980, their achievements are obvious to see. To say China is not innovative is true but only relative to where it is in this point in time. However, it's improving leaps and bounds. DO NOT underestimate China. The US education system is lousy and for those who take "comfort" in this news story better wake up.
What does education have to do with anything? Two of the best minds that came out of the U.S. had no college education.. make that 3. Steven Dell, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. China doesn't have the free thought to think outside the box to generate this type of thinking.. They are too busy pushing their kids through books.. These kids will be great worker bees for the future American Corporation founders..
NotLyingtMisstating
Hmm, all three had college educations. None graduated with a degree.
If the education system in America is lousy, as you say. Why are there so many Chinese coming to study in our universities?
The U.S. education has problems at lower levels, but at the same time, much (if not most) of the very best university education in the world can be found in the U.S.
wish all Americans are as bright as you.
Hong Kong should not had been lost to Chinese. USA has also responsibility towards NATO members. Now, if USA is not strong enough to be the leader in NATO, then maybe FRANCE can do it. Sorry, Americans, but that's not the way you can betray NATO alliance.
Hong Kong was and still is and will be geographically a part of China. It would've been given back to China eventually since it was "rented out." Your imperialist mindset can't be fixed thus I conclude that you are part of the problem in your country. Pick up a real history book in your life time and not just eat what the press or whoever is feeding you!
The communist government had no legal claim to Hong Kong. They were a military force which seized power. There was no voting before OR after this coup.
Only racism could make you think that Hong Kong naturally belongs to the communists.
Hong Kong island, Kowloon and some other parts were not leased. They were ceded in perpetuity. The New Territories were leased. Big difference. There was no obligation to return the island or Kowloon at any time.
really fracoise. yea france can lead NATO alright but does it have resources for that? America is still the nation that donates more cash and military equipment combined. without the U.S.A there will be no nato. since they always really on our money and military. so am sorry NATO will be nothing without us. (U.S)
Rascal262
Agreed. Without air cover from the American carriers the British ground forces never stood a chance at the Battle of Hong Kong. Don't give up the fight! We can win it back!
Sorry, but there's no way that France has military or economic might to lead NATO. France already is struggling to handle the failing European Union.
France? Didn't we rescue the french twice from the Germans? No, I don't think so.
France huh? If I remember correctly, France chose to be partly outside of the Nato Alliance (possibly not in effect any longer). Besides, I think most Nato members would feel uneasy about being led by a country more famous for not wanting to speak English with foreigners, than for the opposite. (I can imagine a rather scary scenario where Scandinavians and other NATO members speaking smaller languages are expected to answer calls in French during joint exercises... Sorry, but English is the de facto international lingua franca of today's world, and I think we'll stick with that – irrespective of some French words in this sentence.)
When they regulate Alibaba's counterfeiting out of existence than the world may take them seriously.
One reason is that many Chinese scholars and researchers are working in the USA!
Look at the PhD programs in the US Universities, you probably will see more Chinese than Americans. And most of those Chinese PhDs work for the US companies after graduation
ParanoidChinaBasher
The Chinese are horrendous innovators !! Just think about their invention of "toilet paper". Does it really clean anyone? Always there's some residue, no matter how many times you wipe.
Now there's an incisive post. Lateral thinking at it's best.
ParanoidChinaBasher, May I suggest that you stuff your azz with a Chinese made black dudo. Once you try it you will never want to go back to using paper.
The Chinese are horrendous innovators !! Just think about their invention of "toilet paper". I doubt this dry method clean anyone. Always there's some residue, no matter how many times you wipe. This flawed hygienic etiquette shows the limit of their ingenuity.
One reason China will overtake the U.S. in S&T is that they are not bogged down by an iron age religion that promotes ignorance over education.
Yeah, Jews and Christians are just so stupid. All they ever did was create the best universities in the world and produced an ethos of critical thinking that turned the world upside down. It shouldn't be too difficult to distinguish the Sarah Palins of this world from those who have always advocated for a liberating and transformative faith. In a few years, Sarah Palin will be forgotten and people of faith will continue to speak of redemption from tyranny, stupidity and (in your case) cynicism.
profit makes healthcare go around
The Chinese copy but copying isn't all bad. I do my best, as a scientist, to copy what Nature has already exquisitely perfected rather than trying to engineer de novo a new solution that will take a long time, a lot of materials and may not work at all. Drug companies, for example, are finally getting smart and are screening thousands and thousands of known compounds for binding and efficacy against new targets instead of wasting time with "rational design" synthetic approaches which are most likely to fail preclinical or clinical trials. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's bad/impossible to patent re-use of a known drug but if it works...oh right, if it won't make money but cures illness, don't do it. This is why for-profit healthcare is a conflict of interest. For-profit requires "innovation" and patent patents.
goodjobsamericanswant
I avoid chinese foodstuffs, chinese dogfood and anything that may poison me or cause me physical harm becuase China is a huge superfund site and goods coming out of it are tainted with lead arsinic and other very toxic chemicals. they dont care about thier own kids– remember the infant formula scandals?
The only reson there are more chinese PHd students is because most americans cannot afford a BS, MS and then a PhD on top of that!! I myself had to drop out of grad school and I was a top student, becuase I could not afford to live and support my son on teh wages I made working part time while going to college for my graduate degree– there are almost no scholarships for students unless they are in key programs that support big business - exxon, monsanto or BASF. Americans should be filling these R&D jobs and if we supported our education system instead of cutting it, Americans would be working in these high pay jobs instead of foreign nationals who got free undergrad educations in thier home countries and have no student loans to pay off, thus cancan accept work for less money than most educated americans with loans can afford to start at.
We still are a nation of the best and the brightest innovators, but multi-national corporations have invaded and influence our elected officials to pass legislation that favor the hiring of engineers and scientists from other countries, leaving us americans sitting at home looking for work, any work we can find to feed our kids.... Its hard to be creative when you are shut out of jobs in your own country.
yes I know there are typos– spell check has ruined me!
Iliketoeat
There are two ways to success: take your own path and be innovative (not guaranteed, normally fails like the Indians); take someone else's path and do better than him (guaranteed, like the Chinese).
To maintain your success after it has been achieved: be innovative (China has been innovative throughout history till about 150 years ago; IQ studies show that the Chinese have the highest average IQ, so when time comes, Chinese will shift their focus from copying/improving to being innovative. They have the capacity, we'll see).
kingbaabu
So called intellectuals always betray an uneasiness with Chinese growth at every opportunity. Why don't we give them their due instead of nitpicking to make ourselves feel good? Why?
"Whether China can ever produce fundamental breakthroughs or innovators to match Thomas Edison, Henry Ford or Steve Jobs remains an open question." This comment is so farcical that I am not even going to dignify it with the many nobel prizes and awards in science that Chinese researchers have been decorated with. It just smacks of the arrogance of a few ignorant people who are stuck in a cold war era where scientific achievement is a zero sum- if it doesn't originate in the west then it can't be good enough.
powerof1
This is a silly argument. Paper, magnetic compass, gunpowder, etc...originated in China. People just don't understand innovations knows no boundaries.
that last line. I like it
paper wasn't a chinese innovation.. It comes from the word papyrus. Greeks and other civilizations used it long before China.
October 25, 2013 at 10:09 am |
China is always cheating. What's new about this?
China will eventually become an innovation powerhouse if followings are going to happen: 1) capital distribution model shifted heavily toward purpose driven innovation ecosystem streamlining mainly through private means; 2) IP law and order, tough love for those perpetrators; 3) Being further starved of ingenious innovations that would spring sustainable wealth and prosperity in the country.
They do OK . They are our banker.
The asians only know how to copy instead of innovate. Everything from the far east came from the west
Like gunpowder, paper, and ketchup...all invented in China. I think this is why China is able to catch up so quickly. Because the people in the US don't value education or history. In the US, people waste their energy debating Creationism and Affirmative Action for college. In China, you'd to laughed at in public for wasting people's time. In China, they actually execute billionaires and politicians for corruption. In the US, it's just par for course when political and business leaders are found corrupt. Do you know what in the Chinese newspaper when the US shutdown the federal gov't? They sure weren't praising how great democracy in the US. More along the lines WTH are we lending the US so much money when they can't manage it properly...
"Italian pasta": Pasta was taken to Europe from China some 700 years ago by Marco Polo. Wars have been fought for hundreds of years with gunpowder – a Chinese invention. The entire western world has been eating on China-ware (porcelain) for several hundred years. Continents were discovered and settled with the help of the compass – a Chinese invention. Keep talking...
Atomic energy, telephones, space shuttles and exploration, computers, airplanes, helicopters, tanks, automobiles, electricity, need I say more? All invented in the Western world.
tdsd
Why innovate when it is so much easier to make money by mass producing for others? An innovative new product is not guaranteed a ready market.
Hadenuffyet
Attention Walmart Shoppers:
This is what you are REALLY paying for.
jeng
China innovate alot, but USA propaganda media such as CNN ignore it or downplayed or even badmouth it, so......
China regurgitate a lot.. not innovate.. They take an already U.S invention (or Russian) and apply a "made in China" sticker to it, after modifying it ever so slightly so that the patent office doesn't take it to task.
Thank you @ Daniel and you're i did not know that. Im not surprised though! Our present congressional children are doing their very best to ruin this country and are succeeding at a very alarming rate. Term limits and an age cap really must be visited on these "high end welfare recipients" otherwise known as congress!
China not an innovator? We are still claiming special privilege. That won't last forever.
Also our government needs to revisit the North American Free Trade Agreement that was signed into law in 1993. That wasnt the most beneficial thing for the US working class. And if they would concentrate on making improvements to this instead of involving theirselves in the middle east so much our country would be a lot better off. It seems its one step forward and 3 steps backward! Get it together Congress and do the job you were elected to do!
That does sound like a perfectly logical idea @ sk! Just one flaw~ our government doesn't like to go the logical route! And particularly if it might interfere with their kickbacks, etc. But if they just for once, put the good of US citizens before the good of theirselves we might actually get somewhere!
I think we need to dig deeper into the meaning of American innovation too. America's innovative companies (Amazon, Apple, Facebook) create new needs rather than solving any of America's problems (which have been the same for decades: debt, inner city decline, drugs, obesity, gun crime etc). Also they don't employ very many Americans, I think Apple only employs 30,000 which is about the same as Wegmans Food Markets of New York. Apple's innovation could benefit me (a European living in Asia) more. Eg I could work for Apple in Asia, and I could own Apple stock without paying any capital gains tax.
Well, at least China have money to buy any innovation produced by any country.
USA or other countries may have more innovation, then they build the factory in China, then China sell it to other countries, and China got the money – well with a small percentage for the patent to other countries.
It is just like USA as the R&D team and China as the owner of the company, in this conditions, who is the rich one?
As for now, it is still using money to buy the candy, not the innovation.
NOYB
Eventually the commies will FALL like a house of cards!!!!
the Chinese do innovate. Look here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2013/05/chinese-diy-inventions/100511/?fb_action_ids=10201388323251883&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
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GM Says It ‘Remains Committed To Canada’
by GM Authority Staff
General Motors “remains committed to Canada”, its GM’s fifth-largest country market globally in terms of auto sales and for vehicle production. The statement was made in a GM press release outlining plans to cut 1,000 hourly workers at Oshawa, Ontario.
So, what and how is The General committed to Canada? As it currently stands, the allegiance revolves around two primary components.
1. $800+ Million Investment In CAMI
In the beginning of 2015, GM announced an investment worth $560 million in its CAMI (Canadian Automotive Manufacturing Inc) facility in Ingersoll, Ontario to accommodate production of the next-generation GMC Terrain and Chevrolet Equinox crossovers.
Made without financial input from the Ontario and federal Canadian governments, the investments will secure about 3,000 jobs at CAMI. GM says that $190 million of the investment will go directly into the plant, while $370 million will go towards vendor tooling within Canada.
What’s more, in March 2013, GM announced plans to invest $250 million in CAMI for a new body shop and flexible manufacturing equipment, tooling, and for converting the manufacturing facility to support future vehicle production.
2. 100 New Jobs For Canadian Engineering Center
In late April 2015, GM announced that it will expand its Canadian Engineering Centre (CEC) as an innovation hub for “the connected car” and green technologies, two areas are of critical importance for automotive customers and the future of the auto sector.
The CEC is located in Oshawa, and its expansion will result in the creation of 100 advanced technology jobs such as software and controls engineers.
So, although an update to the CAMI plant and the hiring of 100 new high-tech workers at the CEC doesn’t necessarily make up for the 1,000 (and possibly more) lost jobs at Oshawa, it’s nice to see that GM isn’t giving up on Canada just yet.
— GM Authority Staff
The GM Authority staff is comprised of columnists, interns, and other reporters who provide coverage of the latest General Motors news.
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Magnetic Ride Control On The Cadillac CT5 Remains A Mystery
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Categorized | National News
GB To Become Technology Hub
Posted on 25 October 2017. by Jones Bahamas
Grand Bahamians will begin to see a boost in their economy, as promised, by next month according to Press Secretary Anthony Newbold. He made the announcement yesterday during a press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister.
Referencing the Speech from the Throne, Mr. Newbold said that this initiative begins to answer the question many have been asking regarding the Minnis administration’s plans for the country.
“All anyone who is interested has to do is open a copy of the Speech from the Throne and start reading!” he said.
“My government will focus on the development of Freeport as an offshore technology hub,” Mr. Newbold quoted from the document.
To begin the process, Grand Bahama will be the host to a summit in November that will see participation from many international corporations.
“The country will see the beginning of what the Prime Minister believes will be the blossoming of a new industry for The Bahamas, and one that citizens will be happy and proud to participate in.
“The Grand Bahama Technology Summit will take place for two days.
“It begins the dialogue with key industry stakeholders, policy makers and the general public in shaping the policy to govern how this new initiative and industry will work,” Mr. Newbold said.
Stakeholders for the summit includes Google, Hewlett Packard (HP), Microsoft, Dell Samsung, and Huawei.
Mr. Newbold also revealed that during the two-day Summit, November 9th and 10th,
“One of the highlights of the Summit will be the Blue Marlin Business Innovation challenge where potential entrepreneurs will get to showcase their inventions.
“We are providing opportunities and access for entrepreneurs; bringing Silicon Valley to Grand Bahama.
“That’s creating the environment for private businesses to flourish instead of the government trying to run a business,” Mr. Newbold said.
Now to establish Grand Bahama as the technology hub, there will be a legislation; a bill for an act for the designation of specified commercial enterprises and specified commercial zones in The Bahamas.
“The bill seeks to liberalize the granting of work permits to an enterprise that wishes to establish itself in The Bahamas and requires work permits for its management team and key personnel,” Mr. Newbold said.
Scheduled to participate in the Summit are a number of Grand Bahamians who are currently living abroad. They include Dr. Gadryn Higgs, who is involved in development in Silicon Valley, USA; Mr. Laron Burrows, a 26-year-old inventor of medical devices; and Ms. Aisha Bowe, a former employee of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), who now serves as Chief Executive Officer of STEM Board in Washington, D.C.
← MAN ARRAIGNED FOR MURDER OF EIGHT YEAR OLD
CHARGES OF SABOTAGE AT PLP POLLS →
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Fostering Our Common Heritage; Implementation Plan for the National World Heritage Strategy until 2025
OKM44.pdf (1.084Mt)
Publications of the Ministry of Education and Culture 2016:44
The Implementation Plan for the National World Heritage Strategy presents concrete measures to implement the objectives laid down in the National World Heritage Strategy 2015–2025. The Goverment adopted the strategy by its resolution on 16 April 2015. According to the National World Heritage Strategy, Finland fosters the World Heritage and the Finnish World Heritage sites stand as examples of protection, management and presentation for other countries. World Heritage sites are a form of living heritage shared by everyone.
The implementation plan is divided into five main strategic guidelines in the same manner as the strategy itself: World Heritage policy in Finland, preservation of world heritage sites, capacity building, raising awareness on World Heritage and presentation of sites, and communities.
At the moment, there are seven World Heritage sites in Finland, six cultural heritage sites and one natural heritage site. This calls for cooperation between the different central government actors. Cooperation and dialogue are also requirements for a successful implementation of the strategy, as it concerns not only the central government but also the actors responsible for the World Heritage sites and their stakeholders. World Heritage sites function as resources for the regions they are located in – they constitute attractive tourist destinations that boost the business activities in the region. Furthermore, the sites constitute diverse learning environments that support sustainable development and lifelong learning
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Fund Our Work
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This Man May be a 9/11 Conspirator
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Rarely do I produce a video summary of an investigation that I hope will attract attention from the very subject of the video or a US law enforcement agency. However, this video begs for such an outcome. You see, what I’m about to show you is about a person who was once and may still be wanted by the FBI for questioning related to his involvement in the 911 attacks. What may surprise you, among other tantalizing discoveries is that this person is highly visible and can easily be found by a US agency or the FBI were they interested. I’ll also show you very convincing evidence that this isn’t a case of mistaken identity. Some of that evidence actually includes both covert and overt references to the 911 attacks and related subjects.
The person who is the subject of this video is one, Dominik Suter. And don’t worry if the name doesn’t ring a bell, as I’m going to jog your memories right now.
The story begins in 1996 at a company called Urban Moving Systems, which was located at 3 West 18th Street in Weehawken New Jersey. Note first how close this address is to ground zero in lower Manhattan. When we look at the address today, we see that whatever buildings stood at the location have been demolished, leaving not much really.
The business once stood where the arrow is shown on the left, or the arrow shown on the right. I wasn’t able to confirm this, but this photo has been reported by a few independent researchers as being the location back in 2001.
Fast forward to September 2001, and it was in this location that the FBI was conducting an investigation, confiscating many boxes of documents, 15 computers and a network server. Dominik Suter’s own lawyer confirms that Dominik was the owner of Urban Moving Systems and that the FBI did question him in late September. But a few days later, when the FBI wanted to interview Mr. Suter again, he was gone. All of this is confirmed by the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety.
Producers from ABC’s 20/20 report to have gained access to the company sometime in December 2001 and reported that the business appeared clearly to have shut down in a hurry. Cell phones and personal effects were lying around; the phones were still connected with hundreds of messages waiting. There were job applications still to be processed, and the property of dozens of families packed in the warehouse. Dominik Suter moved out of his New Jersey home in a hurry too, only having time to put it up for sale.
Shortly after, New Jersey Attorney General John J. Farmer, Jr., and Division of Consumer Affairs Director Mark S. Herr announced that they had obtained a court order giving inspectors from Consumer Affairs access to the facility allowing consumers access to retrieve their goods and belongings. The State, at the same time, filed a lawsuit in Hudson County Superior Court against Urban Moving Systems and its owner Dominik Suter alleging violations of both the State’s Consumer Fraud Act and regulations set forth in the Public Movers and Warehousing Licensing Act. I couldn’t find any results of the suit, but did find many reports that Suter had fled to Israel.
But if you weren’t already familiar with Suter and Urban Moving Systems, by now you’re probably very curious to learn what the big deal was and why Suter was even linked to 911. I’ll start explaining that by reminding you of the purported “Dancing Israelis.” Whether any Israelis were dancing atop a white van and celebrating the destruction of the world trade center or not, they were confirmed by the FBI to have existed and to be employees and contractors of Urban Moving Systems. Cutting more to the chase, the company was also almost certainly a Mossad front company. The FBI’s largely redacted report on just the dancing Israelis is close to 1,800 pages in length. And, if that weren’t enough to rattle your common sense, one of the company’s vans stopped by police on 911 was found to contain explosives residue. But it was one van in particular that simply can’t be explained except as confirmation that Suter had been acutely aware of the 911 attack plans well in advance of the event.
The following is a portion of the transcribed text of an emergency dispatch radio transmission from 9/11:
“I got a message on that uh plane, it’s a big truck with a mural painted of a… of an airplane diving into New York City and exploding. No one’s in the truck, the truck is in between 6th and 7th on King Street.“
Although there are a few images on the web depicting such a van with a mural as described, they are revealed to be only visual simulations. I have never actually seen an image of any such van but the audio transmission appears to be authentic. And, as such it’s extremely curious to say the least.
But it gets weirder. The van appears to have exploded. Let’s now look at a portion of what was reported in the Mineta Transportation Institute report, Lessons Learned in the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks.In it, there is the following transcribed police audio transmission…
“We got both suspects under Kay, we have the suspects who drive…drove in the van, the van exploded – we have both of them under Kay let’s get some help over here…”
When researchers went over the audio transmissions from 9/11 they learned that two “Middle Eastern” suspects ran away from and then detonated a bomb in the “mural-van” and were then apprehended. It was clear to them that both were arrested by police and perhaps beaten. Later, they are confirmed to have have been allowed passage to Israel. But returning to the MTI report, it reads…
“Fearing that it might be a truck bomb, the NYPD immediately evacuated the area, called out the bomb squad, and detained the occupants until a thorough search was made. The vehicle was found to be an innocent delivery truck.”
So, although the official account makes no mention of an explosion, it does confirm the presence of a bomb squad. Other Urban Moving Systems vans were stopped that day as well, yet bomb squads were not dispatched in those cases.
At this point, I think that Dominik Suter’s involvement in the 911 attacks on a strategic and criminal level has been well established. But just for good measure and to fill in some gaps that might be helpful for viewers of this video, I’ll reference a few other passages from the unredacted portion of the FBI report.
Relevant to the day to day operations of Urban Moving Systems, we see the following…
A former Urban Moving Systems employee that later contacted the Newark division with information indicating that he had quit his employment with Urban Moving Systems due to high amount of anti-American sentiment among Urban’s employees. The former employee stated that an Israeli employee of Urban had even once remarked, “Give us 20 years and we’ll take over your media and destroy your country.”
Continuing from another testimony from one of the company’s employees…
“The other helpers all seemed to be Russians, Hungarians and Israelis. They always spoke in Hebrew in his presence. He also advised that these other foreign nationals and ______ of the company, __________ had frequent meetings in the company’s office, and he and the other non-Jewish employees were never invited to join them.”
From the FBI’s account of the photographs confiscated from Urban employees stopped by police on 911 we see…
FBI-NK developed the film, which had several photos of the World Trade Towers with smoke coming out of at least one of the towers. Since the volume and density of the smoke did not seem to be very great, it appeared that the photographs were taken at a very early stage in the WTC event.
Also interesting to note is that, one of the white vans operated by Urban was stopped and the occupants were clearly not intent on being truthful when questioned. Most notably, when asked where they were going they replied that they were heading to a pick up of furniture and belongings, which as a moving company made sense. When asked specifically where, they began giving vague responses but after further questioning were unable to actually provide an address. Had they not been stopped and were merely heading to a pick up as was usual, they wouldn’t have been very successful.
Lastly, relating to the vans and their occupants the FBI also confiscated a travel itinerary for one of the arrested Urban employees. The dates for travel were highly suspicious given the timeline of the 911 attacks. It shows that on the 15th of June, this person departed from Tel Aviv Israel, ending up in Athens Greece. The itinerary doesn’t contain arrival destinations or times, but we can suppose that from Athens they departed on June 15th for New York. Then, a flight was scheduled to depart New York on September 12th for Athens, and on to Tel Aviv. I think it’s an absolutely reasonable conclusion that this itinerary is likely that of someone with foreknowledge of the911 attacks.
I deem myself an expert in the research of the 911 conspiracy, which I can not claim about nearly any other topic. So, it’s with a deep understanding and awareness of the phenomenon that I can make a few assessments. First, it should at least be known that I suspect that 911 was not a crime in and of itself, but rather a cover-up crime for the primary purpose of covering up a lengthy chain of former crimes. That’s as in depth an assessment I’ll give in this presentation relative to the event’s purpose.
But I also think it’s relevant to note my experience that the 911 event details have always been notoriously cloaked under the guise of national security. So, I don’t find it unusual at all that there’s apparently little reported about the investigating agency’s interests in Dominik Suter. In other words, what ever happened to the FBI’s interest in Suter and what they themselves show to be clear points of connection to the conspiracy?
And I want to be clear that the FBI is confirmed to have been very interested in Suter. Both Finnish and Italian authorities provided American journalists with a list they had been given by the FBI. The list contained the names of suspected terrorists and collaborators wanted for questioning or extradition under suspicion of involvement in the 911 attacks.
The list contained the name, Dominick Otto Suter, his social security number, the birth year 1970 and list of known addresses. The addresses included 28 Harlow Crescent Road, Fair Lawn New Jersey, 312 Pavonia Avenue, Jersey City New Jersey and 15000 Dickens Street, Suite 11, Sherman Oaks California. Also on the list was a, Ornit Levinson, alias Ornit Suter. That name was shown connected to the same 3 addresses as Dominick Suter and having the same birth year of 1970.
Are we to assume that the many remaining questions were answered sufficiently to satisfy the FBI that he was not involved in 911? You know, I’ll just bet that they may make that exact claim. But what’s probably a more likely scenario is the FBI and all other agencies with a stake in the event will simply remain silent or even refuse to provide any further information.
And therein lies the rub. You, yourself having learned what I’ve just presented could hardly believe that our speculations are just that, and that Suter is not a criminal 911 conspirator. And yet, despite that without the aid of the authorities responsible for resolving this gross injustice you are left with few options other than to live with known 911 criminals doing Lord knows what.
Which brings me to the remaining question, what is Dominik Suter up to these days. Surely he hasn’t been involving himself in other international crimes or conspiracies. So let’s take a look. I told you that he can be easily found. All that it took me to find him was a simple search on the web.
A Google search for the name “Dominik Suter” turns up a LinkedIn result on the first page of results. That profile includes the overview…
“DDoS (which is Denial of Service) Protection + Cyber Security Expert. 24/7 Hotline Chat NOW, Skype: Dominik.Suter (presumably his Skype account name) – DDoS / Growth Hacker for Startups. One of the companies he’s listed as being affiliated with is Imperva Incapsula. Here’s the company website. A search for the name “Suter” there returns no results. But we see listed under management, Yaniv Shaya who is shown to have served in the Intelligence Technology unit of the Israel Defence Forces as an officer and system engineer. He also earned an MBA, Cum Laude from Tel Aviv University.
The only other professional named Dominik Suter shown on the page has the same profile photo. When we look at the listing, we see an overview reading…
“Chief Detonator at KickOff Agency.” When we visit the website of that company, Suter is referenced in a Meetup notice. COME TO OUR NEXT MEETUP. Trends in Visual Content Marketing, a Free Presentation on: Wednesday, November 25, 2015, Google Campus TLV 98 Yigal Alon st. Floor 34 (Electra Tower) Tel-Aviv. Trends in Visual Content Marketing: Videos, Infographics, Images and more. How do they impact your startup’s, Growth hacking, Marketing and Sales, Strategies and Ops. Presenters: Dominik Suter and Tamar Weiss.”
Now I thought that after finding not much else through Internet searches or the research of other investigators I might have reached a dead end. That would not have been unusual, and I had learned a lot about Suter’s professional activities. But, after a little more digging I came upon an almost shocking twist. Sure enough, true to the natue of intelligence operative’s tendencies Suter has what appears to be an almost alternate life.
I found, on a Swiss site called Backpack & Camper an article featuring one, Dr. Dominik Suter. The version I’m presenting now is actually the result of Google translate, so the translation is only approximate. But I will read a few segments in order to show how strikingly different this Suter seems to be. The first strange difference is the added title, doctor. One would assume that a moniker and professional background of that type would have been almost certainly featured on one’s LinkedIn profile. But it’s the first time I’m seeing it used.
The article reveals that Suter is apparently the CEO of Motor home and caravan manufacturer, Dethleffs. The article further reads…
The avid recreational athletes (including Delta flies) and self-confessed workaholic is facing more than 800 employees and is responsible for an annual turnover of more than 300 million euros. His Lebensphilosohpie: “Success does not tolerate half-heartedness.” The 44-year-old Swiss has a doctorate in law, married with two children.
It all seems to check out that, this is in fact the same Dominik Suter. There’s also the odd but interesting mention of “Delta Flies.” And the FBI report as well as research of a few other investigators agreed that he was or had been married with two children.
But it still seems like a remote possibility that this is merely another person with the same name and remarkably similar personal demographics. So, I recalled that both LinkedIn profiles included a picture of Suter. Finding another article about Suter, the CEO of Dethleffs with a more appropriate photo for comparison, I placed them side by side and what do you know? He’s our man. Although, talk about workaholic. He seems almost to be living two lives simultaneously.
I decided to dig deeper into the Swiss Suter, with a doctorate in law and CEO of a motor home manufacturer. And that led me to this. It was at this point that I felt much more sure that Suter is, indeed an field intelligence operative operating internationally and likely for Israel and possibly the Swiss.
Here we see Suter listed on the Swiss Confederation Army’s website with the title, Oberstit Dominik Suter, apparently an officer in Infantry Brigade 7. Recall that Urban Moving Systems in America was founded by Suter in 1996. However, we see here under military career that Suter has been in Swiss military service continuously from 1997 to the present time, now as a commander.
What the hell, people? I know this world is upside down and turned inside out. But how are we to accept all of this without demanding some answers? Does anyone think the US intellegence and military apparatus has been simply either outsmarted or lacks the global authority to find and capture Suter on behalf of everyone suffering as a result of the 911 fiasco? I doubt that. No, the reasonable conclusion is that the US authorities aware of Suter’s activities since before 911 are perfectly happy that we’re not demanding his capture.
I’m no spring chicken or overly sensitive to the harsh reality of our decaying society. But, I’m somewhat overwhelmed to have to add this to the already enormous pile of ugly truths. So I ask you, the viewer in whatever capacity you’re in and with whatever abilities you have to decide for yourself if you could and if you should help in some way. Are you fed up and twitching to get active in some way, armed with this information? It surely can’t be done by any individual, but maybe you have ideas as to how to form a group that would stand a chance of getting some action taken here.
This is definitely one of those mini-investigations that, if dropped will likely leave me feeling dirty. But that doesn’t change the fact that I don’t know what the best course of action is at this point. Maybe you do. If so, feel more than welcome to contact me and I will provide whatever help I think I can. Or, if you have ideas you prefer to pursue through other channels, then God speed. And at minimum, thank you for watching this presentation.
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Home » LIFESTYLE (page 3)
68th Republic Day celebrated in Indonesia at Indian Embassy
The 68th Republic Day was celebrated at the Embassy of India in Jakarta, the Consulate General of India in Bali and the Consulate General of India in Medan with traditional gaiety and fervour on Thursday. Mr. Manish, Deputy Chief of Mission, hoisted the National Flag at the Indian Embassy premises as large gathering of Indian nationals and members of Indian ...
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India’s Republic Day Parade – 2017: UAE Contingent Participates, Presents Ceremonial Salute
India’s military prowess and achievements depicted in a variety of tableux were on a grand show before the public at the historic Rajpath when the country celebrated its 68th Republic Day today. The highlights of this year’s Parade were a 149-member UAE Presidential Guard, the Air Force, the Navy and Army contingent led by a UAE band marching on Rajpath ...
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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017: The Overseas Indians have come a long way
By PRIYADARSHI DUTTA The 15th edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention will be heldin Bengaluru, Karnataka from January 7 to 9, 2017. The first annual convention was held between January 9 and 11, 2003. January 9 was adopted as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas or Overseas Indian Day based on the recommendations of a High Level Committee constituted in August, 2000. ...
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What Do I Do When Someone Dies?Heritage2018-11-14T17:22:12+00:00
At some time during our lives, death will touch and affect us all. It will come to a family member or close friend and may cause much grief. It may change our lives in many ways.
Despite its inevitability, death is rarely discussed and as a result, death and its consequences are often not understood.
While no one wants to dwell on the subject, some understanding of death can help us prepare for its eventuality. This includes having a basic knowledge of how to cope with the practicalities associated with death and having a basic knowledge of what to do when someone dies.
WHO DO I CONTACT?
Whether a death occurs at home, in hospital or in a public place, the first person who should be contacted is generally a doctor.
Legally, a death certificate must be signed by a doctor or the coroner who will be able to explain what steps, if any, are needed to establish the cause of death.
If appropriate, you may also call your Priest or Minister.The next person to contact, besides family members and friends, is the funeral director of your choice who will arrange the transfer of the body and can begin making the desired funeral arrangements.
Funeral directors are there to help and can assist you at any hour of the day or night.
CHOOSING A FUNERAL DIRECTOR
The decision as to who you call may depend on a number of factors including the funeral director’s experience, reputation or location. Should you call a member of the Australian Funeral Directors Association you can be assured of professional, understanding and caring service.
When faced with having to make funeral arrangements, most people have no prior experience in organising such an event, and little idea of what to do.
All reputable funeral directors can provide a wide range of services to suit your precise needs. They can help you make the funeral as simple or elaborate as you want, and the cost will be reflected accordingly.
Initial interviews with the funeral director can be at their offices or in your home, whichever you prefer. At these interviews they will generally ask what type of funeral arrangements you desire.
While some people may have a fairly clear knowledge of the arrangements they want to make, others may want to consider a myriad of alternatives before making any decisions.
The funeral director is there to guide and advise you on the many matters which need to be considered.
THE FUNERAL OF YOUR CHOICE
Whilst funerals are usually sad occasions, meaningful funerals can assist people to cope with their loss. Such funerals can be sources of strength, hope and peace.
Funeral directors have the facilities and expertise to offer you a full range of options. They will discuss your preferences and assist you to plan an appropriate funeral service. Decisions to make will include:
When and where you would like the funeral to be held
The type of service you desire
If burial or cremation will follow the service (for many people this decision may reflect religious or ethnic attitudes and family traditions)
Which coffin or casket and clothing you want for the deceased
Details about the viewing of the deceased
Who you would like to be involved
What floral arrangements and motor vehicles would be appropriate and any other relevant matters.
TYPES OF FUNERAL SERVICES
There are many different types of funeral services that can be conducted.
Most churches or religious groups have specific services that are relevant to their beliefs and which cater to the needs of their members.
Funeral directors encourage people to discuss the alternatives with them and regardless of the type selected, they will act with care and consideration and will ensure the funeral is as individual as possible.
A funeral is for those who are living. It is a celebration of the life of the loved one who has died.
Everyone who has been touched by the life of the deceased needs the opportunity to share in that celebration.
Funerals also recognise the life of the deceased person, can strengthen family ties and responsibilities, reinforce beliefs about life and death, and facilitate the expression of emotion.
THE AUSTRALIAN FUNERAL DIRECTORS ASSOCIATION
When faced with having to make funeral arrangements, most people have no prior experience in organising such an event, and little knowledge of what to do.
Funeral directors can alleviate this burden for you by providing a range of services, allowing you to choose an appropriate funeral that will be conducted professionally, and with dignity.
For your own peace of mind, select a funeral director who is an accredited member of the Australian Funeral Directors Association which requires its members to honour a strict code of ethics and practice.
from the brochure What Do I Do When Someone Dies? © 2003, Australian Funeral Directors Association.
Used with permission.
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Tag Archives: francophone
Which northern Ontario town had its own street cars, was home to the guy who wrote the Hardy Boys, had the most millionaires in Canada, was the first home of the team that would become the Montréal Canadiens, and then promptly had its prosperity wiped out by a massive fire?
Back off St. Clair Avenue West…Haileybury has had streetcars too!
The thing that makes Haileybury really northern is its history. The rise and fall and apparent rebuilding is really interesting and, in my opinion, totally characteristic of northern Ontario.
After Longlac and Opasatika, let me guess this is a lumber boat?
Once known as Humphrey’s Depot, Haileybury was founded in the early 1900s by a former fur trader on the shores of Lake Temiskaming. He named the town after the school he attended in England. He tried to attract settlers with the usual propaganda leaflets, but as northern Ontarians know, there’s no better way to get the country settled than a gold rush. And that’s what it took to get Haileybury off the ground.
Haileybury road leading into Lake Temiskaming. (Credit; User P199 at Wiki Commons.)
Despite being named after a place in England where wealthy parents got rid of their kids, Haileybury is the start of francophone north-eastern/central Ontario. (Or it is the end, depending on which way you’re traveling on Highway 11.) Approximately 80 percent of Haileyburians are French-first, which is interesting given that their neighbours are primarily anglophone, particularly in New Liskeard (70 percent) and Cobalt (almost completely unilingual.) As you go north after Haileybury, the towns almost alternate – anglo, franco, etc.
The discovery of silver in Cobalt in 1903 started a population explosion in Haileybury, as the town became a bedroom community for prospectors and mine owners. So successful were some that a street in Haileybury was dubbed Millionaire’s Row for the wealthy people it housed.
But of course, this all had to come to a tragic end with the fires of 1922, which killed 11, displaced 3500, and razed the town completely alongside New Liskeard, Dymond, and possibly Cobalt. In order to survive, many families had to hide in wells, lakes, and even down mine shafts. Many of those who escaped to the mines died when the fires, passing over the mines, sucked out the shaft’s oxygen, asphyxiating those who sought refuge underground. The town commorates the fire with a sculpture at its waterfront park, pictured below on the left.
Haileybury Today
With 4500 people, Haileybury (pronounced locally as Hailey-berry) is the second largest part of the Tri-Towns and Haileybury is the seat of the Temiskaming Shores municipality, which includes New Liskeard and Dymond. It is a quiet lakeshore community that is worth a stop if you’re not in a hurry.
Monument to pioneers that survived the Great Fire by hiding in swamps, lakes, and wells
I really like the waterfront. There is a nice little pavilion with the Pioneer’s Monument (pictured) honouring the fire of 1922. There is a little beach and a modern marina as well. The view is nice across the lake to Quebec and in the summer you’ll see a number of boats on the water as Lake Temiskaming is the end of the scenic Ottawa River route, which is popular with boaters. The waterfront is worth a drive, if not a full stop.
Haileybury on the shores of Lake Temiskaming
In terms of tourism, there is a fair amount to do. The Haileybury Heritage Museum was built to chronicle the history of the town and tell the story of the fire. The museum features a restored 1920s streetcar, as well as an old firepumper and a preserved tugboat that used to ply the waters of Lake Temiskaming. You can also visit the “world famous” Haileybury School of Mines. Haileybury is also home to the Temiskaming Art Gallery. You can see different types of ores at the Rock Park Walk, while there is camping and golf in town as well.
I don’t remember a lot of places to eat, and I think the only Tri-Town Tim Horton’s are in New Liskeard and Dymond. Accommodations include the Leisure Inn, Edgewater Motel and Cabins, the Haileybury Beach Motel, and the Les Suites des Presidents Suites, an upscale bed and breakfast. New Liskeard has more places to stay and eat. Personally I find that Haileybury, despite being very pretty and having stuff to do, is still something of a bedroom community. It doesn’t have the same downtown nor the same ‘feel’ that New Liskeard does. And it’s nothing like Cobalt. At all.
Haileybury was also home to the team that would become the Montreal Canadiens. The club played the 1909 NHA season and left for Montreal. It would become the Canadiens only two years later. I think that’s pretty neat.
Haileybury’s streetcars were part of the Nipissing Central Railway that connected the Tri Towns, which would definitely make it unique in the north. Heck I’m sure it ran faster then than Timmins transit does today. Toronto also donated 87 streetcars after the great fire to help shelter the homeless. Today there is one restored streetcar left at the Haileybury Heritage Museum.
And, to finish, Haileybury was also home to Les Macfarlane, who wrote many of the Hardy Boys novels under the pen name Franklin Dixon.
Thanks to Johnny O for the info on the Tri Towns.
I never liked the Hardy Boys. Too All-American. Too serious. Too predictable. Sure, you knew that Encyclopedia Brown was always going to figure it out too but at least he had a sense of humour. But, anyway, this is a replica of the Hardy Boys’s boat, in Haileybury.
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged amenities, boating, francophone, great fires, hockey, mining, railway, streetcars, waterfront | 89 Replies
Thornloe
Thornloe is a largely francophone hamlet on Highway 11 that is famous for cheese.
Its cheese is relatively cheap, well made, and is particularly known for its cheddar and hot pepper colby, as well as its curds. It has been known for people to travel from North Bay, and Timmins, and beyond just for Thornloe cheese. The Thornloe Cheese Factory is so popular that the Ministry of Transportation gave the factory its own turning lane on Highway 11 for safety’s sake.
In July 2006, Parmalat International announced that it was going to shut down the cheese plant. This started a storm of anti-Parmalat sentiment in the area, and residents (battle-ready from Adams Mine and Bennett Incinerator fights) were mobilizing quickly. I was in the area at that time – it was a really big deal. I’ve been back since, and it seems they’ve done some renovations. There is a new sign, the cheese has neat new Thornloe-specific packaging – it’s all pretty well done. The cheese was good too – my partner and I devoured some curds, making sure to save some for the next day.
Twenty kilometres north of New Liskeard, Thornloe is a tiny quiet strip of farms with a population of about 120. Established in 1916, Thornloe is about five minutes west of Highway 11 and always smells like a fall fair. There is a gas station right on the highway. There is a playground, an outdoor ice rink, and two churches in town (one of which is for sale.) There is a pioneer cemetery that I didn’t have a chance to stop at.
This is where the magic happens!!!
Thornloe is cute, but there’s really nothing to see other than the nice green hills and the acres and acres of farms. I saw a wonderful orange sunset in Thornloe. The Temiskaming Farm Belt may not be exciting, but if you like rural farm country then it sure is beautiful.
Maybe I’m nuts, but places like this just make me feel all warm and cozy. Before I visited Temiskaming, I never expected scenes like this in northern Ontario (Credit: P199 at Wiki Commons)
Note that the Thornloe Cheese Factory is often closed after six pm, depending on the season.
Church in Thornloe was for sale when I was there in 2006
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged farm town, francophone | 5 Replies
You can tell you’re in farm country in Earlton – 1) it has a John Deere dealership, and 2) the Earlton Country Store isn’t a craft outlet, it’s a real country store complete with seed, fertilizers, and farm tools.
Earlton hosted the International Plowing Match in 2009. (Photo credit: Highgrader Magazine)
Earlton is a francophone farm hamlet of about 800 on Highway 11. I love Earlton. It reminds me of southern Ontario. Upon driving in to Earlton you see the grain, corn, and dairy farms (I think they also grow some potatoes and berries up here too.) Depending on the direction of the wind, the town sometimes smells like a barn. But that’s why it is so neat. Heck, there are cows practically right in the town itself. Earlton is so cute – I love it.
Honestly, these were right in the middle of town
Earlton is kind of the half-way point between North Bay and Cochrane, being about 200 kilometres in between both. Earlton is about 30 kilometres north of New Liskeard. Earlton is the home of hockey’s true number 99, former Maple Leafs player Wilf Paiement, who recently appeared in a pretty-cheesy-but-not-unfunny Leon’s commercial (“You can make three easy paiements…”)
Earlton used to be well known for the Earlton Zoo – the only place in Ontario north of Toronto to have zebras and other African animals. However that morphed into the Temiskaming Wildlife Centre, which took care or orphaned or rescued animals from across the north. Apparently, according to posters below, the Centre is now shut down.
(Credit: User P199 at wiki Commons.)
There is also Manitou, the famous bison statue that is (if I am correct) the world’s largest sculpture of a bison or buffalo. If you get up close, you’ll see that it is made of everything from sheet metal to fibreglass to nuts and bolts (as hair.) It is even anatomically correct, which I’m sure leads to many rude photos and pranks.
Earlton’s anatomically correct bison
Earlton hosts a number of festivals. As a farming town, Earlton hosts a farm fair the weekend after Labour Day. Every July 15 and 16 Earlton hosts its annual Steam Days, where old steam powered machines are resurrected and displayed. There is also the yearly Temiskaming Drag n’ Fly drag racing event held at the airport. Earlton was also the home to the 2009 International Plowing Match – the furthest north the IPM has ever been held. (Scroll down for a few IPM photos – thanks to Highgrader Magazine for the International Plowing Match photos.)
Local businesses and residents fought the closure of the Thornloe Cheese Factory, and won
In terms of services, Earlton has a caisse, a Scotiabank and Chartrand’s Grocery. Hotel LaSalle (“the friendly place”) has takeout and dine-in food. There are also two chip stands, a little bowling alley (it is northern Ontario still!) and a motel. There is a baseball diamond and recreation centre at the west end of town. There is gas just off Highway 11, and Real’s Barbershop is in town should you need a haircut on your roadtrip.
Earlton is definitely worth a stop, especially on a summer evening to watch the sun set over the local farms. You’ll swear you’re in Perth County or Essex County, not Temiskaming.
Earlton’s little airport, surrounded by countryside. (Credit: User P199 at Wiki Commons.)
2009 International Plowing Match. (Photo credit: Highgrader Magazine.)
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged big weird things, farm town, francophone | 26 Replies
Elk Lake
Elk Lake is a community of about 800 people at the junction of Highways 65 and 560, on the banks of the Montreal River. Equally anglophone and francophone, Elk Lake sits at the western edge of the Temiskaming Clay Belt and is primarily a forestry town. (Scroll down to the bottom of the page for more photos.)
Random photo at the Domtar mill in Elk Lake, with random worker from a random website
According to Museums North, remnants of pictographs on rocks show that the Elk Lake area was along trade routes used by the Cree and Anishnabai people. These routes were already well established prior to the establishment of the Fur Trade of the mid 1600s. Remnants of an Aboriginal graveyard that can be seen on the south side of town indicate that Elk Lake was settled long before Europeans arrived. The local Ojibway peoples named the lake after the huge herds of elk that roamed the area at this time.
Church in Elk Lake
Although forestry had been going on in the area since the mid 1800s, Elk Lake didn’t become settled by Europeans until silver was discovered in the area in 1906. The town was set up in 1909, road connections to Elk Lake were built (previously, you could only get there by steamboats on the Montreal River, from Latchford) and eventually there were 30 active mines in the area, and the town peaked with a population of 10 000. A line of the Temiskaming and Northern Ontario Railway was built to the town in 1913.
Elk Lake Today
Today, Elk Lake is home to about 400 people. The town straddles the shore of the Montreal River, which makes for some beautiful views, especially when the sun shines off the shimmering water. I was pretty impressed with how clean and tidy Elk Lake was – the village could make for a nice getaway if you’re willing to go off the beaten path in search of quiet, solitude, and relaxation. It’s also not too far from Long Lake, which has even more hunting, fishing, boating, and swimming opportunities.
Elk Lake River
Elk Lake’s major employer is the Elk Lake Planing Mill, owned by forest industry giant Domtar. You can call 678-2210 to go for tours in the plant. Mining has all but disappeared, although high metals prices have re-ignited exploration in the area. Being at the western edge of the Temiskaming Claybelt, there is also some agriculture in and around Elk Lake, largely beef and horse farms.
The fence doesn’t inspire…
Elk Lake, surprising to some, has gotten a bit of a reputation for being a community with a green outlook. The town is known as a proponent of sustainable forestry. It is also the site of the Elk Lake Eco Resource Centre, a conference/banquet/retreat/hotel facility which was built with local economic and environmental sustainability in mind. Citizens of Elk Lake were also instrumental in the fight against Adams Mine, when the Ontario government was proposing to use the former Kirkland Lake mine site as a dumping ground for Toronto’s garbage.
As for services, I’ve only been to Elk Lake once so I can’t comment too much. In addition to the Eco Centre, there’s a chip stand (year-round!), an LCBO, gas, some motels, a small grocery store and an outfitters. I know there are a number of tourist camps, lodges, and cabin rental places in the area that offer outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing, snowshoeing, canoeing, and camping. Elk Lake is also home to a cross-country ski club that maintains about 15 kilometres of trails. The municipal campground has a boat launch, a beach, and hiking along the Bear Creek Rapids. The town is also close to the northernmost point of Makobe-Greys River Provincial Park.
In 2009, the Township of James (in which Elk Lake is situated) will celebrate their 100th Anniversary.
Finally! It’s been so long since I’ve seen a woodpile!
Hayden – Elk Lake Serenade
Elk Lake, I think, is also the inspiration for the title of Hayden’s CD Elk Lake Serenade, which I can say (and can many others) is probably one of his best albums. (Hayden is a Toronto-based folk-rock musician, who was heralded as the next Beatles in the mid 1990s when he released a home-made tape recorded in his bedroom. Evidently, that level of fame never panned out, however, he is still a fantastic musician nonetheless.)
Email me to add to this page at info (at) highway11 (dot) ca, or comment below
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged farm town, forestry, francophone, woodpile | 10 Replies
Matachewan is a largely francophone town of about 350 about 60 kilometres west of Kirkland Lake on Highway 66 (we are continuing our detour off Highway 11 for a bit).
On the shores of the Montreal River and near Mistinikon Lake, Matachewan is a Native word meaning ‘meeting of the waters.’
Matachewan had its European start about 8 kilometres north, when the Hudson Bay Company founded Fort Matachewan to trade furs with the local population. The area around Matachewan had been populated for a long time before Europeans arrived. Approximately 13 kilometres north of Matachewan are ancient Aboriginal pictographs which indicate trade routes that were used in the area.
I’m not done adding to this — email me to add to this page at info (at) highway11 (dot) ca
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged francophone | 3 Replies
Virginiatown / Kearns
Continuing our detour off Highway 11, Virginiatown and Kearns are two villages (population approximately 800) northeast of Krugerdorf via Highway 624. V-town is just a tad west of the Quebec border on the northeastern shore of Larder Lake. Built in the shadow of the great Mount Cheminis, the area known as Virginiatown is comprised of three different villages – Kearns, North Virginiatown, and Virginiatown proper. I would have done separate pages for all three but a) I don’t have a tonne of info, and b) I’m not sure where one village ends and the next one begins on a map. I think North Virginiatown is north of Highway 66, Virginiatown is south of it, and Kearns is just a kilometre or two east.
Virginiatown is actually much closer to Rouyn than Timmins or any other larger centres in Ontario. Therefore, (and I might be wrong, but) I’m pretty sure that V-town, as it is affectionately called, is a largely francophone community which had its heyday with the northeastern Ontario mining boom in the early half of the 20th century. So, I checked this fact. Statscan tells me that Virginiatown and area is largely francophone. But emailers and posters (before I lost all the posts) tell me that nearly no one speaks French in V-town. So, I don’t know.
Highway 66 traveling east into Virginiatown, with Mount Cheminis in the background
Virginiatown sprung up with the expansion of the mineral rush which began in Cobalt in the early 1900s and drove north founding towns like Kirkland Lake and Larder Lake. V-town was famous for the Kerr Addison Mine, which at one time was the richest gold deposit in North America. The gold from the first Canadian 5 ounce gold coin was mined from the Kerr Addison. Today, a coin monument stands to commemorate this Virginiatown achievement.
Like all boom towns, this had to come to an end eventually. The Kerr Addison Mine shut down in the 1990s, and while there is still exploration and some smaller gold ventures in the area, Virginiatown is pretty sleepy nowadays. Check out the link to Louie Palu’s photos below, it contains some fantastic shots of mining life in Larder Lake and Virginiatown mines.
Does V-town’s big weird coin outdo Larder Lake‘s flying fish?
There is a boat launch to Larder Lake, and you can access nearby Labyrinth Lake where you can catch northern pike, bass, and walleye. According to google, there is a ceramic shop in town as well. You can visit the Virginiatown Heritage House for a history of the town and its mining past, or hike the Heritage Gold Trail to view underground mining equipment.
Mount Cheminis is, in my opinion, the coolest thing in the area. Shooting up from the trees like the bum of a thick marker, it rises majestically above V-town and is visible from Highway 66. You can hike up the summit from local trails. Check out some of the nice pictures in the links below. Andre emailed to let me know that Mount Cheminis (known as Mont Chaudron in French) is techhnically in Québec.
Mount Cheminis. Awesome!
Services in town include gas (Guy’s Service Station), a small grocery store, and the usual small-town-northern-Ontario stuff like the Bear Creek Bait and Tackle shop and a curling club. Chez Lucie is a drug store, convenience store, and video rental in one, and Armando’s “Le Bar” is a local diner and watering hole. The Cheminis Lodge provides bed and breakfast facilities and lodging, as does the Hilltop Inn.
The only time I drove through Virginiatown was en route to Rouyn. I was on a schedule, so I stopped to take a picture with the big coin and that’s it. Please help me add to this page – send personal anecdotes, history, photos, and advice to info (at) highway11 (dot) ca.
For an archive of the 30 comments that were posted to Highway11.ca’s profile of Virigniatown/Kearns between 2008 and 2012, please click here.
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged big weird things, francophone, hiking, mining | 12 Replies
Larder Lake
Unlike Kirkland Lake, there is actually a Larder Lake in Larder Lake. Larder Lake is a former mining town about 10 kilometres west of Virginiatown on Highway 66 (not Highway 11 – detour still in effect), and 20 kilometres from the Québec border.
Larder Lake was first settled in 1906 after the silver boom in Cobalt pushed people further north in search of more mineral deposits. Gold was found in the Larder Lake area, creating a boomtown in the bush.
Larder Lake’s entry in the “some big weird thing” contest: a big fish
I’ve been to Larder twice but never really gathered much intel. There are some camping and picnic areas, a beach, and a 30 slip marina. Larder Lake also has an LCBO, a service station, a public library, a post office, a motel, and a restaurant. Unlike its largely anglophone neighbour Kirkland Lake, approximately 40 percent of Larder Lake residents are francophone.
Ashley emailed to let me know that there is the Raven Beach Campground run by the town, and the most northerly skill hill in Ontario (along with Timmins‘ Kamiskotia.) He also advised that, on the way to Larder Lake from Kirkland lake there is Fork Lake Resort, that has a campground, cabins and a beach strop. But here’s the most important part: apparently, there is a really good restaurant where they serve the most excellent pie in the area – just make sure to call ahead to make sure they’re open
Help add to this page – email at info (at) highway11 (dot) ca, or post your thoughts below.
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged big weird things, boating, forestry, francophone, outfitting | 4 Replies
Ramore
Ramore is a quiet community about one minute east of Highway 11 on road 572. It is 15 kilometres south of Matheson and is made up of three streets (Fergus, Timmins, and one other street I forgot to write down.) Ramore, surprisingly, was the home of two air bases, part of the Mid-Canada and Pinetree Lines.
Church at sunset in Ramore
Predominantly francophone, Ramore (and its cousin Holtyre) reminds me a bit of Val Gagné – small, quiet, clean, about 40 houses (probably more) – except with more agriculture. The area is surrounded by farms – some fallow, others still producing – which gives the area a relaxed, summer feel and some pretty fields and old barns. (And for some reason, there’s a house with a Canada flag and a Barbados flag.)
Ramore was a railway town, forestry centre, and agricultural area, but in 1950, the Americans came to town and built a Pinetree Line radar station – not by accident. The mountain the radar site was located is a high-point in the region. The mountain next to it on the west side of the highway is called Kempis Mountain. Both are prehistoric volcanoes that are long dead. Near the Radar Base, is an airstrip – not widely known. Most still think that the military built it, but that is not so. The airfield was built in the 1930’s as a make-work program during the Great Depression. It was part of some sort of larger aerial mapping program. The strip was built, but WWII came along. Not sure how much use it really got, until the Air Base was built, nearby.
Shrine at the church in Ramore
The Air Base played a large role in the area, both socially and economically, from Kirkland Lake to Matheson. In 1962, the Americans turned the base over to the Canadians. It was part of a deal that resulted due to the cancellation of the famed Avro Arrow Program. Canada would “lease” 66 F-101 Voodoos and take over 12 Pinetree Radar Bases – this included Ramore. Supposedly due to budget cuts and changing technology, the Base was closed in 1974. A similar base at Lowther was dismantled in 1984.
Interestingly, up until the mid-60’s, Kempus Mountain had a small “air base detachment” separate from the Ramore base. This is because, Kempus Mountain was part of the Mid-Canada radar system. Kempus was a relay station for the Mid-Canada line (which was a different line of radar stations than the Pinetree line), which operated generally around the 60th parallel. This is one of the few places in Canada where the Mid-Canada Line and Pinetree Lines met. As the site of two former air bases, one can say, that Ramore had a very strong connection to the Cold War. Today, one of the bases lay abandoned and some people still explore it, however it is not recommended due to the physical hazards and the potential of running into harmful contaminants. (Click here for photos of a visit to former base location in 2002.)
South of Ramore on Highway 11 is the Ramore Flea Market. Albeit small, this is a real flea market, not like the North Cobalt Flea Market. I haven’t had a chance to look around, but it’s worth a stop since it’s right on Highway 11.
Raymore also hosts a Country and Western Festival every September, complete with concerts, demonstrations, and competitions. I don’t know if there is a midway.
Drove past at least 20 times. Always wished I had stopped by.
Ramore has a church, a baseball diamond, a small library, a caisse, and Bouchard’s Grocery and LCBO outlet, which is more like a convenience store with food. Just south of the town is Rolly’s Motel and Home Cooked Meals, which has rooms and food but no gas. There are blueberry stands both north and south of Ramore, as well as a family that sells vegetables from a stall.
Thanks to Dwight for the info and for pointing me towards the photos of the radar base.
For an archive of the 40 comments that were posted to Highway11.ca’s profile of Ramore between 2008 and 2012, please click here.
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged farm town, francophone, military, mining | 47 Replies
Holtyre
On the other side of the Black River, Holtyre is ten minutes east of Highway 11 on road 572. Like its cousin Ramore, Holtyre is a tiny three-street (Euclid, Gleason, Pearl) francophone hamlet.
A farm in Holtyre
Dwight emailed me to tell me that Holtyre was built in the early 1930’s after gold was discovered. The town was named after 2 mines: Hollinger and Macintyre – hence the name Holtyre. The mine had high grade gold which was mined from 1935 to 1988 – over half a century.
Up until the late 70s there were 2 stores, a large hotel, bowling ally, 2 schools (English and French – K to 8) and gas station. There was (and is) a larger school bus business that first started by transporting miners to the Johns Mansville Asbestos mine site between Holtyre and Matheson after WWII – the business evolved from there.
Dwight also emailed to tell this story: supposedly in the mid-70’s the gold mine changed ownership and it was decided to save costs, close the smelter, and truck the raw ore to Timmins for smelting. Sounded logical, and for nearly 20 more years, this is what happened. In order to make room on the property, they decided to simply burn the old smelter building down – after all, it was over 40 years old and well used. The thing is, that inside of the structure had been in place since 1935 and was made of wood. Gold dust from the smelting process had been building in every crevice and crack in the old building. When they burned it down, there was enough pure gold that had melted into clumps on the ground, that when it was collected (as I understand in quite a surprising panic!), the new owners paid for the mine – that day. It was clear profit from then on. Who would have guessed – certainly not the previous owners !
Does photography count? Uhm, probably…
I noticed some interesting houses with two level front balconies, kind of like in New Orleans, but less extravagant. I wanted to take a photo, but Holtyre is so small that I felt oddly conspicuous and didn’t take any photos directly in town. (And hey, on my journeys I’ve been taking photos of everything and anything, so if I feel too out of place, then you know I felt weird!) I think it was because the community was just so small and was also off the road. I had no reason to be there, so it felt a bit weird. So instead, I took some shots of a local farm. The tiny photo doesn’t do it justice…it was such a great summer evening the first time I was in Holtyre.
Holtyre has its own church, a playground, and an inordinate number of school buses. I think there is a school bus operator in town, but there were also old buses in a few fields and yards, so I wonder what’s up.
I didn’t see any stores in town, but then again I skirted around and didn’t stop too long. I’m sure there’s a variety store. I don’t think there is a caisse or a gas station. There is an abattoir outside of town, if you happen to have any animals that need butchering.
For more info, check out J. Charles Caty’s excellent history of Holtyre or the 25-minute documentary from 1971 on Holtyre that is online – you can watch it here, on Youtube.
Photo of some cabin builders, maybe late 50s early 60s (posted at the request of a reader)
December 1966, Holtyre Public School Grades 1-4
For an archive of the more than 450 comments (yes you read that correctly. More than four-hundred and fifty!) that were posted to Highway11.ca’s profile of Holtyre between 2008 and 2012, please click here.
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged farm town, francophone, mining | 69 Replies
Monteith / Val Gagné
Given the number of crazy posts I had on the old Monteith page, I suspect that Monteith Correction Facility used to be a source of …”interesting” comments before I upgraded the comment system.
Monteith is about 20 kilometres northwest of Matheson (on Highway 11), and 11 kilometres south of Iroquois Falls. Most people see places like Monteith as dots-on-the-map, but if you look behind the map you’ll find that places like these often have some pretty neat histories.
Monteith was founded in 1916 as Driftwood City (the ‘city’ part obviously debatable to some ) but was destroyed by fire soon after. The town (‘town’ less debateable) was then rebuilt as the home of a demonstration farm. I’ve been told that the town was named Monteith after a former Provincial Minister of Agriculture.Val Gagné is a largely francophone hamlet of about 50 houses 30 minutes south of Iroquois Falls.
Monteith’s church.
The demonstration farm was eventually converted into a military training centre, which was then used as a boarding school, which was then turned into an abandoned boarding school, which then turned into a jail, which then turned into a World War II Prisoner-of-War camp, which then turned back into a jail.
Today Monteith is known for being the home of Monteith Correctional Centre, a medium security prison that bears an eerie resemblance to my old high school. The facility is pictured here (Monteith, not my old highschool.)
Paul emailed in to tell me that during the summer of ’64 or ’65 there was an iron ore discovery north of Timmins. This was quite a rich find, and was followed by a huge smelter being built just outside of Timmins. The find of iron ore sparked speculators and claim staking in an area of approx. 40 – 50 miles all around Timmins. There were literally hundreds and hundreds of claims staked.
Apparently, a Toronto Star reporter with a vivid imagination described the exploration boom with the following headline: “Startled guards at the Monteith Correctional Centre discovered miners tunnelling underneath the jail in search of iron ore”.
Of course it wasn’t true. Apparently somebody must have fed that reporter quite a line, but it was good for a few laughs. (I guess they didn’t check sources in those days).
I’ve only been to Monteith once, so I haven’t done a tonne of exploring. I counted maybe 20 houses (there are probably more, I always seem to under-count and get emails later) there is the Mary Magdalene Church (pictured), an old playground, a pop machine, and oddly enough a totally random garden centre. There;s probably more I just didn’t get to see it that day.
Val Gagné
Val Gagne isn’t directly on Highway 11 – it’s about a 10 minute drive east of the main highway. Val Gagné is one of many tiny little farming communities that typifies northern Temiskaming.
The National, Val Gagné’s watering hole
In town, Sunshine Café and Variety on rue Principale serves cold beer and also has an LCBO outlet. Last time I was there the store was for sale (I know a lot of people who would love to own their own liquor store, just maybe not in Val Gagné.) There are a few other businesses, including Guay’s Garage, a caisse, a foodmart, and of course, a church.
I took a photo of the old National Tavern as a tribute to the town’s past. I thought it was shut down and boarded up, but in fact I’ve been told that it’s still open.
Val Gagné apparently has one of the nicest baseball fields in all of Ontario and hosts an annual baseball tournament on the August long weekend named Val Gagné Days. There is also an annual corn roast that attracts 10 000 people from across the north. If you explore the cemetery there is a statue to be found commemorating the people who died in the Great Fire of 1916.
A former Val Gagné resident emailed me regarding the website and alerted me to the fact that I’m making their hometown (and many others) seem like a “ramshackle collection of abandoned huts”. While that’s definitely not the case, nor the intent (at least not on purpose) there may be more to the town than met my eye that rainy afternoon in August.
(Photo are “pour” to incessant rain.)
Posted in Temiskaming | Tagged dot on the map, francophone | 24 Replies
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Home » Entities » Mohdar Abdullah
Profile: Mohdar Abdullah
a.k.a. Al-Mohdar Mohamed Al-Mohdar Zeid, Mohammed al-Mihdhar
Mohdar Abdullah was a participant or observer in the following events:
Early 2000: Hijackers Allegedly Tell Friend in San Diego of Plan to Crash Plane into Building
Mohdar Abdullah. [Source: San Diego Union-Tribune]Mohdar Abdullah, a friend of future 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar when they live in San Diego, allegedly learns about the hijackers’ attack plans in early 2000. Abdullah helps Alhazmi and Almihdhar adjust to life in the US when they first arrive in San Diego. Abdullah speaks English well, and Alhazmi only speaks a little English and Almihdhar virtually none at all.
Alleged Prison Confessions - While imprisoned in the US in 2003 on minor charges, Abdullah will reportedly brag to other prisoners that he knew the two hijackers were planning a terrorist attack (see September 2003-May 21, 2004). According to one prisoner, Abdullah claims he had been told by an unnamed individual that Alhazmi and Almihdhar would be arriving in Los Angeles to carry out an attack before they arrived there on January 15, 2000 (see January 15, 2000). According to another prisoner, Abdullah claims that after Alhazmi and Almihdhar arrived in San Diego, they told him they planned to fly an airplane into a building and they invited him to join in the attack. Abdullah’s prison boasts will not be completely verified by the FBI. However, Abdullah will admit to the FBI that he knew of the hijackers’ extremist beliefs and that he was involved in the Islamic Army of Aden, a militant group in Yemen with al-Qaeda ties (see 1996-1997 and After and Around October 12, 2000). The 9/11 Commission will later comment, “Abdullah clearly was sympathetic to those extremist views.” [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 218-219]
Distantly Related to Almihdhar? - Abdullah is a Yemeni citizen, and after 9/11, it will be reported that the name in his Yemeni passport is actually Mohammed al-Mihdhar. Authorities don’t believe he is closely related to Khalid Almihdhar, but he could belong to the same tribe or clan. [San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/21/2001] There is evidence that Abdullah cases the Los Angeles airport in June 2000 with Alhazmi (see June 10, 2000), and he appears to know about the timing of the 9/11 attacks several weeks in advance (see Late August-September 10, 2001).
Entity Tags: Islamic Army of Aden, Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Mohdar Abdullah
Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline
(Early 2000-November 2000): 9/11 Hijacker Hanjour Possibly Spends Time in San Diego; He May Train in Afghanistan
Officially, in 2000, 9/11 hijacker Hani Hanjour is said to enter the US on December 8, and briefly visit San Diego (see December 8, 2000). However, some reports suggest he may spend a significant amount of time in San Diego earlier in the year. [Los Angeles Times, 9/27/2001; San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/14/2002]
For example, in the two weeks following 9/11, the FBI will identify him as having lived in San Diego during 2000. [Associated Press, 9/14/2001; NBC (San Diego), 9/15/2001; San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/21/2001]
In 2004, court records relating to a local terror probe will include authorities stating that Hanjour, along with hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, had regularly dined and prayed with Mohdar Abdullah, a Yemeni university student in San Diego. [San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/2/2004]
When Alhazmi and Almihdhar attend a San Diego flying school in May 2000 (see May 5 and 10, 2000), they are accompanied by one or even two men called Hani. [KGTV 10 (San Diego), 9/18/2001; Los Angeles Times, 9/27/2001; South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 9/28/2001]
A neighbor of Abdussattar Shaikh, a Muslim leader and also undercover FBI asset living in San Diego, later remembers Shaikh having introduced him to a friend called Hani, who he assumes to have been Hanjour. [Chicago Tribune, 9/30/2001] (Alhazmi and Almihdhar stay with Shaikh during 2000 (see Mid-May-December 2000).) For a short period beginning August 10, another resident at Shaikh’s San Diego house is a Saudi called Yazeed al-Salmi. After 9/11, Al-Salmi will reportedly confide to having known Hanjour and, according to the 9/11 Commission, has “childhood ties” to him. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 222 and 518]
Witnesses see Hanjour in San Diego with suspected Saudi agent Omar al-Bayoumi at least twice in early 2000 (see Early 2000).
Little else is written about Hanjour’s movements during 2000, but the Washington Post notes that for at least part of the year, he “appears to have been in Saudi Arabia, because it was there that he obtained a student visa to take another English course. He applied in September 2000.” [Washington Post, 10/15/2001] The 9/11 Commission will claim that Hanjour goes to Afghanistan in spring 2000, where he spends time in al-Qaeda’s Al Farooq training camp. He is then sent to Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM) in Karachi, for training in using code words, before returning to Saudi Arabia on June 20, 2000. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 226] However, this account will come mainly from written reports of the interrogation of KSM, with whom the commission has no direct contact. [9/11 Commission, 6/16/2004; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 146 and 521] Partly because of the highly coercive interrogation methods used, there will be questions about the reliability of KSM’s information. [New York Times, 6/17/2004] According to the 9/11 Commission, the only time Hanjour is in San Diego this year is from December 8-12, before he moves to Arizona. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 223]
Entity Tags: Mohdar Abdullah, Khalid Almihdhar, Abdussattar Shaikh, Yazeed al-Salmi, Omar al-Bayoumi, Al Farooq training camp, Nawaf Alhazmi, Hani Hanjour, Osama bin Laden
January 15, 2000: 9/11 Hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar Arrive in US
A week after attending the al-Qaeda summit in Malaysia (see January 5-8, 2000), 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar fly together from Bangkok, Thailand, to Los Angeles, California. [MSNBC, 12/11/2001] The passports of both men have indicators of their terrorist affiliation placed there by Saudi authorities to track them (see March 21, 1999 and April 6, 1999), but the indicators are apparently not noticed by US immigration officials, as they have not been informed of their significance (see Around February 1993). [9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 10 ] The CIA will later claim that it lost track of them when they arrived in Bangkok and that it did not receive notification from the Thai government that Almihdhar and Alhazmi entered the US until March 2000 (see March 5, 2000). However, Almihdhar will later tell 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed that he and Alhazmi think they were watched and followed from Bangkok to Los Angeles by unknown individuals (see Mid-July 2000). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 181, 215] One San Diego friend of the two hijackers, Mohdar Abdullah, will later allegedly claim that he was told in advance they were coming to Los Angeles to carry out an attack in the US (see Early 2000).
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Mohdar Abdullah, Central Intelligence Agency
January 15-February 2000: Suspected Advance Man Al-Bayoumi Helps 9/11 Hijackers Settle in San Diego
Omar al-Bayoumi. [Source: Fox News]Omar al-Bayoumi, a suspected Saudi spy, goes to great lengths to help future 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar settle in San Diego. Supposedly, al-Bayoumi meets them by chance in a Los Angeles restaurant and encourages them to move to San Diego, but the accounts of the meeting are highly doubtful (see February 1, 2000). The FBI’s “best source” in San Diego will later say that al-Bayoumi “must be an intelligence officer for Saudi Arabia or another foreign power.” A former top FBI official working on the al-Bayoumi investigation claims, “We firmly believed that he had knowledge [of the 9/11 plot], and that his meeting with them that day was more than coincidence.” [Newsweek, 7/28/2003]
When Alhazmi and Almihdhar move into apartment 150 in the Parkwood Apartments in San Diego in early February, they indicate on their rental application that they have been staying at al-Bayoumi’s apartment in the same apartment complex since January 15, the day they arrived in the US (see January 15-February 2, 2000). (This would suggest the alleged accidental restaurant meeting never took place.) [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/3/2001 ]
He is the co-signer and guarantor for their rental application, because they do not have established credit. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/3/2001 ]
He pays $1,500 cash for their first month’s rent and security deposit. Some FBI officials claim the hijackers immediately pay him back, others claim they do not. [Newsweek, 11/24/2002; US Congress, 7/24/2003 ]
The apartment manager will later claim al-Bayoumi occasionally paid rent for Alhazmi and Almihdhar on other occasions. [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/3/2001 ]
Shortly after they arrive in San Diego, al-Bayoumi throws a welcoming party to introduce them to the local Muslim community. [Washington Post, 12/29/2001] One attendee will later say an al-Bayoumi party “was a big deal… it meant that everyone accepted them without question.” [San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/25/2001]
He also introduces hijacker Hani Hanjour to the community a short time later, and Hanjour is seen in his apartment later in the year (see Early 2000). [San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/14/2002]
Cayson Bin Don, a friend of al-Bayoumi, will later say al-Bayoumi “spent a lot of time at Alhazmi and Almihdhar’s apartment.” [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/8/2001 ]
Al-Bayoumi apparently loans the hijackers his cell phone until they can get phone service in their own apartment. On February 15, 2000, someone trying to call al-Bayoumi on his phone has the call answered by Alhazmi instead. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 516]
He tasks an acquaintance, Mohdar Abdullah, to serve as their translator and help them get driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, information on flight schools, and more. [San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/14/2002; US Congress, 7/24/2003 ]
Entity Tags: Hani Hanjour, Omar al-Bayoumi, Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mohdar Abdullah, Cayson Bin Don
February-August 2000: 9/11 Hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar Have Closed-Door Meetings with Al-Qaeda Imam in San Diego
Future 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar attend a San Diego mosque whose imam is Anwar al-Awlaki, and they have closed-door meetings with him. Al-Awlaki preaches at the Al-Ribat Al-Islami (also known as Rabat) mosque in La Mesa, a town right next to San Diego. After 9/11, the FBI will question al-Awlaki, and he will admit to meeting with Alhazmi several times, but say he does not remember what they discussed. He will not claim to remember Almihdhar at all. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 221] However, other accounts will suggest there is a much closer relationship, and with both hijackers. It is uncertain when they first meet, but a series of phone calls on February 4, 2000 connects the two hijackers, al-Awlaki, and a suspected Saudi spy named Omar al-Bayoumi (see February 4, 2000). The 9/11 Congressional Inquiry will later report that Alhazmi and Almihdhar “were closely affiliated with [al-Awlaki] who reportedly served as their spiritual adviser during their time in San Diego.… Several persons informed the FBI after September 11 that this imam had closed-door meetings in San Diego with Almihdhar, Alhazmi, and another individual, whom al-Bayoumi had asked to help the hijackers.” [US Congress, 7/24/2003 ]
Abdullah in Closed-Door Meetings? - This other person may be Mohdar Abdullah. Interviewed after 9/11, Abdullah will claim that al-Bayoumi specifically asked him “to be the individual to acclimate the hijackers to the United States, particularly San Diego, California.” [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 513] Furthermore, one witness will later claim to have met Alhazmi through both al-Awlaki and Abdullah. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 513] Abdullah may be told of the 9/11 plot in the spring of 2000 (see Early 2000), so presumably he could be a participant in secret meetings.
Investigator Confirms Closed-Door Meetings - Ray Fournier, a State Department official who will investigate al-Awlaki after 9/11, will say: “He was meeting with al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar in the ante room off of the Rabat mosque. Just the three of them. It stands to reason that when three people get together and two of them end up being hijackers that end up in the Pentagon, they’re obviously discussing how they’re going to stay on track.… He’s absolving them of their sins. He’s making sure that their cover within Western culture is being maintained. He’s making sure they’re going to stay operational.” Fournier also claims that al-Awlaki was radicalized before the hijackers came to San Diego. [KPBS, 6/10/2010]
Hijackers and Al-Awlaki Reunite in Virginia - Around August 2000, al-Awlaki resigns as imam and travels to unknown “various countries.” In early 2001, he will be appointed the imam to a much larger mosque in Falls Church, Virginia. [Copley News, 10/1/2001] Alhazmi, Almihdhar, and fellow hijacker Hani Hanjour will move to Virginia and attend al-Awlaki’s mosque there (see March 2001 and After). By 2008, US intelligence will conclude that al-Awlaki is an al-Qaeda operative (see February 27, 2008).
Entity Tags: Khalid Almihdhar, Anwar al-Awlaki, Nawaf Alhazmi, Mohdar Abdullah, Omar al-Bayoumi, Ray Fournier
June 9, 2000: On Trip to Los Angeles, 9/11 Hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar Seem to Know Local Muslims Well, Meet Mysterious Associate
The King Fahd Mosque in Culver City. [Source: Damian Dovarganes]Hijackers Khalid Almihdhar and Nawaf Alhazmi travel to Los Angeles with an associate, Mohdar Abdullah, before Almihdhar leaves the US the next day (see June 10, 2000). When they visit the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, Abdullah is surprised that Alhazmi and Almihdhar already know several people at the mosque. Abdullah will later say, “I was surprised that anybody at the mosque knew them, because as far as I knew Alhazmi and Almihdhar hadn’t visited Los Angeles since they arrived in the US.” They meet one of the hijackers’ Los Angeles acquaintances, known as Khallam, again later that night at their motel. According to the 9/11 Commission, Khallam asks Abdullah to leave the motel room, so he can talk to Alhazmi and Almihdhar in private. However, Abdullah will later dispute this, saying he is not asked leave the room, but that Alhazmi leaves to make an international phone call from a pay phone. The identity of the person he calls is unknown, but it is possible that he talks to Ahmed al-Hada, an al-Qaeda operative whose safe house is monitored by the US and who Alhazmi sometimes calls from the US (see Early 2000-Summer 2001). Khallam will apparently never be found after 9/11. The FBI will consider the possibility that he is Khallad bin Attash, as there are some reports that bin Attash is in the US at this time and met the mosque’s imam, Fahad al Thumairy. However, this theory will never be confirmed. [Los Angeles Times, 7/24/2004; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 216, 514] The next day, Alhazmi, Abdullah and an unknown man make a casing video at Los Angeles Airport (see June 10, 2000). It is possible that the third man is Khallam.
Entity Tags: Mohdar Abdullah, Nawaf Alhazmi, Khallam, Khalid Almihdhar, 9/11 Commission, Fahad al Thumairy, Khallad bin Attash, Federal Bureau of Investigation
June 10, 2000: 9/11 Hijacker and Associates Case Los Angeles Airport
Hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi and one of his associates, Mohdar Abdullah, go to Los Angeles airport with hijacker Khalid Almihdhar, who is returning to the Middle East via Germany (see June 10, 2000). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 222] Together with a third man, Alhazmi and Abdullah shoot videocamera footage there. They appear to be scouting out the airport and record secretly near the security area. The identity of the third man is not known, but he may be Khallam, an associate of Alhazmi and Almihdhar’s who they met the day before (see June 9, 2000). Al-Qaeda had plotted to bomb Los Angeles Airport not long before (see December 14, 1999). The tapes, which are not found until Abdullah is deported, will cause the FBI to re-start their investigation of him in 2006. [US District Court, Southern District of California, 10/29/2004 ; MSNBC, 9/8/2006]
Entity Tags: Mohdar Abdullah, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Nawaf Alhazmi, Khallam
Autumn 2000: 9/11 Hijacker Alhazmi Works at San Diego Gas Station that Is Linked to Other Possible Islamist Militants
Sam’s Star Mart gas station. [Source: Daniel Hopsicker]9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi works at a gas station while living in San Diego where other suspected Islamist militants work. This is the only apparent instance of any of the hijackers having a job while in the US. He and 9/11 hijacker Khalid Almihdhar frequently socialize at the gas station, but only Alhazmi works there for pay on and off for about a month at some point after Almihdhar has gone overseas in June 2000. [Washington Post, 12/29/2001; Los Angeles Times, 9/1/2002; US Congress, 7/24/2003, pp. xii, 11-12, 143-146, 155-157 ]
Gas Station's Owner Was Investigated - The Texaco gas station, Sam’s Star Mart, is owned by Osama “Sam” Mustafa. [San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/25/2003] Mustafa was first investigated by the FBI in 1991 after he told a police officer that the US needed another Pan Am 103 attack and that he could be the one to carry out the attack. He also said all Americans should be killed because of the 1991 Iraq War. In 1994, he was investigated for being a member of the Palestinian organizations PFLP and PLO and for threatening to kill an Israeli intelligence officer living in San Diego. The investigation was closed, but reopened again in 1997 when he was tied to a possible plot in North Carolina. Apparently, it was closed again before 9/11. He also associates with Osama Basnan and others who have contacts with the hijackers. Witnesses later claim he cheered when he was first told of the 9/11 attacks. [US Congress, 7/24/2003, pp. xii, 11-12, 143-146, 155-157 ]
Gas Station's Manager Was Also Investigated - The gas station is managed by Ed Salamah (who apparently is also known as Iyad Kreiwesh). [Washington Post, 12/29/2001; San Diego Union-Tribune, 7/25/2003] In January 2000, the brother of an unnamed, known al-Qaeda operative was under surveillance and was seen chatting with Salamah. The Los Angeles FBI office was investigating this operative, and it called Salamah about the person. Salamah refused to come to Los Angeles for an interview, and refused to give his home address to be interviewed there. Faced with a reluctant witness, the FBI dropped the matter. [US Congress, 7/24/2003, pp. xii, 11-12, 143-146, 155-157 ; Newsweek, 7/28/2003]
Other Gas Station Employees May Know of 9/11 Plot - Mohdar Abdullah, a friend of Alhazmi and Almihdhar, also works at the gas station around this time. He may have learned of the 9/11 plot as early as the spring of 2000 (see Early 2000). Additionally, according to one witness, Abdullah, Osama Awadallah, Omar Bakarbashat, and other gas station employees will appear to show foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks one day before they take place (see Late August-September 10, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 219-220, 249-50, 532]
FBI Informant Stays Silent - The hijackers are living with an FBI informant named Abdussattar Shaikh who is aware of their contact with at least Mustafa, and Shaikh has given reports about Mustafa to the FBI in the past. However, Shaikh fails to tell the FBI about their contacts with him. The 9/11 Congressional Inquiry will later strongly imply that Salamah and Mustafa assisted the hijackers with the 9/11 plot, but the FBI will appear uninterested in them and will maintain that the hijackers received no assistance from anyone. [US Congress, 7/24/2003, pp. xii, 11-12, 143-146, 155-157 ] Shaikh will also later admit that he knew Alhazmi was working illegally at the gas station, but he didn’t tell his FBI handler about this (see Autumn 2000).
Entity Tags: Mohdar Abdullah, Khalid Almihdhar, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Osama Awadallah, Nawaf Alhazmi, Ed Salamah, Osama Basnan, Osama (“Sam”) Mustafa, Omar Bakarbashat
Autumn 2000: FBI Informant Learns 9/11 Hiacker Living with Him Is Working Illegally, Doesn’t Tell His FBI Handler
Abdussattar Shaikh, an FBI informant who is also the landlord to two future 9/11 hijackers living in San Diego, California, learns that one of the hijackers is working illegally, but does not tell his FBI handler about it. Hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi lives in Shaikh’s house from May to December 2000 (see May 10-Mid-December 2000), and fellow hijacker Khalid Almihdhar lives there until June (see June 10, 2000). In the autumn of 2000, Alhazmi begins working at a local Texaco gas station (see Autumn 2000). In a 2004 interview with the 9/11 Commission, Shaikh will say that he becomes aware that a local man named Mohdar Abdullah helped Alhazmi get a job at the gas station. Shaikh will say he is disturbed about this because he knows Alhazmi doesn’t have a work permit. He is concerned that the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) will hear about this, and that it will reflect negatively upon himself. He warns Alhazmi that he could be deported. But Alhazmi says he is not worried because Abdullah has been working at the gas station for some time with other illegal workers. Shaikh never tells his FBI handler Steven Butler about this, and apparently even asks Alhazmi not to discuss his employment at the gas station with him. [9/11 Commission, 4/23/2004] It will later turn out that both the manager and the owner of the gas station have already been investigated by the FBI about Islamist militant links (see Autumn 2000), and some of the other employees at the gas station, including Abdullah, may have foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks (see Early 2000 and Late August-September 10, 2001).
Entity Tags: Mohdar Abdullah, Abdussattar Shaikh, Khalid Almihdhar, Nawaf Alhazmi, US Immigration and Naturalization Service, Steven Butler
(Autumn 2000): San Diego Associate Helps 9/11 Hijacker Alhazmi Contact a Florida Flight School
A close associate of future 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar in San Diego helps Alhazmi contact a flight school in Florida. An unnamed FBI team leader of the 9/11 investigation will later be interviewed by the 9/11 Commission. This FBI agent will say that Mohdar Abdullah knew that both Alhazmi and Almihdhar were interested in learning to fly. At one point, Abdullah calls an unnamed flight school in Florida for Alhazmi. Alhazmi presumably needs help because his English isn’t very good. Abdullah is about to use the phone inside the Texaco gas station where he and Alhazmi work (see Autumn 2000), but Alhazmi asks him to call from outside, so he uses a pay phone next to the station. This FBI agent will also say that he doubts Abdullah was a witting part of the 9/11 plot, but he believes that if anyone in San Diego had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks, it would be Abdullah. Abdullah helped the two hijackers with many tasks in San Diego, and he may have known in early 2000 that they were planning to crash a plane into a building (see Early 2000). [9/11 Commission, 11/18/2003] It will not be mentioned when this incident takes place, but the autumn of 2000 is likely, since this is when Alhazmi and Abdullah both work at the gas station (see Autumn 2000). Hijackers Mohamed Atta, Marwan Alshehhi, and Ziad Jarrah are attending flying school in Florida at the time (see July 6-December 19, 2000 and (June 28-December 2000)).
Entity Tags: Khalid Almihdhar, Mohdar Abdullah, Nawaf Alhazmi
September 5, 2000: 9/11 Hijacker Alhazmi Helps Housemate Cash Checks? FBI Later Flubs Investigation
Yazeed al-Salmi. [Source: Channel 10 News]A total of $1,900 is deposited in 9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi’s Bank of America account from a set of traveler’s checks worth $4,000 that were issued in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on July 16, 2000 to a man named Yazeed al-Salmi. The same day, Alhazmi withdraws $1,900. US investigators will therefore later hypothesize that Alhazmi is just helping al-Salmi cash the checks, since al-Salmi does not open a US bank account of his own until September 11, 2000. Al-Salmi arrived in San Diego on a student visa on August 7, 2000 and moved in with Alhazmi and FBI counterterrorism informant Abdussattar Shaikh three days later, staying for about one month (see August 10-September 2000 and Mid-May-December 2000). After 9/11, the FBI will detain al-Salmi as a material witness and question him because of his contacts with Alhazmi, and he will testify before a grand jury before being deported to Saudi Arabia. However, al-Salmi does not mention the traveler’s checks in the interrogation and the FBI will not find out about them until after he is deported. Also, another associate of the hijackers, Mohdar Abdullah, will later claim that al-Salmi tells him he previously knew hijacker pilot Hani Hanjour as a child in Saudi Arabia (see (Early 2000-November 2000)). When the FBI interviews al-Salmi again, in Saudi Arabia in 2004, he will claim he no longer remembers the $1,900 transaction, and the FBI will fail to ask him about his alleged childhood ties to Hanjour. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 222, 518; 9/11 Commission, 8/21/2004, pp. 139 ; Time, 8/22/2004] There are later indications that al-Salmi and some of his associates have some foreknowledge of 9/11 (see Late August-September 10, 2001).
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Mohdar Abdullah, Yazeed al-Salmi, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hani Hanjour, Abdussattar Shaikh
(December 2000-January 2001): 9/11 Hijacker Alhazmi Tells Associates He Is in Flight Training
9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi tells two associates, Mohdar Abdullah and FBI informant Abdussattar Shaikh, that he has re-entered flight training, but it is unclear if this is true. He calls Abdullah twice in December 2000/January 2001, initially saying that he is in San Francisco and will have flight training there, but he later says that he has moved to Arizona and both he and hijacker Hani Hanjour are in flight training. He also calls Shaikh to say that he and Hanjour are to have flight training in Arizona. Alhazmi lived with Shaikh for several months, but moved out in the middle of December (see May 10-Mid-December 2000 and December 12, 2000-March 2001). [Miller, Stone, and Mitchell, 2002, pp. 276; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 223] Hanjour is known to undergo flight training in Arizona at this time (see January-February 2001 and February 8-March 12, 2001). There is no known public record of Alhazmi training to be a pilot at this time, although there is other evidence Alhazmi trained to be a pilot (see November 25, 2007).
Entity Tags: Mohdar Abdullah, Nawaf Alhazmi, Abdussattar Shaikh
(August 25, 2001): 9/11 Hijacker Alhazmi Possibly Calls Associate in San Diego and Tells Him of 9/11 Attacks Date
Around August 25, 2001, future 9/11 hijacker Nawaf Alhazmi possibly calls Mohdar Abdullah, a close associate of his when he lived in San Diego in 2000, and tells him about the 9/11 attacks date.
Shortly after 9/11, the FBI will question Abdullah about getting a call from Alhazmi in August; it is unclear how the FBI would have known to ask that question.
In a July 2002 interview with the FBI, Abdullah will ask if the FBI taped the phone call, suggesting that it does take place.
In 2003, Abdullah will be in a US jail, and another prisoner will claim Abdullah says he found out about the 9/11 attacks three weeks in advance.
Abdullah stops making calls from his phone after August 25, 2001.
After 9/11, Abdullah’s friends will say that Abdullah starts acting strangely around this time. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 218, 531]
According to a witness, one day before 9/11, Abdullah and some of his co-workers (who are themselves radical Islamists (see Autumn 2000)) will appear to celebrate the upcoming 9/11 attacks, and one of them says, “It is finally going to happen” (see Late August-September 10, 2001).
In 2003 and 2004, more evidence will emerge that Abdullah willingly took part in the 9/11 plot, but he will be deported anyway (see September 2003-May 21, 2004 and May 21, 2004).
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Mohdar Abdullah
Late August-September 10, 2001: 9/11 Hijackers’ San Diego Associates Appear to Have Foreknowledge of Attacks
Osama Awadallah. [Source: Chris Park / Associated Press]Associates of 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar in San Diego reportedly change their behavior and seem to be aware that “something big” is about to happen. But it is not clear how they would have obtained this information.
The 9/11 Commission will suggest that there is evidence Alhazmi calls Mohdar Abdullah in late August (see (August 25, 2001)). Abdullah, a friend of these two hijackers in San Diego, may have been told some about the 9/11 plot back in 2000 and even invited to join in (see Early 2000 and June 10, 2000).
He will later brag to someone in prison that he was told of the attack date three weeks in advance (see Early 2000).
Both Abdullah and another former associate of the hijackers, Yazeed al-Salmi, suddenly become intent on marrying before 9/11. The 9/11 Commission will quote a witness saying al-Salmi told him, “I knew they were going to do something, that is why I got married.”
In addition, employees at the Texaco station where Alhazmi worked (see Autumn 2000), including one named Iyad Kreiwesh, apparently expect that law enforcement authorities will visit them in the near future.
Further, according to one witness, early on the morning of September 10, Abdullah, Osama Awadallah, Omar Bakarbashat, and others behave suspiciously at the gas station. The witness will say that after the group meets, Awadallah tells the others, “[I]t is finally going to happen” and they celebrate with high fives. [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 219-220, 249-50, 532]
Entity Tags: Iyad Kreiwesh, Yazeed al-Salmi, Osama Awadallah, Nawaf Alhazmi, Omar Bakarbashat, Mohdar Abdullah
September 2003-May 21, 2004: US Government Refuses to Hold or Charge 9/11 Hijacker Associate Despite New Evidence against Him
In September and October 2003, Mohdar Abdullah, an associate of 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar who is being held in a US jail, allegedly brags to fellow prisoners that he knew the two hijackers were planning a terrorist attack (see Early 2000 and see Late August-September 10, 2001). Despite suspicions that he knowingly assisted the hijackers’ plans, Abdullah is only being held for an immigration violation, and he is due to be deported soon. But, according to the 9/11 Commission, the US Attorney for the Southern District of California decides not to prosecute him on charges stemming from these new allegations. Furthermore, the US Justice Department does not even delay his deportation to allow further investigation of this new information. In May 2004, the 9/11 Commission first hears about the new evidence against Abdullah. However, Abdullah is deported to Yemen on May 21, 2004 (see May 21, 2004). [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 217-219] Abdullah is a Yemeni citizen, and he has been stuck in prison for many months because the Yemeni government does not want him back. According to his lawyer, he is only able to be deported after intense pressure by the State Department on the Yemeni government (see May 21, 2004). [San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/26/2004] Not long after Abdullah is deported, a surveillance video will be discovered from the Los Angeles airport, showing Abdullah, Alhazmi, and an unknown third man seemingly casing the airport and recording security measures with a video camera (see June 10, 2000). It is not known when exactly this video is discovered, but a grand jury subpoena for it will be dated October 2004. In September 2006, some anonymous law enforcement officials will tell NBC News that they regret deporting Abdullah, given the discovered video. These officials will say that the FBI has reopened its investigation into Abdullah and is reexamining all of his contacts in the US. NBC News will comment: “Why didn’t they find these tapes until 2004 isn’t known—especially since the FBI knew that on the day these tapes were shot in June 2000, one of the hijackers went to Los Angeles Airport for a flight home to Yemen. Critics are certain to question whether the FBI again missed an important clue, and let a possible accomplice get away.” [MSNBC, 9/8/2006]
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/11 Commission, Khalid Almihdhar, Mohdar Abdullah, US Department of State, US Department of Justice
May 21, 2004: 9/11 Hijacker Associate Is Deported to Yemen; Later Evidence Will Renew Suspicions He Was Involved in 9/11 Plot
Mohdar Abdullah is quietly deported to Yemen after spending nearly three years in US prisons. Abdullah was arrested shortly after 9/11 and held as a material witness. He was eventually charged with an immigration violation. He pled guilty to lying on an asylum application and then served a six-month sentence. However, he chose to remain imprisoned so he could fight deportation. He is a Yemeni citizen, and the US wanted to deport him to Yemen, but the Yemeni government would not take him. According to his lawyer, Yemen twice refused to admit him and only finally agreed after intense pressure from the US State Department. [San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/26/2004]
Suspicious Links to 9/11 Hijackers - Officials said in court documents that Abdullah regularly dined and prayed with 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, and Hani Hanjour. Additionally, he helped Alhazmi and Almihdhar adjust to life in the US in a variety of ways, including help with: interpreting, computer use, finding a job, finding a place to live, obtaining Social Security cards, and obtaining driver licenses. He also worked with Alhazmi at a gas station where many other radical Islamists worked, including some who had been investigated by the FBI (see Autumn 2000). [San Diego Union-Tribune, 5/26/2004; San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/2/2004]
9/11 Commission Not Allowed to Interview Him before Deportation - The 9/11 Commission’s work is almost done by the time that Abdullah is deported; its final report will be released two months later. However, the Commission is not allowed to interview Abdullah even though he is being held in a US prison (and not in Guantanamo or some secret overseas prison). 9/11 Commission co-chair Tom Kean will later say, “He should not have been let out of the country when the 9/11 Commission wanted to interview him.” Kean will not comment on why the Commission does not or is not able to interview him before his deportation. [MSNBC, 9/8/2006]
Justice Department Will Not Delay Deportation to Help Investigation - In late 2003, new evidence emerged that Abdullah may have had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks. But US prosecutors decided not to charge him based on that new evidence, and the Justice Department does not even try to delay his deportation to allow investigators time to pursue the new leads (see September 2003-May 21, 2004).
FBI Will Reopen Investigation into Abdullah - The new evidence suggested that Abdullah may have learned about the 9/11 attack plans as early as the spring of 2000 (see Early 2000). He also seemed to show foreknowledge of the attacks shortly before they occurred (see Late August-September 10, 2001). By October 2004, it will be discovered that he cased the Los Angeles airport with Alhazmi and an unknown man (see June 10, 2000), and this revelation will cause the FBI to reopen its investigation into him—after he is deported (see September 2003-May 21, 2004). In September 2006, it will be reported that the investigation is still continuing. [MSNBC, 9/8/2006]
Entity Tags: Nawaf Alhazmi, Federal Bureau of Investigation, 9/11 Commission, Hani Hanjour, Mohdar Abdullah, US Department of State, Khalid Almihdhar, Thomas Kean, US Department of Justice
July 24, 2004: FBI Officials Say 9/11 Hijackers Had No Witting Help in San Diego
Larry Mefford. [Source: James Kegley / San Francisco Chronicle]FBI officials maintain that 9/11 hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar did not have anyone knowingly supporting their al-Qaeda activities when they lived in San Diego in 2000 and 2001.
FBI: Hijackers Had No Witting Support in San Diego - Larry Mefford, who was the FBI’s head of counterterrorism until November 2003, says: “Maybe there’s been something new. But as of the time of my retirement, there was no credible indication that anyone in Southern California helped the two terrorists with knowledge of the 9/11 plot.” And Richard Garcia, head of the FBI in Los Angeles, says, “If there was support, I think it was unwitting.” Garcia says that whatever support the hijackers received was from Muslims innocently helping other Muslims.
9/11 Commission Suggests Otherwise - However, the 9/11 Commission’s final report, published the same day as these comments, suggests otherwise. The report details extensive help the hijackers received, and strongly implies that at least some of their helpers, such as Mohdar Abdullah and Anwar al-Awlaki, were radical Islamists with a similar agenda as the hijackers. For instance, the report comments, “We believe it is unlikely that [Alhazmi] and Almihdhar… would have come to the United States without arranging to receive assistance from one or more individuals informed in advance of their arrival.” [Los Angeles Times, 7/24/2004]
9/11 Congressional Inquiry Also Suggests Otherwise - The 9/11 Congressional Inquiry’s final report concluded that at least six 9/11 hijackers received “substantial assistance” from associates in the US, though it is “not known to what extent any of these contacts in the United States were aware of the plot.” The inquiry focused on associates in San Diego, including Abdullah and al-Awlaki (see July 24, 2003). [US Congress, 7/24/2003 ]
What about Abdullah and Al-Awlaki? - In late 2003, new evidence emerged that Abdullah might have had foreknowledge of the 9/11 attacks, but he was deported anyway, in May 2004 (see May 21, 2004). In late 2004, several months after the comments by Mefford and Garcia, more evidence against him will emerge, causing the FBI to reopen its investigation into him (see September 2003-May 21, 2004). In 2008, US intelligence will finally conclude that al-Awlaki is an al-Qaeda operative (see February 27, 2008), and he will be connected to a number of attacks in the US.
Entity Tags: Anwar al-Awlaki, Richard Garcia, Nawaf Alhazmi, Mohdar Abdullah, Khalid Almihdhar, 9/11 Commission, Larry Mefford
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BEHIND THE VINE SPOTLIGHTS THE PERISTYLE ARCHIVE ABOUT
BEHIND THE VINESPOTLIGHTSTHE PERISTYLEARCHIVEABOUT
Chandler Pennington
Written by Rachael Barefield
His hands aren’t idle, constantly wringing or cracking his knuckles as he thinks over his answers. As a senior Theater major with a concentration in Acting, Chandler Pennington is no stranger to being the center of attention. “I always liked making up stories when I was younger, but I never enjoyed the writing process. I’ve been acting for a while, but right now I’m kind of transitioning more to writing and less of acting. My parents aren’t too happy with that,” he laughs, “they’ve always liked watching me on the stage and now they can’t anymore. But they’ve always supported me.” He says his family is ordinary, but consistently mentions them as his largest advocates.
Chandler is from Dallas, Texas and has two sisters, one older and one younger. He plans to return to Texas after graduation. “I don’t really have any specific goals with moving back. It’s familiar to me, is the main thing. I just plan on writing more and hopefully getting some more of my plays picked up.” Playwriting is not a new skill, as Chandler has written collections of plays and even had his first play Cul de Sac performed on stage at Anderson University. He cites David Ives and Neil Simon as his inspiration for playwriting.
Chandler’s play Is There a War On? is the first of its kind to be accepted by Ivy Leaves, now in its 93rd issue. Is There a War On? belongs to a collection of space plays, a genre of science fiction written for the stage. His favorite genres are comedy and science fiction, particularly for the stage. He believes science fiction has not been performed well in theater because it has not used the theater’s strength: dialogue. “You can get away with a lot of dialogue in theater, not so much in fiction. It’s one of theater’s strengths, and I really like creating something that caters to that strength.” Chandler wants to make science fiction relevant and serious for theater.
His hands wring and knuckles crack as he thinks over his answers. But when asked about his favorite thing about playwriting, Chandler stills and grins. His mind goes back to when Cul de Sac was performed. “Hearing the audience laugh and clap to something I had made, it was thrilling. It was really rewarding to see something I had made be accepted like that. That’s just kind of why you do it, you know?”
HOME BEHIND THE VINE THE PERISTYLE SPOTLIGHTS ABOUT ARCHIVE
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HomeNewsPoliticalBlack Voters Mostly Skeptical of Trump’s Late Birther Turnaround
Black Voters Mostly Skeptical of Trump’s Late Birther Turnaround
September 19, 2016 Staff Political 0
Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Rep. G. K. Butterfield, D-N.C., center, accompanied by, from left, Rep. Joyce Beatty , D-Ohio, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Butterfield, Rep. Gregory W. Meeks, D-N.Y., and Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 8, 2016 file photo Black voters reacted skeptically on Friday to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s public admission that he now believes the nation’s first black president was indeed born in the United States. Many said the fact that Trump spent many years questioning President Barack Obama’s national origin was disrespectful, and an insult to all black Americans.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Black voters reacted skeptically Friday to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s admission that he now believes the nation’s first black president was indeed born in the United States. Many said the fact that Trump spent years questioning President Barack Obama’s national origin was disrespectful, and an insult to all black Americans.
Despite the fact that Obama himself said he viewed this renewed burst of commentary about his birth as “fairly typical” and not surprising, members of the Congressional Black Caucus were clearly angry. During a heated news conference Friday during the CBC’s annual legislative conference in Washington, several lawmakers denigrated Trump for perpetrating birther falsehoods for so long.
“He owes an apology to President Barack Obama, he owes an apology to African-American community and he owes an apology to the United States of America,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., adding that he considers Trump to be “nothing but a two-bit racial arsonist.”
Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., called Trump a “cheap racist” and a “disgusting fraud,” respectively.
Many blacks gave Trump no credit for finally letting go of the long dispelled notion that Obama, born in Hawaii in 1961, actually hailed from outside the country he now leads. They said they believed it was some sort of political calculation by Trump in hopes of getting votes from blacks or moderate whites.
“In the black community, it’s always been viewed as kind of offhanded racism,” said Preston Thymes, a Scottsdale, Arizona, marketing manager.
Roosevelt Brown, 56, said he felt black voters, at least, weren’t buying Trump’s about-face. “I don’t believe in his heart he’s saying what he really believes,” said Brown, a special investigator in California.
“He’s a backtracker,” said Bailey Billings, 25, of Madison, Wisconsin. “He says whatever he thinks he should say, what he’s directed by his team to say, to make him seem like a better human that we should all vote for. … I just don’t care for anything that he says.”
And Trump’s attempt to pull Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton into the fray by claiming she endorsed birther tactics against Obama during their 2008 race didn’t seem to sit well with some black voters either.
“He’s a big liar and he’s just trying to put people against Hillary,” said Wilma Brown, a 66-year-old Detroit housewife.
Trump’s political rise was fueled in part by his presence among birthers, and as recently as this week, he declined to say where he believed Obama was born. In reversing his stance Friday, Trump did not say why, or when, he changed his mind.
Questions about Obama’s legitimacy strike a nerve with many black voters, said Corey Fields, a Stanford University sociology professor and author of “Black Elephants In The Room,” a book about black Republicans.
“It’s an effort to delegitimize a very powerful and compelling achievement by an African-American political leader,” Fields said. “Often black voters can translate this to their own lived experience moving through the white professional (world) where the legitimacy of your achievements are often called into question. This is a very similar process on a large scale. This is something that can resonate at an individual level.”
Several black Republicans have also expressed disgust at Trump’s connections with the birther movement.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell criticized Trump in leaked emails released earlier this week. “All his lies and nonsense just pile up,” Powell wrote. “I just go back to the unforgivable one. Trying to destroy the President elected by the American people with his fictitious investigation into this source of birth. Absolutely disgraceful.” Powell has not denied the leaked emails’ authenticity.
Others questioned why Trump and his campaign would not squash the issue immediately, with the November election so close. Renee Amoore, who is leading black voter outreach efforts for Trump in Pennsylvania, said Trump has “gotten better” and “been on message” in recent weeks, and is not sure why Trump chose to respond to his role in the birther movement now.
“For whatever reason, somebody thought this was part of the message,” said Amoore, referring to Trump’s campaign, which released a statement late Thursday on the issue.
Daphne Goggins, 53, a longtime registered Republican who serves as a ward leader in Philadelphia, still blames Clinton’s surrogates for propagating the issue, and is angry that Trump is being held responsible for the false claims that Obama was not an American.
“I’m not understanding how she can dump this on Trump now,” Goggins said. “Who knows? They may have even been doing it together. But who cares? It shouldn’t be an issue.”
Rufus Bartell, a Detroit businessman and founder of a retail and consulting group, said there’s been too much damage for Trump to make up with many black voters, who have been a powerful voting bloc during Obama’s time in Washington.
In presidential election years, the percentage of black voters eclipsed the percentage of whites for the first time in 2012, when 66.2 percent of blacks voted, compared with 64.1 percent of non-Hispanic whites and about 48 percent of Hispanics and Asians.
“I think it’s too late, regardless of what he does. But if he really wants a relationship with the African-American community, then it’s certainly not too late to start a relationship. It just won’t impact this election,” Bartell said.
Associated Press journalists Errin Haines Whack in Philadelphia, Corey Williams in Detroit, Paul J. Weber in Austin, Texas, Dylan T. Lovan in Louisville, and Alina Hartounian in Phoenix contributed to this story.
Simone Biles to Pen a Book
Bobbi Kristina: Judge Finds Against Partner Nick Gordon
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HomeNewsEducationRenowned White Racist Will Participate in U.S. Senate Debate at a Historically Black College
Renowned White Racist Will Participate in U.S. Senate Debate at a Historically Black College
October 27, 2016 Staff Education, National 0
David Duke, former leader of the KKK, will participate in a debate at Dillard University, a Historically Black University
White supremacist David Duke has qualified for Louisiana’s U.S. Senate debate scheduled for November 2 at Dillard University, a Historically Black University based in New Orleans.
Duke, former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan, a white terrorist organization, has based his campaign on calling Black Lives Matter a terrorist organization. He also is campaigning to stop what he claims is racism against whites.
Duke qualified for participation in the debate by reaching a 5 percent threshold among five other declared candidates for the office.
The vote for U.S. Senator will be held on November 8th, the same day as the nation’s presidential election.
The American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church (now the United Church of Christ) and Freemen’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church (now the United Methodist Church) founded what later became Dillard in 1869 as Straight University and Union Normal School.
After several other name changes and associations, the school was named Dillard University in 1935.
Black American Author wins Man Booker Prize
Gunmen Shoot Up Sign Commemorating Where Emmett Till’s Body Was Found
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Category: SDDb Research Notes
Dreams Conference 2017
The 34th Annual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams begins on Friday, June 16, in Anaheim, California. I’ll be making several presentations, all of which draw on findings from the Sleep and Dream Database (SDDb).
On Saturday, a panel on “Dreams and Current Politics” will include Jody Grundy, Jeremy Taylor, and myself, talking from various perspectives about dreams as reflections of people’s political beliefs. My presentation will describe a demographic survey of 2,285 American adults. The initial findings correspond to previous studies I’ve done on this topic: political conservatives tend to sleep better (less insomnia) and remember fewer dreams than liberals, who tend to sleep worse and remember more of their dreams.
The survey also revealed a troubling divide on the demographic questions of personal income and education. Wealthier people tend to sleep better and remember more dreams than poor people. Likewise, more educated people tend to sleep better and remember more dreams than less educated people.
I’m looking forward to a lively discussion with the other panelists and the audience about the significance and implications of these results.
On Sunday, a session on “Dreaming and Waking Continuities” will include Nori Muster, Jayne Gackenbach, and myself, all focusing in various ways on empirical methods of identifying clear and meaningful continuities between dream content and waking life concerns. My presentation will describe the results of analyzing the long-term dream journals of four women, using the word search tools in the SDDb. I’ll show the audience how to practice the method of “blind analysis,” an interpretive approach in which the word usage frequencies of a person’s dreams are used to make inferences about the person’s most important concerns, activities, and relationships in waking life. Hopefully the audience will gain a practical, hands-on appreciation for what this method can and cannot achieve.
On Monday I’m part of a panel titled “Research 101” with Justina Lasley, Tracey Kahan, Jayne Gackenbach, Bob Hoss, and Michael Schredl. The plan is for each of us to take 5-10 minutes to describe our research and the main findings that we think anyone interested in dreams should know about. It’s an ambitious program, and likely to put on display both the agreements and disagreements that define the field today.
For my portion of the panel, I will draw upon what I did at the “OMSI After Dark” event earlier this year at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland. It was the first time I gave a public show-and-tell presentation about the SDDb, and I learned a lot about how to engage ordinary people in the most intriguing aspects of dream research.
Last but not least, on Monday evening I have the honor of introducing one of the conference’s keynote speakers, Professor G. William Domhoff of the University of California, Santa Cruz. Prof. Domhoff (Bill) has been a tremendous supporter and guide in my efforts to develop and improve the SDDb. He and his colleague Adam Schneider have done revolutionary work in bringing the Hall and Van de Castle coding system into the digital era, and I am very excited to hear Bill’s talk, which is titled “Seven Surprising Discoveries That Changed My Thinking About Dreams.” I’ve got some guesses about what they are…
Posted on May 4, 2017 July 13, 2017
Short vs. Long Dreams: Are There Any Differences in Content?
A word search analysis of a five-year selection from my own dream journal reveals the same consistent patterns of content in both shorter and longer reports.
I’ve been wondering about this question for a long time now. Are shorter dreams different in any fundamental way from longer dreams? Some people naturally remember only brief dream fragments and images, while other people can remember extremely elaborate and detailed dream scenarios. Most researchers prefer to analyze reports in the “Goldilocks zone,” not too short or too long, just right in the middle. That is a reasonable methodological choice, but it still leaves unanswered the question I’ve been pondering.
To continue developing the word search tools of the Sleep and Dream Database (SDDb), I really need to get some clarity on this point. The frequencies of word usage identified by the SDDb tools vary a great deal depending on whether the dreams have a smaller or larger number of total words. Is this a problem, or not?
I also have a personal reason for wanting to explore the question. In early 2015 I began a new approach to my own dream journaling practice, which has led to at least one remembered dream every night for more than two years. This is approximately double my recall rate for the previous several years. The 2015 dreams were also shorter on average (74 words) than the dreams from previous years (all averaging 100+ words). This made me wonder about possible changes in the content patterns of my dreams before and after 2015.
With all of this in mind, I started by tabulating the distribution of my dreams over a five-year period of time (2012-2016), separating them into four categories of word length (less than 50 words, 50-99 words, 100-149 words, and 150 words or more). Here are the totals for each year in the four categories, from shortest to longest:
2012: 41, 67, 50, 43 (201 total)
2015: 145, 120, 56, 31 (352 total)
2016: 91, 134, 64, 77 (366 total)
As I already knew, the increased recall in 2015 happened at the shorter end of the word length spectrum. My new approach to recall seemed to yield a lot of short dreams that I might not have remembered or recorded in previous years. Then the 2016 dreams shifted again, with a more even distribution of word lengths, closer to the previous years but with higher total numbers.
Dividing the dreams into these subsets makes it possible to address the main question: what are the content differences between dreams of different lengths?
For each of the 20 subsets of dreams I used the SDDb 2.0 word search template to determine the frequencies for 40 categories of word usage, organized into 8 classes (Perceptions, Emotions, Characters, Cognitions, Social Interactions, Movement, Culture, and Elements).
The results of this analysis suggest that shorter dreams are not dramatically different from longer dreams in terms of the relative proportions of their word usage. The raw percentages of word usage do rise from shorter to longer dreams, of course, but the relative proportions generally do not.
Consider the following excerpt from the analysis, which shows the four subsets of dreams from 2013, and the results of searching these reports for references to “Perception” words, from shortest to longest reports. The numbers are percentages of the dreams that have at least one reference to the words in the category.
Vision: 24, 54, 69, 76
Hearing: 1, 6, 18, 22
Touch: 1, 6, 16, 26
Smell/Taste: 1, 2, 0, 6
Color: 21, 42, 31, 56
The longer dreams have more references to “Touch” than do the shorter dreams, but the longer dreams also have many more references to “Vision” and “Color” than to “Touch,” which is the same pattern found in the shorter dreams. It’s this kind of pattern—the relative proportions between the various word categories—that remains consistent regardless of the length of the dreams.
This finding suggests the proportions among the word categories do not, for the most part, dramatically change across word lengths. These proportions can be found in short, medium, and long dreams. Even very short dreams preserve the basic architecture of typical dream content.
I need to do a more precise mathematical analysis of these patterns, to illuminate subtler variations that may alter my conclusions. But I’m reassured by these initial results indicating that shorter dreams are just as legitimate as longer dreams for data-driven research and theorizing.
That’s the big picture. Within this portrait of broad consistency, there are a few instances where the longer dreams do have an unusually high frequency of a particular word category. The most prominent are Fear, Speech, Walking/Running, and Transportation. These are the word categories that seem to be over-represented in longer dreams. They are significant contributors to what makes long dreams so long.
Here is an example from the 2016 dreams to illustrate what I mean, using the Emotions class. The numbers are percentages of the dreams that have at least one reference to the words in the category, from shortest to longest reports. Note the dramatic rise in Fear words across the four subsets.
Fear: 3, 11, 36, 55
Anger: 2, 4, 9, 17
Sadness: 4, 2, 8, 5
Wonder/Confusion: 23, 40, 63, 75
Happiness: 11, 22, 20, 26
The shortest dreams have scarcely any references to fear, whereas more than half the longest dreams have a reference to fear.
What I think this means is that when a dream introduces a reference to fear, it heightens my awareness of what’s going on in the dream space. It stimulates an expansion of what I notice and find significant, and after awakening this requires a lengthier report to describe adequately.
What about the unusual increase in Speech references in longer dreams? Perhaps a dream in which people start talking with each other is more likely to deepen the interaction and extend the overall experience.
Same with the increased references to Walking/Running and Transportation: a dream in which people are moving from one place to another is probably going to include additional details about what happens before, during, and after the movement.
So here’s a more refined conclusion: Shorter dreams are mostly similar to longer dreams in their basic content patterns, except that longer dreams tend to be scarier, more mobile, and more conversational.
Looking specifically at the 2015 dreams, I found the word usage frequencies were mostly lower compared to previous years, but they generally stayed the same in terms of their relative proportions to each other. Even though the 2015 dreams were much shorter than the dreams of previous years, they shared with the other dreams a consistent profile of relative frequencies across all the word categories. So my increased recall that year did not significantly alter the content patterns of the dreams.
Finally, I thought it would be fun to try a “blind analysis” of my own dreams. Now that I have identified this remarkably stable profile of my dream content over five years of time, including both short dreams and long dreams, what do the patterns reveal about my life?
If I pretend that these dreams came from a stranger about whom I have no biographical knowledge, I would predict that in waking life this person:
Is male
Is visually oriented
Often experiences wonder/confusion
Is sexually active
Cares about his wife
Cares about cats
Has equal relations with men and women
Likes running
Is not concerned about death
Has lots of interactions with cars and streets
Likes basketball
Likes music and movies
Has lots of interactions with water and earth
All of these inferences are grounded in the statistical results of the word searches, and I would have to affirm every one of them as accurate. Indeed, this is a remarkably concise summary of my concerns, interests, and activities in waking life.
Most importantly for the topic of this essay, the content patterns that helped me generate these inferences are observable in the shortest dreams. I would have made most of these same accurate predictions if I had only been looking at the dreams of less than 50 words.
This means the answer to the opening question is no, there is not a significant difference in patterns of content between short and long dreams. Perhaps dreams should be conceived as having a kind of fractal quality: even at a small scale they reflect the same basic structures that shapes things at a larger scale.
I will close by noting the three most striking discontinuities between the word usage frequencies in my dreams and the concerns, interests, and activities of my waking life. These are instances where my blind analysis predictions would have been wrong.
First, I have very few references in my dreams to “Fantastic Beings,” which might lead to the inference that I do not like the cultural genres of science fiction or fantasy. This is not true; I have always loved books, movies, and tv shows in the sci-fi and fantasy realm. Perhaps what I like about these stories are not the odd characters (vampires, zombies, aliens, robots, etc.) but rather the spirit of unpredictable novelty and imaginative adventure. Putting it in those terms, my high frequency of “Wonder/Confusion” words might be a better sign of my cultural interests in this direction.
Second, I have only moderate references to “Reading/Writing,” which might suggest I do not engage much with these activities. This is not true; I am a voracious reader and prolific writer, and have been so for several decades. What strikes me as discontinuous is that my dreams don’t have far more references to reading and writing, given their central importance in my waking life. Ernest Hartmann’s notion that we typically do not dream of the three R’s might be a factor here.
And third, I have very few references to “Religion,” which would prompt the inference that I have little or no concern about religion. At one level this is definitely false; I have a Ph.D. in religious studies and I read and write about religion very frequently. One would never know this about my waking life based only on the patterns of my dreams. And yet, at another level this inference is surely true; I was not raised in a religious household, I do not personally identify with any official religious tradition, and I rarely attend religious worship services. Perhaps this all makes sense in that religion is an important intellectual category for me, but it is not a personal concern. My spiritual pursuits are more likely to be expressed in dreams with references to other word categories like water, art, sexuality, animals, and flying.
That’s as far as I’ve gotten. The next step will be trying this same process of analysis with other sets and series of dreams.
Note: this post was originally published in Psychology Today on May 4, 2017.
199 Dreams of Donald Trump
A new collection of dreams about the new US President sheds light on his psychological impact in the minds of those who support him and those who oppose him.
These dreams were gathered via a website I manage, idreamoftrump.net, which has been active since early 2016. A total of 143 came from people living in the U.S., and 56 came from people living in countries outside the U.S. In terms of gender, 124 reports come from females and 75 from males. I asked a question about how the individual would describe his or her political ideology, and 43 said they were progressive, 44 liberal, 50 moderate, 8 libertarian, 37 conservative, and 9 very conservative.
This is certainly not a representative sample of people from the U.S. or the human population, so I want to be cautious in drawing conclusions from the data. This sample represents a self-selected group of people who woke up remembering a dream of Donald Trump, found my site online, and shared the dream with me (for which I am very grateful!). The results of analyzing these dreams can illuminate several possible dimensions of meaning which are interesting and important, though not definitively proven or established using current research methods. What I’m going to lay out is more than mere speculation, but well short of settled knowledge.
The good news, from a research perspective, is that this set of 199 dreams turns out to be remarkably consistent with the content patterns of average or typical dreams. In my 2016 book Big Dreams I describe the “SDDb baselines,” a set of more than 5,000 dream reports I gathered from normal, healthy people to create a portrait of the baseline frequencies of average dreaming. I analyzed the 199 Trump dreams using the same word search template I used with the SDDb baselines (which includes classes for Perception, Emotion, Cognition, Movement, Characters, Social Interactions, Culture, and Elements), and I found the results match up very closely with the frequencies of the baselines.
What this means is that the Trump dreams are not radically different from ordinary dreams. The same general currents that shape regular dreaming also shape the dreams in which Trump appears as a character.
This also means the few differences I did find are worth special attention. The close parallels between the Trump dreams and the SDDb baselines on so many categories of content casts into sharp relief the areas where the Trump dreams had unusual variations from the baselines.
The Trump dreams had a very high frequency of references to male characters, which makes sense given that the Trump is present in all of them. But these 199 dreams also have an unusually low frequency of references to female characters, which is more striking. Compared to the baselines, the dreams of Trump also have remarkably high frequencies of references to the act of speaking, to the perceptual sense of touch, and to the cultural domain of money and work.
For the males, their dreams of Trump had unusually high friendliness, low physical aggression, and low references to weapons. For the females, their dreams of Trump had unusually high physical aggression and sexuality.
To summarize these findings, it seems that when Trump appears as a character in people’s dreams, he does not disrupt the whole process; people continue dreaming more or less the way they typically do. But he does have a tangible and measurable impact on certain aspects of those dreams. A dream about Donald Trump typically involves fewer women and more talking, touching, and references to money and work. Men seem to become pacified around Trump in their dreams, while women seem to become more instinctually primed.
I can provide the spreadsheet with the detailed results to anyone who requests it, and I will go into more detail about these and other politically-related dreams at the upcoming conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams, to be held June 20-24 in Anaheim, California. I am giving a presentation on dreams in relation to current U.S. politics, and the analysis of this set of 199 Trump dreams will be featured in the presentation.
The dream reports are currently available in the SDDb for further study and exploration. I have selected twenty-three reports to include in this post, all of which came post-election, as a way of illustrating the personal experiences behind the statistical comparisons I’ve been discussing so far. Each report includes the age, gender, country/state of residence, and political ideology of the dreamer, along with their SDDb participant ID codes. The dreamer’s associations to the dream follow the report, responding to my question about what they thought the dream might mean, and whether it altered their view of the new president. I made up the titles with an eye towards highlighting what I think are the most interesting themes.
He Put a Ring on My Finger
A female, 32, from Iowa, moderate – Td107
I dreampt I was in his house, a really large one. There were threats that he was going to be assassinated all around and I was crying. He was acting like everything was okay and he had a lot of security. Everyone was dressed casual, and I think his family was there too. Suddenly the dream shifted and everyone was saying he was dead. I couldn’t stop crying, and as I was about to go he stood in front of me and told me I was worried for nothing, he was smiling and totally confident. This part is weird and embarrassing. …He then proposed to me and put a ring on my finger! I grabbed him and was sobbing into his chest while he was rubbing my back. I have NO idea why I dreampt it lol. That’s what prompted me to search if anyone else has dreams of him. 🙂
Idk, I voted for him..and I think he’s great! It doesn’t change my opinion of him at all, it made me feel a little closer to him perhaps…which is weird to say.
I Could Mess With Trump If I Wanted to
A female, 14, from Louisiana, liberal – Td123
I was is a car, one with black leather material. The car has three rows of seats and Donald Trump and my brother resided in the middle set and I sat in the back row. I sat behind Trump and he reclined is chair to touch my knees. I give him a dirty look and received the same back but he soon put his chair back. Then, not immediately after, almost like some time had past, Trump asked me to get something from the seat next to me that was him and he reclined his chair and I gave his item to him and the very slightest bit of our fingers brushed past each other and I was disgusted so much that I quivered. My brother gave me a dirty look and Trump put his seat back on. I realized that I could mess with Trump if I wanted to and texted my friend and asked “Should I shout I’M GAY!” And my dream ended at that.
Perhaps the dream means how I feel scared about what could happen to my friends that are not all white men.
He Gives Me a Necklace to Wear for Our Wedding
A female, 63, from New York, progressive – Td124
I’m getting married! I am preparing for my upcoming wedding. My fiance, Donald Trump, has given me a necklace to wear for our wedding. The necklace has a large oval moonstone set into a square platinum setting surrounded by diamonds, on a small link platinum chain. I am not sure I want to wear this necklace. I have another necklace given to me by my last partner, John. It is a gorgeous platinum necklace set with baguette (rectangular shape) emeralds, and diamond pave (tiny diamonds). It is a series of ¼” links and has an elaborate clasp as a focal point; it’s more dimensional with the same design. While deciding which necklace I will wear my ex-husband, Peter shows up. We go to the local nursery with a container with two plants in it; we own together. One of the plants has died. The man at the nursery says the problem is the two plants need different environments – one needs sun and lots of water, the other less water, and no bright sunlight.
While writing the dream down, I had a big ah-ha about why my ex-husband and I did not get along. This dream made me take a look at my disowned shadow showing up as Trump. I’m still processing it. The jewelry to me represents some accomplishments in my life which point to speaking up (necklace around throat). Integrating Donald will probably help that too, but at this moment I have a difficult time with admitting I am that too, but dreams don’t lie. LOL!
I Note That He Is Circumcised
A female, 69, from Colorado, liberal – Td125
I’m in a bathtub with Donald Trump. He tells me to wash my hair. Melania sits on the toilet with the cover down and tries to make nice. He’s not being sexual with me. Maybe I’m not attractive enough for him to notice. I tell Melania he’s my father. I know no good will come of this. I note that he is circumcised because I know people will ask. Why won’t he let me take a shower? I need to rinse my hair. There’s not much water. Should I pull the white shower curtain? I decide not to. It’s no use. He cannot win, I think to myself, trying to make it so.
Trump has invaded my private space, yet is not as aggressive or fearful as he seems in waking life . I don’t want him there but he’s more of a bumbler than a threat.
Working Very Closely With Him
A female, 53, from Mississippi, conservative – Td127
It was very good dream.Donald hired me to work very closely with him full time and most of what my job consisted of was entertainment. It seemed like many people were flocking around him at something like a resort/? Donald seemed to be so appreciative of my opinion 24/7. It was a very vivid dream and people were a little jealous of me and/or confused about the situation.
Yes my dream did change my perspective of Donald in a better way. He seems very kind and giving.
A Soft Kiss on the Lips
A male, 67, from Virginia, progressive – Td133
I am a trump supporter.. maybe more didnt want the alternative the night before the election he came to me in a dream and kissed me on the lips…his lips were very soft. i felt very close to him. I’m not overtly attracted to him in a sexual way
it engendered a feeling of paternal trust
I Am His Disgruntled Spouse
A female, 50, from Georgia, liberal – Td141
I dreamt I was in the White House as First Lady and he was my husband. Even in my dream I was disgusted by his presence and felt compelled to do everything in my power to keep him from becoming our President. I was a disgruntled spouse who was complaining about everything he was doing. Every time I looked at him I loathed being with him! We were getting ready to go to a show and he kept trying to convince me it was going to be ok? ?Strangely I had the upper hand and he was pretty much agreeing to everything I said and actually trying to be extra nice to me. Very vivid in my mind-Everything was pale pink like the drapes, and layers underneath were white with hints of old shimmering. Even the furniture was upholstered in sand pink and gold thread, the wood works had gold shimmery accents to it! He wore a black suit, with a white shirt and red tie. I was dressed in a white suit with gold shimmer..
I was just so disturbed by it it mortified me that we were even in the same dream! He seemed absolutely puzzled about his every move, almost apologetic about everything he said and I had a dog that was sleeping in my bed and I remember being very mean and saying I’ll just take the dog with me you can stay here in the White House and be president. It was a room with large glass panels all over and I felt like I had no privacy and then I pushed him out and locked the doors. He said, “at least give me the dog! Please be ready, I’ll see you down stairs.”
I’m His Girlfriend and Melania Is Super Jealous
A female, 26, from Nebraska, libertarian – Td155
I’ve been having basically the same dreams about Donald since before he was even president. It’s always where I’m like his girlfriend lol. Melania is always super jealous of me and everyone don’t get why he chose me. But I’m always super for it! He’s always very nice and treats me like a princess. It isn’t so real and I can like feel him lol there’s so many details I can’t even tell them all. It’s like it’s real life. Always me and him together like in a relationship. Very good dreams
Well. I have always been a fan of trump. Like his number on every fan lol. And his sons wife followed me on Instagram and we’ve talked online about her horse and dogs. And she personally thanked me for going up to vote for him. I love that family
He Accepts Me As I Am
A female, 54, from California, conservative – Td176
I was supposed to be at a formal presentation but, I was dressed in shorts and a tank top. I was standing in front of a beautiful building but, was anxious about going in due to my attire. As I stood there, President Trump comes over like we’ve known each other forever, takes my hand ever so gently and he sort of waves his individual fingers against mine. He then looked right at me and said “Don’t worry about how you are dressed, you have the same right to be here as everyone else.” That’s it. It made me feel good. Accepted.
I have been scared to death about the direction of this beautiful country. Too many agendas will only lead to chaos. I feel like the dream Trump was telling me that things will be OK and that all people eventually will be treated with courtesy and respect.
I’m His Child, and Powerless to Stop His Plans
A female, 49, from West Virginia, liberal – Td180
I was at a cocktail party at a swanky mansion, and Trump walked in, and had a different wife, blonde, and a different child, I guess that was me, although I felt like myself. He wanted u us to go see his property down by the river, so we got in the car and the blonde drive us around till we came upon a big Greek revival type building, sort of looked like mausoleum actually, and he said it was an apartment building he had bought and did I like it? I said yes, it was beautiful, and then several young women came bounding out, wearing bikinis and talking about what they had made for dinner. We almost hit the off kilter gate backing out of the driveway. Then I woke up. Earlier in the dream, I was being chased in my car by one of his security officers, and I sped up to get away and lost control of my car and went down a wooded cliff in the dark and thought I was going to die. I landed safely in a bunch of bushes, at the house that became the other dream.
I felt powerless to stop his plans, like a robot, or a slave. Even acting like I was a relative or a child made me feel annoyed because I am my own person wanting nothing to do with him. I don’t agree with him at all in real life but in my dreams he was like you will do it my way and be impressed or I will chase chase you off a cliff.
A Neighbor in NYC
A male, 50, from New York, progressive – Td158
I was walking down an avenue in Midtown Manhattan and I saw Trump walking alone. He didn’t have any protection or staff flanking him. He was wearing black sweat pants and a sweatshirt and he looked a bit forlorn. As he passed me I said, “Good afternoon, Mr. President.” He didn’t react. I think someone behind me said hello to him as well. I remember thinking why isn’t he wearing his usual suit? In real life, I have seen him in my neighborhood twice before. His daughter lives around the corner from me on 59th and Park and I have seen her frequently over the years since she was a youngster.
The dream did not increase any negative feelings re trump
An Honored Guest in the Great White Plaza
A male, 35, from Colorado, conservative – Td153
There I was with my good friend Eric. We were way up high on some kind of structure and seemed to be boarding a ride or a craft of some kind. Eric was steering the craft at first to show me how to do it. Then it was my turn. I took over the craft and started to bring it down to the ground below. It seemed like some kind of helicopter but very small as it only fit me and Eric side by side. When we landed I jumped off and Eric stayed on taking the craft back up. The moment I turn around I notice that I am now in an all white setting. The walls were white with columns leading to curved arches and they stretched around an enormous square plaza that had what looked like a white woven carpet for a floor. I then noticed that I was being guided around this area by Donald Trump, who seemed to be treating me as an honored guest. He showed me around and introduced me to people. We seemed to be talking candidly but I cannot recall what about. After we left the great white plaza Donald guided me through what seemed to be a naval vessel. We kept going up until we reached a compartment that appeared to be multi-functional. Donald left me at a table with close to a dozen people, all who had communication devices in their ears. They were testing these devices and one of the devices had a distorted sound. Everyone there seemed to know me as they looked to me to figure out what was wrong with the device. I spoke into the microphone and made a few comments and then woke up.
I am not sure what the dream means, but after waking from it I certainly felts interested in the meaning. The feeling I had while in the dream was excitement and admiration as it seemed that I was being treated with great honor and respect in what seemed like a setting full of very important people.
Something 14.5 Inches Exactly
A female, 29, from US, moderate – Td188
I wasn’t going to share this but here it goes… I was at some political/social event and happened to meet President Trump. He said that he wanted to show me something that was 14.5 inches exactly. He then began pulling down his pants and said, “See, I told you it’s huge.” In reality it (his penis) was not. This is making me want to throw up typing this and I do not know why I had this dream. In reality I would never want to see that! LOL However, I specifically remember seeing the number 14.5, so that could mean something. I don’t recall ever seeing anything that connects to the number 14.5 in relation to Trump or in my life.
I think this dream is hinting at exaggeration of some kind. Maybe making something out to be bigger than it actually is or expecting too much of a certain situation. I’m not really sure what triggered me to have this dream.
I Cannot Bring Myself to Say the Words
A female, 55, from California, moderate – Td194
In my dream, my 7/8th grade students are to be heading out on a field trip. I am standing in the parking lot waiting for the drivers to file out. Donald Trump has his driver-side door open standing between it and the car gesticulating to the bystanders. I want him to get in the car and drive my students to the destination. However, I cannot bring myself to say the words, “President Trump” in order to get his attention and tell him to get in the car and drive it. Instead, I call out, “The car needs to be moving; we need to get to our destination.” Nothing happens. Trump keeps talking and waving his hands and is standing wedged between the open black car door. I try again. I yell out, “Get in the car and get it moving; the students need to get to their field trip.” He doesn’t stop talking. I turn to someone standing next to me and I ask them, “Could you walk over to him and tell him he needs to drive the car – I can’t get his attention, and I just can’t bear to call out the name ‘President Trump.'” I woke up and my dream was so real I am still bothered by it.
As far as what triggered it, well I have been watching lots of youtube videos regarding Trump, so that could have triggered it.
A Game of Him Trying to “Win” Me Over
A female, 22, from Georgia, moderate – Td195
He was coming to an event and he was driving through a body of water. The water would part and people would walk through then a wave would come and then it would part and his limo drove through. We were in a huge colosseum listening to him talk. Then there was an after party and he came up to me wanting my number- I am not a Trump fan and I expressed that. It then turned into a game of him trying to “win” me over. My old boyfriend was there, he is a Trump supporter, and Trump told him he wasn’t interested in talking. This went on the entire night until I left the party.
I have no idea what triggered the dream. I did not run into my ex and I try to avoid Trump news.
Married to the President with a Baby Carrot Penis
A female, 54, from Florida, moderate – Td197
I dreamt I was married to Donald Trump and he wore pajamas that look like his regular clothes and his penis was a baby carrot. He also sent me to Victoria’s Secret to buy my inauguration dress with a black American Express card that said president of the United States of America. I told him Victoria secret didn’t carry plus size clothes and he said they do now. I went to Victoria’s Secret and they do not carry plus size clothes and they said they would get them I had my own American Express card that said Mrs. president of the United States of America and paid for peoples dinner at the mall where the Victoria’s Secret’s was with my black American Express card. I also dreamt of the inauguration in the White House inside was kind of tacky and dirty. The funniest part was Barbara Bush was sleeping in a cot in the hallway and blue pajamas with her pearls on her neck. And as I walk down the hallway all the other first ladies are sleeping on cots in the hallway
I’m pretty sure that I manifested trumps hatred of fat women and the tackiness of his wife’s clothing. I’m also pretty sure that the baby carrot penis had to do with eating some before bed and having a diverticulitis attack in real life. It’s also the first time I have proof that o dream in color! The carrot was orange
From participants living in countries outside the US:
Everyone Is Blindly Praising Him
A male, 17, from Denmark – Td140
I dreamt that I was in a high school class and donald trump was also attending this class, it was an older version of him and he had a lot more wrinkles and his skin was more orange, he seemed like he was disgusted of everyone in that class and started criticizing us and telling us what to do but indeed everyone was blind about it and started praising him and saying the famous sentence: make America great again. AWKWARD
I think it really reflects the reality of things, in a more concrete way and that a lot of people are blind about the bad deeds of Donald trump.
Trapped at School by a Gunman
A female, 18, from Canada, liberal – Td184
I was watching a movie in what seemed like an elementary school classroom. It was brightly lit, and someone was handing out fruit leather to us in our desks. When I left the classroom, I found myself in a stairwell as all the doors mechanically snapped shut. I somehow knew that there was a man with a gun in the building, and that I was trapped in that particular flight of stairs. I also knew that Melania Trump was a few flights above me, also locked in. Somehow I sensed that the gunman was Trump, but he didn’t know that Melania was trapped in the stairwell along with the rest of us. I should mention that the stairwells were sparsely populated, with only about 3 people locked in each flight of stairs. I woke up before anything more could happen.
I am firmly liberal (democratic to Americans), and staunchly oppose Trump’s policies. Since he has been inaugurated I have felt extremely uneasy, and it grows with each day. It’s possible that this dream was an expression of that anxiety, or perhaps it foreshadows the destruction of the school system under Trump? Haha not sure.
Does He Have Manipulative Superpowers?
A male, 31, from Malta, progressive – Td172
Donald Trump was my Flatmate, which in my dream was more of a background information, because the dream setting was some private party of his somewhere else. Everything was super luxurious, sunny, nice snacks, and he was really nice to me, showing me around and being attentive. In my dream I knew that I actually am against Donald Trump, but for some reason meeting him in person I actually liked him. I was wondering if he had manipulative superpowers of some sort, because it didn’t make any sense that I got along with him so well. I met his family, all were very nice too. I kept my resentments against them hidden and took part in conversations. I had the feeling I saw the human sides in them, everyone thinking they are actually doing the right thing, being good people, but getting it all wrong because they live in this super rich bubble, disconnected from the real world. Later more people joined the party, even an old friend of mine. We got a bit drunk and at one point I told him that Trump is actually sharing a flat with me at the moment and we both laughed at the absurdity of it.
I was surprised to see how quickly I somehow changed side, just by being invited to a party of his, apparently lulled in by the luxury of it all (I actually don’t even like luxury very much). There was this nagging feeling in the back of my head that it is wrong to be nice to them, but it felt extremely difficult to take a position in that setting (or even remember what my position really was).
Sleeping With Him
Female, 15, from Ireland, moderate – Td131
I had to sleep with Donald trump. There were no beds left to sleep in so i had to sleep with Donald.
Maybe because i thought about donald trump a lot and I’m still okay with Donald.
He Was Very Sweet
A female, 21, from the Philippines, moderate – Td112
It was a very long dream, and Donald Trump was only a part of it. I remember he was courting me, he was very sweet to me, and wanted to have an affair with me. I knew we had so much age gap, and that I am not suited to be his wife, so I just laughed but I was flattered that he was being that way to me. I dont want to have an affair with him though. Lol
I dont know what it means, and I didnt even think of him the night before. But that dream made me ponder that he has a soft but impulsive side to him.
Trapped in a Marriage With a Narcissist
A female, 26, from New Zealand, liberal – Td181
I was married to Trump and we were at some kind of social gathering. I was sitting next to an old school friend, talking to her, when I heard a verbal attack outside and saw that a group of African people were fighting with Trump. They appeared to be insulted by what he was saying and then they left and Trump came back inside. He sat down next to me and I asked him whether it had been taken out of context or had he said something insulting? He answered that it had been insulting but that he didn’t care. I was mortified that I could be married to someone like this and I angrily expressed my feelings, and then I said something like “Donnie, Sean, whatever your name is!” (Sean is the name of my partner – who is nothing like Trump!) – I then left and spoke to my old school friend and described how trapped I felt. It then changed to another aspect of this gathering… Melania Trump was there and she was ordering me drinks, and then she was standing on the bar table and dancing. I remember eating lots of cake.
Thoughts of narcissism may have triggered it – my mother in law is a narcissist (has tried to ruin my relationship with her son) and I’m reading a book titled ‘the narcissist next door’ published in 2014, it talks about Trump in its beginning pages (before he became president!) and describing him as a kind of poster boy narcissist (which I think he is) and he is using fear to divide and conquer. It’s very sad.
His Head Looks Like Crumbly Rubber With a Bad Toupee
A male, 63, from Thailand, moderate – Td151
I’m on Trump Island. It’s supposed to be a big luxury celebrity deal, a kind of trip to fantasy island, but it’s just a rough, flat, windswept space surrounded by gray sea with some decrepit buildings on it. People in long overcoats are moving around with no sense of direction, and there’s a feeling of something going on, something important but unclear. Trump is in a kind of lounger next to me, and he’s really anxious and upset that it isn’t going well. He’s on the verge of tears. His head looks like it’s made of crumbly rubber, with a bad toupee, but I know it’s really him. He’s started clinging to me, and crying. I’m embarrassed to be there, but I try to comfort him. Later I’m crying out “Donny! Donny!” because they’re asking me for a ticket I don’t have.
The dream means I’m seeing too damn much Trump on the internet. I’ve never dreamt about a world leader before. I still hate the fucker. Slightly more, if anything, for wasting my valuable dream time.
Note: this essay first appeared in the Huffington Post on April 26, 2017.
The Dreams of a Religious Cult Member
A new study of a long-term dream journal from a woman who belonged for many years to a physically and spiritually abusive religious cult.
Earlier this year a dream research colleague, G. William Domhoff, told me about a new series of dreams available from a person willing to participate in a new experiment with “blind analysis.” Blind analysis involves bracketing out all personal information about a dreamer and focusing only on the patterns of word usage frequency in the dreams. These patterns become the basis for making inferences about the dreamer’s waking life concerns, relationships, and activities, which the dreamer is then able to confirm or disconfirm. I like this method because it provides a very rigorous way of testing and refining my hypotheses about dreaming-waking connections.
According to Domhoff, the dreams came from a woman who is an “ex-cultist” and who has been keeping a regular dream journal for more than 30 years. This immediately catapulted the project to the front of my research queue. Here was a rare opportunity to study the dreams of someone from what sounded like an extremely unusual religious background. What might a blind analysis of the dreams of such a person reveal?
The following is an initial progress report on what I’ve found so far. A more detailed discussion will be part of a talk I will give in June at the annual conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams in Anaheim, California.
To make the analysis more manageable we asked “Beverly” (a pseudonym) to provide four subsets of her dreams, one each for the years 1986, 1996, 2006, and 2016. Apparently she has recorded a total of more than 6,000 dreams recorded over this whole time period, which works out to an average recall rate of about four dreams a week for 30 years. Quite a prolific dreamer! And quite an amazing personal document for her to reflect on the long and winding course of her life.
We uploaded the four sets of dreams into the Sleep and Dream Database and I used the SDDb’s 2.0 word search template to analyze each set. The 2.0 template has 40 categories of word usage organized into 8 classes: Perception, Emotion, Cognition, Characters, Social Interactions, Elements, Movement, and Culture. After creating a large spreadsheet with all the word search results, I compared the frequencies in Beverly’s dreams with the frequencies of the SDDb baselines—a large, high-quality set of dreams from many sources that I use as a standard of “normal” frequencies of dream content (presented in chapter 6 of my book Big Dreams). I also looked at variations between the four sets of Beverly’s dreams, noting any frequencies that seemed markedly higher or lower than others in the same category.
A special challenge with Beverly’s dreams is their relatively short length. The 940 total dreams across the four sets have an average length of 54 words, with a median of 43 (meaning half the reports are more, and half are less, than 43 words in length). I typically use this method with much longer dreams, so I went into the analysis with even more caution than usual.
As it turned out, and as I will describe in more detail at the IASD conference in June, the short length of Beverly’s dreams did not impede the process. On the contrary, this has been one of the most successful experiments of blind analysis I’ve done to date.
After I calculated Beverly’s word usage frequencies and made my baseline comparisons, I formulated a total of 26 inferences about her waking life. To be clear, at this point I only knew three details about Beverly’s personal life: she was a woman, an avid dream journaler, and an ex-cultist. Other than that, I was “blind” to her waking life circumstances and personality.
Of the 26 inferences I sent to her, Beverly confirmed 23 as accurate. These included predictions about her personality, relationships, financial concerns, physical health, and cultural interests.
The three inferences she did not affirm are interesting, and may help me further refine the blind analysis process. I’ve found in past experiments that I often learn more from mistaken inferences than from successful ones.
In the 1986 set of dreams there are five dream reports that use the word “earthquake”; none of the other sets of dreams use this word, which prompted my inference that in 1986 Beverly was “impacted by an earthquake.” This was her response: “This must be symbolic of what I went through with the group in 1986. That was the year they hit bottom, including the murder.”
This aspect of meaning was not really part of my inference, so I don’t count it as a successful one, but it does shed light on the possible use of a natural disaster like an earthquake as a recurrent symbol for strong emotional concerns that feel profoundly disruptive and foundation-threatening.
The 1996 set of dreams had remarkably low frequencies of perception words, which struck me as significant. My inference suggested that during this time the dreamer was “less perceptually stimulated.” Beverly responded, “Not sure what this means, but I was smoking tons of pot that year.” Maybe that’s the connection, or maybe it’s something else. I didn’t phrase the inference very precisely, which made it hard for her to definitively confirm or disconfirm it.
The 2006 set of dreams had the highest frequency of animal references, which led me to infer that during this time period Beverly was “more concerned about animals (especially birds, cats, and dogs.).” She replied, “Possibly. I had pet birds and was very attached to Rocky, my parents’ big orange tabby.” I’m inclined to take this answer as a confirmation of my inference, since 1) she specifically mentions birds and a cat, and 2) she describes the kind of behaviors and feelings that I would generally include in defining the phrase “concerned about animals.”
What about the references to religion in Beverly’s dreams? This whole series is an amazing chronicle of a lifelong spiritual journey. Even if I had not known Beverly was an ex-cultist, I would have made it the top headline of my inferences that this dreamer had an extremely strong interest in religion in the early parts of her life. It turns out that Beverly was deeply involved with a Hare Krishna group in the 1980’s, a group that took a very dark turn into abuse, violence, and murder, as she mentioned. Her dreams track the course of her involvement with the group and her final escape from it, which has opened her life to a variety of new creative possibilities, also reflected in her dreams in remarkably accurate detail.
At the IASD conference I will talk more about the religious dimensions of her dreams, along with her social relationships and her “big dreams” (i.e., what she considers the most memorable dreams of her whole life). I will then compare these results with those I’ve found in studying three other long-term dream journals—from Brianna, Jordan, and Jasmine (all pseudonyms, all in the SDDb). My hope is to use this conference talk, and the feedback I receive from my colleagues, as a springboard for a deeper exploration of Beverly’s dream series. Her journal is an incredibly valuable resource for the scientific study of religiously significant patterns in dreaming.
Note: This post was first published in Psychology Today on April 20, 2017.
The Study of a 32-Year Long Dream Journal
The latest series to be uploaded into the Sleep and Dream Database (SDDb) is the biggest yet: the “Brianna Journal 1984-2016,” 2,448 dream reports from a woman who kept a journal fairly consistently for 32 years. This series offers an amazing opportunity to observe in unusually close detail the emotional contours of an individual’s life as she makes her way through a challenging and often dangerous world.
Brianna (not her real name) shared these dreams with me and Deirdre Barrett last year, which we initially studied for a presentation at the 2016 conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Using the word search functions of the SDDb, I performed a “blind analysis” on three subsets of Brianna’s dream journals, meaning I 1) tabulated the frequencies of word usage for several categories of dream content, 2) compared her frequencies with baseline averages for each category, and 3) made inferences, based on nothing other than her dream patterns, about her concerns and activities in waking life. For instance, I inferred that Brianna is closer to her mother than her father, is interested in books and writing, is not interested in sports, and has significant involvement with issues of death and dying. Brianna herself, who attended the conference presentation, confirmed these and other inferences, which helped demonstrate the general idea that patterns in dreaming can accurately reflect people’s waking life concerns.
Now I have finally uploaded the complete collection of dreams Brianna shared with me, which provides a broader overview of her dreaming experiences over the span of more than three decades. I will share more details from my analysis at the upcoming 2017 IASD conference (held in Anaheim, California, June 16-20). For now, here are some of the initial findings of my study of this remarkable series.
Length: This is a long series in at least three ways: total number of dreams (2,448), time span covered by the journals (32 years), and average number of words per report (292). The median word length is 168 words, meaning half the reports are shorter than that, and half the reports are longer. Looking at the distribution of word lengths in the series as a whole, 851 of the dreams have between 1 and 99 words, 794 of the dreams have between 100 and 299 words, and 803 of the dreams have 300 or more words. A series with this many dreams at both the short and long ends of the spectrum poses special challenges for analysis. For now, I will study the series as a whole, but at some point I will look at subsets of varying lengths (e.g., the dreams of 50-300 words in length, of which there are 1,192).
Cognition: The series as a whole has a remarkably high frequency of dreams with at least one word relating to thinking (71%), speaking (56%), and reading/writing (19%). The dreams have lots of strange, irrational material, too, but much of the content is oriented around normal cognitive activities that are also important in her waking life (Brianna is, in fact, a literate, well-educated, and sociable person). The high proportion of cognition references could be a result of the unusual length of her dreams, and/or it could be an accurate reflection of her waking personality. Either way, this is a topic worth further investigation.
Death: One out of every seven (15%) of Brianna’s dreams has a reference to death. That is quite high compared to other dream series I have studied, and it strongly suggests that death and dying are major concerns in Brianna’s waking life. I know enough about her to confirm the general accuracy of this inference, and now I am curious to look more closely at how this theme weaves its way through her series as a whole.
Religion: The frequency of references to religion is also unusually high in this series, and the list of specific words used in the dreams makes it fairly easy to accurately infer that Brianna is Jewish. In previous studies I have found that patterns in dreaming offer good clues to a person’s beliefs and attitudes towards religion. The Brianna series seems to be another illustration of that premise, and through deeper analysis I hope to understand better how religious and spiritual themes in the dreams track with Brianna’s waking life interests, concerns, and experiences.
Note: this post was originally published in Psychology Today, March 10, 2017.
Dreaming Is Play: A New Theory of Dream Psychology
The scientific study of dreams has fallen on hard times. In an era dominated by cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychoactive drugs, and computer models of the mind, dreaming seems less relevant to psychology today than at any time since Sigmund Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900.
The problem, ironically, is not a lack of empirical evidence about the nature and function of dreams. Rather, the problem is too much evidence that does not seem to add up to a coherent theory or a useful guide for therapeutic practice.
Psychoanalysts from Freud onwards have used clinical case studies to argue that dreams, despite their cryptic symbolism, are meaningful and can be tremendously helpful in therapy. In the 1950’s, however, neuroscientists discovered that dreaming correlates with automatic processes in the brain during sleep, suggesting that dreams are in fact nothing but neural nonsense. At about the same time, quantitative researchers began using statistical methods to analyze tens of thousands of dream reports. Instead of bizarre symbols or random nonsense, these researchers found a large number of clear, straightforward continuities between dream content and people’s emotional concerns in waking life.
The results from each of these areas of research appear to contradict the other two, making the quest for common ground all the more difficult.
New developments in cognitive science offer a better way forward, by illuminating the evolutionary features of the human mind as they relate to the survival needs and adaptive challenges facing our species. When we look at dreaming in this broader context, a simple yet powerful thesis emerges: dreaming is a kind of play, the play of the imagination in sleep.
Zoologists have found evidence of play behaviors in all mammals, especially among the youngest members of each species. Play occurs within a temporary space of pretense and make-believe where actions are not bound by the same constraints that govern the normal, non-play world. A major function of play, most researchers agree, is to practice responses to survival-related situations in a safe environment, so the young will be better prepared when they become adults to face those situations in waking reality. Creativity, flexibility, and instinctual freedom are the hallmarks of play, in humans as well as other animals.
All of these qualities of play are prominent in dreaming, too. Dreaming occurs within sleep, a state of temporary withdrawal from the waking world in which the imagination is given free reign to wander where it will. Dreaming tends to be more frequent and impactful in childhood; young people experience dreams of chasing, flying, and lucid awareness much more often than do older people. The contents of dreams often have direct references to survival-related themes like sexuality, aggression, personal health, social relations, and the threat of death. Although dreams in general are not as wildly bizarre as often assumed, they do have the qualities of spontaneous creativity and rich variation that stimulate the mind to look beyond what is to imagine what might be.
Thinking about dreaming as a kind of play has many advantages, foremost of which is overcoming the conflicts between the different branches of dream research. Dreaming is indeed rooted in natural cycles of brain activity, as neuroscientists have argued, but it no longer makes sense to treat dreams as meaningless by-products of a sleep-addled mind. If we saw a group of children playing an imaginary game of house, would we be justified in assuming their brains are somehow malfunctioning? Not at all. In the same way, we should recognize the playful qualities of dreaming as integral to healthy cognitive functioning. In the language of computer programming, dreaming should be appreciated as a vital feature of the mind, not a bug to be fixed or eliminated.
A dreaming-is-play perspective has clear benefits for the practice of psychotherapy. Rather than laboring to uncover deep hidden messages, therapists can explore the imaginative dynamics of their clients’ dreams for useful clues to their emotional concerns and waking life challenges (while still pursuing deeper symbolic levels, if so desired).
This can be especially helpful in caring for trauma patients. Research on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has shown that during successful treatment the patients’ recurrent nightmares gradually become less fixated on the trauma and more open to an increasing variety of dream themes, characters, and scenarios. In other words, the more playful their dreams become, the more progress the patients are making towards psychological health.
I once did a research project with a woman, “Nan,” who was nearly killed in a car accident and spent several days in intensive care with severe spinal injuries. Her dreams following the accident were filled with fear, aggression, and misfortune, exactly what we would expect of someone with acute PTSD. But Nan told me she put her hopes on one unusual dream, which came about four months after she was hurt. In this dream there was a magical paintbrush that allowed her to paint the colors of the rainbow, just like a beloved character she remembered from a childhood story. This was the first time since Nan’s accident that one of her dreams had so many references to colors, positive emotions, and good fortunes. The green shoots of playfulness that emerged in this dream anticipated, and perhaps even stimulated, her eventual recovery of health.
The evolutionary success of our species is largely due to the tremendous flexibility and adaptive creativity of our minds. Current scientific evidence is telling us that dreaming is a powerful, neurologically hard-wired process that strengthens precisely those distinctively human psychological abilities. Our playful reveries during sleep function like mental yoga: stretching our cognitive abilities in new directions, exploring the boundaries and potentials of awareness, and preparing us for whatever the waking world may bring.
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Tag Archives: Tropical Storm Oscar
Oscar Transitions to a Tropical Storm
Former Subtropical Storm Oscar transitioned to a tropical storm on Saturday night. At 11:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Tropical Storm Oscar was located at latitude 25.7°N and longitude 51.4°W which put it about 930 miles (1495 km) east-southeast of Bermuda. Oscar was moving toward the west-southwest at 20 m.p.h. (32 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 65 m.p.h. (105 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 80 m.p.h. (130 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 994 mb.
The structure of the circulation of former Subtropical Storm Oscar changed to a shape more like a tropical cyclone and the National Hurricane Center reclassified Oscar as a tropical storm. A band of showers and thunderstorms wrapped more tightly around the eastern side of the center of circulation. The strongest winds were occurring about 30 miles (50 km) from the center. Other bands of showers and thunderstorms were starting to form in the eastern half of the circulation.
Tropical Storm Oscar will move through an environment somewhat favorable for intensification during the next 36 hours. Oscar will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperature is near 27°C. An upper level low southeast of Oscar will produce northerly winds which will blow toward the top of the tropical storm. However, the core of Tropical Storm Oscar will remain south of the strongest upper level winds on Sunday. Tropical Storm Oscar could intensify into a hurricane by Monday.
The upper level low is steering Tropical Storm Oscar quickly toward the west-southwest. That motion is forecast to continue for anther 24 hours. A large upper level trough over the eastern U.S. will produce southwesterly winds which will start to turn Oscar toward the northeast in about 36 to 48 hours. On its anticipated track Tropical Storm Oscar could be southeast of Bermuda on Monday night.
This entry was posted in Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico, Tropical Cyclones and tagged 16L, AL16, Azores, Bermuda, Oscar, Tropical Storm Oscar on October 28, 2018 by jay_hobgood.
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Michael Piccinino - President
Michael is currently studying at the University of Malta and is currently in his 3rd year reading for a Bachelor of Laws (Hons). He has been involved in youth activism for the last couple of years, starting from when he was in Junior College. Since then, he has been a member of a number of different youth organisations. From the age of 13, he participated in numerous activities organised by the National Youth Council mainly the National Youth Parliament until he was elected for the first time into the Executive Committee of the National Youth Council in November 2014 as National Officer. Last year, after being nominated by ELSA Malta for the elections of the Executive Board of KNZ, Michael was re-elected into the Board this time in the role as President. He believes that youths can bring great change when they work together.
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KNŻ calls for an immediate parliamentary debate on vote 16
Last September, KNŻ President along with the Presidents of ADŻ, FŻL, MŻPN, Pulse and SDM asked for a parliamentary debate on the right to vote for 16 and 17 year olds to be extended to all elections prior to the election which will take place in 2018, in a joint letter.
Since then, the KNŻ has written to all Members of Parliament to inquiry what are their thoughts on the motion which was presented late last year by Hon. Marlene Farrugia and Hon. David Agius so that youths aged 16 will be eligible to vote in all elections.
KNŻ has received an answer from both parliamentary groups and Hon. Giovanna Debono (the independent MP) on how they shall be voting once the aforementioned motion is presented in parliament and a vote is taken. Both the Nationalist parliamentary group and Hon. Giovanna Debono said that they shall be supporting the motion once it is tabled and a vote is a taken. Whilst Labour Whip answered in the name of the Labour parliamentary group saying that this year there will be a consultation process with the aim to analyse the extension of granting voting rights to 16 year olds to MEP elections and General Election.
KNZ calls once again, like it did last September together with all youth and student political organisations, for an immediate discussion on the subject in Parliament and for this proposal to be implemented before the next general election in 2018.
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Chapter 9. Figure 9-1. Types of Rules of Origin
Download "Chapter 9. Figure 9-1. Types of Rules of Origin"
Lynn Fitzgerald
1 Chapter 9 RULES OF ORIGIN 1. OVERVIEW OF RULES Rules of origin are used to determine the nationality of goods traded in international commerce. Yet, no internationally agreed upon rules of origin exist. Each country or jurisdiction that administers a regional trade agreement the NAFTA and the EU, for example has established its own rules of origin. Rules of origin are divided into two categories: (1) rules relating to preferential treatment and (2) rules relating to non-preferential treatment. The former has two additional subsets: (1) rules on general preferential treatment for developing countries, and (2) rules relating to regional trade agreements (see Figure 9-1). Figure 9-1 Types of Rules of Origin Rules relating to non-preferential treatment Rules relating to preferential treatment Rules on general preferential treatment (GSP) (for developing countries) Rules relating to regional trade agreements Rules of origin relating to non-preferential treatment are, except for the application of preferential tariffs, used as follows: (1) for selecting items in enforcing trade-related measures that specify exporting countries (e.g., quantitative restrictions); (2) for compiling trade statistics; and (3) for determining the country of origin in marking the origin of certain goods. (Some countries have purpose-oriented sets of rules whose contents are different; several kinds of rules of origin in one country may therefore exist.) 443
2 In contrast, preferential rules of origin are used for giving preferential treatment to imported goods. These rules are applied upon importation by developed countries to determine whether particular products are exported from countries that are subject to preferential treatment under the generalized system of preferences. In addition, in regional groupings such as the NAFTA and the EEA, preferential rules of origin are used for giving preferential treatment to goods, originating within the region. With respect to trade policy, rules of origin should play a neutral role. However, they sometimes are used for protectionist ends: origin rules that are too restrictive or that are enforced arbitrarily can expand improperly the coverage of trade restrictions. In general, rules of origin have not been adequately addressed at the international level. For many years, the GATT contained no specific provisions on rules of origin other than Article IX, which deals with marking requirements (i.e., marks of origin ). Rules of origin are only covered by the GATT s general provisions, such as Article I (MFN treatment) and Article XXIV:5, the latter of which requires that free trade areas shall not increase restrictions on trade with Members who are not part of the free trade area or parties to the customs union. Aside from the GATT, the International Convention on Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (the Kyoto Convention), concluded under the aegis of the Customs Cooperation Council (commonly called the World Customs Organization or WCO ), contains an Annex on rules of origin. In 1999, the WCO amended the Kyoto Convention for the first time in around 25 years; Japan accepted the amendments in The Specific Annex on rules of origin in the amended Kyoto Convention, however, was only subjected to the minimum necessary review on the grounds that a further review would be undertaken once the WTO completed its work on harmonization of rules of origin. As acceptance of Specific Annexes, including the one on rules of origin, is voluntary, the Annexes have little binding power as international rules. The imposition of rules of origin should properly be a technical and neutral matter. But because no common international standards exist, rules are increasingly being formulated and administered in an arbitrary fashion to achieve protectionist policy objectives. To remedy the trade problems this has caused, countries are in the process of formulating harmonized non-preferential rules of origin under the terms outlined in the Agreement on Rules of Origin, based on the Uruguay Round Agreement on Rules of Origin. 2. LEGAL FRAMEWORK Summary of the Agreement on Rules of Origin The Agreement reached in the Uruguay Round provides a programme for harmonizing rules of origin and applying them to all non-preferential commercial policy instruments, including most-favoured-nation treatment, anti-dumping and countervailing duties, marking requirements under Article IX of the GATT, and government 444
3 procurement. It also establishes disciplines that individual countries must observe in instituting or operating rules of origin and provides for the framework for harmonizing rules and dispute settlement procedures. (a) (b) (c) Principles Rules of origin: must apply equally for all purposes of non-preferential treatment; must be objective, understandable, and predictable; must not be used directly or indirectly as instruments to pursue trade policy objectives; and must not, in and of themselves, have a restrictive, distorting, or disruptive influence on international trade, etc. Framework of Harmonization Programme The WTO undertakes the harmonization programme in conjunction with the WCO (the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin and the WCO Technical Committee on Rules of Origin). The WCO Technical Committee is required to submit its results on the technical aspects of the operation and status of the Agreement. The WTO Committee will review the results from the perspective of overall coherence. Schedule of Harmonization Programme The harmonization programme shall begin as soon as possible after the Agreement takes effect and be completed within three years of initiation. (This programme is still ongoing, as mentioned in the section on Harmonization of the Rules of Origin Relating to Non-Preferential Treatment, below.) Harmonization shall, in principle, follow the chapters and sections of the Harmonized System nomenclature and the WTO Committee shall request the interpretations and opinions resulting from the harmonization work conducted by the WCO Technical Committee. The WCO Technical Committee is required to submit its results within specific time frames. (The work conducted by the WCO Technical Committee has already been completed, as discussed in the section below.) The WTO Committee shall regularly review the work of the WCO Technical Committee and, when all work has been completed, will consider the results in terms of their overall coherence. 445
4 (d) The WTO Ministerial Conference will adopt the results as an integral part of the Agreement. Disciplines Applicable to Preferential Rules of Origin (Annex II) The Agreement exempts the rules of origin used in the application of preferential tariffs from harmonization. The Agreement, however, does set down a number of disciplines in Annex II that are applicable to preferential regimes. Thus, according to the Agreement, preferential rules of origin: should clearly define requirements for conferring origin; should be based on a positive standard; should be published in accordance with GATT Article X:1; and should not be applied retroactively. 3. HARMONIZATION OF THE RULES OF ORIGIN RELATING TO NON-PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT Work on the harmonization of rules of origin formally began in July At present, negotiators are considering: (1) rules of origin in the context of individual items; and, (2) general provisions containing general rules (overall architecture) that will be applied widely to various items. Although the Agreement on Rules of Origin specified a deadline of three years for the harmonization programme (i.e., July 1998), this programme is still ongoing. Using the HS Code, negotiators are considering rules of origin relating to individual items, based on the following three standards: (1) Wholly Obtained Criteria, which applies to goods that are domestically produced only in a specific country; (2) Minimal Operation Criteria, for simple processing that is negligible in origin determination; and (3) Substantial Transformation Criteria, in which more than two countries are involved in the production of goods and their origin will be conferred upon the country where the last substantial transformation has occurred. In light of the Substantial Transformation Criteria, the Agreement allows negotiators to introduce a Change in Tariff Classification Criteria and, as supplementary criteria for the Substantial Transformation Criteria, the Ad Valorem Criteria and the Manufacturing or Processing Operations Criteria, in order to determine whether the Substantial Transformation has occurred. The procedures call for the WCO to perform technical studies on individual items. When the WCO reaches a consensus on an item, it is referred to the WTO for endorsement, and is considered formally agreed upon only after this endorsement is 446
5 obtained. Should the technical arguments be exhausted and the WCO still be unable to reach a consensus, the item is referred to the WTO for decision. The WTO then becomes the forum for consideration, studying the item in light of the sensitivities and concerns of individual countries. The technical studies undertaken by the WCO have been completed since the 17 th meeting held in May The items on which the WCO could not reach consensus are being discussed by the WTO. Discussions on rules of origin under the WTO are taking place not on individual HS items, but by issues based on common problems with respect to each HS Chapter. (There are 486 total issues,) At the writing of this report, agreement has been reached covering approximately 70% of the total issues. Since July 2002, the General Council, which supervises the Committee for Rules of Origin, has taken the lead in discussing the 94 core unresolved issues. The 94 core issues include issues which Japan considers important and Japan will need to assume an active part in the discussions. Japan is particularly interested in the following two issues, which will have a vast impact on the harmonization of rules of origin: Regarding rules about machinery, the Chairperson of the Committee on Rules of Origin proposed double-rule: importing countries may choose either added-value criteria or change in tariff classification, as a compromise at a meeting in 2006 to solve the conflict. Since then, discussion about the proposal continued but a conclusion has not yet been reached. The Chairperson reported the situation to the General Council in July 2007 and agreed to seek guidance from the General Council while suspending the discussion about the implications of the Harmonized Rules of Origin on other WTO agreements and the double rule for machinery. Meanwhile discussions about general provisions and technical matters to be considered will continue. (1) Implications of Harmonized Rules of Origin on other WTO Agreements It is unclear how harmonized rules will affect other WTO agreements and many Members, therefore, are unable to be flexible on individual issues in the process of the harmonization work programme. Discussions occurred to develop a uniform understanding on the impact that Harmonized Rules of Origin will have on other WTO agreements, but the fact is as said above. (2) Adoption of Value-Added Rule The discussions consider the potential for adopting value-added rules as one measures to be used in determining last substantial transformation, the criteria for many items, particularly in the machinery sector. This raises the potential for origin to be changed due to changes in foreign exchange rates, materials costs, labor costs, etc., which would be problematic in terms of predictability, transparency and consistency required in the preamble to the Rules of Origin Agreement. Japan objects to the adoption of the rules, but the fact remains as stated above. 447
6 With the implementation of the Agreement, the WTO and the WCO began harmonizing non-preferential rules of origin. The completion of this harmonizing process should resolve the majority of the problems that may arise under such nonpreferential rules of origin. In cooperation with other countries, Japan should continue to contribute positively to the developmental process for harmonizing non-preferential rules of origin. However, there remains concern over preferential legislation, applying the current rules during the transition period leading up to harmonization and over preferential rules of origin which are excluded from the harmonization process. The latter is of particular concern given the recent trend towards negotiating free trade agreements. With respect to preferential rules of origin, each Member is required to notify its rules to the WTO and maintain their consistency with Annex II of the Agreement. In addition, the Trade Policy Review Body and the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements reviews rules of origin issues to ensure compliance. (See Part I: Problems of Trade Policies and Measures in Individual Countries and Regions in regard to the regulations of respective countries and the issues these present.) 4. ECONOMIC ASPECTS AND SIGNIFICANCE Rules of origin are an important factor in determining the tariffs to be imposed on specific goods and whether quantitative and other trade restrictive measures may be applied to imported goods. Consequently, the manner in which these rules are formulated and applied can have an enormous impact on the flow of trade and investment. A country s manipulation of origin rules can substantially affect direct investment, parts procurement, and other business activities of companies seeking to establish origin in that country. Furthermore, at a time when increasing numbers of companies are globalizing their parts procurement and production networks, the significant differences in national rules of origin can work to disrupt the free flow of trade. Unnecessary complications and confusion arise when the same product may have several different countries of origin depending on the country for which it is destined. Needless to say, this greatly diminishes the exporter s predictability of trade. In addition, a change in the rules of origin of a particular country may force globalized producers to add certain manufacturing processes in that country, with substantial resulting costs. Recently, given an increased push by several countries to pursue FTA s throughout the world, concern is mounting over the so-called spaghetti bowl phenomenon where varying rules of origin and varying tariff schedules based on origin criss-cross around the world as noodles in a bowl. In light of this, Japan should strive for reciprocal consistency of rules of origin in FTA negotiations. However, we have to note that the differences in national rules of origin are attributed to the fact that negotiations were based on the problems particular to each concerned party. It is also 448
7 notable that the rules of origin defined in each country reflect conditions for receiving preferential treatment and are not the same as the ones defined in countries which receive non-preferential treatment. Under this situation, discussions initiated by the chemical industry in APEC to seek a common understanding on desirable productspecific rules of origin on chemical products may be notable. Properly formulated and applied, rules of origin should have a neutral effect on trade. Arbitrary formulation and application, however, will result in a country expanding its trade restrictive measures and increase the likelihood that such measures will distort trade (see US Textile Products, below). As a result of reducing tariffs in broad sectors during several Rounds and strengthening disciplines in anti-dumping sectors and others, rules of origin may be used as hidden trade restrictive measures. Establishing fair, neutral and common international rules in this area is an urgent issue. 449
RULES OF ORIGIN CHAPTER 10 A. OVERVIEW OF RULES 1. BACKGROUND OF RULES. Chapter 10: Rules of Origin
CHAPTER 10 Chapter 10: Rules of Origin RULES OF ORIGIN A. OVERVIEW OF RULES 1. BACKGROUND OF RULES Rules of origin are used to determine the nationality of goods traded in international commerce. Yet,
RULES OF ORIGIN. Chapter 9 1. OVERVIEW OF RULES. Figure 9-1
Chapter 9 RULES OF ORIGIN 1. OVERVIEW OF RULES Rules of origin are used to determine the nationality of goods traded in international commerce. Yet there is no internationally agreed upon rules of origin.
Introduction to Rules of Origin in the WTO
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Man of Steel (4K UHD Review)
Review Date: Aug 19, 2016
2013 (July 19, 2016)
Legendary/Syncopy/DC Entertainment (Warner Bros.)
Film/Program Grade: A
Video Grade: A-
Extras Grade: D+
[Editor’s Note: We’ve reviewed this film previously and at greater length on Blu-ray – click here to read that if you’re interested.]
Part of the problem of bringing Superman to the big screen, especially in light of Richard Donner’s classic 1978 take, is that while the character’s signature idealism and “big blue boy scout” rectitude are arguably as relevant now as ever, they’re also much harder to sell in our more cynical times. Wrapping the character in even the fondest papering of nostalgia only serves to make him seem out of date. Faced with this reality, director Zack Snyder, producer Christopher Nolan and writer David S. Goyer wisely chose to reinvent Superman instead, in much the same way as countless comic book writers and editors have done many times over the character’s history. They’ve crafted a contemporary take on the mythos here that embraces most of the classic aspects of the character and his origin story, but also abandons some of the silly tropes the character has been burdened with for years, making it all seem more grounded in reality by today’s standards. The broad outlines of the story are just as you remember them, but they’re penciled with new details and colored with new shades of texture and tone.
As before, Kryptonian scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe), anticipating the destruction of his homeworld, sends his infant son, Kal-El, to Earth in order that he might survive and one day lead humanity to its full potential. However this time, Krypton isn’t destroyed by a dying star but rather because its people have abandoned their principles – shunned natural childbirth, overharvested their resources, and abandoned their once mighty effort to explore the Universe. As before, Kal-El is raised on Earth as a typical all-American farm boy by Kansas couple Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane). But rather than simply teaching Clark good wholesome values, Jonathan also cautions him not to reveal his true nature to the world until he must, because once he does, everything will change – not just for Clark but for the entire human race, which humanity might not be ready for. Still, as he grows into a teen and eventually becomes an adult, Clark (Brit actor Henry Cavill, best known in the States for his role on Showtime’s The Tudors) can’t resist helping people and saving lives, thus risking his own exposure as he wanders the world, struggling to find his place within it. As before, intrepid Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) tracks down the rumors of Clark’s exploits, ultimately discovering his true nature and identity. But rather than blowing his secret for a big headline, she keeps it instead, thus earning Clark’s trust and respect. Unfortunately, just as Clark finally begins to understand his true nature as Kal-El, and his destiny as Superman, the renegade Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) arrives from deep space to find Clark and restore the lost glory of Krypton at any cost.
One of the reasons that Man of Steel works so well, is that Henry Cavill disappears nicely into the title role, and absolutely owns it here. For all the complaints some fans have with this film, Cavill’s take on Superman isn’t one of them. What's more, Michael Shannon’s Zod isn’t simply a megalomaniac; he’s deeply motivated to believe that his destructive cause is just. And here at last is a version of Lois Lane who’s intelligent and trustworthy, who looks before she leaps and who Superman can actually rely on. Amy Adams manages to do something unexpected – make her Lois an active, important participant in the story, who’s also the key to Crowe’s Jor-El remaining active in the story too.
To be fair, Man of Steel is a bit long. A good 10 or 15 minutes could have been trimmed from the film’s theatrical running time, particularly from the second half, which is a series of set-piece battles that form a protracted climax of destruction. The film also ends a bit too abruptly after all the carnage, with little service given to the aftermath (something that its quasi-sequel, Batman v Superman, addresses in kind – see our review here). But, quick or not, this film’s final scene is absolutely perfect. And while Hans Zimmer’s score is a near-complete departure from John Williams’ classic themes, the pacing is often very similar. Rather than helping to drive the viewer’s emotions with traditionally uplifting themes, Zimmer’s music is alternately strident with brass, warping electric string chords, and drum-heavy bombast, then far more restrained through plaintive violin solos and subtly metallic/organic soundscapes – always more atmospheric, more dynamic, certainly edgier and more unsettling but also frequently poignant and beautiful.
Man of Steel was shot principally on photochemical film in 35mm format, and then greatly enhanced digitally and finished to a 2K Digital Intermediate. This DI was upscaled to 4K and given a new HDR color timing pass for this release. While the image here is not true 4K, as is Fox’s The Revenant for example, what you see here is a distinct improvement upon the previous Blu-ray release. The range of contrast in the image is broader, with notably more detail visible both in the brightest and darkest extremes. What’s more, color is more vibrant and nuanced, and there’s greater fine detail that reveals itself especially in the unique textures of Krypton. Just examine the background and costume detail in the scene in which Jor-El is confronting the Kryptonian Elders. It’s exquisite. The High Dynamic Range adds a lovely measure of punch and vibrancy to specular highlights on things like Kryptonian particle displays and high-energy effects like weapons blasts and explosions. This is surely the best visual presentation of Man of Steel to date, including both its previous Blu-ray and the best theatrical presentations, and that is no small thing.
The primary audio is English Dolby Atmos (compatible with 7.1 Dolby TrueHD). The previous Blu-ray edition included an already reference-quality 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio mix, with a big and enveloping soundstage, great clarity, highly active and atmospheric surround play, smooth and natural panning, and rock-solid LFE. The Atmos somehow manages to improve upon this with more precise imaging, a greater sense of depth and immersion, and an even more natural-sounding balance between the loudest and quietest movements in the soundtrack and score. It’s impressive as hell. Beyond the Atmos mix, optional 5.1 Dolby Digital audio is also available in English Descriptive Audio, Québécois French, traditional French, German, Italian, Castilian Spanish, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, Czech, Polish Voice-Over, Russian, and Turkish. Subtitle options are even more plentiful, with English, German, and Italian (all for the hearing impaired), as well as French, Castilian Spanish, Dutch, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Latin American Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Swedish, and Turkish. Note that there are no extras on the 4K disc itself.
The package also includes the movie disc from regular Blu-ray edition (which we’ve reviewed separately here) and an insert code for a Digital HD version. The Blu-ray contains the film in 1080p, as well as the same extras as before, including 3 featurettes (Strong Characters, Legendary Roles, All-Out Action, and Krypton Decoded), the great Superman 75th Anniversary Animated Short, and the cross-promotional New Zealand: Home of Middle-Earth piece for The Hobbit. Unfortunately – and this is a massive strike for this release – it doesn’t include Disc Two of the previous Blu-ray edition, which contained the lion’s share of the extras. That’s just stupid. It also doesn’t include any of the retail-exclusive extras, nor the Blu-ray 3D version of the film. Again, stupid.
Man of Steel isn’t perfect. For all of its sound and fury, though, there’s a core strength, humanity, and honesty here that is undeniable. Try watching this film for what it is, rather than what it’s not, and you may see something truly special. Warner’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation is certainly the best way to do that, but you should try to buy it on sale due to its frustrating lack of extras. You’ll definitely want to keep your previous Blu-ray edition, that’s for sure.
- Bill Hunt
2013, 4K Ultra HD, Amy Adams, Blu-ray, Clark Kent, Diane Lane, General Zod, Hans Zimmer, HDR, Henry Cavill, High Dynamic Range, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Man of Steel, Michael Shannon, modern, reinvention, review, Russell Crowe, science fiction, Superman, Zack Snyder
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Assassin’s Creed official, plus Almodóvar’s Julieta, new Shout/Scream, Sony 4K player price & more
The big release news today is that Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment has just set Assassin’s Creed for Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release on 3/21, with the Digital HD release expected on 3/10. We’re awaiting official details on the extras from the studio and will post them as soon as they’re available.
Also today, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has announced the 3/21 Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD release of Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta. Disc-based extras will include a pair of featurettes (Portrait of Julieta and Celebrating Director Pedro Almodóvar).
Lionsgate will release Isolation on DVD on 4/18 as a Walmart exclusive. The film will also be widely available on Digital HD that same day. [Read on here…]
Published in My Two Cents
Streets of Fire: Collector's Edition
Shout Select
Bluray Disc
The Digital Bits
The Naked Cage
Pedro Almodóvar’s Julieta
The Evictors
Sony UBPX800 4K Ultra HD BD Player
4K UHD PC compatibility specs
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Strong US-PH defense ties assured
posted April 05, 2013 at 12:03 am by Vito Barcelo
The United States on Thursday assured the Philippines of its commitment to further �strengthen� its defense ties with the country in the face of uncertainties and security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region. In a statement, the Foreign Affairs Department said that US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel made the assurance when he met with Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario at the Pentagon. Even as the meeting was going on, a squadron of American fighter jets are scheduled to arrive in the next few days to take part in the 2013 Balikatan, a joint military exercise between the two countries. Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr. said the fighter jets would join 20 other aircrafts for the exercise, 14 of which had arrived at the Clark Air Base in Pampanga a few days ago. Burgos said the 12 FA-18 Hornets fighter jets will land at the same airbase.� The Hornets are twin-engine supersonic, all-weather carrier-capable fighter jets, designed to attack ground targets. The joint exercises to be participated by 8,000 Filipino and American troops will be officially declared open today (Friday) at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. It will run through April 17 in Luzon, particularly in Zambales and Tarlac. Del Rosario, meanwhile,� said that Hagel had expressed that there was a need for the Philippines and the US to further deepen their partnership to uphold peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region,� del Rosario said. The DFA chief added that the US official �expressed his appreciation� to what the Philippines is doing in the region and noted that our partnership is critical in our part of the world. The meeting with del Rosario was Hagel�s first with a senior Philippine official since taking over the helm at the Pentagon in February. The meeting followed a separate discussion between del Rosario and Secretary of State John F. Kerry�the former Massachusetts senator�s first face-to-face encounter with a senior Filipino official since he succeeded Secretary Hillary R. Clinton at the State Department early this year. Del Rosario provided Pentagon officials an update on Manila�s efforts to peacefully resolve the disputes in the West Philippine Sea, particularly its decision to seek arbitration. �The Pentagon was supportive of our arbitration initiative, especially because it is consistent with efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the dispute without resorting to coercion,� Del Rosario said. Hagel said that developing the two countries alliance was �very, very important at this point in time,� referring to the territorial disputes in the West Philippine Sea and North Korea�s war posturing in the Korean peninsula. �I articulated that the Philippine Government is committed to see through the arbitration proceedings to its conclusion. We will not slow down on this effort,� del Rosario explained. The region is currently reeling from China�s enormous economic and military growth, which has impacted on Beijing�s relationships with its neighbors especially because of its� overlapping claims in the West Philippine Sea and East China Sea. The Philippines and Japan, both allies of the United States, are locked in their own territorial disputes with China. Del Rosario said Hagel also expressed satisfaction with the progress being made on the increase of US military rotational presence in the Philippines. Also discussed during the meeting were the US support for the modernization plans of the Armed Forces of the Philippines,� the situation in Sabah and North Korea, and the investigation of the grounding of the USS Guardian, including the participation of the Philippines in the probe and the conduct of an environmental impact assessment of the incident. Also present during the Pentagon meeting were Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose L. Cuisia Jr., Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for American Affairs Carlos D. Sorreta, Deputy Chief of Mission Maria Andrelita S. Austria, Defense Attache Brig. Gen. Cesar B. Yano, and Director Rosalita S. Prospero of the Office of American Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Joining Hagel in the meeting were other senior Pentagon officials namely Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Peter Lavoy.�� With Macon Araneta and Florante S. Solmerin
Harm reduction seen to stem Asia’s smoking epidemic
The Voice Kids in concert plus album
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Montevideo Convention
Convention on the Rights and Duties of States
Ratifications and signatories of the treaty
Other Organization of American States members
16[1] (as of May 2015)
Pan American Union
English, French, Spanish and Portuguese
Montevideo Convention at Wikisource
The Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States is a treaty signed at Montevideo, Uruguay, on December 26, 1933, during the Seventh International Conference of American States. The Convention codifies the declarative theory of statehood as accepted as part of customary international law.[2] At the conference, United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull declared the Good Neighbor Policy, which opposed U.S. armed intervention in inter-American affairs. The convention was signed by 19 states. The acceptance of three of the signatories was subject to minor reservations. Those states were Brazil, Peru and the United States.[1]
The convention became operative on December 26, 1934. It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on January 8, 1936.[3]
The conference is notable in U.S. history, since one of the U.S. representatives was Dr. Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge, the first U.S. female representative at an international conference.[4]
In most cases, the only avenue open to self-determination for colonial or national ethnic minority populations was to achieve international legal personality as a nation-state.[5] The majority of delegations at the International Conference of American States represented independent States that had emerged from former colonies. In most cases, their own existence and independence had been disputed, or opposed, by one or more of the European colonial empires. They agreed among themselves to criteria that made it easier for other dependent states with limited sovereignty to gain international recognition.
Contents of the convention
The convention sets out the definition, rights and duties of statehood. Most well-known is article 1, which sets out the four criteria for statehood that have been recognized by international organizations as an accurate statement of customary international law:
The state as a person of international law should possess the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) capacity to enter into relations with the other states.
Furthermore, the first sentence of article 3 explicitly states that "The political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states." This is known as the declarative theory of statehood. It stands in conflict with the alternative constitutive theory of statehood: a state exists only insofar as it is recognized by other states. It should not be confused with the Estrada doctrine. "Independence" and "sovereignty" are not mentioned in article 1.[6]
An important part of the convention was a prohibition of using military force to gain sovereignty. According to Article 11 of the Convention[7],
The contracting states definitely establish the rule of their conduct the precise obligation not to recognize territorial acquisitions or advantages that have been obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure
Furthermore, Article 11 reflects the contemporary Stimson Doctrine, and is now a fundamental part of international law through article 2 paragraph 4 of the Charter of the United Nations.
The 16 states that have ratified this convention are limited to the Americas.
State[1][8]
Brazil Dec 26, 1933 Feb 23, 1937 Ratification
Chile Dec 26, 1933 Mar 28, 1935 Ratification
Colombia Dec 26, 1933 Jul 22, 1936 Ratification
Costa Rica[lower-alpha 1] Sep 28, 1937 Accession
Cuba Dec 26, 1933 Apr 28, 1936 Ratification
Dominican Republic Dec 26, 1933 Dec 26, 1934 Ratification
Ecuador Dec 26, 1933 Oct 3, 1936 Ratification
El Salvador Dec 26, 1933 Jan 9, 1937 Ratification
Guatemala Dec 26, 1933 Jun 12, 1935 Ratification
Haiti Dec 26, 1933 Aug 13, 1941 Ratification
Honduras Dec 26, 1933 Dec 1, 1937 Ratification
Mexico Dec 26, 1933 Jan 27, 1936 Ratification
Nicaragua Dec 26, 1933 Jan 8, 1937 Ratification
Panama Dec 26, 1933 Nov 13, 1938 Ratification
United States Dec 26, 1933 Jul 13, 1934 Ratification
Venezuela Dec 26, 1933 Feb 13, 1940 Ratification
↑ The Organization of American States' database lists Costa Rica as signing the treaty, but the treaty does not include a signature by Costa Rica.[9]
A further four states signed the Convention on 26 December 1933, but have not ratified it.[1][10]
The only state to attend the Seventh International Conference of American States, where the convention was agreed upon, which did not sign it was Bolivia.[10] Costa Rica, which did not attend the conference, later signed the convention.[9]
Customary international law
As a restatement of customary international law, the Montevideo Convention merely codified existing legal norms and its principles and therefore does not apply merely to the signatories, but to all subjects of international law as a whole.[11][12]
The European Union, in the principal statement of its Badinter Committee,[13] follows the Montevideo Convention in its definition of a state: by having a territory, a population, and a political authority. The committee also found that the existence of states was a question of fact, while the recognition by other states was purely declaratory and not a determinative factor of statehood.[14]
Switzerland, although not a member of the European Union, adheres to the same principle, stating that "neither a political unit needs to be recognized to become a state, nor does a state have the obligation to recognize another one. At the same time, neither recognition is enough to create a state, nor does its absence abolish it."[15]
Dollar diplomacy
1 2 3 4 5 "A-40: Convention on Rights and Duties of States". Organization of American States. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
↑ Hersch Lauterpacht (2012). Recognition in International Law. Cambridge University Press. p. 419.
↑ League of Nations Treaty Series, vol. 165, pp. 20-43.
↑ From colony to superpower: U.S. foreign relations since 1776, by George C. Herring, Oxford University Press, 2008, p. 499. Online at Google Books. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
↑ The Postcoloniality of International Law, Harvard International Law Journal, Volume 46, Number 2, Summer 2005, Sundhya Pahuja, page 5 Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine.
↑ see for example State Failure, Sovereignty and Effectiveness, Legal Lessons from the Decolonization of Sub-Saharan Africa, Gerard Kreijen, Published by Martinus Nijhoff, 2004, ISBN 90-04-13965-6, page 110
↑ Hersch Lauterpacht (2012). Recognition in International Law. Cambridge University Press. p. 419. ISBN 9781107609433.
↑ "Convention on Rights and Duties of States adopted by the Seventh International Conference of American States". United Nations Treaty Series, Registration Number:3802. Retrieved 2015-11-16.
1 2 Encyclopedia of the Inter-American System. Greenwood Publishing Group. 1997-01-01. p. 287. Retrieved 2013-07-23. Delegations from twenty states participated - from the United States and all those in Latin America except Costa Rica (provision was made for Costa Rica to later sign the conventions and treaties preseented in the conference).
1 2 "Convention on the Rights and Duties of States". Yale. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
↑ Harris, D.J. (ed) 2004 "Cases and Materials on International Law" 6th Ed. at p. 99. Sweet and Maxwell, London
↑ Castellino, Joshua (2000). "International Law and Self-Determination: The Interplay of the Politics of Territorial Possession With Formulations of Post-Colonial National Identity". Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. p. 77.
↑ The Badinter Arbitration Committee (full title), named for its chair, ruled on the question of whether the Republics of Croatia, Macedonia, and Slovenia, who had formally requested recognition by the members of the European Union and by the EU itself, had met conditions specified by the Council of Ministers of the European Community on December 16, 1991. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-05-17. Retrieved 2012-05-10.
↑ Opinion No 1., Badinter Arbitration Committee, states that "the state is commonly defined as a community which consists of a territory and a population subject to an organized political authority; that such a state is characterized by sovereignty" and that "the effects of recognition by other states are purely declaratory."
↑ Switzerland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, DFA, Directorate of International Law: "Recognition of States and Governments," 2005.
Original text at UN Treaties Series, Registration Number: 3802
Searching for a symbol The Montevideo Convention and Taiwan/ROC
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Ethics in the Law of Moses: animal welfare
Ethics in the Law of Moses: Animal welfare & animal sacrifice
Ethics in the Law of Moses: slavery
Moses told Israel that the law he was giving them from God was more ethical than the laws of the nations around them (Dt 4:8). To what extent is this characterization of the Law accurate? This series provides evidence that the Law of Moses was indeed much more ethical than its legal contemporaries.
The early Hebrews maintained an unparalleled degree of ecological sustainability, since the Law of Moses regulated fruit crops, prohibited certain mixed crops, and required the non-cultivation of the land in the seventh year, enabling the land to recover from human activity.
“Archaeological records show that the Israelites were the first example in world history of a society that succeeded in managing a sustained management of their environment for about thousand and seven hundred years.”1
This “was unique in the region”,2 and differentiated the Hebrews from their neighbours.
“Israelite agriculture at that time was probably among the most advanced in the ancient world.”3
“In fact, biblical Israel displayed considerably more environmental sensitivity than its neighbors in the ancient Near East.”4
The legal codes of Mespotamia contained no environmental legislation. Legislation such as the Hittite laws of the Old Kingdom (ca. 1650-1500 BCE), contained detailed descriptions of penalties for stealing crops, cutting down trees on other people’s property, causing damage to vegetation by setting fires, and for owners of domesticated animals which stray into another property and cause damage.5 However, all of these penalties were for the sole purpose of compensating owners for lost property, not for the sake of the environment; since the environment had no intrinsic value, there was no penalty for the misuse or exploitation of land.
The consequences of ecological neglect
Although Mesopotamian societies must have been aware of the dangers of over-using the land, and must have experienced the negative effects of environmental damage,6 they nevertheless show no concern for the ecology in their legislation, and there are no environmental protection laws. This lack of attention to ecological concerns contributed significantly to the Early Bronze Age crisis, when rapidly increasing population density and wealth distribution inequity, compounded with environmental exploitation, resulted in an increasingly desperate conflict for diminishing resources.
“It appears that the causes of the crisis of the second urbansation were mostly internal processes. For instance, there was the excessive exploitation of the land, the concentration of wealth in the cities and palace, and the accumulation of this wealth for prestige, which with time led to the ultimate collapse of the system.”7
“This period of decreasing resources naturally caused the rise of competition and rivalry between groups.”8
These centuries of exploitation left an indelible mark on the local environment, forcing economic changes.
“At the beginning of the Bronze Age the declining importance of pig breeding seems to show that for the first time man’s activity caused such irreversible changes in the ecology that man had to adapt his economy.”9
The ecological damage caused by this earlier exploitation was so severe and long lasting, that societies in the Middle to Late Bronze age were forced to change their hunting patterns.
“In the Middle and Late Bronze Age the exploitation of the natural resources became very intensive and reached a high point in which also animals that were hunted never before, were now exploited.”10
Ecological care & the entry into Canaan
The fact that the ecological impact of pre-Bronze Age environmental exploitation was still having a significant effect in the Late Bronze Age, provides a significant background to both the Bible’s record of the Exodus and the Law of Moses.
Under the widely accepted late date for the exodus (thirteenth century), Israel was entering Canaan during the late Bronze Age collapse, not only a time of political and social instability, but also of widespread ecological damage resulting from climate change and environmental exploitation by human activity. Particular care would be necessary in order to manage the land sustainably.
Corroborating evidence for this is found in Moses’ speech to Israel, in which he warns them specifically that the ecology of Canaan is not like that of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 11: 10 For the land where you are headed is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, a land where you planted seed and which you irrigated by hand [Hebrew “with your foot”]11 like a vegetable garden. Instead, the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy is one of hills and valleys, a land that drinks in water from the rains, a land the LORD your God looks after. He is constantly attentive to it from the beginning to the end of the year.
Egypt was irrigated reliably every year by the flooding of the Nile, and although the canals and fields still required human intervention to receive water, the Egyptians were able to control their irrigation system through their own efforts. In contrast, the land into which Israel is entering is said to be fully dependent on rainfall, which the land itself “drinks up”.
The implication is not that the land would be easier to manage and more readily watered, but that it would be harder to manage, and the water supply less regular. This is borne out by the sudden appearance of large scale use of water cisterns near domestic and agricultural sites, shortly after the time that Israel would have entered the land.12 This system of water collection was necessary in an ecologically damaged area in which agriculture was heavily dependent on rainfall, and the local water systems were unreliable.
This background provides an obvious rationale for the ecological care legislation in the Law of Moses; Israel would be entering an environmentally impoverished land which had previously suffered from unchecked human exploitation of the ecology. The Law of Moses appears to be not only aware of this damage, but also aware of the need to preserve the land from further exploitation. In turn, this corroborates the historicity of the Bible’s record of the exodus.
Aloys Hütterman, “Ecology in Ancient Judaism”, in Jacob Neusner, Alan J. Avery-Peck, and William Scott Green, eds., The Encyclopedia of Judaism vol. 4 (Leiden; Boston; Köln: Brill, 2000), 224.
Ibid., 1726.
Alister McGrath, The Reenchantment of Nature: The Denial of Religion and the Ecological Crisis (Crown Publishing Group, 2002), 50.
Hittite Laws, §102-108, in William W. Hallo and K. Lawson Younger, Context of Scripture (Leiden; Boston: Brill, 2000), 114.
“It would appear that while early dry-farming and irrigation were pushing population densities up at a rapid rate, the relative amount of land which could be considered “prime”, or “highly productive” was decreasing with equal rapidity”, Kent V. Flanner, “Origins and Early Effects of Domestication in Iran and the Near East,” in The Domestication and Exploitation of Plants and Animals, ed. G. W. Dimbleby and Peter J. Ucko (Routledge, 2017).
Mario Liverani, The Ancient Near East: History, Society and Economy (Routledge, 2013), 184.
Hijlke Buitenhuis, “Archaeozoological Aspects of Late Holocene Economy and Environment in the Near East,” in Man’s Role in the Shaping of the Eastern Mediterranean Landscape: Proceedings of the Symposium on the Impact of Ancient Man on the Landscape of the E Med Region & the Near East: Groningen, March 1989, ed. S. Bottema, G. Entjes-Nieborg, and W. van Zeist (CRC Press, 1990), 195.
The rendering “by hand” given here by the New English Translation is intended to capture the sense using the English idiom of doing things “by hand”; the translators see here an emphasis on human effort and manual labor.
“It is only in the Iron Age, when the dense settlement of the hill country began, that we encounter the first large-scale, intensive use of cisterns, many (though not all) lime-plastered.”, William G Dever, Who Were the Early Israelites? And Where Did They Come From? (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2003), 117.
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[Sponsored Report] Industry growing by leaps and bounds
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Coway won over Europeans this month at the Internationale Funkausstellung 2010, attracting a fair share of attention for its water filtration devices, bidets and other environmentally friendly products. The electronics-focused event, also known a…
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The Free Economic Zone Committee reviewed, evaluated and ultimately approved the results of a study on the effectiveness of Korea’s three major free economic zones (FEZs), including the one in Busan, during a meeting on Aug. 27. The Busan-Jinhae F…
[Sponsored Report] Ssangyong E&C making inroads in Indonesia
Ssangyong Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. recently announced that it has won a $26 million order from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to work on the Aceh Road/Bridge Reconstruction and Rehabilitation project in Indonesia, a…
[Sponsored Report] Banyan Tree opens top-notch resort
The highly anticipated opening of Seoul’s leading urban resort is now in the history books. Banyan Tree Club & Spa Seoul, which comprises a private member’s club as well as a city hotel, opened in two phases in recent months. The luxury resort ch…
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THE DECLINE - Preisvergleich
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Iranians: Geneva is 'Treaty of Hudaybiyyah'
Family Security Matters
http://lopez.pundicity.com/14216/iran-geneva-treaty-hudaybiyyah
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the deal brokered in late November 2013 in Geneva between the P5+1 allows Iran to "continue its [nuclear] enrichment" activities. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry says that the deal does not recognize a "right to enrich." (Here's the text of the so-called "Joint Plan of Action - http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/other/IranP5plus1jointplanofaction131124en.pdf - the Iranians are right.)
President Obama hailed the Geneva agreement as the most "significant and tangible" progress to date toward ensuring that Iran "cannot build a nuclear weapon." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Marzieh Afkham said "There is no treaty and no pact." (It's a "letter of intent," say the Iranians.) For his part, the Iranian negotiator, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, exulted that the document explicitly recognized the inclusion of an Iranian enrichment program in the final deal (it does).
There's at least one major point of agreement, however, for both Americans and Iranians (although it's doubtful the U.S. negotiating team actually understands what it means). That single point of agreement is about the temporary nature of the pact/letter/Joint Plan of Action: first it was going to be for six months, then it would be for six months after a few more details were worked out, then the technical discussions in Vienna collapsed on 11 December, then Secretary Kerry said the talks would continue in a few days. And then Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini, formerly a political advisor to Iranian President Khatami and now a TV commentator, clarified everything.
"This is the Treaty of Hudaybiyya in Geneva," he said, speaking on Syrian News TV on 11 December 2013. Although it is doubtful that any of Kerry's advisers is even remotely familiar with this key episode in the accounts about Muhammad and the early Muslims, the Center for Security Policy explained the story in its 2010 book, "Shariah: The Threat to America." The context is about situations in which Muslim forces might lawfully enter into a treaty or truce with the enemy. With troubling ramifications for current day negotiations, those situations demonstrate the centrality and importance of deceit in any agreement between Muslims and infidels. As it is recounted, in the year 628 CE, Muhammad (whose forces already controlled Medina) agreed to a 10-year truce with the pagan Quraysh tribe of Mecca, primarily because he realized that his forces were not strong enough to take the city at the time. Islamic doctrine in fact forbids Muslims from entering into a jihad or battle without the reasonable certainty of being able to prevail. In such cases, as with Muhammad, Muslims are permitted to enter into a temporary ceasefire or hudna, with the proviso that no such truce may exceed 10 years (because that's the length of the agreement Muhammad signed). And so, Muhammad agreed to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. But just two years later, in 630 CE, now with some 10,000 fighters under his command, Muhammad broke the treaty and marched into Mecca.
The authoritative ahadith of Bukhari provide context for Muhammad's actions: "War is deceit," is a saying Bukhari attributes to Muhammad (52:269). Another says "By Allah, and Allah willing, if I take an oath and later find something else better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath." (Bukhari: V7B67N427) Yasser Arafat, head of the jihadist Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), provided one of the clearest examples in modern times for how this works. He understood his Islamic obligations well, as demonstrated by his repeated public references to the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah following the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. And while Western political leaders missed the significance entirely, Arafat's Arabic-speaking audiences understood perfectly that his Camp David agreement meant nothing more than a temporary hudna or ceasefire that would give the PLO the time it needed to build up its forces to renew the jihad against Israel...which is exactly what happened.
The shariah (Islamic Law) in general discourages Muslim forces from making a truce, citing Qur'anic verse 47:35, which says, "So do not be fainthearted and call for peace, when it is you who are the uppermost." The main reason Islamic forces are to avoid ceasefires, treaties and the like is that "it entails the nonperformance of jihad, whether globally or in a given locality..." Of course, the Iranians know all of this doctrine and history very well. The country's constitution, in fact, dedicates its armed forces (the Army and the IRGC-Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) to "the ideological mission of jihad in the way of Allah..." So, when a senior political commentator such as Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini, who lives and works in Tehran, appears on an international TV broadcast interview and refers to the agreement (however tentative) reached by the P5+1 and Iran in Geneva as a "Treaty of Hudaybiyya," we may be sure that he has chosen his words carefully. We also may be fairly certain that the Iranian regime and its sly and smiling Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, at least tacitly agree with Al-Hosseini's characterization.
We can only hope that someone tells senior Western leaders what the reference means, because there is no doubt that the Muslim world, especially the Sunni Muslim world, got it immediately. The Saudi royal family in particular clearly is under no illusions about Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions-and is deeply alarmed, as much over the millennialist zeal of the arch rival Shi'ite Persians as the perceived perfidy of an American administration that has just switched sides, leaving Riyadh scrambling to cobble together a new defense policy. Thus the deliberate leaks about possible discussions with Pakistan concerning a nuclear weapons capability for the Saudis and the astonishing sight of a senior member of the Saudi royal family publicly shaking hands with a top Israeli diplomat.
As Ilan Berman notes in a 17 December 2013 piece entitled "The Real Cost of Geneva," the balance of power in the Middle East is shifting, even before Iran has demonstrated a deliverable nuclear weapons capability. The U.S. pivot towards the Shi'ite jihadis (Iranians and Hizballah) leaves erstwhile allies among the Sunni jihadis (Saudi royals) aghast. Recognizing the new rising "strong horse" in the region, smaller Sunni sheikhdoms like the United Arab Emirates already are seeking to normalize relations with Tehran. All trends are not towards stability, however. The collapse of American leadership and acquiescence to Iranian hegemony in the region instead are encouraging Israel and others to pursue their own defense strategies in ways that soon could prove deeply destabilizing.
Whether or not the nuclear negotiations with Iran yield clear results in coming weeks or drag out inconclusively for months or more, the U.S. already has signaled its willingness to allow (and even facilitate) a dangerous realignment of power in the Middle East that favors the Shi'ite axis over the Sunni one. Reactions and counter-reactions already have been set in motion that could change the geo-strategic landscape, not just in the region, but globally. The Iranian commentator Mohammad Sadeq Al-Hosseini may have been projecting from a distinctly Shi'ite perspective, but as the Iranians see it, first comes the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah in Geneva, and then "it will be followed by a conquest of Mecca."
Clare M. Lopez a senior fellow at the Clarion Fund, writes regularly for RadicalIslam.org, and is a strategic policy and intelligence expert with a focus on Middle East, national defense, and counterterrorism issues.
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Goodbye KISS
A Farewell Chat With Rock 'n Roll's Face-Painted Icons
Authored 17 Jun by Augustus Welby
KISS stopped by America’s Got Talent last September to perform the classic rock staple, ‘Detroit Rock City’. There’s no denying the band’s multi-generational appeal, but the performance wasn’t a ploy to lure in a new tween audience. They had a major announcement to make – after 45 years, the New York band are calling it a day.
KISS’ last hurrah, the End of the Road world tour, is already in full swing. The band – led by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons – spent the first five months of 2019 roaming North America and are now making their way around Europe. The schedule concludes with run of shows in Australia and New Zealand this November. However, the actual grand finale is yet to be confirmed.
“This tour feasibly could go for a year or two, maybe even more,” says lead guitarist Tommy Thayer. “With the way things have gone on this first leg in North America that we just finished, it’s been phenomenal. Not to sound like I’m hyping it, but the response has been amazing, the fans are loving it, we’ve never felt better about doing a tour. We’re really jacked up and excited because it’s been going so well.”
Thayer is ten years younger than Simmons and Stanley, who are KISS’ two remaining original members. He got to know the band in the mid-1980s while a member of glam metal act, Black ‘n Blue. After Black ‘n Blue supported KISS on tour, Simmons produced their 1986 LP, Nasty Nasty.
Thayer and Simmons then did some co-writing and Thayer played on KISS’ 1989 record, Hot in the Shade. But before officially joining the band, he was employed to work behind the scenes, notably in film production and helping Ace Frehley prepare for the 1996 reunion tour. He eventually became KISS’ lead guitarist in 2002.
“I was a fan to begin with. I got the first KISS album when it came out in 1974,” Thayer says. “I asked for it for Christmas. I remember putting it on and listening to it and thinking this is really great, but it sounds different than I thought it would. I was always intrigued when I saw pictures of the band in the magazine called Circus. Even before I got the album I thought, ‘this band looks amazing. I love the vibe, I love the whole presentation and theatrics.’”
One of Thayer’s first KISS gigs was at Melbourne’s Telstra Dome (now Marvel Stadium) accompanied by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The performance became the 2003 release, Symphony: Alive IV. Thayer remembers it as trial by fire.
“To be in the band as the guitar player and to come in and do a show like that was really over the top,” he says. “I have to say there was a little pressure in that because not only was it a big gig, but it was also being filmed for a DVD and recorded as a live album.
“I had done a couple of things the year prior, in 2002. I filled in a couple of gigs when Ace was not showing up. That’s kind of how it all started. Melbourne and the symphony concert was an amazing experience. I also was involved in the making of the KISS Symphony documentary DVD, because I’d done a lot of work with the band producing and putting videos together.”
The 70-piece MSO may seem indulgent, but the End of the Road shows epitomise arena rock. Not only are the band members wearing their original stage make-up – Stanley as the Star, Simmons as the Demon, Thayer as the Spaceman and drummer Eric Singer as the Catman – there are pyrotechnics, blood and flying equipment.
“We spent more time preparing and rehearsing for this tour than any tour I’ve ever been involved in or any tour I’ve ever seen a band be involved in,” Thayer says. “I think it’s because the size of the tour and how big of a deal it was going to be. We knew it was going to be a huge tour so that incentivised us to make sure that it’s everything and then some.”
KISS have released 20 studio albums since debuting in 1974, as well as the four KISS-aligned solo albums that came out in 1978. The band’s catalogue is vast, but there’s a selection of songs you’re guaranteed to hear at every show – ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’, ‘Detroit Rock City’, ‘Beth’, ‘Heaven’s On Fire’, ‘I Was Made For Lovin’ You’ and ‘Black Diamond’.
“I know that sometimes the diehards think we’re not going deep enough with the setlist, but obviously we want to play the songs that are going to get the biggest response that the people really want to hear,” Thayer says. “We spent a lot of time looking at that when we were rehearsing. We talked a lot about what the setlist was going to be and how we wanted to approach that. The songs that we picked are really the ones that work best and make the show the most dynamic and get the response of the crowd going the best we can.”
KISS have made two albums since Thayer joined – 2009's Sonic Boom and their 2012 full-length Monster – but his role has primarily been as a live performer. He’s been a professional guitarist for nearly four decades and KISS’ Spaceman for 17 years. He’s no longer intimidated by the task, but he’s not immune to a bit of starry-eyed wonder either.
“I would air guitar to KISS in my parents’ living room when I came from junior high school before I even played guitar. So that’s a quite a journey for me,” Thayer says.
“Ace Frehley was obviously a real important part of the band when they started, very beloved. To replace somebody like that you’re filling big shoes, so it takes time for people to get used to me. At this point I don’t really feel nervous anymore. I actually embrace going out and kicking ass.”
KISS tour arenas around Australia this November. Their final Australian show has just been announced at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on November 30. with tickets available via Ticketek.
Kiss announce additional Melbourne show for November tour
end of the road tour farewell kiss KISS melbourne rod laver arena Tour
KISS announce 2019 Australian shows for final world tour
2019 80s announcement Australian Tour classic rock end of the road gene simmons heavy metal KISS Paul Stanley Tour world tour
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Find: US government to make data available through apis
Soon please.
Open government reboot focuses on APIs instead of data
Issued by the Office of Management and Budget, the Digital Government Strategy is the basis of a new White House directive to expose "high-value" Federal data through Web APIs
Have you ever wanted a mobile app that ties your location to crime statistics, government environmental and health data, and weather and solar flare data to calculate the hourly probability of a zombie apocalypse? While that may not be exactly what the White House has in mind, it’s the sort of mobile mash-up that a new Federal IT policy could make a lot less difficult to create. The Obama administration has added another twist on “open government”—open, as in open API.
On May 23, the White House issued a directive that requires all agencies to establish programming interfaces for internal and external developers to use, and make “applicable Government information open and machine-readable by default.” As part of an effort to push government toward a cloud-computing future, the White House is encouraging agencies to make their data more developer friendly, and to create a shared platform for providing mobile access to data for both citizens and government employees. And they have 12 months to start delivering.
The goal of the new policy, called the Digital Government Strategy, is to jump start the government’s three-year old open data initiative, draw more private developer interest, and encourage the development of mobile applications that connect citizens and government employees more effectively with data that has previously been public, but nearly inaccessible.
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Tag: Bill Flores
Fixing the folly of food for fuel?
(Editor’s note: since Marita was “not in love with” the original title and encouraged those who run her work to rename this piece, I changed it to what you see above.)
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) – also known as the ethanol mandate – was passed by Congress in 2005 and expanded in 2007. Regardless of market conditions, it required ever-increasing quantities of biofuel be blended into the nation’s gasoline supply – though the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does have the flexibility to make some adjustments based on conditions, such as availability and infrastructure.
At the time of its passage, it was unfathomable that a decade later Americans would be consuming less gasoline, not more. Instead of requiring a set, or even growing, percentage of ethanol be used, the law called for an increasing amount of gallons – which has created unforeseen complications.
Since the law was passed, due to increased fuel efficiency and a generally sluggish economy (meaning fewer people are driving to and from work every day) we’ve been using less gasoline, not more. Requiring more and more ethanol in less and less gasoline is not what the original law intended.
It was believed that the RFS would help achieve energy independence and reduce CO2 emissions – both ideas from a different era.
The RFS was passed at the low point of a decades long decline in U.S. oil production. At the time, no one knew that the trend line would totally reverse due to American ingenuity and the innovations of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that have unleashed the new era of abundance. Additionally, it was believed that corn-based fuel (which is the primary source for ethanol in the U.S.) would reduce carbon dioxide emissions – though the results have been questionable at best.
Since the RFS became law, numerous studies have been done to determine the environmental benefit of ethanol over gasoline – many of which conclude that ethanol is actually more detrimental than gasoline. At a recent House Oversight Committee hearing, John DeCicco, a research professor at the University of Michigan’s Energy Institute, said, according to Morning Consult, “the studies assuming biofuels are carbon neutral are flawed.” Morning Consult reports: “he has found ethanol’s net emissions to be as much as 70 percent higher than traditional gasoline.”
Ethanol has an unlikely collection of opponents. Addressing ads put out by the ethanol lobby positing that only “big oil” wants to end the ethanol mandate, FactCheck.org disputes the claim: “Several environmental groups oppose it as well. So does a wide coalition that includes restaurant owners concerned about upward pressure on food prices and boat manufacturers upset at the problems that ethanol can cause in marine engines.”
Despite the controversy, the EPA claims the RFS is a “success.” Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, says: it “has driven biofuel production and use in the U.S. to levels higher than any other nation. This administration is committed to keeping the RFS program on track, spurring continued growth in biofuel production and use, and achieving the climate and energy independence benefits that Congress envisioned from this program.”
With this in mind, it is no surprise that the biofuel industry – which wouldn’t exist without the ethanol mandate – was unhappy when, on May 18, the EPA released its biofuel blending requirements for 2017. Using its ability to make adjustments, the EPA announcement was less than the law required, but more than the market demands. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) states; “EPA officials said they were seeking to strike a balance between Congress’s goal of using more ethanol and the realities of the current fuel market and infrastructure.” Instead, no one was happy.
In Biomass Magazine, McCabe defends the action: “The fact that Congress chose to mandate increasing and substantial amounts of renewable fuel clearly signals that it intended the RFS program to create incentives to increase renewable fuel supplies and overcome constraints in the market. The standards we are proposing would provide those incentives.”
Chet Thompson, president of American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, which represents refineries regulated under the standard, responded: “EPA’s proposal threatens to force consumers to use more biofuel than vehicles, engines and fueling infrastructure can handle.” He says: “the proposed volumes still go beyond marketplace realities.”
In contrast, a statement from Chip Bowling, president of the National Corn Growers Association said: “In the past, the EPA has cited a lack of fuel infrastructure as one reason for failing to follow statute. Our corn farmers and the ethanol industry have responded. Over the past year, we’ve invested millions of dollars along with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Biofuel Infrastructure Partnership to accelerate public and private investment in new ethanol pumps and fuel infrastructure. The fact is, today’s driver has more access than ever to renewable fuel choices.”
Regarding the EPA’s May 18 decision, DeCicco told me: “The EPA is trying to pick an economic middle road between the proponents and the opponents. But, through the RFS, the environment has been run off the road. Contrary to what has been promoted by the Department of Energy and some other government agencies, biofuels make CO2 emissions worse rather than better.”
At the aforementioned House hearing, Representative Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) opening statement called the RFS “a classic example of what happens when you get a bunch of politicians together who think they’re smarter than the marketplace.”
Frank Macchiarola, downstream director at the American Petroleum Institute, is calling on Congress to “repeal or significantly reform the RFS.” He asserts: “Members on both sides of the aisle agree this program is a failure, and we are stepping up our call for Congress to act.”
Proving Macchiarola’s point, before the 2017 requirements were released, on May 10, U.S. Representatives Bill Flores (R-TX), Peter Welch (D-VT), Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Steve Womack (R-AR), and Cedric Richmond (D-LA) introduced bipartisan RFS reform legislation. The Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act, H.R. 5180, limits the RFS mandate to levels that our nation’s cars, trucks, boats and other small engines can safely accommodate. The bill “directs EPA to consider current market realities and cap the maximum volume of ethanol blended into the transportation fuel supply at 9.7 percent of projected gasoline demand.” Following the news, the bill’s cosponsors issued a statement calling the RFS “unsustainable.”
It is time to get back to allowing the free market – not Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, not mandates, not artificially spurred growth in a chosen industry – to determine our fuel choices. Because ethanol is an effective octane-boosting additive, it will always have market demand. Farmers who’ve invested in it will not be driven out of business. The Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act, while not repealing the RFS outright (which would be tough to pass), offers a reasonable fix to well-intended, but flawed legislation.
The author of Energy Freedom, Marita Noon serves as the executive director for Energy Makes America Great Inc., and the companion educational organization, the Citizens’ Alliance for Responsible Energy (CARE). She hosts a weekly radio program: America’s Voice for Energy – which expands on the content of her weekly column. Follow her @EnergyRabbit.
Author MichaelPosted on May 24, 2016 May 23, 2016 Categories Business and industry, Marita Noon, National politics, Politics, Radical GreenTags Bill Flores, Bob Goodlatte, Cedric Richmond, Environmental Protection Agency, ethanol, Food and Fuel Consumer Protection Act, Jim Costa, Jim Jordan, Marita Noon, oil and natural gas, Peter Welch, renewable energy, Renewable Fuel Standard, Steve Womack
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Last Updated: Tuesday, 16 May 2006, 14:58 GMT 15:58 UK
Tight controls on food labelling
Claims must be backed by science
The European Parliament has passed new laws to clamp down on misleading claims on food product labels.
All foods that make a new health claim will now have to be checked before they go on sale.
Statements such as 'low fat' will have to meet a standardised definition agreed by the EU.
And foods that make a nutrition claim - such as being low in salt - will have to make it clear on the same label if they are also high in fat or sugar.
The new laws will ensure that consumers will be able to rely on the truth and accuracy of information on food labels
Markos Kyprianou
In addition, foods that are high in more than one nutrient will not be allowed to make a nutrition claim about another of its ingredients.
The parliament also approved new rules on adding vitamins and other minerals to foods.
The new laws are expected to be phased in over the next three years.
EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: "The new laws will ensure that consumers will be able to rely on the truth and accuracy of information on food labels.
"It will create a level playing field for food manufacturers wishing to use health or nutrition claims."
Informed choice
Jill Evans, a member of the parliament representing Plaid Cymru, welcomed the new measures.
She said: "The food industry will no longer be able to try and dupe its customers with false promises."
Michelle Smyth, of the UK consumer magazine Which? said: "This legislation will help people make healthier food choices.
"At long last people will be able to buy foods with the confidence that the health claims on the label have been checked."
Under the new rules, products will have to meet strict criteria to make certain claims.
For instance, products claming to be 'salt-free' or 'sodium-free' will be limited to no more than 0.005 grams of sodium or salt per 100 grams.
The new laws will apply to all food or drink products made or sold for human consumption within EU nations.
They will not cover claims made on cosmetics, medicine or pet food products.
The separate law on vitamins draws up an EU list of approved vitamin and mineral products that can be added to food, and criteria for setting minimum and maximum levels.
Products not on the EU list but still used in food, will have to be phased out over the next seven years.
The new rules ban vitamins or minerals to be added to fruit, vegetables or meat products, and alcohol drinks, with the exception of fortified tonic wine.
FROM ACTION NETWORK
Contacts and information to help you start taking action
Food firms 'go own way on labels'
Vitamin controls backed by Europe
12 Jul 05 | Health
Food Standards Agency
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Reprieve for Remploy
It is difficult to evaluate whether Peter Hain's pronouncements yesterday on Remploy and their plans to close factories is good news or not. It certainly succeeded in heading off an embarrassing Conference defeat for the Labour Government, but does it offer renewed hope for workers as some think?
Mr. Hain says that it is now the government, rather than Remploy, which will decide on the future of these factories. So far so good, but it was the Labour government that was leading this agenda in the first place.
He says that there will be no compulsory redundancies for disabled workers at the 42 factories across the UK, including six in Wales, but that was already the public position of the Remploy board and it does not address the issue of travel for those workers who have been transferred to another site, nor the long term loss of job opportunities for future generations of disabled people.
Finally, he says that every effort will be made to ensure Remploy "could stay within budget, modernise, get extra work... and move forward into a promising future." That is very much the view of the Remploy Board as well and without details it is difficult to know how Peter Hain's words differ from those of management.
Still, we have to accept that the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions is being sincere and that he genuinely wants to reach a compromise that is acceptable to all sides. In that respect we will wait and see what emerges from this process over the next few weeks.
Spot on Peter. There was nothing new in Mr Hains statement.
The £555 million 'rescue package' wass already on the table in May 2007. The difference was that back then it was presented as a 'spending limit' and the reason for the proposed modernisation (factory closures).
As you correctly state, Bob Warner and the Remploy Board of Directors have NEVER had the authority to close factories. Their remit has always been to present proposals for ministerial approval.
No redundancy for disabled employees was also on the table in May 2007 and in fact, has always been a feature of Remploy (TU agrreed) terms and conditions.
So what have we actually gained from the Labour Party Conference?
# posted by Harry Manchester : 10:10 AM
Some reprieve!,
In reward for over 20 years of loyal service, Remploy have handed me (along with nearly 2000 other disabled factory employees) a redundancy notice for Christmas.
While Anne McGuire and her associates continually promote the aims and objectives of Equality 2025, Remploy backed by the Government have embarked on phase 1of the Remploy factory closures.
Given that the aim of Equality 2025is to acheive equality for people with disabilities, it would seem that the factory closures are at least 17 years premature.
People with disabilities are being forced out of the factories, into a mainstream work environment which is ill equipped to identify
and nurture their skills and has neither the experience or will to accomodate their needs.
People with disabilities face difficulties accessing employment on a daily basis. To often access to jobs is barred by lack of ramps, welfare facilities, lifting equipment, communicators for BSL users etc, etc, etc.
Lets face it!, Remploy has guaranteed that we will remain on our current terms and conditions for the rest of our working lives. In theory we could sit at home and draw our wages, but we are proud people, producing quality products, who have a desire to work for a living.
Our Government has got its priorities all wrong. The Northern Rock saga proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Labour Party see the interest of private investors to be more important than the welfare of some of the UKs most vulnerable citizens.
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Pilates Power Center
CoreAlign/Pilates Suspension
About Pilates
Joseph Pilates and his wife, Clara (in the nurses uniform), teaching in their New York studio, circa 1950.
Joseph Pilates on his wall springs, the precursor to the Tower and Springboard!
Here’s Joe teaching his mat work to a group of eager students!
Joe flexes for the camera.
Joe invented the “Bednasium”, the precursor to the Trapeze Table now in use in contemporary Pilates studios.
Pilates works with Eve Gentry, (a first generation Pilates teacher) in his New York studio.
The Pilates method of body conditioning is a unique system of strengthening and stretching exercises developed by a brilliant gentleman named Joseph Hubertus Pilates. These exercises are performed on the equipment Pilates invented, some more than a century ago!
Joseph Pilates was born near Dusseldorf, Germany in the year 1883. He was of Greek decent. His father was a prize winning gymnast and his mother was a naturopath—which likely influenced his life’s path of pursuing fitness and well-being. He was a sickly child, suffering from a multitude of illnesses resulting in muscular weakness. Determined to overcome his frailties, he devoted his life to becoming physically and mentally stronger. He studied yoga, martial arts, Zen meditation, and Greek and Roman exercises. Pilates called his method of movement “Contrology” or muscle control, to highlight his unique approach of using the mind to master the body. He was so successful in his practice of mental and physical fitness he became a model for anatomy charts by the age of sixteen.
Pilates traveled to England in 1912 to pursue boxing. In 1914 World War 1 broke out and he was interned in Lancaster, England in a camp for enemy aliens. He taught his method to fellow internees and successfully maintained their health through the deadly influenza pandemic of 1918. Legend has it that not one single person in his charge fell ill to the disease! During the latter part of the war Pilates served as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man, where he began working with non-ambulatory patients. Using the only equipment he had, he attached bed springs to hospital beds to assist the movement of the patients’ limbs. The staff noticed the patients in Pilates’ care improved more quickly than others not using his system. These spring based exercises became the basis for the apparatus Pilates would later design and build.
After the war, Pilates immigrated to the United States. On the boat trip over, he met his future wife, Clara, a nurse. Together they opened a fitness studio in New York and used the equipment he invented to teach his Contrology method. In the early 1930’s popular dance artists and choreographers such as George Balanchine, Martha Graham and Jerome Robbins embraced Joseph Pilates’ exercise method. Dancers, who often suffered from injuries resulting in a long recovery, used Pilates training skills to provide faster rehabilitation to their injuries. It was not long before the dance community at large adopted Pilates’ method of training. In recent years his method has been discovered by athletes, models and actors desiring strong, lithe bodies.
Pilates authored two books, entitled Return to Life, and Your Health. He is quoted as saying “With body mind, and spirit functioning perfectly as a coordinated whole, what else could reasonably be expected other than an active alert, disciplined person? Moreover, such a body freed from nervous tension and over-fatigue is the ideal shelter provided by nature for housing a well-balanced mind that is always fully capable of successfully meeting all the complex problems of modern living.”
Joseph Pilates died at the age of 84. His studio caught fire in 1966, and he tried desperately to save his precious equipment and many of his valuable blue prints and documents. Much of it burned in the fire and it is said that he died a year later of a broken heart. Fortunately, his work lives on through his timeless inventions and methodology of movement. Many of his original students, known as the “Elders” or first generation Pilates teachers, carried on his method after his death to continue the Pilates legacy. Out of the handful of first generation teachers, there are still several living and teaching, including Mary Bowen and Lolita San Miguel. No longer known as Contrology, the name of his mind-body fitness regime, is now known simply as Pilates. The word in Greek means “multi-layered” – a fitting description to his system of training. In the late 90’s core training became a trend in the fitness industry, and the Pilates method caught fire. Today millions of people throughout the world are doing Pilates. Those practicing the method understand breath control is its foundation. Layered upon this is concentration, control, centering, precision, and flowing movement. Each principle builds upon the next, yet relies upon all the others, to provide a unique system of training embracing the mind and the body toward the goal of total fitness.
Balanced Body® – http://pilates.com/
This is the website of Balanced Body® providing both premiere Pilates and fitness equipment as well as Pilates Education (formerly Balanced Body University). Balanced Body is located in Sacramento, California. You can order anything from an Ultra-Fit Circle or foam roller to a full Studio Reformer.
The Balanced Body® Company also provides Pilates education for every stage of your career. This site will give you program details and upcoming trainings. Balanced Body Education offers a full range of Pilates teacher-training programs including Mat, Reformer and Comprehensive Pilates modules.
Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) – http://www.pilatesmethodalliance.org
The Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) is a national not-for-profit organization of teachers, teacher trainers and studios dedicated to preserving and enhancing the legacy of Joseph and Clara Pilates by establishing guidelines, encouraging unity, and promoting professionalism.
Therapilates – http://www.therapilates.com
Sherri Betz, PT runs the Therapilates studio in Santa Cruz California. This is your resource for Pilates DVDs for low back care, osteoporosis, and pregnancy. You can also find continuing education for Pilates instructors, including Pilates for Osteoporosis and Comprehensive Repertoire Review.
CoreAlign information – http://www.hoffmanconcept.com
The CoreAlign is designed to improve posture, balance and functional movement patterns for everyday life. View the CoreAlign in action from its creator, Jonathan Hoffman, PT. and learn more about this fabulous and functional fitness machine!
Pilates Power Center | Phone: 805.489.6368 | Email: pilatespowercenter@att.net
© Pilates Power Center
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Annual EU Conference on Privacy and Data Protection: ETNO calls for a consistent data protection framework on both sides of the Atlantic
ETNO - European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association
Annual EU Conference on Privacy and Data Protection – Washington DC / Brussels
ETNO calls for a consistent data protection framework on both sides of the Atlantic
Brussels - Commissioner Reding has been instrumental in placing a sound legislative proposal on the table to help strengthen the privacy rights of European citizens while lessening the administrative burden for businesses, says ETNO on the occasion of the annual EU conference on privacy and data protection held today in Washington DC.
“The EU proposal for a Data Protection regulation is a first step towards establishing a sound and future proof framework, building on Europe’s high level of data protection while adapting to the realities of the Digital Age. While both the US and the EU share the same overall objective of having a sound regulatory framework on privacy, ETNO recognizes the challenges of trying to bridge the different legal systems and traditions. It is, however, necessary to have a certain level of cohesion given the global nature of the Internet and the importance of cross-border business:
data protection rules should not be developed in an isolated manner. This is not only in the interests of businesses, but ultimately in the interests of citizens”, says Luigi Gambardella, ETNO Executive Board Chair.
Some work still needs to be done to ensure that this proposal results in a final framework that both protects citizens and allows for business innovation to continue. ETNO is however encouraged by the progress made to date and will continue to engage in the process to share the views and experiences of the largest players and investors in the European telecommunications sector.
Both consumers and pan-European businesses, and hence the Digital Single Market, will benefit from a unified framework across Europe and a comprehensive set of rules for all players in the ICT value chain targeting EU citizens.
Having a level playing field will provide certainty for users that increasingly see no borders and for businesses that are extending their reach. Ultimately this will increase users’ trust in the digital economy and contribute to a higher take up of broadband services, in line with the Digital Agenda objectives.
Thierry Dieu, ETNO Director for Communications and Public Policy
Tel: (32-2) 219 32 42 Fax: (32-2) 219 64 12 E-mail: dieu@etno.be [1]
ETNO’s 40 member companies and 10 observers from Europe and beyond represent a significant part of total ICT activity in Europe. They account for an aggregate annual turnover of more than €600 billion and employ over 1.6 million people. ETNO companies are the main drivers of broadband and are committed to its continual growth in Europe.
Source URL: http://pr.euractiv.com/pr/annual-eu-conference-privacy-and-data-protection-etno-calls-consistent-data-protection-framework
[1] mailto:dieu@etno.be?subject=Seen%20on%20PR.EurActiv.com
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Release Updates
Todd Haynes' hotly-anticipated Bob Dylan film, I'm Not There, which stars Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Richard Gere, Ben Wishaw (Perfume), and Marcus Carl Franklin as Dylan, will be released by the Weinstein Company on November 21st in limited release. The film also stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Julianne Moore, Bruce Greenwood, Michelle Williams, and David Cross (who plays Allen Ginsberg). Too bad the rumors that Haynes wanted to cast either Beyoncé or Oprah Winfrey as one of the Dylans fell through.
IFC Films has picked up Catherine Breillat's Une vieille maîtresse, releasing it as The Last Mistress, for early 2008. Asia Argento stars, along with Fa'ud Ait Attou and Breillat regulars Roxane Mesquida, Anne Parrillaud, Sarah Pratt, Amira Casar, and Lio. The film is based on the novel by Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly.
There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson's first film since Punch-Drunk Love, will make the Oscar cut-off in New York and Los Angeles just before the new year. The film is based on an Upton Sinclair story and stars Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. Paramount Vantage and Miramax will co-release the film.
Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi's Perespolis, which won the Grand Prix at Cannes this year, will also do the Oscar cut-off business from Sony Pictures Classics. This animated film about an Iranian girl's upbringing features the voices of Chiarra Mastroianni, her mother Catherine Deneuve, and Danielle Darrieux (which will mark her fifth time playing the mother of Deneuve, after 8 femmes and The Young Girls of Rochefort, among others)... though it looks like the film will be overdubbed by American actors for its U.S. release, including Sean Penn, Gena Rowlands, and Iggy Pop.
IFC Films has acquired the rights to two Cannes entries, Christophe Honoré's Les chansons d'amour (Love Songs) and Gus Van Sant's Paranoid Park. Both don't have set release dates, but it looks likely that they won't be around until early 2008. Tartan also acquired Kim Ki-duk's Breath, which also debuted at Cannes this year.
Labels: Acquisitions, Catherine Breillat, Christophe Honoré, Gus Van Sant, IFC Films, Kim Ki-Duk, Paul Thomas Anderson, Todd Haynes
Oh, please let the rumors that Robert Rodriguez is going to cast Rose McGowan as Barbarella in his upcoming remake be true. Granted, the original, with Jane Fonda, is quite bad... but Planet Terror was such a joy that I can't imagine Rodriguez would have difficulty adding some spunk to the remake. And, with Rose (whom he's currently dating), the deal has been sold... at least to me.
Labels: Jane Fonda, Robert Rodriguez, Roger Vadim, Rose McGowan, Rumors
It looks as though Ang Lee's latest, Lust, Caution, will be the first NC-17 rated theatrical release since New Line released John Waters' A Dirty Shame in 2004. It's a risky move for Focus Features, but they apparently believe in the strength of Lee and the film (plus it's Lee's first film since Brokeback Mountain). This could be a good move for the studio system and its fear of the NC-17 rating, but time will tell... we probably thought the same thing when The Dreamers came out.
Labels: Ang Lee, NC-17
Up with Dead People
My friend reminded me with a text this afternoon to check out the production stills of Bruce LaBruce's latest film, entitled Otto; or Up with Dead People, a self-described post-gay zombie film. LaBruce sure has a lot to live up to after his previous The Raspberry Reich, which was truly his finest hour. The film features the wonderful Susanne Sachsse of The Raspberry Reich as Hella Bent, German pornstar Marcel Schlutt, and a nineteen-year-old French boy named Jey Crisfar as the title character. You can check out the official website for more information; LaBruce says he's about to start editing it... so hopefully this Sundance, we'll be able to see Otto.
Labels: Bruce LaBruce, Coming Soon, Queer
(S)he's Lost Control 2
Riddle me this: Is anyone finding it troublesome to return to Inland Empire? It seems to be selling well on the Internet (with multiple covers for those Lynchian losers who felt the need to own both the Naomi Watts and Laura Harring covers of Mulholland Drive), but I'm concerned. I revisited the film (or, the DVD) over the weekend and couldn't even get a fourth of the way through it. I also attempted More Things That Happened, a companion piece to Inland Empire that runs about the same length with stuff Lynch cut out (I know, you're surprised anything was cut out as well), and found it to be even more troubling than Inland Empire. Did Lynch really go as wrong as I was afraid he had? Should we be thanking all those French producers who've breathed over Lynch's shoulder in the past for not allowing him to give us this?
I get the feeling that the die-hard Lynch fans are jumping on the Inland Empire bandwagon out of guilt for initially rejecting Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. I think, now, most people see FWWM as one of his finer endeavors, something completely unexpected and thoroughly unsettling. Lynch's weirdness in IE makes FWWM pale in comparison, but is that the reason why it has such a high IMDb rating? I think it's quite obvious, when viewing IE, that he had no idea what he was doing, with parallel storylines that almost scratch the surface of another just enough to make people think, "maybe it does make sense." And, in a grand scale, IE does make sense, but you have to trim all the fat to get to just a meager understanding of what exactly is going on.
And, really, for the most part, IE isn't so much to look at in its digital format. A beautiful image or two barely justifies three hours. Please, share your thoughts, particularly if you have revisited the film since its theatrical release.
Posted by reassurance at 10:29 PM 1 comment: Links to this post
Labels: David Lynch, Laura Dern
Sit and Spin, Motherfucker
Thanks a helluva-fucking-lot, Lionsgate, for your shitty Doom Generation "re-release." Instead of giving us fans a widescreen version of Gregg Araki's second installment in his Teen Apocalypse Trilogy, Lionsgate simply repackaged their old, shitty-transfer disc that actually still has a Trimark intro. Lionsgate acquired Trimark nearly 7 years ago. I'm outraged and might actually consider writing the studio a rather scathing e-mail.
In better news, Fantoma has announced the second volume in the collected works of Kenneth Anger, set for October 2nd. The collection will include Scorpio Rising, Kustom Kar Kommandos, Invocation of My Demon Brother, Lucifer Rising, and (apparently) a new version of Rabbit's Moon, though I thought they included the extended version on Volume 1. The disc will also include a 2002 film from Anger, entitled The Man We Want to Hang.
Labels: DVD New Releases, Gregg Araki, Kenneth Anger
In looking ahead...
As the summer comes to a close, I’ve chosen not to do a wrap-up (after all I didn’t see most of the second installments of the franchises that rolled out their thirds this year), but instead look forward to see what’s on the horizon for Oscar season 2007.
First off, the Yari Film Group will release Jake Paltrow’s film debut, The Good Night, starring his sister Gwyneth, Simon Pegg (Hot Fuzz), Danny DeVito, Martin Freeman (BBC’s The Office), and most excitingly, Penélope Cruz’s first post-Volver role (I sure hope she keeps it up). Word on the street is that it’s a weird one, and to quote one of my friends, “the older I get, the less I become interested in ‘weird films’.”
Strand will have, in very limited release, Eytan Fox’s follow-up to his moderately successful Walk on Water, entitled The Bubble. The film deals with queer youth and politics, and unfortunately, does not star Walk on Water’s magnificent Lior Ashkenazi.
It seems like A History of Violence just came out, but David Cronenberg has a new one, starring Viggo Mortensen again and Naomi Watts, entitled Eastern Promises. Watts plays a midwife trying to solve the murder of a dead prostitute, though I suspect the similarities to Mulholland Drive end there.
The Accused 2, you say? I wish. Neil Jordan pairs up with Hollywood’s favorite closeted lesbian, Jodie Foster, with The Brave One, which sounds like a classier I Spit on Your Grave, as Foster enlists payback on some rapists. With a handful of pre-production big-budget features, Jordan needs to prove himself bankable with this film, which will be out September 14th.
By now, you’ve surely heard the controversy surrounding Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe. Revolution Studios still haven’t revealed whether Taymor’s original version of the Beatles musical will be playing across the country or lame-ass studio head Joe Roth’s edited version. The film stars Evan Rachel Wood and newcomer Jim Sturgess, as well as smaller roles from Salma Hayek, Bono, and Fay Grim’s James Urbaniak.
I never really cared for François Girard’s The Red Violin, but plenty of classical music and history buffs sure do love it. Girard’s first film since Violin will star Michael Pitt and Keira Knightley and will be titled Silk.
Ang Lee will follow his Oscar win for Brokeback Mountain with a Mandarin-language thriller starring Tony Leung and Joan Chen, entitled Lust, Caution. In other September news, Wes Anderson’s The Darjeeling Limited will be coming at the end of the month. Count me out.
The unexpected sequel of the year is no longer Fay Grim, but Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Shekhar Kapur’s continuation of Elizabeth. Cate Blanchett is back, and I’m sure, if nothing else, it’ll be really pretty.
Ryan Gosling, Emily Mortimer, Paul Schneider (All the Real Girls), and Kelli Garner (Bully) star in Lars and the Real Girl, a comedy that seems based on an HBO Real Sex episode. Gosling falls for a plastic girl he gets off the internet, and hilarity ensues. This could be really bad.
From the director of Hotel Rwanda, Joaquin Phoenix, Jennifer Connelly, Mira Sorvino, and Mark Ruffalo plays the leads in Reservation Road about the death of a young child. Sounds like fun to me.
Things We Lost in the Fire is not a cinematic adaptation of the Low album of the same name; instead it’s After the Wedding’s Susanne Bier’s attempt at some Oscar juice. Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro, both previous Oscar winners who’ve done shit since then, will weep it up, I’m sure.
According to the Internet Movie Database, Michael Haneke’s Funny Games remake will be in limited release just before Halloween. I’ve talked about this before, so it’s pretty clear that no matter what Haneke is up to, this is my most anticipated release of the year.
Also according to the IMDb (I heard different reports prior), Richard Kelly’s abysmal Southland Tales will make its way, finally, to theatres on the 9th of November. No word yet to whether it’ll be the Cannes version, which was murdered by critics, or a new cut. Either way, Donnie Darko fans can finally rejoice.
Number two most anticipated film of the year: No Country for Old Men. The Coens’ latest has gotten across-the-board praise (though it left this year’s Cannes empty-handed). Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem are supposed to be fantastic. Meet me in line.
Noah Baumbach’s latest, Margot at the Wedding (which sounds like an Eric Rohmer title), will star Nicole Kidman and the always-wonderful and always-overlooked Jennifer Jason Leigh. Let’s hope he doesn’t fall face-first after his wonderful Squid and the Whale.
Another year, another Woody Allen movie. Cassandra’s Dream will take place in London, à la Match Point, and will not star Scarlett Johansson, thankfully (though she’s currently in the one he’s making for 2008). The cast includes Colin Farrell, Ewan McGregor, and Tom Wilkinson.
Tim Burton’s long-awaited adaptation of the Broadway hit, Sweeney Todd, will hit theatres a week before Christmas. Unfortunately, his muse/soon-to-be-baby’s-momma Helena Bonham Carter will play the romantic lead opposite Johnny Depp.
Julian Scnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, starring Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze, Max von Sydow, Jean-Pierre Cassel (in one of his final roles), Isaac de Bankolé, and Emma de Caunes, will be out from Miramax just before Christmas as well (though I doubt it will spread wider until the new year). The film won a best screenplay award at this year’s Cannes.
Certainly more releases will pop up in the few months, so keep your eye out and let me know.
Labels: Ang Lee, Coen Brothers, Coming Soon, David Cronenberg, Michael Haneke, Neil Jordan, Noah Baumbach, Woody Allen
S'mother DVD announcements
Gregg Araki's Smiley Face (which was pushed back theatrically from its original 4/20 release date) will be released by First Look on the 19th of August, over a year after its premiere at Sundance.
Not so far into the future, you can pick up Paris je t'aime on the 20th of November.
A Barbara Stanwyck/Warner Brothers box-set will be out on the 30th of October. The set includes Annie Oakley, East Side West Side, Executive Suite, My Reputation, To Please a Lady, and Jeopardy. The John Waters doc/stand-up film This Filthy World will be out the same day.
You can get your special editions of all of Kubrick's films (other than Dr. Strangelove, The Killing, Paths of Glory, and Spartacus) on the 23rd of October. A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Eyes Wide Shut, and 2001 will be double-discs, though no word as to the content of EWS, whether it will be censored or not. Lindsay Anderson's long-awaited O Lucky Man! will also be out in a double-disc from Warner; the film stars Malcolm McDowell. If low-art is more your cup of tea, Lionsgate is releasing Cutting Class, a 1989 slasher film that stars Brad Pitt (pre-Thelma and Louise), Martin Mull (!!), Roddy McDowell, and Donovan's son, Donovan Leitch.
Carlos Saura's Flamenco Trilogy will be the next box-set from Criterion's Eclipse. The films include Blood Wedding, Carmen, and El Amor brujo. The set will be available on the 16th of October. The 1997 HBO original movie, Subway Stories, will also be available. The film stars, among others, Lili Taylor, Denis Leary, Bonnie Hunt, Peter Sarsgard, Mercedes Rheul, Gretchen Mol, Rosie Perez, Sam Rockwell, Mekhi Phifer, and Steve Zahn, and is directed by, among others, Jonathan and Ted Demme, Bob Balaban, and Abel Ferrara.
For some sleaze (both high art and sexploitation), pre-order Just Jaeckin's Emmanuelle and the Sylvester Stallone soft porn Italian Stallion, both due on the 9th of October. Reportedly, the hardcore porno version of Italian Stallion has been lost (though some sites report that the German DVD, under a different title that cashes in on the Rocky franchise, is the full version), but don't get upset, Stallone didn't actually take part in the dirtier bits. Do you ever wonder what Sylvia Kristel looks like now? I'd rather not know. On another sleaze level, Rise: Blood Hunter, with Lucy Liu as a bisexual vampire huntress will also be out.
The Imperial Edition of Caligula, which contains 4 discs, will be available on the 2nd of October. The exciting feature is that Image Entertainment allowed Malcolm McDowell (wow, 2007 sure is his year for DVD) and Helen Mirren conduct a no-holds-barred commentary on the notoriously awful film. Pascal Arnold and Jean-Marc Barr's One to Another (Chacun sa nuit), which got some pretty solid reviews in limited release, will be out the same day from Strand Releasing and Red Envelope Entertainment.
On the 18th of September, Genius Products have boxed up their Wellspring titles into sets: Catherine Deneuve (Pola X, Kings and Queen, Dangerous Liaisons, Place Vendôme); Werner Herzog (White Diamond, Wheel of Time); Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless, Le petit soldat, Les carabiniers, Notre musique); and Pedro Almodóvar (What Have I Done to Deserve This?, Dark Habits).
Naturally, if there's anything else worthy of mention announced in the near future, I'll let you know.
Labels: Barbara Stanwyck, Carlos Saura, Catherine Deneuve, DVD New Releases, Gregg Araki
You probably didn't hear it here first...
...but this weekend, Paramount officially announced the complete Twin Peaks box-set, 10-discs of dancing midgets, cotton drape-runners, talking logs, and the finest way to dispose of your cherry stem. The set will include both the original and international versions of the pilot (finally) and both seasons. After years of waiting, you can finally throw that Twin Peaks party you've always wanted to, with the entire series and optimal picture and sound quality. Catch it on October 30th, just a day before Halloween. Let's see if the fully uncut Cannes version of Fire Walk With Me shows up in France this winter, as planned, and Peaks fans can finally shut their holes.
Labels: David Lynch, DVD New Releases, Television
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Clinical Trial for Experimental Ebola Drug Publishes Results
Rapid assessment approach finds TKM-130803 ineffective at the dose given.
Results of the Wellcome Trust funded trial of the experimental anti-Ebola drug TKM-130803 have been published recently. Using a novel approach designed to get rapid indications of a drug's effectiveness, the trial showed that at the dose given the drug did not improve survival compared to historic controls.
TKM-130803 interferes with the production of two essential Ebola virus proteins and has been shown to improve survival when given to monkeys experimentally infected with Ebola virus. Scientists from the University of Oxford and Sierra Leone worked with the humanitarian organization GOAL Global, the World Health Organization, and collaborators from a number of other institutions to test whether TKM-130803 could improve survival in adults with Ebola infection.
The researchers used a new approach to generate early evidence of effectiveness or ineffectiveness. This method can be used as a tool to screen potential therapies and determine the need for further studies (including randomized controlled trials) during an epidemic. The approach meant that the study was quickly able to reach a pre-defined point to stop the trial.
The study took place at the GOAL Ebola Treatment Centre in Port Loko, Sierra Leone, between 11 March and 15 June 2015. Patients with laboratory-confirmed Ebola who volunteered to participate in the trial were given a once daily infusion of TKM-130803 for up to 7 days. After 14 patients had received TKM-130803 the pre-specified statistical endpoint was reached and the trial was stopped. Out of 12 patients given TKM-130803 who survived the first 48 hours, 9 died and 3 survived. However, most of the patients entering the Ebola Treatment Centre at the time the study was enrolling, which included those given TKM-130803, had very severe Ebola disease, so further studies are needed to assess if the drug might provide a benefit in patients with less severe disease.
Professor Peter Horby, Chief Investigator of the study, said: “Thanks to the tremendous efforts of everyone involved we now have a much clearer picture of the potential of this drug. We are obviously disappointed that it does not seem to offer a benefit to patients with severe Ebola but it remains to be seen if the drug will help those with less severe illness. The drug was well tolerated by all of the patients and we've learnt a lot about giving the drug to patients with Ebola. Once we get the results of on-going tests of the drug concentration in the patients' blood we will have a better understanding of the optimal dose for any further studies.”
Illustration: Ebola. US CDC.
EurekAlert! (04/19/16)
Abstract (PLOS Medicine; 2016, 13 (4): e1001997.)
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ProgressingAmerica
Progressives today do not want to discuss their history. I want to discuss their history.
Chapter 12-The Perfect Friendship
Posted on October 26, 2012 by progressingamerica
Chapter 12 of the book Fabian Freeway.
By far the most influential of Woodrow Wilson’s advisers (who always disclaimed responsibility, however, for any errors in Mexican policy) was a gray, neat, quiet, almost wraith-like little man, with luminous blue eyes and receding chin, Edward M. House of Texas. He held the honorary title of Colonel, conferred on him by Governor Hogg, one of two Texas “reform” governors he had propelled into office. In disgust, House gave the gold-braided uniform and regalia that went with the title to his Negro coachman, preferring to be addressed simply as “Mister.”
He was a potent but anonymous figure in Democratic Party councils and knew politics from the grass roots up. His support, pre-convention strategy and adroit instructions to floor lieutenants insured Wilson’s nomination at Baltimore in 1912. So confident was House about the outcome that he felt no need to watch the proceedings and sailed for Europe the day the convention opened. Without his help Wilson could not have been nominated—nor without the Texas delegation and its resounding “Forty Votes for Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey,” repeated throughout 48 ballots.
Since 1902, the very year Woodrow Wilson became president of conservative and Presbyterian Princeton University, House had waited patiently for this moment. He was looking for a fail-proof candidate to replace William Jennings Bryan, perennial Democratic candidate for the Presidency. A brilliant orator, the Great Commoner thundered against the trusts, “the interests” and the gold standard, (1) and deified labor and the common man. Bryan held audiences spellbound, but he could not win elections and would not stop running. What House wanted was a candidate who might be trusted to carry out a program fully as radical but more systematic than Bryan’s—quietly and without alarming the public.
A southerner born and bred, who had migrated to the North and captured the governorship of an important industrial state, Woodrow Wilson seemed the ideal candidate—in fact, almost too good to be true. He was a respected scholar who had been exposed since 1885 to Fabian Socialist views on economics and the social sciences; he was a specialist in American history and constitutional law who wanted to see the Constitution revised; and to top it all, he was a perfect model of decorum and schoolmasterly rectitude. From Sidney Mezes—the brother-in-law whom House elevated by political leverage to the presidency of the University of Texas—and from other professorial friends, House heard about the battles waged by Dr. Wilson at Princeton in the interests of academic “liberalism.”
During what he sometimes referred to as his twilight years from 1902 to 1911, House made a point of cultivating key persons in the academic world. Even President Charles W. Eliot of Harvard was numbered among his friends. As one who had failed to meet the entrance requirements at Yale and barely squeezed through a few years at Cornell, it gave House a good deal of quiet satisfaction to move among the academic mandarins—and even be able through his political connections to name the heads of certain city and state universities. At a later date he arranged to have his brother-in-law made president of the City College of New York, where Mezes instituted a regime of hospitality towards radical professors and students. (2)
From afar House watched Wilson’s progress as governor of New Jersey, previously a Republican stronghold, where the former professor was being educated for still higher things. When the two men finally met in 1911 through publisher Walter Hines Page of World’s Work, afterwards Ambassador to England, an immediate bond of sympathy was established. It was the beginning of what Woodrow Wilson called “the perfect friendship,” one of the strangest friendships in American political history.
Of his second meeting with Wilson, House said: “It was remarkable. We found ourselves in agreement upon practically every one of the issues of the day. I never met a man whose thoughts ran so identically with mine.” And a few weeks later, when Woodrow Wilson again visited him, House could not resist saying as his caller rose to go: “Governor, isn’t it strange that two men, who never knew each other before, should think so much alike?”
Wilson answered: “My dear fellow, we have known each other all our lives?” (3)
Edward M. House has been described by another friend, who actually did know him for more than twenty-five years, as being “highly conventional in the social sense” and “highly radical, more than liberal, in the politico-social sense.” (4) House believed the United States Constitution, creation of eighteenth century minds, was “not only outmoded, but grotesque” and ought to be scrapped or rewritten. (5) As a practical politician, he realized this could not be done all at once, given the existing state of popular education; so he favored gradual changes which, in the long run, would produce the same results.
A similar point of view was expressed in Woodrow Wilson’s campaign speeches, afterwards printed as The New Freedom. Previously it had been voiced by both American and British Fabians. Perhaps the voters who read or heard Wilson’s speeches at the time dismissed the point as mere campaign oratory; but it was one of those basic issues on which Wilson and House found themselves in full agreement, having reached identical conclusions by alternate routes. As a man who never held an official position, though for nearly seven years he was to wield extraordinary power, the Texas Colonel was technically free to subscribe to any ideas he chose. One cannot help wondering, however, by what superior intellectual process President Wilson was able to reconcile such convictions with the oath he took on March 4, 1913, to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States.
The political and social credo of Colonel House, in which Wilson so warmly concurred, was unveiled in fictional form shortly after the presidential election. Late in the fall of 1912 there appeared a curious novel entitled Philip Dru, Administrator. It was published by B. W. Huebsch, a favorite publisher of the Left and for many years a valued collaborator of American Fabian Socialist groups. (6) Though the book was anonymous, some people surmised that House was the author, and he confessed as much to intimates. The Colonel had written the first draft in December, 1911, while in Austin, Texas, recovering from an illness.
Its radical ideas attracted a degree of attention unwarranted by the book’s literary merits, or lack of them. Philip Dru was a young West Pointer who led an armed rebellion against a tyrannical and reactionary government in Washington subservient to the privileged “interests.” He became the ruler of America and by a series of Executive decrees proceeded to remold the mechanics of administration, revise the Judiciary, reshape the laws affecting labor and capital, revamp the nation’s military forces, and arrange to set up an international body or league of nations.
More specifically, the Administrator appointed a board of economists to work out a tariff law leading to “the abolition of the theory of protection as a government policy.” He also instructed the board to work out a graduated income tax. Philip Dru further called for “a new banking law, affording a flexible currency bottomed largely on commercial assets”; and proposed to make corporations “share with the government and states a certain part of their earnings.” (7) The former foreshadowed the Federal Reserve Bank; the latter, the corporation income tax.
Labor, said Dru, should “no longer be classed as an inert commodity to be bought and sold according to the law of supply and demand.” The Government would give employment to all who needed it. Dru “prepared an old-age pension law and also a laborers’ insurance law,” and provided for certain reforms “in the study and practice of medicine.” Finally, he “incorporated in the Franchise Law the right of labor to have one representative on the boards of corporations and to share a certain per cent of the earnings above wages, after a reasonable per cent upon the capital had been earned.” In return, labor was to submit all grievances to compulsory arbitration.
When the newly installed Democratic Administration announced the legislative program it wished enacted, House’s novel aroused even more pointed comments. Cabinet members remarked on the similarity between Dru’s program and the legislation requested over the years by Woodrow Wilson. “All that book has said should be, comes about,” wrote Franklin K. Lane, Wilson’s Secretary of the Interior, in 1918 to a personal friend. “The President comes to Philip Dru in the end.” (8)
Among the junior officials who read the novel and took it to heart was a handsome young Assistant Secretary of the Navy. His name was Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and his doting mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, was then and always a close friend of Colonel House. The Texas Colonel was the first important Democrat to support Roosevelt’s nomination for the Presidency in 1932.(9) Whether House presented a copy of Philip Dru, Administrator to the dowager Mrs. Roosevelt or to her son, (10) its contents unquestionably played a part in the political education of still another American president. It even recommended “fireside chats.”
Few works of fiction have so deeply affected, for better or worse, the trends of contemporary life in the United States. In effect, Philip Dru, Administrator became a kind of handbook or Cooke’s Guide for Democratic presidents, who proceeded to throw away the old book of presidential protocol spelling out the Chief Executive’s relation to the Congress, the Judiciary and the military. Those tried and true precepts had been honored by every American president, irrespective of party, until Woodrow Wilson and, whatever the personal inadequacies of the incumbent, had served to hold the country together along constitutional lines and preserve it from the dangers noted by de Tocqueville as inherent in any democratic system of government.
Strongly opposed to the division of powers prescribed in the Constitution, Edward M. House was one of the first Americans to foresee the possibility of evading constitutional safeguards by Executive decree and to perceive the vast power to be derived from control over the mechanics of administration—two lush possibilities further explored by other White House advisers since 1932 on a scale unimagined by Colonel House. In 1963, a Chief Executive even induced the Congress to convey its traditional and long-cherished tariff-making authority to his office, with hardly a voice throughout the country raised in protest.
There was nothing so very mysterious about the source of Woodrow Wilson’s radicalism, which he preferred to call “liberalism.” It developed (and in his case was perhaps deliberately fostered by far-seeing associates) in an academic atmosphere already tinged with Socialist thinking, where the “scientific” approach to economics and sociology was being extended to history and to the law. From John Stuart Mill, whom Wilson admired, it was not such a far cry to Sidney Webb, who claimed Mill had died a Socialist. The real mystery is how a man like Edward M. House, product of the Old Frontier and the pistol-packing politics of the Southwest, happened to become a vehicle for ideas and programs that were plainly Socialist in origin. For some reason, this has never been explained.
Two years younger than Wilson, House was born in Houston, Texas, in 1858. Reared in an era of gunplay, Comanche raids and rule-of-thumb law in the wild Southwest, he was soft-spoken and courteous; but to the end of his life, prided himself on his skill with a pistol. His father, Thomas William House, was an Englishman who had gone to Texas to fight under General Sam Houston and stayed on to make a fortune there. The elder House often remarked that he wanted to raise his sons to “know and serve England.”
Thomas William House acted as an American agent for London banking interests, said by some to be the House of Rothschild, which had invested in Texas rice, cotton and indigo from 1825. At any rate, he was one of the few residents of a Confederate state to emerge from the Civil War with a handsome personal fortune in cotton, land and private banking. (11) He gave his seventh son, Edward, the middle name of Mandell, after a Houston merchant who was a family friend. In later years, this gave rise to a rumor that Edward Mandell House, who became a friend and ally of Kuhn, Loeb and Company in New York City, was of Jewish origin—which was not the case.
As a small boy, Edward attended school for several years in England Much of his youth and adult life was spent in the British Isles, which he regularly revisited. Like his well-cut suits and proper boots, the radical views he affected so unobtrusively from early manhood were made to order for him in London. Being his father’s son, he was readily accepted into those prosperous middle class circles that voted traditionally for a Liberal Party which was increasingly penetrated, after the turn of the century, by Fabian Socialists. Concerning the period from 1895 to 1911 in Britain, a distinguished European visitor, Professor Francisco J. Nitti of Milan, observed:
“Indeed, in no country of the world are the middle classes so much inclined towards Socialism as in England, where eminent men of science, dignitaries of the Church and profound thinkers tend more and more towards Socialist doctrines.” (12)
Personally, House preferred the company of authors, playwrights and professors, of which the British Fabian Society boasted a noteworthy assortment. Among other connections, Edward M. House formed a lasting friendship with the journalist, George Lansbury, (13) a lifelong pillar of the Fabian Society, who for some years represented its more outspokenly radical wing inside the Independent Labour Party and finally became Parliamentary Leader of the Labour Party. Lansbury’s biographer tells how he once persuaded the American soap millionaire, Joseph Fels (a member of the London Fabian Society, thanks to the prodding of Mrs. Fels, nee Rothschild (14)), to lend five hundred pounds sterling to underground Russian Social Democrats including Lenin and Trotsky, when they were stranded in England. (14a) From 1912 to 1925 George Lansbury was the editor of the London Daily Herald, organ of the Fabian-dominated Labour Party until it ceased publication in 1964.
Though few historians mention it, the medical history of Edward M. House accounts in part for a career that might otherwise seem a marplot’s dream. An attack of brain fever in boyhood, followed by a severe sunstroke, had permanently impaired his health. House lived to be nearly eighty, but only by taking precautions not to over exert himself. His preference for remaining in the shadow of large events he had helped shape was due, in the first instance, to a physical inability to endure strong sunlight or heat. He could never spend a summer in Washington.
Passionately interested in politics, domestic and international, House faced the fact as a very young man that he could not hope to withstand the strain and stress of public office. After his father’s death, he arranged matters so as to be assured of a regular income of $25,000 a year—an amount he judged suitable to support him comfortably throughout a lifetime of anonymous and unsalaried “public service.” A similar notion of Socialist “public service,” subsidized by capitalist dividends, was popular among leading British Fabians of Victorian and Edwardian days, notably Sidney Webb, and has its modern counterpart in the support received by outstanding Fabian Socialists from private foundations in the United States.
It is hard to say just when House conceived the bold plan of penetrating America’s Democratic Party at the apex and molding the policies of a sympathetic Chief Executive in the interests of a Socialist program to change the face of America. Whether the idea was his own or inspired by Fabian friends in Britain, every step he took over the years appeared to be directed toward its fulfillment. Though it involved years of obscure political chores and patient waiting, in the end House came closer to achieving his purpose than England’s Fabian Socialists were ever able to do within the framework of the Liberal Party. His career was a living example of Socialist gradualism at work.
With the election of Woodrow Wilson, House became a power at home and abroad. From then until their final break at Paris in 1918, the President relied on House, trusted him completely and never made a move without consulting him. While previous Presidents had their confidants, nothing quite like the association between House and Wilson had ever been seen before in America. The understanding between them was based on ideology as well as affection. It was as if they shared a mutual secret not to be divulged to the American people.
As Bernard Baruch said, and he had reason to know, “the Colonel’s hand was in everything”—from Cabinet appointments to decisions affecting war and peace. The small apartment Colonel House had rented in an unfashionable block on East Thirty-fifth Street in New York City became a nerve center of the nation. There was a switchboard with direct telephone lines to the White House and the State, War and Navy Departments, and a constant stream of callers. People came to House, as they had been doing all his life, because he was too fragile in health to go to them; and this merely enhanced his importance. Even the President visited him incognito, almost as often as the Colonel visited the White House.
From the time the United States declared war on Germany, the apartment above Colonel House’s was occupied by Sir William Wiseman, wartime chief of the British Secret Service in America, whose functions included counterespionage as well as high politics. Introduced to the President by House, the young and enterprising Sir William had already become a great favorite with Wilson, who naively used him as a personal emissary on various confidential missions to London and Paris. When the war ended, Sir William Wiseman remained in the United States and joined the firm of Kuhn, Loeb and Company.
Just after the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany as a preliminary to declaring war, an episode involving Sir William occurred, which shows the partiality that highly placed American liberals felt for the outbreak of revolution in Russia. In New York City Leon Trotsky—then employed as an electrician at the Fox Film Studios—was the leader of a Russian revolutionary group with headquarters at 63 West 107th Street. (15) Wiseman was interested in this group principally because its activities were financed by a German-language newspaper in New York known to be receiving funds from German Government sources. Following the Kerensky Revolution, Trotsky sailed for Russia with a group of associates on March 27, 1917, via the Norwegian American Line. He was carrying a substantial amount of money.
When the vessel stopped at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canadian authorities picked Trotsky off the ship and held him. (16) From Petrograd the gentle Social Democrat, Kerensky, cabled Woodrow Wilson asking the latter to intervene. Colonel House informed Wiseman of the President’s desire that Trotsky be allowed to proceed. Wishing to oblige its new and powerful Ally in what did not appear to be a very important matter, London instructed the Canadians to send Trotsky on his way—leaving Sir William Wiseman, who had forwarded the President’s request, technically blameless.
So Washington and London innocently furthered the plans of German Military Intelligence, which at about the same time passed Lenin in a sealed railway car through Germany to Russia, there to assume with Trotsky the leadership of the Bolsheviki. Together, Lenin and Trotsky soon overthrew Kerensky, pulled Russia out of the war, and freed German armies on the Eastern front to fight Allied troops in the West. The release of Trotsky was a prime instance of the dangerous results of high-level civilian meddling in wartime; (17) as well as a classic demonstration, the first in history, of how Socialism opens the door to Communism.
This remarkable episode has been preserved for posterity by the usually well-informed Sir Arthur Willert, London Times correspondent in Washington, who worked closely with Sir William Wiseman. Willert was distressed by what he called the “deplorable” tendencies of a good many British lecturers and travelers who roved the United States during the earlier part of the war “saying whatever their politics and prejudices dictated.” (18) Conspicuous among them was Mrs. F. W. Pethick-Lawrence, distaff member of a well-known British Fabian husband-and-wife team, who waged an energetic “peace campaign” in America after her own country was at war.
Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence stayed at Hull House in Chicago, rallying feminists, social workers and college professors and receiving the wholehearted backing of Jane Addams and her many Socialist friends. (19) Jane Addams, an American Fabian Socialist and an eventual Nobel Peace Prize winner, became a world celebrity as a result of her pacifist activities, which continued throughout the war. Even Colonel House had conferred with her before departing for Berlin on his own peace mission preceding the outbreak of hostilities in 1914. (20) In June, 1915, on her way to the Hague Conference as a leading representative of the “neutral women,” Jane Addams was the admired guest in London of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, who had visited her at Hull House seventeen years before. (21)
What troubled Willert and other more or less official British observers was the fact that so many of these self-styled peace movements were also fostered by representatives of the German Foreign Office, (22) eager to deter the United States at any cost from joining the war on the side of the Allies. Among the groups supporting Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence was the Organization of American Women for Strict Neutrality, founded by a Miss L. N. Miller of Roland Park Baltimore. Supposedly an independent movement, this organization received monetary and other aid from German Government sources and had branches in many American cities. (23) It was reported that the Chicago membership list included Nina Nitze, wife of a University of Chicago professor.
Nina Nitze’s brother, Paul Hilken (24) of Roland Park, Baltimore, was later discovered to have served as the chief paymaster for German saboteurs in the United States, who on instructions from the Dritte Abteilung in Berlin set off the notorious Black Tom and Kingsland explosions.(25) Her son, Paul Nitze, has risen in our own day to become Secretary of the Navy in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations and a spokesman for civilian as opposed to military defense planning—which only goes to show how neatly World War I memories have been swept under the rug.
In March, 1916, Sir Arthur Willert wrote to his editor in London: “We ought to make it impossible for people like _____, _____, _____ , or _____ to find here the hearing they are refused in England. It is really extraordinary how the country is being penetrated by the wrong sort of Englishmen . . . . I imagine there are plenty of German Social Democrats who would be only too glad to come over here from Germany and air their views. But they do not come for obvious reasons; and I cannot see why our own precautions should be so patently inferior to those of Germany.” (26)
As a result of this pointed suggestion, some official steps seem to have been taken. Soon Willert was pleased to report a “different” type of British lecturer and traveler coming to the United States. Among the “right sort,” he guilelessly listed Emmeline Pankhurst, the suffragist; Granville Barker, the playwright; G. M. Trevelyan, the historian; and S. K. Ratcliffe, author and editor.(27) Ironically enough, they too all belonged to the London Fabian Society which, like American Socialism, was divided on the war issue. S. K. Ratcliffe was a member of the Fabian Executive and its chief wartime courier to the United States. He was an editor of the Fabian-controlled New Statesman (28) and became the London representative of the New Republic, a so-called liberal weekly which had been founded in New York in 191314 as an opposite number to the New Statesman.
Financed by Dorothy Whitney Straight, whose brother was a J. P. Morgan partner, the New Republic was staffed in the beginning by a number of talented, ambitious and socially acceptable young Socialists from Harvard, who dropped the Socialist label but not its program soon after graduation. Among them was the pundit and columnist, Walter Lippmann, who had joined the Fabian Society of London in 1909.(29)
The British Marxist and Fabian, Professor Harold J. Laski, teaching at Harvard from 1915 to 1919, was a frequent wartime contributor, though his articles were discreetly signed H. J. L. The New Republic (30) supported Woodrow Wilson and continued to support him throughout the war—in contrast to its more overtly radical sister weekly, The Nation, which maintained a pacifist and anti-war stand, idolized conscientious objectors like Eugene V. Debs and Scott Nearing, yet did not blanch at bloody revolution in Russia.
Always limited in circulation, the New Republic catered to an intellectual and professional elite rather than to the perfervid mass of Socialist sympathizers in New York City. Apparently, it was in high favor with key personages in the Wilson Administration, especially Colonel House. By what Lippmann prudently calls “a certain parallelism of reasoning,” the New Republic often suggested policies that President Wilson followed. In those years the paper enjoyed a kind of mysterious importance which it never quite equaled again, not even under the New Frontier.
During the winter of 1916 young Lippmann had several interviews, “such as any journalist has,” with the President; but he denied that his personal relations with Wilson were ever close. Thereafter, Herbert Croly, senior editor of the New Republic, and Walter Lippmann met about once every fortnight with Colonel House to discuss problems “relating to the management of neutrality” prior to the reelection of President Wilson in 1916. (31) With S. K. Ratcliffe commuting from London to attend editorial luncheons at the New Republic, the Fabian circuit was complete.
Following the example of top-level British Fabians, New Republic editors moved in good society and were considered eminently respectable. Penetration and permeation were their tasks. Like the Webbs and other worldly-wise leaders of the London Fabian Society, they accepted the war as inevitable and concentrated on planning for the New Order, which all good Socialists felt sure must emerge from social unrest anticipated after the war. (32)
It was no accident that the Fabian Socialist Walter Lippmann, while on the staff of the New Republic, was named by Colonel House in 1917 as executive secretary of a confidential group to formulate war aims and postwar policy for President Wilson. There the famous—or infamous—slogan, “Peace Without Victory” was born, to be revived in a more literal sense many years later during the Korean War.
That postwar planning group, dubbed The Inquiry (or Enquiry), was headed by Dr. Sidney Mezes, president of the City College of New York and brother-in-law of Colonel House. On the pretext that any publicity might give rise to rumors that the United States was preparing to accept a negotiated peace, the existence of the group was kept secret. Meetings were held in the New York headquarters of the National Geographic Society at 156th Street and Broadway by courtesy of Dr. Isaiah Bowman, a director of the Geographical Society and longtime president of Johns Hopkins University. According to Lippmann, some 150 college professors and other “specialists” (who included the Reverend Norman Thomas, later head of the American Socialist Party) were recruited to collect data for eventual use at the Peace Conference. Since no government funds were provided in those days for such lofty projects, the working expenses of the group were privately paid—presumably by President Wilson himself, although he was not a wealthy man.
Eight memoranda, the so-called territorial sections of the Fourteen Points, were prepared by The Inquiry. This document, with several additions, was given by the President to Congress and to a waiting world on January 8, 1918. One impromptu addition was some kind words uttered by President Wilson about the “sincerity of purpose” of the Russian Bolsheviki—though the same might also be said of any forthright thug. While the implications of the Fourteen Points, wrapped as they were in high-flown verbiage, were not generally understood, the document was widely applauded by members of President Wilson’s own party in Congress as well as by Progressive Republicans and Socialists—and, of course, by the college professors whose thinking was guided by the New Republic. (33)
Since then, it has sometimes been said that Walter Lippmann “wrote the Fourteen Points for President Wilson,” a claim Lippmann has taken pains to disavow. Obviously, he assisted at the birth in more ways than one. When a clarification of the Fourteen Points was asked by Allied Prime Ministers in November, 1918, thirteen of the fourteen interpretive sections were written by Walter Lippmann at the request of Colonel House. The fourteenth (relating to the League of Nations) was written by Frank Cobb, editor of the Pulitzer-owned New York World, where Lippmann was subsequently employed as chief editorial writer. The demands outlined in the Fourteen Points, however, did not originate with Lippmann nor with The Inquiry. They were conceived by Sidney Webb and the Fabian Society of London.
In December, 1917, a statement of war aims, prepared by Fabian members of the International Socialist Bureau in London, had been laid before a special conference of the British Labour Party and Trades Union Council. Its authors were Camille Huysmans, a Belgian Socialist, then secretary of the International Socialist Bureau; British Fabians Arthur Henderson and Sidney Webb; and the alleged “ex”Fabian, Ramsay MacDonald. Sidney Webb, whose skill in drafting memoranda has rarely been equaled, did the actual writing. Promptly published as Labour’s War Aims, it was the first general statement of British Fabian Socialist policy in world affairs and was designed to be copied by Socialists in other countries and to establish the primacy of the Fabian Society within the postwar Socialist International.
Labour’s War Aims antedated the Fourteen Points and included every item covered in the later document: universal “democracy”; an end to imperialism and secret diplomacy; arms limitation, and abolition of profits from armaments; plans for settling such thorny issues as Alsace-Lorraine, Poland and Palestine, and for the self-determination of subject nationalities in the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires; economic controls and an international commission for reparations and war damage. Moreover, it called for collective security, a supranational authority, an international court of justice and international legislation on labor and social matters, (34) in what its Fabian authors fondly hoped might soon be an all-Socialist world.
These were the high-sounding aims which afterwards became the stock in trade of liberal-Socialist and Socialist-labor groups in every Allied country. Somehow, Woodrow Wilson, the President of the United States, became a mouthpiece for the selfsame demands. Walter Lippmann, always gifted at double-talk, would doubtless attribute the resemblance to “a certain parallelism of reasoning.” It hardly seems necessary, however, to invoke extrasensory perception when such well-placed physical facilities existed for transmitting the original Fabian program verbally and textually to the President. How far Woodrow Wilson was aware of his debt to the British Fabian Socialist planners, we may never know; but it seems impossible that the alert, omniscient Colonel House, who shortly before the New Year, 1918, carried all documentary material relating to the Fourteen Points to the White House, could have failed to be informed of or to connive in the transmission.
That view is confirmed by the curious mission on which Ray Stannard Baker, the former muckraker who became press chief at the Paris Peace Conference, was sent by House in February, 1918. Baker was to “report fully for the information of the President and the State Department on the state of radical opinion and organization, especially the attitude of labor in England, and later possibly in France and Italy.” (35) He was given confidential introductions to various left wing leaders in Great Britain and instructed to send his letters via Embassy pouch and his cabled reports in secret code. At House’s suggestion that it would be better if Baker were not known to be an agent of the government, he was accredited as a correspondent of the New Republic and the New York World—though he never sent dispatches to either.
The first person Baker met in England was Professor Gilbert Murray, an Asquith Liberal of long-standing Fabian sympathies. Murray told him that the Asquith faction, opposing Prime Minister Lloyd George, was prepared to accept Wilson’s leadership and program of action, and in this was supported by nearly all of the labor groups, including the Labour Party. The next Englishman he saw was Graham Wallas, one of the original Big Four of the Fabian Society, who had delivered the Lowell Lectures at Harvard and dedicated his book, The Great Society, to young Walter Lippmann. A further list of the persons interviewed by Baker reads like a Who’s Who of the London Fabian Society—G. M. Trevelyan, Arthur Ponsonby, Philip Snowden, H. W. Massingham, George Lansbury, Arthur Henderson, Bertrand Russell and Mary Agnes Hamilton, to mention only a few.
Though he met several Lords of the Round Table group, who backed Lloyd George and the Empire, Baker felt they had outlived their time. His real enthusiasm was reserved for the Fabians; although he did not appear to be aware of the existence or function of that discreet Socialist Society. To him the Fabians were merely “thoughtful intellectuals” and Labourites. Finally, at the invitation of the playwright, Granville Barker, he lunched with Sidney and Beatrice Webb —and pronounced it one of the great experiences of his life to sit between them and be instructed in the laws of economic affairs. Baker found the Webbs “great admirers of President Wilson, and anxious for a better understanding between the ‘democratic’ groups of England and the United States.” (36)
Even now, almost half a century after the fact, it is humiliating for an American to find an emissary of the White House displaying such worshipful admiration for the leaders of a foreign secret society, anxious only to utilize the world-wide prestige of the President of the United States to further their own radical intrigues at home and abroad. Yet Baker’s abject performance was praised by House’s man in the State Department, the then-Counselor, Frank Polk. And much later, Wilson himself told Baker, “Your letters at that time helped me.” (37) Ray Stannard Baker was the individual finally chosen by Wilson to be his official biographer.
As Sidney Webb’s honored guest, Baker was present at the fateful conference of June, 1918, when the British Labour Party was formally constituted under Fabian Socialist control and adopted Webb’s blueprint for chaos, Labour and the New Social Order, as its permanent platform. Baker appraised that managed conference as being quite the most revealing exhibit of British opinion he had yet seen. In a lyric report to Washington he described the new Party as “the most precious and vital force in British life today”—differing sharply with America’s wise old labor chieftain, Samuel Gompers, who said the Labour Party in England did not really represent the rank-and-file of the British working class. (38)
The confidential reports sent by Baker were calculated to persuade President Wilson that labor in Britain, as well as on the Continent, regarded him as a man of supreme vision, called by destiny to unite the forces of “true liberalism” throughout the world. Slightly reversing the true order of events, Baker assured Wilson that British labor was not only in sympathy with his “democratic” policies, but “indeed, had incorporated them in its own statement of War Aims!” At the same time, Baker’s letters warned that “Mr. Wilson can never hope for whole-hearted support upon the reconstructive side of his program from those at present in power, either here or in France.” Thus the ground was prepared for the Peace Conference, even before the bloodshed had ended; and seeds of personal prejudice were planted in the President’s mind against the Allied statesmen, representing old-line Liberal Parties, with whom he would be obliged to deal.
Such advice from a trusted source naturally tended to strengthen Wilson in his determination to hold out for unconditional acceptance of the Fourteen Points as a basis for peace, and to insist that the League of Nations be considered an integral part of any peace treaty. The first American version of a “convention” for a League was drafted by the President’s friend, Colonel House, on July 13 and 14, 1918, in his summer home at Magnolia, Massachusetts, with the aid of Professor David H. Miller of The Inquiry group. Colonel House did not undertake this task until after he received a copy of the British Government’s draft plan, which was forwarded to him, unread, by the President.(39) It was by no means the first plan for a supranational authority, purporting to be a preventive against war, that had come to the Colonel’s attention.
Fully three years earlier the Fabian Research Department in London, then shepherded by Beatrice Webb, had prepared two reports of its own on the subject, together with a project by a Fabian Committee for an international authority along Socialist lines. Bearing the signature of Leonard Woolf, it was printed in 1915 as a special supplement of the New Statesman and hailed with rapture by Herbert Croly’s New Republic. Under the title International Government, this Fabian Socialist document was published the following year by Brentano’s in New York.
The draft so speedily produced by Colonel House on two summer days m Massachusetts bore a striking resemblance to the Fabian proposals, whose Socialist authors were not otherwise in a position to impose their ideas on the British Foreign Office. House’s twenty-three articles formed the basis for the President’s tentative draft, which adopted all but five of those articles and became the first official American plan for a League of Nations. Eventually the so-called Wilson plan was incorporated with a revised British Government version for presentation to the League of Nations Commission at the Paris Peace Conference.
From such motley materials the Covenant of the League was stitched together. And yet, when it was finally completed, Woodrow Wilson considered it so peculiarly his own that he was willing to invite personal and political defeat, to sacrifice the fortunes of his Party and his own far from robust health rather than allow a single line of it to be changed. To a practical politician like Colonel House —who had long since learned, as Sidney Webb also had, the necessity for graceful compromise when no better recourse offered—Wilson’s attitude must have seemed fantastic as well as suicidal.
The perfect friendship of Woodrow Wilson and Edward M. House ended as abruptly as it began. All the world knows that the break between the two men, predicted annually for seven years by newsmen, occurred at the Peace Conference in Paris. No two historians agree on the reasons, and the principals have never divulged them. Certain facts, however, are evident. Public sentiment in America had turned against the President and his internationalist views. In November, 1918, he lost the Congress and with it any hope of securing rubber-stamp approval for the Treaty or the League. House attributed this, in part, to Wilson’s own indiscretion. For Wilson, House had lost his political magic.
In December, 1918, Woodrow Wilson went to the Peace Conference in Paris, a defeated man too unfamiliar with defeat to recognize it. Such authority as he enjoyed was derived from popular acclaim in Europe and was largely ceremonial. Though hailed as a savior by millions, his power was strictly limited. He was a president nearing the end of his second term who had forfeited his support at home— and every politician in the world knew it. While he might persuade, he could not command.
Shrewdly, House had advised Wilson to make no more than a brief appearance and a few speeches in Europe, and return to pull strings from the White House. The Colonel also recommended sending a bipartisan committee of Congress to the Peace Conference. But their relationship had already changed: Wilson no longer listened to anything so unflattering as common sense. As Sir William Wiseman cynically remarked, the President was drawn to Paris as a debutante is entranced by the prospect of her first ball.
In those days it was a generally accepted fact that the treaty-making power of the United States resided not merely in the President, but in the President with two-thirds of the Senate present and voting. The Constitution said so; and as yet no techniques had been devised by faceless bureaucrats or Executive aides for diverting or assigning that power, or preempting it piecemeal. Philip Dru, Administrator, was not yet in the saddle—Yalta and Teheran were still undreamed of—and nobody in America except a handful of Socialist intellectuals and foreign-born radicals wanted any part of International Government. So Wilson, the bitter-ender, went home to failure and~collapse; while House, the gradualist who never stopped trying, remained in Paris, attempting to salvage by negotiation whatever fragments of his program could still be saved. As it had been from the beginning, their real quarrel was still with the Constitution, and on that rock they foundered separately.
The first attempt by Fabian Socialists to penetrate and permeate the Executive branch of the United States Government failed in the end. But they would try again, and go on trying, until fortress America was leveled, or until their own long-range subversion was definitely exposed. Colonel House was only one man, where a multitude was needed. He had set the pattern and outlined goals for the future, and he still had a scheme or two in mind. In particular, he foresaw it would be necessary for the Fabians to develop a top-level Anglo-American planning group in the field of foreign relations which could secretly influence policy on the one hand and gradually “educate” public opinion on the other. His experience in Paris had shown him that it must be a bipartisan group.
To the ambitious young Fabians, British and American, who had flocked to the Peace Conference as economists and junior officials, it soon became evident that a New World Order was not about to be produced at Paris. Most of the younger men in whom House placed his hopes for the future of liberalism and a positive foreign policy in America had already departed—Walter Lippmann, Felix Frankfurter, and above all, young Franklin D. Roosevelt. The few American intellectuals still remaining in Paris, who clustered around Professor James T. Shotwell, were young men of still undefined political affiliations and excellent social standing—such as John Foster and Allen Dulles, nephews of Wilson’s Secretary of State, Robert Lansing; Christian Herter, and Tasker Bliss, the political general who did not get along well with Pershing.
For them, Colonel House arranged a dinner meeting at the Hotel Majestic on May 19, 1919, together with a select group of Fabian-certified Englishmen—notably, Arnold Toynbee, R. H. Tawney and John Maynard Keynes. All were equally disillusioned, for varied reasons, by the consequences of the peace. They made a gentlemen’s agreement to set up an organization, with branches in England and America, “to facilitate the scientific study of international questions.” As a result two potent and closely related opinion-making bodies were founded, which only began to reach their full growth in the nineteen-forties, coincident with the formation of the Fabian International Bureau. The English branch was called the Royal Institute of International Affairs. The American branch, first known as the Institute of International Affairs, was reorganized in 1921 as the Council on Foreign Relations.
Edward M. House, the lifelong radical whose name was listed in the New York Social Register, in his quiet way had set the wave of the future in motion.
1. Bryan’s famous Cross of Gold speech proclaimed, “You shall not crucify mankind on a cross of gold!”
2. See Appendix II for names of professors at the City College of New York who were student-leaders and/or valued “cooperators” of the Intercollegiate Socialist Society and its successor, the League for Industrial Democracy.
3. Arthur D. Howden Smith, Mr. House of Texas (New York, Funk and Wagnalls, Co., Inc., 1940), p. 43.
4. Ibid., p. 23.
5. Ibid., pp. 23; 93.
6. In 1922, B. W. Heubsch was a member of the Executive Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union, a Socialist-inspired organization; and in April, 1961 he was one of the sponsors of a rally in New York City to abolish the House Un-American Activities Committee.
7. The Intimate Papers of Colonel House, Charles Seymour ed. (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1926), pp. 152-159.
8. Smith, op. cit., pp. 49-50.
9. Arthur Willert, The Road to Safety (London, Derek Verschoyle, 1952), p. 172. From a letter of Sir William Wiseman to Lord Grey of Falloden.
10. Smith, op. cit., pp. 366-367.
11. Ibid., pp. 8-11.
12. Francisco, J. Nitti, Catholic Socialism (London, Sonnenschein, 1895; New York, The Macmillan Co., 1911), p. 312.
13. Smith, op. cit., pp. 35; 102.
14. Fabian News (March, 1905), in an article entitled “New Farm Colonies,” refers to Joseph Fels as “one of our members.” Beatrice Webb, in her diary during May, 1904 quoted by Margaret Cole, Beatrice Webb (New York, Harcourt, Brace, 1946), p. 189 confirms the fact that both Joseph and Mary Fels belonged to the Fabian Society of London. A descendant, Joseph Fels Barnes, currently on the editorial staff of a New York publishing house, was in Moscow on a Rockefeller fellowship during 1931-32, where he was warmly received in deference to his family history.
14a. Raymond Postgate, The Life of George Lansbury (New York, Longmans, Green and Company, Ltd., 1951), pp. 69-70.
15. Willert, op. cit., p. 29.
16. On the night before his departure, Trotsky had made a speech before a joint meeting of German and Russian Socialists at Harlem River Park Casino in New York City. Speaking in both German and Russian, he said: “I am going back to Russia to overthrow the provisional government and stop the war with Germany and allow no interference from any outside government.” A report on this meeting had been submitted to Colonel Van Deman and General Churchill of United State Military Intelligence. Senate Document No. 62, 66th Congress, Report and Hearings of the Subcommittee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, 1919, Vol. II, p. 2680.
17. Willert, op. cit., p. 29. Based on information obtained from the private papers of Sir William Wiseman.
18. Ibid., p. 89.
19. Revolutionary Radicalism, Its History, Purpose and Tactics. Report of the Joint Legislative committee Investigating Seditious Activities, filed April 24, 1920, in the Senate of the State of New York (Albany, J. P. Lyon Co., 1920), Vol. I, p. 974. Report by Louis P. Lochner, January 18, 1915: “Almost coincident with Mme. (Rosika) Schwimmer (A German agent) came a noted Englishwoman, Mrs. Pethick-Lawrence of London, England. For several weeks she was a guest of Miss Addams, and came before many organizations with her Woman’s Movement for Constructive Peace.”
20. Smith, op. cit., p. 102.
21. Cole, Beatrice Webb, p. 40.
22. Senate Document No. 62, 66th Congress. Extensive testimony and exhibits to this effect are presented throughout Vol. I and Vol. II. See especially Vol. II, pp. 1394-95; 1791-1795.
23. Ibid., p. 1792.
24. A special Act of congress was passed compelling Paul Hilken to testify concerning his World War I dealings with German sabotage agents. This testimony became a part of the Mixed Claims Commission Record, now preserved at the National Archives in Washington. It was reviewed in Justice Owen D. Roberts’ report on his decision of October 30, 1939, rendered as Umpire for the Commission.
25. The Dritte Abteilung, or Section III of German Military Intelligence, planned for and recruited volunteers for sabotage and terrorist acts abroad. See Records of the Mixed Claims Commission, National Archives, Washington.
28. In the Jubilee Issue of the New Statesman (April 19, 1963, p. 543) the editor, John Freeman, stated: “We were founded in April, 1913, by a group of Fabians, among whom Beatrice and Sidney Webb, Bernard Shaw and J. C. Squire were most closely concerned. Clifford Sharp was the first editor. He was succeeded in 1931 by Kingsley Martin, who occupied the editorial chair for 30 years.” In the same issue, R. H. S. Crossman, a former chairman of the Fabian Society, stated (p. 551): “During 50 years the fortunes of the New Statesman and the Labour Party have been more intimately linked than either side would care to admit. Why have successive editors and successive Party Leaders deliberately underestimated this intimacy?”
29. Fabian News (October, 1909).
30. In addition to Lippmann, the original staff of the New Republic included Herbert Croly, author of The Promise of American Life, who secured the financial backing; Philip Littell, Walter Weyl, Charles Rudyard and Francis Hackett. Soon Charles Merz and Alvin Johnson, later to head the New School for Social Research, joined the board of editors. In 1922 Robert Morss Lovett became its book review editor.
31. Walter Lippmann, “Notes for a Biography,” New Republic (July 16, 1930).
32. In 1919, the Reverend Lyman P. Powell, President Wilson’s old friend, edited a two volume symposium published by The Review of Reviews Company, entitled Social Unrest. It contained articles by many well-known British and American Fabian Socialists as well as some non-Socialists.
33. John Dos Passos, Mr. Wilson’s War, Lewis Gannett, ed. (New York, Doubleday & Co., 1962), p. 307.
34. Margaret Cole, The Story of Fabian Socialism (London, Heinemann Educational Books, Ltd., 1961), pp 169-171.
35. Ray Stannard Baker, An American Chronicle (New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1945), p. 306.
36. Baker, op. cit., p. 339.
38. Ibid., pp. 343-345.
Chapter 11 << | >> Chapter 13
This entry was posted in FabianFreeway and tagged Fabian Society, Fabians, Progressivism, Socialism by progressingamerica. Bookmark the permalink.
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The Challenger Division was established in 1989 as a separate division of Little League to enable boys and girls with physical and mental challenges, ages 5-18, or up to age 22 if still enrolled in high school, to enjoy the game of baseball along with the millions of other children who participate in this sport worldwide. Today more than 30,000 children participate in more than 900 Challenger Divisions worldwide.
Teams are set up according to abilities, rather than age, and can include as many as 15-20 players. Challenger games can be played as t-ball games, coach pitch, player pitch, or a combination of the three.
In a Challenger game, each player gets a chance at bat. The side is retired when the offense has batted through the roster, or when a pre-determined number of runs have been scored, or when three outs are recorded. Little League recommends that no score be kept during Challenger games. The Challenger players wear the same uniforms and safety equipment as other Little League players.
One of the benefits of having a Challenger Division is that it encourages the use of "buddies" for the Challenger players. The buddies assist the Challenger players on the field but whenever possible, encourage the players to bat and make plays themselves. However, the buddy is always nearby to help when needed.
REGISTRATION IS DONE THROUGH WESTON LITTLE LEAGUE. CLICK IMAGE BELOW.
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Can Marine le Pen Feminise the Front National?
Marine le Pen is the candidate for the far-right Front National (FN) party in the presidential elections. She follows in the footsteps of her father, Jean-Marie le Pen, who contested every previous presidential election for the party and succeeded in qualifying to the second round of voting in 2002. Marine has succeeded in providing a new image for the party – one that is younger and more modern. Of interest here is whether she has also succeeded in feminising the party. The traditional FN electorate comprises two men for every woman. If she wants to repeat her father’s success from 2002, she will need to bring more women voters on board. The ideal time to do this was 8 March, International Women’s Day, when all French candidates were invited to take a stance on women’s issues. The positions that she took were fascinating.
Interviewed on mainstream television channel France 2 (http://www.frontnational.com/videos/marine-le-pen-invitee-des-4-verites-sur-france-2-2/), she began by explaining why there is nothing on women’s rights in the FN manifesto. She claimed that the laws needed to achieve equality are already in place, but the problem is that there is a lack of political commitment to ensuring that they are implemented. She then suggested that perhaps a woman would be more committed to enforcing these laws. Are we to understand, then, that she would be the feminist saviour of France? Much research on this topic has indicated that women may be more committed to the defence of women’s issues than men. However, women’s bodies do not always house feminist minds, and partisanship and ideology may be better predictors than sex of whether a politician will defend feminist positions. The traditionalist far-right ideology of the FN suggests that le Pen is unlikely to be an effective advocate of women’s rights – but that certainly didn’t stop her from trying to present herself in a positive light to women voters.
She defended the FN’s support for a “parental salary”, destined to offer 80% of the minimum wage to mothers who choose to stay at home with their children. A key give-away for the observant feminist was that, despite the gender-neutral term “parental salary”, she referred always to giving women the choice of whether or not to be full-time mothers. For those women who do prefer to stay at home, this should be a financially viable option, she argued. This stance would be fine if it were truly gender-neutral and afforded the same option to fathers, although the gender pay gap in France would make a “salary” of below the minimum wage an unattractive prospect for most men. Her discourse, however, did nothing to contest the notion that childcare was a woman’s responsibility.
She emphasised that the parental salary was proposed as a “choice”, not an obligation for women to abandon the working world and stay at home. She claimed that women who wanted to work should be able to do so, but were currently prevented from doing so due to inadequate provision of crèches (cue a dig at Sarkozy for failing to introduce 75% of the nursery places he had promised in 2007). She introduced a new policy of promoting increased nursery provision, declaring herself to be “la présidente des crèches” in a direct appeal to women voters. In this way, she sought to distance the long-standing policy of a maternal salary from the paternalist discourse with which it had previously been associated.
So how does le Pen propose to finance all these nursery places? In a swift return to the more traditional discourse of the far-right, she attacked the state’s willingness to support group interests [which are seen as a threat to the collective national identity], citing the 500,000 euros awarded per year to anti-racism group SOS Racisme as an example of something that could be cut. Once again, feminism à la française is presented as something that belongs only to French white women. However, 500,000 euros is nowhere near sufficient to cover the costs of her childcare proposals. In the same interview, she declared that there was a shortage of 500,000 nursery places, and it is clear that 1 euro per child per year is not going to cut it. Where will the rest of the money come from? Why, from reducing spending on abortion, of course. This may have the side-effect of increasing the number of children in need of care, but the presenter did not query the rather dubious mathematics behind the costings. (After all, this is the same party that has previously claimed that “3 million unemployed French = 3 million too many immigrants”, and le Pen has recently claimed that nearly all meat sold in the Paris region is halal. Economic accuracy has never been the FN’s forté.) Le Pen was clear that she was not opposed to all abortion. France is not the US; even the far-right do not oppose abortion with the religious fervour seen in America. Rather, she claimed that some women were abusing the system by using abortion as a casual method of contraception, and it was these cases that should no longer be reimbursed. As ever, she was clever in spinning the story in a way that did not sound like an attack on women. She pointed out that doctors were refusing to carry out abortions due to exasperation with these irresponsible women, leading to a shortage of availability for women in distress who really needed access to abortion. So she is not anti-abortion, she simply wants to restrict it to “deserving” cases.
As with the parental salary, she managed to make a paternalist discourse on abortion sound more respectable. Without a doubt, this is partly because she herself is a woman, but her skill should not be underestimated either. Cleverly phrased soundbites have succeeded in dressing up quite regressive policies to make them sound almost progressive. When it was put to her that her policies would force women back into the home, she claimed this was absurd, saying “not me, not I who have worked all my life...I want to give women a choice”. She made an indirect appeal to women voters by claiming that women only get involved when the most important things are at stake, and that in this election, the most important things are indeed at stake. Whether this will motivate women voters to support her is unclear, but recent data gathered by the Laboratoire de l’Egalité suggests that at least some women see le Pen as a good advocate of women’s rights.
What can we learn from all this? However skilful le Pen might be in presenting her policies in a positive light, more careful analysis indicates that the FN is not in a strong position to defend women’s rights. The assumption that a woman candidate will be the best defender of women’s interests is erroneous. However, the ability of a woman candidate to appeal to the female electoral market is an interesting prospect, especially for a party such as the FN that has traditionally performed poorly in this area. Marine le Pen might not be the ideal ambassador for women – but she is proving to be a real asset for her party.
Could Toulouse turn things around for Sarkozy?
François the Feminist? Or Hollande the Hypocrite?...
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Wizards hope to avenge recent loss to Nets
NBA Headlines
New Celtics Walker, Kanter meet media
Wolves sign undrafted rookie C Reid
76ers extend Simmons for $170M, 5 years
Simmons backs out of World Cup
Warriors GM Myers moves on from Durant
Cavs waive G Smith after eventful tenure
Ingram 'close' to normal after surgery
Suns re-sign Oubre Jr. to multiyear deal
Bucks sign Giannis' brother Thanasis
NEW YORK -- Ten days ago, John Wall was on the verge of returning from a left knee injury when the Washington Wizards visited the Brooklyn Nets and ultimately lost.
This time, Wall will be playing Friday night when the Wizards visit the Nets.
Washington (17-14) went 4-5 while Wall sat out from Nov. 25-Dec. 12 and Bradley Beal was their primary scorer. Beal averaged 23.8 points in Wall's absence when the Wizards lost four games decided by five points or fewer.
One of those was a 103-99 loss at Brooklyn on Dec. 12 when the Wizards fell behind by 14, shot 40 percent and made 4 of 22 from 3-point range. Beal scored 28 points on 11 of 33 shots and was 3 of 15 in the second half.
Wall averaged 19.5 points, 8.5 assists, and 3.8 rebounds while shooting 46.3 percent in 10 games before the injury. Since returning, Wall is averaging 15.3 points, 6.3 assists, 5.8 rebounds on 35.4 percent from the field (23 of 65).
Wall enjoyed his best game since returning on Tuesday when he totaled 18 points and 10 assists in a 116-106 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Wall helped the Wizards get off to a terrific start by accounting for 14 points and six assists in a 36-point opening quarter.
"He's the engine. We go when he's aggressive," Washington coach Scott Brooks said. "I tell our guys all the time we're one of the best teams in the league when we get a defensive stop and run. That's what happened tonight -- twice."
Wall posted his seventh double-double of the season and the Wizards are 3-4 in those games.
"Basically, them telling me to go out there and be aggressive and don't worry about minutes and go play," Wall said. "Coach has been telling me since the last game. I went out there without thinking about when I was coming out of the game or when I'm going back in, just trying to play and make the right reads."
Beal scored 26 points and remained in the game despite spraining an ankle. After getting examined Wednesday, Beal is expected to play Wednesday.
The Wizards played without Otto Porter Jr. (bruised right thigh) for the second straight game and he is listed as questionable. Kelly Oubre Jr. started the last two games for Porter and scored 21 points while playing about 29 minutes per game.
Mike Scott saw increased minutes as well and followed up a 19-point outing against Cleveland on Sunday with a 24-point showing on 11 of 15 shooting Tuesday. He is averaging 17.5 points per game in his last six contests.
When Allen Crabbe hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 44 seconds left 10 days ago, the Nets won for the fifth time in eight games. Since winning the first meeting with Washington, the Nets have regressed on both ends during their second four-game losing streak of the season.
Brooklyn is averaging 96.8 points on 41.8 percent shooting and 32.9 percent from 3-point range. The Nets are allowing 111 points while allowing 51.7 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from 3-point range.
The Nets have fallen behind by double-digits in each game and during this streak, they are getting outscored 244-190 in the first half and 126-95 in the opening quarters.
Brooklyn's losing streak continued with a poor start in a 104-99 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday. The Nets allowed 64 points in the first half, fell behind by 21 points and saw a comeback attempt fall short.
Spencer Dinwiddie led the Nets with 16 points but shot 6 of 16 and is 10 of 31 (32.2 percent) from the field in his last three games. Crabbe was held to 10 and is shooting 12 of 45 (26.6 percent) from 3-point range in his last five games.
"I don't think it's impacting us at all," Crabbe said. "A couple of plays here and there and we could be on the winning side. We're all staying encouraged. ... We still believe that we have time to turn things around."
Other than Crabbe and DeMarre Carroll missing last Friday's loss in Toronto, the Nets have used the same starting lineup of Tyler Zeller, Spencer Dinwiddie, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, Crabbe and Carroll in six of the last seven games. They are 3-6 this season with that starting five but following another slow start, coach Kenny Atkinson hinted at a change.
"I think four losses in a row, we have to look at everything," Atkinson said. "We have to look at the start, what our lineup looks like to start. I definitely think we have to look at it. We have to analyze it and see if there is something to change up."
The Wizards had a seven-game winning streak snapped in the series in their last visit to Brooklyn. Washington is 12-3 in the last 15 meetings.
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Select other Sabres Bogosian, Zach Borgen, William Dahlin, Rasmus Eichel, Jack Girgensons, Zemgus Hunwick, Matt Hutton, Carter Johansson, Marcus Larsson, Johan McCabe, Jake Miller, Colin Mittelstadt, Casey Montour, Brandon Nelson, Casey Okposo, Kyle Reinhart, Sam Ristolainen, Rasmus Rodrigues, Evan Scandella, Marco Sheary, Conor Skinner, Jeff Sobotka, Vladimir Ullmark, Linus Vesey, Jimmy Wilson, Scott Sabres Roster
Zemgus Girgensons
Team: Buffalo Sabres Height: 6-2 Born: 1/5/1994
Position: LW Weight: 211 Birthplace: Riga, Latvia
Game Logs 2018-2019
Date Opp Result G A Pts +/- PIM SOG SPct. PP PPA SHG SHA GWG TOI
10/04 Bos L 0-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:02
10/06 NYR W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:52
10/08 VGK W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:53
10/11 Col L 1-6 0 0 0 -2 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:02
10/13 @ Ari W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:52
10/16 @ VGK L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:24
10/18 @ SJ L 1-5 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:59
10/20 @ LA W 5-1 0 1 1 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 17:21
10/21 @ Anh W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:55
10/25 Mon W 4-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:37
10/27 @ Cls OTL 4-5 0 0 0 0 0 4 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:43
10/30 Cgy OTL 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:31
11/01 @ Ott L 2-4 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 10:00
11/03 Ott W 9-2 1 1 2 2 0 2 50.0% 0 0 0 0 0 14:30
11/04 @ NYR L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:50
11/08 @ Mon W 6-5 0 0 0 -2 2 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:10
11/13 TB W 2-1 0 0 0 0 2 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:48
11/16 @ Wpg W-SO 2-1 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:06
11/17 @ Min W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:59
11/19 @ Pit W 5-4 0 0 0 -1 0 4 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:44
11/21 Phi W 5-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 11:34
11/27 SJ W 3-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:56
11/29 @ TB L 4-5 1 0 1 0 0 2 50.0% 0 0 0 0 0 14:07
11/30 @ Fla OTL 2-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 17:19
12/03 @ Nsh L 1-2 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 11:17
12/04 Tor OTL 3-4 0 0 0 -2 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:27
12/11 LA W 4-3 1 0 1 2 0 1 100.0% 0 0 0 0 0 12:25
12/13 Ari W 3-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:08
12/15 @ Was L-SO 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:18
12/16 @ Bos W 4-2 0 1 1 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:58
12/18 Fla L 2-5 0 0 0 0 5 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:13
12/21 @ Was L 1-2 0 0 0 1 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:20
12/22 Anh W 3-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:09
12/27 @ StL L 1-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:03
01/08 NJ W 5-1 0 0 0 1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:41
01/11 @ Car L 3-4 0 1 1 -1 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 10:31
01/12 TB L 3-5 0 1 1 0 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:04
01/14 @ Edm L 2-7 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:48
01/16 @ Cgy W 4-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:05
01/18 @ Van L 3-4 0 1 1 1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:37
01/29 @ Cls W 5-4 0 0 0 -1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:40
01/30 @ Dal L 0-1 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:15
02/01 Chi L 3-7 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 09:48
02/05 Min W-SO 5-4 0 0 0 -2 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:07
02/07 Car OTL 5-6 0 0 0 -1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:47
02/09 Det W 3-1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 17:17
02/10 Wpg L 1-3 0 0 0 0 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:26
02/12 NYI W 3-1 0 1 1 1 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:37
02/15 NYR L 2-6 0 0 0 -2 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 09:46
02/17 @ NJ L 1-4 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 10:43
02/19 @ Fla L 2-4 0 1 1 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:31
02/21 @ TB L-SO 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:33
02/23 Was W 5-2 0 0 0 -1 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:18
02/25 @ Tor L 3-5 0 0 0 -2 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 12:50
02/26 @ Phi L 2-5 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:04
03/01 Pit W 4-3 0 0 0 -1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 10:23
03/02 @ Tor L 2-5 0 1 1 0 0 2 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:02
03/04 Edm L 3-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 09:59
03/07 @ Chi L-SO 4-5 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:52
03/09 @ Col L 0-3 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 11:54
03/16 @ Car L 2-4 1 0 1 1 0 3 33.3% 0 0 0 0 0 15:03
03/17 StL W-SO 4-3 0 1 1 1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 13:16
03/20 Tor L 2-4 0 0 0 0 2 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:02
03/23 @ Mon L 4-7 0 0 0 1 2 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 14:13
03/26 @ Ott L 0-4 0 0 0 -1 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:00
03/28 Det OTL 4-5 0 1 1 1 0 1 - 0 0 0 0 0 15:51
03/30 @ NYI L 1-5 0 0 0 -2 0 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 11:30
03/31 Cls L 0-4 0 0 0 -3 2 0 - 0 0 0 0 0 08:18
04/04 Ott W 5-2 0 0 0 1 0 3 - 0 0 0 0 0 16:45
04/06 @ Det W 7-1 1 0 1 1 2 2 50.0% 0 0 0 0 0 12:08
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Benjamiin Weiser, New York Times
(Jailed Gang Leader Wins Right to Mingle With 3 Notorious Fellow Inmates, March 11, 1999)
When the nation's most infamous terrorists -- the Oklahoma City bomber, the Unabomber and the World Trade Center bomber -- are ordered out of solitary confinement so that they can have one hour of exercise in the nation's most secure federal prison, what do they do?
They apparently just chat.
But now, a fourth notorious prisoner, the convicted leader of the Latin Kings gang, has successfully petitioned to join in, even though he is considered so dangerous that he cannot even write to anyone except his close relatives and his lawyer. A federal judge decided that there was no harm in letting the man, Luis Felipe, take part.
''This is the oddest coffee klatsch in the history of western civilization,'' said Steven M. Cohen, a former prosecutor on the case who now works in private practice.
The four inmates share little in common ideologically. Timothy McVeigh is a right-wing extremist convicted of carrying out the Oklahoma City bombing, while Ramzi Yousef is a Muslim terrorist who masterminded the World Trade Center attack. Theodore Kaczynski is a mathematics whiz and loner whose string of bombings was carried out from the woods of Montana, while Luis Felipe is a Bronx street tough known for his ruthless hold -- even from prison -- on a Hispanic gang. Felipe was convicted in 1996 on 18 counts of federal racketeering charges for ordering three murders.
The four are being held 23 hours a day in special 7-by-12-foot cells where they are not able to glimpse into the eyes of other prisoners and must take their meals through slots in their cell doors. The prison, the ADX Maximum Security Facility in Florence, Colorado, is so secure that it is known as Super Max.
The three charter members of the prison rec group, McVeigh, Kaczynski, and Yousef, who are otherwise allowed no contact with each other, are permitted to spend their one-hour exercise period in separate cages in the prison yard, speaking to each other through the mesh fences. Because of their distance from each other, they must speak loudly, so prison officials can hear what they say.
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Home Periscope Defending Cantonese
Defending Cantonese
Hong Kong people struggle to define and defend their mother tongue
By Stephanie Cheng, Vicki Yuen
On Lunar New Year’s Eve, when most people were eating reunion dinners with their families, more than a hundred people braved the cold and took a “walk” outside the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in Western.
A protestor demanding an apology from Kong Qingdong outside the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government on Lunar New Year’s Eve.
Some brought their pet dogs, others brought dog toys and dog banners. They were not marking the Year of the Dog; they were angry and they were protesting.
Their fury was directed at Kong Qingdong, professor of Chinese studies at Peking University, who said during a webcast interview that most Hong Kong people are dogs and those who do not speak Putonghua are bastards. “Mandarin is a language. Cantonese is a dialect. Those speaking Mandarin have no duty to learn Cantonese,” Kong said on the show.
Miss Pang, a university student who had never joined such a demonstration before, stood with a homemade banner that read “Kong Qingdong apologise”. “They should respect us. Cantonese is not inferior to Mandarin,” she said.
The protest was also a first for 60-year-old Sunny Chan, who could hardly contain his fury. “Kong is the descendant of Confucius? Rubbish!” he exclaimed. “Cantonese is local culture, whereas Putonghua is only a medium for communication and exchange. They should not eliminate local culture.”
Whether Cantonese is a language or a dialect is a matter for debate. The spoken forms of regional variations of Chinese are often mutually unintelligible and even among linguists there are no universal or standardised criteria to distinguish between a language and a dialect.
Ben Au Yeung Wai-hoo, senior instructor of the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, believes speakers can be regarded as speaking either a language or a dialect. There is no contradiction between the two.
Au Yeung says “language” reflects a more significant and general identity in a wider context while “dialect” is more “intimate”, representing speakers as part of a smaller community. Viewed this way, Au Yeung says Cantonese may be regarded as a dialect of the Chinese language.
For the protesters outside the Central Liaison Office, the dispute over whether Cantonese is a language or a dialect is more than a linguistic or cultural issue. It is a political battle. As the linguist Max Weinreich put it, “language is a dialect with an army and navy.”
HK identity
Previous articleParents Opt for English
Next articleMarch 2012 – The Language War
Periscope November 2018 – The Education Dilemma
The Problem Behind the University Admission System
Divide and School
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Obama’s “Worst Nightmare” Realized As Chinese Troops Flood Into Syria
In what a new Ministry of Defense (MoD) report circulating in the Kremlin today is describing as President Barack Obama’s “worst nightmare”, the Ministry of National Defense (MoND) of the People’s Republic of China has secured the permission of the Syria Arab Republic to begin “flooding” into the Levant War Zone up to 5,000 of its most elite military forces, and which will first include the fearedShenyang Military Region “Siberian Tiger” Special Forces and Lanzhou Military Region “Night Tiger” Special Forces Units.
According to this MoD report, this extraordinary move by China to enter into this war was authorized by China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) yesterday by their passing that country’s first anti-terrorism law making it legal for the People’s Liberation Army to take part in counter-terrorism missions abroad—and which fulfils the 30 November vow made to President Putin by Chinese President Xi Jinping that his nation would work to take on a broader role in the international war against terrorism and that China would be at Russia’s disposal to aid in global anti-terror efforts.
Most critical to China in entering this war, this report continues, is the “grave” national security threat it faces from both the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL/Daesh) and Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT)—and as, perhaps, best described by the noted award winning American military-intelligence journalist Seymour M. Hersh who in his latest article warned of this threat by stating:
“China, an ally of [Syrian leader] Assad has committed more than $30 billion to postwar reconstruction in Syria. China, too, is worried about the Islamic State. China regards the Syrian crisis from three perspectives: international law and legitimacy; global strategic positioning; and the activities of jihadist Uighurs, from Xinjiang province in China’s far west.
Xinjiang borders eight nations – Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India – and, in China’s view, serves as a funnel for terrorism around the world and within China.
Many Uighur fighters now in Syria are known to be members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement—an often violent separatist organization that seeks to establish an Islamist Uighur state in Xinjiang.
The fact that they have been aided by Turkish intelligence to move from China into Syria through Turkey has caused a tremendous amount of tension between the Chinese and Turkish intelligence and China is concerned that the Turkish role of supporting the Uighur fighters in Syria may be extended in the future to support Turkey’s agenda in Xinjiang.”
Though the US corporate-propaganda media continues to blackball from the American people Hersh’s “bombshell” article, this report notes, 2015 has become the year Russia exposed the barbaric nature of Western powers—from their criminal conspiracy for regime change in Syria, to aggression against Yemen, Iran, Russia, China and any country that does not toe the line—and has, also, exposed for the entire world to see that the Obama regimes fight against the Islamic State has all been pretended.
And with the Obama regime reported to be scrambling to come up with new lies to tell the American people about this war, this report says, only one person in that government, US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, just weeks ago warned the American public that not only is the Obama regime lying to them, they may end up inadvertently starting World War III.
Echoing Congresswoman Gabbard’s fears, this report further notes, is billionaire investor George Soros, who warned the Obama regime this past summer that China might use the Levant War to mask its mounting economic problems and stated “should the external conflict escalate into a military confrontation with an ally of the United States such as Turkey or Japan, it is not an exaggeration to say that we would be on the threshold of a third world war.”
As to why the Obama regime is still protecting the terrorist-supporting nation of Turkey and daily sending in more NATO forces to defend risking world war, this report notes, is beyond insanity—especially when viewed of the light of Turkish leader Erdogan refusing President Obama’s order to remove Turkish troops who illegally invaded Iraq, and, just yesterday, Turkish intelligence services assassinating another journalist, Naji Jerf, editor-in-chief of the Hentah monthly, for exposing Erdogan’s support of Islamic State terrorists.
So as President Putin’s special envoy, Alexander Lavrentyev, continues today visiting and informing various Middle East nations of Russia’s new alliance with China against Turkey and the Islamic State, this report concludes, it is, also, preparing for the worst—and which is why the Western Military District, equipped with Iskander-M tactical ballistic missile systems, was put on alert just hours ago.
1 International Affairs 4 years ago
BREAKING: Obama Facing Jail Time After It’s PROVEN That He Funded Terrorists
MR. CONSERVATIVE A major GOP representative has just made a move that could prove Obama funded terrorism, which in turn
Terrorist attacks : Swedish jihadists celebrates Paris attacks
Freelance journalist Magnus Sandelin, through its network seen how the IS-adherents espouse terrorist attacks. – I looked for just a
Why Democrats are in a ‘civil war’
(CNN)Spend just a little time watching what has been described as a “civil war” within the Democratic Party over the
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Dem. Congressman Says U.S. Will Nuke Americans Who Don’t Relinquish Guns
Rep. Eric Swalwell of California is one of the most virulent gun-grabbers in the House of Representatives, but one wonders if threatening to use the U.S. nuclear arsenal against American citizens is really helping his gun control cause. In remarks on Twitter Friday, Swalwell said that anyone who talks about an armed resistance against the U.S. government should be prepared to be nuked out of existence by the military.
The trouble began after NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch brought attention to an NBC News article about Swalwell and his plans to force Americans to hand their rifles over to the government.
“High ranking Democrat Eric Swalwell calls for confiscation of semi-automatic rifles using $15 billion of taxpayer dollars to do it and proposes criminally prosecuting those who don’t participate,” tweeted Loesch.
Swalwell retweeted Loesch, saying: “She’s not lying. We should ban assault weapons by buying them back or restricting them to ranges/clubs.”
“So basically @RepSwalwell wants a war,” tweeted Joe Biggs. “Because that’s what you would get. You’re outta your f***ing mind if you think I’ll give up my rights and give the gov all the power.”
Swalwell would have been wise at this point to take the high road and assure concerned gun owners that he wanted nothing of the kind. Instead, he doubled down on his confiscation rhetoric and told Biggs and everyone else reading that the U.S. would essentially wipe out scores of innocent civilians in an effort to rid the country of AR-15s.
“And it would be a short war my friend,” the lawmaker wrote. “The government has nukes. Too many of them. But they’re legit. I’m sure if we talked we could find common ground to protect our families and communities.”
Swalwell isn’t just some minor figure in the Democratic Party. He is openly and prominently planning to run for the nomination and the presidency in 2020. Now just imagine what the media would say if President Trump (or any other Republican) mentioned casually blasting the American people with a nuclear bomb if they resisted some unconstitutional policy or another. It would be front page news for a week, even in this short attention span culture.
“So our government would nuke its own country in order to take guns? Wow,” replied Biggs.
At this point, Swalwell tried to back away from his outlandish remark.
“Don’t be so dramatic,” he wrote. “No one is nuking anyone or threatening that. I’m telling you this is not the 18th Century. The argument that you would go to war with your government if an assault weapons ban was in place is ludicrous and inflames the gun debate. Which is what you want.”
Ah, so the official position is: We’ll implement the ban and you will go right along with it, Second Amendment or no Second Amendment.
Swalwell is not only unfit to be president, he’s unfit to be a congressman.
Unfortunately, we’re certain that many of his Democrat congressman feel exactly the same way he does. But at least they have the common sense not to suggest nuking the population.
Twitter Punishes Feminist For Saying “Men Are Not Women”
“Allah’s Punishment”: Al Qaeda Cheers on California Wildfires
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Obama-Appointed Judge Blocks Trump on Immigrant Asylum Order
U.S. District Court Judge Jon Tigar, a Barack Obama appointee, ruled Monday that President Trump did not have the authority to block asylum-seekers from illegally crossing into the United States.
In the latest in a series of misguided and soon-to-be-overturned court rulings against the administration on the subject of illegal immigration and travel to the United States, Tigar temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing the November 9th executive order.
The order was intended to give Border Patrol officials a measure of control over the spiraling caravan situation by declaring that no immigrant who crossed into the country illegally would be considered for asylum.
In his ruling, Tigar said that President Trump was attempting to rewrite immigration law from the Oval Office.
“Whatever the scope of the President’s authority, he may not rewrite the immigration laws to impose a condition that Congress has expressly forbidden,” wrote the judge. “Failure to comply with entry requirements such as arriving at a designated port of entry should bear little, if any, weight in the asylum process.”
The ACLU, which brought the case against the administration, issued a victorious statement.
“This ban is illegal, will put people’s lives in danger, and raises the alarm about President Trump’s disregard for separation of power,” said ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt. “There is no justifiable reason to flatly deny people the right to apply for asylum, and we cannot send them back to danger based on the manner of their entry. Congress has been clear on this point for decades.”
Given what we’ve seen out of ultra-liberal West Coast courts for the last two years, this ruling is hardly a surprise. Unfortunately, it’s just as misguided and unconstitutional as the rulings that blocked Trump from implementing his so-called “Muslim ban.” The ACLU wants to talk about what Congress “has been clear” about? Well, for one thing, the Legislative Branch has been very clear about giving the President of the United States wide latitude when it comes to governing our ports of entry, especially when there is a national security concern at hand. That was true in the case of the Middle East travel ban, and it’s certainly true at the Mexican border today, where we have 10,000+ migrants of unclear origin trying to get into the United States.
Trump was not trying to rewrite the laws on immigration. His was a short (90-day), temporary modification of our asylum laws, only to last until the caravan crisis has passed. It was wholly within his authority to make this change, and we can’t wait until the Supreme Court affirms it to be so.
Studies Show That Left-Wing Journalism Has Saturated the News
Trump Blasts “Obama Judge” for Blocking His Immigration Order
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Obama’s Enlightened Foolery
April 1, 2014 10:12 am / Victor Davis Hanson
He views Putin, the 21st century, and himself as in a fun-house mirror.
President Obama talks about Vladimir Putin as if he were a Pennsylvania “clinger” who operates on outdated principles, who is driven by fear, and whom unfortunately the post-Enlightenment mind of even Barack Obama
Mykl Roventine via Flickr
cannot always reach. Deconstruct a recent CBS News interview with President Obama, and the limitations of his now-routine psychoanalyses are all too clear. Consider the following presidential assertions:
Obama said in the CBS interview that Vladimir Putin was “willing to show a deeply held grievance about what he considers to be the loss of the Soviet Union.”
Is that any surprise? Why would Putin not “show a deeply held grievance” — given that Russians enjoyed far more pride and influence when they had far more territory and power than they do now? Just because elites in the West might consider Denmark and Luxembourg model societies, given their per capita incomes, ample social services, high-speed mass transit, and climate-change sensitivities, does not necessarily mean that the grandchildren of Stalingrad and Leningrad would agree.
What exactly does Obama mean when he says, of Putin, “what he considers to be the loss of the Soviet Union”?
“Considers”? Did we miss something here?
Did not the Soviet Union disappear from the map? Did not it leave in its ruin a much smaller Russian Federation — one perhaps far less dangerous and with more potential to get along with the West, but with far less likelihood of regaining the glory and influence that many Russians had come to appreciate?
Obama went on: “You would have thought that after a couple of decades that there’d be an awareness on the part of any Russian leader that the path forward is not to revert back to the kinds of practices that, you know, were so prevalent during the Cold War but, in fact, to move forward with further integration with the world economy and to be a responsible international citizen.”
Only a naïf.
Does Obama believe in a linear trajectory of history, in which man’s nature is constantly improved with greater material bounty and ever more education, until we reach the apparent present utopian state, where “integration with the world economy” and being “a responsible international citizen” must logically preclude most aggression?
That foreign-policy scenario, given the nature of man, is about as believable as an assertion that we 21st-century Americans long ago transcended 19th-century rough-and-tumble politics and government corruption, where once upon a time presidents lied brazenly to the people, government bureaus went after an administration’s political enemies, and California state legislators were facing charges of gun running, bribery, and fraud. Given Benghazi, the AP monitoring, the NSA and IRS scandals, and the serial non-enforcement of settled law, I’d say the present administration is closer to Boss Tweed than to a promised 21st-century “transparent” politics.
As far as Putin’s pre-Enlightenment, pre-Harvard brain goes, I think he would prefer to humiliate the U.S. over Syria, block our initiatives in the U.N., empower Iran to cause nuclear mischief in the Middle East, and take two steps forward absorbing former Soviet republics while taking one step backward as he assures Obama on each occasion that he has no more territorial aspirations in Europe.
Obama is perplexed by Putin’s Neanderthal club-waving. But Putin believes that he does not need aircraft carriers and Marines to exercise national clout — only his own indomitable will and adversaries who “would have thought” he was better than that.
Obama also said that Putin sees the breakup of the Soviet Union as “tragic.” I suppose Obama means “tragic” in the Sophoclean sense of great ambitions gone terribly wrong through hubris, with disastrous consequences all around. But I doubt that Putin believes much in the ironies and paradoxes of tragedy. He embraces no such complex anguish about the end of the Soviet Union; he merely knows that Russians once were powerful and now they are not. And that is not so much tragic as a very bad thing — though a bad thing that still can be rectified in the time remaining until 2017.
Apparently, enlightened minds assume that no sane person could imagine that the collapse of a criminal regime that butchered 10 to 20 million of its own people, and caused misery for a half-century around the globe, could be seen as anything but wonderful. Thus the unenlightened and anguished Putin surely must wrongly interpret the collapse of the USSR as “tragic,” rather than in such primitive fashion lament it as something disastrous for the Russian sense of self.
Obama went on: “There’s a strong sense of Russian nationalism and a sense that somehow the West has taken advantage of Russia in the past and that he wants to, in some fashion, reverse that or make up for that.”
Most countries other than the United States and Sweden entertain “a strong sense of . . . nationalism” in that they view themselves as exceptional people with interests to be protected and promoted. Russians don’t just sense that “the West has taken advantage of Russia in the past,” but know that we have: They lost the Cold War and we won it. That fact has meant that from 1989 onward, the U.S. has had strategic options that were simply unavailable between 1946 and 1989. A sole superpower can do things that one superpower cannot in a bipolar world where power is balanced and thus often neutralized.
Why is Obama somewhat perplexed that Putin and Russians in general would like “to reverse that or make up for that”? For our part, we should ensure, as much as we feasibly can in a nuclear world, that Russian values — tsarist, Communist, or Putinist — are kept within the borders of the Russian Federation lest they destroy, as they so often have in the last three centuries, those countries without Russian majorities — the Baltic states, Poland, Hungary, the former Czechoslovakia, and Bulgaria, among others — that are unfortunate enough to be both small and proximate to Russia.
Obama added: “What I have repeatedly said is that he may be entirely misreading the West. He’s certainly misreading American foreign policy. We have no interest in encircling Russia and we have no interest in Ukraine beyond letting the Ukrainian people make their own decisions about their own lives.”
This appeal to enlightened reason is rather pathetic. I doubt very seriously that Putin believes that reset policies have led to an encirclement of Russia. I doubt also that he is “misreading” the West.
Is not the very opposite true?
More likely Putin is reading us all too well, and therefore believes that the West is so distracted, weak, or self-absorbed that it most surely has no interest in Ukraine at all. Obama misses the point that it is precisely because we have no demonstrable interest in Ukraine — even in the marginal sense of trying to help it retain its autonomy — and because Putin has read that attitude very well, that he has decided to carve it up.
Obama continued. “And it is true that we reject the notion that there is a sphere of influence along the Russian border that then justifies Russia invading other countries. Certainly they’re going to have influence because of trade and tradition and language and heritage with Ukraine. Everybody acknowledges that. But there’s a difference between that and sending in troops, and because you’re bigger and stronger taking a piece of the country — that is not how international law and international norms are observed in the 21st century.”
Why necessarily is the 21st century any different from, say, the 19th? Are politicians now smarter, more ethical, and less inclined to bully, to cheat, and to lie? We should not confuse material and technological progress with moral progress. Google or Apple is as likely to offshore money and outsource jobs as any 1950s smokestack corporation. Obama (“punish our enemies”) waged a campaign and raised money in a fashion not much different from that of any late-19th-century bare-knuckle brawler. When Obama boasted that he had a “pen and a phone” and would bypass Congress, he was assuming that he was stronger than Congress, and therefore had the 19th-century power to do what he wished with executive orders, in a way entirely antithetical to both constitutional governance and his own prior 21st-century vows of ending “red” and “blue” political divisions.
If I were Obama, I would not boast about the moral superiority of the modern world — as if we don’t any more allow hundreds of thousands, or rather millions in aggregate, to die in places like Rwanda, Serbia, or the Congo. If anything, when we compare a 19th-century pogrom to a 20th-century Auschwitz, or what the Athenians did to the Melians with what Mao did to his own people, or what the 9/11 hijackers did with what a 19th-century anarchist did with a bomb, or what racist Belgians did to 19th-century Congolese with what Congolese did to Congolese in the 21st century, the modern world does not come off too well. Europe between 1815 and 1914 was a far less bloody and less dangerous place than Europe between 1914 and 1989.
Obama also pointed to the U.N. vote and noted with satisfaction that 100 countries voted in favor of a resolution that condemned the invasion of Crimea, and only eleven voted against it.
To paraphrase Aristotle, it is easy to be moral in our sleep. Obama apparently cannot distinguish between what nations profess in the abstract and what such professions cost them in the concrete, when there are consequences beyond rhetorical gymnastics. The vast majority of members of the League of Nations condemned Italy for annexing Abyssinia, Japan for doing the same to Manchuria, and Germany for absorbing Austria. In rare cases, there were even various embargoes, sanctions, and ultimata that were for a time loudly voiced. But nothing much else happened.
We are pleased that the majority of U.N. members do not approve of Vladimir Putin. But unless the United States shows extraordinary leadership, most nations in Putin’s path are likely to make the necessary arrangements for their survival and assure him that their prior votes of outrage were mostly for show.
What is tragic in this crisis is Obama’s bewilderment that Putins still exist in his 21st century. They do, and will in the 22nd century as well.
NRO contributor Victor Davis Hanson is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and the author, most recently, of The Savior Generals.
Posted in: Russia, Punditry, Foreign Policy / Tagged: Anti-Ameircan, Anti-West, Barack Obama, History, Nationalism, Russia, Soviet Union, Vladimir Putin
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author income
Writing to Feed Your Soul
Although some people write to put food on the table, more write to feed their souls.
According to an article by Alison Flood of The Guardian, a 2014 survey revealed that 54% of “traditionally-published” authors and nearly 80% of self-published authors earn less than $1,000 a year. In this same survey, only a minority of respondents listed making money as “extremely important”—around 20% of self-published writers and 25% of traditionally-published authors.Overall, Flood concluded, “Most authors write because they want to share something with the world or gain recognition of some sort.” Clearly, most writers aren’t in it to put food on the table.
The joys of writing to feed one’s soul can be summarized in the word freedom.
Free to write on your own schedule.
Free from worry about sales covering the advance.
Free to write in any genre, not just the one(s) that sell best.
Free to ignore industry guidelines/standards for works of a certain genre, such as page length, structure, and language.
Free to switch genres or to write in many genres.
Free to write a series with a different protagonist.
Free to write anything and everything under one name.
Many big-name authors (i.e., those who make a lot of money writing) find themselves limited in the previous three freedoms. The reading public wouldn’t let Arthur Conan Doyle kill off Sherlock Holmes. Many authors write under more than one name. Search online under “famous authors who use multiple pen names” and go from there. Some authors do so to reinvent themselves—e.g.Stephen King/ Richard Bachman, J.K. Rowling/Robert Galbraith. Some use different names for different genres—e.g., Jenna Peterson writes historicals but uses the name Jesse Michaels for erotic romance. Other multiple-name authors include Dean Koontz, Richard Matheson, Joyce Carol Oates, Agatha Christie, C.S. Lewis, and Isaac Asimov. There are more.
Free to mix several genres in the same work.
Free to label oneself or not.
Diana Gabaldon [Photo credit: Andreas Pavelic]
Diana Gabaldon started off writing to feed her soul—in my opinion! She says that she wrote Outlander for practice, to learn the craft, with no intention of showing it to anyone. Not only did she write an impossibly long book (by industry standards) but she mixed romance, adventure, history, time-travel, and magical elements.
The Outlander series [Photo credit: Tripping Over Books]
For an excellent, thoughtful essay on blending genres, read Joyce Dyer’s “What’s on Your Mind?” recently published in The New York Times.
You can also read over seventy comments on this piece online. She starts with a discussion of how writers’ brains work and moves on to the limitations of genres.
When you write to feed your soul, the only real requirement is that you write.
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Issue 97 31st March 2019 31st March 2019
Each year, Earth Day—April 22—marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970.
Setting the stage for the first earth day
The height of counterculture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of Jimi Hendrix, the last Beatles album, and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” War raged in Vietnam and students nationwide overwhelmingly opposed it.
At the time, Americans were slurping leaded gas through massive V8 sedans. Industry belched out smoke and sludge with little fear of legal consequences or bad press. Air pollution was commonly accepted as the smell of prosperity. “Environment” was a word that appeared more often in spelling bees than on the evening news.
Although mainstream America largely remained oblivious to environmental concerns, the stage had been set for change by the publication of Rachel Carson’s New York Times bestseller Silent Spring in 1962. The book represented a watershed moment, selling more than 500,000 copies in 24 countries, and beginning to raise public awareness and concern for living organisms, the environment and links between pollution and public health.
Earth Day 1970 gave voice to that emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns on the front page.
The Idea for the first Earth Day
The idea for a national day to focus on the environment came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes from Harvard as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. April 22, falling between Spring Break and Final Exams, was selected as the date.
On April 22,1970, 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values.
Earth Day 1970 achieved a rare political alignment, enlisting support from Republicans and Democrats, rich and poor, city slickers and farmers, tycoons and labor leaders. By the end of that year, the first Earth Day had led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. “It was a gamble,” Gaylord recalled, “but it worked.”
As 1990 approached, a group of environmental leaders asked Denis Hayes to organize another big campaign. This time, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in 141 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage. Earth Day 1990 gave a huge boost to recycling efforts worldwide and helped pave the way for the 1992 United Nations Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. It also prompted President Bill Clinton to award Senator Nelson the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1995)—the highest honor given to civilians in the United States—for his role as Earth Day founder.
Earth Day Today
As the millennium approached, Hayes agreed to spearhead another campaign, this time focused on global warming and a push for clean energy. With 5,000 environmental groups in a record 184 countries reaching out to hundreds of millions of people, Earth Day 2000 combined the big-picture feistiness of the first Earth Day with the international grassroots activism of Earth Day 1990. Earth Day 2000 used the power of the Internet to organize activists, but also featured a drum chain that traveled from village to village in Gabon, Africa. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC for a First Amendment Rally. Earth Day 2000 sent world leaders the loud and clear message that citizens around the world wanted quick and decisive action on global warming and clean energy.
Much like 1970, Earth Day 2010 came at a time of great challenge for the environmental community. Climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community all contributed to the narrative—cynicism versus activism. Despite these challenges, Earth Day prevailed and Earth Day Network re-established Earth Day as a relevant, powerful focal point. Earth Day Network brought 250,000 people to the National Mall for a Climate Rally, launched the world’s largest environmental service project—A Billion Acts of Green –introduced a global tree planting initiative that has since grown into The Canopy Project, and engaged 75,000 partners in 192 countries in observing Earth Day.
Earth Day had reached into its current status as the largest secular observance in the world, celebrated by more than a billion people every year, and a day of action that changes human behavior and provokes policy changes.
Today, the fight for a clean environment continues with increasing urgency, as the ravages of climate change become more manifest every day. We invite you to be a part of Earth Day and help write many more chapters—struggles and victories—into the Earth Day book.
Published on the Earth Day Network website www.earthday.org
Other articles on these topics: Environment History
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China tourism stall leads to U.S. drop in foreign visitor spending
Lackluster growth in visitors to the United States is hitting the country where it hurts, according to a new report.
Research from the World Travel & Tourism Council shows that spending by international visitors dropped nearly 1% year-over-year to $198.8 billion. That is largely due to a lack of growth in visitors from China, whose dollars makes up roughly 11% of all spending.
“After recording 10 years of stellar growth, international visitor numbers from China were flat year on year, caused in part by the deteriorating trade relations between the two countries,” Gloria Guevara, the council’s president and CEO, said in a statement released Wednesday. “Given the economic importance of Chinese visitors, any thawing in the trade relations between the two countries would have a positive effect for the wider U.S. economy.”
The World Travel & Tourism Council partnered with Tourism Economics for its research. The council said 79.9 million international visitors came to the United States last year, with that number expected to increase to 82.5 million this year. Of the visitors in 2018, 3% were Chinese, a spokeswoman said.
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Supporting Development of Gambia
January 2018 Gambia
Since January 2018, Tomorrow Foundation has been actively engaging in the national development of the Republic of the Gambia, and representatives of the Foundation have been received twice by his Excellency Mr. Adama Barrow, the President of the Gambia.
With the interest and passion to develop the least developed countries of Africa, Tomorrow Foundation has spent enormous amount of resources in conducting investigations in a variety of economic sectors of the Gambia since the beginning of this year. Based on the collected information, the Foundation gathered a team of internationally renowned experts of Developmental Economics, and came up with a plan of national development that was specifically tailored for the current situation of the Gambia. The plan was submitted to the President in March, and received a lot of attention from the Government of the Gambia.
President Barrow highly commended Tomorrow Foundation for the “brilliant ideas towards the National Development of the Gambia in the areas of Tourism, Agriculture, Electricity Production and Distribution.” In the letter that President Barrow sent to the Foundation, Mr. President officially invited Tomorrow Foundation to participate in the national development projects, and to collaborate in making the Gambia a more beautiful, developed and harmonious country under the guidance of the National Development Plan 2018-2021.
The Republic of the Gambia is an African country located by the East Coast of the Atlantic Ocean and engulfed by Senegal. With a population of over 2 million people, the Gambia is one of the least developed countries in the world, and therefore, the country’s economy relies heavily on foreign aids. In January 2017, Mr. Adama Barrow became the President of the Gambia; upon assuming the office, President Barrow promised to bring significant changes to the country by developing the economy, reforming the politics, and reducing the reliance on foreign aids. Since then, the Gambia has been experiencing a period of rapid economic growth.
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Course of the Competition
Competition Choirs
Winners of Previous Editions
Faculty of Music Education, Choral Art
and Church Music
Choir Conducting Chair
Honorary patronage:
Wroclaw City Mayor
Rector of
The Karol Lipiński
in Wrocław
ACADEMIC CHOIR FEICHTINUM OF THE KAROL LIPIŃSKI ACADEMY OF MUSIC IN WROCŁAW
The choir was established in 1988, on the initiative of Prof. Zofia Urbanyi-Krasnodębska, who also proposed that it be named after the Academy’s first Rector, priest Prof. Hieronim Feicht. For seven years, it operated under its founder, giving concerts both at home and abroad (France, the Netherlands). It has taken part in the Choir Festival FLORILEGE VOCAL DE TOURS in France (1991) and several times in the Miner’s Day Festival of Academic Choirs in Wrocław, winning a special prize in 1989.
Its choirmasters have been: Bogusława Orzechowska (1995-2005), Jolanta Szybalska-Matczak (2005-2014) and since 2014 – dr Artur Wróbel, currently assisted by Magdalena Lipska.
The ensemble combines artistic and educational functions. It is used for practice by undergraduate and graduate students of the Faculty of Music Education, Choral Art and Church Music. It also gives concerts, cooperating with the Faculty’s String Orchestra, the Academy’s Symphony Orchestra, and the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Cracow in the preparation of big vocal-instrumental forms, the major ones of which include: Te Deum by A. Bruckner, Angelus by W. Kilar (conductor: M. Pijarowski, 2003), Symphony No. 9 byL. van Beethoven (conductor: T. Strugała, 2004), The Bells by S. Rachmaninoff (conductor: J. Maksymiuk, 2006), Demeter byK. Szymanowski, Schicksalslied by J. Brahms (conductor: J. Kaspszyk, 2007), Requiem by G. Verdi (conductor: R.J. Delekta, 2015), Coronation Mass by W.A. Mozart (conductor: M. Pijarowski, 2016), a suite from the ballet Daphnis at Chloé by M. Ravel (conductor: M. Pijarowski, 2016).The ensemble adds splendour to numerous official ceremonies at Wrocław’s institutions of higher education, performs at concerts held throughout the region and abroad (International Festival Eurochestries Charente-Maritime, France 2014).
The choir has given premiere performances of many works by Wrocław’s contemporary composers. On six occasions, it has acted as the testing ground for participants of the International Choir Conducting Competitions TOWARDS POLYPHONY, and has won 2nd prize and an honourable mention at the L. Laprus Choral Song Competition at Wrocław (1999), an honourable mention at the Polish Choir Competition LEGNICA CANTAT (2000).
CHAMBER CHOIR SENZA RIGORE OF THE KAROL LIPIŃSKI ACADEMY OF MUSIC IN WROCŁAW
The Chamber Choir SENZA RIGORE of the Academy of Music in Wrocław was established in October 2000, and already in December of that year it gave its first performance during the 27th Miner’s Day Academic Choir Festival. It is made up of the Academy’s students and graduates. Its founder, artistic director and conductor is Prof. dr hab. Jolanta Szybalska-Matczak. Her Assistant is mgr Magdalena Lipska (since October 2016).
SENZA RIGORE has performed at many prestigious festivals, including: International Organ Music Festival CANTUS ORGANI at Wołów, WIECZORY TUMSKIE concerts at Wrocław, Gliwice Choral Meetings, 15th Festival MAY WITH OLD MUSIC at Wrocław, Legnica Organ Conversatorium, International Choral Festival at Hradec Kralove, International Choral Festival KAMPANILA at Mikulov, International Festival of Choirs and Orchestras at Riva del Garda, International Festival EUROCHESTRIES at Pons, International Choir Festival and Competition at Lloret de Mar.For years now, SENZA RIGORE has been used for testing competitors during International Choir Conducting Competitions TOWARDS POLYPHONY, has performed at schools of higher education at Warsaw, Bydgoszcz and Katowice, as well as abroad (the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Italy, France, Spain).
The choir has won numerous prestigious awards, including Grand Prix and an honourable mention at the Lucjan Laprus Choral Religious Songs Interpretation Competition at Wrocław (2002); first prize and a special award at the 1st National Passion Songs Competition at Bydgoszcz (2003); Grand Prix at the 6th Łódź Choral Festival CANTIO LODZIENSIS (2003); 1st prize and a special award at the 2nd National Passion Songs Competition at Bydgoszcz (2005); an honourable mention and a special award at the 9th International Sacred Song Festival ŁAPSKIE TE DEUM at Łapy (2006); Grand Prix, an honourable mention and an honourable mention for the conductor at the 20th Polish Festival MARINE SONGS at Wejherowo (2008); 1st prize and the Gold Medal at the International Competition MUSICA RELIGIOSA at Olomouc (2009); Gold Diploma and two special prizes at the 9th F. Nowowiejski International Choral Music Festival at Barczewo (2012); Grand Prix, a special award and the prize for the best conductor at the 10th International Festival RYBNIK CHOIR AUTUMN at Rybnik (2014); four Gold Diplomas and special awards at the 5th International Choir Festival and Competition at Lloret de Mar (2015).
THE CHOIR OF THE KAROL SZYMANOWSKI ACADEMY OF MUSIC IN KATOWICE
The Choir of the Karol Szymanowski Academy of Music in Katowice is made up of students of the first two years of the Faculty of Composition, Interpretation, Music Education and Jazz as well as the Vocal-and-Instrumental Faculty. The ensemble takes an active part in the Academy’s artistic life, mainly performing vocal-and-instrumental works in cooperation with the Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra in Katowice, with NOSPR (National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra), the Polish Radio Orchestra in Cracow and the Chamber Orchestra of the City of Tychy AUKSO.
The choir, which has a total of over 100 performers, also gives concerts in smaller groups, singing a cappella. In 2009, the ensemble added splendour to the international celebrations of Europe Day taking place in Paris, gave concerts in Düsseldorf (as part of the Days of Culture of Śląskie Province, 2010), and in Ukraine – in Lviv and in Crimea as part of the Paschal Music Festival in Sevastopol (2012).
In the academic year 2014/2015, it gave concerts in Rome and the Vatican.
The Academy of Music Choir has won prizes at numerous Polish and international choir competitions, including: 6th Polish Choir Competition ‘Canto Lodziensis’ (Łódź 2004) – 1st prize and a special award, 36th Polish Choir Competition ‘Legnica Cantat’ (Legnica 2005) – 1st prize, 19th International Choir Competition ‘Praga Cantat’ (Prague 2005) – 1st prize in the Advanced Choirs category, 9th International Choir Competition at Riva del Garda – 1st prize (2006), 8th International Competition ‘Moscow – the City of Peace’ – 2nd place (Moscow 2008), International K. Fober Choir Competition ‘Gaude Cantem’ in Bielsko-Biała – Gold Diploma (2009 and 2013).
In 2014, together with the Chamber Orchestra of the City of Tychy AUKSO under Marek Moś, the Choir of the Academy of Music recorded vocal-instrumental works by Wojciech Kilar. In 2015, the record was awarded the Fryderyk statuette in the category ‘Album of the Year – Symphony and Concert Music’.
Since 2003, the Choir Director has been Prof. dr hab. Aleksandra Paszek-Trefon.
THE NATIONAL FORUM OF MUSIC CHOIR
The choir was founded in 2006 by Andrzej Kosendiak as part of Wrocław Philharmonic, which was transformed into the National Forum of Music in May 2014. Since its inception it has been run by Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny, under whom it quickly established itself as one of Poland’s leading choral ensembles thanks to its rich and varied repertoire, which includes both pieces a cappella and large oratorio, operatic and symphonic works. It has collaborated with such distinguished conductors as, for instance: Giovanni Antonini, Bob Chilcott, Konrad Junghänel, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jan Łukaszewski, James MacMillan, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Paul McCreesh and Krzysztof Penderecki.
In the ten years of its existence, the choir has given over 260 public performances, collaborating among others with the Gabrieli Consort, Il Giardino Armonico and the NDR Orchestra, giving concerts at the Salle Pleyel (Paris), the Barbican Centre (London), the Royal Albert Hall (London), Gewandhaus (Leipzig). It was a guest of the music festivals: Schleswig-Holstein, Gent van Vlaanderen, Wratislavia Cantans, Warsaw Autumn, Ankara Music Festival.In addition to regular performances with the other NFM ensembles, the group tours Poland, performing with leading Polish philharmonic orchestras, including the Polish Radio Orchestras in Katowice and Warsaw. It is often broadcast on the Polish Radio and abroad. In 2009 and 2011 it was the first Polish choir to be invited to the legendary BBC Proms. In 2011, at the Varaždin Baroque Evenings Festival in Croatia, it received one of the three main awards – the Kantor Award for an exceptional performance of works by Johann Sebastian Bach. In June 2013 the Choir made its first tour of the United States of America and in October of that year it performed with the world-wide known group The Swingle Singers.
An important part of the ensemble’s discography is a number of recordings under Paul McCreesh: Berlioz’s monumental Grande Messe des Morts (2011, BBC Music Magazine Technical Excellence Award 2012), Mendelssohn’s Elijah (2012, Diapason d’Or de l’Année 2013), and Britten’s War Requiem (2013, BBC Music Magazine Choral Award 2014).The choir’s a cappella albums include: Słowa dźwiękiem malowane [Words painted with sounds] (2012), The Seeds of Stars with pieces by Bob Chilcott (2012) and Miłość na ludowo [Love in folk music] (2014). February 2016 saw the release of De profundis – a new album with a cappella music.
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