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See America by rail: some lessons from 2016
This is the view from the Amtrak Coast Starlight train as it journeys through Oregon, from Seattle to Los Angeles. I took it this summer, after wrapping up a gig with ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination at a publishing event in Vancouver. I’ve wanted to take this particular train trip since first hearing about it, years ago. The part of me that is still a child watching a Betamax copy of North by Northwest taped from TV remains fascinated by train travel, by the opportunity to see a country reeling away behind you like a film strip, and the opportunity to meet people you’d never meet, otherwise. But to take the trip my parents and I used to drive so often, this time by myself and on my own dime, seemed like an affirmation of my adulthood.
I frequently travel alone. A month after this trip, I took a trip to San Diego Comic-Con alone. After that, I traveled to London alone. Earlier this year, I traveled to Manchester alone. I had been in Vancouver alone. I am always with people during this sojourns, whether as a speaker or a consultant, but while I often try to bring my husband — as I did to Sweden, Iceland, and Scotland last year — I am most often on the road alone.
This solitude means I have more time for talking to strangers. Because I am not otherwise engaged in conversation, I have more time for everyone around me. I can (and often do) dive into my phone, but that’s a species of only-child introversion and not a judgment of others. (Who would want me to saunter over and strike up a conversation ex nihilo, I wonder. No one, is the answer.) But I meet more strangers this way, and meeting strangers is how you break out of that dreaded “filter bubble” that Wired says is destroying democracy. In San Diego, for example, the conversation I had most often was not about comics, or movies, or superheroes. It was about the price of real estate. The car-hire drivers I spoke with all had the same story about coming to San Diego: they came for one reason, but stayed for its beauty and its weather. (I myself was unprepared for how beautiful the city was, and understood the longing to stay.) But now they were all being priced out of their neighbourhoods and forced into longer commutes. The story was the same in Vancouver, Seattle, and Los Angeles, and London, and Manchester. Every cab driver, barkeep, server, or customer service rep I spoke to was under the same pressure. These were not “coastal elites.” They were working people relying on tips to make rent. Sure, they might have attended university. But that didn’t matter. Not when student debt was keeping them from affording a mortgage, having a child, or growing their own business.
These are the people that automation is trying to replace. Waitstaff. Cab drivers. Concierges. Ticket takers. After the election, Canadians asked me about a possible repeal of the Affordable Care Act, or a privatization of Medicare, and how it would impact my parents. “In America, no one wants to kill you. They just want you to die,” is how I would answer. They want you to die of poverty, or diabetes, or cancer, or illiteracy, or a learning disability, or another kind of disability, or PTSD, or abuse, or who knows what. But if you could just get on with it, that would be great. And it would make America great.
This isn’t to say that Americans as people want you to die this way. Some of them do, probably. But not all of them. Not by a long shot. But these are the rules of the game that is being an American. The rules are not designed for you to win. If everybody won, then the winners couldn’t feel like winners, any longer.
Now, on the cusp of 2017, I wish that more Americans had taken more trains. Because here are the people I met on the Coast Starlight: a Black family on their way to a reunion, who shared their potato chips with me and whose patriarch was voting Trump; a white guy at a gaming company who read a ton of science fiction but didn’t know any women writers; an elderly white woman, formerly a math teacher, who travelled frequently and had a number of paramours scattered throughout California; a South Asian customer service rep at Amtrak who changed my ticket at two in the morning and somehow understood my sleep-deprived ravings; a child who saw me standing between the cars to trigger the automatic doors and get some fresh air into the car, and called an attendant; a team of Black women who said, “If you’re not sure this is your stop, give us your hand and we’ll haul you back in.”
These are not the people you meet in airports. I do meet people in airports, of course. I was sitting at an airport bar in San Diego watching the Democratic National Convention when the East Asian guy sitting next to me asked me what I did. I showed him the cover of Company Town. (“You wrote that?” he asked. He looked me up and down. “You?”) But by and large, airports are not social hubs. Security theatre inhibits any kind of intimacy at airports. Everyone is too paranoid about their bags and belts and shoes to have a conversation, and the thing you want most after dealing with the TSA is not a nice chat but a stiff drink.
Moreover, air travel is about flying over, not travelling through. The thing about train travel is that it allows you to pass through towns, not above them. This may sound twee and obvious, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true. Trains and their stations are often the oldest piece of municipal infrastructure: especially in the Western United States, cities were built around train stations and stops because they were the access points for shipments of lumber, bricks, tools, and labour. Like the Jesuit missionaries who built a mission at the end of a day-and-a-half’s walk, train stations meant reasonable distances between cities. And so at train stations, you’ll see older architecture. Advert murals. Little parkettes with bandstands. Remnants of the hope that once burned in a community.
Travelling by train also means seeing where this hope has burned out and died. Older buildings, surrounded by FOR LEASE signs. Empty lots. Plywood sheets with spraypaint sigils: “FIREWOOD” “LIVE BAIT.” “WE BUY SCRAP.” Cars on blocks. Spaghetti dinner at the church, tickets five dollars. These are the places where the apocalypse has already happened. These are the towns where The Walking Dead is aspirational programming: a world that’s all guns and no banks.
When we fly between cities, it’s easy to forget these towns exist. It’s easy to forget that the people who live there exist. And that’s how you lose an election. But it’s also how you lose a country. It’s how you lose a sense of who you are, and who you might have been, and who you might still become. A strong national identity and robust social safety net are not mutually exclusive, and they often overlap in countries with good transit. This is not an accident. People are more likely to pass laws that help their neighbours when they see those neighbours.
2016 was a hard year for a lot of people. It was a tough year for me as a creative person, even though I wrote a short and art-directed a short film, finished a novel, wrote a couple of stories, spoke at some conferences, and so on. I was supposed to do more. But every time I sat down to write, I couldn’t focus. Staring at Twitter felt like rubbernecking at the world’s biggest car crash, and yet I couldn’t look away.
This year, my group of friends lost two women to cancer. This year, I went to the hospital with something that felt like a heart attack but might have been a panic attack. This year I tried to meditate, and failed. I tried to keep weight off, and failed. I tried to write more, and failed. This year I wrote the third Machine Dynasty novel, starring Portia, and I feel as though she poisoned me from within. Summoning her felt like summoning an evil spirit. The trick to writing Portia, you see, is to write down all the things that depression has ever told you, and then make a robot say those things. (Or, in this case, a globally-distributed adaptive intelligence whose primary sensory organ is the world’s surveillance apparatus. But I digress.) But this time, when I wrapped up the book, I couldn’t get rid of her. She stayed with me. And I listened to her.
The only thing that could silence her, I found, was being out among other people. Whether it was meeting friends for coffee, or teaching my students at OCADU, or attending conferences, or even just talking to strangers on trains, it almost always helped. It is easy to feel fatalistic about 2017. It is easy to feel sick with dread. Those are normal responses. But quickest and easiest way to firewall against whatever is coming is to strengthen your local community. Spend time amongst your neighbours. Make sure they see you and you see them. Let them know you’re there. Let them know who you are.
See America by rail.
2017 made me sick. Literally.
How I Lost the Weight
Gifts That Writers Might Actually Need
About Madeline
View all posts by Madeline →
Awards eligibility, 2016 edition
What I’ve been up to: Canada Reads, Dubai, teaching
1 thought on “See America by rail: some lessons from 2016”
I get this. I’ve felt it, lived it, believed it for years. I have a trip coming up in a week or so to Las Vegas. I’m driving, not because it’s easier or quicker or cheaper (it isn’t), but because it’s a chance to connect with people and places that I would normally never get to know. Everyone thinks I’m crazy for driving, but being “on the road”–whether it’s driving or by train–is an experience that is unique. Plus, it’s always a chance to disconnect from all of the digital mindlessness and the normalization of madness that we get pushed in front of us every day. It’s a chance to slow down and look at things from a calmer perspective. We’ve lost our sense of community, I think, and become a nation of tribes and micro-groups that can’t see the big picture.
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College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Science
Robert Scofield (Ornamental Horticulture, ’53) moved to Houston, Texas in September of 2015, after being a lifelong Californian. He loves the beautiful countryside and the friendly and caring people. He also says that Texas political climate fits better with his own preferences.
William T. “Tom” Avenell (Animal Husbandry, ’57) celebrated his 87th birthday in May. He has had a rich life, earning three Tae Kwon Do black belts, surviving aorta replacement, marrying a lovely Scottish lass, and running Tom Avenell Management Company — where he still works. His various careers include commercial banking, commercial credit management and residential and commercial property management. He currently leads physical fitness classes for senior citizens.
David L. Ashby (Soil Science, ’62) retired in 2000 after a long career as a research scientist for several companies. He has devoted most of his life to helping impoverished children in Honduras and other countries. Ashby has founded several organizations and schools to aid these children and has sacrificed much of his life to improve theirs. Despite turning 76 this year, he plans to continue his philanthropic work.
Steve Greene (Animal Science, ’71) and his wife Vicky celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on January 21, 2016. They currently live in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Patty Bates (Natural Resources Management, ’81) retired from the U.S. Forest Service after a 35-year career in natural resources management. Her career includes roles as resource officer, district ranger, staff officer and acting deputy forest supervisor across four states. Bates is now enjoying life on a small ranch in southwest Montana.
Julia (Andal) Cox (Dietetics & Food Administration, ’85) worked for a few years in hospitals after graduation. In 1995, she earned a J.D. from Humphreys College of Law in Stockton, Calif. She attended law school at night with two young children at home, while working part time as a dietitian tech at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Stockton. Cox is now a contracts supervisor with the U.S. Department of Defense in Houston, Texas. She and her significant other live in Galveston, Texas. Her daughter earned a BSN from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in 2015 and works in intensive care. Cox’s son Daniel passed away in an accident in 2012. Cos currently chairs the Daniel M. Cox Memorial Scholarship at Columbia Community College in Sonora, Calif. for high achieving STEM transfer students.
Cori Stacy (Nutrition, ’00) married the love of her life in Hanalei, Hawaii on November 27, 2015. They visit San Luis Obispo whenever they get the chance.
Michael Kovach (Agribusiness and Animal Science, ’05) left his job at a mobile marketing agency to work at Panasonic Avioncs, where he now manages the in-flight entertainment system for private aircrafts. He lives in Laguna Beach, Calif., but work is based out of Hamburg, Germany.
Natalie Ohanessian (Food Science, ’09) is grateful for the experience and foundation she received as a food science major at Cal Poly. Soon after graduation, she accepted a job at Fresh & Easy’s corporate office. After nearly six years of food retail experience, she has started her own food consulting business, offering experience and support to smaller artisan food makers. Her company, Food Happy Consulting, helps small producers with production management, product development, food safety and distribution chains.
Miles Sheldon (Agricultural Sciences, ’12) recently got engaged and has started a new job with Crop Production Services.
Sonnie (Thompkins) McVicker (Animal Science, ’13) and William McVicker (M.S., Computer Science, ’12) were married last year after dating all through college. They love making trips to San Luis Obispo and reminiscing on all of their cherished memories spent together at Cal Poly. They are currently in South America on an adventure of a lifetime. In the three months they have been traveling, they have explored Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina and Chile.
Changing Landscapes
By JoAnn Lloyd
Alumna Sara Bendrick (Landscape Architecture, ‘10), host of a hit DIY Network television series, might be young, but what she lacks in years, she more than makes up for with energy, passion, drive and talent. The 30-year-old San Diego resident balances a hectic schedule running a successful residential landscape business and starring in “I Hate My Yard,” a 30-minute series in which she transforms lackluster backyards into beautiful outdoor living spaces. Bendrick landed the television gig after seeing a notice for it in a professional journal. She quickly fired off an email indicating her interest, and within three weeks, she…
A Piece of California in the Nation’s Capital
By Sarah Thien
Three thousand miles from San Luis Obispo, surrounded by the nation’s top policymakers, historic landmarks, and world-famous art galleries, museums and restaurants, when Cal Poly alumni get together, there’s only one thing they like to talk about: the weather. “We basically hate the weather 80 percent of the time and love it 20 percent of the time — the exact opposite of San Luis Obispo,” laughed Jessica Wilson (Political Science,’10), president of the Cal Poly Alumni – Washington, D.C., chapter. “In the winter, we’re not used to the freezing cold, and in the summer we’re shocked by the humidity,” she…
Playing with Traditions
Juana Villa (Graphic Communications, ’15), had the spirit of Cal Poly in mind when she designed a set of playing cards inspired by Cal Poly’s traditions. The Cal Poly Alumni Association asked Villa to illustrate the deck, which was given to incoming students at last year’s Week of Welcome. Each card features a whimsical image of a different tradition. With activities ranging from “Go to the Poly Royal Rodeo”to “Crash a class,”the deck embodies some of the most memorable elements of life at Cal Poly. “I wanted to do something I would be proud of showing, and something that many…
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(person) by Wintersweet Sun Jun 11 2000 at 6:30:45
Jim Croce (1943-1973), musician and songwriter, is sometimes categorized as pop and sometimes as folk. Born in Philadelphia to an Italian-American family, he attended college at Villanova and mixed playing guitar with working as an accordianist, construction worker, and writing soul jingles for an R & B radio station. His first album was You Don't Mess Around with Jim, and his second, Life and Times, contained the hit "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown," which is probably his most familiar song--although my favorite is definitely "Time in a Bottle," which is my personal most romantic song of all time. Croce didn't become a big star, though, continuing to tour mostly college campuses. He died in a plane crash at the age of thirty, just as he was finally beginning to enjoy some popular success with the top two positions on Billboard's best-selling LP charts. Recommended to fans of Don McLean, John Denver, and such.
And it should definitely be noted that the deft guitar-playing of Maury Muehleisen was integral to Croce's songs. Croce did most of the vocals and songwriting himself, but Muehleisen's guitar was equally important.
(person) by dannye Sun Jun 11 2000 at 18:35:29
Along with Croce, one of the greatest acoustic guitar players in pop history also died. Maury Muehleisen is the one playing those sweet, sweet licks on such songs as Operator (my favorite). Three other folks also died in that crash on September 20, 1973.
Their Beechcraft D-18 charter plane snagged the top of a pecan tree just past the end of the runway after a concert at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
operator acoustic guitar Don McLean It's best not to touch them while they are leaving
folk music Don't Tug on Superman's Cape John Denver Folk
Patsy Cline Keyboards in a computer lab with very sticky keys that make you In The Name of Suffering Wiretap
Sneezy at the South Pole Man With No Name Van Lear Rose The Biologist's Valediction to His Wife
F.W. Murnau You're in our world now Terry Jacks Gordon Lightfoot
Finger Eleven
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2020 Democrats paint contrast with Trump on immigration
By ELANA SCHOR and IVAN MORENO, Associated Press | on July 12, 2019
2020 candidates discuss immigration at forum
Democratic presidential candidates promised major changes to U.S. immigration law Thursday, contrasting their ideas to the hardline policies of President Donald Trump during a forum with Latino political activists in Milwaukee. (July 12)
Now Playing: 2020 candidates discuss immigration at forumAD:
Media: Associated Press
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Democratic presidential candidates promised major changes to U.S. immigration law, contrasting their ideas to the hardline policies of President Donald Trump during a forum with Latino political activists in Milwaukee.
The White House hopefuls gathered Thursday as Trump's detention policies have sparked fierce Democratic pushback and intense public debate. They uniformly panned Trump's approach to immigration on a day when the president abandoned his contentious effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren drew one of the biggest audience reactions of the night when asked about the issue.
"Wow, he's going to follow the law?" Warren said to laughter and applause. "This is not about trying to find real information about citizenship and noncitizenship in America. This is just about trying to stir up some more hate."
The other candidates at the forum hosted by the League of United Latin American Citizens included former Housing Secretary Julián Castro, former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks during a campaign stop at town hall in Peterborough, N.H., Monday, July 8, 2019.
Photo: Charles Krupa, AP
Castro promised his administration would not put families in detention centers for crossing the U.S. border illegally.
"I will not stand by it. I'm not going to do it," he said. He said children who are being crowded in pens, away from their parents "are going to be traumatized for the rest of their lives."
Castro said his immigration plan would also address veterans who have been deported after serving in the military.
"One of the things I call for is to immediately ensure that veterans who have been deported can come back to the United States and pursue citizenship in the United States because they served our country honorably," he said. "They did their duty for our country. We owe them a debt of gratitude and the last thing we should do is see them deported away from their families."
Sanders sounded a rare personal note during his remarks by recalling that his father, Eli, was an immigrant who came to the United States from Poland as a 17-year-old "without a nickel in his pocket and could not speak one word of English." His father, Sanders added, is "the kind of person" Trump is seeking to prevent from emigrating today.
On immigration, Sanders offered a sweeping vision.
"We will end the hatred, we will the end the xenophobia that currently exists in this country," he said. "We will provide immediate legal status to the 1.8 million young people eligible for the DACA program." That program — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — protects about 700,000 people, known as dreamers, who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children or came with families that overstayed visas.
Sanders continued: "We will move to comprehensive immigration reform and a path for citizenship for all 11 million undocumented. And we will develop a humane policy at the border, not one that criminalizes desperate people for having traveled a thousand miles."
The day began with Warren releasing a far-reaching immigration agenda that includes the remodeling of immigration enforcement agencies "from top to bottom" and new limits on the detention of migrants who enter the country.
Warren's plan would not go so far as to "abolish" U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a progressive effort last year that failed to reach critical mass even with Democratic voters and drew harsh criticism from Trump and the GOP. But she called for a wholesale reorientation at both ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol, which enforces immigration laws at the border.
Schor reported from Washington.
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179: A Healthy Legal Battle with Dr. Timothy Noakes of The Noakes Foundation
Your Co-Host and Professor of Health Today is None Other Than Professor T.D. Noakes, OMS.:
Prof Noakes studied at the University of Cape Town (UCT), obtaining an MBChB degree and an MD and DSc (Med) in Exercise Science. He is now an Emeritus Professor at UCT, following his retirement from the Research Unit of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. In 1995 he was a co-founder of the now prestigious Sports Science Institute of South Africa (SSISA). He has been rated an A1 scientist by the National Research Foundation of SA (NRF) for a second 5-year term. In 2008 he received the Order of Mapungubwe, Silver, from the President of South Africa for his “excellent contribution in the field of sports and the science of physical exercise”.
Prof Noakes has published more than 750 scientific books and articles. He has been cited more than 16 000 times in scientific literature and has an H-index of 71. He has won numerous awards over the years and made himself available on many editorial boards.
He has authored many books. In 2003 he received the UCT Book Award for Lore of Running (4th Edition), considered to be the “bible” for runners. Since 2011 he has written his autobiography, Challenging Beliefs: Memoirs of a Career, published Waterlogged: The serious problem of overhydration in endurance sports (in 2012), published The Real Meal Revolution (in 2013), co-authored with Jonno Proudfoot, David Grier, and Sally-Ann Creed, and following that the child-focused version of this book, Raising Superheroes (in 2015). The latter two are now also published overseas. In 2014 he co-wrote Always Believe in Magic, with Kevin Musikanth and Jonathan Kaplan, which is the story of the UCT Ikey Tigers journey to winning the 2014 Varsity Cup. The Banting Pocket Guide was published in 2017, co-authored with Bernadine Douglas and Bridgette Allan and most recently he has co-authored Lore of Nutrition with Marika Sboros. This details his journey from prosecution to innocence.
Following the publication of the best-selling book, The Real Meal Revolution, he founded The Noakes Foundation, the focus of which is to raise funding to support high-quality research of the eating plan described in the book.
He now devotes a majority of his time to promoting the low carbohydrate high fat diet, especially for those with insulin resistance, and on raising funds for research through The Noakes Foundation.
He is highly acclaimed in his field and, at age 68, is still physically active, taking part in races up to 21kms.
[02:40] Scott flies to South Africa to try and meet Tim in person for this important podcast.
[03:15] Shoutout to fellow friend Vinnie Tortorich while Scott rocks the t-shirt, Eggs & Bacon is My Favorite Cereal.
[03:55] We rewind so our listeners can get more of the background of Professor Tim, back to when he was an Exercise Physiologist, Exercise Scientist. He got into research and wrote the book, the Lore of Running.
[05:20] Tim’s wife is a Botanical Artist who while we were recording this show, she’s able to present in a global exhibit in Johannesburg. Did you know Cape Town is the Floral Kingdom of the World?
[08:05] They suffer from a lot of wildfires there in Cape Town, South Africa. Plants have actually adapted to this extreme. As we’re recording this episode, they were about to get one of their first rains. South Africa has been in an extreme drought for 3-4 years, their worst in memory.
[10:00] Realizing how important water is in our lives. Tim turns himself into a Type II Diabetic and then writes a book about it.
[11:20] The Professor starts to irritate the cardiologists based in and around Cape Town after he wrote a specific chapter in his autobiography. One year later, 2013 brings about the book, The Real Meal Revolution which he co-authored. He only provided the science, not the meals or the nutrition guidance.
[12:30] Dieticians collusion with the Health Professionals Council of South Africa, against Professor Timothy Noakes, for which he’s actually registered with.
[13:00] The TWEET heard around the world that brought charges against Tim, a malicious prosecution to try and silence him. They decided, whatever the costs, they were going to go for it, to stay the truth!
[16:00] Gary Fettke in Tasmania is a good friend of Tim’s and has also gone through legal battles on the healthy truth.
[20:00] The Green List.
[25:00] Talking Waterlogged, hyponatremia.
We want to change the idea of what is healthy food. We want to start from the bottom up with the poorest people because they’re the ones that are really suffering. – Quoted: Professor Timothy Noakes
[33:00] Tim speaks on why living fat-adapted means that your metabolism is wired completely different. Your response to carbohydrate is completely different when fat-adapted vs the carbohydrate-adapted rollercoaster lifestyle.
[38:00] Tim puts on 5kg of muscle at 68 years of age! It requires though his fat-adapted lifestyle with modern protein. He loves working out and CrossFit. You don’t have to lose muscle mass as you age.
[44:00] Scott finds and brings up Tim Noakes’ profile on the CrossFit Open website.
[46:00] After 7 years, his diabetes is finally in remission! His results have definitely improved thanks to him adding these explosive fitness activities into his regime. His glycated hemoglobin has dropped to 5.2%, that is so normal that it’s frightening, it used to be close to 7 when he started. Tim confirms that he IS taking Metformin but clarifies that by itself, it’s not the cure, it may drop you to an 8, definitely not to his healthy achievement percentages.
[47:10] Tim has never been on a diabetic drug, just the Metformin supplement and the low-carb diet lifestyle.
[49:30] We dig more into The Noakes Foundation, how do we correct the dietary errors of the past 50 years? He launched the foundation once he sold 250,000 copies of his book, so he could invest the money back into something bigger.
[52:00] They just launched the Nutrition Network! Here you’ll be certified to be completely competent to prescribe a low carb diet for patients. This is not just for diabetes, but other conditions too.
[54:30] The Banting Pocket Guide, putting 200 people on a randomized controlled trial, give them decent food, helping the poorest of the poor, living on just $2.00 US per day!
[56:15] Hospitals and their Party Packs, their groupings of drugs that aren’t working.
[1:00:00] Digging into The Green Zone in the Banting Guide’s whole foods including Leafy Green Vegetables, Avocados, Celery, Fennel, Garlic, Butter, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut Oil, Ghee… FAT Will Not Kill You. FAT Is Energy!
[01:01:00] We connect on the benefits from Nina Teischolz and her book The Big Fat Surprise.
[01:01:20] Scott introduces and refreshes Professor Noakes to Dr. Sylvia Tara, author of The Secret Life of Fat.
[01:09:20] Discussing Vinnie Tortorich’s exciting project, FAT: A Documentary on Indiegogo!
“If we understand that too much sugar in the blood is toxic, why can’t we understand that too much sugar in the body is also toxic?” – Quoted:
Tim Noakes in Diabetes Unpacked
Why can’t we understand that too much sugar in the body is also toxic?! @ProfTimNoakes
Tim on Twitter
The Nutrition Network Launched May 2018
The Foundation’s Website
The Foundation on Twitter
The Foundation on Facebook
The Banting Green List on Real Meal Revolution
These Favorite Books on Scott’s Amazon Influencer Page
Lore of Nutrition: Challenging conventional dietary beliefs
Waterlogged: The Serious Problem of Overhydration in Endurance Sports
Real Meal Revolution
Real Meal Revolution 2.0
The Banting Pocket Guide
Super Food for Super Children
Diabetes Unpacked: Just Science and Sense. No Sugar Coating
Vinnie Tortorich
Dr. Ravin “Rocky” Ramdass (Doctor Advocate Attorney)
Gary Fettke
Nina Teicholz of The Big Fat Surprise
Dr. Sylvia Tara of The Secret Life of Fat
We want to change the idea of what is healthy food. We want to start from the bottom up with the poorest people because they’re the ones that are really suffering.
People have got choices and they can afford to eat a good diet and they can choose not too, that’s fine. But the poorest people in this country, South Africa, don’t have a choice. They’ve got no access to good food and no education to know what good food is.
Action Steps:
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Tagged Professor Timothy Noakes, South Africa, Sports Scientist, The Noakes Foundation, Tim Noakes
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My Own Democratic Platform Story
September 6, 2012 Jim Lobe
This week’s embarrassing brouhaha at the Democratic convention over Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel recalled for me a brief foray into Democratic Party politics I made back in 1976, when Sen. Scoop Jackson, whose office was the hatchery and central command for the burgeoning neo-conservative movement, was running for president in a crowded field that included the eventual winner, Jimmy Carter. I was living in my hometown of Seattle at the time, clerking for a superior court judge and serving on the boards of several local international-affairs organizations, including the World Affairs Council, the United National Association, and the regional Peace Education Committee of the American Friends Service Committee. I was also working with friends on a daily international-news program on the local community-sponsored radio station, KRAB-fm.
Back then, the party — especially the state party — was deeply divided between an anti-war wing most closely identified with George McGovern and, for lack of a better word, a more-hawkish wing whose champion, of course, was Scoop himself. The split was particularly strong in the Seattle area (King County) where grassroots Democrats were overwhelmingly anti-war, but the party machinery was controlled by Scoop, in part due to the strong loyalty he enjoyed among the unions which were much stronger then than today. I was a delegate to the King County Convention which, among other things, was charged with electing delegates to the state platform committee. The county convention elected two slates: the majority slate was controlled by Jackson, while the minority, or alternate slate, belonged to the anti-war wing. As a result of a nominating speech by a very popular director of the Country Doctor medical clinic, I was elected as the first alternate delegate — a status that meant that I could take part in the platform committee proceedings and the state convention whenever anyone from the county Jackson slate was absent.
Some weeks later, the platform committee met at the Edgewater Hotel on Seattle’s waterfront, and I naturally chose to serve as the first alternate delegate on the foreign policy subcommittee. I thought that I would have to spend most of the time on the sidelines, but it turned out that the Jackson faction took the platform committee somewhat less seriously than they did the convention itself, as a result of which I was able to take part — was even elected chair at one point in what was apparently a parliamentary maneuver designed to neutralize me — throughout the proceedings. And, to my gratification, I found several other delegates — albeit a minority — on the subcommittee from elsewhere in the state whose views were pretty close to my own.
In any event, the Jackson people worked from a prepared document (which unfortunately I have filed away in a box in the basement of a house back in Seattle) which included some general boilerplate language on the Middle East that went something like this: “We extend the hand of friendship to all the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean, and uphold the right of the State of Israel to exist in peace and security.” (The second part is not exactly right, but it isn’t far off.) Despite strong objections by the Jackson delegates, however, a sufficient minority (including me) on the subcommittee prevailed in their effort to present an alternative statement on which the state convention would eventually have to vote. That plank took the same language from the Jackson draft but added the phrase “and support the legitimate national aspirations of the Palestinian people.” (It wasn’t as radical then as it might seem today; Jimmy Carter came out soon after his election in favor of a “Palestinian homeland”, a statement that ensured that incoming Israeli Prime Minister Menahim Begin would do whatever he could to defeat Carter in 1980.) As I left the meeting room that day and entered the hotel lobby, another delegate — a medical doctor with a strong Swiss accent — began shouting at me something like: “You have the blood of 20,000 Jewish soldiers on your hands” and “Your parents must be very ashamed of you.” (My parents, who were pretty well known around town due to their civic engagement, came to the U.S. in 1936 after fleeing Germany soon after Hitler took power.)
A few weeks later, I drove down to the state convention in Olympia as the first alternate delegate from King County. In contrast to the platform committee deliberations, however, the Jackson organization made damn sure that its delegation remained at full strength through the proceedings, and I stayed very much on the sidelines. It was clear that Scoop and his advisers wanted a very smooth convention, nothing untoward that could embarrass him further at a moment when his presidential candidacy was already faltering pretty badly. (Scoop was a very hard-working, very conscientious senator, totally lacking, however, in anything resembling charisma.) Soon the convention took up the proposed platform, including the minority planks that had mustered enough support on the platform committee to require a vote on the floor.
That’s when some very weird stuff happened. As the convention moved into the foreign policy section, I was approached by two rather burly-looking young men and was told by them that it would be in my best interest if I did not try to address the convention during the debate. As I was only an alternate delegate, I told them that I didn’t see how I could do so in any event, but they simply re-iterated what they had told me and walked away. They never identified themselves or indicated on whose behalf they were telling me this. But some minutes later, just before the two Middle East planks were scheduled to be taken up, something even more surprising took place: without any explanation, all of the Jackson delegates walked out of the hall (I think it was a gymnasium), thus depriving the proceedings of a quorum, and ending discussion of the platform. The result insofar as I remember: the Washington State Democratic Party didn’t have a platform in 1976 because, as best I could tell, Scoop and his handlers didn’t want the minority language even debated, despite the fact that they had the votes to defeat it soundly.
Early in the following year, I was contacted by a senior aide to Marvin Durning, an attorney and well-respected environmentalist, who was running in a special election to succeed (newly installed Transportation Secretary) Brock Adams as congressman from Washington’s 7th district. He asked whether I would be willing to give the candidate a private briefing on various foreign policy issues. I naturally agreed and met him in his law office downtown one evening. It was impressed upon me both in the phone call and at the meeting itself that it would necessarily have to be completely off the record, because my views were considered controversial in some quarters, and it wouldn’t help Durning if it became known that I was advising him. After a pretty long session — about 90 minutes as I recall — he thanked me and said he hoped to meet with me again soon. But about a week or ten days later, I got a call from the same aide who had originally contacted me to say that, unfortunately, the candidate could not meet me again. He was very, very apologetic but stressed that he couldn’t tell me the reason.
I was later told by one apparently knowledgeable source that Durning had been asked several days after the briefing to meet with a group of prominent Jewish donors, and, at that meeting, had been told that it would be very difficult for them to continue supporting his campaign if he continued to meet with me. The main spokesman for the group, according to this account, was none other than my pediatrician, an altogether wonderful man whose family had been closest to my own through most of my youth. Despite some strains that developed over a 1960 trip my family took to Europe during which my parents spent several weeks revisiting their favorite haunts in Germany, our two families remained friendly, and I never asked him about it.
Israel, Israel Palestine, Message, US Domestic Policy, US Foreign Policy Democrat party, Democratic convention, Democratic party platform, Israel's capital, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, two states, us embassy in Israel
Jim Lobe
Jim Lobe served for some 30 years as the Washington DC bureau chief for Inter Press Service and is best known for his coverage of U.S. foreign policy and the influence of the neoconservative movement.
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Erasing Occupation: The Pernicious Role of Congress
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A Weakly Inflated Trial Balloon for Israeli-Palestinian Peace
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Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Call: (470) 341-4500 or visit mercedesbenzstadium.com
Atlanta United FC vs. D.C. United
Sunday July 21, 2019 04:00 pm EDT 07/21/2019 4:00 pm
Atlanta United FC home game
Cost: $50-$300+
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Atlanta United FC vs. LA Galaxy
Saturday August 3, 2019 05:00 pm EDT 08/03/2019 5:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. New York City FC
Sunday August 11, 2019 04:00 pm EDT 08/11/2019 4:00 pm
Campeones Cup: Atlanta United vs. LIGA MX Champion
Wednesday August 14, 2019 08:00 pm EDT 08/14/2019 8:00 pm
Campeones Cup is an annual match up that pits the MLS Cup champion against the winners of LIGA MX’s Campeon de Campeones. Atlanta United will try to win their first international title, while LIGA MX will determine its representative on July 14 at the Campeon de Campeones match where Club America ...
Cost: $35-$500
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
Saturday August 31, 2019 03:30 pm EDT 08/31/2019 3:30 pm
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual college football game played on the opening weekend of the NCAA Division I FBS season in Atlanta.
Atlanta United FC vs. Columbus Crew SC
Saturday September 14, 2019 07:00 pm EDT 09/14/2019 7:00 pm
Atlanta Falcons vs Philadelphia Eagles
Sunday September 15, 2019 08:20 pm EDT 09/15/2019 8:20 pm
Atlanta Falcons home game
Atlanta United FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes
Atlanta Falcons vs Tennessee Titans
Atlanta United FC vs. New England Revolution
Sunday October 6, 2019 04:00 pm EDT 10/06/2019 4:00 pm
Atlanta Falcons vs Los Angeles Rams
Sunday October 20, 2019 01:00 pm EDT 10/20/2019 1:00 pm
Atlanta Falcons vs Seattle Seahawks
Atlanta Falcons vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday November 24, 2019 01:00 pm EST 11/24/2019 1:00 pm
Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints
Thursday November 28, 2019 08:20 pm EST 11/28/2019 8:20 pm
Cost: $107-$420+
Atlanta Falcons vs Carolina Panthers
Tuesday December 10, 2019 01:00 pm EST 12/10/2019 1:00 pm
Cost: TBA
Atlanta Falcons vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday December 22, 2019 01:00 pm EST 12/22/2019 1:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. Houston Dynamo
Wednesday July 17, 2019 07:00 pm EDT 07/17/2019 7:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. New York Red Bulls
Atlanta United FC vs. Montreal Impact
Saturday June 29, 2019 05:00 pm EDT 06/29/2019 5:00 pm
Mexican National Team U.S. Tour: Mexico vs. Venezuela
Wednesday June 5, 2019 08:30 pm EDT 06/05/2019 8:30 pm
The Mexican National Team's Tour across the U.S. brings them to Atlanta to take on Venezuela.
Atlanta United FC vs. Chicago Fire
Saturday June 1, 2019 06:00 pm EDT 06/01/2019 6:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. Minnesota United FC
Wednesday May 29, 2019 07:00 pm EDT 05/29/2019 7:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. Orlando City SC
Sunday May 12, 2019 02:30 pm EDT 05/12/2019 2:30 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. Toronto FC
Wednesday May 8, 2019 07:00 pm EDT 05/08/2019 7:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. Colorado Rapids
Saturday April 27, 2019 06:00 pm EDT 04/27/2019 6:00 pm
Atlanta United FC vs. FC Dallas
George Strait, Chris Stapleton, Chris Janson, Ashley McBryde
Saturday March 30, 2019 04:00 pm EDT 03/30/2019 4:00 pm
Cost: $220-$390
Saturday March 2, 2019 06:30 pm EST 03/02/2019 6:30 pm
The world’s premier off-road motorcycle championship returns to Mercedes-Benz for the most competitive and highest-profile off-road motorcycle racing series on the planet, attracting nearly one million fans in live attendance over the course of the 17-race series. The 2019 season features the world’...
Cost: $16 - $220
Monster Jam - February 24, 2019
Sunday February 24, 2019 03:00 pm EST 02/24/2019 3:00 pm
Bring the entire family to enjoy the unexpected, unscripted, and unforgettable motor sport flying high into Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the second year in a row. These larger-than-life trucks weigh in at 12,000 pounds and are controlled by world-class male and female athletes – bringing four-wheel exc...
Saturday February 23, 2019 07:00 pm EST 02/23/2019 7:00 pm
Cost: start at $20
American Cancer Society and Vanessa Hudgens Crucial Catch Super Bowl Sweepstakes
Friday February 1, 2019 12:00 am EST 02/01/2019 12:00 am
About the Crucial Catch Sweepstakes: The American Cancer Society and Vanessa Hudgens, as the new ACS global ambassador, have partnered for a sweepstakes where one lucky winner will be able to attend and sit with Vanessa Hudgens at Super Bowl LIII as part of a weekend package. All proceeds will suppo...
ESPN Unveils Deion Sanders Sculpture for Super Bowl LIII
Friday January 25, 2019 12:00 am EST 01/25/2019 12:00 am
ESPN is introducing its new 30 for 30 film, “Deion’s Double Play” (debuts Jan 31 at 9p ET on ESPN), with a larger-than-life display honoring MLB player and NFL Hall of Fame cornerback, Deion Sanders. The 9-foot, two perspective sculpture will be on display outside of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Cen...
Peach Bowl
Saturday December 29, 2018 12:00 pm EST 12/29/2018 12:00 pm
Florida vs Michigan
Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals
Sunday December 16, 2018 12:00 am EST 12/16/2018 12:00 am
2018 MLS Cup: Atlanta United v. Portland Timbers
Saturday December 8, 2018 06:00 pm EST 12/08/2018 6:00 pm
Every strike. Every save. Every roar from every sold out match, it’s all led up to this.
Only the Cup is left to claim, and the Kings of the East play for glory.
On December 8th, witness Atlanta United conquer the MLS Cup.
We gon’ shine.
UniteAndConqer
Cost: $224-$4,058 (SOLD OUT)
Atlanta Falcons vs. Baltimore Ravens
Sunday December 2, 2018 01:00 pm EST 12/02/2018 1:00 pm
Eastern Conference Finals: Atlanta United Vs. New York Red Bulls
Atlanta United vs New York Red Bulls
Cost: $30-$1,200
Atlanta Falcons v. Dallas Cowboys
ATL Falcons vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Mercedes-Benz Stadium 5K/Walk Like MADD, One Mile & 50m Dash
Saturday September 15, 2018 07:30 am EDT 09/15/2018 7:30 am
Join the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, Atlanta Track Club and Mothers Against Drunk Driving for the 2018 Mercedes-Benz Stadium 5K/Walk Like MADD and be a part of something special. This event offers something for the whole family including a 5K, One Mile and 50m Dash. All participants have the...
Hit Molly B's Before The Beyoncé and Jay-Z Concerts at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Fans of Beyoncé and Jay-Z are invited to all-inclusive, pre-concert cocktail parties at Molly B’s at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. From 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. before each concert, ticket holders can take advantage of a high-energy reception where for $80 per person they can nosh on a mouthwatering menu featur...
Atlanta Falcons vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Friday August 17, 2018 07:00 pm EDT 08/17/2018 7:00 pm
Bear witness as the Atlanta Falcons lay the smack down on the Kansas City Chiefs (hopfully, anyways).
Hit Molly B's Before The Taylor Swift Concerts at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium
Fans of Taylor Swift are invited to an all-inclusive, pre-concert cocktail party at Molly B’s at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. From 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., ticket holders can take advantage of a special dinner experience created just for the occasion by Executive Chef Michael Bertozzi and Chef Chris Bischoff....
MLS All Star Game 2018: Juventus FC vs MLS All-Stars
Wednesday August 1, 2018 07:25 pm EDT 08/01/2018 7:25 pm
GOAAAAAAL! Watch as ATL United faces off against Juventus
Together We Rise: Falcons Fan Day
Sunday July 29, 2018 10:00 am EDT 07/29/2018 10:00 am
Watch the Falcons prepare for the 2018-2019 season as they host their first-ever open practice at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Arrive early to witness the first public showcase of the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof opening (weather permitting) as well as its award-winning Food & Beverage experience, cheerle...
1414 Andrew Young International Blvd N.W.
mercedesbenzstadium.com
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Honda F1 website
F1 teams worried about Brexit crisis
British GP 2018
© RV Press
F1 teams admit they are worried about the Brexit crisis that is occurring in Britain.
After British people voted in 2016 to leave the European Union, the situation is now in crisis with prime minister Theresa May's exit deal and party leadership in tatters.
If there is no deal in place by March 29 next year, Britain will leave the EU amid unprecedented uncertainty about the future.
Most F1 teams are based in England, including top teams Mercedes and Red Bull.
When asked about the Brexit crisis, Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said: "We are monitoring it very closely because we have a large operation in the UK.
"We have EU citizens working for us, we are importing lots of goods from the EU and we have taken steps to make sure they are not stuck on the border. Overall, not a very pleasant development," he added.
The French works team Renault is also based in England, leaving boss Cyril Abiteboul concerned "in particular about the movement of goods and people".
"We've developed very quickly in recent years and it's been done in particular thanks to the possibilities offered by the UK, bringing in youngsters, people coming out from school, and we don't want that to change," he said.
"That would be dramatic for formula one, but I have full trust in the authorities of Great Britain to understand this is not in their interest to lose what is one of the pillars of British industry."
Christian Horner, boss of the Milton Keynes based Red Bull team, said he is positive a good solution will be found in the end.
"I think the bottom line is that people will continue to do business with the UK if we're competitive and remain good at what we do," he said.
"There's obviously some turbulence around at the moment but hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, there will be a solution found."
However, Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene thinks Brexit could be a perfect opportunity for the Italian team to capture some British talent.
"If everything is going in the direction that is announced at the moment, I suspect that in the near future we will find a lot of people knocking on the door of Maranello," he said.
"But talking about formula one overall, it's not really the best scenario so I hope they find a solution."
(GMM)
Other stories for DECEMBER 13, 2018
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MONZA SEEKING EUR 100M FOR UPGRADE
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CULTURE, SOCIETY
World renowned conservationist Dr Jane Goodall in Greece for first time
by Gina Mamouzelos
World-renowned conservationist and primatologist Dr Jane Goodall in Greece for the first time this week
Her name is synonymous with tireless advocacy on behalf of chimpanzees, the environment, and youth, and her face represents a beacon of hope for millions around the world.
Famed for her 55 year study of the interactions of wild chimpanzees in the Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania, she is considered the world’s foremost expert on chimpanzees, and this week Dr Jane Goodall, world-renowned primatologist, founder of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI), author, a United Nations Messenger of Peace and Dame of the British Empire, will be visiting Greece for the first time as part of her Roots & Shoots programme.
Dr Goodall created the youth programme Roots & Shoots in 1991, together with a group of 12 students from Tanzania, with a goal to motivate children and young people to take action regarding various problems that their community is facing. The belief of the highly successful program is that if everyone helps their local communities, the positive effects will eventually add up and lead to positive global impact. Groups undertake projects each year to help people, animals and the environment.
Dr Goodall will be delivering a talk today at Megaro Mousikis where she will spread her message of hope, as she has done to millions of people around the world. On December 16th she will be meeting with Roots & Shoots groups and educators.
Dr. Jane Goodall, DBE, UN Messenger of Peace (Image by Stuart Clarke)
GCT had the honour of being able to interview Dr Goodall before her arrival and discuss her reasons for visiting Greece, her messages of hope and the importance of investing in our youth for a better future.
Why have you chosen to go to Greece for the first time now?
I travel 300 days a year to many countries. This decision to go to Greece was partly because of a dedicated young woman, Anna Katogiritis, who has been working as a volunteer and helping to establish our youth programme Roots & Shoots, in the country.
In addition, one of my books- the Chimpanzee Children of Gombe- was recently translated by Anna Katogiritis and published through the Patakis Publications. I know that other publishing companies have published some of my books in Greek as well.
Finally, I was told that a visit from me would be very helpful to many students because of the economic crisis that has hit the country and left a lot of people- especially young students and graduates – feeling hopeless. I was told that a lot of young people have left Greece and are now working in other European countries, such as Germany, England, Italy etc. I hear that salaries in Greece are low, which limits what young people can do and that elderly people also feel hopeless, as their pensions have decreased dramatically. And on top of all this there is the terrible refugee crisis that we hear and read about continually.
Our Roots & Shoots programme is working to try to help refugees in other countries and so I hope to share some of that experience – perhaps it can be helpful in Greece. One of the themes of Roots & Shoots is trying to empower those living in poverty, and also to break down the barriers that we humans build between people of different countries, religions and cultures. This would perhaps be beneficial for the government’s efforts to incorporate refugee children into the Greek schools.
Young researcher Jane Goodall with baby chimpanzee Flint at Gombe Stream Reasearch Center in Tanzania.
What places will you be visiting?
I shall only have time to visit Athens. There I shall meet with representatives of groups that have helped refugees, and hear their experiences, share stories. I will also have the opportunity to meet scientists who are working on marine life conservation.
I am giving one talk at Megaron Mousikis, organised by Patakis Publishing Company, JGI, and the British Council, on December 15th. The following day I shall be learning about projects, which the existing Roots & Shoots groups have already completed, and giving a talk to them and their teachers. The talk will be translated in Greek. We are thankful to the American Community School in Athens for hosting the event.
What are you expecting from your visit? And what would you like to achieve?
My main mission will be to try to grow Roots & Shoots in schools and universities, and become part of our global family of young people, from kindergarten through university and beyond, that is now in almost 100 countries, with some 150,000 active groups. Each group chooses – itself – three projects that they feel passionate about. One to help humans, one to help other animals both wild and domestic, and one to help the environment.
What do you think are the biggest issues facing the young people of Greece?
I only know what I hear from my Greek friends, and what I read in the news. They tell me that young people feel that after graduation there is chaos. That it is hard to find jobs, and when they do the salaries are really low compared with what they could earn in other countries.
Anna says that “because salaries are typically really low, basic salary for a full time job can start at 400 euros a month, and average rent can cost between 200 and 400 euros per month – people of her age are known as the “generation of the 500 euros”. Because of all this, many young people are forced to continue living with their parents so it is difficult to start their own families. Their hope, she says, has been crushed, because they feel that there are so few opportunities for advancement in their own country.
Dr. Jane Goodall and Roots & Shoots members plant trees at the Singapore American School in Singapore. (Image by Chris Dickinson)
In what ways do you think the Roots & Shoots programme will benefit the youth of Greece?
The most important message of Roots & Shoots is: “Every individual matters, every individual has a role to play, and every individual makes some impact on the environment and society EVERY DAY.”
Our members learn that the cumulative results of even small actions can make a huge difference. Students choose to work on projects about which they care, they work out ways they can take action, then roll up their sleeves and take action. They see the results of their actions along with those of their group members and also members of different groups in their own and other countries. They realize they really CAN make a difference. They are empowered and this will encourage them to work even harder to make this a better world. During group discussion they will develop critical thinking which will give them the ability to find even more solutions to problems of their community.
Most importantly they will realize that they are not alone, that they are part of a family that is continually growing around the globe. A family of young people that is increasingly realising that while we need some money to live, things go wrong when we live for money in and of itself, become greedy, buy into the false values of the materialistic western culture.
Can you share with us some of your biggest highlights in the past 25 years of running Roots & Shoots?
Since the founding of Roots & Shoots 25 years ago with 12 Tanzanian students, the programme has grown to be a global network of young people making a positive impact on their local communities and our world.
In China we have youth who started a dog shelter to rescue homeless dogs, in the USA we have groups working with retirement homes to help senior citizens, in Canada students started a garden at their school to grow food for the homeless and in so many parts of Africa we have youth planting trees to provide fruit for the community and shade gardens.
I learn of new projects every day – of young people doing projects that make a difference in the lives of others, to help animals and to improve their environment. These young people are getting together with friends and truly making an impact to reverse the damage so many generations before them have caused. This is why I have so much hope for our future.
Young researcher Jane Goodall with David Greybeard, the first chimpanzee to lose his fear of her when she began her studies in Gombe Stream Chimpanzee Reserve in Tanganyika.
What is your favourite part of being involved in Roots & Shoots?
Wherever I go in the world, now, there are young people with shining eyes wanting to tell me what they have been doing to make the world a better place. And these are young people from all walks of life. We often hear that young people CAN make a difference. But I know, from first-hand experience, that they ARE making a difference. And in so many ways.
Chaperoning Dr Goodall for this trip is Anna Katogiritis, also Greece’s Roots & Shoots Ambassador, who says, “I believe that Dr Goodall’s visit will bring hope to all of those young people who have dreams, but think that they cannot accomplish them anymore. She will also bring hope to all the adults who think that they are too old to make a difference, and take the situation in their hands- find solutions to problems.”
For more information go to www.janegoodallinstitute.org and www.facebook.com/rootsandshootsgreece
*Top image of Dr Jane Goodall with kids from Roots & Shoots in Austria by Robert Ratzer (Copyright)
Tags: Dr Jane Goodall, greece
Gina Mamouzelos
Gina is a third generation Greek Australian who grew up immersed in her Greek heritage, including the language, traditions, culture and listening to her grandparent’ mesmerising tales about life in Greece. Passionate about ensuring the Greek language is not forgotten among the younger generations, in 2002 she became a panel member on the SBS Greek radio show ‘Let’s Talk Openly.' She graduated with a Media and Communications degree from the University of Sydney and has put her lifelong passion for writing to use working in social media, public relations and advertising. Gina now joins GCT's team as a writer.
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Tag: Singer from County Donegal crossword clue
LA Times Crossword 15 May 19, Wednesday
Constructed by: Chuck Deodene
Today’s Reveal Answer(s): Guest Appearance
The hidden word “GUEST” APPEARS in each of the themed answers:
57A Talk show drop-by … and a literal feature of 17-, 25-, 37- and 49-Across : GUEST APPEARANCE
17A Sports page table : LEAGUE STANDINGS
25A Dissociative condition : FUGUE STATE
37A Makes a case for, with “of” : ARGUES THE MERITS
49A Intraoral piercing : TONGUE STUD
1 Passport stamps : VISAS
A visa is a usually a stamp in one’s passport, an indication that one is authorized to enter (and less often, to exit) a particular country. The word “visa” comes into English, via French, from the Latin expression “charta visa” meaning “paper that has been seen”, or “verified paper”.
6 Improvised knife : SHIV
“Shiv” is a slang term describing a weapon crudely fashioned to resemble a knife. Mostly we hear of shivs that have been fashioned by prison inmates to do harm to others.
10 MRI output : SCAN
An MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine uses powerful magnetic fields to generate its images so there is no exposure to ionizing radiation (such as X-rays). We used MRI equipment in our chemistry labs at school, way back in the days when the technology was still called Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (NMRI). Apparently the marketing folks didn’t like the term “nuclear” because of its association with atomic bombs, so now it’s just called MRI.
14 Capital of Ghana : ACCRA
Accra sits on Ghana’s coast and is a major seaport as well as the country’s capital city. The name “Accra” comes from a local word “Nkran” meaning “ants”, a name chosen because of the large number of anthills found in the area when the city was founded.
The country name “Ghana” translates as “warrior king” in the local language. The British established a colony they called Gold Coast in 1874, later to become Ghana, as part of the scramble by Europeans to settle as much of Africa as they could. One of Ghana’s most famous sons is Kofi Annan, the diplomat who served as General Secretary of the UN for ten years until the beginning of 2007.
15 “Say Anything…” actress Skye : IONE
Ione Skye is an American actress born in Hertfordshire in England. She is best known for portraying the character Diane Court in the 1989 high school romance movie “Say Anything…”, starring opposite John Cusack. Skye is the daughter of the Scottish folk singer Donovan.
16 “__ and Abel”: Jeffrey Archer novel : KANE
“Kane and Abel” is an extremely popular 1979 novel by English author Jeffrey Archer. It is so popular that it has sold about as many copies as classics like “Gone with the Wind” and “To Kill a Mockingbird”.
Jeffrey Archer is a former politician, novelist and much-ridiculed celebrity in his native Britain. HIs is an exemplar of an up-and-down career. He was elected Member of Parliament in 1969, went almost bankrupt due to a financial scandal, became a best-selling novelist, became deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, resigned after being accused of paying a prostitute, won a libel case, was made a Member of the House of Lords, resigned when it came out that he’d lied in the libel case, served two years in prison for perverting the course of justice. Despite all that, he is still officially “Lord” Archer.
22 Winter hrs. in St. Louis : CST
Central Standard Time (CST)
23 Blog entry : POST
Many folks who visit this website regard it as just that, a website. That is true, but more specifically it is referred to as a blog, as I make regular posts (actually daily posts) that then occupy the “front page” of the site. The blog entries are in reverse chronological order, and one can just look back day-by-day, reading older and older posts. “Blog” is a contraction of the term “web log”.
25 Dissociative condition : FUGUE STATE
A fugue state is a rare dissociative disorder in which a person wanders away from his or her usual environment, possibly with the establishment of a new identity. The state can last for hours, days or months, and on return, the person retains past memories, but does not recall events while in the fugue state.
30 Woman college basketball coach Summitt with an NCAA record 1,098 career wins : PAT
Pat Summitt was a college basketball head coach. She coached the Tennessee Lady Vols team for 38 years starting in 1974. Sadly, Summitt stepped down in 2012 following a diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, and passed away in 2016.
31 Nairobi’s country : KENYA
Nairobi is the capital and largest city in the African nation of Kenya. The city is named for the Nairobi River, which in turn takes its name from the Maasai “Enkare Nairobi” meaning “Cool Water”. Nairobi was founded in 1899 as a stop on the Kenya-Uganda railroad, at a time when the country was a British colony.
32 Insulin-producing gland : PANCREAS
The hormone insulin is secreted by structures in the pancreas called the islets of Langerhans, which are named for their island-like appearance under a microscope and for their discoverer Paul Langerhans. The hormone is named for the “islets”, as the Latin for island is “insula”.
36 Left or right ending : -IST
The concept of left-right politics started in France during the French Revolution. When members of France’s National Assembly convened in 1789, supporters of the King sat to the President’s right, and supporters of the revolution to the President’s left. The political terms “left” and “right” were then coined in the local media and have been used ever since.
44 __ pad : STENO
Stenography is the process of writing in shorthand. The term comes from the Greek “steno” (narrow) and “graphe” (writing).
47 Old Mideast org. : UAR
The United Arab Republic (UAR) was a union between Egypt and Syria established in 1958. The UAR dissolved in 1961 when Syria pulled out of the arrangement.
48 Reggae precursor : SKA
Reggae is a genre of music that developed in the late sixties, evolving out of the genres of ska and rocksteady.
53 Brightness nos. : IQS
Although it is correct these days to say that the abbreviation IQ stands for “intelligence quotient”, the term was actually coined by German psychologist William Stern, and so is actually an abbreviation for the German “Intelligenz-Quotient”.
63 Repast : MEAL
Our word “repast”, meaning “meal”. came to us via French (in which language “repas” is “meal”). Ultimately the term comes from the Latin “repascere” meaning “to repeatedly graze”.
65 Popular Google service : GMAIL
Gmail is a free webmail service provided by Google, and my favorite of the free email services. Gmail made a big splash when it was introduced in 2007 because it offered a whopping 1GB of storage whereas other services offered a measly 2-4MB on average.
67 Singer from County Donegal : ENYA
The Irish singer Enya co-wrote and performed two songs for the 2001 film “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”. Her song “May It Be” was nominated to that season’s Best Original Song Academy Award. The second number, called “Aniron”, was sung in Tolkien’s Elvish language called Sindarin.
Donegal is the name of the most northerly county in Ireland, and is also the name of the town that gave the county its name. “Donegal” is the anglicized form of the Irish “Dún na nGall” meaning “fort of the foreigners”. County Donegal is a really beautiful part of the country …
68 Leaf under a petal : SEPAL
In a flower, the sepals are the green, leaf-like structures that are “interleaved” with the petals, providing support. Prior to acting as support for the petals, the sepals protect the flower in bud.
1 Actor Kilmer : VAL
Val Kilmer’s first big leading role in a movie was playing Jim Morrison in Oliver Stone’s 1991 biopic “The Doors”. A few years later, Kilmer was chosen for the lead in another big production, “Batman Forever”. Things haven’t really gone as well for Kilmer since then, I’d say. Off the screen, he flirted with the idea of running for Governor of New Mexico in 2010. A Hollywood actor as a governor? Would never happen …
2 Floe makeup : ICE
An ice floe is a sheet of ice that has separated from an ice field and is floating freely on the ocean.
3 Perform like Ella : SCAT-SING
Scat singing is a vocal improvisation found in the world of jazz. There aren’t any words as such in scat singing, just random nonsense syllables made up on the spot.
Ella Fitzgerald, the “First Lady of Song”, had a hard and tough upbringing. She was raised by her mother alone in Yonkers, New York. Her mother died while Ella was still a schoolgirl, and around that time the young girl became less interested in her education. She fell in with a bad crowd, even working as a lookout for a bordello and as a Mafia numbers runner. She ended up in reform school, from which she escaped, and found herself homeless and living on the streets for a while. Somehow Fitzgerald managed to get herself a spot singing in the Apollo Theater in Harlem. From there her career took off and as they say, the rest is history.
4 Insider lingo : ARGOT
“Argot” is a French term. It is the name given in the 17th century to “the jargon of the Paris underworld”. Nowadays argot is a set of idioms used by any particular group, the “lingo” of that group.
Lingo is specialized vocabulary. “Journalese” and “legalese” would be good examples.
5 TV lawyer Goodman : SAUL
“Better Call Saul” is a spin-off drama series from the hit show “Breaking Bad”. The main character is small-time lawyer Saul Goodman, played by Bob Odenkirk, who featured in the original series. “Better Call Saul” is set six years before Goodman makes an appearance in the “Breaking Bad” storyline. The lawyer’s real name is James Morgan McGill, and his pseudonym is a play on the words “S’all good, man!”
7 Trending : HOT
In the world of Twitter for example, a phrase that is getting “tagged” by users more than other phrases is said to be “trending”.
11 High-kicking dance : CAN-CAN
The Moulin Rouge cabaret is located right in the middle of one of the red light districts of Paris, the district of Pigalle. You can’t miss the Moulin Rouge as it has a huge red windmill on its roof (“moulin rouge” is French for “red windmill”). The nightclub opened its doors in 1889 and soon after, the working girls of the cabaret adopted a “respectable” party dance and used it to entice their clients. That was the birth of the can-can. Nowadays, the Moulin Rouge is home to a lavish, Las Vegas-style show that costs millions of euros to stage. It features showgirls, dancers and acrobats, a whole host of entertainers in fact. And I am sure the can-can features as well …
13 Snapple rival : NESTEA
Nestea is a brand of iced tea made by Nestlé. The name is a portmanteau of “Nestlé” and “tea”.
Originally “Snapple” was the name of just one type of juice made by a company called Unadulterated Food Products. The drink’s name was a contraction of “snappy apple”. The company’s name was changed to the Snapple Beverage Corporation in the early 1980s. Snapple was sold in 1994, and is now a brand name owned by Dr Pepper Snapple Group.
24 Shortstop Vizquel with 11 Gold Glove Awards : OMAR
Omar Vizquel is a former MLB shortstop who has the nickname “Little O”. Among his many achievements on the field, Vizquel became the oldest person to play shortstop in an MLB game. He retired from the game in 2007 at 40 years old.
28 Aquarium beauty : TETRA
The neon tetra is a freshwater fish that is native to parts of South America. The tetra is a very popular aquarium fish and millions are imported into the US every year. Almost all of the imported tetras are farm-raised in Asia and very few come from their native continent.
34 Stronghold : REDOUBT
A redoubt is a system of fortifications that surround a larger fort. The redoubt is used to protect soldiers stationed outside the main fort, and to provide additional defenses. The term “redoubt” (originally “redout”) means “place of retreat”.
35 That, in Toledo : ESO
Toledo is a city in central Spain that is located just over 40 miles south of the capital Madrid. Toledo is sometimes called the “City of Three Cultures”, due to the historical co-existence of Christian, Muslim and Jewish traditions.
36 Online chats, briefly : IMS
Even though instant messaging (sending and receiving IMs) has been around since the 1960s, it was AOL who popularized the term “instant message” in the eighties and nineties. The “AOL Instant Message” service was known as AIM.
38 Subdued hue : ECRU
The color ecru is a grayish, yellowish brown. The word “ecru” comes from French and means “raw, unbleached”. “Ecru” has the same roots as our word “crude”.
40 __ torch: luau light : TIKI
A tiki torch is a bamboo torch that’s commonly used in Tiki culture. Tiki culture is a relatively modern invention dating from the 20th century, and is the experience created in Polynesian-style restaurants. The word “Tiki” is borrowed from Polynesia.
44 Mark of shame : STIGMA
A stigma (plural “stigmata), in a social sense, is a distinguishing mark of disgrace. For example, one might have to suffer the stigma of being in prison. The term derives from the Greek “stigma” meaning “mark, brand”.
45 Kitchen toppers : TOQUES
A toque was a brimless style of hat that was very fashionable in Europe in the 13th to 16th centuries. Nowadays we associate toques with chefs, as it is the name given to a chef’s hat (called a “toque blanche” in French, a “white hat”). A chef’s toque is quite interesting. Many toques have exactly 100 pleats, often said to signify the number of ways that an egg can be cooked.
47 2019 Pebble Beach event : US OPEN
Pebble Beach Golf Links, located just south of Monterey, California, is a public course. It was the first public golf course to be chosen as the top course in the country by “Golf Digest”.
51 “Weeds” law org. : DEA
“Weeds” is a Showtime television series that originally aired from 2005 to 2012. “Weeds” is a comedy-drama about a mother of two who has to turn to growing and selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies. Mary-Louise Parker plays the lead, and does an excellent job …
52 Moth attractor : FLAME
It isn’t really understood why moths are attracted to artificial lights. There is one theory that sounds plausible to me though. It is suggested that moths navigate at night by maintaining the moon (the brightest celestial object) at a fixed angle. When a moth finds a brighter light source, like an artificial light, it gets confused.
56 Units of energy : ERGS
An erg is a unit of mechanical work or energy. It is a small unit, with one joule comprising 10 million ergs. it has been suggested that an erg is about the amount of energy required for a mosquito to take off. The term comes from “ergon”, the Greek word for work.
58 __ Poke: retro candy : SLO
Slo Poke ia a brand of candy, one described as caramel on a stick. It is produced by the Gilliam Candy Company.
61 “Homeland” org. : CIA
“Homeland” is a psychological drama on Showtime about a CIA officer who is convinced that a certain US Marine is a threat to the security of the United States. The show is based on a series from Israeli television called “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War”). I saw the first season of this show and highly recommend it …
17 Sports page table : LEAGUE STANDINGS
20 Plaza payment : TOLL
21 Feel remorse over : RUE
29 “Who __ to complain?” : AM I
37 Makes a case for, with “of” : ARGUES THE MERITS
42 Knot-tying vow : I DO
43 Like big lottery winners, presumably : ECSTATIC
49 Intraoral piercing : TONGUE STUD
52 Carnival : FAIR
54 6-Down’s sib : BRO
55 River swimmers : EELS
57 Talk show drop-by … and a literal feature of 17-, 25-, 37- and 49-Across : GUEST APPEARANCE
64 Char on a grill : SEAR
66 About : AS TO
6 54-Across’ sib : SIS
8 Going nowhere, career-wise : IN A RUT
9 Playhouse, say : VENUE
10 Navigate slopes : SKI
12 Showing insecurity : ANGSTY
18 Wee toymaker : ELF
19 Matching office accessories : DESK SET
23 Dad : PAPA
26 __ the crack of dawn : UP AT
27 House-warming option : GAS HEAT
33 Stage prompting : CUING
39 “Simple as can be” : IT’S A SNAP
41 What a tattoo may cover : SCAR
46 Put into power : ENSEAT
50 Wipe : ERASE
59 Settle : PAY
60 Time to remember : ERA
62 Turn in the plumbing : ELL
Posted on May 15, 2019 May 5, 2019 Categories Chuck DeodeneTags Dissociative condition crossword clue, Showing insecurity crossword clue, Singer from County Donegal crossword clue, Sports page table crossword clue, Stronghold crossword clue15 Comments on LA Times Crossword 15 May 19, Wednesday
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LGBTQ Refugees Allege Anti-Gay Police Harassment In Kenya: ‘We Are Suffering’
By Kelsey Marie
Kenya is known as a refuge for the LGBTQ community in East Africa. However, many LGBTQ refugees have been tormented by Kenyan police in the past few weeks.
Nina Muregwa, a 17-year-old Burundi national, told TIME that she feels threatened — she escaped death threats because of her sexual identity back home. She escaped to Kenya thinking she finally found a safe haven, but she is once again scared for her life.
Kenya is the only country in East Africa where a person can be registered as a refugee based on their LGBTQ status.
Muregwa, along with 16 other refugees, reported being arrested at gunpoint by five police officers earlier in June. They were all locked up without being charged.
Two days later, on June 10, they were released and another group of police officers tried to arrest them. This time, the United Nations refugee agency stepped in.
Philip Ndolo, the Nairobi police chief, told The Associated Press the refugees were arrested for their own protection. No further details were given.
The refugees have locked themselves in their two-bedroom house in the capital city of Nairobi and won’t even leave for food because of the threats they are receiving from local residents.
Last month, there were protests by LGBTQ refugees outside the U.N. refugee agency office in Nairobi because the refugees wanted support from the U.N. and respect from Kenyan authorities.
There was also a sit-in protest in April, where some 55 LGBTQ refugees demanded that the Kenyan authorities not close the emergency shelter they were staying in.
Although the U.N. refugee agency has told the LGBTQ refugees they would assist in finding housing, Muregwa says, “the recent ruling has shown that we are not welcome in this country. We cannot live where we are unwanted.”
The refugees are currently receiving a $60 stipend per month but it is not enough to cover the cost of living.
Congolese refugee, Mvugonziza Espoir says, “we only eat porridge once a day. How can one only survive on porridge in this life? We are suffering.”
This comes after last month’s High Court’s ruling which upholds the criminalization of gay sex in Kenya.
Kelsey Marie
Kelsey-Marie is an NYC girl who currently lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.
8 African Safari Parks To See Where The Lion Kings Roam
One of the best things about Disney’s new live-action revamp of The Lion King is getting the chance to see stunning African landscapes in greater detail and feeling like you’re roaming alongside these awe-inspiring animals in their pride lands. If the movie inspired you to look into real-life safaris where you can witness these creatures […]
Travel To South Africa For These Unique Experiences Found Nowhere Else In The World
Recent statistics released by South African Tourism state that traveling within South Africa has been increased by 59% from January to April 2019. If you’re looking to pay this stunning country a visit, here are a few unique experiences to help you get the most out of your travels. Golf Off Of A Mountain If […]
Kelsey Marie / South Africa
Visit These Lesser-Known Deserts For The Ultimate Adventure
If you’re the type of traveler that enjoys beautiful views mixed with adventure, then a vacation in the desert would be a dream. Maybe you hear the word desert and your mind instantly references Egypt, Dubai, or Morocco. You’d be surprised to know that there are many unknown deserts around the world. Here are 8 […]
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Orange County, California – Pastor John Rodgers McFarland Charged with Sexually Abusing 7 Children
McFarland was recently a pastor at Orangethorpe United Methodist Church in Fullerton and served as a pastor at several other area churches.
Orange County Pastor Accused of Sexually Abusing 7 Children
Last week, a longtime pastor at several churches in Southern California was arrested a second time on allegations of child sex abuse. 67-year-old John Rodgers McFarland has been charged with seven counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under 14 years old and four counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor between 14 and 15. There are allegedly seven victims.
McFarland pleaded not guilty during an arraignment on May 13. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 179 years in prison.
The former pastor was first arrested in December on suspicion of child molestation in Escondido. While police were investigating those allegations, they reportedly discovered evidence that there were multiple victims of sex abuse by McFarland.
The alleged abuse is believed to have occurred between 2003 and 2017. During this time period, McFarland served as a pastor at several different churches in the Orange County and San Diego areas. He most recently served as the head pastor at Orangethorpe United Methodist Church in Fullerton.
Other churches that McFarland has served through the years include:
San Dieguito Methodist Church in Encinitas (1978-1981)
Calexico United Methodist Church in San Diego County (1981-1988)
Fountain Valley United Methodist Church (1988-2016)
Surf City Church in Huntington Beach (2011-2016)
Legal Recourse For Survivors of Clergy Sex Abuse
Attorney contributor Brian Kent of AbuseGuardian.com is a former sex crimes prosecutor. Today, he represents survivors of sexual abuse in civil lawsuits. Here are some general thoughts from Brian on the legal rights of people who have been abused by pastors, priests, and other clergy members:
Sexual predators often seek to place themselves in positions of authority and trust, including religious organizations. Sadly, sexual abuse has been a serious problem in religious communities for decades. The predators in these communities build the trust of their parishioners and exploit this trust in order to commit heinous crimes that traumatize victims. The victims of clergy sex abuse deserve to find justice for what they’ve suffered.
The criminal justice system handles the investigation and prosecution of sexual predators. However, in many cases of clergy sex abuse, the legal options for victims don’t stop there. Sometimes, survivors may have grounds for a lawsuit against the church for failing to prevent the abuse. For example, if the church had ignored or covered up previous allegations of sexual misconduct by a clergy member, the victims may have grounds for a lawsuit against the church.
If you or someone you love is a survivor of clergy sex abuse, you can learn more about your family’s legal options by speaking with an experienced clergy sex abuse victims attorney.
Location of Orangethorpe United Methodist Church in Fullerton, CA
Local News Coverage From CBS Los Angeles
Longtime SoCal Pastor, Former Police Chaplain Charged With Sexually Assaulting 7 Children
O.C. Pastor Arrested Again, Charged in Molestation of 7 Children as Young as 5 Years Old: DA
Orange County pastor charged with molesting 7 children
By Stephen Hayward|2019-05-21T11:15:41-04:00May 20th, 2019|Rape & Sexual Assault Victim - Lawyer Commentary|0 Comments
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Legal Momentum News Brief - Week of September 17, 2018
Legal Momentum Talks to New York Magazine about Kavanaugh Case
Legal Momentum provided critical information on issues of privacy and rights of sexual assault survivors in a new article appearing in New York Magazine’s The Cut about the confirmation process for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Legal Momentum’s Deputy Legal Director, Jennifer Becker, highlighted the importance of confidentiality for survivors and their right to tell their stories on their own terms.
In the article, titled Dianne Feinstein Was Right to Grant Christine Blasey Ford Her Privacy, Jennifer Becker points out that “At its root, sexual violence is about power and control, so for victims and survivors they often feel powerless. Respecting confidentiality is essential to doing just that. We need to always support survivors by giving them power and control over their own life experiences.” Professor Ford initially wrote to Senator Feinstein of her experiences, and some have questioned the Senator’s timing in not making the letter public sooner. Ms. Becker said that Senator Feinstein “is following the best practices that are informed by years and years of advocates and experts in the field of gender-based violence, who recognize that supporting survivors means giving them the choice of whether or not their story would be publicly accessible.” Senator Feinstein has been a longtime supporter of the Violence Against Women Act.
Legal Momentum Influences Sex Harassment Training for NYS
Legal Momentum responded to New York State Governor Cuomo’s request for our expert input and recommendations to improve the state’s model complaint form, policy, and training regarding reporting, addressing, and preventing incidents of sexual harassment.
New York State’s proposed Sexual Harassment Complaint Form, Policy, and Model Sexual Harassment Prevention Training were compiled by the Governor’s Office, the NYS Department of Labor, and the NYS Division of Human Rights. Legal Momentum made numerous specific recommendations aiming to enhance accessibility for low-wage and immigrant women; empower and encourage complainants to report; address employer and industry-specific vulnerabilities; and enhance accountability, transparency, efficacy, and prevention to better address sexual harassment in the workplace. The recommendations included:
Simplifying language to enhance accessibility
Limiting/eliminating questions on prior or external complaints
Ensuring complainants are effectively notified
Strengthening anti-retaliation provisions
Emphasizing equality, inclusivity, and civility
Enhancing the interactive element of training
Legal Momentum believes these thorough and thoughtful model documents have the potential to provide New York State employers with a stronger foundation to address sexual harassment in their workplaces and to comply with the law.
NYC Council Awards Third Grant to Support Rights Now!
For the third year in a row, Legal Momentum has been designated to receive a $125,000 grant under the New York City Council’s Young Women’s Initiative (YWI). The award will enable Legal Momentum to continue its Rights Now! Peer Educator Empowerment Program through June 2019. The Rights Now! curriculum is specifically geared towards at-risk girls and young women. It was first rolled out in the spring of 2017 under a previous YWI grant.
The Rights Now! Program recruits and trains several young women in New York City to serve as peer educators and facilitate interactive workshops to empower young women to navigate and escape harmful relationships. The peer educators educate teen girls and young women about their legal rights and how to recognize the signs of dating violence, domestic abuse, sexual assault, and how to report incidents of violence or harassment that occur in school. Rights Now! workshops are hosted by community organizations that work with young women and girls in New York City. To request more information or schedule a workshop, use the form on Legal Momentum’s website or email info@legalmomentum.org.
Legal Momentum Joins “PowHer the Vote” NY State Campaign
Legal Momentum is banding together with PowHer New York’s statewide network of more than 100 organizations to ensure that women count in the upcoming elections. The non-partisan initiative — PowHer the Vote — aims to protect and expand women’s rights in New York. This 10-week social media campaign will ensure that candidates address issues of importance to women.
Launched on Primary Day, Thursday, September 13, PowHer the Vote spotlights critical issues every week leading up to Election Day on November 6 with expert blogs, social media outreach, and online forums each Thursday from 2:00 p.m.–3:00 p.m., focused around PowHer New York’s “10 Questions to Ask Candidates.” Topics include: Child Care, Better Jobs and Equal Pay, Reproductive Rights, Violence Against Women, Criminal Justice, Diversity, and Leadership. PowHer New York is a statewide network of individuals and organizations committed to accelerating economic equality for 10 million New York women and their families. You can find network lists, candidate questions, and more information at www.PowHerNY.org.
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School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering WSU pinpoints eye disease treatment — a possible alternative to laser surgery
Mock-up prototype of the microneedle array.
By Siddharth Vodnala, intern, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture
PULLMAN, Wash. – A Washington State University researcher has received a U.S. Department of Defense grant to develop a more convenient, less expensive and less painful way to treat serious eye diseases.
Kuen-Ren “Roland” Chen, an assistant professor in the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, received an $264,000, 18-month exploratory grant to use 3D printing to develop a programmable microneedle array that can deliver drugs directly into the eye in a sustained manner.
The technology could be used to treat major eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration.
Eye disorders and vision loss treatment cost nearly $139 billion every year, according to a report commissioned by Prevent Blindness America. But, delivering drugs into delicate eyes is challenging.
Microneedle array to deliver drugs
Eye drops often don’t work well because tears dilute them, and there is a physical barrier between most parts of the eye and blood vessels. Doctors often use laser therapy and direct eye injections, but, laser therapy has several serious side effects. Meanwhile periodic direct injections are expensive, costing nearly $2,000 a shot. This makes it important to use technology that can deliver drugs in an efficient way to minimize costs.
Microneedles, an alternative to standard hypodermic needles, are tiny, minimally invasive needles that are stacked next to each other to form a microneedle array.
While microneedle technology already exists, Chen and Ph.D. student Maher Amer are creating an innovative “locking” and “unlocking” technology for the array. They plan to use 3D printing to produce the tiny needles.
Chen’s technology, which uses a polymer gel to lock the needles in place, would allow doctors to attach the microneedle array to the eye to steadily deliver the drug for a long period and then easily detach it later.
Less invasive, less pain
The steady delivery would provide more efficient drug delivery, which would reduce costs, and would mean fewer patient hospital or clinic visits. The microneedle technology would also be less invasive, cause less pain than direct injections, and have fewer side effects, he added.
The researchers initially plan to develop their microneedle array to deliver the drug into the eye for a month, which could more effectively reduce abnormal blood vessel growth than a single direct shot.
Chen’s technology will also save money by reducing the amount of the drug that is required for treatment.
The researchers are currently developing the mold required for manufacturing the microneedles and testing its locking mechanism.
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House and NAMI partnership
February 2, 2009, 7:36 am
Filed under: awareness | Tags: awareness, mental health, mental health awareness, mental illness, television
FOX TV’s HOUSE & NAMI Renew Partnership
The hit FOX TV drama House has once again teamed with the National Alliance on Mental Illness to raise money and awareness in support of people with mental illness and their families.
T-shirts bearing the slogan (or “House-ism”) “Normal’s Overrated” went on sale Thursday, January 22 with proceeds benefiting NAMI.
A similar partnership in 2007 raised over $130,000 for NAMI.
The 2009 partnership was announced to the media at an exclusive 100th episode party for the show last Wednesday in Los Angeles, where the NAMI logo was proudly displayed along the red carpet. In addition, House cast and crew members each wore the special t-shirts to the event.
“House is making an enormous contribution to public education by lending the show’s celebrity profile to raise funds,” said NAMI executive director Mike Fitzpatrick, who was in attendance at the event.
“NAMI thanks the producers, cast, and crew of House. You are making a difference in people’s lives.” Fitzpatrick added.
The event was covered by multiple media outlets including Entertainment Tonight which aired a piece featuring the cast of House discussing the relationship between the show and NAMI.
NAMI has created a special section on NAMI.org where visitors can purchase t-shirts, see highlights from the event, and even help NAMI by downloading a widget which can easily be added to social networking profile pages such as Facebook and MySpace.
Join NAMI and House in celebrating this important partnership by purchasing your t-shirt today.
Schizophrenia Stigmas
Filed under: awareness, stigma | Tags: awareness, eduacation, mental illness, metal health, schizophrenia, stigma, video
This is an informational video about Stigmas of Schizophrenia from the Health Channel. The purpose of this problem is to identify common stigmas of the disease, and raise awarness of the problem in believing these stigmas.
Paws For A Cause
Filed under: awareness | Tags: awareness, events, mental health foundation
THE MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION PRESENTS:
Dear PAWS for a CAUSE at the Plaza:
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR AND HOLD THE DATES.
We will be having many new attractions including a PAWS WALK on Sunday morning, April 5th stay tuned for more details about the walk. We are also looking to invite food vendors to participate, so if you know a food vendor who might be interested, please let them know about our event.Looking forward to seeing you at PAWS for a CAUSE at the Plaza next
April 3-5, 2009!! Have a wonderful and healthy winter and New Year!
Judy Burgess
Filed under: awareness, Education, Resources | Tags: advocacy, awareness, eduacation, mental health, mental illness, Resources, services
“Advocacy For Mental Illness” PDF.
“Advocacy is an important means of raising awareness on mental health issues and insuring that mental health is on the narional agenda of govenrnments. Advocacy can lead to improvements in policy, legislation, and service development.”
Filed under: awareness, Education | Tags: awareness, Education, mental illness
The holidays are a celebratory time for most people, but those affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) may experience continuing episodes of depression during the late fall and winter, alternating with periods of normal or high mood the rest of the year. While the environment can trigger the disorder in some people, a new study suggests that others may have a genetic predisposition to SAD.
People living with SAD may experience oversleeping, daytime fatigue, and weight gain. Others may show symptoms associated with depression, such as decreased sexual interest, lethargy, hopelessness, suicidal thoughts, lack of interest in normal activities, and social withdrawal. Many people with SAD do not feel “normal” until May.
In the study, researchers observed 220 people, including 90 people without depression and 130 people diagnosed with SAD. In the latter group, seven people had two mutated copies of the photopigment gene in the eye, which helps detect colors. The mutation makes a person with SAD less sensitive to light.
This information one day may be used to predict whether a person may have a higher risk for developing SAD, or whether light therapy will be effective.
While researchers have not identified specific causes of the disorder, seasonal circadian rhythm interruption, as well as changes in serotonin and melatonin production, may also play a role in the disorder.
When seasonal changes trigger recurring mild feelings of depression, some people living with SAD find that light therapy—using bright lamps or scheduling more time outdoors in winter—helps to manage symptoms. If symptoms noticeably affect one’s daily living, he or she should consult a mental health professional who is qualified to treat SAD.
January 5, 2009, 11:38 pm
Filed under: awareness, stigma | Tags: awareness, stigma. mental health
Famous people with mental illness…
Filed under: awareness, Education | Tags: awareness, Education, mental illness, stigma
Mental Illness is not confined to any particular ethnic, racial, religious, or financial group. Anyone can get it, at any time.
Even though most mental illnesses have devastating effects on the lives of those affected, many have found that these illnesses can produce extraordinary clarity, insight, and creativity as well.
Below you will find the names of many famous people who felt not only the devastation, but also the extraordinary creative potential, as well as the courage to use it. It’s quite a list. Please take the time to browse it thoroughly.
The admired sixteenth President of the United States suffered from severe and incapacitating clinical depression which sometimes led to thoughts of suicide as well.
The British novelist who wrote To the Lighthouse and Orlando experienced the severe mood swings of bipolar disorder which included feverish periods of writing and weeks spent in the gloom of depression. Anthony Storr wrote about her story in The Dynamics of Creation .
Lionel Aldridge
As a defensive end for the legendary Green Bay Packers of the 1960’s, he played in two Super Bowls. During the 1970’s, he suffered from schizophrenia and spent two and a half years homeless. Before he died in 1998, he gave many inspirational talks concerning his battle against paranoid schizophrenia.
Eugene O’Neill
The famous playwright, author of Long Day’s Journey Into Night and Ah, Wilderness!, is documented as having suffered from clinical depression.
The brilliant composer is documented as having suffered from bipolar disorder, in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.
The famous opera singer suffered from bipolar disorder.
The “inspired poet of human suffering” lived with bipolar disorder, as one of many creative people discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr.
Author of War and Peace, Tolstoy revealed the depth of his own mental illness in the memoir Confession. He suffered from clinical depression, hypochondriasis, alcoholism, and substance abuse. His experiences are discussed in both The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Inner World of Mental Illness: A Series of First Person Accounts of What It Was Like by Bert Kaplan.
Vaslov Nijinsky
His autobiography, The Diary of Vaslov Nijinksy, documents the dancer’s battle with schizophrenia.
This renowned poet’s mental illness is documented along with the illnesses of many others in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Broken Brain: The biological Revolution in Psychiatry by Nancy Andreasen, M.D.
The playwright wrote about his personal struggle with clinical depression in his own Memoirs, and his experience is also documented in Five O’Clock Angel: Letters of Tennessee Williams to Maria St. Just, 1948-1982; The Kindness of Strangers: The Life of Tennessee Williams by Donald Spoto; and Tennessee: Cry of the Heart by Dotson.
The bipolar disorder that this celebrated artist suffered from is discussed in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb and Dear Theo, The Autobiography of Van Gogh.
The English mathematician and scientist who formulated the theory of gravitation is suspected of suffering from bipolar disorder, as discussed in The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr and The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist’s bouts with suicidal depression are examined in the True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Ernest Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him by Denis Brian.
The suicide of this poet and novelist was caused by her lifelong struggle with clinical depression, as discussed in A Closer Look at Ariel: A Memory of Sylvia Plath by Nancy Hunter-Steiner.
The Dynamics of Creation by Anthony Storr discusses the mental illness of one of the world’s greatest artistic geniuses.
The quote “Had he been a stable and equable man, he could never have inspired the nation. In 1940, when all the odds were against Britain, a leader of sober judgment might well have concluded that we were finished,” was written by Anthony Storr about Churchill’s bipolar disorder in Churchill’s Black Dog, Kafka’s Mice, and Other Phenomena of the Human Mind.
The British actress of the 1950’s & 60’s, star of Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire suffered from the mental illness bipolar disorder, as documented in Vivien Leigh: A Biography by Ann Edwards.
Jimmy Piersall
The Truth Hurts, written by the baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, detailed his experience with bipolar disorder.
The Academy Award-winning actress revealed her bipolar disorder in her autobiography and made-for-TV move Call Me Anna, and in A Brilliant Madness: Living with Manic-Depressive Illness, co-authored by Gloria Hochman.
The clinical depression of one of the greatest authors in the English language is documented in The Key to Genius: Manic Depression and the Creative Life by D. Jablow Hershman and Julian Lieb, and Charles Dickens: His Tragedy and Triumph by Edgar Johnson.
John Forbes Nash
Mathematician, author of the game theory of economics, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics, he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia. He was also the subject of the book and movie “A Beautiful Mind” <!–
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Jesse gets engaged
metrowebukmetroFriday 6 Jul 2007 8:15 pm
Jesse Spencer and Jennifer Morrison
House and ex-Neighbours star Jesse Spencer has been spilling the beans about his impending wedding to American co-star Jennifer Morrison.
The Aussie actor reveals that he popped the question in Paris while the pair were on holiday, although it didn’t go exactly according to plan.
He tells InStyle Weddings that he gave his love a ring with the note, “veux-tu m’epouser?”, but Jennifer got confused because she doesn’t speak French.
The proposal came after several false starts: a camping trip in Costa Rica went awry when Jennifer got ill and then a sojourn in Big Sur was too cold.
The duo met on the way to their House auditions in 2004 and initially dated in secret.
Some people told them working and living together would be tough, but Jen explains: “It’s nice to have your best friend with me every day. He not only gets it, he’s part of it.”
The couple refuse to give the date of their nuptials, but say it will take place later this year on a private estate in Los Angeles, with 200 guests.
Costa RicaJesse Spencer
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Man dies of Lassa fever
metrowebukmetroFriday 30 Jan 2009 8:35 am
An east London man being treated in hospital for Lassa fever has died.
The 66-year-old died on Thursday afternoon following a sudden deterioration in his condition, a spokesman from London’s Royal Free Hospital said.
The pensioner, who has not been identified, was admitted to the hospital last week.
A hospital spokesman said: “We can confirm that the 66-year-old Lassa fever patient admitted to the high security infectious diseases unit at the Royal Free Hospital last week died at 4.30pm today of complications due to his illness.”
The man had been travelling in Nigeria prior to his admission to the hospital. His next of kin have been informed.
A spokeswoman from the Health Protection Agency said there was no risk of contamination to the public.
Lassa fever is caused by the Lassa virus and is endemic in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and the Central African Republic.
Hundreds of thousands of people are infected in these countries each year and isolated cases have been seen in Europe and the US.
Infection also occurs in other African countries including Mali, Senegal and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
About eight in 10 people infected with Lassa virus develop mild or no symptoms, but in 20% of cases people will have severe illness. Symptoms include fever, headache, sore throat, a cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and muscle pain.
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FEI Announces the Installation of Tecnai Arctica Cryo-TEM at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore
Researchers will combine TEM imaging with XRD and NMR to explore the structure of biological molecules and macro-molecular complexes.
Hillsboro, Ore./October 24, 2013—FEI (NASDAQ: FEIC) today announced that it has completed the installation of a Tecnai Arctica™ cryo transmission electron microscope (cryo-TEM) at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore.
NTU, a young, research-intensive university, is one of the fastest rising universities in Asia. Structural biology and biomedical imaging are key research areas at the NTU School of Biological Sciences and the newly-established Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine. With the purchase of two FEI microscopes, the Tecnai Arctica and Tecnai with iCorr™, the new facility is equipped with industry-leading electron microscopes for single particle analysis and correlative fluorescence imaging.
“Over the past six months, we have built up a new cryo-electron microscopy laboratory at NTU with excellent facilities for high-resolution data collection,” said Dr. Sara Sandin, assistant professor at NTU. “The Arctica will enable us to quickly and easily determine the three-dimensional structures of biologically- and medically-important enzymes and macro-molecular complexes. One example is the work being conducted by Professor Daniela Rhodes’ group, which involves the study of the structure and function of telomerase, an enzyme that is up-regulated in 85 percent of human cancers.”
“The Tecnai Arctica is an industry-leading 200kV cryo-TEM that sets standards in automation, ease-of-use and imaging performance. The system’s latest camera, the Falcon II, provides breakthrough imaging capabilities,” said Peter Fruhstorfer, vice president and general manager of FEI’s Life Sciences Business Unit. “In addition to enabling world-class research at NTU, we expect the Tecnai Arctica’s high throughput and ease-of-use to attract a broad range of academic and industrial users to the facility.”
The NTU facility installation also includes a Tecnai with iCorr TEM, which integrates a light microscope directly into the TEM column. This unique combination allows fast, easy localization of specific targets in the sample by fluorescence for direct high-resolution analysis of the target’s structure by TEM. With cryo-TEM, NMR, XRD, CLEM, image processing and a protein expression platform, NTU has the potential to become a leading center for imaging excellence.
For more information about FEI’s Tecnai TEM solutions, please visit: www.fei.com/life-sciences/.
About Nanyang Technological University
A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University (NTU) has 33,500 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the colleges of Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and its Interdisciplinary Graduate School. It has a new medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, set up jointly with Imperial College London.
NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre on Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N) and the Institute on Asian Consumer Insight (ACI).
A fast-growing university with an international outlook, NTU is putting its global stamp on Five Peaks of Excellence: Sustainable Earth, Future Healthcare, New Media, New Silk Road, and Innovation Asia.
Besides the main Yunnan Garden campus, NTU also has a satellite campus in Singapore’s science and tech hub, one-north, and a third campus in Novena, Singapore’s medical district.
For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg
About FEI
FEI Company (Nasdaq: FEIC) designs, manufactures and supports a broad range of high-performance microscopy workflow solutions that provide images and answers at the micro-, nano- and picometer scales. Its innovation and leadership enable customers in industry and science to increase productivity and make breakthrough discoveries. Headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., USA, FEI has over 2,500 employees and sales and service operations in more than 50 countries around the world. More information can be found at: www.fei.com.
FEI Safe Harbor Statement
This news release contains forward-looking statements that include statements regarding the performance capabilities and benefits of the Tecnai Arctica and Tecnai with iCorr. Factors that could affect these forward-looking statements include but are not limited to failure of the product or technology to perform as expected; unexpected technology problems and challenges; changes to the technology; the inability of FEI, its suppliers or project partners to make the technological advances required for the technology to achieve anticipated results; and the inability of the customer to deploy the tools or develop and deploy the expected new applications. Please also refer to our Form 10-K, Forms 10-Q, Forms 8-K and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for additional information on these factors and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. FEI assumes no duty to update forward-looking statements.
Sandy Fewkes (media contact)
MindWrite Communications, Inc.
sandy@mind-write.com
FEI Company
Fletcher Chamberlin (investors and analysts)
fletcher.chamberlin@fei.com
ASI´s New Dual Inverted Selective Plane Illumination Microscopy (diSPIM) New Integrated Spectroscopy & Imaging Software from CRAIC Technologies
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New Grant Seeks to Increase Rural Teacher Retention
Morgridge Office of Communications center for rural school health and education, counseling, Elaine Belansky, equity, Mental Health, rural colorado, rural schools
The University of Denver (DU) Morgridge College of Education (MCE) Center for Rural School Health & Education (CRSHE) will be expanding its work in rural communities with the addition of a new grant-funded initiative through the Colorado Department of Education’s (CDE) Plan into Action Grants. CRSHE’s goal with this initiative is to create a robust rural school mental health workforce in order to meet the mental health needs of rural students and provide classroom teachers with the support they need by increasing the number of mental health professionals placed in rural schools. MCE will work with state and community partners in southeast Colorado to build and sustain a rural school mental health workforce that can alleviate some of the pressures classroom teachers face in trying to meet those students’ emotional needs. The University anticipates that teacher retention rates will increase as a result of teachers feeling more supported in the classroom.
CRSHE director, Dr. Elaine Belansky, has been working in rural schools in Colorado for 19 years. While new to DU, Belansky is not new to challenges faced by rural communities.
“I have been working with rural school districts since 1999 and what’s striking to me is that in the past few years, every rural school district our team works with has named student mental health as a top concern,” Belansky said. “We don’t have enough school mental health professionals to meet the needs of rural students and classroom teachers are under a lot of pressure to teach content and meet the mental health needs of their kids. This grant gives us an opportunity to address these challenges.”
The $123,950 grant will allow Belansky and her team to partner with the Colorado Rural Education Collaborative and two Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) to create strategies aimed at increasing the school mental health workforce across underserved areas of the state. The grant consists of three components:
Conduct an immersion in Southeast Colorado for school mental health graduate students
Develop a statewide Professional Learning Community for school mental health professionals via ECHO DU
Create a hiring forecast that includes cost-effective, innovative strategies to meet rural school mental health workforce demands
The long-term goals and impact of the grant are to see an increase in the rural school mental health workforce, increased teacher retention rates, and increased mental health of rural students. The 12 month grant period begins fall 2018.
Learn More About the Center for Rural School Health & Education
Community Resources Regarding “13 Reasons Why”
Jordan Kellerman community resources, counseling, family health, family therapy, Mental Health, mental health resources, suicide awareness, suicide prevention, therapy
Netflix has officially announced a release date for its highly controversial “13 Reasons Why” – May 18 the show will hit Netflix queues and be available to watch. We want to take this opportunity to share resources if you or anyone you know is contemplating suicide. These resources are recommended by the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) as well as our own Counseling Psychology Department and Child, Family, and School Psychology Department.
National Suicide Prevention Hotline,1-800-273-TALK (8255), or text “START” to 741741
Morgridge College Counseling and Educational Services Clinic
SAMHSA Prevention Suicide: A Toolkit for High Schools
Suicide Prevention Resource Center, After a Suicide: Toolkit for Schools
School Violence Prevention
Colorado Crisis Services
“13 Reasons Why” Netflix Series(Season 1): Considerations for Educators and Families
Additionally, NASP has crafted a statement and guidance for the upcoming season. Its general recommendations include:
Provide the guidance developed by NASP for 13 Reasons Why, Season 1 to parents and educators.
Encourage parents to watch the series with their child; children and youth who view this series may need supportive adults to help process it. Help students articulate their perceptions when viewing controversial content. The difficult issues portrayed do occur in schools and communities, and it is important for adults to listen, take adolescents’ concerns seriously, and be willing to offer to help.
Caution against binge watching, as doing so with intense content, particularly in isolation, can be associated with increased mental health concerns.
Reinforce that school-employed mental health professionals such as school counselors, school psychologists, and school social workers are available to help.
Make sure parents, teachers, and students are aware of suicide risk warning signs. Always take warning signs seriously, and never promise to keep them secret. Establish a confidential reporting mechanism for students.
Reinforcing resiliency and protective factors can lessen the potential of risk factors that lead to suicidal ideation and behaviors. Once a child or adolescent is considered at risk, schools, families, and friends should work to build these factors in and around the youth.
If you are an educator and want more information about our alumna-designed suicide risk assessment app, click here.
Counseling Psychology Student Works Toward Cross-Cultural Equity
Molly Jordan Counseling Psychology, gender equality, MA students, Mental Health, social justice
Hayat Abu-Ghazaleh, a first year Master’s student in the Counseling Psychology program here at the Morgridge Collection of Education (MCE), is a true advocate for social justice and equity. She shows her commitment to these tenets through her studies and clinical work in Clinical and Mental Health Counseling, through her volunteerism with refugee groups, and through her participation in the Vagina Monologues here at the University of Denver, which promotes representation and equity across gender boundaries.
Hayat was born and raised in Saudi Arabia with her family, and noticed that there was a greater need for mental health services and care in her community than was available, which prompted her interest in the fields of psychology and counseling. In Spring 2016 Hayat complete her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at American University in Washington D.C., then decided she wanted to further her knowledge and the impact she could make upon the field of mental health through our MA program in Counseling Psychology. After graduation, she is considering a move back to Saudi Arabia so that she can affect change in her home, and create more opportunities and options for those in need of mental health treatment.
As part of her MA program, Hayat is completing her counseling practicum with Asian Pacific Development Center, where “services are tailored to address the needs of immigrant and refugee status clients. Issues involving cultural adjustment, such as language, values, customs and behavioral differences, are often intimately associated with the client’s chief complaint” (APCD 2018). Hayat’s fluency in two languages, her strong interest in helping refugees, and her commitment to social justice make her a great addition to the team at APDC, and to the MA program here at MCE.
Hayat is eager to make a difference in the Denver community through her work with APDC, but her involvement with refugee advocacy and support began well before accepting her practicum position. In 2016, she volunteered with Northern Lights Aid, an NGO that started as a project to provide emergency relief and supplies to refugees in Lesvos, Greece, and now is “focused on implementing innovative, compassionate solutions and creating community-oriented projects serving around 400 residents of the Kavala Perigial camp (NLA 2018).
Recently, Hayat participated in the Vagina Monologues here on campus as part of the DU Health and Counseling Center’s Love+ Sex+ Health Week. The week-long event promotes education and awareness around issues of sex, sexuality and gender, and proceeds from the resistance-themed Vagina Monologues went to Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CCASA) and the global organization VDAY. Hayat wanted to get involved with the event to promote gender equity on-campus, and to feed her passion for performing.
When asked why she chose the Counseling Psychology program at MCE, Hayat said that she appreciated the college’s emphasis on social justice and multicultural issues, and that she felt the CP faculty were compassionate and engaged. As a current student, she appreciates that the faculty are willing to work with students at all development levels, and they are willing to push some boundaries to foster real learning and growth in students.
We know that Hayat’s commitment to helping marginalized populations around the country and the world is part of what will make her a great counselor, and thought-leader in the field.
Learn More About our Counseling Psychology Program
Counseling Psychology Alumna Creates App to Assess and Prevent Suicide
Jordan Kellerman alumni, counseling, Mental Health, Morgridge College of Education, suicide prevention
Khara Croswaite Brindle graduated from Morgridge College of Education Counseling Psychology master’s program in 2012 with a passion for helping and a keen ear for listening – and understanding – others. Today, she is a private practice licensed professional therapist with a focus on clients using Medicaid. At nights and on the weekends, she runs her own business developing an app to assess and prevent suicide.
“I saw a need for this assessment tool,” she said, as if this were the simplest thing in the world. “I want people who want to go ‘there’ to be able to have that tough conversation and be able to access resources to get help.”
By people who want to go “there,” she means teachers, coaches, case managers, anyone who may be in a professional position to see another person struggling but not be a clinical mental health professional. Her goal is to make the conversation about suicide easier to approach, easier to have, and easier to know what to do. Her app works like this. Said person (let’s call them the professional) sees another person struggling. Maybe they have every day contact, maybe they see them once a week, but they believe this person is having a hard time. They decide to broach THE question, the tough question, the one they know the answer to but maybe do not know what to do with the response.
“Do you want to kill yourself?”
“Are you suicidal?”
“Do you have thoughts of harming yourself?”
They bring up the app. The app is loaded with the suicide risk assessment, and the professional begins the heart-to-heart. Together, they talk, the professional listens, and they have the conversation. Once complete the app populates next steps, organizations to contact for additional help, where to find online and face-to-face support, and who to call for emergency assistance. It also goes one step further and populates resources based on factors such as age and geographical location. Currently its resources are for the entire state of Colorado.
Croswaite Brindle stresses that this app is not meant to be a total assessment. This is also not a one and done conversation. This app is meant to help on the spot and give the professional and the person hurting a beginning roadmap to intervention and recovery.
In her practice, Croswaite Brindle regularly works with at-risk populations. This is a conscious decision to provide the best possible care to patients with Medicaid. She works with teenagers, single parents, individuals struggling with gender identity, veterans; she works with regular, everyday people who are struggling and each and every day her goal is to provide them with the best possible care.
“I think my cohort at Morgridge helped to frame my career now,” she said. “My class graduated and we were so excited to get out and be agents of change.”
An agent of change she is. Already her app is in use and under development. She has started to work with the Mental Health Center of Denver and run workshops with other professionals to continue to build resources and continue to assess risk factors. She considers Colorado to be her pilot state, but her long-term goal is to have the application be used nationwide and endorsed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Through it all, she stays in contact with her professors at Morgridge. Now colleagues in the field, she finds their support and encouragement invaluable.
“My connections are wonderful to have,” she said. “It’s been great to continue to collaborate and exciting for me to see the cohorts grow. I definitely am a proud Morgridge alum, and someday I hope to be back in some capacity.”
Back as in, getting a PhD, teaching the next generation of mental health professionals?
“I can see all of that,” she smiles. “Someday.”
More information about the app can be found at Cacs-co.com.
China Exchange Program Contributes to School-Based Mental Health
Sabrina Green Anxiety, Beijing Normal University, Career Development, CFSP, Child Family School Psychology, China, Education, Mental Health, practicum, School Mental Health, school psychology
Students Sarah Laffin and Aleksandra Matysek completed a six-week school-based mental health practicum this past fall in Beijing, China as part of an international exchange program between Beijing Normal University (BNU) and the CFSP program. The program – now in its fourth year – was developed to broaden students’ multicultural competence and to promote the field of school psychology.
Laffin and Matysek completed their practicum with graduate students from BNU at Jingyuan School, a public middle and high school located in Beijing’s fifth ring. They worked with an on-site supervisor to plan and deliver weekly classroom mental health lessons, group counseling, and career development services. Laffin and Matysek also engaged in a cross-cultural comparison of school-based approaches to identify and manage student anxiety and gave a joint teleconference presentation to graduate students and faculty at both BNU and the Morgridge College of Education (MCE) on the topic.
One important finding discussed was that while levels of general anxiety are about the same in both cultures, social anxiety is more prominent in China due in part to the cultural focus on harmonious relationships and social restraint. Laffin and Matysek learned that students in the United States are more likely to seek help managing anxiety, possibly due to a greater awareness and acceptance of the role mental health plays in academic and life success. Two graduate students from BNU will reciprocate the exchange this spring, coming to MCE to attend selected classes and accompany current CFSP graduate students to their local practicum sites. They will also give a cross-cultural, joint teleconference presentation.
Laffin and Matysek say that their increased global understanding has had a positive influence on their practice and has increased their confidence in communicating with bi-lingual students and families in the United States. The international exchange program has been of mutual benefit as peers and faculty at BNU have been able to employ the counseling tools and methods introduced by CFSP students. The exchange has fostered an increased international appreciation of school-based mental health, helping BNU to establish a graduate program supporting China’s emerging field of school psychology.
Learn More About the CFSP Program
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Director: Ryan Schifrin
Actors: Christien Tinsley, Haley Joel, Jeffrey Combs, Karin Anna Cheung, Lance Henriksen, Matt McCoy, Paul Gleason
A brutal mugging leaves Grey Trace paralyzed in the hospital and his beloved wife dead. A billionaire inventor soon offers Trace a cure — an artificial intelligence implant called STEM…
Genre: Action, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
Wildling
A young woman held in captivity discovers the realities of truth and lies in the outside world.
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Set in the town of Chanderi, Stree is based on the urban legend of Nale Ba that went viral in Karnataka in the 1990s, and features Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar…
Ben and Ashley come together 20 years after the murder of their parents to determine the cause of their parents’ death. Ashley is troubled by the idea that the thing…
A young husband and wife must fight to return home in a post-apocalyptic mid-western landscape ravaged by gangs.
The Hole in the Ground
Trying to escape her broken past, Sarah O’Neill is building a new life on the fringes of a backwood rural town with her young son Chris. A terrifying encounter with…
Island Zero
A fishing community on a remote Maine island finds itself suddenly cut off from the rest of the world after the ferry stops coming. When people start to vanish, the…
A detached university student faces the consequences of astral projection when he uses it to reconnect with his dead mother.
Genre: Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
It’s 1986 and a group of grad students are close to discovering what happens to the human brain after staying awake for 200 hours, but something goes terribly wrong with…
When a young nun at a cloistered abbey in Romania takes her own life, a priest with a haunted past and a novitiate on the threshold of her final vows…
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Hellraiser: Judgment
Detectives Sean and David Carter are on the case to find a gruesome serial killer terrorizing the city. Joining forces with Detective Christine Egerton, they dig deeper into a spiraling…
Lewis Barnavelt, a shy but indomitable ten-year-old orphan, goes to live with his uncle Jonathan, a former entertaining magician, who hides too many creepy secrets, in a creaky old house…
Country: Canada, India, USA
Genre: Family, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Trailer: Abominable
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Each culture and each epoch has its own system of beliefs, which establishes relationship between people and the supernatural. Dante’s Inferno, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex and Homer’s The Iliad reveal the values that dominated in a certain time period permeated human existence. While Dante’s poem suggests the medieval Christian concept of God-centrism with the claim of people’s sinfulness, Sophocles deals with the issues of fate that is determined by gods and cannot be avoided. In his turn, Homer suggests that while humans are dependent on gods and can be easily destroyed by them, the spirit and honor is what matters most, and they cannot be conquered in this aspect.
Thus, Dante’s Inferno is a poem that is understandable to today’s readers in terms of its religious content, because it is the latest one in terms of chronology and the only Christian one in the discussed list. Middle Ages are known as an epoch when the church was extremely influential, so this institution ruled human consciousness at the time. Compared to later Renaissance-type Christianity, medieval religion was the most severe one in terms of its attitude to humans. While God was omnipotent, he was presented as the one who was angry with people and was willing to punish them for their sins. The role of human in God-centered Universe was very small, and one had to be humble to meet the expectations of the church about one’s piety. Although it is clear today that this was a perfect way to manipulate people, it is impossible to deny the fact tha this type of beliefs was quite popular. In his works, Dante is more inspired about describing the Hell than the Paradise. Inferno is the place where sinners are tortured in different ways depending on severity of their sins. It is remarkable that the medieval God is rarely loyal or merciful to humans but is severe about their sins. In Inferno, the concept of justice is emphasized in the context of religion. Compared to early days of Christianity when beliefs were heterogeneous and chaotic, it became clear in the Middle Ages that religion can keep society in balance. These aspects of the epoch’s beliefs are reflected in Dante’s Inferno.
Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex is a pre-Christian work, but it has a number of other deities who participate in people’s lives. Based on an ancient myth of Oedipus, whose fate was to kill his father and marry his mother, the tragedy traces the characters’ futile attempts to avoid their fortune. The author demonstrates how blind people are about their own lives, so they should not be vain about being their own masters. However hard the characters try to change their fate, it appears to be impossible, because gods decide on it. Sophocles believes that there is not higher wisdom or reason about gods’ will, or at least it is not open to humans. The fate of Oedipus looks unfair, there is no justice about it, but, according to Sophocles, fortune is immoral and does not take one’s merits into account. Blinding himself is a symbolic way to give in to the divine fatum and take one’s blindness.
Finally,, Homer’s Iliad is the earliest of the mentioned works, so this is why it is the closest one to mythology and the most authentic one. Background in myths is what unites Homer with Sophocles, though the two books have different attitude to beliefs. While Sophocles suggests being unpretentious and take one’s fate as it is, Homer believes that humanity is not so small compared to gods. It is true that gods interfere all the time while the characters are on their journey, but they are not just toys in their hands. The poem suggests that dignity is more important than staying alive, so it is worth fighting with gods if necessary. People are to be good warriors and loyal to each other, then they will be remembered well after their death. Such behavior makes them stoic and full of self-respect, no matter how mighty gods can be. So, the beliefs reveal the aspects of an epoch in the context of religion, and a great share of freedom is present in the attitude.
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In conclusion, it is worth saying that the three works are typical examples of their epoch art, and so they reflect the main beliefs, too. Dante’s Inferno deals with the philosophy which focuses on human sins’ and the punishment that should be expected from God, which clearly served to rule people. Oedipus Rex is a story that contemplates on personal will and destiny and gives a clear answer that destiny is higher and that a person should obey its will. Finally, Homer’s Iliad dwells on the idea of honor in relation with gods and the necessity to struggle, because fighting with stronger competitors brings honor.
Religion and Justice
Power of Social Movement in Human History
Frankenstein Film and Mary Shelly
Aboriginal Culture in Canada
Western Civilization
Reliability of Sensory Perceptions
Penguin Behavior
Homo Florensiensis
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Your Call: How Are Cellphones Affecting The Brain? [REPORT]
By Chris Taylor 2011-02-22 22:07:17 UTC
A study published in tomorrow's issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms what researchers have long suspected: that long conversations on cellphones affect parts of your brain. Trouble is, not even the study's authors, the National Institute of Health, know how the calls affect you — just that they light up a significant chunk of your gray matter near the phone.
"We don't know whether this is detrimental or whether it could have some potential beneficial effects. We don't know one way or the other," lead author Dr. Nora Volkow told HealthDay.
Potential beneficial effects? Well, yes. The study tracked 47 mobile-toting participants for a year and discovered that brain metabolism in a small area nearest the antenna was 7% higher when they were on a 50-minute call, meaning cellphones boost brain activity (they raise glucose levels). Doesn't sound so bad when put like that, does it? For all we know, blasting your brain with focused radio waves could be the mental equivalent of going to the gym. Glucose levels rise with just about any complex brain activity. For example, that 7% metabolism boost is less than the amount of energy it takes to process images via your eyes.
Of course, for all we know, the long-term effects could be pretty scary. Tumor cells need a lot of glucose, too. But that may be no more than coincidence. Researchers were careful to tiptoe around the C-word and with good reason: As Ars Technica points out, in biology there is no known mechanism that could lead from low-energy, long-wavelength radiation to cancer. A giant, 13-nation study launched in 2000 still hasn't found any proof linking the two. Cellphone users, science is on your side — for now.
Bottom line: We know relatively little about brain science and even less about cellphone use. More research is needed for a definitive answer. We've all heard anecdotes from friends about how calls give them headaches or a buzzing sensation. Our friends could be right, or they could be hypochondriacs. Maybe cellphones affect each brain differently. At the moment, there's just no way of telling.
If you're concerned, be like Volkow — who told TIME she uses a $5 headset so she doesn't have to hold her phone to her ear. "Maybe at the end of the day cellphones aren't damaging," she said. "But it's only $5.”
Topics: brain, cancer, cellphones, mobile phones, Tech
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Archive for the ‘Francisco Fontana Tormo’ Category
Interview With a Judaizer from Valencia
St. Vincent Ferrer of Valencia is said to have converted tens of thousands of Jews to the Christian faith by his preaching in the early 15th century. Nevertheless, the city has always had more than its share of conversos. Today, Valencia is an “Opus Dei” hotbed. It’s said that “Opus Dei” aggressively recruits doctors, lawyers, judges, government officials, and those who hold high positions in finance. Is the Judaizing neurosurgeon from Valencia interviewed below an “Opus Dei” member? His “work” suggests so. Of course, it wouldn’t be necessary to speculate if “Opus Dei” wasn’t a secret society.
More Catholics Interested in Jewish World
Interview With President of Valencia’s Judeo-Christian Friendship
By Inmaculada Álvarez
VALENCIA, Spain, FEB. 25, 2008 (Zenit.org).- More and more Catholics are taking an interest in the Jewish world, our “older brothers in the faith,” said the president and founder of the association Judeo-Christian Friendship of Valencia.
Francisco Fontana Tormo, a Catholic and neurosurgeon, received in November from the Parliament of Israel the Samuel Toledano Prize for his contribution to the dialogue between Jews and Christians.
In this interview with ZENIT, Fontana speaks of his work and association, and the status of Jewish-Christian relations.
Q: In what does this recognition consist and what has it involved for you?
Fontana: The Samuel Toledano Prize was instituted by the Toledano family in memory of Samuel Toledano, leader of the Jewish community of Madrid, who died in 1996. The prize is given annually to two researchers, one Israeli and the other Spanish, for a research work about the Jewish past in Spain, for the relations between Spain and Israel and for the relationships between Jews, Christians and Muslims.
Occasionally one is given a diploma of recognition for work, not research but activity, in the context of these areas. In this case, I have been given a diploma for my activities in promoting the mutual knowledge between Judaism and Christianity and maintaining good relations between both religions, as president and founder of the Judeo-Christian Friendship of Valencia.
For me it has implied great joy for what involves the recognition on the part of Jews for the Judeo-Christian relationship, and on the other hand, a deep emotion, since it was given to me by Isaac Navon, fifth president of Israel, in Kneset, the Parliament of Israel, and as well was an opportunity to travel again to Israel.
Q: What is the basis upon which the dialogue between Jews and Christians sits?
Fontana: We have a very similar concept on basic questions of morals and beliefs. There are many points in common: the importance of religion for personal and community life, the basic dignity of being human, created in the image and likeness of God, God as giver of the Ten Commandments, a salvation history which begins with Abraham, father of the believing.
We have the Bible in common. The Old Testament — or Hebrew Talmud — is contained in the Christian Bible. The Church has always been considered implanted into the ancient Israel. “If the root is holy, so are the branches. You […] were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree.” (Romans 11:16-17).
Q: How has the Holocaust influenced this dialogue?
Fontana: The Holocaust has been determinant for Christianity to reopen its relationship with the Jewish people. The extermination of six million Jews during World War II has provoked the Christian Churches to ask themselves for their degree of responsibility in such a sizeable catastrophe, and whether or not an anti-Jewish Christianity had been a breeding ground for the Nazi persecution.
The Church has published a document, “We Remember; a Reflection on the Holocaust.” It has been like a veil has been lifted. The Catholic Church has taken into account that God does not break the Covenant with his people — the Covenant was never abolished, as it is said very accurately. Also, the creation of the modern state of Israel, reviving the Jewish state, after almost 1,900 years of being dispersed among the nations, is an exceptional fact and without comparison in the history of humanity.
Q: Has the vision of the Jewish world about Jesus Christ and about the Church changed?
Fontana: Very slowly but surely, the Jewish world is changing its perception of the Catholic Church. The visit of Pope John Paul II to Israel and his gesture of praying at the Wailing Wall were fundamental, leaving there a beautiful prayer: “God of our Fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants, to bring Your Name to the nations. We are deeply sorry for sharing in that curse of history that caused suffering for your sons and we ask your forgiveness. We desire an authentic fraternity with the people of the Covenant.” This was a very important sign in the eyes of the Jewish people.
On the part of Judaism, it does not have a centralized authority like the figure of the Pope in the Catholic Church, there are many voices and at times these are discordant, but there was published in 2002 a manifesto signed by 150 rabbis titled “Dabru Emet” — To Speak the Truth. In it they recognize the change brought about by the Catholic Church and encouraged everyone to follow on this path of reconciliation and cooperation between Jews and Christians.
Q: Has the vision of Catholics about the Jewish world changed?
Fontana: In the Catholic Church it is also changing, however very slowly because the Catholic Church is very large and a change of direction cannot be brusque. On the part of the hierarchy they have published many official documents, which settle the doctrinal position of the Church.
The primary one is the Second Vatican Council declaration “Nostra Aetate” and the complementary documents “Orientations and Suggestions for the Application of the Conciliar Decree ‘Nostra Aetate’” and “Notes on the Correct Way to Present the Jews and Judaism in Preaching and Catechesis in the Catholic Church.” With these, the Catholic Church fixes its current position faced to the Jewish people. In fact, there is a Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews.
But one thing is the official documents and the other is the reality up to which the faithful, the change is very slow but is already being taken, there is more and more interest by the Catholic faithful in knowing things about the Jews and getting along well with them. The Catholics are taking into account the fact that the Jews are a people who pray, who hang onto their faith, who maintain their traditions — an example in these times of secularization. “Our older bothers in the faith,” as John Paul II said.
Q: At what point is the dialogue and what are its perspectives?
Fontana: Currently the ice has been broken, there is no environment of hostility and there are desires to meet and even to cooperate on specific themes. There are projects of international assistance for the needy, Caritas and similar Jewish institutions, in countries of Africa, for example.
But there are goals to reach: referring to Judeo-Christian dialogue, a theological dialogue has not yet been entered into in-depth. We say that we are in the phase of greeting them and speaking about topics that do not produce frictions. The figure of Jesus Christ in his significance for Christians is difficult to approach for the Jews, just as the topic of the precepts of the Law of Moses is for Christians.
But yes, there are that could be talked about — creation, the fall, redemption, the figure of the Messiah and the interpretations of each religion, in the aspects in which they are common and in which they disagree.
Everything else is a task for the future.
http://www.zenit.org/article-21892?l=english
http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2007/02/opus-judei.html
http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2008/02/opus-dei-hebrew-catholic-connection.html
http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2007/07/opus-judei-founder-escriba-preached.html
http://mauricepinay.blogspot.com/2007/02/vatican-lesson-on-shekinah.html
Posted in conversos, crypto-jews, Francisco Fontana Tormo, Jewish Catholic relations, marranos, OPus Dei, Talmud, Valencia | Leave a Comment »
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Archive for the ‘Kiko Arguello’ Category
Neocatechumenal Way Presents Holocaustian Symphony of Homage to Talmudic "Fathers in the Faith"
Literally every religious claim below is rubbish intended to create false commonality between Jesus, the Bible, the Israelites and today’s talmudic ‘Jews’ where there is in fact complete opposition. Jesus never prayed to “Hashem,” a ridiculous, tribal, exclusivist contrivance which translates as “The Name.” But this is the kind of madness that one would expect from ‘Catholics’ who call the rabbis of Talmud and Kabbalah “fathers in the faith.”
‘Traditional Catholics’ are wont to criticize the Neocatechumenal Way for its liturgical absurdities. Let us see what they have to say (nothing?) about this theologically and symbolically loaded symphony of race exultation in which Jesus’ mother is made to cry with ‘Jews’ of the Talmud (which teaches that her Son deserved to be executed) and “affirm” the “Shema Yisrael” which for centuries has connotated rejection of Christianity in general and specifically the Christian doctrines of the Trinity and Divinity of Christ.
Dear traditionalist reader, what we have here, consistent with the modern Catholic mockery of Auschwitz replacing Calvary, is Mary crying with ‘The Jews’ at the foot of the ‘gas chambers’ instead of crying for Jesus at the foot of the cross. Are you in ‘full communion’ with this outrageous mockery?
A Concert of Reconciliation
Catholic Group Honors Jews in Free Lincoln Center Event
Jonathan Mark – The Jewish Week
… The Neocatechumenal Way was founded in Spain, in large part, to further Catholic spiritual renewal and solidify the relationship with Jews. The group, now with more than 80 seminaries around the world and a major center in Israel’s Galilee, is presenting a free symphonic concert in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall (May 8 at 8 p.m.), billed as a “musical gift to the Jewish people.” (Advance registration required, by calling [201] 998-9469).
The symphony, entitled “The Suffering of the Innocents,” is being presented as an homage and prayer to Holocaust victims in particular, viewed through a Catholic prism of Mary crying and united with Jewish mothers in the concentration camps, affirming “Shema Yisrael.” The elaborate piece — for 100 musicians and 80 choral singers — was composed by the movement’s founder, Kiko Arguello, a painter and theologian, who has stated that his symphony is being offered “as a bridge of love and reconciliation.
“We act according to the last wishes for Pope John Paul II. We remember that the roots of Christianity are in Judaism and that since the beginning, God made Israel the chosen people.”
The concert has been endorsed by representatives of numerous Jewish organizations, including the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League [of B’nai B’rith], the New York Board of Rabbis and the Jewish Community Relations Council, as well as Ronald Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress, and Haim Gutin of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. After the performance of the symphony, [Papal Knight] Rabbi David Rosen, the AJC’s director of interreligious relations, is scheduled to lead a memorial prayer for the victims of the Shoah, prior to a collective recitation of “Shema.”
[‘Holocaust’ Dispensationalist Theologian] Rabbi Irving “Yitz” Greenberg told The Jewish Week that The Neocatechumenal Way is “primarily a lay inspiration group that has done no missionary work and has no missionary interest. They speak about Israel like the Evangelicals do, that the Jews are ‘God’s people.’ And Israel is ‘God’s Promised Land.’ They specialize in a respectful attempt to help Catholics better appreciate the Jewish people and the Jewish religion, as well as raising an awareness of how much the Jews have suffered, including from Christians.
“In fact, one of the highlights of their programs, including the one they’re about to have in New York, is to get people to chant ‘Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad,’ in Hebrew. Partially it is, for them, the chanting of the prayer that Jesus said, and in part it is a powerful emotional statement about the Jews.”
Rabbi Greenberg added, “’The Suffering of the Innocents’ addresses the theological problem of suffering, often using Christian imagery, but also refers to the fact that the Jews are the classic example of innocent suffering. And just as God has a special love for the suffering innocent, so should Christians have a love for the Jewish people.
“It would be both impressive and a positive Jewish experience for Jews to be” at the Lincoln Center event, said Rabbi Greenberg. “And it is important for [the Neocatechumanals] to see that at least the Jewish establishment respects their work.”
Giuseppe Gennarini, of the Neocatechumenal leaders in the United States, told The Jewish Week that his movement aims at “rediscovery, and the first thing we discover in the faith is the Jewish roots, we discover the word of God, we discover Abraham, we discover the Exodus and the Passover. With rediscovery comes love. We are grateful to the Jews for what they have given to us, to help us know God.”
He prefers to think of Jews, not as an “elder brother,” as some Christians say, but as a “parent,” because in the Bible “there were so often difficulties between brothers, such as with Esau and Jacob, and Joseph and his brothers. So we say, not brothers, but you are our parent, our father in the faith.”
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new_york/concert_reconciliation
Posted in Adl, AJC, David Rosen, father in the faith, Giuseppe Gennarini, Kiko Arguello, Lincoln Center, NCW, Neocatechumenal Way, Rabbi Irving Greenberg, Shema, The Suffering of the Innocents, WJC | 8 Comments »
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HomeEdouard Lock: showman or shaman?
August 2, 2016 October 26, 2016 Max Wyman Cultural politics, Issues and ideas, People, Performanceschoreography, David Bowie, Edouard Lock, La La La Human Steps, Louise Lecavalier, Montreal dance, Royal Society of Canada
A presentation to the Royal Society of Canada, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, November 19, 2004
© Max Wyman
In the late 20th and early 21st century, dance has been shaped by a few great artists with the vision and the audacity to exploit and explore the possibilities of the artform in a new fashion. Two of them have spent their careers working in Europe: Pina Bausch, who is German and works in the area of neo-expressionist theatrical modernism, and William Forsythe, an American also working in Germany, whose interests lie in expanding the expressive potential of classical ballet. A third is Canadian: Edouard Lock.
I have called this talk “Edouard Lock: showman or shaman?” The Montreal choreographer has been called both, sometimes by the same person. “He is a cauldron of cultural semiotics,” said one Vancouver critic, “or he is a triumph of meaninglessness.”
I would like to argue that his work can be seen as a triumph of meaning built out of a triumph of meaninglessness, and if that sounds unlikely I’ll explain further in a minute.
It is possible to see him, in fact, as both a mirror and a shaper of our cultural zeitgeist, and to suggest that his dances can function as complex metaphors for the social, spiritual and intellectual dislocation that has been brought about by the technological advances of our age.
Before I attempt this, however, I would like to talk a little about dance and dancing, and what it can do to us and for us.
I have a habit of telling people that I think dance is the most moving and communicative of all the artforms. Movement never lies, said Doris Humphrey, a great dance modernist, and what I think she was getting at was the way that what we see when a dancer dances before us is the naked truth, because the body can’t express anything else: it’s finite, visibly expressive. What plays into all that is the philosophers’ idea of the “lived body” – the idea that we experience consciousness not only in our minds but through our bodies – meaning that the body is not simply the machine through which the mind expresses itself; the body is who we are and the place where we live.
All this has profound significance for dance, and particularly for the dance that is under discussion here. And an additional factor that makes all this hugely poignant, at least to me, is the transience of it all. The body—such an impermanent scrap of a thing—moves, and the dance is gone.
It is an artform that simultaneously defines and defies the ephemerality of existence. We have nothing but the body, and soon enough we will not even have the body. But it is that physicality that speaks so eloquently about the implications of mortality – and at the same time voices our defiance. No other artform speaks so directly about the fragile, temporary quality of life, or about the human instinct to transcend those bonds and aim for that perfect moment of self-realization.
I mention these things because they seem to me to be fundamental to our appreciation and understanding of the work of the choreographer Edouard Lock. His work challenges the mind-body duality. The two elements blend. In his work, the body is not meant to be analysed intellectually. He wants us to see without truly understanding, to allow the gesture and the rapid movement to create a sense of risk and disorientation that puts us in touch with intuition rather than the intellect.
His own belief is that this is the function of art—to destructure and destablilize reality in order to allow us to see. And when I talk of his work being a triumph of meaninglessness, I am referring to this destabilizing of our perception. By manipulating the speed and the shape of the bodies we look at, he disrupts our understanding of the world before us. He offers no overt significance that we can read. But there is a greater significance that we can intuit, if we are open to it.
But I am getting a little ahead of myself.
Edouard Lock was born to Spanish parents in Casablanca, Morocco, in 1955, and the family emigrated to Canada when he was three. He became interested in dance by accident. He was studying literature and film at Sir George Williams University (now Concordia) and saw a poster for a class in dance improvisation. He had always thought himself too awkward to take to the dance club floor, but he decided to give this class a try. It was a revelation – as if something or someone had switched on his future.
He danced with one of the great hothouses of new dance in Montreal, le Groupe Nouvelle Aire, in the mid-70s, and began quite soon to choreograph small pieces for that company. He did a commission for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in 1979, and the following year founded his own company, Lock Danseurs, with a work called Lili Marlene in the Jungle.
The first time I saw his work was in the summer of 1981, at the Canada Dance Festival, a brief excerpt from Oranges. Then I went to Montreal that winter to see the full Oranges, staged in a tiny theatre to tiny audiences. At that time the company was still Lock Danseurs; it didn’t become La La La Human Steps until two years later, perhaps in acknowledgement of the growing collaborative importance of the dancers.
However, much of what would become recognized as the early trademark Lock look was already in place: the intensely filmic quality; the astonishing theatricality of the imagery (spray-painted graffiti was an element—very much of the age; from time to time dancers performed on a narrow pathway of milk bottles); the precise detail of gesture: a controlled sequence of pointings, small reachings, strokings, mainly for the hands and arms, with fingers adding emphasis, V-shapes down the sides of the nose, or horizontally from the eyes, intimate and vaguely erotic; and, perhaps most distinctively of all, the noisy, punk-flavoured chaos of rolling, risky, airborne movement, all catches and collisions. It felt riskily, excitingly new.
The work that followed, Businessman In the Process of Becoming an Angel, built on that. It moved at something approaching the speed of light, with dancers and musicians sharing equally in the risk-taking. And at its blazing heart was his muse, Louise Lecavalier, she of the mane of white-blonde hair and, in the physical challenge of what she did, a seemingly bottomless well of bravery and self-sacrifice: a flame on legs, someone once said.
Nothing was quite comprehensible. Nothing seemed quite under control. Like modern life. However, for all its apparent looseness and freedom, this was work that was meticulously crafted and precisely timed down to the microsecond: given the riskiness, it could hardly be otherwise.
The movement evolved from extremely slow research in the studio: Lock described it to me as a kind of animation, stringing together poses like single frames of movement to create a continuous filmic blur, carefully layered, slowly accreted, all about careful choices: the angle of the head, the flickering of the hands, each element precisely calculated.
And at its core you could, if you wanted, make it mean a few things for yourself: an attempt to come to terms with urban chaos yet still maintain a sense of personal integrity; the dog-eat-dog world of modern business (a cut-out dog called Max plays a large and linking part); the mundane businessman who, through the alchemic effect of dance, is briefly transformed to the angelic; a celebration of humanity in all its strangeness and contradiction.
At its debut at the National Arts Centre here, Businessman drew an audience of 127, fifty of whom left before the end. Hardly an overnight hit. Nevertheless, within a very short time Lock and his company became identified in the minds of many members of the dance community in Canada and abroad as a specific example of the new wave of Quebec artist.
And when we speak about Lock reflecting and shaping the spirit of his times, it is important to acknowledge the social context in which he built his company. He was an outsider. An immigrant. A Jew who was refused admittance to the Catholic school system. He understood social tension; he lived it. As a child, he knew what it was like to be picked on for being different.
So what he created was a company that used the language of movement as a communicative compromise – something that everyone could make contact with – a way to defuse cultural and social tension. This also tied in with Quebec’s move away from a theatre of language to a theatre of gesture and movement, perhaps to make its cultural expressions better understood beyond its borders.
What is equally important to recognize is the context of theatrical performance in Quebec. Lock emerged as part of a Montreal performance scene (and a Montreal audience) that was fascinated with acrobatics and theatricality. The city is a hotbed of circus talent, but, as the late historian Iro Tembeck has pointed out, it is circus talent that is directed to a creative and expressive end, rather than a purely spectacular one, Cirque du Soleil being only one example.
So the influences were not only dance but mime, gymnastics and the theatre. From the 1980s on, much of the theatre movement that was made in Montreal was almost aggressively physical—not only the work of Lock, but choreographer Ginette Laurin and her company O Vertigo (she had her dancers take parachute lessons to prepare for her fantasies of flight and falling), Gilles Maheu and Carbone Quatorze (you remember those whirling bedsteads in Le Dortoir?), Jean-Pierre Perreault and other choreographers of the period.
At the same time, it was not only theatrical. The previous generation of artists, liberated by the Quiet Revolution, had been deeply involved in making artwork that was permeated by, even initiated by a desire to comment on issues of immediate concern to the emerging Quebec society: politics, sexuality, the church. And this desire to make social comment through art had by no means gone away. But just as the lens of movement invention had broadened, so had the intent of the message-making: less specifically Quebecois, more generally to do with the great questions of human life—Carbone Quatorze’s Dead Souls, for instance. And, I would argue, all the works of Edouard Lock.
We might also trace the origins of his style to the post-modernist dance scene in New York, and to the German theatrical neo-expressionism of Pina Bausch. They were both well exposed in Montreal and both tended to strip away conventional ideas of beauty, technical prowess, structure and even meaning from dance and substitute the banality of the street and the theatre of the non-sequential.
But Lock went further. He invented a new vocabulary for dance, one that mirrored the fast-action hip-hop movement and breakdance that was going on in popular video culture. It brought him a different kind of audience, not just the dance crowd, and not just the young, but a wide spectrum of individuals—punks, rockers, people who had never looked at dance before but were drawn by its embodiment of the anarchic expression of its age.
He borrowed freely from the punk aesthetic for his look, and from the techno-pop field for his new-wave sound, to create works that, as the Vancouver writer Susan Mertens put it, broke through modern dance’s stranglehold on fist-to-brow significance and for style, impact and entertainment, rivalled the dream-world, high-energy quality of rock video and the rock concert.
The piece that was considered his breakthrough work, certainly in terms of building wide audiences, was Human Sex, which he premiered in 1985. The title was a bit misleading. As someone pointed out, it actually contained less sex than Swan Lake. But it was important because it was the first in a series of works—they included Human Sex; New Demons in 1987; Infante, C’est Destroy in 1991—that made up what he has called his “extreme” phase. No story, no gender, nothing conventionally beautiful, nothing emotional, simply movement, dense and fast and strange, the sonic background loud and urban, everything designed to throw us off balance and challenge our conventional methods of perceiving, extravagantly sensationalist visuals of blood and flames, harsh physical interplay.
This was the period when the critics who complained about style over substance were being heard the loudest: Edouard Lock as showman. Quebec new dance in general was being accused of concentrating on creating stylish amalgams of movement, music and visuals at the expense of actual dance content.
Part of the reason Lock came under attack, to the extent that he did, was that what he was offering no longer had the benefit of surprise. Etonne-moi. But they were missing the point. Human Sex, for instance, had serious things to say about the importance of communication between the sexes: “about being human together,” as Susan Mertens said, “about attempting and failing and succeeding and being stronger than you thought you could be.”
It was what one writer has called an aesthetic of excess: still that emphasis on arresting theatricals—a steel lion whose mouth opens to display a demonic Quebecois Punch and Judy show, for instance; Lock himself on a bed of nails. And, above everything, that dense, spasmic movement, frenzied and risky. Kamikaze movement, I used to call it: airborne starbursts, horizontal barrel rolls, splayed backward leaps, blending physical theatrics with an attenuated, post-punk sensibility, accompanied by live, loud techno-pop and video projections: yes, like elongated rock videos.
It was very much a reflection of the spirit of the time. One London writer called the company the “vicious swan in the stagnant duck-pond of ‘80s pop culture”. And while it took the dance world by surprise at the time, it’s really not much of a stretch to understand why rocker David Bowie asked Lock to conceive and direct a world tour for him (Lock and his dancers toured with Bowie for two years) and why Frank Zappa also invited him to collaborate.
By the mid-1990s, with 2/Deux, he was beginning to move in a different direction. The pace calmed down a little. The piece had a more sombre, pensive flavour. An awareness of death or the evanescence of life was more apparent. And by now it was routinely possible to measure the success not only in reviewer and audience response but in numbers. In a business where an audience of a few hundred can be a major success, Lock was by now playing to 130,000 people in nearly 60 cities around the world. Producers in seven countries shared the creation costs of 2.
Salt, in 1998, was another new departure, and we can see it, again, as being entirely in tune with the changing zeitgeist. This was a period, after all, when all the old dualities were being challenged: all the demarcations between traditional and informal, classical and modern, male and female, were up for reappraisal. Relationships were again in question. And again, it brought a different, cooler kind of virtuosity to bear—as virtuosic, in its way, as the Kirov Ballet, but without the bravura. Speed now became a means to put us into sensory overload, push us beyond our comfort level, subvert our traditional ways of looking, overwhelm analysis. But the tone was also more muted. The freneticism was gone.
It was now that Lock also increasingly began to call on the resources of ballet. He had already been commissioned to make works for a couple of ballet companies, and he had had his dancers working with a ballet master since New Demons. Now he began to weave together ballet’s curvy lines with modern dance’s sharply angled joints—knees, ankles, wrists—and putting his dancers in pointe shoes. Restraint and balance, so much the preserve of the ballet, began to show up in his work. Even a cool, distanced lyricism.
This embracing of ballet was a fascinating move for a variety of reasons. For a start, it gave him a chance to move the dancers faster and more efficiently. Posed on pointe, they can be rapidly spun. But it also gave him access to the distancing effect of the pointe shoe. They divorce the wearer from the ground—that was their original aim: up on their toes, their feet disappearing into nothing, the dancers of the ballet could more easily be seen to be the ethereal spirits of the great Romantic story-ballets. In that way, they gave visible reinforcement to the notion of our tenuous hold on reality—“as tenuous as that of souls,” as Lock once explained it to me. At the same time, they also reinforced the impossibility of that attempt to transcend gravity, affirming that, however much we try to free ourselves from earth’s bonds, we can never fully succeed.
The use of pointe shoes drew predictable criticism from some who saw it in conflict with La La La’s trademark look, but Lock has been unrepentant. In fact, he now puts both sexes in pointe shoes, not as a gimmick, as some might do, but as a serious exploration of the kind of movement that might eventuate. You have to take risks, he says, you have to be prepared to change, you have to throw out the past and move on. Indeed, he has been compared to James Joyce in the way in which he has been able to mould new forms from the cross-fertilization of established techniques and innovative treatments.
The anecdotal origins of Amelia, his most recent work, lie in an encounter he had over two decades ago with two transvestites who were, as he puts it, “in a constant state of theatricality without being in a theatre.” This mix of everyday life and the theatrical permeates this piece. The music was far less abrasive than in earlier works. It was not a collaboration, he says, though it certainly feels like one. The U.S. composer John Lang, a frequent collaborator with Lock, wrote it for piano, violin, cello, voice, based on lyrics by Lou Reed, whose music Lock had often listened to during the time he spent with the two transvestites who inspired the work.
By now, most of his dancers were from a ballet-trained background, and the interplay of the ballet and modernist aesthetics were pronounced. He was able to refract ballet technique through the prism of modernism—tipped pirouettes, for example; sudden directional change; harmony and proportion interwoven with the fierce freneticism, detailed gesture and sexual charge; classical technique subjected to new demands of speed and complexity. He talked about being able to create footwork “like baroque architecture.” A critic in Prague talked about it in terms of “watching embroidered lace … like listening to the sounds of the universe.”
All of which, of course, helped Lock achieve his aims of disorientation. We have little time for contemplation in this work – there are none of the conventional poses and pauses that come like punctuation points in ballet and allow us moments of reflection. Inevitably, it defeats even the most assiduous, meaning-oriented viewer and we see, simply, movement – energy made visible.
I used the word shaman in the title of this talk, and not just because it resonates prettily, or glibly, with showman. Shamanistic practice is thought to put us in touch with the non-material world. In its attempt to change our perceptions, it often deals with reality in an imaginative, referential way. What Lock offers is the same sense of a slightly skewed vision of the world, a vision that is just off what we consider normal, a sense of having been given contact with something profound without being given the words. The interpretations, meanings, are up to us to deduce. Making logical sense of things seems to be a human instinct; Lock is asking us to give that up and let the body and its energies make contact with us directly. Not understand; intuit.
Lock protests that there is no implicit meaning in his work, but I find them often tinged with melancholy. A Los Angeles critic has even talked of his “tragic vision.” Salt, for instance, seemed, like much of his work, obsessed with the passing of time. Its title had to do with the residue that remains after a surge of emotion is over, trace elements of feeling or passion. I saw in it trust rewarded, trust betrayed. It had, as one writer put it, the taste of tears.
Another major theme—or, rather, mood—is ennui. The early works were filled with it, for all their freneticism and violence. Relationships were always casual; coolness prevailed; commitment was minimal. In the later works, along with the melancholy there seems to be a spiritual hollowness to the personae on the stage. The faces are uninvolved. The angst of the existentialists seems to hover close by.
Yet love, too, seems an underlying theme of Lock’s work. Some of it is overt. “It is dangerous to love too much,” said Lili Marlene. “Oh triste amour,” Lock spray-painted on the wall in Oranges. “Only the strong survive love” is the closing message from the dog Max in Businessman. Some of it is implicit. It is impossible, after all, to ignore the relationships within the duets and trios that go on in these works, however tenuous these relationships might seem – these are human bodies we are looking at, with all the freighting that human bodies carry.
Angst … the search for love … overall, these dances are intended, I think, as ways for society to see itself. “Let me be your mirror” someone sings in Amelia. The mood is melancholy, detached, though not at all judgmental. That idea of reflecting society to itself also resonates, again, with Lock’s background as an immigrant, someone who looks at the place in which he lives through the lens of an outsider – someone who, because of not belonging, is alert to the unspoken undercurrents of communication that swirl around any group of people: undercurrents of meaning that are often quite at odds with what is being said.. It is that ability he offers us to recognise – to intuit – the way we are that persuades me to suggest that he both reflects and guides the zeitgeist.
And it is here that we also approach the idea that I proposed at the beginning of this talk – that his dances can function as metaphors for the social, spiritual and intellectual dislocation that has been brought about by our technological advances. From the earliest years, it has seemed to me that his use of theatrical techniques that are at the forefront of his time is simply part of an urgent advocacy of a re-examination of society’s roots.
Although he claims not to be making judgments, it is as if he is both embracing and condemning the machinery of modern art that he finds at his disposal – using the tools of post-modernism (amplified sounds, high-impact physical theatre, the distortion of perception) to remind us that there exists, beneath the frenetic surface of the life we live, a simpler, more elemental world, built on certain unchanging values: values that are in the first and most important instance both human and humane.
You may have noticed that I have rarely mentioned the fact that he is Canadian. His work transcends its origins and focuses on something elemental to our common humanity and experience of life, at least in the developed world—which is, of course, why producers in so many countries are eager to commission his work.
And by choosing the forms of expression that he has—video, rock music, energy, risk, confusion—he has allowed a huge international body of people access to what he is doing and thinking … people who probably would not have allowed themselves close to a more traditional form of dancing.
In a sense, he has sugared the pill, but in reverse, making what he has to offer us tart and dangerous, but, in the end, doing what all successful art does: leaving us with the sense that we have made contact with essential, profound, truthful questions and insights about the way we are, and inviting us to find meaning of our own.
Showman, yes; but shaman too.
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Independent scholarship in the arts →
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History of the economics department at University of Missouri-Kansas City
Lee, Frederic (2011): History of the economics department at University of Missouri-Kansas City.
This essay provides a short history of the Department of Economics at UMKC from 1929 to 2010. It shows the origins of its Institutionalist roots beginning in 1946 and ends with the development of the department as a internationally known center of Post Keynesian-Institutional-heterodox economics.
Institutionalism, Heterodox, Post Keynesian
B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B2 - History of Economic Thought since 1925 > B23 - Econometrics ; Quantitative and Mathematical Studies
B - History of Economic Thought, Methodology, and Heterodox Approaches > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches
Frederic Lee
Brazelton, W.R. (2004), ‘The Oklahoma ‘institutionalist’ school’, in W. J. Samuels (ed.), Research in the History of Economic Thought and methodology, vol. 22-C, Wisconsin “Government and Business” and the History of Heterodox Economic Thought, Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 245-60.
Lee, F.S. (2005), ‘Teaching heterodox microeconomics’, Post-Autistic Economics Review, 31 (16 May), article 3, http://www.btinternet.com/~pae_news/review/issue31.htm.
Lee, F.S. (2009), A History of Heterodox Economics: Challenging the Mainstream in the Twentieth Century, Abingdon and New York: Routledge.
Lee, F.S. (2010), ‘A heterodox teaching of neoclassical microeconomic theory’, International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education, 1(3), 203-35.
Lee, F. S., T. C. Grijalva and C. Nowell (2010), ‘Ranking economics departments in a contested discipline: a bibliometric approach to quality equality between theoretically distinct sub-disciplines’, American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 69 (5), 1345-75.
Phillips, R. (1995), Economic Mavericks: The Texas Institutionalists, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Wagner, E. (1999), ‘Part I of the history of the Economics Department at UMKC’, Kansas City, MO: UMKC Department of Economics Newsletter 3 (Spring), pp. 1, 3-4. Also found at http://cas.umkc.edu/economics/history.asp.
Wagner, E. (2001), ‘A generation of political economists: part II of the history of the Department of Economics’, Kansas City, MO: UMKC Department of Economics Newsletter, 4 (Spring), pp. 3-4. Also found at http://cas.umkc.edu/economics/history2.asp.
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131 Songs, 9 Hours 39 Minutes
Legacy Eagles
Take It Easy (Remastered)
Witchy Woman (Remastered)
Chug All Night (Remastered)
Most of Us Are Sad (Remastered)
Nightingale (Remastered)
Train Leaves Here This Morning (Remastered)
Take the Devil (Remastered)
Earlybird (Remastered)
Peaceful Easy Feeling (Remastered)
Tryin' (Remastered)
Doolin-Dalton (Remastered)
Twenty-One (Remastered)
Out of Control (Remastered)
Tequila Sunrise (Remastered)
Desperado (Remastered)
Certain Kind of Fool (Remastered)
Doolin-Dalton (Instrumental Version) [Remastered]
Outlaw Man (Remastered)
Saturday Night (Remastered)
Bitter Creek (Remastered)
Doolin-Dalton/Desperado (Reprise) [Remastered]
On The Border
Already Gone (Remastered)
You Never Cry Like a Lover (Remastered)
Midnight Flyer (Remastered)
My Man (Remastered)
On the Border (Remastered)
James Dean (Remastered)
Ol' 55 (Remastered)
Is It True? (Remastered)
Good Day in Hell (Remastered)
The Best of My Love (Remastered)
One Of These Nights
One of These Nights (Remastered)
Too Many Hands (Remastered)
Hollywood Waltz (Remastered)
Journey of the Sorcerer (Remastered)
Lyin' Eyes (Remastered)
Take It to the Limit (Remastered)
Visions (Remastered)
After the Thrill Is Gone (Remastered)
I Wish You Peace (Remastered)
Hotel California (Remastered)
New Kid in Town (Remastered)
Life in the Fast Lane (Remastered)
Wasted Time (Remastered)
Wasted Time (Reprise) [Remastered]
Victim of Love (Remastered)
Pretty Maids All in a Row (Remastered)
Try and Love Again (Remastered)
The Last Resort (Remastered)
The Long Run (Remastered)
I Can't Tell You Why (Remastered)
In the City (Remastered)
The Disco Strangler (Remastered)
King of Hollywood (Remastered)
Heartache Tonight (Remastered)
Those Shoes (Remastered)
Teenage Jail (Remastered)
The Greeks Don't Want No Freaks (Remastered)
The Sad Cafe (Remastered)
Long Road Out Of Eden
No More Walks in the Wood
Busy Being Fabulous
What Do I Do With My Heart
Guilty of the Crime
I Don't Want to Hear Any More
Waiting in the Weeds
No More Cloudy Days
I Dreamed There Was No War
Frail Grasp on the Big Picture
Last Good Time in Town
I Love to Watch a Woman Dance
Center of the Universe
It's Your World Now
Eagles Live
Hotel California (Live in Santa Monica, 7/29/1980) [Remastered]
Heartache Tonight (Live in Santa Monica, 7/29/1980) [Remastered]
I Can't Tell You Why (Live in Santa Monica, 7/29/1980) [Remastered]
The Long Run (Live in Santa Monica, 7/29/1980) [Remastered]
New Kid in Town (Live at the Forum, 10/22/1976) [Remastered]
Life's Been Good (Live at Santa Monica, 7/29/1980) [Remastered]
Seven Bridges Road (Live at Santa Monica, 7/28/1980) [Remastered]
Wasted Time (Live at the Forum, 10/22/1976) [Remastered]
Take It to the Limit (Live at the Forum, 10/20/1976) [Remastered]
Doolin'-Dalton (Reprise II) [Live at the Forum, 10/21/76] [Remastered]
Desperado (Live at the Forum, 10/21/1976) [Remastered]
Saturday Night (Live at Santa Monica, 7/28/1980) [Remastered]
All Night Long (Live at Santa Monica, 7/27/1980) [Remastered]
Life In the Fast Lane (Live at Long Beach, 07/31/1980) [Remastered]
Take It Easy (Live at Santa Monica, 7/27/1980) [Remastered]
Hell Freezes Over
Get Over It
Love Will Keep Us Alive
The Girl from Yesterday
Learn to Be Still
Tequila Sunrise (Live on MTV, 1994)
Hotel California (Live on MTV, 1994)
Wasted Time (Live on MTV, 1994)
Pretty Maids All In a Row (Live On MTV, 1994)
I Can't Tell You Why (Live On MTV, 1994)
New York Minute (Live On MTV, 1994)
The Last Resort (Live On MTV, 1994)
Take It Easy (Live On MTV, 1994)
In the City (Live On MTV, 1994)
Life In the Fast Lane (Live On MTV, 1994)
Desperado (Live On MTV, 1994)
The Milennium Concert
Hotel California (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Victim of Love (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Peaceful Easy Feeling (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Please Come Home for Christmas (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
OL' 55 (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Take It to the Limit (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Those Shoes (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Funky New Year (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Dirty Laundry (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Funk 49 (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
All She Wants to Do Is Dance (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
The Best of My Love (Live at Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 12/31/1999) [Remastered]
Singles & B-Sides
Take It Easy (Single Version) [Remastered]
Get You in the Mood (Remastered)
Outlaw Man (Single Version) [Remastered]
Best of My Love (Single Edit) [Remastered]
One of These Nights (Single Edit) [Remastered]
Lyin' Eyes (Single Edit) [Remastered]
Take It to the Limit (Single Edit) [Remastered]
Please Come Home for Christmas (Single Version) [Remastered]
Funky New Year (Remastered)
Hole in the World (Remastered)
Released: Nov 2, 2018
℗ 2018 Warner Music Group. All Rights Reserved. Marketed by Warner Music Group.
More By Eagles
Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975
The Very Best of Eagles
Hell Freezes Over (Remaster 2018)
Eagles Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
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Offbeat: Billy Strayhorn Lived a “Lush Life” Beyond Duke Ellington
November 18, 2015 at 9:37 am by Dennis Polkow
by Dennis Polkow
November 18, 2015 November 13, 2015 Filed under:
Chicago Artists
News and Dish
Duke Ellington (left) and Billy Strayhorn
When Bruce Mayhall Rastrelli first came up with the idea of devoting an entire concert to the music of Billy Strayhorn more than a decade ago, the first question was often, “Billy who?”
“It was for a gay chorus that I directed for eight years in Los Angeles,” recalls Rastrelli, “and they had a tradition of doing single composer concerts: Sondheim, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Jerry Herman. I wanted to move beyond doing composers that were obvious. I wanted to challenge the chorus and the community with things they didn’t know, specifically jazz, and especially a black composer who was out and gay at a time when that was not at all typical.”
Strayhorn is best known for his near thirty-year association with Duke Ellington, from the time they met in 1938 until Strayhorn’s early death from cancer in 1967 at the age of fifty-one. Often given direct credit, sometimes not, Strayhorn is estimated to have composed and arranged some forty percent of the entire Ellington catalogue and was, as Ellington himself put it in his autobiography, “my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brain waves in his head, and his in mine.”
Less known is that Strayhorn’s first love and interest was classical music, which the racism of the day made an impractical goal. “He wanted to be a concert pianist,” says Rastrelli, “but it would be another thirty years in the 1960s before the first great black concert pianist, André Watts, would appear on the scene. Two of his white friends got Billy into jazz and introduced him to recordings by Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson and Fats Waller. He quickly figured out that this music was just as profound, and that he could accomplish everything he wanted as a player and a composer.”
Ellington, too, had a deep love of classical music and had been trying to write large-scale pieces and suites for his ensemble from its earliest days, but it was Strayhorn who learned how to most eloquently complete Ellington’s thoughts using elements of the genre.
Bruce Mayhall Rastrelli
“From the very first, Billy knew how to sound like Ellington but in an expanded way. That’s why ‘Take the ‘A’ Train,’ which everybody knows, most people think Ellington wrote because it was his signature tune, and it sounds like Ellington. But Ellington recognized that Strayhorn contributed something unique, and so the pieces that Billy was able to write were based upon his having played Bach, Brahms, Beethoven, Debussy, Ravel and having studied the scores of Stravinsky. He recognized that Billy could be an extension of himself, and could include the breadth and strength of classical music as part of his band. And the classical connection was something Billy never lost and was very driven by all of his life; the very last piece he wrote was a three-movement classical horn and piano duo reminiscent of Britten’s ‘Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.’”
Mayhall thinks that Strayhorn’s best-known pre-Ellington standard, “Lush Life,” is not jazz at all. “He was between eighteen and twenty-three when he wrote it, but the worldliness that the lyrics reflect is just incredible. It’s not just about money and about race, but how Paris would ease the bite of it. He understood so many things at such an early age. ‘Lush Life’ was written at the time he thought he was going to be a classical composer, not as a jazz tune. It’s really an art song. It’s very sophisticated harmonically and really foreshadows so many of the things that he would do in terms of his classical acumen.”
With the Strayhorn centennial having been celebrated in a festival of concerts and events across the fall, and November 29 being Strayhorn’s actual one-hundredth birthday, the Auditorium Theatre decided to cap the festival with a special extravaganza to celebrate as a grand finale. In addition to a full-scale big band, chorus and the Joel Hall dancers, special guests include Chicago artists Darius de Haas and Joan Curto and pianist/arranger Alan Broadbent, who collaborated with Rastrelli on that first Strayhorn concert over a decade ago. By all indications, it will be an affair worthy of Strayhorn’s taste for elegance.
“Ellington paid everybody well. Part of the reason that his band survived so long was that he took care of them. He provided Billy’s housing and paid for everything. And Billy had very expensive tastes. He was a clothes horse, he loved fine food, he loved fine liquor, he smoked eight packs a day, he lived in penthouses, he traveled the world: he lived a very lush life.”
November 21, 8pm, Auditorium Theatre, 50 East Congress, (312)341-2300, auditoriumtheatre.org.
Dennis Polkow
Dennis Polkow is an award-winning veteran journalist, critic, author, broadcaster and educator. He made his stage debut at age five, was a child art prodigy and began playing keyboards in clubs at the age of fourteen. He holds degrees in music theory, composition, religious studies and philosophy from DePaul University in Chicago. Polkow spent his early years performing and recording in rock and jazz bands while concertizing as a classical pianist, organist and harpsichordist and composing, arranging and producing for other artists. As a scholar, Polkow has published and lectured extensively and taught at several colleges and universities in various departments. As an actor, narrator and consultant, Polkow has been involved with numerous films, plays, broadcasts and documentaries. As a journalist, Polkow helped co-create the experiential Chicago Musicale and Spotlight, the award-winning tabloid arts and entertainment section of the Press Publications chain of newspapers, which he later edited. He also created and ran the nationally recognized journalism program at Oakton College and was faculty advisor to its award-winning student newspaper; many former students went on to major media careers, including Channel Awesome’s the Nostalgia Critic. Polkow’s research, interviews, features, reviews and commentaries have appeared across national and international media and he has corresponded from the Middle East, Asia and Africa for the Chicago Tribune. Contact: dpolkow25@aol.com
Diva: The Fierceness and Fabulousness of Billy Corgan This month Billy Corgan returns to us—or rather, he comes home to debut yet another transparent transformation, this time as “William Patrick Corgan”—for a two-part concert.
Val’s Halla Records and the Woman who Brought a Myth to Life Val Camilletti loved music, and dedicated her life to helping others love it too—helping you finding just the right record, knowing the song you were looking for just by hearing you sing a few of its lyrics, and giving bands the chance to play on her store’s stage.
Con Brio: The Shakespeare of Music, 450 years later, Monteverdi illuminates life, death, music Sir John Eliot Gardiner, his Monteverdi Choir and the English Baroque Soloists, perform all three of Monteverdi’s surviving operas at Harris Theater.
Alan Broadbent
Andre Watts
Art Tatum
Auditorium Theatre
Darius de Haas
Jerry Herman
Joan Curto
Joel Hall Dancers
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Teddy Wilson
Previous Post Raw Material: Horn of Not-Quite-Plenty
Next Post Spins: Atomic Ragtime and Radiant Folk, Chicago Style
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International hackers charged over Call of Duty and Apache helicopter software theft
02 Oct 2014 2 Law & order
Previous: US Attorney General urges tech companies to leave back doors open on gadgets for police
Next: Civil liberties advocates, bookstores, publishers sue to stop anti revenge porn law
by Lee Munson
Hackers from Australia, Canada and the US have been charged with breaking into the networks of games developers and the US Army to steal software worth at least $100m, according to prosecutors.
The Department of Justice says the alleged cyber theft included ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’ as well as ‘Gears of War 3’, both of which were snatched prior to release.
The group also allegedly stole Apache helicopter training software from the US military, possibly to sell on to Call of Duty players to help them get that attack helicopter 7-killstreak reward.
Nathan Leroux, 20, of Bowie, Maryland; Sanadodeh Nesheiwat, 28, of Washington, New Jersey; David Pokora, 22, of Ontario, Canada; and Austin Alcala, 18, of McCordsville, Indiana were charged by a federal grand jury in the District of Delaware on April 23, 2014 in an 18-count indictment that was unsealed yesterday.
The lengthy charge sheet includes conspiracy to commit computer fraud, copyright infringement, wire and mail fraud, identity theft and theft of trade secrets. The defendants also face individual charges that also include aggravated identity theft and unauthorised computer access.
A fifth defendant, identified only as an Australian citizen, has also been charged under Australian law for his alleged involvement in the conspiracy.
The indictment and other court records allege that the four men, plus the Australian and others, broke into computer networks belonging to Microsoft, Epic Games, Valve, Zombie Studios and the US Army through a variety of methods including SQL injection and the use of login credentials stolen from employees of the respective companies and their development partners.
Once they’d got in to the networks, it’s alleged the hackers stole pre-release software as well as source code, trade secrets and other copyrighted and confidential information. Fortunately, there is no suggestion that any customer data was accessed during the intrusions.
Two of the accused have already entered a guilty plea, including a Canadian resident, which marks the first ever conviction of a foreign national over hacking into US firms to steal trade secrets.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell said the American economy is fuelled by innovation but its value could only be ensured through its protection, noting that the guilty pleas prove a determination to keep intellectual property out of the hands of hackers, both domestic and foreign.
In a statement, he added:
Electronic breaking and entering of computer networks and the digital looting of identities and intellectual property have become much too common. These are not harmless crimes, and those who commit them should not believe they are safely beyond our reach.
Prosecutors have estimated the value of the allegedly stolen intellectual property and other losses at between $100 million and $200 million while officials say they recovered $620,000 in cash and other valuables from the defendants.
The two defendants to have pleaded guilty – Pokora and Nesheiwat – are due to be sentenced on January 13 2015.
The FBI continues to investigate in conjunction with the Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations and Customs and Border Patrol, and the US Postal Inspection Service.
US investigators also continue to receive assistance from the Western Australia Police and the Peel Regional Police of Ontario, Canada.
2 comments on “International hackers charged over Call of Duty and Apache helicopter software theft”
I have no sympathy for Activision. I have several of thier older games and they no longer moderate hacking online for the muntiplayer games essentially making them unplayable. (I asume its so that consumers will get fustrated and by the newer games) I guess now they can join me in knowing what it feels like yo have your hardearned money ruined by hackers on a video game.
roy jones jr says:
If we’re to go with “pattern behavior” then Scott is right. From a game aspect Activision and Valve go with their agenda and don’t deviate. And it seems that as a company they do the same thing. I doubt that there have been any improvements to their online security. I haven’t seen any articles.
Canadian hacker, 22, gets 18 months in prison over US trade secrets theft
Accused game hacker flees to Europe, says he can’t afford defence
by Paul Roberts
FTC announces international crack down on bogus support call scam
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Head Women’s Ice Hockey Coach
Coaching, Coaching - Ice Hockey
Department: Athletics Status: Exempt Job Status: Full-Time (12-month position) Reports To: Director of Athletics
Lawrence University openly invites applications for the first ever NCAA varsity Head Women’s Ice Hockey Coach. The Head Women’s Ice Hockey Coach is primarily responsible for the successful initial development, planning, implementation, and evaluation of the women’s ice hockey program. Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, training and coaching the student-athletes, recruiting quality women’s ice hockey student-athletes that fit with Lawrence University, scheduling, budget management, and overall administration of a varsity Division III women’s ice hockey program in accordance with NCAA, Northern Collegiate Hockey Association Women’s Conference, and University rules and procedures. Credentials should reflect proven success or ability in coaching, recruiting, and working with student-athletes in a highly demanding academic environment. This will be the first ever varsity women’s ice hockey program at Lawrence University. Our athletics department is at a place of positive growth and increasingly higher expectations. It is an exciting time for the addition of women’s ice hockey to our NCAA varsity programs because of the potential for immediate impact on the campus holistically and in the NCHA. The successful candidate should be ready to recruit their first class, capitalize on our departmental growth, and work towards our expected goal of being highly competitive. During the 2019-2020 academic year, the primary responsibility will be recruiting student-athletes as our first competitive season will occur during the 2020-2021 academic year.
Lawrence University is a member of the NCAA Division III, Midwest Conference, Northern Collegiate Hockey Association, and Midwest Fencing Conference. Lawrence fields teams in 21 intercollegiate sports (22 with the addition of women’s ice hockey) with approximately 325 scholar-athletes and is committed to a well-balanced program promoting excellence in both academics and athletics.
We encourage applications from individuals who will help us create a more inclusive Lawrence by: 1) further diversifying the staff; and/or 2) demonstrating experience with successful diversity-related initiatives; and 3) showing interest in developing inclusiveness to address the needs of a diverse student body. Lawrence University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and encourages applications from individuals of diverse backgrounds. See https://lawrencecareers.silkroad.com/lawrenceuniversity/About_Us.html for more information about Lawrence and its surrounding community, including the New North Regional Guide which lists resources that promote diversity in the community. All candidates are encouraged to address in their letters of application the ways in which they could contribute to Lawrence’s institutional mission and commitment to diversity through demonstrated experience and/or creative programming. Application review will begin upon submission with an anticipated start date of July 22, 2019, however, this can be negotiated.
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NIJ Journal No. 280
Using Artificial Intelligence to Address Criminal Justice Needs
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Using Officer-Driven Research to Meet Policing Challenges
Research in the Ranks: Empowering Law Enforcement to Drive Their Own Scientific Inquiry
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Body-Worn Cameras: What the Evidence Tells Us
New Approaches to Digital Evidence Acquisition and Analysis
Two NIJ-supported projects offer innovative ways to process digital evidence.
By Martin Novak, Jonathan Grier, and Daniel Gonzales
Download and print (pdf, 8 pages)
Computers are used to commit crime, but with the burgeoning science of digital evidence forensics, law enforcement can now use computers to fight crime.
Digital evidence is information stored or transmitted in binary form that may be relied on in court. It can be found on a computer hard drive, a mobile phone, a CD, and a flash card in a digital camera, among other places. Digital evidence is commonly associated with electronic crime, or e-crime, such as child pornography or credit card fraud. However, digital evidence is now used to prosecute all types of crimes, not just e-crime. For example, suspects’ email or mobile phone files might contain critical evidence regarding their intent, their whereabouts at the time of a crime, and their relationship with other suspects.
In an effort to fight e-crime and to collect relevant digital evidence for all crimes, law enforcement agencies are incorporating the collection and analysis of digital evidence into their infrastructure.
Digital forensics essentially involves a three-step, sequential process:[1]
Seizing the media.
Acquiring the media; that is, creating a forensic image of the media for examination.
Analyzing the forensic image of the original media. This ensures that the original media are not modified during analysis and helps preserve the probative value of the evidence.
Large-capacity media typically seized as evidence in a criminal investigation, such as computer hard drives and external drives, may be 1 terabyte (TB) or larger. This is equivalent to about 17,000 hours of compressed recorded audio. Today, media can be acquired forensically at approximately 1.5 gigabytes (GB) per minute. The forensically acquired media are stored in a RAW image format, which results in a bit-for-bit copy of the data contained in the original media without any additions or deletions, even for the portions of the media that do not contain data. This means that a 1 TB hard drive will take approximately 11 hours for forensic acquisition.[2] Although this method captures all possible data stored in a piece of digital media, it is time-consuming and creates backlogs. In 2014, there were 7,800 backlogged cases involving digital forensics in publicly funded forensic crime labs.[3]
To help address these challenges, in 2014 NIJ funded two projects: Grier Forensics received an award to develop a new approach to acquiring digital media, and RAND Corporation received an award to work on an innovative means for analyzing digital media. Four years later, these software applications are coming to fruition.
Identifying Disk Regions That May Contain Evidence
Traditional disk acquisition tools produce a disk image that is a bit-for-bit duplicate of the original media. Therefore, if a piece of acquired media is 2 TB in size, then the disk image produced will also be 2 TB in size. The disk image will include all regions of the original media, even those that are blank, unused, or irrelevant to the investigation. It will also include large portions devoted to operating systems (e.g., Windows 10 or Mac OSX), third-party applications, and programs supplied by vendors such as Microsoft or Apple (see exhibit 1).
Exhibit 1. Typical Disk Regions
Source: Courtesy of Grier Forensics.
Exhibit 1 shows the typical regions of a disk:
Program files
Registry, system metadata (high value)
Windows OS files
Temp files, history, logs, browser artifacts (high value)
Blank space, never used
For some cases, such as software piracy, it is important to collect these programs so investigators can understand the computer’s original environment. However, for the vast majority of cases, these regions are not important. For most computer forensic investigations, the evidence lies in the user’s documents, emails, internet history, and any downloaded illicit images.
Grier Forensics proposed a novel approach that images only those regions of a disk that may contain evidence. Called the Rapid Forensic Acquisition of Large Media with Sifting Collectors, this software application bypasses regions that contain exclusively third-party, unmodified applications and, instead, zeroes in on the regions that contain data, artifacts, and other evidence. (The software can be easily configured to collect third-party applications when necessary for certain types of cases.)
Exhibit 2 is a visualization of disk regions generated by the Sifting Collectors diagnostic package. The green areas represent user-created files and the black areas represent portions of the media that have never been used.
Exhibit 2. Visualization of Disk Regions
Exhibit 2 is a visualization of disk regions generated by the Sifting Collectors diagnostic package. The green areas represent user-created files, and the black areas represent portions of the media that have never been used.
Sifting Collectors has the potential to significantly reduce digital forensics backlogs and quickly get valuable evidence to the people who need it. In laboratory testing,[4] it accelerated the imaging process by three to 13 times while still yielding 95 to 100 percent of the evidence.
Sifting Collectors is designed to drop right into existing practices. The software creates an industry-standard forensic file — known as an “E01 file” — that is accessible from standard forensic tools, just like current imaging methods.[5] Grier Forensics is working with major forensics suite manufacturers to allow Sifting Collectors to work seamlessly with their existing tools.
Potential Limitations of Sifting Collectors
Perhaps the most significant drawback of Sifting Collectors is that, unlike traditional imaging, it does not collect the entire disk. Instead, Sifting Collectors discovers which regions of the disk may contain evidence and which do not.
This might not be a significant drawback, however. Digital evidence is typically handled in one of two ways:
The investigators seize and maintain the original evidence (i.e., the disk). This is the typical practice of law enforcement organizations.
The original evidence is not seized, and access to collect evidence is available only for a limited duration. This is common in cases involving ongoing intelligence gathering — for example, when law enforcement has a valid search warrant to collect evidence but, because of an ongoing investigation, does not plan to seize the evidence.
In the second scenario, computer forensics examiners have a limited time window for entering the site and collecting as much evidence as possible. Consequently, they will focus only on the most valuable devices and then image each device, spending more than half of their time collecting unmodified regions (as described above). Sifting Collectors would allow them to accelerate the process and collect evidence from many more devices. Either way, given the limited time window, it is difficult to collect all digital evidence. The choice for the computer forensics examiner is whether to collect all regions, including blanks, from a small number of devices or to collect only modified regions containing evidence from a large number of devices. Sifting Collectors allows examiners to make that choice.
When investigators retain the original evidence, the mitigation is even simpler: Sifting Collectors allows users to collect and analyze disk regions expected to contain evidence. It allows them to acquire evidence quickly and start the case more rapidly, and it potentially reduces case backlogs. If, at any time, users need to analyze other regions, they can go back to the original and collect those regions.
Another potential drawback concerns hash verification — using an electronic signature or verification code, known as a hash, to verify that a disk image matches the original evidence disk. Existing methods of hash verification depend on verifying the entire disk and thus are not compatible with Sifting Collectors. However, this problem is not limited to Sifting Collectors; modern, solid-state drives (SSDs) are often incompatible with hash verification because certain SSD regions are unstable due to maintenance operations. In both cases, the solution is the same: moving from disk-based verification to more granular verification strategies. As the industry adopts newer verification strategies to accommodate SSDs, Sifting Collectors will likely benefit as well.
The process that Sifting Collectors uses to analyze the disk and distinguish relevant regions from unmodified or irrelevant ones takes time. The amount of time varies greatly based on the disk, but it could be up to 10 percent of the imaging time. This means that if Sifting Collectors determines that it is necessary to collect the entire disk or nearly all of it, the software will not save the user any time and will, in fact, be somewhat slower than current imaging methods. To help mitigate this, Grier Forensics is using advanced parallel processing, concurrency, and compression algorithms. However, even with these modifications, Sifting Collectors will end up being slightly slower than traditional imaging in cases where nearly all of the disk is collected.
Perhaps the drawback that is likely to cause the most resistance is simply that Sifting Collectors necessitates a break with current practice. Indeed, reluctance to change current practice will be a substantial obstacle to overcome if Sifting Collectors is to achieve widespread adoption.
Accelerating Digital Forensics Analysis
Each year, the time it takes to conduct digital forensics investigations increases as the size of hard drives continues to increase. With NIJ support, RAND has developed an open-source digital forensics processing application designed to reduce the time required to conduct forensically sound investigations of data stored on desktop computers. The application, called the Digital Forensics Compute Cluster (DFORC2), takes advantage of the parallel-processing capability of stand-alone high-performance servers or cloud-computing environments (e.g., it has been tested on the Amazon Web Services cloud).
DFORC2 is an open-source project. It uses open-source software packages such as dc3dd,[6] Apache Kafka,[7] and Apache Spark.[8] Users interact with DFORC2 through Autopsy, an open-source digital forensics tool that is widely used by law enforcement and other government agencies and is designed to hide complexity from the user. RAND has designed DFORC2 so the application can also use the Kubernetes Cluster Manager,[9] an open-source project that provides auto-scaling capabilities when deployed to appropriate cloud-computing services. (See exhibit 3 for a detailed description of how DFORC2 works.)
Exhibit 3. DFORC2 System Architecture
Source: Courtesy of RAND Corporation.
View the full image and text description.
The primary advantage of DFORC2 is that it will significantly reduce the time required to ingest and process digital evidence. DFORC2’s speed advantage, however, will depend on two factors. The first factor is the speed and memory of the server. For smaller servers (those with 16 GB of RAM or less and an older microprocessor), the original stand-alone version of Autopsy will perform better than DFORC2. On a larger server (one with 28 GB of RAM or more and a new high-end multicore microprocessor), DFORC2 will be faster.
The second factor is the number of worker nodes that can be allocated to the clusters. DFORC2 organizes resources into a cluster manager and worker nodes. Worker nodes perform computing tasks assigned to them by the cluster manager. More worker nodes will significantly reduce evidence ingest and processing times. However, there is a limit to the number of worker nodes that can be implemented on a server, even one that is equipped with a state-of-the-art multicore microprocessor. To get the full benefit of large numbers of worker nodes, the cloud-based version of DFORC2 is needed; the Kubernetes Cluster Manager can spread data-processing tasks over multiple machines in the cloud.
Potential Limitations of DFORC2
The first potential limitation is the complexity of the current prototype. Currently, distributed computing expertise is needed to set up and implement the stand-alone version of DFORC2. RAND is working to simplify its installation on a stand-alone server.
A different set of complex tasks is required to implement DFORC2 in a commercial cloud. Although the Kubernetes Cluster Manager simplifies much of the system’s internal setup and configuration, a number of complex steps are required to ensure secure communications with a DFORC2 cloud installation.
In developing its prototype, RAND is using the Amazon Web Services computing cloud. It communicates with the DFORC2 prototype through the firewalls protecting RAND’s enterprise network. RAND has had to work through a number of security and firewall exception issues to enable the smooth installation and startup of DFORC2 in Amazon Web Services. This is another setup and installation issue that RAND is working to simplify so law enforcement agencies can securely access their own DFORC2 cloud installations from their enterprise networks.
Another potential concern with the use of DFORC2 in criminal investigations is the chain of custody for evidence when commercial cloud-computing services are used to process and store evidence. Additional processing and communication steps are involved when using DFORC2.[10] RAND is conducting a chain-of-custody analysis to strengthen the integrity of the digital forensics processing paths used by DFORC2 in a commercial cloud. Additional cloud security features can also be enabled to protect user data and strengthen the chain of custody in the cloud.
Finally, an additional source of concern is how compute clusters handle data. The chain-of-custody analysis now underway will examine this issue and will include a comprehensive review of the distributed computing software components used in DFORC2.
Need for Evaluation
With the support of NIJ, Grier Forensics and RAND are moving the field forward by developing new means for processing digital evidence. Grier Forensics’ Sifting Collectors provides the next step in the evolution of evidence acquisition. RAND’s DFORC2 combines the power of compute clusters with open-source forensic analysis software to process evidence more efficiently.
Both of these projects introduce new paradigms for the acquisition and analysis of digital evidence. Whether the criminal justice community accepts these approaches will depend on the admissibility of the evidence each produces. That admissibility will ultimately be determined by the threshold tests of the Daubert standard in court. These new approaches will need to be independently tested, validated, and subjected to peer review. Known error rates and the standards and protocols for the execution of their methodologies will need to be determined. In addition, the relevant scientific community must accept them.
RAND will release DFORC2 software code to their law enforcement partners and members of the digital forensics research community in the near future. They will test it, find bugs, and improve the code. Eventually, it will be released as an open-source project.
Grier Forensics will release Sifting Collectors to their law enforcement partners for field trials to verify its preliminary laboratory findings with real cases. It recently benchmarked Sifting Collectors against conventional forensic imaging technology and found that Sifting Collectors was two to 14 times as fast as conventional imaging technology, depending on the mode and the source disk, and produced an image file requiring one-third the storage space — and it still achieved 99.73 percent comprehensiveness (as measured by a third-party tool).
Meanwhile, NIJ plans to have both DFORC2 and Sifting Collectors independently tested by the NIJ-supported National Criminal Justice Technology Research, Test and Evaluation Center, which is hosted by the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.
Read the results of an NIJ-sponsored research effort to identify and prioritize criminal justice needs related to digital evidence collection, management, analysis, and use.
Read the findings of an NIJ-sponsored expert panel on the challenges facing law enforcement when accessing data in remote data centers.
Martin Novak is a senior computer scientist in NIJ’s Office of Science and Technology.
Jonathan Grier has performed security research, consulting, and investigation for more than 15 years. He developed new security technology for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the United States Air Force.
Daniel Gonzales, Ph.D., is a senior physical scientist at RAND Corporation. He has expertise in command, control, and communications systems; electronic warfare; cybersecurity; digital forensics; critical infrastructure protection; and emergency communications.
This article discusses the following grants:
“Rapid Forensic Acquisition of Large Media with Sifting Collectors,” grant number 2014-IJ-CX-K001
“Accelerating Digital Evidence Analysis Using Recent Advances In Parallel Processing,” grant number 2014-IJ-CX-K102
NIJ Journal No. 280, posted October 2018
NCJ 250700
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[note 1] National Institute of Justice funding opportunity, “New Approaches to Digital Evidence Processing and Storage,” Grants.gov announcement number NIJ-2014-3727, posted February 6, 2014.
[note 2] Steven Branigan, “Identifying and Removing Bottlenecks in Computer Forensic Imaging,” poster session presented at NIJ Advanced Technology Conference, Washington, DC, June 2012.
[note 3] Matthew R. Durose, Andrea M. Burch, Kelly Walsh, and Emily Tiry, Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories: Resources and Services, 2014 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, November 2016), NCJ 250151.
[note 4] The tests used disk images from DigitalCorpora.org, a website of digital corpora for use in computer forensics education research that is funded through the National Science Foundation.
[note 5] Simson L. Garfinkel, David J. Malan, Karl-Alexander Dubec, Christopher C. Stevens, and Cecile Pham, “Advanced Forensic Format: An Open Extensible Format for Disk Imaging,” in Advances in Digital Forensics II, ed. Martin S. Olivier and Sujeet Shenoi (New York: Springer, 2006), 13-27.
[note 6] The application dc3dd, created by the Department of Defense’s Cyber Crime Center, is capable of hashing files and disk blocks “on the fly” as a disk is being read. The application can be downloaded at SourceForge.
[note 7] Apache Kafka is an open-source stream processing platform that provides a unified, high-throughput, low-latency platform for handling real-time data feeds.
[note 8] Apache Spark provides an interface for programming entire clusters with implicit data parallelism and fault tolerance.
[note 9] Kubernetes Cluster Manager is an open-source platform that automates deployment, scaling, and operations of applications on compute clusters. If the Kubernetes Cluster Manager is not used (e.g., if DFORC2 is deployed to a single server), then the user will fix the number of worker nodes performing forensics analysis tasks at runtime. Because of this, digital forensics analysts using DFORC2 would have to estimate the number of Apache Spark and Digital Evidence Search and Hash cluster worker nodes needed for a specific size of hard disk and for a specific type of investigation. The number of compute nodes needed could depend on many factors, which the analyst may not know before the investigation is started. This limitation would likely require the analyst to overprovision the cloud compute cluster to ensure timely processing of the evidence. The Kubernetes Cluster Manager solves this problem. It is designed to deploy or shut down cluster computing resources, depending on the level of demand on each virtual machine. Furthermore, it is compatible with a wide range of cloud-computing environments. The Kubernetes Cluster Manager can deploy applications on demand, scale applications while processes are running in containers (i.e., add additional worker nodes to compute tasks), and optimize hardware resources and limit costs by using only the resources needed.
[note 10] The DFORC2 chain of custody relies on cryptographic hashes to verify the content of disk blocks and logical files found on the hard disk that is the subject of investigation. All disk blocks are hashed twice, first by dc3dd when the disk is read into DFORC2. This hashing takes place outside the cloud, on a local computer that is used to ingest the hard disk and stream it into the cloud. Autopsy then hashes the disk blocks a second time inside the cloud. These two hashes can be compared to prove that the copy of the disk in the cloud is identical to the disk block ingested from the original piece of evidence. Logical files are not hashed during data ingestion. However, they can be hashed on the local computer using an accepted standard digital forensics tool if this is required to verify evidence found in a specific file by DFORC2 in the cloud. All logical file hashes are retained by DFORC2 in the cloud to enable the analyst to trace the chain of custody for specific pieces of evidence on an as-needed basis.
Date Created: October 8, 2018
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Why Being Left Handed Matters for Mental Health
FeaturedNeuroscience5 min read
Summary: Researchers believe some treatments for mental health conditions may be ineffective, or even dangerous for left handed people. A new study reports areas of the brain housing alertness and determination may be on the right side for left dominant people. The new theory suggests the location of a person’s neural system for emotion depends on their handedness.
Source: Cornell University.
Treatment for the most common mental health problems could be ineffective or even detrimental to about 50 percent of the population, according to a radical new model of emotion in the brain.
Since the 1970s, hundreds of studies have suggested that each hemisphere of the brain is home to a specific type of emotion. Emotions linked to approaching and engaging with the world – like happiness, pride and anger – lives in the left side of the brain, while emotions associated with avoidance – like disgust and fear – are housed in the right.
But those studies were done almost exclusively on right-handed people. That simple fact has given us a skewed understanding of how emotion works in the brain, according to Daniel Casasanto, associate professor of human development and psychology at Cornell University.
That longstanding model is, in fact, reversed in left-handed people, whose emotions like alertness and determination are housed in the right side of their brains, Casasanto suggests in a new study. Even more radical: The location of a person’s neural systems for emotion depends on whether they are left-handed, right-handed or somewhere in between, the research shows.
The study, “Approach motivation in human cerebral cortex,” is published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
According to the new theory, called the “sword and shield hypothesis,” the way we perform actions with our hands determines how emotions are organized in our brains. Sword fighters of old would wield their swords in their dominant hand to attack the enemy — an approach action — and raise their shields with their non-dominant hand to fend off attack — an avoidance action. Consistent with these action habits, results show that approach emotions depend on the hemisphere of the brain that controls the dominant “sword” hand, and avoidance emotions on the hemisphere that controls the non-dominant “shield” hand.
The work has implications for a current treatment for recalcitrant anxiety and depression called neural therapy. Similar to the technique used in the study and approved by the Food and Drug Administration, it involves a mild electrical stimulation or a magnetic stimulation to the left side of the brain, to encourage approach-related emotions.
But Casasanto’s work suggests the treatment could be damaging for left-handed patients. Stimulation on the left would decrease life-affirming approach emotions. “If you give left-handers the standard treatment, you’re probably going to make them worse,” Casasanto said.
“And because many people are neither strongly right- nor left-handed, the stimulation won’t make any difference for them, because their approach emotions are distributed across both hemispheres,” he said.
That longstanding model is, in fact, reversed in left-handed people, whose emotions like alertness and determination are housed in the right side of their brains, Casasanto suggests in a new study. NeuroscienceNews.com image is in the public domain.
“This suggests strong righties should get the normal treatment, but they make up only 50 percent of the population. Strong lefties should get the opposite treatment, and people in the middle shouldn’t get the treatment at all.”
However, Casasanto cautions that this research studied only healthy participants and more work is needed to extend these findings to a clinical setting.
Funding: The research was funded by a James S. McDonnell Foundation Scholar Award and the National Science Foundation.
Source: Cornell University
Original Research: Abstract for “Approach motivation in human cerebral cortex” by Geoffrey Brookshire and Daniel Casasanto in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. Published June 18 2018
doi:10.1098/rstb.2017.0141
Cornell University “Why Being Left Handed Matters for Mental Health.” NeuroscienceNews. NeuroscienceNews, 18 June 2018.
<http://neurosciencenews.com/left-handed-mental-health-9376/>.
Cornell University (2018, June 18). Why Being Left Handed Matters for Mental Health. NeuroscienceNews. Retrieved June 18, 2018 from http://neurosciencenews.com/left-handed-mental-health-9376/
Cornell University “Why Being Left Handed Matters for Mental Health.” http://neurosciencenews.com/left-handed-mental-health-9376/ (accessed June 18, 2018).
Approach motivation in human cerebral cortex
Different regions of the human cerebral cortex are specialized for different emotions, but the principles underlying this specialization have remained unknown. According to the sword and shield hypothesis, hemispheric specialization for affective motivation, a basic dimension of human emotion, varies across individuals according to the way they use their hands to perform approach- and avoidance-related actions. In a test of this hypothesis, here we measured approach motivation before and after five sessions of transcranial direct current stimulation to increase excitation in the left or right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, in healthy adults whose handedness ranged from strongly left-handed to strongly right-handed. The strength and direction of participants’ handedness predicted whether electrical stimulation to frontal cortex caused an increase or decrease in their experience of approach-related emotions. The organization of approach motivation in the human cerebral cortex varies across individuals as predicted by the organization of the individuals’ motor systems. These results show that the large-scale cortical organization of abstract concepts corresponds with the way people use their hands to interact with the world. Affective motivation may re-use neural circuits that evolved for performing approach- and avoidance-related motor actions.
Feel free to share this Cornell University.
anxietyavoidancecerebral cortexCornell UniversitydepressionDLPFCdorsolateral prefrontal cortexemotionhandednessleft handedmental healthneurobiologyNeurosciencePsychologysword and shield hypothesis
July 4, 2018 George
Only about 12-15% of the worlds population is left handed. So the comment in the beginning of the article that treatments are ineffectual or detrimental to 50% of the population is not accurate.
June 25, 2018 Luciano Driver
In 1992 I had a TBI I am left-handed and my left side was paralyzed or a short time after i awoke from a coma. I am 41 years old now and have no friends and feel withdrawn most of the time is there any help for me?
June 20, 2018 a.b.
Now i understand why a homeopath told me a long time ago my “poles” were inversed. There even exists a homeopathic remedy for that.
June 19, 2018 Terry
Mind boggling stuff ….
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U.S. MID-AMATEUR
Harvey, Wilder Take Route 66 for First-Round Lead at Stonewall September 10, 2016 | Elverson, Pa. By Brian DePasquale, USGA
Brad Wilder, a semifinalist in 2015, opened with a 4-under 66 on the North Course to share the first-round lead at Stonewall. (USGA/Chris Keane)
U.S. Mid-Amateur Home
Brad Wilder, 37, of Fort Wright, Ky., and Scott Harvey, 38, of Greensboro, N.C., each shot a 4-under 66 Saturday to share the lead after the first round of stroke play in the 2016 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship at Stonewall. Both players shot their scores on the par-70, 6,711-yard North Course. The par-70, 6,870-yard Old Course is also being used during the stroke-play portion of the championship.
Wilder, who reached the semifinals in last year’s U.S. Mid-Amateur before losing to eventual champion Sammy Schmitz, used back-to-back birdies to rebound from a bogey at No. 14. He rammed a 15-footer into the back of the hole on No. 15 and then hit a 7-iron to within 20 feet on 478-yard, par-4 16th. Wilder converted the double-breaking putt for his fifth birdie of the day.
“My guess coming in was that this one was going to be more gettable,” said Wilder about playing the North Course as opposed to the Old Course. “The hole locations were kind of hard but not really hard. So I think there were some you could get, obviously, and others you had to be smart with.”
Harvey, the 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, made four of his six birdies on the inward nine. He struck a sand wedge to within 4 feet on No. 16 before delivering a lob wedge to within 6 feet on the par-5 18th, his sixth birdie of the round.
“My game is not as sharp as the number is; it’s a little bit of smoke and mirrors there,” said Harvey, a three-time Mid-Amateur stroke-play medalist. “But as the round went on I felt a little more comfortable, so hopefully it keeps trending in that direction.”
The U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship consists of 36 holes of stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the championship scheduled to conclude with a 36-hole final on Thursday, Sept. 15, starting at 7:45 a.m. EDT.
The U.S. Mid-Amateur is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.
Jim Coleman, 42, of Billings, Mont., and Derek Busby, 32, of Ruston, La., each carded 3-under 67s on the North Course. Coleman strung together birdies on four of his opening eight holes and climbed to 5 under par for the championship when he birdied the par-5 third. But he bogeyed Nos. 6 and 8 to fall from the top of the leader board.
“I’ve never been in this position in a big event like this,” said Coleman, who played in the 2012 U.S. Mid-Amateur and admitted to being nervous over his final four holes. “My expectations coming into this thing were that if I were to make match play it would be a big deal for me.”
Busby, who competed as a professional for a few years before regaining his amateur status, totaled four birdies and one bogey overall, including a 3-under 32 on the inward nine.
“My wedges were really good today, so I was able to take advantage of the shorter holes and that gave me some leeway to not have to press on the really difficult holes,” said Busby, who is playing in his second U.S. Mid-Amateur.
Scott Harvey's 66 on the North Course put the 2014 champion in position to be a U.S. Mid-Amateur medalist for a fourth time. (USGA/Chris Keane)
Chad Niezing, 36, of Manchester, Mo., and Claudio Consul, 33, of Germany, each fired a 2-under 68 on the North Course. Niezing’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 10th, when he holed a 90-yard lob wedge, and a birdie on par-5 18th.
“Obviously that was nice, it was unexpected,” said Niezing of the eagle. He followed it with a birdie on No. 11 to improve to 4 under on the day but then double-bogeyed the par-4 16th. “Unfortunately I got a couple bad breaks on the back nine, but you know, it’s a national championship and they set it up hard and you have to expect that kind of stuff.”
Consul, who was the runner-up at this year’s European Mid-Amateur and is No. 65 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking™, made birdies on holes 6, 9, 10 and 15 while playing in his first USGA championship.
“I struck the ball really well and hit lots of greens, and putted very well, which is key around the North Course, particularly, with the tricky greens,” said Consul, who has a Ph.D. in engineering and works in Dusseldorf’s fashion industry.
Tom Werkmeister, 48, of Grandville, Mich., and Jesse Daley, 38, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., also carded 68s. Werkmeister, whose first-round score was one stroke off the Old Course record, advanced to the 2014 Mid-Amateur semifinals. Daley reached the quarterfinals last year.
Rebounding from a double-bogey at No. 10, Werkmeister reeled off three consecutive birdies. He stuffed a 58-degree wedge to within a foot at the par-5 11th and later made a 25-footer on the par-4 13th.
“When you have a good round going I like to get more aggressive,” he said. “That’s my style and that’s what I am comfortable with. I hate laying up on a par 5 even though sometimes I have to.”
Joseph Saladino, 36, of Huntington, N.Y., turned in the morning’s best round on the Old Course with a 1-under 69. Saladino, who is competing in sixth U.S. Mid-Amateur and has reached the Round of 16 twice, sank a 25-footer from off the green that hit the flagstick and dropped in for a birdie on the par-4 18th, his ninth hole.
“I had a good judge of the pace,” said Saladino, who is employed as an insurance broker. “Right when you get going on the green it really runs away, so it was more of a defensive play.”
Craig Mason, 35, of Ashburn, Va., came to the Old Course’s 16th tee in the lead at 5 under but recorded three consecutive double bogeys to end the round. Mason, who was a four-time all-conference player at George Mason University and is competing in his first USGA event, finished at 1-over 71.
Schmitz, 36, of Farmington, Minn. and Nathan Smith, 38, of Pittsburgh, Pa., was among several past U.S. Mid-Amateur champions who struggled in the oppressive low-90s heat. Schmitz turned in a 5-over 75 on the Old Course. Smith, who owns a record four Mid-Amateur titles, needed two late birdies to register a 6-over 76 on the North Course.
The second round begins on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 7:15 a.m., with the low 64 scores following the completion of 36 holes advancing to match play, which is scheduled to start on Monday. Live scoring and updates are available throughout the championship on usga.org.
Brian DePasquale is the USGA’s manager of championship communications. Email him at bdepasquale@usga.org.
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Championships Competitors Find Creative Ways to Stay Sharp
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Home College of Engineering AREVA and EDF – The French global leaders in nuclear energy –...
AREVA and EDF – The French global leaders in nuclear energy – organized an Energy Day at Alfaisal University
AREVA and EDF – The French global leaders in nuclear energy – organized an Energy Day today, 20th November, 2014 at Alfaisal University in Riyadh, with the participation of engineering students from Alfaisal University, King Saud University and other Saudi universities. The objective of this event is to introduce the students to the nuclear energy sector and present internship opportunities for third-year students at AREVA and EDF in France and Germany for 3 and 6 months.
This internship program belongs to a broader effort aiming at developing nuclear human capacity in the Kingdom; which is lead by King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE). By introducing the students to the European nuclear experience, they are getting to explore the best in the industry, with a focus on quality, safety and performance.
Around 120 participants attended the event, including Dr. Nidal Nasser, the Dean of College of Engineering, Dr. Zhao Yong, the Chair of Mechanical Engineering Department, College of Engineering faculty members in Alfaisal University and Dr. Ahmad Al-Ashaikh, Vice Dean for Academic Affairs, College of Engineering-King Saud University, AREVA and EDF representatives in Saudi Arabia and students from both universities. Presentations included a brief on AREVA and EDF and their summary of activities done in Saudi Arabia. Finally, a group of Alfaisal University students who have completed the same internship program last year presented their feedback and lessons learned.
The Dean of Alfaisal University commented: “This is the second year in a row to hold this seminar and present our students with the opportunity to take an internship at AREVA and EDF. The adoption of safe nuclear energy is an important complement to the Kingdom’s ambitious renewable energy portfolio currently spearheaded by KACARE. Indeed, this is in line with our goal to intrigue and prepare the young minds of today to the challenges of today and tomorrow.”
AREVA VP of the Middle East, Dr. Ali Nouri said: “We are committed to the development of human capacity in nuclear energy in the Kingdom, and we believe that this is an important foundation for the establishment of the sector”
This internship represents the second wave; the first wave which started in June 2014 and included 40 students from various Saudi universities. Mishari Al Saud, Alfaisal University engineering student who undertook the internship last Summer said: “The experience was great and this initiative played a key role in building human capacity in Saudi Arabia, where such programs and training give great opportunities and involvement for Saudi Arabia and its citizens”.
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Seminar on Machine Learning by Electrical Engineering Alumni Eng. Reem Mahmoud.
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A New National Portrait Project Will Send 50 UK Artworks to the Cities and Towns That Gave Them Life
The initiative will let people all over the country enjoy works from the NPG collection.
Sarah Cascone, July 25, 2018
Tracey Emin with her Death Mask (2002), which will travel from the National Portrait Gallery in London to her hometown of Kent. Photo courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
Many of the most-beloved British works of art in the National Portrait Gallery do not hail from London. Like the artists that created them or the subjects they depict, these works grew out of life in a range of cities and towns across the country. With that in mind, the museum has made the unusual decision to send 50 artworks back home, so to speak. The initiative, calling “Coming Home,” will see 50 pieces travel to places with close ties to their subject.
“We are determined to ensure that more of the UK can see some of our world-class art collections,” said culture secretary Jeremy Wright a press event announcing the project, according to the Guardian. “Every corner of the UK has well-known faces who have played a significant role in our nation’s history. I am delighted that 50 of these famous figures will be returning home so that current generations can be inspired by their stories.”
Kicking off the initiative are six initial loans. Heading to the Margate Library in Kent is Death Mask, a 2002 bronze by Tracey Emin, who grew up there and now has a studio in the city. David Hockney’s Self-Portrait with Charlie is set to appear at Bradford’s Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, while a 16th-century portrait of Richard III will go on display at Leicester’s New Walk Museum and Art Gallery.
Patrick Branwell Brontë, The Brontë Sisters (Anne Brontë; Emily Brontë; Charlotte Brontë), c. 1834. Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
Meanwhile, the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment and Queen’s Regiment Museum in Dover gets Emma Wesley’s portrait of Victoria Cross recipient Johnson Beharry, and the Museums Sheffield is being loaned a photo of Olympic heptathlete Jessica Ennis-Hill by Kate Peters. The last traveling portrait is Thomas Lawrence’s unfinished painting of William Wilberforce, a political leader who fought to end the slave trade, which will be on view in the member of parliament’s hometown of Hull for the first time, at Ferens Art Gallery.
Separate from the new initiative, the NPG has already loaned the only extant portrait of all three Brontë sisters to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth, in honor of the 200th birthday of Emily Brontë.
“We hope that sending portraits ‘home’ in this way will foster a sense of pride and create a personal connection for local communities to a bigger national history… helping us to fulfill our aim of being truly a national gallery for everyone, in our role as the nation’s family album,” said NPG director Nicholas Cullinan.
See the first set of “Coming Home” loans below.
Unknown artist, King Richard III (late 16th century). Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
Thomas Lawrence, William Wilberforce (1828). Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
David Hockney, Self-Portrait with Charlie (2005). Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
Kate Peters, Jessica Ennis-Hill (2012). Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
Emma Wesley, Johnson Gideon Beharry (2006). Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery.
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Silicon Labs Ships 100 Million TV Tuner ICs Pioneering the Transition to Silicon Solutions
Industry’s First Silicon Tuners Adopted Globally in iDTVs
The commercial success of our TV tuners speaks to the mixed-signal and RF innovations we’ve been delivering for more than a decade.
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Reaching a major milestone in the broadcast TV market, Silicon Laboratories Inc. (NASDAQ: SLAB), a leader in high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs, today announced that it has shipped its one hundred millionth silicon TV tuner. Silicon Labs’ TV tuners were the first to fully displace traditional tuner modules in iDTVs and have been adopted by virtually all of the name-brand TV makers. Silicon Labs’ patented silicon TV tuners represent a disruptive breakthrough that enables TV makers to improve picture quality and channel reception while reducing system cost and complexity.
Silicon Labs is the market share leader in silicon TV tuners, maintaining a significant technical and market lead over the competition as the sole provider of high-performance hybrid tuners in standard CMOS process technology. The company’s latest Si21x8 TV tuner family represents the state of the art in silicon tuners and is based on four generations of patented architectural enhancements. The Si21x8 silicon tuners offer the highest tolerance to Wi-Fi and LTE interference, unsurpassed video signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), the highest level of integration and a low-power profile enabling TV and set-top box (STB) makers to meet Energy Star and other energy efficiency standards.
“Silicon Labs has built a reputation for creating unique intellectual property that translates into disruptive enabling technology for our customers,” said James Stansberry, vice president and general manager of Silicon Labs’ broadcast products. “The commercial success of our TV tuners speaks to the mixed-signal and RF innovations we’ve been delivering for more than a decade.”
Silicon Labs’ TV tuner products support all worldwide TV broadcast standards including NTSC and PAL/SECAM for analog TV and DVB-T2/C2/T/C, ISDB-T/C, ATSC/QAM and DTMB for digital TV. For unparalleled flexibility in matching TV tuners with various system architectures, all products within the Si21x8 TV tuner family are pin-to-pin compatible and share a single software API. This exceptional compatibility allows a single module or PCB design to address multiple TV and STB applications for both digital and analog TV.
Silicon Laboratories Inc.
Silicon Laboratories is an industry leader in the innovation of high-performance, analog-intensive, mixed-signal ICs. Developed by a world-class engineering team with unsurpassed expertise in mixed-signal design, Silicon Labs’ diverse portfolio of patented semiconductor solutions offers customers significant advantages in performance, size and power consumption. For more information about Silicon Labs, please visit www.silabs.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on Silicon Laboratories’ current expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties. A number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. For a discussion of factors that could impact Silicon Laboratories' financial results and cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, please refer to Silicon Laboratories’ filings with the SEC. Silicon Laboratories disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Note to editors: Silicon Laboratories, Silicon Labs, the “S” symbol, the Silicon Laboratories logo and the Silicon Labs logo are trademarks of Silicon Laboratories Inc. All other product names noted herein may be trademarks of their respective holders.
Follow Silicon Labs on Twitter at http://twitter.com/silabs and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/siliconlabs.
Explore Silicon Labs’ diverse product portfolio at www.silabs.com/parametric-search.
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Volodymyr Zelensky – Actor and Comedian – Wins Ukrainian Presidential Election
in News, Politics
Image Source: DW
Volodymyr Zelensky – a TV actor and comedian – won the 2019 Ukrainian Presidential Election. A novice in the field of politics, Zelensky defeated the incumbent President Petro Poroshenko by winning over 73 per cent of the votes.
Poroshenko won only a little over 24 per cent of the votes. However, he maintained that he will not quit politics.
The 41-year-old Zelensky is best known for starring in ‘Servant of the People,’ a satirical television series in which he plays a history teacher who accidentally becomes the President of Ukraine when his rant about corruption in the government goes viral over social media.
His campaign focussed on promises to eliminate corruption and to reduce the grip that oligarchs have on Ukraine. However, his policies and plans towards obtaining these goals were less detailed and vague. His campaigning in the election, too, did not follow the traditional path – he did not give political speeches or conduct rallies. Rather, he communicated with the voters primarily on social media, where he shared videos of standup comedy gigs and jokes.
This is an important time for Ukraine as it is plagued by a war with Russia-backed separatist forces in the east. Also, a failing economy and malpractices associated with corruption need to be addressed.
Who is Volodymyr Zelensky?
Zelensky is an actor, comedian, and producer but is also a trained lawyer. He owns a highly successful production company called Kvartal 95, which produced the series ‘Servants of the People.’ The millionaire is also has a huge fan-following of 4.2 million people on the social media site, Instagram.
Tags: UkraineUkrainian electionsVolodymyr Zelensky
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no business
It’s National Pasta Day, in these United States.
Before I offer a conspiracy theory in today’s post, lets instead start with a bit of NY Harbor trivia – the height of all ships doing business within the Port of New York and New Jersey is governed by the height of the Verrazano Bridge’s span, as relative to the water. All cargo, military, and cruise ships which can be anticipated to someday enter NY harbor are actually designed with the Verrazano’s height in mind.
That means, ultimately, that this last exemplar of the House of Robert Moses erected in 1964, which sets a maximum height limit of exactly 228 feet over the water (at high tide), controls the design of a good chunk of the planet’s shipping fleets (although you’d be scraping the Verrazano’s deck at 228′ so they build them a bit shorter). A somewhat contemporaneous counterpart to the Verrazano is the Puente de las Américas (Bridge of the Americas) over the Panama Canal, which also plays a major role in the design of maritime vessels, setting a height limit of 201 feet over high water for any and all vessels using the crossing. The other approach to the Port of New York and New Jersey is governed by the Goethals Bridge over the Arthur Kill, which offers 135 feet of clearance, just to be entirely anal retentive about things.
Verrazano Bridge is startlingly enormous, with a main span over the narrows stretching out for nearly a mile at 4,260 feet. Engineer Othmar Amman always liked to point out that his team had to take the curvature of the Earth itself into account when designing and placing the towers, which are off parallel to each other by 1.625 inches. When you add in the approaches on either side to the bridge, the entire thing is some 13,700 feet in length – roughly 2.6 miles. It’s now the 11th largest suspension bridge in the world, and the longest found on either American continent.
There are 143,000 miles of wire incorporated into its cables, enough to wrap around the earth’ equator 5.74 times or stretch half way to the moon. Its towers are 649.68 feet tall, making them the tallest structures outside of Manhattan in all of New York City. It carries nearly 190,000 vehicle trips a day, 69.35 million annually. The best estimates I’ve been able to find suggest that the combined steel of the bridge weighs some 1,265,000 tons.
The Verrazano Bridge, due to its position and height, is affected by weather more heavily than any other span in New York Harbor. The roadway will actually sag down about a dozen feet during the summer months due to heat expansion, and the winds one encounter on the upper roadway preclude any discussion of pedestrian or bicycle paths being established. One can personally report that while driving over the thing during storms, my automobile was being rocked from side to side by heavy gusts of wind. The bridge is owned and operated by the MTA Bridges and Tunnels division, which is what Governor Nelson Rockefeller turned Robert Moses’s old Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority into.
The people at Bridges and Tunnels have a set of rules and customs governing the bridge during harsh weather conditions, which all depend on whether or not the roadways are wet or not, and whether the winds are either sustained or gusting. Speed restrictions begin to apply at 30 mph sustained winds and wet roads, while wet conditions coupled with sustained wind over 40 mph might trigger restrictions on crossings by motorcycles, mini buses, tractor trailers and other types of vehicles.
I’ve noticed, over the years, that all of NYC’s bridges are possessed of a certain and unique to the span harmonic. Partially, it’s how the structure of the bridge interacts environmentally and also because of the sound of the vehicles running over it cause a vibration as their tires spin against the decks. To my hearing, the Verrazano makes a “wmmm-mmm-mhoooooosh-shhh” sound, but that could just be the particular interaction with the roadway of the vehicles which a humble narrator crosses the thing within, which have always been passenger cars. It’s efficacious to close your windows on the bridge no matter what, lest a torrent of air suddenly swirl into the passenger cabin, causing disarray and a tumult. I’ll leave it to musicians to tell you what key the Verazzano Bridge is in.
Like all MTA Bridges and Tunnel crossings, certain types of vehicles are forbidden. These types of vehicles (amongst others) include steam rollers, vehicles loaded with unconfined animals or poultry, wheelbarrows, and velocipedes.
Yes, they specifically mention velocipedes in the rules.
I’ve always thought, with the born and raised in Brooklyn perspective that I am possessed by, that the bridge is actually some sort of giant shackle forcing the former City of Richmond or… Staten Island… not to secede from the City of Greater New York and join up with New Jersey instead. A mass exodus of Brooklynites, including my own parents, occurred during the late 1980’s and 90’s to Staten Island over the thing. Most of them, to quote my Dad, were “sick of this shit, and wanted to get the ‘eff out of here,” referring to the colloquialized “old neighborhood” which was “better back then.” I still don’t believe the old adage about being able to leave your door unlocked at night. Rent was a bit cheaper on Staten Island however, my parents perception of crime was far lower, and the semi suburban lifestyle encountered on Staten Island appealed to them in their retirement and dotage. They were also one step closer to Atlantic City where they liked to go on weekends away.
Staten Island is “car country,” unlike the city center neighborhood of Astoria, Queens where I now live. Mass transit (other than the ferry, I mean) exists but… you kind of need to have a car on Staten Island.
Now for the conspiracy theory: A humble narrator is an idiot, of course, and has always cherished a personal theory that Robert Moses knew something more about NYC than he was letting on. Famously, before beginning his government career, Moses wandered the countryside on foot. Robert Caro suggests that even at a young age, he was planning highways and parks. Pffft… who does that at an early age? Moses was monster hunting, obviously, and he must have found something terrifying during his wanderings. I mean… c’mon… that’s fairly obvious, right?
Why else would he have built a steel and concrete cage around New York Harbor? Would old Bob Moses really have gone out of his way to destroy the coastal wetlands, swamps, and tidal marshes (which are precisely the sort of places you’d find monsters like “Grendels Mother” lurking) of New York Harbor for no reason other than malice? After conquering the human/fish hybrids at Hells Gate with his mighty Triborough, he set about the process of creating the world’s biggest padlock here in the narrows to close the door on his monstrous gate.
Who can guess, all there is, that might be imprisoned down there beneath the 1,265,000 tons of steel? Is the arterial highway and bridge crossing system of New York City actually some sort of great barrier designed to keep slime dripping colossi in check? Is there some dark secret which will be held forever unknowable and immobile by the Verazzano Bridge?
What hidden and occult knowledge did Robert Moses take to the grave with him?
Posted in Brooklyn, New York Harbor, Photowalks, Pickman, Staten Island, Verrazano Narrows Bridge
Tagged with Brooklyn, New York City, photowalk, Pickman, Staten Island, Verrazano Narrows Bridge
« cemented hillocks
doomed intuitions »
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‘Help Is On The Way:’ New Jersey Expanding Its Medical Marijuana Program
Filed Under:Local TV, Medical Marijuana, New Jersey, New Jersey Marijuana, Phil Murphy
TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) — New Jersey is expanding its medical marijuana program.
Gov. Phil Murphy unveiled the expansion Tuesday.
“We are changing the restrictive culture of our medical marijuana program to make it more patient-friendly,” the governor said. “We are adding five new categories of medical conditions, reducing patient and caregiver fees, and recommending changes in law so patients will be able to obtain the amount of product that they need. Some of these changes will take time, but we are committed to getting it done for all New Jersey residents who can be helped by access to medical marijuana.”
Among the changes Murphy’s making are the addition of five qualifying conditions: anxiety, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, chronic pain related to musculoskeletal disorders and chronic visceral pain.
The patient fee will also be reduced from $200 to $100, with a $20 rate for veterans and seniors. As of Tuesday, there were more than 1,800 residents enrolled in the New Jersey medical marijuana program.
Aubrey Conway from Sayreville says it saved her life. Seven-year-old Jake Honig died from cancer, but his father says he benefited from the program. It’s what inspired Murphy to act to expand access.
“Help is finally on the way,” the governor said.
The state’s health commissioner will also be able to add additional qualifying conditions at his discretion.
Prescribing physicians will also no longer have to appear on a public registry unless they choose to be, according to Commissioner Jackie Cornell.
“A lot of doctors have concerns that this was adding undue stigma to them,” the commissioner said.
The state is also lifting the one caregiver limit per patient and allowing alternative treatment centers to apply to open satellite locations. There are currently just five dispensaries in the state.
The announcement came as Murphy pushes for legalized recreational marijuana in New Jersey.
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Home Ocean Facts What percentage of marine areas are protected?
What percentage of marine areas are protected?
Over 41 percent of U.S. marine waters are protected to some degree.
MPAs are areas where natural or cultural resources are given greater protection than the surrounding waters. In the United States, MPAs span a range of habitats including the open ocean, coastal areas, inter-tidal zones, estuaries, and the Great Lakes.
There are over 1,700 marine protected areas (MPAs) in the United States established by federal, state, and territorial governments. These areas cover 41 percent of U.S. marine waters and vary widely in their purpose, legal authorities, managing agencies, and level of protection. MPAs that are focused on the protection of ecosystem, biodiversity, and cultural resources cover about eight percent of marine waters.
Although MPAs are found in every region of the United States, the West Coast, including California, Oregon, and Washington, has the highest number of MPAs. However, the region with the largest area of MPAs is the Pacific Islands. This is because of the designation of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, which is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world.
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Three New Stage Productions at SPSCC
Published on November 9, 2017 March 25, 2018 by Editor
Bat Boy: The Musical at South Puget Sound Community College
by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS
The number 3 is auspicious, whether we’re talking about the holy trinity, the mind-body-spirit triad or the “lucky number 3.” Perhaps that’s why the South Puget Sound Community College drama department will present three brand-new productions for the 2017-2018 season: Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), The Glass Menagerie and Cabaret. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of students, SPSCC staff and community members,” said SPSCC drama professor Lauren Love, who hand-selected each theatrical piece for the season. “They shared their love of all kinds of theater with me and helped me choose a season that reflects their joy and wide-ranging interests.”
Love, who’s heading into her second year at the college, has extensive acting experience and holds a doctorate in theater history from University of Minnesota. The works she selected for the upcoming season all connected with students in the previous academic year. “Performers expressed lots of interest in Shakespeare,” said Love. “And our fall comedy, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), centers on a Shakespeare scholar who finds herself mixed up in the worlds of Romeo and Juliet and Othello. … The play … is both emotionally and intellectually engaging. In my opinion, this is what theater does best — It helps us reflect through our senses and our common humanity.”
The Glass Menagerie, a “memory play” by Tennessee Williams, will open in March. “Students loved the play,” explained Love. “I think they are truly touched by the relationships in the family, and I’m looking forward to working with actors to present this beautiful piece.” Closing the season next June will be Cabaret, an intricate musical that first graced Broadway stages in 1966. “Kander and Ebb write such unique, provocative music,” concluded Love, “and the story of the rise of an authoritarian government remains a trenchant warning against complacency.”
What: Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet)
When: 7 p.m. Thursday – Saturday;
2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 16 – 19
Where: Kenneth J Minnaert Center for the Arts,
South Puget Sound Community College,
2011 Mottman Rd. SW, Olympia
How much: TBD
Learn more: 360-753-8586 | The Washington Center
Archives, Christina Butcher, Kenneth J Minnaert Center, Theatercurrent, front, musical, new, spscc, theater
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March 26, 2017 by Carol Crissey Nigrelli
Illustration by Matt Wieczorek
With the post-millennial rise of ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, a generation weaned on digital technology could suddenly tap a smartphone app, summon a private car driven by the owner, and pay for the fare electronically. Easy peasy.
Uber and Lyft can thank their younger demographics for pushing revenue into the billions of dollars.
But guess what? Both transportation companies have figured out that profitable fruit doesn’t only come from young trees. The push to make ride-hailing easier for retired Americans looms on the horizon, and that horizon can’t come into focus soon enough.
“Transportation has always been one of our greatest challenges,” says Erin Endress, director of sales and marketing at Remington Heights, a retirement community in Omaha. “We have vans, but getting residents to and from medical appointments takes priority, which it should. That leaves little opportunity for trips just for fun. We could definitely use a transportation alternative, as long as it’s safe.”
And for those who still live at home but whose eyesight or reflexes may not be the best?
“Personally, I think Uber and Lyft are going to make a huge difference for folks as they stop driving or don’t drive as much, or as far, on their own,” says Cynthia Brammeier, administrator of the Nebraska State Unit on Aging. “I’m looking forward to getting to that point. It’s awesome!” she exclaims, having personally experienced the buzz surrounding Uber while visiting another state.
Nebraska came late to the party, approving Uber and Lyft operations in July 2015, which may explain a lack of awareness among Omahans in general.
The necessity of a smartphone to summon a ride excludes many seniors from ride-hailing apps. According to the Pew Research Center, 70 percent of those 65 and older don’t own a smartphone, instead preferring cheaper, old-fashioned flip phones with limited data capabilities.
One segment of the senior population did benefit immediately from having the transportation alternatives in Omaha: drivers.
“I’ve been with Lyft for over a year. It’s my only job now, “ says Dave*, 68, who prefers to remain anonymous. Working about four hours a night, the Dundee resident brings home “between $400 and $500 a week working the entertainment district and trips to the airport. But that’s not counting my car payment, gas, and insurance.”
The insurance question explains why Dave doesn’t want to be identified. Both Uber and Lyft have up to $1 million in liability coverage. But if a driver gets into an accident on the way to pick up a passenger, how much his or her personal insurance carrier will pay out becomes murky, since the driver uses the car for profit.
The advantages of ride-hailing services, previously called ridesharing, seem pretty clear.
“We’re half the cost of a cab,” Dave says. “We pick up passengers within five to 10 minutes. The cars are newer, clean, and have to be four-door. No cash exchanges hands, unless the passenger tips me in cash.”
The advantages for Dave include setting his own work schedule, meeting “wonderful people,” and showing off his hometown to visitors. “I love Omaha and I consider myself an ambassador for this city,” he says. “Nearly all my passengers say how friendly we are here.”
But why would someone in their 80s summon a stranger to their home to pick them up?
“[The companies] check us out pretty good,” Dave assures. Both Uber and Lyft conduct extensive background, criminal, and DMV checks. Lyft sent an employee to inspect Dave’s Toyota. “Believe me, we’re safe.”
The opportunity for seniors without smartphones to utilize Uber or Lyft as passengers depends greatly on a “no app required” platform. One such service recently appeared on a list of transportation options compiled by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging.
“It’s called GoGoGrandparent,” says Taylor Armstrong of the ENOA. “We’re told you don’t have to use a smartphone. People just call a number.”
The brainchild of a California man whose grandmother couldn’t tool around San Diego anymore, GoGoGrandparent uses a toll-free hotline to connect seniors with an operator, who then summons an Uber car for them.
“We’re not recommending this service over all the other transportation options ENOA offers,” cautions Jeff Reinhardt of the public affairs division. “We haven’t gotten any feedback yet on GoGoGrandparent.”
Lyft’s contribution to creating easier access involves senior-friendly Jitterbug cell phones and smartphones. When paired with a 24/7 health care provider, a registered user simply dials “0” on the Jitterbug phone and books a ride through the operator. This pilot program has yet to find its way to Omaha.
“We’re going to be top-heavy in seniors in the next 10 to 20 years,” Endress says. “There’s a huge need for entrepreneurs who want to make a difference in someone’s life.”
As evidenced by the rapidly changing technology that grants the gift of mobility, the difference-makers have arrived.
Visit uber.com, lyft.com, and
gogograndparent.com for more information.
* Dave is not the driver’s real name.
This article was printed in the March/April 2017 edition of 60 Plus.
Posted in: 60 Plus in Omaha, People
Topics: 60 Plus, app, Cynthia Brammier, DMV, Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, GoGo Grandparent, income, insurance, Lyft, Nebraska State unit on Aging, Omaha, Omaha Magazine, retirement, ridesharing, seniors, smartphone, Taylor Armstrong, technology, transportation, Uber
Efficient Urban Transportation in a Zip
February 24, 2017 by Sena Eicher
Living in a technologically advanced world has its advantages, like convenience and fiscal recompenses we never could have envisioned.
As a Los Angeles native who paid car insurance the price of a mortgage in some places, one new convenience I can appreciate is Zipcar.
The program has graced Omaha with its presence for seven years. Zipcar was founded in 2000 by Antje Danielson, current director of education at MIT Energy Initiative, and Robin Chase, co-founder of French chartering service Buzzcar. The pair created Zipcar to provide a more efficient, affordable method of driving in the city.
Zipcar P.R. manager Lindsay Wester, who is based in Boston, explains that Zipcar is as simple as join, reserve, and drive.
Business customers begin by signing up online, where they pay a one-time setup fee of $75 and annual membership dues of $35 for each driver. This membership covers fuel, insurance, mileage, parking, and maintenance. Individuals can pay a $25 one-time setup fee annual dues of $70, or a monthly fee of $7 plus the one-time setup fee.
The Omaha fleet includes two Honda Civics and a Ford Escape. The Hondas and the Ford cost $8.50 per hour Monday through Thursday, or $69 per day. The Friday through Sunday rate is $9.50 per hour, or $77 per day for the Hondas and $83 per day for the Escape. The other car available in Omaha is a Volkswagen Jetta, which costs $9 per hour or $69 daily at all times. The cars are parked on Creighton and UNMC’s campuses, downtown at 17th Street and Capitol Avenue, and at Mammel Hall near Aksarben Village.
Upon becoming a member, the company sends the user a Zipcard, which functions as an entry key. The ignition key stays inside the vehicle. Each user gets one card with their membership, which gives them access to Zipcar’s nationwide fleet. Upon reserving a car, the company digitally connects the Zipcard to the specific car reserved. The user gains access to the vehicle by holding the card to the card reader placed in the windshield. After scanning in with the Zipcard, a user’s smartphone can be a backup to the Zipcard for locking or unlocking the car doors throughout a reservation.
The company first brought their concept to Omaha in 2010, launching at Creighton University, followed by University of Nebraska in 2012, then the Medical Center in October 2015. In Omaha, the target market has been students, but Zipcars also are useful for travelers.
Melanie Stewart, sustainability manager at UNMC and Nebraska Medicine, is in charge of UNMC’s program.
“Last year we had a visiting professor come in, and they had a friend in Lincoln, so they used a Zipcar to visit their friend while in Omaha,” Stewart says.
The Zipcars are also used by visitors of patients who may need to purchase supplies or just take a break from being at the hospital.
Patrick Lin, a 21-year-old Omaha resident, says, “I used Zipcar roughly four to six hours every week during my sophomore year. I first heard about it from some friends in California because they couldn’t have cars during their first year at college.”
Lin enjoys the ability to use a car when needed without the expense of owning it. “Personally, it allows a lot more to get done compared to other services. The only restraint I have is that since there is a time limit, you must plan your activities accordingly. But the per-mile usage you can get when a trip is planned right is entirely worth the time constraints,” he says.
Wester says that Zipcar has remained successful and growing for more than a decade and a half. And as city dwellers become more disenchanted with the idea of owning cars, their success should continue to accelerate.
Visit zipcar.com for more information.
This article was printed in the Spring 2017 edition of B2B.
Posted in: Auto, B2B Magazine, Omaha Magazine
Topics: access, affordable, Aksarben Village, Antje Danielson, Buzzcar, car, card, chartering, co-founder, customers, drive, efficient, fee, Ford Escape, fuel, functions, Honda Civics, insurance, Jetta, join, Lindsay Wester, locking, maintenance, manager, membership, mileage, Omaha, online, parking, professor, program, purchase, reservation, reserve, Robin Chase, service, signing, smartphone, specific, supplies, unlocking, vehicle, Volkswagen, Zipcar, Zipcard
Beauty & the Cyborg Beast
August 26, 2016 by Charlie Litton
Less than three years ago, it dawned on scientist Jorge Zuniga why a childhood friend wanted nothing more than to play baseball.
It was odd. Growing up in Santiago, Chile, there were not many baseball fans. Just the one, as far as Zuniga knew (after all, soccer reigns supreme in Chile). Even more curious, Zuniga’s friend had just one hand.
“There’s not one baseball field in the whole country,” Zuniga says, laughing at the exaggeration, “but this one kid without a hand wants to be a baseball player.”
Then, 20-odd years later, Zuniga and his 7-year-old son are playing catch in the long shadows of the front yard. Zuniga remembers his one-armed friend and his inexplicable love of baseball. Then it hits him.
“Oh,” Zuniga says, “I bet this kid that didn’t have a hand just wanted to do what every kid wants to do.” He yearned to play catch.
Earlier that same day, he had listened to a radio news report about “Robohand,” a project in South Africa that creates 3D-printed prosthetics for children. Zuniga—with a doctorate in exercise physiology and a lab at Creighton University—wanted to know more about the Robohand. But he had difficulty connecting with the researchers involved.
After several attempts to reach the people in South Africa, he relied on his own knowledge, resources, and expertise to make a prosthetic on his own. It took several months to perfect his prototype, but Zuniga’s journey highlights how the health care industry is utilizing new breakthroughs in 3D printing technology.
Nothing is more personal than health care. And few things are more customizable than the 3D-printed object. The field of prosthetics represents just one obvious medical application for the technology, one with many advantages: to provide a custom-fitted solution for an amputee; to shave thousands off the cost of traditional prosthetic limbs; to negate the financial burden if insurance doesn’t cover the device; and especially for children, to provide a fast solution to wear, tear, and outgrowing the artificial body part.
But prosthetics only scratch the surface of possibilities awaiting biomedical 3D printing. The FDA, for example, recently approved the first 3D printed drug—an incredibly fast-acting seizure medication that dissolves in seconds thanks to a structure only possible through 3D printing.
Improvements to medical devices that were once too expensive to contemplate can be prototyped on the cheap. Zuniga, who now (as of August 15) works out of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Biomechanics Research Building, says he has printed the model of a fetus for a blind mother who wanted to “see” her unborn baby. He has also worked with physicians at Omaha Children’s Hospital to print three-dimensional models of patient hearts so surgeons can study the organ long before they pick up a scalpel.
Zuniga’s use of 3D printing carries immediate significance and practicality. A glance at the more fantastic applications, however, can be found at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. There, biomedical engineer Bin Duan is heading up a new bioprinting unit that is printing and growing bone and cartilage for regenerative purposes. Later this year, Duan and his team will implant small plugs of printed bone into animals that should eventually integrate with the animal’s existing tissue.
Bioprinting works by printing with at least two different materials. First, a biocompatible polymer creates a scaffold or lattice in the desired shape of the tissue, such as an ear or a piece of bone. The second material, living cells, are printed onto the scaffold. The cells cling to the structure, and over the course of several weeks they live and multiply as the scaffold slowly degrades and disappears. Eventually, the scaffold material is gone, but the tissue remains.
One potential application of UNMC’s bone tests could be used to help future children born with certain defects. A printed bone implant made from the child’s stem cells would then grow with the child, eliminating the need for multiple surgeries.
In a more distant future, an organ transplant might not be from a random donor, but from the patient’s own stem cells: a new, perfect organ printed when it is needed, and far less prone to rejection. Skin grafts and bone regeneration, all of it made with a patient’s personal cells.
UNMC’s bioprinting program is still in its infancy, so a breakthrough with more complex systems will likely come from a place like Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Widely regarded as the national leader for 3D bioprinting, researchers there have already printed skin, blood vessels, bladders, and muscle—some of them implanted in humans. But complex organs like the heart, kidneys, and liver remain unsolved puzzles…for now.
In the here and now, researchers like Zuniga can make accessible what was once out of reach for many.
When he finished his first 3D-printed prosthetic arm, he showed it to his young son. The elder Zuniga expected to impress his son with the level of realism it held. The boy was not impressed.
“He said, ‘If that’s for children, that’s not gonna work,’” Zuniga says. “’Daddy, that hand is too real. You need something cooler than that.’”
Inspired by his son’s insight, Zuniga created “Cyborg Beast,” a brightly colored, prosthetic, cybernetic hand that more closely resembles something out of a science fiction movie than a human limb. The plans and instructions on how to use them are open and free to anyone with access to a 3D printer.
“You’d be surprised at how many people around the world have access to (3D printing) machines,” Zuniga says. “…It’s like the start of a revolution.”
An artificial limb that once cost $4,000, can now be had for about $50—about the cost of a trip to the ballpark.
Visit cyborgbeast.org to learn more. B2B
Posted in: B2B Magazine, Business, Business Profiles, Publications
Topics: 3D printing, baseball, catch, Creighton University, Cyborg Beast, drugs, insurance, Jorge Zuniga, kids, medical, Omaha Children’s Hospital, prosthetics, Robohand, Santiago Chile, South Africa, University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Biomechanics Research Building, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Wake Forest University
May 4, 2015 by David Williams
Article originally appeared in Omaha Home May/June 2015
The spring storm season has the potential to introduce the most unpredictable of problems for homeowners. We checked in with Lisa and Regi Powell of Powell Insurance, a Farmers Insurance agency, for their best advice on how to navigate the process if your home sustains storm damage.
The Most Common Mistake?
Lisa: “Automatically turning in a claim. Every claim stays on your record for three years, even if you end up later saying, ‘Never, mind, it’s not worth collecting on it after my deductible.’ Many people may not understand that it is still counted as a claim. We recommend getting an estimate outside of the insurance process in order to make the best decision about whether or not to proceed with an actual claim.”
Regi: “This is also important because claims frequency can effect your premiums, even your eligibility. When in doubt, talk to your agent first. That’s what we’re here for.”
How to Best Protect Your Rights and Your Property?
Regi: “Each state has a different statute of limitations on claims. Get a good estimate from a reputable contractor. That cost is reimbursed in the process if a claim is, indeed, later filed. You wouldn’t want to find much later on that, for example, you have water problems from a damaged roof. Now you’re faced with bigger, costlier issues.”
Lisa: “Water is one of the things you should be most concerned about as a homeowner. It is stubborn, persistent. If you don’t fix a roof after a storm, over time water leaks or damage may occur. This water damage may not be covered if you didn’t take the proper steps to repair the original storm damage.”
Okay, So Now it’s Time to Make Repairs
Lisa: “We have what we call a Preferred Provider program…a list of trusted contractors. A lot of companies have similar programs. The financial relationship is still between the homeowner and the contractor, but those that make it onto our list have gone through a thorough vetting process. They’ve jumped through a lot of hoops to make the cut and be on that list.”
Regi: “And don’t forget some of the simplest tips when making repair decisions. Talk to your friends and neighbors. What great experiences have they had with contractors? Who do they trust? If some guy shows up in your driveway offering to do work, check his truck’s license plate. If it’s from Florida or Alabama…well, there are a lot of storm-chasers out there and they, like any business, can be all over the map in terms of ability, reliability, even honesty.”
What Does My Insurance Company Need to Know?
Regi: “Keep them updated throughout the process. Your contractor may point out, for example, that you need to replace a skylight after, say, some hail damage. But if that sky light wasn’t identified in the original adjusting process, it causes problems later. If additional damage is found, let’s be sure to get that into the claim so you will be paid accordingly.”
Lisa: “Which is a good reminder to take a comprehensive approach to any claim. Our adjustors are trained to inspect the entire property. Do you have a pool? A tool shed? Ask your claims adjuster to inspect your entire property, not just the roof or siding. An adjuster may often find damage you didn’t
know existed.”
And Before the Storm?
Lisa: “Perhaps our most important role is to make sure you have the appropriate type and amount of coverage along with deductibles that work for you before a storm hits, before an auto accident, before a fire.”
Regi: “It’s just human nature to believe that bad things will never happen to you, but there’s a reason we send update offers and call people to review policies. That’s one of the tougher parts of this job—a homeowner learning too late that their policy didn’t meet their needs.”
Final Thoughts?
Lisa: “There are so many factors that go into recovering from storm damage. We recognize that it’s a stressful time. This is your home. It is important to you…and it’s
important to us.”
Regi: “It is really gratifying to help people through these things. Just like being in an auto accident, storms can be traumatic and you may have more important things to worry about than the roof over your head. This is what your insurance agent lives for. When in doubt—and especially if you’re in any way confused about the process—call your agent. That’s what we’re here for.”
Posted in: Home, Home Improvement, OmahaHome, Publications
Topics: accident, contractors, damage, estimate, featured, home repair, insurance, Omaha, property, storm
The Affordable Care Act
August 26, 2013 by Kara Schweiss
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), better known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a federal statute signed into law in 2010. The objective of the Act is to increase affordability and rate of coverage for health insurance and reduce the overall costs of health care, which will be executed through mandates, subsidies, tax credits, and other means. The ACA is divided into 10 titles with some provisions that became effective immediately, while others are phasing in over a 10-year period.
But what does this mean for most seniors?
“If you don’t have insurance between age 60 and 65, that’s a concern.” – Andrea Skolkin, OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc.
Individuals over 65 will likely find that not much will change as far as Medicare is concerned, says Andrea Skolkin, chief executive officer for OneWorld Community Health Centers, Inc. More preventive care is covered and prescription drug coverage will improve, she says, but most facets of Medicare will carry on as before.
“People who have Medicare, other than the little bit of expansion in the ‘donut hole’ [Medicare Part D coverage gap between the initial coverage limit and the catastrophic-coverage threshold for prescription drugs], should be secure in their coverage,” she explains. “The new marketplace isn’t for people who have Medicare.”
Sixty-plus individuals who will definitely be affected by ACA are those seniors who haven’t reached the Medicare eligibility age of 65 and are without medical insurance. In January 2014, uninsured individuals will be required to buy health insurance, available through an exchange, or pay a penalty tax. Some people will certainly struggle to finance the premiums, but currently, seniors who don’t yet qualify for Medicare and can’t get covered through an employer are likely to take their chances and go without health insurance altogether, Skolkin says.
EJ Militti, financial advisor with The Militti Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
“If you don’t have insurance between age 60 and 65, that’s a concern,” she says. “We see a lot of it—people 55 and up—who are being ‘right-sized,’ if you will, out of their jobs and are left without anything until they are eligible for Medicare. Especially at our new clinic in West Omaha, we see a lot of uninsured adults.”
From a financial standpoint, it’s fair to say that ACA will not spell good news for everyone’s pocketbook, says EJ Militti, a financial advisor with The Militti Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management.
“[For] the wealthy and those who have properly saved for health care and other retirement costs, there is less to like and greater confusion about government-mandated health care. Moreover, those considered wealthy will be helping foot the bill of this epic legislation,” he says, explaining that a Medicare tax increase and additional taxes on taxable investment income have been instated, and other proposals are pending. “In my opinion, there is little doubt higher-income earners are going to be paying more in taxes. Higher-income earners need to be aware of future tax proposals on the table.”
On the other hand, Militti points out, some Americans will clearly benefit financially from the legislation.
“[For] the wealthy and those who have properly saved for health care and other retirement costs, there is less to like and greater confusion about government-mandated health care.” – EJ Militti, The Militti Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
“The poor, the lower middle class, the long-term unemployed, and those with pre-existing conditions will benefit the most, and that’s by design,” Militti says. “The entire premise for government-mandated health care is to provide taxpayer-financed subsidies for those who, otherwise, cannot provide for themselves.”
EJ Militti is a Financial Advisor with The Militti Group at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. The information contained in this article is not a solicitation to purchase or sell investments. Any information presented is general in nature and not intended to provide individually tailored investment advice. The strategies and/or investments referenced may not be suitable for all investors as the appropriateness of a particular investment or strategy will depend on an investor’s individual circumstances and objectives. Investing involves risks and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest. The views expressed herein are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC, Member SIPC, or its affiliates.
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”), its affiliates, and Morgan Stanley Financial Advisors or Private Wealth Advisors do not provide tax or legal advice. This material was not intended or written to be used, and it cannot be used, for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. Clients should consult their tax advisor for matters involving taxation and tax planning and their attorney for matters involving trust and estate planning and other legal matters.
Posted in: 60 Plus in Omaha, Health, News, Retirement
Topics: ACA, Affordable Care Act, Andrea Skolkin, EJ Militti, government, health, health care, insurance, low-income, medicare, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Nebraska, Obamacare, Omaha, OneWorld Community Health Centers, poor, PPACA, retirement, rich, senior, taxes, The Militti Group, The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, wealthy
January 25, 2013 by Darcie Dingman
Skidding, sliding, and slipping are all common this time of year. Unfortunately, that can be followed by a bump or even a crash! Auto accidents are a pain for everyone, but knowing what to do in an accident can ease some of the stress.
The first thing to do is report the accident to the police. If there are no injuries, go ahead and begin to exchange information with the other driver. Make sure to get their personal information, along with the type of vehicle, and all insurance information. The next thing to do is to determine if your vehicle is drivable. If not, the police can call a tow truck, and you should have your vehicle towed to the shop of your choice.
After the police have finished at the accident scene, if the vehicle is drivable, you will want to call the insurance company of the driver at fault. Depending upon the insurance company, they may want you to go to their “drive thru” claim place, or they may make arrangements to come to your vehicle to do an estimate. Another option is that they may want you to take it to a body shop for an estimate. The most important thing to know now is that you are the vehicle owner and no one can tell you where to have your vehicle repaired. There is no law that requires you to have your vehicle repaired where your insurance company recommends. It is always your choice.
When determining where you have your repairs done, there are some things that you may want to take into consideration. What type of warranty does the shop offer? (Whether or not your insurance has a warranty, it is the shop that is ultimately responsible for the repairs.) Also, do the technicians at the shop receive ongoing training? Is the shop involved nationally, keeping up with all the newest procedures and technologies? The best thing to do before you are involved in an accident is to do your research and know where you will take your vehicle if the unexpected happens. Making a snap decision doesn’t always lead to the best decision.
Posted in: Auto, HerFamily, Lifestyle
Topics: accident, auto, car, care, claim, company, drive, driving, emergency, HerFamily, insurance, Omaha, police, repair, technician, tips, tow truck, towing, vehicle, women
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Aboriginal Australia
Old habits die hard: on getting off the rock
By Emily Brugman
An eruption of public sentiment followed the recent decision by the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Management Committee to ban climbing on the rock by 2019. Home to Anangu people, Uluru might be the symbolic heart of Australia, but symbols, even national ones, mean different things to different people. In 2014, my mother, brother and I piled into a camper and cut straight down the guts of the country, from Darwin, through Kakadu to Uluru. A reunion of sorts, it was the first time we’d travelled together in many years, and for us it represented something major: our little family getting back on track, after a few years of small hardships and emotional distances. When the rock comes into view it is an extraordinary sight. It rises out of flat land, big and red and ancient, and is never disappointing.
Uluru was handed back to the traditional owners of the land, the Anangu people, in 1985, but in exchange for the freehold title, the Anangu signed over a 99-year lease to Parks and Wildlife. A joint board of management was set up, with members representing both parties.
At the base of Uluru, there is a sign explaining the stance of the traditional owners regarding the climb. It reads:
Please don’t climb Uluru.
Our traditional Law teaches us the proper way to behave. We ask you to respect our Law by not climbing Uluru.
What visitors call ‘the climb’ is the traditional root taken by ancestral Mala men upon their arrival at Uluru in the creation time. It has great spiritual significance…
Still, there is a starting point, and a chain that scales a ridgeline, running to the summit of the rock. An entrepreneur, without the consent of the local people, erected the chain in the 1960s.
It has been suggested that Uluru, amongst other things, is a symbol of reconciliation in Australia. It is certainly a cherished and revered place for Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike. When I was there, watching visitors time and again read the sign at the base of the rock and then continue across the threshold, it felt like a symbol of something else: of our historic and continuing disrespect for the first peoples of this country, of a shoddy version of reconciliation.
In coming years, the climbing at Uluru will cease. The climb has been an enduring source of hurt for the Anangu people, and they welcome the agreement towards closure. But other Australians were upset by the decision. According to a qualitative study by Hannah Hueneke, the climb is understood as a right of passage, and the rock itself – a natural feature of the landscape – as belonging to all Australians. For many, the decision to climb or not should remain with the individual.
Why are we so enthralled by the climb, I wonder? What’s this obsession with elevation? Why do we long to look down at the land from great heights?
Perhaps this is a very old hang up. An obsession we’ve been holding onto since the days of Sturt, Eyre and Grey. To understand the place of this particular obsession in the modern psyche, it might warrant looking back through history and tracing the impact of colonial language on the discourses that shape our worldview today.
In a seminal article published in the Southern Review back in 1994, scholar Simon Ryan argues that the pleasure gained from a good view is tied up in our desire for control over the perception of land. He looks at the journals of Australian exploration, and notes the way in which explorers consistently congratulate themselves on ‘commanding an extensive view’.
If we look closely at the language used, the strong militant connotations, say, of the word ‘command’, we might draw connections to something bigger. The view, Ryan suggests, ‘is brought under control by the explorative gaze. But the control of the view is also a kind of ownership.’
In a similar vain, when William Goss arrived at Uluru in 1873, he wrote: ‘I succeeded in reaching the summit, and had a view that repaid me for my trouble.’ Goss gained a view across the land he was mapping out, thereby bringing order to the sprawling desert-scape before him, and thus began the fraught history of climbing on the rock.
No doubt there is immense satisfaction and elation in making it to the summit of a high peak, to look over the land, to take in its immeasurable beauty, to take stock in the distance travelled. At Uluru, the experience is heightened by the surrounding landscape: here you are at the very heart of the outback. This Is Australia. You Are Australian. By climbing we wish to locate ourselves within this iconic space, to know our country and thus belong to it. But isn’t it also an act of colonial conquest? For when we climb Uluru, we trace the footsteps of the white fellas who came before us, who, with their ink and parchment and calculations, sought to control, ‘civilise’ and thereby possess Australia’s wild heartland?
This culture of control over land is deeply entrenched in the Australian psyche. It influences the way we understand ourselves in the world, on the way we see nature as separate to culture, and thus impacts on the decisions we make to put our own immediate needs before the health of the planet.
The battle over Uluru might be indicative of a much larger issue. Today, the same fears and emotions expressed thirty years ago during the handback have resurfaced: the fear that sacred sights everywhere might become off-limits, and the incongruity of the idea that Aussies should be guests in their own backyard. The real question here might not be, to climb or not to climb, but rather, as Kurt Brereton wrote then, ‘who owns the rock, and therefore who owns Australia?’ And herein lies the conflict at the heart of an unsettled nation.
My family trip to Uluru symbolised reconciliation on a tiny scale. On Mum’s fiftieth birthday we walked the perimeter of the rock and listened to an Anungu man tell the stories of his region. Later, we had a beer on the side of the road as the sun went down, the ochre dome of Uluru exploding from the line of horizon. We felt the tenuous connections between us grow stronger and healthier.
While I wouldn’t call myself a spiritual person, for me, the rock had a healing quality. When the chain on Uluru comes down in 2019, perhaps this will be a small step forward in a new era of reconciliation.
Image: Climbing Uluru / flickr
Emily Brugman lives in Byron Bay. She is a regular contributor at the surfing magazine Tracks, and her fiction, poetry and playwriting has been published in the UTS Writers Anthology, Verity La and Tincture Journal.
More by Emily Brugman
From Carolyn Sinclair on 16 January 2018 at 8.35 pm
Great reading Ems….We as a family visited 1989 and I was the only one to climb it. I think it is a good thing now, if it can be respected as is desired by the local indigenous peoples.
From Thomas on 16 January 2018 at 9.18 pm
I hunger to climb, and I do not. The hunger comes from wishing to own, to claim and to conquer. That seems to be part of my inner being, this urge to climb and to be a conqueror.
I do not know what it is that I conquer. Perhaps it is the climb itself, (and there are harder climbs), perhaps it is the rock (and there are larger rocks) and perhaps it is the history (and there are few places with more history to climb over and conquer – the history is really massive).
I look at those feelings and thoughts inside, and think of them as similar to the gross appetite of the great white hunters of Africa which are despised by the liberal thinking citizens of the world.
I have not visited, I have not seen with my own eyes, but I look at the inner landscape of feelings, urges and thoughts, and wonder what it is that I have inside me which has these urges.
It does speak more of me than it does of the rock itself – and that, I even write this in the face of the people who respectfully seek not to have people climb over the rock using this sacred path of their ancestors, it is a hubris completely undeserved.
From Katinka on 18 January 2018 at 9.43 am
It continues to amaze me that settler Australians can get disgruntled about being guests in their own country, yet fail to have that leap of empathetic imagination towards Indigenous Australians. The real issue of reconciliation is the willingness to see the world from another set of eyes. Perhaps eventually the feeling of being locked out might translate to an understanding of what European invasion actually did to Australia’s first peoples. And then when our hearts are open and understanding, real progress might begin. As it is, I think the mentality of ‘spiritual passage’ demonstrates the level as to which the takeover has occurred, that we think that somehow we’re up there with the ancestors, that we have that kind of power. It is an act of incredible egotism and ignorance.
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Friendly whale returns phone woman accidentally dropped into sea
Last month, a certain beluga whale has been the subject of headlines when he refused to leave a Norwegian port city.
But more than that, people have been speculating that the white whale holds secrets. That’s because when he was found by a fisherman, he had a harness attached to him with the inscription “Equipment St. Petersburg”. This led many people to believe that the beluga whale was being trained by the Russian Navy to become a spy, but he ‘defected’.
The whale continued to linger nearby ever since he was freed from the harness. Contrary to the species’ usual behavior, this particular beluga has been allowing residents to get near him and pet his nose.
Even though they are known to be social animals – usually gathering in groups – these whales are normally extremely aloof when approached by other animals or humans, and they usually make a quick escape when faced with this situation. However, when they find themselves isolated, they can start to become more trusting.
Just last week, this beluga whale made another notable appearance – this time, to help a traveler in need!
While they were in Hammerfest, Ina Mansika and her friends decided to head down to the waterfront hoping to see the alleged spy whale. But this lucky group got more than what they were hoping for.
Not only did they get to see the whale in all its glory – he even came to the rescue when Ina needed some help!
Ina told The Dodo:
“We laid down on the dock to look at it and hopefully get the chance to pat it. I had forgotten to close my jacket pocket and my phone fell in the ocean. We assumed it would be gone forever, until the whale dove back down and came back a few moments later with my phone in its mouth!”
The beautiful moment was captured on video. We provided a link that will direct you to the video at the bottom of this article.
The whole group was stunned, they couldn’t believe what just happened!
The beluga whale looked so proud of himself as he swam back up to the surface of the water with Ina’s phone in his mouth. It even looked like he was smiling!
“Everyone was so surprised. We almost didn’t believe what we saw. I was super happy and thankful that I got my phone back,” she said.
Unfortunately, water damage had rendered the phone inoperable when she got it back. Nevertheless, Ina remains appreciative of the friendly beluga’s unexpected gesture, saying that she “loves animals” and that the whale was “so kind”.
There have been serious concerns regarding the beluga whale’s safety, as officials believe that he’s been trained by humans for too long to survive in the wild on his own. But they’re assuring the public that they’re keeping the whale’s best interests at heart. According to the Washington Post, there are plans to relocate the whale to a sanctuary in Ireland to increase his chances of survival.
Watch the actual video footage here.
Share this story with your friends and family!
beluga whale Norway Russian Navy Russian spy whale
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Genius or monster? His admirers (among them George Bernard Shaw) see him as the greatest creative intellect of the 19th century; his critics (including Tchaikovsky, Ruskin, and D.H. Lawrence) find him boring, pretentious, and unmusical.
I’ve wrestled with Wagner for the last decade. There is much I admire in his works, and much I detest. His operas contain many passages that are beautiful, even sublime – but the operas themselves are prolix, and badly in need of an editor. “Monsieur Wagner a de beaux moments,” Rossini said, “mais de mauvais quart d’heures.” The Ring des Nibelungen lasts for four days – Rheingold lasts two and a half hours without an interval, the first act of Götterdämmerung lasts for THREE HOURS, and Meistersinger, intended as a satyr play to follow Tannhäuser, clocks in at four and a half hours.
Wagner’s operas are “philosophical”; that is, they’re full of Schopenhauerian pessimism, and blood, sin, suffering, guilt, death, and redemption. He wrote long treatises on Music and Drama, and Art and Revolution to convince people that his operas (or “music dramas”, or “festival play for the consecration of the stage”) were better than anyone else’s (particularly those the public enjoyed). He also believed that arias, duets, and ensembles should be abolished – even though his early works show he can write examples that rank with the best.
The man himself was a megalomaniac narcissist – but inspired great devotion, even in the man whose wife he stole. He wrote anti-Jewish pamphlets – and many of his friends and admirers were Jewish.
He attacked the reputations of Meyerbeer, the most revered opera composer in Europe, and of Mendelssohn, Germany’s leading musician, to advance his own reputation.
Wagner’s own reputation suffered when the Nazis co-opted him. In fact, anti-Semitism aside, Wagner had little in common with the Nazis, and would probably have detested Hitler.
Operas & music dramas
Die Feen (composed 1833-34, first performed 1888)
Das Liebesverbot (1836)
Rienzi (1842)
Der fliegende Holländer (1843)
Tannhäuser (1845; revised 1861)
Lohengrin (1850)
Tristan und Isolde (composed 1857-59; first performed 1865)
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (1868)
Der Ring des Nibelungen
Das Rheingold (composed 1853-54; first performed 1869)
Die Walküre (composed 1854-56; first performed 1870)
Siegfried (composed 1856-71; first performed 1876)
Gotterdämmerung (composed 1871-74; first performed 1876)
Parsifal (1882)
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Jamia Millia appoints a woman VC
The appointment of Akhtar as the university’s Vice Chancellor challenges the stereotype that women are ignored and overshadowed in academia
A university is supposed to be the highest seat of academic excellence and enlightenment. Yet it is one place which has not opened up to women in higher academia or assigned them a leadership role. This is a sad reality in the Western world although the gap is sharper in India. In fact, the number of women vice-chancellors in India is dismal, still under 20 among the 700 odd institutions, both public and private. Studies put only three per cent of Indian vice-chancellors as women while in the UK that figure hovers around 14 per cent. Both are a comment on women’s participation in shaping the discourse of modern education. While the number of women enrolling at the undergraduate level is equal to or even surpasses men, this bleeds out in the post-graduate and research studies. Similarly, even in the teaching staff, while most women are to be found in junior positions, they rarely make it to senior appointments and leadership roles within higher education institutions. It is in this context that the academic Najma Akhtar’s appointment as the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University is significant. Not only is she the first woman to head it since its inception 99 years ago, she is also the only V-C of a Central university located in Delhi. A gold medallist from Aligarh Muslim University, she made the cut because she has specialised in institution-building, educational administration and management and taken pioneering steps in distance education. And though she is proud of breaking the glass ceiling, she immediately addressed the reasons for the lack of gender diversity in higher education management, considering women are sought after in these roles in businesses and other disciplines too. Part of the problem, Akhtar said, was the absence of readymade role models that solidified the idea that this was a male-dominated space where women should not waste their efforts in making headway. “Whenever people are calling me now, I tell them please keep on applying wherever you want to be. It will happen,” she said, using her position to call out to women academics to get off the blocks. Besides, Akhtar felt that women in administrative positions at universities would be better than men in smoothening out managerial duties and dealing with young students. That there can be no assumptions about leadership was proven by her swift announcements that she would look for collaborations with industries to make courses relevant and job-oriented, modernise courses, encourage research and open a medical school.
But Akhtar is a blip in the real world of academia where high office is still considered a near impossibility by women. That’s because they still see themselves as scholarly achievers in an individual capacity than systemic stakeholders in a process. Besides, women’s inclusion in higher education is still very low pan-India. Even if they break through, they tend to dominate social science and humanities. By virtue of low participation and follow-through to higher degrees, there are far lesser women in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects, which lend them an edge as a claimant to the top position. With lower numbers and a lopsided hierarchy system, career advancement is often a long, competitive and individual struggle and can be a disincentive to pursuing the chair. Particularly when aspirants have to factor in gendered role-playing in their homes as well. This explains the presence of excellent women teachers and even deputies in administrations but not the top job. Yet it is in academia alone that women can justifiably challenge societal spaces and set an example for the generations after them. Simply because it is easier to do away with cultural assumptions in a world of learning than any other scenario.
Jamia Millia Islamia University Vice Chancellor
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Hand-Crafted by UT Students
5-1-Tunes
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Best Moments of “Insecure” Season Three
ORANGE Magazine December 6, 2018
The third season of “Insecure” recently wrapped up and coincidentally, cuffing season is here. Take a look back at the eight best moments from the eight episodes in the latest installment of the show.
Story by Mmeso Onuoha
Photos courtesy of HBO
Issa Tells Kelly She’s Been Saving - Episode 2
Issa enters her best friend Kelly’s office to tell her she’s been saving. The two of them do a little “she’s been saving dance” and Kelly, after viewing Issa’s credit tells her she hasn’t been saving enough. This humbling moment in the season reminds viewers that sometimes they have to wait a little longer for good things to come their way.
Issa Isn’t the Voice of All Black People - Episode 2
At a lunch with her coworkers, Issa explains that even though she is the only black person in the group, she doesn’t want to be the voice for all black people all the time. That’s something that many black people feel when they’re the only black person in a group. Yes, it’s important to give voice to our community when we can, but that isn’t the only reason we exist in a group, and we can’t possibly be expected to properly represent all black people. They’re not all the same.
Issa is the Best Wingman - Episode 2
Issa encourages her ex boo Daniel to go to the club and put himself out there for his music producing career. Issa is the best wingman, boosting Daniel up, reminding him that people believe in his talent and telling him not to give up on his dreams no matter how hard it gets. Not only is Issa playing the role generally assigned to men in television, but she reminds viewers that men can be vulnerable too and that friendship is extremely valuable.
The Beat Crew - Episode 3
Issa is at an event for her job where different non-profits showcase the good they can do. Issa watches a kids’ dance performance by “The Beat Crew,” a non-profit teaching dance to inner-city youth, and is inspired. This moment tells us that when we feel stuck at our jobs, simple things can remind us what we started for.
Molly Treats Herself to Coachella - Episode 5
Molly, one of the show’s main characters and Issa best friend, is an overachiever. She works at a law firm and is unfairly dumped with work just before her girls weekend at Coachella. As the hardworking person she is, she decides to start her work early, and start her Coachella festivities later to ensure she doesn’t miss out on a weekend of fun for an instant of impressing her bosses. College students take note.
Lawrence is a Respectful Ex - Episode 6
Lawrence and his friends are talking about cheating and forgiveness in a chill bar setting. When his best friend Chad calls Issa a “hoe” for cheating on Lawrence he instantly corrects him, saying there is no need for that language or disrespect towards Issa. Lawrence acknowledges that he and Issa share a deep friendship despite the end of their romantic relationship. He knows that calling her some derogatory term won’t change that, and he makes sure his friends maintain the same level of respect for Issa as he did.
It’s Ok Girl, We Get It - Episode 7
Issa didn’t get any of her texts or calls to Nathan, her new boo thang, returned. After hours of worrying, she decided to call her best friend Molly and drive over to his place. With her hair a mess, her clothes from the previous night still on, and one eye possibly twitching. In this moment all we can really do is nod our head, ‘cause love, or at least infatuation, makes you act differently. We feel you Issa.
Good Times and Bad Times - Episode 8
Issa is trying to put on a community block party to do some good for her neighborhood and is turned down by every vendor, entertainer, and community member she approaches. On the bright side, she meets one person who might make it all turn around. Molly, on the other hand, is made co-head of one of the biggest projects at the firm, and it’s a huge win! However, her co-head sees some of her overzealousness as selfishness and gives her full control of the project, and Molly is left ostracized and alone at her new office. This moment ends the season on a note that a lot of us can relate to. Sometimes things don’t go right and we have something that gives us hope. Other times everything we wish for is ours, and something comes along and ruins it. That’s life, and “Insecure” does an amazing job of giving us stories we can all relate to, with a majority black cast.
InBuzz TagsMmeso Onuoha, Insecure, HBO, Issa Rae
Editor Resources
"What brings austin together"
ORANGE Magazine is a lifestyle magazine created by student of The University of Texas at Austin. ORANGE's goal is to provide a bridge between students and the diverse Austin community.
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Minireview: The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man (Call of Cthulhu)
The Dreamlands is a part of the greater “Cthulhu Mythos” which hasn’t received all that much attention up to now. Sure, there is a sourcebook for it, and some other minor things, but it’s still very much in the fringe. Which is fitting, in a way, since it was also in the fringe of Lovecraft’s work, and was expanded by other authors, each lending their own style to the whole. At times, depictions of the Dreamlands (both fiction and game) were more in the sword & sorcery genre than horror. That’s not a bad thing as such, it’s just… different.
And then there’s this new work, The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man, a huge Dreamlands campaign written (and illustrated!) by Dennis Detwiller. It’s the first large Dreamlands-based CoC campaign, and it’s also excellent. It took a while to see the light of day; it would probably still be sitting in Dennis’ project pile if not for Kickstarter, which provided funding for making this a reality (I was one of the backers). I was expecting it to be good, based on Dennis’ earlier works, but the end result was even better than I was expecting. I’d love to try to run this, even though it’s somewhat challenging.
The game setup is somewhat unusual. The PCs are all opium addicts in 1920s New York, meeting at their dealer’s residence. Things escalate, and eventually the PCs find themselves in the Dreamlands. By default their main drive would be to escape, but it’s possible that some PCs may have (or gain) other motives, perhaps dark ones. It’s not like these people are the cream of humanity to begin with.
Why is this book good? Because it brings the Dreamlands to life in a way I haven’t seen before. It feels like a coherent whole, while keeping a fantastic and somewhat whimsical feel, with a very dark undercurrent. There’s horror here, mixed in with the fantastic. I also like this campaign because it’s very much structured as a sandbox, giving the PCs vast freedoms in how they might proceed. I can see five different games of this playing out very differently from each other, based on player choices. There is also a larger plot in the background, but there is extremely little railroading after the initial setup.
Of course, a sandbox campaign set in a vast realm of dreams means that only some locations and events are described, so the GM will have to improvise quite a bit. While the book is big, and the locations it covers are all wonderfully evocative, it still only scratches the surface of the Dreamlands. This, of course, makes this campaign a bit challenging to run, at least potentially. There is also the question of replacement PCs; while the Dreamlands isn’t all about horror and going insane, there are plenty of spots where the PCs may end up very, very dead and player in need of a replacement. Due to the setting, this requires a bit of tinkering from the GM, but the book does some suggest some obvious spots where new characters could join the party. In some other places, it may need some extra suspension of disbelief… but on the other hand, this is the Dreamlands we’re talking about. Strange coincidences and matters of fate can be fitted in, while keeping the tone intact.
The campaign is fantastic, the art is great, and it’s available. Go get it.
Published on 08/04/2014 19:20 by Orava, tags call of cthulhu, cthulhu, dennis detwiller, dreamlands, pagan publishing
comment Minireview: The Sense of the Sleight-of-Hand Man (Call of Cthulhu)
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Tag Archives: Troy
Virgil, The Aeneid
“Arms I sing, and the man, who first from the shores of Troy came,
Fate exiled to Italy and her Lavinian strand.
Much buffeted he on flood and field by constraint of heaven,
And fell Juno’s unslumbering wrath.”
Publius Vergilius Maro (Virgil), The Aeneid – 29 A.D.
Side note: In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans believed that if one was to infuriate a goddess so powerful, she might leave you stranded on foreign shores in some distant country as revenge. An excellent collection of writings, modeled after Homer’s Odyssey, and one of Rome’s most remembered poets and writers, Virgil has taken his place among the Classics of history which have been studied for nearly two millenia by intellects, historians, poets, and musicians. Virgil has inspired people from all continents and reminds us once more, the complex world of the ancients and how they perceived the universe they were apart of and sought to put that into writing. If you have never read or studied Virgil, I highly recommend you do as the rich text, poetry and tales will lift from the pages like Homer or Euripides. Enjoy!
Posted in mythology, Poetry, Roman, Rome | Tagged ancient history, classics, Euripides, history, Homer, Italy, Juno, mythology, Odyssey, poetry, Rome, tales, Troy, virgil | 1 Comment
The Capitoline Wolf and the Twins: A look at the mythological roots of Roma
The Lupa Capitolina, otherwise known as the Capitoline Wolf, is one of the ancient symbols of Rome associated with its mythology and founding. It is a symbol which can still be seen all throughout Italy and the city of Rome, and continues to be associated with the Italian people (similar to the acronym S.P.Q.R- Senatus Populusque Romanus).
When one visits Rome today, they can expect to see this famous image on storm drains, paintings, sculptures, signs, emblems, and flags. It is interwoven into the Roman psyche so much that it has maintained a fusion with the people who still look back on it as the legendary foundation of their roots. But, what exactly is the legend, who told it and where did it come from?
The origins of the Capitoline Wolf are wrapped up in the tale of the two young twins, Romulus and Remus and their foster-mother, the Wolf. The legend also descends into shame and treachery when Remus is murdered by his brother followed later by the rape of the Sabine women which are the two most discreditable features of the ancient lore. In T.J. Cornell’s exhaustive history on the early and ancient roots of Rome, entitled “The Beginnings of Rome“, he thoroughly outlines the depth of this legend by adding that, “all of them (aspects of the legend) were at various times exploited by Rome’s enemies and by Christian critics of her pagan traditions.” (Cornell, pg. 60) The early tales of Rome surely did speak of pagan mythology, as well as the violence that was credited to its beginning, but the fable nonetheless has persevered over two millenniums and continues to be the favoured interpretation of Rome’s foundation due to its drama to explain its existence and founding.
The story of Romulus and Remus is short but dramatic to appease the appetite of the scholar or individual interested in mythologies of the ancient world. It has the similar colour to the story that other tales, legends and myths have from the ancient world, and also ties in the world of the gods to that of what occurs on earth as a connection to the supernatural. It would always give an individual or people more clout if one could associate their existence as being deemed and blessed by the gods. The legend echoes the common tales circulating the ancient world. It is about persons who grow up to become kings, founders, conquerors, explorers, heroes and religious leaders. “Well known examples include Cyrus of Persia, Semiramis the founder of Babylon, Sargon the founder of the Akkadian dynasty, Ion the ancestor of the Ionians, the Trojan princes Paris and Aeneas, the Greek heroes Perseus and Oedipus, the usurper Aegisthus (the murderer of Agamemnon), Cypselus the tyrant of Corinth, the Sassanian king Shapur, and Pope Gregory the Great.” (Cornell, pg. 61-62)
As the legend goes, the maternal grandfather of the twins was a man named Numitor, who was the rightful king and leader of the kingdom of Alba Longa. It was Numitor, who the Romans believed to be the descendent of the Trojan prince Aeneas who had escaped the destruction of the city, Troy. Numitor was also known as the father to Rhea Silvia who was also widely known by the name of Illia. As the legend went, Numitor’s brother, Amulius deposed him and killed his sons forcing Rhea to flee and become one of the sacred Ves tal Virgins. It was the purpose of Amulius to seize power and thus deprive his brother of a rightful heir so he could reign supreme. However, Rhea gave birth to twins, Romulus and Remus through the supernatural procreation with either Mars (later Roman god of war and blood) or Hercules (Greek association with Heracles). Amulius, who knew about the pregnancy, took the twins once they were born and abandoned them to die. This, by all means should have been the end of the twins through the old practice of infanticide, but they were discovered by a she-wolf (lupa) who then suckled them recognizing them to be half-immortal and from the bloodline of gods. Later, a shepherd and his wife found the twins and raised them until they were men who became shepherds themselves. When the twins discovered the treachery of their past, they killed Amulius, restored Numitor to the throne and decided to found a city of their own.
The two twins ventured until they came to the River Tiber where they decided that this should be the location of their new city. The legend is really divided into two possible tales, with one of them simply resulting in the death of Remus without murder being implied. However, the more dramatic one of course, as told by the Roman historian Livy, who tells of the twins competing for a location and name, chasing each other around, attempting to build the foundational walls and then fighting bitterly until Romulus kills his brother. It is said that Remus had leapt over Romulus’ wall to discredit him and thus was killed in turn with his brother Romulus stating, “So perish everyone that shall hereafter leap over my wall.” Thus, the city is founded and named Roma in what Roman historians dated it at 758 B.C.
One of the best, and most current evidence to suggest that the legend of the She-Wolf and the Twins was part of Rome’s archaic age exists in the famous bronze statue which now stands in the Palazzo dei Conservatori (Capitoline Museum). This has been dated to the 6th century B.C. and originates from the Etruscan people of northern Italy who were later conquered by the Roman kings, later to be absorbed into the Roman Empire with unified Italy as the source of political and judicial power. Historians and archaeologists alike have ample evidence to believe that the story of the Twins was added to the existence of the She-Wolf by around 300 B.C. which had become the standard story in Rome. “It was officially proclaimed to the world in 269 B.C. when a representation of the she-wolf and twins appeared on one of the first issues of Roman silver coins.” (Cornell, pg. 61)
“The story was accepted in Rome precisely because it was an old and indigenous legend, and because its main features, uncongenial though they may have appeared to later apologists, were too well established in the tradition to be ignored or suppressed.” (Cornell, pg. 61) The people and society had accepted the story of Romulus and Remus to be a truthful account of the founding of their city and an explanation of its existence. It did not matter if the common belief was that the gods had dabbled and had a part in the founding, for it was customary, at the time in pagan society, to believe that the gods interacted with mankind, could procreate with them, and sometimes appeared to them. Like the Greeks who used the myths of the gods and goddesses to explain their existence and purpose in the world, so would the Romans adopt such beliefs to shape and understand their life and later manifest destiny to control the known world.
Whatever elem ents of truth may or may not lay in the ancient legend, it is sure that the tale of Romulus and Remus would in ways foreshadow the centuries of Roman influence and dictatorship upon the world to come. These similarities from the history of Rome compared with the founding mythology would follow an evolution of: survival, intervention, humbleness, glory, greed, power, self-deification and treachery. Rome would struggle in countless wars, oppress nations of people, take slaves from every country under the sun, fight civil war after civil war, and hunger for wealth, power and glory. Nearly a quarter of the world would live under the rule of the Caesars and the dreams and nightmares that would follow would all point back to the two helpless twins being suckled by the she-wolf.
By Peter J. Fast
Photos taken by author
Posted in Capitoline Wolf, mythology, Roman, Rome | Tagged Aenaes, Amelius, ancient, Capitoline, Cyrus, goddesses, gods, Greek, Heracles, Hercules, Italy, legend, Livy, Lupa, Mars, myth, mythology, Numitor, pagan, Remus, Rhea Silvia, Roman, Rome, Romulus, Sabine, She-Wolf, SPQR, tale, Trojan, Troy, Vestal Virgins | 1 Comment
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Researchers: People Log More Hours When Working From Home
By Stephanie Stahl December 5, 2017 at 6:42 pm
Filed Under:Local TV
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Working from home isn’t a day at the beach, as experts say people often end up working longer hours, but there are plenty of benefits.
For many jobs, including being on TV, you can’t work from home, but there are many kinds of jobs where telecommuting is a good fit.
Experts say working from home can reduce turnover and improve morale.
Study Finds Drinking Habits, Problems Tied To Where You Live
Todd Miller’s commute is all of 25 seconds. From the first floor of his house downstairs to his basement computer.
“I did the whole office world. Right?” Miller said. “I was traveling many hours a day, going to the office, working in cubicles, and I’m thinking there’s gotta be a better way of doing this!”
Miller works for a company designing training programs that lets employees work from home.
He says he’s able to avoid distractions and is more productive.
Air Force Studying Falcons To Create A Drone-Killing Robot
“It’s a discipline. It’s the way you dress. It’s everything from the way you’re building your day, to the way you dress, to the way you treat things,” Miller explained.
In a recent survey, 39 percent of people who work from home said they put in extra hours compared to 24 percent of people at an office.
“There is this sort of double-edged sword and companies have to help their people learn to manage this tendency to overwork,” Kate Lister, the president of Global Workplace Analytics, said. “They tend to give back 50 to 60 percent of the time they would have spent on commuting, working. ”
And Miller says he often ends up working more.
Where Does Philadelphia Rank In Study Of America’s Safest Cities?
“Because I know my office is here, if it’s on the weekend, and if I have to do something I need to get done, I’ll come down two to three hours, maybe early in the morning before someone wakes up doing that,” he explained.
And without a commute to work, he gets more time with his daughter, achieving a work-life balance that doctors say cuts down on stress, which can also make people more productive.
While there are a number of health benefits to working from home, there are downsides too, including one study that found home-based workers are much less likely to get promoted, seemingly confirming the cliché, “Out of sight, out of mind.”
Stephanie Stahl
More from Stephanie Stahl
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Forum index » Featured Tools » Community Tools » SHP Shell Extension
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Pyro Sniper
Location: in GAMEMD.EXE
Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 10:53 am Post subject: Good IDEAS
Subject description: Do you have any idea that will help SHP Shell Extension to become even better?
QUICK_EDIT
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If anybody have good ideas post it here
Siberian GRemlin
Posted: Sat Jul 22, 2006 2:13 pm Post subject:
Extra Option:
Get from registry Install Path for TS and RA2, scan folders for MIX, scan MIX'es for palletes and finaly create palletes list. What you think about it?
Westwood Studios forever!
Good idea but...
if install path is not correct
or I have 3 different copies of YR:)
And I need go to registry and rewrite InstallPath for FinalAlert, XCC Mixer every time
Dupl3xxx
Location: somewhere south of the north pole
Sorry to bump, I know this project may be on ice, but make a controlable zoom. It would come in handy.
This is a signature
Location: Flying into hostile territory
how about making it easy to uninstall
Chrisse
AA Infantry
Posted: Fri Feb 23, 2007 10:43 pm Post subject:
make it so you can just doubble click on the shp file instead of right click > properties, would bea lot faster
Laser Commando
Location: Gone
that would mean making it a standalone program instead of a shell extension...
Bos187
Disk Thrower
Location: Maastricht, The Netherlands
Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 2:31 pm Post subject:
Also be able to view shps that were uploaded to a site as attachments just like images are viewable like that?
this is possible, but only for several browsers.
which support image filters or ActiveX controls, but, again, here palette-select-problem
ARM forever - x86 sucks
Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 4:28 pm Post subject:
well i'm not very technical... so in simple language you're saying that if someone uploads a shp to a forum, i can see a preview with this extension, if i have the right browser, but theres some technical difficullties to it?
If so, which browsers does it support?
Posted: Sun May 20, 2007 7:29 pm Post subject:
At first, this isn't done.
For example IE support ActiveX, probably Opera.
BrianPrime
Shrapnel Sniper
*Bump*
Make the preview window stretch for larger SHPs, rather than shrinking the SHP.
Bobingabout wrote:
I've got more naruto porn than furry porn
IcySon55
Location: Overworld
Posted: Fri Aug 31, 2007 2:41 pm Post subject:
I believe that is not possible as the Properties dialog window size might not be editable. So the preview space is limited to the Properties dialog.
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Harnessing the Demon: Artificial Intelligence, Ethics and Product
By Andrea Ozias May 15, 2019
STEPHEN HAWKING WARNED THAT FULL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE could spell the end of the human race, and Elon Musk compared AI to summoning a demon. But, after attending a robotics challenge in which most robots couldn’t open a door—much less carry out other, similarly simple tasks—MIT professor and pioneering roboticist Rodney Brooks recommended, “If you’re worried about The Terminator, just keep the door closed.”
Regardless of whether you’re an AI believer or already have your off-the-grid safe house prepped, there’s no arguing that technology is developing at a pace that can’t be ignored—making it critical that those who develop AI-based products have a strong understanding of the broader implications.
The Product Management/AI Collaboration
Military strategist and U.S. Air Force Col. John Boyd developed the OODA loop cycle:
Observe: actively absorb the situation
Orient: understand blind spots and biases
Decide: form a hypothesis for action
Act: test your hypothesis
This is what product managers do daily, according to Drew Dillon, a freelance product leader who has presented on the topic of “Product Management Ethics in AI.”
“The product manager’s job is to observe the problem, orient themselves to the value they can provide, decide what to do and then do it,” he said.
But when AI enters the equation, there is less product-manager intuition involved, Dillon said. In fact, a machine-learning capability might be able to surface problems itself based on data it’s been fed, and a human decides what to do from there. A more autonomous system may go beyond simply surfacing problems to acting on its own. Then it’s up to a human to fine-tune the output.
“I don’t think product managers need to be technical, in the same way that a painter doesn’t need to be a chemist,” Dillon said. “But, like a painter, product managers need to understand the nature of the tools they’re using and the capabilities of those tools. It’s about understanding the inputs and outputs and how we can be effective with them.”
While simpler expert systems may make life easier by automating certain tasks, things become stickier when machine learning enters the picture.
"All data has an opinion. You can't trust the opinions of data you didn't collect."
For example, across the nation judges and probation and parole officers use risk-assessment tools built on algorithms to assess a criminal defendant’s likelihood of becoming a repeat offender. A group of researchers analyzed the commercial risk-assessment tools developed by consulting and research firm Northpointe Inc., which offers software products, training and implementation services to criminal justice systems and policymakers. The researchers conducting the analysis found Northpointe’s tools to be biased, with black defendants being twice as likely as white defendants to be misclassified as a higher risk of violent recidivism. And white violent recidivists were 63 percent more likely to have been misclassified as a low risk of violent recidivism compared with black violent recidivists.
In another example from earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it was charging Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act by “encouraging, enabling, and causing housing discrimination through the company’s advertising platform.” HUD alleged that the social media platform unlawfully discriminated based on race, color, national origin, religion, family status, sex and disability by restricting who could view housing-related ads on Facebook’s platforms and across the internet. Further, HUD claimed Facebook mines extensive data about its users, then uses those data to determine which of its users view housing-related ads based, in part, on those protected characteristics.
In yet another example, 25 AI researchers issued a statement in April calling on Amazon Web Services (AWS) to stop all sales of its Rekognition facial-recognition technology to law enforcement agencies until legislation and safeguards are in place to protect civil liberties from “the often-biased algorithms used in such systems,” wrote GeekWire’s Tom Krazit. The researchers’ request came after a similar May 2018 request from the American Civil Liberties Union.
Matt Wood, general manager of deep learning and AI for AWS, and Michael Punke, the company’s vice president for public policy, argued for Rekognition’s benefits and defended the company’s technology in response to the researchers’ request. But the researchers pushed back, saying that “Caution, concern and rigorous evaluation—sensitive to the intersecting demographics that affect human-centric computer vision for images—are even more pressing when considering products that are used in scenarios that severely impact people’s lives, such as law enforcement.”
Each of these examples showcases the biases that machine-learning algorithms have developed as systems have continued to learn. But how did these biases occur? What causes an unemotional piece of technology to exhibit unethical tendencies?
“All of these systems are created by humans, and we’re inherently flawed,” Dillon said. “The data in and of itself is biased because it was collected by a human, and that human had to make choices.”
Otis Anderson, a data scientist and colleague of Dillon’s, said it succinctly: “All data has an opinion. You can’t trust the opinions of data you didn’t collect.”
Dillon offered the example of time-stamping data. A multinational organization may choose to time-stamp transactions in Pacific Standard Time, and a human may see data that reflects random transactions happening in the middle of the night. In reality, the transactions may have occurred in another time zone during that region’s regular business hours. The choice to time-stamp transactions in Pacific Standard Time was made by a human.
“There are so many things in the data that you can’t understand because the people who programmed the systems don’t work there anymore or you can’t know the rules around how or why data was formatted in a certain way,” Dillon said.
The business implications of taking ethics lightly are significant, regardless of intent. In his paper, “The Ethics of AI: How to Avoid Harmful Bias and Discrimination,” Brandon Purcell, principal analyst serving customer insights professionals for Forrester, noted that customer-insight professionals who lead data science teams that create biased models risk:
Damaging their organizations’ reputations
Incurring regulatory fines and legal action
Seeing a dip in revenue as customers make decisions with their dollars
And ethical and responsible AI development is a top concern for IT decision makers, too, according to recent research from SnapLogic, a commercial software company that provides integration platform as a service tools. Among the U.S. and UK IT professionals surveyed, 94 percent said they believe that more attention needs to be paid to corporate responsibility and ethics in AI development, and another 87 percent said they believe AI development should be regulated. (See “Ethical AI: Technology Leaders Call for More Accountability.”)
“AI is the future, and it’s already having a significant impact on business and society,” said SnapLogic CEO Gaurav Dhillon in a statement. “However, as with many fast-moving developments of this magnitude, there is the potential for it to be appropriated for immoral, malicious or simply unintended purposes. We should all want AI innovation to flourish, but we must manage the potential risks and do our part to ensure AI advances in a responsible way.”
Ethical AI in Action
Axon, which develops technology and weapons products for law enforcement and civilians, is taking steps to mitigate ethical risks.
“Our company’s foundation is around helping society and doing it ethically,” said Moji Solgi, Axon’s vice president of artificial intelligence and machine learning. “As technology gets more powerful and more capable, the importance of ethics also increases.”
Axon created an AI and Policing Technology Ethics Board in early 2018 to advise the company on the responsible development of AI technologies. The board is composed of external experts from a variety of fields including AI, computer science, privacy, law enforcement, civil liberties and public policy. Its members provide guidance to Axon on the development of its AI products and services—and look closely at the effect of those products and services on communities.
Based on a recommendation from its ethics board, earlier this year Axon announced the implementation of a full-day implicit-bias training for its employees that is similar to training that police receive. Working with a third-party provider, employees—including Solgi’s AI team—will be familiarized with the types of procedures and work law enforcement personnel go through every day. Staff then will be trained on implicit-bias situations and their respective counter-mechanisms.
“Law enforcement officers go through this training so that their subconscious and implicit biases don’t affect their work,” Solgi said. “We thought our employees, researchers and technologists should go through a similar bias training so our subconscious and implicit biases won’t reflect in the way we build these technologies.”
Axon doesn’t have a set list of ethical guidelines that developers refer to when building new products. Rather, the company relies on a set of operating principles that drives the type of transparency it delivers to the ethics board. Beyond that, the company has a set of cultural values with ethics woven into each.
“Making something that is ethical is really something intangible and deep down in the way that people operate and think,” Solgi said. “Converting something like that to a set of checklists isn’t going to be the best approach. It has to be deep in the culture, and then you have to rely on people to be ethical in their work.”
Though law enforcement personnel don’t have many AI tools in their hands today, as more automated technologies become part of the workflow, the issue of bias will be important, Solgi said. “When these machines or models are trained on data sets that are biased—be it trained on certain demographics or ethnicities—when you deploy this in the real world, given the diversity we have in the real world, it’s not going to perform well in certain situations.”
A Way Forward
“I think most people and most organizations are well-intentioned,” Solgi said. “At the same time, when we are developing these technologies, you always have a lot of blind spots and that is, again, innocent mistakes. As someone who has a purely technical background, I can tell you that, in our training and in our backgrounds, most of the people who develop—engineers, researchers, technologists—they have not thought too deeply about the ethical aspects of their work. So, what’s important for leaders and executives and boards of directors is how to infuse these ethical principles into the day-to-day work so that, once a product is out there, it’s gone through different levels of due diligence in terms of ethics.”
Dillon asserts that inclusion must be a fundamental rule of any AI system so that if a system starts to pull out a group and treat it in a way that is less positive than the broader user group, it’s something to look at as an ethical violation. Feedback loops are critical for this, he said.
“We can’t teach the machine about broader racial or gender issues, but we can reason about those things if it provides that data back to us,” he said. The problem, he went on to say, is that many machine-learning systems aren’t storing data or giving much feedback to analyze—yet.
Solgi offered his thoughts on how organizations should approach the implementation of ethical practices in AI-based products:
Create an advisory board: Assign a group to review the ethical aspects of technology development. “It’s important for these boards to be composed of people outside of the company,” he said. “Employee boards are also beneficial, but not nearly as when you get a fresh perspective from people who are completely independent.”
Be mindful: Starting at the C-suite, it’s important for companies to be aware of ethical issues and to look for ways to mitigate. This can include implicit-bias training, courses, book clubs or anything else that will raise awareness about the ethical aspects of technology. “This movement is already big in the tech industry, but we still have a long way to go,” Solgi said.
Educate the public and consumers: Many people hear the words “machine learning” and “artificial intelligence” in the news, but that’s different from having a basic understanding of how these technologies are developed, what they mean as well as their limits and shortcomings. “The technology industry could do a better job of being proactive in terms of that education so that the citizens who are participating in this open democracy can decide for themselves what product and what technology they should be using.”
And, at the end of the day, the No. 1 thing to remember when attempting to harness the AI demon is that implementing systems with the intent to learn about audiences or build better products boils down to the people who are doing the work.
“The only way you combat the conversion of a human into a bunch of numbers is with more humanity,” Dillon said. “And that’s kind of what we need.”
Andrea Ozias
Andrea Ozias is the editor of The Pragmatic.
Identifying Ethical Practices in Pricing
It’s All in Your Head: The Effect of Cognitive Bias on Our Decisions and Our Products
The Legal and Ethical Guardrails for Sound Competitive Intelligence
The Unintended Consequences of Products that Work Too Well
Looking for the latest in product and data science? Get our articles, webinars and podcasts.
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Jane Jacobs’ first reference to density called out the mixed-use character of Boston’s North End and its infamous reputation, and yet in many ways it had the power to un-slum itself. The failure of urban reform, urban planning, and architecture of her time, on the other hand, was in how they failed to probe the real world.
Barry Benepe & Omar Freilla First awards in 2007
Jacobs saw self-renewing practices in urban districts with a sense of containment, connections to the city as a whole, and the quality of diversity that served many human purposes. The urban structures of these districts would be full of corners and small useful places. Structures would vary in age and size across these districts with “hard working streets” from “specialty store to animated alley”.
“…the death or the stagnated moribundity of formerly unassailable and vigorous cultures is caused not by an assault from outside but by an assault from within, that is, by internal rot in the form of fatal cultural turnings not recognized as wrong turnings when they occur or soon enough afterward to be correctable. The time during which corrections can be made runs out because of cultural forgetfulness.’
From the first chapter of Dark Days Ahead
With these main elements, dense concentrations of people can form a living city in successful regeneration and constant repair of failure. This was a duality of captured by the title of her first book, “Death and Life of Great American Cities”. Chapter Eleven, entitled “The need for concentrations” closes the argument.
Density is a framework that supports high levels of diversity and resists the predisposition toward social regimentation. This was 1961. A half-century later it is possible to recognize the complexity involved in promoting new forms of social density in an urban form. Jacobs recognized her city as a place that could provide for everyone. It could do so because it creates opportunities to be creative large or small. Yet, in the nation’s capital in 1963, these words were spoken, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” Much has changed in reducing sensitivities to the quality of social change driven by urban diversity but much of the Jacobs’ argument for creative urban development tools that support social justice remains a poorly developed part of the city.
The medal is offered by the Rockefeller Foundation. To nominate a New York urban visionary, participants are encouraged to send an email with a description of the nominees’ accomplishments and how they relate to Jane Jacobs’s work and legacy. Nominations are considered on a rolling basis. janejacobs@rockfound.org
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The Medici: Citizens and Masters / eds. John Law, Robert Black
The name Medici is almost inextricably interlinked with the city of Florence and the idea of the Renaissance in both popular and scholarly imagination. The family dominated the Florentine republic politically for the better part of the 15th century and became, first, dukes of Florence and, then, grand dukes of Tuscany in the 16th.
The Cult of Saint Katherine of Alexandria in Late-Medieval Nuremberg / Anne Simon
Nuremberg in the later Middle Ages was one of the most prominent cities in central Europe: a free Imperial city, the location of the imperial regalia and the place where Imperial Diets were held, it was also a wealthy centre of economic life, one of the largest cities in German-speaking Europe, and an important manufacturer of many industrial products, in particular weapons.
Civic Ceremony and Religion in Medieval Bruges c. 1300-1520 / Andrew Brown
When Pero Tafur visited Bruges in 1438 he had a keen eye for the material wealth of the town and the splendor in which its citizens seemed to indulge. In his famous travel diary he noted that ‘without doubt, the goddess of luxury has great power here, but it is not a place for poor men, who would be badly received here.
City and Cosmos: the Medieval World in Urban Form / Keith Lilley
Most medievalists would be able to cite an example of the close parallels in symbolic thinking about the city and world in the Middle Ages, whether along the lines of ideas of Rome as caput mundi or Augustine’s Two cities.
Family, Commerce and Religion in London and Cologne: Anglo-German Immigrants, c.1000–c.1300 / Joseph Huffman
Joseph P. Huffmans Family, Commerce and Religion in London and Cologne: Anglo-German Immigrants, c.1000-c.1300: (Cambridge 1998) is the most recent contribution to a burgeoning field of historical scholarship, i.e. the study of Anglo-German relations in the Middle Ages. Over the last fifteen years a number of studies have appeared on the subject.
Urban History [X] Remove Urban History filter
Religious History [X] Remove Religious History filter
(-) Remove Religious History filter Religious History
(-) Remove Urban History filter Urban History
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N.Y. Appellate Court Reverses Injunction Against Online Tabloid's Publishing "Images Depicting … Lynching in Association with Plaintiff"
The latest in the Brummer v. Wey (TheBlot) litigation, brought by Prof. Christopher Brummer, a former Obama nominee for the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 11.15.2018 2:08 PM
So holds today's decision in Brummer v. Wey, from New York's intermediate appellate court. First, a brief summary of the facts, though you can see more in my earlier posts on the case, here and here:
Plaintiff, a law professor, sat on the appellate panel of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) that affirmed the lifetime ban imposed on two stockbrokers, nonparties Talman Harris and William Scholander. Defendants allegedly control a website known as TheBlot, a tabloid-style platform that has published a substantial quantity of material attacking FINRA's ban of Harris and Scholander and the FINRA personnel, including plaintiff, who were involved in adjudicating that case.
The attacks on plaintiff have included—in addition to name-calling, ridicule and various scurrilous accusations—juxtapositions of plaintiff's likeness to graphic images of the lynching of African Americans, and statements that the banning of Harris, who is African American, constituted a "lynching." In this action, plaintiff, who is also African American, seeks, as here relevant, an injunction against the posting on TheBlot of material attacking or libeling him. In this regard, he argues that the lynching images posted alongside photographs of him on TheBlot should be understood as a threat of violence against himself.
Now, more on the order below, and an earlier order from the same intermediate appellate court, though one that this panel ended up disagreeing with:
In the first order under review, entered June 6, 2017, Supreme Court granted plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction, enjoining defendants "from posting any articles about the Plaintiff to TheBlot for the duration of this action" and directing them to "remove from TheBlot all the articles they have posted about or concerning Plaintiff[.]"
Defendants filed this appeal and then moved this Court for a stay of the preliminary injunction. After an interim stay of the preliminary injunction was granted by order dated June 15, 2017, this Court entered an order, dated August 1, 2017, lifting the stay [i.e., reinstating the injunction] "to the extent of directing defendants to remove all photographs or other images and statements from websites under defendants' control which depict or encourage lynching; which encourage incitement of violence; or that feature statements regarding plaintiff that, in conjunction with the threatening language and imagery with which these statements are associated, continue to incite violence against plaintiff."
This Court's order of August 1 further provided that the interim stay of the preliminary injunction was lifted "so as to prohibit defendants from posting on any traditional or online media site any photographs or other images depicting or encouraging lynching in association with plaintiff." [Footnote: We note that this Court's partial lifting of the interim stay of the preliminary injunction does not constitute law of the case [i.e., is not binding on us] for purposes of our consideration of the merits of this appeal from the order granting the preliminary injunction (see Thompson v Armstrong, 134 A3d 305, 310 [DC 2016] ["law of the case is not established by denial of a stay"]).]
Now, the legal reasoning, which strikes me as quite right:
Prior restraints on speech are "the most serious and the least tolerable infringement on First Amendment rights," and "any imposition of prior restraint, whatever the form, bears a heavy presumption against its constitutional validity." "[A] party seeking to obtain such a restraint bears a correspondingly heavy burden of demonstrating justification for its imposition," and, to do so, must show that the speech sought to be restrained is "likely to produce a clear and present danger of a serious substantive evil that rises far above public inconvenience, annoyance or unrest."
While these principles would permit the restraint of speech that "communicate[s] a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals," the speech at issue in this case—although highly offensive, repulsive and inflammatory—does not meet this exacting constitutional standard…. [T]he speech at issue, as offensive as it is, cannot reasonably be construed as truly threatening … against plaintiff. Rather, the lynching imagery at issue was plainly intended to draw a grotesque analogy between lynching and FINRA's banning of Harris, who is an African American (and is identified as such in the posts). [For example, one post includes, alongside a silhouette image of a lynching, and under a photograph of Harris, the following statement: "Talman Harris: 'These MOFOs lynched me ….'" Another post states: "AFRICAN AMERICAN BROKER TALMAN HARRIS LYNCHED BY FINRA, BECAUSE HE IS BLACK."] While this analogy is incendiary and highly inappropriate, plaintiff has not established that any reasonable viewer would have understood the posts as threatening or calling for violence against him.
Initially, we reiterate that, although it may ultimately be determined that defendants have libeled plaintiff, "[p]rior restraints are not permissible … merely to enjoin the publication of libel" (Rosenberg, 290 AD2d at 239; see also Giffuni v Feingold, 299 AD2d 265, 266 [1st Dept 2002]; cf. Dennis v Napoli, 148 AD3d 446 [1st Dept 2017] [affirming preliminary injunction against sending unsolicited defamatory communications about the plaintiff, who was not a public figure, directly to her colleagues, friends and family]).
Moreover, even if the posts could reasonably be construed as advocating unlawful conduct, plaintiff has not established that any "such advocacy is directed to inciting or producing imminent lawless action and is likely to incite or produce such action" (Brandenburg v Ohio, 395 US 444, 447 [1969])….
The court does also rule, though, that, even though the injunction was unconstitutional, defendant could be held in contempt for violating it while it was in effect (the so-called "collateral bar" rule followed by New York courts, federal courts, and the courts of many other states, though not followed by some other states).
I'm pleased to say that Profs. Martin Redish (Northwestern), Steve Shiffrin (Cornell), and I filed an amicus brief supporting this result; many thanks to Daniel Schmutter, who was our invaluable pro bono local counsel (and who has helped me in many cases in the past, in New Jersey and New York).
Eugene Volokh is the Gary T. Schwartz Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA.
Hate Speech Free Speech
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Biography of an Empire. Governing Ottomans in an Age of Revolution
Christine Philliou
Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 2011, ISBN: 9780520266353; 320pp.; Price: £19.95
Dr Alex Drace-Francis
Dr Alex Drace-Francis, review of Biography of an Empire. Governing Ottomans in an Age of Revolution, (review no. 1312)
https://reviews.history.ac.uk/review/1312
Date accessed: 19 July, 2019
In modern Ottoman and Balkan history as in other fields, biographical studies have enjoyed a rather mixed fortune. Earlier studies tended to be focused on ‘great rulers’.(1) In Britain, where there was a sentimental tradition epitomized by Trevelyan’s writings on Garibaldi, historians often chose to write about figures from the national revivals in individual Balkan countries or Turkey itself.(2) Some American-trained scholars used biography as a vehicle for writing about political ideas in the Balkans and the Near East, but continued to focus on characters associated with the national movements.(3) Things changed somewhat in the 1990s, with reputed Ottomanists drawing attention to the potential utility of a biographical approach in shedding light on broader issues of social and cultural change.(4) In the course of that decade, scholars such as Paschalis Kitromilides, Virginia Aksan and Katherine Fleming made skilful use of individual life-stories to ask wider questions, not just about their subjects but also about the world in which they lived and which they could be claimed to illustrate.(5) More recently, others have given detailed treatment to a number of interesting personalities, particularly from the period of transition between the heights of Ottoman power and the emergence of the national states.(6)
In her book, Christine M. Philliou continues and consolidates this tradition with an extended reflection on changing modes of governance in the Ottoman Empire, built around the figure of Stephanos Vogorides (c.1778–59). The son of a livestock trader from Kotel (in today’s south-central Bulgaria), Stefanos was baptised ‘Stoiko’ but, under the influence of his uncle, Bishop of Vratsa, hellenized his name, made his way first to Bucharest, where he studied at the Princely Academy, and thence to Istanbul, where he continued to make progress and connections. He ended up in a position of great influence as a mediator between the Porte and Western diplomats, so much so that he was nicknamed ‘the Talleyrand of the East’.
The lack of a book-length study on Vogorides was once lamented in an astute but regrettably unheeded footnote.(7) Half a century later, the idea behind it has been brought to fruition, and in an impressive and imaginative fashion. Vogorides’ career exemplifies aspects of social and cultural change which can be more easily – and more vividly – understood through biography than through sociological clichés such as ‘the transition from feudalism to capitalism’ or ‘the emergence of national consciousness’. However, it is not exactly a conventional biography. Rather, episodes from Vogorides’ long and complicated life are given as vignettes at the end of longer chapters detailing political, cultural and social transformation of the Ottoman polity. In her preface, Philliou proposes to focus not simply on ‘the state’ and its destabilization, but on experiences, institutions, networks and individual personalities (p. xviii). She sees family and patronage relationships as stretching across formal institutions and confessional divides (p. xix). And she seeks to analyse Ottoman political order through identifying locations where formal and informal modes of governance intersect (p. xxiv).
Chapter one provides a revisionist overview of the much-discussed phenomenon of the Phanariots, the Orthodox Christians residing in the Phanar quarter of Istanbul who, in the 18th century, acquired control over the four key functions of Great Dragoman, voyvoda of Moldavia, voyvoda of Wallachia, and Dragoman of the Fleet. This involved Christians in roles of tax collection, information-gathering and diplomatic negotiation, as well as considerable cultural and intellectual functions. Philliou gives insight into the functioning of the Phanariot system through examination of a series of different sources. The first consists in a list of subscribers to a History of Old Dacia published in Greek in Vienna in 1818 and giving an idea of the complex range of ethnic, regional and social groups affiliated to a book publishing enterprise.(8) A second section sees the Phanariots as viewed from the Ottoman chancery. While it is argued that there was no systematic policy towards them, a number of very interesting attitudes are quoted towards the ‘Phanariot clique’ (fenarlı takımı). They are partly seen as a group prized for their loyalty, but also suspected for their relations with Russia and Austria. Philliou then turns her attention to Phanariot investiture ceremony and other aspects of court ritual. The final section of this chapter compares the Phanariots with Muslim notables, notably the ayans of the Balkans and the Egyptian hanedans (households). The former then appear not as a unique phenomenon but as part of a more widespread process of transfer of power from the central Court to the peripheral elites; and more especially a process that affected both Christian and Muslim peripheries in similar ways.
Chapter two, entitled ‘Volatile synthesis’, continues the exploration of Ottoman governance in the period after 1788. Rather than subscribe to the classic narratives of decline, modernization and ongoing ‘backwardness’, Philliou continues with her micro-biographical method, providing fascinating insights into the age by viewing the complex chain of events from 1788–1821 through the figures of Nicholas Mavroyeni, Prince of Wallachia from 1786–90; Osman Pazvanoğlu, formerly a mercenary in the service of the former, and from 1794 Pasha of Vidin; and finally Halet Efendi (c. 1765–1822), a high Ottoman official who masterminded a number of important Phanariot appointments to office (and depositions from them).
Chapter three, ‘Demolitions’ is dedicated to what has since become known as the Greek War of Independence. In contrast to most accounts, however, Philliou takes the step of narrating the course of events from the location of Istanbul. Besides well-known sources such as the account of the British chaplain Robert Walsh, and British consular reports (9), Philliou uses anonymous Greek-language narrative sources as well as Ottoman archival documents. Ottoman reprisals targeted not only Christian elites but their Muslim abetters such as Halet Efendi, the former high official, beheaded and a note attached to his nose (it is not exactly clear how), calling him ‘the man generally accused of being the cause of all the present distresses of the Empire’. Philliou shows the Ottoman reaction to be a complex process, linked with and simultaneous to the reform of the janissary corps and their eventual abolition in 1826. As such, the Greek Revolution can be understood as ‘one of several civil conflicts’ rather than as a unique national war of secession (pp. 80–1).
While some Phanariots fled after 1821 and integrated themselves into new states, there was a group of second-tier officials who seized their opportunity at this time, and constituted themselves into what might be called a Phanar après Phanar.(10) Chapters four to six continue the story in the period from 1821 to 1859. The first of these is somewhat miscellaneous, initially covering the dispersal of the Phanariot families after 1821: some enter the new Greek state, some flee to Russia, some continue to work in Moldavia and Wallachia. Moving on to consider Ottoman foreign relations in the 1830s and after, Philliou focuses on the Translation Bureau (Tercüme odasi), which historically has been seen as a site of modernization and ‘Western influence’.(11) Here, however, it is seen as a logical necessity in the wake of the collapse of the Phanariot system, which had been one of the key mechanisms through which the Ottoman state conducted relations with Western powers. She describes one or two cases in which an experienced phanariot might ‘shadow’ a newly-appointed Muslim (in this case a convert, Yahya Efendi) to ensure continuity and quality of work. However, as the story moves on into the 1850s, the influence of Vogorides and other ‘post-Phanariots’ maintains itself, particularly in the realm of ecclesiastical affairs, which, we are reminded, was the ground of contention which led to British and French military intervention on behalf of the Ottoman Empire against Russia, in the form of the Crimean War.
Philliou’s work poses important and fascinating questions for the understanding not just of an individual life but of how the Ottoman Empire continued to function after the major blows to its authority in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Vogorides has usually been read simplistically as one of Ottoman history’s ‘villains’, who backed the wrong horse, failing to understand the inevitability of Ottoman decline and the emergence of national states. The subject is intricate in its nature and needs studying slowly, but it is also vividly and entertainingly presented: Philliou’s vignette method, alternating with more general political narrative or social analysis allows the reader to see things, as it were, through different lenses (the metaphor of perspective occurs frequently).
Some readers might question the representativeness of Vogorides as a figure through which to write a ‘biography of an empire’. His career tells us a lot about Ottoman governance, but can it really be said to symbolize it? Many similar ‘neophanariot’ figures went in other directions, eventually siding with the causes of national independence in Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. Indeed Vogorides is sometimes credited with having helped the Bulgarian national cause in ways not indicated here.(12)
Particularly interesting are Vogorides’s ambitions for his children, which Philliou notes diligently at various stages. His first-born son, Nikolaki, was made to marry (and take the name of) the only daughter of a Moldavian nobleman, Konaki.(13) Nikolaki tried to get himself elected governor of that principality in 1857. Vogorides’s second son, Aleko, had a longer and more successful life (1822–1910). Having served in Europe in the Ottoman diplomatic corps, Aleko became governor of Eastern Rumelia in 1879, and served there until the province was annexed to Bulgaria in 1886, when he stood as candidate for the Bulgarian throne. Meanwhile, Stefanos married his eldest daughter to the Prince of Moldavia in 1834, his middle daughter in the 1840s to the Ottoman Ambassador to Greece, and his youngest in the 1850s to a future governor of Crete. The latter wedding was, Philliou tells us (p. 143), the first such Christian ceremony ever attended by a Sultan. Alii bella gerunt: it was as if the Porte, having lost on the battlefield and at the negotiating table, was trying through its epigone Vogorides to marry its way back together again.
Amidst mostly skilful handling of a vast mass of genealogical, chronological, sociological and diplomatic information, some errors of dating were perhaps inevitable. For instance, the dates given for Vogorides’ birth vary, from 1780 (back cover of paperback edition) to ‘the 1770s’ (p. 38).(14) The Princely Academy of Bucharest is described as having been ‘founded by Mavrokordatos in the early eighteenth century’ (p. 17), whereas it dates back somewhat earlier. Nicholas Mavroyeni’s death date is given as 1791 (p. 43) – the correct date is September 1790. The attribution (p. 63) to Vogoridi of the title of kaymakam of Craiova and Galatsi in 1812 is surely incorrect, as Craiova and Galatsi were in different principalities. It was not Skarlato Kallimaki, Prince of Moldavia, who ‘fled abruptly to Pisa’ (p. 82) on the eve of hostilities in 1821, but his Wallachian counterpart Ioannis Karaca, in 1818. Vogorides’s arrival in Bucharest to appease the rebel leader Tudor Vladimirescu (p. 216, n.1) happened in February 1821, not 1820. Prince Michael Sturdza was deposed in 1849, not 1848 (p. 148). Italian, not Latin, was the original language of Dante’s Inferno (p. 170).
On one or two occasions Philliou slightly overstates her case for originality. While she significantly advances our understanding of the Phanariot phenomenon, she is perhaps not quite justified in claiming (p. 6) that this is an ‘all but ignored’ social group.(15) Her criticism of historians’ failure to treat the period of the Crimean war from the perspective of the Ottoman Christians (p. 157) is based on scholarship more than 50 years old.(16) More recent studies have gone some way to filling this gap.(17)
Philliou’s other achievements, however, are still major. She has taken hypotheses and ideas about studying the Ottoman Empire in a cross-cultural perspective, combined theoretical reflection with impressive linguistic and archival skills, and advanced them to a new stage. For this she deserves our rich thanks. The book is also methodologically attractive, situated as it is at the intersection of biographical, social, cultural and political history.
For example, Franz Babinger, Mehmed the Conqueror and his Time, trans. R. Manheim (Princeton, NJ, 1978), a translation of a work first published in German in 1953.Back to (1)
For example, Mercia Macdermott, Apostle of Freedom. A Portrait of Vasil Levsky Against a Background of Nineteenth-Century Bulgaria (London, 1967); Duncan Wilson, The Life and Times of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (Oxford, 1970); C. M. Woodhouse, Kapodistria, the Founder of Greek Independence (London, 1973); idem, Rhigas Velestinlis. The Proto-Martyr of the Greek Revolution (Limni, 1995); Andrew Mango, Ataturk (London, 1999).Back to (2)
For example, Woodford D. McClellan, Svetozar Marković and the Origins of Balkan Socialism (Princeton, NJ, 1964); Gale Stokes, Legitimacy through Liberalism. Vladimir Jovanović and the Transformation of Serbian Politics (Seattle and London, 1975); Keith Hitchins, Orthodoxy and Nationality. Andreiu Şaguna and the Rumanians of Transylvania (Cambridge, MA, 1977); David Mackenzie, Ilija Garašanin, Balkan Bismarck (Boulder, CO, 1985); Duncan M. Perry, Stefan Stambulov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895 (Durham, NC, London, 1993). Back to (3)
For example, Roderic Davison, Essays in Ottoman and Turkish history, 1774–1923 (London, 1990), p. xvi.Back to (4)
Paschalis M. Kitromilides, Englightenment as Social Criticism. Iosipos Moisiodax and Greek Culture in the Eighteenth Century (Princeton, NJ, 1992, based on an earlier, 1985 book in Greek); Virginia H. Aksan, An Ottoman Statesman in War and Peace. Ahmed Resmi Efendi, 1700–1783 (Leiden, 1995); Katherine Fleming, The Muslim Bonaparte. Diplomacy and Orientalism in Ali Pasha’s Greece (Princeton, NJ, 1999).Back to (5)
For example, Antonio d’Alessandri, Il pensiero e l'opera di Dora d'Istria fra Oriente europeo e Italia (Rome, 2007); Stella Ghervas, Réinventer la tradition. Alexandre Stourdza et l’Europe de la Sainte-Alliance (Geneva, 2009); Stefan Lemny, Les Cantemir. L’aventure européenne d’une famille princière au XVIIIe siècle (Paris, 2009); Angela Jianu, A Circle of Friends (Leiden, 2011).Back to (6)
Stevan K. Pavlowitch, ‘British diplomacy and the Serbian constitution of 1838’, Slavonic and East European Review, 38 (Dec. 1959), 149, n. 15: ‘There is unfortunately no monograph on this interesting personality’.Back to (7)
Also analysed in N. Iorga, Histoire des roumains (10 vols., Bucharest, 1937–44), vol. 8, pp. 254, 259–63.Back to (8)
Well-known through the collections: The movement for Greek independence, ed. Richard Clogg (Basingstoke, 1976); and British Consular Reports from the Ottoman Levant in an Age of Upheaval¸ ed. Theophilus Prousis (Istanbul, 2008).Back to (9)
Cf. Nicolas Iorga, Byzance après Byzance (Bucharest, 1935).Back to (10)
For example, Bernard Lewis, The Emergence of Modern Turkey (London, 1961).Back to (11)
Krumka Sharova, ‘Bŭlgarski diplomaticheski aktsii pred Evropa v nachaloto na 40-te godini na XIX v.’, in Bulgariia i evropeiskite strani (Sofia, 1975), pp. 32-6; Pierre Voillery, ‘Un centre bulgare anti-russe à Paris’, Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique, 23, 1 (1982), 33–43; R. J. Crampton, Bulgaria (Oxford, 2007), p. 68.Back to (12)
The name is given variously as Conaki or Konaki in the index. The Phanariot practice of marrying into Moldavian families was an old one: see Radu G. Păun, ‘Stratégies de famille, stratégies de pouvoir. Les gréco-levantins en Moldavie au XVIIe siècle’, in Social behaviour and family strategies in the Balkans, ed. Ionela Băluţă, Constanţa Vintilă-Ghiţulescu and Mihai-Răzvan Ungureanu (Bucharest, 2008), pp. 15–38. This makes me question whether Vogorides ‘borrowed’ (p. 10) ayan and vezir kinship practices; it is probably a matter of long-term structural commonalities.Back to (13)
Surprisingly, Philliou overlooks the older article by Ioan Filitti (‘Notice sur les Vogoridi’, Revue historique du sud-est européen, 4, 10–12 (1927), 314–20) which established the interval 1777–9 fairly clearly. She acknowledges, but does not make very much use of, the only other article in a Western language – Maria Todorova, ‘Stefan Bogoridi, een Bulgaarse fanarioot in het Ottomaanse rijk’, in Oost-Europa in het verleden, ed. A. P. Goudoever (Groningen, 1987), pp. 171–87. Todorova follows Filitti and Bulgarian scholarship to venture a ‘probable’ 1778.Back to (14)
It is true that little attention is given to the Phanariots in, for example, The Cambridge History of Turkey, Vol. 3. The Later Ottoman Empire , 1603–1839¸ ed. Suraiya Faroqhi (Cambridge, 2006) or in the otherwise excellent volume The Early Modern Ottomans, ed. Virginia Aksan and Daniel Goffman (Cambridge, 2007). But the older literature on Phanariots is extensive and was surveyed by, among others, Ştefan Lemny, ‘La critique du régime phanariote. Clichés mentaux et perspectives historiographiques’, in Culture and Society, ed. A. Zub (Iaşi, 1985), and Panayotis Alexandrou Papachristou, The Three Faces of the Phanariots. An Inquiry into the Role and Motivations of the Greek Nobility under Ottoman rule, 1683–1821 (MA thesis, Simon Fraser University, 1992).Back to (15)
Respectively, R. W. Seton-Watson and A. J. P. Taylor. Their work dates from much earlier than the 1969 and 1971 editions used by Philliou.Back to (16)
For example, Ottoman Greeks in the Age of Nationalism¸ ed. Dimitris Gondicas and Charles Issawi (Princeton, NJ, 2000), which figures in Philliou’s bibliography but seems not to have been cited.Back to (17)
The author accepts this review, appreciates the reviewer's critical engagement, and does not wish to comment further.
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American Joyce: Representations of the United States in Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake
Briana N. Casali, University of MiamiFollow
Embargoed
English (Arts and Sciences)
Patrick A. McCarthy
Joel Nickels
Ranen Omer-Sherman
Michael Patrick Gillespie
This project is the first comprehensive study of James Joyce’s literary and personal relationship with the United States. With a foothold in both American and Irish fields of literary criticism, it explores a critical gap in Joyce studies that demonstrates a timely, long-standing need for scholars of literature to reconcile the quintessential "Irishness" of one of the twentieth century’s most dynamic and famous authors with the hundreds of allusions to America throughout his canon and to also examine the unflagging personal impact that the laws, culture and customs, politics, history, religion, and people of the United States had on his legacy as one of the twentieth century’s literary powerhouses. This project attempts to determine the nature of Joyce’s personal experiences with America and Americans and, as a result, the nature of how he represents the country and its culture in each of his major works: Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake. The study is particularly interested in investigating the emerging pattern one finds when tracing the ways Joyce employed America in his fiction; this pattern reveals an increasing tendency on the author’s part to weave references, symbols, parodies, and allusions to America into his works over time. Thus, a biographical account of Joyce’s relationship to America or Americans allows me to establish Joyce’s complicated, often ambivalent, personal relationship with all things American and to then reveal how this ever-changing relationship impressed itself upon his fiction, accounting as well for the abundant increase in his use of American references in his later works, Ulysses and Finnegans Wake.
james joyce; america
Casali, Briana N., "American Joyce: Representations of the United States in Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and Finnegans Wake" (2014). Open Access Dissertations. 1292.
Since August 13, 2014
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Quiz: Can You Name These Sexiest Men Alive from a Photo?
Can You Name These Sexiest Men Alive from a Photo?
By: Bambi Turner
Image: MARVEL Entertainment
If we give you pictures of some of the hottest guys on the planet, can you tell one hottie from another? Do you know the difference between legends like Mel Gibson and Brad Pitt, or Harrison Ford and George Clooney? What about some of the newer stars to hit the scene -- like Jamie Dornan or Kit Harrington -- think you can recognize them from a single picture? Take our quiz to see if you can recognize some of these sexiest men alive!
Women know sexy when they see it, but what exactly contributes to this sex appeal? While it's different for everyone -- it depends on tastes, personal preference and experience -- the hottest guys have a few things in common; they've reached the highest points of their respective fields, they smolder on film and they have a unique style all their own.
Yet just like it has been well established that a certain waist-to-hip ratio is proven to increase a woman's sex appeal to men, scientists have found one piece of concrete evidence that evolution has a hand in making men sexy, but not in the way you think. A 2018 study published in Royal Society Open Science found that women rate men whose legs are roughly half the length of their body as sexier than those with longer or shorter legs -- who knew?
Whether it's the perfect proportions, luscious locks, deep blue eyes, bulging muscles or just a certain something, the men in this quiz rank high on the lists of the world's sexiest men. Take our quiz to see how many you can name!
Can you name this actor?
Kit Harrington
Ryan Reynolds has been wowing women since his days as a teen soap star on the series "Hillside" in Canada. He starred in teen flicks like "Can't Hardly Wait" and "Van Wilder" before graduating to more grownup parts as the Green Lantern and Deadpool.
What is the name of this sports icon?
British Fashion Counsel
David Beckham easily ranks as one of the most popular soccer players of all time. The sexy British sports star has been married to former Spice Girl Victoria since 1999.
Who is this celeb?
Matt Damon first rose to fame in 1997, when he and buddy Ben Affleck won an Oscar for Best Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting." In the years since, Damon has won even more fans with his roles in "Saving Private Ryan," "The Martian" and the Bourne series of films.
Know the name of this heartthrob?
Hollywood Pictures
Scottish star Sean Connery was the first James Bond, playing the sexy PI seven times between 1962 and 1983. In the years since, he was named People's Sexiest Man Alive, and took on starring roles in "The Untouchables" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen."
Name this sexy film star.
Channing Tatum wooed female fans with roles in "Coach Carter" and "Step Up," but it was his role as a male stripper in the "Magic Mike" films that really made him into a sex symbol for the ages. Since then, he's also found success in action flicks, including the G.I. Joe franchise.
Which reformed bachelor is this?
George Clooney first won women's hearts on "The Facts of Life" back in the '80s. He played a hot doctor on "ER" before becoming a full-fledged movie star in films like "Ocean's Eleven" and "Argo." The confirmed bachelor finally tied the knot in 2014, and became a dad to twins in 2017.
Who is this film star?
KTLA5
Mark Harmon was a football star at UCLA before becoming a male heartthrob as Dr. Robert Caldwell on "St. Elsewhere." He starred in a number of films, and got an Emmy nod for his role on "NCIS."
Can you name this movie star?
Chris Pine sure knew how to sport a space suit as Captain James Kirk in the 2009 "Star Trek" remake. He gained even more fans with his role as the Prince in the 2014 film, "Into the Woods."
Match this sexy actor to his name.
Chris Hemsworth was an Aussie TV star in the early '00s before becoming one of the sexiest leading men in Hollywood. He starred in "The Cabin in the Woods" and "Snow White and the Huntsman," as well as playing Thor in numerous Marvel flicks.
Who is this big-screen star?
Ryan Gosling has been stealing hearts since his days on "The Mickey Mouse Club." He became a female favorite with his role on "The Notebook" and in 2016, and he won a Golden Globe for his role in "La La Land" opposite Emma Stone.
Who is this Hollywood icon?
Tom Cruise had female eyes glued to the screen starting with the 1981 film, "Endless Love." He won more fans with "Risky Business," then with roles in "Top Gun," "Interview with the Vampire," and "Mission Impossible."
Can you name the hot guy in this image?
Denzel Washington has been one of the world's hottest actors since the '90s, playing the title role in the 1992 film, "Malcolm X." In 1996, he became the first non-white man to be named People's Sexiest Man Alive, and won an Oscar for his role in "Training Day" in 2001.
Who is this Hollywood film icon?
Harrison Ford has played roles to appeal to all types of tastes. He was the scruffy Han Solo in "Star Wars," the adventurous Indy in the "Indiana Jones" franchise, and took a turn as an action hero in the Jack Ryan flicks. What's not to love?
Do you know the name of this actor and producer?
Icon Productions
In 1985, Mel Gibson was People Magazine's very first selection for Sexiest Man Alive. He gained fame as the title character in the "Mad Max" flicks, and found a wider audience as a cop in "Lethal Weapon." In more recent years, he has focused on producing and directing more refined films like "The Passion of the Christ" and "Hacksaw Ridge."
IGN/Warner Bros
English actor Jude Law found fame with roles in "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Cold Mountain." In addition to that sexy British accent, he also has the honor of being a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters -- a distinction awarded to him by France in 2007.
Brad Pitt had only a minor part as a hitchhiker in "Thelma and Louise," but it was enough to get women everywhere talking about his good looks. Just a few years later, he was a leading man, with roles in "Interview with the Vampire," "Fight Club" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," where he connected with his future wife, Angelina Jolie.
Who is this sexy film legend?
Richard Gere became a sex symbol with his role in "American Gigolo" in 1980. Leading parts in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Pretty Woman" made him one of Hollywood's hottest leading men.
What is the name of this versatile film star?
Johnny Depp became a teen idol in the '80s as Officer Tom Hanson on "21 Jump Street." Since then, he has played the swashbuckling Jack Sparrow, as well as quirky roles in "Edward Scissorhands" and "Alice in Wonderland."
Can you name this star of TV and film?
Matthew McConaughey found his breakout role in "Dazed and Confused" in 1993. He won an Oscar for "Dallas Buyers Club" in 2013, then took a turn as a gritty police officer in "True Detective."
Who is this super movie star?
Hugh Jackman showed his sweet side in "Kate and Leopold," and his rough and rugged side as Wolverine in the X-Men flicks. If that wasn't enough to woo you, he can also sing -- he picked up a best actor nomination at the Oscars for his role as Jean Valjean in the 2012 film version of "Les Mis."
Can you name this star of the ring and screen?
Dwayne Johnson was a football star at the University of Miami before taking on the persona of The Rock in the wrestling ring. He transitioned into film with "The Scorpion King" and "The Fast and the Furious," taking his impressive physique and bulging muslces along with him.
Avi Arad Productions
English actor Tom Hardy has played an incredible variety of roles, showing off his versatility and charm. He starred in the 2001 action flick, "Black Hawk Down," then played Bane in "The Dark Night Rises." He also found success on TV, starring in "Band of Brothers" and "Peaky Binders."
Do you know the name of this handsome film star?
Idis Elba
Idis Elba played a drug trafficker in the gritty TV series, "The Wire," then took on such varying roles as freedom fighter Nelson Mandela and Krall in the "Star Trek" universe. Showing his softer side, he voiced characters in animated films, including "Finding Dory" and "Zootopia."
What is the name of this Hollywood icon?
Leo has been a teen idol since the days of "Growing Pains," but his starring roles in "Romeo and Juliet" and "Titanic" also helped him woo the women. More recently, he has chosen more serious films, starring in "Django Unchained" and "Blood Diamond."
Who is this hot actor?
Jason Momoa was a hot Hawaiian model before transitioning into acting with "Stargate Atlantis." Since then, he has showed off his sexy, rugged style in "Conan the Barbarian" and as Aquaman in the Justice League universe.
Who is this pop star?
Harry Styles was a wannabe singer when he showed up on "The X-Factor" in 2010. After joining forces with four other hopefuls, he became part of the mega-successful pop group, One Direction. He's since found success as a solo artist, and took on a role in the 2017 Christopher Nolan film, "Dunkirk."
Can you name this movie and TV star?
Classically trained British actor Benedict Shakespeare has become a top Hollywood star in the '10s. He has played the title role in the "Sherlock Holmes" series since 2010, starred as Khan on "Star Trek," and played Doctor Strange in the Marvel universe.
Do you know the name of this heartthrob?
Young Money Entertainment/Cash Money Records
Drake became a teen ifol thanks to a turn on "Degrassi" in the '00s. He later forged a hugely successful rap career, winning the Grammy for Best Rap Album for his 2011 release, "Take Care," and another for Best Rap Song in 2016 with "Hotline Bling."
Chris Pratt wasn't exactly a heartthrob when he starred as Andy Dwyer on "Parks and Recreation," but as he found success in film, his sexy side was unleashed. His first turn as a leading man came in 2014 with "Guardians of the Galaxy." He followed it up with turns in "Jurassic World" and "The Avengers."
Do you know who this hot actor is?
MTV News/Warner Bros
English actor Eddie Redmayne was modeling and winning Tony Awards for his work in the theater before hitting it big in Hollywood. He played the gorgeous Marius in the 2012 version of "Les Mis," and later became a superstar thanks to his role as Newt Scamander in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."
Who is this country crooner?
Warner Music Nashville LLC
Blake Sheldon has been a huge star in the country music world since his 2001 release, "Austin." His role on "The Voice," starting in 2011, introduced him to a wider audience, and he was chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2017.
Irish actor Jamie Dornan was finding success in music and modeling before finding success on TV shows like "Once Upon a Time" and "The Fall." His role as Christian Grey in "50 Shades of Grey" attracted the attention of women all over the world.
British actor Henry Cavill has found super success as an action film star. He played the Man of Steel in the 2013 version of "Superman," as well as several other Marvel creations. He was also selected to star as CIA assassin August Walker in the 2018 action blockbuster, "Mission Impossible: Fallout."
Universal Pictures UK
British actor Kit Harrington has been keeping fans tuning in to watch him play Jon Snow on "Game of Thrones" since 2011. He also has a softer side, voicing Eret in the "How to Train Your Dragon" flicks.
Who is this former teen dream?
Zac Efron became a genuine teen idol playing Troy Bolton in the "High School Musical" franchise. He won older fans with turns in "Hairspray," "Baywatch," and "The Lucky One."
Can you name this film and TV star?
Bradley Cooper first found fans as Will Tippin in "Alias." He later took on comedic roles in "The Weddings Crashers" and "The Hangover," but still managed to show his romantic side in "Silver Linings Playbook" -- and his serious side as the producer and star of "American Sniper."
Who is this former teen heartthrob?
Robert Pattinson managed to nab roles in two of the biggest teen movie franchises of the past 20 years. First, he played the doomed Cedric Diggory in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Later, he won the starring role in the "Twilight" series, playing gorgeous vegetarian Edward Cullen from 2008 to 2012.
Michael Fassbender has played starring roles in virtually every genre, so no matter what your definition of sexy, he hsa met the standard at one stage or another. From his role as a Spartan warrior in "300," to a turn as a marine in "Inglorious Bastards," to playing the beloved Mr. Rochester in "Jane Eyre," Fassbender is both versatile and sexy.
Can you name this sexy singer?
Villa 40/RCA Records
Justin Timberlake has been driving women wild since his days on "The Mickey Mouse Club." As a member of 'NSYNC he sold millions of albums, and has since found even greater fame as an actor and solo artist. His 2002 album, "Justified," won him two Grammys.
English actor Orlando Bloom made women swoon with his turn as the long-haired Legolas in "The Lord of the RIngs" trilogy. If that wasn't enough to win him female fans, his role as the swashbuckling Will Turner in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise helped him find a whole new circle of admirers.
Can You Name These Sexiest Women Alive From a Photo?
Can You Guess the Cartoon Dog From Just a Silhouette?
Which X-Men Villain Are You?
Do You Know the Names of These Disney Love Interests?
Can You Match the Character to the Sci-Fi Movie?
Can You Match These Actors to Their 1960s Movies?
We'll Show You a Cartoon House, You Tell us What Character Lives in It
Can You Match These Actors to Their 1960s TV Shows?
Can You Name These 1980s' TV Shows?
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Laphroaig Live Stream Whisky Tasting
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM | September 26, 2013
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Laphroaig Live will take place on September 26 at 8pm (EST) and will be broadcast live from Brooklyn, NY.
This eagerly anticipated live stream whisky tasting, which reached nearly 2.5 million people across the globe last year, will feature a panel of four whisky experts who will sample four whisky expressions and highlight Laphroaig’s strong ties with America, stepping back in time to the Prohibition era and tracing its heritage to the booming whisky cocktail scene it helped create.
The show will be broadcast from an original Hudson River Barge, which at over 99 years old has seen cargo come and go into New York for almost a century. To join the conversation, submit questions or get the tasting’s cocktail recipes, LIKE us on Facebook www.facebook.com/laphroaigusa, or follow/tweet us @LaphroaigUSA.
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Plus Blog
News from the world of maths: We're still safe
We're still safe
NASA mathematicians are maintaining that the world is still safe from asteroids for the time being, despite the calculations of a young German student.
The Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has not changed its current estimates for the very low probability (1 in 45,000) of an Earth impact by the asteroid Apophis in 2036.
Contrary to recent press reports, NASA offices involved in near-Earth object research were not contacted and have had no correspondence with a young German student, who claims the Apophis impact probability is far higher than the current estimate.
This student's conclusion reportedly is based on the possibility of a collision with an artificial satellite during the asteroid's close approach in April 2029. However, the asteroid will not pass near the main belt of geosynchronous satellites in 2029, and the chance of a collision with a satellite is exceedingly remote.
Therefore, consideration of this satellite collision scenario does not affect the current impact probability estimate for Apophis, which remains at 1 in 45,000.
This information is adapted from a NASA press release.
posted by westius @ 2:44 PM
News from the world of maths: Life is good for only two things, both mathematical
Life is good for only two things, both mathematical
Siméon-Denis Poisson (born 21 June 1781 Pithiviers, France; died 25 April 1840 Sceaux, France) was a French mathematician and physicist who once stated:
"Life is good for only two things, discovering mathematics and teaching mathematics."
Poisson was a student of Laplace and Lagrange and achieved highly at a young age, writing a memoir on finite differences at 18 and graduating at 19 without needing to take the final examination. He then moved immediately to the position of repetiteur at Ecole Polytechnique, which was quite an achievement as most top mathematicians had to serve in the provinces before getting a post in Paris.
In 1802, Poisson was named deputy professor and in 1806 he was appointed to the professorship that had been vacated by none other than Fourier. During this period, he studied ordinary and partial differential equations, and in particular their application to physical problems such as the pendulum and the theory of sound.
In 1808, Poisson became an astronomer at Bureau des Longitudes and in 1809 he added the chair of mechanics in Faculte des Sciences to his impressive list of appointments. In 1808 and 1809 Poisson published three important papers, the first investigating mathematical problems raised by Laplace and Lagrange about perturbations of the planets, and the others incorporating developments in Lagrange's method of variation of arbitrary constants which had been inspired by the first of Poisson's three papers. In addition, he published a new edition of Clairaut's Theorie de la figure de la terre, which had first been published in 1743 and confirmed the Newton-Huygens belief that the Earth was flattened at the poles.
In 1811, Poisson won a "Grand Prix" on electricity studies and in 1813 his results regarding the potential in the interior of attracting masses found application in electrostatics. Papers followed on the velocity of sound in gasses, on the propagation of heat, and on elastic vibrations.
It was in his 1837 work Recherches sur la probabilite des jugements en matière criminelle et matière civile that the Poisson probability distribution first appears. This distribution describes the probability that a random event will occur in a time interval when the probability of the event occurring is very small and the number of trials very large.
He published between 300 and 400 mathematical works and his name is associated to a wide variety of ideas including Poisson's integral, Poisson's equation in potential theory, Poisson brackets in differential equations, Poisson's ratio in elasticity, and Poisson's constant in electricity. However, he was not highly regarded by other French mathematicians, with his reputation much higher among foreign mathematicians than his country-folk.
For more on Poisson, see his MacTutor biography. For more information on Poisson distributions and probability, see the Plus articles Blast it like Beckham, and On the ball.
News from the world of maths: Got what it takes?
Got what it takes?
The European Space Agency is looking for recruits, and it seems that good mathematical abilities can help you rise to the top of the heap. 50,000 applications are expected for the four positions on offer to be astronauts on the International Space Station.
BBC News Magazine has detailed all the boxes you need to tick to be in the running in their story So what is the right stuff? Apart from being young (between 27 and 37) and having life experience, you need patience, bravery, to work well in a team and in a strange environment, and be psychologically capable of dealing with the stresses (and the loneliness) of the job.
On top of this, you need to be at least degree qualified in engineering, science, medicine or maths. So, if you're a maths grad and this sounds like you, see the ESA careers page.
posted by westius @ 11:50 AM
News from the world of maths: Sexy maths
Sexy maths
Hollywood has finally figured out what Plus has known for a long time: that maths is sexy.
Actor John Hurt believes maths has become "sexy". Hurt stars as a maths professor in the new film The Oxford Murders. In the film, Hurt and a graduate student played by Elijah Wood discover a series of murders linked by mathematical symbols.
Maths in the movies is not a new phenomena, with such films as Pi, Cube and A Beautiful Mind featuring mathematical concepts or mathematicians as characters. More recent films include this year's 21, in which Kevin Spacey plays a mathematics professor.
Hurt told the BBC World Service that: "I think there is something that has brought maths to the fore. I think probably because we live in a world with so many lies, and so much lack of truth, that it has become quite sexy to think of the one thing we have which is the only language that is truthful. There's no way of disproving that two plus two equals four, and therefore, take that to the ultimate, much more complicated areas, and you're dealing with something which is truthful."
You can read more about maths in the movies in the Plus articles:
Maths in the movies,
Maths goes to the movies,
Flatland: the movie,
and stayed tuned to Plus, as the next issue will contain reviews of many mathematical films, as well as a podcast from the Maths Film Festival at the recent Edinburgh International Science Festival.
News from the world of maths: to support mathematical research from quantum physics to biology
$8m to support mathematical research from quantum physics to biology
An $8 million grant has been awarded to a Cambridge mathematician to support his study of mathematical models relevant to research in the life sciences, engineering and nanotechnology.
Peter Markowich, Professor of Applied Mathematics in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, was awarded the funding by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST).
The award was made through KAUST's global research partnership (GRP), which operated for the first time this year. The partnership aims to bring together researchers from across the globe to work on challenging scientific and technological problems which have particular relevance to Saudi Arabia and the region.
KAUST’s funding will help further Professor Markowich's work with the Applied Partial Differential Equations Research Group (APDE), allowing it to take on five new postdoctoral researchers and to expand into a new centre.
Professor Markowich said: "This award is a great honour and it gives a wonderful opportunity to build up my research group and strengthen the field of analysis and numerics of applied partial differential equations at DAMTP."
"I came to Cambridge University not even a year ago, so there is no way I could imagine a better start! It is also very exciting to be part of the endeavour of creating a new high level research institution."
"The biggest part of the funding will go into hiring postdoctoral researchers at DAMTP, working on differential equation models in such diverse areas as quantum physics and biophysical processes."
Their research project, Applied and Computational Differential Equations in Life Sciences, Nanoscience and Engineering, will focus on applications of differential equations, those equations which have functions as solutions, and involve derivatives, or rates of change, of the solution, often in intricate nonlinear ways.
Such equations can be formulated to model situations that arise in a number of disciplines. Whilst physics and engineering yield numerous classical examples, they can also be applied in more unexpected situations. Some of the work currently taking place at APDE involves their use in restoring medieval wall frescoes, for example.
KAUST investigator awards will fund research for five years and have also been made in support of a range of fields other than applied mathematics, including work on immunisation, water desalination, renewable and sustainable energy sources and environmentally friendly construction materials.
Each of the awardees, known as KAUST Investigators, will conduct research at their own institutions and, partly, on the KAUST campus, which will open in September 2009. The university is being built as an international, graduate-level research institute, and intends to become a major contributor to global research.
This article is adapted from material from the University of Cambridge.
News from the world of maths: Solving London's Transport Problem
Solving London's Transport Problem
A new mathematical contest has just been announced by mathematical problem solving company eBourbaki. eBourbaki's mission is to solve the world's mathematical problems using contests to inspire innovation and creativity. They seek to help companies and organisations become more effective by facilitating creative mathematical solutions to optimisation problems by:
addressing some of today's greatest public-goods challenges,
encouraging mathematical talent by directing it towards relevant applied modelling problems,
improving mathematics engagement and education by working with teachers and professors to integrate eBourbaki contests into academic curricula,
and collaborating with clients to formulate soluble problems and then to interpret the solutions that grow out of contests for implementation.
The new contest is entitled Bicycles in London. London faces serious transportation challenges. With congestion charges on the rise and increased awareness of the environmental impact of many forms of commuting, cities are turning to bicycle stations to ease traffic, reduce pollution, improve parking, and enhance a green-friendly image. Last summer, Paris joined the ranks, instituting a city-wide network of high-tech low-cost rental bicycle stations. The contest asks the question: if London were to embrace this concept, how would it best go about doing so? Where should the bike stations go? How many bikes at each station?
The contest will run May 5-12 2008 and full contest details, including a detailed problem statement, will be available on the website at the start of the contest. Winning solutions will be presented to the Mayor of London with the hope that students' recommendations will guide the way to helping London become a more liveable environment. The winning team will receive a prize of £1000.
The competition is open to UK students only, and students of mathematics, computer science and engineering are encouraged to enter. Participation requires contestants to register with the eBourbaki. Stay tuned to the website for contest rules and guidelines.
At 6:33 PM, dedy said...
nice article, thanks
No maths for Europe
How should the seats in the European Parliament be allocated?
Phantom jams
How to unjam traffic.
Maths in a minute: The d'Hondt method
How does the voting system for the European Parliament elections work?
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Nigar Nazar
Nigar Nazar (born 1953) is the first Pakistani female cartoonist. Her character Gogi is an urban Pakistani woman struggling with her frai...
https://plus.toonsmag.com/2015/12/nigar-nazar.html
Nigar Nazar (born 1953) is the first Pakistani female cartoonist. Her character Gogi is an urban Pakistani woman struggling with her frailties in the context of sexist social norms. She is the chief executive officer of Gogi Studios. Between 2002 and 2003, she was a Fulbright Professor at the art department of the University of Oregon.
Nigar changed her degree from medical to fine arts in 1971. Her cartoon Gogi appeared for the first time that year in Karachi's Institute of Arts and Crafts annual magazine. She graduated in fine arts from the University of the Punjab, Lahore. She also attended courses at the Australian National University, Canberra.
In 2002–2003, she was a Fulbright student at University of Oregon art department, and in 2009, she was a Fulbright Visiting Specialist at Colorado College. She attended a UNICEF-sponsored training session on animated film at Hanna-Barbera Studios in Manila.
She is the chief executive officer of Gogi Studios. Gogi Studios works on projects that actively address social issues. In 2009, Nazar completed five "awareness comics". Three books compiling her cartoons have been published, as well as several calendars, brochures, diaries, and posters.[citation needed] In collaboration with non-governmental organisationss, 12 public-transport buses were wrapped with Gogi cartoons in 2004 to convey social messages. She has produced several books for children on health and hygiene, the environment, disaster management, first aid, and safety, all published and distributed by the government of Pakistan.
Now living in Islamabad, Nazar says, "My work ... started from newspaper and reached the community, as it appeared on public buses and hospitals. I published books and comics, I teach programs now."
She is a founding member of the Asian Youth Association for Animators and Cartoonists, headquartered in Guiyang, China. She has been an official speaker and jury member of numerous art and cartoon competitions, both international and national such as the APACA (AYAAC), Aydin Dogan Vakfi (Turkey), Himal Cartoon Conference (Nepal), Cartoonists Congress (Malaysia/Singapore), and the Oxfam Congress for Women's Issues (Sri Lanka). Nazar has conducted many workshops and outreach programs to privileged and underprivileged students in Pakistan.
Nazar's main cartoon character, Gogi, has been a popular comicstrip in newspapers worldwide. Gogi depicts a modern Pakistani Muslim woman with short hair, long eyelashes and a polka dot dress. Asked in an interview to describe Gogi, Nazar said, "In the words of a university student who has done a well-researched thesis on my work, 'Gogi is the symbol of womanhood in Pakistan, with all her adventures and escapades in daily life.'" The Denver Post described Gogi as "a bit like 'Blondie' and a bit like Oprah—except devoutly Muslim".
Nigar was featured in the Wateen Telecom Pakistan "Icon 2010 of Pakistan" calendar. The Cartoonists Rights Network named her first among innovative users of cartoons. She received the Mohtarma Fatima Jinnah Award from the government of Pakistan. She received the Booruker UNESCO prize in 1997 for her work at an orphanage in Kyrgyzstan.
She was nominated by BBC as one of the 100 Global women in who made a difference in 2014.
She represented Pakistan on juries for cartoon competitions in Turkey,China (twice ) Algeria, and had exhibitions
and presentations in Nepal, Sri Lanka Singapore, Malaysia Algeria USA Libya and Kyrghistan
Trauma counselling of earthquake victims through puppets
Puppet Show for Trauma Counseling of Earthquake Victims, (October 2005) Using puppets from the Gogi comic strip characters, trauma counselling was given to earthquake victims in the form of a puppet show.
Outreach Programs and lectures (January 2008 – December 2009)
Nazar conducted outreach programs in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Lahore on environmental subjects. She showed animated cartoons, demonstrated the art of drawing cartoons, interacted with children, and distributed free Gogi books and stationary in Gogi school bags to the attendees.
Workshops (2008–2010)
Nazar conducted numerous cartooning workshops for children, especially those from disadvantaged communities, with the international non-governmental organisations PLAN, HEC (Higher Education Commission), National Government/CARE and Shaj-re-Ilm. Workshops were also organised with private organisations, such as KFC, for children.
Glad to Meetcha Gogi, Adam Publishers (Malta), 1975.
Gogi on the Go, Pak-American Publishers, 1982.
Koorey ka Jin (English: The Garbage Monster),including a board game, 2005.
Prepared training modules for HIV/AIDS, for UNICEF, 2005.
Designed and authored a baby-record book published by Ferozsons Laboratories in 2006.
Prepared and illustrated two books on disaster management in 2006 (a JICA project).
Collection of comic strips Going Gogi published in 2009; later translated to Urdu.
January 2010: produced five comic books on life skills: girls' education, corruption, anti-recruitment, women's rights, and sectarian violence.
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Watch Jan Saudek – V pekle svých vásní, ráj v nedohlednu Full Movie Online Free | Gomovies
Jan Saudek – V pekle svých vásní, ráj v nedohlednu
Jan Saudek, Czechoslovakia’s most famous living photographer, is the subject of this often-shocking kaleidoscopic biopic by friend and colleague Adolf Zika. With an unblinking eye, Zika chronicles the drama-filled life and work of a controversial artist who, though little-known in the United States, has enjoyed international acclaim throughout his fifty-year career
Genre : Documentary
Actors : Jan Saudek, Sára Saudková
Director : Adolf Zika
Country : Czech Republic
New Town Utopia
What happened when we built Utopia? New Town Utopia is feature documentary about the power of art, architecture, the state of the nation – and some rather angry puppets.
Colin Quinn: Long Story Short
In LONG STORY SHORT, Colin Quinn focuses his articulate brand of comedy on the demise of empires, including our own. More than standup comedy, LONG STORY SHORT is a hilarious blend of incisive observation, sharp commentary, and Colin’s channeling of the personalities of the past. From Socrates to Snooki, Quinn is at his satirical best, taking on the attitudes, appetites and bad habits that toppled the world’s most powerful nations. Long Story Short proves that throughout human history, the joke has always been on us.
Rock and a Hard Place
A look at the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Boot Camp Program, which allows young inmates undergo a strict six-week course in order to learn from their past mistakes and make a better future for themselves.
Madonna: Truth or Dare
From the rain of Japan, through threats of arrest for ‘public indecency’ in Canada, and a birthday tribute to her father in Detroit, this documentary follows Madonna on her 1990 ‘Blond Ambition’ concert tour. Filmed in black and white, with the concert pieces in glittering MTV color, it is an intimate look at the work of the music performer, from a prayer circle with the dancers before each performance to bed games with the dance troupe afterwards.
Genre: Documentary, Music
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
In 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger’s Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston’s The African Queen and King Vidor’s War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
Hidden Colors
“Hidden Colors: The Untold History Of People Of Aboriginal,Moor,and African Descent” is a groundbreaking documentary that challenges conventional knowledge about the role of people of color in world history. We are generally taught that historically,most people of color around the world were primitive and uncivilized,and they only became modernized after they were saved and colonized by European explorers.The information in the film will uncover the real truth and and contributions of these people. .
A World Without Down’s Syndrome?
Documentary about Down’s syndrome and the ethics of pregnancy screening, fronted by Sally Phillips. This film explores the science and thinking around the proposed new screening test for Down’s syndrome and its possible availability on the NHS. Driven by the experience of raising her son Olly, who has Down’s syndrome, Sally explores some of the ethical implications of our national screening policy. By talking to experts in the Down’s syndrome community, the world’s top scientists and including people with Down’s syndrome in the debate, Sally investigates a thorny subject that begs questions relevant to us all: what sort of world do we want to live in and who do we want in it?
What’s in the Basket?
A documentary on the making of Frank Henenlotter’s Basket Case trilogy.
Country: UK, United States of America
Winner of the Grand Jury Documentary prize at the Sundance Film Festival, Syrian filmmaker Feras Fayyad’s breathtaking work — a searing example of boots-on-the-ground reportage — follows the efforts of the internationally recognized White Helmets, an organization consisting of ordinary citizens who are the first to rush towards military strikes and attacks in the hope of saving lives. Incorporating moments of both heart-pounding suspense and improbable beauty, the documentary draws us into the lives of three of its founders — Khaled, Subhi, and Mahmoud — as they grapple with the chaos around them and struggle with an ever-present dilemma: do they flee or stay and fight for their country?
Country: Denmark, Syria, Syrian Arab Republic
Genre: Documentary, War
How to Die: Simon’s Choice
Simon debates whether to end his life after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
I Ain’t Scared of You: A Tribute to Bernie Mac
I AIN’T SCARED OF YOU is a documentary tribute to Bernie Mac (1957-2008). From his stand-up in underground Chicago comedy clubs to the Big Screen in Hollywood, Bernie Mac’s sharp tongue and heart of gold resonated with millions of fans throughout his career.This film revisits much of his work through exclusive recordings of early stand-up, featured scenes from his film and TV appearances, and interviews with his co-stars, including Samuel L. Jackson, Cameron Diaz, Chris Rock, and many more. Testimonials from friends and family offer colorful anecdotes about Bernie Mac, from his practical jokes to his strong appreciation for manicures, and paint a vivid picture of who he was as an actor-comedian, husband, father, and friend.
Genre: Biography, Comedy, Documentary
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson–almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion’s fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Genre: Biography, Documentary, Sport
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Tag Archives: one for sorrow
Gazelle Twin has become my latest synaesthetic experience, and if that’s too wanky for you let me explain with what I have – billowing smoke, purple and bronze and black. I love the word “bronze”, it’s one of those satisfying moments when language is more than tool and expression, it’s got a form of its own in your mouth, like a magician’s trick. A ream of scarves, pulled beyond the throat and the teeth into the air, sailing against the sky.
“Changelings” is a stacatto beat of swordplay and temple interior, a dark hallway with angled walls and ceiling lost in shadows. I could hide there awhile, for reflection, for loss, for sustenance, for something that would make sense in an increasingly fragile world.
I feel prickly with heat, unnerved by the walls and doors and corridors. Every room I went into had grown eyes; mine were blind and my mind stupid. Birds and words and stones, falling from my mouth, too much at once, and where there are eyes there are ears too. I ran.
My legs are pocked over with scars from a childhood of self-harm, beyond conscious thought, when eczema and short hair and bullying were the bane of my life, and the pain caused me to roll over and over on the floor just to leave it all behind, since my hands were bandaged into useless paws. I’d sleep on the classroom carpet during lessons, and lie awake at night staring out of the window.
Scars. I tried to hide them with make-up when dancing ballet.
This hide has always been a threadbare thing. While in hospital, they thought I was burning myself with a cigarette, until it became apparent that the surreptitious sit-ups had worn the hole in my back.
I talked about this yesterday with the girl-ghost of my past and future, whose energy leaves me cold with regret for her suffering, and more alive and fucking glad to be so, than I have in a long time. She sparkles as mountain water running downhill, running uphill if she so wished, because after what she’s been through I doubt anything would be beyond her capabilities. A rare IQ and a list of mental disorders long as her arm. Nature is a cruel joke, we laughed at it, and solemnly reflected on how her school system had let her down. For all that intelligence, the system couldn’t work to her mind and her mind couldn’t assimilate the system. It happens. She told me of one teacher who took her to the back of the room and let her work alone, out of sight and earshot, so that within ten minutes she was done.
Not all those who wander are lost.
I can sympathise, if never fully understand. Everyone’s illness and experiences are their own. But while talking to her, it’s so clear how her recovery came about and will continue to run uphill, downhill, because she notices Everything. Subjects beyond anorexia, beyond anxiety, beyond depression. She told me of a nurse who had talked to her about the Little things in the World Beyond, while inside. We agreed that this is crucial in treatment – to lessen the risk of becoming institutionalised, that white stick of a word, which so many of us carried in the end. It took months to get used to life beyond locked doors, beyond ever-watchful eyes.
They were only trying to keep us alive, of course. But you never underestimate the power of owning power over a lock, thereafter – or indeed, your own thoughts and movements. The staff were our saviours and our enemies; not every choice/action was induced by illness, but by personal preference and human nature, yet they couldn’t allow for the slightest imbalance of the delicate peer pressure which the system relied on. If one of us got away with something, the rest would buck up too – for various reasons.
Anorexia is a manipulative, deceitful thing. It can turn a loving human into a wiry demon with hot eyes, raking nails. It’s an external manifestation of rage, fear, doubt, guilt, all the things buried inside where hurt has been caused or neglect has festered wounds.
To come back around, you have to learn to trust again. Not only others but your own opinions, ideas, emotional reactions, physical needs. And you have to finally confront what is inside, nothing so mundane as “good” and “bad” but You, and your place in the world. Because it’s useless trying to love and learn when you can’t bear to look yourself in the eye.
Triggers catch me out. Getting past immediate reactions is often the biggest challenge. Yes, I have a temper and I’m not excusing it. Control is a conflict within and without. I can try to explain, and fail.
I am not a nice person. I am black and white.
Experience has taught me to be distrustful again; I used to trust and talk about anything. After years of silence, it felt good to spill over and run on, until I learned that this could be used for and against me, or for and against other people. I still don’t know enough about how the world works, and rarely think beyond Today’s consequences. Such is the habit of survival and ignorance. The consequences don’t matter when you can pin your own selfishness and inattentiveness and arrogance on an eating disorder.
(When you still don’t know how much is You, and It.)
I never could get across what I mean to say. Being held accountable, responsible, these are things I’ve run from for too long – pride and shame have their say, much of what I don’t understand frustrates me, and I’d turn my face away rather than ask. Even when I bite my lip and confront, often the answers are elusive and sliding away in riddles until it all becomes the waste of my very precious time.
But I need to stick it out and ask again.
Oh we talked about that, too. Time. How you can hear it passing. The deepening of your voice and the creaks in your lower spine, the way things become funny for no apparent reason, how the world suddenly holds colours and is vital for it, and how some friends slip away while others remain. Some become vacant spaces of themselves and others the tapestry of a life renewed. It occurred to me (again) the other day, my 30th birthday, that we all change our minds as well as our skins every few years or so.
Become a new person. Shift the mindset, the style, the tone. We leave traces of ourselves behind, for others to follow. My mother has gone from exasperated parent to fearful carer to curious friend and confidante. I never dreamt we would one day have this sort of closeness; she was drawn to my sister and my father to my brother, when we were children. Nanna was the one who sat with me to reminisce and to weave past and future together. Her stories of our ancestors, of vague sepia-tinged memories of post-WWII England, now ring through my mind with those history lessons of school when I wish I’d paid more attention, or that more details had been presented for me to memorise.
Hurtling forward. Glancing back. I felt it at age 15, something changed, and my spine ridged itself while tension squirmed through me. I remember standing in the tuck shop with my friend K, trying to tell her what was wrong and coming up with nothing. Only that it felt bigger than me, than us, than homework and boys and periods, all the minutiae of life-change we were going through. To this day, I still don’t know what caused it – pale mind – but it lasted weeks, months, possibly years. I’d always been a worrier, but this felt different.
Half my life time ago, and here. 30 was supposed to bring the answers. I feel more confused and fearful than ever, but within context… There have been a lot of recent changes. Perception and perspective are everything. A few years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to cope well with moving to a new station. The distortion of routines would have brought on panic attacks, restrictive eating, over-exercising to compensate and alleviate frayed nerves.
Now, it’s a loose laugh and a weary rub of the cheek, and enjoying the tension-banter while everyone adjusts, and… Performing the funeral rites of a tired old building. Walking each corridor, each flight of stairs, each floor one last time – turning out lights, closing windows, watching the sun burnish the horizon line (still blue) before turning away and closing the door.
When the world takes priority, things start to make more sense. Not everything, of course, but enough that I can get by. I’ll still miss cues and wonder why and how I stepped off the edge, and I’ll still run and hide from company and questions when it all becomes a bit like that butter scraped over too much bread. Thank you, Tolkien, for I’ve never found a better way to describe what extended interaction can mean to someone used to being alone. Whether through forced isolation in illness or as a reflection of Self, the child on the windowsill behind long curtains, reading into the twilight.
Sounds of the rain at the window. I hate that what I loved can become tinged with negative emotions. Symbolism is my friend and enemy. I have to watch what I say, and it segues through to how I think. Exasperated and… To be left alone. That was all I asked for. Some damage can never be undone. One man’s objective view is another’s inability to let go, so that I start to question Everything. I hold fragments of trust in one hand and opinions in the other. The pressure behind my eyes is often unbearable. I used to fall back on what others told me was Right, wanting to be Good and to go along with it, not to cause upset… But I know what makes my skin crawl, my mind go dark with old fears, and won’t go that way any more.
It’s not really anyone’s fault that this happens. But when these experiences are already known, and the prodding continues, I will give back what I can. Or turn my face away, whichever is easiest, since constant conflict is bad for the digestion and nerves. Fight-Flight is for the real moments of danger and fear, not an everyday experience. I’ve wasted enough time already.
Past still reaches out to present. I’m not an easy person to be around at the best of times. As Ma puts it, I walk into a room on heavy feet.
To quieten the room, damage limitation, I left by the side door and now Exile is a comfort I’ve longed for. It means I can concentrate in a quiet state, sitting in this library-mind where I’ve finally caught up on reading all those hoarded files, gratefully picked up along the way when offered; though whether I retain what is learned remains to be seen. Details usually emerge and flow back on a trigger, and then rarely when I need them, but it’s nice to know they lie there like neatly-folded blankets in the cupboard, ready for a change.
How to put them into anything useful that belongs to me, is another matter. Still too many gaps in my mind where context should be.
But listening helps. I pick things up as I go along, popping them on this shelf and that. I prefer listening to speaking.
What it’s all for, I couldn’t tell you. But it feels important to know how to connect past with present, conflict with peace, politics with people; and it staves off this Awareness, the fear that one day I’ll look around and realise I’m walking on the fence. Breathing underwater. When you become too Aware, you fall off, you drown.
Life just happens. That’s recovery.
Posted in Anorexia, Personal
Tagged anorexia, blogging, brassy light, Conflict, dead flag blues, depression, Gazelle Twin, love (something like it) death, memories, Music, nostalgia, one for sorrow, personal, petrol rainbows, responsibility, toxic beauty
Blue Light Home
How best to describe it – the ache in my chest? There were the wings of sunlight through the blinds, the pearlescent sky; the smell of weed, like mouldy teabags. The sound of pigeons passing overhead, less a presence than the passage of time in a stirring of shadows over the yard, with its silently-standing fleet of white and blue.
I stood at the window and took it all in. So soon, so far behind. I was awake hours earlier, waiting for the tinge of dawn to bring answers. Caught between work and money, fear and doubt (in myself, in others, in every single decision I have yet to make – a crumpled sheet can never be smoothed out completely), head and heart.
I have a job to fall back into, albeit on reduced hours because of budget cuts. I’ve another job to tack on the side, to make up hours. It actually works out quite well, spreading shifts out and allowing me time to write (rather than waiting until evening, when I’m likely to nod off over the laptop.) I’m back with the friends I know; back with a company I trust only slightly more than the cunts who let me down at the research centre.
I’m going to the Citizens Advice Bureau to see if I have a case for compensation on the grounds of unfair dismissal. The fact I hadn’t “kept in contact” in the two weeks between interview date and first day, is – as I suspected – a negligible point, used to cover their own backs. The way the contractor tried to lump the blame on me says everything about the standard relationship between cleaners and recruitment staff. A sheet full of nameless numbers is hardly an organized approach to dealing with people’s lives and income. The saccharine laugh and fumbled joke of “well, at least only you turned up,” settled my decision to make an example of her, and the company she works for if possible. Any compensation I might receive would ease up my current financial crisis; the satisfaction of seeing them discredited, would ease up my mind if it forces them to review their treatment of staff.
Trouble is, all too often hospitality staff will be abused in this way because they don’t know how to question management, don’t have a clear view of their employee/contractual rights, or have no wish to cause trouble.
I’m going to cause trouble. Ten years in this line of work, dealing with a variety of characters and situations, has taught me enough to know what questions to ask and where to go for help. I can guarantee that if this company has shafted me, they’ve done it to someone else, if not several someones. And they’ll continue to do so, maybe even if I make a claim and win – but at least I can say I tried.
Four and a half years is a chapter of a life. I knew about the move long before my own cleaning company did. Suffice to say, they didn’t have the sort of contingency plans in place to persuade me not to look for other work. I knew about the budget cuts to the constabulary as much as anyone else – how it would affect not only the duties of officers on the beat and in the backrooms, but their numbers, as well as civilian staff, facility arrangements and wages. I would’ve been hard pressed not to notice the shift over the years. How everyone has had to change and adapt to fit government prescriptions of what policing is. How, in general, they just roll with it all and get on, as ever, working to as high standards as possible in the face of depleted means and (to my mind) policies lacking common sense. I can read about it all and still not fully comprehend how it must feel, to know you are getting less while expected to give more.
I had the privilege of knowing the station in her better years. The fellow at front desk, with eyes like wicked light on water and a dry-gin laugh; he was always on hand to help a frightened youngster come to pick up lost property, or a gruff fellow on bail. Standing in the slatted sunlight last Friday, I looked around and wondered at the small echoes, the spin-twirl of dust motes fetched up on my breath. I heard his laugh again, and knew us all as ghosts. Even when that building finally falls silent, when the gates close and are locked behind us, we’ll still walk as shadows over the walls. Our voices will ring down the corridors, the dice will rattle in the box for tea and coffee runs; printers will murmur, our footsteps will ring down the stairwells where I once stood at the corners, to listen and breathe in the moods of the day.
(Develop a knack for diving out of the way.)
Places like that leave their marks on you, on your mindset. That doesn’t come into the job description. I was and am part of a working family, for the first time in my life – I accept the company of others and am glad of it, for humour like the blackest coffee (wham in the chest and burn at the throat), the random treats and Post-It apologies (to let you know you’re human) and the nights out under the twinkling blue lights of the city, across a sprawl of pubs and bars – after a long shift, there’s nothing quite like soaking up the light of an afternoon in a beer garden, or listening to the chink of glasses that shine white and gold under lamplight.
With tottering towers of plates and mugs at the sinks, I learned the crucial difference between taking on more than my usual duties (as we all must, and theirs include the sort of reaction times that warrant more responsibility) and saying No, I’m not your bloody mother. Those musty teaspoons helped to loosen up my fastidiousness around eating and drinking, as per obsessive compulsions; and when you’re tearing around trying to keep up with whoever’s tracked in clods of Whatever on their boots, it pays to be flexible. Food becomes energy, not the Bad Guy.
This correlates with my gym exercise, which has progressed from a serious need to burn off everything I eat to a desperate urge to gain muscle, to keep up with my workload (and lay down crucial bone minerals for later life – I live in fear of being stuck in a wheelchair again.) I’ve gained about 2.5 kilos, hitting my “target weight range” in 2013 – that is, the swing-point deemed healthiest for my height and build, after sticking at the same low anorexic level since 2004. This is in no small part down to the practicality of the people I work with. I can’t honestly say they’re all the healthiest eaters in the world, but they get on with the job because they have more pressing things to attend to, and not a heck of a lot of time to do them in.
I’ve learned to do the same, though admittedly in a less pressured environment. But it means I can walk into a supermarket and not spend up to an hour agonizing over what to have for lunch or for a snack. These days, I’m just as likely to grab a Double Decker bar as a bunch of bananas. That kind of flexibility… I couldn’t dream of, even a year ago. It pays to keep pushing boundaries, to see how far you can go. It helps along the way, to feel a bit uncomfortable. Resignation also plays its part. I am approaching 30, have known illness and restrictive behaviours for almost half my life. As I was told in hospital – and I didn’t believe it at the time – there comes a point when you must face the consequences of your actions, asking *Who am I trying to impress, with this lifestyle? This body? This mindset? What am I running from, trying to deny or to control, when it’s only inhibiting my life?*
(Boredom, fear, anger, frustration at seeing others progress while leaving you behind … they all add up.)
When the new owners move in, or workmen with bulldozers, or whatever, they’ll find the remnants of Blu Tac over the door and walls of my cupboard, where I kept snippets of the inside of my head. Articles nail-torn from papers, and postcards of the German town where I once lived, given as presents by my favourite guv’nor. Battered photographs of my family. A little sticker of a marked car that had the misfortune to be drawn in such a wicked way, I dubbed it Christine. The small window with its old-newspaper light, set too high up on the wall for me to see anything other than a swatch of sky, with gulls and kites wheeling past like clock hands to mark the shift from afternoon to evening.
That sky became another world. Standing on the top floor, listening to the shifting stir of the wind through cracks in the ceiling, I could watch the sun move from one point of the horizon to another over the hours. Pearl dawn – afternoon haze – sunset fire. The windows cranked open with a shattering of paint, like chipped little teeth, to reveal a rushing blast of air that lifted my hair up and set all the birds to flight.
The horizon is a bluish line, calling me still. The bronzed buildings make a city skyline. All of our tomorrows, done up in heat and surging traffic and voices. Behind me, only the silent shades of another time – those desks and chairs and bins from offices below, long since emptied, brought to stand and wait for the end. Name plaques on walls, each letter filled with dust.
A vague smile, as I remember one friend (since moved on) who told me about the skipper who’d died of a heart attack on site, leaving his ghost to wander the top floor between the bar and the pool table. Of course I laughed it off; of course my skin riddled up, each time something moved at the corner of my vision.
Lamplight softens the world and makes jagged lines of our faces – unnatural shadows. The skirling blue of lights is an imprint of memories on the wall. The blip of a siren is a raised hand, as I wander home through the fall of snow – or at 2am from London, in need of a lift. For someone who’s grown accustomed to isolation, keeping my head down to get on with the job, it was an achievement to gain a nickname. I will always be “Rach” to a certain number of people.
You’ll have your own experiences and prejudices and fears. I won’t denounce or deny them, but only offer this – behind every fluorescent jacket is a life. Mistakes, hopes for improvement, if not appreciation. Behind the stern face is a person looking forward to seeing their partner, family, pets, home again, when shift is over. And when one of them does fall, it’s up to their colleagues to hold the line. With heightened security threats across Europe, solidarity is needed more than ever.
I still can’t know what it means to walk towards danger when others are going in the other direction. Standing behind tinted glass, I see the world but can’t claim to know how it all feels. The tape, the pub fights, the moments caught between aggressors who want nothing more than to cave in the other’s face. The glint of a knife. The smell of raw blood, the slow surge of blackened mould.
But I know the tired smiles and the humour, the hand-squeeze on the shoulder, the quiet cry on the sofa, the well-sugared tea and the coffee that could strip paint off the walls. The cake runs on birthdays, the laughter at ingenious presents for Secret Santa. The shadows under the eyes of night-shift, returning after an early (late) RTC.
The gentle giant who showed me around on my first day, spoils me with book tokens and bottles of my favourite rum, keeps his team going on healthy snacks… and has bailed me out on deliveries when no one at head office picks up the phone.
Every creak of the walls, with tears of rain running down green and black for an old lady quietly weeping with age when she thought no one was looking. Tilt of the air, the wind whip-whining about the outside corners and over the courtyard. The light moving over the walls. The way each office has its own personality.
Four and a half years to find I can let go of inhibitions and fears, and know empathy for people I’ve never met. To learn how to read across faces and between lines, where all our lives go, those hidden places. Teamwork is the difference between life and death. Family becomes synonymous with chaotic mess, the closest bond without blood.
No, there’s nothing in the job description about all this, and I’m glad. Some things, you can’t anticipate. You just take life as it comes.
Tagged blogging, brassy light, Conflict, dead flag blues, memories, nostalgia, one for sorrow, personal, relationships, responsibility
Broken light
I’m watching the play of sunlight on the carpet, slatted to narrow fingers from the blind at my window. This bedroom is a jumbled mass of storage, half-sprawl and half-ensemble of life as it stands. I dare not unpack any more for the time being.
Arriving at my new workplace this morning, I wandered about the vast estate trying to find someone to let me in. It was cold, a rather blue morning, with the odd cast of rain under the lamplight that is like so many little claws. When I finally found someone to open a door, she looked me up and down with the wariness I’ve seen before – we’re all after the same hours, see, and no one knows where they will be going to next. Turns out that this first impression was terribly accurate, because she was agency staff and had come to do my job.
I learned this from the supervisor, who took one look at me and exclaimed – in quite a different tone to the accommodating one of two weeks ago, at the interview – “What are you doing here?”
I told her I’d come to start my new job. She shook her head. “No, I was told you didn’t want it. That you’d gone back to work at the police station.”
I felt every feature of my body run down to the carpet. I turned to ice water, right there in the foyer.
“No, I never said anything such thing.”
She pulled out her phone, dialled up the woman who deals with company contracts, and told her I was here – with the agency girl.
“She says that you didn’t get in contact, she’d been ringing you repeatedly and got no response… then a text from someone, saying that they had decided to stick with the four hours, part-time. She said that was you.”
I stared at her. The supervisor put me on the phone, and I had to listen to the simper of this woman – who had called my number personally as I walked off-site two weeks ago after the interview, to tell me I had got the job and would be starting on the 16th March – about there being a mix-up. That she had a list of numbers, no names, all cleaners … that I should have got in contact with her in the interim. That I had texted to tell her I was staying at the police station after all.
Now, there are two levels of bullshit going on here, and at some point they converge to make one big steaming pile. A) That I had cut off all contact, when in fact I had been told I’d got the job and assumed that was the end of it, to bring passport and birth certificate to be signed onto the system, as per usual requirements. B) That I *had* got in contact, through a number she has apparently dialled for the past two weeks and received no response from, to turn down the job and stick with part-time.
I had specifically told them I was leaving the police station to find full-time work, and would be relocating if I landed this job. I don’t drive, so it’d cut the commute to my pedestrian level.
“Oh, I’m really sorry, it’s all a bit of a mess.”
Let me define “mess”, here. I have moved house, left my friends, cancelled a gym membership and set up a new one, all on the back of supposedly secure employment. Perhaps I was naive. Or perhaps I was just swept to one side in the usual manner of cleaning companies with their treatment of staff.
For the two or so hours I was on that site, I had to listen to the supervisor and the contractor talk about me and the agency girl as though we were mismatched ornaments cluttering up a mantelpiece. To say this was humiliating is to understate what it means for the mind and ego. I’ve been here before. I’ve seen it happen enough times to other cleaners, to know the score.
When the company’s head office called back to say that I couldn’t take the job, I went very quiet inside. Pinprick black in white. A short flurry of tears, before facing the contractor to tell her exactly what people like her do to cleaners trying to find (and hold onto) work. That we base our lives around uneasy contracts, ready to be dropped at a moment’s notice if it’s zero hours (and sometimes even when it’s not), scrabbling for what money we can get, often without hope of a pay rise. In my last job at the Nick, my wage was frozen for four years. It was subsidized by a very generous senior officer who had a habit of buying me bottles of rum and book tokens, as random “thank you” notes.
She hedged and muttered and whined, didn’t look me in the eye.
I’d heard enough anyway, and left.
I think it’s fair to say that the majority of cleaning job descriptions are a bit sparse on details. You’ll find the word “general” crops up a lot, which can mean anything from raking your hands under a sofa to fish out dropped food, to scrubbing bleach along the walls to remove damp mould. One of my favourite misspellings is “hovering”, which I’ll leave you to work out. On the whole, cleaners do conduct a service that’s largely ignored or unseen, let alone appreciated, so the image of fairies flitting about the worlds’ offices, warehouses, hotels, gymnasiums, health spas etc, is more pleasant than the often grim reality.
Chronically low wages. Little chance of promotion to a supervisory role unless you hold a driving license. Uniforms that seem to have been carved out of trees. Sticking your hands (and head) in places most sensible folk would avoid. Visiting an osteopath now and then (if you can afford it) to have your back and shoulders cracked.
These are the more obvious aspects of the job. What is often overlooked – and I’ll admit, I’ve only become aware of it after ten years in this gig – are the mental and emotional affects this line of work can have.
Lack of communication is probably the worst part. Assuming you’re daft, management will rarely filter down information unless it suits them to. The simplest things – trying to book a holiday or file for a tax rebate when someone in HR has fucked up and put you on an emergency code – become akin to slogging through thick grease. When you are spoken to, it’s often as an easily-discarded object. One unpleasant experience that sticks in my mind was the sight of a man brought to tears because he had turned up to work in the wrong shoes – and if you think that’s pathetic, you should have heard the language and tone used on him by our supervisor. He might as well have been a small boy. The fact he had only recently arrived in the country, and was busy improving on his fledgling grasp of English (sitting with a book in his lap at every spare moment, tea and lunch breaks) was exploited in such a way that I felt burning shame. Sadly, no book could have taught him how to cope with supercilious wankers.
When I took my first cleaning job (early evenings in a warehouse) I was doing it to prop up my mother’s wage, to keep us both afloat. I was a few months out of hospital, having spent 7.5 months on an inpatient ward learning how to eat again. My body was a set of lines, not much between. The only previous work experience I had was as a shop assistant in Superdrug, shortly after leaving school – heaving cartons and boxes up and down the stairs while trying to burn off everything I ate, and avoid being stuck behind the till because it would require me to stand still. I wanted a job that was physically demanding, and in cleaning, I got it. Left to my own devices, I could plug in music from my little mp3 player and blitz an entire building in a matter of hours. I was rarely called by my name. So it has been in almost every establishment I’ve worked, from BAE offices to a small industrial site. I’m usually “the cleaner”. A shadow on the wall.
Such is the nature of the job, and it has its pros and cons. The isolation that often accompanies cleaning suits my nature. It took working at the Nick for me to see things differently – the social aspects of work life. Being accepted into a wider group, where a teabag left on a newly-wiped surface or mud tracked over the floor, was at least reported with an apology. Where I was called by name, included in whip-arounds and card signings, all the black humour that broke like waves around an office. It’s the little things that make a difference between *just another job* and a second home.
OK, these things don’t always make up for rotten wages and piss-poor management. I’m still slogging through a tax underpayment from two employers ago. But acknowledgement that you do exist, and are helping to keep things running, can make a person feel less like a nobody. Especially when they’re doing a job that few people seem to want.
Why am I telling you this? Because it’s important to me. Because as someone who’s been a cleaner for a decade, while slowly regrouping thoughts and progressing in recovery from an eating disorder, I’ve found a pattern in people’s reactions when I tell them what I do for a living.
“Aren’t you a bit overskilled for that?”
“Why would you want to do it?”
“Isn’t that really boring?”
“Haven’t you got anything better to do?”
“At least it keeps you fit.”
Yes, it does. And believe it or not, there are quite a few fitness perks to get out of cleaning – not to mention the flexibility of hours if you have children, or are studying, as I was. When I left college and attempted university, I fell on my arse back into a relapse. Coming home was one of the most humiliating (and expensive) times of my life, and it certainly didn’t help to improve relations with my family, who had hoped I’d be able to progress beyond anorexia. I’d taken a creative writing course in line with English Literature and Language, with no clear idea what I wanted to do with them or what I hoped to achieve. I still lived one day to the next, with little forward-planning. But as a writer, the degree seemed a good thing to have under my belt. When it all went tits-up, I fell into the first job I could find – as the assistant of a private-hire cleaner, who taught me all she knew and trained me up as her apprentice.
Since then, I’ve dotted from one place to the next, rarely settling for long, and this mainly due to hours being cut or wages reduced. There’s nothing you can do about it, or so it seems. As a cleaner, you’re the afterthought. At least it’s forced me to be more flexible, to roll with unforeseen circumstances.
I don’t know whether it’s the same for other people across other sectors. I don’t know if they are treated as human detritus too. But “hygiene operatives” are still getting the thin end of the wedge, with the rise of zero-hour contracts and pay that rarely goes beyond the national minimum wage. For all the alleged increases in full-time work, post-recession, I’m still hard-pressed to find anything remotely close to 40 hours a week in cleaning, on the UK’s numerous job sites. I can count on two fingers the jobs I’ve had where a pay rise was given as part of the contract, let alone as a sign of goodwill or acknowledgement of long-term employment.
If by this point you’re thinking “well, you get what you give – go and find something better”, then you have a narrow and privileged outlook on life. Sometimes, there is no “better”. And if every cleaner decided to try something else, there would be no one left to clear up the world’s mess. Why should our lives be made difficult when we’re just trying to get on with a legitimate job?
With the reassurance of a regular income, I can spend evenings writing things I’d like to one day have published. A few hours of activity allows me to unwind and chill out later. Some people are like this. My Nanna has recently turned 70 and still does all her own housework and gardening, while helping Granddad with the cattery and kennels business they’ve kept for over 30 years. In the evenings, she prefers to relax – but she’ll rarely settle during the day. There’s the satisfaction aspect, too, which she shares – difficult to describe, if you hate cleaning (or are just disinclined to be move about much.) But I’m quite happy being left to my own devices, beating the hell out of a filthy warehouse floor while ticking over ideas for writing later.
At the moment, I’m at a crossroads of what has come before and what will come next. The eating disorder has less of a hold, I’ve got to the point where I don’t suffer panic attacks for the simple fact of staying still. Missing a gym session isn’t a crisis, I can always go in another day. I used to think my preferences were symptomatic of the illness, and while they have at times exacerbated the exercise addiction, I work to my own terms now. When you begin to control what has controlled you, the world opens up a bit more. I’ve decreased activity levels over the years, to the point where it has less of an impact on my health and social life, writing and relationships. This was the deal I set after hospital. Get well, or die, or end up back inside, because no bugger else should have the job of caring for me if I’m able to do it myself. And yes, it has taken a while. Yes, I’ve procrastinated. Being thrown out of my comfort zone is often a blessing in disguise – though at the moment, I’m struggling to find the positives.
Then there’s the lack of experience in anything else. Sticking with one line of work for a decade is great if that’s all you want to do, but it does make your CV look static. While it’s nice to think this wouldn’t affect my chances, it has had an impact on initial contact, even before the chance of interviews – the email response (if it comes) usually runs to “have you done anything else…?” Which is understandable, given that they likely want someone with an inkling of what to do. Except, no, I haven’t, and probably don’t. I wouldn’t blame anyone for being reluctant to take a punt.
Not everyone gets into this gig because they have nothing better to do. Some people enjoy it, some make a profession out of it by building up their own company. It’s a job that, like anything else, needs to be done, and relies on self-motivation – the will to go that step further, whether it’s acknowledged or not. I like to work hard because it feels right to do so. You can do yourself proud in any role and find a few little personal wins along the way. Mine, for the last four and a half years, was the ability to stave off wearing a company uniform while blitzing the Nick; strangers who came on site often mistook me for a civvie, until I showed my card. Listening to a supposedly-illicit iPod every hour of my shift, I was able to blot out anything I didn’t want to hear (which given the environment, is priceless.) Independence is a double-edged blade. Working on contract through a hopelessly inept company, I rarely took holidays because the palaver that ensued wasn’t worth the effort (nor was the mess I’d come back to) and often ran short of stock when a delivery went AWOL or no one bothered to answer texts. But the guys I worked alongside everyday, more than made up for these setbacks.
I had a name. A presence, as part of a team where the work was appreciated, and we pulled together to keep a battered old building alive. And if I can wangle it, I’m going to try and get that back, because sitting here in a darkening room, with the sun having gone in and rain approaching, I feel like I’ve missed a step on the stairs. If nothing else, I’ve two weeks of paid rent to sort myself out, to find something else – anything, which will mean I can provide for myself again.
I gave up everything to come here. To start again, on better pay, in a quieter house. For the “mess” that’s occurred as a result of my decisions, I can only hope that this a temporary blip and not a one-way track to the dole. And if I’m to be shaken out of my comfort zone, I’m taking others with me.
Tagged blogging, one for sorrow, personal, responsibility
February 8, 2015 by raishimi33
Thoughts and memories of Dunstable: Between five years
When it comes to Dunstable, in Bedfordshire, my thoughts and memories are of pubs and hikes, aching legs and red kites, and rain. Oh and the dole. A year or so spent wandering (yes, with the clouds) over hills and through sopping woodland, trudging through muddy fields. It’s easy to forget the harder times when life is good; and I’ve had it relatively easy-good for the past four or so years, having relocated to St Albans in Hertfordshire in 2010, when a job finally came up at the local police station. Here, I’ve found the sort of security that was craved back when I lived with my former partner, Jimmi, and his parents in a small village called Eaton Bray, on the outskirts of Dunstable. The whole point of being there was to set up home.
One song that always comes to mind to frame that time, is the National’s “Heavenfaced”:
“Hit the ceiling, then you fall
Things are tougher than we are.”
And they were. Not all the time, for there were those long golden-soaked afternoons, spent strolling between pubs and down sepia’d alleyways. For two nature-lovers, there was plenty to do in terms of what comes for free (You make the best of what you Have)… and still.
We were younger then, and rough around the edges, and still a bit raw at the prospect of suddenly living under the same roof. I had taken the leap from East Sussex to Bedfordshire, after eighteen months of online interaction and weekends spent barrelling up and down the countryside, through the capital; we’d decided the to-and-fro visits were a bit ridiculous, in light of our strengthening bond. The trouble lay in my timing. It was October 2009, and the country was floundering in recession. Not that I was really aware of it at the time. My blinkers were still firmly in place, while focusing on recovery from anorexia nervosa. How dire our situation would become only sank in when Jimmi left his job to find hours better suited to our relationship, and instead found the market almost empty.
When he signed on the dole in late 2008, neither of us expected him to still be heading into the Job Centre until January 2010, when a reprieve came. There were a few glimmers of light along the way, all of which were extinguished by the ineptitude of would-be employers and agency staff (one of the latter forgot to mention that a job happened to be on a building site, and would therefore require the necessary protective clothing and shoes. J had driven out at 6am over black ice, and – unable to enter the site – had to turn back. I can’t describe to you the relief and fear I felt, waking to find him home so soon.)
For my part, I spent hours, days, months, wandering those old streets and over the windswept Downs, dotting in and out of the local gym, while waiting on calls from potential employers. Interviews were few and far between. My morale slipped with the weather; 2009 into 2010 saw the worst snowfall for years, layering up over black ice, so it seemed that the long slog up Lancott Hill out of Eaton Bray would break my soul as well as my spine. Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s “Dead Flag Blues” became sewn into that time, with the ice-claw grass and brassy sky, wreathes of mist, when the air itself froze heavy and still.
Cracked-tooth paintwork. Dark alleys. Splintered wood beams in pubs that smelled of smoke and pine, with horse brasses shining on the walls. Mud and chalk caked my hiking boots and waterproof trousers – a uniform I wore to keep warm and dry (almost) against the weather fronts that circled on the push-pull of air currents between Dunstable Downs and Ivinghoe Beacon, the latter rising magnificent against the sky in the distance. And further still, to form the great bowl of the Aylesbury Vale, there were the blue slopes of Woburn…
…and back to the breath-fogged windows of the Job Centre. The sagging chairs and boards with print-outs of work details; the briefest of conversations. The diversity of age and class, the faces with their oh-so-similar expressions: anger, frustration, wariness, fear. Downcast eyes, with the deep ashes of despair. Jimmi’s observations at the time betrayed a greater understanding of the system and our situation. I was completely out of my depth, ready to nod along with anything pushed at me so long as it got me off the damn chair, and back out for a walk or into the gym. With an eating/exercise disorder, nothing matters more than the next hit of compulsions. It was all I could do not to pace the floor while waiting to be seen.
On the dole, all the little things you take for granted – buying an extra packet of sweets, catching the bus or train to nowhere in particular for a few hours of exploring, downloading a new album from iTunes, buying birthday and Christmas presents – become so many coins counted out and measured like sand. My stamped Job Centre booklet went everywhere with me. I was terrified of losing it, in case they stopped my payments. I was treated with the same indifference as everyone else – I didn’t dare raise mental health issues, in case they prevented me from finding work. Given the use of sanctions in the welfare state today, I wouldn’t have stood a chance, as has been the case for too many people already.
Enough time has passed to sand away those sharp edges. The bitter sting of rain pelting my skin, the wind tearing at my hair and echoing that same empty song of No Employment. There was the subsequent guilt of dependency on Jimmi’s parents for financial support, with the emotional kind from the fella, firing up my spirits. But he had his own internal struggles to deal with. The only way I can describe our range of feelings at the time, is through a single word.
Nabokov put it best:
“Toska – noun /tō-skə/ – Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness.
“No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.”
2009-10 saw a forest fire of unemployment and bankruptcy run across the UK. Economic forecasts and GDP meant less to me (and most people, I imagine) than the fact Woolworths had disappeared from the high street, and queues were forming out of the Job Centre. I’d had a job set up in Luton to walk into, so I wasn’t jumping blind from Sussex. When this didn’t work out, all I could do was spruce up my CV in creative ways that weren’t complete lies. I’ve had precious little experience in anything other than cleaning and fitness training, since my state of mental health has left me unable to work in jobs that (to put it frankly) oblige me to keep still. It’s an ongoing problem, one I chip away at each year. It’s set me back financially, sometimes emotionally. But in light of the recession – when I lived in a town with rickety trade and the dulled eyes of a cat left in the rain – I’m in a stronger position. It would take that random hop over to St Albans, for a rather obscure interview, to get my life in motion again.
The rest is almost four and a half years’ history, as part of a noisy, messy and wonderful family unit.
But I haven’t forgotten Dunstable. It plays on my thoughts often, particularly when a red kite angles past, free on the chasing winds, burnished bronze under the sun. They became symbolic of hope, of a freedom we longed for while faced with the grey Everyday of a town that seemed (at the time) to be bent on draining us of our youth. Which of course, it wasn’t. In simple terms, Dunstable has been through a series of internal mistakes, combined with wider issues which have undermined its ability to sustain itself. From a well-established market town, Dunstable has gone downhill into poor trade and high unemployment, as was highlighted in a recent Daily Mail article tweeted by an old friend – a former Dunstablian – a few weeks ago.
Image: www.dailymail.co.uk
Those pictures splintered behind my eyes, more painfully at odds than ever with the country’s (slow) economic recovery. But Dunstable’s problems run deeper than the most recent recession, and they won’t be eased with a quick-fix, either.
On the weave of human travel and commerce, Dunstable grew up from where the Icknield Way (a Neolithic route running along the chalk spine of England, from Norfolk to Wiltshire) met the Roman-made Watling Street, a significant economic route to London. While traces of Neolithic activity (such as the Round Barrow cemetery on the Downs) pin a far greater age of settlement to the area, it was the Romans who gave it the name “Durocobrivis”, setting up a posting station where travellers could change horses. When they left, and the area had become thick with woodland and undergrowth (adding to the dangers of the road for travellers) it was through royal intervention, at the behest of Henry I that Dunstable began to reform.
In 1109, the tangles of nature were cut back and royal favour was granted to those who would settle, and encourage growth of a different kind. Dunstable became a focal point for communication and trade, while playing host to a series of royal figures passing through; they left their own marks on the developing town, as further testament to its origins. King Henry I had a royal residence constructed in 1123, as a base to hunt on the surrounding countryside – this is now the site of the Old Palace Lodge hotel on Church Street.
The Eleanor Cross precinct was named for the last journey of Queen Eleanor of Castile, when her coffin was brought to Dunstable on its way to Westminster Abbey for internment. The beloved wife of King Edward I was kept in the Priory Monastery overnight, and a cross was built close to the entrance of Church Street, as part of the set of twelve created by order of the king to mark her passage. Only three of these crosses have survived; the one at Dunstable was destroyed in 1643. It’s a startlingly poignant tribute to the “Queen of Good Memory”, and a message of grief set in stones across the landscape.
Image: www.timetravel-britain.com
There were plenty of occasions when I’d walk past something in and around town, completely unaware of its historical context until Jimmi pointed out the details. The local library held a wealth of information in its archives, and I soon learned what to look out for – all those odd lumps and bumps in the ground on our numerous hikes, turned out to be more than nature’s designs. I’d never heard of barrows before, let alone seen any. One memorable hike took us up to the small copse atop the Downs, overlooking the Aylesbury vale; beneath that lowlight shade, we stood in a sunken bowl, surrounded by what appeared to be grassy sand dunes. He told me that these were where ancient VIPs had been buried, long before the Romans came.
I always get a slight shiver walking around them – never over, because they’re already scored hard with the tyre-tracks of bikes, the tread of countless feet.
Benches speckle the Downs, set with plaques to commemorate those who once took pleasure in the undulating view. Visitors use the rip-curl of cross-winds to send their plastic kites up against the sky (much to the chagrin of J who, out cycling to fend off dole boredom and to keep up a fitness routine, was once saved from a broken nose by his helmet when a kite came plunging down like a knife.) The London Gliding Club, located at the foot of the Downs among fields that shine pewter-gold in the summer, send up their white gliders to hover vast silent shadows over the landscape. They are ubiquitous to the area, and can sometimes – on a day with strong winds – be sighted as far away as Houghton Regis. Towing them up from the ground are the TigerMoth planes, little beauties with a pleasantly familiar burring-buzz.
Dunstable holds a wealth of ancient treasures, both above and beneath its soil. Many of these have been relocated over the years, with the local museum (holding Iron and Bronze Age relics recovered from archaeological excavations) switching between buildings, from the town hall in 1925 to the Kingsbury Stables in 1927 to Priory House. Jimmi told me of how the museum was once kept in the “adult section” of the library, with staff training hawk-eyes on the kids who came to see the full-size skeleton of an Iron Age man, held frozen in time behind a glass cabinet, among books on erotic photography.
The town emblem – a livery badge known as the Dunstable Swan jewel and crafted from opaque white enamel fused over gold – was sold to the British Museum in 1966, following excavations at the friary. Those who discovered it had no real idea of its significance, as a declaration of allegiance to a noble family or a king – a pity then, that it can’t be restored to its township.
Image: www.britishmuseum.org
While out wandering through the Quadrant shopping precinct, I couldn’t help but notice the archaeological-dig exhibitions that had been set up in empty shop windows. The Manshead Archaeological Society is a credit to South Bedfordshire for calling attention to the region’s abundance of (pre)historical sites and artefacts, with details of each excavation logged onto their system at Winfield Street for analytical reports to be written and drawn up. It’s priceless, both for the preservation of Dunstable’s roots and as a symbolic reminder of what the town still stands for. It would benefit from making more of its past, in the way that York city has grounded much of its trade in its history. As Jimmi put it, “As a town that had many English kings and queens stay, a town that saw major historical events happen (the beginning of the end of Catholicism started in Dunstable with the annulment of Henry VIII’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon – in Priory Church) … Dunstable needs more than a tiny visitors’ centre tucked away.”
You don’t have to travel up the country to find urban decay, though it’s acknowledged that the smaller towns and cities have fared poorly in comparison to their larger neighbours. Cuts to council budgets and a lack of follow-through on regeneration projects have seen local infrastructure become frail, while unemployment reflects the shuttered-down high streets and closed businesses. With a population of approximately 36,000 people and situated 30 miles north of London, Dunstable bears similar marks of a town that has gradually lost its industrial and cultural identity, even as its larger neighbours have flourished around it.
When the late Michael Partington took a wander through town in 1966 for the short Anglia Television documentary, “Focus On: Dunstable”, he found it thriving on the back of its growing motor industry. This came as a result of overspill from Luton – Bedford Vehicles, a division of Vauxhall owned by General Motors, had become a major supplier to the British Army in WWII, progressing from its bus and truck productions to the Churchill Tank. With the help of government funds, in 1942 the company was able to open a new site on Boscombe road in Dunstable, sprawling its plant over 98 acres; by the 1950’s, all bus and truck productions had gone over to Dunstable, with recruitment rates reaching almost 6,000 people. By 1953, the average wage was £10 a week, while 1958 saw the millionth Bedford commercial vehicle roll off a Dunstable line. This lively company’s production merged with that of A C Sphinx Sparking Plug Co’s Works, which had moved from Birmingham in 1934 and was later renamed A C Delco (where Jimmi’s mother and members of her family worked); together with Renault Trucks and Commer Cars, the motoring industry formed a springboard for Dunstable’s burgeoning economy.
The future seemed set – as Partington pointed out, the sleepy market town was now “wide awake.”
“Focus On: Dunstable” left an ache in my throat. There was the bustling high street, with even these levels of activity seeming healthier than the roaring rivers of exhaust fumes and tyres that channel through Dunstable today. People filled the pavements, going in and out of shops that were bright as the eyes of children. There was a sense of hope and well-being, as “big orders mean higher wages, and a sense of security.” More shops and homes were going up, to accommodate the influx of workers from surrounding areas, as well as local residents. Dunstable was set on outstripping Luton (which had been made a country borough) to hold the title of South Bedfordshire’s hub for culture and commerce.
(Inside the California Ballroom, Dunstable, for a performance by The Searchers, “Needles and Pins”.)
Image: www.dunstablehistory.co.uk
But the race to the future stalled out, with one factory closure after another, brought on by a chain-reaction of events in the UK’s automotive industry. Depending on who you’d prefer to listen to, then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was either a saint or a sinner for her intervention on behalf of British Leyland, once the country’s largest car company. According to Garel Rhys, the retired director of the Centre for Automotive Industry Research at Cardiff Business School, Thatcher saw British Leyland as “too big to fail”, bailing it out to the tune of 2.9 billion pounds of taxpayer money from 1979 to 1988. Though the company would ultimately collapse, Rhys stated that the UK’s automotive industry was saved by Thatcher’s support. “Jaguar Land Rover came out of the rescue. Mini was saved, along with Leyland Daf trucks and component firms such as Unipart.”
Those same Leyland Daf trucks were a division of British Leyland, formed in 1987 after the company was granted the British Army service contract to produce the 4 Tonne GS (general service) truck. This struck a terrible blow to General Motors, whose main market was by then in military vehicle production – pulling out of Bedford Trucks, they left it to be bought by AWD Ltd, a company owned by David John Bowes Brown, which in its turn went into receivership in 1992 and was sold to Marshall SPV in Cambridge. This came in spite of a poignant plea to the House of Commons in 1992 by Mr. David Madel, the MP for South West Bedfordshire at the time, for the company to be allowed to sell “a large order for civilian – I stress the word ‘civilian’ – lorries for Libya.” The emphasis came because Libya was at the time under UN sanctions, one of the key elements of which for the UK was an arms embargo. This, according to Minister for Trade Mr. Richard Needham in response to Mr. Madel, included “the provision of arms and related material of all types, including the sale or transfer of weapons and ammunitions, military vehicles and equipment.” While the AWD trucks were specified as civilian, there were concerns over whether some, if not all were likely to be used by the country’s military.
Of the 850 Dunstable workers at AWD prior to receivership, only about half of the 150 workers left, after redundancies, were offered jobs in Cambridge.
Image: www.lutontoday.co.uk
Mr. Madel stood again in 1993 for the support of Renault Trucks (which by that point had also run into difficulties) as well as Dunstable council’s need for extra governmental funding, in light of the sudden increase in unemployment:
“The Bedfordshire training and enterprise council is effective, but, given the difficulties of the Dunstable area, it needs an extra boost. What is needed is Government help to attract new industry into the area.”
What caught my eye, too, were his cautionary comments regarding the delicate balance between housing and employment, which Jimmi had often remarked upon while we lived in Dunstable. This seems more prevalent than ever:
“Before the employment base in the Dunstable area has been sorted out and re-established, we must take another look at the numbers and types of houses that we are required to build under Bedfordshire’s structure plan and at the time scale for that building programme. A big imbalance between housing development and employment opportunities is arising in the south of the county. Now is the time for a fresh and urgent look at that balance.”
With the nosedive in industry, the cultural aspects of Dunstable began to lose their shine too. The beautifully futuristic Civic Hall, which opened in 1964 and was later renamed the Queensway Hall, was once able to seat up to 900 people for concerts and plays, while serving 500 people for banquets; its situation on the touring circuit saw the likes of Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols and David Bowie pass through its doors, to give performances that leave once-in-a-lifetime memories.
Pulled down in 2000, the Hall now lies beneath an ASDA supermarket, while its entertainment predecessor, the California Ballroom, suffered a similar fate in the early 80’s – it now lies beneath a housing estate. Though both venues had their fair share of inherent problems, their loss has been seen as a downswing in the presence of professional live acts. Dunstable seems to have fallen off the tour circuit.
These pieces fit with others to form an image of a town now riddled with deep-running problems. The loss of free parking in the town centre further discourages shoppers from travelling in; they can just as easily head to the outskirts of town for the large retail stores and supermarkets that have set up. These offer many of the products sold by the independents and mainstream stores on the high street, under one roof. Those people who do decide to come into the centre must then battle the heavy flux-flow of traffic. It’s a stop/start process, from one set of lights to the next, and an unpleasant experience for pedestrians and drivers alike. I didn’t even dare to consider buying a bike.
Dunstable is, by an unhappy quirk of fate, also one of the largest towns in SE England without a rail connection (only adding to the congestion through and around town.) The Great Northern Railway’s branch line from Welwyn, had served Dunstable from 1858 to 1965 – it fell to the Beeching cuts, like many others, due to its decline in freight exchange and passenger numbers. This was something of a sore point for me, coming up from East Sussex, where I’d been accustomed to having a station on my doorstep. I’d arrive in Luton on a Friday evening (sweaty and bothered) to be picked up by Jimmi and taken back through the slow surge of Dunstable, then on to Eaton Bray. It took about 3 hours on a good day; travelling home on a Sunday-skeleton-service, was even more “fun.”
Rising business rates – the bane of high streets across Britain – have hit those retailers already struggling to compete with the evolving supermarkets, and internet giants like Amazon. The Book Castle, a beautiful shop on Church Street with an elegant greystone front, closed its doors in 2011 citing a reduction in sales. Its founder, Paul Bowes, who opened the shop in 1980 and sold it to the Independent Retail Group in 2008 (while maintaining the separate business of Book Castle Publishing) said that “A lot of book shops are closing because of the demand in supermarkets and online. People are therefore not visiting their high street shops… the town is going to be the poorer for losing its specialist book shop.”
I couldn’t agree more. There’s nothing to compare with that feeling of Presence when you step into a book shop – particularly one has old and fine as the Book Castle, situated in a building dated 1872, and formerly used as a drill hall by volunteer soldiers – to go sifting through titles that are tangible beneath the fingers, with unique covers and jackets. It’s the literary equivalent of choosing vinyl over downloads – yes, the latter will have the drag ‘n drop convenience, taking up a smidgen of space; but it won’t have the solidity, the textures and inimitable *crackle-pop* of the former.
Then there’s the actual experience of making a purchase – when shopping feels like an adventure. The Book Castle had a smell of nostalgia ingrained in its deep walls: dust, cold stone and warm wooden beams, and that indescribable scent of many types of paper and binding, hanging in the air like the woodsmoke of pubs. Descending the staircase to reach the bottom level where my favourite genres were kept – science fiction and fantasy – I felt like an explorer. If a title wasn’t on the shelves or had gone out of print, the staff would order it in for you with the professional charm of people who know what they’re doing, and take pride in their societal place as distributors. If a particular author had your attention, the staff recommendations would put you onto someone of their style, in a way that Amazon / iTunes algorithms still don’t quite seem to have mastered. You can’t beat a human approach to taste.
It was a wonderful place to visit, even when I was on the dole and had little spare to spend. It was somewhere to hide from the rain, and to feel more like myself. Sadly, such sentiments don’t keep shops open.
Image: www.theoldchapelivinghoe.com
The Quadrant shopping precinct now sits desolate even on Saturday afternoons, when trade should be at its peak. A third of its stores are shuttered-down, collecting rust and sprouting weeds through their walls, despite council attempts to spruce up the shop fronts and maintain appearances. The campaigners at Long Live Dunstable: Don’t Let Dunstable Die, keep a directory website open for visitors, and maintain a Facebook page with regular updates and dedications, memories of days-past and thoughts on the future, from a community that still cares about the fate of its town.
What Dunstable needs is real industry, for all of its residents to feel that sense of pride and security again. The most recent profile of Dunstable (April 2013, Central Bedfordshire Council) showed that residents aged 16 and over who work, are more likely to be in unskilled positions: process, plant and/or machine operatives (18.6% compared to 15.8% in Central Bedfordshire) with employment mainly in wholesale and retail, education, and manufacturing.
This certainly paints the town’s past, if not also its progressive future. Dunstable’s unemployment rate – though similar to the national average – currently sits above that of Central Bedfordshire; 780 people claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance in February 2013. With the Job Centre’s closure in 2012 those seeking work must now travel to Luton to sign on, and if their experiences are anything like those of freelance journalist Harriet Williamson, they won’t be reimbursed for travel costs.
Central Bedfordshire college – formerly known as Dunstable college – was set up in 1961. Mr Madel referred to it as “a highly successful college of further education”, which had helped to provide for Dunstable’s “great bank of industrial skills.” Today, the college reflects a need for diversity in the town’s employment sectors, offering full and part-time courses that range from engineering to arts, IT & computing to sports therapy, construction to health and social care. Apprenticeship schemes are available, along with “an army of experienced trades people and professionals” drawn from small and medium-sized companies, who as lecturers enhance the education of potential future employees. It’s a synergistic approach aimed at boosting the regional economy – on his “Meet the Principal” page, Ali Hadawi CBE acknowledges that “unemployment is high”, but that the difference lies in skills provided with education: “Businesses have to be careful about how many people they employ… They also have to make sure those people they do take on can work well and be productive.”
To this end, the college works in tandem with the Incuba Innovation Centre, which was developed in partnership with Central Bedfordshire Council and the European Regional Development Fund. Full of light, spacious, and with a glittering roof of solar panels, it has the appearance of an updated Civic Hall – though the focus here is upon introducing a new industry of renewable energies to Dunstable, with support given to fledgling businesses “that champion a greener economy.” They are provided with classrooms, hot desk facilities and meeting rooms to, as Principal Hadawi put it, “offer business development… for those working on developing ideas in the renewable energies field.” In the short film “Dunstable: The Next Chapter”, shot in late 2014 as part of Dunstable Town Council’s corporate plan for the next three years, he added that “the greener renewable technology arena promises to be one of the largest growth industries worldwide.” With the drive to cut harmful emissions and reduce dependency on fossil fuels (not to mention the global market volatility often accompanying them), alternative/renewable energies form a progressive industry that’s not likely to peter out any time soon. Writing for the Economist, senior editor Edward Lucas said that “The International Energy Agency (IEA), an intergovernmental organisation often criticised for its focus on fossil fuels, says the world will need to stump up about $23 trillion over the next 20 years to finance continued fossil-fuel extraction, but the prospect of much cheaper solar power and storage capability may put investors off. The story may be not so much what falling oil prices mean for clean energy than what the prospect of clean energy will mean for the oil price.”
More locally, Dunstable could see real benefits from this versatile mix of on-site training and business accommodation. Bringing students into an environment where they can explore a fast-developing industry, there’s the potential for expansion and putting Dunstable’s name back on the map, as a destination for those with an eye on the future.
Image: www.atkinsglobal.com
But still, those high street shops must be open for new arrivals, as well as established residents. The town centre needs to become attractive again.
Working with Central Bedfordshire Council and business partners, Dunstable Town Council’s masterplan was drawn up for the regeneration of the town covering 2014-2016. Particular focus was given to improving connections between different parts of the town, easing congestion, and bringing retail, leisure, community, residential and office facilities up to scratch. An example of this redevelopment is the three-pronged work on transport infrastructure. The Dunstable-Luton busway opened in September 2013, and carries passengers on a straightforward route serving the town centres of Dunstable, Houghton Regis and Luton, bypassing their congestion while providing a fast route to major transport links like Luton airport and train station. What was once a 40-60 minute one-way journey has been cut to approximately 15 minutes. It’s ideal for commuters and shoppers. Add to this the other two major transport developments – the A5-M1 link road and the Woodside link road – and you have an area that’s attractive to businesses wishing to set up in the nearby retail parks. With deliveries conveyed on alternate routes, the clutter of lorries often found snarling up the town centres will be taken away, improving the sound and air quality for retailers and customers. Cafes and restaurants overlooking the centre will benefit from more peaceful views. Dunstable’s streets won’t feel quite so charged and chaotic. A bigger step would be to bring back free parking throughout the week, thus encouraging local residents and those passing through to give the shopping precincts a chance. If employment levels pick up and feed down into wage packets, Dunstable could see another resurgence in trade. Going on my own experience, a bit of financial security does wonders for confidence and the spirit.
Running parallel with the need to support businesses, there’s the need to preserve Dunstable’s historical identity. As part of the council’s corporate priorities, these restoration projects take on specific points across town, with the current focus being on the Priory and its gardens. Sadly, the same relief hasn’t been extended to the Norman King pub, a once-proud and elegant structure dating back to the time of King Henry I.
I was only a resident of the town for a year or so, and while I didn’t have the privilege to drink my first (legal) pints in there, Jimmi’s anecdotes left their mark on my mind. It’s difficult to imagine him playing darts with old school friends now; or indeed, to remember how it felt when he first took me inside and I saw the beautiful sweep of the ceiling, felt the thick walls under my hands. Those white walls are now blackened, the roof gone, after the pub was burnt out in a senseless arson attack on the 10th August 2011. The structural damage was enough for the Grade II listed building to be stripped of its conservation status, and for a long time the poor cigarette-stub of what remained stared out over the street until it was boarded up. I can’t bring myself to look at pictures of what remains.
The council has decided to push ahead with plans for the pub’s demolition, to make way for an extension to the neighbouring Old Palace Hotel. An online petition, with over 2,500 signatures, appears to have gone unheeded, despite the obvious influence the building’s heritage has upon Dunstable’s identity.
TV presenter Kevin McCloud MBE, raised in Dunstable, put it best:
“Dunstable is short on great historic buildings and so the removal of any ancient scrap of architecture from the town is an appalling idea. We need to conserve the old to help us understand the present (and, for that matter, the future) and heritage is not a burden but an amenity and a great blessing for our society. It gives us a sense of place and connection. The loss of the ancient fabric of The Norman King will be a crying shame and a further erosion of that connection. It’s appalling that there has been no collective will among the authorities to keep as much as possible that remains of this fine old building and to insist on a sensitive programme of repair and even reinstatement of the structure and roof lost to the fire. Apart from anything else, I used to drink there and will miss it.”
Images: gallery.nen.gov.uk
Special thanks to Jimmi Campkin (@jimmicampkin) for letting me pick his brain for memories and facts; and for proof-reading the whole thing.
Posted in Personal, Review
Tagged Bedfordshire, blogging, brassy light, business, dead flag blues, depression, Dunstable, Economics, love (something like it) death, memories, nostalgia, one for sorrow, personal, relationships, unemployment
January 11, 2015 by raishimi33
Marching for our future
Two themes mingled on the streets of Paris today. In the photographs and reports pouring in, I saw hope and hypocrisy: both will shape the future of this world. Crowds marched in defiance of the terror waged against them in the past week. Leaders went arm-in-arm in supposed solidarity for freedom of expression, after the recent attacks on French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket … while back in their home countries, those who stand for freedom of speech and democracy face persecution and imprisonment.
I don’t suppose any of this was far from the minds of more liberal leaders but then, within the context of the march – honouring the fallen – it’d be difficult to speak of other things. I must admit, I found myself hesitating before calling attention to the brilliant research by Daniel Wickham (@DanielWickham93) on the unique abuse of human rights / freedom of expression by many of the world leaders in attendance, if only because I didn’t want to dampen the moment. But then, there are so many moments in time, and they all add up to Change – or not. I thought of Tracy Chapman’s song, “If not Now…”
Then when? One voice among many.
With responsibility comes the shocker of having to give up a lot of what you might believe in. For the greater good, etc. Belarus, for example, is allowed a lot of leeway when it comes to human rights, just so the Lukashenka regime doesn’t kick up a shit-storm between the EU and the loudly-snarling bear, Russia. Or anywhere else, for that matter.
“The Lukashenko administration gives the EU chills from time to time. Belarusian officials make claims about Belarus’s exit from the Eastern Partnership. Belarus threatens to redirect its cargo transit routes from Lithuanian and Latvian ports to Russian ports. Belarus also promises to deploy Russian Tactical Ballistic Missile Systems against Poland. The message is clear: The West must turn a blind eye on the human rights violations in Belarus in order to cooperate with Lukashenka.” – Rethinking the EU Policies Towards Belarus, Andrei Liakhovich.
The world’s internet freedom is falling, with Turkey and Russia leading the descent. In Azerbaijan recently, the US-funded Radio Azadliq was ransacked by the Azerbaijani authorities, with twelve employees arrested and others threatened with the same if they chose not to comply with questioning.
The reason?
“The office raid and forced questioning come as prosecutors are investigating the Azadliq office as a foreign-funded entity. RFE/RL and its bureaus are funded by the U.S. government.
Siyavoush Novruzov, a high-ranking member of the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party, defended the raid as a national security issue.
Speaking to local media, he said it was necessary to close the bureau to prevent espionage, adding, “Every place that works for foreign intelligence and the Armenian lobby should be raided.”
And still.
I found the scenes in France heartening for a number of reasons – most of them pointed out by other people, tweeting as they watched with me, or attended the march themselves. Jamie Barlett (@JamieJBartlett) of think-tank Demos, put it most aptly:
“In 20 years, there will be a new wave of fearless journalists, cartoonists, writers – who as children were moved by the events of last week.”
We can only hope, for this is what and who will stand against the hypocrisy seen today. We all of us have a common enemy, exemplified by the extremists who would like to stir up trouble between Muslims and the countries they call home, or those who would have online dissent (AKA freedom of expression) flogged into silence, or those who would brainwash a populace with disinformation about external persecution, while quietly raiding the home piggybank.
If we’re marching for something – in our minds on social media, with our bodies in the multicultural cities – then let it be for change. Real change. Not words produced today, in the pathos of the moment, but for all of our tomorrows, because we still have to live among each other, every day, and our lives are as intertwined as they have ever been. What comes next, will count the most.
Posted in Review, Social networking
Tagged blogging, Censorship, Charlie Hebdo, Conflict, dead flag blues, EU, Europe, Freedom of speech, Hope, Hypocrisy, journalism, one for sorrow, responsibility, Russia, Social networking, twitter
January 7, 2015 by raishimi33
Reflections on responsibility: Charlie Hebdo
You don’t need me to tell you any more about the horrific and tragic events of Paris. You’ve probably read enough, and formed your own conclusions about those dark moments, when freedom of speech and humour took the blows of extremism. The satirists’ pens of Charlie Hebdo were deemed by the perpetrators as too deadly to be allowed to continue sending up their version of religion.
But then, the employees of Charlie Hebdo had a habit of sending up other religious and political figures too – as well as your average, everyday Brit. That’s what they do.
A cartoon is a bloodless weapon. Its barbs lie in ideas, in putting pressure on inflated opinions, on stereotypes – on the fanatical oppressors who would like to silence those that stand for liberalism, for the freedom to interact across cultures.
The weapons that these murderers used, do not stand for Islam. They are not held up by every Muslim alive, and I’ll challenge anyone who says otherwise. Right now, Muslims across the world are condemning the atrocities that took place – though, as Alex Massie rightly pointed out, they have no need to do so. But somehow, silence has become synonymous with complicity. I’ve seen and heard enough gross generalizations and mudslinging in the hours that have passed since yesterday’s events, to know that once again the names of 1.6 billion people will have become tangled up with those who, in fact, actively seek their destruction more than anyone else.
There are days when social media is a gift, a weapon of information-dissemination for the greater good. When flight MH17 was brought down last summer, only minutes had passed before Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were flooded with screen-grabs of text and pictures taken from the profiles of Ukrainian separatists, to be used as evidence of what had taken place. The original posts were (as expected) subsequently deleted, but by then, there were already too many holes to plug. One tweet can become hundreds, thousands, within an hour.
But then there are what I’ve come to know as the spin-cycle events – when something kicks off, and events are carried forward through the arteries of social networking by the instantaneous decisions of those handling information thrust under their thumbs.
I’ve been there. I know how it feels, to react to something – pressing down on a tweet or retweet – before the little voice of conscious reasoning has had time to pipe up, to ask – “Reconsider?”
Given that yesterday’s horror took place as a direct blow against freedom of speech, I know this talk of self-censorship isn’t going to win me any favours. But it’s my opinion, based upon about 18 months’ worth of experience.
Last year was a shitter, on that I think we can all agree. One tragedy after another, with the summer in particular seeing some of the bloodiest and most mind-numbing events possible, spread out across the world, and thus onto social media. If these taught me anything about myself, it was that my reactions to breaking news – and the reactions of those around me – matter as much as the news itself. There are consequences, because there are lives behind every screen.
Yesterday, I picked up on the ongoing scenes in Paris via tweets from journalists, who in their turn had caught eye-witness accounts from the scene, or from various channels. It’s easy enough to get sucked into something when scrolling through a list or timeline. I felt that familiar chill in my fingertips, the tight nausea in my throat, and a desperate pressure behind the eyes. It was utterly essential that I get out what I could to my followers, to share what I was seeing –
– pressing down –
– until an image of a bullet-riddled police car landed on my timeline, and I pressed Retweet. And stopped.
I work with the police, in a civilian staff role. My colleagues are friends, people I sit beside to eat, drink with in bars. I know their families through Facebook.
I also follow, and am followed by, police officers on Twitter, albeit with less personal relations – but the fact is, they live through events such as this. Sometimes they die by them – as did Ahmed Merabet, the officer tasked with protecting the people who poked fun at his religion. Not that this meant a thing to the cowards who, brandishing Kalashnikovs, put him to death while he lay on the ground, unprotected.
I wonder if it will mean anything to the likes of Nigel Farage, with his “fifth column” theory on how extremism somehow equates with multiculturalism.
Looking around at my Twitter feed, at the lists I keep, I saw yet more and more disturbing images arrive, as reports filtered in. Most tweets were kept within the character limitations, and the words alone were enough to strike my mind silent, cold.
Experience. It’s taught me that at times like this, it’s best to back away, to keep still for a bit – to process, to mourn, to rage, alone. To allow others to do the same, or to follow and pass on as they wish … but to give them that freedom, too. Not everyone wants to have a graphic image arrive in their timeline, out of context.
In truth, it’s taken me this long to write about it because I had to wait to calm down. Yesterday, I was trembling with anger. The hypocrisy was astonishing – we managed a media blackout when it was the Islamic State beheadings, so how on Earth was the slaughter going on in Paris any different? The propaganda machine was in full swing, and we were throwing our weight behind it. I saw the clip of officer Merabet’s cold-blooded killing, turned into a Vine. Retweeted.
How is this humane?
The sad fact, social media has given us a double-edged blade. We’re as able to keep in touch with each other, with the world, with information that might otherwise be prohibited or inaccessible, as we are able to darken each other’s minds, and diminish the last moments of helpless people, by turning ongoing events into a cultivated drama for our feeds.
Graphic content. It has its uses: to imprint an image or scenario on the audience’s collective mind and memory. To shock us out of everyday complacency. To leave an undeniable mark. But with its use comes the responsibility of acknowledging how singularly inhumane it is to reduce a person’s death to a blurred and bloodied frame. Their last moments caught, held, then spread out across a vast network of tweets and retweets, news channels – all for the gratification of…what? Who?
Only the bastards that began the atrocities. The ones who want to see us in fear, panic, discord. I saw plenty of people fall out on Twitter yesterday, over this and that detail. Meanwhile, people died. And their deaths were shared and witnessed countless times.
As we saw again with the print papers. Many front pages were dedicated to the cartoon satire that upheld freedom of speech, the right to josh anyone and everyone on this planet. Some went for an improvised version of this, in muted tones, to channel the aching sorrow, the outrage. And still others have chosen that final, barbarous image – the photograph of Merabet lying prone, defenceless, with his last moments slipping away.
Held on a front page, to then line a bin. A street. A cage.
I’m sorry. I know this probably an old argument, or it’ll seem out of place, among all the other more nuanced writings on this subject. But that man was somebody’s child, loved one, friend, colleague. Above all, he was human. The fact that he was a Muslim shouldn’t matter, really, but it has to be taken into account, because vacuous idiots want to drive the same nail through all those who follow the Islamic faith, nailing them to the same wall.
My beloved friend Nillu is a Muslim. This isn’t exactly the first thing to cross my mind whenever we talk. I know her for the person she is, the unique individual and writer. I’m sickened to say that I’m reminded of her faith more often when in defence of it, at times like this, when I fear for her right to exist as a human among others, rather than be talked about as a collective murderous whole. Which is what I keep seeing at the moment. Names, faces, lives, are being blurred out, just as surely as the satirical cartoons made at Charlie Hebdo were blurred out by certain news agencies yesterday, in tweeted pictures. Already appeasing.
We’ve got our wires crossed, here. Are we fighting the extremists, or doing their work for them, by turning on the people they claim to stand for – who want nothing to do with them – while giving idiots like Farage and Marine Le Pen access to our doubts and fears about being killed, to use for their own twisted ends? Printing stark images of murder, while stepping back from publishing the brave images of Charlie Hebdo?
Can we take a moment to breathe, and remember that there are real lives at stake here – real people, with families? They are our colleagues and friends, their children go to school with ours. No, we don’t have to support or even try to understand anyone’s religion that is not our own – goodness knows, there’s enough death and persecution and blaming to go around, in the name of any faith, just as surely as there is among those without any faith at all.
But we do have a responsibility to appreciate and support their rights as individuals with connections, voices. Pressure points. Hopes and dreams and secrets.
They are us. We’re taking care of each other, on and offline.
These are the things that extremists fear, more than anything.
That’s what I believe, anyway.
Posted in EU-Europe, Review, Social networking
Tagged Charlie Hebdo, Extremism, Islam, Muslim, one for sorrow, responsibility, Satire, Social networking, twitter
Tawny horizon
Trigger warning: Weight loss / anorexia.
It’s 19.31pm, and I’ve just climbed into bed. I haven’t yet found that balance between the cyber and real-time worlds, between interaction and concentration.
Or perhaps the problem is a bit more internal.
Standing in front of the full-length mirror yesterday, I took in the curve of each rib, my flatter chest, and knew myself to be diminished. Walking home tonight, I had to plunk down on a low brick wall (and resist the temptation to fall backwards into someone’s flowerbed – we’re not in Hipster territory any more, Toto) because my legs were trembling.
Trouble is, when the world and life and errors and wanting and worries, all go flaring past with comet tails to catch a-hold of… health can become a distant star. A lonely moon. I never mean to lose weight, honest. But certain comments of this year have stuck behind my ears, about how I’d “bulked up” (around my arms and shoulders, from weight-training) and was “filling out” my tops. So. I guess old habits sneak back in, when everything else seems more interesting than standing still. Eating more is sort of tricky, too, on a frozen wage.
I know these things shouldn’t get under my skin, not after all these years; and as C.S Lewis said of it, “Experience: that most brutal of teachers. But you learn, my God do you learn.”
And still. And still.
I know it’s perhaps early for New Years’ Resolutions, but mine are simple enough:
To create more time, with prioritising.
To pay attention to what really matters.
And that’s it. The rest, you don’t need to know, since I’ll inadvertently hurt someone or another along the way. But I’ve neglected enough Things this year, and have burnt a lot of ambitions and expectations on the pyre of Disappointment. My fault. I know better now, and where my weaknesses are. The strengths … haven’t shown their faces yet, but I guess that’s part of the learning curve, too.
What better time to rest and regain weight, than Christmas? That’s probably the wrong thing to say, hence the trigger-warning; but honestly, I’ve had enough of censoring myself. That isn’t a jab at anyone in particular, only this Thing in my head, which has slowly crept back up and wound tight claws through my mind. I find myself thinking about food/eating in that old invasive way, with the attention/fear of the constant hungering. I’m not in a relapse. But the very fact that I have to focus on this again, and find myself struggling to lift weights that were only months ago getting easier, says as much as the tapering-off of writing. Now, I get in from work and scrabble out perhaps 500 words if I’m lucky. If I haven’t spent too much time reading, talking, flicking aimlessly –
(White noise)
Researching this and that. All necessary. But life looks like a Dali clock at the moment.
(A trick I use now, is to let both phone batteries go flat by the end of the day. Then I have to walk home in silence, to re-order my thoughts.)
I don’t want to lose contact with the people I know and care about, or fall behind on the topics that interest me, engage my focus in ways that anorexia never could. I want to be more than a walking eating disorder (which was my identity for a long time.) Even in hospital, I spent the long lowlight days doing crosswords, writing snippets of poetry, reading reviews in Empire magazine… anything to keep in touch with things outside of my head, away from symptoms.
I’ve let things slip, working longer hours to keep up with rising food bills… and perhaps as an excuse to keep moving. This is a sneaky illness, it plays by its own rules, and most often below the surface.
Still no word about whether I’ll keep my job next year; though when I mentioned this to the new PA, she only laughed with that unhappy sound of someone used to this sort of system. To be honest, the guys will probably know about the official moving date when I do.
I can’t begin to tell you how hollow my chest feels, to think about it; and to know that this will likely be our last Christmas all together in that building. Standing on the top floor this afternoon, as is my wont when in need of a breather, I watched the western horizon turn tawny, flecked over in blue – a Joni Mitchell song of the sky. Those pigeons went skirling past, as ever, leaving their shadows like blackened leaves on the parking bays.
I wonder about a lot of things – how the guys will fit all their kit into the smaller space; where they will go for a quiet talk, or a cry; how they will cope with the integration of offices, in an open-plan idea of a police station. Who will end up where. If I will go with them.
The £2bn being ploughed into the NHS feels like a sticking-plaster, with fresh cuts to other services kept beneath. And that’s before we get onto the fact that 1 in 6 police officers will be cut from the service by next year. But I can only speak from a limited experience on the ground, and then, from the perspective of a cleaner.
I am small. And tall, in my own way.
A bit like Metpol’s (new) New Scotland Yard.
“It is quite extraordinary that in the rush to sell the police estate, the Mayor’s office don’t appear to have planned space for their police officers and staff.
Yet more money looks set to be spent to sort out this mistake, at a time when the police face ever greater financial pressures.” – Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat London Assembly Member.
Our old girl will rock back gently on her heels, and take a deep sigh for winter. She’ll leak green-black tears down the windows, to pool over the floors; and she’ll whistle through her teeth with the rising winds. She is more than Work to me. I still give her walls a pat, when trudging up the worn stairs at the end of a shift.
I hope she won’t be knocked down. But as Stephen King said, Everything’s Eventual.
Outside the art shop in town, a man sat busking beneath a sullen sky, in lilac shadows. His stickered-up guitar sang a song of lonely hearts and wild roads, of sweeping streets and times since gone, never lost in the heart. He raises money for Leukaemia sufferers, and is well known in town. The glitter-shine of a red and gold Christmas tree speckled his face; the wind sent his hair flying beneath a fluffy Santa’s hat. The shop awnings kept him sheltered from occasional spatters of rain.
This evening, I couldn’t help but notice another pastel sky behind him, softening the edges of Westminster. The buildings glowed on the canvas, caught behind the glass, as he played on.
Posted in Personal, Social networking
Tagged anorexia, blogging, dead flag blues, depression, memories, new year, nostalgia, one for sorrow, personal, responsibility, writing
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A.J. GOLDMANN’s Berlinale recap: “Madeline’s Madeline” and “Waldheim’s Waltz” stand out
A.J Goldmann March 1, 2018
Still from “Dovlatov”
(featured image: “Madeline’s Madeline”) After nearly four hundred films screening over ten days to 21,000 accredited guests and a third of a million ticket buyers, the Berlin International Film Festival drew to a close this past Sunday. The 68th installment of Europe’s largest film festival was a robust edition, with an unusually-high number of worthy films spread over the Berlinale’s dozen sections.
As he did in once already in 2014 with “The Grand Budapest,” Wes Anderson opened the festival on a high note with his competition entry “Isle of Dogs,” a stunning stop-motion animated feature with an ensemble vocal cast (Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum, and Bob Balaban, to name a few) that bagged Anderson the best director prize at Saturday’s closing ceremony. That award seemed to be one of the International Jury’s few popular and noncontroversial decisions. As headed by German filmmaker Tom Tykwer (“Run, Lola, Run”), the jury spread the wealth unpredictably among seven films, including several of competition’s weakest entries: Romanian director Adina Pintilie’s “Touch Me Not,” one the most poorly-reviewed titles, walked off with the Golden Bear, while the critical favorite “Dovlatov,” by Alexey German Jr., earned a mere citation for “outstanding artistic contribution” given for its evocative early seventies production design. That the biopic of the dissident Soviet writer failed to win a major prize may have had something to do with the director’s unpopular defense of Russia as a bastion of artistic freedom and lack of censorship.
“Don’t worry, he won’t get far on foot”
Following the trend set in recent years, the competition mostly included rarefied art house fare, with “Isle of Dogs” being the closest thing to a blockbuster production in the main slate. Midway through the festival, Gus Van Sant’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot,” about the life of the quadriplegic cartoonist John Callahan, brought a second wind of star power to the festival, thanks to Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, Jack Black and Rooney Mara. Up until that point, most the Berlinale’s best main program entries had screened, including Erik Poppe’s harrowing real-time account of the 2011 Utøya summer camp massacre “U-July 22,” boldly shot in a single take, Laura Bispuri’s Sardinian adoption drama “Daughter of Mine,” Cédric Kahn’s surprisingly earnest drama of faith and redemption “The Prayer” and the aforementioned “Dovlatov.” After Day Five, the only competition title worth waiting for was Małgorzata Szumowska’s “Mug,” a bitter allegory for the reawakening of Catholic fervor in post-communist Poland, that arrived on the festival’s penultimate day and walked off with the Grand Prix, one of the jury’s few good choices.
Much like last year, the high-minded competition was a grab bag of remarkable films rubbing shoulders with several titles that were downright terrible or plain trashy. In the former category fell Måns Månsson’s deadpan Swedish comedy “The Real Estate” and Mani Haghighi’s “Pig” about a serial killer who decapitates Iranian filmmakers; in the latter belongs Benoît Jacquot’s “Eva,” starring the ageless Isabelle Huppert as a high-class prostitute. One of the festival’s biggest disappointments was with Christoph Petzold’s “Transit,” a drama of exile and refugees set in contemporary Marseilles, that seemed a step backwards for the filmmaker whose previous Berlinale entry, “Barbara,” won him the best director prize in 2012.
With such a frontloaded competition, one needed to navigate the festival’s myriad other sections to find aught to sustain interest in the second half of the festival. That this year’s competition was reasonably well-programmed but poorly-scheduled was reflected by the droves of journalists who packed their bags and left. Refreshingly, the festival area around Potsdamer Platz was surprisingly non-cluttered for half of the festival since most journalists don’t even bother with the Berlinale’s sidebar sections.
The twenty seven film-strong Panorama program yielded some surprises this year, including Wolfgang Fischer’s “Styx,” a harrowing film about a German doctor whose yachting trip turns into a nightmare when she encounters a boatful of dying refugees. Director Wolfgang Fischer films her ordeal with a claustrophobic intensity that brings to mind two of the finest films set on sailing vessels, “Knife in the Water” and “Purple Noon.” Jean Paul Civeyrac’s black and white “A Paris Education,” about film students in modern-day Paris, was an engaging and affecting, if occasionally pretentious, nouvelle vague updating and tribute. Ukrainian director Marysia Nikitiuk’s visually-bold debut “When The Trees Fall,” about a young woman suffocating in her traditional village, was sexually intense and arrestingly surreal, until it fell victim to redemptive kitsch and gangster-film clichés.
For nearly fifty years, hardcore cineastes have flocked to the International Forum of New Films to discover some of the festival’s most daring entries. Highlights of this year’s edition featured a Guy Maddin double feature that paired “Accidence,” a ten minute-long single take loop of an chaotic apartment building exterior, and “The Green Fog,” a cheeky deconstruction of Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” edited together from dozens of films set or filmed in San Francisco. Fresh from Sundance, Josephine Decker’s “Madeline’s Madeline,” a frighteningly subjective look at mental illness and art that stars Helena Howard in a riveting debut as a talented but troubled teen who turns to theater. Miranda July costars as her terrified mother. It was one of the few non-competitions films I saw this year that seems destined for a theatrical release stateside. Another one that does is Ruth Beckermann’s absorbing documentary “Waldheim’s Waltz” about the UN General Secretary whose Nazi past resurfaced only in the eighties during his successful bid for the Austrian presidency. Most festival films begin and end their careers at festivals, especially one as huge as the Berlinale, but I’d put my money down that these two very different Forum entries will get the attention that they deserve.
Berlin-based A.J. Goldmann is Screen Comment’s festival contributor. He regularly sends in stories from the Berlinale and the Cannes Festival.
Tagged With: Berlinale, Guy Maddin, Madeline's Madeline, Marysia Nikitiuk, Miranda July, Ruth Beckermann, Waldheim's Waltz
< OSCARS : “THE SHAPE OF WATER” IS THE WINNER !
BERLINALE : Golden Bear handed to Adina Pintilie for “Touch me not” >
NEED A MOVIE IDEA?
Contributor Saïdeh Pakravan's century of essential cinema eBook. Find out which eight hundred movies have influenced her most; each film is linked to its IMDB page.
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Home / Where We Stand
Where We Stand.
Writing in The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy, Peter Burk observes, every society erects obstacles to the expression of the creativity of some groups . . .
Within the fields of contemporary art, art criticism, art education and aesthetics, an obstacle has arisen over the past half century, supported by those who once struggled against the norm and now fight to maintain an anti-intellectual status quo. This contemporary criterion is derived from a synthesis of Nineteenth century Romanticism, the anti-art movements flourishing at the beginning of the Twentieth century and a convergence of the Open Concept with Institutional Postmodern Deconstruction.
Following World War II, the predominate polemic in and about the arts has shifted back and forth between a philosophy based on the construction of works of art and a theory that has had little to do with works of art or the nature, and essence of art, and more to do with self-reflective language. An overly emphasized self-consciousness about the language used, rather than with a concern for the subject of the topic being discussed, talking about talk.
The current warranty is one in which artist are isolated from the mainstream of social, intellectual and academic life because more importance is placed on talking about talk rather than on the configuration of works of art. This idea is based on a belief system that asserts a denial of the classical western cultural concepts and canons which have established individual characteristics and essential qualities of art, capable of discoverability and independent understanding. Analysis that makes reference to actual works of art themselves is viewed as reactionary.
In the vernacular of this idiom, theories applicable to the visual arts, literature, cinematography and performing arts which incorporate a demand for a criterion of excellence are considered passé. Lacking a particularized nature or essence, according to this argument, art exists as subjective interpretation of ephemeral experiences, essentially uninvolved with any sort of discipline.
If we were to accept this declaration, that attempts to define the essence and nature of works of art are doomed to failure, that the arts are unknowable other than by dubious comparisons, then a number of hare areas exist.
We stand the very real chance that the idea of art itself, as something unique and valuable to society could vanish from the general lexicon of the language as a result of extreme ambiguity. I am convinced that no concept suffused with doubtfulness and uncertainty of meaning can long endure without agreed upon definitions. Lacking the knowledge of the discoverability and understanding of art, ambivalence would exist. Painters, writers, poets, performers and artist as well as patrons of all kinds would be cut off from their own traditions, traditions which extend in an unbroken line form the present day back to the Late-Classical Greeks. A form of unprecedented cultural suicide would be taking place.
The question that exists is, will those of us who believe that art can be understood within parameters precise enough to avoid ambiguity abdicate our responsibilities to the pressures of the status quo? Or, will we steadfastly offer our own protective paradigm(s) which identify those qualities and features unique to art and thereby preserve freedom of expression as well as progressive and evolutionary development in the future. From where we stand now, the choice is clear: will we struggle for freedom of expression or will we support the erection of obstacles to the express of the creativity of some groups?
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Secrets of highly successful marriages
By Trafford Fischer |
Katharine Hepburn is reputed to have said, “Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then.” The idea that two people should commit to each other for life is alien to many people. They call marriage an institution, but who wants to live in an institution?!
The whole marriage thing has taken some hard knocks in recent years—the high divorce rate has left a lot of hurting and disillusioned adults and children in its wake, and the same-sex marriage debate has triggered some bruising encounters. But for many, marriage is still the ultimate expression of love between two people. For those who are happily married, nothing else comes close to the joy of being in a safe, happy, committed, lifelong relationship. As Yasir Qadhi, an American Muslim scholar at the AlMaghrib Institute in Texas, stated, “The successful marriage is not when you can live in peace with your wife, but when you can’t live without her.”
Dr Archibald Hart, a psychologist and author, says research consistently confirms the importance of human bonds: “Without relationships humans wither and die, both emotionally and physically. The quality of our life diminishes when there is no-one to share it with—family, friends or spouse. . . . Everything about us was designed to live in close community and interaction with others. We certainly were not designed to go through life emotionally disconnected.”
Like any long-lasting relationship, marriage isn’t something that simply “happens” of its own accord. A marriage marked by happiness requires some serious thought and work! In their national survey of long-term marriages, David and Claudia Arp, cofounders of Marriage Alive, found three common strands in those marriages that are alive and healthy: (1) the marriage relationship comes before other relationships, (2) both spouses are committed to growing and changing together and (3) they work at staying close. Closeness and intimacy in a marriage are by-products of regular and meaningful expressions of love and affection between couples.
So, are there any “secrets” that happy couples share that make their marriages hum? What do those couples who seem to be so happy and contented and speak so enthusiastically about their relationship do that other couples don’t seem to be able to manage? Shaunti Feldhahn, in her book, The Surprising Secrets of Highly Happy Marriages, answers this very question. A former Wall Street analyst, Feldhahn turned her energies to reviewing numerous major studies on marriage, as well as carrying out her own research, to find why some couples thrive rather than dive.
In her major study of happy marriages, she asked hundreds of couples this key question: “Are you personally, generally happy in your marriage these days and enjoying being married?” Using their different answers, Feldhahn categorised the couples into three groups: highly happy couples, mostly happy couples and so-so or struggling couples.
Interestingly, when she analysed the highly happy couples, she discovered that very few of them could identify what exactly was making them so happy. What became obvious was that, contrary to popular belief, it was not the “biggies” (in-laws, money, sex) that determined the level of day-to-day mutual happiness in a marriage. Much more often it was the daily, unspoken beliefs, assumptions and practices that made the difference regardless of the big issues. In other words, it was how they handled those big issues that determined how much they enjoyed marriage.
Feldhahn writes, “My research on happy couples showed that an extraordinarily high percentage of them were (often without realising it!) doing a few little specific actions that were making their spouses feel deeply cared for. . . . Clearly, a few small actions won’t fix deep relationship problems. But for most of us, a handful of simple, day-to-day actions increase the likelihood that our spouse will feel that we care deeply about them instead of feeling that we don’t.”
Feldhahn discovered five key expressions of love that husbands and wives could express to each other that made the difference in their marriages and moved them into the highly happy category.
The fantastic five for him
Feldhahn found that wives have a big impact on their husband’s happiness when they do the following:
1. She notices his effort and sincerely thanks him for it. This deeply pleased 72 per cent of all men who took the survey. Examples of positive statements include when she says, “Thank you for mowing the lawn even though it was hot” or “Thanks for playing with the kids even though you were tired after work.” Research continues to demonstrate that men thrive on affirmation. In a world of competitiveness and one-up-manship, men need to know they measure up, that they are appreciated and that their partners don’t take all they do for granted. Feldhahn discovered that while women long to hear “I love you” from their partners, the same expression doesn’t speak to men as much as it does for a woman. What men need to hear is “Thank you!” It’s the emotional equivalent of “I love you” to her.
2. She says, “You did a great job at . . .” This deeply pleased 69 per cent of the men in her survey. Men simply like to know they’ve done a good job. They treasure the assurance that the work they do is appreciated, and not only that it’s been done, but that it’s been done well.
3. She mentions in front of others something he did well. This deeply pleased 72 per cent of all men in the survey. Men respond positively to kind and respectful words about them, especially when they’re stated “in public”—when they’re expressed outside the home and in the hearing of others. Expressing her appreciation for his good work in front of his friends and workmates empowers a man and allows him to feel worthwhile and highly valued as a partner.
4. She lets him know that she desires him sexually and that he pleases her sexually. This deeply pleased 85 per cent of the men who took the survey. Sexual intimacy for men measures highly on their scale of love! Research has indicated that men feel more highly loved in a marriage when there is more sex and less conflict!
5. She makes it clear to him that he makes her happy. For example, she expresses appreciation for something he did for her with a smile, kind words or a big hug. This deeply pleased 85 per cent of all men in the survey. A highly happily married couple never take their love for each other for granted but regularly find opportunities to say how much the other means to them and how much they are loved and appreciated.
The fantastic five for her
The highly happily married couples also revealed some secrets for men that can make their wives feel happy and loved. Feldhahn’s research found that a husband will have a big impact on his wife’s happiness when he does the following:
1. He takes her hand. Examples would be when walking through a carpark, when shopping or in church. This deeply pleased 82 per cent of all women in Feldhahn’s survey. For many men, this action might seem too benign or too simplistic to be real, but notice the high percentage of women who respond positively to this simple action! Smart men will recognise that it isn’t simply the hand being held but the message of love it conveys: “You are special to me and I want others to know that!”
2. He leaves a message by voice mail, email or text during the day to say he loves her and is thinking about her. This deeply pleased 75 per cent of the women surveyed. Women like to know their man is thinking about them during the day, not just when they seek affection or when they are in physical proximity. It’s about regular assurance that she’s Number One in his life and no-one else is!
3. He puts his arm around her or lays his hand on her knee when they are sitting next to each other in public. This deeply pleased 74 per cent of the women in the survey. Just like taking her hand, placing an arm around her is a powerful statement that she is uniquely special and highly treasured.
4. He tells her sincerely, “You are beautiful.” This deeply pleased 76 per cent of women surveyed. Women are constantly bombarded by messages that they need to look young, be in great shape, and wear the latest and best in clothes. Some women will spend inordinate hours at the gym and dollars in the fashion shops to ensure that they keep out in front in the competitive game of Woman of the Year. When a wife hears that her husband sincerely regards her as beautiful, she can relax and give away the compelling call to do more, be more, spend more!
5. He pulls himself out of a funk when he’s feeling morose, grumpy or upset about something instead of withdrawing. This deeply pleased 72 per cent of all women. John Grey, in his classic Men Are From Mars and Women Are From Venus, describes how men tend to “retreat into their cave” when they feel overwhelmed, confused or worried. This withdrawal can be challenging for wives—many hate it! Feldhahn found that men in the “highly happily married” category do all they can to avoid cave-time. This doesn’t mean they don’t get angry or need space; it means they try to pull themselves out of their grumpiness. Similar results were found by psychologist Dr John Gottman’s research into happy couples. He found that in times of conflict, the men who were able to calm themselves down and not overreact were the men with great relationships.
These highly happily married couples have provided all married couples some great insights and some genuine hope. Happiness in marriage doesn’t appear to depend on exotic cruises, opulent housing or expensive clothes. It does depend on some simple but powerful actions that are achievable by any husband or wife who wants the best for their marriage.
Trafford Fischer
Leading a green life
Still standing: Growing a stronger marriage after losing a child
Stop the sniffles with these simple supermarket items
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Leonard Norman Cohen
(1934-09-21)September 21, 1934
Westmount, Quebec, Canada
November 7, 2016(2016-11-07) (aged 82)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
soft rock[1]
leonardcohen.com
Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934 – November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, and painter. His work was mostly about religion, politics, sexuality, and personal relationships most notably seen in his best known work "Hallelujah".[2]
Cohen was added into both the Canadian Music Hall of Fame and the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honor. In 2011, Cohen received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.
5 Titles and honors
Cohen was born on September 21, 1934 in Westmount, Quebec into a middle-class Canadian Jewish family. His mother was Marsha (Masha) Klonitsky and his father was Nathan Cohen.[3] Cohen's father died when he was nine years old.
During his high school years in Westmount, Cohen learned and played the guitar many times and wrote poems.[4] He studied at McGill University.
Career[change | change source]
Cohen started a career as a poet and novelist during the 1950s and early 1960s. Cohen did not start his music career until 1967, at the age of 33. His first album, Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967), was followed by three more albums of folk music: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974).
His 1977 record Death of a Ladies' Man was co-written and produced by Phil Spector. In 1979, Cohen returned with the more traditional Recent Songs, which blended his acoustic style with jazz and Oriental and Mediterranean influences.
"Hallelujah" was first released on Cohen's studio album Various Positions in 1984. Cohen wrote around 80 draft verses for "Hallelujah", with one writing session at the Royalton Hotel in New York where he was reduced to sitting on the floor in his underwear, banging his head on the floor.[5] This became Cohen's best known work. I'm Your Man in 1988 marked Cohen's most popular album with the song "Everybody Knows". In 1992, Cohen released its follow-up, The Future, which had dark lyrics and references to political and social unrest.
Cohen returned to music in 2001 with the release of Ten New Songs, which was a major hit in Canada and Europe. His eleventh album, Dear Heather, followed in 2004. After a successful string of tours between 2008 and 2010, Cohen released three albums in the final four years of his life: Old Ideas (2012), Popular Problems (2014) and You Want It Darker (2016), the last of which was released three weeks before his death.
Personal life[change | change source]
Though never married, Cohen had two children: Adam and Lorca with his girlfriend Suzanne Elrod.[6][7] He was also romantically linked with Marianne Ihlen[8][9], Janis Joplin and Rebecca De Mornay.[10]
Death[change | change source]
Cohen died in 7 November 2016 of leukemia and from complications of a fall in his sleep at his home in Los Angeles, aged 82.[11][12][13]
His funeral was held on November 10, 2016 in Montreal, at a cemetery on Mount Royal, his congregation Shaar Hashomayim confirmed. As was his wish, Cohen was laid to rest with a Jewish rite, in a simple pine casket, in a family plot.[14][15]
Titles and honors[change | change source]
In 1968, Cohen refused a Governor General's Award (in category for English language poetry or drama) for Selected Poems 1956–1968.
In 1991, Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.
In 1993, Cohen won the Juno Award for Male Vocalist of the Year.
In 1994, Cohen won another Juno Award this time for Songwriter of the Year.
In 1996, he was ordained a Rinzai Buddhist monk.
In 2001, Cohen was awarded a SNEP Award for more than 100,000 copies sold of Ten New Songs in France. Photo of the award.
In 2003, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada, Canada's highest civilian honour.
In 2004, Beautiful Losers was chosen for inclusion in Canada Reads 2005. It was selected and originally to be championed by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright; however, tour commitments meant that Wainwright had to be replaced by singer Molly Johnson.
In 2006, Cohen was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In 2007, Cohen received a Grammy for Album of the Year as a featured artist on Herbie Hancock's River: The Joni Letters.[16]
In 2008, Cohen was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[17]
In June 2008 he was made a Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec [1]
↑ Kapica, Jack (August 25, 1973). "The trials of Leonard Cohen". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
↑ de Melo, Jessica (December 11, 2009). "Leonard Cohen to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at 2010 Grammys". Spinner Canada. Archived from the original on February 24, 2010. Retrieved February 24, 2010.
↑ The International Who's Who. 2004. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
↑ "Inductee: Leonard Cohen – Into the consciousness – Hour Community".
↑ Barton, Laura (18 December 2008). "Hail, Hail, Rock'n'Roll". The Guardian.
↑ "Leonard Cohen's third act – Macleans.ca". September 21, 2016.
↑ "Leonard Cohen died in his sleep after fall, manager says – Fox News". November 16, 2016.
↑ Stang Ihlen, Marianne Christine (July 29, 2016). "Leonard Cohen Muse Marianne Ihlen, of "So Long, Marianne", Passes Away". Everything Zoomer. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
↑ "Leonard Cohen’s muse Marianne Ihlen dies at age 81". Toronto Star, August 4, 2016 (printed version, August 5, 2016, page A3).
↑ Cohen, Leonard (June 1, 1993). "Knowing Rebecca de Mornay Like Only Leonard Cohen Can". Retrieved November 19, 2010.
↑ Beeston, Laura (November 12, 2016). "Montrealers make pilgrimage to Leonard Cohen's old haunts". Toronto Star. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
↑ "Leonard Cohen Died on Monday, Sony Confirms". Billboard.
↑ "Leonard Cohen, singer-songwriter of love, death and philosophical longing, dies at 82". The Washington Post. November 10, 2016.
↑ "Leonard Cohen died Monday, funeral held Thursday in Montreal". Montreal Gazette. November 11, 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
↑ "Leonard Cohen had simple funeral". Bang Showbiz. Retrieved November 14, 2016.
↑ GRAMMY.com
↑ "Indictees for 2008". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame official website. 2007-12-13. Retrieved 2008-03-11.
Leonard Cohen on IMDb
Stafford, Jeff (August 21, 2010). "Bird on a Wire (1972)". TCM Movie Morlocks. Documentary account of Cohen's European tour
Brittain, Donald; Owen, Don (1965). "Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen" (video). Documentary. National Film Board of Canada (NFB).
"Canadian Poetry: Studies/Documents/Reviews". The Proceedings of the Leonard Cohen Conference (22–24 October 1993) (Red Deer College) 33. Fall 1993. http://www.canadianpoetry.ca/cpjrn/vol33/vol33index.htm.
Songs of Leonard Cohen
Songs from a Room
Songs of Love and Hate
New Skin for the Old Ceremony
Death of a Ladies' Man
Ten New Songs
Dear Heather
Old Ideas
Popular Problems
You Want It Darker
"Ain't No Cure for Love"
"Avalanche"
"Bird on the Wire"
"Dance Me to the End of Love"
"Everybody Knows"
"Famous Blue Raincoat"
"First We Take Manhattan"
"The Gypsy's Wife"
"Hallelujah"
"Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye"
"I'm Your Man"
"In My Secret Life"
"Joan of Arc"
"The Partisan"
"So Long, Marianne"
"Suzanne"
"Take This Waltz"
"You Want It Darker"
Retrieved from "https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leonard_Cohen&oldid=6519180"
Accidental deaths from falls in the United States
Deaths from leukemia
Cancer deaths in Los Angeles
People from Westmount, Quebec
Canadian Jews
Canadian novelists
Canadian singer-songwriters
Cancer deaths in California
Jewish musicians
Musicians from Montreal
Rock musicians
Writers from Montreal
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Destinations, North America & Caribbean
New Trump Travel Ban Won’t Target Permanent U.S. Residents
- Mar 06, 2017 11:15 am
President Trump’s new travel ban has been designed to hold up to legal scrutiny this time, but the reality of this new order still seems discriminatory against Muslims around the world.
— Andrew Sheivachman
The newest travel ban signed by the President Trump will aim to prevent travelers from six countries from seeking visas to enter the U.S.
The previous travel ban was struck down by an appeals court for multiple reasons. President Trump signed the new executive order, which you can read here, this morning.
Iraq has been removed from the countries included in the ban, which is intended to become effective on March 16 for 90 days. Iraqi travelers, however, will endure some form of increased scrutiny when traveling to the U.S. following a new round of negotiation between the two countries.
There’s another major difference between the two travel ban orders: the new ban shouldn’t apply to lawful permanent residents of the U.S. or those that already have a valid visa to visit the U.S.
“The Executive Order signed today by President Trump will make America safer, and address long-overdue concerns about the security of our immigration system,” said John Kelly, secretary of Homeland Security, in a statement. “We must undertake a rigorous review of our visa and refugee vetting programs to increase our confidence in the entry decisions we make for visitors and immigrants to the United States. We cannot risk the prospect of malevolent actors using our immigration system to take American lives.
“The Executive Order signed today is prospective in nature—applying only to foreign nationals outside of the United States who do not have a valid visa. It is important to note that nothing in this executive order affects current lawful permanent residents or persons with current authorization to enter our country. If you have a current valid visa to travel, we welcome you. But unregulated, unvetted travel is not a universal privilege, especially when national security is at stake.”
Foreign nationals from Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen will still be affected, according to the executive order. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will spend 20 days reviewing the identity and security information provided to the U.S. by these countries, which will then have 50 days to comply with any changes mandated by DHS.
Various government departments, including State and DHS, can add countries to the ban at any time.
The Visa Interview Waiver Program will remain suspended for the time being as well. The original travel ban executive order was enacted in January and stayed on Feb. 3.
The new executive order already faces a legal challenge, based on a continuation of a previous lawsuit.
We will update this story as more information emerges. Here is the full text of the Q&A document that details the new ban.
Tags: politics, travel ban
Photo Credit: The Trump administration is set to roll out another version of its travel ban executive order today. President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. Evan Vucci / Associated Press
Laura Powell, Skift
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New Visit Florida CEO Comes Straight From Political Arena
Shutdown’s Toll on Travel Mounts With No End in Sight
The UK’s tourism industry is robust and vitally important to its economy — which is why it’s even more important th… https://t.co/1LWOQwb9o3
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What Do You Want To Do When You Grow Up?
A few weeks ago, sitting in an all-too-familiar meeting where people were trying to sell us the world and take SORTEDfood along with it, one of the people sitting opposite said to me “the thing is, one day you four guys are going to have to ask yourselves what you want to do when you grow up”.
Now, this question took me by surprise… No one had said that to me for at least 15 years!
Looking at the evidence, I would have to say that I was already “grown up”… I’m 29 years old, married, just bought a house and have a daughter who’s about to turn 2. And the other guys are moving in similar directions.
As a group over the last few years (with a lot of help), we’ve grown SORTEDfood to a team of 15 people, become the world’s most engaged cooking channel on YouTube, reaching over 2 million people, totalling more than 200 million video views, and currently growing at more than 12 million per month.
We’ve built a platform around food for people to learn, be inspired by and inspire others to get cooking by sharing their cooking expertise through user-generated recipes and photos… with their followings now even outgrowing ours!!
And then it dawned on me… They didn’t see this side of SORTED, they only saw the 3 videos that go up every week… Usually laced with d*ck jokes (which, by the way, will never not be funny… regardless of how old or grown up you are).
But the videos aren’t the point. They’ve never been the point, and never will be. These people were missing the spark, the thing that makes SORTEDfood so incredible.
These businessmen aren’t interested in the stories we get emailed every week from people who have been inspired to start cooking, who have actually learnt how to cook and who have met new friends all through this incredible community we call SORTEDfood.
They don’t see how this community has helped strangers through eating disorders, family tragedies or big celebrations… All they see are numbers, and how they could help us “make them bigger”. Which is all a bit sad really.
As you can expect, the meeting finished pretty swiftly after this conversation, and all follow-up emails have been ignored.
But it did leave a lasting impression on me, because it showed me exactly what is happening in the online world and where we fit within it. As people have flocked online, so have big businesses with their big money, and it’s becoming very ugly, very quickly. These businesses are turning it into a numbers game, and just as a new way to make money.
But that’s not why we’re here. And speaking to a lot of other native online creators, it’s not why they’re here either.
Of course it’s in our interest to grow SORTED – after all, it now helps to support a team of 15 people and we have some BIG ideas of where we want to go in the future – but there’s no point in us growing if it doesn’t mean anything to anyone.
We’re not here for the numbers. We’re here for the food, for the people, for their stories… and for the fun that comes along with it.
Everything else takes a back seat.
We’re determined to become the home of cooking online, but – as with any home – it has to have meaning.
And if that takes a little bit longer, then that’s fine with us… Maybe we’ll grow up in the meantime!
If you want to get even more involved in our story, sign up to SORTEDfood! You can create a profile, upload your own recipes & photos and join in our global conversation! Food is the way forward people.
If you liked this, you’ll love….
THE 8 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE TO FOLLOW ON SORTEDFOOD
CHOCOLATE SALAMI
A CHOCOLATE DUCK ICE
CHOCOLATE LAMINGTONS
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WNBA sub nav golf rotoworld
WNBAWNBA Subscribe:
Moore scores career playoff-high 33 to lead lynx past Sparks
Associated PressSep 19, 2015, 12:54 AM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS — When Maya Moore is at the top of her game, she is simply unstoppable.
Moore scored a career playoff-high 33 points to help the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx beat the Sparks 67-65 Friday night in the opener of their Western Conference semifinals series.
“She’s tough for everyone to contain every night,” Sparks coach Brian Agler said.
Moore took over in the third quarter, scoring 15 points and giving the Lynx a lead as big as 12 points, before Los Angeles clawed back into the game late.
“We’re constantly trying to make our own runs and make the next big play,” Moore said. “I was the beneficiary of some active plays in our paint. We got deflections, got tips. I just try to be aggressive and see what happens.”
Seimone Augustus, back after missing the last eight games of the regular season due to a foot injury, added 17 points for the Lynx.
“I died in the first two or three minutes,” Augustus joked of her return to the lineup. “Once I got into the groove it all felt normal and it felt like I was back.”
Candace Parker had 16 points and nine rebounds and Nneka Ogwumike added 14 points for Los Angeles.
The Sparks used a 9-0 run to pull to 61-60 on Jantel Lavender’s layup with about 5 minutes to go. However, Moore’s fast-break basket gave Minnesota a three-point lead with just over a minute to play.
Los Angeles had a chance to tie in the closing seconds, but Parker missed a shot under the basket as time expired.
“We didn’t run it perfectly but we got the action we wanted and got Candace coming to the ball on the move,” Agler said. “She took a shot she can make. Hindsight is 20-20 and you think about a lot of things that could’ve happened, but sometimes you’ve got to let players make plays.”
Dominated by Minnesota in the opening quarter and trailing 22-15 after 10 minutes, the Sparks flipped the script in the second quarter. They started with a 14-1 run and led by as many as eight. Minnesota, which made just four of its 14 shots from the field in the quarter, managed to chip away late, but Los Angeles led 36-33 at halftime.
Moore led all scorers with 12 points at the break. Parker and Kristi Tolliver led the Sparks with nine points each.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Sunday at Long Beach State due to the Emmy Awards taking place near Staples Center. Sparks players bristled at the idea that they will lose their home-court advantage playing away from their normal arena.
“It’s not neutral,” Ogwumike said. “It’s still L.A., and we’ve played there before. It’s a home game.”
Tags: Los Angeles Sparks, Maya Moore, Minnesota Lynx
AP source: Liz Cambage traded from Dallas to Las Vegas
Associated PressMay 16, 2019, 11:58 AM EDT
The Liz Cambage trade saga is finally over.
The 6-foot-8 Australian has been traded from Dallas to Las Vegas for Moriah Jefferson, Isabelle Harrison and the Aces’ first two picks in 2020, according to a person familiar with the situation. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal hasn’t been announced.
Cambage, who finished second behind Breanna Stewart in WNBA MVP balloting last year, said in January she no longer wanted to play in Dallas. Potential deals the past few weeks that never materialized had weighed on Cambage, who took to social media with emotional posts this week. Cambage is in Australia and is expected to get to Las Vegas this weekend.
The 27-year-old center set a league record last season by scoring 53 points against New York. She averaged 23 points and 9.7 rebounds last year.
The move gives the Aces a formidable frontcourt by pairing Cambage with rookie of the year A’ja Wilson.
Dallas receives a point guard in Jefferson and a talented post player in Harrison. Jefferson was the No. 2 pick in the 2016 draft by the franchise when it was in San Antonio. She averaged 13.9 points as a rookie but injured her knee in 2017.
She was limited to just 16 games last season. Harrison was the No. 12 pick in 2015 by Phoenix, but missed her rookie season with a knee injury. She had a breakout year in 2017, averaging 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds. She sat out last season because of a medical issue.
Cambage was the No. 2 pick in the 2011 draft. She played that season and in 2013 for the Tulsa Shock but sat out in 2012 and again from 2014-2017. The franchise moved to Dallas in 2016. Cambage returned to the WNBA last season with Dallas and hit it off with Wings coach Fred Williams. Cambage took it hard when Williams was fired a few weeks before the end of the season. Williams is an assistant with the Sparks.
After last season, Cambage left the door open to not returning to the WNBA, citing the league’s low salaries. She excelled for Australia at last fall’s FIBA World Cup, helping the team earn a silver medal. Cambage told the AP at the World Cup she would take some time to decide whether she wanted to come back the WNBA.
Follow Doug Feinberg on Twitter at https://twitter.com/DougFeinberg
Lynx star Maya Moore to skip ’19 WNBA season
Associated PressFeb 5, 2019, 4:29 PM EDT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore has decided to skip the upcoming WNBA season, seeking more time to devote to her family and her faith.
Moore announced Tuesday on The Players’ Tribune website that she’ll sit out in 2019. She already had taken the fall and winter off from international competition. The five-time first-team All-WNBA honoree has helped the Lynx win four championships since her rookie year, 2011.
“The success that I’ve been a part of in basketball truly blows my mind every time I think about it,” Moore said in her post. “But the main way I measure success in life is something I don’t often get to emphasize explicitly through pro ball.”
Raised by a single mother with strong Christian beliefs, Moore has spoken often about her desire for a well-rounded life steered by biblical principles . She quoted from scripture in her brief essay and, without citing specifics, said she plans to invest time in “some ministry dreams that have been stirring in my heart for many years.”
Reforming the justice system has been a particular passion of hers , including a personal interest she has taken in the case of Jonathan Irons , who was imprisoned in Missouri in 1997 by what his supporters contend was a wrongful burglary conviction at age 16.
“I’m sure this year will be hard in ways that I don’t even know yet, but it will also be rewarding in ways I’ve yet to see, too,” Moore wrote. “I’m thankful to my Lynx family and others close to me who have been walking with me during this shift, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
Last season was only the second time since Moore was drafted first overall that the Lynx didn’t reach the WNBA Finals. Moore was eighth in the league in minutes and seventh in points in 2018. She has missed one game in eight seasons, with career averages of 18.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
“We support her in this exploration and will continue to provide her the love and care she has always known from her Lynx family,” general manager and head coach Cheryl Reeve said in a statement distributed by the team.
Moore, who went to high school in the Atlanta area she now calls home, was given the franchise tag last month by the Lynx, preventing her from becoming a free agent. The 29-year-old, who won the WNBA Most Valuable Player award in 2014, expressed her fatigue — and her eagerness for some extended rest — near the end of the 2018 season, which saw the Lynx ousted in the first round of the playoffs. The league compressed the 34-game schedule by three weeks from the 2017 slate.
Moore was the top vote-getter for the All-Star game last summer in Minnesota, but she passed on the team captain responsibility that would have required her to draft from the 22-player pool. Candace Parker of the Los Angeles Sparks took her place, joining Elena Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics in assembling the sides. Moore had 18 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the exhibition to earn her third straight All-Star Game MVP award.
Moore also opted out of the Women’s Basketball World Cup, the first major event she wasn’t on the U.S. national team for since the 2008 Summer Olympics, which took place before the start of her sophomore season at powerhouse Connecticut.
The Lynx, too, are in flux following the retirement of five-time All-Star point guard Lindsay Whalen, who became coach at her alma mater, Minnesota. They start their season May 25 against Chicago.
Latest NBC SPORTS
AP source: Liz Cambage traded from Dallas to Las Vegas May 16, 2019 11:58 am Lynx star Maya Moore to skip ’19 WNBA season February 5, 2019 4:29 pm WNBA players opt out of CBA, can start negotiating sooner November 1, 2018 2:27 pm AP source: WNBA’s Stars negotiating sale to Las Vegas buyer October 12, 2017 11:31 pm Longtime WNBA director Renee Brown stepping down October 5, 2016 12:07 am WNBA withdraws fines for player protests July 23, 2016 6:42 pm WNBA president talks about fining players over warmup shirts July 23, 2016 2:23 am WNBA fines 3 teams, players for shirts in wake of shootings July 21, 2016 1:21 am Breanna Stewart top pick in WNBA, leading 1-2-3 UConn sweep April 15, 2016 9:50 am Adam Silver confident in WNBA, plans to be more involved November 7, 2015 11:34 am WNBA president Laurel J. Richie stepping down November 4, 2015 4:47 pm Lynx capture 3rd title in 5 years with 69-52 win in Game 5 October 14, 2015 11:05 pm WNBA Finals between Lynx and Fever go to decisive Game 5 October 12, 2015 4:06 pm Moore hits winner to lift Lynx over Fever 80-77 October 12, 2015 4:06 pm Fowles, Lynx pull out tense Game 2 to even WNBA Finals 1-1 October 7, 2015 1:56 am Gritty Fever top Lynx 75-69 in Game 1 of WNBA Finals October 5, 2015 2:51 am Fever Knock Off Liberty in Game 3, Will Meet Lynx in Finals September 29, 2015 10:29 pm USA Basketball suspends Griner for start of training camp September 29, 2015 7:39 pm WNBA: Last-second foul on Mercury shouldn’t have been called September 28, 2015 2:34 pm Maya Moore carries Lynx to WNBA Finals September 27, 2015 10:00 pm Fever rally for 70-64 win vs Liberty in Game 2 September 27, 2015 4:48 pm Brittney Griner, Tamika Catchings on WNBA All-Defensive Team September 27, 2015 9:42 am Moore’s 19 points lead Lynx past Mercury 67-60 September 24, 2015 10:47 pm Seattle wins WNBA lottery for UConn’s Breanna Stewart September 24, 2015 10:40 pm New York routs Indiana 84-67 in conference final opener September 24, 2015 12:42 am Charles, Liberty beat Mystics 79-74 to reach East finals September 23, 2015 2:30 am Balanced Lynx top Parker, Sparks to advance to West finals September 23, 2015 2:12 am Fever beat Sky 100-89, advance to Eastern Conference finals September 21, 2015 10:54 pm Liberty force third game with 86-68 win over Mystics September 21, 2015 3:19 am Parker lifts Sparks to 81-71 win over Lynx, forces Game 3 September 21, 2015 3:15 am Catchings helps Fever beat Sky to force Game 3 in East semis September 20, 2015 3:50 am Mercury advance with 91-67 win over Shock September 20, 2015 3:47 am Latta, Meesseman help Mystics outlast Liberty 86-83 in 2OT September 19, 2015 12:56 am Moore scores career playoff-high 33 to lead lynx past Sparks September 19, 2015 12:54 am Griner has 18 points, 11 blocks as Mercury beat Shock 88-55 September 18, 2015 1:49 am Quigley scores 20 as Sky beat Fever 77-72 in playoff opener September 18, 2015 1:47 am Laimbeer wins WNBA coach of the year for second time September 18, 2015 1:44 am Phoenix’s Brittney Griner WNBA defensive player of year September 18, 2015 1:41 am Pope, Madonna, Avengers force WNBA playoff scheduling issues September 16, 2015 2:40 pm Elena Delle Donne wins WNBA MVP September 16, 2015 12:43 pm
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Interview with master storyteller Brian Hungerford
by storytree | Mar 7, 2014 | Uncategorized
“The first time I saw him tell a story, tears rolled down my face and I didn’t know why. Afterwards I couldn’t move for a long time” Audience member comment about Brian Hungerford. I had a similar experience.
While there is nothing like live storytelling, if you want to hear some of Brian’s magic, listen to him tell one of my favourite tales, ‘Me and Me Grandma’.
My colleague Brian Hungerford, who gave me mentoring in my early years as a teller, has been described as a national living treasure. He is without doubt a master storyteller with a very devoted following. He has told stories in 19 different countries for UNESCO, FAO, the BBC and the British Council. He is also a writer and playwright.
At Woodford Folk Festival, he can attract an audience of 200- 300 people and tell one hour long story in way that makes time stand still. As I sat in the audience at Woodford this year, I heard a man sitting nearby say he loved the way Brian made myths so accessible, because as he tells, he unravels the meaning of the myth in a very chatty, humorous way.
Interviewing Brian by email for a storytelling magazine called ‘Swag of Yarns’ some years back (now defunct) gave me the opportunity to pose all the questions I’ve always wanted to ask him!
When did you first start telling stories?
I think I have always told stories. As a young boy I lived in a world of old people, no electricity, no easy transport and lots of jobs. It was my job to cut the firewood for cooking and heating and as we had no inside tap, it was my job to keep the big kettle (then called a fountain) full of water from the outside tank. Every morning I woke to the sound of distant diesel engines starting up around the valley. The engines powered the milking machines. Well before five, I would get up, get dressed and run out to bring in the cows for milking. It wasn’t hard work, but seven days a week. We had 70 Jersey cows and one bull. At six I had decided that the bull was not only dangerous, but useless. By eight o’clock all my work was done. While the grown ups continued with the endless jobs of cleaning equipment and feeding the cows I ate breakfast and left for school. It was a three mile walk and usually Tommy Vigal would come past on his big Clydesdale horse called Captain. I would climb up behind him. A mile father down the road we would collect Shirley Schaefer. The school had its own horse paddock next to the playground. We didn’t use saddles, so it was only necessary to hang the winkers and rope reins on the gate and run in. Sometimes Captain was hungry and determined to nibble grass on the side of the road all the way. Those days we were late. We always had good excuses for being late and that was the beginning of my storytelling career. It came through listening to all the excuses. The best one for not presenting homework came from Shirley who said she had done her homework, but left it on the rump of Captain. We all went to search for it, but to no avail. Shirley was certain Captain had eaten the entire book.
When did you first start telling stories professionally?
I had great trouble learning to read as a boy. My mother and brother were great readers. My brother and I shared the same bedroom and at night he would read aloud to me. It was wonderful. He had a passion for Persian mythology and I would lie there taking in every word. At school I could recreate all the stories. These days I would be seen as Dyslexic and unable to recognise the shapes of words. Consequently, I relied on listening intently and learning everything by ear. Strangely enough music was easier to read than the written word. Mind you, once I heard the tune I would then pretend to read the music. First, it was the piano, but on the side I loved the mouthorgan. Then I was given a concertina and life was full of adventure.
I left school with the usual matriculation with top marks in botany and agriculture. While at high school (there were five of them – eleven schools in all) I started writing verses. I shone as an actor and debater and wrote sketches for the school concerts.
Despite being a dreadful speller, I determined to make my living as a writer and I managed to get a job with the ABC working with the wonderful Australian poet, John Thompson. I voraciously wrote dramatised features and one-hour plays for the ABC and these were subsequently resold throughout the English-speaking world. As an evening student at Sydney University I had lots of poetry published in university journals and took out the drama prize with a three-act play called The Ugly Duckling.
In 1960 I was living and writing in Spain. My aural training soon had me speaking Spanish and life was extremely beautiful. The trouble is you cannot live on beauty alone and I moved to London and work in the BBC writing talks and conducting interviews for the World Service.
In 1966, I was seconded to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN to work as an “Expert” on communication in Spanish-speaking countries of the Third World. I was perfectly at home. I was living and working with illiterate people. I began teaching the use and skills of informal drama and listening to village storytellers. I studied their methods and voices. These were people who could earn a living with their stories – even in poor communities.
I returned to Australia in 1983 and wondered how on earth I would settle down. I filled in time wondering, by writing a set of stories which were published in literary journals and on the ABC. I was asked to “Read” my most popular story “It’s Him” at a literary event. Half way through the story I felt so fraudulent, standing there reading literature. I stopped reading and simply told the story. It was a success and I haven’t read a story since. I am a professional storyteller who continues (among friends) the tradition which has existed since the days of the cave. My last breath will be the end of my last story.
Could you divulge some of your favourite books of story collections?
I doubt I have a favourite book of stories. I am more interested in agriculture, draught-horses, folk music and cultural traditions than I am in the written word. I would love to be able to read easily, but reading is difficult for me so I tend to take the easy way out and I depend on my ears.
What would be some of your favourite books on the art storytelling and the meaning within story?
Of all the material I have tried to read, Joseph Campbell has inspired me the most. His writing is easy, but so full of insight I can hear his voice in the pages of his books. I listen to the inner man in him who listened to the inner man in the mythologies of those he lived with.
What do you love most about storytelling as opposed to your writing?
I love storytelling because there is no end to it. Each time I tell a story it is different. For this reason, I suppose, I tend to favour long stories. I have to find a quiet place within myself to tell the story well and the audience has to equally find a quiet place within themselves to be able to take part in the listening. When I write, and most of the stories I now tell I have not written down at all, I still write for the spoken word. At present I am a full-time student with a branch of the ANU in Canberra on a theatre course. I am involved in the writing of a three-act stage play based on the life of a wonderful convict woman in early Australia. The play will be produced early next year and I will get satisfaction from that. But every time I tell stories I get a lift inside me and there are magic moments, which cannot be planned for when the simple story you tell for the sake of pleasure, entirely alters the life of one of the listeners.
Have you learnt many stories direct from other tellers in your wide travels or in Oz?
I haven’t learned stories from other tellers here in Australia. I am often asked if I do Aboriginal stories. I like to hear them, but I feel we have robbed them of so much of what was theirs, I have no intention of now stealing their stories. But I have taken stories from poor people in Third-World countries and earned a living doing so. This alone raises a question many of us may not like to answer.
Has your gypsy heritage affected your storytelling?
I am of Gypsy descent (please never use the lower case g for Gypsy). Like 50,000 other Australians I am proud of that tradition. We are an ethnic group within society preserving the oral tradition of the nations we pass through. We don’t build much, but we don’t destroy either. We don’t tell many stories about Romani people or customs. We leave that to others. We talk about the world as we travel.
My apologies for the lower case g and thank you thank you Brian, for those terrific tales of your storytelling beginnings! I’m so glad I asked!
Published Swag of Yarns, Australia’s National Storytelling Magazine, Winter 2004, Vol 7
NB: The magazine Swag of Yarns is sadly now defunct.
I asked these questions and Brain answered them some years back and now happy to report in March 2014, that after a great deal of nagging from several of his fans, including me, Brian is finally recording some stories.
Read about another tale he tells, The Oldest Tale in the English Language.
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Graduate Certificate in Archaeology
This 60-credit point course is for those wishing to develop or extend knowledge and skills in archaeology and provides a pathway into the Graduate Diploma and Masters of Professional Archaeology. The course provides a broad understanding of archaeological knowledge and skills as well as research skills. It is particularly useful for those who have not previously undertaken tertiary studies in archaeology.
00115M; 00070G (Language Centre)
At La Trobe University, we’re ambitious global thinkers. Since we opened our doors in 1967, we have equipped more than 190,000 graduates with the skills and experience to build successful careers. With over 8,000 students from 110 countries, we pride ourselves on being an international university.
In 2016, La Trobe was ranked in the QS Top 50 Under 50, making us one of the world’s best young universities. Now in our 50th year, the QS World Working University Rankings has placed La Trobe in the top two per cent of universities worldwide.
At La Trobe, we balance research excellence with real-world experience. Our Professors of Practice are industry-experienced teaching professionals who bring industry into the classroom, and across all our schools we offer Work Integrated Learning opportunities where you can apply your learning in a real workplace. You can then record and build on your experiences through our Career Ready Advantage program, developed with industry and structured to help you actively prepare for your life beyond university.
La Trobe has seven campuses across the state of Victoria, including two in Melbourne and one in Sydney’s central business district. The Melbourne campus has 267 hectares (660 acres) of stunning parkland and waterways, including a major wildlife sanctuary. It offers a welcoming and diverse campus community with residential style accommodation and services.
latrobe.edu.au/international
La Trobe is currently ranked among the top 400 universities in the world, according to the three most prestigious international rankings: the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2016, Times Higher Education 2016-2017 and QS World University Rankings 2016-2017.
82 per cent of our research areas were rated at ‘world standard or above’ in the 2015 Excellence in Research for Australia Report.
Our Career Ready Advantage program was developed in consultation with industry and is designed to help you actively prepare for life after university.
We’ve invested more than AU$500 million into world-class centres for learning and research, including the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science (LIMS), the Centre for AgriBioscience (AgriBio), a world-class sports park currently in development, and our Wildlife Sanctuary, which has numerous indigenous plants and animals, from kangaroos to emus.
latrobe.edu.au/about
Student Services We have wide variety of service options to help you get the most out of your time in Australia. ASK La Trobe is your 24/7 student help service where you will find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about study and student life. You will also be supported by International Student Services who are dedicated to assisting you from the time you arrive through to graduation. Our student services include: support for pre-departure and orientation academic and personal one-one-one support community engagement programs volunteering and student hosting. Courses La Trobe offers more than 200 courses, including 125 undergraduate degrees and over 120 postgraduate courses, across a wide range of a study areas, including: arts and communications business and commerce engineering health sciences information technology law teaching and education sciences. latrobe.edu.au/courses
La Trobe offers more than 200 courses, including 125 undergraduate degrees and over 120 postgraduate courses, across a wide range of a study areas, including:
arts and communications
sciences.
latrobe.edu.au/courses
We have wide variety of service options to help you get the most out of your time in Australia. ASK La Trobe is your 24/7 student help service where you will find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about study and student life.
You will also be supported by International Student Services who are dedicated to assisting you from the time you arrive through to graduation.
Our student services include:
support for pre-departure and orientation
academic and personal one-one-one support
community engagement programs
volunteering and student hosting.
Am I eligble for this course?
Contact us to find out
Associate Degree in Science
Bachelor of Advanced Humanities (Honours)
Bachelor of Anthropology
Bachelor of Applied Public Health / Bachelor of Global Studies
Australian Catholic University (ACU)
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Nice Summary of the 101-based “Invalidity” War on Software Patents
September 13, 2014 PatentDavid
Dennis has provided detailed analyses of most of these cases; this article entitled “Software Patents are Crumbling Thanks to the Supreme Court, provides a nice high-level overview, including a very telling chart, summarized thus:
The 14 patents the courts invalidated on subject matter grounds in 2013 was a record for recent years (such decisions were rare in the 1990s and early 2000s). And this chart reflects decisions on all types of patents, not just software patents. With 11 software patents invalidated in just the last three months, the courts are on track to blow away last year’s record with software patent cases alone. So this is the most hostile the courts have been to software patents in at least two decades.
Judge Moore was right in CLS, it seems. Next industry on the chopping block: Biotech, in Ariosa (discussed by Dennis below).
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172 thoughts on “Nice Summary of the 101-based “Invalidity” War on Software Patents”
Articles About the Death of Software Patents in the United States | Techrights says:
[…] An article by Mike Masnick, another vocal opponent of software patents, is titled “Be Happy: Software Patents Are Rapidly Disappearing Thanks To The Supreme Court” and “Software patents dying out in US” is another headline to keep a record of. Some of the most popular lawyers’ sites are prepared to acknowledge this. […]
MM says:
Reeling from the shock of these crippling judicial blows to the Most Important Industry Ever in the History of the Universe, the stock market hit an all-time record today.
link to money.cnn.com
Perhaps now the 29-30 billion per year lost to litigation will taper down…
Quite an infusion of capital.
Ashlin Redpath says:
Is this not all OBVIOUS
The subject matter invalidation of Alice and subsequent cases seem to me to be misdirected.
The main arguments seem to be that …if it can be performed by humans without the computer then adding the computer/software doesn’t make it patentable…
In other countries this is sometimes referred to as “mere automation” and has never been patentable as it’s not considered inventive to merely automate a known process.
Isn’t this argument really a disguised ‘obviousness’ argument, i.e. I can perform the task without a computer and therefore it would be OBVIOUS to use a computer to automate it.
All of these cases involve methods that are arguably known or obvious and so why this has not been raised as the primary objection seems odd. It may be that the Obvious argument has traditionally been much harder to succeed on. If this is the case then the question must be asked WHY?
I don’t believe there is anything inherently unpatentable about software. The problem that the public sees is that inventions of dubious inventiveness seem to be granted and reach the news and they all happen to be for software-related inventions.
There are plenty of ground-breaking innovations made in software that deserve patents and the public would not object to these if they saw them. Unfortunately, as with all news, only the exceptional cases are newsworthy.
The problem is not software as patentable subject matter, the problem is that there needs to be more rigour in examination.
As noted in the comments, it’s difficult to search for prior art software as it’s typically non-visual. Mechanical inventions are easier to search because you have drawings, chem and biotech because you have equations, genetics because you have sequence codes.
This is not a reason to reject it all. This is a reason to find a better way of searching.
Can anyone explain why these patents weren’t attacked on obviousness grounds?
None whatsoever. I believe that was why math was supposed to be excluded from patents in the first place. The results are obviously derived from previous results… Simple, rigid, logic.
No inventive step.
Ned Heller says:
Ashlin, The main arguments seem to be that …if it can be performed by humans without the computer then adding the computer/software doesn’t make it patentable…
I think you misunderstand — but that seems common to a lot of folk.
The problem is more related to whether the novel subject matter is statutory and/or whether the novel subject matter, if otherwise statutory, is stated at too high a level of abstraction.
Economic principles and math are both examples of nonstatutory subject matter. Invention in the claim must be in the otherwise statutory, or the nonstatutory (e.g., math) must be applied to transform (Alice) the statutory into something new or improved.
When the novelty is otherwise statutory, the claim remains abstract if it is not applied with any specificity. The Rubber-Tip Pencil is case is a good example. A claim for “a new and useful rubber head for lead-pencils” was held unpatentable because a rubber tip was old and the idea of attaching it to the pencils was without any detail.
AR says:
Ned,
The point above is that the objections to these particular software patents can all be addressed by arguing the inventions are obvious. You don’t need a separate software exclusion or ineligible subject matter attack.
In other countries the rubber tip case would be considered a ‘mere collocation of integers each performing their own function’. There is no ‘synergistic effect’ obtained in the combination and therefore not patentable.
Attaching two things together so they are conveniently located together but each operate independently is not inventive.
To me that case would have nothing at all to do with subject matter, which is after all ‘mechanical’.
AR, I think there is a similar doctrine in the United States where a parameter is known to be variable within a range without changing the substance of what’s going on in order to accommodate various conditions. This is considered to be obvious. Thus if it was known that the rubber piece could be attached to anything that had a tip because it was naturally elastic, attaching it to a pencil tip would seem obvious.
One could approach the topic from common knowledge and common sense and arrive at the same result as the US Supreme Court did.
But legally, it also makes sense to say that the broad suggestion to attach a piece a rubber to the tip of a pencil without any detail on how to do that other than its natural properties is quite a bit overbroad if the claim were construed to cover means of attachment not disclosed and described other than simply pushing the tip into the rubber. In a sense, this is the same problem we encountered with Morse’s claim eight.
And just suppose, that the specification disclosed shaping the piece a rubber in a manner that it could effectively attach to the tip of a pencil without falling off, etc., then the claim itself would not include the essential structure or methods actually disclosed. This would present a separate section 112 problem where the claim did not particularly point out and distinctly claim the invention.
only the exceptional cases are newsworthy.
There are literally thousands of these “exceptional” invalid software cases out there. Every Tuesday morning reams more are granted.
it’s difficult to search for prior art software as it’s typically non-visual.
It’s typically not recited in the claims is the problem. Only the functionality is recited.
“Judicial activism” turned obviousness into an expensive proposition. On top of that, there is no consistent nomenclature used by computer-implementer types and they appear to go out of their way to invent terms that obscure what they are believe they are “innovating” to the greatest extent possible.
At the end of the day, they are claiming either (1) logical information processing steps that are older than the hills (in spite of their “new” labels) and which do nothing more than what anyone would expect them to do; or (2) information itself, which is ineligible.
I don’t believe there is anything inherently unpatentable about software.
I do and so do a lot of other people.
I don’t believe it is the “computer implementor types” doing that.
They are much more straight forward in using the language of the art.
Patents are written in legalese…
It has been pointed out that if the patents really were supposed to “reveal” the how-they-did-it, then the patent would include the source code used, and/or the exact formula used.
These sound like comments against patents in general.
e.g. a machine is not patentable because it is no more than joining of nuts and bolts to make a hovercraft. A new cancer drug is no more than taking compounds A +B + C and combining in solution.
The only difference with software is that rather than physical components/compounds you are using software modules/code.
Therefore, by your logic nothing should be patentable.
People don’t think Software should be patentable because
a) there’s been some software patents issued for trivial inventions. This is a problem with examination process and searching, it is NOT a result of a subject matter issue.
b) the majority of people use software on a daily basis and therefore feel affected by the patent, as opposed to cancer drugs or a hovercraft which also have patents opposed by those people who want them for free.
c) it’s similar to the sense of entitlement people have to products of the mind, e.g. copyright infringement of books, movies, music. People have a problem paying for something that’s a result of mental effort, as opposed to physical goods.
You often hear the argument against software patents that “all software inventions are obvious” or as your comment says, (1) logical information processing steps that are older than the hills (in spite of their “new” labels) and which do nothing more than what anyone would expect them to do”
If this assertion is correct for a particular case then the invention is obvious and not patentable. You don’t need a separate software exclusion. Simply state that these inventions are inherently obvious.
Why should software that is not obvious and therefore doesn’t fall within your definition be excluded from patentability?
The problem is that the software patents are on math, which is supposed to be excluded from patentable subjects.
That is not the problem jesse.
The problem is that you are not recognizing that applied math** is not excluded from patentable subject matter, and that you are only looking at the elephant blindfolded and holding the elephant’s tail.
You are also refusing to heed the warnings given to you as to being careful where you step. That is particularly unwise trailing the elephant.
**for simplicity, I am not even getting into the point that more than just applied math is involved.
The problem you have is not recognizing the math and software are the same.
It is pure math. It even has math proofs do show that fact.
You just don’t seem to like it.
16.3.3.2.1
Jesse – I think think that you are extending the proofs further than they were meant to go. The software-is-maths proof shows that a software algorithm can be equivalently represented as mathematics – of course that transformation leaves out the physical interactions caused by the software. Many physicists also believe that the entire universe (and anything within the universe) can be represented in mathematical form.
16.3.3.2.1.1
The “physical interactions” are the property of physics, not the math.
And within the limits imposed by the physics, anything in the universe should be representable… but that mapping is defined by the physics. Not the math.
My simple example is the measure of temperature and the math of the conversion…
F = 9/5*C + 32
Simple formula. Describes a line from -infinity to +infinity.
Simple math.
However, the physics of reality say it is wrong. Temperature doesn’t exist below –273.15 centigrade. (There is also an upper limit but that depends on the pressure of the media the temperature is being measured…)
As an abstract math formula, that is irrelevant.
Now within physics (until quantum mechanics) there is no such thing as a discontinuous function. All physical transformations are continuous.
Math doesn’t have that restriction. Simple number theory is discontinuous.
Computers use circuits that emulate boolean algebra expressions. I say “emulate” because the physics of the circuit requires the function to be continuous… Thus the emulation is limited to only certain physical ranges (for the given circuit). That emulation is then used to implement another totally abstract math operation – the instruction cycle.
Math operations are always discontinuous. There is no such thing as “time”, only sequence – one operation preceding/following another.
In reality, time is another continuous function. A computer CAN emulate reality… but not fully due to the discontinuous nature of the computations. It can come close… Sometimes close enough to substitute for a mechanism that actually performs continuously. (It happens to be one of the reasons we don’t have reliable fusion at this time – maintaining a stable plasma cannot be done in real time – even though the math CAN describe the situation… Trying to go through all the conversions from reality to math to reality is far, far too slow)
To me, the thing that separates the math from the physics is the conversion step. The math is independent of the conversion; but reality depends on the conversion to/from the symbolic form that can be used in math.
Within the computer, everything is just a number. Data, programs, input, output… just numbers. The only way for the math embedded within the computer to interact is by some form of translation.
That conversion must be done by something interacting with the physical world. And that device is certainly patentable. The keyboards, the display, the analog to digital conversion and the digital to analog conversion (and yes, even the disk drives have such conversion as well). Even the pencil and paper provides an external storage – but what is stored must still be converted to a symbolic form before use, whether that be a computer, programmer, or a mathematician.
To the computer, the physical conversions are usually referred to as reading or writing. What is done with that data (or where the data comes from) is irrelevant – it is just symbolic data (numbers actually), and that is the realm of math.
Interesting article here by Eli Dourado, who references the Lee article:
link to cato-unbound.org
Software patents have characteristics that make them particularly susceptible to litigation. Unlike, say, chemical patents, software patents are plagued by a problem of description. How does one describe a software innovation in such a way that anyone searching for it will easily find it? As Christina Mulligan and Tim Lee demonstrate, chemical formulas are indexable, meaning that as the number of chemical patents grow, it will still be easy to determine if a molecule has been patented. Since software innovations are not indexable, they estimate that “patent clearance by all firms would require many times more hours of legal research than all patent lawyers in the United States can bill in a year.
This is an important point and right at the heart of the matter. Any reform that allows software (and functionally claimed hardware) to continue to be protected by patents must include (1) a requirement that applicants in these “arts” adopt a pre-determined lexicon for describing, in the claim, the “precise elements” (to coin a term invoked by Dennis Crouch) responsible for the allegedly improved “functionality”; and (2) Examiner’s at the PTO must be given guidance as to how the massive prior art of logical information processing steps (computerized and not) fit into that lexicon.
NWPA (Night Writer Patent Attorney) says:
>>in the claim, the “precise elements” (to coin a term invoked by Dennis >>Crouch) responsible for the allegedly improved “functionality”;
That is ridiculous. If a person of ordinary skill in the art knows how to write code/design a circuit to perform the function then it should not have to be in the specification.
So, let’s see according to this nonsense (and notice how they always have this authoritarian tone when making this suggestion and would never provide an actual example in real life as it would render them absurd) I would have to put in all the course work for ee/cs and maybe up to a ph.d. work. So, let’s see how about a patent application that is 100,000 pages long?
This is another attack on the whole system with these assertions that have no backing in patent law. In fact, these type of suggestions are why patents are so bloated and expensive.
It is scandalous that people have the audacity to make these types of suggestion. Even in Ned’s favorite Haliburton they did not make such a requirement.
I would have to put in all the course work for ee/cs and maybe up to a ph.d. work.
No, you wouldn’t.
If a person of ordinary skill in the art knows how to write code/design a circuit to perform the function then it should not have to be in the specification.
If the circuit is what you are trying to claim, it needs to be in the specification.
Yes I would.
One of these authoritarian vapid responses. A functional claim refers to what a PHOSITA knows.
Unbelievable to me that the anti-information processing crowd including Lemley are trying to push this point as if it makes any sense at all.
So, according to you MM if I claim a door rotatably connected to a frame then I better put in all the possible hinges.
That is your logic. Ridiculous. Counter to all known patent law principles.
Lemley should say, “I am reality.” Because from what I’ve seen of Lemley he puts a lot stuff out there but does not respond to anyone’s questions.
This functional claiming nonsense is just beyond believe.
6 says:
“A functional claim refers to what a PHOSITA knows.”
That’s nice. We still require drawings and description around these here parts.
I didn’t realize you had been promoted to the SCOTUS.
Night, you are not making any distinction between claiming old and well-known structure in a combination claim and claiming new structure.
Why don’t you start with reading O’Reilly v. Morse in its discussion of Wyeth v. Stone, where in essence, the patentee tried to claim all machines that will cut blocks of ice having invented just one such machine.
The Halliburton case concerned what the Supreme Court thought to be a functional claim to novel structure. They first identified that there was nothing new in the patent but the new structure disclosed in the specification. All other apparatus was old, and the method disclosed was not new but for the apparatus.
In this context, the Supreme Court held that the functionally expressed novel element essentially violated section 112 because the patentees had not invented all apparatus for carrying out the recited function. You and I have talked about this in terms of written description support, enablement, or indefiniteness. The Supreme Court really didn’t care which part of section 112 that was the problem, if not all three.
So please stop trying to divert attention away from the issue by errecting strawman. The functional-point-of-novelty doctrine is all about claiming novel structure not in terms of what it is but in terms of what it does or the result it achieves.
Ned, if the structure is new then you would have to describe.
That doesn’t mean you can’t functionally claim it. LazardTECH for how claim scope should be policed.
15.1.1.1.3.1.1
Night, novel structure can be described as a combination of old, well known elements all of which are functionally claimed, or which include functional explanations of otherwise structural elements.
As I said, the vice occurs only when the claim is functional at the point of novelty such that the combination claimed is really old with the invention lying in the one element and not in any combination.
I think what you are saying goes to 103 and scope of enablement Ned.
Indeed, Night, it goes to section 112 primarily as a statutory basis for why there is a problem.
It should at least say what is in the “improved” door…
EXACTLY JESSE!! The patent application should focus on what is new and satisfy the 3 prongs of 112.
This functional nonsense is fabricated by Lemley.
Now if the “improvement” is not subject to patents then it should not be patented…
Might be reasonable as “trade secret” though…
“chemical formulas are indexable, meaning that as the number of chemical patents grow, it will still be easy to determine if a molecule has been patented”
So are sequences of 1’s and 0’s but nobody is on board with indexing them, despite their alleged importance.
MM, software as a category is and must remain essentially unpatentable. However, innovations in computer technology, and larger machines, systems or conventional processes might be claimed in terms of the larger machines, etc.
For example, an improved servo system in a disk drive where the novelty was in an improved algorithm might be claimed as an improved disk drive servo system. This would confine the search appropriately.
an improved servo system in a disk drive where the novelty was in an improved algorithm might be claimed as an improved disk drive servo system. This would confine the search appropriately.
In theory I can see something like this possibly working if a reliable lexicon and system for claiming and searching algorithms is put in place.
In practice, I have doubts. And I also predict the same folks who insist that the old status quo was “the only way” will fight tooth and nail against any attempt to set up such a system. That’s not even a prediction, at this point. More like an observation.
The reactions to the Alice decision are interesting to those of us who like to keep track.
In the immediate (and not unexpected) aftermath, proponents of software patents fell immediately into two major camps: (1) end of the world for computer innovation and massive portfolio destruction with a subsequent shareholder/stockmarket plunge; and (2) “no biggie because Alice is easy to claim around”.
Now, five to six months down the road, when we can see the first real signs of genuine progress being made in shutting down the “do it on a computer” gravy train (unfortunately no sanctions against the patentees for asserting the patents, but that’s surely coming), the same camps are still around.
What’s missing? For starters, any evidence of a dramatic decline in the production of new software or improved software, and any evidence of any effect on the stock market. Let me know if I’ve missed an important study somewhere.
It seems clear now that both of these camps were wrong. There are major and permanent changes taking place and patent law in the US is never going to be the same again, particularly when it comes to software patents, broad medical diagnostic patents on “correlations” and patents on methods of forming abstract relationships between actors and/or objects (e.g., certain business methods and social interaction methods).
Interestingly, some of the other major legal shoes poised to crush any software patents that might possibly survive Alice have not yet dropped …
“Massive portfolio destruction….”
Which companies have these massive portfolio’s of business method patents? The people who said this must have someone in mind. It might be interesting to name them publicly that we might know who has an agenda.
“… social interaction methods.”
If correct, 100+ of Facebook’s patents (and pending patents) would be effectively wiped out.
Is that what you want MM?
Might that not affect that company’s stock price / value?
not likely.
Facebook is oriented on people interaction. The patents are more just there for defense purposes.
Facebook is more likely to fail due to poor handling of privacy and PR.
Hagbard Celine says:
The Bonfire of the Inanities, anyone? Rejoice I say, Rejoice!
bad joke ahead says:
“Next industry on the chopping block; biotech.”
Well said. You should care what the rules are, because it could be your ox that gets gored next.
My guess is that the SCOTUS very much would like to eliminate 99.9% of patent. They think that only patents to something like a t.v. or telephone should be eligible for a patent. Their view of technology is from Disney movies. And they have zero understanding of science.
Oh come on, they just now busted farmer Bowman (iirc) for “infringing” a patent on self-replicating bio tech.
I think what he was busted for is planting seeds that he believed to have the glyphosphate resistant trait, spraying the fields with glyphosphate, and replanting the next year with glyphosphate resistant corn. But what do I know; those are just the adjudicated facts.
“is planting seeds that he believed to have the glyphosphate resistant trait, spraying the fields with glyphosphate, and replanting the next year with glyphosphate resistant corn.”
Is that not a self-replicating bio tech? I’m confused.
No, that’s the absence of innocence in any of Bowman’s actions.
Sounds more like how corn was developed by the American natives…
By spraying their crop with glyphosphate?
Yes. The survivors, as long as there are any, will be tolerant.
Granted, it would normally have taken many years due to the time it takes for each generation.
But that is also why the seed corn currently sold is deliberately sterile. It creates a monopoly – which can be disastrous. If the source of the seed corn gets attacked by ANYTHING, then there will be NO corn for the next season… ever.
“that’s the absence of innocence in any of Bowman’s actions”
Are you trying to write a song? Enigma already beat you to that one. I think they got farmer bowman to star.
link to youtube.com
You should care what the rules are, because it could be your ox that gets gored next.
Neither you or anyone else has any reason to believe that a claim describing your new machine or component in objective structural terms that distinguish it from the prior art machines or components is susceptible to being “gored” by Alice. At least, you haven’t provided any such reason.
What you’re really doing is fearmongering.
News flash: your claims aren’t like “everybody else’s” claims.
That’s why we’re having the discussion.
>>News flash: your claims aren’t like “everybody else’s” claims.
That is not true. Look at mechanical claims and electrical claims. And, guess what? The patent system is supposed to adapt to new technologies not try to classify them as “abstract” or too spooky to work with. Or the latest craze as having no physical form with no structure and yet somehow existing.
except when it is specifically excluded.
Do you guys think this would make a suitable theme song for the War on Software Patents?
Wman says:
It seems to me that what is being discussed in the literature as “software patents” really involves at least three different kinds of inventions that really should be treated separately: business method inventions, software inventions involving a new algorithm hidden inside a computer program, and technology inventions that happen to be implemented in software. Admittedly the lines between these classifications are not bright, but bright lines are never perfectly clear in the law, and I think if we treat these three categories separately, they would be brighter than the so-called line drawn by Alice Corp.
Business method inventions, which I define for now in line with the AIA definition of CBM patents, should in my view never have been patentable. Three justices take this view in the concurrence in Alice Corp. In my mind, “promoting the progress of the useful arts” is not achieved by granting a monopoly on a financial services technique, an insurance product, or anything else that is not technology.
Software inventions involving a new algorithm hidden inside a computer program, I think might be worth patent protection because such protection would promote the progress of the useful art of programming techniques. However, the EFF people may be right that because they are hard for an innocent competitor to detect in their own products, such protection might be outweighed by the drag that they place on innovation by others.
Technology inventions that happen to be implemented in software, in my mind, should clearly be patentable subject matter. In the CBM arena, the PTO defines these as inventions that “solve a technical problem using a technical solution,” a definition very much in line with the Europeans. However I think it should be refined to require further that the invention have a physical effect, or be representative of a physical effect (such as a simulation program). These inventions are much easier for a competitor to detect and avoid (or design around), because of the physical effect. And with processors becoming so fast, most new ideas that in the past might have been implemented in hardware are being implemented in software instead, and this should not by itself be a reason to deny them patent protection.
In the very first Federal Circuit decision after Bilski, Research Corp. v. Microsoft, a patent on a halftoning method was upheld as being “non-abstract”. Judge Rader wrote the opinion and based it on the fact that a halftoning method is technological, not abstract. Subsequent Federal Circuit opinions which invalidated what I would call business method patents, distinguished Research Corp. on that same basis. I personally believe Judge Rader was on the right track.
In light of my views above, of the 11 recent invalidations mentioned in the article cited in the main blog post, the only one that troubles me is the one about on keeping colors synchronized across devices. That one I believe was wrongly decided, because the invention was, in my view, “technological”. I am comfortable with all the other invalidations cited.
I wonder what others in this brain trust think of the above way to organize the subject matter eligibility analysis of so-called “software patents”. (Please, as Dennis has requested, constructive comments only.)
>use of these profiles were merely mental steps that could be done by a >human being and were therefore not eligible for patent protection
I think they were all wrongly decided, but I agree that the above is one of the worst. So, the judge is saying merely being able to do what a human brain can do is nothing. So, a machine that can perform the same information processing tasks as a human is not worth a patent. That is what the judge is saying.
Outrageous. Counter to current science and every principle of innovation (and patent law).
Personally I think these opinions are right out of a Marx movie with no sanity clause.
Night, Personally I think these opinions are right out of a Marx movie with no sanity clause.
Typical Night post — They quality of argument is, well…..
So, if a program could do the judge’s job as well as the judge, then even that according to the judge would not be patent eligible. Something is very wrong with that.
if a program could do the judge’s job as well as the judge, then even that according to the judge would not be patent eligible.
Something is very wrong with that.
Exactly what is “very wrong with that”?
Lots of incredibly useful stuff is ineligible for patenting, for one reason or another, including stuff that would improve the performance of judges. There’s more to it than that.
Well gee willikers, tell us why it isn’t wrong. So far what we have from the judiciary is that it is wrong ’cause we say so.
So far what we have from the judiciary is that it is wrong ’cause we say so.
I’m not aware that the judiciary ever spoke to the facts you raised. Do you have a case in mind?
You made the assertion that “something is very wrong with [a judge finding ineligible] a program [that] could do the judge’s job as well as the judge.” I didn’t. Tell us what that “something” is. Presumably you know or else you wouldn’t have made the statement.
The “something” is that making an intelligent machine is an invention. The “something” is that we live in the information age and the innovations that are happening now are processing represented information.
That is the something. Processing represented information is why we separate ourselves from the animals, but according to at least one judge it isn’t patent eligible. I would say that is absurd.
Furthermore, any of these statements that go something like merely performing the steps of a mental process are not patent eligible are absurd.
So, if a person comes in and can do the judge’s job better is that meaningless? Is that mere? I don’t think any reasonable person would think so. So, what we have is a machine that is performing what the judge holds most dear and what the judge is paid for. It is simply outrageous and absurd to say that isn’t patent eligible.
Night, he didn’t say “meaningless”.
He said not patentable.
Jesse: tell us what he decision was based on. He applied a narrow judicial exception that states the claims are nothing more than an abstract concept with no value to the application.
Fish Sticks says:
I agree, NWPA.
That still shouldn’t make it patentable.
If it were, then you should have patented having a baby.
ALL animals process information. You are REALLY living in left field if you think animals don’t process information.
You must have missed the communication capabilities done by gorillas and chimpanzees. Their language might have been limited to a three year old, but it is still communication with a language.
Jesse yes all animals process information. Gee, now take it one step further and what is the difference between the squirrel and human in information processing?
According to your lot nothing.
They process information the same way we do.
The only difference is the AMOUNT of processing they may do. A shorter memory prevents that. Some animals DO have the same (or better) memory, but their environment is so drastically different from ours that we have trouble communicating with them, or even evaluating their intelligence.
Cetations have very complex communications, some are known to identify individuals by a name, but we are unable to interpret their complexity…. They process abstract information quite well. Even to the point of cooperative effort at saving humans from drowning when they choose.
Even cephalopods have a rather complex communications, and are known to investigate situations and solve complex problems.
Great comment, Wman.
Judge Rader wrote the opinion and based it on the fact that a halftoning method is technological, not abstract.
Depends on the claim.
The concept of halftoning is ancient. Painters have been knowingly using it for centuries and I would not be suprised if evidence that the optical illusion resulting from viewing different sized or shaped or colored dots was known to humans can be found in the arts and literature going back thousands of years. The idea of using the halftone principle for printing images is over 200 years old.
Over and over again there is this tendency to view everything that takes place “on a computer” as somehow “new” all over again. Programmable computers are old, people. They’ve been old for a long, long time. Same is true of computers connected to electronic displays which are, as everyone knows, reprographic devices designed to trick the eye.
Protecting “new” algorithms as applied to a process which is algorithmic by nature is simply protecting the math. How does one evaluate the “inventiveness” of a new math equation? If the “structure” of the algorithm (whatever that means) is to be compared to the “structure” of algorithms in the prior art, where do we look for those algorithms, which people have been using for centuries?
If an algorithm is applied to modulate data from source A for output B, can it ever be re-patented to modulate data from source A to output Y (Y is a different label given to the output data)? Source X to ouput Y (X/Y are different labels given to the input and output data) ? Is there some reason to expect that a “configured” computer in the prior art would choke on the algorithm if the input numbers are given different labels?
It seems to me that what is being discussed in the literature as “software patents” really involves at least three different kinds of inventions that really should be treated separately: business method inventions, software inventions involving a new algorithm hidden inside a computer program, and technology inventions that happen to be implemented in software.
I agree that the 101 analysis need not and probably should not be identical for the types of claims you identified. And I think the reasons for denying patents on those inventions are sound.
With respect to the “technology inventions that happen to be implemented in software”, I’m not sure I understand the distinction you are trying to make.
One distinction that I think might be practical is the distinction between claimed inventions that improve computing devices per se (e.g., speed, efficiency, increased memory storage), independent of any application, as opposed to claimed inventions that recite a new information processing functionality to be carried out by old computers. And applicants should expect to be required to provide evidence to support the stated utility and to rebut prima facie cases of obviousness, just as in every other art unit.
Thanks for the comments, MM.
Regarding my comment that Judge Rader based his opinion on the fact that a halftoning method is technological, not abstract, I see your response seems to focus on the question of whether a halftoning method is old. Justice Thomas’s opinion did equate “abstract” with “old” (I can’t recall exactly to what extent), and I think that was unfortunate. In my mind, something “old” should be addressed under the prior art sections of the statute, not patentable subject matter. So my comment tries to get away from where Alice Corp. leaves us, and instead tries to get at where *should* we be? What type of analysis should work to distinguish the kinds of subject matter that should be patentable from the kinds that shouldn’t.
In that vein, I feel strongly that my first category (business methods) should not be patentable, and that my third category (technical inventions with a physical effect) should. I’m not so sure about the middle category, either in how it should be defined or in how a claim in that category should be analyzed. But it would be nice to find agreement on at least the two extremes (business method vs. technological).
Regarding technology inventions that happen to be implemented in software, I can use a variation of your example to illustrate what I’m thinking of. You suggest an invention involving an algorithm to modulate data from source A for output B. Suppose the algorithm is hetrodyning (and assume hetrodying is novel and unobvious over the prior art). In the past, such an algorithm might have been implemented in hardware (like maybe an integrated circuit multiplier chip). I don’t think anyone would disagree that a claim calling for the use of a hardware multiplier to implement the algorithm should not be patentable subject matter. But today, that multiplication would likely be done in software. So the claim might instead call for a computer system which performs the multiplication. (Remember, we’re assuming here that the idea is novel and unobvious.) I don’t personally see any reason why this claim should not define patentable subject matter while the hardware claim does.
Regarding the distinction you suggest at the end, between claimed inventions that improve computing devices per se (e.g., speed, efficiency, increased memory storage), independent of any application, and claimed inventions that recite a new information processing functionality to be carried out by old computers, now it’s my turn to ask for clarification. And which one you would see as patentable subject matter and which one not.
saul says:
However I think it should be refined to require further that the invention have a physical effect, or be representative of a physical effect (such as a simulation program).
When I was young I had a clear plastic model of the Wankel rotary engine. While at the time there were patents covering the design, I would not expect that any licensing was required for the model or any infringement should occur in the absence of such licensing. Nor would I expect any computer simulation of the engine to be infringing (were such available at the time). In fact, it is supposedly the raison d’etre for the patent system to promote and facilitate the sharing of knowledge and understanding of a particular technology.
Are you suggesting that models and simulations that aid in describing a technology should be deemed the exclusive right of a device’s inventor? And yet somehow that certain simulations themselves should be afforded patent protection? Could you please elaborate on how this should work?
Thanks for the comment, Saul.
I think that whether a patent on a rotary engine would also cover a plastic model and a computer simulation of its operation, would depend on the claim. I don’t think it’s out of the question at all to draft a claim to a plastic model of a rotary engine, and that such a claim should be considered patentable subject matter. Whether it is novel and unobvious is a different question, and my post intentionally doesn’t go there. I’m assuming a novel and unobvious invention, and asking whether it should constitute patentable subject matter. It is certainly possible for a plastic model to be novel and unobvious over the real engine, for example if the designer of the model had to make unobvious modifications to make it work in brittle plastic.
Regarding simulations, I’m thinking of a computer-based simulator, not a particular simulation. For example, it may be a goal in the design of rotary engines to optimize some parameter, and the way to vary the parameter is by selecting the best angle for a doohicky on the engine. And assume it is difficult and expensive to manufacture 10 rotary engines, each with the doohicky placed at a different angle, so that you can measure the parameter and see which angle produced the best value for the parameter. So it might be valuable to create a simulator that models the operation of the engine on a computer, and allows the user to adjust the angle of the doohicky for each run of the simulation. Creating such a simulator might involve certain insight and shortcuts that would not have been obvious from the physical engine, so it is certainly possible that a claim to such a simulator might be novel and unobvious, even over the prior art of the physical engine. I think a claim to such a simulator should constitute patentable subject matter just as would a claim to the physical engine itself, because what the simulator “represents” has a physical effect. It is just as “technological” (in my view) as the physical engine itself, and does just as much to “promote the progress of the useful arts”. A simulator of the insurance marketplace, on the other hand, should not in my view constitute patentable subject matter, because what it represents is not technological. Protecting an invention either in the insurance marketplace or in a simulator of the insurance marketplace, does not (in my view) promote the progress of the useful arts.
Did I understand the import of your comment correctly?
I thought that Bilski was right – as long as you had a specific implementation that REQUIRED hardware to perform a particular function by the terms of the claims, then it should be patent eligible, unless it is merely automating a previously known manual process (very close to a 103 rejection anyway).
I see them in the same three categories that you do.
I deal with a lot that are in between the first two categories, business methods and implemented algorithms – within a business method, the computer implementation allows certain functions that couldn’t’ be done on pen and paper or by human action, etc. I think that that recognition and that feature should be patent eligible.
Wman, I agree with your basic approach. Methods which merely use computers that do not produce a new physical effect are not statutory. However, software that improves the computer, or software, which in a larger context of a machine or process that produces an improved machine or process certainly is patentable.
This is why the focus must be heavily placed on the role of the machine in the claim – whether it is there just nominally, being used, or whether the machine is being improved.
SlotGuy says:
All of the following improvements are physical effects brought about by new software; which are patentable in your opinion?
a) Software that improves (reduces) the energy use of a computer by 10%;
b) Software that improves the audio quality of a computer’s existing speakers by 10%;
c) Software that improves the processing speed of a computer by 10%;
d) Software that improves the visual clarity of a computer’s existing video display by 10%;
e) Software that improves (reduces) the reaction time of a computer user (when interacting with the software) by 10%;
f) Software that improves the happiness of a computer user by 10%;
g) Software that improves (reduces) the eyestrain of a computer user by 10%;
h) Software that improves (reduces) the time required by the computer user to use the computer by 10%.
Would you suggest that a novel and non-obvious software algorithm for making a computer more energy-efficient is outside the scope of patent eligibility? If not, what of the rest?
That is a great post.
The anti crowd believes that all of these are “abstract” and that software has no physical form or structure. They aren’t certain where it actually exists, but they say it exists with no physical form or structure. Quite a trick.
I think part of the problem is that non-computer people don’t actually understand what “software” is, and another part of the problem is that the language used by compsci types tends to befuddle the legal community (and vice-versa). For example, in software engineering, “abstraction” is a good thing, yet clearly not in IP law…
This line of text: main(){ printf("hello world"); }
represents software, in fact, one of the first C programs anyone ever writes. Is it software? That line of text surely can’t be patentable, but that’s because it’s just text on a page. Once it’s compiled (or interpreted) and running inside a computer, however, it’s not just text. It’s instructions to get a computer to do something that it otherwise wouldn’t be doing.
The patent laws seem to say that improving a machine — making it do what it does better, or do something different — is patent-eligible. The Kearns patents on intermittent windshield wipers didn’t use any new equipment (a point noted by Ford during litigation) but his patents were not struck down. If improving the behavior of windshield wipers is patentable, why shouldn’t improving the behavior of computers be patentable? Because they’re programmable by design?
Slotguy, I don’t think one could find agreement even amongst those intimately familiar with the technology on the actual definitions/boundaries of those two terms computer and software.
For my own definition, the “computer” is the physical structure of logic gates that repeatedly executes instruction cycles comprised of the reading of numeric data from its inputs (or its internal store), performing mathematical operations on that data, and outputting numeric data to its outputs.
My definition for “software” is precisely that numeric data which is read during the instruction cycles of a computer.
As such, I do not consider it possible for “software” to improve the “computer”; either the computer has the pre-existing capability to handle the input data or it does not. The data itself can not change this, any more than an audio recording on an album possesses the ability to “improve” a phonograph upon which it is played.
The problem with all but (a) are subjective. What may improve for some, will certainly be degraded for others.
Even power measures are subjective as it depends on hardware, rather than software. What improves one hardware platform can easily degrade others.
I disagree that all of those are subjective — time and speed are not, and audio quality can be objectively measured relative to a source signal. I further disagree that computer technology is like squeezing a balloon, improving somewhere but degrading elsewhere. Technology is not a zero-sum game.
If I invent a new low-level data retrieval algorithm that relies on some aspect of SSDs vs. spinning-disk drives, and implement it as a software patch to MS Windows 8.1, and thereafter every Windows computer with an SSD has 10% improved drive access time, that’s not degrading anything. I wrote software that made the computer run faster. Are you suggesting that falls outside the scope of patent-eligibility?
SlotGuy, if you promise not to again misrepresent what I say, I will respond here to say this:
Software which operates inside a computer to enhance its functionality as a computer provides an improved computer. I think such is quite statutory.
The problem begins when the computer’s relationship to the claimed subject matter is nominal such that the invention really is in the “business method” or other such non statutory subject matter. Examples include math and economic principles. However, those are only examples of a broader category of everything that is non statutory primarily because the subject matter is unrelated to improving a machine, manufacture or composition of matter, i.e. abstract.
What does “functionality as a computer” mean?
Intermittent wipers are not an improvement in wipers per se, but in the behavior of the wiper vis-a-vis the person who has to sit in front of it.
Software is not an improvement in a computer per se, but in the behavior of the computer vis-a-vis the person who has to sit in front of it.
Why is one patentable but the other not?
Better compilers look ahead in the code and eliminate unnecessary steps which reduce power consumption. That’s hardware independent.
No. it can be hardware dependent.
Way back – the MIPS R4000 CPU had different cach sizes. The compiler would take advantage of the size.. Yet the same program taken to the next generation could run slower… due to the incorrect assumptions of the binary. In one case, the program wouldn’t run (if the last instruction on a page was a jump, then the application aborted, thus the compiler would make sure the situation didn’t happen – I believe it inserted a noop. Take the same program to another version of the same CPU and it ran “less well”, as now it took up more memory, causing more page faults, and consume more resources.
What you are thinking of is more likely dead code removal, or the normal algebraic operator reduction optimization. These are hardware independent.
And note – algebraic operator reduction is a math operation. Dead code removal is just a part of operator reduction…
No, you’re talking about assemblers, and I’m talking about compilers.
I am talking about compilers. Now PART of a compiler is an assembler… That assembler is not necessarily independent of the rest of the compiler. It can also be part of a global optimizer that essentially does a targeted recompile of the code as it choses which branch instruction to use.
And there are a number of optimizations that can be used – some optimize for speed over code size, some optimize for numerical accuracy, which can be faster/slower depending on the hardware.
Egon Spengler says:
The bottom line, for many, will be their bottom line. I know of entire practices that have been based substantially on obtaining software-type patents for clients who now must wonder if there is any point in even trying. Fewer software-type patents means that further downstream, there will be substantially less litigation for the litigators to pick over. In other words, less revenue coming in for lots of firms, both on the prosecution side and on the litigation side. (Writing this, I first speculated that this would hit prosecutors first, but I’m not sure of that.)
My advice? Plastics Business Methods Patents Software Patents Drones. And maybe software that enables light weight, plastic drones to do what they otherwise would not.
scientist says:
Where are more patents filed (software or biologics)? Where are more and higher paying jobs now (software or biologics)?
You forgot hedge fund investors.
Glad to see the use of the word “software-type” since we have yet to see any of these 101-rejected patents with any actual new software, and the word “new” is a requirement in 101. Better yet, use the more technically correct word “vaporware” and some of the overreaction may calm down a bit.
“new,” at least according to Congress in 1952, is only in 102. That much is pretty clear.
The word “new” is clearly printed right in 101 itself, as noted.
random commenter says:
New in 102 means new to humans (prior art). New in 101 means new to the universe (not naturally occurring).
9.2.1.1.1.1
If something is “new” to the universe, it’s also “new” to humans.
9.2.1.1.1.1.1
Random and Curmudgeon, read the statute and reviser’s note. It’s not very arguable that “new” is only in 102, and “invention” is now in 103. Or, at least that’s what Congress thought it did.
Just tell us all what’s in the “reviser’s” note, David. You seem very familiar with this area. Don’t make everybody else do the work.
David, Frederico’s commentaries observed that the requirement that subject matter be new in the absolute sense was not overturned by Congress. The newness requirement is independent of prior art.
I think you might observed a Supreme Court case called Myriad. The Supreme Court their held that the reason that wild DNA was not a “new composition” within the meaning of 101.
RH says:
Whoa there… you weren’t expecting people on the internet to read something before talking about it were you?!
and, until Alice we thought “non-obvious” was only in 103
David, and of course you know that Frederico disagreed saying that Congress had no intention of overturning those cases that 101 newness still was requirement the statute regardless of prior art.
You also might address the fact that “new” was added in 1793 by Jefferson when he added “composition.” At that time, the statute also require that the subject matter not be known or in use. Clearly, in 1793, new was not meant to be the same thing as not known or in use. The whole point was not to authorize the patenting of compositions or phenomena of nature that were discovered because they were not new even though they were not previously known.
Congress change nothing in 1952, and you know that.
From the article: These rulings might seem like common sense,
They sure do.
but it’s important to remember that every single one of these patents was examined and approved by the patent office. That’s because until recently, this kind of “invention” was considered eligible for patent protection.
In fact, many of these inventions, if not all of them, should never have been granted by the PTO in the first place in view of statutes other than 101 — something that even the hardest core proponents of software patenting will readily admit.
By catering to the whims of their software patenting “clients”, the PTO and the Federal Circuit exacerbated the problem by encouraging the filing of the worst “innovations” out there to the point where the “inventors” of many of these cases being tanked are patent attorneys who saw a golden opportunity to “get rich off the Internet”.
MM, you reference to “clients” hits the nail on the head. The PTO refers to them as “stakeholders.” The people who want to obtain patents are stakeholders. The PTO openly admits that they give them priority and preference over the public interest.
Congress says the same thing — but here the people and companies being reamed are also heard.
“The PTO openly admits that they give them priority and preference over the public interest.”
I know I do, we’re running an entitlement program here.
And the beneficiaries are the PTO employees.
I’ve heard a few inventors and companies make out like bandits as well.
Oh, and sorry, also the public who allegedly gets disclosures in their useful arts.
“For example, the plot of Superman III involved a villain using this kind of scheme to steal from co-workers’ paychecks.”
What next, Beam me up, Scotty? Or take us at Warp-5 Mr. Sulu?
The difference is enablement. Superman III told you exactly how to do rounding down and reallocate the fractions. There is no enablement at all of the broad concept of warp drive.
There has been research on building “warp” drives though. No prototypes yet.
Next industry on the chopping block
Last time I checked the Supreme Court wasn’t in the business of invalidating “industries”, David.
Maybe you can explain to everyone, David, why so many honest, hard-working and creative people in the “software industry” are cheering these recent decisions if, in fact, these decisions have destroyed the software industry as you seem to suggest.
Similarly, the “biotech industry” isn’t on trial in Ariosa. Far from it. The issue in Ariosa is the eligibility of a class of claims that could (arguably) take old technology (e.g., PCR) out of the public domain every time that old technology is used for its intended purpose (i.e., obtaining information).
this is the most hostile the courts have been to software patents in at least two decades.
As you observed, MM, if one discovers a new star, one cannot patent that by claiming a method of observing the new star comprising a telescope.
BlutoBlutsarky says:
No area of technology is safe from SCOTUS at this point. Maybe if they p!ss off enough business sectors that are capable of influencing the court, there will be some kind of backlash.
Bluto, I think it is fair to say that you do not really understand what is going on. Have you ever read Hotel Security, just for example?
Thanks, Ned. For purposes of my future posts, it would be super great if you resisted the urge to snipe. You add nothing to the conversation by constantly whining that I am confused or uneducated.
I know this may come as a shock to you, but people have differing opinions about these matters.
BB, I responded to your post in kind because I really believe you could not have said what you said unless you did not understand the issues. I recommend that you actually read Hotel Security, then all the cases that followed it, including Guthrie v. Curlett, In re Russell, etc., and quite a number of CCPA cases. It was cited by 509 cases, and was in the MPEP until 1996 when, for some reason, it was removed by the PTO. That signaled the Federal Circuit, who cited its removal in State Street Bank that the government no longer opposed patenting business methods.
But the case also spawned the printed matter exception which is still followed even today by the Federal Circuit.
The Supreme Court is following it in Alice without saying that it is doing so. Plain as day.
Hotel Security provides an important analysis, but I wouldn’t think it carry’s much precedential weight. It is a 1908 case out of the Second Circuit written by a relatively obscure judge. According to Westlaw, in the subsequent one hundred years, it has only been cited by 20 cases (not the 500 that you suggest). And, that citation history is not representative of a universal following. For example, most recently it was an element of Justice Stevens Concurring Opinion in Bilski.
Dennis, Stevens cited Hotel Security with approval. He also cited in re Patton of the CCPA for the same proposition as Hotel Security. As I quoted elsewhere, Patton relied on Hotel Security, among others cases, that, in turn, also relied on Hotel Security.
In re Patton is controlling law and it has not been overturned by an en banc court.
Printed Matter:
Hotel Security was relied upon by Guthrie, that was in turn cited by In re Russel (printed matter is non statutory and provides no weight in a patentability analysis). Russell is still followed in very recent Federal Circuit cases for the proposition that non statutory subject matter is given no weight.
Newman was the first to question Hotel Security in her dissent in In re Schrader, 22 F.3d 290 (Fed. Cir. 1994). She opined there:
“A case often cited as establishing the business methods “exception” to patentable subject matter is Hotel Security Checking Co. v. Lorraine Co., 160 F. 467 (2nd Cir.1908); however, the court discussed the “obviousness” of the system of records kept to prevent embezzlement by waiters at considerably greater length than whether the subject matter was “statutory”. Although a clearer statement was made in In re Patton, 127 F.2d 324, 327, 53 USPQ 376, 379 (CCPA 1942) that a system for transacting business, separate from the means for carrying out the system, is not patentable subject matter, the jurisprudence does not require the creation of a distinct business class of unpatentable subject matter.
The cases simply reaffirm that the patent system is directed to tangible things and procedures, not mere ideas. See Rubber-Tip Pencil Co. v. Howard, 87 U.S. (20 Wall.) 498, 507, 22 L.Ed. 410 (1874) (“An idea of itself is not patentable, but a new device by which it may be made practically useful is”). Any historical distinctions between a method of “doing” business and the means of carrying it out blur in the complexity of modern business systems. See Paine, Webber, Jackson and Curtis v. Merrill Lynch, 564 F.Supp. 1358, 218 USPQ 212 (D.Del.1983), wherein a computerized system of cash management was held to be statutory subject matter.
I discern no purpose in perpetuating a poorly defined, redundant, and unnecessary “business methods” exception, indeed enlarging (and enhancing the fuzziness of) that exception by applying it in this case. All of the “doing business” cases could have been decided using the clearer concepts of Title 35. Patentability does not turn on whether the claimed method does “business” instead of something else, but on whether the method, viewed as a whole, meets the requirements of patentability as set forth in Sections 102, 103, and 112 of the Patent Act.”
Of course, taken literally, such thinking would and did allow the patenting of business methods.
Note the nice link into Rubber-Tip Pencil, where the Supreme Court used the Hotel Security analysis, but 33-years prior.
What case is cited to support Benson and Alice? Rubber-Tip Pencil.
I exactly echo BlutoBlutsarky’s view. Ned just repeats the same things over and over again. All of his opinions are straight from Benson and Richard Stern. Richard Stern used to have a website up that had about the same opinions that Ned puts on here every day.
And Ned stop the condescension. You don’t understand the law better than we do. You are a judicial activist trying to remove software from eligibility. That is clearly and unequivocally what you are.
Night, I am not so sure Stern reflects my views or mine his. However, I honored by the association with such a fine scholar.
He and I did cooperate on one law review article, although, at the time, my thinking on these subject was still quite in the formative stage.
Night, you might note that I argue and quote cases.
You quote the same nonsense over and over again. And as I pointed out to you before regarding several cases including Haliburton that when I take the time to re-read the case to address your arguments you don’t even seem to remember it a week later.
So having the same argument with over and over and over and over again is pointless.
I have read all the cases you quote from Ned way back in law school. I have argued with Stern and you have the same arguments he does. Nothing new there.
So, please the arrogance is absurd.
RandomGuy says:
In my experience, everyone here seems to misunderstand Halliburton honestly. Anon was spectacularly bad at it.
Random, you and Malcolm are the only posters here that understand the principle behind “functional at the point of novelty.” It goes back to O’Reilly v. Morse. The people who think that Congress would overturn that case have another think coming.
What they did in 1952 is authorize functional claiming using means plus function. The did not authorize functional claiming in any other context. When a claim is functional at the point of novelty and does not use means plus function, clearly that claim remains outside the law.
[Deleted by Mod]
Dennis, How do I respond to Night’s slur? You keep it posted, and delete my responses. Why?
The Truth says:
“But if you have a technical invention, make sure the hardware is in the claim”
You do not need hardware in the clam to have a technical invention. There is no such law, period.
What I noticed is that you argue and all too often misrepresent case law.
Hotel Security is not controlling case law on 101.
Business Methods are patent eligible subject matter.
There is no machine or transformation requirement.
There is no technological arts test are requirement.
Yet you continue to argue the opposite to the above well established facts.
Just because those of us that actually know patent law do not correct you each and every time you make such errors ( I suppose that was Anons role) does not mean you are fooling anyone.
This has to be right –
1. Hotel Security, a 2nd circuit case from 1908 is not controlling precedent for the country.
2. In Bilski, the Supreme Court was clear that there is not currently a business method exception and that a “machine-or-transformation” is not required for patent eligibility.
However, it is also true that these elements offer strong clues to the eligibility determination.
Dennis, Hotel Security was widely followed in all courts of the land until State Street Bank. It was followed in the CCPA and in the Federal Circuit. It was directly cited 509 times according to Google scholar.
True it was not controlling in the sense of a Supreme Court decision. But it was cited and followed in a number of CCPA cases.
From Stevens opinion in Bilski:
“Business methods are not patentable arts. See, e.g., United States Credit Sys. Co. v. American Credit Indem. Co., 53 F. 818, 819 (CCSDNY 1893) (“method of insuring against loss by bad debts” could not be patented “as an art”); Hotel Security Checking Co. v. Lorraine Co., 160 F. 467, 469 (C.A.2 1908) (“A system of transacting business disconnected from the means for carrying out the system is not, within the most liberal interpretation of the term, an art”); Guthrie v. Curlett, 10 F.2d 725, 726 (C.A.2 1926) (method of abbreviating rail tariff schedules, “if it be novel, is not the kind of art protected by the patent acts”); In re Patton, 29 C.C.P.A. 982, 127 F.2d 324, 327-328 (CCPA 1942) (holding that novel “`interstate and national fire-fighting system'” was not patentable because, inter alia, “a system of transacting business, apart from the means for carrying out such system is not” an art within the meaning of the patent law, “nor is an abstract idea or theory, regardless of its importance or … ingenuity”)…
Regarding Patton, the CCPA cited Hotel Security: “…a system of transacting business, apart from the means for carrying out such system, is not within the purview of section 4886, supra, nor is an abstract idea or theory, regardless of its importance or the ingenuity with which it was conceived, apart from the means for carrying such idea or theory into effect, patentable subject 328*328 matter. …. Hotel Security Checking Co. v. Lorraine Co., 160 F. 467.”
In the sense that Hotel Security was followed in Patton, it does seem that it is controlling law, but indirectly through Patton.
But then there is the issue of stare decisis. And, just how a Federal Circuit panel can overturn controlling (CCPA) precedent that followed Hotel Security is another issue altogether. An en banc court has the power to do that, but as was recently noted in the en banc case about claim construction as a matter of law, even en banc court does not overturn controlling precedent unless compelled to do so because it is wrong. Rich, in the panel decision, didn’t have the power to do so even if he disagreed with controlling precedent.
And there is absolutely no question that everybody understood that business methods were not patentable subject matter – that is prior to State Street Bank. That case stood out from among other cases in the history of Federal Circuit jurisprudence in its arrogance. It has been cited by the Supreme Court in cases like Bilski is a prime example of cases that should not be followed.
The truth when did I ever say that Hotel Security was controlling law on 101?
Hotel Security essentially held that nonstatutory subject matter was to be given no weight in novelty analysis.
It also said that the subject matter before it, other than the index cards, was non statutory — it was abstract.
The truth, no case has ever held business methods to be categorically eligible.
The truth, the SC held in Diehr/Prometheus that nonstatutory subject matter that is integrated into a process that otherwise is statutory, e.g., passes the MOT, is eligible. We learned from Prometheus that simply tagging something ineligible onto the end of an old process that otherwise passed the MOT was not sufficient.
101 Integration Expert says:
The truth, regarding technological test: I agree.
The test is statutory, whether the claimed subject matter defines a new or improved machine, manufacture, or composition or a process for making or using one of these. However with regard to using, the process must result in a useful end (Benson) that is otherwise the kind of invention the patent laws were enacted to protect. See e.g., Diehr.
Bluto : No area of technology is safe from SCOTUS at this point.
It has always been the case that “no area of technology” is immune from eligibility considerations.
That’s because eligibility considerations depend on the analysis of what is being protected by the claims, not merely the ostensible “area of technology” in which inventor believes he is practicing.
An easy example will demonstrate why your statement is misleading, Bluto, to the extent it implies that the global reach of eligibility considerations is “something new.”
1. An improved car, wherein said improved car includes information printed on the side of the car, wherein said information is [insert new, non-obvious and useful information here].
That claim is invalid because it protects ineligible subject matter. It was always thus. Nobody runs around proclaiming that “car technology is ineligible for patenting!!!” because of that, and nobody ever did because it would be silly to do that.
BlutoBlutarsky says:
I agree that it is not “something new” inasmuch as the idea is anticipated or at least obvious. What it is not is “ineligible” because the claimed device has a structure.
How hard is it to knock down that claim using the actual tools created for such an obvious invention, 102/103?
Using 101 for this analysis is just simply not necessary.
Again, we are talking cross-means. I acknowledge that courts have restricted subject matter eligibility to an absurd degree (in my view). What I do not agree with is that it is beneficial to patents in general to have courts monkeying with statutes and using them for purposes which they were never designed.
Bluto: How hard is it to knock down that claim using the actual tools created for such an obvious invention, 102/103?
First of all, the fact that a claim may fail under multiple prongs of the patent act is not at all surprising, nor is it a sign that something is wrong with the patent act or the intepretation of the patent act. That’s because some of the same considerations (e.g., excessive claim scope) underlie many of the statutes.
Second, if you think 102/103 are so awesome and perfect, please take the claim I gave you and explain to everyone how you find that claim obvious without invoking subject matter eligibility considerations. Here it is again:
That “manufacture” claim protects ineligible subject matter, of course. Please tell everyone how you deal with that claim under 102/103. Just use “the statutes.” Don’t try to use any of that bad ol’ “judicial activism” incorporating 101 considerations that was created to make sure the statutes actually “worked.”
Likewise with this claim:
1. A method comprising: (a) performing old data gathering step on a patient; and (b) if data is X, apply [insert useful non obvious correlation here] to determine the likelihood of cancer in said patient.
Again, that “process” claim certainly protects ineligible subject matter.
Tell everybody how you apply the statutes 102/103 to get rid of that claim, since you believe these statutes are capable of doing that so wonderfully.
If you succeed, you’ll be the first person to ever achieve this task. Good luck.
Apologies for the formatting error. Everthing after “in said patient” should be unformatted.
Bluto: I agree that it is not “something new” inasmuch as the idea is anticipated or at least obvious. What it is not is “ineligible” because the claimed device has a structure.
You’re completely missing the point of my comment and it appears that you do not understand the cases or the issues that have been addressed in th ecases.
What is not “new” is the fact that subject matter eligibility is not limited to any particular technology area. That’s because (as I already explained to you) the issue of subject matter eligibility can arise in any technology area. Eligibility focuses on the claim and what the claim is protecting, taking into account any technology recited in the claim (old or new).
*No area of technology is safe from SCOTUS at this point. Maybe if they p!ss off enough business sectors*
So far they haven’t upset any business sectors. Software makers and supporters of every size from startups to megacorps are popping champagne and celebrating.
The enemies of software are the only ones distressed and they’re mostly limited to a few greedy patent law shops and trolls.
Anecdotal evidence is nice, Owen. For every software maker and supporter you can name, I can provide you with ten counter examples.
What’s the stock market reaction?
That’s a good question. But, let’s also keep in mind that the stock market is notoriously keyed to short-term gains. But, do tell us what the stock market reaction to the great 101 melt down is.
No. says:
Status quo. If getting rid of software patents represents a boom for the software industry, why isn’t Google’s stock price skyrocketing?
Why would it skyrocket? They make their money from advertising…
How many startups seeking funding have you popped champagne with?
The ones that I actually work with are taking the news a bit differently.
News about Software | IT and CNC Geeks' World says:
[…] finished your best-ever presentation, achieved total mastery of some major game – more… Nice Summary of the 101-based “Invalidity” War on Software Patents – Patently-O Nice Summary of the 101-based “Invalidity” War on Software PatentsPatently-OThe 14 patents the […]
Babar says:
Let’s hope that Judge Moore does not become another Don Quixote fighting the unwinnable foe, championing the lost cause.
Rich was one of these and I think he personally lead the court to disaster.
A programmed general purpose digital computer is NOT per se statutory.
Sure it is, under the explicit words of the statute. A computer is a machine, plain and simple.
There are many of us who will fight the continued rewriting and dilution of the statute for personal or policy reasons.
Bluto, I urge you to read the case that the Supreme Court overturned, Application of Benson, 441 F.2d 682 (C.C.P.A. 1971). link to scholar.google.com
Realistically, the process of claim 13 has no practical use other than the more effective operation and utilization of a machine known as a digital computer. It seems beyond question that the machines — the computers — are in the technological field, are a part of one of our best-known technologies, and are in the “useful arts” rather than the “liberal arts,” as are all other types of “business machines,” regardless of the uses to which their users may put them. How can it be said that a process having no practical value other than enhancing the internal operation of those machines is not likewise in the technological or useful arts?
Ned. Go back and read my post carefully. My comment about 101 reflects a strict construction of a clear and unambiguous statue.
You pointing out the obvious (that courts are hav mangled the issue) is a waste of time.
Judicial rewriting of a staute by the courts is part and parcel of the problem.
With respect, Bluto, the statute also requires that the machine be new or improve, and useful.
An old computer might be a machine, but it is not patentable under 101.
If I improve a computer by reconfiguring its hardware in a novel, non-obvious, and useful way, that is patent eligible.
If I improve a computer by reconfiguring its software in a novel, non-obvious, and useful way, you’d argue that is patent ineligible.
Where do you find that distinction in section 101?
A claim to hardware “configured to” perform something is not per se eligible because “hardware.”
What makes you think otherwise?
Well, it is true under Alice nothing is eligible if the judge feels like invalidating it.
In fact, the Alice challenge it to present any claim that couldn’t be invalidated under Alice/Mayo/Bilski.
We all know that the SCOTUS has just legislated. Absurd. The ignorant 9 has decided that the judge should just be able to do whatever they want—’cause they be the judge.
The number of cases that I’ve gotten allowed and enforced for power controllers. That’s mostly why I think that setup works.
Is it your viewpoint that Congress’ power to award patents is without limit?
If not – would you rather the court strike down the entire statute? Because if Congress were to make clear that it was unseverable that is what they would do. Congress had the option to add an unseverability clause in the AIA. They did not.
Bluto: here are many of us who will fight the continued rewriting and dilution of the statute for personal or policy reasons.
By all means keep doing that.
But you might want to consider making some better arguments, and proposing some practical solutions that appeal to the vast majority of people who are/weren’t directly invested in the (old) status quo. The arguments you’re making in this thread have already been heard and they aren’t very persuasive or compelling to most people.
Bluto’s point here is that the Supreme Court’s exceptions to 101 are not based upon the statute.
The exceptions come from England.
From Leroy v. Tatham,
A new property discovered in matter, when practically applied, in the construction of a useful article of commerce or manufacture, is patentable; but the process through which the new property is developed and applied, must be stated, with such precision as to enable an ordinary mechanic to construct and apply the necessary process. This is required by the patent laws of England and of the United States, in order that when the patent shall run out, the public may know how to profit by the invention. It is said, in the case of the Househill Company v. Neilson, Webster’s Patent Cases, 683, “A patent will be good, though the subject of the patent consists in the discovery of a great, general, and most comprehensive principle in science or law of nature, if that principle is by the specification applied to any special purpose, so as thereby to effectuate a practical result and benefit not previously attained.” In that case, Mr. Justice Clerk, in his charge to the jury, said, “the specification does not claim any thing as to the form, nature, shape, materials, numbers, or mathematical character of the vessel or vessels in which the air is to be heated, or as to the mode of heating such vessels,” &c. The patent was for “the improved application of air to produce heat in fires, forges and furnaces, where bellows or other blowing apparatus are required.”
Regarding 101’s “new,” consider Federico:
The definition does not modify in any way the statement in section 101 that a new machine, a new manufacture, or a new composition of matter, can be patented; if a machine is not new, if a manufacture or composition of matter is not new, it still cannot be patented. The decision of the Court of Customs and Patent Appeals in In re Thuau, 135 F.2d 344, has not been overruled by the statute. The holding of this decision is simply that an old material cannot be patented as a composition of matter, because it is an old material, and the fact that the inventor or discoverer may have discovered a new use for the old material does not make the material patentable. To this extent the decision is affirmed by the statute…>
Also, one has consider the 1793 statute that added “new” and “composition”, and retained “not known or used.” “New” cannot mean the same thing as “not known or used.” I think it is self evident that a newly discovered composition which is a previously unknown product of nature is nevertheless not patentable because it is not new.
Regardless, since this was the holding of Myriad, it is not longer accurate to say that a product of nature is an “exception” to 101. A product of nature is non statutory under 101.
Paul F. Morgan says:
The cited article refers to such patents as just “do it on a computer patents” and as follows: “These patents take some activity that people have been doing for centuries — say, holding funds in escrow until a transaction is complete — and claim the concept of performing that task with a computer or over the internet. The patents are typically vague about how to perform the task in question.”
The fact that it fails on multiple grounds doesn’t mean any given ground is or isn’t proper.
103 and 112 and 101
Of course it does in this case because judges are making evaluations of prior art to the claims without following Graham in the least or for that matter any of the case law regarding 102 or 112.
because judges are making evaluations of prior art to the claims without following Graham in the least or for that matter any of the case law regarding 102 or 112.
Why would they apply the 102 test to a 101 analysis? They’re also not properly applying the rule against perpetuities test to these cases either, which is okay because that’s not the test for the analysis either.
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Justia Patents By Remote Radio SignalUS Patent for Wirelessly controlling unmanned aircraft and accessing associated surveillance data Patent (Patent # 7,581,702)
Wirelessly controlling unmanned aircraft and accessing associated surveillance data
Jun 9, 2006 - Insitu, Inc.
Controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may be accomplished by using a wireless device (e.g., cell phone) to send a control message to a receiver at the UAV via a wireless telecommunication network (e.g., an existing cellular network configured primarily for mobile telephone communication). In addition, the wireless device may be used to receive communications from a transmitter at the UAV, wherein the wireless device receives the communications from the transmitter via the wireless network. Examples of such communications include surveillance information and UAV monitoring information.
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The present invention is directed generally to systems and methods for wirelessly controlling unmanned aircraft and accessing associated surveillance data.
Unmanned aircraft or aerial vehicles (UAVs) provide enhanced and economical access to areas where manned flight operations are unacceptably costly and/or dangerous. For example, unmanned aircraft outfitted with remotely controlled cameras can perform a wide variety of surveillance missions, including spotting schools of fish for the fisheries industry, monitoring weather conditions, providing border patrols for national governments, and providing military surveillance before, during, and/or after military operations.
Existing techniques for controlling unmanned aircraft systems suffer from a variety of drawbacks. For example, existing unmanned aircraft systems (which can include the aircraft itself along with control devices, launch devices, recovery devices, and storage methods) are typically controlled using either direct RF communication or satellite communication. Direct RF-based control is limited by its short range and high power requirements. It also requires specialized equipment at both the UAV and the ground control station.
While controlling UAVs by satellite may allow for longer-range communications when compared with direct RF-based control, satellite control is typically limited by low bandwidth and low data rate limits. An example of a satellite-based control technique used in the past is Iridium. Iridium is a low-orbit satellite communications system that provides a long-range data connection at a rate of ˜2.4 k bits per second. Not only does control by satellite have the drawback of limited bandwidth and low data rate, it also, like direct RF, typically involves high power requirements, high cost, and specialized equipment (e.g., relay stations and large dishes for transmit/receive).
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of an environment in which a wireless telecommunication network is used along with mobile wireless devices and possibly other supporting technologies to communicate command and control data to one or more UAVs and/or to access and monitor signals and data transmitted from the UAVs in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a mobile wireless device, such as the mobile wireless device of FIG. 1, that can be used as a ground control station for controlling a UAV via the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of control components of a UAV, such as the UAV of FIG. 1, which can be used for communication via the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a computer, such as the supporting technology/computer of FIG. 1, which may also be used for communication via the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine performed at a mobile device used for controlling a UAV via the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine performed by a collection of one or more components onboard a UAV, which enable the UAV to communicate via the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine performed by a computer that is capable of establishing a wireless communication link (via a wireless telecommunication network) to control one or more UAVs or, alternatively, is wirelessly connected to a mobile wireless communication device that is, in turn, used to communicate with one or more UAVs via the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine performed onboard an aircraft that is capable of forming a network bridge that enables communication of control devices with other aircraft, such as UAVs that are otherwise outside the wireless telecommunication network in an embodiment of the invention.
I. Overview
Aspects of the invention are directed generally to systems and methods for wirelessly controlling unmanned aircraft and accessing associated surveillance and monitoring data. In one embodiment a wireless communication network (e.g., an existing cell phone network) is used along with handheld devices (cell phones or PDAs), and possibly other supporting technologies, to communicate command and control data to one or more UAVs and/or to monitor signals and data transmitted from UAVs. For example, this may include controlling the take off and/or landing of one or more UAVs, controlling the aerial maneuvers of one or more UAVs controlling the weapons systems of one or more UAVs, receiving mission surveillance information from one or more UAVs (including border surveillance information, tracking of moving or stationary subjects, etc.), receiving UAV health and/or status monitoring information, monitoring other aircraft in the area of one or more UAVs, etc. In this way, long-range communications can be achieved without having to design and build custom direct communications systems and without having to rely on expensive and complex satellite systems.
In some embodiments, the use of the wireless communication network and supporting devices provides nearly unlimited communication range capabilities within urban areas, where direct RF communication is typically inhibited by obstructions such as buildings and other large structures. Moreover, urban areas typically have dense pre-existing wireless communication capabilities due to the high demand for mobile phone service and related services in these areas.
While the supporting devices used to control the UAVs via the wireless communication network may be custom devices, pre-existing devices may also be used. For example, many off-the shelf wireless devices are highly programmable (e.g., due, in part, to programming languages like Java), support arbitrary user interfaces, and connect via wireless link to other devices including wireless devices (e.g., on the ground or in the air) and computer systems. Moreover, such wireless devices are typically small, portable, inexpensive, and have low power requirements.
In addition, because wireless network bandwidth is typically an order of magnitude larger than satellite bandwidth, the use of a wireless telecommunication network and supporting devices to control UAVs can allow for higher bandwidth, which translates directly into more responsive control and improved video quality and frame rates (e.g., for sending video back from a UAV). For example, current-generation wireless systems can run at ˜300 k bits per second—compared with ˜2.4 k bits per second for existing satellite systems.
II. System Architecture
FIGS. 1-4 and the following discussion provide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in which aspects of the invention can be implemented. Aspects of the invention may be stored or distributed on computer-readable media, including magnetically or optically readable computer disks, as microcode on semiconductor memory, nanotechnology memory, organic or optical memory, or other portable data storage media. Indeed, computer-implemented instructions, data structures, screen displays, and other data in accordance with aspects of the invention may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks (including wireless networks) on a propagated signal via a propagation medium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over a period of time, or on any analog or digital network (packet switched, circuit switched, or other scheme).
Aspects of the invention can be embodied in a special purpose computer or data processor that is specifically programmed, configured, or constructed to perform one or more of the computer-executable instructions explained in detail herein. Aspects of the invention can also be practiced in distributed computing environments where tasks or modules are performed by remote processing devices that are linked through a communication network. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.
FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing an example of an environment in which a wireless telecommunication network 102 (e.g., an existing cellular network) is used along with mobile wireless devices 104 (e.g., cell phones and/or PDAs) and possibly other supporting technologies 106 (e.g., personal computers (PCs)), to communicate command and control data to one or more aircraft/UAVs 108 and/or to access and monitor signals and data transmitted from the UAVs 108. The UAVs 108, handheld wireless devices 104, and other supporting technologies 106 combine with the wireless telecommunication network 102 to form a type of mesh network 110.
Example implementations of the wireless telecommunication network 102 include UMTS (universal mobile telecommunication system), GSM (global system for mobile communications), GPRS (general packet radio service), EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution), CDMA (code division multiple access), IS-136/TDMA (time division multiple access), EV-DO (evolution-data optimized), analog, 3GSM (third generation global system for mobile communications), iDEN (integrated digital enhanced network), etc.
While not illustrated in detail, the wireless communication network may include components typical of most cellular networks, such as one or more base stations 112, mobile switching centers 114, home location registers (not shown), visitor location registers (not shown), wireless network databases (not shown), etc. An example of the frequencies on which channels of the mobile telecommunication network may operate include the typical American cell phone frequencies, which start at 824 MHz and end at 894 MHz.
The wireless telecommunication network 102 may also include various wired or partially wired networks, such as the Internet, a wired LAN (local area network), or even a public switched telephone network (PSTN). While not all types of networks are described here, aspects of the invention may be implemented within the framework of many types of networks (e.g., satellite, etc.). Because the extent of the typical wireless telecommunication network 102 is extremely large, effective communication ranges of thousands of miles may be practical. Furthermore, most wireless telecommunication networks are designed for low latency to support human voice-based conversation. This low latency enables fast system reaction time, even when nodes are located on opposite sides of the earth.
While not shown in detail in FIG. 1, in some embodiments, one or more of the three basic classes of devices (UAV 108, mobile device 104, computer/supporting device 106, or their hybrid derivatives such as cellular enabled PDA) may be connected to the cellular network indirectly via an RF-to-network bridge. Using the network-bridge configuration allows an aircraft to operate outside a cellular coverage area, but still be controlled by a mobile ground station or PC directly connected to the network. Alternatively, a PC may be operated from outside the cellular network to control a UAV operating within the network.
Many communication patterns are possible within the mesh network 110. For example, the mesh network 110 may facilitate aircraft-to-mobile device communication, where a user of the mobile device 104 (located on the ground and thereby comprising a ground control station) inputs commands into the mobile device 104 to control the aircraft/UAV 108 or access data collected by systems onboard the aircraft/UAV 108. In another example, the mesh network 110 facilitates aircraft-to-aircraft communication, which enables scenarios such as target handoff, collision avoidance, separation assurance, and flock behaviors. Where a more sophisticated user interface (UI) environment is desired than is typically available with a small mobile device, the mesh network 110 may support aircraft-to-computer communication, which may occur via the wireless network and/or via a wired network, such as the Internet. For example, a supporting technology 106 comprising a PC may have direct or indirect access to the wireless telecommunication network (e.g., via a network bridge) so that it operates as a stand-in for a mobile wireless device on the network.
Scenarios may also exist in the control of UAVs where a first user of a first mobile device wishes to communicate directly with a second user of a second mobile device (e.g., to communicate regarding a joint aircraft control strategy). Accordingly, the mesh network 110 can be used for mobile-to-mobile communication, which can be text- or even voice-based. Computer-to-computer communication may also be used in a similar context, where, for example, a PC or other supporting technology 106 is used as a stand-in for a mobile device on the wireless telecommunication network 102, for example, via an RF-to-network bridge.
The mesh network 110 may be utilized for communication from a mobile device 104 to a computer 106, for example, in contexts such as chat and target hand-off. Mobile device-to-computer communication may also be used when transferring information between a mobile device 104 and a computer or other supporting device 106. For example, this communication pattern may be used in the case where the mobile device 104 is used to establish a communication link with the UAV 108 but where a user interfaces with the computer/supporting device 106 when he or she needs a more robust user interface to, for example, input more complex control instructions or view graphically rich information transmitted from the UAV 108.
In some embodiments, a UAV 108 may operate outside the physical extent of a telecommunication network 102, for example, by communicating (e.g., via a proprietary communications system) with a ground station PC that is, itself, connected to the wireless telecommunication network 102. This configuration enables remote control of the UAV 108 by one or more mobile devices 104 within the wireless telecommunication network, even though the UAV 108 itself is outside the physical telecommunication network 102. In another embodiment, a UAV (e.g., instead of a ground station) serves as the bridge to the network. Thus, in this scenario, one aircraft 108 operating within range of the wireless telecommunication network 102 enables the controlling of an aircraft outside that range using mobile devices 104 within the wireless telecommunication network 102. Similarly, a UAV 108 may operate as a “cell tower” to dynamically extend the coverage area of a wireless telecommunication network 102.
In some embodiments, multiple simultaneous (or near simultaneous) calls are used between nodes within the mesh network 110. For example, multiple mobile devices can establish communication links with a single UAV, which can then stream different aspects of information to each mobile device. These aspects of information can eventually be consolidated back into a single data stream (e.g., for display at a computer). This multi-call configuration provides increased bandwidth (e.g., as may be required to pass full size and full frame rate digital video from a UAV 108 to a supporting device 106). Another way in which multiple calls can be used simultaneously (or near simultaneously) is to enhance composite link reliability. These calls can be routed through different base stations in the wireless telecommunication network 102 so that techniques for dynamic selection of the best quality link may be employed.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a mobile wireless device, such as the mobile wireless device 104 of FIG. 1. While a mobile phone is shown as the mobile wireless device 104 in FIGS. 1 and 2, those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the invention can be practiced with other devices and configurations, including mobile Internet appliances, hand-held devices, wearable computers, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, set-top boxes, PDAs, portable laptop computers, and the like. The term “mobile device” is intended to include all such devices.
The mobile device 104 has one or more internal or external antennas 202 for receiving and transmitting electromagnetic signals such as radio frequency signals. A transceiver 204 is connected to the antenna(s) 202 and typically provides modulation and demodulation of the transmitted and received signals, respectively. A processor unit 206 connected to the transceiver 204 may comprise a signal processor, microprocessor, ASIC, or other control and processing logic circuitry. The processor unit 206 may perform signal coding, data processing, input/output processing, power control, and other functions necessary for implementing a mobile communication device. A user (e.g., aircraft control personnel) may provide input to the processor unit 206 via a keypad 208, microphone 210, or display/touchpad 212. In turn, the processor unit 206 may provide information to the user via the display/touchpad 212 or a speaker 214.
The processor unit 206 may access information from, and store information in, a nonremovable memory 216 or a removable memory 218. The nonremovable memory 216 may consist of RAM, ROM, a hard disk, or other well-known memory storage technologies. The removable memory 218 may consist of Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards, which are well known in GSM communications systems, or other well-known memory storage technologies, such as “smart cards.” Generic applications 220 such as wireless content browser applications and address book applications may be implemented in either the removable memory 218 or the nonremovable memory 216. The removable memory 218 and/or nonremovable member 216 may also be configured or programmed (e.g., using a mobile version of Java or in C/C++ on a mobile version of Linux) to support complex user interfaces and full color graphics. The removable memory 218 and/or nonremovable member 216 may also be configured or programmed to run an application (e.g., a Java program) that provides an aircraft and/or payload control and visualization, which may include functionality such as a moving, zoomable map. Alternatively, the mobile device 104 may be configured to have only a limited input interface and passively display relayed imagery.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of control components of a UAV, such as the UAV 108 of FIG. 1. In particular, the UAV may have several onboard components that allow it to be controlled via a wireless telecommunication network. The UAV may also have components associated with providing outgoing information. The outgoing information can include surveillance or aircraft monitoring information that can be transmitted back to a controlling device via a wireless telecommunication network. In some embodiments, some or all of these components may be associated with a consumer mobile device such as a camera-enabled cell phone, and thus, may be very similar to the components described with respect to the mobile device 104 of FIG. 2. Any one of these components may also be incorporated onto the UAV separately (as opposed to being packaged within a typical mobile device), and then connected using technology such as a USB.
The components may include a transceiver and/or gateway component 304 that is connected to one or more antenna(s) 302 and provides modulation and demodulation of transmitted and received signals so that the UAV may communicate via the wireless telecommunication network. A processor unit 306 connected to the transceiver 304 may comprise a signal processor, microprocessor, ASIC, or other control and processing logic circuitry. The processor unit 306 may perform signal coding, data processing, input/output processing, power control, and other functions necessary for implementing mobile communication onboard the UAV. Whether included on the mobile device or as a separate component, the processor unit 306 may take on several roles beyond “just” a communications processor. For example, it may be utilized as a flight computer, a mission computer, a navigation computer, or a video processor/preprocessor. The processor unit 306 may access information from, and store information in, memory 310, which can be a nonremovable memory or a removable memory (e.g., SIM card). Various generic and specialized applications 320 may be configured or programmed in memory as needed.
Cameras 312, including motion and/or still cameras (which are often now included on aftermarket mobile devices such as a picture phones), may replace more traditional imaging sensors on the UAV, thus providing an ultra compact ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) UAV. For example, the mobile device's motion or still camera may be used to “see and avoid” other aircraft, or for imaging ground objects.
A microphone component 316, such as found in the typical cell phone, may be used to perform diagnostics, such as monitoring the UAV's engine health. This health monitoring information can then be passed via a voice channel to a mobile device that is being used to control the UAV (such as a mobile device at a ground station). In some embodiments, a standard cell phone microphone is replaced with any other appropriate transducer on the aircraft, such as an accelerometer, for measuring UAV body vibration. This signal may also be passed to the controlling mobile device over a voice channel or even a data channel of the telecommunication network. The microphone 316 may also be used to acquire aircraft telemetry or sensor data for transmission over the wireless communication link.
A speaker component 314, such as found in the typical cell phone, may be amplified and used like a public address system. In some scenarios, this may allow a remote human to talk to people within the field of view of the UAV camera, while remaining safely away from the area. In a military context, the speaker component 314 (or another mobile device-related component) on the UAV may be used to safely trigger improvised explosive devices (IEDs), by flying along roads and making calls. For example, the UAV may call the cell phone trigger on an enemy IED to trigger safely.
If equipped with mobile device components allowing it to perform assisted global positioning (AGPS), the AGPS function 318 may be used for UAV navigation via, for example, CDMA pilot tone measurements or actual GPS measurements. This provides an improvement in interference rejection compared to a stand-alone GPS receiver.
If the UAV is equipped with mobile device components allowing it to function as a “cell tower,” the UAV may be configured to selectively place or block calls (e.g., for strategic purposes). The UAV may also be used to “sniff” the cell call activity for unauthorized calls in controlled areas, such as in war combat zones.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of a computer 400, such as the supporting technology/computer 106 of FIG. 1, which may also be used to control the UAVs via the mobile telecommunication network. As with most conventional computers, the computer 400 may include a processing unit 402, a system memory 404, and a system bus 406 that couples various system components including the system memory to the processing unit. The processing unit 402 may be any logic processing unit, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs), digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC), etc. Unless described otherwise, the construction and operation of the various blocks shown in FIG. 4 are of conventional design. As a result, such blocks need not be described in further detail herein, as they will be readily understood by those skilled in the relevant art.
The system bus 406 can employ any known bus structures or architectures, including a memory bus with memory controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus. The system memory 404 includes random access memory (“RAM”) 408 and read-only memory (“ROM”) 410. A basic input/output system (I/O) 412, which can form part of the ROM 410, contains basic routines that help transfer information between elements within the computer 400, such as during start-up. The hardware elements of the input/output system 412 allow a user to enter commands and information into the computer 400 through input devices such as a keyboard, a pointing device such as a mouse, or other input devices including a microphone, joystick, game pad, scanner, etc. (all not shown). These and other input devices are connected to the processing unit 402 through an interface such as a serial port interface that couples to the bus 406, although other interfaces such as a parallel port, game port, or universal serial bus (“USB”) can be used. For example, other hardware devices, such as a PCMCIA reader that receives a card, can be coupled to the interface. A monitor or other display device is coupled to the bus 406 via a video interface, such as a video adapter. The computer 400 can include other output devices, such as speakers, printers, etc.
The computer 400 also includes a hard disk drive 414 for reading from and writing to a hard disk (not shown), and an optical disk drive 416 and a magnetic disk drive 418 for reading from and writing to removable optical disks 420 and magnetic disks 422, respectively. The optical disk 420 can be a CD-ROM, while the magnetic disk 422 can be a magnetic floppy disk. The hard disk drive 414, optical disk drive 416, and magnetic disk drive 418 communicate with the processing unit 402 via the bus 406. The hard disk drive 414, optical disk drive 416, and magnetic disk drive 418 may include interfaces or controllers (not shown) coupled between such drives and the bus 406, as is known by those skilled in the art. The drives 414, 416, and 418, and their associated computer-readable media, provide nonvolatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, and other data for the computer 400. Although the depicted computer 400 employs a hard disk, optical disk 420, and magnetic disk 422, those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that other types of computer-readable media that can store data accessible by a computer may be employed, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks (“DVD”), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, smart cards, nanotechnology memory, etc.
Program modules can be stored in the system memory 404, such as an operating system 424 and other application programs 426 that enable the control of UAVs and that allow for data received from UAVs to be readily accessed in a convenient format. The system memory 404 may also include a web browser 428 for permitting the computer 400 to access and exchange data with web sites in the World Wide Web of the Internet. The application programs 426 may have access to one or more databases, which may be internal or external to the computer. For example, the computer may have access to a map database 430 (which stores maps for areas where UAVs are operated), a combat plans database 432 (which stores combat plans for UAVs operating in a military context), and multiple other input source databases 434.
The computer 400 can operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a remote computer 450. For example, the computer 400 may be involved in performing a first set of tasks in a workflow and the remote computer 450 may be involved in performing a second set of tasks in the workflow. In another example, the remote computer 450 offers an input source for a workflow facility hosted at the computer 400. Likewise, the computer 400 may be involved in designing workflows having tasks to be performed by the remote computer 450. Like the computer 400, the remote computer 450 can be a personal computer, a server, a router, a network PC, a peer device, or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described above for the computer 400. Typically, the remote computer 450 includes a memory storage device such as a disk drive 452. The remote computer 450 may be logically connected to the computer 400 via any known method that permits computers to communicate, such as through a local area network (“LAN”) 454 or a wide area network (“WAN”) or Internet 456. Such networking environments are well known in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets, and the Internet.
In a LAN networking environment, the computer 400 is connected to the LAN 454 through an adapter or network interface (coupled to the bus 406). When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 400 often includes a modem or other device for establishing communications over the WAN/Internet 456. In a networked environment, program modules, application programs, or data, or portions thereof, can be stored in the remote computer 450, such as in the disk drive 452. Those skilled in the relevant art will readily recognize that the network connections shown in FIG. 4 are only some examples of establishing communication links between computers, and other links may be used, including wireless links. In general, while hardware platforms, such as the computer 400 and remote computer 450, are described herein, aspects of the invention are equally applicable to nodes on a network having corresponding resource locators to identify such nodes.
III. System Flows
FIGS. 5 through 8 are representative flow diagrams that show processes that occur within the environment of FIG. 1. These flow diagrams do not show all functions or exchanges of data but, instead, provide an understanding of commands and data exchanged under the system. Those skilled in the relevant art will recognize that some functions or exchanges of commands and data may be repeated, varied, omitted, or supplemented, and other aspects not shown may be readily implemented. For example, while not described in detail, a message containing data may be transmitted through a message queue, over HTTP, etc.
FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine 500 performed at a mobile device used for controlling a UAV. For example, the mobile device may be a mobile phone configured as a ground control station, which can be operated by a user to send control signals to the UAV and/or receive data back from the UAV, such as monitoring and surveillance data.
At block 501, the routine 500 sets up a wireless communication link with the UAV on the wireless communication network. For example, this may include communication (e.g., via a control channel) with a mobile switching center that is associated with the wireless communication network. As a result of this communication, both the mobile device and the UAV may receive channel assignment information from the mobile switching center that permits access to one or more channels of the wireless communication link, including one or more voice channels and/or data channels. At block 502, the routine 500 receives the channel assignment information, thereby establishing an active communication link via one or more designated communication channels. At block 503, the routine 500 sends control signals to the UAV (e.g., instructions to control the activities of the UAV, including its direction and speed of travel, weapons discharge, etc.) and/or receives data back from the UAV (e.g., surveillance information, video information, UAV health monitoring information, etc.). The format and types of information communicated via the established communication link may include voice (or other audio) data, image data, video data, binary data, text data, etc., depending on system and network configurations. At block 504, assuming the session with the UAV has ended (e.g., the UAV has safely landed), the routine 500 terminates the communication link, thereby ending the UAV session.
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine 600 performed by a collection of one or more components onboard a UAV, which enable the UAV to communicate via a wireless telecommunication network. For example, the collection of components may be packaged together as a mobile device, such as a cell phone, which is connected to other control and/or surveillance systems of the UAV (e.g., via a connection such as a USB bus).
At block 601, the routine 600 receives channel assignment information for establishing a wireless communication link with a control device (such as a ground-based mobile telephone) via the wireless telecommunication network. For example, this may involve communication (e.g., via a control channel) with a mobile switching center associated with the wireless communication network to receive channel assignment information relating to one or more voice channels and/or data channels. At block 602, the routine 600 establishes an active communication link via the one or more channels. At block 603, the routine 600 receives control signals (e.g., instructions to control the activities of the UAV, including its direction and speed of travel, weapons discharge, etc.) sent from the ground-based mobile telephone. In addition or alternatively, at block 603 the routine 600 may send data (e.g., surveillance information, video information, UAV health monitoring information, etc.) back to the ground-based mobile control device. The format and types of information communicated via the established communication link may include voice (or other audio) data, image data, video data, binary data, text data, etc., depending on system and network configurations. At block 604, assuming the session with the UAV has ended (e.g., the UAV has safely landed) the routine 600 receives a termination signal for terminating the communication link, thereby ending the communication session.
FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine 700 performed by a computer that is capable of establishing a wireless communication link (via a wireless telecommunication network) to control one or more UAVs or, alternatively, a computer that can establish a connection (e.g., wireless, wired, Bluetooth, infrared, etc.) to a mobile wireless communication device that is, in turn, used to communicate with one or more UAVs via the wireless telecommunication network. In either scenario, the computer allows for a robust user interface from which a user can easily provide control commands to a UAV, monitor the UAV, and/or receive data feeds (e.g., video surveillance, imagery, health monitoring, etc.) from the UAV.
At block 701, the routine 700 receives control input from a user wishing to control the UAV via an interface provided by an application running at the computer. At block 702, the routine 700 establishes either an indirect or direct connection with the UAV. For example, the computer may be able to establish a WAN-type connection with components of the wireless telecommunication network (e.g., base station and mobile switching center), so that the computer can communicate as a stand-in for a traditional wireless communication device, thereby connecting more or less directly with the UAV via a partially wireless connection. In another arrangement, the routine 700 may establish a communication link (wired or wireless) with a mobile device that can, in turn, communicate with the UAV via a wireless connection, such as is described with respect to FIG. 5. At block 703, the routine 700 sends control input to the UAV (or the intermediary mobile device) at least in part via the wireless communication network. At block 704, the routine 700 receives surveillance and/or monitoring data from the UAV (or via the intermediary mobile device) at least in part via the wireless communication network. The routine 700 then ends.
FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of a routine 800 performed onboard an aircraft that is capable of forming a network bridge that enables communication of control devices with other aircraft, such as UAVs that are otherwise outside a mobile telecommunication network. In another example, the aircraft is a leading unit for a group of multiple aircraft that are each configured to perform joint aerial maneuvers (e.g., led by the leading unit).
At block 801, the routine 800 establishes a wireless connection with a ground control device (such as a wireless telecommunication device at a ground station or a PC) via the mobile telecommunication network. Examples of establishing such a wireless connection were described in more detail above with respect to FIGS. 5 and 7. At block 802, the routine 800 establishes a communication link with one or more UAVs (e.g., UAVs that are outside the telecommunication network or UAVs that are part of a group of multiple aircraft that are configured to perform joint aerial maneuvers). This connection may be via the mobile telecommunication network or via some other form of wireless communication (e.g., direct RF, infrared, Bluetooth, etc.). At block 803, the routine 800 receives control signals from the ground control device. At block 804, based on the received control signals, the routine 800 passes along appropriate control signals to the one or more UAVs. Block 804 of the routine 800 may also be reversed so that the UAV receives data from the one or more UAVs to pass back to the ground control station. The routine 800 then ends when the control session ends or when the communication session is otherwise terminated.
IV. Conclusion
From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes of illustration, but that various modifications may be made without deviating from the invention. For example, while certain telecommunication networks are described with respect to various embodiments, aspects of the invention may be implemented on a variety of wireless networks. Other aspects that may vary include the type and makeup of devices used to control UAVs, as well as the systems on board the UAVs themselves. Aspects of the invention described in the context of particular embodiments may be combined or eliminated in other embodiments. Further, while advantages associated with certain embodiments of the invention have been described in the context of those embodiments, other embodiments may also exhibit such advantages, and not all embodiments need necessarily exhibit such advantages to fall within the scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is not limited except as by the appended claims.
1. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising:
transmitting a control message to a receiver at a first UAV over a wireless network configured primarily for mobile telephone communication;
transmitting the control message from the first UAV to a second UAV, wherein the control message includes instructions to control at least one of: surveillance activities of the second UAV, activities of a weapons system of the second UAV, and movement of the second UAV; and
receiving communications from a transmitter at the second UAV.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the control message includes transmitting a message including instructions to control the velocity and direction of the second UAV.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein transmitting the control message includes transmitting a message including instructions to control takeoff and/or landing of the second UAV.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising establishing an ongoing connection between a wireless device transmitting the control message to the first UAV and the receiver at the first UAV.
5. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving compressed digital video transmissions.
6. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving full size and full frame rate digital video transmissions.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving surveillance information collected by the second UAV.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving health and/or status information associated with the second UAV.
9. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving surveillance information collected by the UAV, wherein the collected information includes information associated with a third UAV and is collected for the purpose of avoiding airspace conflicts, conducting joint surveillance of a geographical area, and/or conducting joint tracking of a subject.
10. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving communications from the second UAV via the first UAV.
11. The method of claim 1 wherein receiving communications from the transmitter at the second UAV includes receiving communications directly from the second UAV.
12. A method for controlling an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), the method comprising:
communicating with a mobile telephone switching center via a control channel associated with a wireless telecommunication network to establish a wireless communication link;
sending control signals to a first UAV over the wireless telecommunication network, wherein the control signals are used to control actions of a UAV; and
relaying the control signals from the first UAV to a second UAV located outside the wireless telecommunication network to control at least one of: surveillance activities of the second UAV, activities of a weapons system of the second UAV, and movement of the second UAV.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein establishing a wireless communication link includes receiving a channel assignment that permits access to a designated channel of the wireless telecommunication network.
14. The method of claim 12 wherein sending control signals to the first UAV includes sending the control signals over a data or voice channel.
15. The method of claim 12 wherein establishing a wireless communication link includes receiving a channel assignment that permits access to a designated channel of the wireless telecommunication network, wherein further the designated channel is associated with a frequency between 824 and 849 MHz.
16. At an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a method for relaying control instructions from a remote source to another UAV, the method comprising:
receiving an indication of a channel assignment from a mobile switching center, wherein the indication is received via a control channel associated with a wireless communication network, and wherein the channel assignment permits access to at least one designated channel of the wireless communication network;
receiving control signals from the remote source via the at least one designated channel, wherein the control signals are used to control at least one of: surveillance activities of the other UAV, activities of a weapons system of the other UAV, and movement of the other UAV; and
transmitting the received control signals to the other UAV, wherein the other UAV is not within the wireless communication network.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising sending data signals from the remote source via the at least one designated channel.
18. The method of claim 16 wherein the at least one designated channel is associated with a frequency between 824 and 849 MHz.
19. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating additional control signals for receipt by one or more additional aircraft, wherein the additional aircraft are part of a joint operational group led by the second UAV.
20. The method of claim 16, further comprising generating additional control signals for receipt by the UAV, wherein the additional control signals control the actions of the UAV.
21. A method for remotely controlling an unmanned aircraft, the method comprising:
communicating with a control node in a wireless telecommunication network to establish a communication link with the unmanned aircraft, wherein the communication link includes a wireless communication channel that permits the unmanned aircraft to communicate with at least one node of the wireless telecommunication network; and
sending control signals to the aircraft, at least in part, via the established communication link, wherein the control signals are used to control at least one of: surveillance activities of an aircraft, activities of a weapons system of an aircraft, movement of an aircraft, and operation of a payload at an aircraft; and
relaying at least a part of the control signals received by the aircraft to an aircraft out of range of the wireless telecommunication network to control the actions of the out of range aircraft.
22. The method of claim 21 wherein communicating with the control node is performed via a non-wireless network connection.
23. The method of claim 21 wherein the communication link further includes a non-wireless aspect that permits access to the at least one node of the wireless telecommunication network.
6477463 November 5, 2002 Hamilton et al.
20050001762 January 6, 2005 Han et al.
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20050094851 May 5, 2005 Bodin et al.
20070050104 March 1, 2007 Wallace et al.
Helios Aircraft Wiki Article.
U.S. Appl. No. 10/758,943, filed Oct. 20, 2005, Jackson et al.
Gallagher, Robert G., “Low-Density Parity-Check Codes,” published 1963 by the M.I.T. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Book consists of 102 pages.
Lin, Shu and Costello, Daniel J. (Jr.), “Error Control Coding Fundamentals and Applications,” Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1983, ISBN 0-13-283796-X, pp. 274-277.
Williams, David, “Turbo Product Code Tutorial,” May 1, 2000, Advanced Hardware Architectures, Inc., Pullman, WA. IEEE 802.16 Presentation Submission Template (Rev. 8), Document No. IEEE 802.16t-00/01, 64 pages.
Filed: Jun 9, 2006
Date of Patent: Sep 1, 2009
Assignee: Insitu, Inc. (Bingen, WA)
Inventors: Steven J. Olson (Hood River, OR), Matt Wheeler (White Salmon, OR)
Primary Examiner: Timothy D Collins
Attorney: Perkins Coie LLP
Current U.S. Class: By Remote Radio Signal (244/189); Remote Control System (701/2)
International Classification: B64C 13/24 (20060101);
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Opinion & Features
Highways England pours £4 million into canal restoration scheme
By Ben Fitzgerald - 8 May 2019
CommunityHeritage
A mile-long stretch of canal that disappeared more than half a century ago is a step closer to being restored, thanks to £4 million of funding from Highways England.
In the late 1960s the construction of a motorway and a roundabout in Gloucestershire meant the Stroudwater Navigation Canal was effectively split in two.
Since 1972, volunteers from the Cotswold Canals Trust have been working to restore derelict sections of the canal route.
And now Highways England, the company responsible for managing and maintaining England’s major A roads and motorways, is contributing funding towards the restoration of the final ‘missing mile’.
Sean Walsh, route manager for Highways England, said: “We are delighted to support this project which will restore the missing mile to the nation’s inland waterway network.
“When the work is finished there will not only be a restored canal, but also a great walking and cycling route, and environmental improvements, all of which will attract more visitors to the area, and so help the local economy.
“Our designated funds programme was developed so that we can invest in improvement projects like this, which go beyond traditional road building and maintenance and have a positive impact on people and communities, as well as protecting cultural heritage and leaving a positive legacy for future generations."
Jim White, Chair of Cotswold Canals Trust, welcomed the Highways England funding. He said:
“The Highways England award is extremely welcome and will significantly progress the overall project by bringing forward several of the major engineering tasks in the programme.”
The project, led by the Cotswolds Canals Trust and involving Stroud District Council, will restore the waterway, locks, bridges and wetlands west of Stonehouse in Gloucestershire that were lost when the M5 and a roundabout linking the A38 and A419 were built more than 50 years ago.
The work will restore historic features near to junction 13 of the M5 including new bridges and a new lock and improve more than 30 hectares of wildlife habitats.
The project is also part of the Cotswold Canals Trust’s bigger project, which aims to restore the Cotswold canals as a navigable route from the River Severn to the River Thames.
This was awarded a National Lottery Heritage Fund grant last year to prepare surveys, detailed designs, costings and plans.
The Highways England funding comes from one of the company’s ringfenced pots of money worth £675 million, which enable it to provide environmental, social and economic benefits to the people, communities and businesses who live and work alongside its road network.
There are designated funds to support the environment, air quality, growth and housing, innovation, and cycling, safety and integration, with £225 million dedicated to environmental improvements.
Earlier this year, Highways England awarded £27 million towards a wide range of initiatives including a variety of new cycle paths, habitat and heritage projects in Cornwall.
The funding will help walkers and cyclists travel safely by creating a network linking Truro with St Agnes,Perranporth and Newquay.
It will also help restore internationally rare heathland habitat and Bronze Age barrows, reduce flooding and water quality issues, and restore the Grade II registered Chyverton Park.
For more information please visit the Highways England Designated Funds page.
You can also visit the specific A30 Designated Funds projects page
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Physical Chemistry for Engineers
A Guided Tour (First Edition)
James E. Patterson
Customize Physical Chemistry for Engineers
Choose a selection... Ebook (180-day access) + $74.95 Print + $103.95
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Physical Chemistry for Engineers: A Guided Tour provides students with a comprehensive exploration of the entire field of physical chemistry, with particular emphasis on molecular behavior. The book helps students develop a clear understanding of the modern, molecular view of the physical world, along with an appreciation of the use of molecular models in describing physical systems.
Section I of the text provides students with an introduction to physical chemistry and the Ideal Gas Law, then establishes the foundation of statistical mechanics, including probability and the Boltzmann distribution, all leading to kinetic molecular theory. Section II covers chemical kinetics, including chapters dedicated to collision theory, rate laws, reaction mechanisms, and surface reactions. Section III covers the fundamentals of quantum mechanics and spectroscopy. Section IV explores statistical mechanics to a greater degree, and shows students how to apply knowledge of microscopic behavior to predict bulk properties. Section V covers the fundamentals of chemical thermodynamics and introduces students to the Laws of Thermodynamics, Gibbs Energy, and more. The final section discusses transition state theory and the philosophy of physical chemistry.
Physical Chemistry for Engineers is particularly well suited for chemical engineering programs, but could also be used in other engineering disciplines and materials science. By presenting students with foundational information that prepares them for more advanced courses in their respective disciplines, the text is ideal for one- or two-semester undergraduate courses in physical chemistry.
James E. Patterson earned his Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his B.S. and M.S. degrees in chemistry from Brigham Young University. He is an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Brigham Young University. Dr. Patterson’s current research involves developing a molecular-level understanding of the response of materials to mechanical, chemical, and thermal stress. He has applied for multiple patents, and his work has been included in reputable journals such as Physical Review Letters, Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vibrational Spectroscopy, and Analytical Chemistry, to name a few.
$103.95 Paperback
978-1-5165-0959-1 Standard paperback version.
9781516571789 Great for libraries and rental programs.
Adopting instructors will receive a solution manual.
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Tag Archives: Brion James
Countdown – My Personal Top 10 Films of All Time List
Posted on September 26, 2018 by tldrmoviereviews
TL;DR – Today we countdown my Top 10 films of all time; from towns where there are a lot of ‘accidents’, to all forms of Sci-Fi, to do you know the man with six fingers on his right hand, and everything in between.
Recently I watched the CineFix crew countdown their Top 10 films, and it had me thinking what are mine? Now it was at this point where I of course naturally spiralled as how can you reduce thousands of films that you have seen into only a Top 10. Just before I threw my hands up in resignation and chucked in the towel I happened to catch an episode of Movies with Mikey on how he determined the best sequel. With this in mind I wondered if there was a set of criteria that I could use to categorise the films into a list that I would be happy with, and after some work, I came up with the following criteria that work for me.
Films that are beautifully constructed
Films that mean something to me
Films that are always re-watchable
Films that have added to my love of the craft of cinema
With this criterion in mind I went through all the likely candidates and with a bit of a struggle I think I have been able to come to a final list, well at least until I change my mind next week, which is always a chance.
Posted in Articles, Countdown, Exploring the Past, Got My Cry On, Oscar Nominees | Tagged 10 Things I Hate About You, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 22 Jump Street, A Knight’s Tale, Abbey Lee, Action, Adam Baldwin, Al Matthews, Aladdin, Alan Tudyk, André the Giant, Andy Serkis, Angus Sampson, Anthony Ray Parker, Ariana Richards, Arrival, Austin Powers, Batman Begins, Bérénice Bejo, BD Wong, Belinda McClory, Bernard Hill, Bill Bailey, Bill Nighy, Bill Pullman, Billie Whitelaw, Billy Boyd, Billy Crystal, Bob Peck, Brad Dourif, Brent Spiner, Brian Helgeland, Brion James, Bruce Spence, Bruce Willis, Captain America: Civil War, Carol Kane, Carrie-Anne Moss, Cary Elwes, Cate Blanchett, Charlie Creed-Miles, Charlize Theron, Chris Sarandon, Chris Tucker, Christopher Cazenove, Christopher Guest, Christopher Lee, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, CineFix, Coco, Comedy, Countdown, Courtney Eaton, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, Creed, Cutthroat Island, David Arnold, David Wenham, Deadpool, Die Hard, Dileep Rao, Dinosaurs, Dinotopia, Disney, Dominic Monaghan, Don Davis, Drama, Dredd, Edgar Wright, Elijah Wood, Ellen Page, Fantasy, Forest Gump, Fran Walsh, Fred Savage, Gary Oldman, George Miller, Get Out, Gloria Foster, Goldeneye, Goldfinger, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Gurrumul, Hans Zimmer, Harry Connick Jr., Harry Potter, Harvey Fierstein, Heath Ledger, Hobbiton, Hot Fuzz, How to Train Your Dragons, Howard Shore, Howl’s Moving Castle, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Hugo Weaving, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Ian Holm, Ian McKellen, Inception, Independence Day, iOTA, J. R. R. Tolkien, James Bond, James Duval, James Purefoy, James Rebhorn, Jeff Goldblum, Jim Broadbent, Joe Pantoliano, John Bennett, John Bluthal, John Howard, John Neville, John Noble, John Rhys-Davies, John Wick, John Williams, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Joseph Mazzello, Josh Helman, Judd Hirsch, Julian Arahanga, Junkie XL, Jurassic Park, Karl Johnson, Karl Urban, Keanu Reeves, Ken Watanabe, Kevin Eldon, Kim Chan, Kung Fu Panda, Kung Fu Panda 3, Laura Dern, Laura Fraser, Laurence Fishburne, Lawrence Makoare, Le Cinquième Élément, Lee Evans, Leonardo DiCaprio, Liv Tyler, Logan, Luc Besson, Luke Perry, Maïwenn Le Besco, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mae Whitman, Mandy Patinkin, Marcus Chong, Margaret Colin, Marion Cotillard, Mark Addy, Martin Ferrero, Martin Freeman, Marton Csokas, Marvel's The Avengers, Mary McDonnell, Matt Doran, Megan Gale, Melissa Jaffer, Michael Caine, Michael Crichton, Milla Jovovich, Miranda Otto, Moana, Movies with Mikey, Mulan, Nathan Jones, National Treasure, Nicholas Hoult, Nick Frost, Non Je Ne Regrette Rien, Okja, Olivia Colman, Orlando Bloom, Paddington, Paddington 2, Paddy Considine, Paul Bettany, Paul Norell, Pete Postlethwaite, Peter Falk, Peter Jackson, Philippa Boyens, Pixar, Planet of the Apes, Porco Rosso, Princess Bride, Rafe Spall, Randy Quaid, Richard Attenborough, Richard Carter, Riley Keough, Rob Reiner, Robert Loggia, Robin Wright, Roland Emmerich, Rory McCann, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Rufus Sewell, Sam Neill, Samuel L. Jackson, Schindler's List, Sci-fi, Science Fiction, SciFi, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Serenity, Shannyn Sossamon, Shrek, Simon Pegg, Skyfall, Space, Star Trek: First Contact, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Star Wars: A New Hope, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Stardust, Stargate, Steven Spielberg, Studio Ghibli, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Avengers, The Bourne Identity, The Emperor’s New Groove, The Fifth Element, The Forbidden Kingdom, The Lego Film, The Lion King, The Lord of the Rings, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Martian, The Matrix, The Return of the King, The Wachowskis, Thor: Ragnarok, Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, Timothy Dalton, Tom Berenger, Tom Hardy, Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., Top 10 List, Total Recall, Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, Tricky, Tron Legacy, True Lies, Viggo Mortensen, Vivica A. Fox, Wallace Shawn, War of the Planet of the Apes, Wayne Knight, Who Framed Rodger Rabbit, Will Smith, Wonder Woman, X-Men, X-Men 2, Zoë Kravitz | 9 Replies
Exploring the Past – Blade Runner (1982)
Posted on October 4, 2017 by tldrmoviereviews
TL;DR – The legacy of Blade Runner is not overstated, even if parts of the film have not aged well.
I continue my look into the gems of films from the past that I missed the first time round by today looking at the most topical of films Blade Runner. Like 2001: A Space Odyssey (see review), Blade Runner is one of those films that came out before I was born, so I missed it the first time around, and due to its content it didn’t get a lot replay on TV as I was growing up. Now while I haven’t seen the film before today, I have read the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? As well as this, Blade Runner has appeared in so many countdown and best of lists, and multiple parodies and had homages have been made of it over the years. So even though I have never see the film, I have seen so many separate bits that I have probably seen a decent chunk of the film over the years. So with all of this I was a bit apprehensive before sitting down and watching it, would it live up to the huge cultural impact it has had, well could anything really, let’s find out. Now before we go on just a moment of clarification, the version I saw was The Final Cut, which as far as I can tell is the cut that Ridley Scott prefers, so there is likely to be differences between this and the theatrical release.
Posted in 2017 Reviews, Exploring the Past, Movie Reviews | Tagged 2001: A Space Odyssey, Aliens: Covenant, Blade Runner, Blade Runner 2049, Brion James, Daryl Hannah, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Dredd, Dystopia, Edward James Olmos, Exploring the Past, Farscape, Film, Film Review, Futurama, Ghost in the Shell, Harrison Ford, James Hong, Joanna Cassidy, Joe Turkel, Jordan Cronenweth, Los Angeles, M. Emmet Walsh, Morgan Paull, Movie, Movie Review, Neo-noir, Philip K. Dick, Replicant, review, Ridley Scott, Rutger Hauer, Science Fiction, SciFi, Sean Young, The Final Cut, The Martian, Vangelis, William Sanderson | 1 Reply
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FOWLER, MANET HARRISON
Laurie E. Jasinski
FOWLER, MANET HARRISON (1895–1976). Manet Harrison Fowler, African-American singer, educator, and artist, was born in Fort Worth on August 30, 1895. She was the daughter of Taylor Henry and Carrie (Vickers) Harrison and the eldest of eight children. Her parents were originally from Louisiana, and her mother was of Creole ancestry. Harrison displayed an amazing musical aptitude at a very young age. At age four, she performed at the family’s local Baptist church. By age six she had become proficient enough on piano to accompany adult choirs. She began formal piano studies at age seven under Jeanie Marie Rowe. Harrison graduated with highest honors from (what is now) I. M. Terrell High School in Fort Worth. She attended Tuskegee Institute in 1912 and studied under George Washington Carver. She graduated from that institution in 1913 and subsequently studied at the Chicago Musical College. In Chicago she also studied painting at the Art Institute and trained as a soprano under Eva Brown at the American Conservatory.
Back in Texas, she taught music at Prairie View State Normal and Industrial College. She married Stephen Hamilton Fowler of Fort Worth on July 28, 1915; they had five children. Manet Fowler played an active role in civic affairs and in the advancement of arts and culture in Fort Worth’s African-American community. She became a director of the Mt. Gilead Baptist Church choir in that city and was a cofounder of the Texas Association of Negro Musicians in 1926. Fowler later became a board member and secretary of the National Association of Negro Musicians. She wrote pageants for benefits for the YMCA; her husband had founded the black YMCA in Fort Worth.
Fowler founded the Mwalimu School in Fort Worth in 1928. The word “mwalimu” translates as “the teacher” in an African language. The school provided instruction of the arts for African Americans. Music education included courses in piano, notation, sight singing, ear training, church music, public school music, and terminology. A Mwalimu choir gave performances.
An accomplished composer, Fowler wrote a musical The Voice for the National Baptist Convention in Chicago in 1930. She wrote a symphonic poem “Come Let Us Sing!” for the honor students of I. M. Terrell High School in Fort Worth, and she was featured in music and debate programs in the school from 1930 to 1932. Fowler was also an artist, and her oil paintings and watercolors portrayed civil rights and religious themes as well as landscapes and portraits.
In 1932 Fowler relocated her Mwalimu School to Harlem in New York. There, she directed the Mwalimu choir in numerous performances. The Dallas Morning News published a story about a performance of the chorus, conducted by Fowler, at New York’s Steinway Hall in March 1934. The presentation included selections of African music and several songs sung in the Yoruba language of West Africa. Her school played a key role in the Harlem Renaissance.
Fowler’s daughter, Manet Helen Fowler, became the first African-American woman to earn a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology in the United States. The two continued to stay involved in professional activities in Fort Worth and Tarrant County. Her husband died in New York in 1965. Manet Harrison Fowler died in February 1976 in New York. Her papers are located in collections at Yale University and Emory University. Several of her watercolor paintings are on exhibit at the Juneteenth Museum in Fort Worth.
“CLICK HERE TO SEE: TUSKEGEE COLLECTION—Manet Helen Fowler Estate,” flickr.com (http://www.flickr.com/photos/labonnevivante/sets/72157605123740642/), accessed September 15, 2011. Dallas Morning News, April 26, 1931; March 21, 1934. Emory Finding Aids, Manet Harrison Fowler Papers, 1913–1960 (http://findingaids.library.emory.edu/documents/fowler978/), accessed September 7, 2011. Manet Harrison Fowler and Manet Helen Fowler Papers, Beinecke Library, Yale University (http://beineckejwj.library.yale.edu/2010/08/03/fowler-papers/), accessed September 7, 2011. New York Times, October 27, 1965.
Handbook of Texas Online, Laurie E. Jasinski, "FOWLER, MANET HARRISON," accessed July 19, 2019, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ffo66.
Uploaded on May 3, 2013. Modified on May 29, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
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The Future Is A Mixtape
@futuremixtapes
https://www.thefutureisamixtape.com/
thefutureisamixtape@gmail.com
021: The North Star of Human Decency
Beyond Blade Runners and Replicants, there must be a place “Over the Rainbow” for us to exist in solidarity and equanimity. And certainly, the 21st Century hovering above us should be a cause for hope, not despair; yet even with this new century being no way near its quartermark, it’s already given us a planet wheezing from ecological crisis-to-crisis, where an untenable economic system of neo-feudalism ravages plants and animals, as well as the rights of those we love (or should love). In...
020: More Bleak Than Bleak
For this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt discuss the slow, spiral reckoning of Ridley Scott’s much-celebrated and increasingly influential film Blade Runner, whose long and winding road lead to a sequel, Blade Runner 2049. While detractors of the original film might feel they’re viewing a sexy-time noir featuring little more than robots and porn-jazz, for the entranced, the film’s hypnotic imagery and ruminations on universal themes like humanness, memory and belonging still...
019: Fake Plastic World
For this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt explore the paranoid dread and narcotic pull of Adam Curtis’ most recent documentary of political-noir, HyperNormalisation. In 2 hours and 40 minutes, it charts the globe-hopping travails of terrorists, bankers, politicians and America’s digital aristocracy--all of whom use humanity as pawns by promising simple stories to explain complex problems which can’t be solved with “perception management” and pastel fairy-tales about “good vs....
018: Putting the ‘Think’ Into Think Tanks
For this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt have a discussion with Matt Bruenig--a lawyer, blogger, political analyst and Twitter-dynamo who’s got your back when you’re kettled by Roaming Hillbots and Randian Regressives. More importantly though, Matt has just started the first grassroots, people-powered think tank called The People’s Policy Project (3P). Funded by small donations from $5 to $15 dollars, 3P is an attempt to actually make Think Tanks “think” again, but for the...
017: Imagining Democracy In The Workplace
What would democracy look like if it first existed at the workplace rather than in the woesome consignment of America’s party-politics, which renders our dreams for The Golden Square into Squalid Shit-mash? For this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt have a discussion about this paradise where workers actually experience freedom, equity and solidarity with two folks who’ve jump-started one of the first media co-ops in Southern California: Dan Nowman Niswander, creator, host,...
016: DSA-Curious? #TrySocialism
On this episode, Matt & Jesse have a discussion with Kelsey Goldberg (@KelseyFGold) and Jack Suria Linares (@SuriaLinares213) from DSA-Los Angeles chapter about the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Kelsey and Jack explore their childhood and later political awakening by describing the moment (or moments) that led to not only their transcendent belief in socialism, but how they went beyond mere beliefs by deciding to take action and become activists and organizers via their...
015: They Owe Us a Living, Of Course
For this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt have a discussion with Frantz Pierre--a community activist and organizer who’s leading a revolutionary project to educate Los Angeles residents about the benefits of Universal Basic Income via a local, first-of-its-kind, pilot program. But how might Frantz Pierre and other fellow comrades create this program on a citywide scale when the mythology and romance of the “work ethic” and the sin of “laziness” are so indoctrinated in our...
014: A World Without Work
On this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Matt & Jesse explore the most exceptional work of utopian thinking since the days of Occupy Wall Street: Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams’ Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work (2015). This is the co-hosts third such “CliffPod,” and they will hum over some of the most far-reaching and visionary aspects of this book, weighing out the co-authors’ success in diagnosing why the left has been--to use Jesse’s apt phrase--“drowning...
013: The Slingshot Seven
On this episode, Jesse & Matt discuss their fraught and less than ambivalent feelings about their first time at Southern California’s Politicon, and provide a discerning look at how it represents the shallow conceptions of what politics so often involve, and how it could have been reimagined as a democratic space for transformational insights and real debates. The majority of the podcast will discuss solutions to create a utopian future (or at least one that guarantees The Golden Square) by...
012: #$hitsStillFuckedUpAndBullshit
On this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Matthew & Jesse go beyond Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next and his apt citations of policy successes in other societies found outside the U.S., and will instead grapple with the stasis of the Left and its tragic inability to wrest change from the Death-Dealers of Neoliberalism. How can we learn from both the past and present to make another world possible? How can we transcend the suffering and carnage found in our daily lives that are as...
011: Picking the Flowers, Not the Weeds
Beyond just talking about rabbits shitting outside their cages, in this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt will provide a sustained analysis on Michael Moore’s Where to Invade Next. Not only was this the finest documentary released in 2015, but the film is Michael Moore’s magnum opus without parallel or peer in his storied and fecund oeuvre. After shooting and releasing a misshapen and badly organized documentary Capitalism: A Love Story in 2009, it seemed that the director had...
010: Squaring the Golden Square: Education
On this episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Jesse & Matt finally shoot off some long-stored Roman Candles, letting their fireworks rain down on an area of community life they’ve spent an inordinate amount of time living inside of: the looking glass of education. As the fourth node of The Golden Square, education is the capstone of these most basic and essential human rights. It’s hard to imagine any human future that’s vital or dynamic without education’s essential place in the foundation of...
009: An Apple A Day . . .
On this episode, Jesse & Matt discuss the third most important element of The Golden Square which is so simple and obvious, that it’s remarkable this idea is even contested as a human right in the Yankee-lands of Ol’ Red, White and Blue: the absolute right to healthcare for every human being on Earth. Matthew will provide a surprising prologue about what’s suddenly taken place in his personal life since this episode’s initial recording and open up about his mother’s life-long illness; in...
008: Gimme Shelter
Gentrification. Housing Bubbles. Developers & Their “Pay 2 Play” Campaign Donations (Bribes) to City Council Members. And then there’s the needless cruelty of permanent homelessness. On this episode, Jesse & Matt ratchet-up their manifesto on their Mixtape for the Future by talking about the second-most important cornerstone of The Golden Square: namely, the universal right to human shelter. While a good deal of the debate and conversation will provide a clear-sighted and information-packed...
007: Grammars of the Palate
For this week’s episode, Matt & Jesse transition away from talking about which man-made myths must be stripped out from the the mixtape for the future (“The Poison Pyramid”) or what should just be ignored while they haplessly spiral in the drain (“The Circle”). Instead, our co-hosts will introduce a new idea-shape “The Golden Square,” which is comprised of the four most essential tracks in our shared mixtape for the future. All too often, the notion of rights in nation-states don’t...
006: ‘Ye Are Many – They Are Few!’
In the sixth episode of The Future Is a Mixtape, Jesse & Matt break out of their self-imposed duo-igloo and bring forth two friends far more adept at exploring the miraculous and shocking rise of Jeremy Corbyn in British politics: 1) Alex Biancardi, a dual British-American citizen who is an instructor of Political Science; and 2) Joshua Bregman, a “former American ex-pat” who was a film student in Britain during both the heady turbulence of the college-tuition protests and David Cameron’s...
005: Captain Picard - “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.”
In this fifth episode of The Future Is A Mixtape, Matt & Jesse discuss Peter Frase’s diaphanous, compact and idea-drenched work of “Social Science Fiction,” which revs up & rides out to the sweet page-count of 150 pages, and contains far more ideas than most books three-times its size (ahem, The Circle). Frase’s nonfiction book, Four Futures: Life After Capitalism, argues that there are actually four possible futures for humanity. The book accomplishes this task, ingeniously so, by threading...
004: TDS - Terminal Dystopia Syndrome
On this episode, Jesse & Matt discuss the mucky-malarkey of Dave Eggers’ 2013 “satire” (?) of Silicon Valley: The Circle. While this podcast will focus on Eggers’ conscious intentions and unconscious outcomes of his novel, some discussion will also be meted out on The Circle’s even more miserable film-adaptation of the same name, featuring Tom Hanks, Emma Watson and John Boyega. Matthew will also explore the movie’s unsettling “Fear of a Black Cock,” and what that says about the film’s lack...
003: Star-Fuckers
On this episode, Jesse makes the case that the third point of “The Poison Pyramid,” which should be readily designated for the dumpster, is the worship of the Celebrity. Matthew makes the case that this is just a shiny, distracting feather to something that rides upon a much larger, deeper and more worrisome creature. Mentioned In This Episode: Robert Rauschenberg, American Artist, Dies at 82 - Obituary by The New York Times “How a 94-Year-Old Genius May Save the Planet” -...
002: The Invisible Hand
This week, Matt & Jesse discuss the second point on “The Poison Pyramid” -- namely the horror-show of Capitalism, and why it’s an awful idea that we should refuse to carry with us into our much-deserved future. Mentioned In This Episode: David Graeber's Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Profit David Graeber's On Bureaucratic Technologies & the Future as Dream-Time A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster - a Nonfiction Book by Rebecca...
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December 26, 2018 / 3:42 PM / 7 months ago
Morgan Stanley unit to pay $10 million fine for anti-money laundering violations
Suzanne Barlyn
(Reuters) - Wall Street’s industry funded watchdog fined the U.S. brokerage unit of Morgan Stanley $10 million on Wednesday for compliance failures in the firm’s anti-money laundering program, the regulator said.
A sign is displayed on the Morgan Stanley building in New York U.S., July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) said the lapses spanned more than five years, from January 2011 until April 2016.
Morgan Stanley, which agreed to the fine as part of a settlement, did not admit nor deny FINRA’s charges, but consented to the entry of the regulator’s findings.
“We are pleased to have resolved this matter from several years ago,” Morgan Stanley said in a statement.
FINRA rules require brokerages to have policies and procedures in place to comply with a federal law aimed at detecting and curbing money laundering.
A Morgan Stanley automated surveillance system did not receive important data from other Morgan Stanley systems, FINRA said. The lapse impaired the firm’s overall tracking of tens of billions of dollars of wire and foreign currency transfers, FINRA said.
Those transactions included transfers to and from countries known for money laundering risk, FINRA said.
In 2015, a consultant that Morgan Stanley hired to test its surveillance identified several “high risk” issues, according to the settlement agreement. Morgan Stanley did not fix one of those problems until at least February 2017.
Morgan Stanley’s other violations include failing to “reasonably monitor” customers’ deposits of 2.7 billion shares of penny stock between 2011-2013, FINRA said.
Low-priced securities, such as penny stocks, are often subject to efforts by fraudsters to falsely inflate trading volume and share prices, a securities law violation that is frequently a precursor to money-laundering, according to anti-money laundering compliance professionals.
Morgan Stanley has taken “extraordinary steps” since 2013 to improve its anti-money laundering programs, including a new automated process for monitoring of penny stock transactions and potential insider trading, FINRA said in the settlement.
Reporting by Suzanne Barlyn; Editing by Phil Berlowitz
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U.S. warns India against retaliatory duties over scrapping of trade privileges
Neha Dasgupta
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Any retaliatory tariff by India in response to the United States’ planned withdrawal of trade privileges will not be “appropriate” under WTO rules, U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross warned on Tuesday.
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross leaves after he addressed a gathering at the Trade Winds Indo-Pacific Trade Mission and Business Forum in New Delhi, India, May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Anushree Fadnavis
The comments, made to broadcaster CNBC-TV18 during a trip to India’s capital, come as trade ties between the United States and China worsen. The U.S. is India’s second-biggest trade partner after China.
India’s new e-commerce rules could hurt future investments by the U.S in the South Asian country, Ross said, even as he said he was hopeful that U.S firms would win defense deals from India in future.
Indian officials have raised the prospect of higher import duties on more than 20 U.S. goods if President Donald Trump presses ahead with a plan announced in March to end the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India.
India is the biggest beneficiary of the GSP, which allows preferential duty-free imports of up to $5.6 billion from the South Asian nation.
“Any time a government makes a decision adverse to another one, you will have to anticipate there could be consequences,” Ross said. “We don’t believe under the WTO rules that retaliation by India would be appropriate.”
He said the decision on GSP could be reversed in future if India deals with the issues raised by the U.S.
He added that India’s new rules on e-commerce, which bar companies from selling products via firms in which they have an equity interest, and data localization have been discriminatory for U.S. firms such as Walmart Inc and Mastercard Inc.
“So the American companies are showing very good will and a very cooperative attitude towards ‘Make in India’ and the other programs,” Ross said, referring to a manufacturing push by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“But there’s a limit to how far the discriminatory behavior can go. And our job is to try to get a level, more level playing field.”
“The tragic part of it is not that Walmart won’t be able to function. They will, but it will cost them money. But we will never know how many new investments that also will cost India,” Ross said.
PRICE CAPS
Earlier, Ross told a business conference that localization rules and price caps on medical devices imported from the United States were barriers to trade but that New Delhi was committed to tackling them after general elections.
“We applaud India’s commitment to addressing some of these barriers once the government is re-formed, probably starting in the month of June,” Ross said.
“Our role is to eliminate barriers to U.S. companies operating here, including data localization restrictions that actually weaken data security and increase the cost of doing business.”
India’s 39-day general election ends on May 19, and votes will be counted four days later.
Ross met his Indian counterpart Suresh Prabhu on Monday, after which New Delhi said the countries would engage regularly to resolve outstanding trade issues.
Last year, global payments companies such as Mastercard, Visa and American Express unsuccessfully lobbied India to relax central bank rules requiring all payment data on domestic transactions to be stored locally.
“As President Trump has said, trade relationships should be based, and must be based, on fairness and reciprocity,” Ross added. “But currently, U.S. businesses face significant market access barriers in India.”
Ross said with the “new enhanced status of the defense relationship” between the countries, the U.S. could land defense deals in future which will also help to reduce the trade deficit that the U.S. runs with India.
He clarified that India will continue to remain in a preferential position as far as H1B visas are concerned irrespective of the outcome of any discussion on immigration.
Additional reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Ed Osmond
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Kim Barnes Arico Named Michigan Women’s Basketball Coach
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — University of Michigan director of athletics Dave Brandon announced Friday (April 20) the hiring of Kim Barnes Arico as the ninth head coach in the 40-year history of the Wolverines women’s basketball program. The New York native joins the Michigan family after spending the past 10 seasons as the St. John’s University women’s coach. She will be formally introduced at a press conference Monday (April 23) at 12:30 p.m.
“Kim is an elite coach that will help elevate our women’s basketball program to new heights,” said Brandon. “Kim has been successful at every coaching stop and has built teams that compete for championships. She is a tireless recruiter who will accomplish great things at Michigan. We are extremely happy that Kim and her family chose to join Michigan Athletics.”
Read the full University of Michigan release here.
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'The Wedding of St George and Princess Sabra,' 1857 (Print Collector/Getty Images)
Damsels undistressed
By Samantha Shannon
Essay | 20 minute read
Novelist Samantha Shannon writes about old stories, new readings and how the legend of Saint George and the Dragon led her to a feminist retelling
New takes on familiar narratives seem to be enjoying a renaissance in recent years – the flood of them shows no sign of abating – but they are part of a tradition as old as storytelling itself. From the small variations in oral lore to the never-ending conveyor belt of film reboots, human beings have longed to both revive and modify the stories of the past.
Retellings have, in fact, been ubiquitous in the literature of the last decade. Beauty and the Beast alone has inspired Heart’s Blood (2009) by Juliet Marillier, Of Beast and Beauty (2013) by Stacey Jay, Cruel Beauty (2014) by Rosamund Hodge, A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015) by Sarah J. Maas, Barefoot on the Wind (2016) by Zoë Marriott, In the Vanishers’ Palace (2018) by Aliette de Bodard, A Curse So Dark and Lonely (2019) by Brigid Kemmerer, and more – the story has been reworked on an almost annual basis for several years.
The Little Mermaid has also sparked its own mini-genre, including The Seafarer’s Kiss (2017) by Julia Ember, To Kill a Kingdom (2018) by Alexandra Christo, The Surface Breaks (2018) by Louise O’Neill and Sea Witch (2018) by Sarah Henning.
Famous Western fairy tales – particularly those that have received the Disney treatment – remain popular sources, but more and more, as publishing diversifies and broadens its horizons, authors have branched out into lesser-known folk tales from Europe, and into myths and legends from the rest of the world. Beowulf gets an all-female reboot in The Boneless Mercies (2018) by April Genevieve Tucholke; Scheherazade weaves her stories again in The Wrath and the Dawn (2015) by Renée Ahdieh; and the ancient Indian epic, the Mahābhārata, is played out as a space opera in A Spark of White Fire (2018) by Sangu Mandanna. There are numerous retellings of authored historical works that have passed into the public domain, and others that revise history itself. Blood and Sand (2018) by C. V. Wyk imagines the Thracian warrior Spartacus as a young woman; And I Darken (2016) by Kiersten White gives Vlad the Impaler the same treatment.
Mahabharata (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)
We thrive on the timeless and familiar tales that speak across decades, centuries and millennia. At the same time, we like to have our expectations thwarted, and to see these stories defamiliarised. The joy of tropes lies not just in recognition, after all, but in subversion – and destruction. Within a single retelling, an author usually remains faithful to the original and breaks away from it. The number and nature of the changes depend on the author, and give clues as to their motive in re-approaching a story.
Sometimes that motive is to create a homage, sometimes to entertain or inform a new generation. Often, however, it is a need to respond to the source material – to wrestle with it, to correct it, to flesh out its gaps, and to otherwise interrogate it. Wide Sargasso Sea (1966) by Jean Rhys is perhaps the most famous example of this category of retelling, directly intervening in and re-framing Jane Eyre in a postcolonial and intersectional feminist context. ‘When I read Jane Eyre as a child, I thought, why should [Charlotte Brontë] think Creole women are lunatics and all that?’ Rhys recalled. ‘What a shame to make Rochester’s first wife, Bertha, the awful mad woman, and I immediately thought I’d write the story as it might really have been. She seemed such a poor ghost. I thought I’d try to write her a life.’ More recently, The Silence of the Girls (2018) by Pat Barker gives us the female perspective that Homer failed to provide in the Iliad. ‘[Briseis] has no opinion, she has no power, she has no voice,’ Barker points out. ‘It was the urge to fill that vacuum that made me go back and start retelling the myth yet again.’
Feminist retellings have been on the rise, and for good reason. We are recovering and reclaiming the women of history and literature, giving them the voices they have long been denied. We are breaking their silences, gifting them control of their own fates, and leading them into narratives that were once closed to them. For me, the desire to write such a retelling first stemmed from frustration, then anger, with a legend and a figure that have loomed over my country for almost a thousand years.
In April 2015, I started a novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree. One of my aims in writing it was to contest and rework the story of Saint George and the Dragon – a story I first encountered at my Anglican primary school. The ultimate illustration of the ‘damsel in distress’ trope; most people will know it only for its three key ingredients, which have endured for centuries. There is a brave knight, a princess in need of rescue, and a dragon bent on destroying them both. In a selfless act of courage and gallantry, the knight slays the dragon, either with a lance or a sword. It’s the story told by the 1931 hymn, When a Knight Won His Spurs, which I often sang at school. This is the morality tale we tell again and again, easy for both children and adults to understand and absorb. The knight is the good guy, the dragon is the bad guy, and the princess … well, she’s the not-guy, the trophy in the middle. Tale as old as time.
‘St. George was typical of what a Scout should be,’ wrote Robert Baden-Powell in Scouting for Boys (1908). ‘When he was faced by a difficulty or danger, however great it appeared, even in the shape of a dragon – he did not avoid it or fear it but went at it with all the power he could […] That is exactly the way a Scout should face a difficulty or danger no matter how great or how terrifying it may appear.’
Baden-Powell sums up what many people like about Saint George, and why his legend endures. At its heart, after all, his story seems to be about overcoming adversity. About good and evil. Surely there is no more ancient or relatable tale. Scratch beneath the surface, however, and you will find that its roots are infested with rot.
As I grew older and discovered feminism, the seed of rebellion against Saint George began to blossom. It was the passivity of the princess that troubled me
The story had never sat right with me. As a child, I remember stubbornly remaining silent as other pupils sang the lyric ‘and the dragons are dead’ in When A Knight Won His Spurs, such was my love of all things draconic. I resented the knight for destroying what was magical and thrilling. As I grew older and discovered feminism, the seed of rebellion against Saint George began to blossom. Now it was the passivity of the princess that troubled me. I knew I wanted to give this story a much-needed feminist update – to give the damsel a voice and a story – but to best decide how to approach my retelling, I first had to go back to its beginnings.
There are many variants of the legend of Saint George. The historical figure, if he existed, is thought to have been a Christian soldier from Cappadocia – a part of what is now modern-day Turkey – who was executed by the Roman emperor Diocletian in 303 AD. Various sources tell us of his acts, his suffering at the hands of his persecutors, and his martyrdom. In 1098, Frankish crusaders at the Siege of Antioch claimed Saint George had appeared to them in white armour, leading a heavenly host. In 1348, Edward III made George a patron of the Order of the Garter alongside Edward the Confessor. He displaced Edmund the Martyr and today remains the patron saint of several countries, including England.
The confrontation with the dragon is thought to have been an eleventh-century addition to the narrative that originated in Georgia. In Christian symbolism, the dragon – like the serpent – is associated with Satanic evil; we see this in the seven-headed dragon of the Book of Revelation. One can see how a military saint ended up with such an enemy. The famous deed was introduced to Europe in The Golden Legend; or, the Lives of the Saints (1265) by Jacobus da Voragine.
The Golden Legend tells us that in Libya, in the city of Silene, a dragon is poisoning the water and the air. The people send it sheep to appease it, and when their supply of sheep is exhausted, they start to sacrifice their children by lottery. Eventually, the king’s daughter is chosen. Her father dresses her as a bride before he sends her to her doom. Saint George, who is passing on his way back to Cappadocia, grievously wounds the dragon and tells the princess to tie her belt around its neck, which tames it. (This event can be seen in a 1470 oil painting by Paolo Uccello, which has the dragon already on a leash by the time George strikes it with a lance). So far, so relatively familiar – until George has the princess lead the dragon back to Silene and declares to its people, ‘Doubt not. Believe in God and Jesus Christ, and be baptised, and I shall slay the dragon.’
What took me by surprise was that the maiden speaks – she advises George to leave her and save his own skin – and that she has the mettle to lead the wounded dragon back to the city
Saint George has a reputation as a courageous gallant. Here, his gallantry comes with conditions. Only after the people agree to accept Christianity does George behead the dragon. In their pain lies opportunity.
The impression of Saint George as a heroic figure was forged, in part, by The Golden Legend. Of course, nowadays we neglect to mention that in this famous origin story, our patron saint expected a city of frightened and traumatised people to convert to his religion before he had the decency to rid them of a child-eating monster. We also neglect to mention the active role of the princess. In the earliest surviving version of the legend, which is set in the fictional city of Lasia, the king is identified as Selbios, while his daughter is referred to only as kórē (‘girl, maiden’). Da Voragine chooses not to give her or her father a name in his retelling. However, in both versions, what took me by surprise was that the maiden speaks – in fact, she advises George to leave her and save his own skin – and that she has the mettle to lead the wounded dragon back to the city. George invites her to participate in its downfall. He also, notably, does not claim her as his bride, even though her father has dressed her up like one.
The princess seems to have received the name Cleodolinda, later Cleolinda, at some point in the fourteenth century. While the reasons this name was chosen are unclear, it suited the new story I wanted to write for my update on the character – Cleo presumably derives from the Greek kleos (‘glory, enduring renown’), while Linda could refer to the Germanic lind (‘soft, mild, gentle’). It speaks of two natures. I decided to adapt this as a character name, Cleolind, for the courageous princess who refuses to marry my George-figure, Sir Galian Berethnet, in The Priory of the Orange Tree – even though most of the world believes she was his bride, and a meek damsel.
‘St. George and the Dragon’, c15th century (Photo by The Print Collector/Getty Images)
The princess in the legend of Saint George sometimes appears under another name – Sabra. Chasing the origin of this name led me to a second distinct tradition of George and the Dragon stories, shaped by the chivalric romances of the Middle Ages, which distanced it somewhat from the Greek original.
Saint George’s roots in modern-day Turkey often seem to be forgotten or ignored by his supporters, who vehemently defend his red cross and appear to view him as a divine defender of Europe and Christianity in much the same way the Frankish crusaders did in 1098. While this wilful blindness is clearly due to racism and xenophobia in the majority of cases, one local myth specifically links the saint to Caludon Castle in Coventry. This myth can be traced back to a dense, prolix, and deeply problematic text from 1596, The Most Famous History of the Seven Champions of Christendom – also known as The Renowned History of the Seven Champions of Christendom – by Richard Johnson. Although Johnson was prolific, little is known of his life. Obscure today, but a hit among Elizabethan readers, The Renowned History does away with the idea of George as a soldier in the Roman army and rewrites him as an Englishman.
Born in Coventry to noble parents, bearing symbolic birthmarks, the Renowned History incarnation of Saint George is abducted not long after his birth by a ‘fell enchantress’ named Kalyb – also known as ‘the wise lady of the woods’ and, in a later retelling, ‘the weïrd lady of the woods’ – who raises him. After fourteen years, Kalyb, who has by now fallen in love with her young ward, gifts him a trusty steed, fine armour, and a Cyclops-made sword, Ascalon. She also reveals to him that she’s been hoarding a collection of dead children in her cave and has imprisoned six men – the patron saints of France, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Scotland and Wales. Repulsed, George tricks Kalyb into surrendering her silver wand, traps her in the cave, and liberates the captive knights. The Seven Champions of Christendom then head into the world to forge their legacies. Kalyb, meanwhile, is left to be torn apart by evil spirits.
Kalyb – variously reincarnated under the names Kalyba, Calyb(a) or Calyt – is a ghostly footnote in the Saint George mythos. A powerful witch and oracle who gives George the tools he needs to survive the dragon, she becomes infatuated with him to the point that her happiness is dependent on his returning her love (‘she placed her whole felicity in him, and lusted after his beauty’). Her name is reminiscent of the Ancient Greek kalúbē (‘hut, wedding bower’), suggesting a domestic chokehold. George despises her from the start, apparently able to sense her wickedness despite the gifts she lavishes on him. This female magician who predates Prospero could have made for a deeply compelling villain, but instead, Johnson stuffs her into the proverbial refrigerator soon as her sole narrative purpose is fulfilled.
The Renowned History paints an ugly and disturbing portrait of Saint George. He is not someone you would ever wish to meet
Separating from his new companions, George rides to Egypt, where a king named Ptolemy, like Selbios before him, is plagued by a flesh-eating dragon. This one is appeased only by the bodies of virgins – and the last virgin in Egypt happens to be Ptolemy’s own daughter, Sabra. Whomsoever slays the beast will have her hand in marriage. During the ensuing battle, George takes shelter under an orange tree, which is of such ‘rare virtue’ that it heals, protects and refreshes him. After he slays the beast, the lovesick Sabra tells George that she will ‘leave her parents, country, and inheritance, though that inheritance be the Crown of Egypt, and would follow thee as a pilgrim through the wide world’. George decides to test her patience. ‘Lady of Egypt,’ he baffles, ‘art thou not content that I have risked my own life to preserve yours, but you would also sacrifice my honour, give over the chase of dazzling glory; lay all my warlike trophies in a woman’s lap, and change my truncheon for a distaff.’
He suggests that she should accept the suit of the Moroccan king Almidor. When she chafes at the idea, George states that he could never marry a pagan (‘I honour God in heaven; you, shadows earthly of a vile imposter here below’). Sabra immediately agrees to ‘forsake [her] country’s gods and become a Christian’ if only they can wed. She is willing to throw away her entire life – everything that defines her, from her royal inheritance to her faith – to become his bride.
When it isn’t slipping into the realm of the ridiculous, The Renowned History paints an ugly and disturbing portrait of Saint George. He is not someone you would ever wish to meet. Throughout the nightmare he calls the ‘adventures’ of the saint, Johnson mimics the racial and religious Othering of medieval romances, often linking both Christianity and whiteness to integrity. (His knowledge of non-Christian religions, and the world in general, can only be described as deplorable. More than once he mentions Termagant, a violent deity erroneously ascribed to Islam by Christians in the Middle Ages). Whatever actions George takes, no matter how repugnant, Johnson continues to present him as a worthy national hero. Incredibly, he describes George as an ‘innocent lamb’ almost immediately before he commits a horrifying massacre of Persian knights.
Here ends another telling of the age-old confrontation between man and wyrm, with George languishing in prison for this crime. He is eventually reunited with Sabra, who bears him three sons. After many trials, including an attempted rape by the Earl of Coventry that almost sees her burned at the stake (George rescues her, naturally), Sabra dies by falling off her horse during a hunt, right into a bramble bush. Its thorns – ‘more sharp than spikes of iron’ – soon finish her off. Once again, a woman is fridged. Note that Johnson breaks away from The Golden Legend by turning the foreign princess into a trophy, a reward after the dragon fight – she might have a name, but unlike the princess in The Golden Legend, Sabra does not participate in quelling the dragon, or speak before or during the fight.
After Sabra dies, George becomes obsessed with a nun, Lucina. When she declines to yield her virginity to him, George musters his six companions and marches on the monastery, promising to kill everyone within if Lucina does not relent: ‘Except she would yield to St. George her unconquered love, they would bathe their weapons in her dearest blood.’ Johnson takes pains to remind us that George ‘intended not to prosecute such cruelty’ – but Lucina is so aggrieved by the threats that she takes her own life in protest. In her introduction to a scholarly edition of The Renowned History, published in 2003, Dr Jennifer Fellows points out, ‘Johnson seems to take a salacious delight in tales of rape and violence against women.’ The attempted rape of Sabra is graphic, reminding a reader horribly of the rape of Lavinia in Titus Andronicus: ‘I will ravish thee by force and violence, and triumph in the conquest of thy chastity; which being done, I will cut thy tongue out of thy mouth […] I will chop off both thy hands.’ It was erased from later retellings.
Johnson appears to have borrowed many elements of his story from earlier classical and medieval sources, including Sir Bevis of Hampton and possibly The Faerie Queene (1590) by Edmund Spenser, his contemporary. Both of these texts involve a knight, a battle with a dragon, a beautiful damsel, and a natural resource that provides succour. Yet The Renowned History was novel and popular enough to have endured in the English popular imagination for centuries. It inspired ballads, morality plays, chapbooks and abridged retellings by numerous authors. Churchill’s personal aircraft was christened LV633 Ascalon – a name that has since been used for swords in the Final Fantasy franchise and the American animation series Ben 10.
The young Queen Victoria watched a Christmas performance based on The Renowned History, which so captured her imagination that she painted some of her favourite scenes in watercolour. Dante Gabriel Rossetti depicted Saint George and Princess Sabra twice, using the name Johnson bestowed on the damsel. The Renowned History is even thought to be the story that helped Dr Samuel Johnson learn to read – certainly he owned a copy of it. Its influence can be seen as late as 2011, when artists Christian de Vietri and Marcus Canning created a sculpture of a lance for Cathedral Square in Perth and named it Ascalon. All of this can be traced back to the Johnsonian tradition of Saint George – but for more than four hundred years, it appears to have gone unchallenged.
In 2009, the editor of This England – a quarterly magazine aimed at people who are ‘unashamedly proud to be English’ – was troubled by the idea that many young people knew very little about their patron saint, or were embarrassed by him. ‘St George stands for everything that makes this country great – freedom of expression, helping those less fortunate, tolerance of other people’s beliefs, kindness and standing up for what you believe to be right,’ he said. He is certainly not the only person to hold this belief.
I have personally found little material evidence that Saint George merits any special association with kindness, tolerance or freedom of expression. Not now, not in The Renowned History or The Golden Legend, and not in our very earliest account of the battle, where George expects a mass conversion before he will help the people of Lasia. It is intolerance of other beliefs that has played a key role in his story. A ballad in Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (1765) begins by announcing that George has been fighting ‘against the Sarazens so rude’ – a constant of the legend is his persistent dislike of non-Christians. This is not a peculiar addition by one or two authors.
‘Come on,’ I hear you say. ‘You’re getting worked up over nothing. No one knows any of this stuff. Is this not just a fairy tale for kids about a man killing a dragon?’
I hope I have demonstrated that the answer is a resounding no.
The transformative act of retelling allows us to shout back at the past. I mean to keep doing that
You might want to argue that the legend of Saint George has transformed into a simpler one over the centuries, and that his problematic incarnations in history are now so little-known as to be almost meaningless. You might want to argue that nowadays, we honour the idea of the saint, and that nothing else is relevant – but I believe you would be wrong. The idea is not the whole story, and the whole story matters. Saint George, after all, is most famous for a fight with a mythical beast. It is the fiction of him, not what little fact we have, that has driven his popularity and established him as a cultural icon. It is the fiction, therefore, that must be challenged, and worked through, if there is to be any serious reconsideration of his legacy. Dragons – regrettably – exist only in the realm of imagination, and it is in the realm of imagination that the idea of Saint George has grown. We must ask ourselves if we have been imagining him in the right way, and how he might look if we imagine him differently.
He has never been a more significant or dangerous figure than he is now, as right-wing nationalism rises once more across Europe and America and Brexit emboldens those whose patriotism does not embrace the diverse reality of modern Britain. There should be no misunderstanding: anyone who invokes Saint George in the name of intolerance is building on a long-established tradition. Now is the time to expose and confront that tradition.
Neil Gaiman once said, ‘We have the right, and the obligation, to tell old stories in our own ways, because they are our stories.’ There are those in England who continue to believe the story of Saint George is integral to our collective national story. In writing The Priory of the Orange Tree, I was driven by that sense of obligation – a desire to answer the story that created the ripples I first encountered in a song as a little girl. A desire to re-assemble and expand on it in a way that made sense to me as a woman and a human being. I wanted to resurrect and shine a light on its lost women, whose names have all but disappeared. I wanted to make them a gift of the orange tree. I wanted to hit back at the George I met in the stories of old, and to wonder what the people of Lasia would have said about him, if only anyone had written his intervention from their perspective. And I wanted someone else to have a chance to slay the dragon.
The tales of the past have already been told. That does not mean they are set in stone. Storytellers now have a chance to decide what we love about old stories, and what we would prefer to change. We have a chance to say, at last, ‘This was wrong, and here is why.’ The transformative act of retelling allows us to shout back at the past. I mean to keep doing that.
Samantha Shannon’s new novel, The Priory of the Orange Tree, is published by Bloomsbury on 26 February. Buy here
Samantha Shannon is the New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author of The Bone Season series. Film and TV rights have been acquired by Imaginarium Studios and her work has been translated into twenty-six languages. The Priory of the Orange Tree is her fourth novel and her first outside of The Bone Season series. She lives in London. samanthashannon.co.uk
@say_shannon
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Kim Ki-Duk’s movies, which are mainly disturbing by nature, are always appreciated by a small group of film fans. I was thrilled when his latest film entitled Moebius was finally screened at the UK’s cinemas.
The title itself stirred up a lot of controversy in the director’s native Korea. It took 3 long meetings with the Korea Media Rating Board (KMRB) before Moebiusobtained the right classification, allowing regular distribution. At first the film received the most restrictive category, which in practice; meant that there was no possibility of any distribution in Korea because there are no cinemas in the country which are suitable to show the film. The commission’s main objection was the sexual scenes, which contained references to incest. Kim Ki-Duk agreed to cut 1 minute and 40 seconds of the film and then he cut an additional 50 seconds. However, before returning to the KMRB, the director organized a special screening at the Korean Film Council where he invited 109 film journalists. Guests, according to their own assessment, had to vote on whether Moebius should be released for distribution or not. 87% voted positively. After the third visit to the KMRB the film eventually gained the rights for distribution but with the highest age restriction: “Over 18”.
Moebius begins with short film sequences in which the director slowly introduces us to the protagonists of the tragedy. Its culmination is a physical struggle between a husband (Cho Jae-Hyun) and a wife (Lee Eun-Woo) caused by a phone call from the man’s mistress. The couple’s son (Seo Young-Joo), who witnesses the tension between the adults, doesn’t seem to understand what the cause of the quarrel is. Kim Ki-Duk had no intention of hiding anything. We all get to know, relatively quickly, who the father’s lover is when the son strolls through the streets and accidentally sees the couple. The story evolves quite quickly after that. The boy follows his father and ends up observing the pair’s intercourse in a car. The mother watches the husband’s unfaithfulness as well but from a different place. Upon returning to the house, the frustrated woman tries to chop off the husband’s genitals in the name of revenge. Unsuccessful in her crime she turns against her son, who she mutilates badly. The boy becomes a local sensation and a laughing stock among colleagues who humiliate him whenever they get the chance to do so. From this point the real drama of the dysfunctional family begins. This kind of introduction to the film, as well an interesting story development, heralds a good film for sure. It seems like everyone has their own role to play in the film. I can’t deny Kim Ki-Duk’s originality.
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Andrew Chan of the Film Critics Circle of Australia wrote “To call Moebiusdaring is actually an understatement, as it is more than that, it is a film that will haunt you, lingers with you and perhaps disturb you till you never think about it again”. I couldn’t agreed more with Mr Chan.
The review was originally posted on November 12, 2014 on http://www.viewofthearts.com
All photos © Moebius & Terracotta Distribution
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Excerpt: Ain’t Got No Home, by Erin Royston Battat
Posted by Ellen C. Bush on 18 September 2014, 10:34 am
Most scholarship on the mass migrations of African Americans and southern whites during and after the Great Depression treats those migrations as separate phenomena, strictly divided along racial lines. In Ain’t Got No Home: America’s Great Migrations and the Making of an Interracial Left, Erin Royston Battat argues instead that we should understand these Depression-era migrations as interconnected responses to the capitalist collapse and political upheavals of the early twentieth century. During the 1930s and 1940s, she shows, writers and artists of both races created migration stories specifically to bolster the black-white Left alliance. In a vibrant rereading and recovering of the period’s literary and visual culture, Battat expands our understanding of the migration narrative by uniting the political and aesthetic goals of the black and white literary Left and illuminating the striking interrelationship between American populism and civil rights.
In the following excerpt (pp. 15-17), Battat introduces one of the challenges to interracial coalition building by the Communist Party in the wake of the Scottsboro Trials, and argues that a literary trope became a powerful tool for addressing that challenge.
On 25 March 1931, a group of black boys got into a fight with some white boys on a Memphis-bound freight train. When the police rounded up the black youths near Scottsboro, Alabama, they found a couple of white girls hiding on the train and coerced them into filing rape charges. Although Alabama’s Governor Benjamin Meek Miller and the National Guard prevented a mass lynching, the outcome was just about the same: A white jury quickly convicted the boys, sentencing all but the youngest to death. The Communist-led ILD [International Labor Defense] quickly took charge of the boys’ appeals. The speed with which the ILD responded to the case, the intensity and reach of its mass protests and publicity campaigns, its top-notch defense team, and the vocal support of the mothers and families of the Scottsboro boys convinced many African Americans that the CP [Communist Party] was a trustworthy ally dedicated to their particular needs as black people. As Ada Wright, mother of two of the boys, attested, “We know our friends when we see them and we’re a goin’ to stick to the League of Struggle for Negro Rights and the International Labor Defense Committee.”[1] Black schoolchildren carried pickets; African American Girl Scouts attended rallies; college students raised money; and ordinary people took to the streets.[2] By 1935 the ranks of African Americans in the CP swelled from a few hundred to 2,500. The black membership of the ILD in Birmingham alone was 3,000, making it the largest Civil Rights organization in the city.[3]
Yet a closer inspection of the Scottsboro case reveals how complicated was the relationship between African Americans and the Communist Party in the 1930s. The CP championed the working-class and unemployed masses, but these were precisely the people who had terrorized the black boys on the train, falsely accused them of rape, and would have lynched them without the governor’s intervention. Antilynching activists, on one hand, and labor defenders, on the other, relied on diametrically opposed conceptions of the populist masses and the law. Whereas the antilynching movement called for the rule of law to quell mob hysteria, labor defense stood up for workers against a prejudicial legal system.[4] These opposing views posed a challenge to the CP in attracting black members and sympathizers. While communists prophesied a future revolution led by an international proletariat, the most visible form of proletarian collective action in the South, according to some skeptical observers at the time, was the lynch mob. As African American editors I. Willis Cole of the Louisville Leader and William Kelley of the New York Amsterdam News pointed out, lynch mobs were driven by poor whites, while white advocates of black civil rights tended to be middle-class liberals.[5] This vexing issue of white working-class racism led W. E. B. Du Bois to conclude in the early 1930s that “throughout the history of the Negro in America, white labor has been the black man’s enemy, his oppressor, his red murderer,” and therefore “imported Marxism . . . does not at all fit the situation.”[6] Writers and activists who wanted to build an interracial coalition out of the ferment over Scottsboro had to deal with the contradiction between the “masses” and the “mob.”
According to James A. Miller, the ILD’s success in the Scottsboro case depended on its ability to disrupt the white South’s powerful rape-lynch myth by constructing a compelling counternarrative that debunked the stereotypes of the black rapist and the pure white victim.[7] Accordingly, commentators at the time and subsequent historians have placed the Scottsboro protests in the political and aesthetic tradition of antilynching. African Americans such as Ada Wright saw the protest as a “fight goin’ on against lynchin’,” and the ILD had been using the term “legal lynching” to describe the southern courts’ liberal use of capital punishment for black males since at least 1929.[8] Yet the ILD also had to create an alternative to the antilynch narrative that counterposed respectable, often middle-class African Americans and the white rabble, for this characterization was at odds with its Marxist outlook. The most powerful rhetorical tool in this arsenal of the literary Left was, in my view, the hobo narrative.
Left-wing journalists drew upon different hobo “types” to depict the Scottsboro boys as vulnerable workers, to discredit their accusers as promiscuous tramps, and to imagine a counternarrative of masculine proletarian unity. While this strategy inverted the “rape-lynch triangle” of the black male rapist, white female victim, and white male avenger, it still relied on conservative sexual and gender ideologies. The proletarian hobo was reconfigured during the Popular Front period as a symbol of “the people” but remained constrained by notions of manhood that relied on sexual access to white women. In his widely read sentimental novella Of Mice and Men (1937), John Steinbeck popularized the radical hobo narrative by depicting an interracial community of transient workers that resembled a family more than a union. However, its racial inclusiveness depended on the exclusion and demonization of white women and the emasculation of black men. In response, fledgling African American writer William Attaway self-consciously revised Steinbeck’s story in his novella Let Me Breathe Thunder, published two years later. Attaway draws upon this populist image of the masculine hobo family but explodes the tinderbox of race and sex that lingers in the background of Steinbeck’s story. Tracing the hobo narrative from radical Scottsboro journalism to Steinbeck’s popular version to Attaway’s response reveals how Left interracialism contended with the tangled thicket of race, sexuality, and gender.
###From Ain’t Got No Home: America’s Great Migrations and the Making of an Interracial Left, by Erin Royston Battat. Copyright © 2014 by the University of North Carolina Press.
[1]Wright, “My Two Sons Face the Electric Chair,” 182. For more on the role of the Scottsboro mothers, see Miller, Pennybacker, and Rosenhaft, “Mother Ada Wright.”↩
[2]Solomon, Cry Was Unity, 197, 205.↩
[3]Ibid., 300; Kelley, Hammer and Hoe, 90.↩
[4]Hill, Men, Mobs, and the Law, 2.↩
[5]Solomon, Cry Was Unity, 229.↩
[6]Du Bois, “The Negro and Communism,” 315.↩
[7]Miller, Remembering Scottsboro, 11.↩
[8]Wright, “My Two Sons Face the Electric Chair”; Solomon, Cry Was Unity, 187.↩
Filed under African American History, African American Studies, Excerpts, History | Tagged ain't got no home, Communist Party, erin royston battat, scottsboro | Permalink
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Posted on March 1, 2019 March 1, 2019 by Jason
Jason Freier – Chairman & CEO, Hardball Capital
Jason Freier serves as chairman and chief executive officer of Hardball Capital, a sports and entertainment-related investment and operating company. As such, he is the managing owner of the Fort Wayne TinCaps, Columbia Fireflies, and Chattanooga Lookouts. Hardball also has investments in several other sports-related businesses and has consulted for multiple teams and cities regarding new ballpark design, construction, and financing.
Jason is an attorney by training, a graduate of Harvard College and Yale Law School, where he was elected to the Yale Law Journal. He clerked for former Solicitor General Charles Fried and practiced at Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C. and Bondurant, Mixson & Elmore in Atlanta.
Jason is a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO) and Leadership Atlanta (Class of 2007) and serves on the boards of several companies, three baseball leagues, and two public commissions.
How did the concept for Hardball Capital come about?
Prior to starting Hardball Capital, I was a practicing attorney. Some of my representations were of owners and potential owners of major sports teams (MLB, NFL, NBA). As a part of one of these representations, I had the opportunity to get a look at Minor League Baseball. I quickly realized that Minor League Baseball was a great product. It offered inexpensive, family friendly entertainment, as well as opportunities for business people, young professionals, and college students to gather in a social setting.
From a sports perspective, it had the advantages of sports from yesteryear—every seat in the house was a good seat, kids could get up close to the players and get autographs, run the bases after games, and have an intimacy that is nearly impossible in today’s major sporting events. From a societal perspective, the teams were very involved in their communities and filled a real need in markets that did not have major league sports or some of the other forms of entertainment or social gatherings that one sees in the larger markets.
As I looked deeper into the business of Minor League Baseball, I saw that things had progressed from where games were played, which was a little more than glorified high school fields, to Minor League facilities that are built as nice as their Major League counterparts, just on a smaller scale. It occurred to me that if all you had was a baseball field and some bleachers, it made sense to host more than just baseball games there. Once you had these much-improved venues, it was a huge missed opportunity to not use these venues far more than the 70 nights per year that team had a home game. I also saw that, in several instances, new ballparks being built spurred significant real estate development and re-gentrification of underdeveloped areas, and this was happening with little advance planning of the development—it just happened.
So, I thought that there was an opportunity for Minor League Baseball to be even better and even more of an asset to the communities in which they were located by purposefully designing the ballparks so that they could host a wider variety of events, and by planning in advance not just the ballpark, but also some of the development around it. I decided that I wanted to put together the capital and purchase a Minor League team and put these theories to the test.
Busy. When I first began thinking about this, I wasn’t sure if this could become my full-time focus or if it would be a side investment while I continued to practice law. So, I still had a full-time job while I was looking for a team to purchase. I looked for more than two years before finding the right team at the right price. To purchase an affiliated Minor League Baseball team, especially your first one, is a long and complicated process. You need to be approved by the league in which the team plays, by Minor League Baseball, and by the Office of the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, and each takes steps to assess the potential owners’ finances, expertise, and character. While we were going through that process (after we had contracted to purchase our first team), a second team in an attractive market and at a good price came to my attention. Having taken two years to find one good deal, I knew how rare those were and also knew that I would regret not doing the second deal if I let that go. So we set about raising more funding and decided to purchase two teams at once. In a short time, we went from zero teams to two and it was the proverbial drinking from a fire hose.
Our marketing strategy has always been to focus on building lasting relationships in our communities. Minor League Baseball is a very local business. The vast majority of your ticket purchasers live within thirty minutes of home plate. While that is in some ways limiting, it is also focusing and disciplining. Everything we do is designed to benefit our community. While we do need some traditional advertising—television, digital, print, outdoor, and radio—to let people know when our games and events are, what promotions we are running or other entertainment we are providing, most of our marketing is actually through getting involved in our community. Every person on our staff must be involved in at least two (most are involved in many more) community organizations. We have a reading program that serves tens of thousands of kids in community schools. We invite one charity or non-profit to be featured at every home game we play (free of charge) to highlight all the good things that organization does in the community. We host numerous free events—from Christmas tree lightings, to Halloween Fright Night, to an Independence Day “Patriotic Pops” concert. All of these things help make our team, our venue, and our people part of the fabric of our community, which is the best marketing we can possibly do.
Quickly. In addition to finding and purchasing a second team while still in the process of closing on our first, we also had the opportunity, much sooner than we had expected, to put our new ballpark concepts to the test. We had a tremendously forward-thinking mayor in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Shortly after we purchased that team, we laid out our vision for how a ballpark, which was really a multi-use outdoor entertainment venue, could catalyze development in an underutilized portion of Fort Wayne’s downtown. He understood the concept immediately and believed there was no time like the present. So, less than two years after purchasing our first team (and while revamping the operations of the other team we owned), we were also planning a new ballpark and associated mixed-use development. When Parkview Field opened in 2009, we saw an instant (for more than 10 years) jump in attendance, both for baseball games and for all of the non-baseball events we hosted. We more than tripled the size of our full-time staff and quadrupled the number of part-time and seasonal employees. Despite opening a ballpark in the teeth of the worst recession in nearly 100 years, the concept was so powerful that the development portion also went well. In addition to a growing venue, we have also seen hundreds of millions of dollars worth of development around the ballpark.
As a result of the success of Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, and the numerous awards and recognition that came with success, we have added a third, then a fourth team to our group, built a second stadium (Segra Park) for another of our teams (in Columbia, South Carolina), and also became involved in assisting other cities and teams in replicating that success with ballpark projects of their own.
For us, success is making a positive impact in the communities where our teams are located. As I mentioned earlier, Minor League Baseball is an intensely-local business. If we can become involved in and benefit our communities, everything else will take care of itself.
It is important to have good structures and processes, but in the end, the key to success is having the right people. Our people have fun with what they are doing and want to be valuable to our partners and our community. Subject-matter expertise is a distant second. We want people who have a great attitude, work-ethic, and the desire to be involved in their local communities.
To keep working and not to be content simply because you have achieved what others think of as success. Many of my friends and family thought I was crazy to move away from a successful law practice to run Minor League Baseball teams in cities I had spent little time in prior to our purchases. For the first year or two after leaving the law and dedicating myself to this business, my parents kept asking me when I was going to get a job. But most days I wasn’t looking forward to my work day as a lawyer, and now I get to work at ballparks. I wake up every day and enjoy what I do and the people I do it with. It has made an enormous difference in my happiness.
Not exactly books, but I draw inspiration from the annual reports Warren Buffett produces for Berkshire Hathaway, as well as the writings of his partner, Charlie Munger. Buffett is focused on doing what he thinks makes sense regardless of what others think. He has reasons for his decisions and shares those. When things don’t work out, he doesn’t gloss over or sugarcoat it, he owns it and learns from it, and Munger is such an advocate for interdisciplinary, lifelong learning.
Probably my toughest day with our business was when we had to commit to moving a team we had owned for eight years in Savannah, Georgia to Columbia, South Carolina (where we built Segra Park as part of a much larger, mixed-use development).
Our team in Savannah had been playing in an old ballpark—nearly 90 years old when we left. That ballpark had operational and safety issues and was not suited to hosting seventy games per year, much less all of the other events we would have loved to be able to provide. We worked hard to try to explain to the City of Savannah what a new entertainment venue could do for that town—and Savannah is a great town. We even flew the entire City Council and several other key stakeholders in the community (at our expense) up to our ballpark in Fort Wayne, so they could see for themselves the impact that project was having on Fort Wayne’s downtown. They heard from the mayor of Fort Wayne, City Council members, and business leaders, and all said that the project was the best thing to happen to Fort Wayne in decades. We returned from that trip optimistic, but years later, we still hadn’t made any progress in Savannah. The local leaders there just couldn’t get anything moving (and this wasn’t just the case with our project, it was endemic of the city government at that time across several dimensions). We wanted so badly not to leave Savannah without a team that we even found another team we could purchase and move to Columbia, and we gave the Savannah City Council one last chance to show us they were willing to work together, but we were not successful and ultimately were left with no choice other than to leave.
I believe in what we are doing. I believe that we provide great entertainment at a very fair price and that we make people happy. I believe that our ballparks have helped revitalize struggling areas in cities and changed the landscape and trajectory of those markets for the better. And I believe that our people are constantly making a difference, both in our venues and out in our communities. That provides the motivation for myself and our entire team to work through and past any obstacles.
You can never research or learn too much. Gather data in a purposeful way and have good reasons for every decision you make. I think it helped us be ready to operate our businesses that we looked at deals for more than two years before we purchased our first team. I believe that the reason our first ballpark was so successful is that we visited over 70 Minor League ballparks prior to designing our first. We visited them to learn, not just to watch games and eat hot dogs. We came with questions and we tried to understand what was and was not working for every owner or operator whose ballpark we visited. We still try and visit most of the new ballparks that are built and engage in idea-sharing and bench-marking with other teams. Most days, I also spend more of my day reading and learning than doing anything else.
CategoriesEntrepreneurs, Executives Tagschattanooga lookouts, columbia fireflies, fort wayne tincaps, hardball capital, jason freier
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Guest blogs, Jewish Publication Society
From the Desk of Zev Eleff: A Touchy Subject
The following post is from Zev Eleff, chief academic officer of the Hebrew Theological College in Chicago, Illinois, and author of Modern Orthodox Judaism: A Documentary History (Jewish Publication Society, 2016).
A Touchy Subject: A Short History of the Rise and Fall of Orthodox Social Dancing
In November 1960, Rabbi Gershon Taschman issued a plea to members of Young Israel synagogues to reconsider the way in which Orthodox Jewish boys and girls met and mingled. Taschman recommended discrete matchmaking, the kind observed in a “few Chassidic communities.” The rabbinic writer certainly recognized just how unpopular his position would be received. “Marriage by arrangement,” he admitted, “is the exception in our society, where dating is the convention.”[1] The implementation of a matchmaking system into Orthodox circles, he reckoned, would be difficult against the dominant culture of casual Saturday night movies and ice cream parlor dates that had a firm grasp on Orthodox young people.
More trying, still, would be any attempt to rid social dancing from the social repertoire of Orthodox youth culture. Orthodox rabbinical students in Chicago and New York danced, despite the remonstrations of their teachers.[2] Moreover, Orthodox synagogues and institutions had long provided forums for young women and men to meet and greet one another. Young Israel, in particular, countenanced social dancing, even if it meant honoring Jewish law’s proscription on physical intimacy in the breach. It was well-known that “social dancing represent[ed] Young Israel’s only compromise with orthodox Judaism.”[3] This was the synagogue movement’s compromise to accomplish its ambitious mission. Young Israel synagogues served as one of Orthodox Judaism’s best responses to modernity. These sacred spaces featured more decorous prayer services and demanded decorum. Young Israel’s accommodations to American norms were intended to recruit a younger class of traditional-minded Jews to the synagogue. Its spread throughout the United States and into the Jewish hinterland proved its success despite some religious failings.
Social dancing, then, was one method to accomplish this goal. In fact, the National Council of Young Israel promoted these events in its newsletters. It publicized such activities as a Brownsville charity ball, a Williamsburg “Carnival Nite” and “Dean for Fun and Charity” concert. In 1942, a Young Israel congregation in Manhattan held a “Matzo Fund Dance.”[4] Other Orthodox institutions held similar philosophies. At Ramaz School on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the gym teacher also taught students to dance in homeroom. “I remember,” recalled one student, “learning the fox trot and the rumba.”[5] Unsurprisingly, rabbis railed against the practice. In the prewar period, though, Orthodox Jews believed that this was the only manner in which their synagogues could compete with their more “modern” Conservative counterparts. For example, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef Herman of New York’s Lower East Side once stormed into a Young Israel synagogue to upbraid the rank-and-file congregants. He insisted that the congregation remove a sign that read: “Young Israel Dance Tonight.” Rabbi Herman demanded this on the grounds that the “Torah forbids mixed dancing.” It didn’t work. A pair of “husky young men” picked up the “zealot” rabbi and unceremoniously set him down on the street.[6]
Yet, change was eventually detectable, at least to perceptive observers. In 1952, the president of Congregation Kneseth Israel of Far Rockaway (the “White Shul”) urged his community to ban social dancing from synagogue events. “I have danced in synagogues,” he freely admitted. However, “particularly when it is a question of law,” the lay leader pleaded with his fellow congregants to respect the ruling of its rabbi and refrain from this activity in public spaces.[7] In the 1960s, the social scientist Charles Leibman noted that “mixed dancing, once practiced even among Agudath Israel youth, is a thing of the past in most committed Orthodox groups.” He also commented on the rightward shift of other Orthodox enclaves and predicted that certain social activities that “Young Israel had closed its eyes” would soon disappear.[8]
He was right. What caused the change? Some point out that the generation that halted social dancing was the first graduates of Orthodox day schools.[9] These women and men were more Jewishly literate than their parents and helped “slide” their community to the “right.” Others maintain that it was the result of the influence of a more rigid crop of rabbis who had immigrated to the United States directly before and after the Holocaust.[10] Both points are valid and contributed to the transformation of Orthodox youth culture.
Yet, another explanation should also be added, one that takes into consideration the broader scene of American religion. In the heat of the so-called Sexual Revolution of the 1960s, a number of conservative religious communities redrew their red lines. Consider the situation at faith-based colleges. In this turbulent decade, for example, Gordon College in Boston banned social dancing. The school’s administration warned that any “violations involving dancing or the use of profane language will be referred for disciplinary actions.”[11] In another instance, one suitor wrote to his girlfriend at the Presbyterian-affiliated Hanover College in Indiana that he was “sorry to hear that your mother frowns on the hop.”[12]
The same was true of the leading Orthodox Jewish college in New York. In 1960, the Yeshiva College student newspaper polled students on their religious punctiliousness. Sixty percent of the undergraduates admitted, despite Jewish law’s proscription against it, to having regular “physical contact with girls.” In response to the startling figure, the editors lamented that a “majority of the Yeshiva boys apparently have not the slightest appreciation of what Orthodox Judaism fully entails.”[13] One decade later, a Yeshiva Collegian complained that some of his peers had confiscated dozens of the posters that he had hung in the dormitories. The notices, advertising a dance organized by a “Jewish youth organization,” were deemed inappropriate for Yeshiva University’s standards and were promptly replaced with alternative signs inviting students to “lectures to be given by rabbis.”[14]
In fact, some commentators believed that Jewish youngsters were even more vulnerable to the “passions” and “ills” of dancing than were their gentile counterparts. According to one observer, middle class Jews took a liking to “pseudo-orgiastic Latin-American dances like the cha-cha-cha and the pachanga.” To explain this, the writer in not-so-scientific-terms reasoned that “dancing provides for some Jews an outlet similar to that offered by alcohol to many gentiles.”[15] Correct or not (but probably not), Orthodox Jews read reports of this sort and took a keen interest in guarding their children from sexualized settings.[16] No doubt, this sentiment empowered Rabbi Pinchas Stolper and other leaders of the National Conference of Synagogue Youth who, in the 1960s, sought to ban social dancing from the youth movement’s activities.[17]
In the 1980s, mixed dancing finally faded from Orthodox memory. One historian characterized it well when he wrote about Orthodox youth in the seventies and eighties who, unlike their parents, “do not check the synagogue calendar for socials and dances.”[18] An Orthodox synagogue in New Jersey had once featured square dancing at its annual dinner. This changed on a particular occasion when, in the final decades of the twentieth century, a banquet was planned to honor congregation’s rabbi. The clergyman—“ostensibly in deference to his colleagues who would be in attendance”—asked the congregation remove dancing from the program. Social dancing was never reintroduced in that synagogue.[19]
Moving forward, Orthodox Jews required new forms and forums for courtship. In some circles, dating was encouraged so long as it did not encourage physical contact between young women and men. However, many more Orthodox Jews tended to embrace less intimate matchmaking, despite how unpopular that had seemed just a few decades prior. The problem was felt acutely at Young Israel synagogues that sought to regain its status as a place for young Orthodox Jews to meet and marry. In 1985, the National Council of Young Israel passed a resolution urging “Young Israel Rabbis to take an active role in devising and instituting new forms of social gatherings, within the ambit of Halacha, for the purpose of assisting our young men and women in their efforts to meet and mingle, and thereby to further the mitzvah of making marriages.”[20] Young Israel and other Orthodox establishments remained committed to merging Orthodox lifestyles and American culture. For sure, this mission was a more challenging one for a more religiously committed and rigid generation of Orthodox Jews. Still, it was, at its core, the very same goal to which their forebears aspired.
[1] Gershon Taschman, “A Psychological Appraisal of Traditional and Conventional Courtship,” Young Israel Viewpoint 51 (November 1960): 20.
[2] See Shmuel I. Feigen, “Beit Midrash Le-Torah bi-Chicago,” in Sefer Ha-Yovel shel Agudat Ha-Morim Ha-Ivrim, ed. Tzvi Sharfstein (New York: Hebrew Teachers’ Union, 1944), 285; and “Senior Class History,” Masmid (1936): 32.
[3] David Stein, “Mr. Orthodoxy,” Jewish Forum 45 (May-June 1962): 13.
[4] Sylvia Finkelstein, “Leaves from our Branches,” Young Israel Viewpoint 33 (April 1942): 16.
[5] See Jenna Weissman Joselit, New York’s Jewish Jews: The Orthodox Community in the Interwar Years (Bloomington: University of Indiana Press, 1990), 142.
[6] Ruchmoa Shain, All for the Boss: The Life and Impact of R’ Yaakov Yosef Herman, a Torah Pioneer in America (Jerusalem: Feldheim, 2001), 114-15.
[7] William N. Ciner, “Law is Law.” Kneseth Israel Bulletin (November 1952): 3.
[8] Charles S. Liebman, “Orthodoxy in American Jewish Life,” American Jewish Year Book 66 (1965): 59, 90.
[9] See Shubert Spero, “Orthodox Judaism,” in Movements and Issues in American Judaism: An Analysis and Sourcebook of Developments since 1945, ed. Bernard Martin (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1978), 88.
[10] See Samuel C. Heilman, Sliding to the Right: The Contest for the Future of American Jewish Orthodoxy (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2006), 16.
[11] See Student Handbook, 1968-1969 (Boston: Gordon College, 1968), 10-11. I thank Sarah Goss of Gordon College for identifying this source for me.
[12] Clarence Mast to Judith Moffett, September 15, 1960, MSS-25, Box 6, Folder 3, Duggan Library Archives, Hanover College, Hanover, IN. I thank Jennifer Duplaga of Hanover College for identifying this source for me.
[13] “With Malice Toward None: An Editorial,” The Commentator, December 15, 1960, 1, 3.
[14] David Mark, Letter to the Editor, The Commentator, December 3, 1970, 5.
[15] David Boroff, “Jewish Teen-Age Culture,” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 338 (November 1961): 85.
[16] See Rachel Gordan, “Alfred Kinsey and the Remaking of Jewish Sexuality in the Wake of the Holocaust,” Jewish Social Studies 20 (Spring/Summer 2014): 72-99.
[17] See Zev Eleff, Living from Convention to Convention: A History of the NCSY, 1954-1980 (Jersey City: Ktav, 2009), 23-27.
[18] Jeffrey S. Gurock, “The Orthodox Synagogue,” in The American Synagogue: A Sanctuary Transformed, ed. Jack Wertheimer (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 66.
[19] See Edward S. Shapiro, “Orthodoxy in Pleasantdale,” Judaism 34 (Spring 1985): 169.
[20] “Resolutions Passed at the 73rd Anniversary NCYI National Convention,” Young Israel Viewpoint 26 (September 1985): 8.
June 1, 2016 May 1, 2018 univnebpressday schools, Hebrew Theological College, history, Jewish Publication Society, Jewish studies, Judaism, Orthodox, Orthodox Social Dancing, Rabbi Taschman
4 thoughts on “From the Desk of Zev Eleff: A Touchy Subject”
cowdoc says:
It wasn’t so simple. About forty years ago I asked our Rav in a small Pennsylvania town why the shule had a New Years eve party with dancing ( called a midnight frolic) . His answers was that this was the lesser of two evils, the other would be eating and dancing in a non kosher setting
Jonah Melitzer says:
There’s an interesting story in Stauber’s biography of Satmar Rebbe (ch. 3) about his efforts to stamp out mixed dancing in the Carpathian town of Ohrshiva when he was appointed Rav there in 1911.
bzkatz says:
My mother she should live and be well, remembers dances every Saturday night in the Young Israel in Brooklyn, where she grew up.
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« He was Scientology’s most famous spy, then he turned witness and vanished. Now, here he is.
For the first time: The FBI file of Gabe Cazares, the Clearwater mayor targeted by Scientology »
Defeated in court, L. Ron Hubbard’s son boasted about spreading lies in new FBI document
By Tony Ortega | December 13, 2017
[Ron DeWolf and his grandson, Jamie]
Journalist Emma Best, at the Muckrock website, has convinced the FBI to cough up even more documents about the Church of Scientology, and in the latest batch there’s a pretty interesting 15-page letter written by Ron DeWolf to the IRS in 1985.
“Ron DeWolf” was the name that L. Ron Hubbard Jr. adopted in order to distance himself from his famous father after he turned away from the senior Hubbard and his Scientology movement. DeWolf’s family nickname was “Nibs,” and he was a fascinating and problematic figure in Scientology history.
In 1952, Hubbard pulled his son out of high school to help as he was regrouping from a disastrous year of bankruptcy and divorce to start something he called “Scientology” after the failure of his “Dianetics” movement.
For the next seven years, Nibs became a very important figure in early Scientology, but eventually he became disillusioned with it, in part because he was making so little money while his father was becoming so rich. In 1959, Nibs walked away, and over the rest of his life he alternated between denouncing his father and cooperating with government investigations of Scientology and then switching his allegiances, recanting what he’d testified to. We’ve documented previously about what a flip-flopper he was.
In our book about Paulette Cooper, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, we also described how, in the summer of 1972, he worked with Paulette to produce a really remarkable 63-page manuscript they titled “A Look Into Scientology, or 1/10 of 1 percent of Scientology.” In the essay Nibs calmly takes apart his father’s myths about himself and about Scientology. It’s a cogent and devastating takedown of L. Ron Hubbard, and we excerpted some of it in the name of Fair Use in our book. Unfortunately, Nibs signed over his copyrights to the Church of Scientology in a settlement later in his life, and so we can’t publish the entire document. But we can tell you that it has none of the more outlandish claims that characterized Nibs’ later attacks on his father, such as the really hard to credit things he said in a 1983 Penthouse interview, and some of the things he says in this 1985 letter to the IRS which we’re printing here in full.
It’s also important to remember that Nibs was writing this letter after a bitter court fight. In 1982, Nibs and his attorney, Michael Flynn, became suspicious that a fraudulent attempt to steal money from an L. Ron Hubbard bank account they learned about suggested that Hubbard had actually died and someone was trying to cash in on it before that news became public.
Convinced that Hubbard was either dead or incapacitated, Nibs filed a 1982 probate lawsuit in California that produced a massive amount of bad publicity for the Church of Scientology. In fact, Hubbard wasn’t dead, but was hiding out, and he produced a fingerprint and a letter that convinced the court that he was still alive and not incapacitated.
After their very public defeat, Nibs was angry with Flynn and the other defendants Flynn was representing against the church. And it was at this point that he sent his letter to the IRS and its criminal investigations division.
For more thoughts on what’s in the letter, we asked historian Chris Owen to look it over. Here’s what he sent us…
It’s rather a peculiar document, isn’t it? Nibs was not a well man at this point (he died of diabetes complications in 1991). By the time he wrote this letter, Scientology had regarded him as an enemy for 25 years. It had evidently taken a toll on him, which comes across in the letter’s rambling and self-justificatory tone.
The letter was written at a point when Scientology was going through a chaotic period of uncertainty. L. Ron Hubbard had disappeared into seclusion in California but was still pulling strings from behind a wall of security intended to protect him from grand juries and process servers. Scientology was still convulsed by the aftermath of the Guardian’s Office scandal, when 11 senior Scientologists, including Hubbard’s wife Mary Sue, were convicted of conspiracy against the US government. David Miscavige was beginning to execute his eventual takeover of Scientology, creating a new organisational structure, pushing out veteran Scientologists such as Hubbard’s personal auditor David Mayo and forcing Mary Sue Hubbard to resign from her positions.
To add to the complications, numerous lawsuits had been brought against Scientology and Hubbard personally by people alleging that they had been harmed by the Guardian’s Office (Paulette Cooper, Gabe Cazares, etc.) or had suffered personal harm through undergoing Scientology courses (Julie Christofferson Titchbourne, Larry Wollersheim, etc.). Many of the personal injury lawsuits were managed by a Boston attorney, Michael Flynn, who is evidently the redacted 5-character name in the letter.
It’s hard to say how much of what Nibs says can be believed, but he claims to have been pursued and used by all of the various factions for their own ends. He is clearly very bitter about Flynn’s involvement and feels that he was exploited by Flynn. Nibs refers to the case he filed in Riverside, California in November 1982 in which he sued his father’s estate in the belief that Hubbard was either dead or incompetent, and that this was being covered up by Scientology. Hubbard proved to the court’s satisfaction that he was neither. The failure of the case left Nibs with substantial costs. According to Nibs, Scientology approached him with a proposal that if he told them everything he knew about Flynn they would not try to collect the cost judgment. He refused, they collected the costs and launched a fresh lawsuit in retaliation in 1984 when Mary Sue Hubbard filed a $5 million suit against him for fraud over his 1982 lawsuit.
Nibs’ claims towards the end of the letter, such as that Hubbard wanted him to steal an H-bomb, don’t come across as credible. He had made a series of outlandish claims in various interviews and articles in the early-to-mid 1980s, and he admits in his letter that “I’ve written several pieces which were fictionalized. Fictionalized with great purpose and great care.” I think it underlines for me that he was at heart a fantasist, like his father.
He makes a lot of his supposed incorruptibility and desire to maintain communications with all sides, while not becoming a partisan in the factional fights among Scientologists. But it’s telling, I think, that only a year after he wrote this letter he gave up the fight and surrendered to Scientology. He had to have emergency medical surgery which left him deeply in debt. He reached a settlement with Scientology in which he recanted all his previous statements, allegedly in exchange for a financial settlement and presumably the termination of the 1984 fraud lawsuit.
— Chris Owen
We want to thank Emma Best for sharing with us this interesting document before she made it public this morning. In her piece at Muckrock, she points out that the specific claim Nibs makes about a homosexual KGB source, Tom Driberg, is very problematic…
“DeWolf alleged that Hubbard and Driberg had ‘held hands … under the table.’ It’s unclear if this was meant as a euphemism for dirty dealings or homosexual behavior…CIA’s declassified database mentions Driberg a handful of times in open source records, none of which seem to connect him to Hubbard or Scientology. Perhaps most significantly is that it currently appears that the FBI, despite having been made aware of the allegations (as shown by their possession of a copy of the letter), do not seem to have investigated them. If the Bureau had taken the allegations seriously, it undoubtedly would have prompted an investigation.”
So, with all that in mind, here is Ron DeWolf’s letter to the IRS. Proceed with caution.
Ronald E. DeWolf
1401 E. Long St. #101
Alphonse V. Ristuccia
Dear Mr. Ristuccia;
I do apologize for my lack of alertness during your visit. I pride myself on my precision but the body just wouldn’t respond. I was surprised at my lack of stamina. It wasn’t the subject matter or you, it was my physical condition. If any area we covered was less exact than you need I will be very happy to attempt to pin point it further or furnish a source that could.
I also sometimes suffer from, “I thought everyone knew that”. The mere fact my father didn’t graduate from college caused defections when it hit the press and media. I’ve known he flunked out for over 40 years.
Another example: In 1983, Mr. Paul Wilson, District Council of the IRS in L.A. came to see me. I guess he was having a minor problem or two in tracking the money flow. We just sort of sat around and engaged in what seemed to me to be idle chit-chat. We talked several hours. All of a sudden rather out of the blue he said “so that’s how they do it”. He never did say what “it” was or what it was I had said that turned a light on. I’m still mystified; which isn’t important, but illustrates the problem.
As you are now probably aware, anyone who says they are in “direct comm” with LRH such as the Commodore Messenger Organization (CMO) holds the reigns of power or think they do or hope others think so. It’s been a known fact that, what I term the Org faction; ie: RTC/COST/ASI etc. and the people in and around them have been using every means possible to stay in power and control. There are, as you and everyone else knows, about three dozen of them. Then there is the “O.T. Committee” faction that I’ve already mentioned to you. They wish to take over and/or continue the “game”, I call these people the Mayo Faction. The standard bearer of standard tech”.
Then there is the Non-Mayo Faction. Those are people such as Bent Corydon of Riverside. They feel Scientology still works but don’t believe in David Mayo or his claim LRH gave David all rights to “standard tech” for 25 years. They don’t like David secretly pretending to be an LRH clone, only nicer.
Then there is the Faction I call the Independents. They have come out of Scientology but now use a mixture of “isims” and “ologies”.
Then there are the Legal Factions. It would seem every defector in the last four or five years has a lawyer and are rushing into court (stumbling all over themselves and everyone else in the process) to get their claim in and win their own case before the roof totally caves in. One common denominator is they all name my father L. Ron Hubbard as a defendant; knowing he will not or can not show up; therefore they are assured of a piece of the pie — they think. (It is truly amazing to watch perpetrators turn victim so quickly.) Therefore it is to their benefit to keep LRH “alive and well” as long as possible or until they win their various civil cases. What I keep finding is they want to help law enforcement — but only so much. They want me to help them — but only so much.
Scientology is a power and money game and has been since 1950. It is therefore rather easy for me to defense against it. Mary Sue Hubbard has run numbers on my head since 1951. I’ve been declared fair game since January 3, 1960 and every group or faction has in one way or another tried to get me to; A) endorse their tech. B) join them. C) get me out of the way. D) find out what I know. E) shut me up, and the list goes on. It is very similar to the movie “It’s a Mad Mad Mad World”, but made with used 16 MM film and a hand cranked camera, directed by Dr. Fu Man Chu and edited by an orangutan with boxing gloves on using a chain saw. I think you and all the other law enforcement people will tend to agree when it’s over and done with. It may sound humorous but it is deadly serious. They think it’s a game. I don’t. The world may be a stage but it sure isn’t a play.
I am very independent. I have been for many years and I’ll continue to stay so. I am a faction of one. A group of one. I’ve taken a lot of lickings, but I keep on ticking. All these various factions have alternately bombed and wooed me and sometimes switched in mid-stream. But, as usual, I manage to sort it out eventually and keep moving forward.
I am not a nice guy but I am not a law breaker. I love the law as much as my father hated it. I love facts as much as my father loved fiction. You want the facts and I want the facts and let’s both let the chips fall where they may.
It wasn’t until after you left that parts of the jig-saw puzzle started falling into place. Do you remember me asking you how long you have been on the case? You said June of 84. Click.
[Redacted] and [redacted] apparently have been working as hard against me as they have been telling me and others they are working for me.
I realize that when the tax man comes to the door people suddenly get very cooperative. That isn’t the case here. I have actively and openly helped law enforcement, governments and the military since 1962. I’ve taken a lot of flak for it but that’s the way things are in the real world.
For legal reasons I can’t tell you that I am more interested in truth and fact than money. Also for legal reasons, I can’t tell you some of my sources because I might break a client/attorney privelege of some sort. I can, however, repeat what I told you when you were here that in my view criminal investigation and criminal prosecution take precedence over any civil litigation.
For the sake of easy reference I shall divide all the various factions into three groups; 1) the bad guys, 2) the good guys and 3) me.
I am firmly convinced that both the good guys and the bad guys have a vested interest in keeping the facts from me regarding my father. Is he dead or alive? If dead when, where and under what circumstances and who did it. What was his physical and mental condition prior to his death or if alive, what was it or is it?
If he is alive he should be brought to trial. Every last microscopic fact of his actual history and true activities must be laid before this world for everyone to see. I honestly and sincerely believe there isn’t a single law of God or man he hasn’t broken many times over. If he is dead the same applies but the problem becomes more difficult because of the very nature of Scientology itself. He could or would exert control as a spiritual leader still leading from the spiritual realm or some science fiction world. It must not be allowed to happen. The only solution is the facts. And apparently the only way I am going to get those facts is from you, or other law enforcement and/or government bodies. And, in fact, the only information I’ll believe will be from these sources. I was extremely disappointed when Mr. Frey of the FBI and you were unable to tell me.
I am convinced [redacted] and [redacted] know the facts as well as Mary Sue Hubbard. Each of course have their own reasons in witholding those facts from me. Mary Sue Hubbard. Each of course have their own reasons in witholding those facts from me. Mary Sue’s reasons are obvious. [Redacted] and his other clients have yet to complete their civil litigation. They feel of course it must be completed and won before LRH is “found”. One can not sue a dead man and one can not sue an incompetent man.
Therefore I pose a major problem to both sides. I won’t play ball with either side. I won’t jump on their band wagon. I won’t roll over and play dead. Both sides have tried every dirty trick in the book to get me to comply and conform. I haven’t. I won’t.
The bad guys think that since they are going down the tube they want to take as many others with them as possible by whatever means they can create. The B boys also think that if they can’t have it no one else will either. Over the last five years these fanatics have gone berserk in all directions. Now please keep in mind I have 50 years of experience in the subject. The words fanatic and berserk are well founded.
Apparently the game plan of the good guys is to get you to bring the several hundred million dollars from overseas to the U.S. They think you will take only a very few million and hand over the rest to them because they have (or hope to have) all these civil judgements before LRH is “found”. Again for legal reasons; I can’t tell you I already have everything in life I left Scientology for and you can’t buy them.
One of the things I learned after I climbed down from Mount Olympus and returned to the human race is that we are a nation of laws, not of men. I do not ask favors. I neither give nor ask quarter. I never forgive and I never forget. I do not break the law. And I’m probably the most persistent cuss you will ever meet. I do not use people. I’m not using you or the press or media. All I ask is you do your job. Straight people asking straight questions get straight answers. I’ll repeat what I’ve already mentioned to you: My files and knowledge are open to you. They are also open to the FBI or anyone else who has a right and need to know the facts by law.
Now, I can go into exact detail if and as you wish and supported by external fact and sources.
I’ve already mentioned to you about the people trying to sneak in the back door. Their basic motto is “the tech works regardless of what LRH did or didn’t do”. After your visit I suddenly received phone calls from: 1) [redacted] 2) [redacted] and 3) representative of [redacted] are, in effect, telling me to play along. That money should be here in 60 days and how worried their other clients are about me. [Redacted] is still trying to make out like I’m LRH (I’m not). He, [redacted] has been in fact, faking LRH’s voice and feeding information into the Orgs and other factions in order to stop me or get me to conform. He is apparently behind the “O.T. Committee” in that group’s declaring me fair game in May of 1984 (or several weeks earlier); because I wouldn’t play ball in [redacted] court case. Why should I help a theif who stole documents, papers and family memorabilia photos, etc. that were stolen from my grandfather and I by the Orgs?
In effect, [redacted] is a thief who stole stolen goods. My goods. What [redacted] took and what Mary Sue still has hidden away are worth millions. You might please note that when it comes to assets and collecting taxes. [Redacted] is telling everyone a “few letters” are mine. No. That material doesn’t belong to Mary Sue. She has never been legally married to LRH. When Harry Ross Hubbard, my grandfather died, Mary Sue had her head Guardian Office goon, [redacted] strip my grandfather’s house bare within 24 hours or his death in Bremerton, Washington. (He died in December 1975.) Then they tried to blame me for his death!
My grandfather served in the U.S. Navy form 1902 with great distinction. A man of enormous integrity. Duty, honor, country: and he meant every word of it; in word and deed. I gave him my word and I’ll keep it to the end of time. LRH trashed him almost as bad as he has tried to trash me. Grandad had sent me box after box of material for safekeeping and the G.O. stole that. Ask [redacted] and [redacted] about that. Ask my [redacted]
And when I am told I must be deposed by Virgin Mary to “prove myself” I get incensed. It is to the advantage of the bad guys to try to make people believe I caved in, sold out or are on their side in some way (standard Org tech). It is also to the advantage of the good guys. I attach one piece of paper to prove I didn’t submit to their standard fear, force, intimidation, coersion and blackmail. And for your information you are the first person I’ve shown this to outside of the people directly involved. You may wonder why I haven’t shown it to [redacted] I told him verbally but it seemed not to make a difference in abating the hurricane. You see; he wasn’t my attorney at the time. During this time period the several factions in their madly dashing to their respective goals were trying to give me a world class case of whiplash.
I have a prime rule that I will talk with or listen to anyone: friend and foe alike; which is in direct opposition to “Standard Tech”. My talking with people is a high crime in LRH’s book. So I communicate. That does not mean I agree.
“Standard Tech” also decrees that one must know everything and as long as they think they have an “operation” going one is fairly safe as long as you keep them “knowing” things. I’m very good at creating cosmic ka ka. Like Scheherazade I keep my head as long as I can keep them listening. And frankly Al; I was running a little dry waiting for you, the FBI, Canadian and German law enforcement to catch up to the bad guys.
Scientology is “the science of certainty”. They just plain can’t handle uncertainty. So I keep them uncertain and off balance. Would the U.S. government like a seminar on non-violent gorilla warfare and cults?
You must realize that from the time [redacted] was found in conflict of interest in my Riverside petition in early 1983, I was alone. I had stirred up a hornets nest and cracked the Scientology Iron Curtain plus freed a lot of people and everyone was running for cover — except me. I have no money, (I make $204.50 a month) I have no health, my friends are being bought and sold like an Africian slave market, I am under constant surveillance by a legion of Org goons; so what do I do? I get very creative. The game was to keep on being effective while living a transparent life.
I’ve always assumed my phone is tapped and talk accordingly. I’ve been proven correct over the last quarter century, so I play games on it. Now I don’t mind if law enforcement places a legal tap or bug — I never have. Maybe then they would pick up on some of the incredible stuff being tried on me.
I even telephoned the FBI a while back really complaining. All they said was they didn’t involve themselves in civil matters. I’m being run over by a fleet of Mac trucks and they think it’s a civil matter?
Thank God I do have at least a few friends and one or two in law enforcement. But of course they can’t make a move until I’m laying in a pool of blood. All I asked them to do was to look beyond the surface evidence and I’ve furnished them with enough data to do an indepth investigation.
I know of at least three assassination attempts on me in the last 25 years and at least one major contract put out on me (see [redacted] FBI informant).
From the time period of November 1982 to early 84 see [redacted] the secret head of the ASI and general flunky of [redacted] He is a slippery fool and I bet he sings like a bird to save his own neck. He would blackmail his own mother for a dime and then blame her when the cops showed up. He visited us at least six times, spreading his brand of cheer and salvation and appeared on many TV shows with me. He called them “dog and pony shows”. He is the only man I know who could talk for an hour and never say a thing. I bet he has or will go for immunity. There is, as you know, a wonderful catch on being given immunity: one lie and you loose it. I will review his testimony with great care. I bet [redacted] has or will crack wide open once he sees the golden rivet or the canvas and holystones coming his sway (old Navy terms).
After the [redacted] trial, starting in early 84, we move from the O.T. declare to your entry in June 84. I was not informed of your entry but at that point the battle really heated up. Both sides had to stop or bury me before you, the FBI, Canada and Germany caught up with them and/or LRH is found and/or they got their civil cases won and/or into court and/or took over the “church”.
Now you can talk to [redacted] (we already gave you his address), [redacted] (in Southern California area) who by the way, say they have had continuous and direct comm with LRH for years. [Redacted] are first class con artists and are part of this hidden control/take over scheme (ask [redacted] about [redacted].
This group also, according to reliable sources have secretly (and illegally) made 10 hours of tape recordings of me in person and on the phone. Suspecting such activity they got my cosmic run-a-round. I would assume the tapes are highly edited. I have not come into possesion of a set but, as usual, I will and will take whatever lawful action that may seem appropriate at the time. All reasons for making those tapes are invalid.
Now if you want to start at the other end of the tunnel; I was invited to a meeting in June 1984 by a [redacted] office [redacted]; attending were, besides myself, [redacted] The meeting was openly tape recorded. The stated purpose was to form some sort of independent group (I refused) and/or join a class action suit (which I refused). The RTC had sued [redacted] over copyright infringement and [redacted] was winning it hands down. Later, unknown to me, [redacted] removed the tapes. My statements if circulated within the Scientology community would have put quit a dent in their illusions. I had expected and assumed they were made for that purpose and I was very disappointed they disappeared.
Let me jump forward to November 5, 1984. Please see attached document from [redacted] dated November 5th. He caved in to the RTC; gave up the fight and here again this [redacted] was involved. I wonder how much the Orgs paid [redacted] under the table. [Redacted] had them cold. Since this was a civil suit and criminal investigation takes precedent, you should find it easy to open that can of worms if and as you may find appropriate in your tracking down money.
Back to the meetings: The actual purpose as secretly promoted by both sides in a complex cross feed was to: A) find out what I know, B) get me off center and into their respective pockets, C) get me “out” of Scientology, D) shut me up.
One of my standard procedures has been to always come at such operations rather than run from them. The one thing a Scientology mind can not handle is failure of any of their operations. It is a high crime to fail. Failure is punished rather severly. So I let them build their house of cards and rig it so at the last minute the scam falls apart. When that happens they start their own SS/gestapo tactics on their own people for the failure. I don’t have to do a thing. I put the secret agent between a rock and a hard place. He suddenly finds his friends turn on him with a vengeance because he failed his mission. The most ineffective thing I could do would be to get violent physically or emotionally with them. Regardless of the pressures and temptations to do so, I haven’t and won’t. My remaining cool short circuits their brain. Their subjective mental “construct” collapses. That is why I’ve always been so very careful not to hurt even one hair on their head — not even LRH’s. O.T. power is no match against human power.
One other trick I’ve done for years is to write outrageous statements within the context of some letters in order to “tag” them. As one more recent example, the Orgs were trying to tell everyone I was a homicidal suicidal manic (I’m not). So I write some things that lean that way and send it to suspected secret Org/faction agents and see who or how I get it back. I, in effect, force their hand by putting an overload on the comm circuit. It’s a basic method of mine I use to sweep and identify an operation and its players. Since I have only myself and my family it is a simple and inexpensive way of staying alive and for me to keep on trucking down my center path in getting the truth and fact out and around about LRH, finding LRH himself and/or what happened to him and maintaining my legal position and stance, which for legal reasons I can’t tell you is quite secondary and which I hold because money is so primary to the bad guys and other factions. The more they push the more intractable I become. Rather Newtonian in an inverse ratio. I guess to some people, when it comes to the “LRH millions”, the means always justifies the goal, but I just won’t play that way. Don’t get me wrong. I’m like most normal people; I would love to be rich but I don’t and won’t rape and pillage for it.
As you are discovering and I’ve known since 1950, LRH owned and controlled very last penny. His only legal marriage was to my mother. I am his legal son. At the right time and place, I or my wife or my children or grandchildren will lay only two pieces of paper on a judges desk and walk away. I can prove Mary Sue and everyone else since 1951 to the present have been actively trying to chop those two pieces of paper to shreds in a vain attempt to make those two little pieces of paper not so. Maybe 10 years down the road I or my family may receive three cents. But of course those two little pieces of paper, by then, will have done their job: They will have done the job I’ve intended for them to do for the last 25 years: The complete disassembly of one of the biggest criminal empires of the 20th century.
So as you can see, I’m a loner. I love people as much as my father hated them. I will see the man stand before the people of, by and under the law. He has a million questions to answer asked by a million people. And if he is alive I shall see he gets the finest medical care possible. I will not let him escape into insanity or physical degeneration. He will answer for his crimes in the full light of day. There are thousands of people who would dearly love to tear him limb to limb. I would prevent that. There are thousands who feel he has the power of ten Popes and would bow to him. I would stop that too.
It is quite conceivable LRH and his little band faked his own death and are in what they hope is permanent hiding. Say maybe [redacted] and Dr. Gene Denk and LRH. There is some scuttlebutt to that effect and also they may have purchased citizenship in Singapore for $250,000 each. LRH’s M.O. was always to cut, run and hide while blaming everyone else. He always gave all the orders and let everyone else take the falls. But being alive and well in Singapore is only speculation. He would need moist warm air at sea level and “returning to the Orient” would fit his profile. Over the last several years he seems to have regressed and retreated to his earlier days and childhood and would therefore try to retrace his childhood.
If you want or need the finest psychiatric evaluation of LRH I’ve ever heard (absolutely 100% accurate) contact [redacted] who is geriatric psychiatry specialist. He is a good friend, an intellectual giant and has been of great help to me and a world renowned expert in his field.
Back to June 84; Because I refused to go along with some sort of class action suit and/or form or join some kind of committee both sides came down on me with a ton of bricks in a criss-cross manner; each feeding the other. I became totally confused at times from June of 84 to the early part of 85 when I discovered the O.T. committee declare. When you told me you had been involved since June of 84 it clicked everything in place. You caused enormous pressure on all factions. [Redacted] had told me he had talked to you late last year and told me at a later date you would be entering the case soon. He also said three months or so after that last statement. You had already been on the case for months at that point and he didn’t tell me because it served his purpose at the time. He had to keep me in orbit because during this time period he was talking with [redacted] about this “back door take over”. I didn’t know this at the time and I’ve got the Org faction, MSH and this O.T. committee running games at me. I really couldn’t sort it out at the time. My solution was to go into battle mode on all fronts and treat everyone as an Org agent, which was really ridiculous.
On March 3, 1983 the Canadians raided the Toronto Org. I really cheered. The bad guys in the slammer at last — I thought. A year and half later they are still dinking around. The IRS civil case was won after 10 years and several failures (“it’s a church ya know, we have to be very careful”). So, anyway, I’m ducking, dodging and dancing in all directions waiting for law enforcement to do its thing. I knew the FBI had egg on their face for missing several “red boxes” in their big operation Snow White raid. They were playing very cool this time around and I knew IRS-CID would be in the act sometime. I did not know you were already involved until the day I telephoned you. By that time I had a handle on the flow and source chart. If I had known in June you were in it I would have made a bee line to your office and hid under your desk. Fact.
Now to confirm some of this you can contact, besides those I’ve listed at that meeting at [redacted] Pacific Coast Commodities, 465 California St., San Francisco, 94104 (415) 392-2506, an Australian who would dearly love to get a $200,000 refund from the Org; [redacted] Mill Valley Travel, (415) 383-7200), who is a closet lesbian who was/is an G.O./RTC agent who wanted to use me to leave her husband and of course was playing everybody against everybody in her quest for happiness.
[Redacted] a bi-sexual girl who acted as cell communicator and messenger. She worked/works at [redacted] office. She devoutly believes Scientology works!
Then, of course, there is [redacted] an old time con man boiler room operator and ex-registrar at the San Francisco Org who keeps talking about getting $500,000 to buy a ranch in Mendocino County California.
Their Lake Tahoe contact was/is [redacted] who after I disengaged out of Frisco came into the picture with a hidden tape recorder under her jogging suit.
During all of this the various people out of the Clearwater Org were popping in and out of the scene secretly. Behind all of this was a heavily pocked marked faced man out of the Clearwater Org. I don’t recall his name but I would recognize him in a second. He was at the hearing in Reno, February 7, 1984 to look into my finances and ability to pay the cost judgement obtained against me by [redacted] They didn’t want it paid. They had scrambled my financial history to bring criminal charges and try to get me to commit perjury of some sort. [Redacted, 11 ch. 2 words] had promised to handle it for months. I “persuaded” him to keep his promise. It was paid (see attached).
In late 1983 Vaughn Young, [redacted] (Church of Scientology attorney) and [redacted] office tried to get me to tell all I knew about [redacted] If I was a good little boy and played puppet they wouldn’t try to collect the cost judgement and wouldn’t serve [redacted] and I with a lawsuit regarding the petition. I refused (see letter from [redacted] They went for the collection (paid) and served their law suit: Mary Sue Hubbard v. Ronald E. DeWolf, [redacted] and does 1 through 10, inclusive; Superior Court of the State of California for the County of Los Angeles No. C 474 789. [Redacted] said he would handle everything. So far in that battle its MSH 3, me 0.
Meanwhile [redacted] is writing a book about LRH with a $50,000 advance (taxes gentlemen?) [Redacted] who wrote a couple of gawd awful pro-Scientology books and who was to author the “authorized life story” of LRH is paid over $200,000 not to write the book (taxes?) by the Orgs when [redacted] defected. Now against contractual agreements and pay off with and by the Orgs he is secretly helping [redacted] write [redacted, 6 ch.] book.
[Redacted] by and through many people has been telling everyone “he knew everything” (which he doesn’t) and rather clearly let me know he had documents like early wills of LRH and if I played along so he could write his book and get “his million” via a lawsuit against LRH he wouldn’t bring forth these “documents”. Well Al, my goal always has been to let it all hang out and I’ve flown under the rule that I could not expose LRH and Company without exposing myself. So be it. I also never bluff and I also call anyones bluff. I also take all threats seriously and respond accordingly. First, last and always; I’ll tell it like it was and is. I am a respecter of the law, but not of persons. I love people but I bend my knee to no man. I just plain don’t take kindly to threats of any kind. People accuse me of threatening them. I don’t. I just tell people how it is and the way it will be. To people who still operate under the Scientology mind set (in or out) the whole world is a threat and/or a potential trouble source (PTS) or a suppressive person or group (SP). As with all cults they must have the enemy within and without. In the case of Scientology that would correspond to “declares’ and “the international conspiracy”, which included just about everyone on the outside. Plus their ability to face reality and fact is almost nil. There is a general rule among anti-cult activists such as [redacted] that one does not attack the leader of the cult. I buck that trend. I go nose to nose with Dad. In fact, I’ll take on anyone in my drive to see the truth and fact laid bare. I’m a little like Ralph Nader when he took on General Motors. A seemingly impossible task but he won and he did it of, by and under the law and never laid a finger on anyone.
Gamey people who want to play games get games in return. Straight people get straight stuff. Straight people are such people as press and media, law enforcement, true and actual victims, (not black hats who suddenly switch to white hats or devils who instantly sprout halos), governments etc. I will not serve any vested interest group or special interest group, I am neither black or white. I am me, warts and all.
If you want to know what I’m really like ask any reporter who ever interviewed me. Ask any of my employers. Ask any of my children. Ask [redacted] of the Carson City FBI office or dozens of others in government. Ask me a straight question and you get a straight answer, and the sources. And a full and complete explanation. And the documents.
I’ve written several pieces which were fictionalized. Fictionalized with great purpose and great care. They contain “booby traps” and “tags”. Remember always: I have spent 25 years in a running gun battle. They had the guns; I had the battle. I’ve always told people those writings were scrambled and/or fictionalized. I’ve never tried to sell fiction as truth. I will someday unscramble and defictionalize them at the right time and place; where it will do the most good; Such as open court and/or as a matter of public record and/or in public. So that the actual facts can not be destroyed.
If you want the non-fictionalized version of my fathers mafia/drugs/KGB connections ask Mary Sue. She, as you know, handled all of LRH’s personal finances. Ask her who they rented their house on Tatum Blvd from in Phoenix Arizona in 1952. Then plug that name into the IRS/FBI mafia org and flow chart. His first name was Nick. Ask the Attorney General of the State of Arizona about the Scientology/organized crime connection. Ask the government of Mexico about the Scientology activities in Baja. Do a cross reference with Scientology and Snyanon; the “April Committee”. Do a cross reference between the top leaders of Scientology and Synanon and Scientology’s “Sea Org” and Synanon’s “Imperial Marines”. They were well connected. Charles Manson was a Scientologist.
Ask MI5 and 6 in England about a man named Driberg. My father held hands with him under the table. LRH called him “dribble”. “Dribble” was a KGB connection. LRH (for money of course) allowed the Russians to cruise through all of the English preclear and student files for usable date; among other things.
Ask the Bavarian and German Federal Police to track the flow of KGB trained East German agents from East Germany to Denmark to Scotland and England to Canada to the U.S. That of course would mean the computers of Interpol would also have to get involved.
A couple of years ago the U.S. Army CID found plans of one of their bases in San Francisco in the hands of a group called “Wellspring”; an “isim and ology” group. “Wellspring” is an offshoot of “Lifespring”; which were running Scientology style classes on Air Force bases. The Air Force found this group pumping Air Force personnel for sensitive and secret information. The Air Force threw them out. Wellspring is an offshoot of EST. EST is an offshoot of Scientology Training Drills (TR’s); which I helped invent.
Starting in the mid-1950’s LRH wanted any and all military personnel targeted for recruitment into Scientology; particularly Air Force. The Air Force naturally got rather curious and started investigating. The investigation was stonewalled in the same manner as used against the IRS Civil Division and against Canada since March 3, 1983.
In the late 1950’s my father asked me to steal an H-Bomb. I refused. By some strange method in 1962 the Air Force received all this background information and about Lifespring a few years ago and the Army was informed about Wellspring a couple of years ago. As my grandfather said; Duty, Honor, Country. I, of course, during the first half of my life, under the tutorage of my father, was too busy being a god to join the military or accept my grandfather’s work in getting me into Annapolis — which was virtually arranged. But then again, if I had joined the Navhy maybe I wouldn’t have known what my father was really up to.
Ask [redacted] of Long Island New York about their daughter.
Ask [redacted] about the death of [redacted] Susan.
Ask [redacted] about her husband.
Now maybe you may understand why I left Scientology. Now maybe you may understand why I’ve been “Fair Game” for 25 years. Now maybe you may understand why I won’t shut up or quit. Now maybe you may understand my statement that my father, L. Ron Hubbard, created, owned and controlled one of the largest criminal empires of the 20th Century.
[Redacted] wants his book and his million. [Redacted] wants her 12 million and her new book. [Redacted] in Portland wants his 70 million after he already made 10 million in Scientology and perjured himself to keep it and himself out of jail. Mary Sue is suing me for 5 million for telling the truth. She helped LRH make a billion but of course, one can never have enough money I suppose. [Redacted] would love her $15,000 refunded. [Redacted] would love his $200,000 back. [Redacted] would love to continue the “church”. David Mayo would love to be “standard bearer of standard tech”. [Redacted] would like half of everything and C of S/COST/RTC/ASI would love to nuke the whole planet; I seem to be such a terrible impediment to so many people.
A truly amazing and mysterious thing happened within a day or two after your visit. I suddenly started getting the most oh so friendly mail and phone calls. [Redacted] telephoned on behalf of [redacted] inviting me to speak before their group, [redacted] telephones sweating bullets. [Redacted] calls and tells me there is a change of plans (???) [Redacted] invites me to a conference and I receive a tape from Sweden from a girl who heard my tape of June 29, 1984 and was in tears over the truth of LRH that my tape contained. And you know what? I didn’t do or say a thing about your visit to prompt all of this response. A goofy Org goon did however show up at the back door asking about apartments about a half hour after you left. I’ve also heard that Mary Sue is seriously reconsidering her position. And maybe so are a number of other people.
This letter may be of little importance or interest to you but it is at least in the record and will be, at least, stored away in some government cavern retrievable and usable by somebody someday. It’s a pity the thousands of documents gathered by the Justice Department for the FDA case were dumped. Maybe all of the IRS/Justice Department papers being rounded up will hang around a few more years and be made available to the general public through the various lawful avenues open to them.
I am the lawful son of L. Ron Hubbard. I have a legal right to know where he is and his condition, dead or alive. Therefore, when you or any other government agency, city, county, state, federal, foreign or domestic find out that information and can under law tell me; I would deeply appreciate it.
And if during your investigations you uncover evidence that may require my signature on a criminal complaint or my filing such a complaint, you have my full cooperation.
If my father is dead I will of course see to it his murderers are brought to justice of, by and under the law. It is conceivable that if he is dead it may have been caused by medical malpractice, neglect or by voluntary or involuntary manslaughter or the like. I play hard ball in the real world and let the chips fall where they may.
We did our best to preserve the original, including DeWolf’s typos. Here’s the document itself…
Ron DeWolf 1985 Letter to the IRS by Tony Ortega on Scribd
Posted by Tony Ortega on December 13, 2017 at 07:00
Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
December 13th, 2017 | Category: Scientology Studies
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Hockey fans in Seattle cannot wait for NHL: 'It's busting at the seams'
Michael TraikosMore from Michael Traikos
Published: December 1, 2018
Updated: December 1, 2018 4:16 PM EDT
SEATTLE — It’s a Tuesday evening at The Angry Beaver and the place is packed with sports fans.
Well, hockey fans to be exact.
There are half a dozen TVs hanging in the downtown Seattle sports bar, and each one is tuned to a different NHL game. Variety is very much a necessity. On this night, there is fan wearing a Connor Hellebuyck jersey and another in a now-dated Niklas Hjalmarsson jersey, while the guy at the bar has a logo of the San Jose Sharks tattooed on his hand.
All fans are welcome, just as long as they’re hockey fans. But that’s about to change.
When Tim Pipes opened the NHL-themed bar six years ago, the Toronto native wasn’t thinking that customers would one day come in and cheer for an NHL franchise out of Seattle. He just wanted to provide fans with an alternative to watching football.
“It wasn’t even on the radar,” said Pipes.
Now, with the NHL coming to Seattle as early as two years from now, he’s got some redecorating to do. The only piece of memorabilia currently hanging on the wall bearing the Seattle name is an old framed Metropolitans jersey. Rumour has it that some 20-year-old kid from Seattle purchased the naming rights to the logo years back in hopes of cashing in if the NHL ever relocated to Seattle.
But before we start talking about potential team names and colours, expansion drafts or who the coach and general manager will be, the old Key Arena has to be gutted and reconstructed in time for the 2020-21 season. And before any of that happens, the league has to ratify Seattle as the 32nd franchise at the Board of Governors meeting in Georgia on Tuesday.
Of course, it’s considered more of a rubber stamp than referendum-type vote. The league’s executive committee already voted 9-0 in favour of approval back in October. Spend a few days in the city and you will quickly see why.
This is a hockey market waiting to happen.
It might not be a sure thing like Quebec might have been had the league been willing to forgo geographical balance and added another team to the Eastern Conference. But Seattle is hardly a gamble the way that Las Vegas was considered to be a couple of years ago.
After all, it took only 12 minutes to sell 10,000 deposits during a season ticket drive back in March. Vegas needed an entire month to reach the same goal.
“I used to tell people what a great market this would be,” said John Barr, who founded the website NHLtoSeattle.com in 2008, “because I had come from the Bay Area before the Sharks were there. And this is 10 times the market. It’s busting at the seams.”
The night before, Barr had been playing shinny at a 3-on-3 rink in the Seattle suburb of Renton. There were about a dozen players on the ice. Only one of them was born and raised in Seattle. The rest hailed from Whitby, Ont., Texas, North Dakota, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and the Czech Republic — a by-product of having a large tech sector that has attracted out-of-towners.
“You’d have a hard time finding someone who didn’t at one time work for Google, Amazon or Microsoft,” said minor hockey coach Clayton Rogers, who moved to Seattle from Surrey, B.C. in 2001. “Until basketball comes back, there’s a shortage of winter sports. And there’s a lot of Canadians down here too. There’s a lot more interest down here than people probably expect.”
Beyond the $650-million expansion fee, Seattle is a chance for the NHL to add balance to the league by having a 16th team in the Western Conference. It’s also a chance to expand to a growing area — it’s the fastest growing city in the past decade according to the U.S. Census Bureau — that ever since the SuperSonics relocated in 2008 is in need of a winter sport.
“Seattle is an incredible market,” said Brian Robinson, a real-estate investor who is on the mayor’s commission on civic arenas. “Our economy is booming. We’ve got Fortune 500 companies and an audience that has money to spend.”
Still, in the days leading up to the ticket drive, no one was really sure if people would spend that hard-earned money on hockey tickets.
“I was losing sleep the night before, because I don’t know 10,000 people and that was the target,” said Barr. “I literally took out Facebook advertising money to raise awareness. What if nobody shows up?”
Dave Tippett, who was hired by Tim Leiweke, the CEO of Seattle’s Oak View Group, as a senior hockey adviser, was just as concerned.
“The night before I had texted Tim and said, ‘Good luck.’ He texted back, ‘I have a good feeling about this.’ We sold 33,000 season tickets in two days, and there’s probably another eight or ten thousand on the waiting list,” said Tippett. “It’s crazy. Everyone knows their number. Some guy came up to me and said I’m 7,204.”
Seattle is about a two-hour drive from Vancouver. But apart from the fact that each is home to franchises in the Western Hockey League (Thunderbirds and Giants), the only thing the two cities really have in common is the rain.
“This is the last place in the United States that’s turned on to hockey,” said Seattle Thunderbirds GM Russ Farwell. “When I came here back 22 years ago, there were three rinks. There’s only six rinks now.”
None of those rinks are located in downtown Seattle. The closest is about 40 km away in the suburb of Renton. Driving out to Sno-King Arena, which takes you across Lake Washington and what is the world’s second-largest floating bridge, you cannot help but notice the blue banners hanging from houses and the sides buildings all bearing the No. 12. It’s a reference to the “12th Man” jersey that the Seahawks retired in 1984 in honour of their fans.
In other words, this is football country. And it’s followed not-so-closely by baseball, basketball and the various NCAA teams. Hockey is considered a niche sport, slightly ahead of soccer.
“It’s expensive,” said Doug Kirton, an Elmvale, Ont., native who runs the hockey programs at Sno-King. “The base fees are around $1,000 to start. A travel peewee team would be $2,200. And that doesn’t include the travel.”
“Hockey is not our No. 1 sport here and it probably won’t be,” said Creston, B.C. native Jamie Huscroft, a former NHL defenceman who runs the Sno-King Arena. “When I came here 15 years ago, we were almost bankrupt. It’s a pipe dream to think you’re going to knock off football or baseball. If you see a playoff run like Vegas had, you’ll see some momentum. But you’ll still be nipping at the heels of the Seahawks and Mariners. You can’t compete.”
What Seattle can do is steal away some of the pie. And with Amazon, Microsoft, and several other tech companies in the area, there are plenty of people with disposable incomes looking to pay for a bite.
“The wealth in this city, the business opportunities of people who want to be a part of it has been incredible,” said Tippett. “Just getting to know the people here, there’s a lot of money.”
Tippett is sitting in a Starbucks a block away from where Key Arena is currently under construction. He’s also down the street from an area that has already undergone a dramatic change since the SuperSonics played here.
Amazon opened its new headquarters last January with a massive campus that features 33 buildings and takes an hour and a half to cover by foot. “Make sure to wear comfortable shoes,” advises a tour guide. More than 40,000 people are employed by the Fortune 500 company, which boasts that total compensation for its employees is $25.7-billion.
And with 15% of the workforce reportedly living in the same ZIP code as the office, it’s becoming clear who will be attending NHL games in the future. It’s not necessarily going to be the junior hockey fan who is used to paying junior hockey prices.
That is, not unless he has a friend who works for Amazon.
“I probably know more people outside of Seattle than who are actually from here,” said Barr. “It’s growing like crazy. Try to notice all the cranes. It’s making it unaffordable for a lot of people. There’s just a huge Amazon influence. Half my beer league team — that’s what they do.
“The old mayor always used to describe Seattle as San Jose on steroids.”
TIPPETT HAS ‘BUILDER’S MENTALITY’
SEATTLE — Dave Tippett spent 14 seasons coaching in the National Hockey League. But the 57-year-old, who was replaced as head coach of the Arizona Coyotes after the 2016-17 season, has no inclination of stepping behind the bench when Seattle is granted an NHL franchise.
Nor does he want to become the team’s general manager.
“No, that’s not for me,” said Tippett, who was hired by the Oak View Group last spring. “You start to file away names of people who might have interest down the road. We have a pretty good list.”
Tippett would not reveal who is on the list, but he was in Arizona when the team tried to hire Kelly McCrimmon, who is now Vegas’ assistant general manager. With Mark Hunter, Ron Hextall and Chuck Fletcher available — and with Detroit’s Ken Holland’s contract expiring after the 2019-20 season — he has a lot of good options.
“The NHL rules allow you to be competitive. Vegas did an unbelievable job with that,” said Tippett. “It’s not like expansion teams in the past, where you felt like you were behind the eight-ball. You might not have superstars right away, but you have a chance to have a real solid team.”
For now, Tippett is happy to look at paint colours (“We’ve got to pick out team colours first,” he said) and helping to build something from the ground up.
“I’ve always kind of had a builder’s mentality to me,” he said. “I’ve built motorcycles and cars in the past, so it’s kind of intriguing. You get to help build the culture of an organization. There’s a lot of intrigue around expansion right now, because of what Vegas did last year.”
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A Changi well hidden from sight
Looking across a sun baked tarmac during a rare opportunity I had to pay a visit to Selarang Camp, it was quite difficult to imagine the square decorated by the shadows of rain trees along its its periphery, cast in the dark shadows of the war some 71 years ago.
The sun-baked Selarang Camp Parade Square decorated not by the shadows of yesterday, but by those of today.
Surrounded not by rain trees, by the buildings of Selarang Barracks, the shadows of yesterday were ones cast by the events of the early days of early September 1942, events for which the barracks completed some four years before to house a battalion of the Gordon Highlanders, would long be remembered for.
A model of the barrack buildings around the square as seen on a sand model in the Selarang Camp Heritage Centre.
Little is left physically from the days of darkness in today’s Selarang Camp. One of the oldest camps still in use, it is now occupied by HQ 9th Division of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF). There is little resemblance the tarmac and its surroundings bear to the infamous barrack square now half the size of the original where scenes, possibly descending on chaos from the thousands of Prisoners of War (POWs) – estimates put it at some 13,350 British and 2,050 Australian troops, a total of 15,400 (some estimates had its as high as 17,000) who were made to crowd into a square which measured some 800 by 400 feet (244 x 122 metres), and the seven buildings around it – each with an floor space of 150 by 60 feet (46 x 18 metres) – a density of 1 man for every 2.3 square metres not counting the kitchen tents which had to also be moved into the square and makeshift latrines which had to also be dug into the square!
The original square seen in a 1967 photograph.
The event, referred to as the Selarang Barracks Incident, is one which is well documented. What had triggered it was an escape attempt by four POWs, two Australian: Cpl Rodney Breavington and Pte Victor Gale, and two British: Pte Harold Waters, and Pte Eric Fletcher. To prevent similar attempts in the future, the Japanese captors, under the command of the newly arrived Major General Fukuei Shimpei (under whose charge the internment and POW camps in Malaya had been placed under), tried to persuade the men in captivity to sign a non-escape statement.
The barrack square during the incident (photograph taken off an information board at the parade square).
This was on 30 August 1942. The statement: “I, the undersigned, hereby solemnly swear on my honour that I will not, under any circumstances, attempt escape” – was in contravention to the Geneva Convention (of which Japan was not a signatory of) and the POWs were unanimous in refusing to sign it. This drew a response from the Japanese – they threatened all who refused to sign this undertaking on 1 September with “measures of severity”.
The Non-Escape Statement (Selarang Camp Repository).
It was just after midnight on 2 September, that orders were given for all British and Australian POWs (except for the infirmed), who were being held in what had been an expanded Changi Gaol (which extended to Selarang and Roberts Barracks which was used as a hospital), to be moved to the already occupied Selarang barrack buildings which had been built to accommodate 800 men.
From Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 1 – Army, Volume IV – The Japanese Thrust (1st edition, 1957).
There was little the POWs could do but to make use of whatever space that was made available, spilling into the non-sheltered square around which the barrack buildings stood. The space was shared with kitchens which the captors insisted had to also be moved into the area. Conditions were appalling and access to water was restricted and rations cut (some accounts had it that no food at all was provided), and were certainly less than sanitary. With water cut-off to the few toilets in the barrack buildings rendering them unusable, trenches going as far down as 16 feet had to be dug into the hard tarmac of the parade square to provide much needed latrines.
The ‘Selarang Square Squueze’ as sketched by a POW, John Mennie, as seen on an online Daily Mail news article.
To put further pressure on the POWs to sign the statement, the Japanese had the four recaptured men executed by an Indian National Army firing squad. This was carried out in the presence of the POWs’ formation commanders on the afternoon of 2 September at the Beting Kusah (also spelt Betin Kusa) area of Changi Beach (now under an area of reclaimed land in the vicinity of the Changi Airport Cargo Complex). The execution and the escape attempt by the two Australians is described in detail in Australia in the War of 1939–1945, Series 1 – Army, Volume IV – The Japanese Thrust (1st edition, 1957), Chapter 23 (see link):
The four men executed included two Australians—Corporal Breavington and Private Gale—who had escaped from a camp at Bukit Timah on 12th May, obtained a small boat and rowed it about 200 miles to the island of Colomba. There in a semi-starved condition they had been rearrested, and at length returned to Singapore where Breavington was admitted to hospital suffering from malaria. At the execution ground Breavington, the older man, made an appeal to the Japanese to spare Gale. He said that he had ordered Gale to escape and that Gale had merely obeyed orders ; this appeal was refused. As the Sikh firing party knelt before the doomed men, the British officers present saluted and the men returned the salute. Breavington walked to the others and shook hands with them. A Japanese lieutenant then came forward with a handkerchief and offered it to Breavington who waved it aside with a smile, and the offer was refused by all men. Breavington then called to one of the padres present and asked for a New Testament, whence he read a short passage . Thereupon the order was given by the Japanese to fire.
Map of the Changi area in 1942.
Another account of the execution which also highlighted the bravery of Cpl Breavington was given during the trial of General Fukuei Shimpei in February 1946 at the Singapore War Crimes Court:
All four prisoners refused to be blindfolded, and 16 shots were fired before it was decided that the men were dead. One of the prisoners, Cpl Breavington, a big Australian, made a vain, last-minute plea to be allowed to bear alone the full responsibility and punishment for the attempt to escape. He dies reading the New Testament. The first two shots passed through his arm, and as he lay on the ground, he shouted: “You have shot me through the arm. For God’s sake, finish me this time.”
An aerial view of the Changi Airfield, the construction of which was initiated by the Japanese in 1943. The coastal end of the east-west intersecting strip was where the Beting Kusah area and Kampong Beting Kusah was located. The kampong was cleared in 1948 to allow an RAF expansion of the airstrip (photograph taken off a display at the Changi Air Base Heritage Centre).
After holding out for a few days, the fast worsening conditions became a huge cause for concern due to the threat of the disease and the potential it had for the unnecessary loss of lives. It was with this in mind that the Allied commander, Colonel Holmes, decided to issue an order for the POWs to sign that the non-escape document under duress. With the POWs signing the statement on 5 September 1942 – many were said to have signed using false names, they were allowed to return to the areas in which they had been held previously.
POWs signing the non-escape statement (Selarang Camp Repository).
The incident was one which was certainly not forgotten. It was on two charges related to the incident that General Fukuei Shimbei was tried in the Singapore War Crimes Court after the Japanese surrender. The first charge related to the attempt to coerce the POWs in his custody to sign the documents of non-escape, and the ill-treatment of the POWs in doing so. The second was related to the killing of the four escapees. General Fukuei was sentenced to death by firing at the end of February 1946 and was executed on 27 April 1946, reportedly at a spot along Changi Beach close to where the four POWs had been executed.
A photograph of the executed General Fukuei Shimbei from the Selarang Camp Repository.
Walking around the camp today, it is an air of calm and serenity that one is greeted by. It was perhaps in that same air that greeted my first visits to the camp back in early 1987. Those early encounters came in the form of day visits I made during my National Service days when I had been seconded to the 9th Division to serve in an admin party to prepare and ship equipment and stores for what was then a reserve division exercise in Taiwan. Then, the distinctive old barrack buildings around the square laid out on the rolling hills which had once been a feature of much of the terrain around Changi were what provided the camp with its character along with the old Officers’ Mess which was the Division HQ building.
The former Officers’ Mess – one of two structures left from the original set of barrack buildings.
Another view of the former Officers’ Mess.
It is in the a heritage room in the former Officers’ Mess, only one of two structures (the other a water tank) left from the wartime era that the incident is remembered. The Selarang Camp Heritage Centre is where several exhibits and photographs are displayed which provide information on the incident, as well as how the camp had been transformed over the years.
The Selarang Camp Heritage Centre.
Pieces of the old barrack buildings on display in the former Officers’ Mess.
Among the exhibits in the heritage room are old photographs taken by the POWs, a sand model of the barrack grounds and buildings which came up between 1936 to 1938, as it looked in September 1942. There are also exhibits relating to the camps occupants subsequent to the British withdrawal which was completed in 1971. The camp after the withdrawal was first used by the 42nd Singapore Armoured Regiment (42 SAR) before HQ 9th Division moved into it in 1984. It was during the HQ 9th Division’s occupancy that the camp underwent a redevelopment which took place from July 1986 to December 1989 which transformed the camp it into the state it is in today.
An exhibit – a card used by a POW to count the days of captivity.
An exhibit from more recent times at the heritage centre.
A photograph of a parade in the infamous square at the heritage centre.
A view of the parade square today.
One more recent relic from the camp before its redevelopment is a bell which belong to a Garrison Church built in 1961. The church was built as a replacement for what had been a makeshift wartime chapel, the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier, which was, as was St. Luke’s where the Changi Murals were painted, a place which offered solace and hope to many POWs in extremely trying times.
The Garrison Church bell.
The bell, now supported by a structure – said to resemble a 30 foot bell tower which originally held it up, can be found across the road from the parade square. The bell was transferred to Sungei Gedong Camp by 42 SAR before being returned to Selarang by HQ Armour in July 1999. It is close to the bell, where a mark of the new occupants of the camp, a Division Landmark which features a soldier next to a snarling panther (a now very recognisable symbol of the 9th Division) erected in 1991, is found standing at a corner of the new square. It stands watch over the square perhaps such that the dark shadows and ghosts of the old square do not come back to haunt us.
A sketch of the makeshift St. Francis Xavier Chapel.
The division landmark.
While there was a little disappointment I felt on not seeing the old square, I was certainly glad to have been able to see what’s become of it and also pay a visit to the heritage centre. This has certainly provided me with the opportunity to learn more about the camp, its history, and gain greater insights into events I might have otherwise have thought very little about for which I am very grateful to the MINDEF NS Policy Department who organised the visit. It is in reflecting on events such as the Selarang Barracks Incident that I am reminded of why it is important for us in a world we have grown almost too comfortable in, to do all that is necessary to prevent the situations such as the one our forefathers and their defenders found ourselves in barely two generations ago.
Another photograph of the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier from the Selarang Camp Repository.
« The I ♥ Mountbatten Photowalk A sunrise over Singapore’s green lung »
Tags: 42 SAR, Betin Kusa, Beting Kusah, Changi, Changi Airfield, Changi Beach, Changi Gaol, Chapel of St, Cpl Breavington, Francis Xavier, General Fukuei Shimpei, Gordon Highlanders, History, HQ 9th Division, Japanese Occupation, Japanese Occupation of Singapore, MINDEF NS Policy Department, Non-Escape Statement, Old Changi, Photographs, Photography, Prisoners of War, Pte Fletcher, Pte Gale, Pte Waters, Roberts Barracks, Second World War, Selarang Barracks, Selarang Barracks Incident, Selarang Barracks Square Incident, Selarang Camp, Selarang Camp Heritage Centre, Selarang Square Incident, Singapore, Singapore Armed Forces, Singapore War Crimes Court, World War II, WWII, WWII Historical Sites, WWII History
Categories : Architecture, Architecture, Changi & Somapah, Changing Landscapes, Forgotten Buildings, Forgotten Places, Heritage Sites, History, Reminders of Yesterday, Significant Moments in Time, Singapore
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BBC Three will be switched off in February, but will the yoof follow it online?
by Ben Woods — in Media
The BBC Trust has confirmed that a gradual switch-off of its terrestrial BBC Three TV services will begin in January 2016, and will be complete by the end of February.
The organization first aired suggestions to radically overhaul its approach – primarily by moving to an on-demand model rather than linear broadcasting a year ago, and confirmed them in June.
Ostensibly, it’s a cost-cutting move that should save around £30 million ($45 million) each year, with all of BBC Three’s long-form original content also airing on BBC One or BBC Two.
BBC Three’s Controller Damian Kavanagh said:
“BBC Three is not closing, we are reinventing online. We will not be a scheduled 7pm to 4am linear broadcast TV channel but we will be everywhere else giving you the freedom to choose what to watch when you want. We will be available on BBC iPlayer on connected TV’s and via set top boxes and consoles like the PS4 so you can watch on a big TV with friends, if you want. We will be on mobiles and tablets so you can watch on your own in the bath, if you want. The truth is we will be available to you in more places than ever before including linear TV.”
It will spend 80 percent of its budget on producing new long-form shows and 20 percent on new short-form content that’s more suitable for online viewing and younger audiences (with shorter attention spans).
However, other non-exclusive staple shows from BBC Three like Family Guy or American Dad are already viewable in a number of places online, and by going online-only BBC Three’s content has to compete with the huge repositories of Amazon and Netflix in the UK, even if you ignore any of the smaller on-demand players.
With huge catalogs, original programming and ubiquity of access offered by rivals, it remains to be seen whether BBC Three’s youth-oriented content will stand out among the considerable noise.
➤ BBC Trust publishes final decision on proposals for BBC Three, CBBC, iPlayer, BBC One+1 [BBC]
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The Obstinate Fig
and the Quest for Satiety
https://www.pinterest.com/sca33507/
https://www.instagram.com/rachelleloseewhiting/
The Horizon
Tales from a Mother of a Female Marine : The Truth. Part Two.
Hello everyone! This is a part two blog post. Anyone can continue to read along or you may want to read part one first which is my account of turning my daughter over to the Marines. What a painstaking, come to grips process that was! That story ended at boot camp graduation.
My daughter just completed her five years in the Marines, so this is my final hurrah and written piece as a mother of a female marine. Deep exhale…my worst fears as a military mom did not come to pass. I won’t say the last five years have not been without incident or anxiety. There was that too. I can also release myself from the duty of watching current events like a hawk (sort-of, my daughter’s spouse is still a marine).
Let me just point out a few things:
When my daughter joined the Marines we were at war. (Iraq and Afghanistan)
The rules changed for women during the time of her enlistment. Combat jobs became open to women with the condition that a woman could meet the requirements for the job. This year, the first female marine made it to combat infantry officer.
The Marines were getting a lot of heat for how they managed their women at the time of my daughter’s enlistment, and incidents of sexual assault were at an all time high.
My daughter joined the Marines under Obama and ended her enlistment under Trump.
My daughter Mandaline did not end up going to Iraq or Afghanistan. Her military occupational specialty (MOS) was as a combat correspondent. Her field was public affairs. My daughter completed boot camp in early December of 2013, so lucky for me, she was home for her first Christmas before heading out for additional training in North Carolina. From there, my daughter went to Baltimore, Maryland to complete her schooling for her occupational specialty.
I had had no qualms about my daughter going to Baltimore. None. It was stateside. What could go wrong? Well, as it turned out, this safe place gave me quite the start. Mandaline came down with a skin infection that effected her and a few others. She had huge craters and scabs on her skin, and the whole thing escalated and spread quickly in a short amount of time.
I finally called medical because I did not feel like they were taking it seriously enough. The antibiotic she was taking was obviously not effective. Okay… I had worked on an infectious disease floor at the hospital. I let my mind run a-muck with staph. I did not want to be that mom but I became that mom.
I remember my daughter telling me she was putting coconut oil on it much to my exasperation, and finally after I placed a phone call to medical my daughter was placed on a different antibiotic. I insisted she take it in front of me over Face Time. I became THAT mom again, “Now open…SWALLOW…show ME…” You get the idea. I don’t regret my behavior. Her skin condition cleared up.
Speaking of skin conditions, there were also concerns over her injection site from the Anthrax Vaccine. I am not one of those anti-vax people, but let’s face it some of these vaccinations can make any pro-vax mom squeemish. I remember thinking, “What are they putting into my kid?” Note to self: my daughter was not a kid anymore. I’m not here to diss on the Marines but I have to give an honest account.
I had the illusion that because my child was a marine, she would receive top notch medical care. It’s…medical care. I’m not the only one who has ever said it. I would say medical In the military is lacking some and it leaves something to be desired. I certainly hope quality medical care is concentrated in areas where there are combat veterans.
While my daughter was in the military she had her wisdom teeth pulled out. She got the worst case of dry sockets. I don’t know where the ball was dropped, but my daughter was drinking out of a straw that day. I remember asking Mandy, “did you get any after-care instructions at all? Did anyone tell you at any point that you should not be drinking out of a straw?” In the military’s defense I thought she may have been doped up a little. Then again I found out she was not doped up. The anesthesia was sub par.
I had no idea where my daughter was going to be stationed after Baltimore. It was looking like she was going to be stateside, but as fate would have it, someone broke their leg and Mandaline was sent to Okinawa, Japan instead.
Mandaline loved Okinawa. She loved Japan. She loved the cultures of both. By the way, the culture of those in Japan is completely different than that of those in Okinawa. Just another side note: The Okinawans do not view US military occupation there favorably. There were several large protests against it while Mandaline was there. Public relation efforts were challenging and incidents had happened there where a few military personnel had damaged trust and the reputation of the entire military was impacted as a whole.
Island life could be a little confining and their were strict rules for curfew and conduct. There was a time while Mandaline was stationed in Japan that she got to go on a ship and I had no idea where she was. She absolutely loved it. It was quite the adventure, they even had to be leery of pirates. She raved about sea life, the sunsets, and the french toast.
I felt a little uneasy having a daughter at sea and not having any idea where she was. Mandaline was also able to go to South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines to film military training exercises. She went to mainland Japan a few times. She met up with her dad in China, and she took a trip to Vietnam which she absolutely loved.
One of the highlights of Thailand was riding an elephant. The killing fields and Iwo Jima were largely impressionable upon her. The killing fields are not something you necessarily want to see but these landmarks provide very telling details about the nature of inhumanity. Ones that should not be ignored.
Mandaline raved about the kindness of the people she met in the Philippines and the Lumpias. One of her newfound friends in the Philippines gave Mandaline her hat. I can not mention Mandaline’s time in Japan without making reference to her boyfriend at the time, Isaac, who was also in the Marines.
He spent part of his time growing up in Israel, and they met Isaac’s family there, so Mandaline also went to Jerusalem. Isaac had dual citizenship in the United States and Israel and plans for joining the Israeli defense force.
Riding A Camel In Israel
Many aspects of their relationship had me concerned and they were not just based on faith. They managed to forge a relationship despite growing up in separate cultures. I believe there may have been underlying competitiveness and I saw my daughter become more insecure about herself over time.
In the end, the relationship with Isaac dissolved and they had their closure. I will forever be grateful to Isaac for being there for Mandaline when she was having some difficulties with witnessing some of the trauma that had transpired in Nepal. It was hard for everyone. Nobody ever expects a humanitarian mission to end in tragedy.
Before tragedy struck, it seems as if on first impression, that when Mandaline arrived in Kathmandu everything seemed off but non-threatening. Nobody saw the worst of any of the repercussions of the earthquake right away. At one point, Mandaline and a few of the other Marines had done some shopping in some of the market places. Despite tragedy, it was hard not to be enraptured by the mountains of Nepal. The area did have a strange vibe to it post-earthquake. Most definitely.
Many businesses were empty but some were trying to resume business with some semblance of normalcy. They needed the business. This was when this video was taken: I was surprised anyone was dancing after the first massive earthquake had hit Nepal.
I believe Mandi gets the prize for picking up Nepalese dancing the quickest. Mandaline and Isaac did both receive humanitarian awards for the work they did in Nepal. It was an honor, and yet so hard to receive with enthusiasm knowing that two other members of their team had lost their lives. Any one of them would have gone up in that chopper. They all would have done the same thing. Survivors guilt is a hard thing , and I saw it in Mandaline on her return trips home. The loss of Jacob Hug was a hard hit for her. She had also flown with Sergeant Johnson.
Isaac would later go on to receive a prestigious award for being videographer of the year and some of his photos were featured in National Geographic. Some of Mandaline’s photos were published in US News and a few other magazines. She did get awarded top shot for one of her photos. I will say the Marines gave my daughter a tremendous opportunity to obtain a portfolio and to photograph so much of the world in a short amount of time. She had traveled more in her first few years as a marine than some have traveled in a lifetime.
When my daughter first became interested in the Marines I asked her why. Her answer was that she wanted to be a humanitarian. My response was why don’t you join the Peace Corps or something? I ate my words. Mandaline did do humanitarian work in the Marines. The work that was being done in Cambodia was also commendable. Here is a short clip about teaching the Cambodians to remove their unexploded ordinances. Can you find the dog 🐶 in this one?
A Cambodian’s Story
This became a funny little trademark of hers. She always found a way to place a dog in all her videos even though the videography had nothing to do with dogs. It was like playing Where’s Waldo? This was by far my favorite short clip. I know I have accumulated a lot of links for my own collection but this is the one to watch.
Nepalese Enduring
Mandaline helped collaborate on this one but really the credit is Isaac’s. This will give you a taste of what was truly at stake in Nepal.
Mandy is an extreme animal lover, and a vegetarian which seems unusual for a marine. Marines love their barbecues and they love their dogs. If Mandaline could have taken home every dog she saw roaming around in Asia she would have. Here is a picture of a dog she fell in love with in Australia:
Mandaline fell in love with one particular dog in Japan. It was the one and love at first sight. She was fortunate enough to have friends in Japan to make dog ownership a reality. It was a communal effort, and a friend who was in the Air Force who lived off base fostered her dog for awhile. The dog came at a time when she needed it most.
There was a time when I felt as if my daughter’s confidence in herself and her abilities plummeted after Nepal. She’d come home angry and we would argue. I could scarcely understand what was happening. I saw her so little. Why were we now going through this?
She also lost the desire to make a career out of media after she had to take pictures in Nepal that she thought were disturbing. At one point She kneeled down with her camera, cried, and said, “I can’t do this.” She said, “I always liked taking pictures, but not of this.” A few of her comrades also cried with her. It was agreed that it was okay to cry. Mandy was among the first of her group to go back to Japan after Nepal, and it was time. All of it was really starting to have a negative effect on her. You can really only witness so much trauma at once.
Mandaline went up in choppers a few times to assist and document disaster relief efforts while she was in Nepal. One day, she was busy uploading photos and someone else was sent on a chopper instead. It was not her day, it was not her ride. The chopper did not make the return trip back and was reported missing.
Days later, it was found “in pieces.” There were no survivors. The night before the news of the downed chopper’s sighting was made public, Mandaline called me. I could tell something was wrong. I greeted her on Face Time like I always did, and when I asked her what was wrong she was choking back sobs. She could tell me nothing. She did not have to say a thing. Mom’s know.
I found out the news of the chopper early the next morning. I’ll never forget that feeling of panic I felt when I first heard a chopper was missing in Nepal. I got news that my daughter was alright. Six other marine families did not.
The death of her comrades, the aftershocks, witnessing the trauma of others, the crack in her hotel ceiling, the second earthquake that hit while she was at the embassy, and the uncanny behavior of the birds before the earthquakes must have overwhelmed the senses. When it came time to transfer the remains of her fallen comrades she stood in formation with her knees locked in the heat of the day and completely fainted. She was taken to medical for treatment.
She had some fears of flying after that. She would shake and cry but she did it. It seemed everyone was so indispensable when they had landed on the runways of Nepal not knowing if the runways were even safe for landing or not. Now, nobody was indispensable.Nobody expected a humanitarian mission to go wrong.
The further Mandaline got from Nepal in time and distance the better she became. She had a fantastic support network in Okinawa waiting for her. I knew things were really improving when she posted this excerpt on social media:
Facing Your Fears Has a Nice View
Just when Mandaline was getting comfortable with flying again she flew to mainland Japan where she was stuck for a few days longer because the chopper they had flown in on had a fuel leak. They were lucky. The track record for military flight crashes had escalated more than in previous years. Many in the military had concerns about where military spending cuts were being made. Many felt they were being made at the expense of the safety of military personnel, and flight times were down.
I had many concerns for Mandaline during this time. Will the military make your child more aggressive? Yes it will. Will their vocabulary change? Will they get tatoos? Will situations arise where things may get out if hand? Perhaps. In my daughter’s case…yes.
Did my daughter face misogyny and insubordination of male peers while she was a sergeant because she was a woman? Yes she did. Can a male marine make a female marine miserable if his advances toward her are not reciprocated? Yes, he can. Did I ever feel their were situations where my daughter could have kept herself in check better? There were.
The Marines have a male majority and females by far comprise a smaller minority. I literally had many people boldly state to me that they felt females had no place in the military. Do I feel women have a place in the military? Absolutely! Can the Marines do better? Yes. Are there programs in place to do better? Yes. Can they continue to be improved? Again, I would say yes.
Another drawback of the military is that there were times I was finding it harder and harder to reconcile home visits with Mandaline. It seems that I would just “catch up’ with Mandaline and then she would be gone again. She’d come back a little different every time. I was different as well. Neither of us knew why we were different. We could see the changes in each other but not in ourselves.
We’d have to get used to the changes that had occurred while we were apart and just as we would all transition into these changes our time would be up. She’d go again and we’d start the whole process over on the next visit.
I could not help but think, “how do those who are married to someone in the military do it?” Playing catch up on limited time can be so hard. Her siblings would be growing up beyond her capacity to witness the subtle changes over time.
Mandaline left our home in September, and after I had remarried, I was in a new home in Riverton with a new family dynamic and additional step children. These are just some of the changes that had occurred that required everyone to catch up to speed. Mandaline came home to an entirely different home.
I believe the time my daughter was in the military doing her best was when she went to Australia for six months. She had time to get her confidence back and focus on her own work without outside influences or alter elements getting in the way. She swam with sharks and camped in the outback. She ate alligator and turtle as part of a survivalist training. I found out later the person who had done her assignment the year before was air lifted out of Australia for being bitten by a venomous spider.
Mandaline was always generous. She’d send everyone packages from her travels from Australia and spoil her siblings at Christmas. She made it a point to take her siblings out on a one on one date before leaving again. The hardest part of her being away is that there was a period of time when we did not see her for an entire year. We had the most joyous reunion at the airport and it was time. It was so beyond time. It felt like everything was right in the universe again.
Another memorable visit happened when she came home and we voted together. I won’t lie. My anxieties went up when Donald Trump became commander in chief. Despite political affiliation, can we all just agree he can be a brash man who could use a filter? Not that the other option was necessarily optimal either.
Those in the military had strong opinions about Benghazi. However, it is a huge misconception to assume those all those in the military were completely united behind Trump. There were those in the military who were just as mixed on this as many other Americans.
A huge pet peeve of mine became when others tried to use the military to make political statements and speak for them all is if they were one collective voice. There are many women in the military. There are many hispanics, and African Americans. There is diversity in the military for sure. To speak for them all is ludicrous.
Some marines are not political at all. It’s a job. It’s a paycheck. It’s the GI Bill. It’s about camaraderie and brotherhood. They fight more on behalf of one another than anyone else. They could care less about politics.
One of my least favorite memes that went viral was a meme that circulated about our female Marines that portrayed them as part of “the real girls club” after the women’s march. Largely, this was meant to be a compliment. Yet, under the context of the women’s march, if one doesn’t think these women don’t have strong opinions about misogyny and inappropriate sexual advances, they should think again. I’m not saying all of these women would have participated in the march or threw their support, but these women do comprise the same statistics as many other women.
I was really proud when my daughter was able to cover Black history month in the military and do a story on Native American brothers in the military who were remembering their grandfather’s service.
I love my Veterans I absolutely do but I never felt it was an either/or situation for me. I finally made a statement about this on social media. I can CARE about my veterans in this country AND Syrian refugees at the SAME time (or any other group of people who may be suffering from famine, poverty, or disease). Nobody said I had to decide.
I was also bothered by the bait switch. My least favorite was when those in the media would bait someone with patriotism and switch to racism. I really began to despise military related political memes. It was really disheartening to see all the division that had been transpiring in America. I felt when Mandaline’s time was up in the military it was time.
She had a good run in the Marines. I was blessed beyond measure and I know that many of my prayers were answered. Other parents do not come out so fortunate. I have talked to other Gold star moms. I don’t know the reasoning behind every outcome that befalls every soldier. I know many mothers have prayed with as much vigor as I have, even more so. I get emotionally triggered anytime I hear about a fallen soldier or a military crash. I am much more sentimental at patriotic events.
SO here it is. My closure. I attended a Jackson Generals game where they were honoring the Marines and another mother approached me about her daughter joining the marines. It was a good conversation to have. It was an honest conversation, as honest as this post has been. I don’t speak for all military moms. I don’t speak for the military. This is one military mother’s perspective. It has been an honor to share this post with you and I wrote this for myself as much as anyone.
If you have not read my previous post on how my daughter’s time in the Military ended, it ended here.
Her husband Josh is still in the Marines and he is now stationed in Hawaii. Mandaline has applied for two colleges in Hawaii in hopes of becoming an environmental architect.
This is where the next chapter begins. Thanks to those who have shared this journey with me. This is a mother of a former marine signing off. September has now OFFICIALLY come to an end!
Now…Let’s do 🎃 Halloween!
Published by Rachelle Whiting
View all posts by Rachelle Whiting
earthquakes nepal, female marines, helicopter crash, Marine helicopter crash, nepal, okinawa, women marines
Reflections from a Mother: That time I turned my Daughter over to the Marines.
Favorite Halloween Lighting Trends
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Antarctica Introduction - 2003
https://theodora.com/wfb2003/antarctica/antarctica_introduction.html
SOURCE: 2003 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK
Background: Speculation over the existence of a "southern land" was not confirmed until the early 1820s when British and American commercial operators and British and Russian national expeditions began exploring the Antarctic Peninsula region and other areas south of the Antarctic Circle. Not until 1840 was it established that Antarctica was indeed a continent and not just a group of islands. Several exploration "firsts" were achieved in the early 20th century. Following World War II, there was an upsurge in scientific research on the continent. A number of countries have set up year-round research stations on Antarctica. Seven have made territorial claims, but no other country recognizes these claims. In order to form a legal framework for the activities of nations on the continent, an Antarctic Treaty was negotiated that neither denies nor gives recognition to existing territorial claims; signed in 1959, it entered into force in 1961.
NOTE: The information regarding Antarctica on this page is re-published from the 2003 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Guinea Geography 2003 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Antarctica Introduction 2003 should be addressed to the CIA.
Please ADD this page to your FAVORITES - - - - -
Revised 20-Sep-03
Copyright © 2003 Photius Coutsoukis (all rights reserved)
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Summer tour: Adam Hastings has chance to claim the keys to No 10
Competition has to help raise standards throughout the squad, and the fringe players will have to seize the moment.
12 May 2018 Stuart Bathgate International, Scotland 1
Adam Hastings and Finn Russell. Image: © Craig Watson. www.craigwatson.co.uk
SCOTLAND still have a huge amount of rugby to be played between now and the 2019 World Cup, and Gregor Townsend is not exactly running out of time to decide on his squad for the tournament. Last week, however, after announcing the 33 names for next month’s tour to Canada, the United States and Argentina, the head coach made it plain that for some of those hoping to be on the plane to Japan, time is indeed short.
The national team are scheduled to play 16 Tests before the World Cup, but for some of this summer’s tourists, it is the forthcoming three which will determine their chances of being involved in 16 months’ time.
Arithmetic alone determines that a couple will be disappointed: with 31 players, the World Cup squad will be two short of the number who will soon set off for the Americas. Then there are the first-choice players from this season’s Six Nations who are either being rested or omitted because of injury: John Barclay, Jonny Gray, Greig Laidlaw, Sean Maitland, Gordon Reid, Finn Russell, Tommy Seymour and Ryan Wilson in the former category; John Hardie, Huw Jones, Willem Nel and Hamish Watson in the latter. Add in the uncapped Edinburgh forward Luke Crosbie, also listed as unavailable due to injury, and that makes 13 non-tourists who can be expected to be in contention for a place in Japan.
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Such competition has to help raise standards throughout the squad, and certainly suggests that some of the fringe players about to go on tour will have to seize the moment. “It’s not the last chance, but it’s a great opportunity,” as Townsend explained. “We certainly have the World Cup in our mind when we’re planning what a 31-man squad will look like in 14-15 months’ time. Obviously things will change with injury and form, but we believe the players on this tour have a chance of being in that squad.
“They could play their way into that squad and have a real lasting memory of what they did on this tour – and they could certainly play their way out of that squad by what they do. But there’s still a lot of rugby to be played.”
The player with the most obvious opportunity to cement his place in the squad longer term is Adam Hastings, the only specialist stand-off in the group of 33. Hastings’ Glasgow team-mate Ruaridh Jackson played a lot at 10 before switching to full-back and could slot in there again in one of the three Tests, while Peter Horne is eminently capable of moving to stand-off from centre. Newcomer James Lang, like Horne, is seen as primarily a centre who can deputise at fly-half, and Stuart Hogg and Blair Kinghorn are also able to play there.
But, while there is no shortage of versatility in the backs, Townsend is convinced that specialist cover for Russell is a priority. “It is important,” the coach said. “Obviously Adam’s played there at Glasgow this year, and played well recently, which is great. I thought he played really well in the Six Nations period, and then coming off the bench against Edinburgh he looked confident.
“Peter Horne played very well against Connacht for Glasgow. Ruaridh Jackson – who hasn’t played there for Glasgow this year, but has played really well for Scotland – is another player who we would potentially look to play at ten on tour, but a lot will depend on what we see with Adam. He’s there as a 10 and will get an opportunity this summer.”
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Hasting’s Battle
An in-form Hastings, then, will find himself pushing at an open door. And, with Tim Visser having announced his retirement, wingers Byron McGuigan and Lee Jones also have the chance to push their claims. George Horne, meanwhile, looks like going into the tour as first-choice scrum-half, having latterly taken over that role from Ali Price at Glasgow.
An extra level of intrigue will be added this summer by the fact that there is also uncertainty as to the composition of the coaching team for 2019. Forwards coach Dan McFarland has just begun a nine-month notice period before leaving to take over at Ulster, and Carl Hogg, who is about to stand down as head coach at Worcester, will assume some of McFarland’s duties on an interim basis.
“He will be on tour with us as part of the coaching team,” Townsend said of the 48-year-old, who won five caps for Scotland in the 1990s. “It’s an opportunity for Carl to coach on this tour and to be one of the options we’ll be considering after the tour. He’ll be in charge of the lineouts, Dan will focus on scrum and contact, whereas before Dan would have looked at the lineouts as well. So far in our meetings, the combination has gone really well.”
Hogg has not been accorded the status of front-runner to take over from McFarland, and Townsend would only say “TBC” when asked if the former Melrose forward would still be involved by the time of the four November Tests. But the fact that Hogg is availability could weigh significantly in his favour if McFarland leaves early and quickly – something which could well happen despite the SRU’s public insistence that the Englishman will see out his contract. A significant offer from Ulster could easily persuade the governing body to change their stance, and if McFarland were to leave around the time of the Autumn Tests, Hogg – presuming he acquitted himself well on tour – would be seen as the continuity candidate.
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About Stuart Bathgate 587 Articles
Stuart has been the rugby correspondent for both The Scotsman and The Herald, and was also The Scotsman’s chief sports writer for 14 years from 2000.
Property Rugby Club says:
@Scotlandteam @adamhastings96 @Blair_Kinghorn @ruaridh_jackson @Petehorne72 @StuartWHOGG_… https://t.co/PzBnktAV9v
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Oscars Recap: “Green Book” wins Best Picture
Viggo Mortensen and Marhershala Ali star as Tony Vallelonga and Don Shirley, respectively, in "Green Book", this year's Best Picture recipient. Ali won Best Supporting Actor for his performance. IMDb website photo
Angel Ortega
Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Reviews
“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Black Panther” and “Green Book” were among the winners at the 91st Academy Awards on Sunday.
“Bohemian Rhapsody” received the most awards with four, in the areas of Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Film Editing and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Rami Malek’s performance as Freddie Mercury.
Malek is the first person of Egyptian descent to be awarded Best Actor.
“Green Book” took home the biggest award of the night, Best Picture, while also grabbing wins in Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali’s performance as Don Shirley.
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Roma” also won three Oscars, in Best Director for Cuarón, Best Foreign Language Film and Best Cinematography. This is Cuarón’s second Oscar for Best Director after winning the award for his 2013 film “Gravity.”
Spike Lee made history after winning his first Oscar on Sunday. He took home Best Adapted Screenplay for the film “BlacKkKlansman.”
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” won Best Animated Feature. This is the first year since 2006 that Disney or Pixar did not win the Academy Award for this category.
Other notable winners include Olivia Colman for Best Actress for her performance in “The Favourite,” Mahershala Ali for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in “Green Book” and Regina King for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in “If Beale Street Could Talk.”
Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper won Best Original Song for “Shallow,” as featured in the film “A Star is Born.”
The ceremony went on without a host, making Sunday’s Academy Awards the first ceremony without a designated host since 1989. The ceremony adapted by having celebrities and previous Oscar winners present awards with a few of the Best Original Song nominees performing their nominated songs in between award presentations.
Every nominee for Best Original Song performed during the award ceremony except for Kendrick Lamar and SZA. Lamar and SZA were both nominated for their song, “All the Stars,” which was featured in “Black Panther.”
It was reported by NBC that Lamar and SZA would not perform in the award ceremony, despite the Academy attempting to secure a spot for their performance.
Reactions were mixed regarding the winners and the ceremony in general. One writer from the Los Angeles Times was upset about “Green Book” winning Best Picture, saying it is the worst Best Picture winner since 2004’s “Crash.”
This was following many issues the Academy ran across in preparation for the ceremony, including adding (and then removing) a Best Popular Movie category, failing to secure a designated host and then moving the award presentations for Best Cinematography and Editing to commercial breaks. However, the Academy put the presentations for said categories back into the broadcast after receiving backlash from movie fans and filmmakers, alike.
As of Feb. 25, ratings for this year’s Academy Awards show an increase in viewership from 2018’s ceremony at 29.6 million people, a 3.1 million increase.
Angel Ortega can be reached at [email protected] and @AngelOrtegaNews on Twitter.
Nominations for the 91st Academy Awards announced
‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has music and…
‘Roma’ delivers stunning performance,…
Tags: Academy Awards, Best Picture, Bohemian Rhapsody, Green Book, Oscars, Roma
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Engineering, Fire Safety Engineering, Prototype News
Victoria: A historical case study of regulatory failure in the building control industry
July 14, 2019 | by Stephen Kip
This article is writen by Stephen Kip and was originally published on LinkedIn on 11 June 2019.
Phase 1: Politicians and regulators introduce major reforms
When the concepts of micro-economic reform and the ‘Model Building Act’ were introduced with bi-partisan support in Victoria in the early 1990’s (particularly the introduction of private buildings surveyors and registration of building practitioners), regulators and politicians assumed incorrectly that insurers would do the ‘heavy lifting’ and therefore they could take a ‘hands-off’ approach to overseeing this new era of private practitioners. For example, the relevant Victorian Planning Minister in 1993 stated;
“These formal powers (of the regulator) will be complemented by the peer group scrutiny of other builders and building surveyors, and the scrutiny of the insurer. Without good professional standards and acceptable standards of professional practice, insurers will not maintain the insurance cover required by building surveyors on an ongoing basis”.
Phase 2: The problems begin to emerge
Those “acceptable standards of professional practice” described by the Minister in Parliament and intended by government to be followed by building practitioners, were never established or articulated by the regulators, and therefore unacceptable standards evolved due to market and commercial pressures (and human nature).
The Australian Building Codes Board funds research by the Fire Code Reform Centre (FCRC) and this is published in 2000. That research was freely available at that time and is still available on the ABCB website (see https://abcb.gov.au/Resources/Publications/Research/FCRC-Fire-Performance-of-Exterior-Claddings). The FCRC Report discusses the limits of the then Building Code of Australia (BCA) 1996 and the challenges of emerging combustible cladding materials, including composite panels and expanded polystyrene (EPS).
The FCRC document also included a review of major building fires world-wide as at 1999. One of those was a fire from 1996 at the Te Papa (Museum of New Zealand) where an aluminium composite panel (ACP) cladding system significantly contributed to fire spread during construction of the building.
The FCRC Report therefore confirmed the requirement for strictly enforcing non-combustibility of external walls in multi-storey buildings, unless a fire safety engineering approach and fire brigade consultation occurred.
In early 2000, The Auditor–General of Victoria tabled before Parliament his report; Performance Audit Report No. 64, Building control in Victoria: Setting sound foundations. This report signalled some early audit and enforcement issues as follows:
“1.1.21 We concluded that the initial strategies used to implement performance audits in 1998 were not sufficiently targeted to offer a rigorous and cost-effective mechanism to identify unprofessional conduct. In addition, these strategies did not meet the legislative intent for performance audits which expected the examination to include scrutiny of practitioners’ work, not just their administrative record-keeping, in order to ensure that the work has been competently carried out and does not pose any risk of injury or damage to any person.
1.1.13 Based on the outcome of my Office’s examination, I have outlined various suggestions for improvement after examining the way in which some aspects of the building control framework have been established and administered in Victoria. The potential ramifications of the key findings mean that it is not clear as to whether the most suitable arrangements have been established with regard to some elements of the building control system. Examples relate to practitioner registration, complaint investigation and auditing processes. Many of the weaknesses disclosed in the key findings are systemic in nature but are either permitted by, or not covered by, the legislation.”
“1.1.28 As building surveyors can be dependent on the builder for future engagements, it is conceivable that such arrangements may adversely impact on their independence in terms of challenging building work that may not comply with building standards or building permits. Given this relationship and the small number of building orders referred to the Commission for enforcement by private building surveyors, the Commission should take a more pro-active monitoring role in this regard”.
In 2002, after written submission to the Victorian Building Commissioner, a delegation from the Engineers Australia Society of Fire Safety met with the Building Commission to advise of non-qualified practitioners (including building surveyors) undertaking fire safety engineering designs and not applying fire safety matters in the Building Code of Australia (BCA) in a compliant way, and therefore creating the potential for unacceptable community outcomes. There was no response or follow-up action resulting from the regulator after this meeting.
In 2005, after further written submission to the Victorian Building Commissioner, a delegation from the Engineers Australia Society of Fire Safety again met with the Building Commission to advise of non-qualified practitioners (including building surveyors) undertaking fire safety engineering designs and not applying fire safety matters in the BCA in a compliant way, and therefore creating the potential for unacceptable community outcomes. There was no response or follow-up action resulting from the regulator after this meeting.
In 2007 a fire occurred at 26-28 Shuter Street, Moonee Ponds, Victoria and two people narrowly avoided death. The building was varied from the BCA Deemed-to-Satisfy Provisions (DtS) to allow significant fire safety reductions and was designed by a non-qualified fire safety practitioner (a building surveyor). The Municipal Building Surveyor subsequently served a notice to install fire sprinklers throughout the building (amongst other remedial matters). The subsequent Victorian Metropolitan Fire Brigade post incident analysis (PIA) Report No. 07 0252A recommended;
“That the Building Regulations be amended to— (a) Clearly define the functions of designers in relation to the design of an alternative solution that is intended to satisfy the fire performance requirements of the BCA; (b) Prohibit persons or practitioners, other than registered building practitioners in the category of fire safety engineer, from undertaking designs of building work that are not intended to meet the deemed-to-satisfy provisions, but rather satisfy the fire performance requirements, of the BCA”.
There was no legislative amendment or other government intervention that followed from the regulator after the publication of this PIA.
In 2009, the Engineers Australia Society of Fire Safety wrote to the Victorian Building Practitioners Board, to advise of non-qualified practitioners (including building surveyors) undertaking fire safety engineering designs and not applying fire safety matters in the BCA in a compliant way, and therefore creating the potential for unacceptable community outcomes. There was no response or follow-up action resulting from the regulator after this written submission.
In 2010 a two-storey apartment building was completed in Frankston. The building was almost entirely clad in expanded polystyrene (EPS) now banned by the Minister for Planning for a building of this type and was located in a bushfire prone area. The builder went into liquidation, and due to lack of enforcement by the private building surveyor, the Municipal Building Surveyor (MBS) was required to intervene. The Building Commissioner required the Municipal Building Surveyor (MBS) to withdraw the enforcement action by the MBS ( https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/evacuation-of-site-an-overreaction-20100824-13qcw.html and https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/residents-of-unsafe-building-ordered-out-by-5pm-20100817-127mn.html). The private building surveyor was subsequently de-registered.
In October 2011 the Victorian State Regulator released a Fact Sheet, which highlighted the non-compliance of ACP’s and EPS as DtS external wall systems. This Fact Sheet remains current, see https://www.vba.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/21271/Fact-sheet-Non-Deemed-to-Satisfy-External-Wall-Cladding-Systems.pdf.
In December 2011 the Victorian Auditor-general released the report; ‘Compliance with Building Permits’ which stated;
“Ninety-six per cent of permits examined did not comply with minimum statutory building and safety standards. Instead, our results have revealed a system marked by confusion and inadequate practice, including lack of transparency and accountability for decisions made. In consequence, there exists significant scope for collusion and conflicts of interest”, and
“In most cases where the fire safety provisions of the BCA applied, the documents lodged with permits examined did not demonstrate sufficient compliance and therefore did not support the building surveyor’s decision to issue a permit.”
In early 2012, the Engineers Australia Society of Fire Safety again met with the Building Commissioner to advise of non-qualified practitioners undertaking fire safety engineering designs and not applying fire safety matters in the BCA in a compliant way, and therefore creating the potential for unacceptable community outcomes.
There was no response or follow-up action resulting from the regulator after this meeting.
In December 2012 the Victorian Ombudsman (George Brouwer) released his report on the Victorian Building Commission. It stated that there had been “maladministration, cronyism and misuse of public funds” including on the Green Building Council role by the Commissioner (see also https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/warning-on-thousands-of-buildings-20121212-2babe.html). In Mr Brouwer’s report, tabled in State Parliament, he concluded that ”it could not be stated with any confidence that only competent and suitably qualified and experienced practitioners have been registered to build”, and ”This represents a substantial risk to the public and the integrity of the licensing regime”. The press further reported on this; https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/q-and-a-with-building-commissioner-tony-arnel-20120518-1yw2u.html. The Building Commission was then disbanded and replaced by the Victorian Building Authority (VBA).
In early 2014, the Engineers Australia Society of Fire Safety again wrote to the Victorian building regulator (now called the VBA) regarding a range of fire safety matters. No response was ever provided from the regulator after that written submission.
In November 2014 the Lacrosse apartment building at 673-683 Latrobe Street, Docklands caught fire. It was clad in aluminium composite panels (ACP‘s) which did not comply with the BCA.
In February 2015 an apartment building in Hampton caught fire. The subsequent Metropolitan Fire Brigade post incident analysis (PIA) Report No. 1316192 concluded;
“2. The external wall cladding used on the upper residential levels of the building, as well as the façade overlooking Small Street at the rear of the property, was clad with aluminium composite panelling (ACP) and it is unclear how the building was permitted to be constructed using this material. The use of ACP needs to be considered as part of the overall solution in the FER and reviewed by the Building Surveyor.”
In April 2015 the VBA wrote to all registered building surveyors and requested;
“If you are aware that you have been involved in a project as the relevant building surveyor, of a Class 2 apartment building of 3 storeys or more, please review your files to determine the type of cladding used in those projects. If you are aware of a building permit you have issued where Alucobest or any other non-compliant product has been used as the external cladding, please notify the VBA as soon as possible with: the details of the building including the address, whether it was subject to an appropriate alternative solution, and whether you have taken enforcement action.”
In May 2015 the Victorian Auditor-General again reports to Parliament and states;
A 2011 analysis published in the Australian Consumer Survey report found that 28 per cent of building and renovating consumers in Victoria reported experiencing problems, with the most common problem reported across Australia being poor workmanship, accounting for 63 per cent of problems.
The current regulatory framework also entrenches a long-recognised conflict of interest for private building surveyors who are assessing the compliance of other building practitioners while often also relying on them for work. This undermines the building surveyors’ statutory role.
Despite the critical role that building surveyors play in monitoring and enforcing building standards, they are over-represented in disciplinary inquiries, registration suspensions and cancellations, and reoffending.
Our audit found deficiencies in the standards and process for assessing applications for registration. The registration system does not provide consumers assurance all registered builders are competent, qualified and of good character.
Building surveyors are over-represented in misconduct inquiries and findings. Between January 2009 and December 2013 nearly 10 per cent of building surveyors appeared before the BPB with all found guilty of at least one offence. The effectiveness of current sanctions is questionable—over 27 per cent of offending surveyors appeared at disciplinary inquiries more than once within the same year. Consumers cannot have confidence that they are protected from misconduct, and that practitioners will be appropriately sanctioned when they offend.
Building surveyors play a crucial role in building regulation—they issue building permits and conduct stage inspections to ensure homes are built to minimum standards. However, this important role is undermined by a conflict of interest that arises because surveyors are typically engaged by builders, rather than owners, and they are therefore reliant on builders for ongoing work. This limits the surveyor’s independence to challenge noncompliant work.
The Victorian Building Authority has recently begun risk-based performance audit and field compliance programs, but it can’t yet tell if they are effective because it does not have an evaluation framework in place.
In December 2015 the Victorian Government introduced an amendment to the Building Act 1993 to address these now entrenched poor standards of professional practice (and compliance). The relevant Minister stated;
“Professional standards will be reinforced through new codes of conduct for building practitioners. it will be possible for the (Victorian Building) Authority to approve or endorse different codes of conduct for different categories and classes of building practitioner. It is expected that codes of conduct will cover matters such as acting in the public interest, complying with legislative requirements, avoiding conflicts of interest, acting independently, and not performing functions outside competence or areas of expertise. A failure to comply with a code of conduct will be grounds to discipline the building practitioner.”
Since the introduction of these provisions in 2015, no codes of conduct have been released.
In March 2017 an apartment building in Brunswick caught fire. It was completely clad in combustible cladding (ACP and EPS) and the Municipal Building Surveyor served an emergency order for some of the cladding to be immediately removed, amongst other remedial measures.
In March 2017 another apartment building in Dandenong caught fire, and a tenant suffered burns. It was significantly clad in EPS and was designed by a fire safety practitioner (a building surveyor) who was not a registered fire safety engineer.
In July 2017 the Victorian government establishes the Victorian Cladding Taskforce to;
“investigate the extent of non-compliant external wall cladding on buildings State-wide and make recommendations for improvements to protect the public and restore confidence that building and fire safety issues are being addressed appropriately”.
In March 2018, the State government issues the Building Product Safety Alert Use of ACP and EPS as external wall cladding(https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/118400/Building-Product-Safety-Alert-Use-of-ACP-and-EPS.pdf) and Ministerial Guideline No. 14 (https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0031/118399/Ministerial-Guideline-MG-14-Issue-of-building-permits-ACP-and-EPS.pdf).
In February 2019 the VCAT decision of Justice Woodward on the Lacrosse apartment building is released and states (section numbers and underline added);
“In the course of my findings…, I have found that ACPs did not satisfy the “Deemed-to-Satisfy” (“DTS”) provisions of the BCA by operation of clause C1.12(f) (or on any other basis), and that the opinions of …, the building surveyor expert witnesses to the contrary were unreasonable.” (7)
“otherwise experienced and diligent practitioners were beguiled by a longstanding and widespread (but flawed) practice into giving insufficient scrutiny to the rationale for that practice.” (338)
“While in a sense it goes without saying for expert witness called to prove peer professional opinion, it is nevertheless appropriate to acknowledge that their endorsement of the Relevant Practice was informed and influenced by the fact that they each had each given approval to the use of ACPs in circumstances similar to those facing the relevant building surveyor in 2011. To that limited extent, their evidence might be fairly described as self-serving.” (369)
“Given their level of qualifications and the nature of their responsibilities, it would be fair to expect fire engineers, building surveyors and architects (in that order) to have a better grasp than building practitioners of fire risks and the application of the BCA to those risks.”(301)
“I have set out above how I consider C1.12(f) should be construed. I have also explained why, in my view, a building surveyor is in a good position to question the logic of the putative alternative construction and can generally be expected to take positive steps to clarify any uncertainty. I consider that the contrary position represented by the Relevant Practice is both irrational and unreasonable. There is no evidence of any of the experts, individually or collectively, subjecting the Relevant Practice to robust scrutiny of the kind discussed by Lord Browne-Wilkinson in Bolitho and, perhaps for this reason, it does not withstand logical analysis.” (391)
“The evidence of the knowledge of the combustibility of polyethylene among the building surveyors was in fact mixed. Regardless, any failure to ascertain this most basic information about a substantial element of the material under scrutiny, serves to highlight a fundamental deficiency in the process by which the Relevant Practice developed. Similarly, as senior counsel for the Owners submitted, the widespread use of a product over many years without reported serious incident, is hardly a scientific or rational basis for regarding it as safe (citing asbestos as an illustration of this point).” (396)
In February 2019 the NEO 200 apartment building at 200 Spencer Street, Melbourne caught fire. The non-compliant ACP cladding significantly contributed to the rapid fire spread.
Phase 3: Insurers walk away from building surveyors
In June 2019 insurers are now faced with no auditing or enforcement of insured practitioners by regulators (particularly private building surveyors) and an increasing liability profile based on claims history. There is no real way of differentiating between good and bad practitioners, so insurers walk away from insuring private building surveyors. https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/construction-industry-could-stall-due-to-flammable-cladding-risk/11191318, and https://aibs.com.au/Public/News/2019/MemberCommuniqueProfessionalIndemnityInsuranceUpdate.aspx
Phase 4: What next? (more to follow as events unfold)
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The Changes Needed to Australia’s Fire Safety Engineering Methods & Guidelines
The incident the Neo200 fire in Melbourne in February 2019 demonstrate serious failures of Fire Safe
The Warren Centre
The State of Fire Safety Engineering in Australia
Two years After Grenfell, it’s Time for Action
“Grenfell was not only predictable, it was predicted. It did not take that tragedy to teach us what
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Posts Tagged ‘Hangings’
Posted: November 14, 2013 in Folksong, History, Irish ballads
Tags: British army, Clonmelg, Dragoons, Folksong, Hangings, Highwaymen, Ireland, Outlaws, Tipperary
The capture and hanging of an Irish outlaw
One morning in late March 1809 in the Irish town of Clonmel in County Tipperary, the outlaw William Brennan was standing on a cart that was taking him to the gallows. He “gazed cheerfully round him… recognizing in the crowd several of his friends, perhaps followers, he nodded and smiled to them gaily.” When the cart was pulled away, and he and two others fell, there were “yells, more loud and terrible than men ever utter.” Brennan was loved by the Irish and songs are still sung about him to this day.
Not Brennan but another Irish ‘Rapparee’ called Randal
William Brennan was a famous Irish outlaw and highwayman at the turn of the nineteenth century. Outlaws, often called ‘tories’ or ‘rapparees’, were generally loved and supported by the Irish poor. The British tried in vain for years to capture Brennan. They did eventually succeed and he was hanged. It is thanks to the numerous versions of the Irish folk song or ballad, Brennan on the Moor, that his exploits and memory have been preserved – not only in Ireland and Britain, but to a surprising degree in North America as well. Yet like other outlaws, such as Dick Turpin, Jesse James and Ned Kelly, to name but three, his real life and death have become obscured in half-truths and legend.
Being a lover of folksong, I had a passing familiarity with Brennan’s ballad, but then quite by chance, and while researching the seemingly unrelated topic of the Peninsular War, I stumbled across what is probably the only eyewitness report of his capture and death. The discovery was the memoirs of Private George Farmer, entitled The Light Dragoon, which originally appeared in a serialized form in 1844. George Farmer is I would suggest a reliable witness He actually participated in Brennan’s capture and was present at his death. His story clears away a lot of historical fog, but I also think it is also a tale worth telling for its own sake.
Ray Cashman, in his book The Heroic Outlaw in Irish Folklore and Popular Literature, provides us with a little background on Irish outlaws:
As a symbolic figure in Irish folklore and popular literature, the outlaw embodies folk morality in conflict with the self-interest and inequity of the state. In the aftermath of British colonization, the Irish outlaw is represented as more than a criminal. He provides a hero through whom ordinary Irishmen and women can vicariously enjoy brief victories, and imagine their collective dignity in the midst of political defeat and its consequences. Legends, ballads and chapbooks portraying the outlaw are the products of hard-pressed people representing themselves to themselves, reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses, and contemplating issues of morality and justice.
The ballad Brennan on the Moor is one of the most famous of these outlaw ballads. It exists and is sung in many versions. While it only started to be printed in the mid-nineteenth century, the ballad had clearly been developing orally before. As far back as 1824, Thomas Crofton Croker commented:
It is not unusual to hear the adventures and escapes of highwaymen and outlaws recited by the lower orders with great minuteness, and dwelt on with a surprising fondness.
Here is one of the commoner renditions of Brennan on the Moor, printed as a ‘broadsheet’ in the 1840s:
BOLD BRENNAN ON THE MOOR
It’s of a fearless highwayman a story I will tell,
His name was Willie Brennan in Ireland he did dwell.
And on the Livart mountains he commenced his wild career,
Where many a wealthy gentleman before him shook with fear.
Chorus: Bold and undaunted stood brave Brennan on the moor.
A brace of loaded pistols, he carried night and day,
He never robb’d a poor man upon the King’s highway;
But when he’d taken from the rich like Turpin and Black Bess,
But he always did divide it with the widow in distress.
One night he robb’d a packman, his name was Pedlar Brown,
They travell’d on together till the day began to dawn;
The pedlar seeing his money gone, likewise his watch and chain,
He at once encountered Brennan and robb’d him back again.
When Brennan seeing the pedlar was as good a man as he,
He took him on the highway his companion for to be,
The pedlar threw away his pack without any more delay,
And proved a faithful comrade until his dying day.
One day upon the highway, as Willie he sat down,
He met the Mayor of Cashel, a mile outside the town;
The mayor he knew his features, I think, young man, said he,
Your name is Willie Brennan, you must come along with me.
As Brennan’s wife had gone to town, provisions for to buy,
When she saw her Willie, she began to weep and cry.
He says, ‘Give me that tenpence?’ as soon as Willie spoke,
She handed him the blunderbuss from underneath her cloak.
Then with his loaded blunderbuss, the truth I will unfold,
He made the mayor to tremble and robb’d him of his gold.
One hundred pounds was offered for his apprehension there,
And with his horse and saddle to the mountain did repair.
Then Brennan being an outlaw, upon the mountains high,
Where cavalry and infantry to take him they did try;
He laughed at them with scorn, until at length, ‘tis said,
By a false-hearted young man he was basely betrayed.
In the county of Tipperary in a place called Clonmore,
Willie Brennan and his comrade they did suffer sore;
He lay among the fern which was thick upon the field,
And nine wounds he did receive, before that he did yield.
Then Brennan and his companion knowing they were betray’d,
He with the mounted cavalry a noble battle made;
He lost his foremost finger, which was shot off by a ball,
So Brennan and his comrade they were taken after all.
So they were taken prisoners, in irons they were bound,
And conveyed to Clonmel jail, strong walls did them surround;
They were tried and found guilty, the judge made his reply,
‘For robbing on the King’s highway, you are both condemned to die.’
Farewell! Unto my wife, and to my children three,
Likewise my aged father, he may shed tears for me;
And to my loving mother, who tore her locks and cried.
Saying, ‘I wish Willie Brennan, in your cradle you had died.’
By around the same time, i.e. the mid-nineteenth century, the ballad had already spread to North America. John McElroy recounts how he heard it sung in 1864 in a notorious Confederate prison camp called Andersonville. While in Canada the “old buffalo hunter” E. B. Osborn related how it was sung on the prairies by Scottish buffalo hunters.
Yet despite the wide-spread fame of the ballad or song, we know surprisingly little about the life, capture and death of Brennan – at least not with any degree of certainty. We will skip over Brennan’s early life; we don’t even know for sure where he was born. It has been reasonably suggested that he was born near “Killworth, some two miles north of Fermoy, in County Cork”, and that he took to his life of banditry after his family were evicted from their home. While telling us nothing about his birth, George Farmer’s memoirs can help us clear away a number of the uncertainties surrounding Brennan’s life, particularly his capture, trial and death.
A private in the 11th Light Dragoons like George Farmer – Brennan was in the 12th!
As a young man of 17, George had enlisted in London as a private in the 11th Light Dragoons – a regiment that was then serving in Ireland; trying to suppress Irish sedition as well as chasing outlaws such as Brennan. In preparation for joining the regiment, he was sent to a barracks in Maidstone in Kent. It was here that his real education began. He recalls:
For the first time in my life … I acquired some knowledge of the darker shades in human nature.
In his over twenty years as a Dragoon, which took him through Portugal, Spain, France, Germany and the Low Countries all the way to India, and saw him fight in many important engagements, including the Battle of Waterloo, George would get even more experience of the “darker shades in human nature.” But first he had to get used to army life:
My extreme youth… exposed me to many and great temptations. The same circumstances laid me open to chicanery and deceit on the part of those around me; and I lament to say that I became victim as well of my own folly as of the knavery of others.
He was robbed, preyed upon and bullied; an experience all too familiar to army recruits over the centuries. His particular ire is reserved for a certain Corporal Gorman, who was “of the sort of land-sharks out of which the staff of the recruiting department used long ago to be formed.” During the men’s long trek from Maidstone to Holyhead, where they were to take ship for Dublin, Corporal Gorman fleeced them of their sign-on pay and half their daily ‘walking-money’. Eventually, after being ordered to repay the money, he did so, but only in part, and took off as soon as they reached Dublin.
George and the other recruits arrived at their regiment’s headquarters in Clonmel at “a moment when both town and country rang with the exploits of two celebrated robbers, called, respectively, Brennan and Hogan. Brennan, as all the world knows, was originally a soldier… unless my memory be at fault… in the 12th Light Dragoons, from which regiment he deserted in consequence of some quarrel with one of the officers …”
Now it has often been suggested that Brennan had been a soldier, though never ‘proved’ beyond a reasonable doubt. Only in one Scottish version of the ballad is it said, “the first of my misfortunes was to list (sic) and desert.” Farmer’s statement can’t completely prove the assertion, but he does specifically say that Brennan’s army service was “known to all the world”, and it seems that this service was in the 12th Light Dragoons while George Farmer himself was in its sister regiment – the 11th! So maybe we should accept his word.
Most variants of the ballad recount how Brennan had a partner; he’s usually referred to as the Pedlar or the Pedlar Brown. Supposedly they tried to rob each other, but seeing themselves to be kindred spirits, they joined forces. But if we are to believe Farmer the peddler’s real name was Hogan and, not just that, he is later mentioned by his full name: Paddy Hogan. Once again I think we can have some confidence here. Farmer’s testimony isn’t just hearsay; he took part in the capture of both Brennan and Hogan and witnessed them hang together.
So Brennan became an outlaw and highwayman. Farmer even tells, in a very similar vein to the ballads, how Brennan and Hogan had fought and then become ‘partners in crime’. It such a good tale it’s worth quoting at length:
Of Hogan I am unable to say more than that common report spoke of him as a peddler, whose brave resistance to Brennan’s attack originally won for him the friendship of the outlaw. It is said that the bandit fell in with his future associate one day when the pressure of want was peculiarly severe upon him. He had alighted, for some purpose or another, when the peddler came up; and, not anticipating any resistance, he carelessly desired the latter to render up his pack. But the peddler, instead of obeying the command, closed instantly with his assailant. A fierce struggle took place between them, neither having time to appeal to the deadly weapons with which both, it appeared, were armed.
“Who the devil are you?” said Brennan at last, after he had rolled with his antagonist in the dust till both were weary. “Sure, then, I didn’t think there was a man in all Tipperary as could have fought so long with Bill Brennan.”
“Och, then, blood and ouns!” exclaimed the other, “if you be Brennan, arrah! then, aren’t I Paddy Hogan? and if you cry stand to all the world in Tipperary, sure don’t I do that same to the folks in Cork?”
This was quite enough for Brennan. He entertained too high a respect for his own profession to exercise it in hostility towards a brother of the order; so he struck up, on the instant, an alliance with the peddler, and the two thenceforth played one into the hands of the other.
Others have suggested that the “pedlar” name had been imported into the ballad, as it evolved, from the earlier Robin Hood and the Bold Pedlar, which might also have partly inspired it. But maybe not from what we read above?
Farmer continues his tale. In the tradition of all good outlaws:
He was never known to rob, or in any way to molest, a peasant, an artisan, or a small farmer. He made war, and professed to make war only upon the rich, out of the plunder taken from whom he would often assist the poor; and the poor in return not only refused to betray him, but took care that he should be warned in time, whenever any imminent danger seemed to threaten. The consequence was, that for full five years–a long space of time for a highwayman to be at large, even in Ireland–he continued to levy contributions upon all who came in his way, and had always about him the means of satisfying his own wishes.
There were lots of narrow escapes, feats of daring and, sometimes, semi-comical exploits. But the British wanted Brennan badly:
Large rewards were offered to any persons who should betray him: and day and night the magistracy of the counties were abroad, with dragoons at their heels, striving to intercept him.
It was perhaps inevitable that one day Brennan’s luck would run out. “A gentleman riding along the high-road” saw two men creeping though a gap in a hedge; he guessed that it might be Brennan and his accomplice, the ‘peddler’, and reported his suspicions to Lord Caher, who immediately dispatched a mounted troop of the 11th Light Dragoons and some local militia to investigate. George Farmer was “one of the mounted detachment” that went to find him. Our broadsheet version of the ballad mentioned that it was a “young man” who betrayed Brennan, but many later versions, perhaps typically, say it was a woman. George’s eyewitness account certainly clears this up.
Arriving on the scene, the Dragoons see that near the hedge a new house is being constructed. The troops cordon off the area and start to close their noose. But when they arrived at the house and searched it, “they found it empty.” Farmer continues:
One of our men suddenly exclaimed, “You haven’t examined the chimney; you may depend upon it you’ll find him there.” It was no sooner said than done; for the speaker sprang from his horse, ran inside, poked his head up the kitchen chimney, and in an instant withdrew it again. It was well for him that he did so, for almost simultaneously with his backward leap, came the report of a pistol, the ball from which struck the hearth without wounding anybody. It is impossible for me to describe the scene that followed. Nobody cared to get below the robber; nobody fancied that it would be possible to get above him; and threats and smooth speeches were soon shown to be alike unavailing to draw him from his hiding-place. But the marvel of the adventure did not stop there. While a crowd of us were gathered about the house, some shouting on Brennan to surrender, others firing at the top of the chimney, a sort of salute which the robber did not hesitate to answer,–one of the Sligo men suddenly called out from the rear, that he had pricked a man with his bayonet among the gorse. In an instant search was made, and sure enough there lay Brennan himself, on his back in a narrow ditch, with a brace of pistols close beside his feet, of which, however, he did not judge it expedient to make use. He was instantly seized, disarmed, and put in charge of a sufficient guard; while the remainder of addressed ourselves to the capture of his companion, concerning whom we could not for an instant doubt that he was Hogan.
Caher Castle where Brennan and Hogan were held before they were taken to Clonmel for trial.
So this is the real story of how the famous Irish outlaw William Brennan and his accomplice Paddy Hogan ‘the peddler’ were captured. Brennan, it seems, surrendered “serenely”, but Farmer tells us that Hogan resembled a “wild beast”, refusing to surrender from his chimney refuge until his ammunition ran out. Even after he was obliged to surrender, he answered Lord Caher’s question as to why he had put his own life and that of others in danger, when the odds were so hopeless, with “silence”.
The prisoners were led under heavy guard to spend the night at Caher Castle. The next day they were conveyed to Clonmel for trial.
No Irishman wanted to testify against them, yet their trial with swift. Farmer tells us that as “the robber was so far in the right … nobody could be persuaded to swear to his identity.” So with only the testimony of one Quaker who, while he couldn’t be sure, “believed” that it was Brennan who had robbed his carriage, Brennan was convicted and sentenced to death. Hogan was “on some such evidence … in like manner convicted.”
Bearded men wept in the court-house like children. There were groans, deep and bitter, rising from every quarter; and more than one, especially among the women, fainted away, and was carried out. Meanwhile the troops, anticipating an attempt at rescue, stood to their arms, and the whole night long the streets were patrolled; but no disturbance took place. After indulging for an hour or two in useless howling, the crowd melted away, and long before midnight a profound calm pervaded every corner of the town.
Brennan and Hogan were hanged with a mysterious third man
When the morning of the executions arrived, huge crowds had gathered. The British were fearful of violence and soldiers escorted the cart carrying the prisoners and watched the crowd for trouble. This, it seems, was enough to prevent the Irish, who revered Brennan, from rioting. Brennan gazed “cheerfully round him, while Hogan “never bestowed upon any of the throng one mark of recognition, nor once addressed a word to his fellow-sufferer.” Just before the cart was pulled away, Brennan turned to Hogan and offered him his hand, but Hogan, “turned aside with undisguised contempt and loathing.”
Thus ended the lives of the Irish outlaws William Brennan and Paddy Hogan. Along, it seems, with a rather mysterious third person:
A young man, found guilty of forcibly carrying away a girl from her home and the protection of her parents, was the same day executed in pursuance of his sentence; and he chose to die in a garb which excited not only our surprise, but our ridicule. He came to be hanged in a garment of white flannel, made tight to the shape, and ornamented in all directions with knots of blue ribbon, rather more befitting a harlequin on the stage, than a wretched culprit whose life had become forfeit to the offended laws.
Who this person was we will likely never know; but it is interesting to note that in one of the most accurate early accounts of Brennan’s death, published in 1884 by the Dublin University Magazine, it was said that Brennan died “together with an accomplice, called ‘the White Pedlar’!
On April 8, 1809, the Lancaster Gazette reported:
Brennan and his associate, the Pedlar, after a short trial, have been capitally convicted at the Clonmel Assize.
For George Farmer, however, it was just the beginning. After more than twenty years of fighting for King and Country throughout Europe and India, he eventually came home and left the Dragoons. One day in 1840 he walked into the London office of a certain Rev. George Robert Gleig and showed him the journals he had written during his service. He complained, says Gleig, of his poverty “as many of his class are accustomed to do.” But Gleig found the story “sufficiently interesting to warrant its insertion, as a series of papers, in a professional magazine.” And thus, with the good offices of London publisher Henry Colburn they were published in 1844 as a serial in twenty-seven parts; under the title The Light Dragoon. Rev. Gleig reports:
Mr. Colburn has remunerated the old soldier well.
We can only hope so.
George Farmer (ed. G. R. Gleig). The Light Dragoon. Henry Osbourne, London, 1844. (Here) ; Juergen Kloss. Just Another Tune (Internet: www.justanothertune.com ); Ray Cashman. The Heroic Outlaw in Irish Folklore and Popular Literature. Folklore, Oct 2000; Graham Seal. The Outlaw Legend: A Cultural Tradition in Britain, America and Australia. Cambridge and New York, 1996.
Posted: December 31, 2011 in British army, C19th, Folksong, Irish ballads, Outlaws
One morning in late March 1809, in the Irish town of Clonmel, County Tipperary, the outlaw William Brennan was standing on a cart that was taking him to the gallows. He “gazed cheerfully round him… recognizing in the crowd several of his friends, perhaps followers, he nodded and smiled to them gaily.” When the cart was pulled away, and he and two others fell, there were “yells, more loud and terrible than men ever utter.” Brennan was loved by the Irish and songs are still sung about him to this day.
William Brennan was a famous Irish outlaw and highwayman at the turn of the nineteenth century. Outlaws, often called ‘tories’ or ‘rapparees’, were generally loved and supported by the Irish poor. The British tried in vain for years to capture Brennan. They did eventually succeed and he was hung. It is thanks to the numerous versions of the Irish folk song or ballad, Brennan on the Moor, that his exploits and memory have been preserved – not only in Ireland and Britain, but to a surprising degree in North America as well. Yet like other outlaws, such as Dick Turpin, Jesse James and Ned Kelly, to name but three, his real life and death have become obscured in half-truths and legend.
Being a lover of folksong, I had a passing familiarity with Brennan’s ballad, but then quite by chance, and while researching the seemingly unrelated topic of the Peninsular War, I stumbled across what is probably the only eyewitness report of his capture and death. The discovery was the memoirs of Private George Farmer, entitled The Light Dragoon, which originally appeared in a serialized form in 1844. George Farmer is, I would suggest, a reliable witness; he actually participated in Brennan’s capture and was present at his death. His story clears away a lot of historical fog, but I also think it is also a tale worth telling for its own sake.
The ballad Brennan on the Moor is one of the most famous of these outlaw ballads, and it exists and is sung in many versions. While it only started to be printed in the mid-nineteenth century, the ballad had clearly been developing orally before. As far back as 1824, Thomas Crofton Croker commented:
By around the same time, i.e. the mid-nineteenth century, the ballad had already spread to North America. John McElroy recounts how he heard it sung in 1864 in a notorious Confederate prison camp called Andersonville. While in Canada, the “old buffalo hunter”, E. B. Osborn, relates how it was sung on the prairies by Scottish buffalo hunters.
Most variants of the ballad recount how Brennan had a partner; he usually referred to only as the Pedlar or the Pedlar Brown. Supposedly they tried to rob each other, but seeing themselves to be kindred spirits, they joined forces. But, if we are to believe Farmer, the peddler’s real name was Hogan and, not just that, he is later mentioned by his full name: Paddy Hogan. Once again I think we can have some confidence here. Farmer’s testimony isn’t just hearsay; he took part in the capture of both Brennan and Hogan and witnessed them hang together.
So this is the real story of how the famous Irish outlaw William Brennan and his accomplice Paddy Hogan ‘the peddler’ were captured. Brennan, it seems, surrendered “serenely”, but Farmer tells us, Hogan resembled a “wild beast” – refusing to surrender from his chimney refuge until his ammunition ran out. Even after he was obliged to surrender, he answered Lord Caher’s question as to why he had put his own life and that of others in danger, when the odds were so hopeless, with “silence”.
The prisoners were led, under heavy guard, to spend the night at Caher Castle, and the next day conveyed to Clonmel for trial.
No Irishman wanted to testify against them, yet their trial with swift. Farmer tells us that as “the robber was so far in the right … nobody could be persuaded to swear to his identity.” So, with only the testimony of one Quaker who, while he couldn’t be sure, “believed” that it was Brennan who had robbed his carriage, Brennan was convicted and sentenced to death. Hogan was “on some such evidence … in like manner convicted.”
George Farmer (ed. G. R. Gleig). The Light Dragoon. Henry Osbourne, London, 1844. (Internet: http://napoleonic-literature.com/Book_24/) ; Juergen Kloss. Just Another Tune (Internet: www.justanothertune.com ); Ray Cashman. The Heroic Outlaw in Irish Folklore and Popular Literature. Folklore, Oct 2000; Graham Seal. The Outlaw Legend: A Cultural Tradition in Britain, America and Australia. Cambridge and New York, 1996.
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4th Amendment Money Laundering Directive – Beneficial ownership in the spotlight
On 5 February 2013 the European Commission published their proposals (2013/0025 (COD)) for a Fourth Amendment to the European Directive in relation to money laundering (Directive 2005/60/EC of 26 October 2005). One of the key proposals relates to the collection by Member States of information identifying the beneficial ownership of companies. Whilst laudable in theory, the practical implementation of such a scheme has provoked much debate.
A register of beneficial ownership was quietly moved up the UK’s legislative agenda when the Queen addressed Parliament on 4 June 2014, although it appeared without reference to the Directive or money laundering, and buried amongst a host of other business related proposals. The Queen’s announcement of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Bill was as follows:
“New legislation will require ministers to set and report on a deregulation target for each Parliament. The legislation will also reduce delays in employment tribunals, improve the fairness of contracts for low paid workers and establish a public register of company beneficial ownership. Legislation will be introduced to provide for a new statutory code and an adjudicator to increase fairness for public house tenants.”
On 13th June 2014 the Council of the EU provided an updated Presidency compromise” on the Commission’s proposed 4th Money Laundering Directive. This provided:
With a view to enhancing transparency, beneficial ownership information should be stored in specified locations, for example in the case of companies in a public central company registry, or data retrieval systems, satisfying strict criteria of timely and unrestricted access to the information stored. In order to ensure a level playing field among different types of legal form, trustees should also be required to obtain, hold and provide to obliged entities taking customer due diligence measures, beneficial ownership information and to communicate this information to the specified locations or data retrieval systems and they should declare their status to obliged entities. Legal entities such as foundations and legal arrangements similar to trusts should be subject to equivalent requirements.”
The proposals of the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (4AMLD) are designed to bring further cohesion and cooperation across the EU to help prevent and reduce the ease with which criminals use company and trust structures to launder their illegitimate gains. The vast majority of businesses and their directors may not be concerned about this or may believe that it has little impact on their day to day trading. However the changes proposed are likely to add further levels of scrutiny and in relation to beneficial ownership, public scrutiny, which may well be unwelcome, albeit for honest and proper reasons.
Key Proposals
Of immediate importance to companies will be the requirement for Member States to ensure that corporate entities obtain and hold current and accurate information of their beneficial ownership (Article 29(1)). Member States must also ensure that this information is readily accessible by the relevant authorities such as Police, HMRC and the NCA (Article 29(2)).
It had been generally considered previously that the register would simply need to be accessible by the various government agencies, however the public status of the database is highlighted by the recent announcements by the Queen and the EU Council.
Beneficial ownership is defined by Article 3(5) as:
“Any natural person(s) who ultimately owns or controls the customer and/or the natural person on whose behalf a transaction or activity is being conducted. The beneficial owner shall at least include:
In the case of corporate entities:
The natural person(s) who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity through direct or indirect ownership or control over a sufficient percentage of the shares or voting rights in that legal entity, including through bearer share holdings, other than a company listed on a regulated market that is subject to disclosure requirements consistent with European Union legislation or subject to equivalent international standards.
A percentage of 25% plus one share shall be evidence of ownership or control through shareholding and applies to every level of direct and indirect ownership;
If there is any doubt that the person(s) identified in point (i) are the beneficial owner(s), the natural person(s) who exercises control over the management of a legal entity through other means.”
The definition of beneficial ownership requires careful thought by corporate entities especially during the formation process. If there is any doubt over the beneficial ownership then it would appear that the corporate entity or the State in relation to any public register, must consider who exercises control. This is likely to have tax implications because it may be in circumstances where there is uncertainty the answer determined as to beneficial ownership may differ from the intention of the owners or shareholders themselves.
Article 10 introduces a reduction in the limit to cash transactions where due diligence must be carried out. The limit previously applied was 15,000 Euro but the proposal is to reduce this to 7,500 Euro applicable to the trade of goods on an occasional basis. This may not prove to be too onerous for bigger businesses but it brings a new requirement for smaller businesses, where transactions previously fell below the limit. High Value Dealers can also expect to see this have a similar impact on the thresholds currently permitted for trades in cash.
Article 10 goes further and expands the requirement for the “gambling sector” to carry out due diligence on all transactions over 2,000 Euro. This sees a significant expansion from the current Directive which only applies to casinos. The expansion will cover many new entities which were previously exempt.
The 4th Anti Money Laundering Directive was published in February 2013 and prescribed that Member States have two years, until February 2015, to create domestic legislation to implement the changes. Given the relatively short time-scale which remains and the mention in the Queen’s speech we will expect to hear much more in the next few months.
Although the government is not broadcasting the changes loudly, the proposals mean that corporate entities will need to take advice and consider their own individual requirements so that they will not be caught out when the legislation is introduced.
Category: Blog | Date: July 2014
Related Barristers
Jamas Hodivala
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