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Phnom Penh Post - ‘Completely forsaken’: Sokha and NGOs ask France and Indonesia to help save Paris Peace Accords
‘Completely forsaken’: Sokha and NGOs ask France and Indonesia to help save Paris Peace Accords
Leonie Kijewski, Ben Sokhean and Daphne Chen | Publication date 24 October 2017 | 06:28 ICT
Political analyst Lao Mong Hay speaks at a panel discussion on the anniversary of the Paris Peace Agreements yesterday. Heng Chivoan
Leonie Kijewski, Ben Sokhean and Daphne Chen
Jailed opposition leader Kem Sokha, exiled former opposition leader Sam Rainsy and more than 50 human rights NGOs called on France and Indonesia to reconvene the signatories to the Paris Peace Accords yesterday amid fears that the historic treaty is in danger of being “completely forsaken”.
Yesterday’s call to action – delivered on the 26th anniversary of the signing of the agreement, which is credited with instituting democracy in the Kingdom – follows the government’s recent closure of NGOs and media outlets, its jailing of dissenters, threatening rhetoric from security services and, perhaps most significantly, its moves to dissolve the opposition and arrest its leader.
Warning of an “unprecedented” crackdown on human rights, a letter signed by 56 advocacy groups yesterday called for decisive action to ensure fair elections next year – even as analysts expressed scepticism that signatories would heed the call.
“Your obligation to take concrete action under the Paris Peace Agreements has now been triggered as a result of the severe deterioration in the state of human rights and democracy in Cambodia in recent weeks and months,” read the letter, which was signed by the Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists, among others.
The 1991 Paris Peace Accords sought to end decades of violence in Cambodia and opened the door to the United Nations’ first post-Cold War peacekeeping mission – the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia. The agreements also established a set of guiding principles, including a commitment to liberal democracy, an independent judiciary and freedom of speech.
Read more: We’ll always have Paris
But in his own letter, released through his lawyers, Cambodia National Rescue Party President Kem Sokha – arrested in September on widely condemned charges of “treason” – said Cambodia has not adhered to the values of the agreement.
“If the international community and all Khmers do not find a solution in time, Cambodia will go backwards,” Sokha said.
Part of the 1991 agreement obliges the conference’s co-chairs, France and Indonesia, to initiate discussions if the agreement is violated, at the request of the UN secretary-general.
However, speaking at the opening of a bridge in Phnom Penh yesterday, Prime Minister Hun Sen rejected the Paris Peace Accords as “out of date” and said it is “impossible” to reconvene the signatories unless people wanted to call the Khmer Rouge back.
He also noted that the agreement’s principles had already been incorporated into the Constitution.
“I think some people who do not know the Paris Peace agreement pretend to know the truth, but I suggest you understand it clearly first,” the premier said.
But political analyst Lao Mong Hay said the prime minister’s words showed his own “misunderstanding of international law”.
“Regardless of the inclusion or incorporation of the Paris Peace agreements in our Constitution, he cannot shirk his responsibility to implement those provisions,” Mong Hay said. “He has to implement the Constitution.”
The United Nations and signatory states remained tight-lipped yesterday about what plans, if any, they had to take action under the accords.
Mathilde Teruya, spokeswoman for the French Embassy in Cambodia, said only that France “follows closely the current political situation in Cambodia”, and declined to comment further. The other signatory states either declined to comment or did not respond to inquiries.
Simon Walker, representative for the United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Cambodia (OHCHR), did not answer questions about whether the organisation would call for a meeting of signatories. In a statement, Walker would only note that Cambodia “has taken important steps to ratify human rights treaties, taking on responsibilities before other States to protect human rights in Cambodia”.
However, at a panel discussion about the accords organised by local students yesterday, OHCHR Cambodia’s head of civil society and fundamental freedoms Cybele Haupert acknowledged that some parts of the accords “need to be reinforced”.
“One of the main issues is what we can call the democratic state . . . mainly the exercise of the constitutionally recognised rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” Haupert said.
She stopped short of urging member states to reconvene, calling only for “dialogue” between the government and stakeholders.
Analysts, meanwhile, said the chances of a meeting are low. Renowned historian David Chandler, who was in Paris when the agreements were signed 26 years ago, contrasted the hopeful atmosphere then with the gloomy outlook now.
“Some of the thinking turned out to be unrealistic,” Chandler said. “Multi-party democracy was rare in [Southeast] Asia in 1992 and it’s even rarer today.”
“Cambodia is now alongside all of its undemocratic neighbours, with powerful undemocratic patrons and a proud, undemocratic ruling group,” he added.
Duncan McCargo, a University of Leeds political scientist who researches Southeast Asia, agreed that the chances of a meeting are “pretty slim”.
“Cambodians need to . . . stop imagining that the international community is going to take action to rescue things,” McCargo said.
Despite pessimism about the accords, Cambodian opposition leaders delivered urgent appeals to the international community yesterday.
At a press conference in Paris, ex-Cambodia National Rescue Party President Sam Rainsy blamed Hun Sen for “destroying” the agreement and called for a reconvening of signatories.
CNRP Deputy President Mu Sochua, also currently in self-imposed exile, echoed his comments and blamed signatory states for crippling the agreement by rewarding the government’s failures over the past 25 years with increased development aid.
“Convening a roundtable on Cambodia to take stock of the implementation so far and reassess the accords is a must,” she said.
A previous version of this article incorrectly listed the human rights group Adhoc as a co-author of a letter calling on France and Indonesia to reconvene the signatories to the Paris Peace Accords. The Post apologises for the error.
Contact authors: Leonie Kijewski, Ben Sokhean and Daphne Chen
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The national group behind the walkouts, the youth branch of the Women’s March, said it expected roughly 2,850 walkouts in schools across the country Wednesday. | Robert F. Bukaty/AP Photo
Thousands of students march on the White House to call for better gun control
By MEL LEONOR and KIMBERLY HEFLING
Thousands of students and teachers marched Wednesday in Washington, D.C., and across the nation as they left school to call for stricter gun control measures, while the House passed its first school safety bill since the massacre in Parkland, Florida.
The actions came on the one-month anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
Hundreds of students gathered at the White House, bearing signs and chanting for tighter gun control laws. They then walked to the U.S. Capitol, where they were greeted by members of Congress who back their cause.
The students criticized the Trump administration’s response to the shooting by turning their backs to the White House for 17 minutes — one for each of the students and staff members killed in Parkland. Marches also took place in Louisville, Kentucky; New York; Boston; Chicago; Baltimore; Littleton, Colorado; and Jacksonville, Florida. At hundreds of schools, students demonstrated by walking out onto football fields and lawns.
President Donald Trump has asked the federal government to assist states in training school staff to carry guns. The White House has also announced a package of other school violence prevention proposals. After initially suggesting he would support raising the age to 21 to buy AR-15 rifles, Trump walked back that proposal.
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With strong bipartisan support, the House voted 407-10 to pass the STOP School Violence Act, H.R. 4909 (115), which will repurpose a program focused on school violence prevention for grants administered by the Department of Justice to fund training and other initiatives intended to enhance school safety, including physical improvements such as metal detectors, stronger locks, and emergency notification and response technologies for schools to notify law enforcement of emergencies. Trump said in a statement he would sign the bill. The bill would authorize $75 million a year for the effort, according to the text.
In the Senate, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley said he’s introducing legislation to provide funding for “cutting-edge research into the prevention of school violence.” The Iowa Republican said the bill would support that research through the Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center.
But Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) raised questions about the Trump response plan, saying the administration’s backing for training and arming school staff could endanger students, particularly African-American and Hispanic students.
Outside on the Capitol lawn, students from area schools and members of Congress spoke against the administration’s proposal. “We will not sit in classrooms with armed teachers. We will not learn in fear,” said Matt Post, a high school student from Montgomery County, Maryland.
At the White House, Farah Patmah, 17, of Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, brought a sign that read, “Protect kids, not guns.”
“Too many kids have died. We hope to have our voices heard. We have become the target, and we need this to stop,” she said.
Jessica Bowen, 16, and Madison Steffes, 15, came from Potomac, Maryland, to advocate for “safer schools and gun reform.”
They said their school, Winston Churchill High, was supportive of student participation in the walkout and had asked teachers not to administer tests.
poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201803/2374/1155968404_5751440357001_5751412804001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404"
“We want gun reform so that we can feel safe at school, and other students can too,” Bowen said.
Homemade signs also spoke to students‘ desire to feel safer at school.
One read, “I’m not afraid of an unexcused absence. I’m afraid for my life.” Another read, “Classrooms not war zones.”
While some school districts encouraged the walkout, others said participating students would be disciplined. The American Civil Liberties Union reached out to districts ahead of Wednesday to communicate the students’ right to demonstrate and encouraging educators to incorporate lessons about civic engagement.
The national group behind the walkouts, the youth branch of the Women’s March, said it expected about 2,850 walkouts in schools across the country Wednesday.
The walkouts occurred 10 days before the “March for Our Lives,” a rally to be held in Washington and other cities on March 24. The rally, organized by Parkland survivors with major contributions from celebrities, is expected to attract half a million people in D.C.
Some lawmakers, such as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, joined the students or showed their support on social media.
“The spirit of #NationalWalkoutDay is familiar: 55 years ago, thousands of children skipped school to protest segregation in the streets of Birmingham — a moment that forever changed the Civil Rights Movement. Let us remember which side was consigned to the dustbin of history,” tweeted Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). His tweet was accompanied by photos from Wednesday’s walkout and of Martin Luther King Jr.
On the Capitol lawn Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) offered support to the students, walking around the crowd to shake hands.
Educators blast Trump plan to help arm school staff
By CAITLIN EMMA, KIMBERLY HEFLING and BENJAMIN WERMUND
"Thank you for bringing urgency to this issue," Pelosi said. "You are creating a drumbeat across America."
Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stepped outside the Capitol to encourage the students and were greeted with cheers.
“The time is now for all of us to stand up to the NRA and pass common-sense gun legislation,” Sanders said.
A spokeswoman for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos says she “gives a lot of credit to the students who are raising their voices and demanding change. She hears them, and their input will be valuable as she convenes the Federal Commission on School Safety and works to find solutions to keeping all students safe at school.”
Caitlin Emma and Benjamin Wermund contributed to this report.
Parkland school shooting
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Serbian ultra-nationalist Vojislav Šešelj attends an anti-government rally in Belgrade on March 24, 2016 | Alexa Stankovic/AFP via Getty Images
Vojislav Šešelj acquitted of war crimes
Leader of the Serbian Radical Party is a free man.
By Barbara Surk
A United Nations tribunal on Thursday acquitted Serbian ultranationalist Vojislav Šešelj of war crimes and crimes against humanity on all counts, withdrawing his arrest warrant and declaring the leader of the Serbian Radical Party a free man.
Šešelj's acquittal is a huge blow to U.N. prosecutors, who had charged the Serbian politician with six counts of war crimes and three counts of crimes against humanity against the non-Serb population of Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the province of Vojvodina in Serbia during the Yugoslav wars in the early 1990s. They demanded Šešelj be sentenced to 28 years in prison.
"As I understand it, the battle is now over," Šešelj tweeted after the verdict.
Šešelj, now 61, led volunteer forces notorious for atrocities against non-Serbs in Croatia and Bosnia, including in Vukovar, Sarajevo, Zvornik and Mostar. He was famous for inflammatory nationalist speeches in the battles that prosecutors said incited his volunteers to murder or expel non-Serbs.
The court closely examined several of Šešelj's speeches made just before the fall of Vukovar in November 1991 and in March 1992 in Mali Zvornik, in which the Serb leader called on his volunteers to expel and kill the Croats and Muslims from those towns.
"However, the majority (of judges) could not rule out the possibility that these speeches were made in the context of the conflict and were meant to boost the morale of his camp rather than calling upon them to spare no one," presiding judge Jean-Claude Antonetti said.
"Propaganda of a nationalist ideology is not in itself criminal," Antonetti said.
A three-judge panel found that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence linking Šešelj to crimes.
For the Balkans, peace is bad enough
Barbara Surk
Radovan Karadžić found guilty of genocide in Srebrenica
He surrendered to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in 2003 and went on trial three years later. He pleaded not guilty and defended himself in court. Šešelj repeatedly challenged the tribunal's legitimacy, refused to call any witnesses and presented no evidence to challenge the prosecution's evidence against him.
In November 2014, he was provisionally released from prison in The Hague on humanitarian grounds and was transferred to Serbia for cancer treatment. The tribunal offered him the chance to follow Thursday's proceeding via a video link from Belgrade, but he refused.
Šešelj still has strong support in Serbia and his Radicals will stand in next month's elections called by Primer Minister Aleksandar Vučić to push through reforms aimed at brining Serbia closer to the EU – a path for the country Šešelj has vehemently opposed.
Europe puts its good Samaritans on trial
Authorities across the Continent are cracking down on volunteers working with migrants and refugees.
British ex-PM threatens legal action if Boris Johnson suspends parliament
John Major says he would seek a judicial review if the next UK leader tries to bypass MPs to force a no-deal Brexit.
Do you speak European Parliament?
POLITICO helps translate the EU jargon.
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Lord Fowler: The Lords cannot justify its current size
Daniel Bond
Lord Fowler is determined to make his mark on a House in desperate need of reform. The new Lord Speaker talks to Daniel Bond about cutting the size of the Lords, the Strathclyde Review and why the new government won’t always be getting its way
Will it spark a round of deselections and a civil war in the Labour party? Will Theresa May’s shaky majority in the Commons be put to the test? What will happen to the former chancellor, now left seat-less? The knock-on effects and long-term implications of the Boundary Review published this week are potentially enormous.
But one debate certain to be shot back to the top of the agenda is reform of the House of Lords. Labour has put the Lords question at the heart of its case opposing the Boundary Review this week, with shadow Cabinet Office minister Jon Ashworth accusing the government of seeking to disadvantage his party by cutting the number of MPs – whilst “at the same time stuffing the House of Lords with 260 unelected peers at a cost of £30m”.
Whether the boundary changes go ahead – and that’s by no means certain – the debate over Lords reform is only likely to intensify. And it’s a debate the new Lord Speaker, Lord Fowler, believes the second chamber can no longer ignore.
“At the moment the size of the House hangs over it like a cloud, so anything you do it always comes back to ‘aren’t you too big?’” he tells The House, as we sit down in his impressive new office. “I don’t think that we can justify a situation where you have over 800 peers at the same time as you’re bringing down the Commons to 600 MPs.”
Fowler is only the third holder of a post whose remit is still evolving following its creation in 2006. But while he knows the limits of his powers, the man elected over the summer with some 70% of the vote is determined to make his modern mark on the chamber. “As I set out in the speeches, the hustings, I’m in favour of change. And that’s the basis on which I got elected,” he says.
Fowler speaks animatedly about his ambitions to improve public understanding of the Lords, and about his diplomatic work in building links with other parliaments across the world. But it’s his role as a champion and facilitator of reform that will prove the biggest challenge.
And while he vehemently rejects the tabloid characterisation of the Lords as a ‘bloated’ and archaic institution, he admits the size of the House has become a distraction and must change.
“There is now a consensus in the House, a very broad consensus – not everybody but as broad as you can make it – that the House of Lords is too big and it needs to be reduced in size,” he explains.
“I think apart from anything else it rather takes away from what the House achieves, because people turn round and say ‘you’re the second biggest assembly apart from the Chinese’ or something, that’s always the line.
“We get a lot of stick, we get a lot of criticism. What we don’t get is any appreciation of the very good work that takes place here. One of the reasons we don’t get the credit we deserve is that the size of the House gets in the way of that credit being given.
“There are – how should I put it? – a few passengers. I don’t disagree with that. But the characteristic of the Lords is that it’s hardworking and conscientious.”
So how much of a reduction would he like to see? “We should certainly not have more peers than there are Members of Parliament. I think that’s a principle that would probably find agreement amongst most of the House,” he replies.
“I would not regard that as a defeat for the House of Lords, I would regard that as a very big asset for the House. If you get rid of the ‘too big’ argument, perhaps the public and politicians can concentrate upon what we actually do, which I think is fundamentally important.”
As “the servant of the House’”, Fowler is clear that it is not for him to decide on the details of reform. But he urges his colleagues to take the lead on this question, and fears that, if they don’t, change could be forced on them from the outside.
“I think it’s up to the House,” he says. “I think that if it can be agreed as a general principle that the size of the Lords should be under the size of the Commons then I think we can start making decisions.
“But frankly we’ve been faffing around on this for some time now. And my fear would be that unless we take the initiative here someone else will take the initiative – like the government – and seek to force something upon us. I think that would be rather foolish.”
The re-emergence of the debate about the size of the Lords comes just weeks after one of the most controversial peerage lists of recent years. New appointments rarely meet with approval from the press, but David Cameron’s resignation list – dubbed the ‘Dishonours List’ – was particularly badly received, and sparked a round of negative headlines about “cronyism”.
Fowler won’t be drawn on individual appointments, but admits the scope for reform goes much wider than reducing the size of the House. “There are other issues that have to be discussed as well. But I think before talking about prime ministers’ powers and whether there should be checks on that, let’s do what we can do, what in a sense is entirely in our power to do. The trouble is at the moment the first steps haven’t been taken on this. If we do it step by step we’re getting somewhere. But let’s do something. Let’s not just leave it.”
As for the elephant in the room, creating an elected chamber, Fowler is clear he’s highly sceptical. Last month former prime minister Gordon Brown became the latest figure to set out a plan for wholesale reform, calling for the Lords to be replaced by an elected senate alongside a more federal UK structure.
But Fowler fears the introduction of a wholly or partly elected chamber could create “a recipe for conflict between the two Houses”.
“When I came to the Lords I accepted the fact that if it came to it the Leader of the House could get up, bang the despatch box and say ‘my Lords, the elected House is down there, this is the unelected House, and you haven’t got the right to hold this up’. And broadly thinking – with exceptions – that seems the sensible way of going.
“If you have two houses that are both elected, and I come to the house as an elected peer, I’m liable to say ‘look my vote is just the same as those people down there’. You run the danger of conflict between the two houses.”
“But all these things are open to debate,” he adds, pointing out that the idea of introducing an elected element to the Lords has its supporters. “I think we should get on with that debate.”
The other big question of reform facing the Lords is over their powers on secondary legislation. Late last year a furious David Cameron vowed to curb the ability of peers to block such measures, following the controversial vote on changes to tax credits.
For opponents of the government the vote was the House of Lords at its best; a revising chamber encouraging the executive to think again on a controversial and ill-thought through proposal. For the government, it was an outrage; a group of hostile Lib Dem and Labour peers running roughshod over convention, ignoring their mandate, and risking a constitutional crisis in the process. “The House of Lords behaved wrongly, deplorably and unnecessarily,” Lord Strathclyde vented as he announced his review, eventually coming forward with a recommendation to end the power of peers to veto secondary legislation.
Fowler approaches the issue with an open mind and, like the rest of the House of Lords, will wait to study the final proposals from the new May administration when they come forward. But he warns the government they “need to be very careful” about how they proceed.
“It was perfectly legitimate, what happened,” he says. “Let me confess, I voted and spoke in favour of the government measure at the time. But I think the people who opposed it were right, and I was wrong.
“It wasn’t the government saying ‘this is a matter of absolutely crucial necessity, we’re going to bang it through’, because they dropped it, almost immediately. It was voted down in the House of Lords and the government didn’t come back with it, they thought ‘we’re not going to get it through the House of Commons next time, let alone the Lords.’
“But that’s very much the exception, when you get to that stage. The number of times the government gets defeated on something like tax credits is very, very rare, and I don’t think one should overreact to it. Personally I would be pretty cautious if I was the government on this.”
He continues: “I have absolutely no difficulty with the fact that the House of Commons takes precedence. I have no difficulty with that whatsoever. But it shouldn’t mean the unchallenged domination of the executive.
“So we’ve got to find a sensible way through this, without actually reducing the Lords to a position of irrelevance.”
Prime ministers, he says, have in his experience viewed the Lords as little more than an annoyance and a roadblock to their agenda. “I worked with two prime ministers when I was in the Commons, and I think it’s fair to say that both Margaret Thatcher and John Major weren’t concerned really about the House of Lords, they were most concerned about getting their measures through,” he says.
“I remember Margaret Thatcher, on one occasion when we’d been defeated on something or other, saying in Cabinet ‘what’s happened to all those peers that I’ve appointed?’ It was rhetorical question thankfully.
“So there is this degree of frustration in Number Ten sometimes that they don’t get their measures through. But it is now inevitable that governments, whatever colour, are sometimes going to be defeated, because there isn’t a natural majority for any one party.
“I think governments have got to come to terms with that, accept that, and also understand that their arguments have got to be good.”
Part of the problem, he feels, comes from a lack of understanding among ministers and MPs over the workings of the upper house – and that’s something he wants to change.
“I don’t think the Commons, Members of Parliament, fully understand what happens here. I say that as a confession of my own. I was an MP for over 30 years and I had only the sketchiest idea of what took place in the House of Lords. I had bills from time to time when I was a minister. But I really didn’t totally understand how the House of Lords operated, and what it was doing.
“In the Commons I was perpetually voting on issues according to the party whip. Here the party whip obviously matters, but it doesn’t matter to anything like the same extent. It’s not just the crossbenchers who are independent, it’s members from parties as well.
“So I think that in many ways my first role is to try to expand the understanding – of the public, of politicians – on what the House of Lords is all about, and to establish that the Lords is not some remote organisation which doesn’t have really much relevance, but that it has a great deal of independence – probably more independence than the Commons.
“My view is that the House of Lords is a defender of public rights. And if there is a bad argument they’re liable to knock it down.”
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Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group Hosts Conference on Small & Emerging Managers in Private Equity, Real Estate and In-State Investments
Sep 25, 2012, 11:52 ET
NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- On September 19 - 20, 2012, Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group ("CFIG") hosted the sixth annual "Credit Suisse Conference on Small & Emerging Managers in Private Equity, Real Estate and In-State Investments," in Dallas, Texas.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20091204/CSLOGO )
The Conference, which was open to all private equity professionals, was attended by over 450 representatives of U.S.-based pension plans, endowments, foundations, private equity managers and other industry participants. Through open networking sessions and panel discussions led by market-leading investors and high-quality emerging managers, the Conference provided a venue for developing strategic initiatives. This year's conference featured designated panel discussions for both real estate and private equity topics.
"As in years past, this conference was crucial in facilitating discussions between participants and small and emerging managers," said Kelly Williams, Head of CFIG. "CFIG remains committed to helping clients identify ways to gain exposure to the growing number of small and emerging managers in the private equity, real state and in-state investment spaces."
CFIG was pleased to host this year's conference in a state in which it has a strong presence, with attendees, including Cheryl Alston, Executive Director of the Employees' Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas.
"Dallas is a strong supporter of entrepreneurship, diversity and small business, and the city is the home of several successful global private equity and real estate firms," said Ms. Alston. "The record turnout for the 2012 conference is an encouraging sign for the industry's future and CFIG's position as a leader in this field."
Also in attendance at the Conference was Stuart Bernstein, Director of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas Emerging Manager Group. Mr. Bernstein said, "The annual CFIG conference continues to be one of the main focal points of the year, bringing capital and investors together in an increasingly crowded investment community. Kelly Williams and the CFIG team serve as dedicated investors with great access across private equity and real estate. We were glad to have them in the great state of Texas once again."
The keynote address was delivered by preeminent philanthropist and former San Antonio Spurs player David Robinson. Mr. Robinson is also the Co-Founder of Admiral Capital Group, a real estate fund in partnership with USAA.
The Conference included the following panel discussions on noteworthy industry topics:
Untapped Opportunities with Impact/In-state Investments – Panel addressed ways to pursue attractive investment opportunities that generate a positive impact without sacrificing strong returns;
Current Market Trends and Transformative Regulatory Topics – Discussion amongst GPs, LPs and advisers on current themes relevant for emerging managers driven by recent regulatory changes and LP expectations;
State of the Real Estate Emerging Manager Market – Panel provided an overview of the real estate small and emerging manager market, including the number of funds raising capital, which strategies and asset types are gaining traction and progress made by first-time funds;
Alternative Capital Concepts for Real Estate Emerging Managers – Panel explored the options available to the emerging manager in lieu of or in addition to raising a commingled fund.
Speakers and attendees that participated in the Conference included investment officers and trustees from the Employees Retirement System of Texas; Teacher Retirement System of Texas; Employees' Retirement Fund of the City of Dallas; California Public Employees' Retirement System; North Carolina Department of State Treasurer; Public Employees' Retirement Association of Colorado; and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
CFIG, which is based in New York City, currently manages approximately $29 billion in client commitments to private equity fund of funds and co-investment programs, and has programs in multiple states, including Texas, North Carolina, Oregon, New York, Indiana, and Michigan.
Credit Suisse AG is one of the world's leading financial services providers and is part of the Credit Suisse group of companies (referred to here as 'Credit Suisse'). As an integrated bank, Credit Suisse offers clients its combined expertise in the areas of private banking, investment banking and asset management. Credit Suisse provides advisory services, comprehensive solutions and innovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth private clients globally, as well as to retail clients in Switzerland. Credit Suisse is headquartered in Zurich and operates in over 50 countries worldwide. The group employs approximately 48,200 people. The registered shares (CSGN) of Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group AG, are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares (CS), in New York. Further information about Credit Suisse can be found at www.credit-suisse.com.
In its Asset Management business, Credit Suisse offers products across a broad spectrum of investment classes, including hedge funds, credit, index, real estate, commodities and private equity products, as well as multi-asset class solutions, which include equities and fixed income products. Credit Suisse's Asset Management business manages portfolios, mutual funds and other investment vehicles for a broad spectrum of clients ranging from governments, institutions and corporations to private individuals. With offices focused on asset management in 19 countries, Credit Suisse's Asset Management business is operated as a globally integrated network to deliver the bank's best investment ideas and capabilities to clients around the world.
All businesses of Credit Suisse are subject to distinct regulatory requirements; certain products and services may not be available in all jurisdictions or to all client types.
Customized Fund Investment Group
The Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG) at Credit Suisse is one of the largest and deepest investment teams dedicated to private equity fund investing. The Group is headed by Kelly Williams, who founded CFIG in 1999 and currently manages approximately $29 billion in client commitments to private equity funds of funds and co-investment programs, both in the U.S. and internationally. CFIG is composed of more than 115 professionals based in the Group's offices in New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Austin, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Portland, and Raleigh.
CFIG specializes in developing customized private equity investment programs that address the specific needs of investors and which benefit from leveraging the Credit Suisse platform. CFIG develops fund investment programs for active institutional investors who have a specific portfolio need and for emerging institutional investors who have a need for assistance with asset allocation, portfolio development and administration, due diligence, and other advisory services, or any combination thereof. Once established, CFIG takes a service-oriented, long-term partnership approach to its customized accounts.
CFIG's clients include sophisticated institutions and high-net worth investors. Credit Suisse's extensive transaction experience, which includes coverage of many top-tier private equity sponsor groups, allows CFIG to access and analyze many leading private equity and venture capital funds. CFIG currently has approximately $6 billion in commitments to funds sponsored by small and emerging managers for sophisticated institutional investors including the Teacher Retirement System of Texas[1]. Through this active investment in small and emerging managers on behalf of client programs, CFIG has grown exceptionally familiar with the small and emerging market and its impact on the future growth of the economy.
[1] Please note that the use of the client name herein does not imply an endorsement of CFIG or its advisory services.
SOURCE Credit Suisse AG
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Artist Eugene Vango has been on both sides of shows
Eugene Vango is a modern art artist whose worked has been displayed in the Petersburg Area Art League and the Petersburg Regional Art Center many times.
He received bachelor's and a master's degrees in fine arts from Pennsylvania State University. He a
He received bachelor's and a master's degrees in fine arts from Pennsylvania State University. He also studied art at Virginia State University, Michigan State University and the Student League in New York.
Vango has worked as an assistant professor of art at VSU, where he retired in August 2003. Later, he was a coordinator at the Petersburg Recreation Department.
He was an art teacher for the Richmond Public Schools in the 1960s. By 1969, Vango was an art instructor in the weekend college at Virginia Union University. He has also worked as an art teacher for Upward Bound, Arts and Crafts Council,Camp Minisink in Port Jarvis, N.Y., Triarco's Arts and Crafts.
Vango taught a variety of courses, including basic art, jewelry, elementary freehand drawing, watercolor painting, art appreciation, art for elementary teachers, acrylics, materials and methods, freshmen orientation, student supervision, practicum and a survey of African-American art.
Vango has won many awards, including Keep Virginia Clean Green Poster Contest, third prize; three awards for oil painting at the Atlantic City Boardwalk; Best in Show at the Chesapeake Bay Artists Association; Purchase Award. Valentine Museum Biennial; and the Fredericksburg Fine Arts Festival.
His professional affiliations include The Metropolitan Art Association, The Smithsonian Institute, National Art Association, Phi Delta Kappa, Virginia Art Association and the Museum of Fine Arts.
He was the juror for a number of shows, including R-Cap Black Arts Festival, Jaunita College Student Show, Richmond Public School Art Show, Petersburg Artfest and the Fort Clifton Festival in Colonial Heights.
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May 6, 2013 / 5:17 PM / 6 years ago
Gunmen still hold Libya ministries after ban on Gaddafi officials
Jessica Donati
TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Gunmen refused to give up control of two ministries in Libya’s capital on Monday, even after Libya’s parliament caved in to their demand and banned any senior official under dictator Muammar Gaddafi from holding government posts.
Pro-government protesters rally against gunmen who have taken control of two ministries in the capital, in front of the Libyan Prime Minister's residence, in Tripoli May 3, 2013. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny
The new law, passed with an overwhelming majority on Sunday, could embolden the armed groups to flex their military muscle further and undermine the already weak transitional government set up in the wake of the 2011 civil war that toppled Gaddafi.
It could also unseat the prime minister and the leader of the parliament, both of whom helped rally the exiled opposition to Gaddafi from the 1980s. Other top administrators could also be removed from office leading to a significant skills gap.
“If members of the High Electoral Commission are forced to resign as a result of the political isolation law, finding their replacements will take time, as will the eventual drafting of electoral laws,” said Geoff Porter, head of North Africa Risk Consulting.
“All of which will cumulatively delay the election of a constitutional committee and thereby prolong the transition government way beyond its intended mandate.”
Nearly two years after Gaddafi was overthrown, the gunmen who fought to end his 42-year dictatorship are refusing to lay down their arms and go back to civilian life - militiamen are more visible than Libyan state forces in the capital.
The cabinet and Libya’s official armed forces are so weak that swathes of the oil-producing desert country have long been outside central government control.
Gunmen then seized the Foreign Ministry more than a week ago and the Justice Ministry last Tuesday.
Parliament is due to form a commission to decide how to implement the sweeping law; the list of jobs held under Gaddafi that would lead to disqualification from politics and executive roles in state firms still leaves room for debate in some cases.
Prime Minister Ali Zeidan, a diplomat under Gaddafi until he defected to the exiled opposition in 1980, could be among those barred from office.
Fearing the commission was a ruse to persuade the militias to relinquish control of the ministries and then not implement the law, gunmen said they would stay in place till the measure was put into practice.
“A couple of the groups have left, but we are going to stay until the law is applied because we don’t trust them to implement the measures,” said one of the gunmen at the Justice Ministry.
Additional reporting by Hani Amara; Editing by Jon Hemming
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September 10, 2012 / 11:49 PM / 7 years ago
New iPhone could boost U.S. GDP by up to 0.5 percent, JP Morgan says
Tim Reid
(Reuters) - The next generation iPhone 5, which Apple Inc. plans to release this week, could not only boost the tech giant’s bottom line - but could give a significant boost to the overall U.S. economy.
The logo of Apple is seen on a product displayed at a store in Seoul August 24, 2012. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won
Sales of the new iPhone could add between a quarter and a half percentage point to fourth quarter annualized growth in the U.S., according to J.P. Morgan’s chief economist, Michael Feroli in a note to clients on Monday.
Such an impact would be significant.
“Calculated using the so-called retail control method, sales of iPhone 5 could boost annualized GDP growth by $3.2 billion, or $12.8 billion at an annual rate,” Feroli wrote. That 0.33 percentage-point boost, he added, “would limit the downside risk to our Q4 GDP growth protection, which remains 2.0 percent.”
Feroli laid out his math. J.P. Morgan’s analysts expect Apple to sell around 8 million iPhone 5s in the fourth quarter. They expect the sales price to be about $600.
With about $200 in discounted import component costs, the government can factor in $400 per phone into its measure of gross domestic product for the fourth quarter.
Feroli said the estimate of between a quarter to a half point of annualized GDP “seems fairly large, and for that reason should be treated skeptically.” But, he added, “we think the recent evidence is consistent with this projection.”
Feroli said that when the last iPhone was launched in October 2011, sales significantly outperformed expectations.
“Given the iPhone 5 launch is expected to be much larger, we think the estimate mentioned ... is reasonable,” Feroli wrote.
According to a recent Reuters poll of Wall Street dealers and economists, U.S. GDP was seen at 2.0 percent on average in 2013, down slightly from estimates this summer.
Reporting By Tim Reid; editing by Todd Eastham
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The Great Gatsby.
FIRST EDITION OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S THE GREAT GATSBY
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.
New York: Charles Scribners, 1925.
First edition, first state with “chatter” p. 60, “northern” p.119, “sick in tired” p.205, and “Union Street station” p. 211. Octavo, original dark green cloth. In near fine condition, with the gilt lettering to the spine bright, light rubbing to the endpaper. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
In 1922, Fitzgerald announced his decision to write "something new--something extraordinary and beautiful and simple and intricately patterned." That extraordinary, beautiful, intricately patterned, and above all, simple novel became The Great Gatsby, arguably Fitzgerald's finest work and certainly the book for which he is best known. A portrait of the Jazz Age in all of its decadence and excess, Gatsby captured the spirit of the author's generation and earned itself a permanent place in American mythology. Cyril Connolly called The Great Gatsby one of the half dozen best American novels: "Gatsby remains a prose poem of delight and sadness which has by now introduced two generations to the romance of America, as Huckleberry Finn and Leaves of Grass introduced those before it" (Modern Movement 48). Consistently gaining popularity after World War II, the novel became an important part of American high school curricula. It was the basis for numerous stage and film adaptations. Gatsby had four film adaptations, with two exceptionally big-budget versions: the 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, as well as Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 version starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carrie Mulligan. Fitzgerald’s granddaughter praised Lurhmann’s adaptation, stating “Scott would be proud.”
First Edition of Taps At Reveille; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald To His Secretary
Taps at Reveille.
New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1935.
First edition, first state, with pages 349-52 uncancelled and with “catch it” reading on page 351. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Isabel Owens Hoping we’ll both be able to look back to this winter as a bleak exception, in a business way from F. Scott (“Old Scrooge”) Fitzgerald.” The recipient, Isabel Owens worked full-time as Fitzgerald’s Baltimore secretary from 1932-36. She continued part-time in this role until his death in 1940. In addition to her secretarial duties, Owens acted as a foster mother to the Fitzgeralds’ daughter Scottie and companion to Zelda. In near fine condition with the spine gilt bright in a very good dust jacket with some inner strengthening to the folds. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A wonderful association copy.
"SO WE BEAT ON, BOATS AGAINST THE CURRENT, BORNE BACK CEASELESSLY INTO THE PAST": FIRST EDITION OF THE GREAT GATSBY
First edition, first state with “chatter” p.60, “northern” p.119, “sick in tired” p.205, and “Union Street station” p. 211. Octavo, original dark green cloth. In near fine condition, with the gilt lettering to the spine bright. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A nice example.
“It was always the becoming he dreamed of, never the being": First Edition of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise; With a full page inscription by Him
This Side of Paradise.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1920.
First edition of Fitzgerald’s first novel, with an initial printing of only 3,000 copies, which sold out in three days. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper with a full page inscription in the year of publication to James H. Douglas, a fellow member of the Princeton Cottage Club, “Under whose beneficent patronage I have spent a useless month, cheered only by seeing him sling pregnant words at impressionable sophomores. F. Scott Fitzgerald (the W.K. author), Cottage Club, Princeton, N.J. March 27th, 1920.” In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
"Youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness": FIRST EDITION OF Fitzgerald's Tales of the Jazz Age; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
Tales of the Jazz Age.
First edition of Fitzgerald’s iconic collection, with eleven stories including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” basis for the award-winning 2008 film. Near fine in the original very good dust jacket with some unnecessary tape repair. Dust jacket illustration by John Held. One of 8,000 copies with “and” on p. 232, on line 6. Bruccoli A9.I.a. Bruccoli & Clark I:132. Smiley, 46. First editions in the original dust jacket are rare.
First edition, first state of Fitzgerald’s magnum opus. Octavo, original dark green cloth. First state with “chatter” p.60, “northern” p.119, “sick in tired” p.205, and “Union Street station” p. 211. In near fine condition with light rubbing. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A sharp example.
"Youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness": FIRST EDITION OF Tales of the Jazz Age
First edition of Fitzgerald’s iconic collection, with eleven stories including “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” basis for the award-winning 2008 film. Octavo, original green cloth, titles to the spine in gilt. In near fine condition with some light shelfwear to the extremities. One of 8,000 copies with “and” on p. 232, on line 6. Bruccoli A9.I.a. Bruccoli & Clark I:132. Smiley, 46. A very nice example.
"this old old book; the sight of it reminds me, all too dramaticly [sic], that I'm almost forty": First Edition of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise; With a full page inscription by Him
First edition of Fitzgerald’s first novel, with an initial printing of only 3,000 copies, which sold out in three days. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper with a full page inscription, “For William Henneman with best wishes – this old old book; the sight of it reminds me, all too dramaticly [sic], that I’m almost forty. F. Scott Fitzgerald Spring 1936.” In very good condition with a small closed tear to the crown of the spine and light rubbing to the extremities, hinges strengthened. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A unique example displaying Fitzgerald’s thoughts about his early writing.
"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat": The Works of F. Scott Fitgerald; Finely Bound by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
This Side of Paradise; Flappers and Philosophers; Six Tales of the Jazz Age and Other Stories; The Beautiful and the Damned; The Great Gatsby; Tender is the Night; Taps at Reveille; The Last Tycoon: An Unfinished Novel; The Stories of F. Scott Fitzgerald: A Selection of 28 Stories; Afternoon of an Author: A Selection of Uncollected Stories and Essays; Babylon Revisited and Other Stories; The Pat Hobby Stories; The Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald; Scott Fitzgerald: Letters to His Daughter; The Apprentice Fiction of F. Scott Fitzgerald, 1909-1917.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons / Rutgers University Press.
Finely bound set of the works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. Octavo, 15 volumes, bound in full morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. An exceptional set.
"Of course all life is a process of breaking down": First Edition of The Crack-Up; Inscribed by Edmund Wilson
Fitzgerald, F. Scott.; Edited by Edmund Wilson.
The Crack-Up.
New York: New Directions, 1945.
First edition of this collection of essays by Fitzgerald, published posthumously. Octavo, original half cloth. Inscribed by Edmund Wilson, who served as editor to this posthumous Fitzgerald work, “To Frangeon L. Jones with the best regards of Edmund Wilson Peterborough Aug. 16, 1964.” Laid into the book is the newspaper article from August 17,1964 regarding Edmund Wilson’s presentation of the Edward MacDowell Medal at the MacDowell Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. In near fine condition, lacking the dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Uncommon signed and inscribed.
"With best wishes of a fellow Celt": First Edition of Tender Is the Night; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Tender Is The Night. A Romance. Decorations by Edward Shenton.
First edition of the work which Fitzgerald considered to be his finest. Octavo, original green cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper “For Lillian Abercrombie with best wishes of a fellow Celt F. Scott Fitzgerald.” In near fine condition. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell and chemise box.
"on her 21st birthday from her admirer": The Great Gatsby; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald
First edition, second printing of the author’s masterpiece. Octavo, original green cloth, gilt titles to the spine. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper,“For Esther Sidman on her 21st birthday from her admirer. F Scott Fitzgerald, Hollywood, 1938.” In near fine condition with a touch of wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Great Gatsby’s signed and inscribed by Fitzgerald are rare.
First Edition of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's All the Sad Young Men; In the Original Dust Jacket
All the Sad Young Men.
First edition, first issue of Fitzgerald’s third collection of short stories. Octavo, original green cloth. Fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with the woman’s lips unbattered (Bruccolo, A12).
First Edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon
The Last Tycoon. An Unfinished Novel. Together with The Great Gatsby and Selected Stories.
First edition with the “A” and the publisher’s seal on the copyright page. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in near fine dust jacket. Foreword by Edmund Wilson. A nice example.
New York: Bantam, 1945.
First paperback edition. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Fine in the rare dust jacket with a large chip to the foot of the spine and general wear.
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy": F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S THE GREAT GATSBY; finely bound by bayntun-riviere
First edition, second printing of Fitzgerald’s magnum opus. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, all edges gilt, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. A very sharp example.
"If you liked The Great Gatsby, for God's sake read this. Gatsby was a tour de force but this is a confession of faith": First Edition of Tender Is the Night; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald To Hollywood Producer Harry Joe Brown
First edition of the work which Fitzgerald considered to be his finest. Octavo, original green cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper with a full page inscription, “For Harry Joe Brown – late of the 17th Infantry Brigade. Wounded in Hollywood 1920-1940. – from his fellow dough boy F Scott Fitzgerald Encino, 1939.” The recipient, Harry Joe Brown was a Hollywood producer, who Fitzgerald noted meeting in late 1939: “Somewhere around this time [September 1939] Harry Joe Brown called me over to Twentieth Century Fox on a Sonja Heine picture” (Letter to the Berg-Allenberg Agency, 23 February 1940). Fitzgerald had been contracted as a writer by Metro Goldwyn Meyer Studios in the July of 1937, initially for six months. His contract was then extended for another year, but when this lapsed in December 1938 MGM did not renew it. Over the next two years, Fitzgerald freelanced for numerous studios on a number of films, including Everything Happens at Night for which Brown was an associate producer. An excellent near fine example in a very good first issue dust jacket with some light wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy": First Modern Library of The Great Gatsby; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald
New York: The Modern Library, 1934.
First Modern Library edition of the author’s masterpiece, with the first appearance of Fitzgerald’s new introduction. Octavo, original green cloth. Inscribed by the author on the half title page, “For Lillian Abercrombie at the beginning of a tour of work F. Scott Fitzgerald.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some rubbing to the extremities and some small chips. Housed in a full custom morocco box. The first Modern Library edition of The Great Gatsby was a resounding commercial failure, and many copies were remaindered with the caption “discontinued title” printed on the jacket’s front panel. The present copy represents one of the earlier, non-remaindered copies, and like all of the first Modern Library editions of The Great Gatsby, features Fitzgerald’s new introduction, with his own, now-famous take on his masterwork: “I think it is an honest book, that is to say, that one used none of one’s virtuosity to get an effect, and, to boast again, one soft-pedalled the emotional side to avoid the tears leaking from the socket of the left eye, or the large false face peering around the corner of a character’s head. If there is a clear conscience, a book can survive — at least in one’s feelings about it. On the contrary, if one has a guilty conscience, one reads what one wants to hear out of reviews. In addition, if one is young and willing to learn, almost all reviews have a value, even the ones that seem unfair.”
"If you liked The Great Gatsby, for God's sake read this. Gatsby was a tour de force but this is a confession of faith": First Edition of Tender Is the Night; Inscribed by F. Scott Fitzgerald
First edition of the work which Fitzgerald considered to be his finest. Octavo, original green cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For the unknown, unmet parents of Clare (note: double underlined). Knowing her, I hope you will find something to like in this present. Best wishes, F. Scott Fitzgerald.” A very good example with some wear to the crown and foot of the spine, extremities of the cloth in a very good unrestored first issue dust jacket that has some rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell and chemise case.
First Edition of The Bogey Man; Inscribed by George Plimpton and Jack Nicklaus To Max Steele
Plimpton, George (Jack Nicklaus).
The Bogey Man.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1968.
First edition of Plimpton’s classic work on golf. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author, “For Great Max another wild effusion- George.” The recipient was Max Steele, who along with Plimpton started The Paris Review. Additionally inscribed by golf legend Jack Nicklaus on the front free endpaper to the same recipient, Max Steele. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Robert Korn. A unique example.
First Edition of Portraits Etched In Stone: Early Jewish Settlers; Inscribed by David de Sola Pool
de Sola Pool, David.
Portraits Etched In Stone: Early Jewish Settlers 1682-1831.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1952.
First edition. Thick quarto, original cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in the year of publication, “Doris + Leopold Woolf in happy memory of four years ago. David de Sola Pool December 26, 1952.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket.
FIRST EDITION OF JESSE LIVERMORE’S HOW TO TRADE IN STOCKS IN THE RARE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET
Livermore, Jesse.
How to Trade in Stocks: The Livermore Formula for Combining Time Element and Price.
New York: Duell, Sloan & Pearce, 1940.
First edition of the only book by Jesse Livermore, one of Wall Street’s most well-known traders. Octavo, original blue cloth, contains 16 full color charts. Fine in the rare original dust jacket with some chips and tears. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
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Swan Lake turns 120 at the Mariinsky Theater
Tereshkina-Shklyarov solo part. Source: Valentin Baranovsky/Mariinsky Theater
How did Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet end up in the St. Petersburg theater’s repertoire, how was its storyline adapted to reflect the changes of the 20th century, and what role did it play in the Soviet coup of 1991?
In January 1895, the legendary ballet Swan Lake, set to music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, was performed on the stage of St. Petersburg’s illustrious Mariinsky Theater for the very first time. Although the version arranged by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov was not the first staging of Swan Lake, it was to become the interpetation that changed the whole world’s attitude towards the great composer.
Over the past 120 years, Swan Lake has become one of the most frequently staged ballets in the world. There are versions with both happy and tragic endings and featuring various protagonists. For example, in Briton Matthew Brown’s version, men play the swans, a role traditionally played by women. However, to this day the Mariinsky Theater adheres steadfastly to the classical version of the story.
An unfamiliar ballet for modern audiences
The very first Swan Lake, choreographed by Wenzel Reisinger, made its debut at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow on March 4, 1877. However, it was not popular with audiences and was consequently removed from the repertoire.
“There were a lot of pantomime scenes in it,” explains Olga Makarova, editor of the Mariinsky Theater’s publishing department. “Odette talked in detail about her fate and the evil stepmother-witch, and about how only marriage would save her from the evil spell. Audience members said the dancing was poor, and critics wrote that the musical component was clearly superior to the choreographic element,” says Makarova.
At the beginning of the 1890s, ballet master Marius Petipa and Tchaikovsky himself rewrote the libretto for the Mariinsky Theater, while Petipa and composer Riccardo Drigo reworked the score. Petipa and Lev Ivanov choreographed it together. The new version of Swan Lake premiered on January 15, 1895.
“This miracle of ballet was born in a collaboration between Tchaikovsky’s self-contained music and Petipa’s and Ivanov’s very dramatically construed choreography,” explains Makarova.
Russian ballet performers wow New Delhi crowd
However, Swan Lake in its modern interpretation is vastly different from the original version. At the end of the 19th century, males did not perform complex jumps in classical dance; they mostly moved beautifully about the stage, striking elegant poses and supporting the ballerinas when necessary. Ballerinas also looked different – their costumes were more closed, and they could not lift their legs too high onstage, as it would have been considered inappropriate.
‘All ballets should be called Swan Lake’
The ballet’s plot has been revised many times. Choreographer Konstantin Sergeyev staged a new version in 1950 that for the first time ever featured a happy ending. Whereas the turbulent waves of the lake swallowed up Odette and Siegfried at the end of the original version, in the updated version Siegfried defeats the evil wizard in a duel by tearing his wing, after which the power of evil comes to an end.
Sergeyev almost completely preserved the choreography by Petipa and Ivanov, but incorporated some modern dance innovations into his version. This is the version that we continue to see at the Mariinsky Theater to this day. Swan Lake in its current form has been performed at the theater 1,757 times.
Renowned choreographer George Balanchine described Swan Lake as the hallmark of Russian ballet and said “all ballets should be called Swan Lake – that would guarantee both lively ticket sales and success with the public.”
PHOTO OF THE DAY: Premiere of Swan Lake in 3D
Throughout the years, some outstanding ballerinas have played the role of Odette/Odile, including Anna Pavlova, Galina Ulanova, Natalia Dudinskaya, Marina Semyonova, Uliana Lopatkina, and Diana Vishneva.
Symbol of the 1991 coup
For inhabitants of post-Soviet space, Swan Lake became a symbol of the 1991 coup. On August 19, listeners heard nothing but classical music on the radio, while all the TV channels played the Bolshoi Theater’s version of Swan Lake (the Soviet Union’s main ballet) over and over again.
Swan Lake was usually broadcast on repeat when heads of state died; however, on August 19, 1991, there was a coup d’état. The attempt to forcibly remove Mikhail Gorbachev from office, the dissolution of the Treaty of the Union of Sovereign States – these groundbreaking events were all hidden from the eyes of ordinary Soviets to the backdrop of Tchaikovsky’s music.
First published in Russian by TASS.
RIR Blogs
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Rediff.com » News » Why weekend box-office stars can't make it in 21st century TN politics
Why weekend box-office stars can't make it in 21st century TN politics
Rajinikanth and Kamalahaasan’s new generation movies of the twenty-first century may make bigger money than their earlier films but leave behind a lesser impact.
That would make the difference between their success and failure as politicians, says N Sathiya Moorthy.
IMAGE: Tamil superstar Rajinikanth. Photograph: Courtesy, Rajinikanth's Facebook page
Despite high hopes of Tamil cinema’s superstar Rajinikanth that he would launch his promised political party before the year 2018 was out, it was not to be. He merely whetted his fans’ appetite by acknowledging the planned launch of three television channels, as if they were next in his promised line of preparations for direct entry into electoral politics.
The question is if the end-2018 announcement on the planned launch of TV channels should have taken Team Rajini a whole year, with not much physical preparations having been done thus far. Along with the declaration of intent on the TV channel front, social media has also been naming names for a possible ‘news’ head, but the stake-holders themselves have not said anything on this score.
To be fair, even while declaring his intention to enter direct politics on December 31, 2017, Rajinikanth very clearly said that his promised party would be launched only ahead of the state assembly polls of 2021. However, reacting to fan pressure and media queries, he later clarified that they would be prepared to face any election, anytime, with just six months of preparations.
Now, with the Lok Sabha polls due by mid-May, the conclusion is that the Rajinikanth party, whatever the name and standard, is not going to be in the fray. While the fans will stomach it all the same, they would be facing a quandary as to whom should they work for, from among the existing parties and alliances -- if only to sharpen their campaign skills.
The more immediate question is whom should they vote for, or should they vote at all, until the boss is ready with his party.
All this has led to another spurt of social media memes that Team Rajini is talking about TV channels now, only to boost fan interest ahead of his Pongal offering, Petta. Simultaneously, there have also been reports that Rajini is on to signing new films, as if in a feverish pitch, unknown for him over the past two-plus decades.
If Rajini was deliberate in giving long gaps between his films, it owed to the box office dynamics of the time. Those were the days (and not very long ago), when the success of a film was measured in terms of its longevity on first release, and the number of re-releases and the box-office collections in each of those re-runs.
Today, the dynamics has changed, as if overnight. In the Tamil film industry, possibly unknown to him, Rajini ushered it in himself with his Enthiran/Robot. That was when social media sold the film across the country and overseas. The first weekend collection replaced the 100-day run as the benchmark for measuring the success of a film.
This has also meant that fewer footfalls in cinema halls for the same film and same actor over an extended period. Larger the box office success over the short weekends, the ticket price too had to go up. This meant that the film-makers, distributors and exhibitors made money. The film star’s saleability and price also went up.
The alternative for a politically-ambitious star would then mean that he had to act in more films over short time-frames, so as to ensure that more people (read: voters) got to see his films more frequently than the super-stardom of a previous era had commanded.
There is again a hitch -- or, two. One, ‘weekend’ star films would still not come cheap for the film-goer. Rajinikanth’s latest offering, 2.0, a sequel to his Enthiran gate-crasher was a huge success, in technical details and box office terms. Yet, the box office dynamics also ensured that despite possibly being the best 3-D movie produced in the country, and also screened big-time overseas, 2.0 did not have a ‘big opening’ as comparable previous successes like the Baahubali sequels in Telugu, for instance.
Leave aside claims that Tamil film-star Vijay’s Sarkar did better business under some calculations, the fact was that Rajini’s 2.0 was mostly out of cinema halls across Tamil Nadu before the first month, or possibly the fortnight, was out. This meant that repeat audience of the kind yesteryear star-politicians like M G Ramachandran, or a failed contemporary in Vijayakanth had commanded, was not available to Rajinikanth and his generation, for no fault of theirs.
There are two types of voters who go in for star-politicians. One, who are the actors’ ardent fans, and two, those that become fans of a lesser kind through a repeat-viewing of his/her films. The former is bound by a fan’s inherent tastes and preferences. The latter owes to ‘repeat-viewing’, which means a longer run for films and cheaper ticket prices.
The last two are just not going to happen again in the foreseeable future. If there is a relatively long-run film in any language in the country, especially in high-cost Tamil cinema with its unstoppable pirated releases, they are those that are not competing for ‘big beginnings’ and weekend collections.
Pirates have not left out even biggies’ movies in Tamil, though not so in Hindi and other language segments in the country. Going by the name ‘Tamil Rockers’, a group of unidentifiable pirates have been hacking not only big-budget movies but also small and critically acclaimed movies, and breaking the back of the industry without care and conscience.
They purportedly claim that the piracy is a continuing warning to the industry, starting with the high-priced stars, to cut down on the cost, as it had made it near-impossible for the common film-goer to pay astronomically high ticket prices at cinema halls. However, despite condemning piracy, as is legitimate, film stars and the rest of the industry have not done anything to cut the production costs, starting with the ‘star price’.
Time used to be when films of yesteryear superstars in MGR and ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan used to run for 100 days, and compete in the number of ‘silver jubilee’ (25 weeks, 175 days) hits that either of them could give in a year, or say two or three. Before their time, Haridas, of actor M K Thyagaraja Bhagavathar, Tamil cinema’s first superstar (with only 13 films), ran for 110 weeks, way back in 1944-46.
But from them all, only MGR and ‘Sivaji’ Ganesan entered politics in a big way, but with differentiated success rates, compared to their competing and mutually complementing film hits. Apart from the do-gooder image of theirs went well with the film-goer of the times (more so in the case of MGR), the long run for their films also made a substantial impact on the public image, and left a lasting image.
That way, in the case of Rajinikanth, and Kamalahaasan, his contemporary, competitor and political adversary, if the former too enters the political arena, their twentieth century movies had longer runs and left a lasting impact on the audience, as films, actors and personalities. In comparison, their new generation movies of the twenty-first century make bigger money but leave behind lesser impact on the personalities of the actors.
That ws not the case where their twentieth century filmi imprints are concerned.
That would make the difference between their success and failure as politicians, if they need to capitalise on their filmi impact from a previous career.
N Sathiya Moorthy, veteran journalist and political analyst, is director of Observer Research Foundation, Chennai chapter.
N Sathiya Moorthy
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Feudal Punjab Fertile Ground for Pakistani Jihadists?
The conventional wisdom holds that Pakistani jihadists come mainly from the radical Wahabi madrassas that proliferated in Pakistan's tribal belt near the Afghan border during the US-Saudi-Pakistani supported campaign against the former Soviet Union. Most of the world attention has, therefore, been focused on the efforts by US and Pakistan to try and contain the influence of NWFP's Deobandi Islam. Some of the madrassas have been forced to shut down while others have been attacked by US and Pakistan. As part of the effort to improve economic opportunities, Pakistan has set up FATA Development Authority and the US and international financial institutions are planning to fund reconstruction opportunity zones (ROZ) to deny recruits to the Jehadist outfits.
In addition to Shia Islam, which accounts for 15-20% of the population, there are primarily two schools of thought among Sunni Muslims in South Asia. Barelvi and Deobandi. Barelvi, or Ahle-Sunna, is a movement of Sunni Sufism that was founded by Ahmed Raza Khan of Bareilly, Rohilkhand India (hence the term Barelvi). Barelvis are a sizable portion of the Hanafi Muslim communities in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa and the United Kingdom, besides having a presence in other places around the world. Deobandi is a Sunni Islamic revivalist movement which started in India and Pakistan and has more recently spread to other countries, such as Afghanistan, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The name derives from the town of Deoband, (Uttar Pradesh) India, where the school Darul Uloom Deoband is situated. Deobandis follow the fiqh of Abu Hanifa and the Aqidah of Abu Mansur Maturidi. Deobandi Islam is quite similar to the Wahabi Saudi Islam.
Punjab, the largest province in Pakistan, is considered the home of the followers of the sufi saints who taught a tolerant, loving version of Barelvi Islam. Deobandi Islam (patterned after Saudi Wahabism) is not common in Punjab's rural landscape. But Mumbai attacker Ajmal Qasab's story, published in March 16 issue of Time magazine, suggests that the rising expectations of young Pakistanis and the deprivations they suffer in feudal Punjab are helping the mainly NWFP-Deobandi-inspired Jihadi outfits in their recruiting efforts. Here's an excerpt from Time that implies feudalism drives young men like Qasab to join the terror outfits:
"Faridkot is not the hardscrabble village conjured up by common perceptions of extremist origins. It straddles a paved road about 2 1⁄2 hours' drive from Lahore, and two new gas stations mark the village boundaries. Beyond those are factories and fertile farmland. There is even BlackBerry service. But it is, undeniably, the sort of place that fosters frustration. Feudal landlords own the farmland, and villagers feel trapped by the status they are born into. The good life is tantalizingly close, yet for most residents still unattainable. For men like Qasab, one of the best ways out is jihad. "In a developing country, youngsters who are sensitive, concerned, they talk about 'How do we change what is going on here? How do we get rid of corruption?'" says (Pakistani psychologist Sohail) Abbas. "And if in some sense you find that jihad can help you in those aims, then why not?" It's a convolution of the adolescent craving to stand out. And Pakistani society, steeped in nihilistic passions fostered by the state sponsorship of jihad, condones it."
Like Ajmal Qasab, other unskilled and barely literate workers from rural Punjab are trying to find ways to escape the hard life under their feudal rulers. Some, like Qasab, go to major Pakistani cities in search of a better life and come in contact with Jihadi outfits like LeT. Others try and find employment in the Arab world, particularly Saudi Arabia. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy describes the impact of exposure to the Arab world as follows:
"Villages (in Punjab) have changed drastically; this transformation has been driven, in part, by Pakistani workers returning from Arab countries. Many village mosques are now giant madrassas that propagate hard-line Salafi and Deobandi beliefs through oversized loudspeakers. They are bitterly opposed to Barelvis, Shias and other sects, who they do not regard as Muslims. The Punjabis, who were far more liberal towards women than the Pukhtuns, are now beginning to take a line resembling that of the Taliban. Hanafi law has begun to prevail over tradition and civil law, as is evident from the recent decisions of the Lahore High Court."
It appears that the radical Islam is now spreading beyond its traditional home in NWFP and FATA to Pakistan's heartland of Punjab. It is also clear that the new generation of Pakistanis do not want to accept life under a feudal or tribal system that denies them basic human dignity.
While the efforts to create and fund reconstruction opportunity zones (ROZ) in FATA are desirable and welcome, what is really needed is an international Marshall Plan style effort toward transforming Pakistan from a feudal/tribal to an industrial society. Such an effort will face major hurdles from the feudal leadership of the major political parties in Pakistan. However, if it is successfully implemented, new opportunities will open up for the nation's young population to offer them better alternatives to joining Jihadi outfits or seeking work in countries like Saudi Arabia.
Qasab's Journey in Time Magazine
Feudal Shadow in Pakistan Elections
UN Millennium Goals in Pakistani Village
Saudi-ization of Pakistan
Pakistan's FATA Face-off Fears
FATA Reconstruction Opportunity Zones
Pakistan Power Centers: Feudals, Clergy and Military
Labels: FATA, Feudals, Jihadists, Mumbai, Punjab
... what is really needed is an international Marshall Plan style effort to transform Pakistan from a feudal/tribal to an industrial society.
While the Army remains unreformed? I think not. What Pakistan needs is a modern-day Douglas Macarthur to ensure structural reform of the Pak Army, feudal back-breaking, and industrial progress. Protest all you want about occupation and loss of sovereignty, but the current motley group - civilian and military - are flaming disasters. Musharraf was the best in recent memory - and he was far short of the task.
We can quibble about the military but what is at stake here is the entire future generation of Pakistan putting the whole nation in jeopardy of perpetual warfare. We need to somehow prevent Pakistan's descent into a very long period of chaos in the interest of Pakistani nation, South Asians and the citizens of our adopted homes in the West.
... but what is at stake here is the entire future generation of Pakistan putting the whole nation in jeopardy of perpetual warfare.
Agree that the stakes are too high to quibble.
Question for you: Bhutto promised land reform but did not deliver. Could successful land reform (that Nehru delivered in India, and that Banlgadesh had) break this feudal stranglehold? Could the Army actually deliver that land reform?
Wait a min..I thought Ajmal Qasab could not have been Pakistani/muslim because he wore a red thread on his hand? What was all that about?
Peshawar said...
i dont think you can relate it with islam or jihadists.. attack in punjab was because government was busy in crushing PMLN..
Why only Punjab?I disagree,apart from Punjab-various other areas are breeding grounds for terrorists.What about education in schools?Have you seen whats written in textbooks of Pakistan public schools??????Full of lies and religious junk ! Why blame only madrassas?? Or just feudal system in Punjab?If others were caught alive-we would have known more about their native places in Pakistan.When you have system that falsely glorifies a religion and demeans and fabricates lies about major nations,you cannot expect Einsteins and Gandhis or Bill Gates to come out of pakistan.What you sow you reap-hence what you get are sophisticated islamic terrorists!
From Dawn Today .....
Lawyers’ struggle: another view
By Kaiser Bengali
Monday, 30 Mar, 2009 | 07:54 AM PST |
THE successful movement for the reinstatement of Iftikhar Chaudhry is being billed as a historic watershed event that has redefined the politics of the country and, in particular, the relationship between citizen and state.
Whether this conclusion turns out to be an illusion or reality will be tested in due course of time. In the meantime, however, an examination of the composition of the movement raises some disturbing questions.
The movement was started in March 2007 by the lawyers’ community and emerged as a rallying point for democratic forces opposed to Gen Musharraf’s military-backed regime. In the process, it attracted support from a broad spectrum of society — political parties of all shades, civil society and even retired military and intelligence officers. The latter formally organised themselves under the banner of the Pakistan Ex-Servicemen Society.
Following last year’s national polls and Gen Musharraf’s subsequent departure, a section of this coalition lost its enthusiasm for Iftikhar Chaudhry’s reinstatement. The vast majority of dismissed judges also agreed to be reinstated after taking a fresh oath of office under the constitution. However, a core — largely centred in Punjab — remained committed to the original objectives of the movement and continued the campaign. By early 2009, PML-N — the majority party in Punjab — took control of the movement and led it to a successful conclusion.
The movement’s advocates saw themselves on a pedestal as ‘crusaders’ for justice and rule of law and couched their rhetoric in highly moralistic terms. Undoubtedly, the movement comprised eminent individuals of impeccable integrity, who have devoted their careers uncompromisingly to the cause of rule of law and democracy. Due credit in this respect has to be accorded ungrudgingly.
However, a perusal of the roster of the ‘crusaders’ does not inspire unqualified confidence, as many have their past to answer for. There are questions with respect to their commitment to democracy, constitutionalism and rule of law — and their political orientation; with implications for the direction of politics in the country.
It cannot be comforting to note that some of the advocates of the movement were active members, collaborators or supporters of military regimes. Among leaders of the lawyers’ movement, one was a provincial minister under Gen Musharraf’s military regime and another a prosecutor for Gen Musharraf’s National Accountability Bureau. They also included many in the legal fraternity, political parties, civil society and media who were ardent supporters of Gen Musharraf when he subverted the constitution and turned into his bitter critics when he dismissed Iftikhar Chaudhry.
Some of them tried to make their contribution through print and electronic media and others through marching on the streets. That the subversion of the constitution did not stir the conscience of all of the above, but the cause of a PCO judge did is a sad commentary on their credentials with respect to their principled commitment to the rule of law and democracy.
The record of political parties in this coalition also merits close scrutiny. In this respect, the role of Jamaat-i-Islami is particularly murky. It collaborated with the Yahya Khan regime in the massacre in erstwhile East Pakistan, served as the B-team to the violently repressive Ziaul Haq regime, and supported the Musharraf regime in imposing the 17th Amendment — which it now opposes! Under the circumstances, it appears to be a strange voice for judicial, civil rights and democratic causes.
The PML-N has struggled against the Musharraf dictatorship; as such, its leadership’s collaboration with Ziaul Haq’s military dictatorship can perhaps be condoned and their credentials as champions of democracy and constitutionalism accepted. However, they cannot escape responsibility for the terrible mess the country is in today in terms of institutional breakdown and internal terrorism. Notably, their then comrades-in-arms included many military and intelligence officers, some of whom are now their comrades-in-arms in the current movement.
The ex-servicemen are mostly those who served in the armed forces and its intelligence wings during the Zia dictatorship. One of them is a 1977 coup leader, another an intelligence officer who publicly claimed the right to destabilise democratic governments in the name of protecting ‘national interests’, and yet another an intelligence officer who publicly confessed to using state funds to ‘manufacture’ a political party that included the present PML-N leadership.
Some of the officers were integrally involved in the so-called Afghan jihad and in creating the jihadi infrastructure in Pakistan. Allegedly, the core of this jihadi network is located in Punjab, to the extent that the then ruling Taliban cadres in Afghanistan in the late 1990s referred to many of their commanders generically as ‘Punjabis’. Even recently, many of the terrorist perpetrators in the country have been traced to Punjab towns like Toba Tek Singh, Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan and Faridkot. The southern Punjab-centricity of all the above ‘crusaders’ is striking.
The questions that arise are: can the emergence of the above coalition be a mere coincidence? Or has the cover of the issue of Chaudhry Iftikhar’s reinstatement been used to attempt to band together Ziaist rightwing elements, denominated by the military’s national security agenda, religious parties’ theocratic agenda and the business community’s neo-liberal economic agenda? And what does this development portend for the conflict vis-à-vis democracy and federalism in the country and religious extremism in the region?
After all, there is a history of an integral nexus between PML-N leaders, now retired military and intelligence officers and Jamaat-i-Islami under the Ziaul Haq dictatorship. Of course, PML-N has attempted to cast itself in a liberal mould, but two facts militate against an unqualified acceptance of their liberal credentials. One is the fact that many of the important PML-N leaders have a background of association with religious parties, particularly Jamaat-i-Islami. And the other is the fact that it made an abortive attempt in 1998 to introduce the Sharia through the 15th Amendment to the constitution. At the least, these factors raise likely suspicions about its lack of committed opposition to a theocratic agenda.
It appears that ideological battle lines are being drawn. One side appears to coalesce with the largely Punjab-based, PML-N-led rightwing neo-conservative remnants of the Ziaist establishment, committed to a centralised state with a quasi-theocratic national security agenda. The other side appears to comprise nationally based forces, disparately comprising the PPP, ANP, MQM and Baloch parties, seeking a society sans religious bigotry and a polity that is federal and pluralistic. The choices for the people are stark and clear.
Here's report on water related corruption in Pakistan:
"Pakistan’s irrigation network has always served the privileged elite at the expense of the poor. World Bank and government programs have consistently favored feudal landowners. When the irrigation system was established, the government failed to recognize the land rights of the original inhabitants and allotted irrigated plots to rich landowners and military personnel. While large and very large farmers control 66% of all agricultural land in Pakistan, almost half of all rural households own no land. A World Bank evaluation noted in 1996 that the bank’s projects "provided large and unnecessary transfers of public resources to some of the rural elite."9
The top–down engineering approach to Pakistan’s water sector has also caused massive collateral damage downstream. The Indus Basin Irrigation System starves areas of Sindh province – and particularly the Indus Delta – of water and sediment. And because the sediment trapped in the reservoirs does not replenish the delta, close to 5,000 square kilometers of farm land have already been lost to the sea. Meanwhile salt water is intruding 100 kilometers upstream in the Indus. The lack of water and sediment is destroying flood plain forests that are home to hundreds of thousands of people and mangrove forests that help protect the coast against storms.
While the downstream areas suffer from a water shortage, wasteful water use is wreaking environmental and economic havoc in the command area. Over–irrigation and inadequate drainage have caused the water table to rise across a large area. As a result, about 60% of all farm plots in Sindh are plagued by water logging and salinity."
Please read here for more details.
brelvi said...
i dont agree.
Here's a new BBC report on growing radicalization and terror in Southern Punjab which is the most feudal part of Punjab, with several feudal Makhdooms, including the prime minister and foreign minister as part of the ruling elite in Pakistan:
Interviews we have conducted with senior police officers, independent analysts and militants in custody suggest that southern Punjab could be Pakistan's next battleground.
Internal police documents we have seen paint a picture of a province at risk.
One report states that poverty stricken, extremely feudalistic and illiterate south Punjab could possibly provide shelter to Taliban and other jihadi outfits. It has the potential to become a nursery or a major centre for sectarian recruitment.
Some experts here argue that it has already reached that point. One describes it as a factory for suicide bombers.
Police say that al-Qaeda has access to a labour pool via the banned sectarian group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), among others.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8296485.stm
latest news said...
They are not jihaid,s they are terrorists. Jihad means to fight against injustice.
islam nasheed said...
what Ajmal and his friends did was not jihad but terror according to Quran. then how u calling them jihadi,s????
islam: "what Ajmal and his friends did was not jihad but terror according to Quran. then how u calling them jihadi,s????"
It's not what you or I think that's important when it comes to Kassab's alleged actions. It's what Kassab and his handlers think that's more important. Let's not close our eyes to the reality of what's happening in Punjab with the radicals gaining strength. What is needed is reform to create opportunities for education and jobs to get the rural young people out of the cycle of poverty, slavery and violence.
bollywood songs said...
well i am from punjab i dont think they are getting up in punjab and even in wazristan they are hit hard.
Here's a report in today's NY Times about deep discontent among Pakistani youth:
LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistan will face a “demographic disaster” if it does not address the needs of its young generation, the largest in the country’s history, whose views reflect a deep disillusionment with government and democracy, according to a report released here on Saturday.
The report, commissioned by the British Council and conducted by the Nielsen research company, drew a picture of a deeply frustrated young generation that feels abandoned by its government and despondent about its future.
An overwhelming majority of young Pakistanis say their country is headed in the wrong direction, the report said, and only 1 in 10 has confidence in the government. Most see themselves as Muslim first and Pakistani second, and they are now entering a work force in which the lion’s share cannot find jobs, a potentially volatile situation if the government cannot address its concerns.
“This is a real wake-up call for the international community,” said David Steven, a fellow at the Center for International Cooperation at New York University, who was an adviser on the report. “You could get rapid social and economic change. But the other route will lead to a nightmare that would unfold over 20 to 30 years.”
The report provides an unsettling portrait of a difficult time for Pakistan, a 62-year-old nuclear-armed country that is fighting an insurgency in its western mountains and struggling to provide for its rapidly expanding population. The population has risen by almost half in just 20 years, a pace that is double the world average, according to the report................
The findings were sobering for Pakistani officials. Faisal Subzwari, minister of youth affairs for Sindh Province, who attended the presentation of the report in Lahore, said: “These are the facts. They might be cruel, but we have to admit them.”
But young Pakistanis have demonstrated their appetite for collective action, with thousands of people taking to the streets last spring as part of a movement of lawyers, who were demanding the reinstatement of the chief justice, and Mr. Steven argued that the country’s future would depend on how that energy was channeled. “Can Pakistan harness this energy, or will it continue to fight against it?” he said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/22/world/asia/22pstan.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=pakistan%20youth&st=cse
Here's a Reuters report on feudal excesses and case for land reform in Pakistan:
Dotted around Pakistan are vast estates run by feudal landlords who command enormous economic and political power, condemning their tenants to poverty, reform activists charge.
On some of these estates, debt bondage has forced 1.8 million people to work the land for no pay, generation after generation, according to the campaigning group Anti-Slavery International. On others, sharecropping systems are practised, under which landless tenants hand over between two-thirds and half of the crops they produce to the landowner.
Unlike other countries in the region, including India, Pakistan did not carry out land reforms after 1947, and attempts in the 1950s and 1970s to reduce the size of land holdings had limited impact.
"Land reform has not taken place because the lawmakers in many cases themselves have large land holdings and will never want to transfer ownership to tenants. There will be no land reform until [the] people are in control of governance," Mubashir Hasan, a former finance minister and social activist, told IRIN.
About 2 percent of households control more than 45 percent of the land area. Powerful farmers have also taken advantage of government subsidies in water and agriculture, and benefited from technological improvements which have boosted yields, according to the World Bank.
By 1977 the biggest estates had only surrendered about 520,000 hectares, and nearly 285,000 hectares had been redistributed among some 71,000 farmers. Around 3,529 landowners have 513,114 holdings of more than 40.5 hectares in irrigated areas, and 332,273 holdings of more than 40.5 hectares in non-irrigated areas, according to the government's annual Economic Survey.
"We manage to earn a little for ourselves by selling the surplus corn and wheat that we take from the land. It is hard work, but despite this we have not been able to escape poverty. None of my four sons is educated beyond the eighth grade. We needed their labour on the land," said Kareem Muhammad, a landless tenant on a farm near the town of Okara, about 110km south of Lahore.
In Punjab, both sharecropping and fixed-rent contracts - where a rent per acre farmed is paid to the landowner by tenants - are practised. In Sindh, about one third of the land falls under fixed-rent contracts and about two thirds of the land is sharecropped, government surveys show.
The sense of injustice created by the continued hold of feudal landlords and the poverty this gives rise to has been a key factor in rising social discontent - aided and abetted by militant groups.
"I am a landless farmer. Last year my teenage son was persuaded by members of an organization engaged in jihad [holy war] to come away with them. They told him it is better to wield a gun and learn to use it than eke out a miserable existence tilling land," Riazuddin Ahmed, from Vehari in southern Punjab, told IRIN.
"My son is only 17. He saw no hope ahead of him, and therefore went away with these people. His mother and I are distraught. But we believe he has gone to the northern areas and we have no means of finding him," he said.
Former finance minister Hassan blamed this on oppression and misery. "Today, governance has collapsed. Extremism has grown and weapons have proliferated," he said.
Farming contributes 21 percent to gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 44 percent of the workforce, according to the government's annual Economic Survey. Of the total land area of 80.4 million hectares, about 22 million are cultivated, according to official data. Nearly 65 percent of this cultivated area is in Punjab, about 25 percent in Sindh and 10 percent in the North West Frontier Province and Balochistan.
Here's a story from Indian media about Mumbai terror trial:
Agencies Posted online: Tuesday , Dec 22, 2009 at 1918 hrs
Mumbai : Lone surviving Pakistani gunman Ajmal Kasab said on Tuesday that he was not a "Jihadi" and had not undergone any training at the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) camp in Pakistan.
Kasab told the court, which was recording the gunman's final statement on the prosecution evidence, he was a cook with a catering company in "Saarayee-Alamghir" near Jhelum in Pakistan.
Denying any involvement with terror outfits LeT and Jamat-ul-Dawa (JuD), Kasab declined meeting Hafiz Sayed, Zaki-ur-Lakhvi, Abu Kahfa and Abu Hamza--all wanted accused and alleged LeT operatives.
"I heard the names of Lash-e-Taliban and JUD from the police here. Crime Branch officials had shown the photograph of Lakhvi," Kasab said.
Asked by the court if he was introduced to one Major General Saab at the training camp, Kasab said, "This is absolutely wrong."
The judge, M L Tahaliyani, was putting questions to Kasab on the basis of his confession before magistrate in February; however Kasab disowned the confession, saying it was given under duress.
When special Judge M L Tahaliyani referred to his statement in the confession that Hafeez Sayed had told 30 boys at the LeT training camp that they would have to lay down their lives for liberating Kashmir, Kasab said: "This is absolutely wrong".
Alleging that the police had threatened to administer electric shocks to him if he did not give a statement to the magistrate, Kasab said the police had prepared the confession and forced him to recite it.
Asked by the court, if he was told in the training that they would go to heaven if they attacked India, Kasab replied in the negative saying he did not attend the training.
Kasab also denied having told the police anything about Kuber boat and a dead body found on the boat. According to the prosecution, the group of ten terrorists had highjacked Kuber on their way to Mumbai from Karachi in Pakistan.
"I have never seen the boat; crime branch and FBI had showed me pictures of Kuber and my clothes and articles seized from the boat. These articles must belong to either fishermen or smugglers. The AK 47 rifle may belong to the police and it is not mine."
An I-card recovered from his trouser pocket was shown to Kasab in the court on Tuesday, but he refused to identify himself. "It's not me. Trousers are not mine, I was wearing leather pants," he stated.
Similarly, about the money seized from him, he said that it was not his. "The police had taken Rs 2,400 from me on November 25, which I had kept for my return ticket. Those currency notes did not have any marks on them. These notes have something written on them," Kasab said when he was shown the Rs 100-note.
The gunman further alleged that all the witnesses were briefed by the police. "One witness had in the identification parade identified me as the one in Hotel Taj. That witness was not brought to court during the trial," Kasab said.
He further said all the witnesses were shown his photograph prior to the parade and thus they could identify him and witnesses were prompted by the police.
Kasab also alleged that even when he was in jail custody, three crime branch officials were guarding him and used to threaten him to give the statement before the magistrate.
"I had given this complaint in writing to the magistrate on February 18, when I was produced for recording my confession. But when nothing was done on it, I kept mum and did not complain again," Kasab said.
Kasab and two Indians- Faheem Ansari and Sabaudding Ahmed are facing trial for their involvement in the 26/11 terror attacks.x
According to a Times of India report, Kasab has answered the judge's questions in Marathi language.
Another newspaper, Indian Express, has reported that Bal Thackeray is asking why others in Mumbai can not learn Marathi if Kassab can?
Here are some excerpts from a Christian Science Monitor report on the adverse role of the big landlords on recovery from floods:
"Islamabad, Pakistan —
Like millions of other farmers across Pakistan, Abdur Razzaq of district Kot Addu lost the majority of his crops and livestock to the floodwaters that swept through the country in August. He estimates his financial loss this year around $3,000 – a huge blow given the poverty in rural Pakistan.
But his problems are compounded by the $2,000 in rent he owes to his feudal landlord, who, he says, is not inclined to forgive.
“If I ask him to defer payment, I would only have to pay back with greater interest,” he says. Instead, Mr. Razzaq says he will sell his animals at a discount and attempt to start fresh.
Those who refuse to pay – or can't – are forced out of their homes by armed gangs sent by the landlord’s family, and sometimes set upon by dogs.
"According to leading Pakistani historian Mubarak Ali, author of “Feudalism,” the problem lies with Pakistan’s two largest political parties, the ruling Pakistan People’s Party and the Nawaz Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League (N), whose representatives in southern Punjab and Sindh province consist almost exclusively of wealthy landowners.
Since the floods hit, Pakistan’s rural landowning class, who use their money and influence to gain seats in parliament, have made headlines for being conspicuously absent from their constituencies in their hour of need, diverting floodwaters to save their own lands, and for failing to disburse aid money entrusted to them to pass on to their communities.
The practice extends up the chain of command in Pakistan's government. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi both hail from large feudal families in southern Punjab and have the added bonus of belonging to families with ancestors who are considered saints in the Sufi Islamic tradition. "
"Pakistan’s Army, the country’s most powerful institution, meanwhile, is unlikely to be the agent of change, says Dr. Ali, because of its own vested interests. “Over the years, the Army has granted large amounts of land to retired generals and brigadiers. So it’s not in anyone’s interest to have any land reform.”
“I always call it feudal democracy because it’s not the people’s democracy, and they are not interested in solving the problems of common people,” he says, highlighting the mismanagement evident during and after the floods.
Despite the fact that agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of Pakistan’s economy, Pakistan's lawmakers have seemingly safeguarded their own interests by ensuring that there is no agricultural income tax."
"In rural Sindh, where, through a combination of wealth and religious standing, landlord power is most pronounced, thousands of laborers remain in bonded labor for debts accrued by their forefathers, and are confined to their villages to carry out hard labor till their death, according to IA Rehman, secretary-general of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, which regularly undertakes missions to have such laborers freed.
If the workers do not return to their fields to cultivate the lands, this might undercut the position of the landlords there, says Ali. But he’s not hopeful.
“The whole local administration is under their control – the police and the bureaucrats. So it’s impossible to have any peasant movement," he says.
“They [the landlords] are brutal towards their peasants, to make them realize that they don’t have any power, and if you disobey they are in the power to punish you and put you in prison. Fear is their tool to dominate their people.”
The recent tragic assassination of Gov Salman Taseer has caused many to rethink whether the South Asian Barelvi or Sufi Islam is really more tolerant than Deobandi or Wahabi Islam imported into Pakistan from Saudi Arabia.
Clearly, the followers of Barelvi Islam have not hesitated in supporting blasphemy laws, and they have shamelessly cheered the murder of Salman Taseer who spoke for repeal of such laws.
I also think the Barelvi or Sufi Islam in Pakistan has been hijacked by the feudal-politcal class of makhdooms (Yusuf Raza Gilani, Shah Mahmmood Qureshi, Javed Hashmi, Amin Fahim, etc) to exploit their self-proclaimed lineage from Prophet Mohammad (their so-called Syed status) as a way to maintain their feudal-cum-spiritual power over the poor peasants in Sind and Southern Panjab.
This feudal domination of politics has badly hurt the emergence of real democracy and any advancement of the poor, illiterate rural folks in Pakistan, and contributed to the growth of religious extremism particularly in rural Punjab.
Here's "The Other Story" on Salman Taseer seen through thye eyes of Shirin Sadeghi as published in The Huffington Post:
Albert Camus's famous novel, The Stranger, was the story of a man who was killed not because of a crime he had committed but because of a steady rise in publicity about his character faults. Little things bothered people about the Stranger -- he didn't cry at his mother's funeral, he had a steady girlfriend he didn't plan to marry. When he became implicated in a crime, the trial became a showcase of all the tiny things he did in his private life that the public didn't approve of or simply didn't understand -- though none of these things were exactly wrong or immoral, in sum and in public, they cost him his life.
Salman Taseer was a Stranger in Pakistan. His millions of dollars, British mother, private relationships, and extravagant Western lifestyle -- though not in themselves crimes nor even shortcomings in character, could not possibly have been more in contrast with the very poor and increasingly religiously extreme population of Pakistan.
In the last few years, more and more of the private details of his life were leaked into the public consciousness, private photos were obtained and published, personal habits were recounted. Here in the U.S., a large number of tributes to him have framed him as a crusader of human rights who died for good but the fact is -- and most Pakistanis will tell you, if they are not in the habit of pandering to Western imagery, that what really killed Salman Taseer was anything but an isolated -- though brave -- act of heroism.
The ugly truth of Pakistan today is not about a battle between do-gooders and those who oppose them. What killed Salman Taseer was the primary and overwhelming disparity in Pakistan -- the one that has steadily fundamentalized that country since the days of the U.S.-imposed religious dictator Zia ul-Haq, through the first Afghan war and now the new Afghan war that is also blatantly being fought in Pakistan. That disparity is one of wealth, of have-nothings and have-everythings.
The great anger in Pakistan against the current President Zardari, his slain wife and their family has very clearly been against the extravagance of their elite Western lives -- the wealth and abundance, their obvious dismissal of not only the tragic and obvious poverty of the country they rule down on, but the values and traditions of its people which they may never have even learned, or simply choose not to respect.
Salman Taseer was also a multimillionaire -- though many people agree he came upon most of his wealth through industry rather than other means. But in a country as poor as Pakistan whose public has for a generation now increasingly embraced religion as the singular means of acquiring any authority or voice against the feudal lords and wealthy elite who are granted government positions from their friends to rule over people, apart from extreme and flamboyant wealth, the other major crime against decency is being out of touch with the public's values.
Those values include religion, and Taseer, a man who reportedly carried a tiny Koran around his neck, nonetheless did not understand that he had no authority to impinge on religious matters. Strangers cannot afford to be activists, even if it is just once.
Here are some excepts from Sherbano Taseer (Salman Taseer's daughter) interview with Pakistani Islamic scholar Javaid Ahmed Ghamidi as published in Newsweek Pakistan:
Are Islam and democracy compatible?
Yes, of course. Islam favors democratic societies. In the West, they have created democracies, which may have their shortcomings, but where people listen to one another, tolerate each other's opinions, and engage in dialogue. The majority opinion is made into law, and these laws can be criticized, debated freely, and amended based on people's beliefs.
There is furor in Pakistan over the blasphemy laws. What does the Quran say about punishing those who are proven to have committed blasphemy?
There is no punishment prescribed for blasphemy in the Quran or in the sayings of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him). Some clerics cite the case of Ibn Akhtar, but they misinterpret that incident and make it about blasphemy. Man can make laws, and these should not be misused to unfairly target or victimize anyone. Islam specifically says that taking the life of an individual is tantamount to taking the life of all humanity. It is a crime. It is wrong. Allah says true Muslims are those in whose hands others are safe.
Do you feel Pakistan can contain the extremist threat?
Let's start by not losing hope. We can contain it if we unite. There needs to be a new movement, by educated people, who can put pressure on the government so that, for one, education returns to being the responsibility of the state. Otherwise, this cancer of extremism will continue to spread. Pakistan has over 12,000 madrassahs with more than 2 million students. The countless clerics at these schools have immense sway, they have formed communities around themselves and they have weapons. And when power comes into the hands of such people—when we give them that power—you get what we have happening right now. There is nothing in the Quran or the Prophet's (peace be upon him) sayings to justify what the extremists are doing. We need to enter the playing field and correct this, and turn their arguments on their head. I have challenged them on every occasion for the past five years or so, and told them what they are saying is incorrect. They can only stay silent in return. Even in the matter of blasphemy they could not refute me, but I feel I am alone in this.
So how do we change things?
People need to understand Islam themselves, there is no other way. We need to understand the religion and launch a movement to reform society. In the West, there was a reformation movement which needs to be replicated in the East. There is strength in our arguments. You can reason with these people if you reason strongly and with facts. Islam was initially spread by a handful of people. This is how you will get success and nobody will be able to refute it. The media has a lot of power and must use this power positively, spreading the message from house to house. But the reality is that we are not ready to take up this cause. The secularists and the elite are not ready to take this up, they are not ready to talk and engage especially about beliefs.
What role do you see religious scholars playing to improve our society?
They, like doctors and engineers, are experts in their field. Their role is not to pick up guns, but to argue with facts and to present their arguments logically and calmly. Their role is not to threaten or to preach in a hostile or forceful manner in the streets, but to inform and show people the right Islam. The unfortunate reality here is that those who claim to be adherents of Allah's word are actually quite unfamiliar with the faith.
Here's a Dawn report on Wikileaks cables regarding Saudi money funding militants in Southern Punjab:
KARACHI: A US official in a cable sent to the State Department stated that “financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith clerics in south Punjab from organisations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.”
The cable sent in November 2008 by Bryan Hunt, the then Principal Officer at the US Consulate in Lahore, was based on information from discussions with local government and non-governmental sources during his trips to the cities of Multan and Bahawalpur.
Quoting local interlocutors, Hunt attempts to explain how the “sophisticated jihadi recruitment network” operated in a region dominated by the Barelvi sect, which, according to the cable, made south Punjab “traditionally hostile” to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith schools of thought.
Hunt refers to a “network of Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith mosques and madrassahs” being strengthened through an influx of “charity” which originally reached organisations “such as Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Al-Khidmat foundation”. Portions of these funds would then be given away to clerics “in order to expand these sects’ presence” in a relatively inhospitable yet “potentially fruitful recruiting ground”.
Outlining the process of recruitment for militancy, the cable describes how “families with multiple children” and “severe financial difficulties” were generally being exploited for recruitment purposes. Families first approached by “ostensibly ‘charitable’” organisations would later be introduced to a “local Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith maulana” who would offer to educate the children at his madrassah and “find them employment in the service of Islam”. “Martyrdom” was also “often discussed”, with a final cash payment to the parents. “Local sources claim that the current average rate is approximately Rs 500,000 (approximately USD 6,500) per son,” the cable states.
Children recruited would be given age-specific indoctrination and would eventually be trained according to the madrassah teachers’ assessment of their inclination “to engage in violence and acceptance of jihadi culture” versus their value as promoters of Deobandi or Ahl-i-Hadith sects or recruiters, the cable states.
Recruits “chosen for jihad” would then be taken to “more sophisticated indoctrination camps”. “Locals identified three centres reportedly used for this purpose”. Two of the centres were stated to be in the Bahawalpur district, whereas one was reported as situated “on the outskirts of Dera Ghazi Khan city”. These centres “were primarily used for indoctrination”, after which “youths were generally sent on to more established training camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and then on to jihad either in FATA, NWFP, or as suicide bombers in settled areas”.
The cable goes on to quote local officials criticising the PML-N-led provincial and the PPP-led federal governments for their “failure to act” against “extremist madrassas, or known prominent leaders such as Jaish-i-Mohammad’s Masood Azhar”. The Bahawalpur district nazim at the time told Hunt that despite repeatedly highlighting the threat posed by extremist groups and indoctrination centres to the provincial and federal governments, he had received “no support” in dealing with the issue unless he was ready to change his political loyalties. The nazim, who at the time was with the PML-Q, “blamed politics, stating that unless he was willing to switch parties…neither the Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz provincial nor the Pakistan People’s Party federal governments would take his requests seriously”.
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From Relationships to Faith-Affirming Films, DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good’s Influential Reach
DeVon Franklin is a studio executive described early in his career as a wunderkind and whose production credits include box office hits like “The Karate Kid” (remake), “The Pursuit of Happyness,” and faith-based titles like “Heaven Is for Real” and “Miracles From Heaven” to name a few. As President/CEO of Franklin Entertainment, he recently signed a multi-year deal with 20th Century Fox for future films. He is, by his own admission, deeply committed to producing inspirational content of faith that reaches audiences all around the world. In addition to his commitment to film, Franklin is an ordained minister and also co-wrote the New York Times bestseller, The Wait, with wife, film and television actress Meagan Good.
Good, who has been acting since the age of four, has been in numerous films ranging from Stomp the Yard to Think Like A Man, and television shows including the NBC drama Deception, Fox’s Minority Report and CBS’ Code Black. Hulu is currently developing a TV reboot of Foxy Brown with Good starring in the iconic role.
Referred to as a Hollywood power couple, Franklin and Good strive to maintain authenticity and integrity in their work. Risen met with the couple who shared candidly and talked about their careers, marriage and the faith that brought them together.
Interviewed exclusively for Risen Magazine in Los Angeles, California
Risen Magazine: What was it about movies and the entertainment industry that made you want to pursue it as a career?
DeVon Franklin: It’s the power of imagination coming alive onscreen and seeing stories that capture the awe and the wonder of life. I think sometimes we look at movies and entertainment as a business, and it is, but that business is built upon this incredible ability to take what is on a page and bring it to life. That, to me, the magic of that journey and the magic of seeing that onscreen, is what really motivated me to want to pursue it as a career goal. I thought if I could create content that would help uplift the world, then I could maybe contribute positively to the world through entertainment.
DeVon Franklin: Dolce and Gabbana Shirt.
Meagan Good: Cinq a Sept Dress and Alejandro Ingelino Shoes.
RM: Getting into the film school at University of Southern California became your main goal, but when that didn’t happen you still felt like the Lord was telling you to attend USC. How did you know?
DF: It felt like a peace in my spirit. I went to visit UCLA and USC. I was accepted to both schools, but when I found out I was rejected from the film school at USC I thought in my mind, “There is not a chance I am ever going to go here.” But since I had already paid the money to visit the school, I thought I would at least finish out the visit. I went and did the visit and when I was spending time on campus it just felt calm. It felt peaceful like this is where I am supposed to be and I didn’t have that feeling when I was at UCLA. It was a feeling I had to trust and listen to because I felt like it was God telling me where I needed to be. Ultimately having been there for four years and graduating, I got the confirmation along the way. I think that from a young age being taught to listen to God’s voice, being in church, reading the Word [Bible] and [having all] that be a vibrant part of my life [led to the point that] by the time I was 18 years old and needed to depend on hearing Him, it is not a foreign concept.
RM: During college you worked as an intern for Will Smith and James Lassiter. How did this come about and what is one thing you learned from your time with them that you still implement today?
DF: One thing I learned is that it is about a work ethic. One of the thing’s Will told me was, “It’s not about how hard you work, but it is about how long you are willing to work.” Everyone works hard, but the difference-maker is how long you can work. Those that can work hard and work long will succeed, and I use that lesson almost every day.
Those that can work hard and work long will succeed, and I use that lesson almost every day. -DeVon Franklin
RM: You spent a decade at Sony and started your company, Franklin Entertainment to develop and produce films. Now that you are teaming up with 20th Century Fox, what does this mean?
DF: It means 20th Century Fox will fund my company where before, Sony was funding my company, so now I will be primarily making movies for them. It’s a great opportunity to start a new chapter as my identity as a producer and the Fox family is a great family to be a part of. They have made some of the most historic movies in the business. Now I can help contribute to that legacy by making films that are inspirational, positive and faith-affirming and I’m really excited about that.
DeVon Franklin: Vince Sweater with J Brand Jeans.
RM: Meagan, you started acting at the age of four, which I would assume means you had to rely heavily on your family practically in terms of getting to auditions and encouragement through the process. What did your relationship with your parents and siblings look like?
Meagan Good: My dad was LAPD for twenty-six years so he wasn’t really in the home. He is an awesome father, but we didn’t grow up with him in our household. So it really was my mom raising me, my older sister, my brother – who has a learning disability, and then later down the line my mom ended up getting remarried and we adopted my younger sister as well. Me and my older sister told my mom when we were like four and six that we wanted to pursue acting. We pursued it for fun initially, we did a ton of “extra” work, and then it kind of kept upgrading to having a Barbie commercial, then a Pringles commercial, now you have a McDonald’s commercial to having one line, then two lines, then you’re in three scenes, literally working from the bottom up. My mom was super supportive and when we told her we wanted to do it not as a hobby but as careers, we were like 13 and 15 years old; she quit her job at the bank and started managing us. We worked really hard and tried to be good kids and she taught us a lot about not believing your own hype, and to understand that God has given to you what He has given to you and He can also take it away just like that [snapping her fingers].
RM: I had read that you became a Christian at the age of 12. What influence did your faith have as you navigated Hollywood?
MG: What influenced it was that a friend of mine, and a friend of hers in school, got into a car accident and three people died – they were all teenagers except they were babysitting a five-year-old little girl who died as well. They went to my youth group. I would go because my god-mom taught youth group, but I wasn’t necessarily saved, I would just go. After that happened we all went on a retreat including the girl that survived the accident, and we were all on this mountaintop and we were praying and they were talking about accepting Jesus into your heart. I remember her crying and wailing and then accepting Jesus. I thought, “Wow, if she can go through something like that and see three of her friends die, and be one of two survivors, at all of 13 years old, and she believes in Jesus after all of that, I could believe in Jesus.” I got saved that night as well; I was 12. I was a Christian, but I was immature in my walk and it took growth and time and age 19 I wanted to get baptized. I was ready to make the decision for myself, so I rededicated my life to Jesus. I try to balance and never be judgmental, because I know what being judged so much feels like – especially growing up in the business.
RM: Fast forward a bit, you have said you had a destructive personality, but started making changes and reconnected with God before you ever started dating DeVon. How do you think the shift in behavior allowed space for you to be interested in a guy with DeVon’s qualities?
MG: It was literally a decade later, from 19 to 29 years old. I had just gotten out of a not great relationship – and it’s not the person, we just weren’t right for each other – I was really at my lowest point and I was in this relationship while I was shooting Jumping the Broom. DeVon and I got to know each other, just as co-workers, nothing inappropriate, he was the boss, I was the actress, but I remember thinking to myself, “That is the kind of guy I wish I could marry.” And feeling like he was out of my league because he was so good. When I left the movie I said, “Lord I feel like I’m at my lowest point and I really need to know what I need to be doing right now.” And God told me to get out of the relationship I was in, and I did. He told me that I needed to be celibate, and later He told me that DeVon was my husband, nine months before we even started dating. I had to change a lot of my behavior so I spent those next months working on myself. When I felt guilty or was in a bad place, I was very self-destructive and that time for me was really about getting it together and healing. When that process was closer to being done, God brought us [DeVon] together.
There is nothing more amazing than turning back to God about something that is the hardest thing to do and really being obedient in an area that is often overlooked. -Meagan Good
RM: DeVon, what did that look like from your perspective, you were working on Jumping the Broom with Meagan so what was it about her that caught your attention and how did you go from a professional relationship to one of dating?
DF: I wasn’t looking at her romantically when we were making the movie. I just thought she was great in the film and seemed like a cool person. I was a studio executive and I wasn’t going to be the guy that made a movie and used it as an opportunity to meet women. We developed a friendship over the course of the film, but I wasn’t thinking anything. The thought of us even being here right now married is like, “What? How did that happen?!” because it was so improbable at that time and even now.
The same week as the release for Jumping the Broom I was doing the release of my first book Produced by Faith, so I had Meagan and Laz Alonso come out to the church I’m a part of to do an interview with them to promote the movie, and then afterwards was a book signing. We had a good time and that night one of my cousins said, “What was going on with you and Meagan on stage?” And I said, “What are you talking about? Nothing.” And the reply was, “No, we saw.” I said, “You saw nothing.” [Laughter]. I had no idea at that point that God had already told Meagan I was gong to be her husband. She told her god-sister that she came with, “Ooh you are going to meet my husband tonight.”
MG: [Laughter] Yea, she said, “Your husband? Does he know that he is going to be your husband?” I said, “Nope.” She said, “How do you know?” I said, “Because God told me.” She said [skeptically], “Alright Meagan.”
DF: I dismissed what my cousins were saying thinking they were crazy. The next week we were at the premiere and premiere party and we started talking and I thought, “Is something happening right now? This feels like a little more than just friends.” We kept talking and I told her I was going on my book tour, but when I get back let’s get together. I was gone for about two weeks and when I came back we hung out. By the third date it was clear something was going on.
Meagan Good: Gauri & Nainika Dress.
RM: Together you two wrote the book, The Wait. Neither of you came into your relationship as virgins, but together you made the decision to wait until you got married, if that was even going to happen, to have sex. Speak to others in a similar situation that believe in God, but maybe have chosen to not follow that aspect of God’s plan.
MG: I think God knows our hearts and I really wanted to be obedient to what I already believed. I always felt conflicted about sex and I always felt a conviction about it throughout my twenties. It is an area where Christians are kind of just doing what they want. But there is nothing more amazing than turning back to God about something that is the hardest thing to do and really being obedient in an area that is often overlooked. I think regardless if you have had sex before, or how many people you have been with, there is always a chance to start fresh. A lot of times when you bring sex into the equation, even if it’s not early on and it is a few months down the line, that becomes kind of the base that everything is built on and then I don’t think you see the person for who they really are. I would say it takes two to three years in most scenarios and then it won’t work out, and the cycle repeats. I think most of the time it is because we don’t really know who the person is because the sex is sustaining the relationship until the sex slows down and you start to get to know the person and you’re not sure you like them. Or you accepted something for the first year, but now you’re not sure you can accept it long term. You deserve better and God wants the very best for you no matter what mistakes you have made or where you have been, He wants you to have the best version of life.
RM: The book isn’t just about the two of you waiting to have sex with each other until you were married, it talks about the need to be patient and wait in several areas of relationship. What encouragement would you give singles who want to be married but for whatever reason the right person has not entered the scene yet?
DF: I think it is about shifting the focus off of when the “person” is going to arrive and focus on “who I am right now.” Many times we are reaching out for that next person and we are not doing the work we need to be doing in ourselves. I believe that singleness is a gift and we need to maximize it while we have it. When you are not single you can still do the work that needs to be done, but it becomes more challenging because you really have to be with somebody that is going to allow you to do that. So if God has allowed us that time [to be single], let’s not squander that time by wondering when the right person is going to show up. Wondering, worrying, self-doubt or loathing – all these things rob the power of our singleness so we end up getting into relationships and we are not nearly as whole as we could be. We would encourage singles to embrace this divine period of time and become who you need to be. Relationships will help add to you, but relationships do not make you. Getting married does not automatically heal your wounds from before you were married. Sometimes we expect marriage to magically make us happy and it doesn’t. Also, pick well. As a single person use your discernment, don’t just let someone waltz into your life that looks the part; are they the part? Do they have character, integrity, and ability to grow? Picking well, in accordance with God, saves you so many problems down the road.
RM: People love to judge or place their version of what they think faith should look like on others – types of movies deemed Christian, fashion choices, types of roles – how do you address criticism especially when it comes from the community that should be celebrating the growth you two are bringing?
MG: At first I didn’t handle it very well. Growing up in the business I was used to being judged. I was used to being subject to tons of scrutiny, but it was actually really minute in comparison to the positive feedback, but I would take it very personal. It would really hurt my feelings and it would kind of depress me a little bit. I worked through my twenties just getting to a place of really being okay with it and loving the person that throws the stone, praying for them, and allowing it to develop my character. Then we got married, and all of a sudden it was like a lot of people thought I just became a Christian. I came under large amounts of scrutiny from the Christian community. It blew my mind because I can understand you disagreeing with me, that’s okay we don’t always have to agree on everything but I felt brutally attacked. They’d say, “You can’t do this now.” Or, “you can’t do that now.” And I’d say, “Yea, I’ve been a Christian since I was 13 and this is what I do.” At first it was really hurtful and more devastating because it was from a community I am a part of and we are supposed to be the most loving and if you correct someone, you do it in love. That just wasn’t what I experienced initially. I feel like everybody has a personal relationship with God and you know the Word of God, and you take everything to Him and you work out in your spirit what you think is appropriate. That may vary for people depending on what your upbringing was, depending on how old you are, depending on your life lessons, depending on where you are from and all kinds of other things. So it took me a minute to work through it and a lot of it was strength from DeVon, because he is just not affected by that kind of stuff. His personality has made it easier for me because I know even if no one supports me, he does. Being able to adopt that attitude has made me better in a lot of ways.
DF: Negativity is a sign you are headed in the right direction. We say we follow Christ, but then we don’t want the negativity, then we don’t really follow Him because we follow a man that was a revolutionary. He received much negativity not only during His time on earth, but continues to. Sometimes that negativity is evidence that you are doing what you need to do. With others sometimes if you allow that negativity into your life, it can be the director of your story instead of God. It is really important to not let it disrupt what God is trying to do. I think as Christians we buy into this idea of a safe existence until it’s time to go to Heaven and that is just not biblical. We live in a world that is incredibly dark and we need to be bold and daring and try to help people in their life, and sometimes that is going to require doing things that some Christians think you shouldn’t do.
My vision is to make the faith-based market part of the mainstream by working with Hollywood studios, by having the resources necessary to make quality productions, hiring great crews, and casting the films with name actors. -DeVon Franklin
RM: This leads into an interesting conversation about quality. I guess labels or genres are needed to help audiences identify a type of film – comedy, drama, horror, faith – but a lot of time quality is compromised in faith films and written off as low-budget. I can point to a lot of mainstream “low-budget” films that would dispute that argument. We are getting closer in production level with films like Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings, but then the content is off, or there is great content, but other areas fail. I think movies like The Book of Eli and Miracles from Heaven, currently even like Hacksaw Ridge, are the best we’ve seen when comes to marrying content, production value and great casting. DeVon, you have been an absolute game-changer in this area, what is your vision for elevating faith or values on-screen?
DF: One of the reasons I wanted to go to 20th Century Fox is because being a part of the main Hollywood system in one of the fundamental ways to mainline the faith-based genre. So much of the genre has been built on the back of independent production. Most independent production, by definition has limited resources. So you’re not seeing people who aren’t trying or putting in effort when you see a film that doesn’t meet normal Hollywood standards, you’re seeing people put their hearts and souls into these productions with the resources they have available to them. You see people responding to the content, but the faith-based market is the same as the general market, they want good movies. You have even more faith-based families going to see Marvel films then you probably do going to see faith-based films because you can take your whole family to it and it’s fun for everyone. My vision is to make the faith-based market part of the mainstream by working with Hollywood studios, by having the resources necessary to make quality productions, hiring great crews, and casting the films with name actors.
My next film, The Star, which will be out Thanksgiving 2017, is Sony animation and it’s the story of the nativity, told from the animals point of view, and we have an incredible cast. I just got brought on to do the Kurt Warner [Christian NFL player] project at Fox. I want to make content that can make the case for God. Content that can chip away at the skepticism, and the cynicism. Then it’s about putting these films through a system that has great distribution, marketing, and the publicity needed for the films to have a seat at the table. The vision is that you will go to the theatre and have a spectrum of entertainment content that you want to see whether it’s a comedy, whether it’s a drama, or whether it’s an uplifting film that can affirm your faith.
RM: Meagan your next film, Love By the 10th Date, premieres January 28th on Lifetime. What can audiences expect?
MG: I was really excited about Love By the 10th Date because it is a character I’ve never played before. It’s a lot of Lucille Ball comedy. My character does not know that she is unstable, but she is really, I hope, loveable. She is on the search for love and she is trying to get to ten dates with the same guy thinking that at that point the guy would know that they are in a relationship. Beforehand every other relationship she has been in it hasn’t been what she thought it was. It’s a very quirky and fun character.
RM: Will we get to see the two of you work on another project together in the future?
MG: We are actually in the process of developing something together. It’s pretty cool and such a blessing. I have been learning Taekwondo and I was telling a friend I wanted to do action and stunts, but I also want to be vulnerable. I want to be strong and still own my sensuality. And my friend said, “You are not going to find that, you have to create it.”
As this article was going to print Risen confirmed that Hulu is developing a TV series adaptation of the 1974 cult classic film Foxy Brown with Meagan Good starring in the iconic role. She’ll produce along with her husband, DeVon Franklin and Tony Krantz. The studio is MGM Television.
DeVon Franklin: Dolce and Gabbana Shirt. Meagan Good: Cinq a Sept Dress and Alejandro Ingelino Shoes. Photo Credit: Rob Springer | Stylist: Linda Medvene
DeVon Franklin: Dolce and Gabbana Shirt. Meagan Good: Cinq a Sept Dress and Alejandro Ingelino Shoes.
Dinesh D’Souza: Political Commentator, Filmmaker & Author
Hootie and the Blowfish Ex-Band Member Jim Sonefeld
Joseph Fiennes
New Movie About Mercy Me’s Lead Singer: “I Can Only Imagine”
← Mandy Arioto
Sam Worthington →
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Salem Exceeds Goals for First Phase of Strategic Plan
Students Confirmed for Fall Enrollment Up 43 Percent
WINSTON-SALEM, NC (APRIL 3, 2019)—Leaders at Salem Academy and College are heralding the successes of phase I of the institution’s strategic plan, which included a $10 million campaign called Step Up for Salem. The oldest educational institution for girls and women in the country, Salem has raised $13.1 million date—with three months remaining before the self-imposed deadline of June 30, 2019.
The $13.1 million raised includes a $2 million matching gift from BB&T and is 75 percent more than Salem has raised during any prior year. As a result of the campaign, Salem has reduced its debt by more than $5 million.
On all fronts, Salem’s leadership is calling phase I of the strategic plan, which includes the implementation of an aggressive admissions strategy, a success. As of March 31, applications to Salem College have increased 22 percent over last year, and the number of students who have confirmed their enrollment to the College for the fall is up 43 percent.
Other phase I initiatives included balancing the institution’s annual budget, selling excess outlying properties, and introducing a variety of new programs to help Salem students and faculty excel.
“The Salem team has worked extremely effectively since last summer to execute our short-term plan—which included getting our financial house in order—with multi-dimensional success,” Salem Academy and College President Sandra J. Doran said. “Phase I of our plan is working. We have ‘right sized’ the budget and are going to stay within that budget as we continue with our strategic plan.”
“I am deeply grateful to everyone who contributed to the record-setting pace of the Step Up for Salem campaign,” she said. “Salem is a much stronger institution today than it was only months ago, and this means that we are in a better position to continue moving full-steam ahead.”
Doran said Salem has experienced a 93 percent increase in total gifts this year and a 92 percent increase over 2018 in the number of donors. More than 2,400 contributors responded to Step Up for Salem’s call with cash gifts. The participation goal of the campaign is 3,000 donors by June 30, and Salem expects that additional contributors this spring will help reach that goal.
“Our work in recent months has paid off in many ways, but one of the best ways is that we have had an opportunity to reconnect with many friends and alumnae and energize support for Salem,” Doran said. “We are particularly pleased that more than 75 percent of contributions to Step Up for Salem came from Salem alumnae, and we are humbled by the outpouring of support from the Winston-Salem community.”
“There are no plans to slow our momentum, and the Step Up for Salem campaign will continue as planned through June 30,” Salem Academy and College Board Chair McDara P. Folan, III said. “Phase II of the strategic plan, which will be developed in a few months, will focus on the long term as Salem prepares our students for the challenges of today and tomorrow. We have big ideas and big plans for the future of Salem Academy and College, and we need continued investment in our mission.”
Doran said the institution will hold Celebrate Salem! weekend on April 26 through 28 to welcome all alumnae back to campus and to celebrate the success of the campaign.
About Salem Academy and College
Salem Academy and College is the oldest educational institution for girls and women in the United States. With more than 18,000 alumnae who serve as entrepreneurs, physicians, researchers, artists, lawyers, teachers, community volunteers, and corporate executives, Salem Academy and Salem College continues to educate the next generation of global leaders. For more information about Salem Academy, please visit salemacademy.com. For more information about Salem College, please visit salem.edu.
MorePress Release
2019 News by Month
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British Nobility Portraits
British Nobility Portraits L-M
Mary Isabella, Dutchess of Rutland
Method Copper engraving
Artist John Keyse Sherwin after Sir Joshua Reynolds
Published London Published June 4th. 1791 by Robt. Wilkinson No. 58 Cornhill
Dimensions Image 430 x 337 mm, Sheet 502 x 398 mm
Notes Three-quarter length portrait of Mary Isabella Manners, Duchess of Rutland, after Sir Joshua Reynolds (Mannings 1214. Shown seated and gazing off to the right, Mary Isabella holds an open book in her right hand, and rests her head upon her left hand, with her left elbow perched on a ledge. Her hair is mostly worn up, with a few tresses falling down the nape of her neck and onto her dress. The window to the right reveals a seascape.
Mary Isabella Manners (née Somerset), Duchess of Rutland (1756 - 1831) was a politician and society hostess. In 1775, she married Charles Manners, Marquess of Granby, later to become 4th Duke of Rutland.
John Keyse Sherwin (1751 - 24th September 1790) was a British engraver, etcher, and painter, best known for his plates after Poussin, Murillo, and Gainsborough. Despite his reputation as a profligate and a gambler, Sherwin was a very talented engraver, who was allegedly capable of working ambidextrously.
Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) was one of the most important figures of the eighteenth century art world. He was the first President of the Royal Academy and Britain's leading portrait painter. Through a series of lectures on the Discourses on Art at the Royal Academy he defined the style later known as the Grand Manner, an idealised Classical aesthetic. He had a profound impact on the theory and practice of art and helped to raise the status of portrait painting into the realm of fine art. A flamboyant socialite, Reynolds used his social contacts to promote himself and advance his career becoming one of the most prominent portrait painters of the period.
O'Donoghue 11, Hamilton 129
Condition: Excellent impression. Trimmed with in the plate removing the publication line at bottom.
Framing mounted
Stock ID 40034
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The World’s Most Iconic Logos (and their Hidden Meanings)
by NoD Staff | January 8, 2016
Which famous logos would you consider to be the most iconic of all time? Pick five or six. Once you’ve done this, ask yourself what all of them have in common.
Chances are, all of them contain hidden messages.
Iconic Logos Featuring Hidden Messages
While the hidden messages themselves can vary from one logo to the next, you can count on almost all of them expressing one thing or another. When it comes to the most iconic logos of all-time, you have to understand that virtually nothing is an accident. Consider carefully the fact that a logo can express itself in a variety of ways.
Try to identify some of these ways, as you consider some of the most famous logos of all time:
FedEx: When it comes to “hidden message” logos, FedEx is one of the best-known. Don’t know what the hidden message is? Take a look at the space between the “E” and the “X.” The negative space between those letters creates an arrow, which can be taken to mean a number of different things. Essentially, the message inherent in the logo is designed to suggest precision, speediness, and similar concepts.
Photo Credit: Mashable
Wendy’s: The Wendy’s logo hasn’t changed too terribly much, over the course of the past several years. There is a reason for that. Take a closer look at Wendy’s collar, and you may notice that it spells out the word “mom.” Consider the fact that Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas named his restaurant chain after his daughter. All of this is designed to suggest a strong family image for the iconic fast food brand. To put it another way, Wendy’s logo is telling you that their restaurant is a great place to bring the family.
Photo Credit: Fox News
LG: The LG logo hasn’t changed much either. When you understand how complex this seemingly ordinary logo is, you’ll see why LG has stuck to their guns. A lot of people think that the dark pink portion of the logo represents a winking face. While you’re not wrong, you’re also not getting the whole picture. If you look more closely, you’ll notice that the dark pink portion of the logo is created with lines that look like an L and a G.
Baskin Robbins: Besides being colorful, the Baskin Robbins logo also tells you how many flavors they offer. The company has included their 31 flavor range in their pitch for years. The logo is just one more way of telling you that.
This post was authored by NoD staff. Notes on Design is a design industry blog sponsored by Sessions College for Professional Design.
London 2012 Olympic Games: A Logo in Controversy
Free Font Friday: NeoNeon
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LATIF delegates to decrease investments with UK banks
by Colin Marrs
in Recent Posts · Treasury
Local authorities are losing faith in banks as counterparties for their investments, according to a survey of treasurers undertaken by Room151.
An electronic survey held during last week’s Local Authority Treasurers’ Investment Forum in London found that only 5% were planning to significantly increase their allocations to UK banks in the coming year, compared to 35% planning to significantly reduce them.
The finding comes in the wake of continuing low yields from bank deposit accounts, and the introduction of bail-in regulations by the UK government which are set to impact the credit rating of banks.
Earlier in the day, delegates had heard panellists urge the audience to look beyond traditional bank deposit accounts, which they said were no longer an unconditionally safe home for money.
The survey also found that, despite concerns over possible European regulations affecting money market funds, 16% of treasurers are planning to increase the amount placed in these vehicles.
Significantly, 28% of those surveyed said they were planning to increase the amount they lent to other local authorities, compared to just 7% who said they were likely to reduce these amounts.
When asked about corporate bonds, 32% said they would be likely to increase their allocation, compared to just 3% saying they are unlikely to do so.
Only 2% of the conference delegates said they were likely to increase deposits with the Debt Management Account Deposit Facility (DMADF), compared to 10% who said they were looking to row back from it.
Strikingly, not a single delegate said they were likely to use a challenger bank to place cash with over the coming year, with 67% saying they would definitely not. Such banks were also rated the highest risk of all counterparties by 25% of the audience.
There is some hope for the new kids on the block, however, with 29% saying they were undecided on whether to open an account with a challenger bank.
On borrowing, there was good news for the nascent municipal bonds agency, which is being promoted and partially funded by the Local Government Association.
Almost two-thirds (61%) of delegates said that they would consider borrowing from the vehicle if it offered lower rates than the Public Loan Works Board. However, with only 3% saying they would borrow from the agency irrespective of PWLB rates, the scheme could be vulnerable to a cut in rates at the PWLB in response to its creation. A quarter (24%) said they would not be borrowing from the vehicle.
The agency announced earlier this month that it has raised enough money to proceed towards the next phase of development, appointing a team of executives to prepare the first bond launch. Some 26% of the Forum audience said they would consider taking an equity share in the agency.
The survey reflected some appetite in the market for further borrowing, with 55% of respondents saying that their authority is currently under-borrowed, versus 43% saying they weren’t.
However, only 37% had a firm intention to take out more loans in the next 12 months.
Although 57% said they were happy with the advice they received from their treasury advisor, there was a strong feeling that more competition in the market would be welcome.
A whopping 88% answered ‘no’ to the question “Do you think there is a sufficient choice of treasury advisors?”
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By Tie Shank
Enbridge expected to begin work on the ND work stations of the Sandpiper Pipeline Project late fall 2015
August 5, 2015 | View PDF
The Sandpiper Project is an interstate crude oil pipeline that will bring growing supplies of North Dakota Bakken crude oil from the Enbridge Beaver Lodge Station south of Tioga, North Dakota to Clearbrook, Minnesota and then onto an existing Enbridge terminal in Superior, Wisconsin. From these terminals, the crude oil can be shipped through Enbridge pipelines and other third-party pipelines to U.S. and eastern Canadian refineries. More than 75 percent of the Sandpiper route follows pipelines and other infrastructure already in operation.
Enbridge has been working with regulatory and environmental agencies, county officials, communities, and landowners to develop the 616 mile Sandpiper route since April 2013. Once completed, the pipeline will have the capacity to move 225,000 barrels per day (bpd) of Bakken crude to Clearbrook, Minnesota and 375,000 bpd to Superior, Wisconsin.
Katie Haarsager, Enbridge ND Community Relations Advisor states, "Currently we are waiting on further permitting approvals in Minnesota and Wisconsin in order to start on any of the linear construction of the pipe. However in North Dakota we are approved and will be able to start some work on the stations at Stanley, Beaver Lodge, Berthold, and Lakota approximately later this fall. We are hoping to receive approvals by the end of the year to maintain an in-service date of 2017."
Enbridge lists the following FACTS about pipelines on their website:
There are more than 180,000 miles of liquid petroleum pipelines traversing the United States, connecting producing areas to refineries and chemical plants while delivering the products American consumers and businesses need.
The U.S. Department of Transportation credits pipelines as the safest most reliable and efficient manner of transporting crude oil and other liquid petroleum products.
Pipelines are one of the most heavily regulated industries in the U.S. and undergo rigorous and robust regulatory reviews from a variety of federal and state agencies
North Dakota Pipeline Company LLC is a joint venture between Enbridge Energy Partners, L.P. and Williston Basin Pipe Line LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Marathon Petroleum Corporation. North Dakota Pipeline Company LLC assets, formerly known as Enbridge Pipelines (North Dakota) LLC, are operated by Enbridge.
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The RSCDS receives many questions regarding all aspects of music, and we hope that this FAQ page will help to answer some of your queries.
If you cannot find the answer to your question, or would like to recommend a topic, please get in touch with the RSCDS office and we will pass on your query to the Music Director.
The RSCDS holds an umbrella music licence called TheMusicLicence, which is a joint venture between PPL and PRS that covers all UK Branches. This allows a Branch to play RSCDS recorded music via CD or a hired band in any capacity and in any venue.
For more information on music licensing please see below.
Who is responsible for applying to PRS for a Performing Rights Music Licence? Who pays the licence fee?
The proprietor of a premises will normally be responsible for arranging a PRS for Music licence to cover all music use at a premises. This could be a local authority hall, hotel, pub or a community building.
The holder of a PRS for Music licence would be responsible for paying the relevant royalty charges; although, at their own discretion, they could pass these charges on to groups hiring the premises.
However, there are occasions where music is performed at premises and in open spaces that should not otherwise be licensed to the proprietor, or are not covered by the PRS for Music tariff applied to the premises (for example a school). We can issue a licence to a visiting group in these limited circumstances.
If a RSCDS member is unsure whether they require a licence, please contact PRS for Music on 0800 068 4828.
Please note that PRS only covers UK related matters. For more information on Performing Rights Licence please inquire with your local society.
Does a Branch require a PPL licence?
In the UK, a PPL licence is required for any public broadcast of recorded music, while PRS deal with live music performance.
The RSCDS takes out an umbrella licence with PPL that covers all UK Branches, which allows these Branches to play RSCDS recorded music in any venue.
Affiliated Groups are not covered under the licence.
Does it matter what tunes are played at the event?
A PRS for Music Licence is needed when music controlled by PRS is played.
If the class/event numbers are below a certain level, do we still require a licence?
There is no statutory minimum of people required to constitute an audience. However, in some cases, PRS for Music does not charge a licence fee to workplaces with a single (lone) worker.
Music copyright
Different countries have different rules about when it’s acceptable to use material without the copyright owner’s permission and it is therefore important to understand the basic principles surrounding copyright. If you have any questions about music copyrights please get in touch with the RSCDS.
Copyright is an automatic international right that gives the creators of literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works the right to control the ways in which their material may be used. The rights cover broadcast and public performance, copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public.
In many cases, the creator will also have the right to be identified as the author and to object to derogatory treatment and distortions of his work.
What is subject to copyright?
The following are all subject to copyright.
Audiovisual works, such as TV shows, movies, and online videos
Sound recordings and musical compositions
Written works, such as lectures, articles, books, and musical compositions
Visual works, such as paintings, posters, and advertisements
Video games and computer software
Dramatic works, such as plays and musicals
Are copyright rules the same around the world?
We cannot say definitively what the rules are for the rest of the world, and encourage you to check with your local agency for more information.
The major agencies in the USA are ASCAP and BMI. Licensing information is available via their respective websites.
Please contact the local collection agencies. The major agencies in Canada are SOCAN and Re:Sound. Licensing information is available via their respective websites.
The Australian organisations APRA and AMCOS do have agreements with the UK and collect fees on behalf of the two copyright and performing rights organisations here PRS and MCPS.
Can a copyright expire?
A copyright can expire and enter the public domain. In addition, even if there is a copyright, the concept of fair use can limit the reach of the copyright by allowing use without consent of the copyright holder in certain, very limited contexts.
What is 'public domain'?
Works eventually lose their copyright protection and are said to fall into the “public domain,” making them free for everyone to use. It typically takes many years for works to fall into the public domain. The length of a term of copyright protection varies depending on where and when the work was published, whether the work was commissioned as a work for hire, and other factors. The rules for public domain differ in other countries.
It is your responsibility to verify that a work is indeed in the public domain before you upload it to social media or YouTube. There is no official list of works in the public domain. However, there are some useful resources online that might help you.
If I record a dance that has music playing in the background, and upload it to YouTube, is that ok?
If what you recorded includes someone else's copyrighted content, such as copyrighted music playing in the background, then you would still need to get permission from the appropriate rights owners.
More importantly it is up to the musician(s) or band and the label; and bands/musicians look at the issue very differently.
YouTube gives detailed advice about uploading video recording to their site and if you plan to include copyright-protected material in your video, you’ll generally need to seek permission to do so first. YouTube cannot, and does not, grant you these rights and they are unable to assist you in finding and contacting the parties who may be able to grant them to you.
YouTube cannot grant you the rights to use content that has already been uploaded to the site. You have to contact them yourself.
However, they do offer features aimed at helping you discover what material you can incorporate into your video including:
An easy way to find background music or sound effects for your YouTube videos is in YouTube’s Audio Library. You can search for music that’s free for you to use.
The Music Policy Directory also helps you understand the Content ID policies that will be applied by music copyright owners. Depending on the policy, your video may remain live on YouTube with ads, and the revenue will be paid to the owners of the music. Learn more about Music Policies.
To view updated scores for music found in RSCDS books please visit the publication updates pages. If you have any questions please get in touch with the RSCDS office and we will forward on your query to the Music Director.
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HomeUSA News
In Katrina aftermath, State Farm went out of its way to avoid paying claims
Published time: 10 Apr, 2013 00:44 Edited time: 10 Apr, 2013 03:07
Navy Chief Aviation Warfare Systems Operator Scott Pierceas he looks out from the cabin of an SH-60 Seahawk helicopter at the flooded New Orleans streets caused by Hurricane Katrina on 07 September, 2005 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (AFP Photo) © AFP
In what could well end up becoming the first in a number of similar legal defeats for State Farm insurance, a federal jury in Mississippi has charged the company with fraud relating to a 2005 claim made in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
As ABC News first reported in 2006, two former State Farm employees, the Rigby sisters, came forward with accusations of having witnessed an epidemic of fraud at the company’s offices in Biloxi and Gulfport. According to the two, company supervisors instructed staff to “bury” or modify damage reports to avoid payouts.
Even worse, the claim which was the subject of the recent court case had been hidden in a special file with a note reading "Put in Wind File. DO NOT Pay Bill. DO NOT discuss."
The recent charges pertain to one single case, in which State Farm reduced its liability by claiming that damage to a home was caused by flooding rather than high winds. Evidence provided by the Rigsby sisters proved that the company filed a false report in order to avoid paying the homeowner instead of the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Now, a judge has ordered State Farm to reimburse the NFIP for a sum of $250,000, and potentially more once additional damages are determined. The Sun Herald has reported that, though the money involved may not sound like much, it could set precedent that will push along a longer list of potential liabilities.
The jury was also shown evidence that a State Farm flood claims manager, Lecky King, believed that some policyholders were “so desperate” that they would have said anything to receive a payout. For their part, the Rigsbys were able to prove that the insurance company considered Katrina “a water storm,” and trained its adjusters to enforce that view by influencing engineering companies and their damage assessments.
Still, considering the widespread damages and the complexities of the insurance liabilities involved, which can vary depending on policies, proving further instances of fraud may not be easy. During this latest case, the jury was presented with evidence of other nearby homes that, though they were totaled during Hurricane Katrina, were literally blown away before waters rose.
Hurricane Katrina proved to be the costliest single natural disaster in US history, killing 238 and causing billions in damage within the state of Mississippi alone. Following landfall, officials estimated that some 90% of structures along the state’s coastline had been leveled by the storm, with a recorded water surge that was the highest in the history of the US.
Insurance companies faced massive losses following Katrina, which the Insurance Information Institute reports as the costliest disaster in the industry’s history. A total of $41.1 billion was distributed amongst 1.7 million claims, with the state of Mississippi accounting for one third of losses.
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Otto Warmbier Has Died, His Family Announces, After Returning Last Week in a Coma from DPRK
Visit North Korea, Get Arrested, Return to US In a Coma. Otto Warmbier just did.
"Otto has left North Korea. He is on Medivac flight on his way home. Sadly, he is in a coma and we have been told he has been in that condition since March of 2016. We learned of this only one week ago," said Fred and Cindy Warmbier in a statement.
Update: Lunken Airport Manager confirms Otto Warmbier will arrive at Lunken around 10pm, he will then be transported to UC Medical Center. @WLWT pic.twitter.com/mUQHm6hjg…
The North Korean government has finally released Otto Warmbier, 22, the University of Virginia college student who was detained for stealing a banner out of the balcony of his Pyongyang hotel room. The bad news is, he's been in a coma for 16 months after contracting botulism.
Meanwhile, Warmbier's parents told Washington Post that Warmbier contracted botulism after his trial, that he had been in a coma for over a year during his time in North Korea, and was being medically evacuated, adding that he will return to his home in Cincinnati later that evening, meaning Tuesday night.
"We want the world to know how we and our son have been brutalized and terrorized by the pariah regime in North Korean. We are so grateful that he will finally be with people who love him."US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also confirmed Warmbier's release in a statement.
Otto Frederick Warmbier (born 1994) is an American citizen who was imprisoned in North Korea after having been convicted and sentenced to 15 years' hard labor at the age of 21 for "hostile acts against the DPRK". He was arrested over the alleged theft of a political propaganda poster, on January 2, 2016, during a tour in North Korea with an independent travel company. On June 13, 2017, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that the United States Department of State negotiated the release of Otto Warmbier.
Warmbier expressing regrets about stealing the hotel banner.
On March 16, two hours after US envoy Bill Richardson met with two North Korean diplomats from the United Nations office to press for Warmbier's release, Warmbier was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. His confession noted:
I never, never should have allowed myself to be lured by the United States administration to commit a crime in this country, I wish that the United States administration never manipulate people like myself in the future to commit crimes against foreign countries. I entirely beg you, the people and government of the DPRK, for your forgiveness. Please! I made the worst mistake of my life
The DPRK has detained a handful of American citizens in the last ten years, and it isn't entirely clear why anyone would risk visiting there. Warmbier's release leaves 3 other Americans still detained there, for such crimes as leaving a bible in a hotel room.
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Aug 21 - Active Shooter Response and How to Prepare your Organization (Webcast - FREE for Members)
We often associate active shooter incidents with schools, but most people aren’t aware that active shooter incidents happen at businesses twice as often. These events can dramatically impact operations, lives, and communities. While we may feel as though we have no control over this alarming trend, organizational leaders are obligated to prepare their organizations to respond if faced with such a situation. In this session, we’ll discuss how to gather, assess, and synthesize external environmental information related to active shooter incidents to ultimately guide your organization through strategic decisions that will improve the company’s competitive advantage to stay in business, should such a tragic event occur. Attendees will gain knowledge regarding best available risk management strategies regarding this topic, including avoidance, mitigation, and acceptance.
-Prevention
-Response
-Recovery
Mr. Searles develops customized curriculum on topics ranging from Work Place Violence Prevention, Active Shooter Response Training, self-defense, OSHA, CPR, weapons, and tactics. He possesses a comprehensive background in complex problem-solving and relationship building derived from conducting domestic and global operations across five continents. Mr. Searles has managed risk upon multiple lines to protect life and safety, critical infrastructure, as well as high-value property and equipment.
Ryan conducts corporate training, Vulnerability, Threat & Risk Assessments, Loss Prevention Consulting, and Policy and Procedure writing, which he has done for numerous Fortune 100 companies, Hospitals, Schools, and other organizations. Mr. Searles brings more than 16 years of professional experience in “in-the-field” security, force protection, and risk management for multiple-jurisdictional responses at local, state, regional, and national levels. He is credited with measurable accomplishments, including leading tactical teams of 90+ personnel in dynamic, fast-paced environments. Mr. Searles is a Certified ALERRT Instructor, and is certified to teach Medical, Civilian, and Law Enforcement Response to Active Shooter Emergencies, Firearms, and Conflict Resolution, to name just a few. Ryan contributed to the development of ASIS International’s Active Shooter Response Training, which is still in use today.
A recipient of multiple Purple Hearts and service-related accommodations, Ryan understands the sacrifices required to ensure our nation’s freedom. While serving in the U.S. Army, he also received several medals for outstanding performance and professionalism. Experienced beyond his years, and a man of high integrity, Ryan remains personally driven to protect others.
#RiskManagement
#EffectivePracticesSafetyandSecurity
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Bristol City Reject £12m Bid From Aston Villa for Defender Adam Webster as Robins Hold Out for £30m
Aston Villa have had a £12m bid for Bristol City defender Adam Webster rejected, with the Championship side thought to value him far higher.
The 24-year-old, who joined from Ipswich Town last summer, was Bristol City's Player of the Year last season and has attracted interest from a number of Premier League sides.
Aston Villa have had a bid rejected by Bristol City for defender Adam Webster of around £12million, according to Sky Sources
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) June 26, 2019
Villa are one of those sides to be keen but, according to Sky Sports, their initial £12m bid was quickly rejected by Bristol City.
The Robins are in no rush to part ways with one of their top performers, and the Bristol Post claim that they will demand up to £30m from any side who wants to lure Webster away from Ashton Gate Stadium this summer.
Bristol City hope that their asking price will scare off any other Championship sides, whilst the majority of Premier League teams will also be wary of spending such a figure on a player with no top-flight experience.
Adam Webster. https://t.co/9lvXTb0A6y
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) May 7, 2019
Alongside Villa, Newcastle United, Leicester City, Southampton and Everton are all thought to be incredibly keen on the 24-year-old, although they may be forced to drop their interest if the Robins refuse to negotiate.
Bristol City are thought to have a list of alternatives if Webster does leave the club this summer, but they remain confident that they will be able to keep Webster at Ashton Gate as they push for promotion to the Premier League.
He made 47 appearances for the Robins last season, helped them to an eighth-placed finish in the Championship. Manager Lee Johnson is eager to retain his side's top players, in the hope that they will be able to push on and improve next season.
Harry Trump/GettyImages
Speaking to BBC Radio Bristol (via the Bristol Post), Johnson said: "If you’re a Premier League club and you’re not looking at Adam Webster then you’re not doing your business properly.
"He’s a player we definitely want to keep and want to build around. You can never say never in football because if it was a top-six Premier League side that’s chucking out serious money then we’d have to take a view, but at this point, there’s absolutely no intention of moving Webby on."
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Shipping Industry Sends Help as Project in Panama Tackles Amphibian Crisis
As a disease known as amphibian chytrid fungus continues to wipe out amphibian species worldwide, frogs in Panama are finding a safe haven in a seemingly unlikely spot—between the metal walls of shipping containers once used to transport ice cream, strawberries, coffee beans, flowers and pharmaceuticals. Two of six refrigerated containers to be donated by the shipping company Maersk Line arrived this week at Summit Municipal Park in Panama City, Panama, where the Smithsonian Institution and partners are working to save amphibians in imminent danger of extinction.
“Each container provides us with critical space to house animals that may represent the last chance for the survival of their species,” said Brian Gratwicke, a National Zoo research biologist and the international coordinator for the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. “The containers are now self-contained ‘amphibian rescue pods’ that have been specially modified to control the climate and keep diseases out.”
The rescue pods will be part of the project’s Amphibian Rescue Center at Summit Municipal Park, which will also include a lab with a quarantine facility. After frogs are collected in the field, they will be quarantined for 30 days before being moved to the rescue pods that will serve as their new home. In addition to the two containers that are now in Panama, Maersk Line has agreed to donate two containers per year for the next two years to the project, for a total of six. Shipping company APL has also donated one container this year. Each container offers 995 cubic feet of space to house these animals. The seven together will more than double the amount of captive space the project currently has in Panama to safeguard endangered amphibians.
“Maersk Line’s support of the amphibian rescue project is aligned with our long-term focus on sustainability,” said Mike White, head of Maersk Line’s North American organization. “Although we are pleased to donate these containers, the more valuable contribution is our expertise and resources. Our team’s assistance with documentation and transportation allows Brian’s group to concentrate on the overall effort.”
Amphibian Ark, an organization that mobilizes support for ex-situ (“out-of-the-wild”) conservation, has identified 54 amphibian species as rescue species for the Panama Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project. At least 198 amphibian species live in Panama, of which 70 are listed as “critically endangered,” “endangered” or “data deficient” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Amphibian Ark estimates that about 500 amphibian rescue pods are needed to save the world’s 500 critically endangered amphibian species. Buying, outfitting and installing a single container costs about $50,000.
“This requires an amount of resources that is insurmountable for the amphibian rescue community,” said Kevin Zippel, Amphibian Ark’s program director. “With a relatively small investment, the shipping industry has made a huge impact on one of the greatest conservation challenges that humanity has ever faced. We are currently seeking additional contributions of this kind.”
The mission of the Amphibian Rescue and Conservation Project is to rescue amphibian species that are in extreme danger of extinction from amphibian chytrid disease sweeping through Panama. The project’s focus is on developing appropriate technologies to control the amphibian chytrid fungus, so that one day captive amphibians may be reintroduced to the wild. Project participants include Africam Safari, ANAM (Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente), Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Defenders of Wildlife, Houston Zoo, Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Summit Municipal Park and Zoo New England.
Lindsay Renick Mayer
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Atelopus limosus
Frogs in Panama are finding a safe haven in a seemingly unlikely spot—between the metal walls of shipping containers once used to transport ice cream, strawberries, coffee beans, flowers and pharmaceuticals.
Shipping Container - Inside View
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Sloth Bear Cub Debuts at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo
Hank Is the Zoo’s First Sloth Bear Cub in Seven Years
Note: To download photos, visit the Zoo’s Flickr page.
The daring and adventurous sloth bear cub, Hank, made his public debut at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo today. He is the first sloth bear born at the Zoo in seven years. Born Dec. 19, 2012, Hank and his mother, Hana, have spent the past six months in a den near the Asia Trail exhibit. Now that he is adept at climbing, the Zoo’s animal care staff are confident he can conquer the yard’s complex climbing structures and varied terrain. Visitors can see the family on Asia Trail daily from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., weather permitting.
“Sloth bears in general are full of personality, but watching Hank explore and play in his yard is especially endearing,” said animal keeper Mindy Babitz. “Only 18 zoos in the U.S. exhibit this species, so visitors are in for a rare and special treat watching him grow up.”
Via the live Sloth Bear Cub Cam on the Zoo’s website, animal care staff and the public have had the opportunity to watch Hank play, grow and ride on his mother’s back. Keepers will share the information gathered with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Species Survival Plan for the benefit of other institutions that exhibit and want to breed this species. Hank is one of seven sloth bear cubs born to the North American SSP this year, and his birth increases the population in human care by 3 percent.
Last month, the Zoo’s Facebook fans elected to name the cub Hank, a moniker that combines the cub’s parents’ names, Hana and Francois. Keepers have spent the last few months training Hank and teaching him behaviors that will help animal care staff evaluate his health, such as presenting body parts and opening his mouth. The Zoo will continue to share the latest updates and photos of the cub on Facebook and Twitter.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists sloth bears as vulnerable because populations in their native Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka are decreasing due to loss of habitat and poaching.
Jen Zoon
zoonj@si.edu
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Caitlin Mullen
Caitlin Mullen earned a BA in English and Creative Writing from Colgate University, an MA in English from NYU, and an MFA in fiction from Stony Brook University. While at Stony Brook she taught undergraduate creative writing, served as an editor and contributing writer for The Southampton Review, and worked as a bookseller at WORD in Greenpoint. She grew up in upstate New York and the Jersey Shore and currently lives in Brooklyn. Please See Us is her debut novel.
Books by Caitlin Mullen
Please See Us
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Oct 18, 2018, 05:56AM
My Son's Friends
Noah Berlatsky
Who are they, anyway?
"Yeah, I was hanging out with Linda," my son says.
Okay, I lied. I don't know if my son was hanging out with "Linda." Maybe it wasn't "Linda." Maybe it was Leann, or Lorna, or Lynn. Or maybe it didn't even start with an L. It doesn't matter, because I don't know Lucrezia anyway, nor Luella, nor Carla. None of them have ever been to my house; I’ve never spoken to their parents. They’re all an indistinguishable blur of consonants and vowels arranged into the vague shape of an adolescent human. My son knows these adolescent humans by sight and by name. But I don't.
This is new and disturbing. Not long ago, I knew all of my son's friends, because he was a boy with limited self-propulsion. When he met new people, it was mostly because I’d taken him somewhere to meet people. If he got together with friends, it was because I'd set up a playdate via negotiations with other parents. And those playdates generally occurred in their house or at our house, and that meant there was at least a minimal exchange of pleasantries before everyone bustled off to play with Thomas the Tank Engine (early on) or videogames (later.) Simon and Gabriel weren't necessarily especially interested in talking to me, but they had no choice. I was in the house; they were in the house. They were stuck.
Time passes, kids crawl out of strollers, out of the houses, and onto public transportation. My son graduated from the Waldorf school he'd been at for eight years, where I'd known all the parents and kids. Now he's at the public arts high school, with 130 people in his class instead of 20.
My son's socially apt. Even though he's only been in high school for a couple of months, he's already got multiple overlapping circles of friends. This is great for him, but somewhat bewildering for us. If he had three or four close friends I could keep them straight. But the number is 10 or more, and there's just no way, especially without faces to put to the names.
Also, he actively discourages us from putting faces to the names. We sometimes have dinner with him after school at a little restaurant nearby; other kids go there too. You'd think that would be a good time to introduce us to some of his friends. But whenever an acquaintance comes in he insists we put bags over our heads so that we won't embarrass him. Or he greets them briefly and hisses at us if we ask for a name. But he'd prefer the first, I'm pretty sure.
We were bound to lose touch with the minutiae of our son's life eventually. My parents know some of my friends, but certainly not all of them. It would be weird if they did. Growing up means getting your own life and social circle. If your parents know everyone you know, then they’re still at the center of your social life, which is not where you want your parents when you're a freshman in high school. (I told my son that the school required parents to attend homecoming with freshman. He looked like someone who had just been informed that he was going to be eaten alive by rabid squirrels, until I told him I was joking.)
So I'm not surprised that I don't know my son's friends anymore, but the speed of the transformation has been disconcerting. One day, we saw all that was going on, and then the next, we didn't. Ashleys and Roberts wander by somewhere out there, while we sit at home with bags over our heads, muttering quiet greetings that are largely ignored. We’re no longer relevant. These days most of the people who matter don't know our names.
Older Writing
There’s No College in College Point
The Cool Dad
Wrestling with the Past
Newer Writing
TERF Wars
This “Paleocons-Beat-Off-To-The-Holodomor” Thing is Getting Old
Barn Brain Betrayal
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Pochettino chuffed after ‘very good week’
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino sees the club coming together after what he branded ‘a very good week’ for Spurs.
Despite dominating the match against Burnley, Christian Eriksen was required to save Spurs’ blushes as he netted a 91st-minute winner at Wembley.
Pochettino isn’t concerned however, and believes the win showed real character within his team.
Speaking to Match of the Day, he said: “It is a very good week for us, a fantastic win for us today, it is so important to be focused and try to keep our energy.
“After the Barcelona game and qualifying for the next stage of the Champions League it is difficult to find the way to perform like this.
“Today I congratulate my players’ effort and the 50,000 fans. It was a late victory but so important for us.
“The character to always push to the end shows great belief and faith in the way we play. That pleases me the most.
“You can win or lose but to try and play the way we are playing it is always possible to achieve what you want.”
Pochettino highlighted a major tactical change from Burnley manager Sean Dyche, and heaped more praise on his players for rendering it completely useless.
“I think it was three centre backs for the first time under Sean Dyche, but we didn’t concede a shot on target,” he explained.
“We dominated possession, they put a lot of players behind the ball and play deep and wanted to stop us.
“On an afternoon like today with the rain and the pitch not in best condition, we were not fresh enough to find tempo with the ball so it is difficult to play and I think that is why I am so pleased.”
It was a proud moment 18-year-old midfielder Oliver Skipp who made his full debut, and he seems to have the boss’ seal of approval.
“I am happy because it is not easy to play every three days, many players are out,” said Pochettino.
“Oliver Skipp made his debut, it is fantastic because to keep going in difficult circumstances pleases me and the way we are competing this season pleases me.”
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Archer has 'everything' to be England Test star - Broad
By Sports Desk May 09, 2019
Stuart Broad believes new England star Jofra Archer has what it takes to be a success in international cricket's longest format.
Archer became eligible to play for England this year and earned his first call-up for the limited-overs fixtures before the Cricket World Cup, although he was not included in the preliminary group for the home tournament.
The all-rounder has impressed in his early showings in an England shirt and, with the Ashes to come later this year, Test regular Broad sees no reason why Archer should not be involved.
Archer took a wicket on his one-day international debut against Ireland and a further pair in a Twenty20 international against Pakistan.
"I can't see a way that Jofra doesn't play some sort of role in that Ashes series," he said. "He has the rhythm, the style, the pace.
"He generates pace with ease, which is always exciting as a fast bowler. He has everything you would want in a fast bowler to succeed at the top level.
"He's got the character to play at the top level. I've seen him run all day when things don't quite go his way, which is a good sign.
"I hope he's in front of The Oval pavilion lifting the Ashes urn come September because he's a very exciting cricketer."
And Broad is not worried that the arrival of Archer on the Test scene would threaten his place, insisting his focus is on England winning.
"I'm not threatened at all," he said. "I think he's a brilliant cricketer. At the end of the day, as an England supporter, you want England to win every trophy available this summer.
"He's going to be in the World Cup squad, I'd imagine, not that it's my decision. You can't leave a player like that out, I don't think. And I'm sure he'll go well in that."
ICC ODI Championship
« Pooran's 72 in vain as Sylhet Sixers lose by 32 runs Cummins: Australia have 'extra fuel' for Ashes bid after World Cup exit to England »
Triple H honours England's World Cup winners with WWE title belt - but who gets to keep it?
England's triumphant squad have received plenty of praise since lifting the Cricket World Cup - and now they have been honoured with a one-of-a-kind championship belt from an unlikely fan.
As a 14-time champion, WWE superstar Triple H knows a thing or two about winning in big situations. And the man with a finishing move called the 'Pedigree' was certainly impressed with the standards shown by Eoin Morgan's side against New Zealand on Sunday, when the tournament hosts prevailed following a dramatic Super Over at the home of cricket.
The wrestler, whose real name is Paul Levesque, tweeted out a message of congratulations to the new ODI champions, along with a picture of a customised world heavyweight championship belt made to mark their success.
"An incredible tournament, an awe-inspiring final, and a team of worthy champions. Congratulations to England Cricket for winning the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019! This custom WWE Championship is YOURS!" Triple H wrote.
The unique strap includes the words "World Cup champions", with the England and Wales Cricket Board's official logo appearing twice, placed either side of the central WWE badge.
However, the generous gift to mark England's achievement does create a problem - who gets to keep it?
Jos Buttler, who was in partnership with Ben Stokes in the middle during England's Super Over, had an on-topic suggestion to decide the owner, tweeting: "Royal rumble lads last man standing keeps the belt?"
If Buttler's idea comes to fruition, Morgan and his team-mates would have to forget about boundary ropes and focus on the top rope instead. Perhaps Triple H could make an appearance during the upcoming Ashes series against Australia to crown England's new wrestling champion, too.
The Game at a game of cricket? We can only hope...
England's Cricket World Cup star Stokes nominated for New Zealander of the Year award
England all-rounder Ben Stokes has been nominated for the New Zealander of the Year award, less than a week after dashing the Black Caps' Cricket World Cup dreams.
Stokes was instrumental in England's thrilling triumph at Lord's on Sunday, scoring an unbeaten 84 to force a Super Over and then making eight off three balls in the additional six deliveries as Eoin Morgan's side won an all-time classic on boundary count.
In an incident-packed innings, Stokes was caught by Trent Boult in the deep during the penultimate over only for the fielder to step on the rope with the ball in hand, and in the final over England's number five dived and accidentally diverted Martin Guptill's throw to the boundary with his bat, resulting in another crucial six runs.
However, despite playing a pivotal role in beating the Black Caps, Stokes, who was born in Christchurch and moved to England at the age of 12, has still received votes for the New Zealander of the Year award.
"We also received nominations for England's hero Ben Stokes," chief judge Cameron Bennett said in quotes published on the New Zealand Herald's website.
"He might not have been playing for the Black Caps but, having been born in Christchurch, where his parents now live, and with Maori ancestry, there's clearly a few Kiwis about who think we can still claim him."
Black Caps captain Kane Williamson - voted player of the tournament at the World Cup - is also up for the award, along with Abdul Aziz, who chased away a gunman after 51 people were killed in a terror attack on two Christchurch mosques.
The Breakdown: A statistical look at the first round of Rugby Championship matches
New Zealand will be expected to continue their dominance of Argentina and the Rugby Championship when the tournament gets under way on Saturday.
The All Blacks have won the trophy in each of the last three years and are favourites to retain it with the Rugby World Cup fast approaching.
Argentina have never beaten the world champions in 32 attempts and will have to produce something special to make history in Buenos Aires this weekend.
South Africa host Australia at Emirates Airline Park, and the Springboks have won nine of their previous 10 encounters with the Wallabies at the Johannesburg venue.
Take a look at the Opta numbers ahead of Saturday's opening round of matches.
- South Africa have lost only one of their last five Tests against Australia, although two of those meetings ended as draws.
- The Springboks have won 13 of their last 16 games played at Emirates Airline Park, including their last three on the bounce, scoring an average of 36 points per match.
- Australia will be looking to secure back-to-back Rugby Championship wins for the first time since 2016 after ending their 2018 campaign with a 45-34 success over Argentina.
- The Wallabies' win rate of 24 per cent when playing in South Africa is their lowest in any nation. Indeed, it is the lowest win rate of any of the six nations to have played more than 20 Tests there.
- Australia back Dane Haylett-Petty gained 397 metres in the 2018 Rugby Championship, the most of any player and 130 more than South Africa's best, Siya Kolisi (267).
- Argentina’s only positive result against New Zealand came in a 21-21 draw in November 1985. Since that match in Buenos Aires they have lost all 10 home games against the All Blacks.
- New Zealand are on the cusp of their 450th win – 43 more than any other team – and require just 26 points this weekend to become the first nation to score 16,000 international points.
- The All Blacks have won 15 of their last 17 games, including a 66-3 victory against Italy in Rome in their most recent fixture.
- Argentina full-back Nicolas Sanchez scored the most points (67) of any player in the competition last year. He scored four tries, 16 of 17 conversions, four of seven penalty attempts and a drop goal.
- Argentina have lost their last four games played at Velez Sarsfield, including defeats to New Zealand in their last two games at the venue.
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What's Happening in Santa Rosa County
MILTON — Upcoming Santa Rosa County announcements, events and activities are as follows.
ARBOR DAY CEREMONY: 2:30 p.m. April 26 at the Milton Police Department, 5451 Alabama St.
EMERGING ARTISTS SOUGHT FOR FESTIVAL: The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival is Nov. 1-3 in Seville Square, Pensacola. Applications are open for its Emerging Artists program, which gives two new artists a chance to be a part of the festival and offers them guidance in what is involved in being in an arts festival.
Artists must have limited experience participating in arts festivals and be residents of Escambia or Santa Rosa counties. GGAF will waive their fees, provide a booth and mentor them through the process. See www.ggaf.org for details.
MILTON PIECEMAKERS QUILT GUILD: 9:15 a.m. second Mondays at the Milton library, 5541 Alabama St. The meeting is open to anyone interested in quilting and joining the guild. This is not a library-sponsored event. Call 382-3952 for details.
AZALEA GARDEN CLUB OF PACE: meets 12:30 to 3 p.m. second Mondays of the month from September to May at the Pace Fire Department conference room, 4773 Pace Patriot Blvd. Meet and greet at 12:30 p.m. and meeting at 1 p.m. Guests are welcome. Contact Jean, 850-380-2256, or Debbie, 850-736-8629, for more information.
THE RED SHOE BOOK CLUB: 10 a.m. the third Monday of each month, the club meets to discuss the books they're individually reading about the nation's First Ladies. Each person reads their own selected book then shares interesting facts. If you have any questions, please contact Kathy Krafka at kkrafka@hotmail.com.
TAKE OFF POUNDS SENSIBLY: TOPS meets 10-11 a.m. Tuesdays at 4709 Keyser Lane, Pace. Weigh in 8:30-9:45 a.m. Details: 1-800-932-8677.
MILTON'S POET LAUREATE WORKSHOP: 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesdays at the Guy Thompson Community Center, 5629 Byrom St., Room 113. Milton poet laureate Marc Livanos will host a poetry workshop for teenagers with probing weekly prompts on issues relevant to their daily lives.
MILTON GARDEN CLUB: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m. second Tuesdays at the Milton Event Center, 5256 Alabama St. Coffee and socializing starts at 9:30 a.m., program at 10 a.m. and business meeting to follow. Everyone is welcome. It is free and open to the public.
CENTRAL SANTA ROSA REPUBLICAN CLUB: 5:30 p.m. meal and 6:30 p.m. meeting first Thursdays at Grover T’s Restaurant, Highway 90 in Pace. Visitors are welcome. Call 377-3976 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays for more information.
ALZHEIMER'S/DEMENTIA CAREGIVER SUPPORT GROUP: 1 to 3 p.m. second Thursdays, at Guy Thompson Community Center, 5629 Byrom St. in Milton. Caregivers often struggle alone to care for a loved one who is changing physically and mentally from the person they initially knew. Come and meet others who are walking that path.
SANTA ROSA BEEKEEPERS ASSOCIATION: 6 p.m. potluck dinner, 7 p.m. meeting on the third Thursday at the Santa Rosa County Extension office, 6263 Dogwood Drive, Milton. Visitors are welcome. Details: Clarence Prater, president, 623-776-7018, or Sandy Ashby, vice president, 529-5770.
BEREAVEMENT SUPPORT: 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. second and fourth Fridays at the Navarre Library, 8484 James M. Harvell Road. All materials are provided; there’s no charge to attend.
GULF COAST CALLIGRAPHY GUILD: meets second Saturdays of the month from 9 a.m. to noon. call 995-7056 for details and further information.
MILITARY ORDER OF PURPLE HEART MEETING: MOPH meets third Saturday of every month 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The location is now Ryan's Buffet, 4955 U.s. Highway 90, Pace (by Walmart). The next auxiliary meeting is 11 a.m. May 11 at Ryan's. Contact Ann Smithson, 850-712-4745.
FLORIDA TRAIL ASSOCIATION: The Western Gate chapter’s activities are free to participate in except as noted at www.meetup.com/ftawesterngate/.
SANTA ROSA REPUBLICAN EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: meets every third Thursday of the month at Grover T's Restaurant, 5887 U.S. Hwy 90 in Milton. Dnner at 5:30 p.m., meeting at 6:30 p.m.
NIFTY AFTER FIFTY: Area residents may join the Holley Navarre Seniors Center at age 50. The center is open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 8476 Gordon Goodin Lane, Navarre, across from the library. Annual dues are $40. Free activities include Greek dancing, yoga, exercise class, Wii bowling, line dancing, bridge, pinochle, mahjongg, book club, and shuffleboard.
Bingo playing costs $1 per card, and art classes cost $6. COA lunches are served Monday-Thursday at a volunteer donation of $2. Upcoming events include an art workshop April 27 and a British tea luncheon May 10.
Call 850-936-1644 for details.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: Need a few credits to earn your high school diploma? Santa Rosa Adult School offers adult high school completion through earned credits. Classes are provided evenings in Milton and Navarre. Tuition is $30 per term. Call 983-5710 for details.
MILTON MEETINGS: The following meetings take place at Milton City Hall, council chambers, 6738 Dixon St., unless otherwise indicated. Contact the City Manager’s Office at 983-5411 for more information.
LEAP Committee, 3:30 p.m. April 25 in conference room A. Riverfront Redevelopment Team, 5:30 p.m. April 25. The council will meet as the Board of Directors of Sundial Utilities in Executive Session 5:30 p.m. May 6. The Community Redevelopment Agency, 5:30 p.m. May 14. City Councill, 5:45 p.m. May 14. The City of Milton Committee of the Whole, 5:30 p.m. May 23.
ENERGY BILL HELP: Tri-County Community Council, Inc.'s Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program assists with energy obligations, electric or gas, to heat or cool the home for applicants who qualify and have not received assistance in the past year.
Apply Mondays only at 6607 Elva St., Milton. Bring proof of gross household income (wages, Social Security, SSI, child support, pensions, retirement, etc.) for the last 30 days on all household members, electric or gas bill, current picture ID on applicant and Social Security cards on all household members. Call 981-0036 for details
FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS HIRING BONUS: $1,000 hiring bonuses to new FDC hires at institutions statewide, including Santa Rosa Correctional Institution, Milton. Applicants who complete their correctional officer certification through either FDC or certain state colleges are eligible. Paid training is available. Visit FLDOCjobs.com for details.
DRUG ADDICTION HELP: Narconon states fentanyl overdoses are on the rise nationwide. Fentanyl is estimated to be 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times stronger than heroin. Visit https://bit.ly/2EXGtLk for more on fentanyl abuse and how to help your loved one, or call 877-841-5509.
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PM Announces £400m Solar Agreement with MAP Environmental and ZN Shine Solar
Companies from all over the UK signed momentous deals securing long term trade between the UK and China, included a joint project between MAP Environmental Limited and ZN Shine Solar, one of the World’s leading suppliers of Solar Photovoltaic Panels.
As the UK moves to secure its commitment to reduce carbon emission by 80% by the year 2050, the MAP Environmental deal marks a significant step towards achieving this goal. Yesterday Paul Wheeler, CEO of MAP Environmental, the only green energy supplier present at the signing ceremony, proudly signed the £400m deal with Chinese organisation ZN Shine Solar, in the presence of UK Prime Minister, David Cameron and Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang.
MAP Environmental, a British organisation, and China’s ZN Shine Solar, are to invest £400 million in solar powered projects, as reported in The Times this morning as the UK wakes up to this momentous deal. The deal struck between the two businesses, which has been approved by the UK Government, is to construct British solar plants in the UK, creating up to 50 new UK jobs in design, administration and operation roles, with a further 500 new UK jobs in construction and maintenance.
Paul Wheeler, CEO of MAP Environmental, commented ‘The MAP Group has come a long way in the last few years, in particular MAP Environmental. We have an amazing team in place here at MAP and I am so proud of what we have achieved so far. With huge support from our Chinese partner we have created a truly amazing Joint Venture that will help us to help the UK achieve its carbon commitments. This new fund is set to provide solar to social housing, commercial roof top and ground mounted projects across the UK and we are proud as a business that we are able to offer new opportunities to the British people through employment and clean energy. We have other exciting announcements that are due to come out later this year with a separate fund that we will be launching based around LED technology and Waste to Energy.’
The deal, later tweeted by David Cameron who congratulated MAP Environmental and ZN Shine, is the largest of its kind in the UK, affirming the commitment of the UK to reduce its carbon footprint.
Tags: Solar Industry Company News, Solar industry News, e-lec.org
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News | November 12, 2018
Innovative Dubai Company Paves The Way For Electronic Waste Recycling In The Middle East, Africa & Caucasus
Dubai, United Arab Emirates /PRNewswire/ - Electronic waste continues to be a major concern around the globe, but one pioneering company headquartered in Dubai is leading the way.
Enviroserve is a trailblazer when it comes to electronic waste recycling in the Middle East. From humble beginnings of mobile phone collections with a staff of four in 2004, the recycling company has grown to over 50 and 8 branch offices throughout the Middle East, Africa, and Caucasus. On the back of newly inked partnerships with major international partners Wisetek (Ireland) and ERI (USA), Enviroserve is certainly a name one should get used to hearing.
These efforts were recently recognized by industry experts when Enviroserve was named the Electrical & Electronic Equipment Recycling Company of the Year at the Middle East Waste & Recycling Awards.
"On behalf of the entire Enviroserve family, both in the UAE and throughout our international operations, partners and associates, I am delighted our efforts have been recognized. This award is a tribute to Enviroserve's pioneering spirit and leadership in the recycling industry," says Brian Wilkie, Co-Founder & Chairman.
But this award is just the tip of the iceberg as Enviroserve has much more in store for the recycling industry in the Middle East and Africa with the highly-anticipated opening of The Recycling Hub at Dubai Industrial City set for early 2019. The USD $30 Million facility features state-of-the-art Swiss technology that features zero-to-landfill and zero-to-air process. It will be the final destination for waste electronics from South Africa in the south to the Caucasus in the north.
The Recycling Hub is the world's largest fully-integrated electronics recycling facility with a processing capacity of nearly 40 Million KG of electronic waste annually. The plant also features a brand protection service, IT refurbishment center, and refrigerant gas reclamation, division.
"In the age of data security, the importance of the ITAD division at The Recycling Hub cannot be understated. Secure data destruction is so important to our clients. Our brand protection and refrigerant gas reclamation services support the needs of our customers. The Enviroserve team continues to delight by developing new and exciting solutions for their waste disposal problems, and we will continue to lead the way in 2019 and beyond," says Stuart Fleming, Co-Founder & Group CEO.
GCC countries produce an average of 14.5 KG of electronic waste per person. As our reliance on technology increases, the amount of electronic waste in the market continues to grow.
SOURCE: Enviroserve
Copyright 2018 PR Newswire. All Rights Reserved
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HomeDepartmentsZoning Board of Appeals
Sarah Lewis
93 Highland Ave.
Cornerwise
About the Zoning Board of Appeals
The Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) as a quasi-judicial body charged under the provisions of Chapter 40A of the Massachusetts General Laws. The ZBA is the Special Permit Granting Authority for:
Variances
Special Permit Applications, including Special Permits with Design Review and Special Permits with Site Plan Review
Appeals by aggrieved parties of administrative or enforcement decisions
Comprehensive Permit Petitions (MGL Chapter 40B)
Reports & Decisions
Orsola Susan Fontano, Chair
Orsola Susan Fontano is a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals and also volunteers with the Elections Department, the Council of Aging, and the Art's Council. Some of her past affiliations include the Historic Preservation Commission, member of the award-winning Somerville All-American City delegation, and founding president of East Somerville Main Streets. She is self-employed, operating Up, Up & Away balloons since 1981 and managing her sister business Nefertiti Hair Salon since 1977.
Danielle Fillis Evans, Clerk
Danielle Fillis Evans holds a master’s degree in Urban and Environmental policy and planning from Tufts University and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and has served on the ZBA since 2008. She has worked as a planner in several municipalities in Massachusetts and currently manages the Community Preservation Act program for the City of Medford.
Elaine Severino
Elaine Severino is a former educator and small business owner. She spent 5 years serving on the Zoning Task Force Committee that rewrote the previous Somerville Zoning laws and has served in the Zoning Board of Appeals for over 15 years. She is also a member of the Somerville Garden Club and dedicated to helping create better green spaces in Somerville.
Josh Safdie
Josh Safdie, AIA, NCARB, is a Principal at KMA, an architecture and consulting practice. He serves as the co-chair of the Access Committee for the Boston Society of Architects and has received awards from the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board and the Boston Preservation Alliance for projects merging preservation and accessibility. He is also an Associate Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design and a contributor to Architecture Boston magazine.
Drew Kane, Alternate
Drew is currently the Senior Land Use Planner with the City of Cambridge Community Development Department. Prior to the City of Cambridge, he spent 15 years as a consultant in architecture and planning firms in Atlanta, New York and Boston. Most recently, he was a Senior Urban Planner and Associate at Utile, Inc., a multi-disciplinary architecture and planning firm in Boston..
With a professional focus on the regeneration of urban environments, Drew's areas of expertise includes streetscape and public realm design, master planning and regulatory development with particular interest in waterfronts and industrial districts.
Drew received a Master of City and Regional Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Bachelor’s of Art in Art History from the University of Georgia.
Reports and Decisions
PLEASE NOTE: Applications made before April 15, 2011 are not included in this listing and can be found by clicking here.
Street Name (contains)
First Hearing Date
Beacon St 369-371 ZBA2008-61 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Inner Belt Rd 50 ZBA2008-21 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Kingston St 25 ZBA2008-23 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Fellsway West 100 ZBA2009-03 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
School St 81 ZBA2008-11 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Vinal Ave 3-5 ZBA2009-56 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
McGrath Hwy 844 PB2009-14 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Powder House Blvd 52 ZBA2008-54 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Butler Dr / Temple St (St. Polycarps) 16 100 ZBA2007-03-R0308 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Elm St 212 ZBA2009-54 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Day St 45 ZBA2009-21 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Cedar St 209 ZBA2008-05 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Beacon St 308 ZBA2008-01 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Lowden Ave 65 ZBA2009-18 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Lexington Ave 35R ZBA2009-45 05/20/2010 - 7:10am
Don't see the case you're looking for? Check the archives:
View Previous Reports & Decisions
Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting
This is a public meeting of the Zoning Board of Appeals.
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The Persuasions - A Cappella Dreams (2003)
The Persuasions
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000D9PHK?tag=soultracks-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0000D9PHK&adid=0NKR1EHR1AC26MP2S2ZS&
Wow. After 40 years and 22 albums, these guys are still hitting it out of the park. While I've enjoyed the Persuasions' "diversions" over the past few years -- a children's album and tributes to the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa and the Beatles -- I've always appreciated them most when they're interpreting classic soul tunes of the 50s and 60s. I can't call it "covering" those tunes, because the Persuasions transform songs with their thoughtful arrangements and wonderful vocals, making them their own and sometimes making them unrecognizable, but almost always turning them into something special. And I'm happy to report that A Cappella Dreams is just that kind of album. Consisting of songs that the group has played around with for years while driving from gig to gig, Dreams is a collection of rock and soul classics recorded in the typical Persuasions intimate fashion -- almost as if you were in the car with them.
Like most albums on Chesky Records, the sound on Dreams is exceptional. And the liner notes give great background of how the cuts were chosen and recorded.
The album begins with an obscure Solomon Burke composition, "I Have A Dream," in which the group recalls the civil rights movement of the 60s and the continued hope for unity and harmony. The other 14 songs are more familiar. Often the highlights of a Persuasions are their uptempo cuts, but here the ballads shine most. Best of all may be their interpretation of Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay," a song that has been done to death by others, but not like this. With Jimmy Hayes' amazing one-man rhythm section at the bottom end, Jerry Lawson gives a casual solo interpretation that is stunning in its simplicity. Similar strong moments occur on "Don't," "Steal Away," "Please Send Me Someone To Love" and Brook Benton's classic "Rainy Night In Georgia." More familiar to Persuasions fans will be the arrangement of uptempo cuts such as "Gonna Give Her All The Love I've Got" and the Four Tops' "When She Was My Girl."
After nearly an hour of pure delight, Dream finishes in grand fashion, with Joe Russell's empassioned vocals on a truly unique, gospel reading of "When The Saints Go Marching In."
In a catalog full of exceptional discs, A Cappella Dreams stands out as one of the best Persuasions albums, recalling their classic work on Street Corner Symphony and Comin' At Ya. It has already become one of 2003's musical highlights for me.
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New Herriman Police Department sworn in
Oct 22, 2018 03:44PM ● By Jana Klopsch
Officers of the new Herriman Police Department raise their hands as they are sworn in. (Justin Adams/City Journals)
Herriman Police [3 Images] Click Any Image To Expand
Chief Troy Carr has his badge pinned on by his wife. (Justin Adams/City Journals)
By Justin Adams | [email protected]
Police work as we know it today arguably started in England, when the Metropolitan Police Force in London was created. It made law enforcement more organized, consistent and accountable to the public. That organization was born on September 29, 1829. On that same day, 189 years later, the Herriman Police Department was born.
That connection was noted by new police chief Troy Carr during the new department’s swearing-in ceremony at Copper Mountain Middle School.
Just five months earlier, the Herriman City Council voted unanimously to end its affiliation with the Unified Police Department and form its own police department. City council members were concerned about “a lack of transparency and unresponsiveness with UPD, overpaying for minimal officer presence and a desire to better control its law enforcement distribution as reasons for the withdrawal,” the South Valley Journal reported at the time.
Since that time, it has been an enormous undertaking to create an entirely new police department, said Councilman Jared Henderson during the swearing-in ceremony.
“Everyone who has been a part of this has taken time off from what they normally do,” Henderson said.
It has been a Herculean task.”
In June, Troy Carr was selected to be the department’s very first chief. Carr had previously served as the Herriman precinct chief for UPD. Chad Reyes was also chosen to be the deputy chief, and Cody Stromberg and Brian Weidmer were chosen to be the department’s first lieutenants.
Judge Paul Farr of the 3rd District Court, swore in 31 additional officers as well as five support staff members and two K9s.
“Yours will sometimes be a thankless job,” Farr told the officers prior the swearing-in. “None of you took this job to get rich. Sometimes the actions you will take will be unpopular or criticized by others. Much of the good that you do will go unseen.”
Mayor David Watts credited the officers of the new department and their families for the rapid assembly of a brand new department.
“As a council, we do not feel we deserve the credit for what has been created,” he said. “We believe that the men and women here and their families have done in four months what would normally have taken a year.”
Henderson also spoke about the long hours of hard work that was required to form the new department, but also said the city’s job was far from finished.
“This is not our destination,” he said. “Our destination is always on the horizon. It’s more of an ideal.”
Today, News
Sounds of Summer Free Friday Concert: Flynn's Tones
7:30pm · Midvale City Park
South Valley Journal on Facebook
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Sunderland healthcare assistant is a shining example
Published on: 27 March 2019
A healthcare assistant at Sunderland Eye Infirmary is the winner of a Cavell Star Award for showing exceptional care for her patients.
Charlotte Rooney was nominated by staff on the Glaucoma and Mayling Diagnostic Units, where she has worked since January 2018. She began as an apprentice and recently became a fully qualified healthcare assistant
Staff Nurse Dawn Boldon said: “She blended in with our team from the very start. She always has a smile on her face and gives 100% and she is constantly taking on board new information. She has a fantastic rapport with the patients, who love her. Whether it’s doing initial assessments, eye pressure and peripheral vision checks, or preparing patients for laser procedures, she explains to them exactly what is going to happen.”
Charlotte, 21, who lives in Sunderland, said: “I was shaking when I found out I’d been given this award. Everyone has been congratulating me and I’ve been buzzing ever since. I have always wanted to care for people and in the past year I have discovered that nursing is definitely the job I want to do. I love working at the Eye Infirmary and I’m really interested in becoming a nurse here.”
Nursing charity Cavell Nurses’ Trust launched the Cavell Star Awards in 2018 in partnership with LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare. Nursing teams throughout the UK are encouraged to nominate that special teammate who has shown exceptional care for either their colleagues or their patients and patients’ families. Each Cavell Star Award winner receives a medal, presentation case and pin badge as well as invites to attend special Care & Cake parties celebrating the nation’s nursing professionals.
The Cavell Star Awards are in partnership with LloydsPharmacy Clinical Homecare and are sponsored by NEXT, NHS Improvement, National Garden Scheme, Health Education England, NHS Professionals, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, Alexandra, British Journal of Nursing, The Embassy of Belgium in the UK and Thornbury Nursing Services & Scottish Nursing Guild.
Healthcare professionals wishing to nominate a nurse, midwife or healthcare assistant for a Cavell Star Award can find out more at https://www.cavellstarawards.org
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⬅ More Miranda Idiocy
Brutal, Yes ‘Torture,’... ➡
A Bad Place To Be
by Stuart Taylor, Jr
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 “was one of the great moments in the history of American democracy” and “the death knell of the Jim Crow South.” Over the years, however, it has been twisted into an engine of racial rigging and polarization. This has been accomplished by misguided judges, unwise and self-serving congressional Republicans (as well as Democrats), and liberal ideologues in civil rights groups and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Indeed, those forces have transformed the Voting Rights Act into “a brake on true racial progress today.”
That is the essence of the story told by Abigail Thernstom in her meticulously researched and forcefully argued book. President Obama’s success in winning white votes has completed the proof that the white racism which the sixty-four-year-old law was designed to combat has become a marginal factor in American politics. And the Voting Rights Act, which has come to be little more than a racial gerrymandering machine, has become “a barrier to greater integration” of our politics. Yes, we still have glaring racial inequalities rooted in our history of slavery and racism. About this there can be no doubt. But “the caste system that originally justified taking race into account in structuring elections is gone,” Thernstrom concludes, and “further progress demands that we now cease to take race into account.”
Category: New Republic
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Bipin Chandra Pal – Biography, Indian Nationalist, History, Facts
Bipin Chandra Pal was an Indian nationalist revolutionary and was one of the members of the Lal-Bal-Pal trio.
He was one of the prominent leaders who contributed to the freedom struggle which earned him the epithet of Bengal Tiger.
He was born on 7th November 1858, in a small village of Poil, in Habiganj district of erstwhile Bengal, now a part of Bangladesh. His father, Ram Chandra Pal were a Hindu Vaishnava, a well-versed Persian scholar and a small landowner.
He had many facets to his great luminary personality. He was a writer, an orator, teacher, librarian, journalist all woven into one. Above all, he was a committed revolutionary.
He was devoted to the noble cause of providing freedom to the country from the shackles of an anarchist British rule.
He firmly believed that the way to throw the foreign rule out was by creating a pandemonium of ‘Swadeshi’ and thereby creating an economic blockage for them.
Pal’s life is a fable of severe metamorphosis to reversals, the way in which his fleeting and candid political contributions were reduced to non-entitlement.
His is a saga of inspiration and tolerance that multitude of life’s experiences pave way for. He was a firing prophet once and an almost forgotten hero later.
Bipin Chandra Pal Early Life and Family
Bipin Chandra Pal was born immediately after the Revolt of 1857.As a child, he was deeply ousted by the agony and blood of the revolutionaries whom were crushed at the hands of Britishers.
At a formidable young age, he had resolved to play a crucial part for getting his fellow brethren out of the angst of foreign rule.
His father, Ram Chandra Pal were posted in Dhaka, then Dacca and wrote letters about the bloodshed and massacres of those who used to revolt at the hands of British sepoys.
He had thus learnt the three R’s from his father well, Rebel, Revolt and Rise. He was the only son of his parents but also had a sister named, Kripa.
Pal was sent to an English school in 1866, followed by two other missionary schools. At the age of sixteen, in 1874, he cleared the entrance examination of Calcutta University.
The following year, he went to Calcutta to pursue his higher studies but fate had other plans for him.
He left the formal education midway and became a headmaster of a school in Cuttack in 1879. He was given such a distinguished position owing to his extraordinary grasp over diverse subjects.
His formal education though halted, never jerked his quest for self-education. He had developed a notable taste for reading and this literary competence played a critical role in his fiery and radical endeavours later.
Working as a headmaster didn’t comply with his restless nature and he went to change his jobs serving as a headmaster of several other schools, Sylhet (1880), Bangalore (1881) and Habiganj (1886).
For a year and a half, he chose to be a librarian at the Calcutta Public Library (1890-91).
As soon as he had started studying in Calcutta, Pal had come under the influence of Brahmo Samaj’s founders and mentors.
He was deeply influenced with the doctrines and philosophies of the cult, so much that he became a member of the same but his decision met an anticipation from his orthodox father and he was alienated from his own family.
In 1881, Pal went on to follow what he preached and believed by marrying a widow out of his caste, named Nrityakali Devi.
His personal was also radical. And after the death of his first wife in 1890, Pal again went on to remarry yet another widow from an outcaste named, Birajmohini Devi.
However, Pal and his father reconciled their personal differences way back in 1886 and got reunited.
Literature, Journalism and Politics
Pal joined Indian National Congress (INC) in 1886, which made him a leader Pan India. He dominated the proceedings of Congress through his oratory that were emerged from his clarity of thoughts and conviction.
He began to work as a journalist and associated himself with a wide variety of journals and newspapers.
His first venture into journalism was way back in 1880, at the age of 22, when he started writing for ‘Paridarshak’, a Bengali weekly being published from Sylhet, Pal’s native district.
In 1887-88, Pal then worked for ‘The Tribune’, annexing the Britishers with his mighty sword by writing liberally and quite fiercely, ideas of Indian Renaissance.
However, he started his own venture, an English weekly ‘New India’ in 1901 wherein he used to commemorate his ideals and understanding of Hindutva, politics and spirituality.
In 1906, Pal yet again started published his most significant journalistic venture, ‘Bande Matram’ which was an English daily with Aurobindo Ghosh as its editor.
Bande Matram gained a monumental support from the masses of Bengal and it successful began spreading the message of Swaraj, Swadeshi, Boycotting everything foreign and passive resistance by citing the agony and anxiety of masses.
It played an important role during the partition of Bengal and was received with utmost passion and enthusiasm throughout Bengal within a short span of its release.
Pal’s oratory was like a dagger, able enough to pierce anyone’s mind and arouse the feelings of angst towards Britishers and patriotism towards the motherland.
Bipin Chandra undertook a tour to various provinces of Bengal and Assam, most notable of his speech was at Madras in 1907 during his tour.
The arousal and awareness following his speech at Madras was so remarkable that Srinivasa Shastri was quoted saying, “Oratory had never dreamed of such triumphs in India, the power of spoken word was never demonstrated on such a grandeur scale”.
Lord Minto, Viceroy acknowledged in his Confidential Minutes dated 3rd May 1907 that, “Lecturing as practiced by Bipin Chandra Pal was far more dangerous than any number of newspaper articles”.
Bipin’s extremism and radical nature was observed in 1887, when he forced Congress to draft a resolution championing the cause of ill-treatment towards tea-planters in Assam.
Also, was notable, his agitation towards opposing various government laws such as the Vernacular Press Act brought forth in 1878 to keep in check the Bengali intelligentsia.
This aroused a strong resentment among the masses but was dealt rather moderately by the Congress which also left Pal angry. He also opposed Illbert Bill, whereby no European could be tried in court which had Indian Juries.
Pal had written about this in his biography, Memoirs as “burnt into the mind of the Indian Politician was a fateful lesson that if India had to protect her liberties and secure its expansion, she must start a violent agitation which will compel the Government to throw out this reprehensible measure”.
Foreign tours, Opposing Mahatma Gandhi, Lal-Bal-Pal
The extremists spearheaded by Aurobindo Ghosh and Bipin Chandra Pal, in Bengal believed in the overthrow of colonial regime, in the rapid and uninhibited economic development and in the enhancement of democratic opinion.
They identified themselves with the idea of militant nationalism by protesting against moneylenders and landlords, by emotionally attaching themselves to the impoverished peasants and attaching themselves with trade unions, strikes, providing a novel approach to the national educational programme along with resorting to village development programmes.
Their ideologies found similarities with those of the extremist section of the leaders of the INC, Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Lala Lajpat Rai forming a triumvirate of Lal-Bal-Pal.
The Swadeshi movement, sparked off by the partition of Bengal in 1905, which was formulated by Pal in Bengal, Bal in Maharashtra and Lal in Punjab chiefly was received as a bold assault on British rule.
The lower and middle classes began to be drawn gradually in the arena of national politics.
Lal-Bal-Pal chalked a strategy comprising of ideals and actions which constituted the undercurrent of militant nationalism.
But, the partition of Bengal by Lord Curzon and further imposition of certain laws and policies by Morley-Minto, later saw an upsurge of pan-Islamic tendencies against the Bengalis, Hindus in general.
Lal-Bal-Pal feared that this might lead to weakening of the Swaraj movement and dampening the course of India’s Freedom struggle. They did their best through their actions and words, written and verbal to lessen the dent so created.
In 1907, Aurobindo Ghosh, then editor of Bande Matram was arrested on the charges of sedition. Bipin Chandra Pal was summoned to appear in the court and give evidence in favour of the sedition charges.
But, Pal refused to cite any evidences against Pal which gave the court’s impetus to imprison Pal for six months that he voluntarily accepted.
The imprisonment elevated his status as a National hero when on 9th March 1908, he was released, people burnt fire crackers, rejoiced by organising meetings and processions.
This was the victory of the very ideals of national unity that Pal had wanted to inculcate in the minds of his countrymen.
Pal visited England thrice. Firstly, in 1898, for theological and comparative studies on a scholarship granted by the British and Foreign Unitarian Association which was working in tandem with the Brahmos in India.
But Pal soon gave up his studies and instead used his scholarship to preach Hindu theism and carry out propaganda of Independence for his country in England.
In 1900, he was invited by the New York’s Association of National Temperance, on a lecture tour lasting four months.
As a result, Pal also had his first USA visit and returned as fiery nationalist, teamed up with Ghosh, Lalaji and Lokmanya Tilak to carry on his urge of obtaining independence.
During his second visit to England in 1908, sponsored by Shyamji Varma, a revolutionary working in England and France, however witnessed a decline in his fierce temperament.
He adopted rather moderate views that failed to attract Labor Party’s consent for his quest of India’s independence.
Filed Under: Leaders
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Sexual Health + Identity
House of Representatives Votes to Ban Abortion After 20 Weeks
This is what that means.
Sammy Nickalls
On Monday, the House of Representatives voted to approve a bill that bans providers from performing abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy at the risk of fines, up to five years in prison, or both.
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (or H.R. 36) would make it a crime to perform or attempt abortions after the 20-week mark, except for the cases of rape, incest, or physical threat to life, according to the Associated Press. AP reports that women seeking abortions would not be prosecuted — instead the bill targets those providing the procedure. According to AP, the bill faces "certain" defeat once it reaches the Senate. While the bill cleared the House, women's health organizations have pointed out that this bill isn't intended to save lives or protect victims of sexual assault, but to limit women's reproductive care, threaten autonomy, and push the GOP's abortion agenda.
“Anti-choice politicians are relentless; they continually put up barriers to stop reproductive health care,” Dr. Anne Davis, consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Teen Vogue in a statement. “On the heels of their failure to pass an ACA repeal bill that would have left millions of women without coverage, H.R. 36 takes another wrong turn…[in that] medical decisions move out of the hands of medical professionals and pregnant people when abortion care is needed.”
https://twitter.com/Yamiche/status/915336576405790721
Davis added that “every patient is unique” and “every pregnancy is different,” which is exactly why she said sweeping, limiting bills like this are so problematic. “We must be able to provide the best care throughout pregnancy, including when pregnancies have to end,” she continued. “Interference by politicians...makes that good care even harder to access.”
Others have pointed out that President Donald Trump supported the bill, all while Puerto Rico is enduring the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Maria, and many are advocating for more strict gun control measures after the Sunday night mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed more than 50 and injured more than 500.
“While the country is in the midst of several crises...our politicians voted against the humanity of women,” Lady Parts Justice League founder and Daily Show co-creator Lizz Winstead told Teen Vogue in a statement. “Instead of dealing with gun violence, the destruction of Puerto Rico’s infrastructure, or the renewal of CHIP health coverage for poor children, our government would rather spend their time punishing women.”
In addition, some have said the bill is based on bad “science.” According to Vox, research shows that fetuses cannot feel pain at 20 weeks — in fact, they can’t until the third trimester. “There’s actually conclusive evidence that shows that the neurologic structures in a fetus aren’t completely laid down and working yet until much further along in pregnancy, we think even the third trimester,” Jennifer Conti, a clinical assistant professor and OB-GYN at Stanford University and a fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, told Vox. “[Twenty weeks] is just an arbitrary limit set in place by politicians that has no medical or scientific backing.”
Related: Gloria Steinem Is Not the Person Behind Viral Abortion Vs. Gun Control Quote
Keywordsabortionreproductive rights
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Fruitlands says ex-COO embezzled $1M
By Karen Nugent TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
Fruitlands Museum has filed a lawsuit against a former chief operating officer and her children for allegedly embezzling more than $1 million during the past eight years.
Also named is a Leominster accounting firm that allegedly did not notify museum officials about the alleged fraud.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Worcester Superior Court, accuses Peggy Kempton, Fruitlands� former chief operating officer, and her children, Kristen Kempton, Bunker Kempton, and Robert M. �Michael� Kempton Jr., all of 38 Main St., Hollis, N.H., of obtaining money and property by false pretenses, and converting or misappropriating Fruitlands� assets.
Peggy Kempton, who leased a cottage owned by Fruitlands at 144 Prospect Hill Road, next to the museum, for $1,400 a month, is also accused of failing to pay rent.
Solar & Kilcoyne, an accounting firm at 32 School St., Leominster, is accused of negligence and failing to alert anyone on the nonprofit museum�s board of directors about the alleged financial irregularities.
The alleged embezzlement has been reported to the state attorney general�s office, which is also investigating, according to a Fruitlands spokesman.
According to the complaint, Ms. Kempton was hired in July 1997 as the chief operating officer, and was the sole employee who handled check writing, taxes, donors, vendors, events and the museum store, along with communicating with Fruitlands� bank and accountants.
She began leasing the cottage in October 1999.
The complaint alleges that the embezzlement began in the early 2000s, when Ms. Kempton allegedly opened up credit accounts and obtained credit cards in her name and in the museum�s name. She allegedly charged items unrelated to her job, and then paid the cards off with Fruitlands� money.
The complaint also alleges that Ms. Kempton diverted museum money to pay her rent.
Around 2001, according to the complaint, her daughter, Kristen, started volunteering at Fruitlands events and auctions. The complaint alleges that Kristen was paid $10 an hour, even though she was not supposed to be paid.
By 2007, the complaint says, Kristen and Ms. Kempton�s other children, Bunker and Michael, had joined the embezzlement scheme and had gotten credit cards in Fruitlands� name with which they made personal charges.
Peggy Kempton also allegedly issued checks and made electronic payments from the museum�s bank account to pay her children.
In 2007, Ms. Kempton allegedly diverted $18,598.59 to Bunker, supposedly for 1,800 hours of work, and $10,522.50 to Kristen for 1,000 hours of work.
Peggy Kempton�s annual salary was $67,000. In 2007, she allegedly withdrew approximately $40,000 in addition to that, and on top of the money allegedly obtained through embezzlement.
She left the job abruptly in February 2008.
The complaint says Fruitlands so far has calculated that Ms. Kempton has diverted more than $1 million to cover credit card charges made by her and her children.
According to a news release from Fruitlands, irregularities in the museum�s financial operations were discovered in the spring. A law firm and a forensic accountant were subsequently hired.
Fruitlands, a 94-year-old museum off Route 111 that has four distinct themes � transcendentalism, Shakers, American Indians, and fine art � is one of the country�s first outdoor museums. It was founded in 1914 by Clara Endicott Sears, and got its name earlier, when Bronson Alcott, father of author Louisa May Alcott, started a short-lived utopian community there.
Maud Ayson, Fruitlands� executive director, said yesterday she is �proud of our swift action (hiring auditors and the forensic accountant) to assess what we needed to do quickly to rectify procedures and move ahead.�
Ms. Ayson stressed that the museum is in solid financial shape, and is embarking on several new events and exhibits, including �Branching Out at Fruitlands,� a series of exhibitions and outreach programs with a dozen regional partners.
�This exciting year of events, exhibits and outreach offers a lively new face while building a solid basis for Fruitlands future,� said Bob Anderson, president of the trustees, in a prepared statement.
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TeleMED breaks through information silos for cardiology and radiology clinics
After years of investing in information technology, cardiology and radiology clinics are now generating higher volumes of diagnostic data than ever before. Understandably, physicians who seek to deliver the best care possible, want easy access to all available data in order to make the best evidence-based diagnostic and treatment decisions.
However, the IT infrastructures at cardiology and radiology clinics are not built and implemented to streamline data sharing, even within a single clinic. Because technology purchases have generally been made in isolation to one another, the typical clinic has numerous localized databases of information and numerous localized points of access to that information.
This data fragmentation means that the physician who wants to view a patient’s imaging and non-imaging diagnostic data in three systems will typically open three different viewers, log in three different times and retrieve data using three different queries. Trying to view the complete digital picture of a patient’s health is a complex and time-consuming task. In addition, much of the data can only be accessed from within the clinic or by way of a VPN connection. Within the clinic, there are often delays in getting diagnostic data imported into and indexed within the clinic’s EMR because this work is being done manually.
Modern cardiology and radiology clinics require an enterprise approach that breaks through the silos of individual departments, converging all DICOM and non-DICOM information into a single, vendor-neutral archive (VNA) that is easily accessible from any location using a single login.
Telemed Diagnostic Management Inc. (TeleMED), in partnership with a number of leading imaging solution providers, and by leveraging its proprietary data management solution, ViTELflo, has developed a solution that meets all of these needs. As a result, cardiology and radiology clinics can now have a cost-effective, flexible and customizable solution that offers capture, viewing, sharing and storage across the entire organization.
Implementation of TeleMED’s solution in a clinic results in significant work flow and productivity benefits. By way of interfaces with the individual systems in the clinic, ViTELflo automatically collects medical data from multiple imaging and non-imaging departments and consolidates it into a master directory that is indexed in a standardized fashion. ViTELflo itself becomes the unified viewer by which users can view all DICOM and non-DICOM patient information. Authorized users throughout the enterprise access the complete digital picture of the patient’s health from a single point of access, using a single login. In addition, because ViTELflo is a web-based solution that is accessible by all major browsers, the users are assured of secure, controlled access from any web-connected computer and at any time. Furthermore, because ViTELflo is highly interoperable, it can deliver results from all systems to the enterprise EMR through a single pipeline.
ViTELflo also offers automated work flow for viewing, comparing, interpreting many non-imaging modalities, such as Resting ECG, Holter, Loop, Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Stress ECG. As a result, ViTELflo can replace one or more systems that are used for these purposes.
As Asa Lebel, the President of TeleMED, states, “When you look at the advanced automation, the interoperability and the easy access of ViTELflo and combine these advantages with TeleMED’s in-house integration expertise, you see that there is a practical, powerful solution to the problems that cardiology and radiology clinics often experience. Our TeleMED solution converts the inefficient, restrictive infrastructure found in today’s imaging clinic into a connected, sharing, productive healthcare eco-system. This transformation empowers a clinic to deliver enhanced patient care and to improve profitability.”
Telemed Diagnostic Management Inc., an ISO 13485:2003 certified company, has been a pioneer in the development of powerful solutions for managing non-invasive medical diagnostic data. We serve an array of verticals in the healthcare industry including community diagnostic laboratories, specialty clinics, occupational testing organizations, family physician groups and paramedical service providers. Our solutions feature advanced security safeguards, innovative quality management tools, business analytic capabilities, smart electronic forms and a high degree of interoperability and connectivity.
Your system has enabled very early and timely diagnosis of serious cardiac diagnoses in a very efficient manner and I believe has a very positive benefit for patients.
- A.D. Tepperman, M.D. F.R.C.P. (C)
TeleMED results:
Up to 28% savings in operations management costs.
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Miguel Levario: A Government that Works for Us
Borderlands Historian Miguel Levario has thrown his hat in the ring for the United States Congressional Race in House District 19, which includes Abilene and Lubbock, Texas.
Miguel A. Levaro (Ph.D. History, University of Texas) studies and teaches immigration and borderlands history at Texas Tech University. He authored Militarizing the Border: When Mexicans Became the Enemy (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2012) and understands well the deep connection between Texas and Mexico, i.e. Tex-Mex. He grew up in the border town of Anthony, Texas, outside of El Paso, on exit 0 of I-10, at the nexus of New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico.
It is appropriate that a person from the town where Mexico ends and Texas begins should come to represent a new beginning for the Democratic Party in West Texas. Funny, handsome, and with an engaging smile, Levario talked of his wife and children back in Lubbock that will be joining him on the trail in the coming months. Raised by hardworking parents on the border, and after matriculating at schools in El Paso, Levario attended Notre Dame where he earned his undergraduate degree. He took to heart their Catholic teachings, especially the mantra “who will you fight for.” It seems that Miguel Levario has chosen to fight for the people of District 19, and his speech last night ignited the Taylor County Democrats in several rounds of applause.
Levario describes himself as a “Citizen-Scholar,” which means sanity, professionalism, and informed decision-making, and that it is what we need in Washington today. Less division and more solutions is what Miguel Levario offers the constituents of District 19.
He argued: “solutions are here and it is up to us to recognize them.” After hearing Levario speak of his values, I believe he could bring solutions and unity back to government. Boldly he expressed “I’m your man” and at the same time humbly remarked that he was “here to serve”—a necessary combination for a bold and responsive leader.
Jody Arrington, the current Republican Representative for District 19, has been criticized for his lack of service and responsiveness to the people he represents. Arrington has been absent from his district and ducking town halls. In fact, he might be facing an “Empty Town Hall Meeting” scenario in the near future, which will be covered by local and national media. These “Empty Town Halls” put a spotlight on congressmen and women (like Arrington, Mac Thornberry, and Kay Granger), who are ignoring the concerns of their constituents.
Miguel Levario promised to answer and work for his constituents, hitting on the major theme of his speech that people need representation that listens and works for them. They need responsive leadership and a government that works for the people in an intelligent way.
An expert on the border, Levario, talked of a “secure border” and of smart ways of achieving that strength. He got a big round of applause when he called the wall an “idiotic campaign phrase,” which is the reality that most Texans know. “I understand the border,” Levario said, and it can be dealt with “well-thought out policies.” The border is an interconnected, interwoven community and insightful understanding and policymaking would be better for the economy of Texas and for the people living in border communities. There is no doubt that Levario has a better understanding of the immigration and border issues than most, if not all politicians, in Austin or Washington.
Rural residents at the meeting were pleased with Levario’s appeal to “rise up and save our rural schools” and “to protect farmers and farm laborers.” Levario understood that urban areas need help, but also that we want our “rural communities to flourish.” To do that we need a government that works for all of its citizens, not just a few who have the money to put a candidate into office.
Levario declared that Donald Trump’s presidency has been a disaster—a “failure in leadership.” The unending lies and deception make people question the trustworthiness of the President and his party. He said that Republicans like Trump and Arrington “don’t want small government. They want to own the government.” Levario offers the opposite—a defense of good governance and good programs like Meals on Wheels.
Miguel Levario brings much-needed youth and energy to the Democratic Party. He offers an intelligent campaign that will be grassroots and community based—“our campaign” where we will “rise up and be heard.” It is exciting and refreshing to hear from a scholar of history, a “citizen-scholar” who has studied the past and can lead us to a better, more united future. Thank you Miguel Levario for running for office.
Jahue Anderson
Published in Uncategorized on Apr 20, 2017
samuelhatton April 20, 2017 at 4:02 pm
Ok thank you Jahue.
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Vintage Boards
Save a Plastic Tree
1307 North H Street SUITE C
Lompoc, CA, 93436
Surf Beach and the Snowy Plover
April 24, 2019 Robin Dunaetz
Surf Beach, a beautifully untamed stretch of coastline, is our local beach and possesses a rather unique history. From race track, to train station, to city, and back to undeveloped sand dunes, it is home to many shore birds, including the Western Snowy Plover. The impact this small seemingly insignificant bird has had on Surf Beach is almost as great as the train station that is again in existence above the dunes today.
A modest, tiny shore bird, The Western Snowy Plover is approximately six inches in length with grey, brown upper plumage and white under plumage. It primarily forages for small invertebrates in wet or dry beach-sand and among tide-cast kelp. The birds nest in the dunes with a breeding season March through September and nests typically host three small eggs. The parents share in the incubation duties but unlike many other birds, within hours of the eggs hatching, the small fledglings will leave the nest in search of food.
In 1993 this unassuming, small bird was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and has since become the fulcrum point for Surf Beach visitation seven months of the year. As Surf Beach is on Federal property, strict interpretation and enforcement of the Endangered Species Act has been observed. During the nesting season of March 1st to September 30th each year, only a 1/2 mile of the coastline at Surf Beach is open to the public. No fishing, kite flying, dogs, bonfires or camping are allowed on the beach and the dunes are off limits during this time period as well. The number of violations allowed each season before the beach is closed completely to the public is limited to 50 and can be as vague as a set of footprints in the off limit areas. Thankfully beach closures and limitations are just one aspect of Vandenberg AFB’s management program for the recovery of this species. Others include predator management and habitat restoration through the removal of nonnative plant species.
With all this focus on the recovery program at Surf Beach some are surprised to find the Western Snowy Plover’s habitat extends along the West Coast from Washington through Baja Mexico and beyond. Indeed, many contend the bird is not truly threatened and cite reliable sources, information and data. An appeal has been submitted to USF&WS to delist the bird but to date no response has been received. It is not, however, our position at this time to debate the fairness or accuracy of the listing or the measurements taken by VAFB mandated through the ESA. Rather, we are asking everyone to observe the rules in place and help keep our beach open all year so that we may enjoy the beauty of this untamed area in its natural glory.
Currently, after just a little over seven weeks, violations are listed at 15 of the 50 allowed for the season. If they continue at this rate complete access to Surf Beach will be lost again prior to the end of the nesting season.
Truly, whether you believe the bird is threatened or whether you agree with the restrictions, we strongly believe we should always strive to be better stewards of our incredible planet and work to live side by side with nature everyday, not just seven months of the year.
In Nature Tags Snowy Plover, Surf Beach, Endangered Species, Environment, Nature
March 30, 2016 Robin Dunaetz
Surf Beach, a beautiful, untamed stretch of coastline, is our local beach and possesses a rather unique history. From race track, to train station, to city, and back to undeveloped sand dunes, it is home to many shore birds, including the Western Snowy Plover. The impact this small seemingly insignificant bird has had on Surf Beach is almost as great as the train station that is again in existence above the dunes today.
With all this focus on the recovery program at Surf Beach some are surprised to find the Western Snowy Plover’s habitat extends along the West Coast from Washington through Baja Mexico and beyond. Indeed, many contend the bird is not truly threatened and cite reliable sources, information and data. An appeal has been submitted to USF&WS to delist the bird but to date no response has been received. It is not, however, our position at this time to debate the fairness or accuracy of the listing or the measurements taken by VAFB mandated through the ESA. Rather, we are asking everyone to observe the rules in place and help keep our beach open all year so that we may enjoy the beauty of this untamed area in its natural glory. Currently, after just one month, violations are listed at 9 of the 50 allowed for the season. If they continue at this rate complete access to Surf Beach will be lost again prior to the end of the nesting season.
Tags Snowy Plover, Surf Beach, Lompoc, Surf Connection
Hours: Weekdays 10-8, Saturday 10-7, Sunday 11-5 Phone: (805) 736-1730
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St. Vladimir's interacts with other seminaries like Holy Cross and St. Nersess, and participates in the Orthodox Inter-seminary Movement (OISM), the New York Metro Inter-Seminary Dialogue (ISD); and has signed a concordat with Nashotah House. We have alumni serving at St. Herman's, St. Tikhon's, Holy Trinity, and St. Sergius seminaries.
St. Vladimir's faculty and students serve the Church by outreach to the faithful - presenting retreats, lectures, and seminars, and traveling as choral groups, to edify and uplift our brothers and sisters in Christ.
From 2002 to 2008, the OCA supplied St. Vladimir's with an average donation of $27K annually, from national church appeals. Since 2009, the national church has no longer been assisting seminaries within its jurisdiction with funding.
St. Vladimir's began the practice of independent certified audits of its financial records in 1963; prior to that, all budgets were reviewed and approved by the members of the pan-Orthodox Board of Trustees.
The St. Vladimir's endowment fund amounts to $13.7M, of which $9.9M is permanently restricted. The annual draw from endowments for scholarship is approximately $280,000 and $600,000 for operations.
SVS Press has published more than 400 titles since its inception in 1969, and is currently the largest publisher of English-language materials on the Orthodox Christian faith: biblical studies, liturgical studies, patristics, church history, Christian biography, and Christian ethics. The press contributes 9% annually to the seminary.
SVS is a founding member of the New York Area Theological Library Association (NYATLA), and participates in the METRO system for inter-library loan; the Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) is available to the public here.
The state-of-the-art technology of the library and Koha Integrated Library System assist researchers worldwide who are interested in the Orthodox Christian faith.
SVS has a spacious library that holds over 142,000 volumes, and several rare books, for example: an original manuscript of Rachmaninoff's Vespers; and the Ostrog Bible, published in 1583 and the first book printed in the cyrillic alphabet.
Four current Orthodox patriarchs worldwide have received honorary doctoral degrees from St Vladimir's.
The majority of alumni graduating from the Master of Divinity program at St. Vladimir's are ordained to the holy priesthood.
The Seminary's Board of Trustees is made up of bishops, clergy, and laity from several Orthodox Christian jurisdictions, and from the Oriental Orthodox churches.
SVS has produced about 50 Orthodox hierarchs, and close to 1,000 priests and deacons, serving the church with approximately 900 laity (both women and men), among its alumni. Among the hierarchy are one patriarch, archbishops, and bishops, and several metropolitans.
SVS, located in the New York Metro area, nearby to several Orthodox Christian archdiocesan centers and to the largest concentration of Orthodox Christians in the United States.
Most full-time faculty members reside on campus, thus building community life and offering accessibility to students.
In its commitment to provide on-campus housing for married students, St. Vladimir's currently carries a $2.2M debt for the Lakeside Student Apartments. Principal and interest payments amount to approximately $44K annually.
SVS provides dormitory facilities for single men and women, and 38 apartment units and suites for married students and their families.
Over the past five years, St. Vladimir's Seminary has awarded an average of $263,000 annually in scholarship dollars to its students.
Annual tuition at SVS is $10,500 per year. For those students who qualify, the seminary will provide 50% of the total tuition costs in outright costs, and up to 25% in more dollar–for–dollar matching funds with the other 25% of tuition paid through matching funds donated by ecclesial sources. Costs of room and board vary for single students and married families.
"St. Vladimir's seminarians are expected to undertake the task of the Fathers of the Church, viewing everything in the light of Jesus Christ and His gospel, as proclaimed by the Apostles, according to Holy Scripture." - The V. Rev. John Behr, Dean
Currently, 71 students are enrolled at SVS. Students represent different Orthodox Church jurisdictions and come from many countries around the globe.
SVS offers the MDiv, MA, and ThM degrees and has been an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) since 1973.
St. Vladimir's is incorporated in the State of New York as a non-profit organization, in accordance with section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States.
St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVS) is a graduate professional school chartered and approved by the Board of Regents for and on behalf of the Education Department of the State of New York.
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Commencement of the Class of 2019
Archpriest Alexander Rentel, SEOD
St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary
575 Scarsdale Road
Giving thanks to God, the trustees, faculty, and students of St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary (SVOTS) invite the public to the Commencement of the Class of 2019, Saturday, May 18. Ceremonies will begin at 2:00 p.m., with a “Prayer of Thanksgiving” in Three Hierarchs Chapel, followed at 2:30 p.m. by Commencement Exercises in the Metropolitan Philip Auditorium of the John G. Rangos Family Building.
The commencement speaker this year is Archpriest Alexander Rentel, SEOD, chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America (OCA).
About the 2019 Commencement Speaker
The Very Rev. Dr. Alexander Rentel has served for many years as ecclesiarch, assistant professor in canon law and Byzantine studies, and the John and Paraskeva Skvir lecturer in practical theology at St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary.
A faithful priest of the OCA for seventeen years, Fr. Alexander possesses a wealth of experience and knowledge as a professor, liturgist, pastor, and confessor. His expertise in canon law is not only academic, but practical. On many occasions, he has provided canonical guidance and opinions to the Holy Synod on a variety of subjects, and he has been called upon to consult in this area by Orthodox churches around the world. Fr. Alexander is widely known and respected by the many seminarians who have studied under him.
Father Alexander, an alumnus of St. Vladimir’s Seminary (SVOTS), received his B.A. in English from The Ohio State University in 1990. He received his M.Div. from SVOTS in 1995, and finished his doctoral dissertation under the direction of Fr. Robert Taft, SJ, at the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome in 2004.
Prior to Fr. Alexander becoming an instructor at St. Vladimir’s Seminary in 2002, he was a Junior Fellow in Byzantine Studies at Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C. in 2000-2001. He was ordained to the priesthood in July 2001. In October 2018, the Holy Synod of Bishops confirmed Fr. Alexander as Chancellor of the Orthodox Church in America.
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Daily Calendar — 2.5.19
Times Record Staff
Cedarville Community Center Quilters: Meets at 9 a.m. at the Cedarville Community Center in Cedarville.
Ladies Bible Study: Meets at 9:30 a.m. at West-Ark Church of Christ, 900 N. Waldron Road. Call (479) 452-1240.
Toddler Time: Meets at 10 a.m. at the Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Ave. Call (479) 783-0229.
Baby & Me: Begins at 10 a.m. at the Cedarville Public Library, 639 Pirates Way. Call (479) 410-1853.
Disabled American Veterans, Chapter 1 social: Runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a light lunch, coffee and assistance for veterans in need at 12912 Tuscany St. in Fort Smith. Call (479) 646-0928.
Toddler Tuesdays: Held from 11 a.m. to noon at the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, 1601 Rogers Ave. For ages 18 months-4 years. Adult must attend with child. Call (479) 784-2787.
Microsoft Word Basics: Meets 11 a.m. to noon at the Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Ave. Call (479) 783-0229.
Fort Smith Southside Rotary Club: Meets at noon at Western Sizzlin’, 5200 Towson Ave. Call Roy Walker at (479) 926-1343.
Bible study: Meets at noon at King Solomon Christian Church, 4200 N. N St.
Noon Lions Club: Meets at noon at Golden Corral, 1801 S. Waldron Road. Call Marty Houston at (479) 414-8649.
Miller Writers Group: Meets at 1 p.m. at the Miller Branch Library, 8701 S. 28th St. in Fort Smith. Call Scott at (479) 646-8859.
Adults Craft Class: Begins at 1 p.m. at the Ralph D. Graf Public Library, 220 N. Main St., Mulberry. Call (479) 997-1226. Registration required.
Free basic computer skills class: Runs 1:30-3:30 p.m. at The American Job Center, 616 Garrison Ave. Reserve a spot by calling (479) 424-3415 or emailing olan@waeda.org.
Recipe Club for adults and seniors: Begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Cedarville Public Library, 639 Pirates Way. Call (479) 410-1853.
Planners and Journals 101 for adults and seniors: Meets 1:30-2:30 p.m. at the Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main St. Call (479) 474-6045.
"Critter Crunch" animal feeding: Begins at 2 p.m. at the Janet Huckabee Arkansas River Valley Nature Center, 8300 Wells Lake Road. Visit RiverValleyNatureCenter.com or call (479) 452-3993.
Teen Time: Meets at 3:30 p.m. at Van Buren Public Library, 1409 Main St. Call (479) 474-6045.
Chinese New Year Activity for teens: Begins at 4 p.m. at the Alma Public Library, 624 Fayetteville Ave. Call (479) 632-4140.
Mulberry Muggles for fifth grade and up: Begins at 4 p.m. at the Ralph D. Graf Public Library, 220 N. Main St., Mulberry. Call (479) 997-1226.
Cancer Support Group for Women: Meets 5 p.m. at Reynolds Cancer Support House, 3324 S. M St., Fort Smith. (479) 782-6302.
Learn about Beekeeping: Begins at 6 p.m. at the Ralph D. Graf Public Library, 220 N. Main St., Mulberry. Call (479) 997-1226.
Poteau Evening Lions Club: Meets at 6 p.m. at the Carl Albert State College Student Union in Poteau.
Prime Time Story Time: Meets at 6 p.m. at Fort Smith Public Library, 3201 Rogers Ave. Call (479) 783-0229.
River Valley Ale Raisers: Meets at 6 p.m. at GrowFresh Organics, 7709 Ellis St., Building 303, in Fort Smith.
Fort Smith Duplicate Bridge Club: Meets at 6:30 p.m. at 1810 S. U St.
Civil Air Patrol cadets: Meets at 6:30 p.m. in Building 1A at the Fort Smith Regional Airport.
Bingo: Meets at 7 p.m. at Knights of Columbus Hall, 10203 Columbus Acres Road. Call Jayne at (479) 208-3108.
District 4 Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary Team: Meets at 7 p.m. at the Old Rock Schoolhouse in Cedarville.
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary: Meets at 7:15 p.m. at the U.S. Coast Guard station, 3802 Grand Ave. Call (479) 785-4696.
The Calendar runs Monday through Friday in the Times Record; weekend events are included in Friday’s calendar. Items must be submitted five working days before publication to Daily Calendar, P.O. Box 1359, Fort Smith, AR 72902. Email submission to mtaylor@swtimes.com.
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United States v. Lawrence MacChia, 41 F.3d 35, 2d Cir. (1994)
Uploaded by Scribd Government Docs
Filed: 1994-11-21 Precedential Status: Precedential Citations: 41 F.3d 35 Docket: 1037
Copyright: Public Domain
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41 F.
74 A.F.T.R.2d 94-7036
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,
Lawrence MACCHIA, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 1037, Docket 94-1497.
United States Court of Appeals,
Second Circuit.
Submitted Oct. 17, 1994.
Decided Oct. 19, 1994.
Filed Nov. 21, 1994.
Gerald B. Lefcourt, Joshua L. Dratel, Lefcourt & Dratel, P.C., New York
City, for defendant-appellant.
Robert E. Lindsay, Dept. of Justice, Washington, DC, for appellee.
Before: NEWMAN, Chief Judge, ALTIMARI and LEVAL, Circuit
JON O. NEWMAN, Chief Judge:
This interlocutory appeal in a criminal case endeavors to secure pretrial review
of a ruling denying a motion to dismiss an indictment alleged to have been
returned in violation of an immunity agreement. The appeal is brought by
Lawrence Macchia from the August 24, 1994, ruling of the District Court for
the Eastern District of New York (Leonard D. Wexler, Judge), 861 F.Supp.
182, construing the immunity agreement to have conferred only derivative use
immunity and not transactional immunity. We conclude that recent Supreme
Court pronouncements have altered the law of this Circuit, which formerly
permitted such interlocutory appeals, and we therefore dismiss the appeal for
lack of appellate jurisdiction.
Macchia and seven co-defendants were indicted for conspiracy to defraud the
United States, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371, and attempting to evade excise taxes, 26
U.S.C. Sec. 7201, in connection with an alleged scheme to avoid paying federal
gasoline taxes. The offenses are detailed in United States v. Macchia, 35 F.3d
662 (2d Cir.1994), an unsuccessful pretrial appeal by two of Macchia's codefendants claiming insulation from trial on double jeopardy grounds. Macchia
sought to prevent his trial on the basis of an immunity agreement containing
the following language:
Any truthful statements made by Lawrence Macchia in response to questions
asked of him by government attorneys and agents during this interview or any
information arising from or relating thereto will not be used against Lawrence
Macchia in any criminal prosecution by the United States government, or by
the State of New York, or its political subdivisions (emphasis added).
Macchia contended in the District Court that the emphasized words, especially
the words "or relating thereto," added at the insistence of his counsel,
broadened the agreement beyond use immunity and, in effect, conferred
transactional immunity since any evidence relevant to the charge against him
would necessarily "relat[e] to" his statements. Judge Wexler disagreed, denied
the motion to dismiss, and also ruled that a so-called Kastigar hearing, see
Kastigar v. United States, 406 U.S. 441, 92 S.Ct. 1653, 32 L.Ed.2d 212 (1972),
to determine whether the protection of derivative use immunity was observed,
would be deferred until after the trial. This appeal followed.
On September 23, 1994, the Government moved to dismiss for lack of
appellate jurisdiction. After considering opposing papers and with the
scheduled trial date approaching, we issued an order on October 19, 1994,
granting the motion to dismiss and indicating that an opinion would follow. We
now issue that opinion.
The Government contends that a pretrial interlocutory appeal is not available to
consider a defendant's claim that an immunity agreement has conferred
insulation from trial. This jurisdictional issue has evoked varying responses
from courts. Compare United States v. Abbamonte, 759 F.2d 1065 (2d
Cir.1985) (order denying dismissal of indictment on ground of prior plea
agreement appealable), with United States v. Bird, 709 F.2d 388 (5th Cir.1983)
(order denying dismissal of indictment on ground of prior plea agreement not
appealable), and United States v. Eggert, 624 F.2d 973 (10th Cir.1980) (same).
The disagreement has stemmed from uncertainty as to the continued force of
the Supreme Court's 1910 decision in Heike v. United States, 217 U.S. 423, 30
S.Ct. 539, 54 L.Ed. 821 (1910). In Heike, the Supreme Court unequivocally
rejected an interlocutory appeal in the context of a claim of statutory immunity
flowing from a grand jury appearance, 217 U.S. at 433, 54 S.Ct. at 542-43.
Sixty-seven years later, however, the continued force of that decision was put in
doubt by Abney v. United States, 431 U.S. 651, 97 S.Ct. 2034, 52 L.Ed.2d 651
(1977), which allowed an interlocutory appeal of an adverse double jeopardy
ruling. Abney rendered Heike uncertain because Heike had explicitly relied on
the unavailability of pretrial appeals to challenge adverse double jeopardy
rulings. Heike, 217 U.S. at 432, 54 S.Ct. at 542.
The tension between Abney and Heike began to be resolved the year after
Abney was decided. In United States v. MacDonald, 435 U.S. 850, 98 S.Ct.
1547, 56 L.Ed.2d 18 (1978), the Court ruled that an interlocutory appeal was
not available from a ruling denying a motion to dismiss for alleged violation of
the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. Though the speedy trial claim, if
upheld in the trial court, would have insulated the defendant from having to
defend against the criminal charges, the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment
right would be adequately vindicated by a reversal of the conviction on appeal
from a final judgment. In a footnote, the Court pointed out that not every claim
that, if successful, would require dismissal of an indictment may be the basis
for interlocutory review, and cited Heike, presumably as an example of claims
that must await post-conviction review. Id. at 860 n. 7, 98 S.Ct. at 1552-53 n. 7.
However, the MacDonald footnote did not comment on the fact that Abney had
allowed pre-conviction appeal of a double jeopardy claim, the analogy on
which Heike had relied.
More recently, in Midland Asphalt Corp. v. United States, 489 U.S. 794, 109
S.Ct. 1494, 103 L.Ed.2d 879 (1989), the Court elevated the language of the
MacDonald footnote to the text, id. at 801, 109 S.Ct. at 1499, and gave a very
strong signal that a rejected immunity claim may not be raised on an
interlocutory appeal. Midland Asphalt ruled that an interlocutory appeal was
not available to challenge the denial of a motion to dismiss an indictment on the
ground of an alleged violation by the Government of Rule 6(e) of the Federal
Rules of Criminal Procedure. The Court explained that interlocutory appeal
may occur not merely when the right at issue, if vindicated, will result in
dismissal of the indictment, but only when the right at issue is itself a
constitutional or statutory right not to be tried, such as the protections of the
Double Jeopardy Clause, see Abney v. United States, supra, or the Speech or
Debate Clause, see Helstoski v. Meanor, 442 U.S. 500, 99 S.Ct. 2445, 61
L.Ed.2d 30 (1979).
It is arguable that an immunity claim satisfies even the limited right of
interlocutory appeal recognized in Midland Asphalt. The argument would be at
its strongest if the immunity claim were grounded on statutory insulation, such
as that formerly contained in 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3486, repealed by Pub.L. 91-452,
tit. II, Sec. 228(a), 84 Stat. 930 (1970). See Ullmann v. United States, 350 U.S.
422, 76 S.Ct. 497, 100 L.Ed. 511 (1956). Statutes such as former section 3486,
which conferred transactional immunity, typically provided that "no such
[immunized] witness shall be prosecuted." 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3486(c). Such a
prohibition seems to be an "explicit statutory ... guarantee that trial shall not
occur," Midland Asphalt, 489 U.S. at 801, 109 S.Ct. at 1499. Nevertheless, we
cannot ignore the fact that Midland Asphalt quoted with approval the
MacDonald footnote's reference to the unavailability of an interlocutory appeal
to challenge immunity claims:
"Dismissal
of the indictment is the proper sanction when a defendant has been
granted immunity from prosecution, when his indictment is defective, or, usually,
when the only evidence against him was seized in violation of the Fourth
Amendment. Obviously, however, this has not led the Court to conclude that such
defendants can pursue interlocutory appeals." MacDonald, supra, 435 U.S. at 860 n.
7, 98 S.Ct. at 1552-53 n. 7.
Midland Asphalt, 489 U.S. at 801, 109 S.Ct. at 1499. Apparently, the insulation
from prosecution, and thus from trial, provided by a transactional immunity
statute (like the one in Heike, 217 U.S. at 426, 30 S.Ct. at 540), is not the
"explicit statutory ... guarantee that trial will not occur" that Justice Scalia had
in mind.
The pending case presents a weaker claim for interlocutory appeal than would
arise from a claim grounded on a statute explicitly insulating from prosecution
a witness given transactional immunity. Macchia relies not on a statute
conferring transactional immunity, but rather on an alleged agreement with the
United States Attorney, the breach of which, he contends, violates the Due
Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. There can be virtually no doubt that a
violation of the general prohibition of the Due Process Clause is not a violation
of an "explicit statutory or constitutional guarantee that trial will not occur," as
that phrase is used in Midland Asphalt.
The appellant seeks to draw comfort from the fact that his argument is
grounded on a constitutional protection--the Due Process Clause, but that
argument misses Justice Scalia's point. The test is not whether the right alleged
to be impaired is grounded in the Constitution; MacDonald's claim, for which
interlocutory appeal was denied, was based on the Sixth Amendment. The test
is whether the pertinent protection, constitutional or statutory, explicitly
guarantees a right not to be tried.
In this Circuit, we have heretofore permitted interlocutory appeals to assert
breach of plea agreements alleged to confer immunity. See United States v.
Abbamonte, 759 F.2d at 1070-71, United States v. Alessi, 544 F.2d 1139 (2d
Cir.) (Alessi III ), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 960, 97 S.Ct. 384, 50 L.Ed.2d 327
(1976); United States v. Alessi, 536 F.2d 978 (2d Cir.1976) (Alessi I ). Alessi I,
which predated Abney, allowed the interlocutory appeal, analogizing, for
appeal purposes, claims based on immunity provisions of plea agreements to
double jeopardy claims. 536 F.2d at 980 (relying on United States v.
Beckerman, 516 F.2d 905 (2d Cir.1975)). In Alessi III, which reached us after
certiorari had been granted in Abney, Abney v. United States, 426 U.S. 934, 96
S.Ct. 2646, 49 L.Ed.2d 385 (1976) (granting certiorari), the appealability issue
evoked a strong opinion by Judge Friendly, arguing against pretrial review of
double jeopardy and immunity claims. This view was evidently not shared by
Judge Feinberg, who concurred in the result on the appealability issue. Alessi
III, 544 F.2d at 1155. Though Judge Friendly, and Judge Van Graafeiland, who
concurred in Judge Friendly's opinion, would have disallowed the interlocutory
appeal and followed Heike "[i]f the point were open in this circuit," id. at 1152,
they felt bound by Alessi I.
When the issue arose again after Abney, we said in Abbamonte that "[w]e are
obliged to follow the holding on appealability in Alessi [I and III ] unless we
have some basis for concluding that that ruling has been eroded by subsequent
decisions of the Supreme Court." 759 F.2d at 1071. We did not find such
erosion in Abney, and, though the MacDonald footnote had cited Heike, we
evidently concluded that there was an insufficient basis for considering the law
of this Circuit to have been altered. Now, however, Midland Asphalt has sent a
clear message that at least an immunity claim grounded on the Due Process
Clause, as we have in the pending case, and very likely an immunity claim
grounded on a statute conferring transactional immunity, as in Heike, can no
longer be raised on an interlocutory appeal. In Midland Asphalt, the Supreme
Court has not only promoted to text the MacDonald footnote, which had cited
Heike, but has also provided the explicit rationale that an interlocutory appeal
will lie in the criminal context only where the constitutional or statutory
protection relied upon confers a right not to be tried, as distinguished from a
right to be free of some adverse action for which the remedy is dismissal of the
indictment. Moreover, we need not consider the merits of appellant's claim for
transactional immunity in order to determine our appellate jurisdiction: even if
he is right that his immunity agreement should be construed to confer
transactional immunity, his claim for dismissal of the indictment would still
rest on the general prohibition of the Due Process Clause, rather than an
immunity statute explicitly protecting the right not to be tried.
We therefore conclude that the appealability rulings in Alessi I, Alessi III, and
Abbamonte have been eroded, and we overrule those rulings and dismiss this
appeal for lack of appellate jurisdiction.1
This opinion has been circulated to the active judges of the Court
Interlocutory Appeal
Sovereign Immunity
Sixth Amendment To The United States Constitution
Due Process Clause
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Loucks v Standard Oil of NY
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Georgetown Manor, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Plaintiff-Counterclaim-Defendant-Appellee, George Levin, Plaintiff-Third-Party Plaintiff-Third Party-Defendant, Classic Motor Carriages, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Thomasville Showcase Interiors, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Furniture Industries of Florida, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Joe Krau, Counterclaim-Defendant v. Ethan Allen, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, Defendant-Counterclaim-Plaintiff-Third Party-Plaintiff-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, Nathan Ancell, Defendant-Counterclaim-Plaintiff-Third Party-Plaintiff. Georgetown Manor, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Plaintiff-Counterclaim-Defendant-Appellant, Cross-Appellee, George Levin, Plaintiff-Third-Party-Defendant v. Ethan Allen, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, Defendant-Counterclaim-Plaintiff-Third Party-Plaintiff-Appellee, Nathan Ancell, Defendant-Counterclaim-Plaintiff-Third-Party Joe Krau, Counterclaim-Defendant, Classic Motor Carriages, Inc., a Florida Corporation, Thomasville Showcase
BC Public Law Talk
[224 N.Y. 99, 120 N.E.
198, July 12, 1918]
Court of Appeals of New York
LOUCKS et al
STANDARD OIL CO. OF NEW YORK
PREVIOUS HISTORY: Loucks v. Standard Oil Co. of New York, 92 Misc. 475, 156 N.Y.S. 7 (N.Y.Sup. Dec 11,
Reversed by: Loucks v. Standard Oil Co., 172 A.D. 227, 159 N.Y.S. 282 (N.Y.A.D. 4 Dept. Apr 19, 1916)
Reversed by: Loucks v. Standard Oil Co. of New York, 224 N.Y. 99, 120 N.E. 198 (N.Y. Jul 12, 1918)
SUBSEQUENT HISTORY: Distinguished by: In re Rubins Will, 280 A.D. 348, 280 A.D. 864, 113 N.Y.S.2d 70
(N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. Jun 03, 1952)
Appeal from Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department.
Action by Fannie F. Loucks and James M. Rutledge, as joint administrators of Everett A. Loucks,
deceased, against the Standard Oil Company of New York. From a judgment of the Appellate Division
(172 App. Div. 227, 159 N. Y. Supp. 282), reversing an order of the Special Term (92 Misc. Rep. 475, 156
N. Y. Supp. 7) and granting defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings, plaintiffs appeal.
Reversed, and order of the Special Term affirmed.
A. Lee Olmsted, of Syracuse, for appellants. Lyman M. Bass, of Buffalo, for respondent.
Collin, J., dissenting in part.
[**198] [*101] CARDOZO, J.
The action is brought to recover damages for injuries resulting in death. The plaintiffs are the
administrators of the estate of Everett A. Loucks. Their intestate, while traveling on a highway in the
state of [*102] Massachusetts, was run down and killed through the negligence of the defendant's
servants then engaged in its business. He left a wife and two children, residents of New York. A statute
of Massachusetts (R. L. c. 171, 2, as amended by L. 1907, c. 375) provides that:
If a person or corporation by his or its negligence, or by the negligence of his or its agents or servants
while engaged in his or its business, causes the death of a person who is in the exercise of due care, and
not in his or its employment or service, he or it shall be liable in damages in the sum of not less than
$500, nor more than $10,000, to be assessed with reference to the degree of his or its culpability, or * *
* that of his or its * * * servants, to be recovered in an action of tort commenced within two years after
the injury which caused the death, by the executor or administrator of the deceased, one-half thereof to
the use of the widow and one-half to the use of the children of the deceased, or, if there are no
children, the whole to the use of the widow, or, if there is no widow, the whole to the use of the next of
kin.
The question is whether a right of action under that statute may be enforced in our courts.
1. The courts of no country execute the penal laws of another. The Antelope, 10 Wheat. [23 U.S.] 66,
123, 6 L. Ed. 268. The defendant invokes that principle as applicable here. Penal in one sense the statute
indisputably is. The damages are not limited to compensation; they are proportioned to the offenders
guilt. A minimum recovery of $500 is allowed in every case. But the question is not whether the statute
is penal in some sense. The question is whether it is penal within the rules of private international law. A
statute penal in that sense is one that awards a penalty to the state, or to a public officer in its behalf, or
to a member of the public, suing in the interest of the whole community to redress a public wrong.
Huntington v. Attrill, 146 U. S. 657, 668, 13 Sup. Ct. 224, 36 L. Ed. 1123; Huntington [*103] v.
Attrill, [1903] A. C. 150, 156 [sic, should be [1893] A.C. 150]; Brady v. Daly, 175 U. S. 148, 154, 157, 20
Sup. Ct. 62, 44 L. Ed. 109; Raulin v. Fischer, [1911] 2 K. B. 93; Dicey, Conflict of Laws, p. 209. The purpose
must be, not reparation to one aggrieved, but vindication of the public justice. Huntington v. Attrill, 146
U. S. 668, 13 Sup. Ct. 224, 36 L. Ed. 1123; Brady v. Daly, supra. The Massachusetts statute has been
classified in some jurisdictions as penal, and in others as remedial. Connecticut, Rhode Island, and
Vermont put it in the first category. [**199] Cristilly v. Warner, 87 Conn. 461, 88 Atl. 711, 51 L. R. A. (N.
S.) 415; Gardner v. N. Y. & N. E. Ry. Co., 17 R. I. 790, 24 Atl. 831; O'Reilly v. N. Y. & N. E. Ry. Co., 16 R. I.
388, 17 Atl. 171, 906, 19 Atl. 244, 5 L. R. A. 364, 6 L. R. A. 719; Adams v. Fitchburg R. R. Co., 67 Vt. 76, 30
Atl. 687, 48 Am. St. Rep. 800. See also Raisor v. C. & A. Ry. Co., 215 Ill. 47, 74 N. E. 69, 106 Am. St. Rep.
153, 2 Ann. Cas. 802. New Hampshire and some of the federal courts put it in the second. Hill v. B. & M.
R. R. Co., 77 N. H. 151, 89 Atl. 482, Cas. 1914C, 714, where the subject is fully considered; B. & M. R. R.
Co. v. Hurd, 108 Fed. 116, 47 C. C. A. 615, 56 L. R. A. 193; Malloy v. Am. Hide & Leather Co. (C. C.) 148
Fed. 482. See also Whitlow v. Nashville R. R. Co., 114 Tenn. 344, 84 S. W. 618, 68 L. R. A. 503. The courts
of Massachusetts have said that the question is still an open one. Boott Mills v. B. & M. R. R. Co., 218
Mass. 582, 592, 106 N. E. 680. No matter how they may have characterized the act as penal, they have
not meant to hold that it is penal for every purpose. 218 Mass. 592, 106 N. E. 680. Even without that
reservation by them, the essential purpose of the statute would be a question for our courts.
Huntington v. Attrill, 146 U. S. 683, 13 Sup. Ct. 224, 36 L. Ed. 1123; [1903] A. C. 155; Hill v. B. & M. R. R.
Co., supra.
We think the better reason is with those cases which hold that the statute is not penal in the
international sense. On that branch of the controversy, indeed, there is no division of opinion among us.
It is true that the offender is punished, but the purpose of the punishment is reparation to those
aggrieved by his offense. Com. v. B. & A. R. R. Co., 121 Mass. 36, 37; Com. v. Eastern R. R. Co., 5 Gray
(Mass.) 473, 474. The common law did not give a cause of action to surviving
relatives. [*104] Insurance Co. v. Brame, 95 U. S. 754, 757, 24 L. Ed. 580; Dennick v. R. R. Co., 103 U. S.
11, 26 L. Ed. 439; The Harrisburg, 119 U. S. 199, 7 Sup. Ct. 140, 30 L. Ed. 358; Admiralty Commissioners v.
S. S. Amerika, [1917] A. C. 38. In the light of modern legislation, its rule is an anachronism. Nearly
everywhere, the principle is now embodied in statute that the next of kin are wronged by the killing of
their kinsman. The family becomes a legal unit, invested with rights of its own, invested with an interest
in the continued life of its members, much as it was in primitive law. Maine, Ancient Law, pp. 121, 122,
178; 1 Pollock & Maitland, History of English Law, p. 24; Holmes, the Common Law, p. 342. The damages
may be compensatory or punitive according to the statutory scheme. See 8 Ruling Case Law, title Death,
120, where statutes are collated. In either case the plaintiffs have a grievance above and beyond any
that belongs to them as members of the body politic. They sue to redress an outrage peculiar to
We cannot fail to see in the history of the Massachusetts statutes a developing expression of this policy
and purpose. The statutes have their distant beginnings in the criminal law. To some extent the vestiges
of criminal forms survive. But the old forms have been filled with a new content. The purpose which
informs and vitalizes them is the protection of the survivors. They are moods and phases, the particular
and varying expression, of a tendency in legislation as general as the common law. They are not to be
viewed in isolation, apart from the stream of events. At first, the remedy was given only when the
wrongdoer was a common carrier. St. 1840, c. 80. That statute goes back to 1840, antedating Lord
Campbell's Act in England. St. 9 & 10 Vict. c. 93 (1846). The remedy was by indictment and fine, the fine
being payable to the widow and next of kin. If there were no survivors of the prescribed class, there
could be no indictment. [*105] Com. v. B. & A. R. R. Co., 121 Mass. 36. The reason was that even then
the dominant purpose was reparation to the family. But later an alternative remedy by civil action at the
suit of the executor or administrator became available even against carriers. Hudson v. L. & B. R. R., 185
Mass. 515, 516, 71 N. E. 66; Grella v. Lewis Wharf Co., 211 Mass. 54, 58, 97 N. E. 745, Ann. Cas. 1913A,
1136. Then other statutes gave a civil remedy against other wrongdoers, and a civil remedy exclusively.
Some statutes were confined to cases where the defendant was the employer of the decedent. St. 1887,
c. 270; R. L. c. 106, 73; Smith v. Thomson-Houston El. Co., 188 Mass. 371, 74 N. E. 664. Finally there
came one which gave a remedy against all persons who had not otherwise been made liable. T. L. c. 171,
2. That is the statute sued on. The remedy is civil; it is an action of tort.
Through all this legislation there runs a common purpose. Boott Mills v. B. & M. R. R. Co., supra, 218
Mass. 586, 106 N. E. 680; Brown v. Thayer, 212 Mass. 392, 99 N. E. 237. It is penal in one element and
one only; the damages are punitive. The courts of Massachusetts do not give punitive damages even for
malicious torts except by force of statute. Bott Mills v. B. & M. R. R. Co., supra, 218 Mass. 588, 106 N. E.
680; Ellis v. Brockton Pub. Co., 198 Mass. 538, 84 N. E. 1018, 126 Am. St. Rep. 454, 15 Ann. Cas. 83. That
may have led them to emphasize unduly the penal element in such recoveries. But the punishment of
the wrongdoer is not designed as atonement for a crime; it is solace to the individual who has suffered a
private wrong. This is seen in many tokens. The employer may be innocent himself. Smart money will
still be due in proportion to his servant's negligence. That is a distribution of burdens more characteristic
of torts than crimes. But even more significant is the distribution of benefits. All the statutes are in pari
material. All or none are [**200] penal in the international sense. Boott Mills Co. v. B. & M. R. R. Co.,
supra. Under all, liability is conditioned upon the existence of a widow or of next of kin. Under
some, [*106] there must be proof also that the next of kin were dependent on the decedent's wages
for support. R. L. c. 106, 73. That restriction brings the dominant purpose into clear relief as
reparation to those aggrieved. Other purposes may be served at the same time. It is easy to cite dicta
that seem to give them prominence. McCarthy v. Ward Lumber Co., 219 Mass. 566, 107 N. E. 439;
Hudson v. L. & B. R. R., 185 Mass. 510, 71 N. E. 66; Mulhall v. Fallon, 176 Mass. 266, 269, 57 N. E. 386, 54
L. R. A. 934, 79 Am. St. Rep. 309. They are dicta only. Nor are all the dicta on one side. Brown v. Thayer,
212 Mass. 392, 398, 99 N. E. 237; Upson v. B. & M. R. R. Co., 211 Mass. 446, 98 N. E. 32; Grella v. Lewis
Wharf Co., 211 Mass. 54, 58, 97 N. E. 745, Ann. Cas. 1913A, 1136. There are cross-currents and eddies in
the stream. We follow the main course. The executor or administrator who sues under this statute is not
the champion of the peace and order and public justice of the commonwealth of Massachusetts. He is
the representative of the outraged family. He vindicates a private right.
2. Another question remains. Even though the statute is not penal, it differs from our own. We must
determine whether the difference is a sufficient reason for declining jurisdiction. A tort committed in
one state creates a right of action that may be sued upon in another unless public policy forbids. That is
the generally accepted rule in the United States. Huntington v. Attrill, 146 U. S. 657, 670, 13 Sup. Ct. 224,
36 L. Ed. 1123; Stewart v. B. & O. R. R. Co., 168 U. S. 445, 18 Sup. Ct. 105, 42 L. Ed. 537; N. Pac. R. R. Co.
v. Babcock, 154 U. S. 190, 14 Sup. Ct. 978, 38 L. Ed. 958; A., T. & St. Fe Ry. Co. v. Sowers, 213 U. S. 55, 67,
68, 29 Sup. Ct. 397, 53 L. Ed. 695; Cuba R. R. Co. v. Crosby, 222 U. S. 473, 478, 479, 32 Sup. Ct. 132, 56 L.
Ed. 274, 38 L. R. A. (N. S.) 40; Howarth v. Lombard, 175 Mass. 570, 56 N. E. 888, 49 L. R. A. 301; Walsh v.
B. & M. R. R., 201 Mass. 527, 530, 88 N. E. 12. It is not the rule in every jurisdiction where the common
law prevails. In England it has been held that the foreign tort must be also one by English law (The
Halley, L. R. 2 P. C. 193, 204; Phillips v. Eyre, L. R. 6 Q. B. 1, 28; Carr v. Fracis Times & Co., [1902] A. C.
176, 182; [*107] Dicey, Conflict of Laws, p. 645; 6 Halsbury, Laws of England, p. 248), which then
becomes the source and measure of the resulting cause of action (Machado v. Fontes, [1897] 2 Q. B.
231; Beale, Conflict of Laws, 163). That is certainly not the rule with us. But there are some decisions in
death cases which suggest a compromise. They say that jurisdiction will be refused unless the statutes of
the two states are substantially the same. That is an approach to the English rule. But then they say that,
if substantial correspondence exists, it is the right of action under the foreign statute, and not the
statute of the forum, which our courts will enforce. To that extent there is a departure from the English
rule. There is little doubt about the wisdom of the departure. What is subject to criticism, is the
approach. The question is whether the enforcement of a right of action for tort under the statutes of
another state is to be conditioned upon the existence of a kindred statute here. Support for the
restriction is supposed to be found in four cases in this court: McDonald v. Mallory, 77 N. Y. 546, 33 Am.
Rep. 664; Leonard v. Columbia Steam Navigation Co., 84 N. Y. 48, 38 Am. Rep. 491; Wooden v. Western
N. Y. & P. R. R. Co., 126 N. Y. 10, 26 N. E. 1050, 13 L. R. A. 458, 22 Am. St. Rep. 803; and Kiefer v. Grand
Trunk R. Co., 12 App. Div. 28, 42 N. Y. Supp. 171, affirmed on opinion below 153 N. Y. 688, 48 N. E. 1105.
McDonald v. Mallory is altogether irrelevant. In that case, death occurred upon the high seas. The ship
hailed from this state, was registered in one of our ports, and was owned by one of our citizens. She
was, therefore, constructively part of our territory. For that reason, our law governed, and the action
was sustained. Rapallo, J., in the course of his opinion, said that the laws of New York have no operation
in foreign jurisdictions, and that, where the wrong is suffered elsewhere, 'no action therefor can be
maintained here, at least without proof of the existence of a similar statute in the place where the
wrong was committed.' That statement was accurate as applied [*108] to the case that was then at
hand. There must be a similar statute, i. e., a statute giving a cause of action for death, in the place
where death is caused. Locus regit actum. It is quite another thing to say that, if there is a foreign
statute, it must be duplicated here.
In Leonard v. Columbia Steam Navigation Co., supra, the death occurred in Connecticut, where there
was a statute similar to our own. The court held that the action would lie. It was unnecessary to
determine whether there would have been another result if the statute had been different. Judge
Rapallos statement of the rule in McDonald v. Mallory was quoted as if it sustained a requirement of
correspondence. That was obviously a misapprehension of its meaning. There was a citation of some
English cases. Madrazo v. Willes, 3 B. 3 Ald. 353; Melan v. Duke de Fitz-James, 1 B. & P. 138 [, 126 E.R.
822] [PDF, 492 kb]; Mostyn v. Fabrigas, 1 Cowp. 161 [, 98 E.R. 1021] [PDF, 1.2 mb]. They have little
bearing on the subject.
In Wooden v. Western N. Y. & P. R. R. Co., supra, the death occurred in Pennsylvania. The case was
heard upon demurrer to the complaint. Counsel on each side assumed that the statutes must be
substantially similar.
[**201] The argument was confined to the question whether they were similar. Not unnaturally the
court proceeded upon the same assumption. McDonald v. Mallory and Leonard v. Columbia Steam
Navigation Co., supra, were the only cases cited. The court found substantial similarity between the
statutes except in respect of the measure of recovery. The Pennsylvania statute did not limit the
damages. Our statute then prescribed a maximum of $5,000. The difference was thought to affect the
remedy rather than the right. We said that the right created by the foreign statute would be enforced,
but subject to the restriction in amount which expressed the local policy. There was some suggestion
that if the defendant were a nonresident, the restriction would not [*109] apply. The suggestion
sounds like an echo of the theory of the statute personal, a body of national law which the citizen carries
about with him. Beale, Conflict of Laws, 54, 55; Am. Banana Co. v. United Fruit Co., 213 U. S. 347, 356,
29 Sup. Ct. 511, 53 L. Ed. 826, 16 Ann. Cas. 1047. That is a theory which has yielded generally in this
country to the principles of the territorial system and the doctrine of vested rights. Beale, supra, 70,
73. But we do not need to go into distinctions between residents and nonresidents. Even in its
application to residents, the ruling in the Wooden Case expresses a conception of our public policy
which is not to be extended. The Supreme Court of the United States has held under like conditions that
the foreign law governs not only the definition of the tort, but also the assessment of the damages.
Northern Pac. R. R. Co. v. Babcock, 154 U. S. 190, 14 Sup. Ct. 978, 38 L. Ed. 958; Slater v. Mexican Nat. R.
R. Co., 194 U. S. 120, 126, 24 Sup. Ct. 581, 48 L. Ed. 900. An amendment to the Constitution has
abrogated the limitation upon the amount of the recovery, and established the public policy of the state
on a new and broader basis. Const. art. 1, 18. In these circumstances, the authority of the Wooden
Case does not extend beyond the specific point decided.
In Kiefer v. Grand Trunk Ry. Co., supra, the death occurred in Canada. Canada has a statute similar to our
own. The chief variance is in the award of interest. Limiting the ruling in the Wooden Case, we held that
interest had relation to the substance of the right, and must be governed by the foreign statute.
Those are the only decisions of this court which tend to support the rule of similarity. The rule itself has
no more stable foundation than a misapprehended dictum in McDonald v. Mallory. This was pointed out
by Bischoff, J., in Boyle v. Southern R. Co., 36 Misc. Rep. 289, 291, 73 N. Y. Supp. 465, and recently by
Veeder, J., in Lauria v. Du Pont (D. C.) 241 Fed. 687. See, [*110] also, Nelson v. Chesapeake & D. R. R.
Co., 88 Va. 971, 975, 976, 14 S. E. 838, 15 L. R. A. 583, reviewing many cases. No case has yet arisen in
which the statutes were so dissimilar that acceptance or rejection of the rule was necessary to a
decision. The time has come to re-examine its foundations.
A foreign statute is not law in this state, but it gives rise to an obligation, which, if transitory, follows the
person and may be enforced wherever the person may be found. Slater v. Mex. Nat. R. R. Co., supra;
Lauria v. Du Pont, supra; Cuba R. R. Co. v. Crosby, 222 U. S. 473, 478, 32 Sup. Ct. 132, 56 L. Ed. 274, 38 L.
R. A. (N. S.) 40. No law can exist as such except the law of the land; but * * * it is a principle of every
civilized law that vested rights shall be protected. Beale, supra, 51. The plaintiff owns something, and
we help him to get it. Howarth v. Lombard, 175 Mass. 570, 56 N. E. 888, 49 L. R. A. 301; Walsh v. B. & M.
R. R., 201 Mass. 527, 88 N. E. 12; Walsh v. N. Y., etc., R. R. 160 Mass. 571, 36 N. E. 584, 39 Am. St. Rep.
514; Beale, Conflict of Laws, 51, 73. We do this unless some sound reason of public policy makes it
unwise for us to lend our aid. The law of the forum is material only as setting a limit of policy beyond
which such obligations will not be enforced there. Cuba R. R. Co. v. Crosby, supra, 222 U. S. 478, 32 Sup.
Ct. 132, 56 L. Ed. 274, 38 L. R. A. (N. S.) 40. Sometimes we refuse to act where all the parties are
nonresidents. Burdick v. Freeman, 120 N. Y. 420, 24 N. E. 949; English v. N. Y., N. H. & H. R. R. Co., 161
App. Div. 831, 146 N. Y. Supp. 963. That restriction need not detain us; in this case all are residents. If did
is to be withheld here, it must be because the cause of action in its nature offends our sense of justice or
menaces the public welfare. A., T. & St. F. Ry. Co. v. Sowers, 213 U. S. 55, 67, 68, 29 Sup. Ct. 397, 53 L.
Ed. 695; Stewart v. Balt. & O. R. R. Co., 168 U. S. 445, 18 Sup. Ct. 105, 42 L. Ed. 537; Zeikus v. Florida E. C.
Ry. Co., 153 App. Div. 345, 350, 138 N. Y. Supp. 478.
Our own scheme of legislation may be different. We may even have no legislation on the subject. That is
not enough to show that public policy forbids us to enforce the foreign right. A right of action is
property. If a foreign statute gives [*111] the right, the mere fact that we do not give a like right is no
reason for refusing to help the plaintiff in getting what belongs to him. We are not so provincial as to say
that every solution of a problem is wrong because we deal with it otherwise at home. Similarity of
legislation has indeed this importance; its presence shows beyond question that the foreign statute does
not offend the local policy. But its absence does not prove the contrary. It is not to be exalted into an
indispensable condition. The misleading word comity has been responsible for much of the trouble.
It [**202] has been fertile in suggesting a discretion unregulated by general principles. Beale, Conflict
of Laws, 71.
The sovereign in its discretion may refuse its aid to the foreign right. St. Louis, I. M. & So. Ry. Co. v.
Taylor, 210 U. S. 281, 28 Sup. Ct. 616, 52 L. Ed. 1061; Dougherty v. Am. McKenna Process Co., 255 Ill.
369, 99 N. E. 619, L. R. A. 1915F, 955, Ann. Cas. 1913D, 568. From this it has been an easy step to the
conclusion that a like freedom of choice has been confided to the courts. But that, of course, is a false
view. Cuba R. R. Co. v. Crosby, supra, 222 U. S. 478, 32 Sup. Ct. 132, 56 L. Ed. 274, 38 L. R. A. (N. S.) 40.
The courts are not free to refuse to enforce a foreign right at the pleasure of the judges, to suit the
individual notion of expediency or fairness. They do not close their doors, unless help would violate
some fundamental principle of justice, some prevalent conception of good morals, some deep-rooted
tradition of the common weal.
This test applied, there is nothing in the Massachusetts statute that outrages the public policy of New
York. We have a statute which gives a civil remedy where death is caused in our own state. We have
though it so important that we have now imbedded it in the Constitution. Const. art. 1, 18. The
fundamental policy is that there shall be some atonement for the wrong. Through the defendant's
negligence, a resident of New York has been killed in Massachusetts. He has left a widow and children,
who are also residents. The [*112] law of Massachusetts gives them a recompense for his death. It
cannot be that public policy forbids our courts to help in collecting what belongs to them. We cannot
give them the same judgment that our law would give if the wrong had been done here. Very likely we
cannot give them as much. But that is no reason for refusing to give them what we can. We shall not
make things better by sending them to another state, where the defendant may not be found, and
where suit may be impossible. Nor is there anything to shock our sense of justice in the possibility of a
punitive recovery. The penalty is not extravagant. It conveys no hint of arbitrary confiscation. Standard
Oil Co. of Ind. v. Missouri, 224 U. S. 270, 286, 32 Sup. Ct. 406, 56 L. Ed. 760, Ann. Cas. 1913D, 936. It
varies between moderate limits according to the defendants guilt. We shall not feel the pricks of
conscience, if the offender pays the survivors in proportion to the measure of his offense.
We have no public policy that prohibits exemplary damages or civil penalties. We give them for many
wrongs. To exclude all penal actions would be to wipe out the distinction between the penalties of
public justice and the remedies of private law. Finally, there are no difficulties of procedure that stand in
the way. We have a statute authroizing the triers of the facts, when statutory penalties are sued for, to
fit the award to the offense. Code Civ. Proc. 1898. The case is not one where special remedies
established by the foreign law are incapable of adequate enforcement except in the home tribunals.
Marshall v. Sherman, 148 N. Y. 9, 42 N. E. 419, 34 L. R. A. 757, 51 Am. St. Rep. 654; Howarth v. Angle,
162 N. Y. 179, 181, 189, 56 N. E. 489, 47 L. R. A. 725; Slater v. Mex. Nat. R. R. Co., supra.
We hold, then, that public policy does not prohibit the assumption of jurisdiction by our courts and that
this being so, mere differences of remedy do not count. For many years the courts have been feeling
their way in the enforcement of these statutes. A civil remedy for another's death was something
strange and new, and [*113] it did not find at once the fitting niche, the proper category, in the legal
scheme. We need not be surprised, therefore, if some of the things said, as distinguished from those
decided, must be rejected to-day. But the truth, of course, is that there is nothing sui generis about
these death statutes in their relation to the general body of private international law. We must apply
the same rules that are applicable to other torts; and the tendency of those rules to-day is toward a
larger comity, if we must cling to the traditional term. Walsh v. B. & M. R. R., 201 Mass. 527, 533, 88 N.
E. 12. The fundamental public policy is perceived to be that rights lawfully vested shall be everywhere
maintained. At least, that is so among the states of the Union. Walsh v. N. Y. & N. E. R. R. Co., 160 Mass.
571, 573, 36 N. E. 584, 39 Am. St. Rep. 514; Walsh v. B. & M. R. R., supra; Beach, Uniform Interstate
Enforcement of Vested Rights, 27 Yale Law Journal, 656. There is a growing conviction that only
exceptional circumstances should lead one of the states to refuse to enforce a right acquired in another.
The evidences of this tendency are many. One typical instance will suffice. For many years
Massachusetts closed her courts to actions of this order based on foreign statutes. Richardson v. N. Y. C.
R. R., 98 Mass. 85. She has opened them now, and overruled her earlier decisions. Hanlon v. Leyland &
Co., Ltd., 223 Mass. 438, 111 N. E. 907, L. R. A. 1917A, 34; Walsh v. B. & M. R. R., supra. The test of
similarity has been abandoned there. If it has ever been accepted here, we think it should be abandoned
The judgment of the Appellate Division should be reversed, and the order of the Special Term affirmed,
with costs in the Appellate Division and in this court.
HISCOCK, C. J., and CUDDEBACK, POUND, CRANE, and ANDREWS, JJ., concur. COLLIN, J., dissents from
decision of second question in opinion of CARDOZO, J., but otherwise concurs.
Judgment reversed, etc. should be reversed, and the order of the Special Term affirmed. with costs in
the Appellate Division and in this court.
Judgment reversed, etc.
Public Policy Doctrine
Punitive Damages
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Self-Optimizing Networks-Benefits of SON in LTE-July 2011
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1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Goals of this White Paper ............................................................................................................... 5 1.2 Technology and Market Drivers for SON ........................................................................................ 5 1.3 Reasons for Automation.................................................................................................................. 6 2 3GPP EVOLUTION AND SON ................................................................................................................ 7 2.1 LTE SON High-Level Scope and Timeline...................................................................................... 7 2.2 SON Development in NGMN .......................................................................................................... 8 2.3 SON Architecture Alternatives ...................................................................................................... 11 3 KEY LTE RELEASE 8, RELEASE 9 AND RELEASE 10 FEATURES SON........................................ 13 3.1 Base Station Self-Configuration .................................................................................................... 13 3.1.1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3.1.4 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 13 Description............................................................................................................................. 13 Self-Configuration Actions ..................................................................................................... 14 Self-Configuration Status in 3GPP ........................................................................................ 15
3.2 Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) ............................................................................................. 15 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.2.3 3.2.4 3.2.5 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 15 Description............................................................................................................................. 16 Neighbor Relation Discovery ................................................................................................. 16 ANR Actions .......................................................................................................................... 16 Inter-RAT ANR ...................................................................................................................... 17
3.3 Tracking Area Planning ................................................................................................................. 18 3.3.1 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 19
3.4 PCI Planning ................................................................................................................................. 19 3.4.1 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 20
3.5 Load Balancing ............................................................................................................................. 20 3.5.1 3.5.2 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 20 Description............................................................................................................................. 21
3.5.3 3.5.4 3.5.5 3.5.6
Determining A Load Imbalance Condition............................................................................. 21 Idle Mode Load Balancing ..................................................................................................... 22 Active Mode Load Balancing ................................................................................................. 22 Adapting Handover Configuration ......................................................................................... 23
3.6 Mobility Robustness / Handover Optimization .............................................................................. 24 3.6.1 3.6.2 3.6.3 3.6.4 3.6.5 3.6.6 3.6.7 3.6.8 3.6.9 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 24 Description............................................................................................................................. 24
Intra-RAT Late HO Triggering ............................................................................................... 25 Intra-RAT Early HO Triggering .............................................................................................. 26 Intra-RAT HO to an Incorrect Cell ......................................................................................... 27
Inter RAT Too Late HO ......................................................................................................... 28 Inter RAT Unnecessary (too early) HO ................................................................................. 29 Algorithm for SON Handover Parameter Optimization.......................................................... 29 Examples of SON Algorithm Interactions .............................................................................. 30
3.7 RACH (Random access channel) Optimization ............................................................................ 31 3.7.1 3.7.2 Benefits .................................................................................................................................. 31 Description ............................................................................................................................. 31
3.8 Inter Cell Interference Coordination .............................................................................................. 32 3.8.1 3.8.2 3.8.3 3.8.4 3.8.5 3.8.6 3.8.7 3.9 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 33 Description of ICIC operation ................................................................................................ 33 Frequency Planning .............................................................................................................. 35 Self-Tuning X2 Independent Algorithms ............................................................................... 35 Performance of ICIC Techniques Relative to Self-Tuning X2 Independent Algorithms........ 36 Optimization of Coverage/Intererence with H-eNB ............................................................... 36 Release-10 ICIC Enhancements ........................................................................................... 38
Energy Savings ............................................................................................................................. 38 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 39 Description............................................................................................................................. 39
Deployment Scenarios with LTE in Clusters, Overlaying an Underlying 2G/3G Network .... 40 Scenarios for Further Study .................................................................................................. 41
3.10 Celloutage Detection And Compensation ..................................................................................... 42 3.10.1 Benefits.................................................................................................................................. 42 3.10.2 Cell Outage Detection ........................................................................................................... 43 3.10.3 Cell Outage Compensation ................................................................................................... 43 3.11 Coverage And Capacity Optimization ........................................................................................... 47 3.11.1 Modification of Antenna Tilts ................................................................................................. 47 3.11.2 Minimization of Drive Tests ................................................................................................... 53 3.12 Applications of SON to Address Deployment and Operation of DAS and Small Cells.................56 3.12.1 SON Interactions with Distributed Antenna Systems ............................................................ 56 3.12.2 SON with Picos/Femtos/Relays ............................................................................................ 56 3.12.3 Using SON to Facilitate the Deployment of Repeaters/Relays ............................................. 57 4 4G AMERICAS OPERATOR USECASES ............................................................................................ 59 4.1 4G Operator Usecase: ANR/PCI................................................................................................... 59 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 ANR/PCI Phase 1 .................................................................................................................. 59 ANR/PCI Phase 2 .................................................................................................................. 59 ANR/PCI Phase 3 .................................................................................................................. 60
4.2 4G Operator Usecase: Cell Outage .............................................................................................. 60 4.2.1 Cell Outage Detection ................................................................................................................ 60 4.2.2 Cell Outage Compensation Through Antenna Tilt Modificaton PHASE 1 .............................. 60 4.2.3 Cell Outage Compensation Through Antenna Tilt Modification PHASE 2 .............................. 60 5 RESULTS FROM LIVE OR TRIAL NETWORKS ................................................................................. 62 6 SON CAPABILITIES IN HSPA+ TECHNOLOGY ................................................................................. 65 7 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION........................................................................................................... 66 LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ 67 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................................... 68 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................................ 69
1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 GOALSOFTHISWHITEPAPER
In today's mobile wireless networks, many network elements and associated parameters are manually configured. Planning, commissioning, configuration, integration and management of these parameters are essential for efficient and reliable network operation; however, the associated operations costs are significant. Specialized expertise must be maintained to tune these network parameters, and the existing manual process is time-consuming and potentially error-prone. In addition, this manual tuning process inherently results in comparatively long delays in updating values in response to the often rapidlychanging network topologies and operating conditions, resulting in sub-optimal network performance. The recent deployment of LTE to address the growing data capacity crunch, has highlighted the need and value of self-organizing capabilities within the network that permit reductions in operational expenses (OPEX), during deployment as well as during continuing operations. Self-optimizing capabilities in the network will lead to higher end user Quality of Experience (QoE) and reduced churn, thus allowing for overall improved network performance. SON improves network performance, but in no way replaces the wireless industrys important need for more spectrum to meeting the rising mobile data demands from subscribers. 3GPP initiated the work towards standardizing self-optimizing and self-organizing capabilities for LTE, in Release 8 and Release 9. The standards provide network intelligence, automation and network management features in order to automate the configuration and optimization of wireless networks to adapt to varying radio channel conditions, thereby lowering costs, improving network performance and flexibility. This effort has continued in Release 10 with additional enhancements in each of the above areas and new areas allowing for inter-radio access technology operation, enhanced inter-cell interference coordination, coverage and capacity optimization, energy efficiency and minimization of operational expenses through minimization of drive tests. This paper discusses the Release 8, Release 9 and Release 10 Self-Organizing Network (SON) techniques and explains how these capabilities will positively impact network operations in the evolved LTE network. Application of SON techniques by a 4G Americas member company operator in LTE networks and live results from the application of SON to HSPA+ networks are described, thus demonstrating the potential benefits of SON. Application of SON techniques to address deployment and operational challenges with Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS), and picos, femtos and relays are described to address the impact of SON on a variety of radio systems. This paper is an update of the paper published in 2009 on Benefits of SON in LTE 17 that addressed the rationale for SON and the description of SON features in 3GPP Releases 8 and 9.
1.2 TECHNOLOGYANDMARKETDRIVERSFORSON
Reflecting upon recent wireless industry events, 4G Americas member companies observe several important trends that are driving additional network complexity and operations effort. New and emerging classes of mobile devices (smartphones, PC data cards, USB modems, consumer devices with embedded wireless, machine-to-machine, etc.) are fostering explosive growth of wireless data usage by public and enterprise users. As a result, wireless service providers have to simultaneously support a growing number of higher-bandwidth data applications and services on their networks. The list of user applications and services is quite broad in scope, and includes Internet browsing, Web 2.0, audio,
video, video on demand, gaming, location-based services, social networking, peer-to-peer, advertising, etc. On the network side, wireless service provider networks are becoming more complex and heterogeneous. Projections point to rapidly growing numbers of femto and picocells (in order to drive greater coverage and/or offload capacity from macrocells), plus increasing prevalence of multi-technology networks (2G, 3G, 4G, plus WiFi). These trends pose potentially significant operational and network complexity regarding macro/femto and inter-technology handover, as well as management of macro/femto and macro/pico interference. Taken together, these trends place ever-increasing demands upon service providers networks and their operational staff. Ensuring quality user experience requires more complex Quality of Service (QoS) and policy implementations while they simultaneously must increase network throughput in response to the rapid growth in wireless data. Moreover, wireless data revenue measured on a per-megabit (Mb) basis is decreasing. Fortunately, spectral efficiency gains are provided by new wireless technologies, and do provide some measure of relief; however, the data throughput per user is growing (and revenue per Mb is dropping) so rapidly that spectral efficiency gains alone appear unable to keep up. Consequently, service providers and infrastructure vendors are increasing their focus on operational cost reductions. Reflecting upon these dramatic trends, it has become clear that traditional network management needs significant improvement for managing this growing data volume and network complexity in a cost-effective manner.
1.3 REASONSFORAUTOMATION
At a high level, there are two underlying operational issues facing service providers. Some processes are repetitive, while others are too fast or difficult to be performed manually. The rationale for SON automation can be grouped into two broad categories: 1. Previously manual processes that are automated primarily to reduce the manual intervention in network operations in order to obtain operational and/or deployment savings. Automating repetitive processes clearly saves time and reduces effort. Auto-configuration and selfconfiguration fall into this category. 2. Processes that require automation because they are too fast, too granular (per-user, perapplication, per-flow, as a function of time or loading), and/or too complex for manual intervention. Automatically collected measurements from multiple sources (e.g., from user devices, individual network elements, and on an end-to-end basis from advanced monitoring tools) will provide accurate real time and near real time data upon which these algorithms can operate thus providing performance, quality, and/or operational benefits. Consequently, substantial opportunities exist for cross-layer, end-to-end, and per-user/per-application/ per-flow optimizations for extracting additional performance benefits and management flexibility. These categories need not be distinct, (e.g., a previously manual process that is growing too complex due to the above trends) may by necessity require automation in order to manage it. Automation is not a new concept for wireless networks clearly networks already critically depend on extensive use of automated processes. For instance, numerous examples abound just in the area of radio resource management (scheduling, power and/or rate control, etc.) that demonstrate that these automated features perform well. Thus, the appearance of SON algorithms represents a continuation of the natural evolution of wireless networks, where automated processes are simply extending their scope deeper into the network.
2 3GPPEVOLUTIONANDSON 2.1 LTESONHIGHLEVELSCOPEANDTIMELINE
Self-Organizing Networks capability is a key component of the LTE network. SON concepts have been included in the LTE (E-UTRAN) standards starting from the first release of the technology (3GPP Release 8), and expanding in scope with subsequent releases (3GPP Release 9 and 3GPP Release 10). Figure 1 provides the standardization timelines for the different 3GPP LTE releases, throughout which SON capabilities have been developed and enhanced.
Figure 1 - 3GPP LTE Specifications Timelines. Release 10 specifications were frozen in March 2011 and will be complete in Mid 2011. A key goal of 3GPP standardization has been the ability to support SON features in multi-vendor network environments. Therefore, a significant part of the SON standardization has been devoted to defining the appropriate interfaces to allow exchange of common information which can then be used by each SON algorithm. The SON specifications have been built over the existing 3GPP network management architecture, reusing much functionality that existed prior to Release 8. These management interfaces are being defined in a generic manner to leave room for innovation on different vendor implementations. In addition to specifying the interfaces, 3GPP has defined a set of LTE SON use cases and associated SON functions.1 The standardized SON features effectively track the expected LTE network evolution stages as a function of time, following expected commercial network maturity. As such, the focus of the Release 8 SON functionality was put on procedures associated with initial equipment installation and integration to support the commercial deployment of the first LTE networks, also known as eNB self-configuration. These procedures included: Automatic Inventory Automatic Software Download2 Automatic Neighbor Relation3 Automatic Physical Cell ID (PCI) assignment4
Following this reasoning, the next release of SON (Release 9) provided SON functionality covering operational aspects of already commercial networks, in particular key aspects related to network optimization procedures. The Release 9 standardization scope included these additional use cases:
Mobility Robustness/Hand Over optimization RACH optimization Load Balancing optimization Inter-Cell Interference Coordination
The latest release of SON, being standardized in Release 10, provides a richer suite of SON functions for macro and metro networks overlaid on and interoperating with existing mobile networks. It includes enhancements to existing use cases and definition of new use cases as follows: Coverage & Capacity optimization Enhanced Inter-Cell Interference Coordination Cell Outage Detection and Compensation Self-healing functions Minimization of Drive Testing Energy Savings
The SON standards are a work in progress, and SON-related functionality will continue to expand through the subsequent releases of the LTE standard, Release 11 and beyond, to cover all key aspects related to network management, troubleshooting and optimization in multi-layer, multi-RAT heterogeneous networks.
2.2 SONDEVELOPMENTINNGMN
In 2006, a group of operators created the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN) Alliance with the objective to provide business requirements to the new technologies being developed. In practice, NGMN recommendations provide guidance to the technical standards being developed for LTE, indicating the key use cases that are most important for carriers day to day operations. These use cases have been identified by the operators as the typical tasks that will be performed by their engineers in their day-to-day operations; therefore, a better system of integration and automation would result in a more efficient utilization of the operator resources, both material (spectrum, equipment, etc.) and human (engineering time). NGMNs first whitepaper included high-level requirements for Self-Optimization network strategies5, and sometime later a concrete set of use cases was defined, covering multiple aspects of the network operations including planning, deployment, optimization and maintenance6. On the next page is a definition of the top 10 use cases indicated by NGMN, many of which have already been introduced in the 3GPP standards.
Plug & Play Installation Automatic Neighbor Relation configuration
OSS Integration Handover Optimization
Minimization of Drive Tests Cell Outage Compensation
Load Balancing Energy Savings
Interaction home/macro BTS QoS Optimization
NGMN uses cases are defined at a higher level than 3GPP specifications, and are introduced way ahead of them, providing an initial guidance to the standards development and in some cases complementing existing standard functionality. A specific example is the interaction between home/macro BTS, for which NGMN has provided extensive recommendations to avoid excessive interference in the network (see section 3.8.6 for more details) and which in part has been standardized in 3GPP Release 10. Another NGMN use case not yet developed by 3GPP is the optimization of QoS related parameters. QoS functionality is considered very important for wireless operators, especially with the deployment of very high-speed networks where data consumption is steadily increasing and will be approaching that of fixed broadband. Typically, the optimization of QoS related parameters governing the different network entities (scheduler, admission control, mobility, etc.) is very complex and requires expert resources. NGMN reckons that in the future, the networks should be able to adapt their quality automatically in response to external factors such as high load in specific areas, or based on special traffic patterns. At this point, the specific mechanisms to be used are not defined. However, NGMN has proposed a set of information elements that should be made available to be able to easily define such mechanisms. Below is a set of performance monitoring (PM) counters recommended for standardization: Number of successful sessions per QoS Class Identifier (QCI) Number of dropped sessions per QCI Cell specific customer satisfaction rate Min/Avg/Max throughput per QCI Min/Avg/Max round trip delay per QCI Packet loss per QCI
Mean number of Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected users Mean number of RRC connected UEs with data to send per QCI Percentage of UEs per cell that is not achieving their required GBR and not achieving the required service data unit (SDU) error ratio per QCI Percentage of UEs for which transfer delay per IP packet was above a particular threshold Percentage of UEs for which average throughput measured at RLC layer for each non-real time (nRT) QCI was below a particular threshold Percentage of UEs per QCI for which the SDU error ratio is above a certain level Number of RRC connected UEs with measurement gaps configured.
In addition to the definition of use case functionality, the SON group in NGMN has been very active in defining Operations Support System (OSS) aspects of SON. These include support for more open OAM interfaces, and procedures to support the integration of non-3GPP elements such as operator databases and tools. The objective of the OAM effort is to ensure a true multi-vendor ecosystem, where entities from different manufacturers could operate together in an automatic fashion.16 For this purpose, a more open definition of the Northbound Interface (Itf-N) in 3GPP has been requested to reduce the integration efforts between the Network Management System (NMS) and the Element Management System (EMS), together with real-time reporting requirements to allow a third party vendor to take timely action in the network. In addition to generic requirements, the OPE recommendations define use-case specific OAM actions, as is the case of the Handover Optimization and Cell Outage Compensation. Other aspects covered by this project are the standardization of performance management information (counters and key performance indicators or KPIs) and their exchange formats. The integration of OSS tools is also a very active area in NGMN. In every network deployment, there is a multitude of non-3GPP related elements that the operator needs to integrate with their existing network elements, such as RF planning databases, work flow databases and optimization tools (cell planning tools, third party SON tools, etc.). In order to integrate such entities, NGMN provides a set of generic guidelines including the following: Capability to run SON functionality in open (operator controlled) and closed (fully automatic) loop modes Deactivation of SON features in the Network Elements to pass control to the operator or external entities Support of centralized, distributed and hybrid architectures Real time synchronization with NMS Supply of relevant statistics and historical view to NMS Customization of SON policies.
In addition to generic guidelines, NGMN provides specific use-cases requirements for each of the use cases defined in 3GPP and NGMN. For example, in the case of the Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) usecase, NGMN requirements for full OSS integration are listed below: Support of CM Northbound Interface 3GPP BulkCM IRP (Bulk Configuration Management Integration Reference Point). ANR based changes in the eNB shall be "online" synchronized with EMS. Support of real time relationship configuration to ensure that HO is possible a few seconds after neighbor detection. OSS should be able to indicate which entity (such as the eNB or some other entity) takes control of the configuration for a given feature, say automatic neighbor relations (ANR). OSS should provide monitoring support of the main ANR steps: neighbor cell detection, X2 setup, neighbor cell configuration adaptation and ANR optimization
2.3 SONARCHITECTUREALTERNATIVES
The specification covering the SON overview15 identifies three different architectures for SON functionality: (a) Distributed, (b) Centralized and (c) Hybrid as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 Different SON architecture approaches: Centralized (left), Distributed (center) and Hybrid (right) In a centralized architecture, SON algorithms for one or more usecases reside on the Element Management System or a separate SON server that manages the eNBs. The output of the SON algorithms namely, the values of specific parameters, are then passed to the eNBs either on a periodic basis or when needed. A centralized approach allows for more manageable implementation of the SON algorithms. It allows for usecase interactions between SON algorithms to be considered before modifying SON parameters. However, active updates to the usecase parameters are delayed since KPIs and UE measurement information must be forwarded to a centralized location for processing. Filtered and condensed information are passed from the eNB to the centralized SON server to preserve the scalability of the solution in terms of the volume of information transported. Less information is available at the SON
server compared to that which would be available at the eNB. Higher latency due to the time taken to collect UE information restricts the applicability of a purely centralized SON architecture to those algorithms that require slower response time. Furthermore, since the centralized SON server presents a single point of failure, an outage in the centralized server or backhaul could result in stale and outdated parameters being used at the eNB due to likely less frequent updates of SON parameters at the eNB compared to that is possible in a distributed solution. There are three key time intervals associated with Centralized SON. The Collection Interval is the period during which statistics are collected and uploaded. This is also the smallest available granularity for data analysis. This interval is most likely determined by the vendors OAM statistics throughput limitations. Most Network Management solutions would typically support a five minutes interval. The Analysis Interval is the time period considered in the decision process for parameter adjustment. It is beneficial to consider more than a single collection interval in the analysis. While the latest collection interval should have the greatest impact on the analysis, the output should be damped to take into account results from previous intervals. The Change Interval is the period between changes applied to the network by SON. System performance constraints may limit the number of cells for which changes are applied at any given time. This could result in Change Intervals that do not align directly with the Collection Intervals. These limiting factors dont always apply, but centralized solutions either need to have vastly over provisioned processing and networking capability, or intelligent change management.
In a distributed approach, SON algorithms reside within the eNBs, thus allowing autonomous decision making at the eNBs based on UE measurements received on the eNBs and additional information from other eNBs being received via the X2 interface. A distributed architecture allows for ease of deployment in multi-vendor networks and optimization on faster time scales. Optimization could be done for different times of the day. However, due to the inability to ensure standard and identical implementation of algorithms in a multi-vendor network, careful monitoring of KPIs is needed to minimize potential network instabilities and ensure overall optimal operation. In practical deployments, these architecture alternatives are not mutually exclusive and could coexist for different purposes, as is realized in a hybrid SON approach. In a hybrid approach, part of a given SON optimization algorithm are executed in the NMS while another part of the same SON algorithm could be executed in the eNB. For example, the values of the initial parameters could be done in a centralized server and updates and refinement to those parameters in response to the actual UE measurements could be done on the eNBs. Each implementation has its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice of centralized, distributed or hybrid architecture needs to be decided on a use-case by use case basis depending on the information availability, processing and speed of response requirements of that use case. In the case of a hybrid or centralized solution, a practical deployment would require specific partnership between the infrastructure vendor, the operator and possibly a third party tool company. Operators can choose the most suitable approach depending upon the current infrastructure deployment.
3 KEYLTERELEASE8,RELEASE9ANDRELEASE10FEATURESSON 3.1 BASESTATIONSELFCONFIGURATION
The deployment of a new network technology is a major investment for any service provider. In addition to the spectrum and equipment costs, the operator faces multiple challenges related to the network planning, commissioning and integration that often result in higher costs than the infrastructure equipment itself. Today, there are a number of computer-aid design tools that an operator uses to simplify these tasks, such as propagation tools, automatic cell planning (ACP) or automatic frequency planning (AFP) tools. However, much of the process related to network element integration and configuration is still performed manually. When a new base station (eNB) is installed, it requires that most aspects of its configuration are provided by the engineer(s) on site, including the setup of the transport links, adding the node to the corresponding concentration node (BTS or RNC), and establishing the connectivity with the core network. This is in addition to the configuration of all the radio-related parameters such as the cable and feeder loss adjustments, antenna type and orientation, transmit power, neighbor relations, etc. All these processes are cumbersome, time-consuming, error-prone, and, in general, will require the presence of more than one expert engineer, all the above resulting in an inefficient and costly process. The objective of the Self-Configuration SON functionality is to reduce the amount of human intervention in the overall installation process by providing plug and play functionality in the eNBs. As will be seen in later sections, the scope of self-configuration functionality is expected to expand and evolve with upcoming versions of the LTE standard.
3.1.1 BENEFITS
Self-Configuration of eNBs will reduce the amount of manual processes involved in the planning, integration and configuration of new eNBs. This will result in a faster network deployment and reduced costs for the operator in addition to a more integral inventory management system that is less prone to human error.
3.1.2 DESCRIPTION
Self-Configuration is a broad concept which involves several distinct functions that are covered through specific SON features, such as Automatic Software Management, Self Test and Automatic Neighbor Relation configuration. The Self-Configuration algorithm should take care of all soft-configuration aspects of the eNB once it is commissioned and powered up for the first time. It should detect the transport link and establish a connection with the core network elements, download and upgrade the corresponding software version, setup the initial configuration parameters including neighbor relations, perform a self-test and finally set itself to operational mode. In order to achieve these goals, the eNB should be able to communicate with several different entities, as depicted in the figure below.
DHCP/DNS Server SGW MME New eNB
Configuration, performance &
Existing eNB
Figure 3 - Self-Configuration of eNB in LTE To be able to successfully achieve all functions the following prerequisites should at least be met prior to the installation of the new node: 1. A network planning exercise for the cell should have been completed resulting in a set of RF parameters, including location, cell identities, antenna configuration (height, azimuth & type), transmit power, maximum configured capacity and initial neighbor configuration. This information should be made available in the configuration server. 2. The transport parameters for the eNB should be planned in advance, including bandwidth, VLAN partition, IP addresses, etc. The IP address range and Serving Gateway address corresponding to the node should be made available in the configuration server. 3. An updated software package download should be made available from the OSS. The specific set of actions involved in the process will be covered in the next section.
3.1.3 SELFCONFIGURATIONACTIONS
The Self-Configuration actions will take place after the eNB is physically installed, plugged to the power line and to the transport link. When it is powered on, the eNB will boot and perform a Self Test, followed by a set of self discovery functions, which include the detection of the transport type, Tower-Mounted Amplifier (TMA), antenna, antenna cable length and auto-adjustment of the receiver-path. After the self-detection function, the eNB will configure the physical transport link autonomously and establish a connection with the DHCP/DNS servers, which will then provide the IP addresses for the new node and those of the relevant network nodes, including Serving Gateway, MME and configuration server. After this, the eNB will be able to establish secure tunnels for OAM, S1 and X2 links and will be ready to communicate with the configuration server in order to acquire new configuration parameters.
One of the OAM tunnels created will communicate the eNB with a dedicated management entity, which contains the software package that is required to be installed. The eNB will then download and install the corresponding version of the eNB software, together with the eNB configuration file. Such configuration file contains the pre-configured radio parameters that were previously planned. Note that at the time of the installation most of the radio parameters will have the default vendor values. A finer parameter optimization will take place after the eNB is in operational state (self-optimization functions). The configuration of neighbor relations can optionally be performed through an automated SON functionality that is covered in a separate section of this paper, otherwise the initial setup will be done according to the output of the network planning exercise. After the node is properly configured, it will perform a self-test that will include hardware and software functions, and will deliver a status report to the network management node. Also, the unit will be automatically updated in the inventory database that will incorporate the unique hardware identifier, as well as the current configuration and status of the node.
3.1.4 SELFCONFIGURATIONSTATUSIN3GPP
Current LTE standards incorporate functionality related to the self-configuration of eNB, including Automatic Software Management,7 Self Test,8 Automatic Neighbor Relation,9 and Automatic Inventory Management.10 It is expected that the first versions of the eNB self-configuration functionality in the eNB will have vendor-dependent aspects, as 3GPP has not fully specified a standardized self-configuration functionality. Examples of open areas in the standards include: A defined interface between operator planning tools, equipment inventory and network management entities Configuration of transport parameters Specific message formats for implementing the overall process
3.2 AUTOMATICNEIGHBORRELATION(ANR)
One of the more labor-intense areas in existing radio technologies is the handling of neighbor relations for handover. It is a continuous activity that may be more intense during network expansion but is still a timeconsuming task in mature networks. The task is multiplied with several layers of cells when having several networks to manage. With LTE, one more layer of cells is added; thus optimization of neighbor relations may be more complex. Even with the best methods at hand, due to the sheer size of large radio networks with several hundred thousands of neighbor relations for a single operator it is a huge undertaking to maintain the neighbor relations manually. Neighbor cell relations are therefore an obvious area for automation, and Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) is one of the most important features for SON. To explore its full potential, ANR must be supported between network equipment from different vendors. ANR is, therefore, one of the first SON functions to be standardized in 3GPP.11
3.2.1BENEFITS
ANR will remove, or at least minimize, the manual handling of neighbor relations when establishing new eNBs and when optimizing neighbor lists. This will increase the number of successful handovers and lead to less dropped connections due to missing neighbor relations.
SAE S1
Target eNB X2 Serving eNB UE
Figure 4 - Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) in LTE The ANR in LTE allows automatic discovery and setup of neighbor relations when a user (UE) moves from a serving eNB to another (target) eNB. ANR also automatically sets up of the LTE unique X2 interface between eNBs, primarily used for handover. There are two LTE distinctive functions that make ANR possible: 1. The UEs in LTE do not require a neighboring list and the reporting of unknown cells is fast enough to be used during handover preparation. It enables ANR to receive handover measurements on unknown cells that are not yet known by the serving eNB. 2. The possibility for the eNB to request the UE to make a full identification of a cell. It allows eNB to determine an unambiguous identity of a neighboring cell.
3.2.3 NEIGHBORRELATIONDISCOVERY
The UE is ordered to report measurements to the serving eNB directly after the RRC connection is set up (i.e. is attached to the cell) and continues to do so while staying in RRC connected mode. The UE reports all detected PCIs (Physical Cell Identities) the short identity of the LTE cell that fulfill the measurement criteria set by the eNB at RRC connection. The UE may also measure on legacy radio technologies if it supports multi-mode operation. If there is an unknown cell included in the measurement report then ANR may begin actions to make the cell known and potentially enable handover to the cell.
3.2.4 ANRACTIONS
If a PCI is reported by a UE that does not correspond to any of the serving eNBs defined neighbor cells (i.e. it is not a neighbor cell), the ANR function in the serving eNB may request the UE to retrieve the Global Cell Identity (GCI) of the cell with the unknown PCI in order to identify the cell. This cell is from now called target cell (see figure 4 above). The UE reads the GCI, which is broadcast by the target cell
and reports it to the serving eNB. When the serving eNB receives the GCI, it can with help from MME, one part of SAE retrieve the target eNBs IP address, which makes it possible for the serving eNB to contact the target eNB. The serving and target eNBs are now in contact with each other and X2 can be setup. The serving eNB requests X2 setup to the target eNB and includes all necessary cell data to create a neighbor relation (i.e. PCI, GCI, TAC, PLMN-id and frequency) from the target cell to the serving cell. The target cell adds the serving cell to its neighbor list and the target eNB sends the corresponding data for the target cell (PCI, GCI, TAC, PLMN-id and frequency) to the serving cell which in turn adds the target cell to its neighbor list. With the X2 interface in place, it is possible to use X2 for all future handovers between the cells. For handover from LTE to legacy systems (i.e. GSM and WCDMA), ANR works in the same way with the exception that it only needs to setup a neighbor relation to the target cell and not the X2 since the handover to non-LTE systems is always performed over SAE. ANR can automatically remove unused neighbor relations based on the relation usage, handover performance or a combination thereof. When adding and removing neighbors, ANR is under control of policies set by the operator. The black listing allows the operator to decide neighbor relations that ANR may never add as neighbors. The white listing allows the operator to decide permanent neighbor relations that ANR may never remove. These policies are controlled from an Element Management System (EMS) such as OSS.
3.2.5 INTERRATANR
The inter-RAT ANR is applicable when different mobile network standards such as GSM, UMTS/HSPA, CDMA/EV-DO and LTE are deployed to cover the same geographical area. In this section, the ANR Inter-RAT function is explained for the case when LTE is overlaid on one of the other networks, hereafter referred to as underlying networks. LTE is normally deployed on the same sites as the underlying networks radio base stations. It will therefore partially or fully cover the same area as the underlying network. Inter-RAT handover between LTE and an underlying network could be used for circuit switch (CS) fallback to the existing networks for voice calls and SMS, and load balancing of UEs when traffic on a network exceeds a threshold. This means that the UEs could handover between LTE and the underlying network even when the LTE cell coverage is good. Based on the above assumptions, the ANR function in LTE must be able to find the underlying networks cells with the same coverage as the LTE cells. To find these neighbors, an additional ANR method in LTE needs to be introduced whereby the UEs are ordered to report best serving cell periodically. The ANR function in LTE orders the ANR capable multi-standard UEs, connected to LTE, to report best serving cell measurements from the underlying network periodically. There are different possible solutions for ordering the multi-standard UEs depending on which technology is used in the underlying network. The new SON unique report configuration, ReportStrongestCellsForSon could be used for UMTS/HSPA and CDMA/EV-DO. The existing ReportStrongestCells could be used for GSM. They are specified in 3GPP 36.331 (Release-8) and are used for specifying criteria for triggering of inter-RAT measurement reporting events B1 and B2. Event B1 refers to the event when inter-RAT neighbor has a higher value of RSRP/RSRQ than a threshold. Event B2 refers to the event when the serving cell has a lower of RSRP/RSRQ than a threshold, and inter RAT neighbor has a higher value than a threshold.
To minimize the load on the UEs, the ANR function in LTE should be able to adapt the number of UE measurements to the actual need. In the beginning, when many new cell relations are found, a more intense measurement activity is used. This enables a quick creation of necessary neighbor relations. After some time when less neighbor candidates are found, the ANR function should involve fewer UEs in the measurements. Even when new neighbors are not detected at all or very rarely, it is important that ANR maintains some minimal level of periodical measurements. This enables the ANR function to rapidly detect any network changes. The LTE ANR procedure following the discovery of new neighbors is similar to the one for intra-LTE, described earlier. After the UE reports a strongest cell (identified with its PCI) that is not listed as a neighbor in the neighboring cell list, the ANR function on the eNB will add it to the neighboring cell list for the cell it was discovered in. Before doing so, the eNB needs to know the unique identity of the cell i.e. the Cell Global Identity, CGI. It can add the missing neighbor cell relation immediately if the cell CGI is already known by eNB. Otherwise the ANR function in the eNB first needs to identify the cell by finding out its CGI. In this case, ANR orders a CGI measurement from the UE, and once it is reported back, the new neighbor is added. After the new IRAT neighbor is added to the eNB cell, it can be used for mobility handovers and for the other cases where neighbor cells are used. It should be noted that the neighboring cell relationship is only one way i.e. from the LTE cell to the cell in the underlying network. The underlying networks ANR function also needs to discover the LTE cell. A manual procedure could be used where the operator, when notified about the new neighboring cell relationship, adds the other direction manually or has a centralized solution that automates the procedure.
3.3 TRACKINGAREAPLANNING
Wireless networks partition a typical market into non-overlapping Traffic Areas (TAs). Each TA is uniquely identified by the TA Identifier (TAI). Each and every User Equipment (UE) in the Power-ON state is mapped to one (or more) TAs. TAs were constructed to facilitate the Paging procedure. Note that whenever the switch (MME) receives a call for mobile M, it looks up the TA of mobile M as TA(M)) sends a page to all the eNBs in TA(M). Each eNB faithfully broadcasts the message on the Paging channel, which is received by UEs in Power-ON mode. When mobile M receives the page, it realizes that there is a terminating call (data transfer) for it, and it sends a paging response to its serving eNB eNB(M). The eNB(M) responds with an affirmative to the switch, which goes on to direct the call towards eNB(M). Subsequently, call setup procedure is followed between mobile M, eNB(M), and MME/S-GW. In order to ensure that the MME has the most recent information for each mobile in terms of its current TAI, all UEs are required to provide TAU as soon as they realize that their current serving eNB has a different TAI. Such an update is sent on the Random Access Channel (RACH). (Border eNBs are basically the eNBs which are on the border of a TA). Such a structure leads to a tradeoff between the RACH and paging channel. Observe that if each TA is kept small, then a moving mobile would cross through many TAs, and would need to make a random access attempt in one of the Border eNB of each TA. However, if the number of eNBs in a TA is large, then the RACH load on the Border eNBs would be less, but each terminating call/data transfer to a mobile M would lead to a broadcast of paging message from the MME to each eNB in that TA. This would certainly put additional pressure on the backhaul link. Additionally, on each of the eNBs, a page will also need to be sent using up the paging channel. Therefore, determining TA size and demographic is a tradeoff between the RACH load on the Border eNBs and the paging load on the backhaul and RF of the eNBs. Note that the RACH load affects only one cell, but the paging load translates into a broadcast message on all the eNBs belonging to that TA.
Present day wireless operators have been forced to take an offline approach due to lack of any mechanism for effective and efficient adjustment of tracking areas. Due to the cumbersome nature of such a process, most carriers hardly change the tracking areas of their cells. In other words, TAIs for each cell are decided at the time of deployment based on rules-of-thumb, anticipated traffic patterns, etc., and are only altered in the event of extreme performance degradations. SON TA feature has the ability to change that, both at the time of deployment using Tracking Area Planning (TAP) and during the subsequent network optimization using Tracking Area Optimization (TAO). At the time of deployment, TAP algorithm prepares the initial deployment plan for the cell sites of a market in an (semi) autonomous fashion. The output of the TAP drives the choice of tracking area that an eNB belongs to. The corresponding TAI is delivered to each eNB during the initialization phase. The inputs to such a deployment plan could be market geographical data, TAI range and values, eNB locations, market size, etc. Once initial deployment is complete, the TAO algorithm actively monitors the Tracking Area Updates (TAU) and the load on the radio access channel (RACH) to continuously identify the eNBs that are most suited for a change in their TAI. The intention is to capture some of the mobility patterns for each eNB. For example, if a highway passes through a cluster of eNBs, it might make sense to ensure that tracking area boundary cleanly intersects with the highway, and avoids a UE in the car to ping-pong between multiple TAs. TAO algorithm has the ability to identify such eNBs and allocate them to appropriate TA.
3.4 PCIPLANNING
In order for the UEs to uniquely identify the source of a receiving signal, each eNB is given a signature sequence referred to as Physical Cell ID (PCI). Based on the LTE specification of the physical layer detailed in 3GPP TS 36.211-840, there are a total of 504 unique physical layer cell identities. These physical layer cell identities are grouped into 168 unique physical layer cell identity groups, where each group contains three unique identities. The overall signature PCI is constructed from primary and secondary synchronization IDs as follows:
(1) (2) PCI 3 N ID N ID
Where, N ID is in the range of 0~167, representing the physical layer cell identity group, and N ID is in the range of 0~2, representing the physical layer identity within the physical layer cell identity group. The hence constructed PCI is allocated to each eNB at the time of installation. Based on the allocated IDs, the eNB transmits the PCI on the downlink preamble. The UEs in its service area receive the preamble, and are able to identify the eNB, and the corresponding signal quality. It is possible, however, that a UE finds that there are two eNBs that have the same PCI. This is possible since the PCIs are reused by multiple eNBs. Note that there are only 504 PCIs, and a typical market might have 200 to 300 cell sites, assuming three eNBs per cell site leads to as many as a thousand eNBs in a market. Therefore, the service provider must carefully determine the PCI of each eNB to make sure that such conflicts do not happen, or are minimized. Typical operators use an offline planning tool or depend on manual determination to develop a PCI deployment plan for a market. The plan uses basic information such as eNB location, potential neighbors, etc., to determine the PCI for each eNB. Such an allocation is carefully reviewed to ensure that the market does not have any PCI conflicts; hence the determined PCI values are communicated to each
eNB during the installation using the configuration files or manually inputted by the staff. Needless to say, such a process does not lend itself to subsequent changes and is prone to human error.
SON mechanisms enable the operator to automate this tedious process described above in section 3.4. In the SON framework, as soon as the eNB is powered up during the auto-configuration phase, it is allocated to a PCI (that is a primary and a secondary synchronization ID). Such a PCI is determined using a PCI Planning Tool (PPT) that not only uses the estimated coverage area information for each eNB, but also enforces significant margin and separation between two eNBs that are allocated to the same PCI. Additional considerations could also be included when determining such a plan. Nonetheless, SON ensures that each eNB has a PCI value at the time of installation without requiring explicit human intervention. Subsequently, during the operational phase, each eNB collects the information pertaining to any PCI conflicts. Observe that PCI conflicts might happen due to errors during the initial PCI Planning phase, deployment of new eNBs, changes in the demographics of a market, power of eNBs, etc. Whenever an LTE UE receives power from two eNBs with the same PCI, it informs the serving eNB about the conflict. Such an alarm is relayed to the OSS/SON mechanism, which collects and logs the details of such conflicts. The operator can then decide on a suitable time interval for activating the PCI Optimization Tool (POT), (e.g., it might make sense to schedule such an activity during a lightly-loaded night-time period). The POT algorithm uses the collected logs, alarms and the updated coverage maps in order to identify the eNBs for which the PCI needs to be changed and the associated new PCI value. Furthermore, the SON algorithm ensures that the information is relayed to the correct eNBs. Upon reception, eNBs could wait for a hold period before they begin to deploy the newly allocated PCI values.
3.5 LOADBALANCING
Load Balancing refers to the process whereby similar network elements that are intended to share traffic, share the load. The similar network elements can be anything from packet gateways to MMEs to base stations and sectors. In LTE, MME pools are expected to share user traffic load across different MMEs as load increases, while eNBs may have RRM functions that share/offload traffic to neighboring cells in order to increase system capacity. As a result, different real-time algorithms at different nodes can simultaneously provide Load Balancing of user traffic per network element as required. Additionally, longterm traffic behavior of each node can be monitored so that traffic may be directed a-priori by a centralized entity in the network. For instance, this could be a desirable feature for markets where periodic or scheduled concentrations of users regularly occur (e.g. sporting events, conventions, daily commutes, etc.). The decision to re-balance a cell or move a particular user must take in to consideration the target for the user(s). It is not desirable to send a user to an alternate location (i.e. neighbor or co-located frequency) if that user will then have a reduced QoS or lower performance than remaining in the source, or if the resulting re-balance will result in reduced system capacity/utilization.
The objective of Mobility Load Balancing is to intelligently spread user traffic across the systems radio resources as necessary in order to provide quality end-user experience and performance, while simultaneously optimizing system capacity. Additionally, MLB may be desirable to shape the system load
according to operator policy, or to offload users from one cell or carrier in order to achieve energy savings. The automating of this minimizes human intervention in the network management and optimization tasks.
The term Mobility Load Balancing (MLB) is used in this section to refer specifically to the network cell (eNB) level only, not core entities such as the MME, gateways, etc. The goal of MLB is to spread user traffic across system radio resources in order to provide quality end-user experience and higher system capacity. This can be accomplished by one or a combination of algorithms that perform Idle or Active balancing of users. These SON algorithms for offloading traffic from one element to another can include intra-carrier, inter-carrier, or inter-technology resources, as long as there is software intelligence to ensure radio admission and continuity of service on the target element. The actual transfer of users is accomplished by modification of handover threshold parameters. This can require coordination with competing SON algorithms and standardized messaging with multi-vendor equipment to ensure robustness and stability. LTE is better suited to a distributed algorithm utilizing the X2 interface, while technologies with a BSC/RAN architecture and/or macro-diversity may favor a more centralized approach. The text in this section is suited to single-link technologies such as LTE. Distributed LB: Algorithms run locally in the base stations. Load information is exchanged between base stations so that Idle/Active HO (handover) parameters may be adjusted and/or adjustments to RRM functionality can be made. Centralized LB: Algorithms run in a core network element. Base stations report load information to a central entity which then responds with appropriate modifications to idle/active HO parameters.
In either case (distributed or centralized), it is assumed there will be centralized Operations, Administration and Management (OA&M) control for an operator to enable/disable and configure relevant algorithm settings.
3.5.3 DETERMININGALOADIMBALANCECONDITION
Load balancing mechanisms must work together with the scheduler and admission control. For nonGuaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) users, there is no constraint on the minimum performance those users receive except within the scope of the maximum number of users per cell (admission control) and perhaps a vendor-imposed minimum throughput (scheduler). For GBR users, the scheduler must ensure that all radio bearers are granted resources in a manner that satisfies their specific service. Therefore, a system may be considered in balance as long as there are no users being denied resources and all active services are being supported within the scope of their QoS needs. Simple thresholds can be implemented where low, medium and high load conditions equate to a given number of active users in the cell for the non-GBR case. These can serve as triggers to modify idle mode parameters and/or to handover active users to neighbors (i.e. cell-edge intra-carrier, collocated intercarrier or collocated inter-technology handover). However, more intelligent metering is needed for GBR users since it is possible for a small number of such users to load a cell depending upon their requirements.
3.5.4 IDLEMODELOADBALANCING
The LTE system does not have a real-time, per-cell view of idle mode users. The only time the system becomes aware of the exact cell a user is in, while in idle mode, is when the Tracking Area of the user changes and a TAU message is sent by the UE. Therefore, while parameters that control how and when a UE performs cell reselection (idle handover) are modifiable, there is no direct measurement mechanism for the system to determine when there are too many idle users. Note that this too-many idle user condition has no direct bearing on either system capacity or user experience besides increased signaling on core network nodes. The way around this immeasurable condition is for the system to adjust cell reselection parameters for the idle users based on the current active user condition. As real-time traffic and/or QoS demands increase in a cell, it would be possible for the cell to adjust the cell reselection parameters in order to force users nearest the cell edge to select their strongest neighbor to camp on, or to force a handover to a co-located carrier that has more resources available. Care must be taken to coordinate such parameter adjustments between cells (i.e. utilizing the X2 interface) in order to prevent service-outage holes, as well as to adjust active mode parameters to avoid immediate handover upon an idle to active transition. In LTE, idle mode inter-frequency load balancing is controlled by the cell reselection procedure. System parameters that control cell reselection and the operator's channel frequency preferences are transmitted to UEs in the System Information Blocks (SIBs).
3.5.5 ACTIVEMODELOADBALANCING
Active load balancing allows active mode UEs to be load balanced across cells to lower the overall congestion across cells. The advantage of active load balancing is that the system has a direct measurement mechanism and knowledge of each users traffic requirements and radio conditions before deciding to load balance. Therefore, in conjunction with the scheduler and interfaces to other base stations (X2 interface for intra-LTE and/or S1 interface for inter-RAT), it is possible to make accurate decisions for load-based HO. A load-based HO reason code is included during handover (HO) messaging to allow the target cell knowledge for admission control.
3.5.5.1 INTRA-LTE MOBILITY LOAD BALANCING
Intra-LTE mobility load balancing refers to a load balanced handover within the current LTE network, typically utilizing the X2 interface to exchange load reporting information, to geographically neighboring cells or co-located cells on a different carrier frequency. The load information consists of: Radio Resource Usage
Uplink/Downlink Guaranteed Bit Rate (GBR) Physical Resource Block (PRB) usage Uplink/Downlink non-GBR PRB usage Uplink/Downlink total PRB usage
Hardware (HW) load indicator
Uplink/Downlink HW load: Low, Mid, High, Overload
Transport Network Load (TNL) indicator
Uplink/Downlink TNL load: Low, Mid, High, Overload
Cell Capacity Class value (Optional)
Uplink/Downlink relative capacity indicator
Capacity value
Uplink/Downlink available capacity for load balancing as percentage of total cell capacity
3.5.5.1 INTER-RAT MOBILITY LOAD BALANCING
Inter-RAT MLB refers to a load balanced handover between LTE and another network, utilizing the S1 interface to exchange load reporting information. In the event the handover is to non-3GPP technology, then load reporting on the relevant interfaces still need to be standardized. A dedicated procedure for inter-RAT cell load request / reporting is provided with minimal impact using a generic SON container extension of the RAN Information Management (RIM) mechanism. Load information is provided in a procedure separated from existing active mode mobility procedures, which is used infrequently and with lower priority with respect to the UE dedicated signaling. The load information consists of: Cell Capacity Class value
Uplink/Downlink available capacity for load balancing as percentage of total cell capacity NOTE 1: Capacity value is expressed in available E-UTRAN resources. NOTE 2: A cell is expected to accept traffic corresponding to the indicated available capacity.
3.5.6 ADAPTINGHANDOVERCONFIGURATION
The adaptation of handover configuration function enables requesting of a change of handover and/or reselection parameters at target cell, as a part of the load balance procedure. The source cell that initialized the load balancing estimates if the mobility configuration in the source and/or target cell needs to be changed. If the amendment is needed, the source cell initializes mobility negotiation procedure toward the target cell. This is applicable for both idle and active mobility cases. The source cell informs the target cell about the new mobility settings and provides cause for the change such as, load balancing related request. The proposed change is expressed by as the difference (delta) between the current and the new values of the handover trigger. The handover trigger is the cell specific
offset that corresponds to the threshold at which a cell initializes the handover preparation procedure. Cell reselection configuration may be amended to reflect changes in the handover setting. The target cell responds to the information from the source cell. The allowed delta range for handover trigger parameter may be carried in the failure response message. The source cell should consider the responses before executing the planned change of its mobility setting. All automatic changes on the HO and/or reselection parameters must be within the range allowed by OAM.
3.6 MOBILITYROBUSTNESS/HANDOVEROPTIMIZATION
Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO) encompasses the automated optimization of parameters affecting active mode and idle mode handovers to ensure good end-user quality and performance, while considering possible competing interactions with other SON features such as, automatic neighbor relation and load balancing. There is also some potential for interaction with Cell Outage Compensation and Energy Savings as these could also potentially adjust the handover boundaries in a way that conflicts with MRO. While the goal of MRO is the same regardless of radio technology namely, the optimization of end-user performance and system capacity, the specific algorithms and parameters vary with technology. The description below is for LTE releases 8, 9 and 10, with its single-link (no macro diversity) approach and X2 interface between eNBs. Whether a distributed or centralized MRO function is implemented (distributed is more applicable in the description text), it is assumed there will be centralized OAM control for an operator to enable/disable and configure relevant algorithm settings.
The objective of MRO is to dynamically improve the network performance of HO in order to provide improved end-user experience as well as increased network capacity. This is done by automatically adapting cell parameters to adjust handover boundaries based on feedback of performance indicators. Typically, the objective is to eliminate Radio Link Failures and reduce unnecessary handovers. Automation of MRO minimizes human intervention in the network management and optimization tasks.
The scope of mobility robustness optimization as described here assumes a well-designed network with overlapping RF coverage of neighboring sites. The optimization of handover parameters by system operators typically involves either focused drive-testing, detailed system log collection and postprocessing, or a combination of these manual and intensive tasks. Incorrect HO parameter settings can negatively affect user experience and waste network resources by causing HO ping-pongs, HO failures and Radio Link Failures (RLF). While HO failures that do not lead to RLFs are often recoverable and invisible to the user, RLFs caused by incorrect HO parameter settings have a combined impact on user experience and network resources. Therefore, the main objective of mobility robustness optimization should be the reduction of the number of HO-related radio link failures. Additionally, sub-optimal configuration of HO parameters may lead to degradation of service performance, even if it does not result in RLFs. One example is the incorrect setting of HO hysteresis, which may results in ping-pongs or excessively delayed handovers to a target cell. Therefore, the secondary objective of MRO is the reduction of the inefficient use of network resources due to unnecessary or missed handovers.
Most problems associated with HO failures or sub-optimal system performance can ultimately be categorized, as either too-early or too-late triggering of the handover, provided that the required fundamental network RF coverage exists. Thus, poor HO-related performance can generally be categorized by the following events: Intra-RAT late HO triggering Intra-RAT early HO triggering Intra-RAT HO to an incorrect cell Inter-RAT too late HO Inter RAT unnecessary HO
Up to Release 9, a UE is required to send RLF report only in case of successful RRC re-establishment after a connection failure. Release 10 allows support for RLF reports to be sent even when the RRC reestablishment does not succeed. The UE is required to report additional information to assist the eNB in determining if the problem is coverage related (no strong neighbors) or handover problems (too early, too late or wrong cell). Furthermore, Release 10 allows for precise detection of too early / wrong cell HO.
3.6.3INTRARATLATEHOTRIGGERING
If the UE mobility is faster than the HO parameter settings allow for, handover can be triggered when the signal strength of the source cell is too low, leading to a RLF. The signature of too-late HOs may be summarized by: RLF in the source cell before the HO was initiated or during HO procedure Terminal re-establishes in a different cell than the source
Figure 5 - Too-Late Handover
The general principles of MRO are based on the RLF and Handover Report messages over the X2 link. After a Radio Link Failure (RLF), the UE provides the RLF information to the cell to which it reconnects after the failure. That cell always forwards the RLF message over the X2 to the cell that actually dropped the UE. The information is analyzed by the cell that receives the RLF, and if required, the results of the analysis are forwarded in a Handover Report over the X2 to the cell that needs to take corrective action. In the too-late case above, a failure occurs in the handover from eNB1(A) to eNB2(C). The UE reconnects to eNB2(C) and the RLF message is forwarded to eNB1. eNB1 analyses the data and, in this case, determines that the problem is resolved by adjusting thresholds at eNB1(A), specifically relating to its neighbor relationship with eNB2(C). There is no need to send a handover report to any other cell. RLF indication and Handover Report are X2 messages and as such are only relevant in the inter-eNB case. For cells on the same site, similar message structures can be used internally without the need for X2 interfaces.
3.6.4INTRARATEARLYHOTRIGGERING
Too-early HO can be triggered when the terminal enters an island of coverage of another cell contained inside the coverage area of the serving cell. This is a typical scenario for areas where fragmented cell coverage is inherent to the radio propagation environment, such as dense urban areas. The signature of too-early HO may be summarized by: RLF occurs a short time after the HO trigger to the target cell. The HO may or may not be completely successful, depending on the over-the-air-messaging in the target cell. Terminal re-acquires the system in the source cell
Figure 6 - Too-Early Handover In the too-early case above, the UE has contiguous coverage from eNB2(C), but due to a region of strong coverage from eNB1(A), a handover takes place to eNB1(A). As the UE exits this region of coverage, an RLF occurs and the UE reconnects to eNB2(C). eNB2 sends the RLF to eNB1 as eNB1(A) actually
dropped the UE. eNB1(A) analyses the RLF and checks the length of time it carried the call. If eNB1(A) carried the call for less than Tstore_UE_cntxt seconds, it then concludes that the UE should not have handed to eNB1(A) in the first place. eNB1 sends a Handover Report to eNB2 and the neighbor relationship from eNB2(C) to eNB1(A) is adjusted such that the UE does not handover to eNB1 in the first place.
3.6.5INTRARATHOTOANINCORRECTCELL
It is possible if the cell-neighbor-pair parameters are set incorrectly that the handover may be directed towards a wrong cell. The signature of HO to a wrong cell is summarized by: RLF occurs a short time after the HO trigger to the target cell. The HO may or may not be completely successful, depending on the over-the-air-messaging in the target cell. Terminal re-establishes in a different cell than the source or target
It is important to note that the messaging sequence is different depending on whether the original handover is successful. The reconnect cell will always send the RLF message to the cell that dropped the UE. If the handover succeeds, the RLF is sent to the original target cell. If the handover fails, the RLF is sent to the source cell. In either case, the original source cell eventually receives either the RLF or Handover Report messages, and takes the necessary corrective action. Note this event could also be a case of rapid HO where the terminal quickly and successfully performs handovers from cell A to B to C. This could be argued as either a too-early case for A-B or simply too-late for A-C.
Figure 7 - Wrong Cell Handover (RLF after handover) In Figure 7, the handover to eNB2(B) succeeded, but failure immediately after that indicates that eNB2(B) was not a good candidate. On reconnect to eNB3(C), the RLF gets forwarded to eNB2(B). eNB2 analyses the RLF and determines that since it carried the call for less than Tstore_UE_cntxt seconds, it was therefore never a good candidate. It then sends a Handover Report to eNB1. eNB1(A) needs to
correct its relationships such that eNB2(B) becomes less attractive and eNB3(C) becomes more attractive.
Figure 8 - Wrong Cell Handover (RLF before Handover) Figure 8 shows the case where a RLF occurs before handover. In this case, the initial handover attempt to eNB2(B) had not been completed when the RLF occurred. After reconnect to eNB3(C), the RLF is sent directly to eNB1(A) since this is the cell that dropped the call. In this case, as eNB1(A) is both the cell that did the RLF analysis and also the cell that needs to make the correction, it is not necessary to send a handover report to another cell. Most vendors are likely to adjust the Cell Individual Offset (CIO) in order to correct the MRO problems described here. The CIO is a per neighbor offset applied to measurement reporting configuration such that it changes the point at which a measurement report qualifies to get sent to the eNB. The measurement gets sent to the eNB only after the criteria remains valid for a period of Time-To-trigger (TTT). Because of this relationship, TTT is also sometimes used as one of the MRO adjustment parameters.
3.6.6 INTERRATTOOLATEHO
Delayed inter-RAT handovers when a UE moves from one RAT to another could result in RLFs and possibly dropped calls. Inter RAT too late handovers may be detected and reported in two ways. The first option is that the UE reports the RLF to the cell where it connects immediately after the RLF. In this case, the reporting is performed in a different RAT than the cell the UE was connected to before RLF. This requires a new message across RATs in order to transfer the information to the cell where the UE was connected to before HO, since this is where the mobility parameters shall be adjusted.
Another option would be to let the UE send the RLF report when it returns to the RAT where it experienced the RLF, but not necessarily to the same cell. In this case, there is no need to send messages across the two different RATs.
3.6.7 INTERRATUNNECESSARY(TOOEARLY)HO
The HO target cell (UTRAN or GERAN) is configured with minimum radio quality (of E-UTRAN) thresholds during handover preparation phase. The target cell will instruct the incoming UE to continue to measure the source cell (E-UTRAN) after successful IRAT handover. Based on such threshold, the target cell can detect whether or not the handover has been performed too early and report it back to source cell (E-UTRAN).
3.6.8ALGORITHMFORSONHANDOVERPARAMETEROPTIMIZATION
The SON HO optimization function is an algorithm or set of algorithms designed to improve performance of HOs from one cell to another. Performance data collected from each cell is analyzed in order to correlate HO failures that may be due to improperly configured or unoptimized parameters. Adjustments can then be made to the configuration in an attempt to improve the overall HO performance of the network. Care must be taken to provide a methodical adjustment to network parameters. Assuming certain cellpair neighbors exhibit poor performance exceeding an operator-defined threshold, such as target KPIs not being met, the expected flow of operation comprises the following steps: 1. Monitor the network for a sufficient period of time in order to accurately baseline the performance of all cells with respect to traffic loading, traffic type, time-of-day, etc. This may take days or weeks depending on the amount of user traffic in the cells. 2. Output from HO algorithms suggests changes to the network parameters that should provide overall increase in successful HOs across the network. These changes or subset of changes are then applied to the network. 3. The network is monitored for a sufficient period of time in order to accurately compare the performance of the network with respect to the baseline in step 1. 4. Keep track of attempted changes and repeat this iterative process as necessary until the target KPI thresholds are met. 5. Update centralized data base with final outputs. Possible cell or cell-neighbor-pair parameter modifications (in Step 2) include: Trigger Thresholds Time-to-Trigger Hysteresis values for ping-pong control Neighbor List Relation Speed-dependent parameters
Antenna Remote Electrical Tilt Idle mode parameters to avoid immediate HO trigger when transitioning from idle to active states
Note that certain technologies may allow faster performance monitoring and a distributed approach to the MRO algorithm. For example, the non-BSC based E-UTRAN of LTE and X2 interface messaging could allow a de-centralized MRO algorithm that operates on much faster time scales than the above text for the algorithm flow implies.
EXAMPLESOFSONALGORITHMINTERACTIONS
Each self-organization use case modifies a set of configuration parameters in the corresponding network elements to achieve the intended self-configuration, self-optimization or self-healing goals. A key issue that naturally arises in such a use case centric approach is that the various use cases are optimized on an individual basis, without taking into account potential effects on other use cases. The presented use cases are not independent of each other and the modification of a parameter beneficial for one use case may have a negative impact on another use case. Overall system performance may depend on conflicting parameter adjustments. Therefore, the interaction of self-organization functionalities needs to be analyzed in order to identify functionalities (usecases) that need to be coordinated. Interaction problems can be classified into two classes, namely parameter value conflicts and metric value conflicts. - Parameter value conflicts occur if any two use cases have access to the same control parameter. - Metric value conflicts occur if any two use cases influence a common metric that is used as feedback information to influence either use case. Consider the interaction between RACH optimization and Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO). Assume that at a given time the RACH is at its capacity limit and unable to accommodate any new terminals and assume that the RACH optimization process does not react to this situation because it is difficult to allocate further resources. The MRO use case will detect a higher handover failure rate and potentially decrease the time-to-trigger value. This in turn would have the effect of resulting in even more handovers, and there could be even more access attempts on the RACH an instability with a selfreinforcing feedback loop. SON usecase interactions are also noted when Load Balancing and/or Neighbor List optimization algorithms are triggered at the same time as Cell Outage Compensation. Interactions could also occur between interference mitigation, load balancing and optimization of capacity and coverage because these goals could be achieved through modifying common parameters such as radio bearer transmit power, radio bearer assignment and antenna parameters. To mitigate the unwanted effects of interactions, algorithms for these usecases must consider the impact of one parameter change on the performance of the other algorithms using the same parameter. One approach to avoid interaction conflicts is by a scheme where use cases trigger each other in a consecutive order [9]. In situations where this is not feasible, multiple use cases cooperate/co-act in a use case bundle which is recommended to be treated as one optimization problem. Approaches for addressing SON usecase interactions are areas for further study.
3.7 RACH(RANDOMACCESSCHANNEL)OPTIMIZATION
The configuration of the random access procedure has a critical impact on end-user experience and overall network performance. A poorly configured Random Access CHannel (RACH) may increase access setup time and accesses failures, impacting both call setup and handover performance. With optimal random access parameter setting, maximum end-user experience can be obtained. This is achieved by reaching the desired balance in the radio resource allocation between random accesses and services while at the same time avoiding creating excessive interference. To keep the RACH optimized for all cells during varying conditions, the optimization can be repeated periodically or run continuously. Support for SON based automatic RACH optimization is introduced in 3GPP Release 9 specifications TS 36.300 and TS 36.331 and is discussed in TR 36.902. The basic concept is well suited for eNB function localization where the eNB optimizes the random access channels in its cells based on UE feedback and knowledge of its neighboring eNBs RACH configuration.
An optimized RACH configuration enables end-user benefits and network performance gains through: Reduced connection time Higher throughput Better cell coverage.
By automating the optimization of RACH, maximum performance is achieved with no operator intervention or effort. The network will dynamically adapt to network changes and end-user behavior to always deliver best possible performance and resource utilization.
3.7.2DESCRIPTION
A User Equipment (UE) in idle state is unknown to an LTE network. In order to start establishing a relation to the LTE network, the UE searches for the most suitable cell and reads its broadcast system information. The broadcast system information (SIB2) from the cell provides the UE with cell-specific random access format and procedure details. These details determine essential parameters, such as preamble format and initial power setting. The UE randomly selects one of the preambles in an attempt to establish a relation to the cell. As long as no other UE is using the selected preamble at the same time instant, the access attempt can succeed. The success also relies on that the preamble can be heard and identified by the eNB. If there is no response or rejection from the eNB, the UE needs to retry until it succeed. The impact on user experience during the random access procedure is mainly delayed access and interrupted transmission during a handover. The automatic RACH optimization function will balance between optimal access performance and least resource utilization needed to meet set quality target such as, an acceptable level of access success rate. By selecting the most suitable preamble format, based on say traffic type, and dynamically adjusting the broadcast power control parameter (P0), the access success rate can be optimized while still maintaining a low interference level. This results in best user experience with fast access and best possible throughput.
The automatic RACH optimization function can be executed continuously resulting in RACH related parameters being modified automatically. The changes could be based on inputs from both the connected UEs and each cells neighboring cells. By collecting the recently introduced RACH report from the UE, the actual access delay can be determined. The RACH report is included in the message UEInformationResponse (3GPP Rel-9 spec TS 36.331). It contains two new parameters: numberOfPreamblesSent and contentionDetected. Based on this new information, the automatic RACH optimization function can adjust the power control parameter (P0) or change the preamble format to reach the set target access delay. By optimizing P0, the probability for an eNB to read the preamble increases. However, as a result, the interference on neighboring cells may also increase. The second option adjusts the preamble format to use, under the premise that a correct preamble format assures successful preamble detection for the traffic type in a cell. The automatic RACH optimization function automates the required continuous adaptation of the RACH. The automatic RACH optimization function can automatically react when receiving notification over X2 of a RACH parameter change in a neighboring cell. The information is transmitted via the eNB configuration update X2 message. For instance, allocation of same root sequence index in neighboring cells should be avoided to reduce interference. Automatic RACH optimization, based on the optimization on real traffic data and neighbor cell information, makes it well suitable for eNB function localization. The automatic RACH optimization function can execute autonomously with no operator intervention or effort. The operator controls the function with a few policies that set the outer limits for the function. These limits assure that the function will not move to an extreme setting when finding the best tradeoff between access delay and resource utilization.
3.8 INTERCELLINTERFERENCECOORDINATION
Reuse one cellular networks are characterized by mutual interference between cells. Given the orthogonal nature of intra-cell transmissions, the source of interference in LTE is inter-cell interference. Within the OFDM and SC-FDMA based LTE system interference has to be coordinated on the basis of the physical resource blocks (PRBs). The ability to schedule users over variable portions of the carrier bandwidth allows for inter-cell interference coordination techniques to be utilized which can shape the interference in frequency. Inter-Cell Interference Coordination involves the intelligent coordination of physical resources between various neighboring cells to reduce interference from one cell to another. Each cell gives up use of some resource in a coordinated fashion to improve performance especially for cell edge users which are impacted the most by inter-cell interference. ICIC is accomplished as follows: Users can be scheduled in units of a physical resource block (PRB) which is 180 KHz. Neighbouring cells can coordinate which portions of the bandwidth are used in each cell and the transmission powers across various frequency resource blocks. Inter-cell interference can be reduced or avoided in uplink and downlink by a coordinated usage of the available resources (PRBs) in the related cells which leads to improved SIR and corresponding throughput. This coordination is realized by restriction and preference for the resource usage in the different cells. This can be achieved by means of ICIC related RRM mechanisms employing signalling of the following standards-defined metrics: 1. High Interference Indicator
2. Overload Indicator 3. Relative Narrowband Transmit Power (RNTP) Exchanging the above information would allow an advantageous RRM resource usage by means of preferences with respect to the e.g. available time/frequency resources, neighbourhood relations of the cells and QoS requirements targeted by the operator. Expected results of automated ICIC parameter settings include the automatic configuration or adaptation, with respect to cell topology, of: 1. ICIC reporting thresholds/periods 2. Resource preferences in eNBs 3. RSRP threshold for ICIC ICIC RRM might be configured by ICIC related configuration parameters like reporting thresholds/periods and preferred/prioritized resources. Then these have to be set by the operator for each cell. Setting and updating these parameters automatically is the task of a SON mechanism. The objective of SON is the self-configuration and self-optimization of control parameters of RRM ICIC schemes for uplink (UL) and downlink (DL) ICIC. SON based ICIC requires the exchange of messages between the eNBs of various cells, via X2 interface, for interference coordination. By means of ICIC related Performance Measurements (PM) analysis, the SON function may properly tune ICIC configuration parameters like reporting thresholds/periods and resource preference configuration settings in order to make the ICIC schemes effective with respect to Operators requirements.
Shaping the inter-cell interference allows an improved SINR to be realized in certain portions of the spectrum. This can be exploited by the scheduler to provide an improved trade-off between sector throughput and cell-edge bit rate. The result is improved SINR for cell edge UEs to achieve better edge rates and cell throughputs, improved hand-off performance for cell edge UEs (Lower handoff delays and lower handover failure rate) etc. The goal of SON based ICIC is to have minimized human intervention in network management and optimization tasks.
3.8.2 DESCRIPTIONOFICICOPERATION
Inter-cell interference coordination relies on intelligent resource allocation to eliminate interference. SON aims to configure and optimize the network automatically, so that the need for manual intervention is reduced and the capacity of the network can be increased by having it adapt to operating conditions automatically as required for optimum performance. The capabilities provided by a SON fit very nicely with the operational requirements for ICIC. ICIC requires that neighboring cells exchange information about which portion of the total bandwidth they are using. SON provides the ability for self-configuration and self-optimization of which portion of the total bandwidth a particular cell will use. There are 3 basic components to a SON ICIC implementation: 1. Core ICIC algorithm 2. Frequency planning
3. Inter-eNB communications The core ICIC algorithms are those that determine how the resources (time, frequency and power) available are managed to realize interference coordination between the cells. Various ICIC techniques have been developed with varying degrees of performance and complexity. In the downlink, the common theme of ICIC is to apply certain restrictions to the downlink resource management in a coordinated way between cells. The restrictions are distributed usually using the X2 connections to different cells during cell setup or when cells are de-activated and are generally constant on a time scale corresponding to days. These restrictions determine the time/frequency resources currently available to the Radio Resource Manager (RRM), as well as restrictions to the transmit power that can be applied to certain time/frequency resources. These restrictions shape the interference power spectrum of a given cell on the DL. The power constraints on the transmitted PRBs in one cell lead to improved SINR and cell edge data rates/coverage for the corresponding time/frequency resources in a neighbor cell. Figure 9 shows the operation of one DL ICIC scheme known as the Inverted Reuse scheme. Three cells are shown with each cell transmitting at a certain nominal power across the entire bandwidth except for a restricted portion of the bandwidth. In the restricted PRBs, transmissions are either at a lower power, resulting in a soft partial frequency reuse scheme or there may not be any transmissions at all, resulting in a hard partial frequency reuse scheme. Neighboring cells have restrictions in different portions of the total bandwidth. A neighboring cell can schedule its cell edge users in the restricted PRBs of its neighbors and realize an improved SINR since the neighboring cells are either transmitting with a lower power or not transmitting at all on those PRBs. Users are classified into generally two groups: cell inner and cell edge groups with the classification being made based upon a number or combinations of such metrics such as a users serving cell path loss and differential path loss between that users serving and neighboring cells. The performance of ICIC depends upon a number of factors such as cell size, cell load, propagation channel, user mobility, traffic model, traffic type, etc. In the uplink, it is the UEs near the cell border which cause most of the interference to adjacent cells. The basic concept in the UL is to concentrate the bulk of the inter-cell interference in a small portion of the total bandwidth, thereby preventing any impact to the majority of users since the interference is now localized to certain sub-carriers and the sub-carriers are orthogonal to each other.
Information Exchange over X2
DL Power Mask Frequency Sub-bands DL Power x dB Mask
Frequency Sub-bands
Figure 9 - Inverted 1/7 Soft Re-use ICIC DL Scheme
3.8.3 FREQUENCYPLANNING
Static ICIC techniques require that every cell designates a certain portion of the bandwidth to be in some kind of restriction. These restrictions correspond to the PRBs for the Interference Bearing Zone for the UL and in the DL to those PRBs that are transmitted at a lower power. In addition, these restricted PRBs on both the UL and DL should not overlap across neighboring cells. This is classic frequency planning. It is desirable that this frequency planning be completely automated for LTE as operators do not want to deal with the logistical complexity of manual frequency planning and deployment. Once a particular colour has been assigned to a cell, each eNB informs its neighbours of its transmit PSD mask through RNTP reporting over the X2 interface. Some of the constraints of the frequency planning are: 1. Two neighbouring cells must have different colours. 2. As far as possible, a cell should not have two neighbours with the same colour. 3. Assign colours to cells such that same coloured cells are as far apart as possible.
3.8.4 SELFTUNINGX2INDEPENDENTALGORITHMS
Self-tuning techniques, in the form of channel aware or interference aware packet schedulers, which treat the problem of interference looking at the information available in the victim cell (i.e. CQI sub-band reports, channel state information (CSI), or other eNB measurements), can achieve similar performance without the need to implement X2 communication.
These techniques may create reuse patterns within the cell or allocate additional resources to improve the performance of cell edge users, but the settings are adjusted automatically based on the measurements within the cell, without need for external communication or control from centralized entity. Autonomous and self-adjusting frequency re-use mechanisms may provide even greater benefits for uncoordinated LTE deployments such as addition of femto and pico cells14.
3.8.5 PERFORMANCE OF ICIC TECHNIQUES RELATIVE TO SELFTUNING X2 INDEPENDENT ALGORITHMS
ICIC techniques typically improve cell edge user performance and provide significant gains on top of basic packet scheduler. The gains from ICIC vary depending on the architecture, specific ICIC algorithm and the scenario. The performance of ICIC is dependent upon the ICIC algorithm used, and several other parameters such as the propagation channel, user mobility, scheduling algorithms, cell size, cell load, traffic type, whether the ICIC technique is static or dynamic in operation, metric types used to classify cell center versus cell edge users, user distribution inside cell, etc. 3GPP does not specify the type of ICIC technique to be used, allowing different vendors the freedom to implement different techniques. What is standardized however are a set of metrics that can be exchanged used in the implementation of the ICIC technique. Reuse 1 techniques, such as Frequency Selective or Channel Aware Scheduling, can also provide performance similar to ICIC techniques in certain scenarios, such as for users at low user mobility and when scheduling can be done every sub-frame. The availability of sub-band SINR information through the use of narrow band channel quality indicators (NB-CQIs) on the downlink helps the Channel Aware scheduler to mitigate interference quite well. Additionally, when working at fractional loads, reuse 1 schemes may allocate additional bandwidth to users at cell border to compensate for lower average SINR. In this scenario, ICIC provides little to no gain over a channel aware scheduler. Furthermore, there may be ICIC implementations where X2 communication delays reduce potential gains under realistic scenarios since the feedback may not follow up with fast changing conditions of the interference and fast fading. In addition, requirements for X2 communication may cause problem in areas belonging to different MME, and inter-vendor borders. On the other hand, there are scenarios where ICIC may provide gains over a reuse 1 channel aware scheduler, such as in uplink direction, for high user mobility and when Semi-Persistent Scheduling is used. Dynamic ICIC schemes have been shown to provide even better performance compared to their static counterparts. Finally, it has been shown that ICIC techniques provide good performance in Heterogeneous Network scenarios where they are used to manage the interference from the macros into the small cells. To conclude, it is important to note that the performance of ICIC algorithm is closely tied to the specific implementation. Latencies due to X2 signaling depend on the deployment architectures as well as the ICIC algorithms themselves. In certain architectures, there may be no extra latency or complex signaling required as information from multiple cells is readily available in a centralized processing site, without the need for X2. Finally, there are ICIC algorithms that require less signaling support compared to others.
OPTIMIZATIONOFCOVERAGE/INTERERENCEWITHHENB
Release 8 and Release 9 standards for Home eNBs did not provide any control mechanisms between the HNB and the macro base stations. As result, there could be situations where potential DL/UL interference
is created between these two cells, or weak in-home coverage. Error! Reference source not found.10 illustrates the potential interference scenarios between a Home eNB and a macro cell.
Figure 10 - Potential Interference situations in a Macro-Home eNB interaction With Release 8 and Release 9 mechanisms, in cases where the DL signal from the macro cell is low, the HNB will typically adjust its power to prevent interference to other UEs in the network, resulting in a weaker coverage for the home user; alternatively it can keep the transmit power up, which will result in high interference to the macro BTS users at the cell edge that cannot camp on the HNB. Another problem is the UL interference generated to the HNB from UEs that are connected to macro base stations, and are not allowed to camp on the HNB (Right picture in Figure 10)). This in turn, can make the UEs that are camping on the HNB to increase their UL power thus affecting the UL performance of the macro base station. NGMN has suggested a series of mitigation techniques for these problems that would require the interaction between Home eNBs and macro base stations. UE Assisted DL Control There are two different techniques proposed to improve the current power control mechanism in case of HNB-macro BTS interaction. In the first approach namely, signaling of power down indication, the macro BTS instructs the HNB to adjust its DL power after it receives multiple reports from different UEs indicating high interference from that HNB. The HNB will power up steadily after a certain time assuming the interference situation has disappeared. In the second approach, the macro BTS would forward the measurement report to the HNB in the case of detected interference, thus providing the HNB with more detailed information from the interference situation that would allow the HNB to balance the power considering the interfered UEs and its own served users. Fractional Frequency reuse In case of high interference, the HNB and macro BTS can coordinate their schedulers to assign different time/resource blocks for transmission to avoid co-channel interference, or to reduce the power in certain blocks. To do this, the macro BTS would indicate to the HNB a set of resources that it would like to use for the interfered UE, and the HNB would adjust their transmission patterns accordingly.
Partial co-channel deployment While Fractional Frequency Reuse is effective in reducing interference to the data channels, by either reducing power or totally eliminating transmission, it would not eliminate the interference on control channels. With a partial co-channel deployment, the HNB can be allocated a small subset of the available bandwidth for macro base stations to avoid high interference in the control channels. Such bandwidth would be indicated by the macro base station to the HNB in case of interference situations. Noise padding The uplink interference from macro UEs, especially those at cell edge, can create serious problems to the HNB. If the source of the interference is bursty, the rate prediction and error correction mechanisms in the HNB will not work well. With this technique, the HNB will identify such interference situations and temporarily increase the noise figure to compensate for this. In order to avoid UL power racing between the macro and HNB UEs, the macro BTS would signal to the HNB a maximum noise figure, maximum transmit power or overload indicator.
3.8.7RELEASE10ICICENHANCEMENTS
Dominant interference condition has been shown when Non-CSG/CSG users are in close proximity of femto. In this case, Rel8/9 ICIC techniques are not fully effective in mitigating control channel interference, and therefore enhanced interference management is needed. Release 10 has introduced enhanced ICIC mechanisms. 3GPP has proposed candidate solutions for Interference coordination for non-CA based heterogeneous networks focusing on macro-femto deployment scenario and macro-pico scenario. Three different candidate solutions for eICIC are: Time-domain solution Subframe utilization (Almost Blank Subframes (ABS)) across nodes are coordinated through backhaul signalling. Power control solution HeNB adjusts its transmit output power to avoid interference to other nodes. Frequency-domain solution Orthogonal bandwidth for control signaling and common information are configured across nodes.
3.9 ENERGYSAVINGS
Mobile network operators are increasingly aiming at decreasing power consumption in telecom networks to lower their OPEX and reduce greenhouse emissions with network energy saving solutions for long term sustainable development. With the expected deployment of large numbers of mobile network radio equipment, in the form of Home NB/eNBs, OPEX reduction becomes even more crucial. Energy consumption is a significant part of an operators OPEX. OPEX reduction can be accomplished by designing network elements with lower power consumption and temporarily shutting down unused capacity when not needed. Power amplifiers consume a significant portion of the total energy consumption in a wireless network.
Currently network elements can only be put in stand-by mode using modems managed by separate tools. For an integrated energy saving functionality, network elements should provide a stand-by mode with minimum power consumption and a possibility to switch on and off this stand-by mode remotely via the element management system without affecting the customer experience such as dropped calls. Mechanisms to realize energy savings are being investigated in 3GPP.
Sustainable development is a key criterion for telecom operators, to address the problems of resource shortage and environmental deterioration due to greenhouse emissions. Energy saving mechanisms allow operators to reduce OPEX and provide the quality of experience to end users with minimal impact on the environment. The possibility to temporarily switch-off some parts of radio access network nodes, such as a given Radio Access Technology (GSM, UMTS), will reduce the operational costs related to power consumption.
Energy savings by switching off/on cells can be initiated in several different ways as follows: By the operator, from the OAM manager; Setting policies and conditions that result in autonomous switching off/on cells when the conditions are met; Completely autonomous by the eNB with information exchanged on the X2, S1 interfaces.
When a cell is switched off, there may be a need for the neighboring cells to pick up the load. However switching off a cell should not cause coverage holes or create undue load on the surrounding cells. A switched off cell is not considered a cell outage or a fault condition. All traffic on that cell is expected to be moved to the underlying umbrella cells before any switch off occurs. When a NE is "switched off" for energy savings purposes, no alarms should be raised to the OAM manager for a condition that is a consequence of a "switched off" NE. The operator should have the capability to prevent the network from automatically compensating based on the cell that is in energy savings mode in order to prevent unnecessary disruption in the network. 3GPP is examining solutions for energy saving in E-UTRAN, so that a subset of them can be used as the basis for further investigation and standardization. The following use cases are considered: Inter-RAT energy savings Intra-eNB energy savings Inter-eNB energy savings
In defining the various energy saving solutions, valid scenarios based on cell/network load situation, impacts on legacy and new terminals when introducing an energy saving solution are considered. The objective of the technical work in 3GPP energy saving management is to identify automated energy savings management features. 3GPP addresses the following.
Select existing measurements which can be used for assessing the impact and effect of energy saving actions corresponding to above energy saving use cases. Define new measurements which are required for assessing the impact and effect of energy saving actions, including measurements of the energy consumption corresponding to above energy saving use cases.
3GPP has scoped that the following criteria should be met: User accessibility should be guaranteed when a cell transfers to energy saving mode. Backward compatibility and the ability to provide energy savings for Rel-10 network deployment that serves a number of legacy UEs should be met. The solutions should not impact the physical layer. The solutions should not impact negatively the UE power consumption
Energy savings should not lead to service degradation or inefficiencies in the network since the activation status of radio stations (on/off) introduces a new scale of dynamicity for the UE and network. The increase in signaling potentially endangers the network stability and needs to be handled properly.
3.9.3 DEPLOYMENT SCENARIOS WITH LTE IN CLUSTERS, OVERLAYING AN UNDERLYING 2G/3GNETWORK
Initially, LTE will be deployed in clusters as an overlay for capacity enhancement at hot spots with an underlying 2G/3G network.
Figure 11 - Inter-RAT energy saving scenario In Figure 11, E-UTRAN Cells C through G are totally covered by the same legacy RAT Cell A and B (e.g. UMTS or GSM). Cells A and B have been deployed to provide basic coverage of the services in the area, while other E-UTRAN cells boost the capacity. In such networks, the legacy network provides the basic coverage for those UEs with multi-mode capability and the E-UTRAN only UEs are not served when they are out of the coverage of E-UTRAN. The energy savings procedure can be enabled based on the interaction of E-UTRAN and UTRAN system.
SOLUTIONS FOR CELL SWITCH ON/OFF IN INTER-RAT SCENARIO
Solution 1: Cell switch on/off via OAM commands: With this solution, an E-UTRAN cell can be switched off/on by the centralized OAM system based on some RAN information, e.g. load information. The IntraRAT and Inter-RAT neighbor nodes should be informed either by the OAM or through signaling. Solution 2: Cell switch on/off autonomously at the RAN node via local policies downloaded by OAM: With this solution, the E-UTRAN node can switch the cell on/off according to a certain policy configured by OAM, and its Intra-RAT and Inter-RAT neighbor nodes should be informed, either by the OAM or by the signaling. An example policy would be, switching on the cell 3 hours after switching it off, or switching off the cell at 1:00 am and switching on it again at 7:00 am. As a part of energy saving operation, the EUTRAN node may first handover the capable UEs to the UTRAN/GERAN. Solution 3: Cell switch on/off based on signaling across RATs: With this solution, the capacity boosting E-UTRAN cell may be switched off autonomously based on information available in the cell. Switch-on may be performed upon request by one or more neighbor inter-RAT nodes. Intra-RAT and Inter-RAT neighbor nodes should be informed after on/off decision is made.
FURTHER ENHANCEMENTS FOR INTER-RAT SCENARIO
Further enhancements need to be addressed for Inter-RAT scenarios. The reason is that when the EUTRAN cells are not active and the load increases, the legacy cells for coverage will not know which cell should be woken up, especially when the increased load is in one or few hotspots. Enhancements based on solution 3 to select the appropriate cells to activate include the following. Solution 4: In this enhancement, when the load is heavy and some E-UTRAN cells need to be switched on, those legacy cells for coverage will activate its dormant neighbors. After that, if some E-UTRAN cells find that it could return to sleep mode, they can switch themselves off again. Solution 5: In this enhancement, the listening capability of the E-UTRAN cells may be enabled independently from other functions of the cell. In that case, the sleeping cells may monitor, when requested, interference over thermal (IoT) ratio, which is obtained based on received interference power and thermal noise power. When the legacy cells providing coverage detect high load, they may request the E-UTRAN cells within their coverage to provide IoT measurements. The legacy cells could then compare measurements reported from all the hotspots, including stored RSRP measurements from served users. In most cases, the legacy cells will be able to find which E-UTRAN cells are the most appropriate to serve the higher load. Accordingly, those legacy cells could activate the appropriate cells in E-UTRAN while keeping other hotspot cells in sleep mode.
3.9.4 SCENARIOSFORFURTHERSTUDY
In later phases of LTE deployment, when operators deploy the LTE network without any 2G/3G overlay, the application scenario for energy savings is as follows.
Figure 12 - Inter-eNB scenario 1 for energy saving In Figure 12, E-UTRAN Cells C through G are totally covered by the E-UTRAN Cell A and B. Here, Cells A and B has been deployed to provide basic coverage, while other E-UTRAN cells boost the capacity. When some cells providing additional capacity are no longer needed, they could be switched off for energy optimization. In this scenario, both the continuity of LTE coverage and service QoS could be guaranteed.
3.10CELLOUTAGEDETECTIONANDCOMPENSATION
Cell Outage Detection and Compensation provides automatic mitigation of eNB failures especially in the case where the eNB equipment is unable to recognize being out of service and has therefore failed to notify OAM of the outage. Detection and Compensation are two distinct cases that cooperate to provide a complete solution: Cell Outage Detection typically combines multiple separate mechanisms to determine whether an outage has occurred. This is needed to detect the latent fault case, often described as Sleeping Cell, where OAM is unaware of the issue. If a cell continues transmitting but does not accept RACH access or hand-ins, it will simply generate interference. The most immediate mitigation available is to stop that cell from transmitting. OAM aspects are addressed in detail in 3GPP 32.541. Cell Outage Compensation techniques are generally only applied after standard soft recovery techniques have failed to restore normal service.
3.10.1 ENEFITS B
Detection and Compensation provide distinct benefits to the Operator. Previous generations of cellular infrastructure have experienced failures of which Operators had no knowledge until such time as receiving notification from customer support of problems in the field. Cell Outage Detection ensures that the operator knows about the fault before the end user does. Cell Outage Compensation provides temporary alleviation of the problem caused by the loss of a Cell from service. Compensation mode alleviates the outage, but the level of service provided to users in the affected area is likely to be restricted by local topology, distance from neighboring serving cells and available capacity.
3.10.2 ELLOUTAGEDETECTION C
Cell Outage Detection uses a collection of evidence and information to determine that a cell is no longer working correctly. Detection includes active notification to cover the generalized case in which OAM is aware of the fault. In the case of complete eNB failure, OAM will be unable to communicate with the eNB to determine whether its cell is in service. Lack of communication could be a symptom of failure on the OAM Backhaul rather than an indication that the site is down. In this case, the Network Manager needs to have other evidence to determine the nature of the problem. If the cell is still in service, it will continue to interact with the core network, so the Network Manager should be able to determine from core network metrics whether there is ongoing interaction with a specific eNB or cell. Latent fault determination is the term used when the fault detection is based on evidence, such as anomaly statistics, rather than an alarm or state change. This is the most challenging of the Cell Outage Detection scenarios since OAM indications will suggest that it continues to operate normally. This type of detection may be achieved with a combination of statistics and activity watchdog timers. The operator will typically have a set of generic policies defined where each policy describes the combination of stats or events that are deemed to indicate a Cell Outage. This may be enhanced using a set of Cell Type specific rules where all cells of a specific type use a separate or additional policy. Perhaps the most valuable of the evidence based detection mechanisms, is the use of time / day profiling on a per cell basis. This is achieved by collecting stats over a period of time and gradually building a statistical picture of expected performance for a given time of day, weekday, or weekend. When stats collected for a cell deviate significantly from values normally seen for that cell, then there is a likelihood of a latent fault.
3.10.3 ELLOUTAGECOMPENSATION C
Before considering the many complex reconfigurations available to ensure that neighboring cells provide service in the area affected by cell outage, it is important to understand that in most urban cases, the majority of external users are likely to have at least a minimum level of service from those neighboring cells even without any reconfiguration.
Figure 13 - Outage compensation scenario In the example of Figure 13, eNB 1(sector B) is experiencing an outage. Note that there is significant overlap both from eNB 1(sectors A and C), and also from eNB 3(sector A) and eNB 2(sector C). These cells will experience slightly improved performance at their cell edges due to the removal of interference from eNB 1(sector B). Typically, tilt based compensation would be limited to facing sectors, i.e. eNB 2(sector C) and eNB 3 (sector A) since tilt generally has the greatest coverage impact at boresight and the least impact on the borders with co-sited neighbors. Therefore, tilting eNB 1(sectors A and C), is likely to do more harm than good. There are three main areas that need to be addressed in trying to improve on the existing default Cell overlap. 1. Neighbors With a given cell out of service, it is essential that neighboring cells on opposite sides of the outage are configured as neighbors. In most cases, this relationship is likely to exist by default, since most neighbor planning, both manual and automatic, tends to include a second ring of neighboring cells and not just those on the immediate border. It may also be advantageous to enable the Automatic Neighbor Relationships use case (ANR) on cells surrounding the outage to ensure that no essential relationships are missed. In most cases, neighbors that are added to enable support of a neighboring cell outage will not subsequently need to be deleted after normal service has been restored.
2. Physical Layer Cell Identities (PCIs) The implicit change in neighbor relationships in the case of an outage, also requires a recheck of the rules relating to PCIs. A cell and its neighbor must not have the same PCI. Neighbors of a given cell must not share the same PCI.
By revalidating the PCIs in the same way that the operator used to recheck the neighbors, one can ensure that neither of these rules is broken. As in the case for new neighbors, it is generally advantageous to plan PCI allocation for worst case as represented by a cell providing coverage for a neighbors outage. 3. Coverage Footprint There are three methods for adjusting a cells coverage footprint: a. Handover Parameter offsets It is possible within limits to adjust a cells handover boundary with an immediate neighbor through change of cell individual offsets (CIO) or similar parameters, however this has no relevance in the case of adjusting coverage in the direction of a Cell Outage. b. Transmit Power Transmit power has an immediate impact on the cell boundary, however, most cell planning makes maximum use of available power, leaving very little positive headroom to enable a cell to increase its coverage in the direction of a neighboring outage. c. Antenna adjustment Most discussions on cell outage coverage adjustment focus on change of antenna pattern to achieve the additional coverage for the neighbor. In most cases, changes are achieved with antenna tilt, i.e. alteration of the vertical pattern. However, newer antenna technology enables many complex adjustments of the coverage pattern on demand. There are industry collaborations between Radio Planning Tool vendors and Antenna manufacturers in which Beam-Shaping adjustment is guided by data from the Radio Planning Tool. The Antenna Interface Standards Group (AISG) has defined Standards for tilt and Azimuth steering. These are consistent with the 3GPP standards for Remote Electrical Tilt (RET) antennas: (TS 25.460 - TS 25.463). AISG has already been deployed in some 2G and 3G networks, but is expected to be more widely deployed for LTE. The real challenge with use of antenna pattern adjustment in support of any SON features, is ensuring there is a control loop to guarantee that antenna adjustment to improve coverage in one area, doesnt either worsen coverage or create too much interference in another area. SON needs to collect sufficient measurements to profile the impact of antenna pattern adjustment. The goal for SON is to converge to a point where a cell outage results in each of the surrounding cells adjusting their patterns by an amount that is preconfigured for that specific neighbor relationship to shrink the coverage hole that was created.
Figure 14 - Roles of Cell Outage Detection, Fault Management and Cell Outage Compensation Figure 14 represents the generalized case of Cell Outage Detection and Compensation. It separates the roles of Cell Outage Detection, Fault Management (FM) and Cell Outage Compensation. The specific details will vary significantly between implementations. However, it is expected that detection would be based on the following generic data to address those cases where the RAN OAM path is down but the Network Elements are functional: FM information for conventional alarmed failures; Statistics for detection of latent fault conditions; Neighbor reports to help detect latent failures, and Core statistics to catch those cases where the RAN OAM path is down but the Network Elements remain functional.
Cell Fault conditions are passed to normal FM procedures. Some vendors or operators may choose to do this manually. Cell Outage Compensation technique is utilized when a fault cannot be resolved remotely in a few minutes. During Cell Outage Compensation, SON will continue to monitor the impacted cell and once advised that it is ready for service, it will re-initialize the cell and back out the compensation.
3.11 COVERAGEANDCAPACITYOPTIMIZATION 3.11.1 MODIFICATIONOFANTENNATILTS
A typical operational task in wireless networks is to design and optimize the network according to coverage and capacity. Traditionally, this has been performed based on measurements from the network and using theoretical propagation models in planning tools. It requires extensive data collection from the network including statistics and measurements, such as using extensive drive tests. In current networks, while this task has been semi-automated with the help of Automatic Cell Planning tools, this method is still largely based on measurement estimations. Therefore their results are not very accurate. Furthermore, running such tools is a cumbersome task that requires a significant preparation on the operator side to compile all necessary data inputs, create optimization clusters, and then implement the changes in the network. Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) has been identified as a key area in 3GPP as a selfoptimization use case for SON, which will complement traditional planning methods by adjusting the key RF parameters (antenna configuration and power) once the cells have been deployed. This method will permit the system to periodically adjust to modifications in traffic (load and location) in addition to any changes in the environment, such as new construction, or new cells being put on air. The CCO function should work on a rather long time-scale in the order of days or weeks to capture and react to long-term changes in physical environment, load imbalance, and UL/DL mismatch. Sufficient data should be collected for accurate observation and estimation of CCO performance. The CCO standardization is addressed in 3GPP Rel-10 and will continue to be addressed in Rel-11 and beyond.
Self-optimization of coverage and capacity reduces manual operational tasks, resulting in OPEX reduction and user QoE improvement. The feature will provide optimal coverage where LTE system is offered. Thereby, users can establish and maintain connections with acceptable service quality, according to operators requirements. This feature will provide optimal capacity where LTE system is offered according to operators policy setting. Since coverage and capacity are linked, a trade-off between the two of them would be dependent on optimization criteria.
The term Coverage and Capacity Optimization (CCO) is very generic and covers a broad range of use cases. In reality, many of the SON use cases defined in 3GPP are somehow related to a coverage/capacity optimization effort such as, Cell Outage Compensation, Mobility Load Balancing and the Interaction between Home and Macro eNB. As defined by 3GPP, the CCO use case is understood as automatic cell planning, in which the SON algorithm has to find the optimum antenna and RF parameters for the sectors that serve a certain area for a particular traffic situation. The optimum result should maximize network throughput/capacity while complying with a certain service confidence level, as specified by the operator. The objective of the CCO use case as defined in RAN (3GPP TR 36.902) is to provide optimal coverage and optimal capacity. The 3GPP TR 36.902 defines coverage and capacity as follows: In the area, where LTE system is offered, users can establish and maintain connections with acceptable or default service quality, according to operators requirements. It implies that the coverage is continuous and users are unaware of cell borders. The coverage must be provided in both, idle and active mode for both, UL and DL. While coverage optimization has higher priority than capacity optimization in Rel-9, the coverage optimization algorithms must take the impact on capacity into account. Since coverage and capacity are linked, a trade-off between the two of them may also be a subject of optimization. The term coverage could mean coverage of basic service or coverage of user services. Basic service includes reception of DL control channels and setting up a signaling radio bearer. User services refer to services such as speech, video telephony, etc. The term capacity could have various interpretations. There are several options for capacity, e.g., cell throughput, median user throughput, xth-percentile cell edge throughput, and number of served users (with a specific service or bit rate requirement). There is a tradeoff between coverage and capacity. Typically, increasing the coverage results in less spectral efficiency due to deteriorating signal power, resulting in less capacity. One cannot optimize both coverage and capacity at the same time, and therefore there is a need to balance and manage the tradeoff between the two. The self-optimizing CCO function is a continuously running process which continuously gathers measurements and takes actions, if needed. The operator can specify the desired performance optimization target and the balance between different targets to achieve tradeoffs. Measurements and reports from the network are used by CCO to estimate entities related to coverage and capacity according to the target given by the operator. Minimization of Drive Test reports may be used to monitor and detect coverage problems in the network. CCO corrective actions comprise changes in radio parameters such as, antenna tilt and UL power control parameters. Deployment of pico cells or coverage/capacity enhancing features are also corrective actions that may be proposed by CCO to reach desired target. The CCO should not react to performance of individual users, but rather compute appropriate CCO actions based on long-term statistics.
As with other aspects of SON development, it is expected that coverage and capacity optimization techniques will change over time, adapting to the maturity level of the networks. In the initial stages of commercial LTE network operation, traffic load will not be a major concern, and it is expected that there will be coverage challenges due to lack of sufficient cell density or configuration errors. Therefore, CCO techniques will primarily be focused around providing service coverage with a certain minimum quality. The coverage area and capacity of a network, or some cells in the network, may vary due to addition of base stations, malfunctioning base stations, or change in user distribution. Suboptimal coverage area and capacity leads to inefficient use of network resources and lower quality. Furthermore, adapting to network changes manually is very expensive and time consuming. Thus, the CCO function operates continuously to gather measurements and takes actions if needed. CCO should be a slow activity where statistics and measurements are used as basis for decision. 3GPP TS 32.521 specifies the following requirements on CCO: Coverage and capacity optimization shall be performed with minimal human intervention. Operator shall be able to configure the objectives and targets for the coverage and capacity optimization function. Operator shall be able to configure the objectives and targets for the coverage and capacity optimization functions differently for different areas of the network. The collection of data used as input into the coverage and capacity optimization function shall be automated to the maximum extent possible and shall require minimum possible amount of dedicated resources.
The 3GPP specifications provide a set of use cases that the CCO function should cover. These use cases are defined in a very generic manner, and simply indicate that the system should have functionality that addresses these particular issues, without providing further guidelines. The following sections describe the specified scenarios.
USE CASE1: E-UTRAN COVERAGE HOLES WITH 2G/3G COVERAGE
Consider the scenario in Figure 15 (left), in which an LTE network has been deployed on top of a legacy 2G or 3G network with a suboptimal RF and radio resource parameter configuration. Even if the LTE coverage area is not contiguous, continuity of calls will be maintained due to inter radio access technology handovers that allows the various RF carriers to be treated as a pooled resource. This situation may not always be desirable in order to avoid unnecessary handovers that may lead to dropped calls. Therefore, one objective of the CCO algorithm could be to try and minimize the coverage holes by expanding the LTE footprint as illustrated in Figure 15 (right).
Figure 15 - Optimization of IRAT coverage holes: before (left) and after (right) While this use case focused on IRAT optimization to minimize coverage holes, the SON system could also be used to optimize the IRAT parameters in a totally different way. For example, one objective of the Capacity and Coverage Optimization might be to offload voice traffic from LTE towards the underlying network and data traffic to LTE by making use of Load Balancing SON algorithms. The operator should have the control to govern the different policies of the SON system and adjust them to their specific needs.
3.11.1.4 USE CASE2: E-UTRAN COVERAGE HOLES WITHOUT ANY OTHER COVERAGE
The second use case is one in which, due to cell planning mistakes or operator restrictions on cell site locations, one particular area of the network does not have sufficient coverage neither with LTE nor with any other legacy networks, thus leading to increased dropped calls in the area. The system should detect such situation and, if possible, adjust the configuration of the neighboring sectors to cover the gap. Figure 16 illustrates this scenario.
Figure 16 - Illustration of coverage gap optimization: before (left) and after (right)
3.11.1.5 USE CASE3: E-UTRAN COVERAGE HOLES WITH ISOLATED ISLAND COVERAGE
This scenario covers the case in which operators are deploying LTE systems with islands of coverage as opposed to contiguous coverage in one region. However, due to poor RF planning, the deployed network may fall short of the designed footprint. In this case, the LTE network coverage should increase only in those areas where there is a mismatch with the original plan, as shown in Figure 17.
Planned coverage area
Figure 17 - Isolated island coverage optimization
3.11.1.6 SECTORS
USE CASE4: E-UTRAN COVERAGE HOLES WITH OVERLAPPING
This scenario covers the case in which an operator adds new sectors, for capacity reasons, to an area with existing coverage. In order to optimize the capacity of the cluster, the existing sectors need to readjust their footprint to avoid excessive interference into the target area. The figure below illustrates this scenario, in which a new site (shown in red on the left side of Figure 18) is introduced in an area with existing LTE coverage. In this case, the new site and the surrounding eNB need to automatically adjust their antennas and power to minimize interference in the area, while maintaining the service coverage (Figure 18: right).
Figure 18 - Optimization of coverage with newly added capacity sites
There are currently a very limited number of specific CCO scenarios mandated by 3GPP. However, given the amount of available information available to the SON system both from the UEs and the eNBs, and increased flexibility of the network with the development of active antennas, CCO techniques will continue to evolve to establish finer tradeoffs between coverage and capacity in more mature networks. As an example, Figure 19 illustrates one potential usecase in which the different sectors adjust their antenna orientation and transmit power to optimally capture UE traffic at different locations (shown in red) while minimizing the interference to other cells. Such method will be invaluable to network operators, since the location of the sectors is often constrained, and complicated network designs are required to serve the existing traffic optimally.
Figure 19 - Example of CCO based on traffic location
3.11.2 MINIMIZATIONOFDRIVETESTS
Traditional drive test procedures to determine coverage for various locations is expensive in terms of staff, time and equipment needed. Since data can be obtained only for those locations where the drive test is conducted, there is limited measured information for actual user distribution and their mobility and application mixes. Lack of information from within in buildings leads an operator to make assumptions about building path loss that may not correlate to the actual building path loss in a given region. Finally, a manual correlation and post processing of drive test data with network parameters including transmit power, antenna azimuth/tilt/gain, is needed in order to derive meaningful information. Due to the various above limitations of using drive tests for network optimization purposes is expensive, it is desirable to develop automated solutions, including involving UEs in the field to reduce the operator costs for network deployment and operation. The concept of Drive Test (DT) substitution is to use actual UE data to substitute for DT to help measure coverage vs. position, etc. In addition, UE data can in some areas improve upon conventional DT by helping measure dropped calls versus position. Furthermore, coordinated acquisition of UE and network data provides significant potential for surpassing DT in a more fundamental way. 3GPP has concluded that it is feasible to use control plane solutions to acquire the information from devices. This information, together with information available in the radio access network can be used for Coverage and Capacity Optimization.
The MDT data reported from UEs may be used to monitor and detect coverage problems in the network. Some examples of use cases of coverage problem monitoring and detection include the following. Coverage hole: A coverage hole is an area where the signal level SNR (or SINR) of both serving and allowed neighbor cells is below the level needed to maintain basic service (signaling radio bearer (SRB) & DL common channels). Coverage holes are usually caused by physical obstructions such as new buildings, hills, or by unsuitable antenna parameters, or just inadequate RF planning. An UE in a coverage hole will suffer from call drop and radio link failure. Multi-band and/or Multi-RAT UEs may go to another network layer instead.
Weak coverage: Weak coverage occurs when the signal level SNR (or SINR) of serving cell is below the level needed to maintain a planned performance requirement (e.g. cell edge bit-rate). Pilot Pollution: In areas where coverage of different cells overlap a lot, interference levels are high, power levels are high, energy consumption is high and as a result, cell performance may be low. This phenomenon is called pilot pollution, and the problem can be addressed by reducing coverage of cells. Typically in this situation, UEs may experience high SNR to more than one cell and high interference levels. Coverage mapping: There should be knowledge about the signal levels in the cell areas in order to get a complete view for the coverage and be able to assess the signal levels that can be provided in the network. This means that there should be measurements collected in all parts of the network, and not just in the areas where there are potential coverage issues. UL coverage: Poor UL coverage might impact user experience in terms of call setup failure / call drop / poor UL voice quality. Therefore, coverage should be balanced between uplink and downlink connections. Possible UL coverage optimization comprises adapting the cellular coverage by changing the site configuration (antennas).
DESCRIPTION OF MDT REPORTING MODES
The general principles and requirements guiding the definition of functions for Minimization of Drive Tests are described in this section. There are two modes of reporting for the MDT measurements: non-real-time or immediate reporting. Immediate MDT refers to MDT functionality involving measurement performance by UE in connected/active state and reporting of the measurements to eNB/RNC available at the time of reporting condition. Logged MDT refers to MDT functionality involving measurement performance by UE in idle state at points in time when configured conditions are satisfied. This measurement log is reported to the eNB at a later point in time when the UE goes into connected mode. A UE in connected mode is configured with Immediate MDT that implies immediate reporting. A UE in idle mode of operation is configured with Logged MDT. After having initiated Logged MDT, the UE will not immediately report the data to the eNB. Key requirements for MDT include the following. 1. UE measurement configuration The operator should be able to configure MDT measurements for the UE logging purpose independently from the network configurations for normal RRM purposes. 2. UE measurement collection and reporting It should be possible for measurement logs to consist of multiple events and measurements taken over time. The time interval for measurement collection and reporting shall be separately configurable in order to limit the impact on the UE battery consumption and network signalling load. It shall be possible to collect measurements logs preceding a particular event (e.g. radio link failure). 3. Geographical scope of measurement logging It should be possible for the operator to configure the geographical area where the defined set of
measurements shall be collected. Some measurements might run independent of any geographically defined area. 4. Location information The measurements should be linked to available location information and/or other information or measurements that can be used to derive location information. 5. Time information The measurements in measurement logs should be linked to a time stamp. 6. Device type information The terminal used for MDT should indicate a set of terminal capabilities which allows the network to carefully select the right terminals for specific MDT measurements. The solutions for MDT take into account the following constraints. 1. UE measurements The UE measurement logging mechanism is an optional feature. In order to limit the impact on UE power consumption and processing, the UE measurement logging should as much as possible rely on the measurements that are available in the UE according to radio resource management enforced by the access network. 2. Location information The availability of location information is subject to UE capability and/or UE implementation. Solutions requiring location information should take into account power consumption of the UE due to the need to run its positioning components. Measurements supported for Immediate MDT performance include: RSRP and RSRQ measurement by UE with periodic, event A2, or Radio Link Failure as reporting triggers. Power Headroom (PH) measurement by UE Uplink signal strength/SINR measurement by eNB
The measurement quantity for Logged MDT consists of both RSRP and RSRQ for E-UTRAN. MDT measurement collection task may be initiated in two distinct ways. Management based MDT task is sent from the OAM towards a PLMN or a limited region within a PLMN (limited by a cell list, a TA list, a LA list or a RA list) without targeting a specific UE. Signaling based MDT task is sent from the OAM and initiated towards a specific UE and a PLMN or a limited region within a PLMN (limited by cell list, a TA list, a LA list or a RA list) by the signaling trace activation messages from core network nodes. Management based MDT and Signaling based MDT capabilities are specified in 3GPP TS 32.421, TS 32.422 and TS 32.423.
3.12APPLICATIONS OF SON TO ADDRESS DEPLOYMENT AND OPERATION OF DAS AND SMALLCELLS 3.12.1 SONINTERACTIONSWITHDISTRIBUTEDANTENNASYSTEMS
LTE macro base stations can provide high data rates when higher modulation schemes are used in conjunction with high signal to noise ratios. Macro eNBs can provide high signal to noise ratios but only with high power levels on the downlink and addition of tower mounted amplifier on the uplink. Even then extreme care must be taken to make sure the extra power does not pose interference to other sites. Another approach to solving this issue would be to install a Distributed Antenna System (DAS) whereby the signal source is brought to within a few hundred feet of the users while the interference remains unchanged. Hence, signal to noise ratio improves substantially allowing for higher data rates without a significant increase in power levels. SON functionality is typically geared towards managing base stations (macro, pico or femto) in cellular networks. Distributed Antenna System (DAS) coverage solution networks are often provided by vendors besides the vendors providing the RAN. These coverage solution networks are often managed by an EMS separate from that managing the RAN. Consequently, the performance input from RAN is not readily available to the coverage solution networks. Therefore, the full extent of the SON benefits is not afforded to coverage solution networks. Further, each host eNB may host multiple DAS nodes but is unaware of the hosting relationship. SON functionality relating to optimization relies on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to tune the network for optimal coverage, capacity or performance. However, it is difficult to associate performance statistics to a specific DAS node coverage area. To overcome these issues, the following options should be explored: Develop a coordination mechanism between coverage solution network EMS and RAN EMS. Develop a mechanism that provides a host eNB visibility into whether it is deployed as a DAS network host. Develop a mechanism to facilitate communication between the host eNB and the DAS node(s).
Such mechanisms could allow the operators to provide solutions such as: Adjust coverage under overload conditions to drive hand-off of traffic to unloaded DAS sectors especially in stadiums and convention centers. Offload traffic from cellular network to WiFi network under overload conditions.
3.12.2 SONWITHPICOS/FEMTOS/RELAYS
With the data explosion observed in the last years, and the forecasted continuous growth in data traffic even LTE networks will suffer capacity constraints as the radio link spectral efficiency approaches its theoretical maximum Shannon limits. One way to increase spectral efficiency is to provide methods to serve the traffic closer to where it is originated, making sure that the available SINRs is always high and the system can operate using the best possible modulation and channel protection scheme, operating at a lower transmit power level. Such a paradigm will result in heterogeneous networks where a variety of base station transmitters will be used to flexibly accommodate the high traffic demand in different environments: home/office, dense hotspots, isolated high-demand areas, etc.
There are a variety of base stations available today for LTE and other technologies as follows. Micro or pico cells are designed to serve hotspots within a macro cell without causing additional interference. Their typical cell radius is one order of magnitude less than the macro cell by a factor of 10. These units operate at a lower power than regular eNBs but would have similar functionality and would require installation by the operator. Home eNode-B (HeNBs) or femto cells are designed to cover few customers, typically in a home or small office environment, using a transport method provided by the customer such as cable, ADSL, etc. Relays or repeaters provide a flexible method to cover weak coverage areas and increase capacity with minimum installation costs, since they use the wireless network spectrum for backhaul transmission.
Strictly speaking, these units are not new to the industry and have been in use with previous network technologies. However LTE has taken special note of them during the specification phase to be able provide a fully functional heterogeneous network. NGMN and 3GPP have recognized that heterogeneous networks can result in a significant operational complexity increase for carriers and is actively working in specifying methods to provide a smooth integration of the different units into the macro network and simplify their operation. Examples of specific SON considerations for heterogeneous networks can be found in the Automatic Neighbor relation requirements indicated by NGMN, in which ANR mechanisms must be made aware of the type of base station during the procedure. This allows the system to make the appropriate handover between macro and micro cells based on UE speed and cell capacity. One important focus area of SON is the support of HeNBs, for which multiple requirements have been identified to improve the integration and interference management with the macro cell. Rel-10 3GPP specifications provide standardized interfaces and OAM for the HNB to ensure a successful HNB selfconfiguration installation in a multi-vendor environment. The specifications also provide a reference management architecture with standardized information elements to facilitate the remote control of the units by the operators. In addition, NGMN is actively working on proposals to improve the integration of the units in the network causing minimal impact to the surrounding base stations, by providing methods to automatically control the level of interference generated by non-coordinated HNB deployments. These methods have led to standardization in 3GPP Rel-10, as described in Section 3.8.7, and will be continued in Release 11.
3.12.3 USINGSONTOFACILITATETHEDEPLOYMENTOFREPEATERS/RELAYS
Repeaters and Relays are nodes that retransmit the data transmitted by a macro cell: repeaters receive a signal and amplify it, including the wanted signal and the interference, while relays are more sophisticated and are able to receive the wanted data and retransmit it.
Figure 20 - Role of relays in providing additional coverage or capacity Both repeaters and relays can be very useful for operators that need to bring additional coverage or capacity to specific areas with a smaller investment since there is no separate backhaul required to provide service. On the other hand, the deployment of these units in some situations may create more problems than actually improving the coverage or capacity of the network. The use of Self-Organizing Networks can help mitigate these problems with automated solutions in the following areas: Automatic site selection Automatic parameter configuration Interference coordination Self-healing (cell outage detection and compensation) Resource sharing Load balancing Handover optimization
These items are candidate features to be addressed in subsequent releases of 3GPP. As LTE networks mature and relays become more relevant, SON techniques will likely be developed to facilitate their deployment.
4 4GAMERICASOPERATORUSECASES
The following are LTE SON use cases from a 4G Americas operator. This operator is investigating a hybrid architecture deploying ANR, PCI, Cell Outage and Energy Savings SON features. Dynamic updates will be reflected into the operations architecture and synched with applicable planning systems. Deployment timelines will impact implementation decisions such as whether they fully implement a given capability within each phase, or whether they go more quickly towards an ultimate goal.
4.1 4GOPERATORUSECASE:ANR/PCI 4.1.1 ANR/PCIPHASE1
In the first phase, both ANR and PCI functions will be supported in network management (NM) layer radio frequency (RF) planning tool, and downloads will be made to the EMS layer to provision the eNBs and neighboring 3G and 2G cells. This phase encompasses the following aspects. NM layer RF planning tool initial plan takes into account the complete neighbor list, and PCI plan, as well as criteria on distance, min RSRP or -120 dBm and margin of overlap, hence minimizing chance of possibility of PCI conflict or confusion. Periodic, post consistency check, updates will be made to the same EMS: specifically from the NM layer RF planning tool to EMS to a given eNB say eNB1. Periodic, post consistency check, updates will be made to a different (e.g., bordering) EMS: specifically from the network management (NM) layer RF planning tool to a different EMS, say EMS2, to eNB2. Periodic updates of the RF planning tool will be made with any ANR or manual PCI changes: specifically from the EMS1 to NM layer RF planning tool. NM layer RF planning tool also incorporates PCI algorithm.
4.1.2 ANR/PCIPHASE2
In the second phase, when vendor ANR and PCI features are delivered, additional ANR and PCI capability will be supported within the network and EMS layers. Neighbor relation deletions, additions or modifications can be executed within the Network and EMS layer replacing the NM Layer as the database of record for SON-related CM changes and augmenting the RF planning tool as source for PCIs. Configuration changes can be sent Northbound to NM Layer for nonreal time analysis and the revised propagation environment can be used in the new PCI plan. This phase is characterized by the following aspects. More dynamic uploads, consistency checks and downloads will be performed between the EMS systems and NM Layer RF planning tool. Standard 3GPP configuration management integration and applicable network resource models will be realized.
In the third phase, introduction of a solution with real time or near real time analysis is currently being investigated. A closed loop architectural option is being investigated which supports granular data analysis, dynamic data updates and user friendly visualization of those changes. This data will also need to be reflected into operational and planning systems to support root cause analysis, and possibly diagnostics / ticketing functions. The benefits of a closed loop architectural solution are less error through manual process elimination (i.e. increased accuracy) and reduced operating expense. The dynamic aspect of a closed loop architectural solution provides even further benefits such as: Precision performance feedback allows for dynamic compensation and correction. Performance improved system level performance.
The small cells layer is tied into the same EMS as the macro layer. The small cells layer will use an independent PCI list separated from the macro PCI range initially. Currently, a range of PCIs have been set aside to accommodate the small cells layer. The small cells have network scanning functionality that is used to detect neighbors. The initial neighbor list for LTE small cells can be sent to the ACS (Auto Configuration Server) via TR-196 data model (Broadband Forum TR-069 Architecture) as the baseline neighbor list. The neighbor data for the small cell will be stored in the EMS and possibly sent northbound to NM Layer RF planning tool. Enhancements to neighbor lists will be based on uplink measurements from the UEs served on the small cell as described in the ANR SON feature.
4.2 4GOPERATORUSECASE:CELLOUTAGE 4.2.1CELLOUTAGEDETECTION
In the first phase, when vendor features are delivered, capability is supported within the Network and EMS layers. At this point, these changes must be passed from the EMS systems through applicable fault management (FM), performance management (PM), configuration management (CM) network management (NM) layer systems.
4.2.2CELLOUTAGECOMPENSATIONTHROUGHANTENNATILTMODIFICATIONPHASE1
In the initial phase of cell outage compensation, the NM layer will provide the configuration file for the eNB antenna tilt modifications. The configuration file will be sent through to the EMS layer to provision / adjust antennas on the eNBs and neighboring 3G and 2G cells. The goal is to adjust surrounding neighbor cell parameters by a small preconfigured amount based on cell outage/compensation. Standard 3GPP SON self-configuration management integrations will be used. The dynamic and complex antenna adjustment (through AISG standards: http://aisg.torni.fi/) is agreed to be the most viable approach for cell outage compensation. Such adjustment requires analysis of measurements over time to determine the impact of antenna changes.
The second phase of cell outage compensation will shift to the EMS/eNB layers. The shift will enable more real time dynamic changes to compensate for cell outages. Changes can include, and are not limited to, cell mobility parameter offsets, transmit power increases and antenna tilt modifications. The introduction of a third party or eNB vendor supported cell outage compensation (i.e. antenna tilt
modification) is present in this stage. Triggering of the cell outage compensation will be based on PM/CM and FM triggers. Probe based solutions are being considered to improve the timeliness of the cell outage compensation solution.
Figure 21 - 4G Operator implementation of SON usecase Cell Outage Compensation
5RESULTSFROMLIVEORTRIALNETWORKS
This section discusses the result of a SON trial in a live HSPA network consisting of over 250 sectors in a mixed urban/suburban environment. The trial area, shown in Figure 22, illustrates the layout of the base stations.
Figure 22 - Trial area network with 3G base stations A third party tool was used that was connected to the network OSS, and such tool would collect the network KPIs on a daily basis and provide recommendations on the configuration parameters on a cell basis, every day for the duration of the trial. The objective of the optimization was to improve the performance of the HSDPA service in the area, which was achieved by improving the sector dominance (through power and soft handover optimization). The charts in Figure 23 illustrate the changes in the soft handover overhead and the CQI distribution in the area for the duration of the trial, which are two key metrics correlated to the quality of the HSDPA service. The red lines indicate the beginning of the trial and the end, where the parameters were reverted to the original values (pre-optimization).
Soft Handover Overhead
SHO overhead (%)
CQI Distribution
100% 90% 80%
CQI Distribution (%)
70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
CQI_0 CQI_15 CQI_1_6 CQI_16_20 CQI_7_9 CQI_21_25 CQI_10_12 CQI_26_30 CQI_13_14
Figure 23 - Trial results from live SON trial in HSPA+ network: Soft Handover Overhead (up) and CQI (bottom) The SON tool was used in the trial area for multiple consecutive days operating in an autonomous manner, gathering KPIs from the network and providing new parameter configuration per each cell on a daily basis. In HSDPA systems, where the traffic channel cannot be in Soft Handover, having too much cell overlap will result in high channel interference and an ultimate degradation of the service. The objective of this optimization exercise was therefore to improve the quality by reducing the cell overlap. As can be observed in the top chart on Figure 23, during the optimization period the soft handover overhead in the area was steadily reduced from 50% to close to 30%. When the trial was finalized the parameter changes were reverted and the soft handover overhead (SHO) jumped again to the original 50% value. The chart on the bottom of Figure 23, illustrates the Channel Quality Indicator (CQI) values reported by the mobiles in the trial area. Each of the different colors indicates a certain CQI range: 26-30, 21-25, etc. The bigger
the CQI value, the better the quality and the higher the HSDPA throughput. As can be observed, the number of high CQI values reported by the mobiles increased steadily when the SON solution was used, returning to the original values when the parameter changes were reverted. The rest of the KPIs did not change significantly, with the exception of data traffic, which increased steadily following the regular growth pattern in the area. This simple exercise demonstrates that it is possible to optimize current 3G networks making use of SON-like techniques.
SONCAPABILITIESINHSPA+TECHNOLOGY
While Self-Organizing Network management techniques are typically associated with the LTE technology, this concept is not new to the industry and it can be applied to any network technology. In fact, early SON techniques had been discussed, and even tried in 2G systems in the early 2000s. Wireless networks have been steadily increasing their level of automation, starting with early Automatic Frequency Planning tools, which are today a must have tool for any GSM network, and more recently continuing with the use of Automatic Cell Planning tools for the deployment and optimization of HSPA networks. Furthermore, today many HSPA infrastructure vendors offer a set of automatic optimization algorithms that are embedded in their OSS, which provide simplified network management such as neighbor list optimization, planning of scrambling codes, optimization of power parameters, etc. Additionally, there is a growing number of third-party companies that offer automatic optimization tools that can connect to the operators OSS to extract the relevant performance management information and provide an optimized set of parameters for the network. The existing SON algorithms in HSPA+ are based on a centralized architecture and are therefore somehow limited as compared to what LTE can provide. Furthermore, SON has not been standardized in HSPA+ and all available techniques are fully vendor dependent. On the other hand, much of the performance management architecture is standardized in 3GPP, and some infrastructure vendors are working towards embedding certain SON functionality in their NodeB, which will likely provide improved performance and greater flexibility in the future. The following are example SON functionalities available for HSPA+ networks today: Antenna optimization (through Remote Electrical Tilts) Sector Transmit power optimization (pilot and common control channels) Neighbor list optimization Soft Handover parameters optimization HSPA Optimization Energy savings IRAT optimization
SUMMARYANDCONCLUSION
New and emerging classes of mobile devices are driving significant growth of wireless data usage. Consequently, wireless service providers must now support a growing number of higher-bandwidth data applications and services on their networks, while simultaneously driving down the delivery cost per bit. This growth in wireless data demand is so rapid that it is also expected to increase Radio Access Network complexity through addition of femtocells, picocells, as well as WiFi access points in order to drive increases in coverage and capacity. These and other trends portend ever-increasing demands upon service providers in the areas of network performance and operations. It has become increasingly clear that traditional network management is inadequate for managing the growing data volume and network complexity in an efficient manner. Whereas SON is an important tool for operators to improve network management and efficiency, it does not replace the tremendous need for more spectrum for the wireless industry to meet the growing mobile broadband data demands of customers. Previous 4G Americas white papers and technical studies have shown that LTE with its wideband, highly spectrally efficient, low-latency and cost-effective technology is ideally suited to serving these new applications.12 A key component of the LTE advantage is SON, which is being standardized by 3GPP in Release 8, Release 9, Release 10 and beyond.13 LTE SON leverages network intelligence, automation and network management features in order to automate the configuration and optimization of wireless networks, thereby lowering costs and improving network performance and flexibility. This white paper has described the motivation for SON, and provided a description of the key SON features contained in LTE Releases 8, 9 and 10. It builds on the descriptions of the SON features described in the 3G Americas SON paper17, by describing the newer LTE SON features in 3GPP Release 10 that further enhance the benefits of reduced OPEX and improved performance in operator networks. These features address the self-optimization and self-healing capabilities of SON that will allow the networks to operate at the lowest cost per bit while providing overall improved user performance. A key goal of LTE SON standardization is the support for multi-vendor network environments, which has resulted in the definition of standard messaging formats to convey information between entities that can be used to implement a given SON algorithm. Examples of interactions between the various SON use cases are described to illustrate the need for careful design of various algorithms and the setting appropriate thresholds to ensure stable and robust operation. Each of the LTE Release 8, Release 9 and Release 10 SON features clearly provide different and significant operator benefits in terms of performance gains as well as operational benefits. Strong operator interest in LTE SON is evident from the significant SON contributions coming from organizations such as the Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN), and examples of the deployment of various SON use cases by 4G operators in their respective networks. Results from SON trials in a live HSPA network demonstrate the benefits for operators and provide further validation of the potential benefits of SON in LTE networks. Finally, the scope of LTE SON functionality will clearly continue to expand and evolve with upcoming releases of the LTE standard, thereby ensuring LTEs continued success in tomorrows wireless marketplace.
LISTOFACRONYMS
ANR CCO CM COC CQI CSG DAS EMS eNB E-UTRAN FM GCI HO HSPA ICIC IRAT IRP KPI LTE MDT MLB MRO NB NGMN NM OAM OPEX PCI PM PRB QCI QoE QoS RACH RF RLF RRC RRM RSRP RSRQ SDU SINR SON TAC TTT UE Automatic Neighbor Relation Coverage and Capacity Optimization Configuration Management Cell Outage Compensation Channel Quality Indicator Closed Subscriber Group Distributed Antenna Systems Element Management System Enhanced Node Base station Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network Fault Management Global Cell Identifier Hand Over High Speed Packet Access Inter-Cell Interference Coordination Inter-Radio Access Technology Integration Reference Point Key Performance Indicator Long Term Evolution Minimization of Drive Test Mobility Load Balancing Mobility Robustness Optimizations Node Base station Next Generation Mobile Networks Network Management Operations Administration and Maintenance Operational Expenditure Physical Cell Identifier Performance Management Physical Resource Blocks QoS Class Identifier Quality of Experience Quality of Service Random Access Channel Radio Frequency Radio Link Failure Radio Resource Connection Radio Resource Management Reference Signal Received Power Reference Signal Received Quality Service Data Unit Signal to Interference and Noise Ratio Self-Organizing Networks Tracking Area Code Time To Trigger User Equipment
The mission of 4G Americas is to promote, facilitate and advocate for the deployment and adoption of the 3GPP family of technologies throughout the Americas. 4G Americas' Board of Governors members include Alcatel-Lucent, Amrica Mvil, AT&T, Cable & Wireless, CommScope, Ericsson, Gemalto, HP, Huawei, Nokia Siemens Networks, Openwave, Powerwave, Qualcomm, Research In Motion (RIM), Rogers, Shaw Communications, T-Mobile USA and Telefnica. 4G Americas would like to recognize the significant project leadership and important contributions of Kamakshi Sridhar of Alcatel-Lucent, as well as the representatives from other 4G Americas Board of Governors companies who participated in the development of this white paper including Melanie Sater, Pablo Tapia, Jeff Scott, Paul Stephens, and Peter Dahlqvist.
3GPP TS 36.902, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Self-Configuring and Self-Optimizing Network (SON) Use Cases and Solutions. 3GPP TR 32.531, Telecommunication Management; Software Management (SWM); Concepts and IRP Requirements. 3GPP TS 32.511, Telecommunication Management; Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) management; Concepts and Requirements. 3GPP TS 36.300, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description stage 2. NGMN white paper, Next Generation Mobile Networks Beyond HSPA & EVDO, Dec 2006. NGMN requirement document, NGMN Recommendations on SON and OAM Requirements, Dec 2008. 3GPP TR 32.531, Telecommunication Management; Software Management (SWM); Concepts and IRP Requirements. 3GPP TR 32.321, Telecommunication Management; Test management Integration Reference Point (IRP); Requirements. 3GPP TS 32.511, Telecommunication Management; Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) Management; Concepts and Requirements. 3GPP TS 32.690, Telecommunication Management; Inventory Management (IM); Requirements. 3GPP TS 32.511, Telecommunication Management; Automatic Neighbor Relation (ANR) Management; Concepts and Requirements. Rysavy Research for 3G Americas white paper, HSPA to LTE-Advanced: 3GPP Broadband Evolution to IMT-Advanced (4G), Sept 2009. 3G Americas white paper, The Mobile Broadband Evolution: 3GPP Release 8 and Beyond - HSPA+, SAE/LTE and LTE-Advanced, Feb 2009. Garcia, L.G.U.; Pedersen, K.I.; Mogensen, P.E.; Autonomous Component Carrier Selection for Local Area Uncoordinated Deployment of LTE-Advanced Vehicular Technology Conference Fall 2009 3GPP TS 32.500 Telecommunication management; Self-Organizing Networks (SON); Concepts and requirements NGMN Top OPE recommendations, v1.0, September, 2010. Benefits of SON in LTE, 3G Americas SON white paper, December, 2009.
Lte (Telecommunication)
3 Gpp
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Daily Express - Wed 19 Dec 1934
Launched in 1900 by Arthur Pearson as a mid-market broadsheet, the ha'penny Express was the first to devote its front page to news (rather than advertisements). When Pearson went blind, during the Great War, he sold the paper to the soon-to-be Lord Beaverbrook, the first "Fleet Street baron" and an evangelist of the free press.
By 1936, the right-wing Express had the world's largest circulation of more than two million, rising to four million in the 1940s. It was one of the first newspapers to carry gossip, sport and women's articles and the first to carry a crossword. With its commercial success and vast editorial staff around the world, it dominated Fleet Street. Its contributors run from the exiled Leon Trotsky to Evelyn Waugh (who lampooned Beaverbrook as Lord Copper - "up to a point"), William Hickey (Tom Driberg) and the cartoonist Giles. The Express became a (black-top) tabloid in 1978.
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Post by Lee Arnold
Last Friday I had the honor of hosting Lillian Schwartz for a talk at Drew University. Lillian is a pioneer in digital art and has inspired generations of artists who work with the computer. She has exhibited at MOMA, the Met and the Whitney. She made her seminal animations “Pixillation” (1970) and “UFO’s” (1971) while working with scientists at AT&T’s Bell Labs. In these works she combined a background in fine art with experiments in film, video and the nascent field of computer animation. She also collaborated with many composers, musicians, and conductors such as the world-renowned Pierre Boulez.
Lillian Schwartz and Lee Arnold at Drew University last week where Schwartz gave a talk.
I’ve been a fan of Lillian’s work for many years, and to meet her in person was thrilling. During her lecture she presented a wide range of artwork and spoke about her life as an artist in a field with few women. At 82 she still teaches at the School of Visual Arts in NYC and gives no signs of slowing down. In fact she told me that Russian television is coming to film her in connection with her recent research on her favorite historical figure Leonardo da Vinci – like him she is an artist, scientist and scholar.
digital art, lee arnold, lillian schwartz
Previous Art in the nabe--Mt. Airy Contemporary
Next Chris Golas' Dumb--everyman at Exclamation
Burnt out, millennial, and artist
July 19, 2019 by Beth Heinly
‘Site Unseen,’ an edgy pop up exhibit illuminates West Philadelphia’s creative energy
July 15, 2019 by guest writer
Activist and ceramicist Roberto Lugo’s striking political installation at The Walters Museum
July 12, 2019 by Susan Isaacs
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Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre 2017
Theatre Ontario is thrilled to announce that the 2017 Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre will be presented to David Parry of Perth. This award is presented by Theatre Ontario from the nomination by Studio Theatre Productions, and on the recommendation of EODL, the Eastern Ontario Drama League.
The award honours individuals for sustained contribution to community theatre, generosity of spirit, involvement, and commitment to community theatre that is legendary within his/her region, helping community theatre flourish. David will receive his award on May 21 at the Theatre Ontario Festival Awards Brunch in Ottawa.
For almost four decades, David has pursued his passion for the theatre. His influence is felt across Eastern Ontario, primarily in the Ottawa region and especially in Perth. His list of engagements as actor and director numbers over 70 productions and, like many other devotees, he has been involved behind the scenes in countless more productions in every function. ("I even stage managed one play!") He continues to work tirelessly to attract, mentor and motivate talented new actors and directors, and to enthusiastically attract thespians from other communities, believing that this enriches us all.
After arriving in Canada, he joined the Tara Players in Ottawa in 1979. For the next 37 years, he would be an integral part of that theatre company. Even after moving to Perth, he served on the Board of Directors for the last six years of Tara’s existence. In 2005, after making the move from Ottawa to Perth, he jumped in right away to the local theatre scene, directing for Smiths Falls Community Theatre. In 2009, he directed the first production of the new Studio Theatre Productions in Perth. He has served on their Board of Directors for several terms, and as Artistic Director since 2010.
He advocated for Studio Theatre Productions to become part of EODL, and they have now served as host for the EODL One-Act Festival three times in the past eight years. David has also served as an EODL representative for fifteen years, and was the EODL Awards Chair for two years.
"I was overwhelmed to learn that my peers at Studio Theatre Productions had nominated me for this prestigious award and subsequently to receive the approval of colleagues in EODL," said David. "I have known and admired all of the previous recipients from the ranks of EODL and I am truly honoured to be included among them."
The Michael Spence Award honours legendary contributions to community theatre in Ontario, and is named after Michael Spence, the founding President of Theatre Ontario. Michael was active in community theatre at Hart House Theatre, London Little Theatre, and the University Alumnae Dramatic Club (now known as Alumnae Theatre.) He was a member of the Board of Governors of the Dominion Drama Festival, a past President of Arts Etobicoke, and he continues to be an enthusiastic supporter of Theatre Ontario.
Past recipients of the Michael Spence Award in the EODL region are Joan McRae, Arlene Watson, Beth McMaster, Margaret Shearman, and Joe O’Brien.
Find out more about Theatre Ontario’s Michael Spence Award for Contribution to Community Theatre
Join us at the award presentation at Theatre Ontario Festival 2017
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Debt Rattle February 14 2015
February 14, 2015 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 10:49 am Finance Tagged with: cease-fire, cold war, deal, ECB, nuclear war, Syriza, Ukraine, Varoufakis
William Henry Jackson Camp wagon on a Texas roundup 1901
• Nuclear Specter Redux: ‘Threat of War Is Higher than in the Cold War’ (Spiegel)
• Ukraine Right Sector Leader Rejects Peace Deal, Vows ‘To Continue War’ (RT)
• Yes, Yellen Can Have It All as She Gets Ready to Raise Rates (Bloomberg)
• One Hundred Years of Austerity (Bloomberg)
• Greek Government Doesn’t Hold Out Much Hope For A Deal On Monday (Kathimerini)
• Hopes Of Greek Debt Deal Rise (Guardian)
• Dijsselbloem ‘Pessimistic’ About A Quick Deal With Greece (AFP)
• GDP Growth Masks A Broken Eurozone (Guardian)
• White House Warns Europe On Greek Showdown (AEP)
• Don’t Make Us Do It: ECB Wants a Political Deal on Greece (Bloomberg)
• Rising Deposit Outflows Behind Extra Greek Bank ELA Access (Reuters)
• Most Of Greek Deposit Outflows To Return If A Deal Is Made (Kathimerini)
• Band-Aids for Greece, Ukraine and Global Economy (El-Erian)
• Inside The Germans’ Debt Psyche – What Makes Them Tick? (BBC)
• Yanis Varoufakis: ‘If I Weren’t Scared, I’d Be Awfully Dangerous’ (Guardian)
• Yanis Varoufakis, Greek Bailout Foe (BBC)
• US Will Not Become Energy Independent: Total CEO (CNBC)
• Russian Gas To Europe Can Be 35% Cheaper: Ministry (RT)
• Falling Oil Prices Don’t Scare Russian Energy Firms (CNBC)
• German Coal Imports From Russia Highest Since 2006 (RT)
• Argentina President Fernandez Charged in Probe of Alleged Cover-Up (Bloomberg)
• Farmland Values in Parts of Midwest Fall for First Time in Decades (WSJ)
• The Super-Rich Don’t Care About Us. It Will Be Their Downfall (Guardian)
Trust has been eroded to the point of almost being destroyed,” said Nunn. “You got a war going on right in the middle of Europe.”
Deep mistrust has developed between the West and Russia, and it is having a massive effect on cooperation on security matters. In November 2014, the Russians announced that they would boycott the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit in the United States. In December, the US Congress voted, for the first time in 25 years, not to approve funding to safeguard nuclear materials in the Russian Federation. A few days later, the Russians terminated cooperation in almost all aspects of nuclear security. The two sides had cooperated successfully for almost two decades. But that is now a thing of the past. Instead, Russia and the United States are investing giant sums of money to modernize their nuclear arsenals, and NATO recently announced that it was rethinking its nuclear strategy.
At the same time, risky encounters between Eastern and Western troops, especially in the air, are becoming more and more common, a report by the European Leadership Network (ELN) recently concluded. “Civilian pilots don’t know how to deal with this,” explains ELN Chair Des Browne, a former British defense minister. “One of these incidents could easily escalate. We need to find a mechanism in which we can talk at the highest level.” Brown, together with Ivanov and former US Senator Sam Nunn, the grandfather of international disarmament policy, published an analysis last week. The trio recommends “that reliable communication channels exist in the event of serious incidents.” In other words, these channels currently do not exist.
Recently Philip Breedlove, the head of NATO Allied Command Operations in Europe, even called for a new “red telephone,” alluding to the direct teletype connection established in 1963 between the United States and the Soviet Union after the Cuban missile crisis. A direct line had been set up between NATO and the Russian military’s general staff in February 2013, but it was cut as a result of the Ukraine crisis. “Trust has been eroded to the point of almost being destroyed,” said Nunn. “You got a war going on right in the middle of Europe. You got a breakdown of the conventional forces treaty, you got the INF (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces) treaty under great strain, you got tactical nuclear weapons all over Europe. It’s a very dangerous situation.”
The narrative that will allow Kiev to keep fighting despote the ceasefire deal. And then claim innocence.
Ukraine’s Right Sector leader Dmitry Yarosh said his radical movement rejects the Minsk peace deal and that their paramilitary units in eastern Ukraine will continue “active fighting” according to their “own plans.” The notorious ultranationalist leader published a statement on his Facebook page Friday, saying that his radical Right Sector movement doesn’t recognize the peace deal, signed by the so-called ‘contact group’ on Thursday and agreed upon by Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia after epic 16-hour talks. Yarosh claimed that any agreement with the eastern militia, whom he calls “terrorists,” has no legal force. In his statement, Yarosh claimed that that the Minsk deal is contrary to Ukraine’s constitution, so Ukrainian citizens are not obliged to abide by it.
Thus if the army receives orders to cease military activity and withdraw heavy weaponry from the eastern regions, the Right Sector paramilitaries, who are also fighting there “reserve the right” to continue the war, he said. The Right Sector paramilitary organization continues to deploy its combat and reserve units, to train and logistically support personnel, while coordinating its activities with the military command of the Ukrainian army, paramilitary units of the Defense Ministry and the Interior Ministry, he said. The breakthrough Minsk agreement was reached on Thursday following marathon overnight negotiations between Ukraine, France, Germany and Russia, and offer hope the fighting in Eastern Ukraine may come to an end. The talks were part of a Franco-German initiative. President Hollande and Chancellor Merkel visited Kiev and Moscow before meeting the Russian and Ukrainian leaders at the negotiating table in Minsk.
Bluntly rejecting the German and French initiative, Yarosh said President Petro Poroshenko should have turned to the US or UK which “observe a consistent anti-Kremlin policy.” “This could be devastating for the whole agreement,” Lode Vanoost, a former OSCE security consultant, told RT. “It could destroy it before it even starts. Now the fact that they announced it already one day ahead could of course mean that they sort of tried to force some kind of provocation so that the other side would react giving them an excuse to go on. But nevertheless this is indeed a very dangerous situation, yes.” [..] In July last year Interpol put Right Sector leader Yarosh on its wanted list.
Anyone still thinking she won’t do it?
As the job market gains steam, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen faces a massive challenge to adjust her monetary levers just right: She wants to keep the recovery going without stoking a bubble or spurring inflation. It’s a delicate balance that has bedeviled many central bank chiefs in the past. A dramatic drop in U.S. bond yields over the past year might be just what Yellen needs to strike that balance, according to two International Monetary Fund economists. “Having long-term rates at relatively low levels may actually give the Fed more degrees of freedom,” Nigel Chalk and Jarkko Turunen wrote in a blog post Thursday. That’s because low long-term government bond yields would act as a cushion to the Fed raising short-term rates (specifically, by supporting the housing sector). In other words, Yellen would be able to start tightening without having to worry as much about hobbling the economic recovery.
The IMF economists’ point runs counter to some of the prevailing wisdom. The depression of long-term yields was a well-known source of concern for former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, who called it a “conundrum” in testimony to Congress in 2005. Many say borrowing costs got too low in the mid-2000s, prompting people and businesses to take on too much debt. That all came crashing down in the form of the 2008 global financial meltdown. Credit is, once again, strikingly cheap. By the end of January, the yield on 10-year Treasury notes had fallen to the lowest since May 2013 (since the end of last month, the gauge has ticked slightly ticked back up). It’s strange because the U.S. economy has regained its status as the main engine of the world economy and analysts expect the Fed to soon start raising rates. The IMF economists note that the so-called term premium – the extra yield investors demand for holding long-term debt over short-term paper – has actually turned negative.
What’s driving this demand for long-term bonds? Chalk and Turunen offer several explanations. It’s possible that low inflation expectations are causing bondholders to require less compensation in the form of higher yields. With major risks ranging from instability in Ukraine to Greece and the Middle East, investors might be running to the safety of U.S. debt. Other reasons could include the recent strength of the U.S. dollar, according to the authors. The real risk is what happens when long-term yields head in the other direction – as occurred in 2013, when then-Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke mused about ending bond purchases sooner than investors expected. The resulting surge in mortgage rates and capital flight from emerging markets came to be known as the “taper tantrum.” “What we should be watching out for is the economic and financial stability fallout that could unfold if U.S. yields snap back upwards in a sudden and unexpected manner,” according to the IMF staff members.
“”If every similar state saves at the same time by cutting spending, the result is the shrinkage of everyone’s economy since they are one another’s trading partners..”
People have been preaching austerity for a very long time. Ancient Greek philosophers, Jesus’s disciples, Benjamin Franklin—they’re all part of a chorus of voices over the centuries who’ve warned us against the dangers of debt and profligate spending. Fiscal austerity, though, is a modern invention. It wasn’t until after World War I that governments started making serious efforts to address debt and other problems by cutting their spending. One reason is that, until the early 20th century, most countries had such small budgets that there wasn’t much to cut. (The U.S. federal budget on the eve of World War I equalled about 2.5% of the national economy; now, it’s around 20%, and that in turn is much lower than the figure in some other countries.)
Nowadays, fiscal austerity is often associated with the IMF, which has required budget cutting as a condition for bailouts in scores of troubled economies. In other cases, though, governments have embraced austerity for reasons of their own, such as fighting inflation or repaying foreign debt. Some of these efforts—such as Germany’s and Japan’s in the 1930s and Romania’s in the 1980s—were catastrophic failures. Elsewhere, the record has been less clear-cut. The British are still debating the impact of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s budget cuts in the early 1980s. Some countries have recovered fairly quickly after taking IMF-prescribed austerity medicine, while others suffered prolonged economic misery.
Muddying the picture still further, the IMF usually requires structural economic reforms, such as deregulating industries and labor markets, in addition to budget austerity. That, along with such other factors as interest-rate changes and currency devaluations, makes it harder to gauge the effect of austerity. The euro zone debt crisis adds a new wrinkle to the story. Countries pursuing austerity programs frequently have devalued their currencies, which can help spur growth as exports become more competitive. But Greece and other bailed-out European economies can’t devalue, because they’re part of a shared currency.
Mark Blyth, a Brown University professor who has written a book on the history of austerity, warns that it is a “dangerous idea.” The biggest danger, he writes, comes “when everyone tries it at once,” as happened when Japan and Germany cut spending during a global depression. Europe’s recent debt crisis is another example, Blyth contends. “If every similar state saves at the same time by cutting spending, the result is the shrinkage of everyone’s economy since they are one another’s trading partners and sources of income. Perversely, their debt goes up, not down, relative to their shrinking GDP.”
“Some members, such as Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis have been adamant that the government should stick to its pre-election pledges.”
Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras chaired a meeting of his cabinet on Friday night to brief ministers on the state of talks with the eurozone but also to assess his own room for maneuver ahead of Monday’s Eurogroup. With the possibility of the government having to make a compromise with the eurozone over the way forward in the next few days, Tsipras was eager to assess the mood of his cabinet. Some members, such as Energy Minister Panayiotis Lafazanis have been adamant that the government should stick to its pre-election pledges. Overall, the government is not holding out much hope for a solution in Brussels on Monday.
“There have been some positive steps but there is a lot of ground that has to be covered,” said a government source. Sources also insisted that the Greek government would not be willing to back down from its position on certain issues such as labor regulations, privatizations and the lowering of the primary surplus target. Athens believes that the two sides can find common ground on issues like public administration reform, improving tax collection and tackling corruption.
Greek stock markets have rallied on growing confidence that Athens will reach a deal with its international creditors next week. In the runup to a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday, the new Greek prime minister’s office vowed to do “whatever we can” to come to an agreement over a new support programme for the bailed-out country. Talks between eurozone ministers this week failed to make progress in resolving a standoff over the desire by Greece’s new leftist government to ditch the strict terms of its €240bn bailout programme and the insistence from other eurozone countries, most notably Germany, that the old framework should continue. But on Friday, the new prime minister, Alexis Tsipras, appeared to soften his stance. He agreed that Greek officials would meet representatives of the troika of lenders who supplied the bailout money and imposed and policed the terms that came with it.
Previously, Greece’s finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said the new government would refuse to engage with representatives of troika, made up of the ECB, the EC and the IMF. A government spokesman said Greece was straining to get the pieces in place for a deal on Monday, but he also sought to play down fears time was running out to avert a fresh crisis in the eurozone that would see Greece defaulting on the bailout programme and being forced to leave the single currency. “We will do whatever we can so that a deal is found on Monday,” Gabriel Sakellaridis told Greece’s Skai TV. “If we don’t have an agreement on Monday, we believe that there is always time so that there won’t be a problem.”
Dijsselbloem has been the worst factor in all this. Expect him to be ousted soon.
Eurogroup president Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Friday he was pessimistic about making progress on resolving a bitter row over extending Greeces bailout at an upcoming meeting of eurozone finance ministers. “At this stage I’m very pessimistic about it,” Dijsselbloem told the NOS public broadcaster when asked whether he thought concrete steps will be taken on Monday at the talks between Greece and its fellow single currency countries in the Eurogroup. “The Greeks have sky-high ambitions. The possibilities, given the state of the Greek economy, are limited,” said Dijsselbloem, who is the Dutch finance minister, ahead of a cabinet meeting on Friday. “I don’t know if we’ll get there by Monday.” Dijsselbloem and Greek PM Alexis Tsipras agreed on Thursday to renew efforts to find a solution on extending Greeces current bailout after talks overnight Wednesday collapsed acrimoniously.
An agreement however was reached to ask “institutions to engage with Greek authorities to start work on a technical assessment of the common ground between the current programme and the Greek government’s plans,” Dijsselbloem tweeted after the meeting. The agreement was made to help discussions set to take place Monday, seen by many as the last chance to seal a deal before Greeces current bailout programme expires at the end of the month. Dijsselbloem however on Friday blasted Greece, saying Athens “for a number of months now has received no loans from Europe, because nothing’s happening.” “We only lend out money when theres real progress and when new reforms are being carried through. For months this has not been the case,” Dijsselbloem said.
“It really is up to the Greek government to take the firsts steps,” he said. Failure to reach a deal on an extension of the bailout or a credit line for Greece by the end of the month means Athens would quickly default and almost inevitably crash out of the eurozone. European sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity said Wednesday’s eurozone ministers’ meeting had descended into a “total mess”, making a reconciliation between Dijsselbloem and Tsipras necessary to prepare the talks for Monday. Dijsselbloem said: “The Greek government has made it clear that they don’t want to carry on with the programme as it currently stands.” “The Eurogroup has made it clear that there are only possibilities for change as long as the programme remains on the rails.”
Too much difference between Gernamy and Greece: “Look beyond the figures and the chatter of ivory tower policymakers..”
Frankfurt’s stock market has reached a new high, topping 11,000 for the first time. According to the latest eurozone GDP figures, Germany enjoyed strong GDP growth in the last three months of the year and helped push expansion across the currency bloc to 0.3% for the quarter and 0.9% for the year. In Portugal and Spain, the headline growth figures improved. Even Italy beat analysts’ expectations after it avoided a decline. So the recovery is real. In fact, say the eurozone’s top policymakers, it’s all going so well the new Greek government should open its eyes and see the warm, golden glow of sunshine appearing on the horizon. Jens Weidmann, the head of the German central bank, was in London on Thursday evening and joined the chorus of top officials bemoaning those who believe the eurozone is entering a long period of Japan-like stagnation.
He urged the Greeks to stop opposing the austerity measures imposed by Brussels and accept wage cuts that have already brought an increase in competitiveness. No doubt the 0.2% fall in Greek GDP in the fourth quarter will be cast as a temporary blip and a lesson that political uncertainty has unhelpful economic consequences. Investors also believe the upbeat story, hence the soaring Frankfurt stock market. The promise of a huge stimulus package from the ECB (which Weidmann believes is unnecessary, such is his confidence) and the fall in value of the euro it has precipitated, when combined with the vast European bailouts funds now available, have convinced global investment funds that Europe is a one-way bet. Look beyond the figures and the chatter of ivory tower policymakers and you will find the story is radically different. Yes, Spain is growing. But its GDP growth in 2014 has made up only around half of its losses in 2013.
It is still an economy in need of major investment to get back on its feet. Unemployment remains at disturbingly high levels and the state is held in contempt in many quarters. Why else would the radical anti-austerity Podemos party be polling ahead of all the established parties at the moment, and its leader be writing in praise of Tsipras (and the Catalonia independence movement still be in full swing)? Weidmann said the policies of austerity he supported would work slowly but staying the course was important. To him, a lost generation of young workers, who were denied skilled training and out of work for several years, is a matter for individual countries. He cannot see that sovereign states under the current arrangements are denied the funds to invest and improve productivity over the longer term. He cannot see that austerity, if only for this reason, is self-defeating.
“They have asymmetric rules. They need to make it socially fairer..”
Washington blames Europe for the lack of global recovery and is losing its patience with EMU creditor states that fail to pull their weight The Obama administration has leapt to the defence of Greece, warning Germany and Europe’s creditor powers that they must meet Athens half-way to avert a potentially dangerous rupture and a euro break-up. Caroline Atkinson, the US deputy-national security adviser, said the eurozone authorities had imposed the main burden of adjustment on the weaker deficit states and should do more to accept their share of responsibility for the euro crisis. “They have asymmetric rules. They need to make it socially fairer,” she said. “It is important for creditors to take into account that Greece has had a very sharp drop in incomes, real wages, and output as well as a big rise in unemployment,” she told a gathering at Chatham House in London.
“Greece has moved into primary surplus. How much more fiscal consolidation is necessary?” she said. The comment will be music to the ears of Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, who wants a cut in the EU-IMF Troika target for the primary surplus to 1.5pc of GDP from 3pc this year and 4.5pc next year. Mrs Atkinson said the White House is relieved that “both sides” are starting to pull back from the brink, a clear warning that Washington is just as exasperated with the high-handed approach of eurozone creditors as it is with the leftist Syriza government in Athens. “We believe it is strongly in the interests of the Greek people and Europe more generally that Greece and its creditors work out a compromise for Greece to stay in the euro and thrive in the euro,” she said.
The two sides have toned down the rhetoric slightly and agreed to start technical talks but each is in a different cognitive universe on the core dispute over austerity and debt relief. The US administration does not share the widespread view in Europe that there is little risk of contagion if the European Central Bank cuts off liquidity support for the Greek banking system and forces the country out of the euro. President Barack Obama has seized on the Greek crisis to push for a broader reflation strategy in Europe. “You cannot keep on squeezing countries that are in the midst of depression. At some point there has to be a growth strategy in order for them to pay off their debts,” he said earlier this month.
Draghi doesn’t like being accused of taking political decisions. Even though he’s taken many already.
The European Central Bank is sending a message to the euro-area’s leaders: don’t make us pull the trigger on Greece’s banks. After the Frankfurt-based ECB blessed the expansion of so-called Emergency Liquidity Assistance to the debt-stricken country’s lenders by about €5 billion euros on Thursday, officials are insisting that continued support is contingent on political talks over Greece’s bailout. Greek stocks and bonds rallied Friday, after PM Alexis Tsipras hinted at progress. The ECB does not want to be pushed into a position where it is making decisions on the future of the Greek banking system – and the country’s membership of the euro – without political cover from European capitals.
If talks on a “bridge” financing deal for Greece break down again, ECB President Mario Draghi will have to weigh whether to ration funds further or threaten a veto, just as he did in Cyprus two years ago. “Ending ELA would be a very last-resort type of intervention, paramount to a nuclear option,” said Henrik Enderlein at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin. “The ECB would never really want to use it, as it is basically the same as pushing Greece out of the euro area.” ELA is funding provided by national central banks at their own risk, and is extended against lower-quality collateral than the ECB itself will accept.
Greece’s lenders now have access to about €65 billion in such funds, according to a euro-area central bank official. The expansion from €60 billion euros was reported Thursday by German newspaper FAZ. Tsipras said yesterday that his government aims to reach a six-month bridge agreement leading to a “new contract” with international creditors. In 2012, as Greece stumbled toward its second international rescue and a debt-writedown, banks ran up a tab of as much as €158 billion euros in local central bank and ECB funding. That suggests the ECB will allow a much greater extension of the emergency line, as long as politicians are seen as being on the path to agreement.
More political decisions by an allegedly ‘neutral’ central bank. First cut them off, then feed them bite-sized carrots.
The ECB allowed Greek banks access to extra emergency financing from the Bank of Greece because deposit outflows have picked up and to make sure they have liquidity while tense talks take place in Brussels next week, Greek banking sources said on Friday. The ECB on Thursday raised the cap on what Greek banks can get from the Bank of Greece through the Emergency Liquidity Assistance (ELA) window by about €5 billion to €65 billion. The extension will run until Feb. 18 when the ECB Governing Council will reappraise the situation. One banking source said that there was a mix of reasons for the action. “Some banks likely needed to tap more ELA,” said the senior banker at one of the country’s four top banks. “(But) I believe the ECB wanted to allow some headroom, liquidity comfort until Feb. 18.”
He said recent daily outflows were in the region of €300 million to €500 million on average. Another executive at a big bank cited a similar figure. “Outflows continued this week, the situation showed a deterioration in the last days,” he said. “When you see €400-500 million of outflows a day, this shows a developing trend.” He added that outflows may have gone as high €1 billion on some days. Euro zone finance ministers will meet in Brussels on Monday in an attempt to forge a deal which will allow for Greek funding over a period in which Greece’s large debt will be renegotiated. Failure to reach a deal before the end of February, when Greece’s current bailout ends, could lead to Greece being ejected from the euro zone – hence the nervousness of Greek banks and depositors.
The outflow problem isn’t all that bad.
The bulk of deposits withdrawn from Greek bank accounts in the last two-and-a-half months due to political and financial uncertainty has stayed inside the country, stashed away in safe deposit boxes, mattresses and investment products. Banks estimate that only a small part, about 20%, of the funds that came out of depositors’ accounts has been sent to banks abroad. As banks sources have stressed, if the government agrees terms with its creditors next week, confirming the European course of the country and putting an end to uncertainty, most of the €20 billion that has left local banks since end-November could return, and quickly.
Bankers believe that some 50% of the deposit outflows, i.e. some €10 billion, has stayed in the country in the form of disposable cash and can be found in safe deposit boxes, mattresses etc, as many households have chosen to keep their cash at hand due to the ongoing uncertainty. Another 30%, or €6 billion, has been deposited in investment products. The 20% of deposit outflows that has gone abroad, amounting to some €4 billion, mostly concerns corporate funds and some of it has gone to subsidiaries of Greek banks in other countries, such as in Cyprus, Great Britain, Luxembourg, Malta, etc.
The purpose behind all this is more centralization, and that will cause ever stronger reactions.
This week, three sets of meetings sought to defuse three distinct threats to the global economy. All of the gatherings featured suspenseful atmospheres, dramatic posturing and some public tantrums. And their outcomes were similar, too: The participants ended up just buying time, without doing much, if anything, to begin to address the underlying causes of the unfolding crises. In the first instance, President Francois Hollande of France and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany traveled to Minsk on Wednesday to compel the Russian and Ukrainian presidents to stem the escalating violence in eastern Ukraine that has claimed about 5,000 lives. After a tough all-night negotiation session, they agreed Thursday to a cease-fire to take effect this weekend.
Earlier Wednesday, the finance ministers of the euro zone countries gathered in Brussels to try to find common ground on Greece. After seven hours of discussions, they weren’t even able to settle on a road map for future negotiations. But with both their finance ministers playing tough and signaling seemingly unbridgeable negotiating positions, Merkel and the newly elected prime minister of Greece, Alexis Tsipras, were subsequently able to show leadership and be “presidential.” On Thursday, both declared themselves willing to compromise, providing much needed political cover for the finance ministers’ negotiations that are set to resume Monday (preceded by technical preparations starting today).
Earlier in the week, some of those ministers had joined their central bank colleagues in Istanbul for a meeting of the Group of 20. The agenda included policy actions to strengthen a global economy that, with the exception of the U.S., has been losing steam. In their communiques, they reaffirmed prior commitments and renewed their encouragement of central banks to continue pursuing unconventional monetary policies. Yes, some progress was made in all three meetings, but they mainly just kicked the can down the road. At best, they were holding operations that risk resulting in failure if they aren’t quickly supplemented by more comprehensive agreements.
It’s not the 1920’s.
Germany is the world’s fourth largest economy, the beating heart of the eurozone and guardian of financial discipline. So when it comes to money – and especially debt – what makes Germans tick? The election of Greece’s left-wing government on a promise to reduce the country’s mountain of debt has created a standoff with Europe’s economic powerhouse. And it has thrown Germany’s ultra-conservative attitude to debt into sharp focus. Germany’s extreme debt aversion is even rooted in the German language itself, says Prof Marcel Fratzscher, head of Germany’s leading Economic Research Institute. “The German word for debt – ‘schuld’ – is the same as the German word for ‘guilt’,” he explains. “To get into debt you have done something bad and that describes the German people’s attitude quite well.”
The German way is to “save now, have later” rather than “have now, pay later” – and that is not just the older generation talking. On the streets of Berlin young Germans told us what they would do if they won a million euros. A new car, a holiday, a new outfit? “I would save it for when I need it,” came a typical reply. That habit of saving money is the key to understanding another characteristic of Germans – fear of inflation. Popular wisdom says that this is due to the scars left by hyperinflation in the 1920s, when the exchange rate escalated out of control. One US dollar went from being worth four Deutschmarks to four trillion. There may be some residual echoes of that period but it is nearly 90 years ago now and Germans have moved on. The real reason is to be found in the German love of saving.
Inflation is the enemy of savers. So for a nation full of them, the idea of lowering interest rates and printing money holds a double threat – it reduces the rate you get on your savings, while any potential future inflation would mean that those same savings allow you to buy less. The good news for Germany is that inflation hasn’t arrived and, although interest rates are low, the related weakness of the euro has kept German exports like cars and machinery competitively priced. Indeed education, engineering and exporting success is the source of considerable German pride. Economists credit the post-war economic miracle – or “Wirtschaftswunder” – to a set of crucial, interlocking principles[..]
“We constantly hear, ‘if you don’t sign on the dotted line there is going to be Armageddon’. My answer is ‘let it happen!’
In the space of three short weeks, he’s been christened Europe’s man of the moment, compared to heroes great and small, likened to a rock star, hailed as a sex icon, feted by fashionistas, and in Germany, no less, portrayed as the greatest action man to bestride planet earth since Bruce Willis set Hollywood alight in Die Hard 6. Few have had their demeanour and dress code so dissected; when he posed with George Osborne in Downing Street, his tieless, leather-jacketed look standing in stark contrast to the Chancellor’s, the press was as breathless as if a supermodel had blown in. “Britain,” declared no less venerable an authority than the Daily Telegraph, “is crying out for a politician who looks like Yanis Varoufakis. It’s quite a change in lifestyle. Has it gone to his head? The response is immediate. “I can assure you, Helena, I did not engineer it in any way. I am not promoting it. They go on about me riding a bike, but I have been riding a bike since I was 15. I just am who I am.” [..]
Even by the standards of those who have occupied the sixth floor of the finance ministry before, Varoufakis’ tenure comes at an unusually onerous time. With the country’s €240bn bailout – the biggest in global history – set to expire at the end of February, and the Greek electorate having overwhelmingly rejected austerity, Greece is at a crossroads. In a climate of high-octane pressure – though her language was more emollient, the German chancellor Angela Merkel showed little sign this week of giving in anytime soon – the possibility of political blunder, or accident, grows with each day. Athens owes some €25bn in repayments, this year alone, and what is certain is that it does not have that kind of money. When I ask Varoufakis if he has a plan B, for all negotiators surely have a credible alternative, he looks at me wide-eyed. “We constantly hear, ‘if you don’t sign on the dotted line there is going to be Armageddon’. My answer is ‘let it happen!’ There is no fall-back plan. That is my plan B. ”
What if it does happen, I ask, as images of the chaos bankruptcy would surely entail flicker across my mind. “Well, that is like asking me what happens if a comet strikes planet Earth. I have no idea. None!” he shoots back. Varoufakis is the first to say that no one should grow too fond of power. He has no desire to be on the sixth floor of the finance ministry longer than necessary. He has dispensed with the policemen assigned to protect him, the army of advisers that come with the job (let go to make way for the rehiring of the ministry’s sacked women cleaners), and each of the three cars deployed to him. If he lost the job, he says, he wouldn’t mind. “When interlocutors threaten me with the fall of this government, because they do, I say: ‘Make my day,’” he smiles. “I mean, I really don’t want to be in this office … I will go back to my book about Europe, which is half-finished. It’s very difficult to find an ending when I am still in this job.”
“Simple logic dictates that if you cannot even conceive the possibility of leaving a negotiation, then it is preferable never to enter one..”
Greece’s left-wing Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis is leading the offensive to persuade the nation’s creditors to end austerity and forgive part of its debt. Mr Varoufakis, 53, is not only a well-respected political economist, but a charismatic man and natural charmer. A few weeks after his appointment, he has become something of a global celebrity. That is hardly surprising for Greeks – after all, Mr Varoufakis got more votes than any other candidate in the 25 January general election that swept the leftist Syriza party into power. In the wake of victory he immediately embarked on a European tour that took him to London, Paris, Rome and Berlin. The sight of a shaven-headed, athletic minister refusing to tuck his shirt into his trousers or wear a tie – even while visiting 11 Downing Street – fascinated business reporters, fashion editors and gossip columnists.
Even the German media – among Greece’s sternest critics – seemed impressed. ZDF television anchor Marietta Slomka said “he is someone you could imagine starring in a film like Die Hard 6”, and conservative daily Die Welt ran the headline “What makes Yanis Varoufakis a sex icon”. In his home country, a new word was coined – “Varoufitses” – to describe women who idolise Mr Varoufakis. At the time of writing, Mr Varoufakis had 128,000 Twitter followers, a number of devoted fan pages on Facebook, and he has inspired a video game “Syrizaman Vs Troika”. His eurozone colleagues may not find him quite so charming. In his first meeting with them on 11 February he refused to approve a common statement by the Eurogroup that implied Athens would seek an extension of its bailout. “Simple logic dictates that if you cannot even conceive the possibility of leaving a negotiation, then it is preferable never to enter one,” he wrote in a blog entry back in May 2010.
Mr Varoufakis showed signs of defiance and non-conformism from a very early age. That includes deliberately misspelling his name Yanis, writing it with only one “n” since elementary school. “I had an aesthetic problem with the double “n”,” he said. “So I decided to write my name with one. My teacher gave me a bad grade, which made me very angry and I’ve kept writing my name with one “n” ever since.” Mr Varoufakis was born on 24 March 1961 in Athens. He is a graduate of the Moraitis private school, which has nurtured many members of Greece’s political and economic elite. His father, 89-year-old Giorgos Varoufakis, is chairman of Halyvourgiki, a Greek industrial giant. This background of relative privilege did not prevent Mr Varoufakis from becoming a libertarian Marxist, who has said that “Karl Marx was responsible for framing my perspective of the world we live in, from my childhood to this day”.
So let’s put that myth to rest.
Despite the so-called U.S. shale revolution and American aspirations for energy independence, the CEO of major oil giant Total told CNBC he was not convinced it would happen any time soon. “The U.S. is still relying on oil from the Middle East. It is not true the U.S. will be independent in oil – they continue to import,” Patrick Pouyanne, the new chief executive of French oil giant Total, told CNBC this week. He stressed that the U.S. “will not get” energy independence because it still consumes far more oil than it produces. “For me, the world today is interdependent. This idea that you could be (energy) independent – especially when you are the U.S., where you have many world companies; a country that is probably benefiting the most from the globalization of the world – is just something that is strange to me, I don’t believe in that,” Pouyanne added.
Oil prices have fallen dramatically in recent months – and at one point were down around 60% from highs in June 2014, on the back of a glut in supply and lack of global demand. Brent crude is currently trading around $59 a barrel and U.S. crude is at $51. OPEC has been blamed for the volatility in prices after it refused to cut production to support the cost of oil. Many saw its inaction as a bid to retain market share in the face of increased competition from U.S. shale oil producers. American oil production has grown steadily from 5 million barrels per day in 2005 to 8.6 million last year, according to the U.S. Energy information Administration.
If OPEC was hoping a low oil price would put the brakes on U.S. oil production, it might have worked. Some 87 rigs were deactivated in the week ending February 6, according to oilfield services company Baker Hughes, after a drop of 90 rigs over the previous seven days. It marks the largest absolute reduction in a single week since Baker Hughes started keeping records in 1987. But Pouyanne said that, despite anger from some at OPEC’s “game of chicken,” the U.S. was still a major oil importer and its economy was benefitting from a lower oil price.
“The average price of Russian gas supplied abroad will be $222 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2015. It could mean a 35% price cut for Gazprom supplied gas to Europe..”
The average price of Russian gas supplied abroad will be $222 per 1,000 cubic meters in 2015. It could mean a 35% price cut for Gazprom supplied gas to Europe, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development has forecast. The price for Russian gas started to decline last year, as the contract price for Gazprom supplies are directly linked to falling oil prices, according to Vedomosti. Gas prices respond to the dynamics of oil prices with a lag of 6-9 months. In summer 2014 the company expected $350 per 1,000 cubic meters, in the end the average turned out to be $341, while the price of Brent in the second half of 2014 lost more than 50%. Next week, the management of Gazprom plans to present to the board of directors stress tests of a financial plan with an oil price of $40 and $50 per barrel based on the Ministry’s forecast.
Gazprom is expected to increase supplies to Europe to 160 billion cubic meters compared to 146.6 billion in 2015. At the same time revenue will decrease by $14.3 billion to $35.5 billion if the ministry’s prediction comes true. However, the figures may change in a planned outlook revision in April and September; Vedomosti say citing the ministry. Gazprom’s sales to Europe accounted for almost 70% of company revenues in 2014. In recent years, the average price in the EU, according to calculations by Vedomosti, was 5 to 14% higher than the overall average sales price. However, $222 per 1,000 cubic meters may be unprofitable for Gazprom in view of growing production costs, said Michael Krutikhin a partner at RusEnergy, as quoted by Vedomosti.
“..at $110 oil and 33 rubles to the U.S. dollar, Russian upstream free cash flow for the companies his group covered was roughly the same as now, with oil near $60 and 60 rubles per U.S. dollar.”
Low oil prices are hurting the Russian state as tax revenue tumbles along with crude. But Russia’s energy firms aren’t feeling the same pain, and they may in fact weather the cheap oil storm better than their international peers. Experts point to two major factors helping the companies in a low-price environment: Moscow’s tax rate on producers shifts lower as the price of oil falls (meaning the cost is mostly borne by the state), and most of the oil companies’ expenses are denominated in rubles. Together, those factors largely offset any negative impact from oil prices, Goldman Sachs energy analyst Geydar Mamedov wrote in a recent note.
The currency point is key: Russian energy companies’ expenditures are largely conducted in rubles because there is a strong local oilfield services sector, and their revenues are dollar-denominated. So as the Russian currency has fallen against the dollar, the firms have been nearly totally insulated from oil’s price decline. “In the short term, there is definitely a natural buffer built into the system through the ruble,” Ildar Davletshin, Renaissance Capital oil and gas analyst, told CNBC. “The ruble has halved over the past 12 months; that’s a natural hedge against weak oil prices.” Mamedov noted that at $110 oil and 33 rubles to the U.S. dollar, Russian upstream free cash flow for the companies his group covered was roughly the same as now, with oil near $60 and 60 rubles per U.S. dollar.
Meanwhile, while many international oil companies outside Russia are cutting back on production, Mamedov wrote that he does not expect to see a slowdown in Russian upstream activity. (Russian refiners, on the other hand, could take a hit because of how the tax scheme works). In fact, Goldman predicts that Russian production will increase to 532 million tonnes in 2015 from 527 million tonnes in 2014. Despite those short-term positives, Davletshin said he “wouldn’t be too optimistic” in the medium or long term. Local costs may catch up with the currency differentials as inflation accelerates, and sanctions are hurting the companies by depriving them of international technology-sharing opportunities, he explained. “I’m not saying Russia cannot move on its own, but it will take longer,” he said.
Germany only plays green.
Germany imported more than 12 million tons of coal from Russia in 2014 – the biggest volume in 9 years, despite calls for energy independence and a switch to renewables. Coal imports from Russia increased 6.6% in 2014, at 12.6 million metric tons, Germany’s Federal Statistics Office reported Friday. This is about a third of the country s total coal imports. At a time when geopolitical relations between the two countries are strained, Germany continues to pump money into a country that the US and other European countries are bent on economically isolating. Poland, also a Moscow naysayer, is Russia’s second biggest coal importer in the EU. Another country that had sworn off Russian coal, but ended up buying the cheap energy to heat homes and factories, was Ukraine. Kiev bought some 50,000 metric tons in December.
Russian coal has become even more attractive to Europeans since the ruble depreciated more than 50%, which means importers spend less dollars and euro. The devaluation of the ruble and the decline in oil prices has placed Russian thermal coal exporters among the most competitive suppliers to both the Atlantic and Pacific markets, says Diana Bacila, a coal analyst at Oslo-based Nena, an independent energy analysis firm. About 50% of German electricity comes from coal, with the rest coming from natural gas and nuclear energy. Germany is also Russia’s biggest gas client, importing over 25 billion cubic meters per year. The recently completed Nord Stream pipeline, which feeds directly from Russia to Germany, has a capacity to deliver 55 billion cubic meters of natural gas.
This is serious.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was formally accused by a prosecutor of trying to cover up the alleged involvement of Iranian officials in the bombing of a Jewish center that killed 85 people. In a document filed to a federal court, Prosecutor Gerardo Pollicita said Fernandez, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, lawmaker Andres Larroque and other government supporters tried to remove Iranian officials from Interpol lists in exchange for trade preferences with the Islamic republic. Pollicita’s 62-page statement was posted on the prosecutor general’s website. The charges will overshadow Fernandez’s last 10 months in office as she struggles to revive growth in South America’s second-biggest economy and repair relations with investors after last year’s default.
The accusations come one month after former prosecutor in the case, Alberto Nisman, was found dead in his apartment with a bullet to the head. Investigators have yet to determine if it was suicide or murder. “This could be a seismic change for Argentina’s political environment,” said Carl Meacham, Americas program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “You have an economic crisis on the horizon and you marry that with a political crisis, it could be a disaster for Argentina.” Fernandez, 61, has denied the accusations against her and said last month that Nisman may have been murdered in order to sully the image of her government.
Judge Daniel Rafecas must now decide whether the evidence of a cover-up is admissible and whether to pursue the case, said Hernan Munilla Lacasa, a professor in criminal law at the Universidad Catolica Argentina in Buenos Aires. Fernandez can be called on to testify, though as president she has the right to do so in writing and not in person. Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich early Friday said the accusations and a march planned for Feb. 18 to commemorate Nisman’s death were part of a “judicial coup” against the president. “The Argentine people should know that we’re talking about a vulgar lie, of an enormous media operation, of a strategy of political destabilization and the biggest judicial coup d’etat in the history of Argentina to cover up for the real perpetrators of the crime,” Capitanich said at his daily press conference.
Asset prices cannot hold.
Farmland values declined in parts of the Midwest for the first time in decades last year, reflecting a cooling in the market driven by two years of bumper crops and sharply lower grain prices, according to Federal Reserve reports on Thursday. The average price of farmland in the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s district, which includes Illinois, Iowa and other big farm states, fell 3% in 2014, marking the first annual decline since 1986, the Chicago Fed said. Prices for cropland during the fourth quarter remained steady compared with the previous quarter, according to the bank’s survey of agricultural lenders, though half of all respondents said they expect farmland values to decline further in the current quarter.
In the St. Louis Fed’s district, which includes parts of Illinois, Kentucky and Arkansas, prices for “quality” farmland gained 0.8% in the fourth quarter compared with year-ago levels, despite lower crop prices and farm incomes in the region. A majority of lenders in the district expect values to cool in the current quarter compared with the first quarter of last year, reflecting reduced demand for land amid tighter profit margins for farmers. The reports spotlight an overall slowdown in the U.S. farm economy and in the appreciation of farmland prices. Crop prices had soared for much of the past decade, fueled by drought and rising demand for corn from ethanol processors and foreign importers. The gains pushed agricultural land values so high that some analysts warned of a bubble.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture projected net U.S. farm income this year would fall to $73.6 billion, the lowest since 2009, from $108 billion in 2014. Prices for corn, the biggest U.S. crop by value, have tumbled more than 50% since the summer of 2012, when they soared to record highs amid a severe U.S. drought. Growers produced the nation’s largest corn and soybeans harvests ever last autumn, helped by nearly flawless weather over much of the growing season. In the Chicago Fed district, farmland values in the latest quarter dropped in major corn-producing states like Illinois, Iowa and Indiana compared with year-ago levels, while land values in Wisconsin increased slightly and were unchanged in Michigan.
Marie Antoinette all over again.
The news this week that a bank helped wealthy customers to dodge taxes should not come as a surprise to many. The super-rich have long held some profoundly distorted ideas about the world. They are more than averagely likely to believe their achievements are the product of their superior brains and hard work. They may believe the Selfish Gene rhetoric that those with the best genes rise to the top of the pond, and at the bottom is genetic sludge. They are oblivious to any evidence to the contrary. They have no idea that had they been born on a sink estate they too would have sunk. This is partly because the super-rich are no longer exposed to data and experiences that contradict their worldview. Flitting between their various homes around the world, they know nothing of our lives.
They have never, ever had to sit on the phone waiting for the next available customer support agent – “your call really matters to us” – to not fix their phone/internet/energy bill issue. Of particular concern is that they only consume media that support their worldview. Recently, an Oxbridge-educated CEO in all seriousness told me that there has been no increase in inequality in this country. My jaw was slack with amazement when another told me that “inner London secondary pupils have the best exam results of any in the world”. They are living in the la-la land that Polly Toynbee and David Walker painstakingly exposed in their book Unjust Rewards. Consider your response to the following information. About 15,700 under-two-year-olds live in a family that is classed as homeless, according to a new report.
Homelessness adversely affects parental responsiveness, and early responsiveness has been proved to affect the capacity of the brain to process positive experiences. My response to this would be: “Since early care profoundly affects the size and content of our brains and subsequent mental health, government should act to eradicate involuntary homelessness. If Thatcher had not sold off the council housing stock this problem would be far less. A Labour government should reverse that policy.” When I put that to a super-rich man whom I know, he said: “It’s a shame there are so many babies with homeless parents but it is not the role of the state to house them. My charity does not directly address this issue but I am sure there are others that do. The role of government is to leave people like me free to create jobs which will enable those parents to earn enough to pay rent and live in decent accommodation.”
Home › Forums › Debt Rattle February 14 2015
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February 14, 2015 at 10:49 am #19158
William Henry Jackson Camp wagon on a Texas roundup 1901 • Nuclear Specter Redux: ‘Threat of War Is Higher than in the Cold War’ (Spiegel) • Ukraine R
[See the full post at: Debt Rattle February 14 2015]
February 14, 2015 at 10:08 pm #19164
Evidently the TAE commenters are all out celebrating International Hallmark Day…
Just ran into this bit I had to share here: “…lassen das Netz richtig ausflippen.”
https://www.welt.de/kultur/literarischewelt/article137216089/Was-Janis-Varoufakis-zur-Sex-Ikone-macht.html
Ausflippen?? Wirklich?? I haven’t kept up with German slang; but that’s seriously funny. We can all use it, I think.
Hi Greenpa,
I was busy cooking breakfast for family in San Antonio, then doing about 5 hours of tree work, which leaves me king of stiff and crampy today. Ausflippen seems to mean “flip-out”, a direct translation. My German is pitiful, though I took a year in college and traveled there summer of 1981.
ausflippen [ugs.]
to rage [go wild]
to throw a tantrum
to lose it [coll.]
to go nuts [coll.]
to flip out [coll.]
to freak out [coll.]
to go bananas [coll.]
to psyche out [coll.]
to get freaked out [coll.]
to psych out [coll.] [freak out]
to go ape [sl.]idiom
to get into a froth [coll.]idiom
Debt Rattle February 13 2015 Trapped in a Narrative
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December 29, 2015 Posted by Raúl Ilargi Meijer at 9:40 am Finance Tagged with: Abenomics, arctic, China, commodities, floods, mergers, oil, refugees, Saudi
DPC Sloss City furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama 1906
• Weak Demand, Vessel Surplus Mean Horror 2016 For Commodities Shipping (Reuters)
• Energy Stocks Fall Along With Oil Prices (WSJ)
• Saudi Riyal In Danger As Oil War Escalates (AEP)
• Saudis Plan Unprecedented Subsidy Cuts to Counter Oil Plunge (BBG)
• Saudi Arabia Plans Subsidy Cuts as King Unveils 2016 Budget (BBG)
• Where Next For The Three Arrows Of Abenomics? (Telegraph)
• Record Merger Boom Won’t Stop In 2016, Because Money Is Still Cheap (Forbes)
• China Control Freaks (BBG)
• China Clamps Down on Online Lenders, Vows to Cleanse Market (BBG)
• China Central Bank Says To Keep Reasonable Credit Growth, Yuan Stable (Reuters)
• Cost Of UK Floods Tops £5 Billion, Thousands Face Financial Ruin (Guardian)
• UK Factories Forecast To Shed Tens Of Thousands Of Jobs In 2016 (Guardian)
• Questions and Answers (Jim Kunstler)
• Qatari Royals Rush To Switzerland In Nine Planes After Emir Breaks Leg (AFP)
• Freak Storm In Atlantic To Push Arctic Temps Over 50º Above Normal (WaPo)
• German States To Spend At Least €17 Billion On Refugees In 2016 (Reuters)
• Schaeuble Slams Greece Over Refugee Crisis, Aims For Joint EU Army (Reuters)
• Selfishness On Refugees Has Brought EU ‘To Its Knees’ (IT)
• Refugee Arrivals In Greece Rise More Than Tenfold In A Year (Kath.)
Forward looking.
Shipping companies that transport commodities such as coal, iron ore and grain face a painful year ahead, with only the strongest expected to weather a deepening crisis caused by tepid demand and a surplus of vessels for hire. The predicament facing firms that ship commodities in large unpackaged amounts – known as dry bulk – is partly the result of slower coal and iron ore demand from leading global importer China in the second half of 2015. The Baltic Exchange’s main sea freight index – which tracks rates for ships carrying dry bulk commodities – plunged to an all-time low this month. In stark contrast, however, tankers that transport oil have in recent months enjoyed their best earnings in years. As crude prices have plummeted, bargain-buying has driven up demand, while owners have moved more aggressively to scrap vessels to head off the kind of surplus seen in the dry bulk market.
Symeon Pariaros, chief administrative officer of Athens-run and New York-listed shipping firm Euroseas, said the outlook for the dry bulk market was “very challenging”. “Demand fundamentals are so weak. The Chinese economy, which is the main driver of dry bulk, is way below expectations,” he added. “Only companies with very strong balance sheets will get through this storm.” The dry bulk shipping downturn began in 2008, after the onset of the financial crisis, and has worsened significantly this year as the Chinese economy has slowed. The Baltic Exchange’s main BDI index – which gauges the cost of shipping such commodities, also including cement and fertiliser – is more than 95% down from a record high hit in 2008. The index is often regarded as a forward-looking economic indicator. With about 90% of the world’s traded goods by volume transported by sea, global investors look to the BDI for any signs of changes in sentiment for industrial demand.
Very thin trading.
A fresh selloff in the oil market weighed down U.S. stocks, with energy shares posting sharp losses. Major U.S. indexes pared their steepest declines but still ended the day in negative territory, returning some of last week’s gains. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 23.90 points, or 0.1%, to 17528.27, after falling as much as 115 points intraday. The S&P 500 index fell 4.49, or 0.2%, to 2056.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 7.51, or 0.1%, to 5040.99. Just 4.8 billion shares changed hands Monday, marking the lowest full day of U.S. trading volume this year, in a holiday-shortened week. Markets in London and Australia were closed Monday for Boxing Day. The U.S. stock market will be closed Friday for New Year’s Day. Energy stocks notched some of the steepest declines across the market. Chevron posted the heaviest loss among Dow components, falling $1.69, or 1.8%, to $90.36.
Marathon Oil shed 95 cents, or 6.8%, to 12.98. “We’re just following the price of oil,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at brokerage First Standard Financial. December has been marked by unusually wide swings in U.S. stocks. A long-awaited interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve earlier in the month has failed to quiet the recent volatility. A respite from the decline in oil prices last week helped lure investors into the energy sector. U.S. stocks last week posted their biggest weekly gains in more than a month, driven by the energy sector. But both oil prices and energy stocks remain sharply lower this year, even with last week’s rally. A global glut of crude oil has contributed to a 30% fall in U.S. oil prices this year. On Monday, U.S. crude prices fell 3.4% to $36.81 a barrel. Energy stocks in the S&P 500 are down 23% so far in 2015, while the S&P 500 is on track for a loss of 0.1%.
if the dollar stays strong, the peg is history.
Saudi Arabia is burning through foreign reserves at an unsustainable rate and may be forced to give up its prized dollar exchange peg as the oil slump drags on, the country’s former reserve chief has warned. “If anything happens to the riyal exchange peg, the consequences will be dramatic. There will be a serious loss of confidence,” said Khalid Alsweilem, the former head of asset management at the Saudi central bank (SAMA). “But if the reserves keep going down as they are now, they will not be able to keep the peg,” he told The Telegraph. His warning came as the Saudi finance ministry revealed that the country’s deficit leapt to 367bn riyals (£66bn) this year, up from 54bn riyals the previous year. The IMF has suggested Saudia Arabia could be running a deficit of around $140bn.
Remittances by foreign workers in Saudi Arabia are draining a further $36bn a year, and capital outflows were picking up even before the oil price crash. Bank of America estimates that the deficit could rise to nearer $180bn if oil prices settle near $30 a barrel, testing the riyal peg to breaking point. Dr Alsweilem said the country does not have deep enough pockets to wage a long war of attrition in the global crude markets, whatever the superficial appearances. Concern has become acute after 12-month forward contracts on the Saudi Riyal reached 730 basis points over recent days, the highest since the worst days of last oil crisis in February 1999. The contracts are watched closely by traders for signs of currency stress. The latest spike suggests that the riyal is under concerted attack by hedge funds and speculators in the region, risking a surge of capital flight.
A string of oil states have had to abandon their currency pegs over recent weeks. The Azerbaijani manat crashed by a third last Monday after the authorities finally admitted defeat. The dollar peg has been the anchor of Saudi economic policy and credibility for over three decades. A forced devaluation would heighten fears that the crisis is spinning out of political control, further enflaming disputes within the royal family. Foreign reserves and assets have fallen to $647bn from a peak of $746bn in August 2014, but headline figures often mean little in the complex world of central bank finances and derivative contracts. Dr Alsweilem, now at Harvard University, said the Saudi authorities have taken a big gamble by flooding the world with oil to gain market share and drive out rivals. “The thinking that lower oil prices will bring down the US oil industry is just nonsense and will not work.”
The policy is contentious even within the Saudi royal family. Optimists hope that this episode will be a repeat of the mid-1980s when the kingdom pursued the same strategy and succeeded in curbing non-OPEC investment, and preperaring the ground for recovery in prices. But the current situation is sui generis. The shale revolution has turned the US into a mid-cost swing producer, able to keep drilling at $50bn a barrel, according to the latest OPEC report. US shale frackers can switch output on and off relatively quickly, acting as a future headwind against price rises.
End of free money.
Confronting a drop in oil prices and mounting regional turmoil, Saudi Arabia reduced energy subsidies and allocated the biggest part of government spending in next year’s budget to defense and security. Authorities announced increases to the prices of fuel, electricity and water as part of a plan to restructure subsidies within five years. The government intends to cut spending next year and gradually privatize some state-owned entities and introduce value-added taxation as well as a levy on tobacco. The biggest shake-up of Saudi economic policy in recent history coincides with growing regional unrest, including a war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is battling pro-Iranian Shiite rebels.
In attempting to reduce its reliance on oil, the kingdom is seeking to put an end to the population’s dependence on government handouts, a move that political analysts had considered risky after the 2011 revolts that swept parts of the Middle East. “This is the beginning of the end of the era of free money,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, founder of London-based consulting firm Cornerstone Global Associates. “Saudi society will have to get used to a new way of working with the government. This is a wake-up call for both Saudi society and the government that things are changing.” This is the first budget under King Salman, who ascended to the throne in January, and for an economic council dominated by his increasingly powerful son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
In its first months in power, the new administration brought swift change to the traditionally slow-moving kingdom, overhauling the cabinet, merging ministries and realigning the royal succession. The new measures are the beginning of a “big program that the economic council will launch,” Economy and Planning Minister Adel Fakeih told reporters in Riyadh. The subsidy cuts won’t have a “large effect” on people with low or middle income, he said.
Immediate danger for House of Saud.
Saudi Arabia said it plans to gradually cut subsidies and sell stakes in government entities as it seeks to counter a slump in oil revenue. The government expects the 2016 budget deficit to narrow to 326 billion riyals ($87 billion) from 367 billion in 2015. Spending, which reached 975 billion riyals this year, is projected to drop to 840 billion. Revenue is forecast to decline to 513.8 billion riyals from 608 billion riyals. The budget is the first under King Salman, who ascended to the throne in January, and an economic council dominated by his increasingly powerful son, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The collapse in oil prices has slashed government revenue, forcing officials to draw on reserves and issue bonds for the first time in nearly a decade.
“The budget was approved amid challenging economic and financial circumstances in the region and the world,” the Finance Ministry said. “The deficit will be financed through a plan that considers the best available options, including domestic and external borrowing.” The 2015 deficit is about 16% of GDP, according to Alp Eke, senior economist at National Bank of Abu Dhabi. The median estimate of 10 economists in a Bloomberg survey was a shortfall of 20%. Oil made up 73% of this year’s revenue, according to the Finance Ministry. Non-oil income rose 29% to 163.5 billion riyals. The government has managed to reign in “some spending in the second half of the year,” Monica Malik at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank said. “With the further fiscal retrenchment that we expect in 2016, we think that the fiscal deficit should narrow to about 10.8% of GDP.”
For 2016, the government allocated 213 billion riyals for military and security spending, the largest component of the budget as the kingdom fights a war in Yemen against Shiite rebels. “In terms of defense expenditure in particular there’s the burden of the war in Yemen,” Nasser Saidi, president of Nasser Saidi & Associates, said by phone. The outcome for 2016 depends on “the course of the war in Yemen, oil prices, how much will subsidies actually get reduced, how effective are they in reigning in public spending and rationalizing some of the spending on large projects, and finally how good are they at reigning in current spending,” he said.
” Japan’s debt pile is huge, at around 240pc of GDP, and the OECD warned this year that it could balloon to 400pc of GDP..”
The last sales tax increase threw the world’s third largest economy into recession. For this reason, things may start getting more complicated at the checkout. Policymakers announced last week that they plan to exempt food from the next hike. This would be the first time Japan has adopted different consumption tax rates since it was introduced in 1989. The government estimates this will cost about one trillion yen (£5.5bn) in lost revenues – equivalent to about a fifth of what it expects the increase to bring in. While cynics highlight the move as a ploy to win votes ahead of next year’s upper house elections, it is also a reminder that steering Japan out of its two-decade malaise remains a challenge. It’s been three years since prime minister Shinzo Abe took power with a promise to smash deflation and “take back Japan”.
Under the stewardship of Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda, the country launched a multi trillion yen quantitative easing programme in 2013 that was beefed up to ¥80 trillion (£446bn) annually last October. Pessimists argue that Japan’s monetary steroids have had little impact. As economists at BNP Paribas highlight, real GDP has grown by just 2.2pc between the fourth quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of this year – or an average of just 0.8pc per year – a poor performance compared with its G7 peers. Japan’s recovery has been lacklustre since the 2008 crisis, and the economy would currently be in a quintuple-dip recession if growth for the third quarter of 2015 had not been revised up this month. This month, the Bank of Japan revised down its growth forecast for the year ending next March to 1.2pc, from 1.7pc, citing weaker global growth.
It also pushed back its expectation of achieving 2pc inflation to the second half of the year or early 2017, from a previous forecast of mid-2016. This is the second time the target date has been moved since Mr Kuroda pledged in April 2013 to lift consumer inflation to 2pc in “around two years”. Policymakers are already talking down their chances of reflating the economy. Consumer prices rose by just 0.3pc in the year to October, while core inflation, which strips out the impact of volatile food and energy prices, stood at 0.7pc. “If consumer prices were rising more than 1.5pc then I don’t think you could complain when talking about the price target,” said Akira Amari, Japan’s economy minister.
On a brighter note, nominal GDP, or the cash size of the economy, has risen at a more robust pace. This is important because nominal GDP determines a country’s ability to pay down its debt, most of which is fixed in cash terms. Japan’s debt pile is huge, at around 240pc of GDP, and the OECD warned this year that it could balloon to 400pc of GDP unless policymakers implemented vital structural reforms.
M&A as a means to hide one’s indebtedness.
It was a year for the record books when it comes to merger and acquisition activity. Nearly $5 trillion in deals were cut globally, a new all-time high, as dealmakers used consolidation to uncover cost cuts, bolster their scale and take advantage of historically low borrowing costs. Though 2016 may be a tougher year if emerging market growth slows further and the impact of a sharp rout in commodities hits North America, few expect today’s merger boom to slow. After all, most of the reasons M&A climbed from $3 trillion to $4 trillion and now a rounding error below $5 trillion remain. Corporations are using cheap debt financing to buy competitors and wrench out synergies that can quickly grow their earnings. Amid a mostly halting economic recovery in the United States, M&A has proven far more attractive and easy to pitch to investors than an expansion, which might require increased plant and equipment and rising expenses.
For the nation’s largest companies, there’s also been a race to increase market power, or respond to consolidation among competitors. In pharmaceuticals, these trends have manifest themselves in the race to merge with European-domiciled drugmakers who can access cash stockpiles without triggering repatriation tax and aren’t charged at U.S. rates globally. This has spurred a pharma merger wave that hit new records in 2015 and it isn’t expected to slow anytime soon. In technology, mergers are yet to hinge on tax savings. Instead, semiconductors facing tectonic shifts such as the adoption wireless devices and cloud computing are merging in an effort to round out their services. Consolidation in cable and telecommunications is being used to adapt to the commoditization of once lucrative services like video and data bundles.
The combination of overlapping wireless and broadband networks is also seen as an efficient way to build the infrastructure that’s needed to serve consumers’ shift to streaming media. Spongy financing markets have aided the M&A boom. Low economic growth, modest inflation and weak pricing power are all causing CEOs to look at engineering profits through share buybacks and mergers. Meanwhile, activist shareholders are putting pressure on C-Suites to provide a clear plan on how they reinvest profits. Bold bets have to be justified with credible return expectations and these days it seems the returns by way of M&A, not capital expenditure or expansion.
Casino control.
Can authorities in China really take a back seat? In the midst of a bull market (stocks are up more than 20% from their August lows), Beijing appears to be handing control over to companies for all new initial public offerings from March onward. The shift toward a more U.S.-style disclosure system, where any company can list so long as they provide the requisite information, has been a long time coming. In a more market-oriented system, the regulator concentrates on supervising publicly traded firms rather than acting as a gatekeeper. Such a system would give China’s cash-strapped corporates a funding alternative to shadow banks and online peer-to-peer lenders, and help clear a logjam of almost 700 companies waiting to sell shares for the first time. The question is, can Beijing truly stop its tinkering?
According to KPMG, China has imposed moratoriums on IPOs nine times in the A-share market’s relatively short 25-year history – four of those in the last decade during periods when things were heading south. The most recent halt, enforced in July after several blockbuster share sales and some stomach-churning stock declines, ended only last month when a government-engineered rally revived the market.Even when IPOs have been approved, social policy dominates. A few years ago, when China was trying to cool its then-heady real estate sector and rein in burgeoning bad loans, no developer or city commercial bank would have stood a chance getting listing approval. Instead, some went to Hong Kong to raise funds. The conundrum for the China Securities Regulatory Commission is that letting any (qualified) company sell shares would result in a glut and damp appetite for the state-owned firms that dominate the market.
However, rationing admittance to the IPO market means bureaucrats rather than investors are making the decisions, and has resulted in an insatiable demand for new stock. An even bigger challenge for the CSRC, whose seven-member listing committee currently vets IPO applications, is managing investor expectations. In a nation where investment options tend to be limited to volatile wealth management products, equally choppy real estate or low-yielding bank accounts, people have little recourse for their some $22 trillion in savings beyond stocks. That explains why retail investors own about 80% of publicly traded companies’ tradeable shares unlike the U.S., where institutional investors dominate. Such a prevalence of individuals, who don’t have class action lawsuits to fall back on in cases of corporate malfeasance, also makes for a stock market more akin to a casino than a funding tool.
Shadow banking clamp down.
China’s banking regulator laid out planned restrictions on thousands of online peer-to-peer lenders, pledging to “cleanse the market” as failed platforms and suspected frauds highlight risks within a booming industry. Online platforms shouldn’t take deposits from the public, pool investors’ money, or guarantee returns, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said on Monday, publishing a draft rule that will be its first for the industry. The thrust of the CBRC’s approach is that the platforms are intermediaries – matchmakers between borrowers and lenders – that shouldn’t themselves raise or lend money. It rules out P2P sites distributing wealth-management products, a tactic that some hoped would diversify their revenue sources, and limits their use for crowdfunding.
“The rule is quite strict,” Shanghai-based Maizi Financial Services, which operates a P2P site and other investment platforms, said in a statement. “The industry’s hope of upgrading itself with wealth management products and adopting a diversified business model is completely dashed.” The banking regulator issued its plan at the same time as the central bank put out a rule to tighten oversight of online-payment firms. The looming clampdown – the regulator asked for feedback by Jan. 27 – comes as the police probe Ezubo, an online site that raised billions of dollars from investors according to Yingcan Group, a company which provides industry data. It also follows a stock boom and bust that was fueled by leverage, including some channeled through online lenders.
China had 2,612 online lending platforms operating normally as of November, with more than 400 billion yuan ($61.7 billion) of loans outstanding, while another 1,000 were “problematic,” the CBRC said. Firms such as Tiger Global Management, Standard Chartered and Sequoia Capital are among those to invest in the industry, which China initially allowed to develop without regulation. Under the planned rule, P2P platforms will need to register with local financial regulators and cannot help borrowers who want to raise money to invest in the stock market. They’re banned from crowdfunding “for equities and physical items,” a description that wasn’t clarified in the CBRC statement. “Many online lenders have strayed from the role of information intermediary,” the CBRC said in a separate statement, adding that it wanted to protect consumers and “cleanse the market.”
Control clowns: “..a goal of doubling GDP and per capita income by 2020 from 2010..”
China’s central bank said on Monday that it would “flexibly” use various policy tools to maintain appropriate liquidity and reasonable growth in credit and social financing. The People’s Bank of China will keep the yuan basically stable while forging ahead with reforms to help improve its currency regime, it said in a statement summarizing the fourth-quarter monetary policy committee meeting. The PBOC said it would maintain a prudent monetary policy, keeping its stance “neither too tight nor too loose”. The prudent policy has been in place since 2011. “We will improve and optimize financing and credit structures, increase the proportion of direct financing and reduce financing costs,” it said. The central bank said it would closely watch changes in China’s economy and financial markets, as well as international capital flows.
Top leaders at the annual Central Economic Work Conference pledged to make China’s monetary policy more flexible and expand its budget deficit in 2016 to support a slowing economy as they seek to push forward “supply-side reform”. The PBOC has cut interest rates six times since November 2014 and lowered banks’ reserve requirements, or the amount of cash that banks must set aside as reserves. But such policy steps have yielded limited impact on the economy, as the government has been struggling to reach its growth target of about 7% this year. President Xi Jinping has said China must keep annual average growth of no less than 6.5% over the next five years to hit a goal of doubling GDP and per capita income by 2020 from 2010.
Betcha Cameron is more concerned right now with London’s flood control than Lancashire’s.
The cost of the UK’s winter floods will top £5bn and thousands of families and businesses will face financial ruin because they have inadequate or non-existent insurance, a leading accountant has warned, as the government defended its record on flood defences. The prime minister faced growing anger from politicians in the north of England who accused the government of creating “a north-south gap” in financial support for flood-prevention schemes. On a tour of the region, David Cameron defended spending levels amid mounting criticism from MPs and council leaders. “We are spending more in this parliament than the last one and in the last parliament we spent more than the one before that,” he said during a stop in York.
“I think with any of these events we have to look at what we are planning to spend and think: ‘Do we need to do more?’ We are going to spend £2.3bn on flood defences in this parliament but we will look at what’s happened here and see what needs to be done. We have to look at what’s happened in terms of the flooding, what flood defences have worked and the places where they haven’t worked well enough.” But Judith Blake, leader of Leeds city council, said a flood prevention scheme for the city was ditched by the government in 2011, and warned that there was “a very strong feeling” across the region that the north was being short-changed.
“I think there’s a real anger growing across the north about the fact that the cuts have been made to the flood defences and we’ll be having those conversations as soon as we are sure that people are safe and that we start the clean-up process and really begin the assess the scale of the damage. “So there are some very serious questions for government to answer on this and we’ll be putting as much pressure on as possible to redress the balance and get the funding situation equalised so the north get its fair share.” Labour MP Ivan Lewis, meanwhile, challenged Cameron to back up his vision of the Northern Powerhouse by sending immediate help to residents and businesses in his Bury South constituency.
[..] On Monday, as the waters receded in the worst hit areas, residents began to face up the scale of the damage. In York telephone lines and internet connections were down and some cash machines were not working. Many of the bars and shops that were open were only taking cash. In Hebden Bridge in Calderdale, volunteers spent the day clearing out schools, shops and homes that had been overwhelmed by filthy floodwater – a scene repeated in scores of towns and cities across the region. Forecasters warned another storm – Storm Frank – is expected to bring more rain to the west and north of the UK on Wednesday. It is feared that up to 80mm (3in) will fall on high ground and as much as 120mm (4.7in) in exposed locations, accompanied by gale force winds..
Oh yeah, an economy others are jealous of.
British manufacturers will shed tens of thousands of jobs next year as they battle a tough export market, the fallout from steel plant closures and a collapse in demand from the embattled North Sea oil industry, an industry group has forecast. The manufacturers’ organisation EEF said the factory sector will shrug off this year’s recession and eke out modest growth in 2016 but it warned a number of risks loom on the horizon, chief among them a sharper downturn in China that could trigger a global slump. A cautious mood has prompted many firms to plan cuts to both jobs and investment in a further blow to George Osborne, after the latest official figures showed UK economic growth had faltered and that his “march of the makers” vow had failed to translate into a manufacturing revival.
EEF said its latest snapshot of manufacturers’ mood shows some bright spots for 2016, however, particularly in the car, aerospace and pharmaceutical sub-sectors. They will be the main drivers behind overall manufacturing growth of 0.8% in 2016, following an expected 0.1% contraction this year. Those sub-sectors will also buck the wider manufacturing trend of job cuts with an employment increase in 2016, EEF predicts. “Some of the headwinds have been a consistent theme over 2015 – the collapse in oil and gas activity, weakness in key export markets, and strong sterling. Others, like disappointing construction activity and the breakdown in the steel industry, have piled on the pain since the second quarter of 2015,” said EEF’s chief economist, Lee Hopley, in the report. “It’s not all doom and gloom however, with the resilience of the transport sectors and the rejuvenation of the pharmaceuticals industry providing reasons for cheer in UK manufacturing.”
“..it would require dedication to clear goals and the hard work of altering all our current arrangements – and giving up these childish fantasy distractions about space and technology.”
The really big item in last night’s 60-Minutes newsbreak was that the latest Star Wars movie passed the billion dollar profit gate a week after release. That says just about everything you need to know about our floundering society, including the state of the legacy news media. The cherry on top last week was Elon Musk’s SpaceX company’s feat landing the first spent stage of its Falcon 9 rocket to be (theoretically) recycled and thus hugely lowering the cost of firing things into space. The media spooged all over itself on that one, since behind this feat stands Mr. Musk’s heroic quest to land humans on Mars. This culture has lost a lot in the past 40 years, but among the least recognized is the loss of its critical faculties. We’ve become a nation of six-year-olds.
News flash: we’re not going Mars. Notwithstanding the accolades for Ridley Scott’s neatly-rationalized fantasy, The Martian (based on Andy Weir’s novel), any human journey to the red planet would be a one-way trip. Anyway, all that begs the question: why are we so eager to journey to a dead planet with none of the elements necessary for human life when we can’t seem to manage human life on a planet superbly equipped to support us? Answer: because we are lost in raptures of techno-narcissism. What do I mean by that? We’re convinced that all the unanticipated consequences of our brief techno-industrial orgy can be solved by… more and better technology! Notice that this narrative is being served up to a society now held hostage to the images on little screens, by skilled people who, more and more, act as though these screens have become the new dwelling place of reality.
How psychotic is that? All of this grandstanding about the glories of space goes on at the expense of paying attention to our troubles on this planet, including the existential question as to how badly we are fucking it up with burning the fossil fuels that power our techno-industrial activities. Personally, I don’t believe that any international accord will work to mitigate that quandary. But what will work, and what I fully expect, is a financial breakdown that will lead to a forced re-set of human endeavor at a lower scale of technological activity. The additional question really is how much hardship will that transition entail and the answer is that there is plenty within our power to make that journey less harsh.
But it would require dedication to clear goals and the hard work of altering all our current arrangements – and giving up these childish fantasy distractions about space and technology. Dreaming about rockets to Mars is easy compared to, say, transitioning our futureless Agri-Biz racket to other methods of agriculture that don’t destroy soils, water tables, ecosystems, and bodies. It’s easier than rearranging our lives on the landscape so we’re not hostage to motoring everywhere for everything. It’s easier than educating people to both think and develop real hands-on skills not dependent on complex machines and electric-powered devices.
Wild theories welcome.
Unidentified individuals travelling in as many as nine planes belonging to Qatar’s royal family made an emergency trip to Switzerland over the weekend for medical reasons, according to a Swiss official. A spokesman for Switzerland’s federal office of civil aviation confirmed local media reports that multiple aircraft made unscheduled landings at the Zurich-Kloten airport overnight from 25 to 26 December and that the planes were part of the Qatari royal fleet. He gave no details as to who was on board or who any of the potential patients may have been. “The emergency landing clearance was given by the Swiss air force,” he told AFP, explaining that the civil aviation office was closed during the hours in question.
Qatari authorities later said that the country’s former ruler, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, had been flown to Switzerland over the weekend for surgery after breaking a leg. The Qatari government’s communications office said early on Tuesday that Sheihk Hamad suffered “a broken leg while on holiday” and was flown to Zurich on Saturday to receive treatment. The office says the 63-year-old sheikh underwent a successful operation and was in Zurich “recovering and undergoing physiotherapy.” The government declined to say how or where Sheikh Hamad broke his leg but the royal family had reportedly been on holiday in Morocco at a resort in the Atlas mountains. Night landings and takeoffs are typically forbidden at Zurich-Kloten to avoid disturbing local residents.
Swiss foreign ministry spokesman Georg Farago told AFP in an email that the federation was informed about the “stay of members of Qatar’s royal family in Switzerland”, without giving further details. According to Zurich’s Tages Anzeiger newspaper, the first Qatari plane, an Airbus, landed in Zurich from Marrakesh shortly after midnight on 26 December. A second flight landed at Zurich-Kloten at 5am (0400 GMT) on 26 December, with a third plane coming 15 minutes later, both having originated in Doha, the paper reported. According to Tages Anzeiger, the medical emergency in question was so significant that six more planes linked to the Qatari royal family and government landed in Zurich through the weekend. Sheikh Hamad is believed to have been in poor health for years. He ruled the oil-and-gas-rich Qatar from 1995 until handing over power to his son, Sheikh Tamim, in 2013.
“It’s as if a bomb went off. And, in fact, it did.”
The vigorous low pressure system that helped spawn devastating tornadoes in the Dallas area on Saturday is forecast to explode into a monstrous storm over Iceland by Wednesday. Big Icelandic storms are common in winter, but this one may rank among the strongest and will draw northward an incredible surge of warmth pushing temperatures at the North Pole over 50 degrees above normal. This is mind-boggling. And the storm will batter the United Kingdom, reeling from recent flooding, with another round of rain and wind. Computer model simulations show the storm, sweeping across the north central Atlantic today, rapidly intensifying along a jet stream ripping above the ocean at 230 mph. The storm’s pressure is forecast by the GFS model to plummet more than 50 millibars in 24 hours between Monday night and Tuesday night, easily meeting the criteria of a ‘bomb cyclone’ (a drop in pressure of at least 24 mb in 24 hours),
By Wednesday morning, when the storm reaches Iceland and nears maximum strength, its minimum pressure is forecast to be near 923 mb, which would rank among the great storms of the North Atlantic. (Note: there is some uncertainty as to how much it will intensify. The European model only drops the minimum pressure to around 936 mb, which is strong but not that unusual). Winds of hurricane force are likely to span hundreds of miles in the North Atlantic. Environmental blogger Robert Scribbler notes this storm will be linked within a “daisy chain” of two other powerful North Atlantic low pressure systems forming a “truly extreme storm system.” He adds: “The Icelandic coast and near off-shore regions are expected to see heavy precipitation hurled over the island by 90 to 100 mile per hour or stronger winds raging out of 35-40 foot seas. Meanwhile, the UK will find itself in the grips of an extraordinarily strong southerly gale running over the backs of 30 foot swells.”
[..] Ahead of the storm, the surge of warm air making a beeline towards the North Pole is astonishing. [..] It’s as if a bomb went off. And, in fact, it did. The exploding storm acts a remarkably efficient heat engine, drawing warm air from the tropics to the top of the Earth. The GFS model projects the temperature at the North Pole to reach near freezing or 32 degrees early Wednesday. Consider the average winter temperature there is around 20 degrees below zero. If the temperature rises to freezing, it would signify a departure from normal of over 50 degrees.
Hope some of that goes toward giving them jobs.
Germany’s federal states are planning to spend around €17 billion on dealing with the refugee crisis in 2016, newspaper Die Welt said on Tuesday, citing a survey it conducted among their finance ministries. The sum, bigger than the €15.3 billion that the central government planned to allocate to its education and research ministry in 2015, is a measure of the strain that the influx is causing across the country as a whole. Germany is the favoured destination for many of the hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, partly due to the generous benefits that it offers.
The German states have repeatedly complained that they are struggling to cope, and Chancellor Angela Merkel’s open-door policy has caused tensions within her conservative camp. Die Welt said that excluding the small city state of Bremen, which did not provide any details, current plans suggested the states’ combined expenditure would be €16.5 billion. The paper said actual costs would probably be even higher because the regional finance ministries had based their budgets on an estimate from the federal government that 800,000 refugees would come to Germany in 2015. In fact, 965,000 asylum seekers had already arrived by the end of November.
Finance ministers have no place intervening in politics.
Germany’s finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and a senior Bavarian politician criticized Greece on Sunday over the way it is managing its role in Europe’s biggest migration crisis since World War Two. Schaeuble, who has clashed repeatedly with Greek officials this year over economic policy, told Bild am Sonntag that Athens has for years ignored the rules that oblige migrants to file for asylum in the European Union country they arrive in first. He said German courts had decided some time ago that refugees were not being treated humanely in Greece and could therefore not be sent back there. “The Greeks should not put the blame for their problems only on others, they should also see how they can do better themselves,” Schaeuble said.
Greece, a main gateway to Europe for migrants crossing the Aegean sea, has faced criticism from other EU governments who say it has done little to manage the flow of hundreds of thousands of people arriving on its shores. Joachim Herrmann, the interior minister of the southern state of Bavaria, that has taken the brunt of the refugee influx to Germany, criticized the way Greece is securing its external borders. “What Greece is doing is a farce,” Herrmann said in an interview with Die Welt am Sonntag newspaper, adding any that any country that does not meet its obligations to secure its external borders should leave the Schengen zone, where internal border controls have been abolished.
[..] In contrast to his criticism of Greece, Schaeuble sought to offer to compromise with eastern European countries that have voiced reluctance to accept migrants under EU quotas. “Solidarity doesn’t start by insulting each other,” Schaeuble said. “Eastern European states will also have to take in refugees, but fewer than Germany.” The influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants, many fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East, also means that European countries will have to increase spending on defense, he said. “Ultimately our aim must be a joint European army. The funds that we spend on our 28 national armies could be used far more effectively together,” Schaeuble said.
No, EU indifference on refugees has brought it down.
The “ruinously selfish” behaviour of some member states towards refugees has brought the European Union to its knees, former attorney general Peter Sutherland has said. In a sharp denunciation of Europe’s failures on migration and social integration, Mr Sutherland, who is special representative to the United Nations secretary general for migration, said political “paralysis and ambivalence” was threatening the future of the EU and resulting in the rise of xenophobic and racist parties. With a population of 508 million, the EU should have had no insuperable problem welcoming even a million refugees “had the political leadership of the member states wanted to do so and had the effort been properly organised,” Mr Sutherland said. “But instead, ruinously selfish behaviour by some member states has brought the EU to its knees.”
There were several “honourable exceptions”, most notably German chancellor Angela Merkel, who he described as “a heroine” for showing openness and generosity towards refugees. Mr Sutherland made the remarks in the Littleton memorial lecture, which was broadcast on RTÉ radio on St Stephen’s Day. More than a million refugees and migrants arrived in the EU by land and sea in 2015, according to the International Organisation for Migration, making this the worst crisis of forced displacement on the continent since the second World War. Half of those arriving were Syrians fleeing a conflict that has left almost 250,000 people dead and displaced half the country’s pre-war population. A European Commission plan to use quotas to relocate asylum seekers arriving in southeastern Europe was adopted in the autumn against strong opposition from several states, including Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Slovakia said it would take in only a few hundred refugees, and they would have to be Christians. Mr Sutherland said the razor and barbed wire fences being erected on the Hungarian border to keep out migrants and refugees “are not just tragic but they are also particularly ironic, as Hungarians were for so long confined by the Iron Curtain.” He recalled that in 1956, after their failed revolution, 200,000 Hungarian refugees were immediately given protection throughout Europe and elsewhere. “Yet now, prime minister Viktor Orbán is the most intransigent and vociferous opponent of taking refugees in the EU.” Mr Sutherland accused some heads of government of “stoking up prejudice” by speaking of barring Muslim migrants and said the absence of EU agreement on a refugee-sharing scheme meant a Europe of internal borders was increasingly likely to become a reality across the continent.
Waiting for the next surge as soon as the weather gets better.
Over 800,000 refugees and migrants entered Greece between the start of the year and the end of November, with the number of arrivals increasing more than tenfold compared to last year’s total of 72,632, data published by the Greek Police showed Monday. The number tallies with figures from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which puts total arrivals in Greece from January 1 to December 24 at 836,672. The UNHCR also reported that in the three-day period from December 24 to 26, daily arrivals in Greece came to 2,950, with the monthly average at 3,400 per day, a significant drop from November’s average of 5,040. Most arrivals continue to enter Greece via the islands close to Turkey, the main transit point for refugees and migrants fleeing strife in the Middle East and South Asia and trying to enter the European Union.
On Lesvos alone, authorities estimate that they continue to receive from 2,000 to 2,500 arrivals every day, down from an average of over 5,000 in November. Police on the eastern Aegean island on Monday said that more than 3,500 refugees and migrants were waiting to be ferried to the mainland by this afternoon, while at the island’s main registration center in Moria, there are a further 4,000 people waiting to be processed and granted permission to leave for Athens, from where they will continue their journey north. In the capital, meanwhile, the Asylum Service of the Citizens’ Protection Ministry on Monday published data showing that only 82 of the 449 applications it has submitted so far for the relocation of refugees from Syria, Iraq and Eritrea to other parts of the European Union have been successful.
The initial plan drawn up by European authorities was for a total of 66,400 refugees to be transferred from Greece to other EU member-states, though only 13 countries have come forward, offering to take in a total of 565 asylum seekers. The repatriations that have been successful have been to Luxembourg, which took in 30 people, Finland (24), Portugal (14), Germany (10) and Lithuania, which accepted four relocations.
Home › Forums › Debt Rattle December 29 2015
This topic contains 2 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by rapier 3 years, 6 months ago.
December 29, 2015 at 9:40 am #25869
DPC Sloss City furnaces, Birmingham, Alabama 1906 • Weak Demand, Vessel Surplus Mean Horror 2016 For Commodities Shipping (Reuters) • Energy Stocks Fa
[See the full post at: Debt Rattle December 29 2015]
December 29, 2015 at 7:30 pm #25879
Dr. Diablo
50f above normal? That does indeed sound impressive, unprecedented, even. Actually, odd that the North Pole doesn’t find more North Atlantic storms slip up there.
However, in the Continental United States, 50f departure from the norm–or even swing within 24/48hours–is not uncommon at all. It’s every fourth year Minnesota or somewhere has a “Polar Express” that drops temperatures from 60-70f to -10f, with the accompanying winds, snow, etc. Surely a change of that magnitude, whether up or down, would be considered a “weather bomb” in terms of energy. Yet in the United States, such vicious, incredible weather is common, and has been for the century we’ve been there and keeping records.
I’m not sure Europeans or citizens of other places can appreciate how much Americans take yearly hurricanes of 100mph winds and tornadoes, microbursts, or storms of 70mph with 50f temp drops –or season-long temps of +40c — totally for granted. It ain’t Kansas, Dorothy. Oh wait: it is.
Somehow we survive and thrive.
December 30, 2015 at 12:05 am #25881
Not apropos of anything in today’s summary but it should be noted.
State Department Says It Brought Peace and Security to Syria in 2015; Pretty Pumped for 2016
https://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/12/28/state_department_declares_it_brought_peace_and_security_to_syria_in_2015.html
In Slate, the semi mainstream web magazine. The article disappeared from the front page today in 10 hours or less. Nobody cares at all.
2016 Is An Easy Year To Predict Debt Rattle December 30 2015
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COYNE: It's when you read details of media bailout that the chill sets in
Postmedia News Service
Published: Mar 21 at 12:28 p.m.
Updated: Mar 21 at 2:32 p.m.
If you weren’t careful, you might have missed it: a brief 160-word item, tucked deep inside the budget, labelled Supporting Canadian Journalism.
Mostly it was a rehash of the measures already announced in November’s Fall Economic Statement: a labour cost subsidy (in the form of a tax credit — presumably this sounds more palatable) for journalism organizations, a tax credit/subsidy for digital news subscribers, and charitable tax status for news organizations that register as non-profits. Only if you turned back further still, to an annex marked Tax Measures: Supplementary Information, would you find the details.
What you would discover, if you did, was how a bad idea in principle was likely to be infinitely worse in practice.
There are any number of objections to the government getting into the game of propping up failing news organizations: that taking money from the people we cover will place us in a permanent and inescapable conflict of interest; that it will produce newspapers concerned less with appealing to readers than to grantsmen; that it will not only leave us dependent on government, but without standing to oppose such dependence in others; that it will solve none of our problems, but only encourage us to put off dealing with them; that it is all so bloody unnecessary.
But the most potent objection is that, as the government cannot possibly bail out everybody — for in the internet age what was formerly a tidy little constellation of newspapers and other outlets has exploded into a vast universe of what could plausibly be called news organizations — it must inevitably get into choosing who should receive its blessing and who should not.
Whether this is done directly by the prime minister or by his designates, whether the preference is based on partisanship, or ideology, or connections, or mere incumbency, it is not an appropriate role for government in a democracy. Subsidizing speech the government likes is not materially different from suppressing speech it doesn’t like, and indeed may have much the same effect.
You might understand that in the abstract, but it’s when you see the details of how they propose to go about it that the chill really sets in.
Henceforth, if this goes ahead, the Canadian journalism business will be divided into two groups: on the one hand, a coterie of government-approved trough-feeders adorned with little merit badges identifying them as Qualified Canadian Journalism Organizations, and on the other, everyone else. Eligibility for QCJO status is ostensibly to be decided by an “independent panel” of journalists, but the government has already dictated a list of its own not-so-independent criteria in advance.
Thus, a QCJO would have to be “organized as a corporation, partnership or trust” (no sole proprietorships), incorporated in Canada and 75 per cent Canadian-owned (no foreign-based or -owned publications); and “primarily engaged,” not only in producing “original news content,” but news content of a particular kind: “matters of general interest and reports of current events, including coverage of democratic institutions and processes,” but not “primarily focused on a particular topic such as industry-specific news, sports, recreation, arts, lifestyle or entertainment.”
So: the government will subsidize department stores, but not boutiques. Why? The same reason the 25 per cent wage subsidy, like the 15 per cent subscription subsidy, is restricted to news organizations that “primarily” produce “written content.” Because that description neatly excludes anyone outside the existing Canadian newspaper industry. And that’s who this policy is designed for: not the future of news but the past; not the scrappy startups who might save the business, but the lumbering dinosaurs who are taking it down.
That’s, as I say, before the independent panel has even been struck. What additional criteria its members will come up with can only be guessed at — the November statement suggested they would also be asked to “define and promote core journalism standards” and “define professional journalism,” which sounds even more ominous.
How independent will the panel be? How will its members be chosen, and by whom? If previous such exercises, for example the Senate selection model, are any guide, they will not be partisan Liberals, as such — just reliably progressive in outlook. Of course they will be. For they will have already selected themselves: not just by their enthusiasm for the idea of a government body picking which news organizations live or die, but by the firm conviction that they are just the sort of person who ought to be a member of that body.
And why not? Membership on the panel, as on the (presumably separate) administrative body that will “evaluate” organizations according to how well they adhere to the panel’s criteria, will carry with it extraordinary power — over businesses, over careers. Possibly news organizations will be prohibited from lobbying panel members, but nothing can prevent them from sucking up to them, whether in the issues they cover or the stances they take.
But then, again, their work would be half-done before they had started: self-selection would have already winnowed the field. What sort of news organization do you think would operate as a non-profit, the kind that charitable tax status would benefit? Would it be likely to be, say, a strong believer in the profit motive? What sort of organization would be most likely to apply for the labour subsidy? The kind that advocates for less government intervention in the economy? And yet, those organizations that refused to apply would find themselves at a competitive disadvantage relative to those that did.
The inevitable result will be to tilt the field, gradually perhaps but irreversibly, in favour of progressives and of progressive views — not necessarily congenial to the government of the day, but certainly to government, and absolutely certainly within the ambit of “acceptable” opinion. The radical, the unorthodox, the unsettling or unappealing — to some, though not to others — need not apply.
You say something like this is already in place, in broadcasting? Yes it is. I’m not sure the CBC is really an advertisement for the wonders of subsidized newsgathering. But that’s not the point. Maybe there’s a place for the CBC, or something like it, as one offering among others. The point is, if this goes through, everything will be subsidized: print, broadcast, the works — a whole industry of CBCs. If you were searching for a way to kill the news business, you couldn’t do a better job.
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Are you ready to share your message?
by staff March 23, 2012 July 21, 2015 030
Do you have an important message to share with the world?Are you ready to take your career to a whole new level by expanding your reach?Do you have a dream to write a book, build a speaking career, appear on TV, or host your own radio show?
The most successful authors, teachers, and speakers know that it takes a firm commitment of time and energy to build the kind of platform that not only reaches millions, but also grabs the interest of publishers, producers, editors, or speaker’s bureaus.
Led by Cheryl Richardson and Reid Tracy, an exciting weekend has been designed to give you a framework that will birth a successful public career. The program includes lectures, interactive exercises, and live coaching where Cheryl and Reid will work with individuals to demonstrate key points. At Hay House’s Speak, Write & Promote: Become a Mover & Shaker you will learn:
• The ten rules that, when followed, will allow you to build a strong foundation for a successful, long-term, public career
• What to consider when building a successful personal brand
• How to communicate effectively to a wide audience
• The power of personal image and why you need to assess and enhance yours
• Who should (and should not) become a public speaker and why
• The ins and outs of writing and publishing—a book, a magazine column, blogs, e-newsletters, and various other media
• What publishers look for when it comes to choosing and developing successful authors
• The truth about publicity and what you need to do to generate the right kind
• and more!!!
Cheryl Richardson is a #1 New York Times best-selling author who has written five books that have sold over a million copies. Her work has been covered widely in the media including The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, CBS This Morning, The Today Show, and regular appearances on Good Morning America, as well as leading the Lifestyle Makeover Series for The Oprah Winfrey Show. She’s created a successful multimedia career that has brought her message to millions of people around the world. As a professional coach, author, speaker, TV personality, radio host, and social media expert, Cheryl offers an unprecedented “inside view” into what it takes to build a successful brand.
Reid Tracy is President and CEO of Hay House, Inc., the largest and most influential self-empowerment publishing company in the world. Acquiring hundreds of prominent authors over the years, Reid has played a role in the strategic development of authors such as Dr. Wayne Dyer, Dr. Christiane Northrup, Jerry and Esther Hicks, Suze Orman, Ben Stein and Doreen Virtue. He has also produced more than 12 successful PBS Specials that have raised over $100 million for Public Television.
Most recently, he was the executive producer of several movies, including The Shift, with Wayne Dyer and You Can Heal Your Life, a documentary about Louise Hay’s life. Reid is also directly responsible for establishing Hay House’s offices in New York, London, Sydney, Johannesburg, and New Delhi.
The Speak, Write Promote: Become a Mover & Shaker workshop is being held June 1 to June 3 at The Westin Gaslamp Quarter, 910 Broadway Circle, San Diego, CA 92101. Fee is $995 per registrant.
Registration information can be found at: hayhouse.com/ and click on Event Tours.
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Spoiled to the Core
Mike Daisey: The Man Who Outed Apple’s Abysmal Labor Practices in China
Apple is ‘infected with arrogance,’ and an admiring press ignores the company’s labor practices, the monologist tells Jacob Bernstein.
Jacob Bernstein
Stan Barouh
In late January, a 5,500+-word article appeared on the front page of The New York Times, delving deep into the labor practices of Apple. For years the company’s manufacturing has been in China, and the Times presented workers’ conditions there as abysmal, with people working huge amounts of overtime, often without being paid for it. “Serious—sometimes deadly—safety problems,” abounded, the paper reported, with hundreds of workers injured by explosions and poisonous chemicals used to clean iPhone screens.
Several died.
Needless to say, it was shocking; first because Apple’s profits are so large at this point that such suffering seemed unnecessary; and second, because Apple actually cultivates an image of being more humane than other tech companies.
But one man who was not terribly surprised by anything in the piece—nor a series of follow-ups—was Mike Daisey.
For nearly five months, the award-winning monologist has been performing an extremely prescient one-man show at the Public Theater called The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, that is focused largely on the company's labor practices. He even spoke to one of the Times’s reporters on the piece during the course of the reporter’s research, although most indications are that the paper of record had begun work on the story months before reporters there saw Daisey’s show.
Says Oskar Eustis, the artistic director of the Public Theater: “We want to be careful about taking too much credit for the Times’s coverage or Apple’s response to all of this.” (More on that in a minute.) “But what I am clear about is that Mike’s voice was a significant piece of the pressure that both has led Apple to change their policy and that has led other media to give coverage to it. When you’re making theater, that’s what you dream of. It’s not business as usual and when it happens it’s fantastic.”
On a recent sunny morning, I went to breakfast with Daisey at a restaurant in Carroll Gardens, in Brooklyn, near where he lives with his wife, Jean-Michele Gregory, a director who has helmed most of her husband’s plays. He is a big guy, and was wearing black pants and a black button-down shirt. He was eating an omelet, and had moved the bread off his plate. His roughly 3-year-old, jail-broken, iPhone 3GS was on the table.
Daisey said that while he wasn’t totally boycotting at this point, he has begun to think hard about upgrading his devices unnecessarily and giving extra money to a corporation with a questionable ethical footprint. Hence the old device.
Nor was Daisey entirely convinced by Apple’s recent promises to ride the factories harder about improving the conditions of workers.
For one, he said, there was an internal email by Apple CEO Tim Cook, shortly after the Times’s first article, in which Cook said that “any suggestion that we don’t care is patently false and offensive.”
“I was amazed that he chose to make the dominant tone of that email fury,” Daisey said. “I think that was the honest moment of that email, and it speaks to something very sad about Apple. At the heart, Apple’s been infected with a very serious arrogance and has been for a very long. They’re really a great company when they’re fighting the odds. When they’re not, it’s bad. I have a good friend who’s a vice president at Microsoft, and years ago he told me, ‘The only people you would not want to see with a monopoly more than us is Apple. You think we’re assholes. You have no idea.’ And I think we’re seeing that come true.”
Daisey blames the tech press, which has been focused disproportionately on reviewing products at the expense of investigative or adversarial journalism, and has almost always seemed to be in the tank for Apple. “More than a lot of other types of journalism, it’s dominated by people who love [the thing they cover] and have an incredibly strong vested interest, personally, I would almost say spiritually, in not examining how everything is made, because that’s a deeply uncomfortable topic.” (The Times piece was done primarily by two reporters on its business desk, Charles Duhigg and David Barboza, neither of whom focuses principally on the consumer side of things.)
Though Daisey takes a certain amount of pride in having been early to this story, he points out that it was in many ways hiding in plain sight, that he is at best a canary in a very sunlit coal mine. “Shenzhen is not some distant unknown valley in Nepal that you hike into,” he said of the city where heaps of Apple products are made, the place he visited in 2010. “You can fly right into Hong Kong and take the subway there. Anyone can do it."
On certain days, he spoke to up to 50 people a day, sometimes right in front of Foxconn (the best-known factory subcontracted by Apple, and the site of all those suicides a few years back). From there he began to construct the rough outline of his show. (Though Daisey works from notes during every performance, he prefers to work extemporaneously rather than with a script.) Jumping back and forth between Jobs’s story and the stories of the anonymous people who make his company’s products, Daisey built a portrait of Apple that conveys the insanity of its many fanboys and then the disillusionment of one of them upon realizing the ugly cost of doing business.
After performing the show around the country over the last year or so, Daisey brought it in October to the Public, where it opened almost within moments of Jobs’s death from cancer. It may not have been the most opportune timing. (“It was challenging in the room,” Daisey says. “People didn’t know what they were going to hear. They were fearful about the gestalt.”) But reviewers swooned, as did audiences, who seemed to appreciate both how counterintuitive the show was (a self-professed tech geek who dared critique his favorite company for its closed system, its big-brother behavior, and its bad labor practices!) and how humorous and un-self-serious the whole event was.
It’s now been extended three times, and a transcript of the show posted on Daisey’s website was downloaded 40,000 times within days of being posted last week.
Eustis, who has provided a New York home for two of Daisey’s other shows, is not exactly surprised at the monologist’s success, though he’s certainly elated by it.
As the Public’s artistic director tells it, he first saw Daisey back in 2008, when he was doing a show called How Theater Failed America. “It was a piece that actually made me squirm, and that doesn’t happen very often,” Eustis said. “And it certainly doesn’t happen very often in the theater that somebody invites me to see a piece of theater that’s going to make me squirm and then invites me up on stage to talk about it onstage afterwards. But that's Mike. In a way, his relationship to the American theater prefigured his relationship to Apple. He loves the American theater, and he’s completely disappointed in it. He loves Apple and he’s incredibly disappointed in it. And that ability to hold those two things in his mind simultaneously is part of what makes him a great and effective artist. His love and his disappointment walk hand in hand.”
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HANGING TOUGH
Obama Has Learned His Lesson About Compromise With Republicans
Obama has figured out that seeking conciliation with the GOP is futile and is playing hardball, says Peter Beinart.
Say what you want about Barack Obama: he learns from his mistakes. In the early debates of the 2007–08 primary campaign, his answers were often long and meandering. By the end he was outclassing Hillary Clinton night after night. In his first debate with Mitt Romney, he seemed focused, above all, on being polite. In the second and third he focused on winning every exchange.
You can see the same improvement in Obama’s televised tussles with a different sort of political foe: David Gregory. On Sept. 20, 2009, in the midst of the battle for health-care reform, Obama sat down with the Meet the Press anchor and talked like a man who thought he was ushering in a post-ideological age. Instead of highlighting the differences between his health-care vision and the one championed by Washington Republicans, Obama blurred them. Instead of insisting that the 2008 campaign represented a public endorsement of his health-care agenda, he treated the campaign as a bout of unpleasantness best forgotten.
“I actually think that we’ve [Democrats and Republicans] agreed to about 80 percent” of the substance of a future health-care law, Obama told Gregory in his first answer of the interview. “The key is now just to narrow those differences.” But “those narrow differences can also, in some cases, be very big differences,” replied Gregory, virtually begging Obama to distinguish his vision from the GOP’s. But Obama refused, instead pointing proudly to his efforts to erase the very ideological distinctions he had spent the 2008 campaign outlining. “I’ve already made some pretty substantial changes—in terms of how I was approaching health care” as a candidate, Obama insisted. A few minutes later he cited his embrace of medical-malpractice reform as one of “a whole series of Republican ideas, ideas from my opponents during the campaign, that we have incorporated.” He ended his discussion of health care by pleading that “we’ve got to get past some of these ideological arguments to actually make something happen.”
How did all this post-ideological talk work out for the president? Not well. Washington Republicans, as it turned out, didn’t want to narrow differences on health care. To the contrary, they told Americans that the difference between their view and the president’s was the difference between freedom and tyranny. And because Obama never effectively framed the ideological debate, or even quite conceded that there was an ideological debate, he never rallied the public to his side.
How times have changed. In that first presidential interview with Gregory, Obama mentioned the word “Republican” twice in relation to health care. In his second, conducted yesterday, Obama punctuated his discussion of the looming “fiscal cliff” with seven references to the opposing party. And the emphasis was on opposing. Again and again, Obama stressed that on the budget, he and the Republicans have vastly different priorities, and that Americans chose between them last month.
“There is a basic fairness at stake in this whole thing that the American people understand and they listened to an entire year’s debate about it,” Obama told Gregory. “They made a clear decision about the—the approach they prefer ... They rejected the notion that the economy grows best from the top down.” Then in his next answer: “The way they’re [Congressional Republicans] behaving is that their only priority is making sure that tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans are protected. That seems to be their only overriding, unifying theme.” And soon after that: “What I ran on and what the American people elected me to do was put forward a balanced approach. To make sure that there’s shared sacrifice ... And it is very difficult for me to say to a senior citizen or a student or a mom with a disabled kid, ‘You’re going to have to do with less, but we’re not going to ask millionaires and billionaires to do more.’”
The analogies between Obama’s 2009 and 2012 interviews aren’t perfect. By September 2009, 10 months had elapsed since Obama’s election victory. Obama’s November 2012 win, by contrast, occurred less than three months ago. When Obama talked health care with Gregory in September 2009, the legislative process was far from playing itself out—there was no imminent deadline like the fiscal cliff—which may have inclined Obama to be more conciliatory.
But what the two interviews show unmistakably is that Obama has learned a hard but crucial lesson about contemporary American politics. In 2009 he was so enthralled with his ability to see the reasonableness in conservatives that he ended up patronizing them. Like many a technocratic liberal before him, he assumed that the real divide between left and right was over how government should intervene to solve national problems. Had Obama been dealing with the Republican Party of the Eisenhower or Nixon years, that assumption would have made sense. But that GOP died long ago. And in 2009, Obama didn’t sufficiently grasp the right’s core conviction that no matter how grave the problem, enhanced government intervention in the economy will make it worse because enhanced government intervention in the economy threatens freedom.
We don’t know how the current budget fight will resolve itself. But this much is already clear: Obama is treating it as an extension of the campaign he just won. That’s a very good thing, because although the GOP is today a deeply anti-government party, Americans are not in a particularly anti-government mood. And thus, as Obama showed John McCain and Mitt Romney, when a Democrat takes the GOP’s anti-government ideology seriously enough to forthrightly reject it, the American people usually do too.
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Pilot killed in Parker crash founded veterinary clinic
Posted: 10:45 AM, May 13, 2018
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — The pilot killed in a small plane crash near Denver was a veterinarian and a former search and rescue volunteer.
Sixty-seven-year-old Robert D. Marquis was killed Friday night in a crash that happened soon after his Cirrus SR-22 took off from Centennial Airport.
The Daily Sentinel reports that he opened Tiara Rado Animal Hospital in Grand Junction in 1983.
He served on the Mesa County Search and Rescue Team for nearly four years. Team member Doug Sieckert says Marquis never backed down from difficult missions and had a "passionate heart" for helping the community.
Authorities have not yet determined the cause of the crash. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says Marquis indicated that he wanted to return to the airport soon after takeoff but he didn't say why.
Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com
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DALEY OPENS NEWLY RENOVATED, ACCESSIBLE PULASKI STATION; HAILS PROGRESS OF BLUE LINE REHAB PROJECT
Mayor Richard M. Daley joined Chicago Transit Authority President Frank Kruesi and other officials today to hail the progress of the $482.6 million renovation of the Cermak (Douglas) branch of the Blue Line and officially open its newly renovated Pulaski station. It is the third of eight stations to reopen after renovation.
?Twenty-eight months ago, we came to this station to break ground for the largest capital project in the CTA's history," Daley said. ?Today, we?ve returned to open this beautifully renovated station and to report that the entire project is moving rapidly toward completion -- on time and on budget."
"The Pulaski station opening marks yet another milestone as we forge ahead to bring the Cermak (Douglas) Branch to a state of good repair," stated CTA President Frank Kruesi. ?Our thanks to Mayor Daley, our state and local leaders and the entire Illinois Congressional delegation for their continued support of public transit and the CTA in particular."
The state-of-the-art, accessible station is located at 2021 South Pulaski Road, with the main entrance on the east side of Pulaski and an auxiliary exit on Harding Avenue, one block east of Pulaski.
The station offers a number of customer-friendly amenities. For customer comfort, the platform features benches, overhead heaters and enhanced lighting. Canopies have been installed to protect customers from the elements.
An elevator, wheelchair-accessible gate, TTY telephones, tactile edging andBraille signs offer accessibility for customers with disabilities. Audio-visual station signs and a public address system help customers navigate the station and receive travel information.
A new bus turnaround encircles the station, providing convenient dropoff and pickup points under a canopy that protects customers from the elements.
"The Cermak (Douglas) Branch will be a catalyst for economic development and job growth in the communities along the branch, and I am pleased that the CTA is continuing to improve its service to our customers in these communities," said Chicago Transit Board Chairman Carole L. Brown.
The CTA has exceeded its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) contract goal for the Blue Line Rehabilitation Project with 37.3 percent DBE contracts.
The project involves reconstructing eight stations ? 54th/Cermak, Kostner, Pulaski, Central Park, Kedzie, California, Western and Hoyne ? and replacing the track and support structure.
As of January 1, 2004, the CTA had completed installation of the foundations for the vertical support columns, steel and concrete columns, and track and girder spans, three newly accessible and renovated stations have reopened at Kostner, Pulaski and 54th/Cermak.
The branch has remained open for service throughout the project, with station work taking place on weekdays using temporary platforms and entrances that provide access to the 'L'. Track and structure work was performed on weekends when the branch was not in operation.
The project, which began in the summer of 2001, will be completed within the year. Kiewit/Delgado, AJV (A Joint Venture), of Elgin, is overseeing the construction portion of the project.
The Cermak (Douglas) branch is 6.6 miles long and provides rapid transit service to Pilsen, Heart of Chicago, Little Village, Lawndale and the town of Cicero. It serves as a vital link to the Chicago Loop and the Illinois Medical District where medical centers such as Rush Presbyterian-St. Luke's, John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County, University of Illinois, St. Anthony's, Mount Sinai and Veterans? Administration Hospital, are located.
A trip from 54th/Cermak to downtown could take as long as 45 minutes before construction began. That trip will take less than 25 minutes when the rehabilitation is completed.
The project was funded through a Full Funding Grant Agreement with the federal government and locally through Illinois FIRST, the Regional Transportation Authority and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
In November 2003, the Blue Line was the CTA's second busiest rail line afterthe Red Line, with a total of 72,033 rides taken on an average weekday and 8,324 of those rides provided by the Cermak (Douglas) branch.
The Chicago Transit Authority is the nation's second largest public transit system, serving Chicago and 40 suburbs. Each weekday, the CTA provides 1.5 million rides through a network of seven rail lines and 148 bus routes.
On a daily basis the CTA provides 1.5 million rides to Chicago and 40 suburbs, with a service area that covers nearly all of Cook County. Nearly 2 million customers use some combination of CTA, Pace and Metra to get to and from destinations throughout the six county region. The CTA is committed to meeting the transportation needs of the region by providing quality and affordable transit service for all its customers.
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Archived Press ReleasesCurrently selected
Media Schedule and Advisories
Home » Press Center » Press Releases » Treasury Targets Leading Figures of Transnational Criminal Organizations
Treasury Targets Leading Figures of Transnational Criminal Organizations
Action is the Latest by Treasury in a Targeted Campaign Against
the Brothers’ Circle, the Camorra and the Yakuza
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today took action against three transnational criminal organizations (TCO), the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers’ Circle. Today’s designations include four members of the Camorra, one of Europe's largest criminal organizations; the Inagawa-kai, the third-largest clan within the Japanese Yakuza criminal network; and an individual providing support to a key member of the Brothers’ Circle, a large multi-ethnic Eurasian criminal network. These designations were imposed under Treasury’s authority targeting transnational organized crime.
President Obama identified the Camorra, the Yakuza, and the Brothers’ Circle along with the Zetas, as significant TCOs in the Annex to Executive Order 13581 (Blocking Property of Transnational Criminal Organizations) on July 24, 2011, and charged the Treasury Department with pursuing additional sanctions against its members and supporters to undermine and interdict their global criminal operations.
Today’s action freezes any assets these persons may have within the jurisdiction of the United States and generally prohibits any transactions with them by U.S. persons.
“The individuals designated today are key members of criminal organizations who engage in serious crimes around the world,” said David S. Cohen, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “Treasury will continue to target additional members and supporters of these groups, as well as other significant TCOs, as we systematically expose their criminal operations and protect the U.S. financial system from their illicit activity.”
The Camorra
The Camorra operates internationally and is involved in serious criminal activity, such as money laundering, extortion, alien smuggling, robbery, blackmail, kidnapping, political corruption, and counterfeiting. In 2012 Italian law enforcement conducted multiple operations to seize Camorra assets, including 800 million euro seized from the Casalesi clan in July. To date, Treasury has identified five individuals affiliated with the Camorra under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Michele Zagaria and Antonio Iovine.
In August 2012 the Treasury Department designated Michele Zagaria, a leader of the Camorra Casalesi clan, who is serving a life sentence for conspiracy, murder, extortion, and robbery. The Camorra members designated today are all members of the immediate family of Michele Zagaria: his brothers Pasquale Zagaria, Carmine Zagaria, Antonio Zagaria, and his father Nicola Zagaria. Each of these four individuals is designated for acting for or on behalf of, or providing support to, Michele Zagaria and/or the Camorra. All the brothers have led the Caselasi clan at one point while other siblings were serving jail sentences. All are involved in the family’s criminal enterprises. This network has been involved in extortion, kidnapping, money laundering, and bribery.
The Yakuza
The Yakuza, reputedly the world’s largest criminal organization with over 70,000 members, is involved in serious criminal activities, including weapons trafficking, prostitution, human trafficking, drug trafficking, fraud, and money laundering. The Treasury Department designated the Yamaguchi-gumi and the Sumiyoshi-kai, in February and September 2012, respectively. The Inagawa-kai, designated today, is the third-largest of the Yakuza organizations, and the Department of the Treasury is targeting it today for acting for or on behalf of the Yakuza. The top three clans account for approximately 72.4 percent of the Yakuza membership. To date, Treasury has identified four individuals and two entities affiliated with the Yakuza under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent leaders Kenichi Shinoda and Shigeo Nishiguchi.
Today’s action also imposes sanctions on Jiro Kiyota, the top Inagawa-kai leader, as well as the Inagawa-kai’s second-in-command, Kazuo Uchibori, for acting for or on behalf of the Inagawa-kai. As leaders of Inagawa-kai, Kiyota and Uchibori play key roles in directing the syndicate’s policies and settling disputes with other Yakuza syndicates. Under the leadership of Kiyota and Uchibori, the Inagawa-kai has become increasingly aligned with the Yamaguchi-gumi.
The Brothers’ Circle
The Brothers’ Circle is a multi-ethnic criminal group composed of leaders and senior members of several Eurasian criminal groups largely based in countries of the former Soviet Union but extending to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. To date, Treasury has identified 15 individuals affiliated with the Brothers’ Circle and their associates under E.O. 13581, including their most prominent members Gafur Rakhimov and Zakhariy Kalashov. The Brothers’ Circle serves as a coordinating body for several national level criminal networks, mediating disputes between the individual criminal networks and directing global criminal activity.
On December 20, 2012, the Treasury Department designated Zakhariy Kalashov, a key member of the Brothers’ Circle and a prominent Eurasian organized crime figure with extensive connections to criminal groups in Russia and countries throughout Eurasia. His criminal activities include money laundering, extortion, criminal protection, and drug trafficking. He is currently incarcerated, serving a nine year sentence for money laundering in Spain. Marina Kalashova, who has been designated today, is a key part of Zakhariy Kalashov’s network. Kalashov communicates with Kalashova to pass messages on his behalf to his organization.
Identifying Information:
Name: Zagaria, Carmine
DOB: 27 May 1968
POB: San Cipriano D’Aversa, Italy
Name: Zagaria, Antonio
DOB: 29 June 1962
Name: Zagaria, Pasquale
DOB: 5 January 1960
Name: Zagaria, Nicola
DOB: 10 October 1927
Entity: Inagawa-kai
Address: 7-8-4 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Name: Kiyota, Jiro
AKA: Sin, Byon-Gyu
POB: Japan
Name: Uchibori, Kazuo
AKA: Uchibori, Kazuya
POB: Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Name: Goldberg, Marina Samuilovna
AKA: Kalashov, Marina
AKA: Kalashova, Marina
Address: Burj Khalifa, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
DOB: 15 September 1979
ID: Passport 514763020 (Russia)
1500 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
General Information: (202) 622-2000
Hours: Mon-Fri 8:00am - 5:00pm
View Treasury Auctions
Treasury.gov News
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TreeHugger Radio
The TH Interview: Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia (Part Two)
Jacob Gordon jacob_gordon
In part two of our interview with Yvon Chouinard, the maverick businessman talks about politics and the irony of living simply in a consumer society. He also rebuffs his brand's "Pata-Gucci" reputation and explains why he's started pouring cheap wine down the toilet. ::TreeHugger Radio
Listen to the podcast of this interview via iTunes, or just listen/right-click to download. Catch part one here.
Full text after the jump.TreeHugger: Let's talk about money for a second. People find Patagonia gear to be pretty pricey stuff. It's sometimes tongue-in cheekly called "Pata-Gucci," as if it's designer wear for hippies and climbers. What do you think of that nickname, or the broader criticism that's it's so expensive?
Yvon Couinard: We're exactly the price as The North Face or Marmot or any of the better-made outdoor clothing companies. We're more expensive than, say, Columbia, which is kind of a cheap brand. But look at the price of jeans these days. People are paying hundreds of dollars for a pair of jeans. If you compare us to Ralph Lauren or any of the fashion companies, we're way, way less.
But that kind of the "Pata-Gucci" thing comes from college students who really can't afford to buy a lot of the things they would really like to have. I just tell them, "Buy less." You don't need 20 T-shirts and 10 pairs of shorts. You just buy one pair of shorts that'll do everything. Then you can afford to pay more for it, and it'll last forever.
I don't know whether we're in a recession or not, but our business is booming right now. And every recession we've had in the last 50 years, my company has done really well. And it doesn't do as well when the economy is in a boom. Because in the boom times, people want to buy fashion stuff. They get silly, they really become consumers. And they forget about quality. They just want quantity. So right now, we're in an unbelievable growth spurt.
TH: Well, let's talk about politics for a second. I've got a quote here from you that I really like. "A million or ten million dollars a year won't go far toward solving the world's problems; however, if you want to change government, change the corporations, and government will follow. If you want to change corporations, change consumers."
Are you trying to change the government through consumers?
YC: Well, I've kind of given up on government, the idea that government is going to solve our problems. If you look at the candidates now, the environment hardly even shows up. But they're all talking about symptoms: Iraq is a symptom, healthcare is a symptom. They're all symptoms of society breaking down. Nobody is really attacking the causes.
And so I'm trying to change corporations, and I'm trying to change consumers. Through our catalogues and through our various campaigns we educate our consumers.
I said I've given up on government but we can't do it without government. I've seen how much harm government can do. I haven't seen the good that government can do; except when I go to the places like Sweden or Norway or Iceland. They're so far ahead of us in terms of doing what they need to do to combat global warming.
Socialism is such a dirty word in this country; nobody dares to even whisper it. No politician, certainly. But go to Iceland. They have no natural resources except hot and cold water and fish. But they have no speck of paint missing on their infrastructure, the president lives down the street, there's free medical care, free education through university, they have no homeless people It's unbelievable what you can do when the entire country can go in one direction.
What we have is a country that should be several countries, really. There's no way you can govern this country. We can never mobilize this country again to go in one direction like we did, say, in World War II. It can't happen. That's why I'm so pessimistic about getting a handle on global warming in this country. Because the things we need to do will never happen.
TH: You gave the keynote address at this year's conference of Net Impact in Nashville, and at the end of your talk—I'll never forget this—the Net Impact coordinator came up and handed you the obligatory swag bag, the corporate goodie bag, which you very politely declined to take.
You said something like, "Thank you, but I have everything I need." And that might have been an off-hand remark for you, but it was a striking thing to see. And it certainly made an impression on the audience.
YC: It sure did. I've gotten more of a response from that than anything else I said!
TH: But it's a commentary on your attitude toward material possessions. But then again, selling things is your business. So is that a conflict?
YC: Yeah, it is. Absolutely. We did an ad one time that said instead of owning a pair of volleyball shorts, a pair of running shorts, a pair of tennis shorts, a pair of walking shorts (we listed all these different uses for shorts), buy one pair of Baggies, and they'll do it all.
And it's the truth. You don't need a pair of surf trunks to surf. Kelly Slater could probably surf just as well in a pair of cut-off jeans as a $60 pair of surf trunks. And we don't mind saying that. I don't feel any guilt about making really high-quality products that last a long time.
We kind of got off base for a while. I didn't feel too good about making thongs for a while! [laughs] But we're back on it now.
People are going to buy clothes. It's the same thing with wine. I've cut down like crazy on the amount of wine I drink. If somebody gives me a glass and it's just average wine, I make an excuse and I go dump it in the toilet. I've decided to drink way less but much better quality.
And it's the same thing with all my purchases. I'm trying to simplify my life and eliminate a lot of the unnecessary things. I've got so many T-shirts. I've never bought a T-shirts, but people are always dumping them on me. Now, if they're not organic, I hand it back to them. I say, "Thanks, but I only wear organic cotton." And it kind of shakes them up, but it's my own personal thing.
Conspicuous Consumption
In part two of our interview with Yvon Chouinard, the maverick businessman talks about politics and the irony of living simply in a consumer society. He also rebuffs his brand's "Pata-Gucci" reputation and explains why he's started pouring cheap
Plastic is toxic at every stage of its life cycle
New study links chemical sunscreens to birth defects
An organic diet rapidly reduces pesticide exposure
American cosmetic regulations haven't been updated in 81 years
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2007 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup
Results: 2007 Edmonton BG Triathlon World Cup | Elite Men
Edmonton, Canada • 24 Jun, 2007
Elite Men Elite Women
1 Bevan Docherty 1977 NZL 1 01:45:54 00:17:09 00:01:22 00:55:20 00:00:27 00:31:38
2 Alexander Bryukhankov 1987 RUS 3 01:46:14 00:16:52 00:01:20 00:55:38 00:00:32 00:31:53
3 Sven Riederer 1981 SUI 12 01:46:42 00:17:19 00:01:21 00:55:09 00:00:30 00:32:23
4 Kris Gemmell 1977 NZL 2 01:46:43 00:17:15 00:01:17 00:54:51 00:00:24 00:32:58
5 Reinaldo Colucci 1985 BRA 8 01:46:54 00:17:23 00:01:19 00:54:44 00:00:25 00:33:05
6 Terenzo Bozzone 1985 NZL 30 01:46:58 00:17:14 00:01:18 00:55:16 00:00:26 00:32:45
7 Matthew Reed 1975 USA 6 01:47:06 00:17:05 00:01:21 00:55:22 00:00:23 00:32:54
8 Simon Agoston 1977 AUT 19 01:47:14 00:17:03 00:01:27 00:55:19 00:00:28 00:32:57
9 Shane Reed 1973 NZL 4 01:47:17 00:17:12 00:01:21 00:55:18 00:00:28 00:32:58
10 Ivan Vasiliev 1984 RUS 48 01:47:18 00:16:59 00:01:26 00:55:27 00:00:32 00:32:56
11 Dmitry Polyanskiy 1986 RUS 15 01:47:29 00:16:57 00:01:20 00:55:30 00:00:31 00:33:11
12 Joe Umphenour 1969 USA 23 01:48:00 00:17:10 00:01:20 00:55:20 00:00:27 00:33:44
13 Colin Jenkins 1983 CAN 9 01:48:29 00:17:00 00:01:23 00:55:25 00:00:26 00:34:15
14 Timothy O'Donnell 1980 USA 27 01:48:43 00:17:03 00:01:25 00:55:23 00:00:28 00:34:24
15 Valentin Mechsheryakov 1985 KAZ 35 01:49:07 00:17:03 00:01:25 00:55:20 00:00:33 00:34:49
16 Kyle Jones 1984 CAN 20 01:49:11 00:17:33 00:01:18 00:57:24 00:00:26 00:32:31
17 Jarrod Shoemaker 1982 USA 7 01:49:14 00:17:32 00:01:22 00:57:24 00:00:25 00:32:35
18 Brent Mcmahon 1980 CAN 11 01:49:26 00:17:33 00:01:17 00:57:25 00:00:28 00:32:45
19 Simon Thompson 1977 AUS 5 01:49:41 00:18:19 00:01:20 00:57:25 00:00:25 00:32:14
20 Clayton Fettell 1986 AUS 50 01:49:46 00:17:04 00:01:21 00:54:57 00:00:25 00:35:59
21 Tamás Lipták 1979 HUN 37 01:49:50 00:17:23 00:01:25 00:57:27 00:00:28 00:33:07
22 Matt Hopper 1977 AUS 16 01:49:55 00:17:24 00:01:17 00:57:36 00:00:27 00:33:12
23 Leonardo Chacon 1984 CRC 25 01:50:01 00:18:13 00:01:23 00:57:26 00:00:28 00:32:31
24 Andrea D'Aquino 1979 ITA 31 01:50:23 00:17:27 00:01:22 00:57:29 00:00:31 00:33:37
25 Brian Fleischmann 1978 USA 10 01:50:32 00:17:25 00:01:25 00:57:25 00:00:28 00:33:51
26 Emilio D'Aquino 1982 ITA 14 01:50:53 00:17:33 00:01:26 00:58:06 00:00:28 00:33:23
27 Martin Van Barneveld 1985 NZL 44 01:50:57 00:18:19 00:01:21 00:57:24 00:00:28 00:33:26
28 Arturo Garza 1977 MEX 18 01:51:01 00:17:48 00:01:20 00:57:56 00:00:30 00:33:28
29 Omar Tayara Rodriguez 1979 ESP 01:51:05 00:17:04 00:01:25 00:55:24 00:00:28 00:36:46
30 Andre Paul Baillargeon Smith 1984 CAN 51 01:51:40 00:18:21 00:01:23 00:57:22 00:00:28 00:34:08
31 Samer Ali Saad 1982 ESP 38 01:52:04 00:18:22 00:01:22 00:57:21 00:00:31 00:34:31
32 Harunobu Sato 1979 JPN 33 01:52:06 00:18:14 00:01:23 00:57:39 00:00:31 00:34:20
33 Leonardo Saucedo 1986 MEX 29 01:52:34 00:17:33 00:01:21 00:58:09 00:00:27 00:35:04
34 Yiming Zhang 1986 CHN 45 01:52:45 00:17:39 00:01:19 00:58:06 00:00:28 00:35:14
35 Gerald Horvath 1978 AUT 56 01:52:50 00:18:14 00:01:23 00:57:28 00:00:28 00:35:17
36 Andrew Mccartney CAN 65 01:52:58 00:17:04 00:01:23 00:55:25 00:00:34 00:38:32
37 Andrew Wright 1983 HKG 39 01:53:22 00:18:14 00:01:23 00:57:26 00:00:31 00:35:47
38 Zhihang Jiang 1986 CHN 57 01:53:27 00:18:14 00:01:21 00:57:28 00:00:28 00:35:54
39 Jose Vivas 1984 VEN 49 01:53:35 00:18:14 00:01:22 00:57:27 00:00:26 00:36:07
40 Jordan Bryden 1986 CAN 61 01:53:50 00:17:39 00:01:21 00:58:07 00:00:31 00:36:14
41 Hiroki Sugimoto 1981 JPN 41 01:53:58 00:17:14 00:01:22 00:57:43 00:00:27 00:37:14
42 Zvonko Cubric CRO 21 01:54:14 00:17:06 00:01:23 00:57:47 00:00:30 00:37:29
43 Daniel Wells 1980 CAN 64 01:54:39 00:16:52 00:01:22 00:58:05 00:00:28 00:37:55
44 Jarmo Hast 1976 FIN 54 01:57:08 00:18:20 00:01:23 01:01:59 00:00:28 00:35:00
45 Andrew Russell 1980 CAN 62 01:59:07 00:18:19 00:01:23 01:02:01 00:00:27 00:36:59
46 Leomar Perdomo 1984 VEN 01:59:56 00:19:55 00:01:28 01:01:16 00:00:35 00:36:43
47 Leandro Lobo 1984 VEN 59 02:01:57 00:18:14 00:01:29 01:02:58 00:00:30 00:38:50
DNF Mark Fretta 1980 USA 24 00:00:00 00:18:18 00:01:23 00:57:21 00:00:28 00:00:00
DNF Daniel Lee Chi Wo 1977 HKG 26 00:00:00 00:19:37 00:01:37 01:01:22 00:00:31 00:00:00
DNF Gabriel Rojas 1983 VEN 43 00:00:00 00:18:22 00:01:23 00:00:00 00:00:00 00:00:00
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Toby from Citroën Morecambe is raising money for Ben the Automotive Charity
Support Toby's team in their charity drive
Toby, from Citroën Morecambe, is rasing money for Ben Support For Life
3,000 miles in 5 days, can they do it?
This July Toby, his brother, and two cousins are setting off on an epic journey across Europe to raise money for charity. They are headed all the way to Barcelona... and back!
Toby's chosen charity is Ben. Ben is the automotive industry's support system. The charity has four main focuses in order to support peoples health and wellbeing, physical, mental, financial and social. Anyone who works in or who have family working in the automotive trade are eligible for Ben's support. Ben provide award winning care services for those in later life in addition to tailored support services including councelling services and financial help.
They are a fantastic charity so we're really proud to hear that Toby has chosen to support them in order for them to continue to support the automotive industry.
The group will be driving over 3000 miles across Europe and back. They will travel from the North West of England, down to Saint Omer in France, on to Annecy, then Sanremo in Italy, through to Marseille and Perpignan, before finally arriving at their destination in Barcelona. That totals just over 3,000 miles, and they aim to do all this in around 5 days.
The car is worth less than £567 and the team have started to transform it in order to stand out on the road.
"During the process lots of paint spray was inhaled and lots of sunburn occurred, but we’re getting there"
The team have even added a bit of fun with an air horn and siren!
Toby has set himself a target of £2,000, let's see if we can all help get him there. This is a wonderful cause, if you'd like to help Toby towards his target then follow the link below to donate.
Donate through Just Giving here
Find out more about Ben's services here
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Gary Dugan appointed as CEO, Purple Asset Management (PAM)
Industry veteran to further build out capabilities and footprint of the Independent Strategic Group’s joint venture with The Fry Group.
The Fry Group, a global financial advisory group and Independent Strategic Group (ISG), a Fintech firm specialising in digital investment management solutions, has today announced that Gary Dugan will join as CEO of Purple Asset Management (PAM), effective November 2018.
Gary joins the PAM team based in Singapore and will build on PAM’s early success since its launch as a joint venture between The Fry Group and Independent Strategic Group (ISG) in October 2017. The business will draw on his experience of running investment teams for numerous leading financial institutions to take PAM to the next level as an investment service for The Fry Group, growing the PAM business across Asia and the Middle East. Previously based in Dubai, Gary has relocated to Singapore.
A high-profile, well-respected and accomplished investment professional, Gary has more than 35 years’ experience in senior investment roles at some of the leading global financial services providers including JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Barclays and Coutts. Most recently, he was Chief Investment Officer for Namara Wealth Advisors in Dubai.
Gary said, “PAM is unique in the way that it blends technology with research to deliver an intellectual, market-leading investment process and proposition. I’m looking forward to joining the team and to leading the expansion of PAM’s investment service to more clients across the region.”
Symon Stickney, Group CEO at Independent Strategic Group, said, “I am delighted to welcome Gary to his new role and look forward to working with him in fulfilling PAM’s exciting potential in Singapore and further abroad in the region. His experience and know-how in the private wealth management sector will be a great asset in developing our offering and growing our client base globally.”
Jeremy Woodley, Chairman and Managing Director, The Fry Group, said: “Gary’s arrival signals a significant step in our journey to grow and enhance our investment proposition. In expanding both our regional presence and our customer solutions, he will help The Fry Group move into its next phase of growth.”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, 7th November 2018 at 8:54 am and is filed under Financial Planning, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Top 5 Tax Advantaged Trusts Understand the UK Residence Rules
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Stephen Ressler, Ph.D.
United States Military Academy, West Point
“In over two decades as a teacher, I’ve never experienced anything quite like commitment of The Great Courses to rigor in the course development process and uncompromising production quality in the studio.”
Dr. Stephen Ressler is Professor Emeritus from the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). A registered Professional Engineer in Virginia, he earned a B.S. from West Point and an M.S. and a Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Lehigh University, as well as a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. Professor Ressler's papers on engineering education have won seven Best Paper awards from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). Professor Ressler has also won numerous awards from the ASCE, including the President's Medal and the 2011 Outstanding Projects and Leaders Award-the organization's highest award. His other accolades include the Bliss Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Engineering Education from the Society of American Military Engineers and the Norm Augustine Award for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Communications from the American Association of Engineering Societies. Professor Ressler served for 34 years as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and retired at the rank of Brigadier General in 2013. While on active duty, he served in a variety of military engineering assignments around the world. He is also a developer and principal instructor for the Excellence in Civil Engineering Education Teaching Workshop, which has trained more than 500 civil engineering faculty members from more than 200 colleges and universities.
Also By This Professor See all 4
Understanding Greek and Roman Technology Understanding Greek and Roman Technology
Understanding the World's Greatest Structures Understanding the World's Greatest Structures
Do-It-Yourself Engineering Do-It-Yourself Engineering
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Arthur Miller scorned 'public mourners' of Marilyn Monroe, archive sale reveals
A 1962 essay by the playwright after the death of his ex-wife is one of many unpublished works in a huge archive sold to the Harry Ransom Center in Texas
Alison Flood
Thu 11 Jan 2018 11.21 EST Last modified on Wed 7 Mar 2018 01.54 EST
‘This lovely girl’ … Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe in 1961. Photograph: Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock
Arthur Miller’s anger at the death of his second wife Marilyn Monroe is expressed in an excoriating and never before published essay from 1962, in which the playwright attacks the “public mourners” who “stand there weeping and gawking, glad that it is not you going into the earth, glad that it is this lovely girl who at last you killed”.
The playwright’s essay is one of many unpublished works found in an extensive archive of manuscripts, notebooks and letters that has just been acquired by the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin, for a sum the New York Times put at $2.7m (£2m).
Drafts of Miller’s plays All My Sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible and A View From the Bridge are in the archive, which the Times said stretched to “322 linear feet of material”. There are also more than 50 of the journals in which the playwright recorded ideas, drafts, bits of dialogue and reflections on his life, from the 1940s to the 2000s.
Detail of a manuscript relating to the death and funeral of Marilyn Monroe, written by Miller in 1962. Photograph: Arthur Miller Papers, Harry Ransom Center
“It’s rare to see a writer document his process in such a rich and complete way,” said Eric Colleary, the Ransom Center’s Cline curator of theatre and performing arts. “Given the scope and scale of Miller’s archive, researchers and artists can look forward to significant new insights into one of America’s greatest playwrights and public intellectuals.”
Many unpublished works feature in the archive, including the 1962 essay about the death of Monroe – to whom he was married from 1956-61 – which Miller revised over a number of years but never published. “Instead of jetting to the funeral to get my picture taken I decided to stay home and let the public mourners finish the mockery,” he wrote. “Not that everyone there will be false, but enough. Most of them there destroyed her, ladies and gentlemen.”
Are you now or were you ever...?
Part of the archive relates to the investigation into Miller by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Miller’s play about the Salem witch trials, The Crucible, drew heavy parallels with the communist witch-hunts of the time. Miller refused to support the decision by director Elia Kazan to provide the names of suspected communists to the committee, and in a 1952 letter to Kazan’s wife Molly, who had attacked him for this decision and for drawing parallels between witches and communists in The Crucible, he defended his approach. “This committee’s mentality, and the atmosphere which it has engendered after almost 15 years of ceaseless propaganda, are such as to throw perfectly honest people into a kind of nameless fear which is utterly destructive of a sane order of life,” wrote Miller.
The 1952 letter from Arthur Miller to Molly Kazan. Photograph: Arthur Miller Papers, Harry Ransom Center
In another response to criticism of The Crucible – this time from the American Bar Association, for being “disparaging of lawyers” – Miller also showed his lifelong commitment to defending free speech. “The growing sensitivity of people to any sort of open and frank discussion of important issues is no service to civilisation, let alone law and order. I wrote a play about a man who happened to be a salesman, and several organisations of sales people flew to arms. Now it is the lawyers. If I am to back away from these objections you must surely see that I shall be forced to write about people with no occupation whatever,” he responded in 1953. “But then café society will probably feel put-upon … In defense of my right to speak, therefore, and to write the truth as I see it, I must insist upon the play as it stands.”
The Ransom Center, which is already home to archives of playwrights including Tennessee Williams, Samuel Beckett and David Mamet, said that Miller first donated early play manuscripts and notebooks to its collection in the early 1960s, and that the new acquisition “greatly extends” its archive. “Arthur Miller is one of our country’s finest playwrights, one who gave dramatic form to themes that are central to our still-evolving American story,” said Ransom Center director Stephen Enniss. “For years to come, all primary source research into this major American playwright’s life and work will begin here.”
Miller’s son Robert A Miller said that the family was “pleased to have found a fitting home for Dad’s voluminous notes”.
The new materials will be catalogued within two years, and the collection will then be available to researchers and the public.
Arthur Miller in his study, in Roxbury, Connecticut in 1987. Photograph: © Inge Morath/Magnum Photos. Arthur Miller Papers, Harry Ransom Center
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This article is more than 6 months old
Daily Mile gets £1.5m to boost fitness in English primary schools
Sport England funding to pay for major expansion of back-to-basics child exercise scheme
Sally Weale Education correspondent
Mon 17 Dec 2018 12.54 EST Last modified on Mon 17 Dec 2018 15.10 EST
The scheme aims to help improve child fitness and reduce obesity. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures via Getty Images
The Daily Mile, the back-to-basics fitness initiative for schoolchildren, has received a £1.5m cash injection from Sport England, which hopes to spread the word about it to every primary school in England.
The national lottery money represents the biggest expansion of the scheme which began six years ago with children at a primary school in Stirling running five laps round the playing field. It is now a regular fixture at 3,500 schools in England and for 1.25 million children worldwide.
The funding will pay for 11 local and two national co-ordinators to bring more of England’s 20,000 primary schools on board, with the aim of helping to improve child fitness and reduce obesity.
Elaine Wyllie, the former headteacher of St Ninians in Stirling where the Daily Mile originated, was at Ladypool primary school in Birmingham on Monday to celebrate the new investment by Sport England. “This will put rocket boosters under it,” she said.
“It’s absolutely incredible. I can hardly take it in. To have the big tick from Sport England is amazing. They are going to help us roll it out and try and reach every child in England. I’m kind of overwhelmed.”
Wyllie, who retired after 40 years as a teacher, began the fitness drive after noticing that children in a year-five class were exhausted after being asked to do a moderate warm up. “I had often thought, why don’t children just run round the field to get fit?”
So she started her pupils on a 15-minute run every day – no change of clothes was necessary, no expensive equipment. “Very quickly it became evident they loved it. They were more focused in class, more content, more settled, and looking better. After a month they were keen to keep going.”
Sport England became involved after its survey earlier this month revealed that a third of children in England are doing less than 30 minutes of physical activity a day. Children from the poorest families are more likely to be less active.
Sport England’s chief executive, Tim Hollingsworth, said: “It’s the strongest evidence yet that not enough is being done to support our youngsters, and change is needed if we’re to increase activity levels.
“Through getting schoolchildren to walk or run for 15 minutes every day, the Daily Mile has been proven to significantly improve fitness levels. We want to take the initiative to even more primary schools across the county to improve the health of thousands more children.”
The coordinators will sign up schools and help get the scheme up and running, revisiting from time to time to make sure it’s still fresh and fun for the children. The hope is that the return on the £1.5m investment will be children who develop positive attitudes to exercise, so they are more likely to develop healthy active lives into adulthood.
Wyllie said she was delighted that more children were going to get the chance to join in and enjoy the benefits. “It’s free – all day and every day. There’s no cost. It’s inclusive of all – girls and boys, children with special educational needs. There are no under-represented groups,” she said.
“On that day back in 2012 we stumbled on a partial solution to help children’s physical and mental health and well-being. This is just about children and childhood.”
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9:30 Club History, Culture Documented
by Anne Skomba — February 11, 2011
On Wednesday evening, the D.C. Music Salon screened an unreleased documentary on the eclectic musical past of the city’s popular venue, the 9:30 Club.
The documentary, titled “9:30 F Street” after the club’s original location, featured interviews with owners, fans, employees and musicians reflecting on the venue’s days as a home for the alternative rock-and-roll scene in the 1980s.
During this period, D.C., a traditionally professional town, came alive as the 9:30 Club supported the New-Wave, artistic and punk-rock music movements. It provided an intimate underground setting for smaller bands, like Minor Threat, Fugazi, Tiny Desk Unit and Bad Brains, to grow alongside fans.
“There was a complete embracement of what at that time was a subculture,” the club’s manager Norm Veenstra said in the film.
At concerts hosted in the original 9:30 Club building, fans and performers shared a 1,600-square-foot space, and the crowds mingled directly next to the stage.
“[This was] back when you could be a smaller band and still had a place to play,” said Jeff Gaul, one the directors of “9:30 F Street.”
Several of the bands that performed at the club during its early years went on to enjoy widespread success and fame. R.E.M., which gained notoriety for its songs “Orange Crush” and “Losing My Religion,” played 18 shows at the 9:30 Club before moving on to larger gigs.
Part of the film centered on the 9:30’s status as a popular place for alternative D.C. youth.
People of all ages were permitted entrance. Fans under the drinking age were required to mark the back of their hands with black X’s, a strategy that many of today’s 18-and-over clubs still use.
Gaul and co-director Tarik Dahir, who themselves attended the 9:30 as teenagers, said the club had a unique feel.
“[The place] was kind of scary,” Gaul said. “You had a feeling that you were someplace unfamiliar.”
“9:30 F Street” also outlined the venue’s 1996 move to its present location at 815 V St. NW.
The 9:30 Club still functions as an all-age, live concert venue. While the concert space is much larger, fans, most of who range from ages 18 to 25, remain close to the music.
Jane Xie (SFS ’14) has gone to three concerts at the new 9:30 Club and plans to attend more.
“The setup of the 9:30 Club feels like a college concert venue compared to all the other ones I have been to,” she said. “The layout makes it really easy to get into the music and with the band.”
In recent years the Club has attracted an increasing number of developed, high-profile bands, such as Jimmy Eat World and My Chemical Romance, according to the film.
Members of the 9:30 community, past and present, offered support for the documentary project, which began in 2002. “9:30 F Street” enjoyed success on the film festival circuit and its creators hope to release it once all rights are secured, the directors said during their presentation of the film.
Tags: 9:30 Club, 9:30 Club documentary, documentary, music, the guide
Author: Anne Skomba
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Corporate E-Learning: An Inside View of IBM's Solutions
Luther Tai
This book examines how corporate e-learning is developed, implemented and how effectiveness is determined at IBM. It addresses the following questions: Why e-learning? How is e-learning developed? ... More
This book examines how corporate e-learning is developed, implemented and how effectiveness is determined at IBM. It addresses the following questions: Why e-learning? How is e-learning developed? How is e-learning implemented? How is e-learning effectiveness determined? What are the lessons learned? E-learning is a tool to be used along with other means of learning. It is used when it is the best way to learn for a particular application. It is a way to save costly face-to-face time for optimal use. There is no one size that fits all. IBM is an early adopter in use of e-learning for training its global workforce. IBM, like other corporations, has its own unique e-learning solutions. Strategic vision, clear business objectives, well defined learning organization, strong leadership, corporate support, prudent use of e-learning, quality of content, ease of access, interoperability, accountability of learners and instructors, and a well defined measurement system all matter. Successful integration of these ingredients is essential for effective e-learning. Ignoring any of these key ingredients can lead to failure. IBM has its own rationale and approach to using e-learning. It has its growing pains. Experience in e-learning at IBM provides a unique context for leveraging e-learning to train employees. IBM has been successful in using e-learning in the context of their business objectives and business environments. IBM's experience and lessons learned should serve as an important guide to those who are implementing e-learning.Less
Corporate E-Learning : An Inside View of IBM's Solutions
This book examines how corporate e-learning is developed, implemented and how effectiveness is determined at IBM. It addresses the following questions: Why e-learning? How is e-learning developed? How is e-learning implemented? How is e-learning effectiveness determined? What are the lessons learned? E-learning is a tool to be used along with other means of learning. It is used when it is the best way to learn for a particular application. It is a way to save costly face-to-face time for optimal use. There is no one size that fits all. IBM is an early adopter in use of e-learning for training its global workforce. IBM, like other corporations, has its own unique e-learning solutions. Strategic vision, clear business objectives, well defined learning organization, strong leadership, corporate support, prudent use of e-learning, quality of content, ease of access, interoperability, accountability of learners and instructors, and a well defined measurement system all matter. Successful integration of these ingredients is essential for effective e-learning. Ignoring any of these key ingredients can lead to failure. IBM has its own rationale and approach to using e-learning. It has its growing pains. Experience in e-learning at IBM provides a unique context for leveraging e-learning to train employees. IBM has been successful in using e-learning in the context of their business objectives and business environments. IBM's experience and lessons learned should serve as an important guide to those who are implementing e-learning.
Keywords: corporate e-learning, e-learning, face-to-face, workforce, strategic vision, business objectives, e-learning effectiveness, e-learning at IBM, IBM
The ACE Simulator and the Cybernetic Model
Michael Woodger
in Alan Turing's Automatic Computing Engine: The Master Codebreaker's Struggle to build the Modern Computer
Mathematics, History of Mathematics
This chapter discusses the ACE simulator and the Cybernetic Model. The ACE simulator was a demonstration machine built as an aid to the visualization of binary operations. Designed by D. W. Davies ... More
This chapter discusses the ACE simulator and the Cybernetic Model. The ACE simulator was a demonstration machine built as an aid to the visualization of binary operations. Designed by D. W. Davies and Michael Woodger in the winter of 1949/1950, it was demonstrated on January 30, 1950 as part of the NPL Jubilee demonstrations to the Royal Society at Burlington House. The Cybernetic Model was constructed in May 1949, before even the first chassis of the Pilot Model ACE had been delivered. The Cybernetic Model was built to explore some of Turing's ideas about learning, and had nothing to do with the development of the ACE.Less
This chapter discusses the ACE simulator and the Cybernetic Model. The ACE simulator was a demonstration machine built as an aid to the visualization of binary operations. Designed by D. W. Davies and Michael Woodger in the winter of 1949/1950, it was demonstrated on January 30, 1950 as part of the NPL Jubilee demonstrations to the Royal Society at Burlington House. The Cybernetic Model was constructed in May 1949, before even the first chassis of the Pilot Model ACE had been delivered. The Cybernetic Model was built to explore some of Turing's ideas about learning, and had nothing to do with the development of the ACE.
Keywords: ACE simulator, D. W. Davies, Michael Woodger, Cybernetic Model, demonstration machine, binary operations, Turing, learning
A Natural History of Infixation
Alan C. L. Yu
Linguistics, Phonetics / Phonology
This book presents a cross-linguistic study of the phenomenon of infixation, typically associated in English with words like nullim-bloody-possiblenull, and found in all the world's major linguistic ... More
This book presents a cross-linguistic study of the phenomenon of infixation, typically associated in English with words like nullim-bloody-possiblenull, and found in all the world's major linguistic families. Infixation is a central puzzle in prosodic morphology: the book explores its prosodic, phonological, and morphological characteristics; considers its diverse functions, and formulates a general theory to explain the rules and constraints by which it is governed. The book examines 154 infixation patterns from over a hundred languages, including examples from Asia, Europe, Africa, New Guinea, and South America. It compares the formal properties of different kinds of infix, explores the range of diachronic pathways that lead to them, and considers the processes by which they are acquired in first language learning. A central argument of the book concerns the idea that the typological tendencies of language may be traced back to its origins and to the mechanisms of language transmission. The book thus combines the history of infixation with an exploration of the role diachronic and functional factors play in synchronic argumentation: it is an exemplary instance of the holistic approach to linguistic explanation.Less
This book presents a cross-linguistic study of the phenomenon of infixation, typically associated in English with words like nullim-bloody-possiblenull, and found in all the world's major linguistic families. Infixation is a central puzzle in prosodic morphology: the book explores its prosodic, phonological, and morphological characteristics; considers its diverse functions, and formulates a general theory to explain the rules and constraints by which it is governed. The book examines 154 infixation patterns from over a hundred languages, including examples from Asia, Europe, Africa, New Guinea, and South America. It compares the formal properties of different kinds of infix, explores the range of diachronic pathways that lead to them, and considers the processes by which they are acquired in first language learning. A central argument of the book concerns the idea that the typological tendencies of language may be traced back to its origins and to the mechanisms of language transmission. The book thus combines the history of infixation with an exploration of the role diachronic and functional factors play in synchronic argumentation: it is an exemplary instance of the holistic approach to linguistic explanation.
Keywords: infixation, prosodic morphology, Asia, Europe, Africa, New Guinea, South America, diachronic pathways, language learning
Facing the Music: Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective
Huib Schippers
Music, Ethnomusicology, World Music
Facing the Music investigates the practices and ideas that have grown from some five decades of cultural diversity in music education, developments in ethnomusicology, and the rise of ... More
Facing the Music investigates the practices and ideas that have grown from some five decades of cultural diversity in music education, developments in ethnomusicology, and the rise of ‘world music.’ It makes a case for the crucial role of learning music in shaping rich and diverse musical environments for the twenty‐first century, both in practical terms and at a conceptual level: “what we hear is the product of what we believe about music.” Advocating a contemporary, positive and realistic approach to cultural diversity in music education and transmission, the book takes into account and celebrates the natural dynamics of music, regarding every musical act as an expression of its current contexts in terms of cultures, communities, and underlying constructs, and establishing that “most music travels remarkably well.” In seven chapters that each approach the issues from a different angle, the book gradually unfolds the complexities of learning and teaching music ‘out of original context’ in an accessible manner, and presents a coherent model to approach these, as well as lucid suggestions for translating the resulting ideas in practice. While mapping the various factors that determine all acts of music transmission, it also comes to surprising insights into the nature and preconceptions underlying much formal music education settings across the world, including those focusing on western classical music. Based on an insider's view of both the delights and challenges of music in multicultural societies, Facing the music provides a rich resource for reflection and practice for all those involved in teaching and learning music, from policy maker to classroom teacher.Less
Facing the Music : Shaping Music Education from a Global Perspective
Facing the Music investigates the practices and ideas that have grown from some five decades of cultural diversity in music education, developments in ethnomusicology, and the rise of ‘world music.’ It makes a case for the crucial role of learning music in shaping rich and diverse musical environments for the twenty‐first century, both in practical terms and at a conceptual level: “what we hear is the product of what we believe about music.” Advocating a contemporary, positive and realistic approach to cultural diversity in music education and transmission, the book takes into account and celebrates the natural dynamics of music, regarding every musical act as an expression of its current contexts in terms of cultures, communities, and underlying constructs, and establishing that “most music travels remarkably well.” In seven chapters that each approach the issues from a different angle, the book gradually unfolds the complexities of learning and teaching music ‘out of original context’ in an accessible manner, and presents a coherent model to approach these, as well as lucid suggestions for translating the resulting ideas in practice. While mapping the various factors that determine all acts of music transmission, it also comes to surprising insights into the nature and preconceptions underlying much formal music education settings across the world, including those focusing on western classical music. Based on an insider's view of both the delights and challenges of music in multicultural societies, Facing the music provides a rich resource for reflection and practice for all those involved in teaching and learning music, from policy maker to classroom teacher.
Keywords: music education, cultural diversity, multicultural, world music, teaching, pedagogy, transmission, enculturation, recontextualization, formal and informal learning
The Musical Mind: The Cognitive Psychology of Music
John A. Sloboda
Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This book describes and analyses the cognitive processes that take place in the perception, performance, and creation of music. It proposes that underlying the various musical skills is the ability ... More
This book describes and analyses the cognitive processes that take place in the perception, performance, and creation of music. It proposes that underlying the various musical skills is the ability to form abstract mental representations of music, which allow it to be apprehended in structural terms. In this respect, the analogy to language is paramount. The book reviews the experimental literature on music-language overlaps, performance, composition and improvization, listening, learning and development, and culture and biology. It assesses this literature and also examines areas where research is lacking, from the perspective of a cognitive psychologist who is also an active performing musician.Less
The Musical Mind : The Cognitive Psychology of Music
This book describes and analyses the cognitive processes that take place in the perception, performance, and creation of music. It proposes that underlying the various musical skills is the ability to form abstract mental representations of music, which allow it to be apprehended in structural terms. In this respect, the analogy to language is paramount. The book reviews the experimental literature on music-language overlaps, performance, composition and improvization, listening, learning and development, and culture and biology. It assesses this literature and also examines areas where research is lacking, from the perspective of a cognitive psychologist who is also an active performing musician.
Keywords: cognition, perception, learning, mental representation, skill, psychology
Beyond the Learning Curve: The construction of mind
Craig Speelman and Kim Kirsner
For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to ... More
For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to learning, or similar to those underlying other behaviours? Is the mental system essentially modular, or is the mental system a simple product of experience, a product that, inevitably, reflects the shape of the external world with all of its specialisms and similarities? This book takes the view that learning is a major influence on the nature of the processes and representations that fill our minds. Throughout, the book reviews and considers the areas of skill acquisition and lexical representation to illustrate the effects that practice can have on cognitive processes. It also draws parallels between theories in physical and biological domains to propose not only a new theory of mental function, but also demonstrate that the mind is essentially subject to the same natural laws as the physical world. In so doing, this book presents a new perspective on psychology — one that identifies universal principles underlying all behaviours and one which contrasts markedly from the current focus on highly specific behaviours.Less
Beyond the Learning Curve : The construction of mind
Craig SpeelmanKim Kirsner
For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to learning, or similar to those underlying other behaviours? Is the mental system essentially modular, or is the mental system a simple product of experience, a product that, inevitably, reflects the shape of the external world with all of its specialisms and similarities? This book takes the view that learning is a major influence on the nature of the processes and representations that fill our minds. Throughout, the book reviews and considers the areas of skill acquisition and lexical representation to illustrate the effects that practice can have on cognitive processes. It also draws parallels between theories in physical and biological domains to propose not only a new theory of mental function, but also demonstrate that the mind is essentially subject to the same natural laws as the physical world. In so doing, this book presents a new perspective on psychology — one that identifies universal principles underlying all behaviours and one which contrasts markedly from the current focus on highly specific behaviours.
Keywords: learning, cognitive psychology, skill acquisition, mental modularity, lexical representation, universal principles, transfer of training, natural laws
Signals: Evolution, Learning, and Information
Brian Skyrms
Philosophy, Philosophy of Language, Philosophy of Science
This book presents an exploration of how fundamental signals are to our world. It uses a variety of tools — theories of signaling games, information, evolution, and learning — to investigate how ... More
This book presents an exploration of how fundamental signals are to our world. It uses a variety of tools — theories of signaling games, information, evolution, and learning — to investigate how meaning and communication develop. The book shows how signaling games themselves evolve, and introduces a new model of learning with invention. The juxtaposition of atomic signals leads to complex signals, as the natural product of gradual process. Signals operate in networks of senders and receivers at all levels of life. Information is transmitted, but it is also processed in various ways. That is how we think — signals run around a very complicated signaling network. Signaling is a key ingredient in the evolution of teamwork, in the human but also in the animal world, even in micro-organisms. Communication and co-ordination of action are different aspects of the flow of information, and are both effected by signals.Less
Signals : Evolution, Learning, and Information
This book presents an exploration of how fundamental signals are to our world. It uses a variety of tools — theories of signaling games, information, evolution, and learning — to investigate how meaning and communication develop. The book shows how signaling games themselves evolve, and introduces a new model of learning with invention. The juxtaposition of atomic signals leads to complex signals, as the natural product of gradual process. Signals operate in networks of senders and receivers at all levels of life. Information is transmitted, but it is also processed in various ways. That is how we think — signals run around a very complicated signaling network. Signaling is a key ingredient in the evolution of teamwork, in the human but also in the animal world, even in micro-organisms. Communication and co-ordination of action are different aspects of the flow of information, and are both effected by signals.
Keywords: signals, signaling games, information, evolution, learning, meaning, communication, invention, senders, receivers
Strategic Learning and its Limits
H. Peyton Young
Economics and Finance, Econometrics
This book is based on the Arne Ryde Lectures in 2002. The book suggests a conceptual framework for studying strategic learning and highlights theoretical developments in the area. It discusses the ... More
This book is based on the Arne Ryde Lectures in 2002. The book suggests a conceptual framework for studying strategic learning and highlights theoretical developments in the area. It discusses the interactive learning problem; reinforcement and regret; equilibrium; conditional no-regret learning; prediction, postdiction, and calibration; fictitious play and its variants; Bayesian learning; and hypothesis testing. The book’s framework emphasizes the amount of information required to implement different types of learning rules, criteria for evaluating their performance, and alternative notions of equilibrium to which they converge. The book also stresses the limits of what can be achieved: for a given type of game and a given amount of information, there may exist no learning procedure that satisfies certain reasonable criteria of performance and convergence.Less
This book is based on the Arne Ryde Lectures in 2002. The book suggests a conceptual framework for studying strategic learning and highlights theoretical developments in the area. It discusses the interactive learning problem; reinforcement and regret; equilibrium; conditional no-regret learning; prediction, postdiction, and calibration; fictitious play and its variants; Bayesian learning; and hypothesis testing. The book’s framework emphasizes the amount of information required to implement different types of learning rules, criteria for evaluating their performance, and alternative notions of equilibrium to which they converge. The book also stresses the limits of what can be achieved: for a given type of game and a given amount of information, there may exist no learning procedure that satisfies certain reasonable criteria of performance and convergence.
Keywords: Arne Ryde Lectures, strategic learning, theoretical developments, interactive learning, Bayesian learning, hypothesis testing, performance, convergence
The Interactional Instinct: The Evolution and Acquisition of Language
Namhee Lee, Lisa Mikesell, Anna Dina L. Joaquin, Andrea W. Mates, and John H. Schumann
Linguistics, Sociolinguistics / Anthropological Linguistics
This book explores a theory of language evolution as a complex adaptive system that exists as a cultural artifact without any requirement for innate abstract grammatical representations. Language ... More
This book explores a theory of language evolution as a complex adaptive system that exists as a cultural artifact without any requirement for innate abstract grammatical representations. Language acquisition is seen as an emotionally driven process relying on innately specified “interactional instinct.” This genetically-based tendency provides neural structures that entrain children acquiring their native language to the faces, voices, and body movements of conspecific caregivers. It is essentially an innate attentional and motivational system, which drives children to pay attention to the language interaction in their environment and to acquire that language by general learning mechanisms that subserve declarative and procedural knowledge. This mechanism guarantees the ubiquity of language acquisition for all biologically normal children. Second-language acquisition by older adolescents and adults no longer has recourse to this mechanism, and therefore, success in second-language learning is extremely variable. However, in some individuals with sufficient aptitude and motivation, successful second-language acquisition can be achieved.Less
The Interactional Instinct : The Evolution and Acquisition of Language
Namhee LeeLisa MikesellAnna Dina L. JoaquinAndrea W. MatesJohn H. Schumann
This book explores a theory of language evolution as a complex adaptive system that exists as a cultural artifact without any requirement for innate abstract grammatical representations. Language acquisition is seen as an emotionally driven process relying on innately specified “interactional instinct.” This genetically-based tendency provides neural structures that entrain children acquiring their native language to the faces, voices, and body movements of conspecific caregivers. It is essentially an innate attentional and motivational system, which drives children to pay attention to the language interaction in their environment and to acquire that language by general learning mechanisms that subserve declarative and procedural knowledge. This mechanism guarantees the ubiquity of language acquisition for all biologically normal children. Second-language acquisition by older adolescents and adults no longer has recourse to this mechanism, and therefore, success in second-language learning is extremely variable. However, in some individuals with sufficient aptitude and motivation, successful second-language acquisition can be achieved.
Keywords: language, evolution, complex adaptive system, interactional instinct, general learning mechanisms, language acquisition, second-language learning, aptitude
Placebo Effects: Understanding the mechanisms in health and disease
Fabrizio Benedetti
Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Systems
One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better ... More
One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better clarification of the placebo effect. This is an active psychobiological phenomenon which takes place in the patient's brain and that is capable of influencing both the course of a disease and the response to a therapy. The psychosocial context around the patient is crucial to placebo effects, for example the doctor's words and attitudes, and this may have a profound impact on the patient's brain which, in turn, may affect several physiological functions of the body. This book emphasizes that there is not a single placebo effect but many. The book critically reviews them in different medical conditions, such as pain, neurological disorders, psychiatric and behavioural disorders, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders, as well as some special conditions, such as oncology, surgery, sports medicine, and acupuncture.Less
Placebo Effects : Understanding the mechanisms in health and disease
One of the most widespread words in medicine is the placebo and placebo effect, although it is not always clear what it means exactly. Recent progress in biomedical research has allowed a better clarification of the placebo effect. This is an active psychobiological phenomenon which takes place in the patient's brain and that is capable of influencing both the course of a disease and the response to a therapy. The psychosocial context around the patient is crucial to placebo effects, for example the doctor's words and attitudes, and this may have a profound impact on the patient's brain which, in turn, may affect several physiological functions of the body. This book emphasizes that there is not a single placebo effect but many. The book critically reviews them in different medical conditions, such as pain, neurological disorders, psychiatric and behavioural disorders, immune and endocrine systems, cardiovascular and respiratory systems, gastrointestinal and genitourinary disorders, as well as some special conditions, such as oncology, surgery, sports medicine, and acupuncture.
Keywords: placebo, nocebo, biological mechanisms, psychosocial context, expectation, conditioning, learning, disease, therapeutic intervention
Diversity in the Neuronal Machine: Order and Variability in Interneuronal Microcircuits
Ivan Soltesz
10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195177015.001.1
Neuroscience, Neuroendocrine and Autonomic, Techniques
This book travels a colorful journey into the fascinatingly diverse world of interneurons, an important class of highly heterogeneous cells found in all cortical neuronal networks. Interneurons are ... More
This book travels a colorful journey into the fascinatingly diverse world of interneurons, an important class of highly heterogeneous cells found in all cortical neuronal networks. Interneurons are known to play key roles in many brain functions, from sensory processing to neuronal oscillations linked to learning and memory. This book aims to provide new insights into the striking degree of cellular diversity found in interneuronal microcircuits. The book discusses the history of research into interneuronal variability, the developmental origins of interneuronal diversity, the functional roles of heterogeneity in neuronal circuits, contemporary interneuronal classification systems, and the genetic and homeostatic mechanisms that shape the degree of cell to cell variability within interneuronal populations. It elaborates on new ideas about interneuronal diversity that rest upon recent theoretical and experimental results, with arguments touching upon evolution, animal behavior, and the mathematical theory of small world networks.Less
Diversity in the Neuronal Machine : Order and Variability in Interneuronal Microcircuits
This book travels a colorful journey into the fascinatingly diverse world of interneurons, an important class of highly heterogeneous cells found in all cortical neuronal networks. Interneurons are known to play key roles in many brain functions, from sensory processing to neuronal oscillations linked to learning and memory. This book aims to provide new insights into the striking degree of cellular diversity found in interneuronal microcircuits. The book discusses the history of research into interneuronal variability, the developmental origins of interneuronal diversity, the functional roles of heterogeneity in neuronal circuits, contemporary interneuronal classification systems, and the genetic and homeostatic mechanisms that shape the degree of cell to cell variability within interneuronal populations. It elaborates on new ideas about interneuronal diversity that rest upon recent theoretical and experimental results, with arguments touching upon evolution, animal behavior, and the mathematical theory of small world networks.
Keywords: interneurons, cortical neuron networks, brain functions, neuronal oscillations, learning and memory, interneuronal variability, heterogeneity, interneuronal diversity
Exit from Early Retirement: Paradigm Shifts, Policy Reversals, and Reform Obstacles
in Reforming Early Retirement in Europe, Japan and the USA
Political Science, Comparative Politics
Governments have realized the negative impact of early retirement on social expenditures and labor costs, responding with a paradigm shift away from passive labor market policies. Governments seek to ... More
Governments have realized the negative impact of early retirement on social expenditures and labor costs, responding with a paradigm shift away from passive labor market policies. Governments seek to reverse early exit by raising the retirement age in pension systems, reforming disability insurance, closing special early retirement programs, activating older workers, and fostering gradual transitions to retirement. These reforms met many obstacles given the entrenched multiple pathways and status quo defense of the social partners, particularly as benefits came to be viewed as acquired rights.Less
Governments have realized the negative impact of early retirement on social expenditures and labor costs, responding with a paradigm shift away from passive labor market policies. Governments seek to reverse early exit by raising the retirement age in pension systems, reforming disability insurance, closing special early retirement programs, activating older workers, and fostering gradual transitions to retirement. These reforms met many obstacles given the entrenched multiple pathways and status quo defense of the social partners, particularly as benefits came to be viewed as acquired rights.
Keywords: early retirement, welfare state reform, paradigm shift, welfare state retrenchment, retirement age, pension systems, gradual retirement, older workers, policy learning
The New World of UN Peace Operations: Learning to Build Peace?
Thorsten Benner, Stephan Mergenthaler, and Philipp Rotmann
Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Peace operations are the UN's flagship activity. Over the past decade, UN blue helmets have been dispatched to evermore challenging environments from the Congo to Timor to perform an expanding set of ... More
Peace operations are the UN's flagship activity. Over the past decade, UN blue helmets have been dispatched to evermore challenging environments from the Congo to Timor to perform an expanding set of tasks. From protecting civilians in the midst of violent conflict to rebuilding state institutions after war, a new range of tasks has transformed the business of the blue helmets into an inherently knowledge-based venture. But all too often, the UN blue helmets, policemen, and other civilian officials have been ‘flying blind’ in their efforts to stabilize countries ravaged by war. The UN realized the need to put knowledge, guidance and doctrine, and reflection on failures and successes at the center of the institution. Building on an innovative multidisciplinary framework, this study provides a first comprehensive account of learning in peacekeeping. Covering the crucial past decade of expansion in peace operations, it zooms into a dozen cases of attempted learning across four crucial domains: police assistance, judicial reform, reintegration of former combatants, and mission integration. Throughout the different cases, the study analyzes the role of key variables as enablers and stumbling blocks for learning: bureaucratic politics, the learning infrastructure, leadership, as well as power and interests of member states. Building on five years of research and access to key documents and decision-makers, the book presents a vivid portrait of an international bureaucracy struggling to turn itself into a learning organization.Less
The New World of UN Peace Operations : Learning to Build Peace?
Thorsten BennerStephan MergenthalerPhilipp Rotmann
Peace operations are the UN's flagship activity. Over the past decade, UN blue helmets have been dispatched to evermore challenging environments from the Congo to Timor to perform an expanding set of tasks. From protecting civilians in the midst of violent conflict to rebuilding state institutions after war, a new range of tasks has transformed the business of the blue helmets into an inherently knowledge-based venture. But all too often, the UN blue helmets, policemen, and other civilian officials have been ‘flying blind’ in their efforts to stabilize countries ravaged by war. The UN realized the need to put knowledge, guidance and doctrine, and reflection on failures and successes at the center of the institution. Building on an innovative multidisciplinary framework, this study provides a first comprehensive account of learning in peacekeeping. Covering the crucial past decade of expansion in peace operations, it zooms into a dozen cases of attempted learning across four crucial domains: police assistance, judicial reform, reintegration of former combatants, and mission integration. Throughout the different cases, the study analyzes the role of key variables as enablers and stumbling blocks for learning: bureaucratic politics, the learning infrastructure, leadership, as well as power and interests of member states. Building on five years of research and access to key documents and decision-makers, the book presents a vivid portrait of an international bureaucracy struggling to turn itself into a learning organization.
Keywords: state‐building, peacebuilding, peacekeeping, United Nations, organizational learning, international organizations, international bureaucracy, international police assistance, reintegration of former combatants, judicial reform
Evolution, Games, and Economic Behaviour
Fernando Vega-Redondo (ed.)
Economics and Finance, Microeconomics
The book covers the modern developments in Evolutionary Game Theory, with an emphasis on economic contexts and applications. It begins with the basic ideas as they originated within the field of ... More
The book covers the modern developments in Evolutionary Game Theory, with an emphasis on economic contexts and applications. It begins with the basic ideas as they originated within the field of theoretical biology, focusing on the core notions of Evolutionarily Stable Strategy and Replicator Dynamics. Both the static and dynamic approaches of this biological literature are presented in detail, and the general analysis illustrated with numerous examples. It then proceeds to the formulation of a theoretical framework that is suitable for the study of social and economic phenomena from an evolutionary perspective. After a discussion of strictly deterministic dynamic models, stochastic perturbations are introduced in order to account for the social‐ and individual‐based sources of ‘noise’ (including aggregate shocks, agents’ experimentation, and population renewal), which play an important role in evolutionary processes.Evolutionary Theory has become one of the leading approaches to understanding bounded rationality, learning, and change in complex social environments. The recent boom experienced by this discipline makes this book's systematic presentation of its fundamental contributions essential reading for any newcomer to the field. In addition, new avenues of research are suggested, and plentiful examples illustrate the theory's potential applications.Less
The book covers the modern developments in Evolutionary Game Theory, with an emphasis on economic contexts and applications. It begins with the basic ideas as they originated within the field of theoretical biology, focusing on the core notions of Evolutionarily Stable Strategy and Replicator Dynamics. Both the static and dynamic approaches of this biological literature are presented in detail, and the general analysis illustrated with numerous examples. It then proceeds to the formulation of a theoretical framework that is suitable for the study of social and economic phenomena from an evolutionary perspective. After a discussion of strictly deterministic dynamic models, stochastic perturbations are introduced in order to account for the social‐ and individual‐based sources of ‘noise’ (including aggregate shocks, agents’ experimentation, and population renewal), which play an important role in evolutionary processes.
Evolutionary Theory has become one of the leading approaches to understanding bounded rationality, learning, and change in complex social environments. The recent boom experienced by this discipline makes this book's systematic presentation of its fundamental contributions essential reading for any newcomer to the field. In addition, new avenues of research are suggested, and plentiful examples illustrate the theory's potential applications.
Keywords: dynamic games, evolution, innovation and invention, learning, non‐cooperative games, selection
Game Theory and Economic Modelling
David M. Kreps
Beginning in the early to the mid‐1970s, non‐cooperative game theory became an important tool of economics. This book is based on a series of lectures given at Oxford, and comments on this use of ... More
Beginning in the early to the mid‐1970s, non‐cooperative game theory became an important tool of economics. This book is based on a series of lectures given at Oxford, and comments on this use of non‐cooperative game theory. After providing a non‐technical introduction to the basic ideas of non‐cooperative game theory, the book discusses: (1) how and why game theory has been a success—because it permits economists to model and analyse situations of dynamic competition and where private information plays an important role; (2) how and why the theory has failed—to provide an understanding of when it (and equilibrium analysis) applies, when not, and what to do when not; and (3) how its weaknesses might be addressed—by considering individuals who are imperfectly rational and learn adaptively.Less
Beginning in the early to the mid‐1970s, non‐cooperative game theory became an important tool of economics. This book is based on a series of lectures given at Oxford, and comments on this use of non‐cooperative game theory. After providing a non‐technical introduction to the basic ideas of non‐cooperative game theory, the book discusses: (1) how and why game theory has been a success—because it permits economists to model and analyse situations of dynamic competition and where private information plays an important role; (2) how and why the theory has failed—to provide an understanding of when it (and equilibrium analysis) applies, when not, and what to do when not; and (3) how its weaknesses might be addressed—by considering individuals who are imperfectly rational and learn adaptively.
Keywords: adaptive learning, bounded rationality, dynamic competition, informational economics, Nash equilibrium, non‐cooperative game theory, private information, reciprocity
Hippocampal Commissures
Jeremy D. Schmahmann and Deepak N. Pandya
in Fiber Pathways of the Brain
Neuroscience, Techniques, Disorders of the Nervous System
In addition to the corpus callosum and anterior commissure, there are three other fiber systems that link the ventral limbic and paralimbic regions across the hemispheres. In the present study, only ... More
In addition to the corpus callosum and anterior commissure, there are three other fiber systems that link the ventral limbic and paralimbic regions across the hemispheres. In the present study, only Case 13 showed fibers in one of these commissures. This chapter focuses on hippocampal commissures. It theorizes that their role may be related, at least in part, to declarative learning and memory, which have been shown to depend on the integrity of structures in the medial temporal lobe that are linked by these commissures.Less
Jeremy D. SchmahmannDeepak N. Pandya
In addition to the corpus callosum and anterior commissure, there are three other fiber systems that link the ventral limbic and paralimbic regions across the hemispheres. In the present study, only Case 13 showed fibers in one of these commissures. This chapter focuses on hippocampal commissures. It theorizes that their role may be related, at least in part, to declarative learning and memory, which have been shown to depend on the integrity of structures in the medial temporal lobe that are linked by these commissures.
Keywords: rhesus monkey brains, commissures, fiber systems, declarative learning, medial temporal lobe
Two Cheers for Higher Education
Steven Brint
Today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But this book's author has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their ... More
Today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But this book's author has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their vitality. After a recent period that witnessed soaring student enrollment and ample research funding, the book argues that universities are in a better position than ever before. Focusing on the years 1980–2015, it details the trajectory of American universities, which was influenced by evolving standards of disciplinary professionalism, market-driven partnerships (especially with scientific and technological innovators outside the academy), and the goal of social inclusion. Conflicts arose: academic entrepreneurs, for example, flouted their campus responsibilities, and departments faced backlash over the hiring of scholars with nontraditional research agendas. Nevertheless, educators' commitments to technological innovation and social diversity prevailed and created a new dynamism. The book documents these successes along with the challenges that result from rapid change. Today, knowledge-driven industries generate almost half of US GDP, but divisions by educational level split the American political order. Students flock increasingly to fields connected to the power centers of American life and steer away from the liberal arts. And opportunities for economic mobility are expanding even as academic expectations decline. In describing how universities can meet such challenges head on, especially in improving classroom learning, the book offers not only a clear-eyed perspective on the current state of American higher education but also a pragmatically optimistic vision for the future.Less
Today's headlines suggest that universities' power to advance knowledge and shape American society is rapidly declining. But this book's author has tracked numerous trends demonstrating their vitality. After a recent period that witnessed soaring student enrollment and ample research funding, the book argues that universities are in a better position than ever before. Focusing on the years 1980–2015, it details the trajectory of American universities, which was influenced by evolving standards of disciplinary professionalism, market-driven partnerships (especially with scientific and technological innovators outside the academy), and the goal of social inclusion. Conflicts arose: academic entrepreneurs, for example, flouted their campus responsibilities, and departments faced backlash over the hiring of scholars with nontraditional research agendas. Nevertheless, educators' commitments to technological innovation and social diversity prevailed and created a new dynamism. The book documents these successes along with the challenges that result from rapid change. Today, knowledge-driven industries generate almost half of US GDP, but divisions by educational level split the American political order. Students flock increasingly to fields connected to the power centers of American life and steer away from the liberal arts. And opportunities for economic mobility are expanding even as academic expectations decline. In describing how universities can meet such challenges head on, especially in improving classroom learning, the book offers not only a clear-eyed perspective on the current state of American higher education but also a pragmatically optimistic vision for the future.
Keywords: American universities, disciplinary professionalism, partnerships, social inclusion, technological innovation, social diversity, economic mobility, classroom learning, American higher education
The Learning Hypothesis
Chris Bramall
in The Industrialization of Rural China
Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
Successful industrialization requires a long and protracted process of learning; new ideas from abroad are not enough. Poor countries also need to apply those ideas effectively, and such a capability ... More
Successful industrialization requires a long and protracted process of learning; new ideas from abroad are not enough. Poor countries also need to apply those ideas effectively, and such a capability can only be acquired via learning-by-doing. The very process of learning itself requires both the expansion of education and an extensive programme of investment in physical capital; many skills are acquired by a process of learning-by-doing in a factory environment. The prior development of an industrial capability is therefore a necessary condition for rapid rural industrialization in poor countries.Less
Successful industrialization requires a long and protracted process of learning; new ideas from abroad are not enough. Poor countries also need to apply those ideas effectively, and such a capability can only be acquired via learning-by-doing. The very process of learning itself requires both the expansion of education and an extensive programme of investment in physical capital; many skills are acquired by a process of learning-by-doing in a factory environment. The prior development of an industrial capability is therefore a necessary condition for rapid rural industrialization in poor countries.
Keywords: learning, capability, industrialization, skills, ideas, learning-by-doing
The Texture of Custom
Ekkehart Schlicht
in On Custom in the Economy
Economics and Finance, Microeconomics, History of Economic Thought
Reviews the thesis outlined in the book. Concept formation and learning are tied up with clarity requirements. Clarification shapes preferences and underlies the behavioural, motivational, and ... More
Reviews the thesis outlined in the book. Concept formation and learning are tied up with clarity requirements. Clarification shapes preferences and underlies the behavioural, motivational, and cognitive tendencies that give rise to property, the law, and the firm as a social institution and account for the way in which the division of labour is organized in society. There is a pervasive mutual interdependency between many features of society that is brought by the tendency towards clarity that underlies the formation and motivational force of custom.Less
Reviews the thesis outlined in the book. Concept formation and learning are tied up with clarity requirements. Clarification shapes preferences and underlies the behavioural, motivational, and cognitive tendencies that give rise to property, the law, and the firm as a social institution and account for the way in which the division of labour is organized in society. There is a pervasive mutual interdependency between many features of society that is brought by the tendency towards clarity that underlies the formation and motivational force of custom.
Keywords: clarity, custom, division of labour, firm, law, learning, ownership, property, rule preference
The Psychology of Flavour
Richard Stevenson
Flavour is arguably the most fascinating aspect of eating and drinking. It utilises a complex variety of senses and processes, that incredibly work together to generate a unified, and hopefully ... More
Flavour is arguably the most fascinating aspect of eating and drinking. It utilises a complex variety of senses and processes, that incredibly work together to generate a unified, and hopefully pleasurable, experience. The processes involved are not just those involved in tasting at the time of eating, but also memory and learning processes — we obviously shun those foods of which we have a negative memory, and favour those we enjoy. Our understanding of the science of flavour has improved in recent years, benefiting psychology, cuisine, food science, oenology, and dietetics. This book describes what is known about the psychology and biology of flavour. The book is divided into two parts. The first explores what we know about the flavour system; including the role of learning and memory in flavour perception and hedonics; the way in which all the senses that contribute to flavour interact, and our ability to perceive flavour as a whole and as a series of parts. The later chapters examine a range of theoretical issues concerning the flavour system. This includes a look at multisensory processing, and the way in which the mind and brain bind information from discrete sensory systems. It also examines the broader implications of studying flavour for societal problems such as obesity.Less
Flavour is arguably the most fascinating aspect of eating and drinking. It utilises a complex variety of senses and processes, that incredibly work together to generate a unified, and hopefully pleasurable, experience. The processes involved are not just those involved in tasting at the time of eating, but also memory and learning processes — we obviously shun those foods of which we have a negative memory, and favour those we enjoy. Our understanding of the science of flavour has improved in recent years, benefiting psychology, cuisine, food science, oenology, and dietetics. This book describes what is known about the psychology and biology of flavour. The book is divided into two parts. The first explores what we know about the flavour system; including the role of learning and memory in flavour perception and hedonics; the way in which all the senses that contribute to flavour interact, and our ability to perceive flavour as a whole and as a series of parts. The later chapters examine a range of theoretical issues concerning the flavour system. This includes a look at multisensory processing, and the way in which the mind and brain bind information from discrete sensory systems. It also examines the broader implications of studying flavour for societal problems such as obesity.
Keywords: eating, drinking, senses, tasting, memory, learning, cuisine, flavour perception, multisensory processing, obesity
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Dec. 3, 2010 / 7:42 PM
Post-Soviet Russian churches being rebuilt
MOSCOW, Dec. 3 (UPI) -- Tens of thousands of Russian Orthodox churches have been rebuilt since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 20 years ago, a Russian religious leader says.
Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia said 23,000 Russian Orthodox churches have been rebuilt in the post-Soviet era, RIA Novosti reported Friday.
"This has been happening against the backdrop of all social, political and economic confrontations, the religious leader said. "The world should see the Orthodox Russia's great feat of rebuilding all that was destroyed."
During the Soviet era, thousands of churches were either destroyed or turned into warehouses. By 1991 Russia had 7,000 operating churches and 22 monasteries.
The country now has over 30,000 churches and about 1,000 monasteries, RIA Novosti reported.
"Nothing of the kind has happened in any country at any time in history," Kirill said.
This week in Washington
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Mike Shinoda has released a deluxe edition of his latest album, featuring two new tracks
Check out ‘Prove You Wrong’ and ‘What The Words Meant’.
Mike Shinoda has shared a deluxe edition of his recent album, 'Post Traumatic'.
The new release features two extra bonus tracks, ‘Prove You Wrong’ and ‘What The Words Meant’.
Mike is about to head off on tour too, with a European run that kicks off on 2nd March and includes a night at the Roundhouse in London on 10th March.
Check out his new tracks below.
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2018/2019 2017/2018 2016/2017 2015/2016 2014/2015 2013/2014 2012/2013
Workshop 2013/2014
Mind the Gap: Closing the Gulf between Genomic and Phenotypic Studies of Sexual Selection
Recent changes in next-generation sequencing have transformed the research horizon in evolutionary biology and genetics. This is particularly true in studies of sexual selection, which seek to understand how competition for mates can influence the evolution of elaborate male traits and female preferences, and more broadly, drives the evolution of major phenotypic differences between males and females. The answers to questions that have been major foci since Darwin’s work, such as the relative forces of natural versus sexual selection, the tempo and mode of phenotypic change, and the mechanisms by which one genome can encode radically different male and female phenotypes, are now within our grasp. There is enormous interest in integrating these approaches to long-standing phenotypic questions. However, these new technologies bring with them many new questions, and have in many ways created a gulf between molecular genomic and phenotypic approaches to sexual selection.
Our purpose with this workshop is to bring both molecular genomic and phenotypic perspectives to the table in order to define common research agendas, identify appropriate systems for analysis, and outline viable techniques and strategies to resolve these issues and fully bring studies of sexual selection into the genomic era.
Conveners
Seth Michael Barribeau
Felix Breden
Professor of Biological Sciences
Judith Mank
Professor of Evolutionary and Comparative Biology
Gerald S. Wilkinson
Professor of Biology
Vera Kempa
"Academy in Exile", Geschäftsführerin Fellowclub
Tel. +49 30 89001 157
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Another Trump-branded building has decided to take down the president’s name
By David A. Fahrenthold
David A. Fahrenthold
Reporter covering the Trump family and its business interests.
The residents of a Manhattan condominium called “Trump Place” have voted to remove the president’s name from the tower’s facade, the latest in a string of properties that have distanced themselves from the Trump brand since Election Day 2016.
Unit owners in the Upper West Side building, a 46-story tower at 200 Riverside Blvd., were informed of the decision to remove the signs Wednesday afternoon in an email from the condo board.
According to the email, 69.3 percent of owners who participated in a vote in September and early October said they were in favor of taking down President Trump’s name. As a result, the board said, it had “passed a resolution to remove the Signage.”
The change will not affect the building’s legal name, “200 Riverside Boulevard at Trump Place,” only the signs “TRUMP PLACE” on its east and west facades.
“We are pleased to have resolved this matter democratically. Our entire community has engaged in a thorough and respectful deliberative process regarding how to address the signage on our building,” the board wrote in its email, according to a copy obtained by The Washington Post. “We encourage everyone to move forward and respect the will of the community.”
The email did not say when the signs would be removed.
[‘We’re not going anywhere.’ Trump’s company fights efforts to shed the president’s name]
The Trump Organization did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Even after the signs are removed, the president’s company still has a contract to manage the building until at least next year.
This building is part of a large complex that Trump helped develop in the 1990s on the site of an old railroad yard. He no longer owns the buildings, six of which originally bore the name “Trump Place.”
After the election, Trump’s name was removed from three “Trump Place” buildings on the same stretch of Riverside Boulevard, as well as from hotels in Toronto, Panama and New York City’s SoHo neighborhood.
The200 Riverside Blvd. building was the subject of a lawsuit this year, when the condo board asked a New York judge to determine if it had the right to remove its own signs. The Trump Organization insisted that it did not, saying that an agreement signed in 2000 meant the name could never come down.
The judge ruled for the condo board, saying it could take down the signs — but only if residents approved.
[Judge rules New York condo board may remove ‘Trump’ name]
The latest move to remove Trump’s name underscores how his political rise has transformed his brand. Once an icon of big-city success, he is now a deeply polarizing figure in liberal urban areas — including New York, where Trump first made his name.
The fight over the sign at 200 Riverside Blvd. began early last year, after some residents complained about the building’s association with Trump. In response, the building’s board took an informal poll of residents, asking them if they wanted to remove the name.
In that initial survey, about 63 percent said yes. But then the board got a letter from Alan Garten, chief legal officer for the Trump Organization.
“Please be advised that [removing the signs] would constitute a flagrant and material breach of the License Agreement,” Garten wrote in March 2017. He said that if the board made any effort to remove the sign, the Trump Organization “will have no choice but to commence appropriate legal proceedings.”
Garten said that a licensing agreement signed in 2000, in which the building agreed to pay Trump $1 for the use of his name, prevented the signs from ever coming down.
To force the issue, the board sued the Trump Organization instead — and quickly won.
“The court does not find any of defendant’s arguments convincing,” said Judge Eileen Bransten, referring to the Trump Organization.
Trump still has his name on more than 40 buildings around the world, including the two remaining “Trump Place” buildings on Riverside Boulevard.
Republicans condemn chant at Trump rally but stand by his characterizations of four minority lawmakers
Behind the scenes the night Trump partied at Mar-a-Lago with Jeffrey Epstein and NFL cheerleaders
Analysis The Daily 202: Three new polls help explain why Trump supporters chanted ‘Send her back!’ about Ilhan Omar
At rally, crowd responds to Trump’s criticism of Somali-born congresswoman Ilhan Omar with chants of ‘Send her back!’
Analysis What the chorus of ‘Send her back!’ tells us about Trump and his supporters
Opinion Trump is leading a hate movement, and the world is watching
Opinion President Trump leaving town? Quick — get your ladder!
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Japan’s last reactor to shut down, leaving country nuclear-free for first time since 1966
By Chico Harlan
Chico Harlan
Rome bureau chief covering southern Europe and sometimes parts beyond
SEOUL — Japan will power down its last operating nuclear reactor this weekend, finalizing the country’s sudden turn away from a once-preferred energy source and leaving it nuclear-free for the first time since 1966.
On Saturday, at the Tomari atomic power plant in Hokkaido, engineers will begin work to shut down the No. 3 reactor, which is due for its regular maintenance checkup. By Sunday, the unit will officially come offline, the plant operator said.
The break from nuclear power is less a matter of policy than political paralysis. Japan’s central government has recommitted to nuclear power in the wake of last year’s triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, but those authorities have not convinced host communities and provincial governors that nuclear power is necessary — or that a tarnished and as-yet-unreformed regulatory agency is up to the job of ensuring safety.
Because Japan depends on local consensus for its nuclear decisions, those maintenance checkups — mandated every 13 months — have turned into indefinite shutdowns, and resource-poor Japan has scrambled to import costlier fossil fuels to fill the energy void.
Before the Fukushima accident, Japan operated 54 commercial reactors, which accounted for about one-third of the country’s energy supply. Seventeen of those reactors were damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami or shut down over the past year because of government request. Thirty-six others were shuttered after inspections and have not been restarted.
Political and business leaders fear the economic toll of summer energy shortages, but critics of Japan’s nuclear policy say authorities in Tokyo have not done enough to improve nuclear safety standards and break up the traditionally cozy ties between government and industry.
Japan’s cabinet said last year that the country needed a new nuclear safety agency that is “trusted domestically and internationally,” and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda had hoped to have the new agency in place by April 1. But politicians are still squabbling about how the new agency will operate and the extent to which it will coordinate with the cabinet. Experts say it could be months before Japan creates the new watchdog.
Meanwhile, Noda and industry minister Yukio Edano have been pushing to restart two reactors in sparsely populated Fukui prefecture, north of Osaka. The Nos. 3 and 4 units at the Ohi nuclear plant have already passed stress tests — computer simulations designed to test defenses against emergency scenarios. And government officials made several trips from Tokyo last month to meet with local governors and townspeople, arguing for a restart.
The Ohi reactors are operated by the Kansai Electric Power Co., the Japanese utility most dependent on nuclear power. Without restarts, the utility company — providing power to Japan’s industrial heart — will be 16.3 percent short of peak demand this summer, according to government-released data.
“If a reliable, stable supply of electricity is not certain, domestic manufacturers have to think about moving to other countries, which in turn would lead to a hollowing out of industry and a loss of domestic employment,” Takashi Imai, chairman of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, said at a conference last month. “The national economy would clearly suffer.”
But a deep resistance toward nuclear power carries on in the wake of last year’s Fukushima crisis, which displaced roughly 100,000 people. Some 67 percent in Fukui prefecture, according to a recent Asahi newspaper poll, oppose the restart of nuclear reactors. Sixty-three percent say they do not trust the government’s safety standards.
The mayor of Osaka, Toru Hashimoto, one of Japan’s highest-profile politicians, has also become a torchbearer for the anti-nuclear group. He recently knocked the central government, saying it was “absolutely unreasonable” that authorities have deemed it safe to reactivate the Ohi reactors.
Hashimoto said Japan must create a new nuclear watchdog and improve safety standards before reconsidering atomic power.
More world news coverage:
- U.S.-China talks ends; Chen in limbo
- Promise of U.S.-India economic partnership remains unfulfilled
- Tunisia fines ‘Persepolis’ broadcaster
- Read more headlines from around the world
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Dennis Rodman is back in North Korea. Was he sent by Trump?
By Anna Fifield
Anna Fifield
Beijing bureau chief.
TOKYO — Former Chicago Bulls basketball star Dennis Rodman arrived in North Korea Tuesday and hopes to meet leader Kim Jong Un, at a time when President Trump is said to be trying to set up a secret channel to North Korea.
Rodman’s trip has sparked speculation that he may be traveling to free American citizens being held by North Korea, perhaps as a first and important step toward lessening tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.
Before Rodman arrived in Pyongyang, North Korea arranged with U.S. authorities to free one of the four Americans it was holding: Otto Warmbier, 22, a University of Virginia student who was held for 17 months for trying to steal a propaganda poster as a souvenir. He was flown out of the country Tuesday in a U.S. medical evacuation plane. The North Koreans said he contracted botulism and fell into a coma after receiving a sleeping pill following his March 2016 trial, his family said.
[North Korea frees U-Va. student Otto Warmbier]
Trump, who had Rodman on his “Celebrity Apprentice” show for two seasons, recently called Kim a “smart cookie” and said he would be “honored” to meet him. Rodman has met Kim on previous trips to North Korea, serenading him from the basketball court and even holding his baby daughter.
That means Rodman is Trump and Kim’s only mutual acquaintance.
Multiple people involved in unofficial talks with North Korea say the Trump administration has been making overtures toward the Kim regime, including efforts to set up a secret back channel to the North Korean leader using “an associate of Trump’s” rather than the usual lineup of North Korea experts and former officials who talk to Pyongyang’s representatives.
It is not clear whether the Rodman trip is part of that effort, and the former basketball player known as “The Worm” declined to answer reporters’ questions when he arrived in Pyongyang on his fifth visit to the country.
“I will discuss my mission upon my return to the U.S.A,” he told reporters earlier at Beijing airport. He said he hoped to do something “pretty positive” in North Korea but poured cold water on the suggestion he might be able to secure the release of the American detainees.
Asked if Trump knew about his trip, Rodman said: “I’m pretty sure he’s happy at the fact I’m over here trying to accomplish something we both need.”
[ What does Kim Jong Un want with all these missile tests? Talks, perhaps? ]
The NBA hall of famer, who is 56, discussed his trips to North Korea with Trump before the businessman was elected president, according to associates of Rodman.
Rodman endorsed Trump in 2015, tweeting that Trump “has been a great friend for many years. We don’t need another politician, we need a businessman like Mr. Trump! Trump 2016.” Trump responded: “Thank you @DennisRodman. It’s time to #MakeAmericaGreatAgain! I hope you are doing well!”
Rodman has called Kim a “friend for life.”
In a surreal scene, the basketball player and his agent, Chris Volo, were photographed in Beijing wearing T-shirts bearing the logo for “PotCoin,” which markets itself as “banking for the marijuana industry.” PotCoin tweeted a photo of the pair, with the words “stay tuned.”
Rodman was traveling with Volo and Columbia University geneticist Joe Terwilliger, who has accompanied Rodman on previous trips.
The State Department declined to comment on Rodman’s trip, but administration officials have told other media outlets that the athlete was traveling in a private capacity.
Still, the trip fueled speculation that something more was underway.
“One thing we know is that Trump is transactional,” said one person who works on North Korea, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the discussions. “He’s not a member of the Foreign Service — his focus is on getting things done.”
Daniel Pinkston, a North Korea analyst who advised Rodman after an earlier trip, said the former basketball star had a “long-standing invitation” to return to North Korea.
“I heard that the North Korean Foreign Ministry had a desire for a visit by him to reduce tensions with the United States. They’ve been looking at ways to do that,” Pinkston said.
Rodman has now been to North Korea five times, but he has come under heavy criticism for appearing to appease a man who leads a regime that is vowing a nuclear strike on the United States.
[ N. Korea launches new missile salvo, defying world condemnation ]
Rodman’s latest visit coincides with a rapid succession of missile tests from North Korea and warnings that the state has the technology to strike the mainland United States.
When approached by CNN upon his arrival in Beijing, Rodman declined to comment on his trip but said, “See you Thursday.”
The fact that Rodman was going for such a short period of time raised expectations that he might be going to free imprisoned Americans.
“This visit will be judged not by who he takes with him but by who, if anyone, he brings back,” said Scott Snyder, a Korea expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
Warmbier, the University of Virginia student who was held for 17 months before being freed Tuesday, had not been seen since his trial in March last year. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with hard labor.
A former Virginia resident, Kim Dong-chul, was arrested shortly after Warmbier, this time on accusations of espionage, and has been held since.
In April and May, North Korea detained two other Korean Americans, both of them affiliated with the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology, a private institution run by Korean American Christians.
Previous detainees have been released after visits from high-profile Americans, including former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. But efforts to persuade North Korea to release all of the men currently held have not been successful.
[ Worried about North Korea? Spare a thought for Otto Warmbier’s family. ]
Rodman was lambasted on previous trips for suggesting that an American, Kenneth Bae, who was being held in North Korea at the time, deserved his punishment.
On one of his trips to North Korea, in January 2014, Rodman took a group of retired NBA stars to Pyongyang for what one of them called “basketball diplomacy” with North Korean players. The trip quickly turned into a debacle, with sponsors dropping some of the players, who went on CNN to try to explain why they were there.
But it went from bad to worse when Rodman went on a tirade in another interview, and then serenaded leader Kim Jong Un, huskily singing “Happy birthday, dear Marshal” to him from the court. The trip was captured in the documentary “Big Bang in Pyongyang.”
On a previous trip, Rodman spent a significant amount of time with Kim and his wife, even holding their baby daughter. He and his friends, Terwilliger and Volo, are the only Americans known to have met Kim.
People familiar with the athlete’s preparations said that Rodman was due to travel to Pyongyang last month, but the trip was delayed. A North Korean diplomat at the United Nations disputed this, saying that Rodman had not been invited by the Foreign Ministry but by a sports-related agency.
Some of Rodman’s previous interactions with Trump were broadcast on television.
Rodman appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2013, when Trump’s children Eric and Ivanka were also judges on the show. But Trump fired Rodman for spelling his wife’s name wrong. “Simply . . . Milania” were the words above a photo of Melania Trump.
“The fact is, you spelled her name wrong, so Dennis, you lost,” Trump said. “Dennis, you’re fired,” Trump told Rodman, who was wearing his trademark sunglasses and piercings.
Rodman had earlier appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2009, with Trump calling him “a piece of work.”
North Korea’s trading partners are linked, and that could make them vulnerable
China says it hasn’t imported any coal from North Korea for two months
North Korea puts out new video showing the White House in crosshairs and carriers exploding
Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world
Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
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Home » Ingham’s Group appoints Jim Leighton as new CEO
Poultry Processing & Slaughter / Oceania / Industry News & Trends / Business & Markets
Former Perdue Farms executive Jim Leighton has been appointed as the chief executive officer of Ingham's. | Photo courtesy of National Turkey Federation
Ingham’s Group appoints Jim Leighton as new CEO
His experience with 40North Foods, Perdue, ConAgra and Hain Celestial make him ‘the standout candidate,’ company chairman says
Jim Leighton, an experienced executive in the U.S. poultry industry, has been selected to become the new managing director and chief executive officer of Australia-based poultry company Ingham’s.
According to a statement from the company, Leighton will start in his new role upon the completion of visa formalities, which is expected to be by the end of the 2018 calendar year.
“Having conducted a global and domestic search we have no doubt that Jim is the right person to lead Ingham’s. He was the standout candidate and we are thrilled he is moving to Australia from the United States to take up the role,” said Peter Bush, chairman of Ingham’s Group “Jim has a perfect mix of experience and skill sets for Ingham’s. As well as deep experience in the protein/poultry industry sector, he brings us a valuable blend of commercial and operations functional expertise.”
“His career was built coming up through the ranks of manufacturing and supply chain management, with a focus on driving operational improvements and efficiencies. During his career he has been recognized for his ability to build capability and teams, and scaling operations to support business growth.”
Jim Leighton's business experience
Leighton currently serves on the board of Aryzta, a EUR4 billion (US$4.56 billion), public, global specialty baking business head quartered in Europe, and is currently working on a number of special projects to help the company as it navigates through a significant business turnaround.
He was most recently president and founder of 40North Foods, which was a start-up venture backed by Pilgrim's Pride and JBS. Prior to that, he served as chief operating officer, interim CEO and director at Boulder Brands, where he played a key role scaling the business and ultimately selling it to Pinnacle Foods.
Lieghton also spent seven years at Perdue Farms and, in his last role there, served as president of the company’s global multi-billion dollar food group (retail branded and non-branded, food service, and turkey and chicken businesses). He spent his formative years in a variety of operations roles at Nabisco Foods, The Hain-Celestial Group and ConAgra.
Leighton said: “I am extremely excited, privileged and honored to accept the role of managing director and chief executive officer of Ingham’s. There are very few companies that have the rich heritage and legacy of success as Ingham’s. I am looking forward to working with the board and all the Ingham’s team members to stimulate progress and growth, while sustaining the core of what has made Ingham’s successful for the past 100 years”.
Quinton Hildebrand served as the acting CEO of Ingham’s during the search for a permanent leader, and will remain until Leighton begins his employment with the company.
The CEO position became open in August, when Mick McMahon departed following his June announcement of his intent to resign as the company’s chief executive.
2 Sisters Food Group appoints Ronald Kers as new CEO
Theo Hoen appointed as CEO of the Vencomatic Group
JBS appoints Tomazoni as global CEO, Cavalcanti as CFO
National Pork Board appoints Bill Even as new CEO
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News > Nissan is Proud to Sponsor Miss SA Runner-Up
Nissan Cape Town: The Nissan South Africa Group is continuing its long-running partnership with Miss South Africa (SA) by contributing an All New Micra to runner-up, Thulisa Keyi. She will be representing SA in the forthcoming Miss World competition. Earlier this year, Nissan proudly sponsored the Miss SA winner, Tamaryn Green with a New Nissan Qashqai, after winning the coveted Miss South Africa pageant.
"Nissan has been a dedicated supporter of the Miss SA pageants, as we believe that Miss SA supplies equal opportunities to young women as they attempt to reach their main goals in life. We are also pleased to expand our sponsorship for the very first time to Miss World SA" says Kabelo Rabotho, Nissan South Africa’s Marketing Director.
Nissan's 5th- Gen Micra was highly successful, which represents a fantastic progress in design and is nothing short of revolutionary, with a wide range of modern technologies for the Micra it is designed to improve the car's comfort and safety performance. Most of them are stock standard across the range, while as others are available from specific grades or as a choice.
Nissan South Africa will be giving away this remarkable car at The Moslow Hotel, Sandton. "We would like to congratulate Thulisa and as an advocate for education, we are really happy to supply a car that will allow her to drive the change she would like to see in education." says Rabotho.
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YouTube Ryan ToysReview channel has earned a 7-year-old $22 million this year. Photo via CBS News.
Author: CAITLIN O'KANE/ CBS NEWS
Published: December 4, 2018 1:08 PM EDT
Top 10 highest-paid YouTube stars of 2018
Forbes has released a list of YouTube’s top-earning stars, taking into account their video advertising profits, merchandise deals and other sources of revenue. From controversial brothers to a toy-loving 7-year-old boy, here is the list of highest-paid YouTubers, according to Forbes.
10. Logan Paul – $14.5 Million
Logan Paul was pulled from a special YouTube project and lost elite status in the platform’s Google Preferred ads program, accessible only to top creators, after posting a controversial video earlier this year. Paul filmed himself in a Japanese forest near what appeared to be a body hanging from a tree. YouTube said the images violated its policies and suspended him.
Paul’s account was marked with a “strike,” which lasts for three months and can mean a loss of ad revenue from videos and from links to crowdfunding and merchandising websites. The now-23-year-old apologized for posting the insensitive content. Despite the turmoil, he ended up as YouTube’s 10th highest earner of 2018. He was tied for fourth place last year.
Social media star Logan Paul apologizes for posting a video showing an apparent suicide victim on his YouTube channel. LOGAN PAUL
9. PewDiePie – $15.5 Million
Despite criticism over making several anti-Semitic and racist videos in 2017, PewDiePie still made the list of YouTube’s top earners in 2018. He dropped a few notches from last year, when he ranked No. 6.
In February 2017, Disney and YouTube dropped the 27-year-old Swedish content creator, whose real name is Felix Kjellberg, after he posted a video of him laughing while two men held up a sign that said “death to all Jews.” Later that year, he came under fire again and apologized for using the n-word during a live-stream.
In 2018 he apologized for making fun of Demi Lovato’s hospitalization. The YouTuber posted a meme that showed the “Sober” singer asking her mother for money to buy a burger, then turning around to buy heroin instead. He deleted the meme two days after Lovato was hospitalized for an apparent overdose.
Swedish video game commentator and YouTube star Felix Kjellberg, aka PewDiePie, at the Singapore Social Star Awards on May 23, 2013. ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
8. Jacksepticeye – $16 Million
The most popular YouTuber in Ireland is the energetic and often foulmouthed video game commentator Jacksepticeye – whose real name is Sean McLaughlin, Forbes reports. The 28-year-old has broken into the mainstream and currently has over 20 million YouTube subscribers.
Irish YouTube star Jacksepticeye is one of the highest-paid people on the video platform. JACKSEPTICEYE
7. VanossGaming – $17 Million
Another international gamer has made the list of YouTube’s highest paid stars, Forbes reports. Canadian Evan Fong – aka VanossGaming – plays mainstream games like Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. The 26-year-old creates compilations of his video game commentary for his more than 23 million subscribers.
26-year-old Evan Fong is behind one of the highest-earning YouTube channels: VanossGaming. VANOSSGAMING
6. Markiplier – $17.5 Million
Adding to the legion of gamers on the highest-paid list is American YouTube star Markiplier. The 29-year-old, whose real name is Mark Edward Fischbach, is known for his “Let’s Play” videos, in which he provides on-screen commentary to games as he plays them, Inside Edition reported. Markiplier appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in 2014 to show the world what he does.
29-year-old Markiplier, whose real name is Mark Edward Fischbach, is a gamer earning over $17 million on YouTube. MARKIPLIER
5. Jeffree Star – $18 Million
Star first gained fame on MySpace and joined YouTube in 2006, sharing homemade music videos and makeup tutorials. The 33-year-old has since has become a makeup mogul and launched Jeffree Star cosmetics, which sells $100 million worth of products annually, Forbes reports.
4. DanTDM – $18.5 Million
Daniel Middelton was last year’s top-earner on YouTube, Forbes reports. The British gamer not only plays on-camera for his more than 20 million subscribers, but he also makes money on his tour and merchandise line, according to Forbes.
27-year-old DanTDM rounds out the list of gamers on Forbes’ Top 10 highest paid YouTubers list. DANTDM
3. Dude Perfect – $20 Million
Clocking in at over 36 million subscribers, the five-man sports crew known as Dude Perfect specializes in intricate trick shots, and made $20 million doing so, Forbes reports. Their “ping pong trick shots” and “real-life trick shots,” in which they turn everyday activities into complex maneuvers, are among their most popular videos.
Dude Perfect consists of five members in their late 20s and early 30s, including twin brothers, who do trick shots for their over over 36 million followers. DUDE PERFECT
2. Jake Paul – $21.5 Million
The younger brother of controversial YouTuber Logan Paul, this 21-year-old is also on the list of top social media influencers. Jake Paul became popular for his role as Dirk on the Disney Channel series “Bizaardvark.” He is also well-known for his YouTube channel, which has over 17 million subscribers.
In August, more than 800,000 people shelled out $10 each to a watch a pay-per-view boxing match on YouTube in which Paul went head-to-head with fellow YouTuber KSI, CBS Sports reports. Neither star is a professional boxer.
1. Ryan ToysReview – $22 Million
The No. 1 earner on YouTube this year is not your average millionaire — far from it. He’s a 7-year-old boy named Ryan who reviews toys for other kids.
Last year, it was reported Ryan made $11 million from his YouTube channel, coming in at number 8 on Forbes’ 2017 list, but the toy critic is moving on up. His YouTube channel has attracted a huge following of parents and children who watch Ryan test out new toys and share his thoughts on them.
Ryan, whose last name has not been made public, first started reviewing toys in 2015 when he was just 4 years old. On his channel, Ryan’s parents write: “He loves Cars, Trains, Thomas and friends, Lego, Superheroes, Disney toys, open surprise eggs, play doh, Pixar Disney cars, Disney Planes, monster trucks, minions, playtime at the fun, family fun adventure and so much more!”
Ryan’s family says the child star was inspired by watching other kids and programs on YouTube and wanted to join the fun.
His most-watch video to date featured huge easter eggs and a bouncy house, and has amassed over 1.6 billion views. His YouTube channel has over 25 billion views in total and 17 million subscribers. Forbes reports he now has his own line of collectibles selling at Walmart.
The YouTube Ryan ToysReview channel has earned a 7-year-old $22 million this year. Ryan’s most-watch video has over 1.6 billion views. Other kids love to hear what Ryan has to say about toys. RYAN TOYSREVIEW
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Michael Mora
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Home / Celebrities / Celebrities & Fitness Trainers / Sara Mearns: Principal Dancer For The New York City Ballet Reveals Her Fitness & Beauty Secrets
Sara Mearns: Principal Dancer For The New York City Ballet Reveals Her Fitness & Beauty Secrets
October 20, 2016 By Namita Nayyar (WF Team)
Sara Ann Mearns is an American ballerina who dances as a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet. She was born in Columbia, South Carolina, and began her dance training at the age of three with Ann Brodie at the Calvert-Brodie School of Dance, also in Columbia. At the age of 13, Ms. Mearns trained with Patricia McBride at Dance Place, the School of North Carolina Dance Theatre, in Charlotte. She continued her studies at age 14 with Stanislav Issaev at the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities in Greenville.
Ms. Mearns entered the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, full time in the fall of 2001. In the fall of 2003 Ms. Mearns became an apprentice with New York City Ballet. As an apprentice, Ms. Mearns danced a featured role in Michel Fokine’s Chopiniana, performed by SAB as part of New York City Ballet’s 2004 winter season. In June of 2004, Ms. Mearns joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. In March of 2006 she was promoted to soloist. In June 2008 Ms. Mearns was promoted to principal dancer.
She performed in NYCB’s Education Department lectures in January of 2003. Ms. Mearns also danced on a performance tour with North Carolina Dance Theatre in the winter of 1999. Ms. Mearns is a 2003 recipient of the Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise and a 2003 nominee for the Princess Grace Award.
Sara Mearns is an exceptionally talented American ballerina who dances as a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet. She is in conversation with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.
All Written Content Copyright © 2016 Women Fitness
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Reverses for Indonesia's war in Aceh
Submitted by Anon on 2 July, 2003 - 9:47
By Harry Glass
The Indonesian military is making heavy work of its assault on Aceh, according to reports in the Australian socialist paper, Green Left Weekly.
After claiming significant progress in its operation to crush the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), the Indonesian military lost seven soldiers in an ambush in northern Aceh. It was the highest number of casualties the military has suffered since martial law was declared on 19 May.
The army claims that 169 GAM fighters have been killed so far, with around 300 captured. It has announced plans to build a prison to hold more than 1,000 suspected GAM members and supporters. It says 23 soldiers, four police officers and 18 civilians have been killed. More than 25,000 people have fled their homes.
A more significant setback for the government’s operation was the mass resignation of 76 village heads in the Bireuen regency, after complaining about the pressure they had to face in dealing with both the army and GAM. Village chiefs said they could not run the administration under such pressure. Local leaders have been attacked and abducted during the military operation.
When the GAM was formed in 1978, according to GLW writer Max Lane, it attracted little support. He argues that political and social discontent in Aceh had not previously taken a separatist form. Earlier armed rebellions in Aceh had been part of wider struggle for an Islamist Indonesia, not an independent Aceh. That it can now mobilise 5,000 guerrilla fighters would not be possible unless GAM enjoyed some significant popular support.
Why has support for an independent Aceh grown? Lane argues that widespread sentiment for independence developed after 1998. There was opposition to Suharto’s dictatorship and resentment because few of Aceh’s people benefited from the exploitation of its oil and gas reserves. But the presence of the Indonesian military was the key factor in fostering the demand for independence.
Lane argues that the growth of pro-independence sentiment occurred because of disappointment with the policies of the governments after Suharto. Despite promises, no significant prosecutions for human rights abuses took place and the Indonesian government continued to pursue a military response to GAM. This is why up to a million Acehnese participated in a mass demonstration demanding a referendum on independence in November 1999.
Lane concludes that whether or not the war against GAM succeeds in defeating the guerrillas, it will not, and cannot, eliminate widespread pro-independence sentiment among the Acehnese population. Rather, it is likely to strengthen that sentiment.
Iran: back the workers and students
Italy: 87% majority loses out
Save Our Party: Conference for all Labour Party and trade union members
Unionist split threatens the GFA
Solidarity 033, 26 June 2003
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World Travel Guide > Guides > Europe > Greece > Kos beaches
Introducing Kos beaches
About Kos beaches
Images of Kos beaches
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Kos beaches Travel Guide
The green, low-lying, fertile island of Kos, is one of the 12 Dodecanese islands in the southeast Aegean Sea. The 'father of modern medicine', Hippocrates (460-370BC) was born here, and is said to have taught his students under a plane tree, which can still be seen in Kos Town. Today, thanks to its sandy beaches, the island lives from mass tourism. The capital and main port, Kos Town, lies on the east end of the island. Filled with monuments dating back over 3,000 years, it has been occupied by the Romans, Ottoman Turks and Italians. There is a palm-lined seafront promenade, a large yachting marina, a cosmopolitan nightlife and good shopping. A short distance southeast of town, at Psalidi and Fokas, lie the island's most upmarket hotels. Southwest of Kos Town, on the south coast, Kardamena is the island's largest package resort. Once a peaceful fishing village with a long sand beach, since the early 1980s it has developed into a haven for British 18-30s, and is now crammed with English-style pubs and concrete apartment blocks. West of Kardamena, Kefalos is a peaceful, purpose-built resort overlooking a horseshoe bay with excellent beaches nearby. It grew up below the old village and its namesake, made up of whitewashed houses built into the hillside. On the north coast, the low-key resorts of Tingaki and Marmari are especially popular with windsurfers, while the salt marsh that separates them is a haven for migrating birds, including flamingos.
Kos is blessed with lovely sand beaches. Some of the best lie near Kefalos, notably the fine pale-golden sands and shallow waters of Paradise Beach (also known as Bubble beach, due to volcanic gases that rise from the sea bed). In Kardamena, there are two long sandy beaches totalling 6km (4 miles), equipped with sunbeds and umbrellas plus good watersports facilities. Kos Town has a rather narrow 'urban' beach, but there are two well-equipped pebble beaches close by - Lambi, 4km (2.5 miles) to the north and Psalidi, 3km (2 miles) to the south. On the north coast, west of Kos Town, there are beaches at Tingaki (9km/6 miles) and at Marmari (13km/8 miles); these are more exposed to winds and are especially popular with windsurfers. At Tingaki, there is an area reserved for nudists.
Beyond the beach:
The island's chief cultural attractions lie in the capital, Kos Town, and include Hippocrates's plane tree, the 14th-century Castle of the Knights of St John overlooking the harbour, and two mosques from the Ottoman period. West of town, on a wooded hillside, lie the ruins of the fourth-century BC Asklepion, a religious sanctuary dedicated to the god of healing. Further west into the hills, the unspoilt rural village of Zia is renowned for its romantic sunsets, and locally produced honey, olive oil and dried herbs. Embros Thermes Beach, south of Kos Town, has a sea pool with natural hot springs (47°C/116°F) creating a Jacuzzi effect. Birdwatchers might spot migrating flamingos on the salt marsh just west of Tingaki.
Family fun:
Kos's sandy beaches and shallow waters are perfect for kids, but if these begin to pall, visit the Lido Water Park (www.kos-waterpark.com) on the north coast near Mastihari, with a large wave pool, six giant slides and a lazy river, plus bars and a restaurant. Many of the big hotels catering for package tours offer early-evening kids' clubs and babysitting services.
Exploring further:
Daily excursion boats take visitors the nearby islands of Pserimos (good sand and shingle beaches), Nisyros (a dramatic volcanic island) and Kalymnos (renowned for sponge diving). It is also possible to take a day-trip to Bodrum in Turkey. Boats depart from Kos Town, and visitors have plenty of time to explore Bodrum's 15th-century portside Castle of St Peter, enjoy a hammam (Turkish bath) and shop in the bazaar.
Browse our Video Guides
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NCAA bans new bowl games for three years
Otto Kitsinger
<p>In this Dec. 22, 2015, file photo, fans in the upper deck watch the action during the second half of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl NCAA college football game between Utah State and Akron in Boise, Idaho.†Two people involved in the decision tell The Associated Press that the NCAA won't allow the creation of new bowl games for the next three years. The people spoke on condition of anonymity Monday, April 11, 2016, because the NCAA had not made a formal announcement. (AP Photo/Otto Kitsinger, File)</p>
The NCAA is prohibiting the creation of new bowl games for the next three years after three teams with 5-7 records were needed to fill the record number of bowls last season.
The NCAA's football oversight committee last week recommended a three-year moratorium on sanctioning new postseason games and it was approved by the Division I Council. The oversight committee started a task force to study the Bowl Subdivision postseason after there was not enough six-win, bowl-eligible teams last season to fill the 40 games.
The committee, led by Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, will deliver a full set of recommendations on reforming the postseason in June, including determining what should qualify as a deserving team and how a 5-7 team should be placed in a bowl if necessary.
"Historical data of 'deserving teams' criteria showed that adding more bowls would cause the NCAA to have to dip into the alternate 5-7 teams, as it did last season," Division I Council chairman and Northwestern athletic director Jim Phillips told the AP in a text message on Monday. "The new postseason structure, when it is complete, will allow for existing and new bowls to compete for 'deserving teams' as that criteria is developed."
Three cities — Austin, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina — were in the process of trying to gain approval for new bowl games. ESPN.com was first to report the moratorium.
Many bowl games are entering the third year of six-year contracts with their conference partners. Letting bowls go dark if there are not enough teams with at least six wins and a .500 record at the end of the regular season is not a realistic option. The first priority for the oversight committee is to come up with guidelines for choosing 5-7 teams.
Nebraska, Minnesota and San Jose were allowed to play in bowls last season because they had the highest Academic Progress Report scores among teams with 5-7 records. There were no additional restrictions placed on those teams and bowls were allowed to pick them according to their contracts with conferences.
That placed Nebraska of the Big Ten in the Fosters Farm Bowl in Santa Clara, California, and Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit, while six- and seven-win teams from other conferences were sent to less-desirable bowls. Two Mountain West teams, Colorado State and Nevada, played in the first Arizona Bowl in Tucson, drawing sharp criticism from MWC Commissioner Craig Thompson.
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Cokoladovny Will Be Split Into 2 Separate Companies
David RocksSpecial to The Wall Street Journal
Updated May 20, 1998 12:01 am ET
PRAGUE -- Cokoladovny AS, Central Europe's biggest producer of cookies and chocolates, will split its operations into two separate companies, one specializing in cookies and biscuits and the other in chocolates and candies.
The partition of Cokoladovny, which is 84.5% owned by a joint venture between Nestle SA and Groupe Danone, is expected to be approved at the company's annual meeting on June 30. After the split, Cokoladovny will be delisted from the Prague Stock Exchange, and the two successor companies won't be publicly...
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Banksy Unveils 'Dismaland' Art Show in U.K.
British street artist Banksy has unveiled his largest art show to date, "Dismaland." The Disneyland-inspired show covers four acres in Weston-super-mare and features over 50 international artists. Photo: Getty Images.
Watch: Original Banksy Canvasses Sell for $60 Each
Perhaps the most dramatic moment of Apollo 11's mission to the moon was when the Eagle began its final descent to the lunar surface and the ship's computer became overloaded. Few were more nervous than the young computer programmer who had written the code for the landing. On the Apollo 11's 50th anniversary, WSJ sat down with programmer Don Eyles. Photo: Alexander Hotz/WSJ
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General strike in Argentina
By Gerardo Nebbia
A 36-hour general strike called by three union federations in Argentina virtually shut down the nation of 37 million inhabitants last week. The mass walkout was a protest against austerity measures by the De la Rua administration that would cut Social Security benefits and freeze federal and provincial budgets for five years. President De la Rua and Labor Minister Patricia Bullrich denounced the strike.
Last Friday, Argentina's industrial sector was totally paralyzed by the strike. Hundreds of women took to the streets banging their pots and government employees occupied the offices of the privatized Social Security system and blocked main roads in Buenos Aires. There were also incidents of right-wing violence. In Chaco province, a 23-year old unemployed worker was shot and killed on the picket line and another worker was wounded.
The strike was largely a response by the Peronist labor bureaucracy, which has endorsed the government's austerity measures, to the growing movement of the unemployed that for months has been blocking roads and organizing protests. The union officials called the strike in an effort to diffuse explosive social tensions. The few labor rallies that were called by the unions during the strike were largely boycotted by workers.
The strike followed a violent confrontation on November 22 in the industrial city of Cordoba. Police violently assaulted a labor rally in Argentina's second largest city after workers responded with sticks and stones to police efforts to dislodge them from the city hall. Six workers and six police officers were wounded after Cordoba Mayor German Kammerath ordered police to end the rally, which was called in preparation for the following day's general strike.
News of the clash was spread by radio and spontaneous marches of workers began to take place toward the center of town. At the same time, workers took over the Urgent Care Hospital. Groups of arriving workers surrounded and stoned police, who responded with rubber bullets and tear gas. The clashes continued from morning to afternoon. Kammerath's order was defended by Cordoba's governor, Jose Manuel De la Sota, a member of the Peronist opposition party, who said, “Unions are here to defend the workers, not to replace governments.”
De la Rua's economic program is aimed at winning approval from the International Monetary Fund for a standby loan of $20 billion to prevent Argentina from defaulting on next year's debt.
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Massive blackout affects 50 million in Argentina and Uruguay
The May 29 national strike and Argentina’s economic, political and social crisis
Workers Struggles: The Americas
WSWS rejects invitation to conference of political bankrupts in Buenos Aires
Trade union sells out Walmart strike in Chile
Bossa Nova pioneer, songwriter and musician João Gilberto dead at 88
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Bookstore | NONFICTION | POETRY
A Torch Bearer's Salute to 100 Years of Olympic Spirit
A Book of Olympic Poems By Kermite Bristow
Also available as: E-Book
Format: Perfect Bound Softcover(P. Color)
Size: 8.5x11
New Poetry Collection a Torchbearer’s Salute to 100 Years of Olympic Spirit
Jacksonville, FL – (December 7, 2004) – Every so often there comes along a poet who chisels his words out of an unforgettable experience, a rare event in his life that left him forever changed. When Kermite Bristow, gifted in the expression of the beautiful, was chosen to be an Olympic torchbearer, he was inspired to create wonderful poetry now comprising his new book, A Torchbearer’s Salute to 100 Years of Olympic Spirit.
This poetry anthology—perfectly worded, exquisitely realized—tells of true-life stories of Olympic heroes. Written in rhyme, it explores the Olympics down through the ages and the people involved. At the same time, it pays tribute to the men and women whose passion for and love of sport has kept the Olympic spirit alive.
Kermite Bristow was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1953. He currently resides in Jacksonville, Florida. Mr. Bristow won his first international poetry contest out of Baltimore, Maryland, as awarded by the International Library of Poetry in 2000. In April 2004, he placed in a national poetry contest as awarded by the American Poets Society in Baltimore, Maryland.
A Torchbearer’s Salute to 100 Years of Olympic Spirit * By Kermite Bristow
Trade Paperback; $21.99; 60 pages; 1-4134-5061-X
To request a complimentary paperback review copy, contact the publisher at (888) 795-4274 x. 476. Tearsheets may be sent by regular or electronic mail to Jia Wang. To purchase copies of the book for resale, please fax Xlibris at (215) 923-4685 or call (888) 795-4274 x. 876.
Xlibris is a strategic partner of Random House Ventures, LLC, and a subsidiary of Random House, Inc. For more information, contact Xlibris at (888) 795-4274 or on the web at www.Xlibris.com.
Perfect Bound Softcover(P. Color)
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Texan accidentally shot by Dick Cheney recalls 2006 incident
By JOHN C. MORITZCorpus Christi Caller-Times
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Harry Whittington was a longtime Austin lawyer and a largely behind the scenes player in Texas Republican politics in February 2006 when he became a central actor in what came close to being a life-or-death drama involving then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reports Whittington, then 78, was part of a quail-hunting party on a South Texas ranch with Cheney and others when the vice president accidentally shot him in the face and torso after a covey of game birds took flight.
Dozens of tiny bird-shot pellets peppered his face and torso. Whittington lost consciousness and was taken to the hospital. He suffered what at the time was called a minor heart attack because some of the lead shot hit blood vessels near his heart.
The incident, first reported by the Corpus Christi Caller-Times in South Texas, was extensively covered locally, nationally and internationally at the time. Now, it's part of the movie, "Vice," due for release on Christmas and depicting the political life the man sometimes described as the most powerful vice president in history.
Here's what Whittington, now 91 and still practicing law, told the Caller-Times he remembers about what he says "just keeps coming back":
— The movie trailer shows Cheney firing from the back seat of a vehicle. Is that what happened?
"The quail hunting that we were doing was behind bird dogs. So we were walking and as the dogs found the birds, well then, you walk up on the covey and then they flush and you shoot.
"So there wasn't any automobile involved in the hunt at all."
— What do you remember after the shot was fired?
"I remember passing out smelling the gun powder, and then I was out of it a while after that."
— Have you seen any of the promotion for the movie?
"No. Some of my children have seen the trailer. It (the hunting scene) doesn't sound too familiar. But if they're (the movie studio) spending as much money as I've heard they're spending on it, they must think it will sell at the box office."
— Do you plan to see the movie once it's released?
"We'll see it. I've heard so much about it, but I wouldn't expect it to be an Academy Award (winner) as far as the hunt itself went."
— Do you and the former vice president keep in touch?
"Yeah, occasionally. He was here, I guess it was sometime a few months ago. He and I went to dinner. We're just acquaintances."
— Do you still hunt quail?
"I'm not hunting anymore. I've aged a little bit since then. That was 12 years ago."
— Have you made a full recovery?
"I guess so, I'm able to navigate and get around. I still have a lot of 'quiet pellets,' but some of them had to be lifted and removed.
"When I go to the doctors, they all want to look at my pellets I still have. Usually everybody in the clinic wants to come look. I get a lot of questions and discussions about it.
"Needless to say, I'm very, very fortunate."
Information from: Corpus Christi Caller-Times, http://www.caller.com
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availablepublic3089https://www.scitechnow.org/videos/hidden-figures-nasa-space-race/2365960149cove3089The "Hidden Figures" at NASA during the Space RaceThe untold story of the African American women who helped NASA win the space race. You’ve heard of Neil Armstrong but what about Eunice Smith. In her book Hidden Figures, Margot Lee Shetterly tells the story of the human computers, a group of black female mathematicians who at the peak of the space race and the civil rights movement worked behind the scenes at NASA. Reporter Andrea Vasquez talks to Shetterly via Google Hangout.2017-02-20 21:00publishdisabledshowfalse4363SciTech Now Episode 526GPS for your body; how the brain processes information; hackers; beautifying freewayshttps://www.scitechnow.org/videos/scitech-now-episode-526/2019-05-13 21:00https://www.scitechnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/LS2oVqk-asset-mezzanine-16x9-8I5IwiK-480x270.jpg3028844749cove4361SciTech Now Episode 525The minds of Raccoons; working on combating computer hackers; and an underwater discovery.https://www.scitechnow.org/videos/scitech-now-episode-525/2019-05-06 21:00https://www.scitechnow.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/CarWTss-asset-mezzanine-16x9-0O5UbFs-480x270.jpg3028678405cove
The “Hidden Figures” at NASA during the Space Race
clip | February 20, 2017 | 0:06:50
You’ve heard of Neil Armstrong but what about Eunice Smith? In her book Hidden Figures, Margot Lee Shetterly tells the story of the human computers, a group of black female mathematicians who at the peak of the space race and the civil rights movement worked behind the scenes at NASA. Reporter Andrea Vasquez talks to Shetterly via Google Hangout.
More from Episode 320
The physics of snowboarding
The Maker Movement
Tracking grizzly bears
SciTech Now Episode 320
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Radio Rebels: Berlin Group Makes Tiny Transmitters for Syria
Philipp Hochleichter of the Media in Cooperation and Transmission organization holds a Pocket FM Radio Transmitter in Berlin, Germany, Dec. 21, 2015.
BERLIN - On the top floor of an old brick building in the heart of Berlin, a group of journalists and tech enthusiasts are working to spur the Syrian media revolution.
Their weapon is an unassuming black case the size of a shoebox that allows opposition radio stations in Syria to transmit inside hostile territory.
Dubbed PocketFM, the device is basically a low-powered radio transmitter. Coupled with a satellite dish to receive new programs, a car battery for power and a one-meter (three-foot) antenna, it can broadcast FM radio within a 5-kilometer (3-mile) radius.
That's enough to cover a town or a city district, said Philipp Hochleichter, who oversees development of the device for the Berlin-based nonprofit organization Media in Cooperation and Transition.
The group has been training journalists in conflict zones for more than a decade and often relies on FM radio to reach populations in far-flung areas that don't have access to the Internet or smartphones. But when the group realized that shifting front lines and the brutal treatment of journalists meant operating large broadcast antennae could become too cumbersome or risky, it developed PocketFM.
It's now being used to covertly broadcast in nine locations, including two that are controlled by the Islamic State group, said Hochleichter. Connected to a solar panel, a PocketFM transmitter can theoretically work autonomously for long periods of time.
The project, which also includes compiling a daily best-of from nine cooperating radio stations that is beamed down by satellite, is financed by the German Foreign Ministry. It cooperates only with moderate opposition groups who have to abide by a code of conduct.
Not catering to propagandists
“Of course it's necessary for us to make sure they don't fall into propaganda scheme, which is very tough in Syria at the moment,” said Najat Abdulhaq, a Palestinian journalist who manages the project.
Listeners might be surprised to find that aside from urgently needed information - which borders are open, what are the prices in the market, how are refugees abroad faring - there's a fair amount of light entertainment.
“People have a day-to-day life despite conflict,” said Abdulhaq. “Despite the sadness and the war, people like to listen to music and even comedy.”
Hochleichter said Monday the group is currently working on its third version of PocketFM, which it hopes to complete by the middle of next year. As with previous versions, the technology is decidedly low key, with a $40 Raspberry Pi computer at the heart of the device.
“We're not a hardware company that's got $100,000 to develop new technology,” Hochleichter said.
The next version will be slightly more powerful and boast a new security feature that allows users to remotely switch off the device by text message to prevent it from being traced.
With the war in Syria running for almost five years, the third version is almost certain to see use.
“I wish, but I would be very naive if I would believe, that the conflict would be over next year,” said Abdulhaq.
Suspected Russian Airstrikes Kill at Least 36 in Syria
Suspected Russian airstrikes killed at least 36 people Sunday in the rebel-held city of Idlib in northwest Syria, rescue workers and a monitoring group in the country reported. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said most of those killed were fighters in the Army of Conquest rebel group fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. But rescue workers reported that six strikes had hit a busy marketplace in the city, several government…
By Ken Bredemeier
Kerry: UN-approved Road Map to Peace in Syria a 'Milestone'
The U.N. Security Council's unanimous approval of an international road map for a Syrian peace process was a rare display of unity among major powers on a conflict that has claimed more than a quarter-million lives, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said.Kerry praised "the unprecedented degree of unity" in the council, which previously has been stymied in finding a political solution in Syria. He called Friday's agreement "a milestone" and predicted the diplomatic effort would…
International Community Backs Syria Peace Process
UN Security Council endorses target of six months for establishing transitional government, followed by elections within 18 months
By Margaret Besheer
Payoffs, Creativity Keep Syrian Kurdish Market Stocked
At first glance, the busy market in this Kurdish city in northeastern Syria looks much like it has for decades.Everything is available, from vegetables and fruits to cigarettes and shoes. Shoppers bargain with merchants for a cheaper price.But in these difficult days, when war rages just miles away, getting a bargain is improbable.“The prices are extremely high, I can’t afford it,” said an Arab woman from Aleppo, who has been living in Qamishli…
By Sirwan Kajjo
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Wynning History
Exploring the history of Pennsylvania’s Coal Region
Book a Speaker – Coal Region History
The 96th Pennsylvania in Washington – November 1861
Posted on November 20, 2016 November 20, 2016 by Jake Wynn
They were happy to leave Baltimore behind them.
Yes, the young ladies waving flags at them from the second floor balconies as they marched down Pratt and Eutaw streets were beautiful and sentiments seemingly legitimate; but something must have felt off about that moment.
They were marching here in April 18, 1861 when a number of these same men were pelted with bricks and other objects. The 25th Pennsylvania Volunteers raced through the city bloodied, but alive. Those who followed them were not as lucky. On April 19, members of the 6th Massachusetts Regiment exchanged shots with secessionist sympathizers in an incident known as the “Pratt Street Riot” or the “Baltimore Massacre.” A dozen civilians and four soldiers were killed in the incident.
The Baltimore Riot, April 19, 1861 (WikiCommons)
Now, a number of the officers and men of the 96th Pennsylvania had these memories close at hand as they marched through the federally pacified city. The only hint at the city’s displeasure were the gentlemen slouching on street corners. One muttered, “There goes some more of the damned Yankees,” with a long pipe locked between his teeth.
The regiment ascended the railroad cars of the Baltimore and Ohio’s Washington line and sped off through the night of November 10, 1861.
Pulling into the Union capital at 2 o’clock in the morning of November 11, they dismounted and headed for the temporary quarters constructed near the depot. A letter writer described the scene of this early morning entrance into the city:
“Vacating the cars, we formed into line, and through several hundred yards of unyielding mud, reached the barracks – a long depot like building, built expressly by Government for the accommodation of freshly arrived troops.”
They bedded down, but were awakened early for breakfast at the “Soldier’s Retreat,” where 350 men were fed a “breakfast of coffee, bread, and hot beef,” and without orders yet to march, some of the men visited the as yet unfinished Capitol.
The Soldier’s Retreat at the Washington Depot (LOC)
When the orders came, the men departed with canteens full of coffee and haversacks filled with sandwiches. Their march did not carry them very far from where they had begun.
“We are encamped in sight of the Capitol, at the Bladensburg Toll Gate, about 1 ½ miles from the Capitol,” wrote Adjutant M. Edgar Richards in a letter to his father. He also noted that they were camped next to two New York units, the 52nd and 54th.
“The camp is called Wilder,” wrote Corporal Henry Keiser in Company G. Following the regiment’s first night in this encampment just outside the city’s limits, the 21-year-old Keiser explored the camp. “It is a very pretty place,” he noted in his diary after taking in the sights. This area, known by Washingtonians as “Kendall’s Green” was located off of the road to the neighboring village of Bladensburg.
Kendall Green, home to Camp Wilder, is located at top. The U.S. Capitol is at bottom, center. View the full map at Library of Congress
The regiment settled into Camp Wilder, taking up rudimentary drill and the regimens of under the command of Lt. Colonel Jacob G. Frick. The 36-year-old officer was not happy with his circumstances.
“As usual I am in command and have nearly all the work to do,” wrote Frick on November 15. “Our Colonel has not spent a day or night with the Regt. since it has been formed.” Colonel Henry Cake had ruffled a number of his junior officer’s feathers by making his rounds among prominent Pennsylvania lawmakers instead of seeing to his duties at Camp Wilder. Frick described the November weather and his unit’s campground as “muddy and disagreeable,” the last of which describes Frick’s mood as well.
On November 13, the regiment marched through the muddy streets of Washington to the city’s Arsenal on the banks of the Potomac River. There, they drew their first government-issued weapons. “[They were] old smoothbore musket, percussion locks, altered from its flint musket – loaded with a ball and three buckshot,” wrote Adjutant Richards.
The Washington Arsenal, near the Potomac River (LOC)
Their first arms were universally disliked. “[G]ot the Springfield musket for our men, with the promise that we were to use them only for drilling, and then exchange them for the latest improved arms,” wrote Captain Charles Hipple of Company H. “I slight doubt the sincerity of the promise, and do not like our arms.” The assumed insincerity that their muskets were to be used only for drill was noted by the enlisted men as well. “[They were] only to drill with, at least so the officers told us,” wrote Corporal Keiser.
The rest of the unit’s time in Camp Wilder was spent much in the same way they spent time in Camp Schuylkill back in Pottsville. With lots of free time waiting for orders, the men wrote numerous letters home describing their thoughts on the war.
“We are determined to conquer in the name of God and our country, or die in defence of that religion, that flag, and that Constitution handed down to us by a noble parentage,” wrote Captain Hipple to a friend in Pottsville. All around them, the machinery of war assembled, making Washington into a massive armed camp.
In their empty days, officers and enlisted men explored the Union capital. A New Yorker encamped at Camp Wilder that November described the city as he saw it:
The dome of the Capitol building was yet unfinished, and the mammoth sections of the Goddess of Liberty were lying around, head in one place, shoulders in another, and feet in still another, as though entirely unrelated. Pennsylvania Avenue, unpaved and dusty as a country road, was lined with stores and dwellings, many of which could be called shanties. Washington was essentially a southern city, without enterprise and improvements, a byword and a reproach among nations.
Captain James Russell, among those who had served in the 25th Pennsylvania earlier that year, thought he had witnessed a change in the city since he had last been there in July.
“There is very little drunkenness to be seen in the streets, as compared with last summer while we were stationed at the Arsenal. Passes are not so easily obtained, and then they are examined by the Provost guard, which makes the boys very careful about venturing out of camp without the necessary document,” he wrote to the editors of the Miners’ Journal.
One of those soldiers attempting a visit out into the city was Private Clement Potts. He had ventured out without a pass disguised in civilian clothes smuggled into camp by members of Company C.
“I went into the capital and seen [sic] the Senate chamber and House of Representatives,” he wrote to his mother. “The floors are covered with the finest of Brussells [sic] carpet and the seats and chairs are covered with red silk velvet. The floors and stairways are of white and colored marbles. They are splendid.”
Potts also meandered to the Smithsonian Institution, where he was given a personal tour from Smithsonian curator Spencer Fullerton Baird, with who apparently Potts had some personal connection. “He was very glad to see me and took me all over the institution and told me if their was anything that I ever needed that he would be very glad to give to me,” Potts remarked.
The Smithsonian Institution and the unfinished Capitol – Private Potts wandered these streets disguised as a civilian. (LOC)
Potts almost paid the price for his little escape, however. He was stopped three times by increasingly suspicious provost guards, the military police that patrolled the city. “Tomorrow I intend getting a pass from the Col. and then I need not be afraid of the patrols in the city,” he wisely noted.
In their first encampment outside Pennsylvania, the 96th Regiment readied itself for action. It continued drill, it know had its arms, and newly issued uniforms ensured they looked the part of United States volunteers. They arrived at Camp Wilder on the afternoon of November 11 and departed Washington by crossing the Potomac River to Alexandria, Virginia on November 25. They were truly headed for “secesh.”
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Caught a ⚡️ from a distant thunderstorm
Celebrating Alison’s birthday week with a bang (and trifle)! 💥
Cheers to 26! Happy birthday, @Alisons_Wonderland!
I can now say that I’ve experienced “the soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window” at A Christmas Story House. 🎅🏼🎄
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Billy Idol & Bryan Adams To Hit The Road This Summer
posted by Carter Alan - Apr 30, 2019
Via USA Today: Billy Idol and Bryan Adams are hitting the road this summer.
The two '80s icons are co-headlining their first U.S. tour together, an eight-date trek beginning on Aug. 1 in Gilford, New Hampshire, and ending on Aug. 12 in Bristow, Virginia.
Adams' hits include "Summer of '69," "Run to You," "Cuts Like a Knife" and "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You." His 14th studio album, "Shine a Light," was released on March 1, his first since 2015's "Get Up."
Aside from his trademark snarl, Idol is best known for songs like "White Wedding," "Mony Mony," "Rebel Yell," "Dancing With Myself" and "Eyes Without a Face. Last year, he released Vital Idol: Revitalized," am electronica-infused re-imagining of his 1985 compilation album.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning on May 3 at 10 a.m. local time.
See the full tour dates below.
Aug. 1 – Gilford, NH, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
Aug. 3 – Uncasville, CT, Mohegan Sun Arena
Aug. 4 – Wantagh, NY, Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Aug. 6 – Syracuse, NY, St. Joseph's Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
Aug. 7 – Clarkston, MI, DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 9 – Darien Center, NY, Darien Lake Amphitheater
Aug. 10 – Holmdel, NJ, PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 12 – Bristow, VA, Jiffy Lube Live
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Sci-Tech | New understanding of autoimmune diseases
Tran Dang
New understanding of autoimmune diseases
Tran Dang 12:29 am, Jan 26, 2016
Thanks to a recent Yale study, physicians may soon adopt a new method to combat rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine have discovered a transcription factor, ICBP90, that has been shown to regulate the expression levels of MIF — a gene that has been implicated in a number of diseases, primarily autoimmune diseases and cancer. The transcription factor, a protein responsible for facilitating the production of RNA from DNA, binds to MIF’s promoter region, which helps to regulate and initiate transcription. According to the study authors, by identifying the connection between ICBP90 and MIF, researchers can develop new methods of drug treatment for diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and cancer by targeting the gene in a more precise and personalized way.
“The study discovered ICBP90 and validated the fact that if you influence the expression of the transcription factor, you influence the expression of the MIF target gene,” medical school professor and senior author Richard Bucala said. Prior to the study, Bucala discovered a common genetic variation in the promoter region of MIF. The increased expression of MIF depends on how many microsatellite repeats are present in the promoter. A microsatellite is a short stretch of nucleotides, the smallest unit of DNA, Bucala said.
In the case of MIF, the microsatellite CATT is repeated five to eight times, varying in people and in different populations. An increased number of CATT repeats indicates high expression of MIF. Bucala’s team created synthetic promoter regions that had five to eight repeats or none at all. They then devised a way to identify proteins that bind to the high-repeat forms, and they were able to single out the factor ICBP90 from other possible nuclear proteins, Bucala added.
Low expression of MIF has been shown to have benefits against certain diseases. Bucala noted that low expression of MIF confers resistance to death from malaria. Low expression also decreases susceptibility to autoimmune diseases and lessens their severity.
Consequently, MIF is a good target for drugs, Bucala explained. Currently, drug treatments attempting to block the protein coded by MIF are in phase II clinical trials. The drugs have a selective effect based on genotype and work best on patients with high levels of MIF expression, he added.
The findings of this research are a further step toward personalized medicine for treating autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, Bucala said. Now that the regulatory protein has been identified, it is possible that, instead of using biological antibodies to block the RNA or expressed protein of the MIF gene, scientists could devise small molecules that target the regulatory binding in the nucleus by the transcription factor before the gene is even transcribed, he added.
There are two potential therapeutic implications of the study, according to Maor Sauler, study co-author and medical school professor. The first will allow researchers to better understand how MIF is involved in disease, particularly in differentiating what is caused by environmental stimuli, and what is caused by the gene. The second implication is that scientists will be able to identify the MIF polymorphism in individual patients. This will help to indicate patients’ susceptibility to autoimmune diseases as well as signal which patients will respond best to anti-MIF or anti-ICBP90 therapy, Sauler added.
Medical school professor Martin Kriegel, who was not involved with the study, believes the findings of the study are significant, but said the impact in the clinical setting is still far from clear.
“I think it is a step forward, but there is still a lot of work to be done,” Kriegel said.
He emphasized that MIF is a very potent gene that has many effects, and specifically targeting ICBP90 may not have as broad an effect on the body as scientists hope.
Sauler noted that understanding the connection between MIF and ICBP90 can help establish new research on diseases related to the gene’s expression. Both the transcription factor and the gene can be analyzed “side by side,” providing a fuller picture. He also emphasized the benefits of personalized medicine, which the successful clinical implementation of this study can help to improve.
Personalized medicine is important in creating individually based therapies, rather than just optimizing on the general benefit of an entire population.
“I think this is how disease needs to be treated,” Sauler said. “If we think everyone is the same, then we’re going to be stuck with the same therapies and the same treatment. Only by understanding the parts of us that make us unique and individuals are we going to tailor the right therapies for the right person for the right disease.”
According to the American College of Rheumatology, rheumatoid arthritis affects more than 1.3 million United States adults.
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AMBER CAPACITORS LIMITED is an ISO 9001:2008 certified company, and is one of the largest capacitor producing companies in Pakistan. It was established in 1990.
It was conceived and founded by (Late) Engr. Ataur Rahman Arain, who was also its Chairman until his passing away in 2013. Engr. Farhan Ata Arain had joined as a Director first, in 1992, and went on to become its Chief Executive in 2003. Due to the direction set by both of them, and in their able guidance, the company has consistently been producing products of international quality.
Internationally, AMBER is exporting to 15 countries including USA, Australia, UAE and Kuwait. Domestically, AMBER is supplying to the top OEMs of the local industry, as well as a large segment of the retail market for all its product range. The company is using latest technology obtained with the courtesy of the world’s well-known companies in Italy, Japan and Turkey. The company has excellent manufacturing and testing facilities, as well as capabilities of in-house design and manufacture of full-range of AC Capacitors.
Amber’s range of products includes:
Motor Start-Run capacitors in match-box as well cylindrical designs.
Capacitors for air-conditioners.
Capacitors for Power Factor Correction of Ballasts for Fluorescent and High Intensity Discharge Lamps.
Capacitors for Power Factor Correction of Three Phase Power Systems up to 1000 V in dry as well as oil impregnated (non-P.C.B.) designs.
Capacitors for mains frequency induction furnaces.
Throughout the manufacturing process i.e. from the selection of the raw material to the approval of the finished products, strict quality control is maintained. Integrated inspection and special testing procedures are carried out on each product at all stages of manufacture. The company understands that capacitors which are manufactured on international standards have to be adapted to the local environmental and voltage conditions. That is the reason selected capacitors have to undergo and pass the environment life test, which simulates actual working and application conditions in Pakistan.
To keep up to date with the latest global advancements in engineering fields, AMBER regularly participates in international exhibitions to display their products and see the latest in world trends. AMBER has been participating in AHR Expo (one of the world’s biggest shows concentrating on HVAC equipment held yearly in US) every year since 2000 and has plans to continue doing so. AMBER also participated and displayed its products in Elenex ’97 held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1997 and in Hannover Messe 2006.
As far as conformance to international standards is concerned, the company manufactures capacitors in strict accordance with the latest IEC Standards. Many of AMBER products have international approvals. Approval from Underwriters Laboratories, USA is an example.
Amber Capacitors also has the facility of handling custom-based designs and specifications of reasonable volume requirements.
AMBER is currently employing about 250 people, both in the head-office and the factory.
Expansion of Production, both by increasing production area and infrastructure.
Expansion of both export and domestic markets.
Increase of export share in total sales from 40% to 80%, at a rate of 20% per annum.
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Home Al - posts english Amphipolis.gr | Greco-Buddhist art
Amphipolis.gr | Greco-Buddhist art
Greco-Buddhist art is the artistic manifestation of Greco-Buddhism, a cultural syncretism between the Classical Greek culture and Buddhism, which developed over a period of close to 1000 years in Central Asia, between the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC, and the Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD. Greco-Buddhist art is characterized by the strong idealistic realism and sensuous description of Hellenistic art and the first representations of the Buddha in human form, which have helped define the artistic (and particularly, sculptural) canon for Buddhist art throughout the Asian continent up to the present. It is also a strong example of cultural syncretism between eastern and western traditions.
The origins of Greco-Buddhist art are to be found in the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom (250 BC- 130 BC), located in todays Afghanistan, from which Hellenistic culture radiated into the Indian subcontinent with the establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom (180 BC-10 BC). Under the Indo-Greeks and then the Kushans, the interaction of Greek and Buddhist culture flourished in the area of Gandhara, in todays northern Pakistan, before spreading further into India, influencing the art of Mathura, and then the Hindu art of the Gupta empire, which was to extend to the rest of South-East Asia. The influence of Greco-Buddhist art also spread northward towards Central Asia, strongly affecting the art of the Tarim Basin, and ultimately the arts of China, Korea, and Japan.
Hellenistic art in southern Asia
Silver coin depicting the Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I (200-180 BC) wearing an elephant scalp, symbol of his conquest of India. Back: Herakles, holding a lion skin and a club resting over the arm. The text reads: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΗΜΗΤΡΙΟΥ – BASILEŌS DĒMĒTRIOU “of King Demetrius”.
Powerful Hellenistic states were established in the areas of Bactria and Sogdiana, and later northern India for three centuries following the conquests of Alexander the Great around 330 BC, the Seleucid empire until 250 BC, followed by the Greco-Bactrian kingdom until 130 BC, and the Indo-Greek kingdom from 180 BC to around 10 BC.
The clearest examples of Hellenistic art are found in the coins of the Greco-Bactrian kings of the period, such as Demetrius I of Bactria. Many coins of the Greco-Bactrian kings have been unearthed, including the largest silver and gold coins ever minted in the Hellenistic world, ranking among the best in artistic and technical sophistication: they “show a degree of individuality never matched by the often more bland descriptions of their royal contemporaries further West”. (“Greece and the Hellenistic world”).
These Hellenistic kingdoms established cities on the Greek model, such as in Ai-Khanoum in Bactria, displaying purely Hellenistic architectural features, Hellenistic statuary, and remains of Aristotelician papyrus prints and coin hoards.
Wine-drinking and music (Detail from Chakhil-i-Ghoundi stupa, Hada, 1st-2nd century AD).
These Greek elements penetrated in northwestern India following the invasion of the Greco-Bactrians in 180 BC, when they established the Indo-Greek kingdom in India. Fortified Greek cities, such as Sirkap in northern Pakistan, were established. Architectural styles used Hellenistic decorative motifs such as fruit garland and scrolls. Stone palettes for aromatic oils representing purely Hellenistic themes such as a Nereid riding a Ketos sea monster are found.
In Hada, Hellenistic deities, such as Atlas are found. Wind gods are depicted, which will affect the representation of wind deities as far as Japan. Dionysiac scenes represent people in Classical style drinking wine from amphoras and playing instruments.
As soon as the Greeks invaded India to form the Indo-Greek kingdom, a fusion of Hellenistic and Buddhist elements started to appear, encouraged by the benevolence of the Greek kings towards Buddhism. This artistic trend then developed for several centuries and seemed to flourish further during the Kushan Empire from the 1st century AD.
Artistic model
An Indo-Corinthian capital with the Buddha at its centre, 3-4th century, Gandhara.
Greco-Buddhist art depicts the life of the Buddha in a visual manner, probably by incorporating the real-life models and concepts which were available to the artists of the period.
The Bodhisattvas are depicted as bare-chested and jewelled Indian princes, and the Buddhas as Greek kings wearing the light toga-like himation. The buildings in which they are depicted incorporate Greek style, with the ubiquitous Indo-Corinthian capitals and Greek decorative scrolls. Surrounding deities form a pantheon of Greek (Atlas, Herakles) and Indian gods (Indra).
Stucco as well as stone was widely used by sculptors in Gandhara for the decoration of monastic and cult buildings. Stucco provided the artist with a medium of great plasticity, enabling a high degree of expressiveness to be given to the sculpture. Sculpting in stucco was popular wherever Buddhism spread from Gandhara – India, Afghanistan, Central Asia and China.
Stylistic evolution
Stylistically, Greco-Buddhist art started by being extremely fine and realistic, as apparent on the standing Buddhas, with “a realistic treatment of the folds and on some even a hint of modelled volume that characterizes the best Greek work” (Boardman). It then lost this sophisticated realism, becoming progressively more symbolic and decorative over the centuries.
The presence of stupas at the Greek city of Sirkap, which was built by Demetrius around 180 BC, already indicates a strong syncretism between Hellenism and the Buddhist faith, together with other religions such as Hinduism and Zoroastrianism. The style is Greek, adorned with Corinthian columns in excellent Hellenistic execution.
The Titan Atlas, supporting a Buddhist monument, Hada.
Later in Hada, the Greek divinity Atlas is represented holding Buddhist monuments with decorated Greek columns. The motif was adopted extensively throughout the Indian sub-continent, Atlas being substituted for the Indian Yaksa in the monuments of the Sunga around the 2nd century BC.
One of the first representations of the Buddha, 1st-2nd century AD, Gandhara, Pakistan: Standing Buddha (Tokyo National Museum).
Sometime between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD, the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha were developed. These were absent from earlier strata of Buddhist art, which preferred to represent the Buddha with symbols such as the stupa, the Bodhi tree, the empty seat, the wheel, or the footprints. But the innovative anthropomorphic Buddha image immediately reached a very high level of sculptural sophistication, naturally inspired by the sculptural styles of Hellenistic Greece.
Many of the stylistic elements in the representations of the Buddha point to Greek influence: the Greek himation (a light toga-like wavy robe covering both shoulders: Buddhist characters are always represented with a dhoti loincloth before this innovation), the halo, the contrapposto stance of the upright figures, the stylized Mediterranean curly hair and top-knot apparently derived from the style of the Belvedere Apollo (330 BC), and the measured quality of the faces, all rendered with strong artistic realism (See: Greek art). Some of the standing Buddhas (as the one pictured) were sculpted using the specific Greek technique of making the hands and sometimes the feet in marble to increase the realistic effect, and the rest of the body in another material.
Foucher especially considered Hellenistic free-standing Buddhas as “the most beautiful, and probably the most ancient of the Buddhas”, assigning them to the 1st century BC, and making them the starting point of the anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha (“The Buddhist art of Gandhara”, Marshall, p101).
The Bimaran casket, representing the Buddha, is dated to around 30-10 BC. British Museum.
There is some debate regarding the exact date for the development of the anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha, and this has a bearing on whether the innovation came directly from the Indo-Greeks, or was a later development by the Indo-Scythians, the Indo-Parthians or the Kushans under Hellenistic artistic influence. Most of the early images of the Buddha (especially those of the standing Buddha) are anepigraphic, which makes it difficult to have a definite dating. The earliest known image of the Buddha with approximate indications on date is the Bimaran casket, which has been found buried with coins of the Indo-Scythian king Azes II (or possibly Azes I), indicating a 30-10 BC date, although this date is not undisputed.
An Indo-Corinthian capital from the Butkara Stupa under which a coin of Azes II was found. Dated to 20 BC or earlier (Turin City Museum of Ancient Art).
Such datation, as well as the general Hellenistic style and attitude of the Buddha on the Bimaran casket (himation dress, contrapposto attitude, general depiction) would made it a possible Indo-Greek work, used in dedications by Indo-Scythians soon after the end of Indo-Greek rule in the area of Gandhara. Since it already displays quite a sophisticated iconography (Brahma and Śakra as attendants, Bodhisattvas) in an advanced style, it would suggest much earlier representations of the Buddha were already current by that time, going back to the rule of the Indo-Greeks (Alfred A. Foucher and others).
The next Greco-Buddhist findings to be strictly datable are rather late, such as the c.AD 120 Kanishka casket and Kanishka' ss Buddhist coins. These works at least indicate though that the anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha was already extant in the 1st century AD.
Fresco describing Emperor Han Wudi (156-87 BC) worshipping two statues of the Buddha, Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, c. 8th century AD
From another direction, Chinese historical sources and mural paintings in the Tarim Basin city of Dunhuang accurately describe the travels of the explorer and ambassador Zhang Qian to Central Asia as far as Bactria around 130 BC, and the same murals describe the Emperor Han Wudi (156-87 BC) worshipping Buddhist statues, explaining them as “golden men brought in 120 BC by a great Han general in his campaigns against the nomads.” Although there is no other mention of Han Wudi worshiping the Buddha in Chinese historical literature, the murals would suggest that statues of the Buddha were already in existence during the 2nd century BC, connecting them directly to the time of the Indo-Greeks.
Later, the Chinese historical chronicle Hou Hanshu describes the enquiry about Buddhism made around AD 67 by the emperor Emperor Ming (AD 58-75). He sent an envoy to the Yuezhi in northwestern India, who brought back paintings and statues of the Buddha, confirming their existence before that date:
“The Emperor, to discover the true doctrine, sent an envoy to Tianzhu (天竺, Northwestern India) (Northwestern India) to inquire about the Buddha's doctrine, after which paintings and statues [of the Buddha] appeared in the Middle Kingdom.” (Hou Hanshu, trans. John Hill)
An Indo-Chinese tradition also explains that Nagasena, also known as Menander' ss Buddhist teacher, created in 43 BC in the city of Pataliputra a statue of the Buddha, the Emerald Buddha, which was later brought to Thailand.
Heracles depiction of Vajrapani as the protector of the Buddha, 2nd century Gandhara, British Museum.
In Gandharan art, the Buddha is often shown under the protection of the Greek god Herakles, standing with his club (and later a diamond rod) resting over his arm.[1] This unusual representation of Herakles is the same as the one on the back of Demetrius’ coins, and it is exclusively associated to him (and his son Euthydemus II), seen only on the back of his coins.
Soon, the figure of the Buddha was incorporated within architectural designs, such as Corinthian pillars and friezes. Scenes of the life of the Buddha are typically depicted in a Greek architectural environment, with protagonist wearing Greek clothes.
Gods and Bodhisattvas
The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century, Gandhara.
The Buddhist gods Pancika (left) and Hariti (right), 3rd century, Takht-i Bahi, Gandhara, British Museum.
Deities from the Greek mythological pantheon also tend to be incorporated in Buddhist representations, displaying a strong syncretism. In particular, Herakles (of the type of the Demetrius coins, with club resting on the arm) has been used abundantly as the representation of Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha.[2] Other Greek deities abundantly used in Greco-Buddhist art are representation of Atlas, and the Greek wind god Boreas. Atlas in particular tends to be involved as a sustaining elements in Buddhist architectural elements. Boreas became the Japanese wind god Fujin through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo. The mother deity Hariti was inspired by Tyche.
Particularly under the Kushans, there are also numerous representations of richly adorned, princely Bodhisattvas all in a very realistic Greco-Buddhist style. The Bodhisattvas, characteristic of the Mahayana form of Buddhism, are represented under the traits of Kushan princes, completed with their canonical accessories.
Fragment of the wind god Boreas, Hada, Afghanistan.
Gandharan Atalanta
Winged Atalante.
The Buddha, flanked by Herakles/ Vajrapani and Tyche/ Hariti.
Gandhara Poseidon (Ancient Orient Museum)
“Laughing boy” from Hadda
Winged Cupids holding a wreath over the Buddha (left:detail), Hada, 3rd century. Musée Guimet.
Winged cupids are another popular motif in Greco-Buddhist art. They usually fly in pair, holding a wreath, the Greek symbol of victory and kingship, over the Buddha.
These figures, also known as “apsarases” were extensively adopted in Buddhist art, especially throughout Eastern Asia, in forms derivative to the Greco-Buddhist representation. The progressive evolution of the style can be seen in the art of Qizil and Dunhuang. It is unclear however if the concept of the flying cupids was brought to India from the West, of if it had an independent Indian origin, although Boardman considers it a Classical contribution: “Another Classical motif we found in India is the pair of hovering winged figures, generally called apsaras.” (Boardman)
Cupids and garlands. Gandhara. 1st-2nd century. Musée Guimet.
Scenes of cupids holding rich garlands, sometimes adorned with fruits, is another very popular Gandharan motif, directly inspired from Greek art. It is sometimes argued that the only concession to Indian art appears in the anklets worn by the cupids. These scenes had a very broad influence, as far as Amaravati on the eastern coast of India, where the cupids are replaced by yakṣas.
Gandhara frieze with devotees, holding plantain leaves, in purely Hellenistic style, inside Corinthian columns, 1st-2nd century AD. Buner, Swat, Pakistan. Victoria and Albert Museum.
Some Greco-Buddhist friezes represent groups of donors or devotees, giving interesting insights into the cultural identity of those who participated in the Buddhist cult.
Some groups, often described as the “Buner reliefs,” usually dated to the 1st century AD, depict Greeks in perfect Hellenistic style, either in posture, rendering, or clothing (wearing the Greek chiton and himation). It is sometimes even difficult to perceive an actual religious message behind the scenes. (The devotee scene on the right might, with doubt, depict of the presentation of Prince Siddharta to his bride. It may also just be a festive scene.)
About a century later, friezes also depict Kushan devotees, usually with the Buddha as the central figure.
Fantastic animals
An Ichthyo-Centaur, 2nd century Gandhara, Victoria and Albert Museum.
Various fantastic animal deities of Hellenic origin were used as decorative elements in Buddhist temples, often triangular friezes in staircases or in front of Buddhist altars. The origin of these motifs can be found in Greece in the 5th century BC, and later in the designs of Greco-Bactrian perfume trays as those discovered in Sirkap. Among the most popular fantastic animals are tritons, ichthyo-centaurs and ketos sea-monsters. It should be noted that similar fantastic animals are found in ancient Egyptian reliefs, and might therefore have been passed on to Bactria and India independently of Greek imperialism.
As fantastic animals of the sea, they were, in early Buddhism, supposed to safely bring the souls of dead people to Paradise beyond the waters. These motifs were later adopted in Indian art, where they influenced the depiction of the Indian monster makara, Varuna' s mount.
Kushan contribution
An early Mahayana Buddhist triad. From left to right, a Kushan devotee, the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd-3rd century AD, Gandhara.
The later part of Greco-Buddhist art in northwestern India is usually associated with the Kushan Empire. The Kushans were nomadic people who started migrating from the Tarim Basin in Central Asia from around 170 BC and ended up founding an empire in northwestern India from the 2nd century BC, after having been rather Hellenized through their contacts with the Greco-Bactrians, and later the Indo-Greeks (they adopted the Greek script for writing).
The Kushans, at the centre of the Silk Road enthusiastically gathered works of art from all the quarters of the ancient world, as suggested by the hoards found in their northern capital in the archeological site of Begram, Afghanistan.
The Kushans sponsored Buddhism together with other Iranian and Hindu faiths, and probably contributed to the flourishing of Greco-Buddhist art. Their coins, however, suggest a lack of artistic sophistication: the representations of their kings, such as Kanishka, tend to be crude (lack of proportion, rough drawing), and the image of the Buddha is an assemblage of a Hellenistic Buddha statue with feet grossly represented and spread apart in the same fashion as the Kushan king. This tends to indicate the anteriority of the Hellenistic Greco-Buddhist statues, used as models, and a subsequent corruption by Kushan artists.
Maitreya, with Kushan devotee couple. 2nd century Gandhara.
Maitreya, with Kushan devotees, left and right. 2nd century Gandhara.
Maitreya, with Indian (left) and Kushan (right) devotees.
Kushans worshipping the Buddha's bowl. 2nd century Gandhara.
Kushan devotee couple, around the Buddha, Brahma and Indra.
The “Kanishka casket,” with the Buddha surrounded by Brahma and Indra, and Kanishka on the lower part, AD 127.
Buddha triad and kneeling Kushan devotee couple. 3rd century.
Southern influences
Art of the Sunga
Balustrade-holding Yaksa with Corinthian columns, Madhya Pradesh (?), Sunga period (2nd-1st century BC). Musee Guimet.
Indian relief of probable Indo-Greek king, with Buddhist triratana symbol on his sword. Bharhut, 2nd century BC. Indian Museum, Calcutta (drawing).
Examples of the influence of Hellenistic or Greco-Buddhist art on the art of the Sunga empire (183-73 BC) are usually faint. The main religion, at least at the beginning, seems to have been Brahmanic Hinduism, although some late Buddhist realizations in Madhya Pradesh as also known, such as some architectural expansions that were done at the stupas of Sanchi and Bharhut, originally started under King Ashoka.
This Sunga-period balustrate-holding Atalante[disambiguation needed] Yaksa from the Sunga period (left), adopts the Atalante[disambiguation needed] theme, usually fulfilled by Atlas, and elements of Corinthian capital and architecture typical of Greco-Buddhist friezes from the Northwest, although the content does not seem to be related to Buddhism. This work suggests that some of the Gandharan friezes, influential to this work, may have existed as early as the 2nd century or 1st century BC.
Other Sunga works show the influence of floral scroll patterns, and Hellenistic elements in the rendering of the fold of dresses. The 2nd century BC depiction of an armed foreigner (right), probably a Greek king, with Buddhist symbolism (triratana symbol of the sword), also indicates some kind of cultural, religious, and artistic exchange at that point of time.
Art of Mathura
The Bodhisattva Maitreya, 2nd century, Mathura.
A Bodhisattva, 2nd century, Mathura
The representations of the Buddha in Mathura, in central northern India, are generally dated slightly later than those of Gandhara, although not without debate, and are also much less numerous. Up to that point, Indian Buddhist art had essentially been aniconic, avoiding representation of the Buddha, except for his symbols, such as the wheel or the Bodhi tree, although some archaic Mathuran sculptural representation of Yaksas (earth divinities) have been dated to the 1st century BC. Even these Yaksas indicate some Hellenistic influence, possibly dating back to the occupation of Mathura by the Indo-Greeks during the 2nd century BC.
In terms of artistic predispositions for the first representations of the Buddha, Greek art provided a very natural and centuries-old background for an anthropomorphic representation of a divinity, whether on the contrary “there was nothing in earlier Indian statuary to suggest such a treatment of form or dress, and the Hindu pantheon provided no adequate model for an aristocratic and wholly human deity” (Boardman).
Greek scroll supported by Indian Yaksas, Amaravati, 3rd century AD
The Mathura sculptures incorporate many Hellenistic elements, such as the general idealistic realism, and key design elements such as the curly hair, and folded garment. Specific Mathuran adaptations tend to reflect warmer climatic conditions, as they consist in a higher fluidity of the clothing, which progressively tend to cover only one shoulder instead of both. Also, facial types also tend to become more Indianized. Banerjee in “Hellenism in India” describes “the mixed character of the Mathura School in which we find on the one hand, a direct continuation of the old Indian art of Bharut and Sanchi and on the other hand, the classical influence derived from Gandhara”.
The influence of Greek art can be felt beyond Mathura, as far as Amaravati on the East coast of India, as shown by the usage of Greek scrolls in combination with Indian deities. Other motifs such as Greek chariots pulled by four horses can also be found in the same area.
Incidentally, Hindu art started to develop from the 1st to the 2nd century AD and found its first inspiration in the Buddhist art of Mathura. It progressively incorporated a profusion of original Hindu stylistic and symbolic elements however, in contrast with the general balance and simplicity of Buddhist art.
The art of Mathura features frequent sexual imagery. Female images with bare breasts, nude below the waist, displaying labia and female genitalia are common. These images are more sexually explicit than those of earlier or later periods.
Art of the Gupta
Buddha of the Gupta period, 5th century, Mathura.
Head of a Buddha, Gupta period, 6th century.
The art of Mathura acquired progressively more Indian elements and reached a very high sophistication during the Gupta Empire, between the 4th and the 6th century AD. The art of the Gupta is considered as the pinnacle of Indian Buddhist art.
Hellenistic elements are still clearly visible in the purity of the statuary and the folds of the clothing, but are improved upon with a very delicate rendering of the draping and a sort of radiance reinforced by the usage of pink sandstone.
Artistic details tend to be less realistic, as seen in the symbolic shell-like curls used to render the hairstyle of the Buddha.
Expansion in Central Asia
Greco-Buddhist artistic influences naturally followed Buddhism in its expansion to Central and Eastern Asia from the 1st century BC.
Bactria
Statue from a Buddhist monastery 700 AD, Afghanistan
Bactria was under direct Greek control for more than two centuries from the conquests of Alexander the Great in 332 BC to the end of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom around 125 BC. The art of Bactria was almost perfectly Hellenistic as shown by the archaeological remains of Greco-Bactrian cities such as Alexandria on the Oxus (Ai-Khanoum), or the numismatic art of the Greco-Bactrian kings, often considered as the best of the Hellenistic world, and including the largest silver and gold coins ever minted by the Greeks.
When Buddhism expanded in Central Asia from the 1st century AD, Bactria saw the results of the Greco-Buddhist syncretism arrive on its territory from India, and a new blend of sculptural representation remained until the Islamic invasions.
The most striking of these realizations are the Buddhas of Bamyan. They tend to vary between the 5th and the 9th century AD. Their style is strongly inspired by Hellenistic culture.
In another area of Bactria called Fondukistan, some Greco-Buddhist art survived until the 7th century in Buddhist monasteries, displaying a strong Hellenistic influence combined with Indian decorativeness and mannerism, and some influence by the Sassanid Persians.
Most of the remaining art of Bactria was destroyed from the 5th century onward: the Buddhists were often blamed for idolatry and tended to be persecuted by the iconoclastic Muslims. Destructions continued during the Afghanistan War, and especially by the Taliban regime in 2001. The most famous case is that of the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamyan. Ironically, most of the remaining art from Afghanistan still extant was removed from the country during the Colonial period. In particular, a rich collection exists at the Musee Guimet in France.
Tarim Basin
“Heroic gesture of the Bodhisattva“, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang).
Head of a Bodhisattva, 6th-7th century terracotta, Tumshuq (Xinjiang).
The art of the Tarim Basin, also called Serindian art, is the art that developed from the 2nd through the 11th century AD in Serindia or Xinjiang, the western region of China that forms part of Central Asia. It derives from the art of the Gandhara and clearly combines Indian traditions with Greek and Roman influences.
Buddhist missionaries travelling on the Silk Road introduced this art, along with Buddhism itself, into Serindia, where it mixed with Chinese and Persian influences.
Influences in Eastern Asia
The arts of China, Korea and Japan adopted Greco-Buddhist artistic influences, but tended to add many local elements as well. What remains most readily identifiable from Greco-Buddhist art are:
The general idealistic realism of the figures reminiscent of Greek art.
Clothing elements with elaborate Greek-style folds.
The curly hairstyle characteristic of the Mediterranean.
In some Buddhist representations, hovering winged figures holding a wreath.
Greek sculptural elements such as vines and floral scrolls.
Northern Wei Buddha Maitreya, AD 443.
Greco-Buddhist artistic elements can be traced in Chinese Buddhist art, with several local and temporal variations depending on the character of the various dynasties that adopted the Buddhist faith. Some of the earliest known Buddhist artifacts found in China are small statues on “money trees”, dated circa AD 200, in typical Gandharan style (drawing): “That the imported images accompanying the newly arrived doctrine came from Gandhara is strongly suggested by such early Gandhara characteristics on this “money tree” Buddha as the high ushnisha, vertical arrangement of the hair, moustache, symmetrically looped robe and parallel incisions for the folds of the arms.” “Crossroads of Asia” p209
Some Northern Wei statues can be quite reminiscent of Gandharan standing Buddha, although in a slightly more symbolic style. The general attitude and rendering of the dress however remain. Other, like Northern Qi Dynasty statues also maintain the general Greco-Buddhist style, but with less realism and stronger symbolic elements.
Some Eastern Wei statues display Buddhas with elaborate Greek-style robe foldings, and surmounted by flying figures holding a wreath.
The Buddha, Asuka period, 7th century.
A Buddha in Kamakura (1252), reminiscent of Greco-Buddhist influences.
In Japan, Buddhist art started to develop as the country converted to Buddhism in AD 548. Some tiles from the Asuka period, the first period following the conversion of the country to Buddhism, display a strikingly classical style, with ample Hellenistic dress and realistically rendered body shape characteristic of Greco-Buddhist art.
Other works of art incorporated a variety of Chinese and Korean influences, so that Japanese Buddhist became extremely varied in its expression. Many elements of Greco-Buddhist art remain to this day however, such as the Hercules inspiration behind the Nio guardian deities in front of Japanese Buddhist temples, or representations of the Buddha reminiscent of Greek art such as the Buddha in Kamakura.[3]
Iconographical evolution of the Wind God.
Left: Greek wind god from Hada, 2nd century.
Middle: wind god from Kizil, Tarim Basin, 7th century.
Right: Japanese wind god Fujin, 17th century.
Various other Greco-Buddhist artistic influences can be found in the Japanese Buddhist pantheon, the most striking of which being that of the Japanese wind god Fujin. In consistency with Greek iconography for the wind god Boreas, the Japanese wind god holds above his head with his two hands a draping or “wind bag” in the same general attitude.[4] The abundance of hair have been kept in the Japanese rendering, as well as exaggerated facial features.
Iconographical evolution from the Greek god Herakles to the Japanese god Shukongōshin. From left to right:
1) Herakles (Louvre Museum).
2) Herakles on coin of Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I.
3) Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, depicted as Herakles in the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhara.
4) Shukongōshin, manifestation of Vajrapani, as protector deity of Buddhist temples in Japan.
Another Buddhist deity, named Shukongoshin, one of the wrath-filled protector deities of Buddhist temples in Japan, is also an interesting case of transmission of the image of the famous Greek god Herakles to the Far-East along the Silk Road. Herakles was used in Greco-Buddhist art to represent Vajrapani, the protector of the Buddha, and his representation was then used in China and Japan to depict the protector gods of Buddhist temples.[5]
Temple tiles from Nara, 7th century.
Vine and grape scrolls from Nara, 7th century.
Finally, the artistic inspiration from Greek floral scrolls is found quite literally in the decoration of Japanese roof tiles, one of the only remaining elements of wooden architecture to have survived the centuries. The clearest ones are from 7th century Nara temple building tiles, some of them exactly depicting vines and grapes. These motifs have evolved towards more symbolic representations, but essentially remain to this day in many Japanese traditional buildings.[6]
Influences on South-East Asian art
Bodhisattva Lokesvara, Cambodia 12th century.
Avalokiteshvara on the wall of Plaosan temple, Javanese Sailendran art, 9th century.
The Indian civilization proved very influential on the cultures of South-East Asia. Most countries adopted Indian writing and culture, together with Hinduism and Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism.
The influence of Greco-Buddhist art is still visible in most of the representation of the Buddha in South-East Asia, through their idealism, realism and details of dress, although they tend to intermix with Indian Hindu art, and they progressively acquire more local elements.
Cultural significance
Beyond stylistic elements which spread throughout Asia for close to a millennium, the main contribution of Greco-Buddhist art to the Buddhist faith may be in the Greek-inspired idealistic realism which helped describe in a visual and immediately understandable manner the state of personal bliss and enlightenment proposed by Buddhism. The communication of deeply human approach of the Buddhist faith, and its accessibility to all have probably benefited from the Greco-Buddhist artistic syncretism.
Major collections
Peshawar Museum, Peshawar, Pakistan (largest collection in the world).
Lahore Museum, Lahore, Pakistan.
Taxila Museum, Taxila, Pakistan.
National Museum of Pakistan, Karachi, Pakistan.
Indian Museum, Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Mathura Museum, Mathura, India.
Musée Guimet, Paris, France (about 150 artifacts, largest collection outside of Asia.)
British Museum, London, Great Britain (about 100 artifacts), such as Seated Buddha from Gandhara
Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, Japan (about 50 artifacts)
National Museum of Oriental Art, Rome, Italy (about 80 artifacts)
Museum of Indian Art, Dahlem, Berlin, Germany.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA
Ancient Orient Museum, Tokyo, Japan (About 20 artifacts)
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Great Britain (About 30 artifacts)
City Museum of Ancient Art in Palazzo Madama, Turin, Italy.
Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, NY, United States.
National Museum, New Delhi, India
Collection de Marteau, Brussels, Belgium.
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Philip was buried at Amphipolis!
Posted: 30/08/2018 | 0 comments
In the tomb of the tomb caste of Amphipolis, The burial site was created for Philip. In box-like grave monument placed body and later created the mosaic which is shown crowned as Olympic. At The Same Time, the funerary monument itself was oriented towards the Filippeion Olympia, an ancient circular building in honor of Philip rimming three times for his victory at the Olympic Games. The price for this was high enough, since apart from the construction of Philippeion, renamed and the wife of Myrtali ..se Olympiad.
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In the tomb of the tomb caste of Amphipolis, The burial site was created for Philip. In box-like grave monument placed body and later created the mosaic which is shown crowned as Olympic. At The Same Time, the funerary monument itself was oriented towards the Filippeion Olympia, an ancient circular ...
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On the non-dein daneizesthai Plutarch 1st century a.d . The daneizesthai of the death afrosynis and estin malakias . Translation: Lending is an act of sublime afrosynis and malthakotitas! Plutarch said the 1st a.d. century and that the time has come to assess the reasons.. . "You got; Non…
Continuous update
Peristeri war – Archaeologists for Amphipolis
The Association Of Greek Archeologists (PRI) stresses in his announcement that "I will not ptoithei in the exercise of the statutory authority of, specific [...]
Monday, 12, 15
Amphipolis: The Association of Greek Archaeologists reaction to recent revelations
"The formulation of theories by excavators without submitting documentary evidence in the international scientific community, exposes the Archaeological Service [...]
Tuesday, 6, 15
Bomb Declaration for Amphipolis: It was a clumsy contrived story!
In a statement about the excavations in Amphipolis, He is expected to discuss proceeded today the Secretary General of archaeological society. Making [...]
The case of Amphipolis
Written by Dimitris Garoyfas * Amphipolis in summer 2014 world public opinion preoccupied with uncovering the funerary monument [...]
Thursday, 23, 15
The ruins of Amphipolis pictured in the sarcophagus of Alexander the great
M a stunning similarity of findings- that came to light by Kasta Hill of Amphipolis- with the ' sarcophagus [...]
Wednesday, 12, 14
*Zougla.gr
Let us be pioneers of a new era, a spiritual movement that is both earthly and heavenly, and establish new patterns of behavior and thinking, linking humans with past history and future and chart a new course for light our country and the whole world.
Our admiration
Follow the table “Our admiration” of Amphipolis on Pinterest.
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Solar-Analemma: when solargraphy meets astronomy.
Welcome to the website of the Solargraphy Analemma Project by Maciej Zapiór and Łukasz Fajfrowski. Below we present the first successful pictures of the analemma made by solargraphy method exposed every day.
Solargraphy analemma. Exposure time: March 1, 2013 - March 1, 2014. Cylindric solargraphy camera. Three analemmas recorded at 10:30, 12:00, 13:30 (CET) are visible. Solid lines in the lower left part of the image were caused by a time switch failure, which left the shutter opened. Solid lines on the right arises from the afternoon additional exposure. Image obtained using the "set 1".
Solargraphy analemma. Exposure Time: March 1, 2013 - March 1, 2014. Cuboid solargraphy camera. Three analemmas recorded at 10:30, 12:00 and 13:30 (CET) are visible. Image obtained using the "set 3".
Solargraphy analemma. Exposure time: March 1, 2013 - March 1, 2014. Cylindric solargraphy camera. The part of the analemma at 12:00 (CET) is visible. Solid lines on the left and right arose from the special supplementary exposition. The shutter was open from sunrise to 11:00 and from 13:00 to sunset of the sun. Low contrast in the lower part of the image, due to the relatively strong light coming from the sky, does not allow for reveal the bottom part of the analemma. The second analemma (recorded at 13:00) is visible because of the special operation of the mechanism. The mechanism opened the shutter for 1 minute, then closed it for 5 minutes and then was keeping it opened to sunset. Note the quasi-analemma formed by the ends of the solar trails on the left side of the image. They were created because the shutter was closing at 11:00. Three trails of the Sun at the top of the analemmy were caused by the switch failure. Image obtained using the " set 2".
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On Political Economy
No. 123: Saturday, January 24th, 1998
(With my apologies to David Rapoport and his colleagues in the Department of Political Science.)
The term political economy suggests that the fundamental social articulation is that between the political and the economic, the exercise of power and the distribution of economic goods and services. From Marx’s materialist standpoint, which has much to recommend it, politics is the servant of economics; the power-structure is determined by the mode of production. GA proposes that, although material consumption is the sine qua non of social life, the most fundamental human problem is not economic but political–the destructive potential of mimetic desire. Man is his own worst enemy, and human culture comes into being not as a means to increase material productivity, but to prevent mimetic violence from destroying the potential producers. Although economics–the satisfaction of appetite–is the fundamental process, it is dependent on politics; until we have been humanized by différance, we cannot tend to our animal needs.
As a result, the originary hypothesis begins not with material consumption but with the deferral of consumption under the threat of potential violence. The sign as exchanged among the participants of the originary scene is a means of insuring that no individual, not even the “alpha” in the prehuman pecking order, will be able to appropriate the central object for himself. But once the sign has been exchanged, the sacred center, by the very fact that the sign protects it from appropriation, no longer risks arousing mutually destructive violence; it has become approachable. Whence the sparagmos or tearing-apart of the object that is the originary form of distribution.
The originary reciprocal exchange of signs is the source of our model of moral equality. But this should not be taken to mean that the originary community constituted by this exchange is a lost paradise. History is not driven by a desire to return to the womb. The reciprocity of the originary community has only a single degree of freedom. Each individual renounces through the reciprocal exchange of signs the center that can only be appropriated by the group “equally” through the reciprocal exchange of things. Pre-agricultural societies maintain this reciprocity, which dictates elaborate systems of gift-giving and “the exchange of women.” But the center remains sacred; no subsequent decision as to its apportionment can do more than reaffirm the originary renouncement.
Hierarchical society is born after the invention of sedentary agriculture, when an individual who generates a surplus realizes that he may thereby usurp the function of the sacred center, a discovery that in The End of Culture I attributed to the “big-man.” The first wave of hierarchical societies culminates in the great archaic empires–in the West, Egypt and the various Mesopotamian kingdoms–where the god-king’s occupation of the ritual center extends the tribal big-man’s usurpation. Whatever the inefficiencies and brutalities of theocratic rule, it offered a genuine decision-making apparatus for the distribution of the economic surplus where the original system could at best devise ritual mechanisms of waste, such as the Kwakiutl potlatch so dear to Georges Bataille. Rousseauian sentiments to the contrary, the “equality” of modern democracy has nothing in common with that of primitive society–nothing, that is, that has not been mediated by the archaic usurpation of the center.
The first democracy arose in Athens when the remnants of the palace hierarchy inherited from the Mycenaean era had become unable to maintain order among the small independent producers who composed the backbone of the population. The focus of Solon’s reforms in the early 6th century BC was the abolition of the debts and “feudal” obligations that bound the individual citizens to their noble superiors. The citizens were empowered to choose their own leaders; dialogue and negotiation took the place of theocratic dictates and hierarchy became the free choice of the community.
Solon’s reforms mobilized the citizens for external conquest, not economic take-off. They strengthened the Athenian military forces, particularly the navy, in order to assure Athens’ dominance over its colonies and tributary states. Athenian democracy, like later Roman republicanism, paid for itself militarily rather than economically. The liberation of the Athenian population from economic dependency that was the basis for its political freedom generated a need for slaves to do the work that in other societies was accomplished by unfree peasants (e.g., Sparta’s helots); the freedom of the Athenian citizenry was paid for by the subjection of foreign populations.
The small producers who made up the majority of the electorate were empowered to make decisions in the “originary” context of reciprocal dialogue, but because the economy was not itself empowered by a similar model, the immense mobilization of civic energy to which we still pay tribute was invested in cultural and military, but rarely in strictly economic projects–there was indeed no conception of “economic investment.” Although productive labor was not held in contempt, the sheer quantity of political activity–voting, lot-drawing, judging, ostracizing–in this direct democracy was an obstacle to work. Athens could not maintain its military edge, and after the defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (404 BC), its heroic era was over.
* * * * *Ancient democracy failed because it was politics-driven. The resource-allocation system had changed from a ritual hierarchy to an electorate of free citizens without liberating the economic sphere as such. In modern liberal democracy, the free market provides for reciprocal exchange in the economic sphere to complement that in the political sphere. The result is the institutional articulation of the originary balance between politics and economics: political institutions have their raison-d’être not in themselves, but in the maintenance of a “civil society” of economic production and consumption.
Modern democracy differs from Athenian democracy not merely in its representative structure, but because it presides over a society in which economic rather than political activity is foregrounded. The proportion of human energy devoted to politics in the United States, whether at its creation or today, is incomparably smaller than in ancient Athens. Although nascent American democracy, like its Athenian predecessor, was dependent on slavery, its subsequent history, punctuated by the Civil War, showed this atavistic mode of production to be incompatible with modern democracy rather than indispensable to it.
Just as democracy makes the originary reciprocal exchange of signs the basis for the negotiation of political decisions, so in the market, the “equal” division of the sacrificial victim becomes the basis for the negotiation of economic values. The market presupposes the accumulation of property and consequent differences of wealth, just as the political process presupposes the accumulation of influence and consequent differences of power.
Economic exchange did not await the coming of the bourgeoisie. It is not easy to understand in what way the marketplaces of the “free market” differ from those of the past. As a result, we tend to subordinate the innovation in human relations brought about by the free market to that effected by the technological progress that the market in fact inspired: we speak not of the “market revolution” but of the “industrial revolution.”
My experience in purchasing souvenirs from the Arab vendors in the shuk or souk in Jerusalem gave me a useful insight into the premodern market . These vendors have no fixed or even posted prices. The Western tourist, especially the American, is offered at first an outrageous price, say, $200 for a cotton dress. On refusal, the price comes down sharply to $20 or $15. A little experience taught me that not only does the seller offer no fixed price, but the buyer can command pretty much any price he likes. It suffices to name one’s figure and to continue to stick to it as the vendor makes successively lower offers. I didn’t experiment with deliberately absurd prices, but those I set were always eventually accepted.
But the interaction would become increasingly unpleasant. As the price got lower, the vendor’s attitude changed from obsequious to grave to downright hostile, and when the purchase was finally made, he would turn away in disgust. I abandoned my technique out of an uncomfortable feeling that I was subverting the vendors’ culture of negotiation by exploiting a loophole that authentic participants disdained. Both parties were expected to bargain; holding to a fixed price was not interacting appropriately with my adversary.
In this kind of market, the vendor sets the price of each item interactively. The lower the price you want, the more you have to work for it, and the more uncomfortable you are made to feel. It is as though the vendor concentrated in himself a collective sacrificial energy. Ultimately you could have the goods for free, but you would be lynched on leaving the stall.
From the standpoint of the free market, what is wrong with this form of bargaining is that it confuses politics with economics. Instead of fluctuating around a “fair price” determinable by objective calculation of market conditions, the price is the object of a contest of wills and implied threats–a contest of power. To find the price is not to seek the intersection of the supply and demand curves for the product, but that of the two parties’ “negotiation curves”: the point at which the one is unable to endure the signs of the other’s potential for (individual and collective) violence. I could subvert the system without penalty as a tourist in a policed marketplace, but not in a society where the seller’s relatives might avenge his humiliation.
An economy dominated by interactions of this type could not become independent of the political system. In such a society, my power-relations with the vendor would be just a tiny element of the political hierarchy. A rich or influential buyer would get a better price, or no price at all. The market’s distribution of resources could not become an independent source of economic information.
In liberating economic exchange from “politics,” the free market reciprocally liberates the political system from responsibility for economic distribution. The result is a democratic political system conceived not, as in Athens, as a substitute for the old central system of ritual redistribution, but as a means to maintain the conditions–peace and security, rule of law, economic infrastructure–under which a “civil society” ordered by market exchange may flourish.
The democratic process requires that the large majority of citizens have, as it is often put, “a stake in the system.” But this “stake” is best measured not by a certain level of economic success but by the capability of creating an individual “message” of identity through consumption of products offered on the market. No aspect of “capitalism” has been so bitterly denounced by the intelligentsia as “consumer society”; yet the ability to express one’s political disaffection from the liberal democratic system via an economic transaction within the system is a measure of its stability. What Herbert Marcuse a generation ago called its “repressive tolerance” is its insurance against the horrors of centralized political control.
In the scene of human origin, the key moment is the “political” exchange of signs, but the ultimate goal is the “economic” distribution of the body of the sacred victim, which incarnates the meaning of the sign in materially assimilable form. When we can produce economic goods in such quantity and variety that they function more like the sign that defers mimetic violence than the object that incites it, the average citizen need not contest through the political agon what he can obtain through the peaceful reciprocity of the marketplace. The “deferral of violence through representation” that is the function of human culture need no longer defer the pleasures of consumption as well. As a result, the political, like the cultural, comes to be just another sector of the universal dialogue among the citizenry.
What some see as the degradation of the political process–recent events indeed make this sentiment difficult to avoid–is more significantly its democratization. The rigorous separation of politics from economics, word from thing, sacred from profane, is “elitist” even before it generates an elite; the dialectization of these differences in the social dialogue, along with that of class and ethnic differences, is a guarantee of social stability. Each gets to define and display to others “esthetically” through the medium of consumption a personal identity, a personal piece of the universal sacred. It is surely noteworthy that, whether or not we have reached the “end of history,” the most virulent anti-Western ideologies today, unlike that of the Bolsheviks of old, promise less rather than more economic productivity. Today’s resentful revolutionaries, like the peasant in the Russian tale, are happy to lose one eye provided that their neighbor lose both.
* * * * *Much remains to be said about the relationship between the stability of modern democracy and the nature of social conversation in consumer society. I hope to return to this subject in future Chronicles.
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Posts Tagged James Grace
Mercury, January 7, 1864 [OAF]
Morris Island, Dec. 26, 1863
Strategy and Common Sense
—Since my last there has been nothing extraordinary occurred in military affairs, and the indications are that nothing will occur between now and spring, unless brought on by the enemy. The whole face of nature now presents a drear and gloomy appearance, and the thousands who a month or two ago were full of hope and expectation have gradually come down to that frame of mind so well adapted to wait till something turns up. The fleet inside the bar has been steadily diminishing, so that there is nothing but the monitors and Ironsides left, together with three or four tugs, and provision/ schooners. The Philadelphia seems to have taken up winter quarters in the inlet, no doubt to save her from being rocked on the waves or the boisterous Atlantic. So, you see, Christmas has come and gone, but Charleston still holds her head high, as the leading city in the van of the rebellion. But then, Secretary Welles, in his annual report, considers it to be no great matter whether the Union army occupies the city or not, as it is not, he says, any strategic point of value or commercial importance to the Confederate guerrillas. All that is very fine, as a defence of the miserable operation of the naval arm during the recent operations against that stronghold; but it will not possibly make the nation see why having it in our possession is not better than to leave it in the hands of the insurgents. Strategy or not, almost every one knows that the rebels depend upon Charleston for a very large amount of ammunition, which is manufactured there on account of its central position and being connected by all the interior lines of railway with different parts of the Confederacy. But the worthy old gentleman does not think that it would be any object to somewhat curtail these facilities, and it has not struck him as an idea, that in sealing Charleston up as a commercial help to the rebels, the most effective way is to take it, so that the fleet employed to watch it could be employed elsewhere. But the worthy Secretary is looking to the establishment of something stunning in war ships, which, as a precautionary measure, is very well. But do, good Mr. Secretary, let us have the 4th of July in Charleston, and we will not regret not having spent a merry Christmas therein so much.
Santa Claus in a Novel Shape
Yesterday (Christmas) morning, we gave the rebels in Charleston a Merry (or dismal) Christmas greeting, by throwing a few shell in among them. The shell thrown evidently set fire to some part of the city, as there was a grand illumination visible in a few minutes after the shell were thrown. The wind being then from the northwest and the air very clear, the sound of the church bells could be distinctly heard at Fort Strong, but whether it was the regular ringing of Christmas bells by the Catholic and established churches, or merely the alarm bells on account of fire, is difficult to determine. From the hour (3 o’clock) it may have been both circumstances that occasioned the loud ringing of bells in the Palmetto City; one set of bells ringing to commemorate a glorious event, bringing joy and mirth to the rising generation, and reflection and thankfulness to those of mature age, — and the other, to warn the guilty conspirators of the avenging flame thrown in their midst, ready to leave them houseless, unless they make efforts to extinguish it.
Soon after, the rebel batteries on James and Sullivan’s Islands were opened, but with the same effect as heretofore — a waste of powder and shell; but about daylight we could hear very rapid and heavy firing* on James Island in the neighborhood where our gunboats are stationed in Stono river. I have not found out anything as yet in regard to it, but I suspect the rebels were retaliating on the gunboats for our firing on the city, and the gunboats of course must have given them as good as they sent. I don’t think it was anything more than for annoying each other in that quarter; at least I shall wait till I hear something more definite, as I may be sold a la Pocatiligo. Christmas was rather a dull day with us, the 54th. But the 3d U.S. had a stirring time — eating and drinking. Apple dumplings, equalling a young mortar shell in weight, with rye whiskey sauce, was the principal item on the bill of fare. So far as my observation went, apple dumplings formed the first and last course, but the boys enjoyed them notwithstanding the seeming lack of talent in the pastry cooks. The dinner to the boys shows a warm attachment between the shoulder straps and the rank and file, for the expense was borne by the officers. The meeting referred to in my last, squelched by conservatives throwing cold water on the fire [fine?] spun plans of the radicals, adjourned sine die.
Hereafter Lieut. J. W. Grace ceases to be such — why? he will wear two bars on his shoulders, which it is hoped, will be replaced by two leaves — in time.
*This was the attack on the Marblehead, the account of which we have published. [Mercury Editor]
Tags: James Gooding, James Grace, Morris Island, OAF, siege of Charleston
This is Gooding’s 22nd letter to the Mercury:
Mercury, August 16, 1863 [OAF]
Morris Island, August 3, 1863
The latest news from this department is the capture of a blockade runner having on board heavy Whitworth guns. The guns captured are now in course of erection on the north end of the Island to bombard the fort, which they were intended to defend. The planting of siege guns steadily progresses, but is necessarily slow, as the guns have to be hauled through a marsh, and that too in the night, so the enemy cannot see what we are about, and to avert their constant rain of shells, they thinking of course we can’t work when they are shelling us; but they may find out their mistake before this week is out. Every available man on the Island is constantly at work, so as to bring things to a speedy issue. Some are throwing up breastworks, some hauling guns, others loading shells, or carting ammunition from the wharf to the magazines, and every one is confident of success, helping cheerfully in the great amount of work, which must be done before the “grand ball” comes off. It is evident the Commanding General intends to make a sure thing of it this time, and not make the assault till he has got everything ready. One noticeable feature is Gen. Gillmore is supervising the preparations himself, and I do not think any man in the department works more than he does. The consequence is the men has confidence in him, and the rebels a corresponding degree of fear of the “intrepid engineer,” as they term him. As I write, the rebels are vainly blazing away, while our men both white and black are steadily pursuing their work right in their very teeth. When they see the flash from Fort Sumter they merely slip into their caves, dug already for the purpose, and after the shell has exploded, out they come and go to work again, till old Sumter gives them another salute. I have been up to the front three times this week, but “I still live,” and all the others who have been up there.
The rebels are evidently getting scared. Last Tuesday we could see a balloon hovering over Charleston for over an hour; they were doubtless reconnoitering, but I think it is likely they could see they would be warmly received, should they take a notion to visit us. We were enlightened by the New York or Boston press, of the 18th to 20th ult. We were informed that the Monitors had reduced Forts Wagner and Sumter on the 11th, and Beauregard had evacuated and burned Charleston! And another yarn, of two regiments planting a flag on Fort Wagner, and holding it two hours! which would have been, but for the cowardice of a Pennsylvania regiment — all of which stories are sell, and must be compared with the Commanding General’s official report. The fact is, “our own special correspondents travelling with Gen. So-and-so’s division” are a good deal like the “highly intelligent contraband,” or the “gentleman of undoubted veracity”— they write of what they hear, rather than what they see. In a conversation with one of the men of the 6th Conn, regiment, which was in the charge first made, he said if any one got in the fort it was more than he knew, and he said the regiment which had been mentioned as acting cowardly had been wronged.
There is one name I omitted in the two last letters. Nathan L. Young of New Bedford, was wounded on the night of the 18th, and died on board the steamer before arriving at Hilton Head. According to Lieut. Grace’s official report from the Surgeon General at Beaufort, Corp. Torrance is not there, and the men who have arrived from there corroborate the statement. So he is among the killed or prisoners, as I intimated in my first letter. I am unable to give you any account of how the wounded are getting along, as I have received no communication from any of them since they have been there. Our boys have got over their depression of spirit somewhat, caused by the fall of so many of their companions, in the dawning of a speedy victory. They are all in hopes of another “good time” before going into Charleston, but they would a leetle rather have it on a fair field, with no odds. Charging is good when you have a fair sight; but they all agree that Wagner is a hot place.
[1863-08-03] OUR SPECIAL WASHINGTON DISPATCHES; MORE NEGRO REGIMENTS.
[1863-08-03] THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTON.; Gen. Gillmore Planting Siege Guns Against Fort Sumter
Tags: bombardment of Ft Sumter, Charleston Harbor, Gen Quincy Gillmore, James Gooding, James Grace, Morris Island, OAF, siege of Ft Wagner
Emilio describes the regiment’s slow recovery and the beginnings of work on the siege of Ft. Wagner ( [BBR], pp.105-107):
Early on the morning of July 19, the men of the Fifty-fourth were aroused, and the regiment marched down the beach, making camp near the southern front of the island at a point where the higher hills give way to a low stretch of sand bordering the inlet. On this spot the regiment remained during its first term of service, at Morris Island.
That day was the saddest in the history of the Fifty-fourth, for the depleted ranks bore silent witness to the severe losses of the previous day. Men who had wandered to other points during the night continued to join their comrades until some four hundred men were present. A number were without arms, which had either been destroyed or damaged in their hands by shot and shell, or were thrown away in the effort to save life. The officers present for duty were Captain Emilio, commanding, Surgeon Stone, Quartermaster Ritchie, and Lieutenants T. W. Appleton, Grace, Dexter, Jewett, Emerson, Reid, Tucker, Johnston, Howard, and Higginson.
Some fifty men, slightly wounded, were being treated in camp. The severely wounded, including seven officers, were taken on the 19th to hospitals at Beaufort, where every care was given them by the medical men, General Saxton, his officers, civilians, and the colored people.
…Capt. D. A. Partridge, left sick in Massachusetts, joined July 21, and, as senior officer, assumed command.
Preparations were made for a bombardment of Sumter as well as for the siege of Wagner. Work began on the artillery line of July 18, that night, for the first parallel, 1,350 yards from Wagner. When completed, it mounted eight siege and field guns, ten mortars, and three Requa rifle batteries. July 23, the second parallel was established some four hundred yards in front of the first. Vincent’s Creek on its left was obstructed with floating booms. On its right was the ” Surf Battery,” armed with field-pieces. This parallel was made strong for defence … In the construction of these works and the transportation of siege material, ordnance, and quartermaster’s stores, the Fifty-fourth was engaged, in common with all the troops on the island, furnishing large details.
Col. M. S. Littlefield, Fourth South Carolina Colored, on July 24, was temporarily assigned to command the Fifty-fourth. The colonel’s own regiment numbered but a few score of men, and this appointment seemed as if given to secure him command commensurate with the rank he held. It gave rise to much criticism in Massachusetts as well as in the regiment, for it was made contrary to custom and without the knowledge of Governor Andrew. Though silently dissatisfied, the officers rendered him cheerful service.
…About 10 A. M., on the 24th, the Confederate steamer ” Alice” ran down and was met by the ” Cosmopolitan,” when thirty-eight Confederates were given up, and we received one hundred and five wounded, including three officers. There was complaint by our men that the Confederates had neglected their wounds, of the unskilful surgical treatment received, and that unnecessary amputations were suffered. From Col. Edward C. Anderson it was ascertained that the Fifty-fourth’s prisoners would not be given up, and Colonel Shaw’s death was confirmed.
[1863-07-23] CHARLESTON
Tags: 54th Massachusetts, BBR, bombardment of Ft Sumter, Gov John Andrew, James Grace, Luis Emilio, Morris Island, Robert Shaw, siege of Ft Wagner
This letter from Lieutenant James W. Grace describing the combined action appears in [OAF] pp.39-40:
To: Brigadier General R.A. Pierce, Readville
Knowing your deep interest in the officers and men of the Regiment, I thought I would let you know how we are after our Skirmish and retreat from James Island and Fight at Morris Island.
We were on the move three days and nights before the Fight on this Island. When we arrived here, we were very much exhausted, tired and hungry, not having any thing to eat for twenty four, hours. I simply speak of this to let you know what condition we were in before the Fight. We arrived on the Island about 3 o’clock, rested a short time, and then moved forward to the upper end of the Island (the Island is about four miles long). When we arrived within one thousand yards of Fort Wagner, we laid down waiting for our support to come up. We laid there about thirty minutes when we were ordered to rise up and charge on the works, which we did at double quick time with a tremendous scream. When we arrived within a short distance of the works, the Rebels opened on us with grape and canister accompanied with a thousand muskets, mowing our men down by the hundreds. This caused us to fall back a little, but we soon made another rush to the works, when we received another tremendous discharge of musketry, and also grape and canister. Such a tremendous fire right in our faces caused us to fall back, which we did in very good order. Our men are highly spoken of by military men as showing great bravery. They did fight when they were in front of the works [and a] good many of our men went on to the works and fought hand to hand with the Enemy.
Lieutenant James W. Grace
[1863-07-22] Gen. Thomas’ Views on the Future of the Black Race.
[1863-07-22] THE ATTACK ON CHARLESTON.; A BATTLE PROGRESSING ON FRIDAY.
[1863-07-22] THE COLORED PEOPLE.; …-The Negroes Taken on Board French and English Men-of-war for Safety. BRITISH COLORED CITIZENS. …THE COLORED PEOPLE IN BROOKLYN.
[1863-07-22] Relief of Colored Sufferers.; THE COLORED RELIEF FUND LEGAL AID FOR THE COLORED SUFFERERS.
Tags: assault on Ft Wagner, Charleston Harbor, James Grace, James Island combat, Morris Island, NYC riots, OAF
Gooding describes the James Island action and the assault in his 20th letter to the Mercury, and Lewis Douglass describes the battle in a letter to his wife:
Mercury, August 1, 1863 [OAF]
Morris Island, July 20, 1863
—At last we have something stirring to record. The 54th, the past week, has proved itself twice in battle. The first was on James Island on the morning of the 16th. There were four companies of the 54th on picket duty at the time; our picket lines extending to the right of the rebel battery, which commands the approach to Charleston through the Edisto river. About 3 o’clock in the morning, the rebels began harassing our pickets on the right, intending, no doubt, to drive them in, so that by daylight the coast would be clear to rush their main force down on us, and take us by surprise. They did not suppose we had any considerable force to the rear of our pickets on the right, as Gen. Stevenson’s brigade was plain in sight on the left; and their plan, I suppose, was to rush down and cut Gen. Stevenson off. They made a mistake — instead of returning fire, the officer in charge of the pickets directed the men to lie down under cover of a hedge, rightly expecting the rebels to advance by degrees toward our lines. As he expected, at daylight they were within 600 yards of the picket line, when our men rose and poured a volley into them. That was something the rebels didn’t expect — their line of skirmishers was completely broken; our men then began to fall back gradually on our line of battle, as the rebels were advancing their main force on to them. On they came, with six pieces of artillery and four thousand infantry, leaving a heavy force to drive Gen. Stevenson on the left. As their force advanced on our right, the boys held them in check like veterans; but of course they were falling back all the time, and fighting too. After the officers saw there was no chance for their men, they ordered them to move on to a creek under cover of the gunboats. When the rebels got within 900 yards of our line of battle, the right wing of Gen. Terry’s brigade gave them three volleys, which checked their advance. They then made a stand with their artillery and began shelling us, but it had no effect on our forces, as the rebels fired too high. The 6th Connecticut battery then opened fire on them from the right, the John Adams and May Flower from the creek between James and Cole Islands, and the Pawnee and a mortar schooner from the Edisto [i.e., Stono], when the rebels began a hasty retreat. It was a warmer reception than they had expected. Our loss in the skirmishing before the battle, so far as we can ascertain, was nine killed, 13 wounded, and 17 missing, either killed or taken prisoners; but more probably they were driven into the creek and drowned. Sergeant Wilson, of Co. H, was called upon to surrender, but would not; he shot four men before he was taken. After he was taken they ordered him to give up his pistol which he refused to do, when he was shot through the head.
The men of the 54th behaved gallantly on the occasion — so the Generals say. It is not for us to blow our horn; but when a regiment of white men gave us three cheers as we were passing them, it shows that we did our duty as men should.
I shall pass over the incidents of that day, as regards individuals, to speak of a greater and more terrible ordeal the 54th regiment has passed through. I shall say nothing now of how we came from James to Morris Island; suffice it to say, on Saturday afternoon we were marched up past our batteries, amid the cheers of the officers and soldiers. We wondered what they were all cheering for, but we soon found out. Gen. Strong rode up, and we halted. Well, you had better believe there was some guessing what we were to do. Gen. Strong asked us if we would follow him into Fort Wagner. Every man said, yes — we were ready to follow wherever we were led. You may all know Fort Wagner is the Sebastopol of the rebels; but we went at it, over the ditch and on to the parapet through a deadly fire; but we could not get into the fort. We met the foe on the parapet of Wagner with the bayonet — we were exposed to a murderous fire from the batteries of the fort, from our Monitors and our land batteries, as they did not cease firing soon enough. Mortal men could not stand such a fire, and the assault on Wagner was a failure. The 9th Me., 10th Conn., 63d Ohio, 48th and 100th N.Y. were to support us in the assault; but after we made the first charge, everything was in such confusion that we could hardly tell where the reserve was. At the first charge the 54th rushed to within twenty yards of the ditches, and, as might be expected of raw recruits, wavered — but at the second advance they gained the parapet. The color bearer of the State colors was killed on the parapet. Col. Shaw seized the staff when the standard bearer fell, and in less than a minute after, the Colonel fell himself. When the men saw their gallant leader fall, they made a desperate effort to get him out, but they were either shot down, or reeled in the ditch below. One man succeeded in getting hold of the State color staff, but the color was completely torn to pieces.
I have no more paper here at present, as all our baggage is at St. Helena yet; so I cannot further particularize in this letter. Lieut. Grace was knocked down by a piece of shell, but he is not injured. He showed himself a great deal braver and cooler than any line officer.
Our correspondent gives a list of killed, wounded and missing. It is the same that we have already published. [Mercury Editor]
MORRIS ISLAND. S. C. July 20
MY DEAR AMELIA:
I have been in two fights, and am unhurt. I am about to go in another I believe to-night. Our men fought well on both occasions. The last was desperate we charged that terrible battery on Morris Island known as Fort Wagoner, and were repulsed with a loss of 3 killed and wounded. I escaped unhurt from amidst that perfect hail of shot and shell. It was terrible. I need not particularize the papers will give a better than I have time to give. My thoughts are with you often, you are as dear as ever, be good enough to remember it as I no doubt you will. As I said before we are on the eve of another fight and I am very busy and have just snatched a moment to write you. I must necessarily be brief. Should I fall in the next fight killed or wounded I hope to fall with my face to the foe.
If I survive I shall write you a long letter. DeForrest of your city is wounded George Washington is missing, Jacob Carter is missing, Chas Reason wounded Chas Whiting, Chas Creamer all wounded. The above are in hospital.
This regiment has established its reputation as a fighting regiment not a man flinched, though it was a trying time. Men fell all around me. A shell would explode and clear a space of twenty feet, our men would close up again, but it was no use we had to retreat, which was a very hazardous undertaking. How I got out of that fight alive I cannot tell, but I am here. My Dear girl I hope again to see you. I must bid you farewell should I be killed. Remember if I die I die in a good cause. I wish we had a hundred thousand colored troops we would put an end to this war.
Good Bye to all Write soon
Your own loving LEWIS
[1863-07-20] From Boston.; FLAGS FOR THE MASSACHUSETTS COLORED TROOPS, ETC.
[1863-07-20] INCIDENTS.; DESTRUCTION OF A SABBATH SCHOOL BY THE MOB. THE COLORED REFUGEES.
[1863-07-20] NEWS OF THE DAY.; THE REBELLION.
[1863-07-20] THE DESTITUTE BLACKS.
[1863-07-20] OPERATIONS AGAINST CHARLESTON; Interesting Letter from Our Special Correspondent. NIGHT THE ASSAULT.
[1863-07-20] REBEL REPORTS FROM CHARLESTON.; A SKIRMISH ON JAMES ISLAND. Preparations of Gen. Gillmore for Another Attack on Fort Wagner.
[1863-07-20] The New Attempt on Charleston.
Tags: assault on Ft Wagner, Charleston Harbor, flags, Gen George Strong, Gen Quincy Gillmore, James Gooding, James Grace, James Island, Lewis H Douglass, Morris Island, NYC riots, OAF, Robert Shaw
The (second) assault on Fort Wagner took place today, with 600 men of the 54th Massachusetts in the lead of three brigades. The regiment reached the top of the parapet, but was repulsed. Shaw was killed at the top of the parapet, rallying the 54th forward. Of the 600 men of the 54th, 272 were casualties: killed, wounded or captured. William Harvey Carney (at right, with the flag) received the Medal of Honor for his actions, as cited: “When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon. When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under a fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.”
Below is Shaw’s last letter, to his father, followed by a letter from 1st Sergeant Robert Simmons to the New York Tribune. (Simmons was wounded and taken prisoner in the assault; he died in Charleston.) Following Simmons’s letter, Emilio provides a description of the assault ( [BBR], pp.72-85). Below Emilio’s description is a popular lithograph of the assault (Kurz & Allison, 1890). Finally, an additional page of images and maps relating to Fort Wagner is provided here.
Morris Island [BCF]
Dear Father,
I enclose this letter for Annie, which I didn’t intend to send you, because it is impossible to tell whether I can write again by this mail. If I do, please send this to Annie without taking it home, and tell her why it didn’t go direct.
We hear nothing but praise of the Fifty-fourth on all hands. Montgomery is under Stevenson. I wish I were. He is a good soldier. Strong I like too.
Love to Mother and the girls.
New York Tribune, December 23, 1863 [GABM]pp.33-34
R.J. Simmons, 1st Sergeant, Co. B, 54th Massachusetts Infantry,
Folly Island, South Carolina
July 18, 1863;
We are on the march to Fort Wagner, to storm it. We have just completed our successful retreat from James Island; we fought a desperate battle there Thursday morning. Three companies of us, B, H, and K, were out on picket about a good mile in advance of the regiment. We were attacked early in the morning. Our company was in the reserve, when the outposts were attacked by rebel infantry and cavalry. I was sent out by our Captain in command of a squad of men to support the left flank. The bullets fairly rained around us; when I got there the poor fellows were falling down around me, with pitiful groans. Our pickets only numbered about 250 men, attacked by about 900. It is supposed by the line of battle in the distance, that they were supported by reserve of 3,000 men. We had to fire and retreat toward our own encampment. One poor Sergeant of ours was shot down along side of me; several others were wounded near me.
God has protected me through this, my first fiery, leaden trial, and I do give Him the glory, and render my praises unto His holy name. My poor friend [Sergeant Peter] Vogelsang is shot through the lungs; his case is critical, but the doctor says he may probably live. His company suffered very much. Poor good and brave Sergeant (Joseph D.] Wilson of his company [H], after killing four rebels with his bayonet, was shot through the head by the fifth one. Poor fellow! May his noble spirit rest in peace. The General has complimented the Colonel on the galantry and bravery of his regiment.
Upon arriving at Morris Island, Colonel Shaw and Adjutant James walked toward the front to report to General Strong, whom they at last found, and who announced that Fort Wagner was to be stormed that evening. Knowing Colonel Shaw’s desire to place his men beside white troops, he said, ” You may lead the column, if you say ‘yes.’ Your men, I know, are worn out, but do as you choose.” Shaw’s face brightened, and before replying, he requested Adjutant James to return and have Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell bring up the Fifty-fourth. Adjutant James, who relates this interview, then departed on his mission. Receiving this order, the regiment marched on to General Strong’s headquarters, where a halt of five minutes was made about 6 o’clock p. M. Noticing the worn look of the men, who had passed two days without an issue of rations, and no food since morning, when the weary march began, the general expressed his sympathy and his great desire that they might have food and stimulant. It could not be, however, for it was necessary that the regiment should move on to the position assigned.
Detaining Colonel Shaw to take supper with him, General Strong sent the Fifty-fourth forward under the lieutenant-colonel toward the front, moving by the middle road west of the sand-hills. Gaining a point where these elevations gave place to low ground, the long blue line of the regiment advancing by the flank attracted the attention of the enemy’s gunners on James Island. Several solid shot were fired at the column, without doing any damage, but they ricochetted ahead or over the line in dangerous proximity. Realizing that the national colors and the white flag of the State especially attracted the enemy’s fire, the bearers began to roll them up on the staves. At the same moment, Captain Simpkins, commanding the color company (K) turned to observe his men. His quick eye noted the half-furled flags, and his gallant spirit took fire in a moment at the sight. Pointing to the flags with uplifted sword, he commanded in imperative tones, ” Unfurl those colors!” It was done, and the fluttering silks again waved, untrammelled, in the air.
Colonel Shaw, at about 6.30 P. M., mounted and accompanied General Strong toward the front. After proceeding a short distance, he turned back, and gave to Mr. Edward L. Pierce, a personal friend, who had been General Strong’s guest for several days, his letters and some papers, with a request to forward them to his family if anything occurred to him requiring such service. That sudden purpose accomplished, he galloped away, overtook the regiment, and informed Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell of what the Fifty-fourth was expected to do. The direction was changed to the right, advancing east toward the sea. By orders, Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell broke the column at the sixth company, and led the companies of the left wing to the rear of those of the right wing. When the sea beach was reached, the regiment halted and came to rest, awaiting the coming up of the supporting regiments.
General Gillmore had assigned to General Seymour the command of the assaulting column, charging him with its organization, formation, and all the details of the attack. His force was formed into three brigades of infantry : the first under General Strong, composed of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts, Sixth Connecticut, Forty-eighth New York, Third New Hampshire, Ninth Maine, and Seventy-sixth Pennsylvania; the second, under Col. Haldimand S. Putnam, of his own regiment, —the Seventh New Hampshire, — One Hundredth New York, Sixty-second and Sixty-seventh Ohio; the third, or reserve brigade, under Brig.-Gen. Thomas G. Stevenson, of the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts, Tenth Connecticut, Ninety-seventh Pennsylvania, and Second South Carolina. Four companies of the Seventh Connecticut, and some regular and volunteer artillery-men manned and served the guns of the siege line.
Formed in column of wings, with the right resting near the sea, at a short distance in advance of the works, the men of the Fifty-fourth were ordered to lie down, their muskets loaded but not capped, and bayonets fixed. There the regiment remained for half an hour, while the formation of the storming column and reserve was perfected. To the Fifty-fourth had been given the post of honor, not by chance, but by deliberate selection. General Seymour has stated the reasons why this honorable but dangerous duty was assigned the regiment in the following words:—
“It was believed that the Fifty-fourth was in every respect as efficient as any other body of men ; and as it was one of the strongest and best officered, there seemed to be no good reason why it should not be selected for the advance. This point was decided by General Strong and myself.”
In numbers the Fifty-fourth had present but six hundred men, for besides the large camp guard and the sick left at St. Helena Island, and the losses sustained on James Island, on the 16th, a fatigue detail of eighty men under Lieut. Francis L. Higginson, did not participate in the attack.
The formation of the regiment for the assault was, as shown in the diagram below, with Companies B and E on the right of the respective wings.
RIGHT WING. K C I A B
LEFT WING. H F G D E
Colonel Shaw, Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell, Adjutant James, seven captains, and twelve lieutenants, — a total of twenty-two officers, — advanced to the assault. Surgeon Stone and Quartermaster Ritchie were present on the field. Both field officers were dismounted; the band and musicians acted as stretcher-bearers. To many a gallant man these scenes upon the sands were the last of earth; to the survivors they will be ever present. Away over the sea to the eastward the heavy sea-fog was gathering, the western sky bright with the reflected light, for the sun had set. Far away thunder mingled with the occasional boom of cannon. The gathering host all about, the silent lines stretching away to the rear, the passing of a horseman now and then carrying orders, — all was ominous of the impending onslaught. Far and indistinct in front was the now silent earthwork, seamed, scarred, and ploughed with shot, its flag still waving in defiance.
Among the dark soldiers who were to lead veteran regiments which were equal in drill and discipline to any in the country, there was a lack of their usual light-heartedness, for they realized, partially at least, the dangers they were to encounter. But there was little nervousness and no depression observable. It took but a touch to bring out their irrepressible spirit and humor in the old way. When a cannon-shot from the enemy came toward the line and passed over, a man or two moved nervously, calling out a sharp reproof from Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell, whom the men still spoke of as “the major.” Thereupon one soldier quietly remarked to his comrades, ” I guess the major forgets what kind of balls them is! ” Another added, thinking of the foe, ” I guess they kind of ’spec’s we ‘re coming!”
Naturally the officers’ thoughts were largely regarding their men. Soon they would know whether the lessons they had taught of soldierly duty would bear good fruit. Would they have cause for exultation or be compelled to sheathe their swords, rather than lead cowards? Unknown to them, the whole question of employing three hundred thousand colored soldiers hung in the balance. But few, however, doubted the result. Wherever a white officer led that night, even to the gun-muzzles and bayonet-points, there, by his side, were black men as brave and steadfast as himself.
At last the formation of the column was nearly perfected. The Sixth Connecticut had taken position in column of companies just in rear of the Fifty-fourth. About this time, Colonel Shaw walked back to Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell, and said, ” I shall go in advance with the National flag. You will keep the State flag with you; it will give the men something to rally round. We shall take the fort or die there! Good-by!”
Presently, General Strong, mounted upon a spirited gray horse, in full uniform, with a yellow handkerchief bound around his neck, rode in front of the Fifty-fourth, accompanied by two aids and two orderlies. He addressed the men,’ and his words, as given by an officer of the regiment, were: “Boys, I am a Massachusetts man, and I know you will fight for the honor of the State. I am sorry you must go into the fight tired and hungry, but the men in the fort are tired too. There are but three hundred behind those walls, and they have been fighting all day. Don’t fire a musket on the way up, but go in and bayonet them at their guns.” Calling out the color-bearer, he said, ” If this man should fall, who will lift the flag and carry it on ? ” Colonel Shaw, standing near, took a cigar from between his lips, and said quietly, ” I will.” The men loudly responded to Colonel Shaw’s pledge, while General Strong rode away to give the signal for advancing.
Colonel Shaw calmly walked up and down the line of his regiment. He was clad in a close-fitting staff-officer’s jacket, with a silver eagle denoting his rank on each shoulder. His trousers were light blue; a fine narrow silk sash was wound round his waist beneath the jacket. Upon his head was a high felt army hat with cord. Depending from his sword-belt was a field-officer’s sword of English manufacture, with the initials of his name worked into the ornamentation of the guard. On his hand was an antique gem set in a ring. In his pocket was a gold watch, marked with his name, attached to a gold chain. Although he had given certain papers and letters to his friend, Mr. Pierce, he retained his pocket-book, which doubtless contained papers which would establish his identity. His manner, generally reserved before his men, seemed to unbend to them, for he spoke as he had never done before. He said, ” Now I want you to prove yourselves men,” and reminded them that the eyes of thousands would look upon the night’s work. His bearing was composed and graceful; his cheek had somewhat paled; and the slight twitching of the corners of his mouth plainly showed that the whole cost was counted, and his expressed determination to take the fort or die was to be carried out.
Meanwhile the twilight deepened, as the minutes, drawn put by waiting, passed, before the signal was given. Officers had silently grasped one another’s hands, brought their revolvers round to the front, and tightened their sword-belts. The men whispered last injunctions to comrades, and listened for the word of command. The preparations usual in an assault were not made. There was no provision for cutting away obstructions, filling the ditch, or spiking the guns. No special instructions were given the stormers; no line of skirmishers or covering party was thrown out; no engineers or guides accompanied the column; no artillery-men to serve captured guns; no plan of the work was shown company officers. It was understood that the fort would be assaulted with the bayonet, and that the Fifty-fourth would be closely supported.
While on the sands a few cannon-shots had reached the regiment, one passing between the wings, another over to the right. When the inaction had become almost unendurable, the signal to advance came. Colonel Shaw walked along the front to the centre, and giving the command, ” Attention!” the men sprang to their feet. Then came the admonition, “Move in quick time until within a hundred yards of the fort; then double quick, and charge!” A slight pause, followed by the sharp command, ” Forward!” and the Fifty-fourth advanced to the storming.
There had been a partial resumption of the bombardment during the formation, but now only an occasional shot was heard. The enemy in Wagner had seen the preparations, knew what was coming, and were awaiting the blow. With Colonel Shaw leading, sword in hand, the long advance over three quarters of a mile of sand had begun, with wings closed up and company officers admonishing their men to preserve the alignment. Guns from Sumter, Sullivan’s Island, and James Island, began to play upon the regiment. It was about 7.45 p. M., with darkness coming on rapidly, when the Fifty-fourth moved. With barely room for the formation from the first, the narrowing way between the sand hillocks and the sea soon caused a strong pressure to the right, so that Captains Willard and Emilio on the right of the right companies of their wings were with some of their men forced to march in water up to their knees, at each incoming of the sea. Moving at quick time, and preserving its formation as well as the difficult ground and narrowing way permitted, the Fifty-fourth was approaching the defile made by the easterly sweep of the marsh. Darkness was rapidly com-ing on, and each moment became deeper. Soon men on the flanks were compelled to fall behind, for want of room to continue in line. The centre only had a free path, and with eyes strained upon the colonel and the flag, they pressed on toward the work, now only two hundred yards away.
At that moment Wagner became a mound of fire, from which poured a stream of shot and shell. Just a brief lull, and the deafening explosions of cannon were renewed, mingled with the crash and rattle of musketry. A sheet of flame, followed by a running fire, like electric sparks, swept along the parapet, as the Fifty-first North Carolina gave a direct, and the Charleston Battalion a left-oblique, fire on the Fifty-fourth. Their Thirty-first North Carolina had lost heart, and failed to take position in the southeast bastion, — fortunately, too, for had its musketry fire been added to that delivered, it is doubtful whether any Federal troops could have passed the defile. When this tempest of war came, before which men fell in numbers on every side, the only response the Fifty-fourth made to the deadly challenge was to change step to the double-quick, that it might the sooner close with the foe. There had been no stop, pause, or check at any period of the advance, nor was there now. As the swifter pace was taken, and officers sprang to the fore with waving swords barely seen in the darkness, the men closed the gaps, and with set jaws, panting breath, and bowed heads, charged on.
Wagner’s wall, momentarily lit up by cannon-flashes, was still the goal toward which the survivors rushed in sadly diminished numbers. It was now dark, the gloom made more intense by the blinding explosions in the front. This terrible fire which the regiment had just faced, probably caused the greatest number of casualties sustained by the Fifty-fourth in the assault; for nearer the work the men were somewhat sheltered by the high parapet. Every flash showed the ground dotted with men of the regiment, killed or wounded. Great holes, made by the huge shells of the navy or the land batteries, were pitfalls into which the men stumbled or fell.
Colonel Shaw led the regiment to the left toward the curtain of the work, thus passing the southeast bastion, and leaving it to the right hand. From that salient no musketry fire came; and some Fifty-fourth men first entered it, not following the main body by reason of the darkness. As the survivors drew near the work, they encountered the flanking fire delivered from guns in the southwest salient, and the howitzers outside the fort, which swept the trench, where further severe losses were sustained. Nothing but the ditch now separated the stormers and the foe. Down into this they went, through the two or three feet of water therein, and mounted the slope beyond in the teeth of the enemy, some of whom, standing on the crest, fired down on them with depressed pieces. Both flags were planted on the parapet, the national flag carried there and gallantly maintained by the brave Sergt. William H. Carney of Company C.
In the pathway from the defile to the fort many brave men had fallen. Lieutenant-Colonel Hallowell was severely wounded in the groin, Captain Willard in the leg, Adjutant James in the ankle and side, Lieutenant Homans in the shoulder. Lieutenants Smith and Pratt were also wounded. Colonel Shaw had led his regiment from first to last. Gaining the rampart, he stood there for a moment with uplifted sword, shouting, “Forward, Fifty-fourth !” and then fell dead, shot through the heart, besides other wounds.
Not a shot had been fired by the regiment up to this time. As the crest was gained, the crack of revolver-shots was heard, for the officers fired into the surging mass of upturned faces confronting them, lit up redly but a moment by the powder-flashes. Musket-butts and bayonets were freely used on the parapet, where the stormers were gallantly met. The garrison fought with muskets, handspikes, and gun-rammers, the officers striking with their swords, so close were the combatants. Numbers, however, soon told against the Fifty-fourth, for it was tens against hundreds. Outlined against the sky, they were a fair mark for the foe. Men fell every moment during the brief struggle. Some of the wounded crawled down the slope to shelter; others fell headlong into the ditch below.
It was seen from the volume of musketry fire, even before the walls were gained, that the garrison was stronger than had been supposed, and brave in defending the work. The first rush had failed, for those of the Fifty-fourth who reached the parapet were too few in numbers to overcome the garrison, and the supports were not at hand to take full advantage of their first fierce attack. Repulsed from the crest after the short hand-to-hand struggle, the assailants fell back upon the exterior slope of the rampart. There the men were encouraged to remain by their officers, for by sweeping the top of the parapet with musketry, and firing at those trying to serve the guns, they would greatly aid an advancing force. For a time this was done, but at the cost of more lives. The enemy’s fire became more effective as the numbers of the Fifty-fourth diminished. Hand grenades or lighted shells were rolled down the slope, or thrown over into the ditch.
All this time the remaining officers and men of the Fifty-fourth were firing at the hostile figures about the guns, or that they saw spring upon the parapet, fire, and jump away. One brave fellow, with his broken arm lying across his breast, was piling cartridges upon it for Lieutenant Emerson, who, like other officers, was using a musket he had picked up. Another soldier, tired of the enforced combat, climbed the slope to his fate; for in a moment his dead body rolled down again. A particularly severe fire came from the southwest bastion. There a Confederate was observed, who, stripped to the waist, with daring exposure for some time dealt out fatal shots; but at last three eager marksmen fired together, and he fell back into the fort, to appear no more. Capt. J. W. M. Appleton distinguished himself before the curtain. He crawled into an embrasure, and with his pistol prevented the artillery-men from serving the gun. Private George Wilson of Company A had been shot through both shoulders, but refused to go back until he had his captain’s permission. While occupied with this faithful soldier, who came to him as he lay in the embrasure, Captain Appleton’s attention was distracted, and the gun was fired.
In the fighting upon the slopes of Wagner, Captains Russel and Simpkins were killed or mortally wounded. Captain Pope there received a severe wound in the shoulder.
All these events had taken place in a short period of time. The charge of the Fifty-fourth had been made and repulsed before the arrival of any other troops. Those who had clung to the bloody slopes or were lying in the ditch, hearing fighting going on at their right, realized at last that the expected succor would not reach them where they were. To retire through the enveloping fire was as dangerous and deadly as to advance. Some that night preferred capture to the attempt at escaping; but the larger portion managed to fall back, singly or in squads, beyond the musketry fire of the garrison.
Captain Emilio, the junior of that rank, succeeded to the command of the Fifty-fourth on the field by casualties. After retiring from Wagner to a point where men were encountered singly or in small squads, he determined to rally as many as possible. With the assistance of Lieutenants Grace and Dexter, a large portion of the Fifty-fourth survivors were collected and formed in line, together with a considerable number of white soldiers of various regiments. While thus engaged, the national flag of the Fifty-fourth was brought to Captain Emilio; but as it was useless as a rallying-point in the darkness, it was sent to the rear for safety. Sergeant Carney had bravely brought this flag from Wagner’s parapet, at the cost of two grievous wounds. The State color was torn from the staff, the silk was found by the enemy in the moat, while the staff remained with us.
Finding a line of rifle trench unoccupied and no indication that dispositions were being made for holding it, believing that the enemy would attempt a sortie, which was indeed contemplated but not attempted, Captain Emilio there stationed his men, disposed to defend the line. Other men were collected as they appeared. Lieu-tenant Tucker, slightly wounded, who was among the last to leave the sand hills near the fort, joined this force.
Desultory firing was still going on, and after a time, being informed that some troops were in the open ground, the force, numbering some two hundred, was formed by its commander, and advanced from the rifle trench. It is believed this was the only organized body of rallied men ready and able to support Stevenson’s brigade, which alone was prepared after the repulse of the others to resist attack. Presently the Twenty-fourth Massachusetts was encountered; but upon reporting, it was found that support was not required. Marching back to the still deserted trench, that line was again occupied. By midnight firing entirely ceased. About 1 A. M., on the 19th, a mounted officer rode up, inquired what force held the trench, and asked for the commanding officer. Captain Emilio responded, and recognized General Stevenson, who thanked him for the support given the reserve brigade, and his dispositions for holding the line. He was also informed that a regiment would be sent to relieve his men, and shortly after, the Tenth Connecticut arrived for that purpose. When this was done, the white soldiers were formed into detachments by regiments, and sent to find their colors.
The Fifty-fourth men were then marched to the rear, and after proceeding a short distance down the beach, encountered Lieutenants Jewett, Emerson, and Appleton, with some of the men. There the Fifty-fourth bivouacked for the night, under the shelter of the sand-bluffs.
[1863-07-18] THE ATTACK ON CHARLESTON,; The Preparations for the Grand Final Assault.
[1863-07-18] INQUESTS UPON THE DEAD.; A COLORED MAN IS DRIVEN TO DESPAIR AND SUICIDE.
[1863-07-18] THE RIOT IN BOSTON.; The Mob Spirit Squelched Arrest of a Ringleader.
Tags: 54th Massachusetts, assault on Ft Wagner, BBR, BCF, Charleston Harbor, Col James Montgomery, Edward Hallowell, flags, Gen George Strong, Gen Quincy Gillmore, James Grace, James Island, Luis Emilio, Morris Island, Peter Vogelsang, Robert Shaw, William Carney
This is Gooding ’s seventh letter to the Mercury:
Mercury, April 13, 1863[OAF]
Camp Meigs, Readville, April 11
Messrs. Editors.
—Since my last weekly epistle, we have received 315 recruits, making the total number 614, and more expected daily. The ground about the barracks has dried enough now to make walking quite a pleasure. Our company have been presented with a couple of foot-balls by Lieut. Grace, and they are a source of amusement and recreation to the whole regiment. The regiment attracts considerable attention, if judged by the number of visitors we have, including a goodly portion of ladies.
Rev. Wm. Jackson desires to say through the MERCURY, in order to clear up some false impressions which have obtained, through the Pastor of the A. M. E. Church, that he did NOT apply, either in person or by letter to the governor, for the chaplaincy of the 54th; that the appointment was made at the suggestion of some friends of his in Boston; furthermore, it was unnecessary for the Pastor of the “Bethel Church” to publish his resignation when he never held any position to resign. Mr. Jackson has in his possession a letter from Secretary Hayden, which will substantiate the above statement. I think myself, Mr. Jackson has been the victim of prejudice—all we want for him is fair play.13
The camp was visited yesterday by Surgeon General Dale,14 who expressed himself well satisfied with [the] physical appearance of the men. Surgeon Stone, acting in this regiment, had all the men vaccinated yesterday, as a preventive against small pox.15 There is not much sickness in camp, considering the number of men present, there being but three men unable to walk out of doors. The men are growing fat, rugged, but not saucy.
Tell the ladies that our boys think there are no women anywhere so good as the New Bedford ladies; and one, who belongs to our company but not to New Bedford, said, “I guess them New Bedford wimmin must be mighty good lookin’” “Why so?” says one. “Cause they are allers sendin’ us somethin’.” After that speech the boys gave three cheers for the ladies of the Relief Society, expressive of thanks for sewing purses containing needles, thread, buttons, yarn, a thimble and paper of pins, one for each man.
[1863-04-11] The Fight in Charleston Harbor.
Tags: Charleston Harbor, James Gooding, James Grace, OAF, Readville, recruiting
This is the third letter from Gooding to the Mercury
[Mercury, March 18, 1863][OAF]
Camp Meigs, Readville, March 15
Messrs. Editors:‚
—Presuming a few lines from this locality would prove interesting to some of your many readers, I have taken upon myself the task of penning them. Among the men in this camp the New Bedford men stand A No. 1, in military bearing, cleanliness and morality; not because I happen to belong to the New Bedford company do I assert this, for if the other companies proved to be better ordered than ours, I should be proud to confirm it. All the men appear to regard Capt. Grace with (I might say) veneration; for he presents that uncommon combination of a man strict in military discipline, but always tempered with kindness; a man who will go to the utmost length of his military power to assist or benefit an inferior. A better man, in my judgment, could not have been placed in command of a company of colored men; for he seems to have studied the peculiar modes of thought, action and disposition of the colored men so well, that there is the most cheerful obedience rendered to the most imperative command. These opinions are not hastily formed, but are arrived at by a close and careful observation of things as they are.
We have prayers every morning and evening, most of the men taking part in them; and I need not add that there is a great degree of fervor exhibited vide Bethel Church, Kempton street. As for myself I find it somewhat dull when I am not on duty, as I have nothing to read, although it is a source of amusement to watch some of the odd capers or listen to some of the equally ludicrous speeches, so peculiar to some of our class of people. They are all anxious to perfect themselves in drill that they may the sooner meet the Rebs, and they all feel determined to fight; they all say that is their wish, and I cannot doubt it, for there seems to be a sort of preternatural earnestness about their expressions which no one can mistake. They do not, some of them, yet exactly comprehend the future benefits of enlisting, but they have an impulse equally as great, so far as they are capable of understanding it, and that is revenge. Hoping the Relief Committee have paid the money to the families of those who are here in camp, for I know some who needed it very much, I will close.
[1863-03-15] The Colored Men and the War.; AN ADDRESS FROM FRED. DOUGLASS.
Tags: Frederick Douglass, James Gooding, James Grace, OAF, Readville
James Henry Gooding enlisted in Company C of the reginment on February 14, 1863, and wrote regular letters as a war correspondent to the New Bedford Mercury. This is his first letter:
[Mercury, March 3, 1863]
—As the time draws near for the departure of the men Capt. Grace has recruited, for camp, and there is not a sufficient number to form a whole company, does it not behoove every colored man in this city to consider, rationally with himself, whether he cannot be one of the glorious 54th? Are the colored men here in New Bedford, who have the advantage of education, so blind to their own interest, in regard to their social development, that through fear of some double dealing, they will not now embrace probably the only opportunity that will ever be offered them to make themselves a people. There are a great many I must confess, who, Micawber-like, “are waiting for something to turn up”; but they will have to learn sooner or later, that if anything does “turn up” to their advantage, they will have to be the means of turning it up themselves; they must learn that there is more dignity in carrying a musket in defence of liberty and right than there is in shaving a man’s face, or waiting on somebody’s table. — Not that it is any degradation to perform those offices, but those who perform them are considered nothing but appendages to society; for in either case, the recipients of these favors could perform them for themselves on a “pinch.” Another class are those who argue “it won’t pay to go for a soger”; but I think there are not nine out of ten who will realize as much in a year here at home as a man will in the army in the same length of time. And again, if the colored man proves to be as good a soldier as it is confidently expected he will, there is a permanent field of employment opened to him, with all the chances of promotion in his favor. Such an event is not unlikely in this country, any more than it is in India and other colonial dependencies of England. In India the native militia is considered equal if not superior to the English soldiery in tactics and bravery, and there are natives holding the highest military positions. Our people must know that if they are ever to attain to any position in the eyes of the civilized world, they must forego comfort, home, fear, and above all, superstition, and fight for it; make up their minds to become something more than hewers of wood and drawers of water all their lives. Consider that on this continent, at least, their race and name will be totally obliterated unless they put forth some effort now to save themselves.
G. — One of the 54th
[1863-03-03] Mr. Seward on the Emancipation Proclamation.
Tags: James Gooding, James Grace, OAF, recruiting
Two letters from Shaw, to his fiance Annie and to his Father; description of initial recruiting from Emilio [BBR 9,10]; one of the recruiting ads.
Boston [BCF]
Feb. 16,1863, Monday
Dearest Annie,
I arrived here yesterday morning, after a very uncomfortable night in the sleeping-car. I have been at work all day, looking over papers with Hallowell, and talking with Governor Andrew. We have decided to go into camp at Readville, and not at Worcester. It is near enough to Boston to make the transportation of supplies an easy matter, and we see no reason to apprehend any trouble from the white soldiers stationed there. Now that it is decided that coloured troops shall be raised, people seem to look upon it as a matter of course, and I have seen no one who has not expressed the kindest wishes for the success of the project. Governor Andrew’s ideas please me extremely, for he takes the most common-sense view of the thing. He seems inclined to have me do just what I please.
With much affection, your
Feb. 16,1863
I arrived here yesterday morning. Things arc going along very well, and I think there is no doubt of our ultimate success. I took a long drive with the Governor, and liked him very much. His views about the regiment are just what I should wish. We have decided to go into camp at Readville; as we think it best to plunge in without regard to outsiders. We shall have to do it some time, and it is best to begin immediately; I do not apprehend any trouble out there. We have a great deal of work before us, but every one seems anxious to give us a helping hand, and applications for commissions come in, in shoals. The more money we can get, the better; the transportation of men from other States will cost a great deal.
I will write to Mother soon.
In haste,
Your affectionate Son
Emilio [BBR 9,10]:
In five days [after the Boston Journal ad] twenty-five men were secured; and Lieutenant Appleton’s work was vigorously prosecuted, with measurable success. It was not always an agreeable task, for the rougher element was troublesome and insulting. About fifty or sixty men were recruited at this office, which was closed about the last of March. Lieutenant Appleton then reported to the camp established and took command of Company A, made up of his recruits and others afterward obtained.
Early in February quite a number of colored men were recruited in Philadelphia, by Lieut. E. N. Hallowell, James M. Walton, who was subsequently commissioned in the Fifty-fourth, and Robert R. Corson, the Massachusetts State Agent. Recruiting there was attended with much annoyance. The gathering-place had to be kept secret, and the men sent to Massachusetts in small parties to avoid molestation or excitement. Mr. Corson was obliged to purchase railroad tickets himself, and get the recruits one at a time on the cars or under cover of darkness. The men sent and brought from Philadelphia went to form the major part of Company B.
New Bedford was also chosen as a fertile field. James W. Grace, a young business man of that place, was selected as recruiting officer, and commissioned February 10. He opened headquarters on Williams Street, near the post-office, and put out the United States flag across the street.Colored ministers of the city were informed of his plans; and Lieutenant Grace visited their churches to interest the people in his work. He arranged for William Lloyd Garrison, Wendell Phillips, Frederick Douglass, and other noted men to address meetings. Cornelius Rowland, C. B. H. Fessenden, and James B. Congdon materially assisted and were good friends of the movement. While recruiting, Lieutenant Grace was often insulted by such remarks as, “There goes the captain of the Negro Company! He thinks the negroes will fight! They will turn and run at the first sight of the enemy! ” His little son was scoffed at in school because his father was raising a negro company to fight the white men.
At camp the New Bedford men, — some seventy-five in number,—with others from that place and elsewhere, became Company C, the representative Massachusetts company.
Watson W. Bridgee …[his] headquarters were at Springfield, and he worked in Western Massachusettts and Connecticut. When ordered to camp, about April 1, he had recruited some seventy men.
[1863-01-25] DELAWARE.; Gov. Cannon on the Slavery Question.
[1863-02-16] Great Emancipation Demonstration at Exeter Hall.
[1863-02-16] Use of Negroes as Soldiers.
[1863-02-16] FROM FORTRESS MONROE.; The Contrabands at Craney Island–Their Labors, Their Hopes and Prospects–Deaths, &c.
Tags: 54th Massachusetts, BBR, BCF, Edward Hallowell, Frederick Douglass, Gov John Andrew, James Grace, Readville, recruiting, Robert Shaw
FOSTER, MOSRS
LANGLEY, NKWELLC.
MCNALLY, JAMES 21 Brattleb
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Monday 06:00am - 10:00am Mark In The Morning
Tuesday 06:00am - 10:00am Mark In The Morning
Wednesday 06:00am - 10:00am Mark In The Morning
Thursday 06:00am - 10:00am Mark In The Morning
Friday 06:00am - 10:00am Mark In The Morning
I was born in a small town near Birmingham, AL and raised in Florida. I've called everywhere from the beach to the mountains home and consider enjoying the outdoors second nature. My earliest memory has to be riding my tricycle around the block, and way too close to a busy road. I got in big trouble for that! My second earliest memory is playing DJ and singing along to every song. You could say the influence of radio stayed with me all the way through college, where I majored in Communications. Lately I've discovered a knack for working with horses so I volunteer at a ranch, just grooming the horses and generally seeing to their well-being. It does me a lot of good to do something worthwhile with my spare time. Country music has been a big part of my life from the start, singing along to Charlie Pride, George Jones and my favorite, Ronnie Milsap, with my dad on road trips. These days, new artist Cam is one of my favorites, and I have a soft spot for Dierks Bentley. Even though I have lived all over the country, home is wherever friends, family, delicious food and awesome music are found. I'm glad to have found a home on the radio with you!
Monday 10:00am - 03:00pm Today's HOT New Country!
Tuesday 10:00am - 03:00pm Today's HOT New Country!
Wednesday 10:00am - 03:00pm Today's HOT New Country!
Thursday 10:00am - 03:00pm Today's HOT New Country!
Friday 10:00am - 03:00pm Today's HOT New Country!
I was born in Texas but was quickly whisked a little farther north to Colorado for years, and then at age nine my parents decided that we didn't have enough tundra and Northern Lights in our lives so they packed myself, two sisters and two hound dogs and drove in a single cab Ford and a small trailer all the way to Alaska. After fighting off bears and moose and catching king salmon with my bare hands during my adolescence I decided to go chase my dream of being a disc-jockey, so at 18 I spent my last free summer with my friends and then took off to Denver. I worked behind the scenes of radio, did a little schooling and before long I became the typical tortured radio intern...where I was given the name Biscuit. I thought it would just be temporary but was hired a short-time later by that country station and was told to just keep the name because people already knew me as that. (I wasted years coming up with cool DJ names too!). After a while it just became a part of me and it still is today. I've now worked in country radio for over 13 years and I still love it. Down-to-Earth artists, songs that come from the heart and stories we can relate to. I've also never had to move away from Denver to work in radio so I've been very fortunate. So yea, my butt may be in city for work, but my heart is still all country and I know I'll end up back there someday. For now, I just prefer less mosquitoes and bears around trying to eat me when I'm drinking a beer while grilling a steak out back.
Sunday 08:00pm - 01:00am Today's HOT New Country!
Monday 08:00pm - 12:00am Today's HOT New Country!
Tuesday 08:00pm - 12:00am Today's HOT New Country!
Wednesday 08:00pm - 12:00am Today's HOT New Country!
Thursday 08:00pm - 12:00am Today's HOT New Country!
Friday 07:00pm - 12:00am Today's HOT New Country!
American Country Countdown is hosted by Country music superstar Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, ACC is a weekly countdown of Country's Top 30 songs. Kix keeps the countdown fresh and listeners tuned-in with his insider perspective and behind-the-scenes knowledge of the personalities, events and excitement that make Country music.
Sunday 08:00am - 12:00pm American Country Countdown
I was born and raised just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. I knew at an early age I wanted to be on the radio. Now you can say, I am 'living in the dream". I love anything that has to do with Pop Culture, Music and Football. When I am not watching E! Entertainment Television, I am yelling at the TV, willing the New England Patriots to victory. I cannot imagine a world without music, and I get caught singing in the hallways at work, all the time. Some other favorite activities are Shopping, watching Scandal, and believe it or not, Laundry. I have a wonderful husband who loves it when you call him Honeybear, three incredible kids, two dogs, and a cat named Tedi Bruschi.
Sunday 01:00am - 06:00am Today's HOT New Country!
Saturday 12:00am - 06:00am Today's HOT New Country!
It's RedCup Country. The universal symbol for a good time is now a 5-hour weekend party show! RedCup Country is the soundtrack for your Saturday night on 99.5 WOKN. It's all party-themed music from Jason, Miranda, Luke, FGL and much more! RedCup Country is hosted by "Coop". With tattoos of Michael Jackson on one arm and Garth Brooks on the other, Coop lives the perfect blend of party and country. Plus the biggest names in country music chime in with RedCup Karaoke and party requests...Every hour features a Mashville Mini-mix...And yes, there's an app! Search for the app on the app store or the Google Play store and request songs and send shoutouts from your phone or tablet.
Saturday 07:00pm - 12:00am Red Cup Country
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TA & T
TA & T News
APG benefits from new voluntary funding support fr...
APG benefits from new voluntary funding support from Chinese Taipei
The APG welcomes continuing support from Chinese Taipei.
On 19 January 2015, the Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Sydney, Australia, Mr Douglas C. T. Shen, presented the first instalment of a two-year AUD$122,100 grant to the APG.
The purpose of the grant is to strengthen security in the region by assisting priority Pacific APG members to build and/or enhance their capability to combat ML and TF. The project will support the development of improved AML/CFT compliance levels among Pacific members through targeted capacity building programmes and opportunities to participate in core APG business activities.
On behalf of the APG Co-Chairs, the APG is very grateful for Chinese Taipei’s voluntary funding and for its strong support for the work of the APG.
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