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Posts for tag: does nail polish cause health problems
By CT Foot Care Podiatrists
Category: Nail conditions
Tags: ct foot care podiatrist in ct does nail polish cause health problems nail polishes that are harmful for you toxic nail polishes toxins in nail polishes
Some nail polishes commonly found in salons and advertised as free of so-called "toxic-trio" of chemicals actually have high levels of agents linked to birth defects.
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control was the first to report this in April and determined that the mislabeled nail polish products have the potential to harm thousands of women who work in more than 48,000 nail salons in California, along with thousands more nationwide, and their customers.
The use of the three chemicals in nail polish is not illegal if properly labeled. But agency officials said the false claims may be a violation of a state law that requires disclosure of harmful chemicals in consumer products. The final decision on whether the companies will face legal action, which includes fine and an order to attach warning labels to their products, will be made by the California state attorney general's office.
Investigators chose 25 brands at random, including a number of products claiming to be free of the chemicals toulene, dibutyl phthalate, and formaldehyde, which are known as the toxic-trio. Regulators said exposure to large amounts of the chemicals has been linked to developmental problems, asthma, and other illnesses.
Investigators found that five of the seven products that claimed to be free of the toxic three actually included one or more of the agents in significant levels. The agency said that it did not have enough data to accurately estimate how many people were being exposed to the chemicals through the products. "We know there are exposures at salons, both to workers and customers, and we're concerned about potential harm," said Karl Palmer, the DTSC's pollution prevention performance manager who oversaw the report.
"Our strategy first and foremost is to shed light on the reality of what's in these products and put this information out to everyone."
The DTSC said all three chemicals are linked to chronic health conditions when inhaled, and that the 121,000 licensed nail care technicians who work in the salons, many of them young Asian-American women, are most at risk.
The agency said the salons are poorly ventilated, leading to exposure to a number of harmful chemicals. Because of these workplace health issues, some cities around the nation have passed laws seeking safety for workers and customers at nail salons.
San Francisco passed an ordinance in October 2010 that acknowledges salons that voluntarily choose to use nail polishes free of the three chemicals included in the DTSC's report. New York City had a similar ordinance to recognize salons that choose products devoid of the toxic trio.
"We are alarmed by the results of this report," Julia Liou, co-founder of the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative and a public health administrator for Asian Health Services, said in a statement. "The misbranding of products is not only a major public health problem, but also interferes with a salon worker's right to a safe and healthy work environment."
DBP has been banned in nail products in the European Union and the EU has strict limits on the amount of formadehyde and toulene that can be used.
Doug Schoon, a scientist who works with the Nail Manufacturers Council, agreed that mislabeling products should never be done, but said that proper ventilation and training of salon workers are much more important to preventing negative health effects. He said the level of toulene and other chemicals found in the nail polishes featured in the report do not pose a serious threat. He said the "need for appropriate ventilation for the work you're doing, whether it be in printing shops or other workplaces, is a huge area of opportunity that the DTSC should be focusing on."
The California attorney general's office said it will have to review DTSC's findings before making a decision on any legal action. "We will have to examine the data for compliance with Prop. 65 and other state laws," said Lynda Gledhill, spokeswoman for the attorney general's office.
Mike Vo, vice-president of Miss Professional Nail Products, Inc., the maker of Station products and others on the list, said he disputed the DTSC's findings. "We will look at the report and challenge it," he said.
If you have a foot problem, call one of our six locations to make an appointment.
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Lucas & Carrillo Attorney Speaks On Appeals Case
Yesterday we told you about the Caribbean Court of Justice’s decision to dismiss an appeal made back in 2010 by Juanita Lucas and Celia Carrillo two senior principals of the Escuela Secundaria Tecnica Mexico in San Roman Corozal.
As we reported, the Trinidad-based Court also dismissed arguments that principal Juanita Lucas and vice Principal Celia Carillo, be awarded damages. In dismissing the appeal, the CCJ, the country’s final court, emphasised and we quote “that the suspensions were not to punish the appellants but rather to allow a proper inquiry into the problems at the school”, end quote. The Court noted that the right to work was not a guarantee of continued employment and there was no inference with the appellants’ ability to continue practising their profession. The majority held that there was no breach of the protection of the law or the right to equal protection because the team of persons sent to the school was on a fact-finding inquiry. According to their Attorney Magali Marin Young, even though their suspension was squashed and the investigation was declared unlawful, her clients felt that they had sustained damage to their professional reputation and that the entire process was high handed and unfair. At the CCJ level, the appeal was dismissed at a 3 to 2 split decision. Young says the minority decision revealed that the judges ruled that the appellants’ right to the protection of the law was seriously violated which was stated in section 152 and 156 of the judgment documents. Here is Young’s interpretation of that excerpt…
MAGALI MARIN YOUNG – Attorney for Lucas and Carrillo
“Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Carillo fundamental rights has been seriously violated and I quoting him, and he said that the whole publicity uncertain eh fact that they were not given a fair hearing during the investigation, that in his mind their rights of the protection of the law has been seriously violated and he would have awarded not only damages, he would have ordered the ministry to issue a public apology to these women, he said that is the only way that these women could get some to the damage to their reputation so he was dissented, he was in the minority, another judge strongly agreed with justice Saunders that these women constitutional rights had in fact been seriously violated but unlike the justice he would not have ordered an apology, not because he felt one was needed is just that he felt if one was ordered he doesn’t believe that if given that the apology would have been genuine so he does not believe in forcing people to give an apology but he did considered that that was something but to award but he felt that women were entitled to vindictive damages for the violation of their fundamental rights so that we have a very serious case that went to the Caribbean Court of Justice and we had a split decision it was not a unanimous decision and you have two of the decisions very forceful in their language and condemnatory of the manner in which the ministry of education conducted this investigation and the manner in which they treated Mrs. Lucas and Mrs. Carrillo.”
Young says that while her clients weren’t awarded damages or the court made any order to the Ministry to stop paying their salaries, both women continue to remain at home and receiving their salaries. To date, the appellants have not been reinstated. Young says at some point, Lucas and Carrillo will have to enter into dialogue with the Ministry of Education for alternative placement. It is of note that the Ministry cannot take disciplinary action against them because the suspension, the investigation and the investigative report were squashed and so that cannot be used against them. We’ll keep an eye on this story, should it develop.
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Stage V, Present a new standard for clean diesel
In March, 2017, Cummins unveiled its next generation of super clean construction, mining and agricultural engines in the US market at Conexpo in Las Vegas, USA. Designed to comply with the Stage V emissions regulations that will be introduced in the European Union (EU) in 2019, the engines will not only appeal to all OEMs with improved performance, lower operating costs, lighter weight and easier installation compared to the Tier 4 final, but also provide an easier export opportunity to EU and various emission regulation countries.
Stage V, based on the number of exhaust gas micro-materials
Stage V refers to the EU legislation for air pollution prevention that eliminates particulate matter (PM) emissions from diesel engines. It is the change of the certification criteria for emissions, from the limit for the mass of particulate matter to the number of micro-materials. The actual emissions are reduced by 99% while the nitrogen oxide (NOx) limit remains the same at 0.4 g / kW / hr. In order to satisfy this criterion, a post-treatment system for filtering diesel particulate matter is essential. Stage V will be applied to European 174-751 hp (130-560kW) diesel engines from 2019, and Tier 4 Final 2019 certification is essential to provide product benefits to North American manufacturers.
Cummins Stage V without EGR
The 2019 Cummins F3.8, B4.5, B6.7 and L9 engines, which incorporate leading combustion and intake and exhaust control technologies from Cummins' new post-processing single module (Single Module), do not require EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). As the EGR is excluded, the amount of cooling water heat rejection is reduced by up to 20%, which reduces the cooling system package size. These engines provide 100 to 430 hp (75 to 321 kW), lower installation costs and simplify installation. The Cummins single-module system combines Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF), Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) and urea dosing technologies into a single unit that delivers up to 50% less size and weighs 30% less. Passive generation eliminates virtually all of the substances contained in the exhaust gas, without requiring operator intervention and without negatively affecting equipment operation.
Less engine size, More performance
The four-cylinder F3.8 and B4.5 engines offer significant opportunities for OEMs to reduce engine size and reduce costs while maintaining the productivity of existing equipment by significantly increasing output and torque. The 3.8-liter engine has been upgraded from 130 hp to 155 hp and 4.5-liter from 173 hp to 200 hp. The peak torque of F3.8 increases by more than 20 percent to 440 lb-ft and the B4.5 engine increases by 11 percent to 575 lb-ft.
The best-in-class six-cylinder 6.7-liter and 9-liter engines boast higher power output and torque. The next-generation B6.7 has a maximum rated output of 326 hp and a maximum torque of 1015 lb-ft, 30 percent stronger than its predecessor. The L9's peak rated output increases from 400 hp to 430 hp, with a peak torque of 1360 lb-ft, a 13 percent increase.
More efficiency as well as economy
"The new generation of Tier 4 Final / Stage V engines will deliver significant performance improvements with greater power in smaller, lighter packages," said Hugh Forden, Executive Director of Cummins Off-Highway Engine Division. Improvements in efficiency can reduce total fuel and DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluid) costs by up to 3 percent compared to current Tier 4 Final models, depending on engine and application. The oil change cycle also doubles from the current 500 hours to 1000 hours.
Cummins' Stage V engines are highly resistant to sulfur in fuel up to 5,000 ppm for OEMs exporting equipment to a variety of countries. This means that Cummins Stage V engines can be sold through post-processor changes in countries where Tier 4 Final, Stage V and lower emissions regulations apply.
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Rogers plans $450M wireless upgrade for B.C.
VANCOUVER – Rogers Communications will spend an additional $450 million over the next three years to upgrade its wireless communications network in British Columbia, where it’s in a tight race for market share with Telus Corp.
Toronto-based Rogers announced Thursday that more than 70 communities in the province will get improved coverage, including an unspecified number that have been outside its coverage areas.
It says Fort Nelson, along Highway 5 north of Kamloops and Rogers Pass are among the areas that it will begin to serve.
Rogers also says it will enhance its current mobile network so it can carry high-speed Internet to more places, including deep inside buildings, elevators and basements where signals may not have reached previously.
To achieve the improved penetration, Rogers will use some of the 700 megahertz spectrum that it acquired in a competitive auction conducted in January by Industry Canada.
Rogers outspent its two main rivals in the 700 MHz auction, paying a total of $3.29 billion compared with $1.14 billion for Telus and $565.7 million for BCE’s Bell.
Rogers has the largest base of wireless subscribers in Canada at the end of the first quarter of this year, followed by Telus Corp. and BCE’s Bell, according to the Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has estimated that Rogers and Telus were roughly tied for market share in British Columbia in 2012, the latest figures available.
All three of the three biggest national carriers are upgrading parts of the networks with the 700 MHz spectrum, which helps deliver TV-quality video and fast music downloads to smartphones, tablets, laptops and other connected devices.
Telus announced in May that it would invest $2.8 billion in new infrastructure across British Columbia through 2016, but the company hasn’t disclosed how much of the total is going to its wireless network and how much to its landline networks.
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Kale caesar and other recipes for Father’s Day – Toronto
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Unsealed court documents reveal lead-up to Lac-Megantic disaster
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Steve Winwood Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dear Mister Gallagher smash some produce > Something to make us all happy > Do anything take us out of this gloom > Sing a song, use a prop, make it snappy > You are the one who can make us all laugh > But doing that you break out in tears > Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you > had > We wouldn't have known you all these years > > > Dear Mister Gallagher smash us a fruit > Something to make us all happy > Do anything take us out of this gloom > Use a prop, sing a song, make it snappy > You are the one who can make us all laugh > But doing that you break out in tears > Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you > had > We wouldn't have known you all these years > > > Dear Mister Gallagher smash some produce > Something to make us all happy > Do anything take us out of this gloom > Sing a song, use a prop, make it witty > You are the one who can make us all laugh > But doing that you break out in tears > Please don't be sad if it was a straight mind you > had > We wouldn't have known you all these years > > > > > > > $$$$$$$
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Located in Bristol, IN
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Select SchoolBethany Christian High SchoolBristol High SchoolConcord High SchoolElkhart Central High SchoolElkhart High SchoolElkhart Memorial High SchoolFairfield High SchoolGoshen High SchoolJefferson High SchoolJimtown High SchoolMiddlebury High SchoolMillersburg High SchoolNappanee High SchoolNew Paris High SchoolNorthridge High SchoolNorthWood High SchoolWakarusa High School Select Year1915192019231924192519261927192819291930193119321933193519361937193819391941194219431944194519461947194819491950195119521953195419551956195719581959196019611962196319641965196619671968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986198719881989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820102011
Bethany Christian High School (22) Bristol High School (12) Concord High School (48) Elkhart Central High School (26) Elkhart High School (83) Elkhart Memorial High School (34) Fairfield High School (20) Goshen High School (55) Jefferson High School (8) Jimtown High School (37) Middlebury High School (18) Millersburg High School (8) Nappanee High School (26) New Paris High School (10) Northridge High School (38) NorthWood High School (33) Wakarusa High School (18)
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Find an Inductee
Fred Myers
FRED MYERS, Concord High School, 1965 ** Earned 7 varsity letters in gymnastics, track and field; inducted into Concord Athletic Hall of Fame (1990) ** Gymnastics – 4-year letter winner … two-time IHSAA state champion in tumbling in junior and senior season; IHSAA state champion on trampoline in senior season; led team to 2 IHSAA […]
Rod Morgan
ROD MORGAN, Elkhart Memorial High School, 1978 ** Earned 8 varsity letters in football, wrestling and track and field ** Football – 3-year letter winner … two-time All-Northern Indiana Conference selection ** Wrestling – 2-year letter winner … recorded most takedowns as a senior; fourth in IHSAA state final in senior season ** Track and […]
Russ Mann
RUSS MANN, Concord High School, 1999 ** Earned 5 varsity letters in football, baseball; named Concord Male Athlete of the Year (1999); named Phil N.Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner by the IHSAA in Class 4A (1998) ** Baseball – 2-year letter winner … team captain senior season; led team in hitting (.420) as a junior […]
Dave Walker
DAVE WALKER (Coach), Elkhart High School (1969) ** Earned 4 varsity letters in baseball and football, coached Elkhart Central softball for 22 seasons Football: ** 2 varsity letters – 3-year participant** helped Blue Blazers to 1968 state championship and Northern Indiana Conference title Baseball: ** 2 varsity letters – 3-year participant ** All-Sectional team catcher […]
Greg Truex
GREG TRUEX, Nappanee High School (1964) ** Earned 6 varsity letters in basketball, track & field and cross country Basketball: ** 3 varsity letters – Team MVP, captain (1963-’64) ** led Elkhart County in scoring with a 22.6 average (1964) ** scored 378 points (1963), 452 points (1964) ** helped Bulldogs to 49-17 record in […]
Kent Yoder
KENT YODER, Goshen High School, 1982 **6 letters in 2 sports – football, basketball Football: 3-time varsity letterwinner **1981 State Finals Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner **Team captain (1981), All-Northern Lakes Conference selection at TE/DE (1980, ’81) **1st Team AP All-State TE/DE (1981), 1st Team UPI All-State (1981) **2nd Team All-Bloomington Herald TE (1981), 1st […]
BRIAN SMITH, Jimtown High School, 1998 **8 varsity letters in 2 sports – football and track **Elkhart Noon Kiwanis Male Athlete of the Year (1998) Football: 4-time varsity letterwinner, 3-year starter at fullback; 2-time team captain **set career school records for career yards (3,808), rushing attempts (638), rushing touchdowns (75), all-purpose yards (3,877), points scored […]
Bill Sharpe
BILL SHARPE, South Bend LaSalle High School, 1968 / Rock Valley Junior College, 1969-’70 / University of Evansville, 1971-‘72, Coaching:**Head football coach, Jimtown High School, 1980-2006 **Coached school to 4 IHSAA state championships (1A, 1991; 2A, 1997, 1998; 2A, 2005) and 2 state runnerup (1A, 1985, ’87) **Won 6 semistate titles, 10 regional titles, 17 […]
Jim Parcell
JAMES PARCELL, Nappanee High School, 1968 **10 varsity letters in 4 sports – baseball, football, basketball, track Football: 2-time varsity letterwinner **MVP, team captain, 1st Team All-Northern Lakes Conference (1967)Basketball: 3-time varsity letterwinner **team captain, averaged 19 points a game in senior year Baseball: 3-time varsity letterwinnerTrack & Field: 2-time varsity letterwinner College: Western Michigan […]
Gary Nichols
GARY NICHOLS, Elkhart High School, 1964 **5 varsity letters in 3 sports – football, wrestling and track **1964 Tim Bringle Memorial Award winner as Elkhart’s top male athlete in Elkhart Community Schools, Football: 2-time varsity letterwinner **team co-captain, Northern Indiana Conference champion, state champion in 1963 **All-NIC, All-State selection (’63), team Best Defensive Back, Most […]
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Driver’s License for the Undocumented
Published on Monday, 23 September 2013 16:50
Written by Reuben S. Seguritan
A bill allowing undocumented immigrants to receive a driver’s license will soon become a law in California. Both houses of the California legislature recently passed the bill, AB 60, and it is now on its way to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his signature.
The Governor indicated that he will sign the bill because it will “enable millions of people to get to work safely and legally.”
The Governor wanted to make sure that the bill complied with federal law and have the license clearly indicate that it is only for driving and not for work or for obtaining public benefits. The author of the bill, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, almost withdrew the bill because he preferred the words to be discreet and written on the back of the license. He later on accepted the amendments to make the distinction clear.
Once signed into law, California will be the eleventh state to provide driver’s license to the undocumented. For a number of years, Washington state, New Mexico and Utah have allowed undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s license. Illinois passed a similar law January of this year. It was followed by Nevada, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, Connecticut and Colorado.
Meanwhile, the debate as to whether the undocumented should be issued driver’s license continues. Some people look at this measure as a form of “quasi amnesty”. According to Mark Krikorian of the Center of Immigration Studies, “What it means is the government formally incorporating illegal aliens into the institutions of our society.”
Another concern is whether the bill undermines federal immigration laws. Under the bill, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) will issue driver’s license to people who satisfy the requirements for a license but whose presence in the country is not authorized by federal law. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton predicts that the U.S. Department of Justice will review it once it is signed into law.
Public safety, on the other hand, remains to be the principal argument why more states are enacting similar laws. The Economist reports that unlicensed drivers are almost five times more likely to be in a fatal crash and they are also less likely to stay in accident scenes. If the undocumented immigrant is granted driver’s license, he would not run from accidents for fear of deportation and will be more willing to cooperate with law enforcement.
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said that the law would make the roads safer. Allowing the undocumented to apply for driver’s license would require him to undergo various tests which will determine if he is fit and capable of driving. Also, this would allow them to carry insurance and avoid hit-and-run accidents.
The law will also address the problem of undocumented immigrants who are stopped at routine checkpoints and whose cars are impounded because they don’t have valid licenses. Also, it will help decriminalize the daily activities of the undocumented such as driving his kids to school or driving to work to earn a living.
To ensure that the driver’s license issued is not used to avail of federal benefits, the license issued is distinct from that of U.S. citizens or residents. The license cannot be used for identification when boarding airplanes. It is merely issued for the privilege of driving. The license, however, cannot be used as a basis to discriminate against the holder.
It is hoped that with the passing of this bill in California, Congress will finally see the urgent need to address the problems of the undocumented in the country and pass the immigration reform bill.
(Editor’s Note: REUBEN S. SEGURITAN has been practicing law for over 30 years. For more information, you may log on to his website at www.seguritan.com or call (212) 695-5281.)
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Crystal Lee was honored in Washington D.C. on Tuesday.
Courtesy: Georgia State Sports Communications
Lee Earns Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award
ATLANTA-Georgia State volleyball standout Crystal Lee has been named a recipient of the Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award as announced by the National Association of Academic and Student-Athlete Development Professionals on Tuesday.
The award is given to student-athletes that have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in collegiate athletics.
Lee is one of five student-athletes to receive the 2018 award, joining FAU’s Azeez Al-Shaair, USF’s Meredith Bissette, Michigan’s Austin Hatch, and Guy Iradukunda of Florida State. All five recipients were honored Tuesday afternoon at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Washington D.C.
During her first two years at Georgia State, Lee, a Chicago native, faced a good deal of adversity including injuries and academic struggles. At home, Lee’s parents divorced and her mother began to struggle with depression and bipolar disorder.
Prior to her junior season, Crystal’s mother took her own life. Lee has shown great perseverance and resolve since the tragedy, becoming an activist for mental health. In an effort to fulfill the goal of helping and supporting others, Lee elected to major in public health and will graduate with a degree in spring 2019.
On the court, Crystal has been an exemplary teammate and a two-time team captain. She leads all current Panthers in digs, kills, aces, and is third in matches played.
MORE FROM GEORGIA STATE Volleyball
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Polhamus Announces 2019 Schedule
Volleyball Lands Seven On President's List With 3.51 GPA
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TD Economics: U.S. Economic Momentum is Building
Filed Under: Economy
Related: Economic Data, Economy, TD Bank, TD Economic
The American economy is showing renewed vigor and is poised for a pickup in growth, according to a report released today by TD Economics, an affiliate of TD Bank..
"Job growth is gaining speed and confidence is rising," says TD Chief Economist, Craig Alexander. "The strength in job growth will support consumer spending and energize housing demand, shifting the economy into third gear."
After averaging 2.2% in 2014, the economy is forecasted to grow by 3.0 % in 2015. With faster growth, the unemployment rate will continue to fall, reaching 5.5% by the end of next year.
Strong Job Growth Expected to Continue
Nowhere are the signs of rising momentum more evident than in the U.S. job market. Between January and August, the economy generated over 1.7 million jobs, nearly 300 thousand more than the average over the previous three years.
What is more, the acceleration in job growth has been accompanied by broader signs of labor market improvement. Businesses are reporting high levels of job openings and increasing confidence in the durability of the economic recovery.
"This bodes well for future job and income growth," notes Alexander. "Over time, the level of job openings will translate into higher wages and higher employment. We expect average monthly job growth to exceed 200,000 over the next year, continuing on the strong trend observed so far this year."
Rising Incomes Will Support Consumer Spending and Housing Market
The improvement in job and income growth sets the stage for a rise in consumer spending. This has been one of the missing links in the recovery so far. Since its trough during the recession in 2009, real consumer spending has grown at an annual average rate of 2.2%, well below the 3.1% rate it averaged in the five years prior to the recession.
"Much of the disappointment in economic growth to-date has been due to the continued hangover from the housing crash and financial crisis," says Alexander. "Households have been reluctant to spend in the face of falling home values and next to no offset in the way of salary increases."
Stronger job and income growth will also support the housing market.
"The dearth of new household formations is strongly related to the lack of job opportunities among young people," says Alexander. "As employment rises, the housing recovery should also pick up speed as these first-time buyers come back into the market."
The Federal Reserve Will Begin Raising Interest Rates in 2015
With the expected improvement in growth over the next year, the economy is likely to have shown sufficient progress for the Federal Reserve to begin raising short-term rates.
"After almost seven years of zero interest rates, the recovery in 2015 will have finally moved to a stage where rates can begin to move higher," says Alexander. "But, this will occur gradually."
TD Economics expects the Federal Reserve to begin its rate hiking cycle mid next year and bring the fed funds rate up to 0.75% by the end of the year. By the end of 2016, the fed funds rate will likely only be at 1.75%, which is still a highly stimulative monetary setting.
TD Economics provides analysis of global economic performance and forecasting, and is an affiliate of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®.
The complete findings of the TD Economics report are available online at http://www.td.com/document/PDF/economics/qef/qefsep2014_us.pdf
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You are here: Green Belt > Europe > Nature
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Green Belt Europe: A treasure chest of species diversity
Tree-breeding storks on the Morava river, Austria/Slovakia
At the Green Belt Europe there is a procession of the most valuable habitats, from the Arctic north to the Mediterranean south. A journey along this artery crosses 24 countries, covering more than 12,500 km.
In the far north, reindeer covered part of the distance emigrating from Russia to Finland, where they had almost become extinct. In Karelia you can find, in primeval forests bathed in light, living and dead giant trees which began growing some 700 years ago. Brown bears, wolves and lynx, but also endangered bird species, such as the three-toed woodpecker and eagle owl live here. In November 2006, Russia placed the Kalevalsky primeval forest, right on the Finnish border, as a national park under permanent protection. It is three times the size of the Bavarian Forest National Park, and is an important part of the Fennoscandian Green Belt.
The Morava-Thaya floodplains are among the most important wetlands of Central Europe. They form the "fluid state border" between Austria, South Moravia in the Czech Republic and western Slovakia. For all three countries, the Morava-Thaya floodplains are key areas for the protection of birds, having an enormous diversity of species. Apart from wetlands and flood-plain meadows, there are habitats such as wet meadows and salt meadows, as well as semi-dry grassland and sand grassland. Wild animals such as red deer and lynx use the meadows as an important migration corridor.
Between Austria, Slovenia, Hungary and Croatia, the Drau and Mur rivers still flow unhindered through meadows, wetlands and vineyards, to the Danube. European otters, sea eagles and thousands of sand martins make a habitat out of this dynamic river landscape. You can find out more about the natural treasures on the Central Europe Green Belt here.
The Strandja mountains at the Black Sea, Bulgaria/Turkey
In the attractive Bojana-Buna region in the border area between Montenegro and Albania lies a further treasure of nature. Salt lakes, lagoons and the largest lake in the Balkans - Lake Skutari - provide sanctuary for numerous bird species such as avocets and Dalmatian pelicans.
Lake Ohrid and the large and small Prespa lakes lie in the regions bordering Greece, Albania and Macedonia. They are today considered to be one of the most ecologically valuable sections of the Green Belt in the Balkans. In winter and during the migratory period, huge flocks of migrating birds use the lakes as a stopover. The vicinity of the lakes and the mountain pastures are rich in endemic plants. Wolves and brown bears live in the forests.
You can find out more about the natural treasures on the Green Belt South Eastern Europe here.
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Awkwardly realizing how white we all are
Posted by: Elizabeth Sandifer 6 years, 1 month ago
I could never have written this post as well as Richard Jones, and so I asked him to step in for a guest post. This is one of the best decisions I have made in the course of this project.
In 2009 everyone was hard at work writing blog articles in anticipation of ‘The End of Time’, the grand finale to Doctor Who’s Davies era. io9’s contribution took an interesting approach, offering a list of the errors the production ran the risk of making.
“Though there's absolutely no denying Davies has successfully forged a massive popular (and, to a slightly lesser extent, critical) success with his revival of Doctor Who,” wrote Alasdair Wilkins, “I'm sorry to say that I'm still not entirely convinced he's all that good at writing episodes of Doctor Who.” Yet hope remained. Perhaps Davies could learn from the mistakes the article identified and seize this last chance to convince? A key point on this syllabus of errors was the way Davies’ Big Climactic Epics interacted with pop culture. The article made it clear that it didn’t “have anything against Richard Dawkins having a cameo on Doctor Who” but that it’s “kind of a shame that Christopher Eccleston's final appearance will forever be linked to Big Brother.”
For Wilkins, timelessness and obtrusiveness were what made Dawkins okay and Davina not, but for some who find Big Brother’s role in the 2005 finale to be a thing of shame there may be a few more cultural value judgements weighing down. Many fans have a lot invested in the idea that Doctor Who is one sort of television and Big Brother is another. For them to be occupying the same space so brazenly is a challenge. This is the Ninth Doctor’s regeneration story. This will be in lists. This grants “a Dalek plot involving Big Brother” the same eternally iconic status as “falling off a big telescope.” What are we supposed to do with this?
The BBC have on three occasions obtained the rights to broadcast shows using the Big Brother format. Two of them made it very clear how they felt about it. Extras was tediously and hypocritically anti, while Celebrity Big Brother was so uncritical that it found itself reabsorbed as an enduring stand of Big Brother, the fact that it was once a strand of Comic Relief quietly forgotten. If the very thought of Big Brother makes you angry then you’re going to get on fine with Extras and have no truck with Celebrity Big Brother. But what are you supposed to make of ‘Bad Wolf’?
It feels like it should be a showdown. The ratings demolition of ITV’s Celebrity Wrestling is such a part of the 2005 season’s industry mythology that it almost feels like that’s the arc here. Scripted Family Drama returns to a broadcasting landscape dominated by Reality TV! Scripted Family Drama casts down the Wrestley Champion sent by Reality TV to oppose it! Scripted Family Drama arrives at the Castle of Reality TV to do final battle with Big Brother, UNHOLY SIRE OF THE DARK POWER THAT HOLDS THE LAND IN THRALL!
This story could be that. It is, after all, a story where the Doctor and his friends arrive in Reality TV Land and find it to be murderous, numbing and a dastardly Dalek plot. It’s massively dishonest television if it is that though. If a writer who schedules his interviews in such a way as not to miss Big Brother launch nights and who has modelled this whole season after Pop Idol has offered us the story of how Doctor Who will save us from the horrors of Reality TV then that's a big swizz. Which it might be. Davies, just about the only person in the media who’ll speak up to congratulate Blue Peter when they fake a competition, doesn’t seem to hold honesty as the prime virtue of television. I don’t think it is a big swizz though.
There’s little affection for What Not To Wear or The Weakest Link here, but ‘Bad Wolf’ clearly likes Big Brother and wants us to be into Big Brother things happening where they shouldn’t. We’re asked to be excited at the initial incongruity as we head into the credits and to be delighted by the familiarity as the housemates trot out all the tropes. The Doctor’s positioned not as someone opposed to Big Brother, in its murder-free iterations, but as someone who’s watched plenty of it, knows how it works and is a bit fed up now. Cherishing fond memories of classic TV moments like that bit with the bear in the bath, he’s ending the season the casual heat reader he came in as. The narrative also makes it clear that this isn’t a clash between two fundamentally different species of television. This is something the Doctor caused, something he’s a part of. Following the defeat of news broadcasting, this is an internal dispute within light entertainment. But what is that dispute?
There are ways in which Doctor Who and Big Brother are natural enemies. For one thing they’ve got very different ideas about boxes. Which matters in 2005 because televisions still are boxes at this point; People are still buying cathode ray toobs and will be until the end of 2006. Even in the many houses where the flatscreen has gone up on the wall, the imagination lags behind the physicality. The television is still ‘the box’ in the mind. Nobody’s received a memo telling us we all have to start mythologizing them as magic windows or anything. Boxes. And we know what Doctor Who thinks boxes are for. They’re for transporting us places. We love ‘behind the sofa’ so much because it accords with Doctor Who being fundamentally about how our furniture works. Doctor Who is a game we play with the way objects in our lounge create and maintain spaces.
Big Brother is a more static and literal fantasy. It doesn’t need to invent the TARDIS because it taps into an idea we’ve all already had – What if this box is full of little people?
Big Brother takes the puppet theatre daydream and works to make it real. It builds the airless, finite, sealed world that would exist inside your telly and then puts it in there. I’ve always thought the ‘Robots of Death’/Father Dougal “faraway box inside the near one” explanation of the TARDIS is rubbish for the imaginative game of Doctor Who, but it’s spot on for what’s happening here with Big Brother. We’ve performed just that operation in order to take a magical misapprehension of television and make it more or less true. The Big Brother house is the space inside your television. Doctor Who is interested in where the box is taking us and Big Brother is interested in what’s in the box.
And what is in the box? Well, it’s a lot of very desperate people concerned with what’s going on outside. That’s how it works in most countries, anyway. America’s Big Brother has, by this point, become a closed system in which ruthless, Machiavellian game theorists trade alliances and betrayal as they manoeuvre for victory. Big Brother US occurs largely within the bounds of its box and its winners needn’t care if you like them or not – their success depends upon their strategic choices and ruthless pursuit of self-interest. That alone wouldn’t get you far in the British version, which is a popularity contest.
Or rather it’s two different popularity contests that compel housemates seeking victory to play two contradictory games. I shall now share with you the basic mechanics of Big Brother UK. These have been fiddled with a lot in order to produce SHOCK TWISTS and have been radically changed since the show moved to Channel Five, but this is the iconic format and the state of play in 2005. So pay attention.
A load of people go into a house and are denied contact with the outside world. After they’ve had a while to get to know each other, they each individually nominate two housemates they’d like to see the back of. These nominations must be, or must be seen to be, the housemates’ own choices for their own personal reasons.
When Big Brother began on British television it was very interested in the idea of being some form of psychological/social experiment. Nowhere is the legacy of that more enduring than in the strange mystique that surrounds the sacrament of nomination. Big Brother is a game where you win a load of cash if you’re the last person left in the house and where the only mechanism you have for getting shot of anyone demands you pretend you’re not playing a game in which that’s the case. If you want someone out then the only valid reasons are interpersonal. Strategic reasons are disallowed and discussing nominations amongst yourselves or attempting to influence the nominations of others is strictly forbidden. The one point where you have potential power over the game is one where you must act as if you hadn’t noticed there was a game going on.
What happens next? I’ll tell you. It’s thrilling. The housemates with the most nominations face the public vote. The world outside the box comes into play and the world outside the box has settled and eccentric ideas about what it wants to see in there. We’re voting to evict, voting to banish the nominee who has incurred our wrath, and our criteria are deliciously frustrating to Big Brother US fans who, once into the YouTube era, look on in horror as the British public shoo off what they’d consider the most worthy winners.
Here are the worst crimes a Big Brother UK contestant can commit –
- Not being ‘real’/‘genuine.’
- Being two-faced.
- “Having a game plan.”
- “Wanting to win.”
As the weeks roll by and the process repeats, these accusations are made only in hushed tones or in the heat of anger. Nobody speaks lightly of the crime of wanting to win.
There’s a solid historical reason for this. In Big Brother UK’s first season a confrontation between Craig (working-class hero and paragon of honesty) and Nasty Nick (smug posho who was attempting to direct nominations) became the series’ first true moment of drama and pop hit. It was Big Brother’s Daleks. And as the success of the Daleks locked in Doctor Who as a show about monsters, the success of ‘Craig Versus Nick’ locked Big Brother UK in as a show which celebrates straightforwardness and selflessness and punishes cunning and self-interest.
So the game of Big Brother is one where you must win a popularity contest outside the house dependant on you doing none of the things necessary to influence the equally crucial popularity contest inside the house. It’s a subtle and sophisticated super-double-Zen game which you much both play and not play in order to win. So subtle and sophisticated that it’s unwatchable as a gameshow. You can’t follow along and assess who is playing well because, if they are, it’s invisible. So nobody does watch it as a gameshow. It’s enjoyed like a soap, a sitcom or a game of The Sims, with the fact that it’s ultimately a competition used to provide structure or fuel for such. This way of watching determines the qualities the world outside the box is prepared to reward. Give us the drama and comedy we’re after and, so long as you don’t seem to know you’re in a gameshow, we’ll help you win it.
You know what Big Brother’s all about now. It’s about the relation of the internal and the external. What’s seen and what’s unseen, revealed and concealed, inside and outside. And it’s about the social process of rejection by which something moves from inside to outside. Which is where Doctor Who finds it, takes it and associates it with other shows based on that process to build up a picture of the Television of Rejection. While the Doctor finds himself in Big Brother, Rose is given to the simpler and crueller world of The Weakest Link which runs purely on the mechanic of rejection and on Anne Robison’s pretend-but-actually-real contempt for all human life. Jack’s up against the most sinister expression of the principle – television that encourages you to reject yourself, to vote your own identity out of the house – but is hilariously immune, playing along happily until his identity is in real danger and then flouncing off with a line about his ultimate ownership of it. The wickedness shared between the Bad Wolf shows we see up close is utterly consistent.
Which would have suited Big Brother’s 2004 season, the run ‘Bad Wolf’ is a direct response to. It so badly wanted to be wicked. The previous season was, and shall forever be remembered as, a disaster. When Channel Four eventually staged a funeral for Big Brother in 2010, accurately predicting that Channel Five’s would be some sort of shambling cadaver, the eulogy included the words, “You were never boring…except for Big Brother 4.” Four years in there was no pretending this was any kind of experiment and there was no drama to extracted from a niceness competition that gave the crown to the man with the best manners. Going into Big Brother 5, Channel Four were determined that it wouldn’t be like that this time. This time it would be evil.
The relationship between the show, the viewer and the housemates would be changed. “Why are there little people inside my television?” was a question we were previously encouraged to answer with “to see what happens when you put little people in a television.” In 2004 then the BIG BROTHER TURNS EVIL trails, the tone of launch night and the sheer amount of cackling involved made it clear that the answer was now “to suffer for our amusement.”
The concept runs into a few problems. The first being that by this, the fifth season, the housemates have all arrived with their own stories ready to construct. In the first season the producers bore the burden of turning footage into stories; The housemates had all sussed out that they should probably try and do some entertaining things now and again, but this was of the order of “let’s get naked and throw our mud-painted bodies against the walls to make SHAPES!” rather than of the order of “let’s fashion narratives!” But Big Brother 5, which Russell Brand considered ‘the end of innocence’ saw people walk in the door with stories in their suitcases. They knew who they wanted to play, what they wanted to gain and what story they wanted to tell.
Those stories were responses to the Big Brother they’d seen rather than to the evil Big Brother they were in, or were supposed to be in. Because the first week was utterly dominated by the story of Kitten, a radical who was unsure if she considered herself a Marxist or an Anarchist but whose modest personal goal for her time in the house was the overthrow of the government and the abolition of the monarchy. Her plan for achieving this seemed to be standing on roofs and interfering with fixtures and fittings until the Establishment just gave up and called it a day.
Kitten’s attack on Big Brother was founded on her having successfully identified that a program in which an all-seeing Big Brother lords it up over a bunch of housemates represents a patriarchal power structure. She hoped she could bring us to this understanding by inventing a rival power called ‘Big Sister’ with whom she’d have imaginary conversations, eventually organising revolutions against both Big Brother and Big Sister, and forming some sort of cult around one of the statues in the garden. It was all very exciting, but not only did it misunderstand that the audience already know perfectly well that Big Brother is a patriarchal power system but it interacted poorly with the way this series was attempting to define the relationship between the show and the housemates. This year was meant to let us delight in the format being about sadism and persecution rather than simply about authority itself, but until Kitten left the house then the show was about what Kitten wanted it to be.
The killing blow to Evil Big Brother would be its one great success. It actually managed to but its housemates in real physical danger to the extent that a criminal psychologist who’d worked with Charles Bronson walked off the show deciding that it was all a bit much. Situations were being increasingly designed to provoke conflict and alcohol was being liberally provided at times when perhaps in nice mug of cocoa would have been better. Twenty days in then the housemates learned that two of their number they’d thought evicted had rather been placed in a ‘bedsit’, a second box from where they could watch all that transpired in the house, and from which they returned. Their understanding of boundaries of their world had been challenged and, watching the escalation of events that night, it’s scary how much that’s rattled them. The sense of being inside or outside is powerfully dramatised as the laughter and celebratory antics of those pleased at this turn of events becomes physically painful to those outside that group. By two in the morning, actual violence is happening and the live feed has been cut. By three the police are in the house. Mario Winans (featuring P.Diddy and Enya) is at number one with I Don’t Wanna Know.
From that point on, with all the eyes of Offcom and the Hertfordshire Constabulary on the show, we hear quite a lot less about it trying to be evil. Kitten returned it into being a show about authority and the producers are now left desperately trying to make it look like the responsible exercise of that authority.
Fortunately, the housemates have evil covered amongst themselves. By this point the house has, for the first time, cleanly separated into two tribes that’ve named themselves and understand themselves to be both social groups and unspoken voting blocks; The Jungle Cats and the Lipgloss Bitches. Not only is the separation distinct but so is the way in which they represent the values the audience responds to. The Jungle Cats present themselves as diabolical schemers out to scheme their way to victory and the Lipgloss Bitches as kooky funsters out to enjoy their time in the house and bring mirth into our weary lives. In the moral terms that Big Brother UK has developed we’ve got a clear battle of good versus evil.
Which plays out perfectly. The Jungle Cats endure in the house longer than gameplayers typically do, thanks to one of them being so entertainingly diabolical and the other being a rare example of a sinister mastermind who’s good at it, and so we reach a situation where a representative of each group is the only person remaining in the house. The series that set out to offer us the decadent pleasures of evil has turned into a heroic fantasy where IT… ALL…COMES…DOWN…TO…THIS between the goodies and the baddies. Which the goodies won, of course. In the final week Big Brother moves from ‘vote to evict’ to ‘vote to win’ and the narrative moves from one of rejection to one of acceptance. The winner was a trans woman to whom that acceptance meant a great deal and we got a big memorable finale in which we all got to imagine we’d been instrumental in some sort of social change, fireworks went off and everything felt lovely.
The movement from being about rejection to being about acceptance was always jarring in Channel Four’s Big Brother, but much smoother in the Talent Show strain of Reality TV that was becoming dominant. There we start by dismissing hilarious losers and glide towards the point where we’re desperate to see our favourites survive. The 2005 season of Doctor Who sticks close to that Cowell format, offering the open audition of the “you wanna come with me?” trails and the dismissal of the Mikeys and the Adams before filling the screen with Jacks, Lyndas and Roses and asking us to stress about which will be left standing. There’s no criticism of the television of rejection in ‘Bad Wolf’ because it runs on the same rules by which it produces memorable telly. The Doctor achives his heroic apotheosis by owning this and becoming Davina.
Which the Big Brother of Satellite Five is not doing. It’s shown to be incapable of producing stories or memorable moments. Bears in the bath are long behind us. With scores of simultaneous Big Brother houses and a homeostatic society there’d be no way to watch the Bad Wolf Big Brother and imagine anything was happening. Nadia’s win wouldn’t matter. Kitten wouldn’t amuse. Fight Night wouldn’t horrify. All that’d be left is all that we see – people doing the Big Brother catchphrases. 2004 was the year that Big Brother tried to be evil and failed. In 2005, Doctor Who tried to work out what it would have to do to be properly evil and arrived at a very Davies conclusion. To be evil, it would have to be bad television.
eccleston,
guest post,
eruditorum,
pop between realities
← "But I remember his words as though they were yesterday.": Balance of Terror
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J Mairs 6 years, 1 month ago
You know, this is the first thing I've ever seen or read that has persuaded me that Big Brother has some merit.
I'm appalled - barriers have broken down and my entire sense of self has been called into question.
Multiple Ducks 6 years, 1 month ago
Wow, this was enthralling - does Richard Jones have a blog we can follow?
peeeeeeet 6 years, 1 month ago
Great post. Not really relevant, but I find it interesting that when they did the "best of" to finish off the Channel 4 career, the pendulum had swung back towards salt-of-the-earth types, leading to Nadia's shrill egoism putting her on the villain's team, to her own apparent disbelief. Not long after on Channel 5, a transman wins after being so ordinary that his "journey" turned out to be nothing to do with his trans status (to Big Brother's apparent disbelief) and all about his bromance with the other popular guy. I like to think that says something about social change, though I'm not sure what.
My main complaint about this episode, other than the initial disappointment of it being the second direct(ish) sequel in a row to earlier episodes I didn't care much for, was the aching contemporariness of the choices of shows to parody. It was as if Davies was saying, "what will last of television, for good or ill, is what is produced by my generation." That's probably a bit unfair - his thinking possibly didn't go much further than "heh - Anne-droid! Geddit?!" but I would still have dropped the Weakest Link and Trinny / Susannah bits and made it all about BB, which was the only one that seemed to have much potential.
Iain Coleman 6 years, 1 month ago
The confrontation between Craig and Nick is a genuinely compelling piece of drama. It's a man having his worldview and self-image relentlessly torn down, live on TV. I'm sure RUssell T Davies would have been gripped.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwmKjBY8mVo
SK 6 years, 1 month ago
It was as if Davies was saying, "what will last of television, for good or ill, is what is produced by my generation."
Oh no, oh no, oh no. that's not it at all. He was just making explicit what everybody knows: that sci-fi is the genre out of all genres that is most about the present moment. Scif-fi tells you nothing about the future, and everything about the precise time it was made, and this is Davies recognising that fact and running with it by not even trying to make pointless guesses about what TV might be made in the future, but instead just transplanting 2004/5 into a sci-fi setting.
Lie it or not, its eyewateringly honest.
Spacewarp 6 years, 1 month ago
Yeah, let's all go there instead! Sandifer is so Last Season.
Travis Butler 6 years, 1 month ago
But then it runs into a problem that I run into with a lot of satires of this kind. To be really, lastingly good, it has to be written so that the referencing material is enjoyable and entertaining in its own right, without the references. Otherwise, when the original contemporary material loses its relevance - or when the audience isn't familiar with the original - then it dries up and blows away.
The original run of Looney Tunes is a classic example. Some of the shorts were based entirely around the references - like a battle between Bugs and Elmer, set in a restaurant filled with celebrity cameos, where the point was watching all the cameos - and today they don't have much to say to anyone beyond the few people who still recognize the cameos. Others, like the Honeymousers, were deliberate point-by-point retellings of the source material - but because the writers knew why the original material was funny in the first place, they were able to be funny in the same way even if you didn't recognize the references.
Sadly, the references in this episode fall into the first category for me. Without any direct experience with any of these shows, the sections with Jack and the Doctor fell completely flat; instead of being entertaining television about people locked in a box, the Big Brother sections were a barrage of references and catchphrases that didn't make sense and weren't interesting in their own right. Rose's section in Weakest Link fared somewhat better, because more of the referenced game show tropes are universal, but I think I still missed many things. Whenever I re-watch the episode, I almost always skip ahead to the point where the Doctor and Jack have broken out of their sets.
There's nothing inherently wrong with making commentary about the present moment, referencing contemporary issues - but it also needs to stand on its own well enough to say something to people who aren't intimately familiar with the details of the reference. If the episode had done more to show what life was like in a Big Brother house, instead of tossing around catchphrases and taking shortcuts that assume the viewer is familiar with the original, I think it would have been much better.
(Of course, that gets back to the compression vs. running time debate, doesn't it?)
That's a problem with satire, sure, but I don't think Doctor Who has ever been made with the intention that it should still be intelligible in twenty years' time.
Heck, some of it doesn't seem to have been made with the intention that it be intelligible this week.
You could argue, and I might agree with you, that it would be better if Doctor Who were made with more of an eye on being something genuinely great that will stand the test of time like Edge of Darkness.
But the fact is that it isn't, it never has been, and you can't single out Davies for that when every single other producer, script editor and head writer has taken exactly the same approach.
If it's a flaw (and there's a good argument that it is) it's a flaw across all of Doctor Who, not one of Davies' specific flaws (and he has several).
Anton B 6 years, 1 month ago
'We love ‘behind the sofa’ so much because it accords with Doctor Who being fundamentally about how our furniture works. Doctor Who is a game we play with the way objects in our lounge create and maintain spaces.'
Worth the price of admission for this sentence alone. Bonkers genius.
I would argue that it'd be better to be made with an eye to enduring goodness, yes, or at least to avoiding so many contemporary to-the-moment references that episode become incomprehensible in 20 years' time - and I would also argue with the suggestion that the show was never made this way, since I can't think of a single example off the top of my head where contemporary references made a Doctor Who episode incomprehensible years later, to the degree that Bad Wolf is even today.
But that's not the argument I'm making. As I said, the topical British TV references were incomprehensible to me at the time the show originally aired. This wasn't 20 years down the road; this was in the here-and-now. (Although I think it's easy to argue that any references that don't fly contemporaneously will be even harder to understand two decades later.)
My argument is that depending on references that can't stand on their own are a bad idea in general - not just because they lose their meaning in a few years, but because they lose their meaning now to anyone who isn't familiar with the original. References like that can be a nice little add-on to the people who get the joke, but they shouldn't be the foundation of a story.
Like Ace and the 7th Doctor encountering Courtney Pine in "Silver Nemesis". At the time most viewers might have been familiar with him, but now it's just some jazz guy that they watch, and why does Ace want his autograph anyway?
You lived in Britain in 2005 and were unfamiliar with the programmes parodied? I mean, I had little direct experience of them -- I didn't watch any of them myself -- but I fail to see how you could have existed in that place and time, watched any television at all -- even just gone into a supermarket -- and not got what a 'makeover show' was, for example.
(Of course, if you weren't living in Britain, then you might not have been familiar with the concepts; but on the other hand then you weren't part of the target audience, so it's hardly surprising you didn't get it, and there's absolutely no reason why you should have done: there's no reason to make a piece of art comprehensible to every single human being on Earth, and such a thing would hardly be possible anyway).
Contumacy Singh 6 years, 1 month ago
"a criminal psychologist who’d worked with Charles Bronson"
I suspect this should be Charles MANSON. Actor vs. Psychopath.
Scif-fi tells you nothing about the future, and everything about the precise time it was made, and this is Davies recognising that fact and running with it by not even trying to make pointless guesses about what TV might be made in the future, but instead just transplanting 2004/5 into a sci-fi setting.
I don't disagree, but I think the problem with that argument is that both BB and The Weakest link had been going for half a decade at this point, so they weren't the watercooler shows they had once been - hence it seemed more of a comment on that generation of television, rather than just sampling what was currently considered culturally relevant. In the summer of 2005, off the top of my head, you'd choose The Apprentice and Lost, probably - though of course script-writing lead times might have prevented nodding to either of those. What an episode that could have been, though! Anyway, this set a bit of a precedent - Who's feeble pastiche of 24 wasn't made any better by coming several years after everyone else's...
Alan 6 years, 1 month ago
I've always been fascinated by BB in the abstract mainly because of what it suggests about the difference between Americans and Brits. Season 1 of BB America was a flop and nearly got canceled because it followed the same format as the UK version (i.e. two people are put up, and the audience votes on who gets eliminated, usually based on who they think is the "bad guy"). Unfortunately, this meant that everyone on the show capable of creating drama was quickly eliminated, and then the show got boring and people stopped watching. Big Brother America only became a hit when they changed the format so that the Head of Household puts up two nominees to be voted on by everyone else. At which point, the show became a series of mind games played by competing sociopaths.
Seriously! The American winner of BB2 "Evil Doctor Rob" openly claimed to be a high-functioning sociopath, and he deliberately tried to drive a housemate to a nervous breakdown by making her think that her newlywed husband was angry over things she'd done in the house and wanted a divorce.
The Charles Bronson reffered to here is a Brit Psychopath serving life imprisonment not the Hollywood actor of the same name.
The Courtney Pine thing is the kind of reference I think is all right; it's cute if you know the reference and get the joke, but it's not important to the plot of the episode. It's there and gone in a minute or two, and at most you'd miss a quick laugh.
And no, I'm not living in Britain. :) But I have a similar relationship to the American show that I'd guess is the nearest cultural counterpart, Survivor; it's a cultural phenomenon, people toss around references like 'getting voted off the island' in casual conversation, but I've never seen it and have absolutely no plans to. And I would have similar objections to a US show basing an episode around Survivor references that are crucial yet unsupported in the same way that Bad Wolf does.
I also think the argument is still reaching for strawmen. "there's no reason to make a piece of art comprehensible to every single human being on Earth"? Maybe not, but that's not what I'm arguing; I could just as easily say "there's no reason to make a piece of art that casually excludes huge swaths of people just because they haven't seen a source reference and the writers are too lazy to demonstrate what they're referring to." We're not talking about spending so much time explaining things that someone in an Amish community who's never seen a TV set will understand.
If the source is good enough/important enough to be a centerpiece of a work like this, surely the work can afford to show enough of it that the references make sense?
If the source is good enough/important enough to be a centerpiece of a work like this
You mean 'good enough/important enough' to be a centrepiece of a bit of Saturday evening light entertainment?
That's not a very high bar...
Thing is, every moment spent explaining Big Brother would have been a moment of crushing boredom to the target audience, who would be screaming, 'Why are you acting like we've never seen big Brother?'. So you're basically asking for the work to be made worse for the target audience, to benefit people who, well, it isn't being made for.
And it is, after all, only Saturday evening light entertainment. I think even Davies would agree with that, except he'd say that there's nothing 'only' about Saturday evening light entertainment...
I've lost count of the number of times I've been brought up short by a topical reference to some product or celebrity in U.S. TV shows. My usual reaction is to mentally shrug and say to myself 'this wasn't made for me. I can't be expected to understand everything'. It's usually possible to contextualise the reference and get the gist of tbe meaning. I remember a whole episode of 'Friends' revolving around the inherent hilarity and cultural significance of 'Pottery Barn' , I still don't know what kind of store that is specifically but by back engineering the gags I figured it to be some kind of pretentious faux retro shop. It didn't spoil my enjoyment, it actually probably enhanced it, I learnt something about another culture. Doctor Who is so quintessentially British that I would have thought this muat be a common occurance for non-Brits.
Sigh. No, I'm not asking for the show to spend 20 minutes 'explaining' Big Brother. I'm asking for it to demonstrate enough of the show that the references make sense.
Take the Honeymousers cartoon I referenced at the start of this thread. It was a 1956 cartoon based off of an early-50's TV series called the Honeymooners, starring Jackie Gleason as a working-class schlub with a short temper, an oddball friend, and a wife he would trade smart-aleck remarks with. He and his buddy would often get into impractical schemes to 'make it big' that failed spectacularly.
Did the cartoon stop to explain all that? No! It just showed the character expys doing their normal routines, getting up to schemes reminiscent of the original show. And it was funny. It was funny to people who knew the original show, because here were mice doing great takeoffs of the original show and characters, adapted to the world of cartoon mice. But it was also funny to people who'd never seen the show, because the characterizations and plot were developed to the point where they were funny in themselves - not just as satires of the original.
And that's the standard I want to hold this kind of thing to. You think Big Brother is cool enough to spend half an episode referencing? Then show it! If it really is entertaining, then people shouldn't mind watching the cast go through enough of the regular schtick for the references to make sense, as long as the writers do a good job of portraying the original.
Ununnilium 6 years, 1 month ago
Same! It's pretty great.
Oops. Thanks for clarifying for us non-Brits. ;)
Froborr 6 years, 1 month ago
I'm an American who's never seen an episode of Big Brother. I had absolutely no problem whatsoever following "Bad Wolf."
Frankly, the "What Not to Wear" bit was more confusing--for years I thought Jack was stuck backstage, being prepared for some show that he never actually got to because he escaped first.
"Jack’s up against the most sinister expression of the principle – television that encourages you to reject yourself, to vote your own identity out of the house"
Oh good. I was worried I was the only person who thought "What Not to Wear" is one of the vilest, most evil things ever put on television.
I've never seen the British version, but the American one basically boils down to, "Oh, hello person who has their own sense of styles or differing priorities. Your friends are weirded out by this, so we're going to force you to throw out all your clothes and conform."
I imagine by now they're probably just shoving people into Dalek shells and calling it a day.
I figured it to be some kind of pretentious faux retro shop
I assumed, as I usually do when something gets name-checked that heavily in a US show, that it's product placement! I know the episode centred around Phoebe's hatred of Pottery Barn, but everyone else was going "HOW CAN ANYONE HATE POTTERY BARN!!!" so much. I mean, who couldn't use an apothecary table?
Arkadin 6 years, 1 month ago
I do wonder what Doctor Who fans in 50 years are going to make of this episode. Will there be enough cultural memory of reality TV that it makes some kind of sense, or will it be as incomprehensible now as the role of holiday camps in The Macra Terror? (RTD bringing back the Macra makes a weird kind of sense in that light.)
Either way, I am looking forward to reading an erudite blog post from whoever the equivalent of Philip Sandifer is about the history and context of reality TV.
Archeology of the Future 6 years, 1 month ago
I hate the idea that things should be timeless. Nothing is timeless. Things are always of their time, even things that try to pitch for a timeless quality.
The idea that something 'dates quickly' is only an issue for people who have a beetling discomfort with being in the now of popular culture for the fear of backing the wrong horse and being shown up, in future, to have had dubious tastes.
Things that persist tend to either also include something that makes the story speak to those not present into its first blush of exposure (themes, characters etc) or become celebrated for the very textual or textural qualities that do precisely date them.
This blog has talked a lot about the fan embarrassment terror of Doctor Who, the feeling that the show that you love will look silly or childish when there are others around to witness it. This for me seems to be similar to the idea of soul deadening idea of 'guilty pleasures', cultural artefacts that you herd into a pen away from your respectable likes so that no one will ever suggest that you are one of the plebs rather than respectables.
It always puzzles me a bit when Doctor Who fans love 'classic telly' but don't like telly now. It's as if they're waiting for history to decide what the 'correct' and comfortable taste to have is rather than getting in there and rooting about in the dense and confusing undergrowth of popular culture for themselves. It's a strangely posthumous business, only allowing yourself to like something once its finished. It's almost as if you're trying to avoid a betrayal.
I think there's a kind of battle going on here over shared culture and who gets to define it. The idea that Big Brother and Doctor Who are separate types of entertainment seems to suggest a discomfort with the idea that shared culture isn't just placed in one container. Similarly with the idea that Doctor Who must be 'timeless' or only concerned with its own self referential world. Both seek to create a space for Doctor Who that is outside of the normal world and normal concerns, and more importantly, as far away as possible from 'those people', those people who are loud and brash and vulgar.
I think there's a lovely tension in the way that RTD first encapsulates that tension himself (Doctor Who nerd, committed telly watcher, devote of popular culture) and the fact that it eventually finds its way into 'The Waters of Mars' and the discussion of 'little people'.
I loved Big Brother up until the point where the manipulation outweighed the people. I still love 'reality television'.
Yeah Travis I get your point but I think the episode spent exactly enough time on BB and the other game shows. I suspect you think you've missed something or some 'clever' reference that just wasn't there. The setting pastiched the idea of game shows in general using specific shows that were contemporary at the time because..well, why not? Would you rather they'd made up some fictitious ones rather than use existing references that, yes may have had a frisson of recognition for Brit audiences but that wasn't the point. The point was a bit of fun then Daleks and regeneration!
peeeeeeet (was that the right number of eeees?) Of course product placement is another thing entirely from pastiche and I suspect you're right about the apothecary table. I wouldn't be surprised if a little bit of product placement/network balance was behind the inclusion of What Not to Wear and Weakest Link, particularly as they are BBC programmes where BB is not. This is, I believe, why those sections fell a little flat where the BB house scene worked well as both a literal incarceration for the Doctor and as social satire. There is probably something to be explored in the choice of of bitchilly hosted general knowledge quiz for Rose and flirty fashion embarrasement for Jack. I'm sure Doctor Sandifer will oblige.
Classic Doctor Who also had contemporary pop culture references which have 'dated' or had their meaning changed by subsequent events. In the very first episode there is Susan's startling prediction of decimalisation ( not such a hot topic now) and, as has been pointed out, the Doctor specifically compares the 'bigger on the inside' nature of the TARDIS to the effect of watching a television. In a later scene the Doctor shows Ian and Barbara footage of the Beatles which Vicki is surprised to recognise as 'classical music' In The War Machines a girl in a night club looks at Hartnell and says 'He looks like that DJ' ( bit unfortunate this one in light of current events as it's a reference to the disgraced Jimmy Saville), the various hints in the UNIT era of female Prime Ministers etc. I guess in a show about time travel it would be odd not to contrast current events with an imagined future.
I'm not sure "guilty pleasure," at least as it's now used, actually denotes any guilt. I read it--and use it--more as "things I like for personal reasons, but am unwilling or unable to defend the artistic merits of."
Scurra 6 years, 1 month ago
But Big Brother is the only "reality" television we have or have ever had because of its unedited nature. The reason it works at all is that some of the observers* are not making judgements based on carefully edited highlights (or lowlights), but on long term experience. I can't think of any other show in the genre that doesn't distort the "reality" significantly - although obviously it's hard to make a fair judgement about that because we don't see the rest of the material. But the folks who put The Apprentice together can't be that cynical about the contestants, surely? :)
*obviously most observers/voters were making judgements based on highlights shows or surreal parallel channel discussions, but some were prepared to invest the time to do it properly. Although not me.
I remember the Brigadier's reference to a female PM in "Robot" and assumed at the time it was referring to Thatcher. I was stunned to realize years after the fact that"Robot" aired several years before she became PM.
How is it conceivably possible that anyone anywhere saw an unedited version? I mean, I suppose if there were a version with only one, fixed-position camera, and all the housemates stayed within that camera's field of view at all times, you could have an unedited version. Or you could spend months watching all the feeds from all the cameras for a single week, but by that time (a) you have already imposed an editorial judgment by selecting which order to view the cameras in, and (b) you've long passed the voting deadline for the week.
JohnB 6 years, 1 month ago
"I imagine by now they're probably just shoving people into Dalek shells and calling it a day."
Only on other channels. ;-)
OK, that's a fair point - it's a definition argument as usual: by "unedited" I meant approximately that the transmission feed was uninterrupted rather than that a single person could encompass everything that happened.
I think I was merely trying to differentiate a long-form broadcast in which you could spend all day observing if you so chose from a show which selected "highlights" for you and served them up later in a concise narratively constructed package. BB was a rare example of the former.
Ross 6 years, 1 month ago
@Froborr: For me, the behavior of the droids in the 'What Not To Wear' segment fit enough other stereotypes about OTT fashonistas that it took about ten seconds to just go "Oh, this must be some kind of extreme fashion makeover thing"
It's as if they're waiting for history to decide what the 'correct' and comfortable taste to have is rather than getting in there and rooting about in the dense and confusing undergrowth of popular culture for themselves.
Fits a bit with what I said a lot after I had my falling out with the fan-industrial complex:
You can pretty much take any conversation you've ever overheard between two Doctor Who fans, and boil it down to two people shouting "Why can't you just accept that *I* am better than *YOU*?" at each other over and over.
It's a strangely posthumous business, only allowing yourself to like something once its finished. It's almost as if you're trying to avoid a betrayal.
This I have a bit more sympathy for. I imagine "Got heavily invested in caring for something, only to have it turn out to have been a catastrophically bad idea" is a pretty common part of human experience, possibly even more common among those inclined to nerdish interests.
jane 6 years, 1 month ago
The show will do what it wants to do, and we can choose to do what we want with it. As I'm going to watch them over and over again anyways, for such is often the nature of fandom, anything I miss I'll pick up one way or another -- I am capable of doing basic research. I for one applaud the game show references, they enrich the text.
By 2005, reality shows were been pastiched in all kinds of shows, and we were having conversations about the impact of such shows on scripted drama. So I was very excited to see Doctor Who drop into a game show and deform its narrative (though obviously I didn't have such words to describe it as such back then.) It's been hard on talent, because you don't need so many actors for it, you don't need a stable of writers, you don't even need to pay much attention to production values. They're cheap, they've got questionable values, and they've crowded out all kinds of other scripted shows.
And on that basis, to anyone who didn't get the references, get your head out of the sand! This is what's been happening to television, to popular contemporary television. This is mainstream, and relevant, and anything in the mainstream is fair game, especially stuff that's relevant.
The references themselves are quite artful in relationship to Rose, the Doctor, and Jack, playing on their insecurities. As our lovely guest writer so eloquently inscribes, there's a lot to glean from dropping the Doctor into Big Brother -- especially the view of his psychology, just like a quiz show challenges Rose's insecurities about her intelligence and learning; in a delicious twist, the body-makeover show exposes Jack's complete lack of insecurities regarding his body, but it's still the perfect show to put him in.
Stepping back, the fact that the game shows are run by Daleks speaks to their role as agents of narrative collapse, and by extension the kind of narrative collapse that's threatened by these shows in our own world. Given narratives of brutal competition and winner takes all (hmm, I smell a political subtext here) we can expect an apocalyptic world that's not so different from what we have today.
Chadwick 6 years, 1 month ago
For me, it would have been better if the contest was an original construct, but with enough bits to make it a reference to BB rather than trot out the idea that centuries into the future, BB, The Weakest Link and Trinny and Susannah are still considered mainstream entertainment. It came across as clunky but the tabloid press at the time thought it was all so funky for it to be referenced into Dr Who.
I have this idea that while JNT courted the fanbase, RTD courted the tabloids and show biz TV.
For me, the behavior of the droids in the 'What Not To Wear' segment fit enough other stereotypes about OTT fashonistas that it took about ten seconds to just go "Oh, this must be some kind of extreme fashion makeover thing"
Yeah, same here. Simple enough concept even if you're not familiar with the specific show.
And on that basis, to anyone who didn't get the references, get your head out of the sand! This is what's been happening to television, to popular contemporary television.
...well, okay, but it's not out of bounds to speak on whether these references were done well. Which is what's been happening here.
Yes, perfect. XD
Or, alternatively, not that.
I mean, you're really going to throw every criticism ever made based on datedness into the "they're just covering for their own personal fears" trash bin? For shame, doc; that's how the debate gets diminished.
Toby Brown 6 years, 1 month ago
But the difference between Bad Wolf and those examples is that there would be nothing left of Bad Wolf if you took away the reference. Once Big Brother is forgotten, Bad Wolf will be incomprehensible. Once Jimmy Saville's forgotten, there'll be one line in the War Machines which won't make much sense, which has already been shown in that the reference is now unfortunate (as you mentioned) and it changes exactly nothing about anyone's opinion on the story.
BerserkRL 6 years, 1 month ago
Scif-fi tells you nothing about the future, and everything about the precise time it was made
Surely an overstatement.
GarrettCRW 5 years, 3 months ago
@Travis: I'm going to assume that you're referring to "What's Cookin', Doc?", which isn't really *that* irrelevant, as most of the celebrities referenced (Bogey and Bacall in particular) are still pretty well-known. However, knowing some of the other celeb cameo-heavy WB shorts, I definitely get your point, as, say, "Book Revue" loses a bit if you don't know your '40s celebs (even the Sinatra riff in the short relies on details germane to the period).
"The Honeymousers", however, succeeded not just because it behaves exactly like an episode of The Honeymooners (with the addition of the cat-vs-mouse business), but because the McKimson unit "got" TV in a way that no one at Termite Terrace did in the '50s, which is remarkable since Bob McKimson a) was suffering from creative brain-drain in the '50s (staffers were poached by Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng, as well as departures after a brief shutdown of the studio in 1953), and b) McKimson was Termite Terrace's longest-serving continuous employee, and certainly the most outwardly conservative (McKimson came to work, every day, in a suit and tie, up until his death in the '70s). The "getting" of the source material is what served RTD with the Who-meets-reality-crap mashup.
Katherine Sas 4 years, 11 months ago
Very, very interesting analysis, especially in light of Sandifer's "aesthetics/ethics" equation (or distinction?) made earlier - i.e. bad tv = evil tv, and vice versa.
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The Training Diary: Brandon Provost
THE TRAINING DIARY FEATURES NEWS, NOTES, AND INTERVIEWS FROM THE GROUND ZERO TRAINING FAMILY. THE SECOND PLAYER INTERVIEW, IN WHAT IS A FEATURE SERIES, SPOTLIGHTS BRANDON PROVOST.
A native of Katy, TX, Provost spent one year at the Air Force Academy before transferring to the University of Texas-Pan American. Provost finished his collegiate career by cementing his name in many statistical category top rankings, including a .452 shooting percentage, good for second in UTPA program history. Since graduating, Provost has embarked on a professional basketball career which has taken him around the world.
Q. After a highly successful high school career, you decided to attend the Air Force Academy. What made you make that specific decision?
Brandon Provost:
I decided to go to the Air Force Academy for a few reasons really. I knew that I was making a decision that wasn't solely about basketball. I was putting myself in a position to grow and mature as a person. The institution is a really special place. Even though I left the AFA, I still have such a huge level of appreciation for all that work and attend there. On the basketball side, this was a place that had been ranked in the top 25 a couple years before I attended, and played in the Mountain West Conference. That alone is something to be held in high regard. In addition, I built a great relationship with one of the assistant coaches on staff. There were just some very positive things about it, and that ultimately led me to want to attend the Air Force Academy.
Q. You decided to transfer after one season there. Why was that?
BP:
I made the decision to transfer because after re-evaluating things, the lifestyle wasn't exactly what I expected it to be. I have all the respect in the world for members of our armed forces, but at the AFA, there are so many things that pull at you. I found myself just wanting to go to school and play basketball. In the end, all the extra military activities and expectations just were not something that I wanted to concentrate on so heavily at the time.
Q. Is there anything you would change about your collegiate career and overall experience?
My college experience was a phenomenal one. If I had one thing I could go back and do differently though, I would choose to be a more aggressive player. Looking back I feel like my passive and easy going attitude carried over on the court at times. Having experienced playing professional basketball, and needing to be the go to guy, I feel like I could have impacted my team in a more positive manner, and in turn probably lifted my own level of potential personal success.
Q. Talk to us about your professional basketball career. What countries has basketball taken you to and what teams have you played with?
My pro career has definitely taken me to some places I never thought I would go to. My first year out of college, I played for BG Leitershofen in Germany. Then I joined the RGV Vipers and Erie Bayhawks of the NBA Development League. After those stops, I played with Al Sadd in Qatar, Astros del Valle in Cali, Colombia and finally with Fuerza Guinda de Nogales in the Mexican CIBACOPA League.
Q. What is it like having to pack up and essentially be forced to adjust to a different country and culture? Any advice you have to share for those that will be making the jump overseas for the first time?
Packing and leaving gets easier as time goes on. It's all about knowing what to expect and the main thing to expect is the required period for adjustment. My only advice would be to not panic. Adjusting to the overseas game can sometimes take time, but an adjustment to the culture will also not happen overnight.
Q. Are there any funny stories or moments that stand out?
Oh man, too many. One of the best ones is when I was involved in getting hit by a car in Germany. I was walking back from the store at about 8:30 AM and some older lady threw her car in reverse without looking. Well, she hit me. Thankfully, she didn't hit me too hard. It was hard enough to knock me down and leave some nice bruises, but I didn't even miss practice. The worst part about that all was having to eat dry cereal after, because when I fell, the milk carton unfortunately went down too. Rough.
Q. Did you ever envision that basketball would allow you to not only get a free education, but take you around the world and provide you a career?
I think after my first year playing at UTPA, it became more of a possibility in my head. It kind of switched from just being a dream to a goal at that point. When it happens though, it is still such a surreal feeling and something I'm fortunate to get to do.
Tagged: Ground Zero Training, Basketball, Tim Anderson, Jason Benadretti, Ground Zero Basketball, Player Development, Pro Training, Professional Basketball, RGV Vipers, UTPA, GZT, Erie Bayhawks, Brandon Provost
Newer PostThe Training Diary: David Walker
Older PostThe Training Diary: Shaquille Hines
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Smart Healthcare Facilities Project Kick-Off Meeting for design of 6 health facilities in Belize
The design of a new project, the Smart Healthcare Facilities Project in Belize, was launched at a meeting between the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The project aims to provide safer and more environmentally-friendly healthcare facilities to deliver care in times of disaster. Following an assessment and selection phase, 6 out of 26 healthcare facilities have been chosen to be a part of this project.
All 26 facilities were evaluated on structural, functional, environmentally responsible, and resource-efficient parameters to assess their suitability for Smart interventions. Based on those criteria, the Matron Roberts and Cleopatra White Polyclinics in Belize City; San Ignacio Community Hospital and the Palm Centre Nursing Home in the Cayo District; Independence Polyclinic in the Stann Creek District; and Isabella Palma Polyclinic in the Toledo District were chosen.
At the meeting, which existed to review the scope of works and the roles and responsibilities of the participating stakeholders, Lealou Reballos, PAHO/WHO Project Administrator, worked in the capacity of facilitator. Personnel from the Ministry of Health and the PAHO/WHO technical team were also presents as well as Garth Arch, Check Consultant Engineer for the project, and representatives from Gutierrez and Associates Architects Ltd., the contracted design firm.
A series of site visits to the selected facilities for consultations with healthcare staff will be carried out by the design firm team, MoH, and PAHO/WHO technical focal points for the project. This phase of the project is expected to last 3-6 months after which local contractors will have an opportunity to bid for the approved retrofit works at these facilities.
The ‘Smart Healthcare Facilities in the Caribbean’ project is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and implemented by PAHO/WHO in partnership with the Ministries of Health in Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Last Updated on Thursday, 07 June 2018 11:48
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Sir Chris Chataway 1931-2014
By Kevin Lynch
Guinness World Records is sad to hear of the passing of the athlete, journalist and politician Sir Chris Chataway, who died on Sunday at the age of 82.
On top of setting the 5,000m world record in 1954, and famously acting as pacemaker for Sir Roger Bannister as he broke the four-minute mile barrier the same year, Sir Chris also played a key role in establishing The Guinness Book of Records.
Born in Chelsea, London in 1931, Chataway spent his childhood in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, as his father was a member of the Sudan Political Service.
Educated at Sherborne School in Dorset - where he excelled at rugby, boxing and gymnastics, following national service he went on to study at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he gained a philosophy, politics and economics degree. However, his studies were largely overshadowed by his success on the athletics track as a long-distance runner.
Upon leaving university he took an executive job with Guinness as an under-brewer.
When owner Sir Hugh Beaver came up with the idea of compiling a book of superlatives to help settle pub arguments (and promote Guinness beer in other brewers' pubs), Sir Chris introduced him to his his old university friends Norris and Ross McWhirter, recommending them as editors for the new publication.
The twins met with Sir Hugh and were given the job on the spot, therefore meaning we have Chris to thank for getting Guinness World Records off the ground.
The highlight of his brief, five-year career in international athletics came in 1954 when he set a new 5,000m world record of 13 minutes 51.6 seconds at london’s White City, beating Russia's Vladimir Kuts by 0.1 secs - the man who he had finished second behind in the 5,000m European Championships final two weeks earlier.
The victory came five months after he made the pace for Sir Roger Bannister to become the first to run a sub-four minute mile.
It was these two feats that earned Sir Chris another place in the history books when he was named as the first-ever BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Following his achievements on the track, Chataway gravitated towards broadcasting, splitting his time between his new interest and athletics.
In September 1955, he became the first newsreader on Independent Television, before finishing 11th in the 5,000m at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.
Chataway later switched to the BBC, where for three and a half years he was one of current affairs show Panorama’s team of reporters.
From TV, he moved into the world of politics, working as a Conservative MP between 1959 and 1966 and rising to serve in positions as a Parliamentary Private Secretary and junior Education Minister. When Edward Heath formed a Tory government in 1970 he appointed Chataway as Minister for Posts and Telecommunications before being made Industry Minister in a reshuffle two years later.
Upon his retirement from politics in 1974, Sir Chris became managing director of the Orion Bank, before leaving in 1988 to work as chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority, a role which earned him a knighthood in 1995.
Sir Chris died at around 7am on Sunday at St John's Hospice in north west London, having suffered from cancer for two and a half years.
He is survived by his sons Mark, Matthew, Adam, Charles, Ben, his daughter Joanna, his wife Carola and his former wife Anna.
Paying tribute to his great friend, Sir Roger Bannister told BBC Sport: "He was gallant to the end,"
"Our friendship dated back over more than half a century.
"We laughed, ran and commiserated together. People will always remember him for the great runner he was, but it shouldn't be forgotten that he had an extremely distinguished career off the track.
"My family and I will miss him sorely and our thoughts go out to his family and many friends who were so fond of him."
Back in 2005, Sir Chris helped Guinness World Records celebrate its 50th anniversary. It is with a great deal of sadness that he won’t be able to join us when we celebrate the 60th anniversary of the company he in no small part helped to found.
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Watch Movie/Trailer
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by Travis Keune
If you were to combine GROUNDHOG’S DAY with THE SIXTH SENSE and add some of HBO’s original series IN TREATMENT, what would you get? Well, it would probably be a big mess, but it could begin to resemble something like H.P. Mendoza’s I AM A GHOST. If there’s one thing we have no shortage of in theaters today, its ghost stories, particularly ones that focus on the unfortunate living who are haunted and terrorized by some rarely-seen, malicious paranormal entity. Not that this is bad, but as with all things… its nice to have a change of pace at times.
Thank you, H.P. Mendoza, writer and director of the low-budget, indie horror film I AM A GHOST. What makes this such a refreshing little flick? Mendoza turns the table. I AM A GHOST doesn’t focus on the living, you know… those mostly oblivious, often illogical humans who go into dark basements without a flashlight after hearing creepy noises. Instead, Mendoza focuses on the ghost, or spirit, or whatever you want to call her.
Emily, played by Anna Ishida, is a confused spirit, repeatedly haunted her own house, day after day, following the same routine, struggling to figure out why she can’t move on. In the beginning, her eternity seems like a grueling Hell of monotonous boredom. Frankly, the beginning third of the film could seem quite pointless, if not for a nagging curiosity that revolves around getting an inside look at the life of a ghost. Haven’t you ever wondered what their day is like, I mean, when they’re not trying to scare off the inhabitants.
With each repetition, each time we go through the motions with Emily, a little more is revealed and we get a little closer to the dark secret that lies behind Emily’s being trapped in her own house. I AM A GHOST is strictly a psychological thriller, but is a mystery as well, as she attempts to solve her own afterlife dilemma. The only assistance Emily receives comes in the form of a woman’s voice, a medium brought into the house on a regular basis to communicate with Emily. We never see the medium, but only hear her voice off camera as she guides Emily through a ritual of making peace with her demons and moving on. This doesn’t go well at first, but eventually a breakthrough is made and the horrifying truth is revealed that will shock audiences, emotionally and physically.
I AM A GHOST is a true pioneer of modern indie horror filmmaking. Where PARANORMAL ACTIVITY sparked a financial goldmine with its approach to utilizing technology as a crutch for low-budget horror, Mendoza shuns most of the technological approach — albeit some does trickle in with positive effects in the end — favoring instead a twist on storytelling and perspective. We rarely have the opportunity to feel empathy for and connect with the departed. Not since BEETLEJUICE have I cared about the ghostly main characters as “good guys,” exceptmaybe for THE SIXTH SENSE, but that doesn’t count because of its reliance on the twist ending.
I AM A GHOST does have a twist at the end, a damn good one if you ask me, but the entire film doesn’t hinge on that one plot device. Its a smart, thought-provoking final act, as well as frightening, but its Mendoza’s ability to craft a character we come to appreciate that really sells the ending. If, by the end of the film, we aren’t emotionally invested in Emily’s story, it just becomes another scary horror movie about something bad Hellbent on causing an innocent harm… and those are a dime a dozen.
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Exploited international students the target of Fair Work advertising blitz
The open letter advertisement, published in three major metropolitan newspapers and three regional newspapers across Australia, are designed to encourage young workers to seek help if they feel exploited.
By Friday the ads will be published in ten foreign language newspapers including Chinese, Indian and Vietnamese.
Fair Work Ombudsman Natalie James said the ads were focused on international students who were possibly fearful of coming forward due to misunderstanding the law.
Currently, international students make up a large proportion of temporary entrants into Australia – more than 560,000 as at July 2017.
In the last financial year 49 per cent of litigations filed by the FWO in court involved a visa holder. One third of these cases involved an international student.
Ms James urged students to get informed about their rights at work and speak up if they have concerns about their conditions of employment.
She stressed that international workers had the same rights as any other worker in Australia.
The full page advertisement which featured in metropolitan and community newspapers on Monday. Twitter @NatJamesFWO
“The number of international students reporting issues to the Fair Work Ombudsman is disproportionately low compared to other categories of visa holders, despite the fact that international students represent a significant proportion of overseas visitors with work rights,” Ms James said on Monday.
“We know that international students can be reluctant to speak out when something is wrong, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation. This is especially the case when students think that seeking assistance will damage future job prospects or lead to the cancellation of their visa.”
Ms James said the body was aware of cases where employers had threatened students with deportation in order to persuade them to work longer hours outside their visa requirements.
“In some cases these same employers have altered payslips and underpaid hourly rates in order to disguise the number of hours the student has worked,” Ms James said.
“I would like to reassure international students that in line with an agreement between my agency and the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, you can seek our assistance without fear of your visa being cancelled, even if you’ve worked more hours than you should have under your visa.”
The FWO found that many international students were unaware of their rights at work and unsure of where to seek help.
International students are entitled to the same minimum wages as all workers in Oz. We can help retrieve unpaid wages and protect your visa. 南京桑拿,南京SPA,/K5dqT1aMur
— Natalie James (@NatJamesFWO) September 25, 2017
Some students told researchers they had been subject to intimidation by their employers, who threatened to deport or “blacklist” them for future work if they complained.
It was found 60 per cent of international students who participated in FWO research believed the situation would either remain the same or get worse if they reported the issue.
“We know that it can be difficult to understand what is right or wrong at work, or to speak up if you are concerned. This is why we are committed to making it as easy as possible for international students to access the help they need,” Ms James said.
Fair Work action: Recent cases involving visa holders
In August 2017 Melbourne’s Meatball and Wine Bar faced court for allegedly underpaying 26 workers in restaurants across the CBD, Richmond and Collingwood.
In August 2017 a Newcastle Pizza Hut franchise was found to have underpaid 24 employees a total of almost $20,000.
In July 2017 a 24-hour café operator in Melbourne’s Crown Casino faced court for allegedly underpaying 54 workers over $70,000. 25 of the workers were visa holders.
In November 2016 a Sydney cleaning operator was penalised for refusing to back-pay two international students
In November 2016 a Brisbane 7-Eleven outlet faced court for allegedly short-changing overseas workers thousands of dollars and creating false records. The East Brisbane outlet allegedly underpaid two employees, both international students from India.
International students seeking assistance can visit 南京夜网,南京桑拿,fairwork.gov南京夜网,/ or call the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or our Translating and Interpreting Service on 13 14 50.
Myanmar searches for more Hindu corpses as mass grave unearthed
Violence has periodically cut through the western state, where communal rivalries have been sharpened by British colonial meddling, chicanery by Myanmar’s army and fierce dispute over who does — and does not — belong in Rakhine.
But the events of August 25, when raids by Rohingya militants unleashed a swirl of violence across the north, have sunk Rakhine to new depths of hate.
“All of our family died at the village… we will not go back,” said Chaw Shaw Chaw Thee, one of hundreds of displaced Hindus seeking shelter in the state capital Sittwe.
The 20-year-old said she lost 23 family members as Rohingya militants swarmed the clutch of Hindu villages in Kha Maung Seik, near the Bangladesh border.
On Sunday the army said 28 badly-decomposed bodies of Hindu men, women and children had been pulled from two mass graves in the same area.
It was not immediately clear if they belonged to Chaw Shaw Chaw Thee’s family.
Heavily pregnant when she fled, she gave birth at a disused football stadium in Sittwe, where hundreds of traumatised Hindus now sleep on grubby mats in the overcrowded concourse.
An army lockdown has made it impossible to independently verify what happened in the villages of northern Rakhine, an area dominated by Rohingya Muslims who are a minority elsewhere in the mainly Buddhist country.
But allegations, carved along ethnic lines, are spinning out as conspiracy and competing identity claims override empathy between former neighbours.
Hindus, who make up less than one percent of Rakhine’s population, accuse Rohingya of massacring them, burning their homes and kidnapping women for marriage.
Meanwhile the Rohingya, some 430,000 of whom have fled to Bangladesh, trade accusations with ethnic Rakhine Buddhists of grisly mob attacks and army “clearance operations” that have emptied their villages.
Small ethnic groups such as the Mro, Thet and Diagnet have also been caught up in the killings and chaos of the last month.
“We were barbers for Muslims, our women sold things in Muslim villages, I had Muslim friends, we had no problems,” said Kyaw Kyaw Naing, a 34-year-old Hindu who can dance across linguistic divides in Hindi, Rakhine, Burmese and Rohingya.
Community ties in what is also Myanmar’s poorest state have now unravelled.
“We want to go back, but we will not if the Muslims are there.”
Bitter history
Last week Myanmar’s leader Aung san Suu Kyi told the international community that Rohingya refugees were welcome back if they were properly “verified”.
But delivering on that promise will be almost impossible in a country where the status of the Rohingya is incendiary.
The Rohingya say they are a distinct ethnic group whose roots stretch back centuries.
Myanmar’s powerful military insists they are “Bengalis” who were first brought to the country by British colonisers and have continued to pour in illegally ever since.
“It can’t be solved in the short-term… to be stable and harmonious could take decades,” Oo Hla Saw, a lawmaker for the Arakan National Party, which represents Rakhine Buddhists, told AFP.
Rakhine’s history is bitterly contested and flecked by rivalries.
Once a proud a Buddhist kingdom with a deep Muslim influence from trade and settlement, Rakhine’s demographics were overhauled by British colonial administrators.
They shunted in large numbers of Hindu Indians and Bengali Muslims as farm hands to an area already populated by a soup of ethnicities including the Rohingya and Rakhine.
The Japanese invasion during World War II saw Rakhine clash with Rohingya, who were perceived to have been favoured by the retreating British.
Since 1962 the military has kindled anti-Rohingya sentiment, painting itself as the protector of the Buddhist faith from conquest by Islam.
Three major campaigns — in 1978, the early 90s and now — have driven Rohingya from Myanmar in huge numbers.
The army, which ran the country for 50 years and still has its hands on key levers of power, has also gradually rubbed out the group’s legal status.
A 1982 law stripped Rohingya of citizenship, subjecting them to suffocating controls on everything from where they can travel to how many children they can have.
“The army wants to clear the Muslim community from Rakhine state,” says Kyaw Min, a Rohingya and former MP, who has had his citizenship revoked.
“The intention is to drive down the Rohingya population. They have achieved that in the south of Rakhine, now they are targeting the north.”
Repression has fed Rohingya militancy, according to analysts.
0:00 Number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh surges Share Number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh surges
‘Next time no escape’
Last month a government-backed commission on Rakhine’s troubles, led by former UN chief Kofi Annan, urged “all communities to move beyond entrenched historical narratives”.
But a few hours after its report was published, the militants attacked, sparking a ferocious military response that the UN believes amounts to “ethnic cleansing”.
The report also urged the government to boost the economy to uplift a poor population and build community bonds.
Business ties and personal relations once defied communal lines, with Rohingya who could not legally own property relying on Rakhine neighbours to secure deeds for them on the sly.
Now the fearful displaced inside Rakhine say there is no way they can ever again live alongside Rohingya neighbours.
Khin Saw Nyo, 48, an ethnic Rakhine, said nearby Muslim villagers suddenly turned on her community near the Bangladesh border, forcing them to flee to the mountains.
“We will die if we go back,” she told AFP from inside a monastery sheltering refugees in Sittwe, adding Rohingya militants are still preparing to strike.
“They warned us to eat well… they said the next time we will not escape.”
Put down booze, it’s killing you, new research shows
If Australians put down the booze, national cancer deaths will drop, according to new research.
A one-litre decrease in annual alcohol consumption per capita had significant reductions in head, neck and liver cancer mortality, a study across a 20-year period has found.
For head and neck cancer deaths it was associated with an 11.6 per cent drop in males and 7.3 per cent reduction in females, and a 15 per cent reduction in male liver cancer mortality.
Restaurant Manager Maxime Pellegrin says more than half of his daily customers would order an alcoholic beverage with their meal.
“I think Australia got this British culture and at the end its European culture, same as me, that we love enjoying few glasses of wine with a nice meal.”
Michael Livingston from the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR), says for many Australians the recommendations will not be a drastic change from current drinking habits.
“For heavy drinkers that will need quite a big reduction for light drinkers not so much,” Mr Livingston said.
“If you can change population drinking you can change cancer mortality rates in Australia.”
The study is published by the Centre for Alcohol Policy Research (CAPR) and Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE).
Titled Alcohol consumption and liver, pancreatic, head and neck cancers in Australia: time-series analyses, the research is the first suggestive evidence that a decrease in population drinking could reduce the prevalence of deaths from the three cancers.
The study also found a higher death rate for men and women aged 50 and over from head and neck cancers, reflecting the long-term effects of alcohol consumption on the development of the disease.
“This study has extended our understanding of the role that alcohol plays with respect to liver, pancreatic, head and neck cancers in Australia, and the importance of addressing the nation’s alcohol consumption levels” lead author, CAPR’s Dr Jason Jiang said.
National guidelines suggest an adult should drink no more than two standard drinks on any day to reduce the lifetime risk of harm attributed to alcohol.
“There is no doubt that alcohol-related cancers would be significantly reduced if more of the population reduced their alcohol consumption and followed the national drinking guidelines,” FARE chief executive Michael Thorn said.
“The study exposes the need for improved public health education campaigns, better public health policies on alcohol, and more promotion of the guidelines – to reduce the toll of cancer-related diseases and deaths in Australia.”
Martin Schulz likes to see himself as a fighter.
“I’m a footballer,” the centre-left German Social Democrats’ (SPD) leader is fond of saying. If he’s not saying that, he’s usually demonstrating his boxing skills at campaign stops.
But the 61-year-old Schulz will need to put up the fight of his life if he is to have any chance of toppling Germany’s conservative chancellor, Angela Merkel, who enjoys a commanding lead in opinion polls ahead of the September 24 election.
“You never give up and never give up in the fight for the things you believe in,” EU Council President Donald Tusk once told Schulz.
A former footballer, town mayor, reformed alcoholic and bookshop owner, Schulz is something of a newcomer on the national German political stage.
Married with two children, he spent 22 years in the European Parliament, including five years as president of the Strasbourg-based assembly and mastering every major European language.
Surprisingly, in a nation which has the highest number of tertiary students in Europe, Schulz never completed high school.
After a year of unemployment, he became a bookshop owner in the town where he was born, Wuerselen, in North Rhine Westphalia, the nation’s biggest state and a traditional SPD stronghold.
Indeed, politics was always part of life for the man often dubbed as Mister Europe.
Schulz’s father was a police officer and a rock solid SPD supporter. His mother was active in Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats.
By 19, he had become an active SPD member before entering regional politics, eventually rising through the ranks of local government to become Wuerselen’s mayor at age 31 – North Rhine Westphalia’s youngest ever mayor at the time.
A strong public speaker, Schulz’s aim is to inject more emotion into political life.
“Anyone in politics who is not able to arouse emotions is in the wrong place,” Schulz once said.
In January, Schulz rose to his party’s highest office as SPD chief and its chancellor candidate for the September 24 election.
As a new face on a stage of old actors, his nomination initially prompted a surge in SPD support in opinion polls.
It was a measure of the SPD’s hopes that Schulz might end Merkel’s 12-year rule that he was voted party chief in March with 100 per cent backing.
But, by then, the “Schulz train,” as the media dubbed the SPD leader’s bid for chancellor, seemed to be already running out of steam, with support for the party slumping.
At about 24 per cent, SPD support now stands below the 25.5 per cent it achieved in the last election, in 2013.
But Schulz is used to tough fights. At age 24, he was battling alcoholism after an injury brought to an end the dreams of a football career.
“I drank everything I could get,” Schulz said in an interview. The SPD chief has not drunk alcohol for about 37 years.
A staunch European, he has regularly defended the European Union over the years as being the best defence against the ghosts that haunted the region during the 20th century – racism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism. More recently, he joined the fight against populism in Europe.
The first far-right party set to enter Germany’s parliament for more than a half a century says it will press for Chancellor Angela Merkel to be “severely punished” for opening the door to refugees and migrants.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has also called for Germany’s immigration minister to be “disposed of” in Turkey where her parents come from, could become the third largest party with up to 12 per cent of the vote on September 24, polls show.
That is far less than similar movements in other European countries – in France far-right leader Marine Le Pen won 34 per cent of the vote in May and in the Netherlands far-rightist Geert Wilders scored 13 per cent in a March election.
But the prospect of a party that the foreign minister has compared with the Nazis entering the heart of German democracy is unnerving the other parties. They all refuse to work with the AfD and no one wants to sit next to them in parliament.
Leading AfD candidate Alexander Gauland denies they are Nazis, saying others only use the term because of the party’s popularity. It has won support with calls for Germany to shut its borders immediately, introduce a minimum quota for deportations and stop refugees bringing their families here.
“We’re gradually becoming foreigners in our own country,” Gauland told an election rally in the Polish border city of Frankfurt an der Oder.
A song with the lyrics “we’ll bring happiness back to your homeland” blared out of a blue campaign bus and the 76-year-old lawyer said Germany belonged to the Germans, Islam had no place here and the migrant influx would make everyone worse off.
Gauland provoked outrage for saying at another event that Germans should no longer be reproached with the Nazi past and they should take pride in what their soldiers achieved during the World Wars.
The AfD could end up as the biggest opposition force in the national assembly if there is a re-run of the current coalition of Merkel’s conservatives and Social Democrats (SPD) – one of the most likely scenarios.
That would mean it would chair the powerful budget committee and open the general debate during budget consultations, giving prominence to its alternatives to government policies.
Georg Pazderski, a member of the AfD’s executive board, told Reuters his party would use parliamentary speeches to draw attention to the cost of the migrant crisis, troubles in the euro zone – which the AfD wants Germany to leave – and problems related to the European Union.
Gauland said the AfD would call for a committee to investigate the chancellor after entering parliament: “We want Ms Merkel’s policy of bringing 1 million people into this country to be investigated and we want her to be severely punished for that.”
Unlike previous right-wing movements in Germany the AfD – founded in 2013 by an anti-euro group of academics – has become socially acceptable so radicalised people from the middle class feel able to vote for it alongside classic radical right-wing voters, said Manfred Guellner, head of Forsa polling institute.
“You don’t vote for skinheads but you can vote for professors in suits,” said Guellner, referring to the likes of Gauland, who tends to wear tweed jackets.
Richmond’s Sam Lloyd pushed his claims for an AFL grand final berth with a best-on-ground performance in the Tigers’ heartbreaking VFL grand final loss to Port Melbourne.
Ben Lennon missed a set shot from just outside the 50m arc after the siren to hand Port a stunning 11.8 (74) to 10.10 (70) win in front of a crowd of 17,159 fans at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
Lloyd was awarded the Norm Goss Medal for his 35-possession performance, with Anthony Miles, Corey Ellis and Shaun Hampson also influential.
“I was surprised when my name got called out … I’d trade it in any day for a premiership medallion,” Lloyd said.
Playing predominantly as a midfielder, the 27-year-old also had 10 clearances, laid nine tackles and kicked a goal in a game the Tigers led by 13 points before a stunning resurgence by the Boroughs in the dying minutes.
Lloyd has made eight AFL appearances this season, with the last coming in round 16 which was also his 50th career match at senior level.
“I’m going to prepare like I’m a chance, you never know what could happen,” he said of the prospect of earning a senior recall.
“I feel like I’ve put my hand up.
“I’ve been pushing to get into the midfield at AFL level for a couple of years now.
“My fitness level has really improved over the last couple of years … and if I get the opportunity I’m sure I could do something.”
Richmond senior coach Damien Hardwick was on hand to watch the match, as was skipper Trent Cotchin, who will find out on Monday if he will face a ban for his high hit on Greater Western Sydney’s Dylan Shiel.
Hampson, Ellis and Shai Bolton were the emergencies for the preliminary final.
Hampson had 40 hitouts and took seven marks and Ellis had 23 possessions and laid seven tackles in the grand final loss.
Bolton started brightly with two first-quarter goals but faded in the second half.
“Shai has got a lot of excitement about him hasn’t he?” said Tigers VFL coach Craig McRae.
“He showed what he’s capable of when he got us off to a great start, but part of his challenge at AFL level is to be consistent with that effort.
“He’s an 18-year-old kid and he’s on the rise.”
Reece Conca (21 disposals), Jayden Short (20), Connor Menadue (20 touches and two goals) and Ben Griffiths (three goals) were also prominent.
Australia’s biggest banks will stop charging customers of other banks a $2 fee to withdraw cash from their ATMs, attracting both praise and renewed calls for a royal commission into banking.
The Commonwealth Bank was the first to abolish the fee early on Sunday, citing ongoing consumer unhappiness with it as the reason for the decision. ANZ, Westpac and NAB followed suit on Sunday afternoon.
Treasurer Scott Morrison praised the banks and said the government was putting pressure on them to put their customers first.
“Australians are sick and tired of all of these fees that mount up,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“So when banks respond in this way, I am happy to give them a pat on the back when they do the right thing.”
Reserve Bank of Australia data shows Australians made more than 250 million ATM withdrawals from banks other than their own last year.
Group Executive of Retail Banking Services at the Commonwealth Bank Matt Comyn said the decision was designed to increase convenience and help consumers save.
“We think this change will benefit many Australians and hopefully demonstrate our willingness to listen and act on customer feedback,” he said in a statement.
ANZ Group Executive Fred Ohlsson said the fee would be dropped on its more than 2300 machines from early October.
Westpac Group Executive, Consumer, George Frazis said the decision would apply to its Westpac, St George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA customers and particularly benefit rural and regional consumers.
“We want all Australians, whether they are Westpac Group customers or not, to benefit from one of Australia’s largest ATM networks,” he said.
NAB Chief Customer Officer of Consumer Banking and Wealth Andrew Hagger said all Australians, regardless of their bank, could use their ATMs and not be charged a cash withdrawal fee.
Labor leader Bill Shorten said the decision was no reason to ease off a royal commission into banking.
“Imagine how we could get better banking for all Australians if we had a banking royal commission,” he said.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the threat of an impending royal commission, coupled with mounting public pressure over multiple scandals, prompted CommBank to act.
He said a royal commission or a parliamentary commission of inquiry would put more pressure on the banks to lift their game.
The Australian Bankers’ Association welcomed the ATM fee scrap, saying it would make banking more affordable and improve services for customers.
The fee will still apply to customers using overseas bank cards.
New Zealand’s ruling National Party won the largest number of votes in the country’s general election on Saturday, securing a comfortable margin over the Labour Party after what had promised to be the most hotly contested race in recent history.
National and Labour had been almost neck and neck in opinion polls, with charismatic 37-year old Jacinda Ardern almost single-handedly dragging Labour back into the race after taking over the party’s leadership in August.
National took 46 per cent of the vote, the Electoral Commission said, while support for Labour was 35.8 per cent.
A final tally including overseas votes will be released on October 7.
0:00 National Party needs to negotiate with ‘tricky’ Winston Peters Share National Party needs to negotiate with ‘tricky’ Winston Peters
The results set up the nationalist New Zealand First Party to hold the balance of power and form the next government with 7.5 per cent of the ballot.
Veteran New Zealand First leader Winston Peters has been a minister under both major parties and has not said which party he would favour as a coalition partner. Previously he has backed the party with the largest number of votes.
All party leaders said they would have conversations over the next few days, with some of them already trying to woo Peters on election night.
“I want to acknowledge the strong performance of Winston Peters and New Zealand First,” Bill English said in a speech to his supporters.
“They’re just trading votes on the left,” a young National supporter tells me, “the right is as strong as ever.” #nzelection
— Nastasya Tay (@NastasyaTay) September 23, 2017
“The voters of New Zealand have given New Zealand First a role in forming the next government,” he said.
For English, who campaigned heavily on National’s economic credentials after taking the party leadership last year, the strong showing was a vindication after National crashed to its worst ever election result in 2002 under his first stint as leader.
Opinion polls leading up to the vote had been volatile with two recent ones giving National a near 10 point lead over Labour. National has been in power for nearly a decade.
“Bill English and National have taken the largest number of votes. I’ve called Bill and acknowledged that,” Ardern told her supporters, adding she was planning conversations with both the Green and New Zealand First parties.
“It’s not over yet,” she said.
Peters sounded buoyant but kept his cards close to his chest.
“We have been strong enough and honest enough with our supporters to make it home,” he said.
New Zealand First had “not all the cards but we do have the main cards,” he added, saying he would not be rushed into giving any answers immediately.
0:00 Jacinda Ardern speaks after NZ election count Share Jacinda Ardern speaks after NZ election count
‘Special votes’
Ardern and English were expected to maintain fiscal prudence, but to differ on monetary policy, trade and immigration.
That would likely have implications for the New Zealand dollar, the world’s 11th most-traded currency in 2016.
The New Zealand dollar has tended to rise when National rose in the polls.
“The thin trading conditions typical of early morning in Asia mean a sharp but short-lived move on the NZD is possible on Monday,” said Joseph Carpuso, senior currency strategist at CBA.
New Zealand uses a German-style proportional representation system in which a party, or combination of parties, needs 61 of Parliament’s 120 members – usually about 48 percent of the vote – to form a government.
The results secured 58 seats for National in parliament, and 45 for Labour. New Zealand First has nine seats and Greens, which won 5.8 per cent of the votes, have seven.
It feels like National relief has evolved into supporter smugness. But @pmbillenglish is careful: “We may be able to form govt” #nzelection
National’s 58 seats were higher than Labour and Greens put together at 52, but neither combination had enough to govern on their own.
“It’s all over, bar the special votes – but even they won’t change the basic maths. They won’t change any crucial seats and National is extremely unlikely to go up. So Winston Peters rules,” said Bryce Edwards, an analyst at Wellington-based Critical Politics.
A record 1.2 million ballots were cast before the day of the election, accounting for about a third of the 3.3 million New Zealanders enrolled to vote.
“Special votes”, which include ballots from New Zealanders overseas and those who vote outside their home constituencies, will be released on October 7.
These are estimated to represent 15 percent of total votes and could have a considerable impact.
“I would expect us to get a bit of a lift out of those special votes,” said Ardern.
0:00 Maori Party ‘changed face’ of New Zealand politics Share Maori Party ‘changed face’ of New Zealand politics
600,000 sign petition to overturn London Uber ban
Friday’s decision to ban the ride-sharing service was “affecting the real lives of a huge number of honest and hard-working drivers” and would “show the world that London is far from being open and is closed to innovative companies,” the petition said.
Transport for London said the conduct of Uber, which has around 40,000 drivers and 3.5 million customers in the British capital, had raised safety concerns.
“TfL has concluded that Uber London Limited is not fit and proper to hold a private hire operator licence,” it said in a statement.
It said Uber’s “approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues which have potential public safety and security implications”, citing concerns over background checks of drivers.
The petition, on change南京楼凤,, said that Uber provided a “safe, reliable and affordable ride”, and thar its users would be “astounded” by the ban.
“By wanting to ban our app from the capital, Transport for London and their chairman the Mayor have given in to a small number of people who want to restrict consumer choice,” it added.
The licence expires on September 30 but Uber has 21 days to appeal the decision, and has said it plans a challenge.
0:00 Angry taxi drivers block London streets protesting Uber Share Angry taxi drivers block London streets protesting Uber
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn on Saturday backed his London mayor Sadiq Khan, telling Sky News that authorities had done the “right thing”.
“Obviously people need to be able to travel, obviously they want to be able to access cabs,” he said. “Those cabs must be safe, must be regulated and must be available for all.”
Finch shines with century in ODI return
Australian opener Aaron Finch has scored his eighth one-day international century with a powerful display against India in his return from injury.
Finch missed the first two games with a calf complaint as Australia slumped to 2-0 down in the five-match series making victory in Indore crucial to their hopes of winning the series.
The 30-year-old Victorian made 124 off 125 balls, plundering 17 boundaries including five sixes to help his side into a strong position on Sunday.
Finch had no trouble clearing the short boundaries at Holkar Stadium after skipper Steve Smith won the toss and chose to bat first.
He smashed four of his five sixes off Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav.
But Yadav eventually claimed his wicket with a slog sweep hit straight down Kedar Jadhav’s throat at deep mid-wicket.
With batting collapses Australia’s chief concern coming into the match, Finch provided a steady hand at the top of the order as he reunited with long-time opening partner David Warner.
Finch and Warner put on 70 for the first wicket before skipper Steve Smith came to the crease.
Smith, who has spoken about success being underpinned by batting partnerships, teamed up with Finch for a second wicket stand of 174.
After starting watchfully, Finch eased into his innings and brought up his fifty from 61 deliveries.
He reached his ton in 110 balls before putting his foot on the accelerator only to be brought undone after not middling another six attempt.
Finch replaced makeshift opener Hilton Cartwright who was bowled for one in the first two matches of the series.
Germany votes as Merkel heads for win, hard-right AfD for first seats
Surveys suggest Merkel’s conservative CDU/CSU alliance has a double-digit lead over its nearest rivals, the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Martin Schulz.
Polling stations opened at 0600 GMT in Europe’s top economy and will close at 1600 GMT.
With four other parties predicted to clear the five-percent bar to enter into the Bundestag, the highest number since the 1950s, it could take months of coalition wrangling before the next government takes shape.
0:00 SBS Chief International Correspondent Brett Mason previews Germany’s election Share SBS Chief International Correspondent Brett Mason previews Germany’s election
Mainstream parties however have already ruled out talking to the anti-Islam, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), which is polling at 11 to 13 percent and could emerge as Germany’s third-strongest party.
Alarmed by the prospect of what Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel branded “real Nazis” entering the Bundestag for the first since the end of World War II, politicians used their final days of campaigning to urge voters to reject the rightwing populist AfD.
“This Alternative for Germany is no alternative. They are a shame for our nation,” former European Parliament chief Schulz said at a rally on Friday.
Gabrielle: “I hope it will be #Merkel. She’s a Christian. She’s for peace. And Mr Trump is for war.” #BTW2017 pic南京夜生活,/ZZzWvbDDv6
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) September 24, 2017
The latest surveys put support for Merkel’s conservative block at 34-36 percent, with the SPD trailing at 21-22 percent — which would translate into a historic low for the party.
Despite bracing for a drubbing, Schulz was all smiles as he and his wife cast their ballot in his western hometown of Wuerselen.
Of those voters: 31.7 million are women, 29.8 million are men and around 3 million are first time voters #BTW2017 #GermanyDecides
Merkel, 63, whose campaign events were regularly disrupted by jeering AfD protesters, said at her final stump speech in the southern city of Munich that “the future of Germany will definitely not be built with whistles and hollers”.
Observers say a strong showing by the AfD, which has capitalised on anger over the influx of a million migrants and refugees since 2015, will hit Germany like a bombshell.
“If the AfD becomes the leading opposition party, they will challenge key themes,” said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. “It will very much change the tone of debate in parliament.”
Aside from the populist noise, the past two months of campaigning have been widely criticised as lacklustre, with few hot-button issues dividing the main contenders.
Commentators say Merkel’s reassuring message of stability and prosperity has resonated in greying Germany, where more than half of the 61 million voters are aged 52 or older.
0:00 Germany election 2017: Five things you should know about the German election Share Germany election 2017: Five things you should know about the German election
Europe’s most powerful woman appears all but assured of winning another term, matching the 16-year reign of her mentor Helmut Kohl.
Schulz on the other hand has struggled to gain traction with his calls for a more socially just Germany at a time when the economy is humming and employment is at a record low.
The SPD has also found it hard to shine after four years as the junior partner in Merkel’s left-right “grand coalition”, marked by broad agreement on major topics, from foreign policy to migration.
In the final stretch, the more outspoken Schulz told voters to reject Merkel’s “sleeping-pill politics” and vote against “another four years of stagnation and lethargy”.
Germany’s best-selling daily Bild at the weekend said 61-year-old Schulz found his voice as he neared the finish line, and praised him for “fighting until the end”.
“Germany doesn’t just need a chancellor. It also needs an opposition leader. Schulz has started to sound like one,” the newspaper wrote.
Die Zeit: “Be careful, Germany!” #GermanyDecides #BTW2017 @SBSNews pic南京夜生活,/cQ0doyqzgZ
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) September 24, 2017Undecided
The CDU and the SPD have signalled they aren’t keen to continue their loveless marriage, and many rank-and file SPD members believe the traditional working class party would benefit from a stint in opposition to rekindle its fighting spirit.
This would leave the presumed winner Merkel in need of new coalition partners — possibly the liberal and pro-business Free Democrats, who are hoping for a comeback after crashing out of parliament four years ago.
Another potential partner would be the ecologist and left-leaning Greens party, which, however, starkly differs with the FDP on issues from climate change to migration policy.
Ulf: “I hope that today we secure a free, democratic Europe” #BTW2017 pic南京夜生活,/x2NQrJCX0v
Pundits have pointed out that a significant number of voters remained undecided until the last minute, suggesting the final outcome could throw up some surprises depending on turnout.
In the western city of Frankfurt, 66-year-old Harald said he was still unsure who to vote for as he headed home from his night shift as a security guard in the leafy Westend suburb.
“I will make up my mind once I’m in the polling booth. You can forget about the AfD,” he told AFP.
0:00 Angela Merkel’s CDU campaigning to the ‘prosperity and security for all’ manifesto Share Angela Merkel’s CDU campaigning to the ‘prosperity and security for all’ manifesto
Here are some facts and figures about the country:
GEOGRAPHY: The Federal Republic of Germany is bordered to the north by Denmark, to the west by France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, to the south by Switzerland and Austria and to the east by the Czech Republic and Poland.
The country covers 357,050 square kilometres (137,850 square miles). The landscape rises from lowlands on the North and Baltic seas to the Bavarian Alps in the south. The biggest rivers are the Rhine, Elbe and Danube.
CAPITAL: Berlin, with 3.5 million inhabitants, is Germany’s biggest city and the second biggest in the European Union after London.
POPULATION: The EU’s most populous country, Germany had 82.8 million inhabitants at the end of 2016, including 10 million foreigners. Germany has the highest population of ethnic Turks outside Turkey, at about three million. It is one of Europe’s most densely populated countries, at 232 people per square kilometre. With a low birth rate, the population is ageing and shrinking.
0:00 Germany election 2017: What you need to know about the AfD party Share Germany election 2017: What you need to know about the AfD party
RELIGION: Christianity is the main religion in Germany, with a third of the country Protestants and a similar number Catholics. Other major religious groups in Germany include Muslims, who are estimated at 4.4 million and a Jewish population of 99,000.
HISTORY: Otto von Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor”, founded the German Empire in 1871 from many independent states, dominated by the Kingdom of Prussia.
After four years of bitter fighting, Germany suffered a devastating defeat in World War I and the humiliating conditions of the peace settlement contributed to the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis in 1933.
Hitler unleashed the Holocaust and plunged Europe and the world into its bloodiest-ever conflict that resulted in the death of tens of millions of people and the division of Germany and Berlin into four zones, shared by the victorious powers – Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States.
0:00 Martin Schulz’s SPD campaigning on ‘a future plan for modern Germany’ Share Martin Schulz’s SPD campaigning on ‘a future plan for modern Germany’
Divided Germany became the key Cold War battleground between nuclear superpowers Russia and the United States, whose tanks faced each other across the Berlin Wall, which was finally and jubilantly torn down by people power in 1989. Germany was reunified in 1990.
POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: Germany has two houses of parliament, the Bundestag (lower house) and Bundesrat (upper house, representing the 16 federal states).
The head of government or chancellor is now Angela Merkel, the leader of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union.
She has governed since 2005 and was re-elected in September 2009, ruling with Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union and, in her second term, with junior partners the pro-business Free Democrats. She now leads a coalition with the Social Democratic Party as junior partners.
There is also a president, a largely symbolic head of state, currently Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a former foreign minister who was sworn in in March 2017.
Germany is a founding member of the European Economic and Monetary Union, launched in 1999, and was among the first 11 countries to physically use the euro currency on January 1, 2002.
ECONOMY: Germany is Europe’s leading economic power and the world’s second-largest exporter after China, mainly of vehicles, machinery, high-tech goods and chemicals. Big companies include auto makers Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen, Porsche and Audi and industrial conglomerates ThyssenKrupp and Siemens. The main financial centre is Frankfurt.
GDP: 3.134 trillion euros ($3.760 trillion) in 2016 or 48,839 euros per capita.
UNEMPLOYMENT: 5.7 percent in August 2017.
ARMED FORCES: The German armed forces had 178,304 personnel in June 2017. The constitution states they can be used only “for defensive purposes”. The army requires parliamentary consent for any missions abroad. Conscription was ended in 2011.
Germany federal election 2017: The final countdown
With only days until Germany heads to the polls on September 24, here’s a recap of the race in the lead up to election day.
Where do Germany’s two chancellor candidates stand on key issues?
FOREIGN POLICY:
On the issue of North Korea, Social Democrat Martin Schulz argues US President Donald Trump is not the right person to solve tensions on the Korean peninsula.
Chancellor Angela Merkel says although she disagrees with Mr Trump on many issues, solving the current situation without his involvement is impossible.
Mr Schulz says if he were to become chancellor he would stop EU accession talks for Turkey, while Ms Merkel says Germany should not push for a break in the negotiations although she believes there should be a freeze on any payments from the European Union to help with Turkey’s accession.
0:00 Germany’s AfD vows to dethrone Merkel Share Germany’s AfD vows to dethrone Merkel
MIGRATION:
Mr Schulz accuses Ms Merkel of not informing other European Union nations properly of Germany’s plan, two years ago, to allow in refugees who were stuck in Hungary.
The chancellor says the government simply acted in accordance with the laws laid down in the country’s constitution.
Both candidates agree that the EU-Turkey agreement on refugees should be maintained, despite human rights abuses committed by Ankara.
0:00 How Europe will impact the German election Share How Europe will impact the German election
SECURITY AND ISLAMIC EXTREMISM:
The chancellor argues authorities need to have more tools at their disposal to conduct video and social media surveillance.
Mr Schulz says he wants 15,000 more police jobs created and officers should not be tied up with so much bureaucracy.
On the topic of radicalisation, Ms Merkel says a version of Islam which abides by Germany’s constitution is welcome in the country.
Both candidates say preachers who spread extreme views in Germany’s mosques should not be tolerated.
SOCIAL JUSTICE:
Mr Schulz argues although Germany is a wealthy country, not all people in the country are doing well, citing single parents, pensioners and long-term unemployed.
He says he will campaign for free kindergartens to try to lighten the financial burden on parents.
Ms Merkel counters the number of unemployed has sunk from 5 million to 2.5 million since she took over as chancellor.
Mr Schulz wants to reduce taxes on families and also force the top tax rate to apply to those earning higher.
The chancellor says she wants to save German taxpayers 15 billion euros over the next four years.
0:00 Refugees talk about upcoming German election Share Refugees talk about upcoming German election
COALITION OPTIONS:
Ms Merkel categorically rules out forming a coalition with the country’s Left Party or the right-wing AfD party, and avoids answering the question on whether she would enter into a partnership with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP).
Mr Schulz has refused to rule out his party could again form the junior partner in a grand coalition with Ms Merkel’s Christian Democrats, should they fail to win the vote on September 24.
Germany 2017: The final countdown
Barty wins first round in Wuhan tennis
Ashleigh Barty has set up a second round clash with world No.
7 Johanna Konta after a straight sets win in the opening round of the Wuhan Open.
After a tight first set against American Catherine Bells, Barty steamrolled her way through the second to win 7-5 6-0.
Konta, who had a first round bye, enjoyed a win over Barty in their only clash, in the quarter finals of Nottingham earlier this year.
In a breakout year Barty has risen to No.37 in the world, from 271 at the start of 2017.
A few more wins this year should ensure she breaks into the top 32, enabling her to avoid playing seeds in the first two rounds of grand slam tournaments.
Meanwhile Katerina Siniakova beat a top-20 player for the sixth time this year when she ousted Kristina Mladenovic of France 6-3 6-2.
The Czech, who has two singles titles already this year, deepened the hole occupied by Mladenovic, who lost an eighth consecutive match, all to players ranked outside the WTA top 25.
Ekaterina Makarova of Russia won nine games in a row from 4-1 down en route to beating Anastasija Sevastova 6-4 6-2.
Also, Lesia Tsurenko of Ukraine defeated Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain 6-3 7-6 (10-8) to line up world No.1 Garbine Muguruza in the next round.
Muguruza, second-seeded Simona Halep and the other top six seeds received byes into the second round.
Sloane Stephens will take on Wang Qiang of China in the first round in her first competitive match since winning the US Open.
Stephens, seeded 14th in Wuhan, arrived on Friday and is expected to play her opening match on Monday. Madison Keys, who lost to Stephens in the all-American final in New York, will face qualifier Varvara Lepchenko in her opener.
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Senior Citizen Home Safety Association
Hong Kong 2014 | www.schsa.org.hk
In 1996, Senior Citizen Home Safety Association (SCHSA) was founded by a group of passionate individuals, in response to a prolonged cold spell during which more than one hundred elderly people living alone perished. The Association is a social enterprise and charitable organisation in Hong Kong, offers 24-hour personal care and emergency assistance services to the elderly and other vulnerable groups in the community. Through its core Personal Emergency Link service the charity aims to improve quality of life through the use of specialist technology and people-oriented services.
ICAP Hong Kong supported the SCHSA as part of ICAP Charity Day 2014. Funds raised from the day have financed the running of the Senior Citizen Home Safety Association 24-hour emergency support and a care helpline, aiding those in need in the community.
I am deeply grateful to be able to use the Personal Emergency Link service thanks to ICAP’s generous donation. I wish more elderly people can be protected by this life-saving service too.
Auntie Chow, Service User.
Despite the fact Hong Kong is a city known for its wealth there is an extremely high proportion of the population living in poverty, a large number of which are housebound elderly people. The SCHSA rely on corporate and individual donations to support the provision of life-long, free safety services to those most at risk. Thanks to ICAP’s support, 590 senior citizens are now covered by the protection of the SCHSA personal caring and emergency assistance services.
SCHSA technicians are trained to organise the necessary help or arrange for the emergency services to aid vulnerable beneficiaries. Auntie Chow, pictured here, is 84 years old and suffers from heart disease which hinders her ability to walk. Auntie Chow lives alone in a remote village and receives limited support from her family. Whenever she feels ill, or requires assistance whether inside or away from her home, she can be instantly connected to the SCHSA by pressing the service button - a device supplied and installed by the charity. A GPS signal provides SCHSA with accurate location details, ensuring a rapid response from the emergency services. Ambulance services in Hong Kong would have struggled to locate and reach Auntie Chow’s home so quickly without this vital service.
The SCHSA also offer emotional support to its beneficiaries. Isolation and loneliness can hugely impact vulnerable elderly people. Auntie Chow once experienced a few days without an electrical supply, had the charity not been monitoring Auntie Chow and seen the SCHSA service device had been disabled no-one would have known what she was experiencing. The SCHSA resolved the electrical issues, repaired her service device, thereby ensuring her continued safety. SCHSA quite literally provide a lifeline to many elderly and vulnerable groups in the community.
For Auntie Chow and the other service users, SCHSA provide emergency support to solutions for daily life and comfort. In the future, the charity aims to expand the reach of its services. With help from ICAP, SCHSA can continue to create a positive impact on Hong Kong’s most vulnerable members of society.
Magic Bus London
ICAP Singapore staff visit the children and families that benefit from the Ain Society.
Ain Society Singapore
Save The Children New York
The Foundation for the Deaf Under the Royal Patronage of H.M. The Queen Bangkok
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In New Message, Al-Qaeda Chief Calls For 'United Jihad' In Kashmir, Says Pakistan Army Can't Be Trusted With Liberation of Indian State
Thursday, July 11, 2019 by Indian Defence News
In a message released late on Tuesday night, Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has called for Kashmir-based jihadist groups to “single-mindedly focus on inflicting unrelenting blows on the Indian Army and government so as to bleed the Indian economy and make India suffer sustained losses in manpower and equipment”.
In the message, Al-Zawahiri — Al-Qaeda’s first-in-command focused exclusively on Kashmir — also lashes out at Pakistan’s army and government saying they cannot be trusted to liberate Kashmir. “Their history of failures, defeats, corruption, and treachery is a witness to this truth”, Al-Zawahiri argues. “At the very most, all they would like to achieve is to transfer to Kashmir the corruption and rot that Pakistan has endured at their hands for seventy years”.
“Kashmir is a bleeding wound in our hearts”, Al-Zawahiri writes, “hearts that grieve with the pain of many such bleeding wounds”. “It is a tragedy made even direr by the fact that they are caught between Hindu brutality on the one hand and the treachery and conspiracies of Pakistan’s intelligence agencies on the other”.
Hamid Lone, the head of Kashmir’s fledgling Al-Qaeda unit, had last week called for a new 'shura', or council, to govern the operations of jihadist groups in the state, replacing the Pakistan-based United Jihad Council. Lone, also known as Hamid Lelhari, had said the new 'shura' should be based on Islamic principles, and work towards “the enforcement of Allah's law in Allah's land”.
Building on this idea, Al-Zawahiri argues that Pakistan is “exploiting the Mujahideen for specific political objectives, only to dump or persecute them later; the beneficiaries, in the end, being a bunch of traitors who fill their pockets with bribes and illegitimate wealth”.
Al-Zawahiri has further said that following 9/11, Islamabad “arrested the Mujahideen of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic Emirate, tortured them in its prisons and handed them over to the 'crusaders'. In fact, many were killed in the secret prisons of these agencies”.
“When it comes to defending Muslims”, Al-Zawahiri asserts, “the Pakistan Army possesses a very dark history. The Army that helped America destroy Afghanistan, the army that surrendered Bengal to India, the army that carried out massacres of Muslims in Baluchistan and expelled the residents of Waziristan and Swat from their homes is not an army that can be entrusted with the defence of Muslims anywhere”.
Al-Qaeda in India
Ever since 2014, Al-Zawahiri has focused on building up Al-Qaeda’s presence amidst south Asia’s jihadist landscape, breaking with its traditional focus on the Arab world. In a video released in September 2014, Al-Zawahiri announced the formation of a new Al-Qaeda franchise for the region, “a message that we did not forget you, our Muslim brothers in India”.
He promised Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, or AQIS, would “break all borders created by Britain in India”, and called on all Muslims in the region to “unite under the credo of the one God”.
Al-Qaeda’s South Asia chief, Sana-ul-Haq — also known by the pseudonym Asim Umar — issued a similar message, asking Indian Muslims: “You who have ruled India for eight hundred years, you who lit the flame of the one true God in the darkness of polytheism: How can you remain in your slumber when the Muslims of the world are awakening”?
Elements of the Indian jihadist movement have long known to have been in touch with Al-Qaeda, and some intelligence analysts believe the organisation hopes to use those ties to escalate pressure on India. In one video message, Salman said slain Al-Qaeda military commander Illyas Kashmiri had “carried out many successful operations against India from here”.
Kashmiri, who worked with 26/11 perpetrator David Headley after the attacks in Mumbai, was also linked to Indian Mujahideen jihadists who trained at his base in Pakistan’s Miranshah — training they are thought to have used, among other things, for the 2010 bombing of the German Bakery coffee shop in Pune.
In a 2014 interview, Raja Muhammad Salman — also known as Usama Mehmood, the second-in-command of Al-Qaeda's South Asia operations, said the organisation’s broad aim was to “to reform Pakistan, Kashmir, India, Bangladesh and the whole of the subcontinent, into an Islamic subcontinent.”
There has also been at least one case of an Indian dying in combat with Al-Qaeda affiliated groups in Afghanistan — Anwar Bhatkal, who died in an attack on an outpost in Kandahar in May.
Expanding Jihad
For years, Al-Qaeda has argued it is imperative to widen the jihad beyond what it sees as an unwinnable war of attrition in Kashmir. However, Al-Qaeda has had no significant success staging operations outside of Kashmir, where Zakir Rashid Bhat— also known as Zakir Musa — led a small group of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen operatives disenchanted with Pakistan.
Al-Zawahiri, an Indian intelligence official told Firspost, hopes Al-Qaeda’s new Kashmir unit will form the base for a wider, pan-India expansion of jihad.
In December 2017, Mehmood argued that the key to victory in Kashmir lay in attacking Indian cities. “India is already using 6,00,000 troops just to hold on to Kashmir”, Salman said in a statement. “If it is attacked in Kolkata, Bangalore, and New Delhi, it will come to its senses and release its grip on Kashmir.”
Then, in February 2018, Zakir Bhat called for targeting “companies which are associated with the Government of India, or those foreign companies which have invested or wish to invest in India".
Labels: Al-Qaeda, India, ISI, Pakistan, Terrorism
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High Point › News And Media > Blog > Career & Professional Development > Senior Selected Out of Hundreds for Walt Disney Company Internship
Senior Selected Out of Hundreds for Walt Disney Company Internship
In: Career & Professional Development, Extraordinary Education, News
HIGH POINT, N.C., July 7, 2017 – High Point University rising senior Michaela O’Connor dreamed of becoming part of Disney’s magic since she was a child, and that dream has come true. She is one of only two individuals selected from hundreds of applicants for a sales professional internship with Disney’s Fairy Tale Weddings.
O’Connor, a communication major from Manchester, Connecticut, started her position in June and will be working at the Disney Parks and Resorts corporate offices as well as Franck’s Wedding Studio at Walt Disney World until January 2018.
The internship involves O’Connor in a wide variety of activities, including assisting guests with wedding information, preparing communications and event concepts, and working closely with operations such as the bakery, horticulture, floral and audio/visual. Her goal is to create the best experiences for guests when they visit Franck’s, which is Disney’s wedding studio, and she is fully immersed in the Walt Disney Company corporate culture.
Confidence and professional skills she’s developed at HPU have helped her stand out in the competitive application process and thrive in a professional setting.
“Because the environment at High Point University teaches so much more than what you learn in the classroom, I feel completely comfortable and prepared to work for such a respected company,” O’Connor says. “From etiquette, to networking, to how to dress professionally, HPU has shaped me to be a well rounded professional, and I am able to put these skills to use every day.”
She is thankful for HPU’s Office of Career and Professional Development for helping guide her toward her major and career path and for connecting her with professors who could provide insight to turn her passions for relationship development and branding into a career.
She also credits Assistant Professor Randy Moser, who teaches sales and marketing courses at HPU, with pushing her to apply for an internship in sales and says she uses what she learned in his class every day.
“Professor Moser taught me that sales is so much more than cold calling clients. It’s about building relationships and working to meet the needs of clients,” O’Connor says. “Taking his course is one of the main reasons I applied for this internship. Throughout the process, he supported me every step of the way by providing interview tips, checking in on how the process was going, and congratulating me when I was offered the position.”
O’Connor says she has dedicated everything to this opportunity because it is truly her dream internship.
“I am so lucky to be able to start my career doing something I am passionate about with a company I have admired my entire life,” she says. “I believe that life is about taking chances and going after your dreams, whether they be personal or professional. As my favorite role model, Walt Disney, once said, ‘All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them.’”
Are you an HPU student with exciting internship news?
Share your news with us for a chance to be featured!
Ashley Furniture Internship Provides HPU Junior with E-commerce and Sales Experience
Senior Interns With WBTV 3 News
Senior Interns with David Letterman in NYC
Journalism Major Interns with International Media Company
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In his Critique of Dialectical Reason, Sartre recasts Marx’s notion of alienation as our experience of the practico-inert. Alienation, Sartre suggests, is our ‘experience of the materialised result’.
Much of the work of Dutch historian Benjamin Aäron Sijes (1908-1981) revolved around the Second World War. He wrote about the persecution of Roma and Jews by the Nazis, forced labour of Dutch workers during the occupation and the February strike of 1941 that broke out in protest against the anti-Semitic measures of the occupiers.
Nico (Niek) Engelschman (1913-1988) was a Dutch actor, resistance member, and pioneering gay-rights activist. During the Nazi-occupation, members of the socialist group around the journal De Vonk (The Spark) met at his house. Together with his brother, Engelschman helped several Jews escape deportation by finding hiding places for them.
‘The concept that society must necessarily be divided into “leaders” and “led”, the notion that there are some born to rule while others cannot really develop beyond a certain stage have from time immemorial been the tacit assumptions of every ruling class in history.
Alfred Sohn-Rethel (1899–1990), who in his major work Intellectual and Manual Labour, completed in 1951 but published two decades later, argued that the ‘real abstraction’ of exchange is the true origin of abstract (mathematical) thinking and, through that, of scientific thought more generally.
Ali Shari‘ati (1933–1977).
Erich Fromm (1900–1980), German-American social psychologist and philosopher, and a fine exemplar of the Weimar psychoanalytic Left.
Evald Ilyenkov (1924–1979), the brilliant Russian philosopher whose suicide in March 1979 was directly linked to his growing isolation and ostracism in more orthodox academic circles in Russia. One source refers to a ‘witch hunt’ against him.
In 1865 Marx had a passing fit of pedological materialism. The French naturalist Pierre Trémaux published a treatise explaining human variety in terms of soil characteristics.
Jacek Kuroń (left; 1934–2004) and Karol Modzelewski whose arrest, trial and imprisonment in Poland in 1965 contributed to the radicalisation of a whole generation of Polish students in the sixties and to the student strikes of 1968.
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Late September-November 2001: Pakistani ISI Aids Taliban Against US, While Simultaneously Supposedly Helping US Fight Taliban
The ISI secretly assists the Taliban in its defense against a US-led attack. The ISI advises Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf that the Taliban will hold out against the US invasion until the spring of 2002 at least, and then will be able to hold out through a guerrilla war. Encouraged, Musharraf allows the ISI to continue to supply the Taliban on a daily basis. Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid will later explain, “The ISI justified its actions as stemming from fear of an Indian controlled Northern Alliance government after the overthrow of the Taliban. It also did not want to totally abandon the Taliban, its only proxy in Afghanistan. At the same time, the [Pakistani] army wanted to keep the Americans engaged, fearing that once Kabul had fallen, they would once again desert the region. With one hand Musharraf played at helping the war against terrorism, while with the other he continued to deal with the Taliban.”
ISI Supplies and Advisers - Fuel tankers and supply trucks cross the border so frequently that one border crossing in the Pakistani province of Balochistan is closed to all regular traffic so ISI supplies can continue to the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar with little notice. [Rashid, 2008, pp. 77-78] Between three and five ISI officers give military advice to the Taliban in late September. [Daily Telegraph, 10/10/2001] At least five key ISI operatives help the Taliban prepare defenses in Kandahar, yet none are punished for their activities. [Time, 5/6/2002] Secret advisers begin to withdraw in early October, but some stay on into November. [Knight Ridder, 11/3/2001] Large convoys of rifles, ammunition, and rocket-propelled grenade launchers for Taliban fighters cross the border from Pakistan into Afghanistan on October 8 and 12, just after US bombing of Afghanistan begins and after a supposed crackdown on ISI fundamentalists. The Pakistani ISI secretly gives safe passage to these convoys, despite having promised the US in September that such assistance would immediately stop. [New York Times, 12/8/2001]
US Aware of ISI Double Dealing - Rashid will later comment, “Thus, even as some ISI officers were helping US officers locate Taliban targets for US bombers, other ISI officers were pumping in fresh armaments for the Taliban.” On the Afghan side of the border with Pakistan, Northern Alliance operatives keep track of the ISI trucks crossing the border, and keep the CIA informed about the ISI aid. Gary Berntsen, one of the first CIA operatives to arrive in Afghanistan, will later say, “I assumed from the beginning of the conflict that ISI advisers were supporting the Taliban with expertise and material and, no doubt, sending a steady stream of intelligence back to [Pakistan].” [Rashid, 2008, pp. 77-78]
Taliban Collapses as ISI Aid Slows - Secret ISI convoys of weapons and other supplies continue into November. [United Press International, 11/1/2001; Time, 5/6/2002] An anonymous Western diplomat will later state, “We did not fully understand the significance of Pakistan’s role in propping up the Taliban until their guys withdrew and things went to hell fast for the Talibs.” [New York Times, 12/8/2001]
Entity Tags: Central Intelligence Agency, Pervez Musharraf, Taliban, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Northern Alliance, Gary Berntsen
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Afghanistan, Pakistani ISI Links to 9/11
Late September-Late October 2001: US Military Slow in Entering Afghanistan until Rumsfeld Makes Power Grab
By late September 2001, the CIA covert plan to conquer Afghanistan is in place but it needs the US military to work. CIA official Gary Schroen will later recall, “We were there for just about a month by ourselves in the valley. We were the only Americans in the country for almost a month.” According to a PBS Frontline documentary, at some point around the middle of October, “there was a fiery NSC [National Security Council] meeting. The CIA had been complaining [Defense Secretary Donald] Rumsfeld was dragging his feet in Afghanistan. It was said Rumsfeld didn’t like taking orders from the CIA.” Lt. Gen. Michael DeLong will later say, “Rumsfeld went to the president and said, ‘The CIA has to work for me, or this isn’t going to work.’” President Bush finally agrees and places Rumsfeld in charge of the Afghanistan war. A short time later, on October 20, the first US Special Forces are put into action in Afghanistan, calling in precision air strikes. The Taliban fold in the face of the attack and the capital of Kabul will fall in mid-November. But according to Schroen, “I was absolutely convinced that that would happen and that the Taliban would break quickly. That could have happened in October, early October,” had the US military arrived to assist the CIA sooner. [PBS Frontline, 6/20/2006]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Central Intelligence Agency, Gary C. Schroen, Michael DeLong, National Security Council, Donald Rumsfeld
Late September-Early October 2001: Bin Laden Reportedly Agrees to Face International Tribunal; US Not Interested?
Leaders of Pakistan’s two Islamic parties are negotiating bin Laden’s extradition to Pakistan to stand trial for the 9/11 attacks during this period, according to a later Mirror article. Under the plan, bin Laden will be held under house arrest in Peshawar and will face an international tribunal, which will decide whether to try him or hand him over to the US. According to reports in Pakistan (and the Daily Telegraph ), this plan has been approved by both bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar. [Mirror, 7/8/2002] Based on the first priority in the US’s new “war on terror” proclaimed by President Bush, the US presumably would welcome this plan. For example, Bush had just announced, “I want justice. And there’s an old poster out West, I recall, that says, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive.’” [ABC News, 9/17/2001] Yet, Bush’s ally in the war on terror, Pakistani President Musharraf, rejects the plan (stating that his reason for doing so was because he “could not guarantee bin Laden’s safety”). Based on a US official’s later statements, it appears that the US did not want the deal: “Casting our objectives too narrowly” risked “a premature collapse of the international effort [to overthrow the Taliban] if by some lucky chance Mr. bin Laden was captured.” [Mirror, 7/8/2002]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Mullah Omar, Osama bin Laden, Pervez Musharraf
Category Tags: Afghanistan, Escape From Afghanistan
Late September 2001-November 26, 2001: Theft of WTC Steel Leads to Tight Security Measures
The New York Police and FBI are investigating the theft of over 250 tons of steel from the remains of the collapsed WTC towers. Apparently, the steel was hauled away by trucks involved in the official clear-up operation (see September 12-October 2001), but instead of being taken to Fresh Kills—the FBI-controlled dump on Staten Island where it was intended to go—the steel was driven to three independently-owned scrapyards, two in New Jersey and one on Long Island. The London Telegraph says the scrap metal value of the stolen steel would have been roughly $17,500. Investigators believe the theft was organized by one of New York’s Mafia families. [Daily Telegraph, 9/29/2001] Consequently, on November 26, 2001, the city initiates use of an in-vehicle Global Positioning System (GPS), to monitor the locations of nearly 200 trucks removing steel from the WTC collapse site, at a cost of $1,000 per unit. This system sends out alerts if any truck travels off course or arrives late at its destination. One driver involved with the clear-up operation is subsequently dismissed simply for taking an extended lunch break. [Access Control and Security Systems, 7/2002]
Entity Tags: World Trade Center, New York City Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation
Category Tags: WTC Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
September 30, 2001: Four Prominent Republicans Make Alarming Comments about Terrorists and WMDs
Four prominent Republican officials make alarming comments about terrorism and especially the use of WMDs against the US:
Attorney General John Ashcroft says on CNN: “We believe there are substantial risks of terrorism still in the United States of America. As we as a nation respond to what has happened to us, those risks may in fact go up.”
White House chief of staff Andrew Card says on Fox News, “I’m not trying to be an alarmist, but we know that these terrorist organizations, like al-Qaeda, run by Osama bin Laden and others, have probably found the means to use biological or chemical warfare.”
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says on NBC’s Meet the Press, “There’s always been terrorism, but there’s never really been worldwide terrorism at a time when the weapons have been as powerful as they are today, with chemical and biological and nuclear weapons spreading to countries that harbor terrorists.” He suggests several countries supporting terrorists either have WMDs or are trying to get them. “It doesn’t take a leap of imagination to expect that at some point those nations will work with those terrorist networks and assist them in achieving and obtaining those kinds of capabilities.” He does not name these countries, but the New York Times notes the next day that the US military had recently identified the WMD programs in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Sudan as cause for concern.
Representative Henry Hyde (R-IL), the chairman of the House International Relations Committee, also says on Meet the Press that biological weapons “scare” him more than nuclear weapons because they can be brought into the country “rather easily.”
The New York Times reports that there is no new intelligence behind these alarming comments. By contrast, Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, says it is unlikely terrorists are capable of making extremely deadly biological weapons. He says that terrorists might have access to weapons that use anthrax or smallpox, but while “There are those serious things… we can deal with them.” [New York Times, 10/1/2001] Deputy press secretary Scott McClellan will later observe: “Even the Cheney-driven White House effort to provide all Americans with the smallpox vaccine that was being pushed publicly in the latter weeks of 2002 played into the environment of fear about the Iraq WMD threat. It seems to me a little cynical to suggest that its timing was calculated, but it did not hurt the broader campaign to sell the war.” [McClellan, 2008, pp. 138]
Entity Tags: Scott McClellan, Joseph Biden, Henry Hyde, Donald Rumsfeld, Andrew Card, John Ashcroft, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, 2001 Anthrax Attacks
Late September 2001: Surgeon General: Terrorist Strike on US Chemical Plant Might Kill Millions
The Army’s Surgeon General, Admiral David Satcher, estimates that a terrorist assault on a US chemical plant (see April 1999 and December 1999) might kill or injure as many as 2.4 million people, a figure far higher than previous estimates. [Roberts, 2008, pp. 93]
Entity Tags: David Satcher
Category Tags: Internal US Security After 9/11
September 30-October 7, 2001: US Media Report Hijackers Received $100,000 from Pakistan
Several media outlets report that, in addition to other transactions, the hijackers received $100,000 wired from Pakistan to two accounts of Mohamed Atta in Florida (see also Summer 2001 and before and Early August 2001). [ABC News, 9/30/2001; CNN, 10/1/2001; Fox News, 10/2/2001; Associated Press, 10/2/2001] For example, CNN says, “Suspected hijacker Mohamed Atta received wire transfers via Pakistan and then distributed the cash via money orders bought here in Florida. A senior law enforcement source tells CNN, the man sending the money to Atta is believed to be Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.” [CNN, 10/6/2001; CNN, 10/7/2001; CNN, 10/8/2001] The story will also be mentioned by Congressman John LaFalce at a hearing before the House of Representatives’ Committee on Financial Services. [US Congress, 10/3/2001] However, Pakistan, a nuclear power, has already become a key US ally in the war on terror (see September 13-15, 2001). ISI Director Mahmood Ahmed, who is found to have had several telephone conversations with Saeed (see Summer 2000), is replaced (see October 7, 2001), and the story soon disappears from view (see September 24, 2001-December 26, 2002).
Entity Tags: Saeed Sheikh, Mohamed Atta
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Saeed Sheikh, Mahmood Ahmed, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations, Possible 9/11 Hijacker Funding, Pakistani ISI Links to 9/11
September 30-October 4, 2001: British Prime Minister Tony Blair Claims Seeing ‘Incontrovertible Evidence’ that Bin Laden Is Responsible for 9/11
British Prime Minister Tony Blair says, “I have seen absolutely powerful incontrovertible evidence of [Osama bin Laden’s] link to the events of the 11th of September.” However, he says that because “much of this evidence comes to us from sensitive sources, from intelligence sources,” there is a question over how much of it can be made public. [BBC, 9/30/2001; Daily Telegraph, 10/1/2001] Three days later, the two British opposition leaders meet for a 45-minute confidential briefing with Blair, where he shows them this evidence. Following this briefing, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy says he now accepts there is “compelling evidence” of Bin Laden’s guilt. [Daily Telegraph, 10/4/2001; Guardian, 10/4/2001] Blair refers to the evidence he has seen on October 4, 2001, when he presents to Parliament a paper indicating that al-Qaeda is responsible for 9/11 (see October 4, 2001), but again he says that because of sensitivity issues, “It is not possible without compromising people or security to release precise details.” [CNN, 10/4/2001]
Entity Tags: Tony Blair, Al-Qaeda, Charles Kennedy, Osama bin Laden
Category Tags: Other 9/11 Investigations, 9/11 Investigations
(After September 14, 2001-October 2001): FBI Translation Supervisor Blocks Agent’s Request to Have Certain 9/11-Related Material Re-Translated
One of Sibel Edmond’s main assignments as a contract FBI translator is to expedite requested translations from field agents. Shortly after she is hired by the FBI, an Arizona field agent requests that certain material be re-translated. He is concerned that the original translation may not have been thorough enough. When she does the re-translation, she discovers that it contains information extremely relevant to the September 11 attacks, including references to “blueprints, pictures, and building material for skyscrapers being sent overseas” It also “reveals certain illegal activities in obtaining visas from certain embassies in the Middle East, through network contacts and bribery” (see July-August 2001). [Edmonds, 8/1/2004] After re-translating the documents, she goes to supervisor Mike Feghali and says, “I need to talk to this agent over a secure line because what we came across in this retranslating is gigantic, it has specific information about certain specific activity related to 9/11.” But Feghali refuses to send the retranslation to the same agent, telling her, “How would you like it if another translator did this same thing to you? The original translator is going to be held responsible.” The agent never receives the re-translation he requested from Edmonds. Instead he is told by the Washington field office that the original translation is fine. [Boston Globe, 7/5/2004; Edmonds, 8/1/2004]
Entity Tags: Sibel Edmonds, Mike Feghali
Category Tags: Sibel Edmonds
October 2001: Secret CIA Interrogation Center Set up at US Military Base in Afghanistan
According to several press reports, the CIA has set up a secret detention and interrogation center (see October 2001-2004) at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan where US intelligence officers are using aggressive techniques on detainees. The captives—imprisoned in metal shipping containers—are reportedly subjected to a variety of “stress and duress” interrogation tactics. [Washington Post, 12/26/2002; New York Times, 3/9/2003] The detention facility at Bagram is a rusting hulk originally built by the Soviet Army as an aircraft machine shop around 1979, and later described by the New York Times as “a long, squat, concrete block with rusted metal sheets where the windows had once been.” It is retrofitted with five large wire pens and a half-dozen plywood isolation cells, and is dubbed the Bagram Collection Point, or BCP, a processing center for prisoners captured in Afghanistan and elsewhere. The facility typically holds between 40 to 80 prisoners before they are interrogated and screened for possible transfer to Guantanamo. [New York Times, 5/20/2005] Detainees are often forced to stand or kneel for hours, wear black hoods or spray-painted goggles for long periods of time, and stand or sit in awkward and painful positions. They are also reportedly thrown into walls, kicked, punched, deprived of sleep, and subjected to flashing lights and loud noises. [Washington Post, 12/26/2002; New York Times, 3/9/2003; Amnesty International, 8/19/2003] Some detainees tell of being “chained to the ceiling, their feet shackled, [and being] unable to move for hours at a time, day and night” (see December 5-9, 2002). [New York Times, 3/4/2003; New York Times, 9/17/2004] Psychological interrogation methods such as “feigned friendship, respect, [and] cultural sensitivity” are reported to be in use as well. For instance, female officers are said to sometimes conduct the interrogations, a technique described as being “a psychologically jarring experience for men reared in a conservative Muslim culture where women are never in control.” [Washington Post, 12/26/2002] Human rights monitors are not permitted to visit the facility. [Washington Post, 12/26/2002; Agence France-Presse, 12/29/2002] The US claims that the interrogation techniques used at Bagram do not violate international laws. “Our interrogation techniques are adapted,” Gen. Daniel McNeil claims in early March 2003. “They are in accordance with what is generally accepted as interrogation techniques, and if incidental to the due course of this investigation, we find things that need to be changed, we will certainly change them.” [Guardian, 3/7/2003]
Entity Tags: Daniel McNeil, Central Intelligence Agency
Timeline Tags: Torture of US Captives, War in Afghanistan
October 2001: Spain-based Al-Qaeda Operative Flees Despite Police Round-up
Amer el-Azizi slipped surveillance after 9/11. [Source: El Pais]Amer el-Azizi, an al-Qaeda operative active in Spain, escapes a round-up of suspected al-Qaeda operatives by fleeing the country two weeks before arrests start to be made, even though he is under surveillance. [Wall Street Journal, 3/19/2004; Wall Street Journal, 4/7/2004; Los Angeles Times, 4/29/2004] El-Azizi, who had previously been arrested and released twice (see October 10, 2000), returns to Spain shortly after this and falls under police surveillance, but his arrest is frustrated by Spanish intelligence (see Shortly After November 21, 2001). He goes on to play a role in the Madrid train bombings (see Before March 11, 2004 and 7:37-7:42 a.m., March 11, 2004).
Entity Tags: Amer el-Azizi
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Action After 9/11, Other Possible Moles or Informants, Al-Qaeda in Spain
October 2001: FBI Recovers Hijacker E-Mails
Reports this month indicate that many hijacker e-mails have been recovered. USA Today reports many unencrypted e-mails coordinating the 9/11 plans written by the hijackers in Internet cafes have been recovered by investigators. [USA Today, 10/1/2001] FBI sources say, “[H]undreds of e-mails linked to the hijackers in English, Arabic and Urdu” have been recovered, with some messages including “operational details” of the attack. [Washington Post, 10/4/2001] “A senior FBI official says investigators have obtained hundreds of e-mails in English and Arabic, reflecting discussions of the planned September 11 hijackings.” [Wall Street Journal, 10/16/2001] However, in April 2002, FBI Director Mueller says no documentation of the 9/11 plot has been found. By September 2002, the Chicago Tribune reports, “Of the hundreds, maybe thousands, of e-mails sent and received by the hijackers from public Internet terminals, none is known to have been recovered.” [Chicago Tribune, 9/5/2002] The texts of some e-mails sent by Mohamed Atta from Germany are published a few months later. [Chicago Tribune, 2/25/2003]
Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Robert S. Mueller III, Federal Bureau of Investigation
October 2001-September 11, 2002: Army’s History Detachment Conducts Interviews of Witnesses of Pentagon Attack for Book
Between October 2001 and September 11, 2002, the US Army’s Military History Detachment works on the US Department of Defense’s own book recording the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. The 305th and 46th Military History Detachments interview every willing survivor and witness from the Pentagon attack. More than 1,000 witnesses are interviewed. The findings are to be published in book form, and kept at the Army Center of Military History in Washington, DC. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/16/2001; Fox News, 12/17/2001; Juniata Magazine (Juniata College), 9/2002; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/11/2002] The Historical Office of the Office of the Secretary of Defense will eventually publish a 250-page book in September 2007, which is based on many of these witness interviews (see September 2007). [Fayetteville Observer, 9/13/2007; Washington Post, 9/27/2007]
Entity Tags: Pentagon, Military History Detachment
October 2001-September 2003: 9/11 Attacks Result in Increased Funding for Pentagon Renovations
The 9/11 attacks result in significant extra funding for the Pentagon. Since 1993, the building has been undergoing major renovations. These were scheduled to be complete by 2014. But in October 2001 this is declared to be too long to leave major areas of the building unprotected, and Congress soon appropriates $300 million so the renovations will be finished four years sooner. Also that month, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz approves a $15 million package to protect command centers and other critical areas of the building against chemical, biological, and radiological attack. A road, Route 110, had been considered a security threat, as it ran within 40 yards of some of the most sensitive areas of the Pentagon. Previously, the possibility of moving it had been dismissed as too expensive, but now $40 million is promptly found to cover the cost of rerouting it, along with making other road-security improvements. Before 9/11, the renovation of the Pentagon was already the largest reconstruction project in the world, costing $2.1 billion. But, as the Washington Post reports in September 2003, following the attack on the Pentagon, “the renovation mushroomed and now encompasses about $5.3 billion worth of projects in and around the Pentagon.” In an e-mail on October 1, 2001, Pentagon Renovation Program manager Lee Evey writes, “Recent events have shaken up complacency and there is unprecedented willingness” among the services to do whatever Paul Wolfowitz and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld want. [Washington Post, 9/7/2003; Vogel, 2007, pp. 472-473]
Entity Tags: Lee Evey, Paul Wolfowitz, Pentagon
October 2001: CIA Helps Arrest Egyptian Militant Leader Linked to Bin Laden
Ahmed Refai Taha. [Source: Al-Ahram]Ahmed Refai Taha, head of Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, an Egyptian militant group, is arrested at the airport in Damascus, Syria, and then quietly extradited to Egypt. He is reportedly executed in Egypt soon thereafter. Taha was one of the signers of bin Laden’s 1998 fatwa calling for the killing of Americans and Jews around the world (see February 22, 1998). He also appeared with bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri in a video in 2000 (see September 21, 2000). [MSNBC, 6/22/2005] CIA Director George Tenet will later claim that Taha was living in Syria and was arrested on a tip provided by the CIA. [Tenet, 2007, pp. 148]
Entity Tags: Al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, Ahmed Refai Taha, Central Intelligence Agency, George J. Tenet
October 2001: Conference at WTC Would Have Discussed Terrorism and Building Collapses
An emergency preparedness conference was originally scheduled, prior to 9/11, to take place some time this month at the World Trade Center. It was going to include a discussion on terrorism. Reportedly, “One of the topics they were going to talk about was the danger of collapsing buildings.” Further details, such as who was organizing the event, are unknown. [Florida Times-Union, 9/12/2001]
October 2001: US Military Downplays Importance of Targeting Bin Laden
On October 8, 2001, Gen. Tommy Franks, Central Command commander in chief, says of the war in Afghanistan, “We have not said that Osama bin Laden is a target of this effort. What we are about is the destruction of the al-Qaeda network, as well as the… Taliban that provide harbor to bin Laden and al-Qaeda.” [USA Today, 10/8/2001] Later in the month, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld makes similar comments, “My attitude is that if [bin Laden] were gone tomorrow, the same problem would exist. He’s got a whole bunch of lieutenants who have been trained and they’ve got bank accounts all over some 50 or 60 countries. Would you want to stop him? Sure. Do we want to stop the rest of his lieutenants? You bet. But I don’t get up in the morning and say that is the end; the goal and the endpoint of this thing. I think that would be a big mistake.” [USA Today, 10/24/2001] One military expert will later note, “There appears to be a real disconnect between what the US military was engaged in trying to do during the battle for Tora Bora - which was to destroy al-Qaeda and the Taliban - and the earlier rhetoric of President Bush, which had focused on getting bin Laden.” [Christian Science Monitor, 3/4/2002] Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers will make a similar comment in April 2002 (see April 4, 2002). [Christian Science Monitor, 3/4/2002]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Thomas Franks, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Donald Rumsfeld
October 2001-February 2002: Union Official Concerned Whether Anyone Has Heard Controllers’ Recorded Statements from 9/11
The local vice president of the air traffic controllers’ union checks with a manager at the FAA’s New York Center whether anyone has listened to an audio tape that was recorded on September 11, on which several controllers recalled their experiences of the attacks, and is assured that the tape is going to be destroyed. [US Department of Transportation, 5/4/2004 ]
Union Vice President Asks about Tape - Within a few hours of the 9/11 attacks, Kevin Delaney, the New York Center’s quality assurance manager, tape-recorded witness statements from six controllers at the center that had been involved in handling or tracking two of the hijacked aircraft (see 11:40 a.m. September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 10/1/2003 ; Washington Post, 5/6/2004; Air Safety Week, 5/17/2004 ] On at least two occasions over the following few months, the local vice president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA)—the controllers’ union—asks Delaney whether anyone has listened to the tape of those statements. (Delaney will later recall that he speaks with the union vice president about the tape in October 2001 and again in February 2002.)
Delaney Says He Will Destroy Tape - Delaney, who is the custodian of the tape, assures the union vice president that no one has listened to the tape, and it is not going to be provided to anyone. He also says he will “get rid of it” once the center’s formal accident package, which will include the controllers’ written statements about the 9/11 attacks, has been completed (see November 2001-May 2002). [US Department of Transportation, 5/4/2004 ]
Center Manager Gave Similar Assurance - Before the taping of the six controllers commenced on September 11, New York Center manager Mike McCormick had given similar assurances to Mark DiPalmo, the local NATCA president. DiPalmo agreed to the recording going ahead on the condition that the tape would only be a temporary record until written statements were obtained, after which it would be destroyed (see (Shortly Before 11:40 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [9/11 Commission, 10/1/2003 ; US Department of Transportation, 5/4/2004 ; New York Times, 5/6/2004]
Tape-Recording Statements Not Standard Procedure - The Washington Post will report that, according to union officials representing air traffic controllers, the tape-recording of controllers’ accounts of an accident is almost unheard of, and the normal procedure is for controllers to provide written statements after reviewing radar and other data. [Washington Post, 5/7/2004]
Entity Tags: Kevin Delaney, National Air Traffic Controllers Association
October 2001-September 2002: Vital Army Translators Dismissed for Homosexuality
Nine Army linguists, including six trained to speak Arabic, are dismissed from the military’s Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, because they are gay. At the same time, the military claims it is facing a critical shortage of translators and interpreters for the war on terrorism. [Associated Press, 11/14/2002] The Miami Herald comments: “The message is unmistakable: We find gay people more frightening than Osama bin Laden, whose stated goal is our destruction.” [Miami Herald, 11/22/2002]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden
October 2001-2004: US Creates Multilayered Secret Overseas Prison System Holding 10,000 Prisoners
The United States government creates a multi-layered international system of detention centers and prison camps where suspected terrorists, enemy combatants, and prisoners of war are detained and interrogated. [Washington Post, 5/11/2004, pp. A01] The Washington Post reports in May 2004: “The largely hidden array includes three systems that only rarely overlap: the Pentagon-run network of prisons, jails, and holding facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo, and elsewhere; small and secret CIA-run facilities where top al-Qaeda and other figures are kept; and interrogation rooms of foreign intelligence services—some with documented records of torture—to which the US government delivers or ‘renders’ mid- or low-level terrorism suspects for questioning…. The detainees have no conventional legal rights: no access to a lawyer; no chance for an impartial hearing; and… no apparent guarantee of humane treatment accorded prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions or civilians in US jails.” [Washington Post, 5/11/2004, pp. A01] One administration official tells the New York Times that some high-level detainees may be held indefinitely. [New York Times, 5/13/2004] Secrecy permeates the system. For example, renditions are done covertly and the locations of the secret CIA-run interrogation centers are considered “so sensitive that even the four leaders of the House and Senate intelligence committees, who are briefed on all covert operations, do not know them.” [Washington Post, 5/11/2004, pp. A01] In May 2004, it is estimated that there are 10,000 prisoners being held in US facilities around the world. They come from a number of countries including Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Britain, the Palestinian territories, and Yemen. [Independent, 5/15/2004]
Entity Tags: Central Intelligence Agency
October 2001-February 2002: KSM’s Attempt to Duplicate 9/11 Plot on West Coast of US Fizzles
The Library Tower in Los Angeles. It is later renamed the US Bank Tower. [Source: Kim D. Johnson / Associated Press]9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM) attempts to organize a follow up attack to the 9/11 attacks. Beginning in October 2001, KSM and Hambali, a top al-Qaeda leader in Southeast Asia, recruit four operatives for the new plot, all of them Malaysian:
Mohamad Farik Amin (a.k.a. Zubair).
Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep (a.k.a. Lillie).
Zaini Zakaria.
Masran bin Arshad.
The plan is for these operatives to blow up the doors to airplane cockpits using shoe bombs, take over flying the aircraft, and then crash them into US buildings—essentially the same technique as was used in the 9/11 attacks, except with the addition of the shoe bomb and the use of East Asians instead of Middle Easterners. Apparently several buildings are initially targeted. KSM will later name them as the Library Tower in Los Angeles (later renamed the US Bank tower), the Sears Tower in Chicago, the Empire State Building in New York, and a tall building in Washington State. But the plot soon focuses on just the Library Tower, the tallest building on the West Coast of the US, due to a lack of pilots. The members of the plot go to Afghanistan and swear an oath of loyalty to Osama bin Laden, and then continue to train with Hambali in Asia. However, the plot does not go far because Zakaria, the only trained pilot of the group (see (Spring 2000)), drops out in late 2001, saying he has small children to consider. In February 2002, bin Arshad, the leader of the four operatives, is arrested and other other members decide the plot has been canceled. Zakaria turns himself in to Malaysian authorities in 2002, and apparently remains in detention in Malaysia without being charged. Amin and Bin Lep will be arrested in 2003 with Hambali and taken into US custody (see August 12, 2003). Amin, Bin Lep, and Hambali will all be transferred to Guantanamo prison as high-value detainees in 2006 (see September 2-3, 2006). It is unknown who arrests bin Arshad or what becomes of him. [Time, 10/5/2003; Time, 10/6/2003; White House, 2/9/2006; Associated Press, 2/10/2006; US Department of Defense, 3/10/2007 ]
Entity Tags: Mohamad Farik Amin, Masran bin Arshad, Hambali, Zaini Zakaria, Al-Qaeda, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Mohammed Nazir Bin Lep
Category Tags: Hambali, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Al-Qaeda in Southeast Asia, Alleged Al-Qaeda Linked Attacks
October 2001-April 2002: Pentagon Establishes Secret Unit for Conducting Covert Missions Previously Run by CIA
In October 2001, the Pentagon establishes what is later known as the Strategic Support Branch (SSB), or Project Icon, to provide Rumsfeld with tools for “full spectrum of humint [human intelligence] operations” in “emerging target countries such as Somalia, Yemen, Indonesia, Philippines and Georgia.” It become functional in April 2002. It is said that Rumsfeld hopes the program will end his “near total dependence on CIA.” According to Assistant Secretary of Defense Thomas O’Connell, a possible scenario for which the Strategic Support Branch might be called to action would be if a “hostile country close to our borders suddenly changes leadership… We would want to make sure the successor is not hostile.” When SBB’s existence is revealed in early 2005 (see January 23, 2005), the Pentagon denies that the program was established to sideline the CIA, insisting that its sole purpose is to provide field operational units with intelligence obtained through prisoner interrogations, scouting and foreign spies, and from other units in the field. [CNN, 1/24/2005; Washington Post, 1/25/2005] As an arm of the Defense Intelligence Agency’s (DIA) Defense Human Intelligence Service, SSB operates under the Defense Secretary’s direct control and consists of small teams of case officers, linguists, interrogators and technical specialists who work alongside special operations forces. [Washington Post, 1/23/2005] However some SBB members are reported to be “out-of-shape men in their fifties and recent college graduates on their first assignments,” according to sources interviewed by the Washington Post. [Washington Post, 1/23/2005] When the SSB’s existence is revealed in 2005, its commander is Army Col. George Waldroup, who reports to Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). SSB’s policies are determined by Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Stephen Cambone. [CNN, 1/24/2005] Critics say Waldroup lacks the necessary experience to run SSB and note that he was once investigated by Congress when he was a mid-level manager at the INS. SSB includes two Army squadrons of Delta Force; another Army squadron, code-named Gray Fox; an Air Force human intelligence unit; and the Navy SEAL unit known as Team Six. According to sources interviewed by the Washington Post, the branch is funded using “reprogrammed” funds that do not have explicit congressional authority or appropriation. [Washington Post, 1/23/2005] However, this will be denied by the Pentagon when the unit’s existence is revealed. [CNN, 1/24/2005]
Entity Tags: Stephen A. Cambone, US Naval Special Warfare Development Group, Gray Fox, Donald Rumsfeld, Strategic Support Branch, or Project Icon, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment--Delta, George Waldroup, Thomas O’Connell
Early October 2001: Former Prime Minister of Yemen Says 9/11 Hijacker Was Involved in Attacks on USS Cole
Abd al-Karim al-Iryani, who was prime minister of Yemen at the time of the USS Cole attacks, tells the Guardian: “Khalid Almihdhar was one of the Cole perpetrators, involved in preparations. He was in Yemen at the time and stayed after the Cole bombing (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998) for a while, then he left.” [Guardian, 10/15/2001]
Entity Tags: Abd al-Karim al-Iryani
Category Tags: 2000 USS Cole Bombing, Alhazmi and Almihdhar
Early October 2001: ISI Director Prevents Key Taliban Leader from Defecting
Jalaluddin Haqqani. [Source: PBS]Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed is supposedly helping the US defeat the Taliban (see September 13-15, 2001) while secretly helping the Taliban resist the US (see September 17-18 and 28, 2001 and Mid-September-October 7, 2001). Jalaluddin Haqqani is a Taliban leader close to bin Laden who controls the Khost region of eastern Afghanistan where most of bin Laden’s training camps and supporters are. Journalist Kathy Gannon will later note, “Had he wanted to, Haqqani could have handed the United States the entire al-Qaeda network.” [Gannon, 2005, pp. 94] He also has extensive ties with the ISI, and was a direct CIA asset in the 1980s (see (1987)). Journalist Steve Coll will later say, “There was always a question about whether Haqqani was really Taliban, because he hadn’t come out of Kandahar; he wasn’t part of the core group. And it was quite reasonable to believe after 9/11 that maybe he could be flipped.… [US officials] summoned him to Pakistan, and they had a series of meetings with him, the content of which is unknown.” [PBS Frontline, 10/3/2006] In early October 2001, Haqqani makes a secret trip to Pakistan and meets with Mahmood. Mahmood advises him to hold out and not defect, saying that he will have help. Haqqani stays with the Taliban and will continue to fight against the US long after the Taliban loses power. [Gannon, 2005, pp. 94]
Entity Tags: Haqqani Network, Jalaluddin Haqqani, Mahmood Ahmed, Taliban
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Mahmood Ahmed, Afghanistan
Early October 2001: FBI Translation Center Hires Turkish Man Who Is Not Proficient in English
The FBI hires Kevin Taskasen as a Turkish translator, despite him having failed language-proficiency tests for English. The FBI will later send Taskasen to Guantanamo to be the detention center’s only Turkish translator. Some time after his return, he is promoted to head of the Turkish department in the FBI translations center. [Anti-War (.com), 7/1/2004]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kevin Taskasen
Early October 2001: US Launches Attacks on Afghanistan from Pakistani Bases
The US begins using the Shahbaz air force base and other bases in Pakistan in their attacks against Afghanistan. [London Times, 10/15/2001] However, because of public Pakistani opposition to US support, the two governments claim the US is there for purely logistical and defensive purposes. Even six months later, the US refuses to confirm it is using the base for offensive operations. [Los Angeles Times, 3/6/2002] Such bases in Pakistan become a link in a chain of US military outposts in Central Asia. Other countries also falsely maintain that such bases are not being used for military operations in Afghanistan despite clear evidence to the contrary. [Reuters, 12/28/2001]
Entity Tags: Pakistan, United States
Category Tags: US Dominance, Pakistan and the ISI
Early October 2001: Germans Question 9/11 Hijacker Associate and Lose Track of Him; He Will Later Be Convicted of Militant Activity in Italy
Mohamed Daki. [Source: ANSA]Three weeks after 9/11, German investigators question Mohamed Daki, a Moroccan. Daki came to Germany on a student visa, but he never enrolled in college, instead associating with radical Islamists at the Al-Quds mosque in Hamburg. Daki admits that he knows members of the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell and that hijacker associate Ramzi bin al-Shibh was registered as his roommate in 1997 and 1998 (see December 1997-November 1998), but in retrospect, it appears he lies about some other things. The Germans let him go and do not investigate him any further. The New York Times will later report that “officials now concede they also lost track of him. And, apparently, his name was not added to any international list of suspicious persons.”
Involved in Militant Activity in Italy - In the spring of 2002, Daki will move to Milan, Italy, another center of al-Qaeda activity. Italian investigators believe Daki eventually joins an al-Qaeda-related operation to recruit fighters in Europe to fight against US forces in Iraq. In March 2003, Italian intelligence will monitor a call to Daki from Abderazek Mahdjoub in Syria. Mahdjoub also has ties to the al-Qaeda Hamburg cell, and had been under investigation in Germany since 2000, if not earlier (see 2000). Investigators believe he headed the al-Qaeda cell in Milan while living in Hamburg. Mahdjoub will tell Daki that he and others have been detected: “Listen to me attentively. Wait for my call. Move yourself to France and await orders.” In April, Daki and some of his associates will be arrested in Italy. Italian officials will say that only after these arrests do they find out the intelligence Germany had on them, including their links to the 9/11 plotters. One Hamburg police investigator will later comment, “Looking back, I would say that we should have asked more pointed questions [about Daki] than we did.” [New York Times, 3/22/2004]
Convicted in Italy - In 2005, Daki will be acquitted on charges of sending fighters to oppose US-led forces in Iraq, when the Italian judge argues that it is not illegal to send “guerrillas” to fight there. But in 2007, this decision will be overturned and Daki will be sentenced to four years in prison. [La Repubblica (Rome), 10/24/2007]
Entity Tags: Mohamed Daki, Abderazek Mahdjoub, German intelligence community
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, Al-Qaeda in Germany
Early October-December 2001: US and Pakistan Do Little about Pakistani Nuclear Scientists Who Helped Al-Qaeda
Ummah Tameer-e-Nau’s headquarters in Kabul. [Source: CBC]In early October 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell visits Pakistan and discusses the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. He offers US technical assistance to improve the security of Pakistan’s nukes, but Pakistan rejects the offer. Powell also says that the CIA learned of a secret meeting held in mid-August 2001 between two Pakistani nuclear scientists and al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri (see Mid-August 2001). As a result of US pressure, Pakistan arrests the two scientists, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood and Chaudiri Abdul Majeed, on October 23. The Pakistani ISI secretly detains them for four weeks, but concludes that they are harmless and releases them. [Tenet, 2007, pp. 264-268; Frantz and Collins, 2007, pp. 269-271] In mid-November, after the Taliban is routed from Kabul (see November 13, 2001), the CIA takes over the headquarters there of Ummah Tameer-e-Nau (UTN), a charity founded by the two scientists. In addition to charity material, they find numerous documents and pieces of equipment to help build WMD, including plans for conducting an anthrax attack. [Levy and Scott-Clark, 2007, pp. 322] As a result, on December 1, CIA Director George Tenet, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, head of the CIA Counterterrorist Center’s WMD branch, and a CIA analyst named Kevin make an emergency trip to Pakistan to discuss the issue. Accompanied by Wendy Chamberlin, the US ambassador to Pakistan, Tenet meets with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and urges him to take stronger action against the two scientists and their UTN charity. Musharraf reluctantly agrees, and the two men are rearrested. According to a 2007 book by Tenet, after being tested by a team of US polygraph experts and questioned by US officials, “Mahmood confirmed all we had heard about the August 2001 meeting with Osama bin Laden, and even provided a hand-drawn rough bomb design that he had shared with al-Qaeda leaders.” During the meeting, an unnamed senior al-Qaeda leader showed Mahmood a cannister that may have contained some kind of nuclear material. This leader shared ideas about building a simple firing system for a nuclear “dirty bomb” using commercially available supplies. [Tenet, 2007, pp. 264-268; Frantz and Collins, 2007, pp. 269-271] However, on December 13, the two scientists are quietly released again. The US does not officially freeze UTN’s assets until December 20, and Pakistan apparently follows suit a short time later (see December 20, 2001). [Wall Street Journal, 12/24/2001; Frantz and Collins, 2007, pp. 271]
Entity Tags: Wendy Chamberlin, Sultan Bashiruddin Mahmood, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Pervez Musharraf, Al-Qaeda, Chaudiri Abdul Majeed, Colin Powell, George J. Tenet, Osama bin Laden, Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Ummah Tameer-e-Nau
Early October-Mid-November, 2001: US Air Force Is Repeatedly Denied Permission to Bomb Top Al-Qaeda and Taliban Leaders
In mid-November 2001, the Washington Post will report that senior Air Force officials are upset they have missed opportunities to hit top al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders since the start of the bombing of Afghanistan. According to these officials, the Air Force believes it has the leaders in its crosshairs as many as ten times, but they are unable to receive a timely clearance to fire. Cumbersome approval procedures, a concern not to kill civilians, and a power play between the Defense Department and the CIA contribute to the delays. One anonymous Air Force official later says, “We knew we had some of the big boys. The process is so slow that by the time we got the clearances, and everybody had put in their 2 cents, we called it off.” The main problem is that commanders in the region have to ask for permission from General Tommy Franks, based in Central Command headquarters in Tampa, Florida, or even Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and other higher-ups. Air Force generals complain to Franks about the delay problem, but never receive a response. For example, at one point in October, a Taliban military convoy is moving north to reinforce front line positions. Targeters consider it an easy mark of clear military value. But permission from Central Command is denied on the suspicion that the target is so obvious that “it might be a trick.” In another example, a target is positively identified by real-time imagery from a Predator drone, but Central Command overrides the decision to strike, saying they want a second source of data. An anonymous official calls this request for independent verification of Predator imagery “kind of ridiculous.” [Washington Post, 11/18/2001] The London Times paraphrase officials who claim that, “Attempts to limit collateral damage [serve] merely to prolong the war, and force the Pentagon to insert commandos on the ground to hunt down the same targets.” [London Times, 11/19/2001] By the end of the war, only one top al-Qaeda leader, Mohammed Atef, is killed in a bombing raid (see November 15, 2001), and no top Taliban leaders are killed.
Entity Tags: US Department of Defense, Taliban, Donald Rumsfeld, Thomas Franks, Al-Qaeda, Central Intelligence Agency, Mohammed Atef
Category Tags: Afghanistan, Escape From Afghanistan, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
October 2001: Three of the Four Black Boxes from the WTC Crashes Allegedly Secretly Found
A poster to help law enforcement officers locate the missing ‘black boxes’ in the WTC debris. [Source: FBI / Smithsonian Institution]Three of the four black boxes from Flight 11 and Flight 175 are found this month, according to two men who work extensively in the wreckage of the World Trade Center, but the public is not told. New York City firefighter Nicholas DeMasi will mention the discovery of the black boxes in a book published in 2003. He will claim to have driven federal agents on an all-terrain vehicle during their search and state that they found three of the four missing black boxes. The Philadelphia Daily News will report on the story in 2004 when another recovery worker, volunteer Mike Bellone, backs up DeMasi’s account and claims to have seen one of the black boxes. Spokesmen for the FBI and the New York City Fire Department will deny the claims of these two workers. [Swanson, 2003, pp. 108; Philadelphia Daily News, 10/28/2004] But in 2005, CounterPunch will report: “A source at the National Transportation Safety Board, the agency that has the task of deciphering the data from the black boxes retrieved from crash sites—including those that are being handled as crimes and fall under the jurisdiction of the FBI—says the boxes were in fact recovered and were analyzed by the NTSB. ‘Off the record, we had the boxes,’ the source says. ‘You’d have to get the official word from the FBI as to where they are, but we worked on them here.’” An NTSB spokesperson will deny that the FBI ever gave the NTSB the black boxes. [CounterPunch, 12/19/2005] On September 18, it was reported that investigators had detected a signal from one of the black boxes in the debris at Ground Zero (see September 18, 2001). [New York State Emergency Management Office, 9/18/2001 ] But the 9/11 Commission Report will state that the black boxes from Flight 11 and Flight 175 “were not found.” [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 456]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mike Bellone, New York City Fire Department, Nicholas DeMasi, RobertMoomo
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, FBI 9/11 Investigation, Other 9/11 Investigations
Early October 2001: Filming Originally Set to Begin for CBS TV Movie about Plane Crash Possibly Caused by Bin Laden
Nicholas Meyer. [Source: Shanghai TV Festival]Filming was originally going to start in Winnipeg, Canada, around this time for Fall from the Sky, a big-budget CBS TV movie about the investigation of a jumbo jet crash in which the possibility that Osama bin Laden was responsible is one of the lines of inquiry. [Observer, 9/30/2001; Irish Independent, 10/7/2001; Winnipeg Free Press, 3/22/2002] Fall from the Sky was co-written by Nicholas Meyer, who previously wrote several of the Star Trek movies, and Brian Rehak. [Variety, 9/19/2001; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/31/2003; Los Angeles Times, 7/22/2010] It has been budgeted at $7.2 million and is set to star Forest Whitaker, who previously played jazz legend Charlie Parker in Clint Eastwood’s movie Bird.
Hundreds Killed in Fictional Plane Crash - Fall from the Sky would be set a couple of years in the future and involve the crash of a plane that is one of a new generation of passenger jets. According to some reports, 700 people die in the fictitious crash. [Chicago Sun-Times, 8/20/2001; Winnipeg Free Press, 3/22/2002] But according to Variety magazine, 400 people are on the plane that crashes. [Variety, 9/19/2001; Variety, 9/24/2001] Whitaker was to have played the National Transportation Safety Board investigator who leads the examination of the crash. The story would “concentrate on the meticulous process of gathering scientific evidence after the tragedy,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. [Chicago Sun-Times, 8/20/2001; Winnipeg Free Press, 3/22/2002] Meyer has said that the planned TV movie would “not show the crash—only pieces [of plane wreckage] on the ground.” [Variety, 9/24/2001] However, Jamie Brown, the CEO of a special effects company that was going to work on Fall from the Sky, will later say his company planned to depict “the destruction of a super jumbo jet” for the TV movie. [Winnipeg Free Press, 12/5/2001]
Possible Bin Laden Responsibility Investigated - Furthermore, the storyline of Fall from the Sky includes “the investigation of a theory that the crash had been the work of Osama bin Laden,” according to The Observer. [Observer, 9/30/2001] But according to Meyer, it turns out that terrorists were not responsible. [Variety, 9/19/2001; Variety, 9/24/2001] Whitaker will say that the story “dealt a lot with the FAA and issues of concealment. It almost read as if it was a true story, because of the political things that were going on inside of it.” [Winnipeg Free Press, 3/22/2002] It “shows the political pressures brought to bear on the investigation,” Meyer will say. [Variety, 9/24/2001]
Production Canceled due to 9/11 - Fall from the Sky was in preproduction in September. Filming was scheduled to begin in Winnipeg on October 2, according to some reports. [Playback, 11/12/2001; Winnipeg Free Press, 3/22/2002] But according to Variety magazine, it was set to begin on October 8 or October 9. Production was halted within two weeks of 9/11. [Variety, 9/19/2001; Variety, 9/24/2001] The Winnipeg Free Press will comment, “Naturally, the deliberate, catastrophic destruction of four passenger jets on September 11 made a TV movie about a fictional jumbo jet crash untenable for CBS.” [Winnipeg Free Press, 3/22/2002] Fall from the Sky is one of a number of movies and television dramas that are canceled or rewritten as a result of the 9/11 attacks (see (January 1998-2001); February 1999-September 11, 2001; June-September 11, 2001; Before Before September 11, 2001; September 13, 2001; September 27, 2001; November 17, 2001). [Denver Post, 9/17/2001; Irish Independent, 10/7/2001] Meyer has commented that his TV movie “was in its own way rather timely,” and added, “I think it’s unfortunate that it’s been canceled.” [Observer, 9/30/2001] Another, unnamed, TV movie dealing with an airline disaster was set to begin production in Vancouver, Canada, around this time, according to the Canadian magazine Playback, although further details of that movie are unstated. [Playback, 11/12/2001]
Entity Tags: CBS, Jamie Brown, Nicholas Meyer, Forest Whitaker
Late 2001 and 2003: Al-Qaeda Operative Whose Arrest Was Frustrated by Spanish Intelligence Reportedly Meets Al-Zarqawi
Amer el-Azizi, a senior al-Qaeda operative whose arrest was frustrated by Spanish intelligence (see Shortly After November 21, 2001), is said to meet Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who leads a group of foreign fighters in the Iraq war. One meeting may take place after 9/11 in 2001, when el-Azizi reportedly travels to Iran, intending to enter eastern Afghanistan. [Wall Street Journal, 3/19/2004] According to communications intercepts, another may take place in Iran in 2003, and some evidence indicates el-Azizi may also go to Iraq around this time. In addition, el-Azizi sponsors two recruits who train at a camp run by al-Zarqawi, according to documents obtained by the Spanish police. [Wall Street Journal, 4/7/2004; Los Angeles Times, 4/14/2004] El-Azizi and al-Zarqawi also have a common acquaintance, Abdulatif Mourafiq, an associate of al-Zarqawi’s in Afghanistan whose contact details were found in el-Azizi’s flat when it was raided in October or November 2001. [Brisard, 2005]
Entity Tags: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Abdulatif Mourafiq, Amer el-Azizi
Category Tags: Counterterrorism Action After 9/11, Other Possible Moles or Informants
October 1, 2001: Taliban Possibly Trained Pilots in Afghanistan
It is reported that “a worldwide hunt is under way for 14 young Muslims said to have been trained in secret to fly Boeing airliners at an air base in Afghanistan. A senior pilot for the Afghan state-owned airline Ariana has told how he and four colleagues were forced by the Taliban regime to train the men who are now thought to be hiding in Europe and the United States. The fourteen men, seven of whom are said to speak fluent English, are described as ‘dedicated Muslim fanatics’ who spoke of being involved in a holy war. They are thought to have left Afghanistan a year ago. All had close links with the Taliban and some had fought for the regime.” [Evening Standard, 10/1/2001]
Entity Tags: Taliban
Autumn 2001: FBI Hires Daughter of Pakistani Spy, Despite Internal Protests
The FBI hires Hadia Roberts, the daughter of a former Pakistani general who is thought to have worked as a spy in the US, despite objections by the FBI agent that vets her. John Cole, manager of the FBI national counter-intelligence program for India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, says he is alerted to her by the personnel security officer, who thinks the woman might not be suitable as an Urdu translator.
Alarming Information - Cole examines the file and “it stuck out a mile: she was the daughter of a retired Pakistani general who had been their military attaché in Washington.” Cole is aware that “[e]very single military attaché they’ve ever assigned has been a known intelligence officer.” [Vanity Fair, 9/2005; Antiwar (.com), 10/8/2005; Sunday Times (London), 1/6/2008] In addition, several hits appear for her father’s name when it is run through the FBI’s computer and at one time he had been the subject of an FBI investigation, which is “an alarming piece of information that was somehow overlooked in the preliminary background check.” Further, the former attaché spends six months in the US a year, and Cole will later comment, “He’s got a lot of friends that are still there in military intelligence, and he more than likely talks to them frequently, living there as he does six months out of the year.” What is more, the results of Roberts’ polygraph examination are inconclusive, so Cole recommends she not be hired.
Hired Anyway - However, a week later she is given a job, top secret security clearance, and access to sensitive compartmentalized information. Colleagues say that Roberts frequently boasts her father is a retired general and say she is such an Islamic “zealot” that she tries to convert her colleagues to Islam. [Sperry, 2005, pp. 155-8] A few weeks later, an FBI field office finds that classified information has been provided to Pakistanis, but it is not known who leaked it, although an investigation will determine that it must have been either the technical agent or one of the Urdu translators. Roberts will still be translating Urdu for the FBI in July 2005, when this incident is first mentioned in the press. [Sperry, 2005, pp. 155-8; Vanity Fair, 9/2005; Antiwar (.com), 10/8/2005] Around this time the FBI is investigating a nuclear technology smuggling ring headed by Pakistani intelligence and allegedly assisted by top US officials (see Mid-Late 1990s, (1997-2002), and 2000-2001).
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, John Cole
Category Tags: Sibel Edmonds, Pakistan and the ISI, Pakistani Nukes & Islamic Militancy
October 1, 2001: Some Officials Question If Intelligence Service Helped Bin Laden in Plot
The New Yorker reports that “a number of intelligence officials have raised questions about bin Laden’s capabilities. ‘This guy sits in a cave in Afghanistan and he’s running this operation?’ one CIA official asked. ‘It’s so huge. He couldn’t have done it alone.’ A senior military officer told me that because of the visas and other documentation needed to infiltrate team members into the United States a major foreign intelligence service might also have been involved.” [New Yorker, 10/8/2001] No specific service is named, but the ISI would be one likely candidate. In fact, one day after this article is published, a Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) cable indicates the ISI created the Taliban and has helped al-Qaeda extensively (see October 2, 2001).
Entity Tags: Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Osama bin Laden, Central Intelligence Agency
October 1, 2001: Kashmir Suicide Attack Involves 9/11 Funder Saeed Sheikh
A suicide truck-bomb attack on the provincial parliamentary assembly in Indian-controlled Kashmir leaves 36 dead. It appears that Saeed Sheikh and Aftab Ansari, working with the ISI, are behind the attacks. [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 3/3/2002; Vanity Fair, 8/2002] Indian intelligence claims that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is later given a recording of a phone call between Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Maulana Masood Azhar and ISI Director Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed in which Azhar allegedly reports the bombing is a “success.” [United Press International, 10/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Mahmood Ahmed, National Security Agency, Pervez Musharraf, Maulana Masood Azhar, Aftab Ansari, India, Saeed Sheikh
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Saeed Sheikh, Pakistani ISI Links to 9/11
October 2, 2001: US Intelligence Cables Review ‘Hidden Agenda’ of ISI Support for Taliban
An agent of the Defense Intelligence Agency sends two classified cables to various US government agencies detailing how Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI) created the Taliban and helped al-Qaeda. The agent writes that during the Soviet-Afghan War, the “Pakistan government also had a hidden agenda… Pakistan decided to deliberately influence the outcome. Rather than allow the most gifted Afghan commanders and parties to flourish, who would be hard to control later, Pakistan preferred to groom the incompetent ones [because] they would be wholly reliant on Pakistan for support… Pakistan also encouraged, facilitated, and often escorted Arabs from the Middle East into Afghanistan. Eventually a special facility was constructed… with [ISI] funding.” When Ahmed Shah Mossoud captured Kabul in the early 1990s, “Pakistan could not accept this result and the fragile Afghan coalition began another civil war, with the Pakistan stooge (Gulbuddin Hekmatyar) being backed to seize total power. In the end Pakistan was proved right about only one thing, Hekmatyar was incompetent. He was never able to wrest Kabul from Massoud, despite massive logistical and material (including manpower) support from Pakistan.” When Hekmatyar failed, “[Pakistan] created another force they hoped to have better control over than Hekmatyar’s rabble. It was called Taliban… To lead the Taliban Pakistan chose Mullah Mohammad (Omar), who was willing to do as he was told… Omar’s emergence is credited to Pakistan ISI actions… The fully supported (by Pakistan) Taliban prevailed over the unsupported legitimate government of Afghanistan…” [Defense Intelligence Agency, 10/2/2001 ; Defense Intelligence Agency, 10/2/2001 ]
Entity Tags: Taliban, Ahmed Shah Massoud, Mullah Omar, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
October 2-3, 2001: No Jet Fuel in Soil and Water at Flight 93 Crash Site
It is reported that soil and groundwater around the spot where Flight 93 crashed show no signs of jet fuel contamination. About a week after 9/11, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) started taking soil samples from the 50-foot hole dug around the crash crater, to check for contamination by the plane’s fuel and other hazardous materials. Three test wells have also been sunk to monitor groundwater. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/17/2001; WTAE-TV, 10/2/2001; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/3/2001] According to the National Transportation Safety Board, Flight 93 had about 37,500 lb of fuel remaining when it crashed. [National Transportation Safety Board, 2/13/2002, pp. 8 ] Some of the first people who arrived at the crash site reported that there was an “incredibly strong” and “overpowering” smell of jet fuel in the air. [Longman, 2002, pp. 213; Kashurba, 2002, pp. 32, 40, 43 and 64] Yet, so far, no contamination has been found in either the soil or the groundwater. Betsy Mallison, a spokeswoman for the DEP, says that whether it burned away or evaporated, much of the jet fuel spilled at the site seems to have dissipated. [WTAE-TV, 10/2/2001; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 10/3/2001] DEP Secretary David Hess says most of the hazardous fluids must have been consumed by the crash’s fire. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 9/17/2001] Yet some of the first people who arrived at the site say they only saw a very small fire, if any at all, at the crash crater. [Longman, 2002, pp. 213; McCall, 2002, pp. 30-31]
Entity Tags: David Hess, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Betsy Mallison
October 3, 2001: FBI List Mistakenly Posted on Internet Reveals Details of Hundreds of Al-Qaeda Suspects
A confidential list of people suspected of helping the al-Qaeda terrorist network leaks out on the Internet. The list of 370 individuals was put together by the FBI and European security agencies, and had been circulated to central banks and government financial authorities cooperating in the fight against terrorism. The 22-page document is posted on the website of Finland’s Financial Supervision Authority, RATA. [Daily Telegraph, 10/5/2001; United Press International, 10/11/2001] It is the most extensive list of its kind yet made public by authorities anywhere in the world. [Helsingin Sanomat, 10/5/2001] Some of its entries include only a name. [United Press International, 10/11/2001] But, in many cases, aliases, last known addresses, dates of birth, and sometimes phone numbers are given. Many of the addresses are in the United States—with Florida featuring extensively—or Germany, particularly Hamburg. [Helsingin Sanomat, 10/4/2001; Daily Telegraph, 10/5/2001] More than 300 of the names on the list came from US sources, and are listed with US addresses or Social Security numbers. Out of the 370 individuals, all of whom have Arab names, the FBI and other security authorities have identified the nationalities of 163. Saudi Arabians form the largest group, with 59 being on the list. The FBI has been unable to identify the nationality of the other 207 individuals. According to UPI: “With the exception of the two Americans [on the list], all of those listed would have had to apply for American visas in their home countries to enter the United States legally. Yet the spreadsheet’s sparse information seemed to indicate that the FBI apparently had been unable to locate the information that these applications normally would contain.” At least 77 of those on the list lived near flight schools. Many of the individuals have aliases, with some having up to 20. [United Press International, 10/11/2001] The list includes all 19 of the alleged 9/11 hijackers, who are mostly listed as “possibly deceased.” It also includes al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. It will be removed from the RATA website within 24 hours, at the recommendation of the Finnish data protection commissioner. The London Daily Telegraph cautions, “Like any police intelligence file,” the list “is based on hearsay and unverified leads, and should have been kept strictly confidential to protect those falsely accused. It is far from clear whether the telephone numbers or email addresses are reliable.” For example, “A random call to a suspect in Vero Beach, Florida, was answered by the receptionist of a commercial law firm, who angrily slammed down the receiver.” [RATA, 10/3/2001 ; Daily Telegraph, 10/5/2001; Helsingin Sanomat, 10/5/2001]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, RATA, Al-Qaeda
October 3, 2001: FBI Links Alleged Hijacker Associate Basnan to Bin Laden Family and Saudi Government
A classified FBI report on this date indicates that alleged hijacker associate Osama Basnan has long-time links to both the bin Laden family and the Saudi government. The report states that Basnan has “been determined to have known Osama bin Laden’s family in Saudi Arabia and to have telephonic contact with members of bin Laden’s family who are currently in the US.” It also states, “The possibility of [Basnan] being affiliated with the Saudi Arabian Government or the Saudi Arabian Intelligence Service is supported by [Basnan] listing his employment in 1992 as the—.” Unfortunately, the rest of that sentence remains redacted. The report further notes that the fact that in July 2001 Basnan moved into the same San Diego apartment building where hijackers Nawaf Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, and hijacker associate Omar al-Bayoumi lived right after al-Bayoumi moved away “could indicate he succeeded Omar al-Bayoumi and may be undertaking activities on behalf of the Government of Saudi Arabia” (see June 23-July 2001). The FBI report, which will be obtained by the website Intelwire.com in 2008, is heavily redacted, and all mentions of Basnan’s name appear to be redacted. However, one can sometimes determine when Basnan is being referred to. For instance, the same paragraph that mentions his link to the bin Laden family also says the same person with that link hosted a party for Sheikh Omar Abdul-Rahman in 1992, and press reports have indicated that person was Basnan (see October 17, 1992). [Federal Bureau of Investigation, 10/3/2001 ]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Osama Basnan, Omar Abdul-Rahman, Omar al-Bayoumi
Category Tags: Bayoumi and Basnan Saudi Connection, Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden Family, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
October 4, 2001 and Shortly Afterwards: First Case of Anthrax Reported in the Media, Causing National Panic
Robert Stevens. [Source: Associated Press]The first case of anthrax infection, of Robert Stevens in Florida, is reported in the media (see October 3, 2001). Letters containing anthrax will continue to be received until October 19. After many false alarms, it turns out that only a relatively small number of letters contain real anthrax (see October 5-November 21, 2001). [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12/8/2001] In 2004, Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen will recall how a widespread sense of panic spread across the US over the next few weeks, as millions felt the anthrax could target them next. He will write, “People made anthrax-safe rooms, and one woman I know of had a mask made for her small dog. I still don’t know if that was a touching gesture or just plain madness.” He says, “The [9/11] terrorist attacks coupled with the anthrax scare unhinged us a bit—or maybe more than a bit.” But he will also mention that the panic quickly passed and was largely forgotten by most people. [Washington Post, 7/22/2004] Columnist Glenn Greenwald will later comment in Salon, “After 9/11 itself, the anthrax attacks were probably the most consequential event of the Bush presidency. One could make a persuasive case that they were actually more consequential. The 9/11 attacks were obviously traumatic for the country, but in the absence of the anthrax attacks, 9/11 could easily have been perceived as a single, isolated event. It was really the anthrax letters—with the first one sent on September 18, just one week after 9/11—that severely ratcheted up the fear levels and created the climate that would dominate in this country for the next several years after. It was anthrax… that created the impression that social order itself was genuinely threatened by Islamic radicalism.” [Salon, 8/1/2008]
Entity Tags: Tom Daschle, Patrick J. Leahy, NBC, Glenn Greenwald, New York Post, Richard Cohen
Timeline Tags: Domestic Propaganda, 2001 Anthrax Attacks, US Domestic Terrorism
October 4, 2001: British Prime Minister Tony Blair Presents Case for Al-Qaeda 9/11 Involvement
Tony Blair presenting evidence on October 4, 2001. [Source: Associated Press]British Prime Minister Tony Blair publicly presents a paper containing evidence that al-Qaeda is responsible for the 9/11 attacks. [Los Angeles Times, 10/4/2001; Los Angeles Times, 10/5/2001] Secretary of State Powell and other US officials had promised on September 23 that the US would present a paper containing such evidence. [Los Angeles Times, 9/24/2001] However, the US paper is never released (see September 23-24, 2001). Apparently, the British paper is meant to serve as a substitute. [New Yorker, 5/27/2002] It begins, “This document does not purport to provide a prosecutable case against Osama bin Laden in a court of law.” Nevertheless, it continues, “on the basis of all the information available [Her Majesty’s Government] is confident of its conclusions as expressed in this document.” [BBC, 10/4/2001] In his speech, Blair claims, “One of bin Laden’s closest lieutenants has said clearly that he helped with the planning of the September 11 attacks and admitted the involvement of the al-Qaeda organization” and that “there is other intelligence, we cannot disclose, of an even more direct nature indicating guilt” of al-Qaeda in the attacks. [CNN, 10/4/2001; Time, 10/5/2001] There has been no confirmation or details since of these claims. Even though most of the evidence in the British paper comes from the US, pre-attack warnings, such as the August 6, 2001 memo (see August 6, 2001) to Bush titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US,” are not included. In fact, Blair’s paper states, “incorrectly, that no such information had been available before the attacks: ‘After 11 September we learned that, not long before, bin Laden had indicated he was about to launch a major attack on America.’” [New Yorker, 5/27/2002]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Colin Powell, Tony Blair, Osama bin Laden
October 4, 2001: British Prime Miniter Tony Blair Says 9/11 Hijacker Played ‘Key Role’ in Embassy Bombings
In a key speech about al-Qaeda’s responsibility for the 9/11 attacks, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says that one of the hijackers played a “key role” in the 1998 African embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). Though he doesn’t specify which one, he does say the individual was one of the three hijackers who were quickly identified after 9/11 as known al-Qaeda associates (see 9:53 p.m. September 11, 2001) and someone who had also played an important role in the USS Cole attacks (see October 14-Late November, 2000). [UK Prime Minister, 10/4/2001] Blair’s description of this hijacker as being involved in the USS Cole and African Embassy attacks strongly suggests the person he is referring to is Khalid Almihdhar. Almihdhar allegedly had a hand in the Cole attack (see Early October 2001) and had links to one of the captured embassy bombers, Mohamed al-Owhali. Before the Cole attacks, al-Owhali stayed at an al-Qaeda communications hub in Yemen run by Almihdhar’s father-in-law (see February 2001 and After). Additionally, al-Owhali met an al-Qaeda operative in Pakistan by the name of Khalid, although this may have been Khallad (aka Tawfiq bin Attash), or even Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. [United State of America v. Usama bin Laden, et al., Day 14, 3/7/2001; Guardian, 10/5/2001; CNN, 10/16/2001; Burke, 2004, pp. 174; 9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 222; Wright, 2006, pp. 309] It is also possible that the person alluded to in Blair’s speech is Nawaf Alhazmi, who also had connections to the embassy bombings (see 1993-1999).
Entity Tags: Khallad bin Attash, Tony Blair, Salem Alhazmi, Khalid Almihdhar, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ahmed al-Hada, Nawaf Alhazmi, Mohamed al-Owhali
Category Tags: Key Hijacker Events, 1998 US Embassy Bombings, 2000 USS Cole Bombing, Alhazmi and Almihdhar, Other 9/11 Hijackers, Al-Qaeda Malaysia Summit, Yemen Hub
October 4, 2001: NATO Meeting Sets Stage for Secret CIA Rendition Flights
One of the executive jets used by the CIA to fly prisoners to Guantanamo. This one, a Gulfstream with tail number N44982 when used by the CIA, is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland in 2005 with a new tail number. [Source: Public domain via Wikipedia]A secret arrangement is made in Brussels, Belgium, by all members of NATO. Lord George Robertson, British defense secretary and later NATO’s secretary general, will later explain NATO members agree to provide “blanket overflight clearances for the United States and other allies’ aircraft for military flights related to operations against terrorism.” [London Times, 11/25/2007] Over 700 prisoners will fly over NATO countries on their way to the US-controlled Guantanamo prison in Cuba beginning in 2002 (see January 14, 2002-2005).
Conditions of Transfer - According to a 2007 report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC—see March 15, 2009), detainees flown on CIA rendition flights would be:
Photographed both clothed and naked;
Subjected to body cavity (rectal) searches, with some detainees later alleging that they were administered suppositories of some sort;
Dressed in a diaper and a tracksuit, with earphones placed over the ears (through which shatteringly loud music would sometimes be played), a blindfold, black goggles, and sometimes cotton wool placed over the eyes;
Shackled by hands and feet, and thus carried onto an airplane, where they would remain, without toilet privileges, from one to 30 hours.
The prisoners would usually be allowed to sit upright, but the ICRC will later find that on “some occasions detainees were transported lying flat on the floor of the plane… with their hands cuffed behind their backs,” causing them “severe pain and discomfort,” as they were moved from one location to another. [New York Review of Books, 3/15/2009]
Entity Tags: George Robertson, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, International Committee of the Red Cross
October 5, 2001: Study Reveals Significant Oil and Gas Deposits in Afghanistan
Contrary to popular belief, Afghanistan “has significant oil and gas deposits. During the Soviets’ decade-long occupation of Afghanistan, Moscow estimated Afghanistan’s proven and probable natural gas reserves at around five trillion cubic feet and production reached 275 million cubic feet per day in the mid-1970s.” Nonstop war since has prevented further exploitation. [Asia Times, 10/5/2001] A later article suggests that the country may also have as much copper as Chile, the world’s largest producer, and significant deposits of coal, emeralds, tungsten, lead, zinc, uranium ore, and more. Estimates of Afghanistan’s natural wealth may even be understated, because surveys were conducted decades ago, using less-advanced methods and covering limited territory. [Houston Chronicle, 12/23/2001]
October 5-November 21, 2001: Anthrax Letters Kill Five, Heighten Terrorist Attack Fears
The five fatal victims of the anthrax attacks, from to right: Josep Curseen Jr., Thomas Morris, Ottilie Lundgren, Robert Stevens, and Kathy Nguyen. [Source: Reuters and Associated Press] (click image to enlarge)Two waves of letters containing anthrax are received by media outlets including NBC and the New York Post (see September 17-18, 2001), and Democratic senators Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy (see October 6-9, 2001). The letters sent to the senators both contain the words “Death to America, Death to Israel, Allah is Great.” Five people die:
October 5: Robert Stevens, 63, an employee at the Sun, a tabloid based in Florida.
October 21: Thomas Morris Jr., 55, a postal worker in Washington, DC.
October 22: Joseph Curseen Jr., 47, a postal worker in Washington, DC.
October 31: Kathy Nguyen, 61, a hospital employee in New York City.
November 21: Ottilie Lundgren, 94, of Oxford, Connecticut.
At least 22 more people get sick but survive. Thirty-one others test positive for exposure. As a result of these deaths and injuries, panic sweeps the nation. On October 16, the Senate office buildings are shut down, followed by the House of Representatives, after 28 congressional staffers test positive for exposure to anthrax (see October 16-17, 2001). A number of hoax letters containing harmless powder turn up, spreading the panic further. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12/8/2001; Associated Press, 8/7/2008] Initially it is suspected that either al-Qaeda or Iraq are behind the anthrax letters (see October 14, 2001, October 15, 2001, October 17, 2001, and October 18, 2001). [Observer, 10/14/2001; BBC, 10/16/2001] However, by November, further investigation leads the US government to conclude that, “everything seems to lean toward a domestic source.… Nothing seems to fit with an overseas terrorist type operation (see November 10, 2001).” [Washington Post, 10/27/2001; St. Petersburg Times, 11/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Iraq, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Patrick J. Leahy, Tom Daschle, Al-Qaeda
Timeline Tags: 2001 Anthrax Attacks, US Domestic Terrorism
October 6, 2001: Last Federal Rescue Team Leaves Ground Zero
Almost a month after the 9/11 attacks took place, the last federal rescue team leaves Ground Zero. Although workers still hope to find survivors, their official mission from this point on shifts to recovery. The last survivor to be rescued was Genelle Guzman, 26 hours after the collapse of the North Tower (see September 12, 2001). [9/11 Memorial, 9/12/2011]
Entity Tags: Genelle Guzman
Shortly After October 5, 2001: White House Officials Pressure FBI to Prove Link between Anthrax Attacks and Al-Qaeda
In August 2008, the New York Daily News will report that after Robert Stevens is the first to die in the anthrax attacks on October 5, 2001 (see October 5-November 21, 2001), White House officials repeatedly press FBI Director Robert Mueller to prove the attacks were conducted by al-Qaeda. According to an unnamed retired senior FBI official, Mueller was verbally “beaten up” during President Bush’s daily intelligence briefings for not producing proof linking the attacks to al-Qaeda. “They really wanted to blame somebody in the Middle East,” this FBI official will say. But within days, the FBI learned the anthrax was a difficult to make weapons-grade strain. “Very quickly, [experts at Fort Detrick, Maryland] told us this was not something some guy in a cave could come up with. [Al-Qaeda] couldn’t go from box cutters one week to weapons-grade anthrax the next.” But several days after this conclusion is reached, Bush and Cheney nonetheless make public statements suggesting al-Qaeda was the culprit (see October 15, 2001 and October 12, 2001). [New York Daily News, 8/2/2008]
Entity Tags: Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III, Al-Qaeda, White House
October 7, 2001: US Hesitates, Fails to Kill Mullah Omar
On the first night of the Afghan war, an unmanned Predator drone identifies a convoy of vehicles fleeing Kabul. Mullah Omar, head of the Taliban, is determined to be inside this convoy. The CIA is in control of the Predator attack drone and wants to use it to kill Omar, but they have to ask for permission from military commanders who are based in Florida. General Tommy Franks decides not to fire any missiles or launch an air strike against the building in which Omar takes shelter. Eventually fighters attack and destroy the building, but by then Omar and his associates have moved on. One anonymous senior official later says of this failure to kill Omar, “It’s not a f_ckup, it’s an outrage.” According to one senior military officer, “political correctness” and/or slow bureaucratic procedures are to blame. [New Yorker, 10/16/2001] It is later revealed that this is part of a pattern of delays that will hinder many attacks on al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders (see Early October-Mid-November, 2001).
Entity Tags: Thomas Franks, Central Intelligence Agency, Mullah Omar
Category Tags: Afghanistan, Escape From Afghanistan, Drone Use in Pakistan / Afghanistan, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
October 7, 2001: Stolen 9/11 Documents Appear in Mysterious Circumstances
On this day, Zeljko E., a Kosovar Serb, enters a Hamburg, Germany, police station and says he wants to turn himself in. He tells the police that he has robbed a business and stolen piles of paper written in Arabic, with the hopes of selling them. A friend of his told him that they relate to the 9/11 attacks. The 44 pounds of papers are translated and they prove to be a “treasure trove.” The documents come from Mamoun Darkazanli’s files, which were not in Darkazanli’s apartment when police raided it two days after 9/11. “It makes for a great story. A petty thief pilfers files containing critical information about the largest terrorist attack in history and dutifully turns them over to the police. [But German] agents do not buy this story for a minute; they suspect that some other Secret Service was trying to find a way of getting evidence into [their] hands. The question is, whose Secret Service?” Some German investigators later suggest that the CIA was responsible; there are also reports that the FBI illegally monitored Darkazanli after 9/11. [Der Spiegel (Hamburg), 10/27/2001; Der Spiegel, 2002, pp. 166-67; Chicago Tribune, 11/17/2002]
Entity Tags: Germany, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Der Spiegel, US Secret Service, Central Intelligence Agency
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Germany, Mamoun Darkazanli
October 7, 2001: Bin Laden Issues Video, Warning the US, but Does Not Claim Responsibility for 9/11
Bin Laden appears on Al Jareeza, in a taped statement broadcast shortly after US-led strikes on Afghanistan begin. [Source: Al Jazeera]In a recorded statement broadcast on television worldwide, Osama bin Laden issues a strongly worded message to the United States, but makes no claim of responsibility for 9/11. The recording is broadcast on the Al Jazeera television network within an hour of the first US strikes on Afghanistan, and is then shown by CNN. There is no date on the tape and no immediate way of determining where it was made. [New York Times, 10/8/2001] Bin Laden is shown sitting in a stone cave. His top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, appears at his side. [Associated Press, 10/8/2001] Referring to the 9/11 attacks, bin Laden says, “What the United States tastes today is a very small thing compared to what we have tasted for tens of years.” He praises those responsible, saying, “I ask God Almighty to elevate their status and grant them paradise.” [BBC, 10/7/2001] It is the first time he has spoken publicly about 9/11. But he makes no claim in his statement of having been responsible for the attacks. [Associated Press, 10/8/2001] He has previously explicitly denied responsibility for 9/11 (see September 16, 2001 and September 28, 2001). Bin Laden concludes his message warning, “[N]either the United States nor he who lives in the United States will enjoy security before we can see it as a reality in Palestine and before all the infidel armies leave the land of Mohammed.” [BBC, 10/7/2001] The following day, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer will tell reporters that, after watching this message, President Bush concluded that bin Laden “virtually took responsibility” for 9/11. [CNN, 10/8/2001]
Entity Tags: Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden
Category Tags: Osama Bin Laden, Other 9/11 Investigations, Alleged Al-Qaeda Media Statements, 9/11 Investigations
October 7, 2001: ISI Director Replaced at US Urging; Role in Funding 9/11 Plot Is One Explanation
The on-line Wall Street Journal article discussing the connections between Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed, Saeed Sheikh, and Mohamed Atta. [Source: Public domain]ISI Director Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed is replaced in the face of US pressure after links are discovered between him, Saeed Sheikh, and the funding of the 9/11 attacks. Mahmood instructed Saeed to transfer $100,000 into hijacker Mohamed Atta’s bank account prior to 9/11. This is according to Indian intelligence, which claims the FBI has privately confirmed the story. [Press Trust of India, 10/8/2001; Times of India, 10/9/2001; India Today, 10/15/2001; Daily Excelsior (Jammu), 10/18/2001] The story is not widely reported in Western countries, though it makes the Wall Street Journal. [Australian, 10/10/2001; Agence France-Presse, 10/10/2001; Wall Street Journal, 10/10/2001] It is reported in Pakistan as well. [Dawn (Karachi), 10/8/2001] The Northern Alliance also repeats the claim in late October. [Federal News Service, 10/31/2001] In Western countries, the usual explanation is that Mahmood is fired for being too close to the Taliban. [London Times, 10/9/2001; Guardian, 10/9/2001] The Times of India reports that Indian intelligence helped the FBI discover the link, and says, “A direct link between the ISI and the WTC attack could have enormous repercussions. The US cannot but suspect whether or not there were other senior Pakistani Army commanders who were in the know of things. Evidence of a larger conspiracy could shake US confidence in Pakistan’s ability to participate in the anti-terrorism coalition.” [Times of India, 10/9/2001] There is evidence some ISI officers may have known of a plan to destroy the WTC as early as July 1999. Two other ISI leaders, Lt. Gen. Mohammed Aziz Khan and Lt. Gen. Muzaffar Usmani, are sidelined on the same day as Mahmood (see October 8, 2001). [Fox News, 10/8/2001] Saeed had been working under Khan. The firings are said to have purged the ISI of its fundamentalists. However, according to one diplomat, “To remove the top two or three doesn’t matter at all. The philosophy remains.… [The ISI is] a parallel government of its own. If you go through the officer list, almost all of the ISI regulars would say, of the Taliban, ‘They are my boys.’” [New Yorker, 10/29/2001] It is believed Mahmood has been living under virtual house arrest in Pakistan (which would seem to imply more than just a difference of opinion over the Taliban), but no charges have been brought against him, and there is no evidence the US has asked to question him. [Asia Times, 1/5/2002] He also has refused to speak to reporters since being fired [Associated Press, 2/21/2002] , and outside India and Pakistan, the story has only been mentioned infrequently in the media since. [Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 2/24/2002; London Times, 4/21/2002] He will reemerge as a businessman in 2003, but still will not speak to the media (see July 2003).
Entity Tags: Muzaffar Usmani, Mohamed Atta, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Northern Alliance, Mohammed Aziz Khan, Taliban, Saeed Sheikh, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Mahmood Ahmed, India, World Trade Center
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Mahmood Ahmed, Afghanistan, Pakistani ISI Links to 9/11
October 8, 2001: Ex-CIA Director’s Meeting With Taliban Leader Is Called Off
Khalid Khawaja. [Source: CNN]Ex-CIA Director James Woolsey, as part of his attempt to gather evidence that could tie Iraq to the 9/11 attacks, contacts the Taliban. He works with Mansoor Ijaz, a US businessman of Pakistani origin, who is a lobbyist for Pakistan in the US, an occasional Fox News commentator, and has extensive political ties in the US. Woolsey is also vice chairman of the board of Ijaz’s company. Woolsey and Ijaz work with Khalid Khawaja, a friend of Osama bin Laden and ex-ISI operative. The three plus an unnamed US journalist arrange to meet with Taliban leader Mullah Omar in Kandahar, Afghanistan, on October 8. The Taliban agree to tell Woolsey about a meeting between Iraqi and al-Qaeda officials that took place in 1997, and possibly other similar information. Apparently in return they hope to avert the US invasion of Afghanistan. However, the US bombing begins on October 7, and the meeting is called off. [Dawn (Karachi), 2/15/2002; Financial Times, 3/6/2003] At least part of this team will later play another behind-the-scenes role. After being given a tip that Mansoor Ijaz is connected to leading militant Muslims in Pakistan, reporter Daniel Pearl will connect with Khalid Khawaja, who in turn connects him with militant Muslims who kidnap and eventually kill him. A leading Pakistani newspaper will claim that at one point Newsweek is about to accuse Khawaja of involvement in the plot to kidnap Pearl, but Ijaz vouches for Khawaja and convinces Newsweek to pull back its accusations. [Dawn (Karachi), 2/15/2002; Vanity Fair, 8/2002]
Entity Tags: Taliban, Mullah Omar, James Woolsey, Iraq, Mansoor Ijaz, Al-Qaeda, Daniel Pearl, Khalid Khawaja
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, War in Afghanistan
Category Tags: Alleged Iraq-Al-Qaeda Links, Afghanistan, Escape From Afghanistan
October 8, 2001: Musharraf Replaces Islamic Extremist Officers with More Loyal Islamic Extremist Officers
Lt. Gen. Ehsan ul-Haq. [Source: ISI Public Relations]When Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf fires ISI Director Lt. Gen. Mahmood Ahmed on October 7, 2001 (see October 7, 2001), the US government and the international media hail the move as an attempt to purge Islamist extremists from the ISI. But authors Adrian Levy and Catherine Scott-Clark will comment in a 2007 book, “But far from it being an attempt to come clean with the US, it was a move that further entrenched the extremist element in the military, as well as strengthening the hand of Musharraf.” They point out that only Mahmood and Lt. Gen. Muzzaffar Usmani had the background and power base to stand up to Musharraf, and both of them are fired. [Levy and Scott-Clark, 2007, pp. 317-319] The new ISI director is Lt. Gen. Ehsan ul-Haq, a long-time friend of Musharraf. [Knight Ridder, 10/9/2001; Independent, 11/10/2001] While ul-Haq is presented as more moderate than Mahmood, media accounts from earlier in the year indicate that he is an Islamist extremist as well. He is quoted as saying, “There’s the American New World Order and this world order,” pointing to the Koran. “The whole of the globe belongs to Allah, and the whole of Allah’s law has to be executed on the globe.” [Boston Herald, 9/17/2001] And in a Newsweek profile, he proclaims that he is fighting a holy war for Allah, praising martyrdom and even saying that his forces in Kashmir have been aided by angels: “I have seen corpses where the heads were chopped off—not by man, but by angels.” [Newsweek International, 2/19/2001] Musharraf also promotes two loyal allies, Lt. Gen. Mohammed Aziz Khan, and Gen. Mohammed Yusaf. Aziz Khan, who is promoted to chairman of the joint chiefs of staff (a mostly ceremonial position), has been particularly close to Islamist groups, and had previously convinced Musharraf not to clamp down on the Taliban and bin Laden in the face of US pressure. Yusaf is promoted to vice chief of army staff. Both are members of the Tablighi Jamaat movement, which advocates replacing Pakistan’s civilian government with a clerical one. Sharifuddin Pirzada, Musharraf’s legal counselor, will comment in 2007, “Although Musharraf had been presented to the outside world as leader since the coup of 1999, it was really a cabal of generals who had pitched in and elevated him. But after 9/11, those who acted as balances and power breaks were disposed of or died accidentally, leaving Musharraf preeminent.” [Levy and Scott-Clark, 2007, pp. 317-319]
Entity Tags: Pervez Musharraf, Sharifuddin Pirzada, Pakistan Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, Muzaffar Usmani, Mahmood Ahmed, Ehsan ul-Haq, Tablighi Jamaat, Mohammed Aziz Khan
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Mahmood Ahmed, Pakistani ISI Links to 9/11
October 8, 2001: US Still Monitoring Zubaida’s Phone Calls; Bosnian Plot Possibly Foiled
Bensayah Belkacem at Guantanamo. [Source: US Defense Department]US intelligence intercepts numerous phone calls between Abu Zubaida and other al-Qaeda leaders and Bensayah Belkacem, an operative living in Bosnia. The New York Times will later report that shortly after 9/11, “American intelligence agencies, working closely with the government of neighboring Croatia, listened in as Mr. Belkacem and others discussed plans for attacks.” One US official says, “He was apparently on the phone constantly to Afghanistan, with Zubaida and others. There were dozens of calls to Afghanistan.” Belkacem, an Algerian, had moved to Bosnia to fight in the early 1990s war there, then obtained Bosnian citizenship and settled in Zenica, working for an Islamic charity. [New York Times, 1/23/2002] On October 8, 2001, Bosnian police detain Belkacem. While searching his home, they find a piece of note listing the name “Abu Zubeida” and Zubaida’s phone number. [Washington Post, 8/21/2006] It is later revealed that Belkacem made 70 calls to Zubaida between 9/11 and his arrest and more calls before then. He had repeatedly sought a visa to leave Bosnia for Germany just before 9/11. Phone transcripts show Zubaida and Belkacem discussed procuring passports. [Time, 11/12/2001] A US official will later claim that it was believed Zubaida was in Afghanistan with bin Laden at the time of Belkacem’s arrest. [New York Times, 1/23/2002] It has not been explained why this knowledge was not used to capture or kill Zubaida and/or bin Laden. It appears that Western intelligence agencies had been monitoring Zubaida’s calls as far back as 1996 (see (Mid-1996) and October 1998 and After). Belkacem and five of his associates will be renditioned to Guantanamo Bay prison in 2002 and remain imprisoned there (see January 18, 2002).
Entity Tags: Abu Zubaida, Bensayah Belkacem, US intelligence
Category Tags: Remote Surveillance, Abu Zubaida, Al-Qaeda in Balkans, Key Captures and Deaths, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
October 8, 2001: Pakistani President Musharraf Assigns Taliban Sympathizer to Catch Terrorists Fleeing Afghanistan
Ali Jan Orakzai. [Source: Associated Press]Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf appoints a general sympathetic to the Taliban to seal off the Afghanistan border as US forces close in on al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on the other side. Ali Jan Orakzai is appointed on October 8, 2001, a day Musharraf responded to US pressure and fired some Islamist extremist officers, only to replace them with other Islamist extremist officers (see October 8, 2001). Orakzai, a friend and close adviser to Musharraf, will generally be known as someone who hates the US and sympathizes with the Taliban (see Late 2002-Late 2003). His instructions are to send troops to Pakistan’s tribal region next to Afghanistan to catch fleeing terrorists. On October 11, Pakistani helicopters will begin dropping soldiers in mountainous regions where no Pakistani soldiers had been to before. By December 2001, Orakzai will position more than 30,000 soldiers in the region. [London Times, 1/22/2005] However, when he ends his command of troops in the region in 2004, he will claim that his forces never even saw one Arab there (see January 22, 2005). Musharraf will finally fire him in 2007 for his ineffectiveness and militant sympathies (see July 19, 2007).
Entity Tags: Ali Jan Orakzai, Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Pervez Musharraf
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, Haven in Pakistan Tribal Region, Hunt for Bin Laden in Pakistan
October 9, 2001: Richard Clarke Resigns as Counterterrorism ‘Tsar’
Richard Clarke resigns his position as counterterrorism “tsar,” a position he has held since 1998. Frustrated with the Bush administration’s approach to counterterrorism, he had arranged the date of his retirement back in June 2001 (see June 2001). He becomes Special Adviser to the President for Cyberspace Security instead. He is replaced by Gen. Wayne Downing, a highly decorated retired military officer. [Washington Post, 10/10/2001] Clarke will quit his cyberspace security job in February 2003 and leave government. He will then become a prominent critic of the Bush administration. [Washington Post, 4/8/2003]
Entity Tags: Richard A. Clarke, Wayne Downing
October 9, 2001: Afghan Pipeline Idea Is Revived
US Ambassador Wendy Chamberlin meets with the Pakistani oil minister. She is briefed on the gas pipeline project from Turkmenistan, across Afghanistan, to Pakistan, which appears to be revived “in view of recent geopolitical developments” —in other words, the 9/11 attacks. [Frontier Post, 10/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Wendy Chamberlin, Pakistan
October 9, 2001: FBI Agents Told to Curtail 9/11 Investigation and Focus on Preventing Future Attacks
It is reported that the FBI and Justice Department have ordered FBI agents across the US to cut back on their investigation of the September 11 attacks, so as to focus on preventing future, possibly imminent, attacks. According to the New York Times, while law enforcement officials say the investigation of 9/11 is continuing aggressively, “At the same time… efforts to thwart attacks have been given a much higher priority.” Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller “have ordered agents to drop their investigation of the [9/11] attacks or any other assignment any time they learn of a threat or lead that might suggest a future attack.” Mueller believes his agents have “a broad understanding of the events of September 11,” and now need “to concentrate on intelligence suggesting that other terrorist attacks [are] likely.” The Times quotes an unnamed law enforcement official: “The investigative staff has to be made to understand that we’re not trying to solve a crime now. Our number one goal is prevention.” [New York Times, 10/9/2001] At a news conference the previous day, Ashcroft stated that—following the commencement of the US-led attacks on Afghanistan—he had placed federal law enforcement on the highest level of alert. But he refused to say if he had received any specific new threats of terrorist attacks. [US Department of Justice, 10/8/2001] The New York Times also reports that Ashcroft and Mueller have ordered FBI agents to end their surveillance of some terrorist suspects and immediately take them into custody. However, some agents have been opposed to this order because they believe that “surveillance—if continued for days or weeks—might turn up critical evidence to prove who orchestrated the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.” [New York Times, 10/9/2001] Justice Department communications director Mindy Tucker responds to the New York Times article, saying it “is not accurate,” and that the investigation into 9/11 “has not been curtailed, it is ongoing.” [United Press International, 10/9/2001]
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, John Ashcroft, Mindy Tucker, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Robert S. Mueller III
October 10, 2001: FBI Issues List of 22 Most Wanted Terrorists; $5 Million Reward Placed on All of Them
The FBI releases a list of its 22 most wanted terrorists. The US government offers up to $5 million for information leading to the capture of anyone of the list. The men are:
Al-Qaeda leaders Osama bin Laden, who was indicted by a grand jury in 1998 (see June 8, 1998), Ayman al-Zawahiri, linked to a 1995 bombing in Pakistan (see November 19, 1995), and Mohammed Atef, who provided training to Somali fighters before the Black Hawk Down incident (see Late 1992-October 1993);
Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (KSM), for his role in the 1995 Bojinka plot (see January 6, 1995). KSM is actually the mastermind of 9/11, although the US intelligence community has allegedly not yet pieced this information together (see (November 7, 2001));
Several other operatives suspected of involvement in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998): Fazul Abdullah Mohammed (see August 2, 2008), Mustafa Fadhil, Usama al-Kini (a.k.a. Fahid Muhammad Ally Msalam (see August 6-7, 1998)), Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (see July 25-29, 2004), Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan (see July 11, 2002), Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah (see September 10, 2002), Anas al-Liby (see January 20, 2002- March 20, 2002), Saif al-Adel (see Spring 2002), Ahmed Mohammed Hamed Ali, and Mushin Musa Matwalli Atwah (see April 12, 2006);
Abdul Rahman Yasin, a US-Iraqi involved in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing (see March 4-5,1993);
Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil, Ali Saed Bin Ali El-Houri, Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub, and Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser, for their alleged part in the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia (see June 25, 1996);
Imad Mugniyah, Hassan Izz-Al-Din, and Ali Atwa for the hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in June 1985. [CNN, 10/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Mohammed Atef, Mushin Musa Matwalli Atwah, Mustafa Fadhil, Osama bin Laden, Saif al-Adel, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Usama al-Kini, Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, Imad Mugniyah, Mohammed Hamed Ali, Hassan Izz-Al-Din, Abdullah Ahmed Abdullah, Abdul Rahman Yasin, Abdelkarim Hussein Mohamed Al-Nasser, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Mughassil, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, Ibrahim Salih Mohammed Al-Yacoub, Ali Saed Bin Ali El-Houri, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ali Atwa, Ayman al-Zawahiri, Anas al-Liby
Category Tags: Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Osama Bin Laden, 1998 US Embassy Bombings, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
October 10, 2001: Two Israelis Are Detained in Mexican Legislature Building after Behaving Suspiciously and Found To Be Carrying Arms
Two Israelis, Salvador Gersson Smike, 34, and Sar Ben Zui, 27, are arrested in the Mexican Congress Building in Mexico City. Smike is carrying a plastic 9 mm sophisticated Glock 9 mm pistol tucked into his underwear in his lower back. Glock pistols are made with a special plastic material and are very easy to smuggle. [Correo, 10/11/2001; El Heraldo de Mexico (Mexico City), 10/11/2001; Cronica de Hoy (Mexico City), 10/12/2001] He also has with him a briefcase reported to contain 58 bullets, bomb-making materials, three detonators, and nine grenades. [El Heraldo de Mexico (Mexico City), 10/11/2001] The two were apprehended after ex-sugarcane workers, who were waiting for a congressional hearing, saw the two Israelis behaving strangely at around 4:00 p.m. They were reportedly photographing the workers below the belt. When the workers demanded that the two men identify themselves, the Israelis said they were press photographers. The workers dismissed their claims, overcame them, and then discovered they were armed with pistols and other high caliber arms. The two men had apparently also been seen the day before taking pictures. [Cronica de Hoy (Mexico City), 10/12/2001] Security guards soon arrived, disarmed the men, and took them to the security office. At around 6:00 p.m., it is learned that the two men are Israelis and that one of them, Salvador Gersson, is a former colonel of the Israeli Special Forces. [Correo, 10/11/2001; Diario de Mexico (Mexico City), 10/11/2001 ] Soon after, a man claiming to be a supervisor from the company, Desarrollo de Sistemas de Seguridad Privada (Private Security Systems Development), says the two men are employees at the firm and that they were taking pictures because they are “vacationing.” The journalists who are present scoff at the claim. [Correo, 10/11/2001; El Heraldo de Mexico (Mexico City), 10/11/2001] After October 13, no additional information is reported about the incident.
Entity Tags: Salvador Gersson Smike, Sar Ben Zui, Private Security Systems Development
Category Tags: Israel
October 10, 2001: Al-Qaeda Spokesperson Calls 9/11 Attacks a ‘Good Deed,’ Promises More Attacks
Suliman abu Ghaith in an October 2001 video. [Source: Al Jazeera]Al-Qaeda spokesperson Suliman abu Ghaith calls the 9/11 attacks a “good deed” and threatens new attacks. The statement is made public in a video broadcast on Al Jazeera on this day, but it was recorded a few days earlier. Abu Ghaith does not explicitly state that al-Qaeda was behind the 9/11 attacks, but he does not deny it either. He says: “The actions by these young men who destroyed the United States and launched the storm of planes against it have done a good deed. They transferred the battle into the US heartland. Let the United States know that with God’s permission, the battle will continue to be waged on its territory until it leaves our lands, stops its support for the Jews, and lifts the unjust embargo on the Iraqi people who have lost more than one million children.” [BBC, 10/10/2001] Several days later, he will make another video statement. He warns Muslims in the US and Britain not travel by plane or live in skyscrapers, and tells all non-Muslims to leave the Arabian Peninsula. [BBC, 10/14/2001]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Suliman abu Ghaith
Category Tags: 9/11 Investigations, Other 9/11 Investigations
October 10, 2001: Report: Bin Laden’s Financial Network Is Successor to the BCCI Bank
A 70-page French intelligence report claims: “The financial network of [Osama] bin Laden, as well as his network of investments, is similar to the network put in place in the 1980s by BCCI for its fraudulent operations, often with the same people (former directors and cadres of the bank and its affiliates, arms merchants, oil merchants, Saudi investors). The dominant trait of bin Laden’s operations is that of a terrorist network backed up by a vast financial structure.” The BCCI was the largest Islamic bank in the world before it collapsed in July 1991 (see July 5, 1991). A senior US investigator will later say US agencies are looking into the ties outlined by the French because “they just make so much sense, and so few people from BCCI ever went to jail. BCCI was the mother and father of terrorist financing operations.” The report identifies dozens of companies and individuals who were involved with BCCI and were found to be dealing with bin Laden after the bank collapsed. Many went on to work in banks and charities identified by the US and others as supporting al-Qaeda. About six ex-BCCI figures are repeatedly named, including Saudi multi-millionaire Ghaith Pharaon (see October 10, 2001). The role of Saudi billionaire Khalid bin Mahfouz in supporting bin Laden is emphasized in the report. In 1995, bin Mahfouz paid a $225 million fine in a settlement with US prosecutors for his role in the BCCI scandal. [Washington Post, 2/17/2002] Bin Laden lost money when BCCI was shut down, but may have benefited in the long term as other militants began relying on his financial network instead of BCCI’s (see July 1991 and After July 1991). Representatives of bin Mahfouz will later argue that this report is false and was in fact prepared by Jean-Charles Brisard and not the French intelligence service. Bin Mahfouz has begun libel proceedings against Mr. Brisard, claiming that he has made unfounded and defamatory allegations, and denies that he has ever supported terrorism. [Kendall Freeman, 5/13/2004 ]
Entity Tags: Jean-Charles Brisard, Ghaith Pharaon, Khalid bin Mahfouz, Al-Qaeda, Bank of Credit and Commerce International, Osama bin Laden
Category Tags: Pakistan and the ISI, BCCI
October 10, 2001: Baggage Handling Company Cleared of Wrongdoing
It is reported that Globe Aviation Services Corp., in charge of the baggage handlers for Flight 11 and all other American Airlines Flights at Boston’s Logan Airport, have been cleared of any wrongdoing. Globe Aviation supervisors claim that none of the employees working that day was in the US illegally. Supposedly, no weapons were detected, but a baggage handler for Globe Aviation and American Airlines has told the FBI that one of the hijackers—believed to be either Wail or Waleed Alshehri—was carrying one wooden crutch under his arm when he boarded Flight 11. Crutches are apparently routinely scanned through X-ray machines. [Boston Globe, 10/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Logan International Airport, American Airlines, Globe Aviation Services Corp., Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wail Alshehri, Waleed Alshehri
October 10, 2001: Famous Arab Commentator Says Al-Qaeda Could Not Have Conducted 9/11 Attacks
Mohammed Heikal. [Source: Publicity photo]Mohammed Heikal, longtime Egyptian journalist, former government spokesman, and the “Arab world’s foremost political commentator,” expresses disbelief that bin Laden and al-Qaeda could have conducted the 9/11 attack without the US knowing. “Bin Laden has been under surveillance for years: every telephone call was monitored and al-Qaeda has been penetrated by American intelligence, Pakistani intelligence, Saudi intelligence, Egyptian intelligence. They could not have kept secret an operation that required such a degree of organization and sophistication.” [Guardian, 10/10/2001]
Entity Tags: Mohammed Heikal, Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden
Category Tags: US Government and 9/11 Criticism
October 10, 2001: US Television Networks ‘Doing Too Much of the Government’s Bidding’
The Bush administration asks the major US television networks to refrain from showing unedited video messages taped by Osama bin Laden. They agree. A Newsweek article is critical of the decision, pointing out that “all but one [of these networks] are controlled by major conglomerates that have important pending business with the government.” The article openly questions if the media is “doing too much of the government’s bidding” in reporting on 9/11. Says one expert, “I’m not saying that everything is a horrible paranoid fantasy, but my sense is there’s an implicit quid pro quo here. The industry seems to be saying to the administration, ‘We’re patriotic, We’re supporting the war, we lost all of this advertising, now free us from [business] constraints.’” [Newsweek, 10/13/2001]
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43), Osama bin Laden
Timeline Tags: Events Leading to Iraq Invasion, 9/11 Timeline, Domestic Propaganda
Category Tags: Media
October 10, 2001: Prominent BCCI Front Man Linked to Bin Laden
Ghaith Pharaon shaking hands with Alexander Haig. [Source: Bob Morris / Sygma]Shortly after 9/11, the Guardian will report that Ghaith Pharon is “directly linked to bin Laden through banks, holding companies, and charities.” This information is said to come from a French intelligence report (see October 10, 2001). [Guardian, 10/10/2001] Pharon was a pivotal figure in the criminal BCCI bank. A Saudi, he built up a Saudi construction firm called REDEC that had over $1 billion in revenues by the mid-1970s. He lives an extremely opulent lifestyle and moves easily in high-powered circles in Western countries. But in the 1980s his businesses began failing and he became a BCCI front man. BCCI used his charm and his connections in Saudi Arabia and the US to buy banks in the US, such as the First American Bank. He threw lavish parties and became friends with many influential Americans, such as former President Jimmy Carter. Meanwhile, he stole at least $500 million of the money invested in BCCI. When the BCCI scandal broke in 1991, many of the key figures cut deals with prosecutors, but Pharon did not. An international warrant was issued for his arrest, and in 1997 it was determined that he owes $2 billion for his role in the BCCI scandal. [Beaty and Gwynne, 1993, pp. 168-182; Financial Times, 9/6/1997] But Pharaon continues to run his business empire and live a lavish lifestyle. In 1997, it was reported that Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are both refusing to acknowledge the warrant for his arrest. He spends time in both countries, but mostly lives on his large yacht. [Financial Times, 9/6/1997]
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Ghaith Pharaon
October 11, 2001: Early Account of Able Danger Remains Classified
Dr. Eileen Preisser testifies before a congressional briefing. Dr. Preisser was one of four analysts in the US Army’s Land Information Warfare Activity (LIWA) supporting Able Danger in late 1999 and 2000 (see Fall 1999). While her testimony remains classified, the next day, Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT) gives a brief summary: “In a briefing we had yesterday, we had Eileen [Preisser], who argues that we don’t have the data we need because we don’t take all the public data that is available and mix it with the security data. And just taking public data, using, you know, computer systems that are high-speed and able to digest, you know, literally floors’ worth of material, she can take relationships that are seven times removed, seven units removed, and when she does that, she ends up with relationships to the bin Laden group where she sees the purchase of chemicals, the sending of students to universities. You wouldn’t see it if you isolated it there, but if that unit is connected to that unit, which is connected to that unit, which is connected to that unit, you then see the relationship. So we don’t know ultimately the authenticity of how she does it, but when she does it, she comes up with the kind of answer that you have just asked, which is a little unsettling.” [US Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform. Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations, 10/12/2001] Note that according to some media accounts, the CIA monitored Mohamed Atta purchasing large quantities of chemicals in Germany in the spring of 2000 (see January-May 2000). Atta also sends a series of e-mails to the US in the spring of 2000, inquiring about flight school opportunities for himself and a “small group” of his associates (see January-March 2000). Dr. Preisser is apparently willing to testify about her role in how Able Danger uncovered Atta’s name, but in September 2005 she is prohibited from publicly testifying before Congress (see September 21, 2005).
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Christopher Shays, Eileen Preisser
Category Tags: Able Danger
October 11, 2001: FBI Incorrectly Claims Majority of 9/11 Hijackers Were Unaware They Were on Suicide Mission
According to an FBI report, “FBI investigators have officially concluded that 11 of the 19 terrorists who hijacked the aircraft on September 11 did not know they were on a suicide mission.” “Unlike the eight ‘lead’ attackers, who were all trained pilots, they did not leave messages for friends and family indicating they knew their lives were over,” and they did not have copies of Mohamed Atta’s final prayer note (see September 28, 2001). Personal items found suggest the men thought they were taking part in a conventional hijacking and were preparing for the possibility of prison. [Observer, 10/14/2001] This is later contradicted by video filmed in Afghanistan in March 2001 showing several of the 11 non-lead hijackers proclaiming their willingness to die on an upcoming suicide mission (see (December 2000-March 2001)).
October 11, 2001: Attorney General Ashcroft Takes Over All Terrorist Prosecutions
It is reported that Attorney General John Ashcroft and his Justice Department is assuming control of all terrorism-related prosecutions from the US Attorney’s office in New York, which has had a highly successful record of accomplishment in prosecuting cases connected to bin Laden. 15 of the 22 suspects listed on a most wanted terrorism list a month after 9/11 had already been indicted by the New York office in recent years. A former federal prosecutor says of the New York office, “For eight years, they have developed an expertise in these prosecutions and the complex facts that surround these groups. If ever there was a case where you’d want to play to your strength, this is it.” [New York Times, 10/11/2001] A grand jury in the New York district began investigating the 9/11 attacks one week after 9/11. But media accounts of this grand jury’s activity stop by late October 2001 and there appears to be no other grand jury taking its place (see September 18, 2001).
Entity Tags: US Department of Justice, Osama bin Laden
October 11-29, 2001: General Terror Alerts Issued, Terrorists Said Poised to Attack US ‘in the Next Week’
On October 11, 2001, President Bush uses his first prime-time news conference to give an update on the early stages of the war on terrorism. He confirms that the Justice Department just issued a blanket alert “in recognition of a general threat.” [CNN News, 10/11/2001] This general threat never materializes. On October 29, the administration warns again of plans to strike the United States “in the next week.” In a quickly called news conference, US Attorney General John Ashcroft says intelligence sources have found “credible” information the nation could be the focus for some sort of terrorist attack within the week. No specific information is provided to the public now or later to explain what information may have caused this alert. [CNN News, 10/29/2001] Bush tells Americans “to go about their lives, to fly on airplanes, to travel, to work.” [Rich, 2006, pp. 36]
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, John Ashcroft, US Department of Justice
October 12, 2001: Additional Suspected Terrorist Supporters’ Assets Frozen
The US and Britain freeze the assets of 39 additional individuals and organizations designated by the US as connected to terrorism. $24 million is seized. The British also freeze the assets of 27 other entities named by the US in late September 2001 (see September 24, 2001). The new list includes 33 individuals and six organizations. Twenty-two of the individuals appeared on the FBI’s latest “most wanted terrorists” list. Saudi multimillionaire businessman Yassin al-Qadi is named (see October 12, 2001). So is Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who will later be identified as the mastermind of 9/11. Five of the names were al-Qaeda leaders on a United Nations list published in March 8, 2001, with a recommendation that all nations freeze their assets. Other countries froze the assets of those on that list before 9/11, but the US did not (see March 8, 2001). [Associated Press, 10/12/2001; Guardian, 10/13/2001; Los Angeles Times, 10/15/2001]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United Kingdom, United Nations, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Yassin al-Qadi
Category Tags: Saudi Arabia, Terrorism Financing, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
October 12, 2001: US Declares Al-Qadi Terrorist Financier
Yassin al-Qadi. [Source: Arab News]Yassin al-Qadi is included in a new US list of 39 individuals and organizations designated by the US as connected to terrorism (see October 12, 2001). The US officially declares him a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” and his US assets are frozen. [Chicago Tribune, 10/14/2001; Chicago Tribune, 10/29/2001] Al-Qadi says he is “horrified and shocked” by the allegations. [Chicago Tribune, 10/16/2001] There have been several accusations that al-Qadi laundered money to fund Hamas and al-Qaeda. He headed the Muwafaq (Blessed Relief) Foundation, a Saudi-based charity. Treasury officials allege it has funneled millions of dollars to al-Qaeda (see 1995-1998). [Chicago Tribune, 10/16/2001; Chicago Tribune, 10/29/2001] An investigation into his al-Qaeda connections was canceled by higher-ups in the FBI in October 1998 (see October 1998). In late 2002, Saudi Arabia will freeze al-Qadi’s accounts, an action the Saudis have taken against only three people. However, he has yet to be charged or arrested by the Saudis or the US. [Washington Post, 12/7/2002]
Entity Tags: Yassin al-Qadi, United States, US Department of the Treasury
Category Tags: Robert Wright and Vulgar Betrayal, Saudi Arabia, BMI and Ptech, Terrorism Financing
October 12, 2001: Two Suspected Charities Apparently Protected by Saudi Government Ties
Muslim World League logo. [Source: Muslim World League]The International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) and the Muslim World League (MWL) are Saudi charities directly financed by the Saudi government. In 1996, the CIA gave the State Department a report detailing evidence that the IIIRO supported terrorism. It claimed the IIRO has funded Hamas and six militant training camps in Afghanistan, and one funder of the Bojinka plot to blow up airplanes over the Pacific was the head of the IIRO office in the Philippines (see January 1996). US intelligence officials also believe that MWL employees were involved in the 1998 US embassy bombings (see 10:35-10:39 a.m., August 7, 1998). Harper’s magazine claims that it has long been known that both groups helped fund al-Qaeda. However, in October 2001, it is reported that the Bush administration has left the two organizations off an October 12, 2001 list of designated terrorist groups to spare the Saudi government from embarrassment (see October 12, 2001). In March 2002, the Virginia offices of the IIRO and MWL will be raided by US Customs agents (see March 20, 2002). [Harper's, 3/2004] In September 2003, it will be reported that US officials recently gave Saudi officials a detailed documenting the IIRO’s terrorism links and asked the Saudis to close all of the organization’s overseas offices. [New York Times, 9/26/2003] However, as of January 2006, it will be reported that it appears the overseas offices of the IIRO and MWL are still open and the US has not officially declared either group to be terrorist sponsors. The US will still be complaining to the Saudis about these two organizations and others, and the Saudis will still not do anything about them (see January 15, 2006).
Entity Tags: International Islamic Relief Organization, Bush administration (43), Saudi Arabia, Muslim World League
October 12, 2001: President Bush Decides Against Attempting to Seal the Afghanistan-Pakistan Border to Prevent Al-Qaeda and Taliban from Escaping
President Bush briefly considers sealing the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan to prevent the escape of Taliban and al-Qaeda leaders, but then decides against it. According to journalist Bob Woodward, a National Security Council (NSC) meeting held on this day is attended by Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, CIA Director George Tenet, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, and others. Intelligence indicates that about 100 people per day are going from Pakistan to Afghanistan to fight with the Taliban. Woodward will claim, “There was some talk of sealing the border.” But he adds the idea is immediately dismissed: “It seemed an impossible idea, not practical given the hundreds of miles of mountainous and rough terrain, some of the most formidable in the world. There were few roads. Getting from one point to another could only be done on foot, with mules, or on horseback.” [Woodward, 2002, pp. 205] CIA official Michael Scheuer will later comment, “There is no denying that closing that border was a hard job, but if the NSC did not believe that the best military in the world could close the border and trap bin Laden, why did it decide that the task could be safely allotted to the poorly armed and trained and generally anti-US Pakistani forces?” [Scheuer, 2008]
Entity Tags: National Security Council, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, George J. Tenet, George W. Bush
October 12, 2001: Vice President Cheney Suggests Al-Qaeda Could Be Responsible for Anthrax Attacks
Vice President Dick Cheney suggests al-Qaeda could be behind the recent anthrax attacks (see October 5-November 21, 2001). Cheney tells PBS: “We know that [Osama bin Laden] has over the years tried to acquire weapons of mass destruction, both biological and chemical weapons. We know that he’s trained people in his camps in Afghanistan. For example, we have copies of the manuals that they’ve actually used to train people with respect to how to deploy and use these kinds of substances. So, you start to piece it altogether. Again, we have not completed the investigation and maybe it’s coincidence, but I must say I’m a skeptic.” He adds, “I think the only responsible thing for us to do is proceed on the basis that it could be linked.” [BBC, 10/13/2001] A senior FBI official will claim in 2008 that this comment came shortly after the FBI told the White House that the anthrax strain was most likely too technically advanced to have been made by al-Qaeda (see Shortly After October 5, 2001).
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney
Timeline Tags: 2001 Anthrax Attacks
October 12, 2001: Rumsfeld Allegedly Says that Missile Hit Pentagon
In an interview for Parade magazine Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld apparently says the Pentagon was hit by a missile. In the printed interview and a Defense Department website re-posting he is quoted as saying: “Here we’re talking about plastic knives and using an American Airlines flight filled with our citizens, and the missile to damage this building and similar (inaudible) that damaged the World Trade Center.” [Parade Magazine, 10/12/2001] This will be taken by some who think the Pentagon was not hit by American Airlines Flight 77 (see Early March 2002) as an accidental admission of a missile strike. However, in 2004 Parade will say that a “transcription error led to the confusion, but conspiracy theorists latched onto Rumsfeld’s supposed admission and spread it over the Internet.” Although the transcription error is not specified, if the word “and” is replaced by the word “as” the statement becomes “[…] using an American Airlines flight filled with our citizens as the missile to damage this building.” [Parade Magazine, 9/4/2004]
Entity Tags: Donald Rumsfeld
October 12, 2001: Recovery Workers Find What They Think Is One of the Planes’ Black Boxes in the Debris of the WTC
Pier 25 on the Hudson River. [Source: Larry Lerner / FEMA]Recovery workers find what appears to be one of the black boxes from Flight 11 or Flight 175—the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on 9/11—while they are working near Ground Zero, but FBI agents who inspect the object deny that it is one of these devices. [Keegan and Davis, 2006, pp. 94-96] The two black boxes carried by all commercial aircraft—the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder—can provide valuable information about why a plane crashed. Although they are called “black” boxes, they are in fact painted bright orange. [CBS News, 2/25/2002; PBS, 2/17/2004] Since the initial days of the recovery effort at Ground Zero, finding the black boxes from Flight 11 and Flight 175 has been a priority, due to the critical information they might hold. Many posters with photos of a plane’s black boxes have been put up around the WTC site so workers will recognize these devices if they turn up in the debris.
Operating Engineer Thinks He Has Found a Black Box - Today, an operating engineer notices an object that looks like it could be one of the black boxes while he is scraping up a load of debris at Pier 25 on the Hudson River. [Keegan and Davis, 2006, pp. 94] At Pier 25, near Ground Zero, debris from the WTC site is being loaded onto barges and transported to the Fresh Kills landfill on Staten Island. [New York Daily News, 1/6/2002; APWA Reporter, 3/2004] The operating engineer thinks the object is the same shape as a black box. It is too blackened and charred, though, for him to determine if it is painted orange, like a plane’s black boxes are. He stops operations at the pier so he can get the opinion of the crane operator there. The crane operator agrees that the object looks like a plane’s black box and says its discovery should be reported. The operating engineer therefore makes a call to report the find and is put through to Lieutenant Ed Moss of the Port Authority Police Department (PAPD).
Police Officers Think the Unearthed Object Is a Black Box - After the operating engineer tells him about the discovery, Moss heads to Pier 25 with his colleague, Lieutenant Bill Doubrawski. He examines the object and he too thinks it is one of the black boxes. Excitedly, he contacts Lieutenant William Keegan, who is in charge of the PAPD’s nighttime rescue and recovery operation at Ground Zero. Talking over a secure phone line, Moss tells Keegan: “I think we found one of these things. I’m looking at the diagram. I think this is it.” Moss says Doubrawski agrees with his assessment. He describes the object as being “[h]ard as a rock, not orange,” and looking “like it was torched, all blackened.” Keegan says he wants to see the object and heads to Pier 25 to examine it.
Senior Police Officer Agrees with His Colleagues' Assessment - When he arrives there, he compares the object to some photos of a plane’s black boxes and agrees that it appears to be one of these devices. “The object found on the pier was absolutely close enough to the pictures available to us to notify the FBI without delay,” Keegan will later write. The PAPD officers arrange for some FBI agents who are working at Ground Zero to come to the PAPD command post to see the object.
FBI Agents Think the Object Is a Black Box but Then Change Their Minds - Around 20 to 30 minutes later, two FBI agents arrive at the command post. The agents examine the object that has been discovered and compare it to a diagram of a plane’s black box. They then say words to the effect of “Wow, this looks like it” and “It’s the same shape,” according to Keegan. However, after looking at the object for a few more minutes, they apparently change their minds. “We don’t think it’s a black box,” one of them tells the PAPD officers. In response, Keegan asks: “So it’s okay to throw it back on the barge? You’re clearing it?” The other agent quickly replies, “No, no, we’re going to take it with us.” The two FBI agents then leave the command post, taking the object with them. Keegan and his colleagues will subsequently never receive any information from the FBI, regarding whether the object really is one of the black boxes. [Keegan and Davis, 2006, pp. 94-96] The 9/11 Commission Report will state that the black boxes from the planes that crashed into the WTC “were not found.” [9/11 Commission, 7/24/2004, pp. 456] But firefighter Nicholas DeMasi, who works extensively in the wreckage of the WTC, will say he helped federal agents recover three black boxes at Ground Zero (see October 2001). [Swanson, 2003, pp. 108; Philadelphia Daily News, 10/28/2004]
Entity Tags: Bill Doubrawski, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ed Moss, William Keegan
October 13, 2001: Czech Foreign Minister Tells Secretary of State Powell Mohamed Atta May Have Met with Iraqi Spy
Czech foreign minister Jan Kavan briefs Secretary of State Colin Powell in Washington about the alleged trip 9/11 plotter Mohamed Atta took to the Czech Republic in April 2001 (see April 8, 2001). Kavan tells Powell that the BIS, the Czech intelligence service, has reason to believe that Mohamed Atta may have met near Prague with Iraqi spy Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani. [New York Times, 10/20/2001 Sources: Jan Kavan]
Entity Tags: Jan Kavan, Colin Powell, Mohamed Atta, Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani
Shortly After October 12, 2001: Software Company Whistleblowers Ignored
Yassin al-Qadi, a Saudi multimillionaire businessman, was officially declared a terrorist financier in October 2001 (see October 12, 2001). [Arab News, 9/26/2002] That same month, a number of employees at Ptech, a Boston-based computer company that al-Qadi and other individuals suspected of financing officially designated terrorist groups invested in (see 1994), tell the Boston FBI about the connections between Ptech and al-Qadi. However, FBI agents do little more than take their statements. A high-level government source later will claim the FBI does not convey the Ptech-al-Qadi link to Operation Greenquest, a Customs Department investigation into al-Qadi and other suspected financiers, and none of the government agencies using Ptech software are warned about the possible security threat Ptech represents. [Boston Globe, 12/7/2002; WBZ 4 (Boston), 12/9/2002] According to a private counterterrorism expert involved in investigating Ptech at the time, “Frighteningly, when an employee told [Ptech president Oussama Ziade] he felt he had to contact the FBI regarding al-Qadi’s involvement in the company, the president allegedly told him not to worry because Yaqub Mirza, who was on the board of directors of the company and was himself a target of a [Greenquest] terrorist financing raid in March 2002 (see March 20, 2002), had contacts high within the FBI.” [National Review, 5/27/2003] A Ptech investigation will finally begin in 2002 after more whistleblowers come forward (see May-December 5, 2002).
Entity Tags: US Customs Service, Yacub Mirza, Operation Greenquest, Yassin al-Qadi, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Ptech Inc., Oussama Ziade
Category Tags: Terrorism Financing, BMI and Ptech, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
Mid-October 2001: Al-Qaeda Offers to Arrange Television Interview of Osama bin Laden
An al-Qaeda representative offers to arrange a television interview of Osama bin Laden. There are two versions of how this offer is made. According to CNN, an al-Qaeda contact of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera, with which it has a footage-sharing agreement, invites CNN and Al Jazeera to submit questions to bin Laden. CNN, worried about accusations of improper conduct, contacts the other major US television news stations and tells them it will share any footage that emerges. It also says it will only air the interview as long as it is newsworthy and not “propaganda.” CNN then draws up six questions about al-Qaeda’s role in 9/11 and the recent anthrax attacks in the US. It gives the questions to Al Jazeera, which adds another 25 and sends them to its Kabul bureau, which, in turn, passes them on to its al-Qaeda contact. The ethics of this are hotly debated in the US media, with Fox News publicly refusing to participate. Nevertheless, an Al Jazeera manager will later say: “I assure you they [Fox] contacted me to send more questions of their own. I got calls and emails from them.” Fox will later admit to the contacts, but say it would only have agreed to take part in the event of a regular interview. However, Al Jazeera media relations manager Jihad Ballout will contradict CNN’s account of the offer, saying the two organizations are approached independently, and al-Qaeda eventually chooses Al Jazeera. [Miles, 2005, pp. 175-176, 179-180] The interview will take place on October 20 (see October 20, 2001).
Entity Tags: Jihad Ballout, Al Jazeera, Al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, CNN, Fox News
October 14, 2001: Bin Laden Reportedly Has Supporters at All Levels of Saudi Arabia
The Boston Herald reports: “Three banks allegedly used by Osama bin Laden to distribute money to his global terrorism network have well-established ties to a prince in Saudi Arabia’s royal family, several billionaire Saudi bankers, and the governments of Kuwait and Dubai. One of the banks, Al-Shamal Islamic Bank in the Sudan, was controlled directly by bin Laden, according to a 1996 US State Department report.” A regional expert states, “I think we underestimate bin Laden. He comes from the highest levels of Saudi society and he has supporters at all levels of Saudi Arabia.” [Boston Herald, 10/14/2001] The US has yet to take any official steps against the Al-Shamal bank, and some suggest this is because of its ties to influential Saudi figures (see September 24, 2001 and After).
Entity Tags: Osama bin Laden, Al-Shamal Islamic Bank
October 14, 2001: ’Strange Coincidence’ Briefly Increases Suspicions Al-Qaeda Is behind Anthrax Attacks
Gloria Irish. [Source: AP / St. Petersburg Times]The FBI confirms that Gloria Irish rented an apartment to two of the 9/11 hijackers. Her husband is Michael Irish, who is an editor of the Sun, a Florida tabloid newspaper, and the first victim of the anthrax attacks earlier this month. Bob Stevens, who also worked at the Sun, and several others at the tabloid offices were injured. The FBI says that Irish rented different apartments in Delray Beach, Florida, to hijackers Marwan Alshehhi and Saeed Alghamdi during the summer of 2001. But one FBI spokesperson says, “Right now it looks like a coincidence,” and another calls it a “strange coincidence.” Two of the hijackers, including Mohamed Atta, also had subscriptions to the Sun. [Knight Ridder, 10/14/2001; Guardian, 10/16/2001] But Irish says “there is no way” the hijackers could have known about any Sun connection through her. [Washington Post, 10/15/2001] Michael Irish is a licensed pilot who was a member of the Civil Air Patrol based at Lantana Airport. Atta reportedly rented a plane at that airport in August (see August 16-19, 2001). Stevens, who died of anthrax on October 5, also lived in Lantana. But there is no evidence that Irish or Stevens crossed paths with Atta. [St. Petersburg Times, 10/15/2001] The story will quickly die after nothing more is found to the connection.
Entity Tags: Mohamed Atta, Marwan Alshehhi, Bob Stevens, Gloria Irish, Saeed Alghamdi
October 15, 2001: Two Democratic Senators Targets of Anthrax Attacks
The envelope to the Tom Daschle letter. [Source: FBI]Two Democratic senators are targets of the 2001 anthrax attacks (see October 5-November 21, 2001). On this day, Senator Tom Daschle’s office opens a letter mailed October 9, containing a lethal dose of anthrax (see October 6-9, 2001). A similar letter to Senator Patrick Leahy mailed the same day and from the same location is misrouted to Virginia on October 12, and is not discovered until November 17. Neither Leahy nor Daschle come into contact with the anthrax, but some of Daschle’s staffers do. [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12/8/2001]
Entity Tags: P. Patrick Leahy, Tom Daschle
October 15, 2001: Russian Newspaper Calls Afghanistan War US Political Power Move
According to the Moscow Times, the Russian government sees the upcoming US conquest of Afghanistan as an attempt by the US to replace Russia as the dominant political force in Central Asia, with the control of oil as a prominent motive: “While the bombardment of Afghanistan outwardly appears to hinge on issues of fundamentalism and American retribution, below the surface, lurks the prize of the energy-rich Caspian basin into which oil majors have invested billions of dollars. Ultimately, this war will set the boundaries of US and Russian influence in Central Asia—and determine the future of oil and gas resources of the Caspian Sea.” [Moscow Times, 10/15/2001] The US later appears to gain military influence over Kazakhstan, the Central Asian country with the most resource wealth, and closest to the Russian heartland (see March 30, 2002).
Entity Tags: United States, Russia
Category Tags: Afghanistan, US Dominance
October 15, 2001: President Bush Suggests Link between Anthrax Attacks and Al-Qaeda
At a press conference in Italy, President Bush says “there may be some possible link” between the recent anthrax attacks (see October 5-November 21, 2001) and al-Qaeda. He adds: “We have no hard data yet, but it’s clear that [Osama] bin Laden is a man who’s an evil man. He and his spokesmen are openly bragging about how they hope to inflict more pain on our country. So we’re watching every piece of evidence.” [CNN, 10/15/2001] A senior FBI official will claim in 2008 that this comment came shortly after the FBI told the White House that the anthrax strain was most likely too technically advanced to have been made by al-Qaeda (see Shortly After October 5, 2001).
Entity Tags: George W. Bush, Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda
Mid-October-December 2001: British Muslim Radicalized by Informer Fights Allied Troops in Afghanistan
A British Muslim radicalized at Finsbury Park mosque in London, which is run by British intelligence informer and radical imam Abu Hamza al-Masri (see Early 1997), fights against British troops in northern Afghanistan. The man’s name is not known, but he will be said to be a former DJ of Lebanese descent from a rich family. [O'Neill and McGrory, 2006, pp. 88]
Entity Tags: Finsbury Park Mosque
(Mid-October-mid November 2001): Gold and Silver Recovered from WTC Basement Area; Evidence Suggests Attempted Theft
The Bank of Nova Scotia gold vault, located under WTC Building 4, is examined in late October 2001. [Source: Leslie E. Robertson and Associates]Workers at Ground Zero discover large amounts of gold and other precious metals stored below the ruins of the WTC. As debris is removed they are able to access parts of the 16-acre WTC basement, which drops 70 feet below ground level. Precious metals are stored in numerous vaults within this area. The London Times says the quantity of these “has been a carefully guarded secret,” but estimates $750 million of gold and silver in vaults belonging to the Comex metals trading division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. There appears to have been an attempt, since 9/11, to break into a Comex vault containing $200 million of precious metals belonging to the Bank of Nova Scotia. A government official involved in the recovery work says, “It looked like they used a blowtorch, a crowbar,” but a bank spokeswoman denies there has been any attempted break-in. The banks later states that “All of the silver, gold, platinum, and palladium stored in its vaults at 4 World Trade Center” has been relocated to a depository in Brooklyn. Other gold is discovered in a service tunnel below WTC 5. According to the London Times, this was being transported through the tunnel on the morning of 9/11 (see (Before 9:59 a.m.) September 11, 2001). [New York Daily News, 10/31/2001; London Times, 11/1/2001; New York Times, 11/1/2001; Reuters, 11/17/2001]
Entity Tags: Comex
October 15, 2001-February 22, 2004: Waiter Who Served Atta Lunch Is Imprisoned for Five Months, Government Attempts to Keep Court Case Secret
Mohamed Kamel Bellahouel is arrested and held for five months after investigators discover he worked at a restaurant where Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi sometimes ate lunch in South Florida. In a sworn statement, Michael Rolince, head of the FBI’s International Terrorism Operations Section, says, “It is likely that Bellahouel would have waited on both Atta and Alshehhi since Bellahouel had worked at the restaurant for 10 months, and both Atta and Alshehhi were frequent patrons during shifts that Bellahouel worked.” Rolince also alleges Bellahouel may have waited on a third hijacker, Saeed Alghamdi, and says that a cinema employee claims Bellahouel saw a film with a fourth hijacker, Ahmed Alnami. However, Bellahouel, who denies going to the cinema with Alnami, has trouble gaining access to the evidence used against him. His attorney comments, “They won’t call it secret evidence and they won’t call it classified, but they won’t give it to you, either.” He is held in prison without bond and without charge from October 15, 2001 to March 1, 2002. After he is released, US authorities attempt to deport him, as he entered the US as a student, but then dropped out of college and started work, marrying a US citizen in June 2001. His attorney says the problem is that he is a Muslim. “If he were a Catholic coming from Venezuela or Colombia, they would have let him adjust his immigration status.” Bellahouel sues the government over his incarceration, but the case is shrouded in secrecy and the press only learns the case is ongoing due to a court error. [Miami Daily Business Review, 3/14/2003] For example, a journalist, who does not event know Bellahouel’s name, attempts to attend a hearing in March 2003. But the court is closed. After some effort, the reporter finally finds the name in the electronic docket. When he tells a court official Bellahouel’s name is on the docket, the official replies, “Is it? We’ll have to fix that, too,” and the name disappears. [Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, 12/2004] In February 2004 the Supreme Court declines an appeal from Bellahouel to have an open hearing, and media organizations are prevented from accessing sealed court proceedings. [New York Times, 1/5/2004; CNN, 2/23/2004]
Entity Tags: Marwan Alshehhi, Michael Rolince, Ahmed Alnami, Mohamed Kamel Bellahouel, Saeed Alghamdi, Mohamed Atta
Category Tags: Mohamed Atta, FBI 9/11 Investigation, 9/11 Investigations
Mid-October 2001: Bin Laden’s Oldest Son Confirms He Still Works with Family Company
Abdullah bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s oldest son, confirms in an interview that he works with the family business, the Saudi Binladin Group, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He declares his allegiance to the Saudi government, but also defends his father and refuses to disown him. Two knowledgeable sources from within Saudi Arabia claim that Abdullah is being prevented from leaving Saudi Arabia, with the implication that the government could bring harm to him if Osama attacks Saudi Arabia. [Wall Street Journal, 10/2/2001; New Yorker, 11/5/2001] Abdullah also says that he lived with Osama in Sudan until 1996, but then moved back to Saudi Arabia when his father moved to Afghanistan, as he did not want to experience the hardships there. [New Yorker, 12/5/2005] In 2005 it will be reported that Bakr bin Laden, the family patriarch and chairman of the Saudi Binladin Group, is said to frequently dine in public restaurants in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with Abdullah. [Der Spiegel (Hamburg), 6/6/2005]
Entity Tags: Abdullah Awad bin Laden
Category Tags: Saudi Arabia, Bin Laden Family
October 16, 2001: Czech Minister Refuses to Confirm Atta Meeting with Iraqi Agent in Prague
Referring to the claim that 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta met with Iraqi Counsel al-Ani on April 8, 2001 (see April 8, 2001), Stanislav Gross, the Czech interior minister, states, “I can only confirm one visit in the summer” and Petr Necas, chairman of the parliamentary defense committee, says, “I haven’t seen any direct evidence that Mr. Atta met any Iraqi agent.” Citing a senior Czech Republic official, the New York Times will report on October 20 that “firm documentary evidence existed only that Mr. Atta had passed through the Prague airport from Germany to take a flight to Newark.” [New York Times, 10/20/2001] The rumors, which had first surfaced shortly after the attacks, were based on information from a Czech intelligence source inside Prague’s Middle Eastern community. The source had told the BIS, the Czech Republic’s intelligence service, that he had seen Atta meeting al-Ani in a restaurant outside of Prague on April 8 earlier that year (see April 8, 2001). [CNN, 9/19/2001; Newsweek, 4/28/2002]
Entity Tags: Ahmed Khalil Ibrahim Samir al-Ani, Stanislav Gross, Mohamed Atta, Petr Necas
October 16, 2001: Some Flight Control Transcripts Released, but Sections Are Missing
The government releases flight control transcripts of three of the four hijacked planes [New York Times, 10/16/2001; New York Times, 10/16/2001; New York Times, 10/16/2001] ) . Strangely, Flight 93 is left out. Yet even the three released transcripts are incomplete (for instance, Flight 77’s ends at least 20 minutes before it crashes), and certain events that are part of the official story do not show up on these transcripts.
Entity Tags: Bush administration (43)
October 16, 2001: Several Israelis Arrested for Curious Sears Tower Surveillance
Two men, Moshe Elmakias and Ron Katar, are arrested in rural Pennsylvania after being found with a detailed video of the Sears Tower in Chicago. In addition, a woman named Ayelet Reisler is found with them, carrying conflicting identification information. They are arrested for illegal dumping, using a van with the name Moving Systems Incorporated. The video contains extensive zoom in shots of the Sears Tower; it is not known when the video was filmed. [Mercury (Philadelphia), 10/17/2001]
Entity Tags: Ron Katar, Sears Tower, Ayelet Reisler, Moshe Elmakias
October 16, 2001: Bin Laden Cleared of Insider Trading in Britain
“The Financial Services Authority—Britain’s main financial regulator—has cleared bin Laden and his henchmen of insider trading. There has been a widespread suspicion that members of the al-Qaeda organization had cashed in on the US attacks, dumping airline, aerospace and insurance company shares before September 11th. The Authority says that after a thorough investigation, it has found no hard evidence of any such deals in London.” [American Public Media, 10/17/2001] On September 24, Belgium’s Financial Minister had claimed there were strong suspicions that British markets may have been used for 9/11-related insider trading in early September. [CNN, 9/24/2001]
Entity Tags: Al-Qaeda, Financial Services Authority
Category Tags: Insider Trading/ Foreknowledge
October 17, 2001: JCS Chairman Myers Says He Hadn’t Thought of 9/11-Type Scenario
Gen. Richard Myers, acting Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman on 9/11, says of 9/11, “You hate to admit it, but we hadn’t thought about this.” He was promoted from Vice-Chairman to Chairman three days after 9/11. [American Forces Press Service, 10/23/2001]
Entity Tags: Richard B. Myers
Category Tags: Warning Signs, 9/11 Denials
October 17, 2001: Top Bush Administration Officials Look to Blame Anthrax Attacks on Al-Qaeda, Iraq, or Russia
Vice President Cheney chairs a National Security Council meeting because President Bush is overseas. According to journalist Bob Woodward, who later interviews many participants in the meeting, the topic of the recent anthrax attacks is discussed (see October 5-November 21, 2001). CIA Director George Tenet suggests that al-Qaeda is behind the attacks. He also adds, “I think there’s a state sponsor involved. It’s too well thought out, the powder’s too well refined. It might be Iraq, it might be Russia, it might be a renegade scientist,” perhaps from Iraq or Russia. Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff I. Lewis Libby also suggests the anthrax attacks were state sponsored. “We’ve got to be careful on what we say. If we say it’s al-Qaeda, a state sponsor may feel safe and then hit us thinking they will have a bye because we’ll blame it on al-Qaeda.” Tenet replies, “I’m not going to talk about a state sponsor.” Vice President Cheney comments, “It’s good that we don’t, because we’re not ready to do anything about it.” [Woodward, 2002, pp. 244] No strong evidence will emerge tying the attacks to al-Qaeda or any state sponsor. The anthrax attacks still remain completely unsolved.
Entity Tags: George J. Tenet, Bob Woodward, National Security Council, Richard (“Dick”) Cheney, Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby
October 18, 2001: Paul Wolfowitz Issues Memo Urging Secrecy Among Defense Department Staff
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz issues a memorandum to senior officials throughout the Defense Department stating that, following President Bush’s declaration of a national emergency on September 14, Defense Department employees should exercise great caution whenever discussing information relating to their department’s work. The memo instructs: “Do not conduct any work-related conversations in common areas, public places, while commuting, or over unsecured electronic circuits. Classified information may be discussed only in authorized spaces and with persons having a specific need to know and the proper security clearance. Unclassified information may likewise require protection because it can often be compiled to reveal sensitive conclusions. Much of the information we use to conduct [the department]‘s operations must be withheld from public release because of its sensitivity. If in doubt, do not release or discuss official information except with other [Defense Department] personnel.” According to the memo, “the security of information critical to the national security will remain at risk for an indefinite period.” [US Department of Defense, 10/18/2001; Washington Times, 10/23/2001]
Entity Tags: US Department of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz
October 18, 2001: CBS Drama Canceled because It Includes Plot about an Anthrax Attack in the US
Chase Brandon. [Source: Daily Mail]An episode of the CBS drama series, The Agency, about a planned terrorist attack in the United States using anthrax was scheduled to be broadcast on this day, but is postponed in response to the actual anthrax attacks taking place in the US. [Variety, 10/16/2001; Associated Press, 10/17/2001; People, 11/6/2001] The Agency shows the CIA tackling problems of national security, taking on villains such as Arab terrorists and Colombian drug dealers. [Guardian, 9/6/2001; Guardian, 10/5/2001]
German Terrorist Plans to Attack Washington with Anthrax - The episode, titled “A Slight Case of Anthrax,” which was filmed in August, features a German man who is planning to attack Washington, DC, using anthrax sprayed from a crop duster plane. The man has acquired the same anthrax that the US government developed and sold to Iraq when it was an ally. The CIA discovers that he was behind an anthrax attack in Belgium, and Washington is his next intended target. CIA agents then scramble to stop the terrorist before he can reach the capital. [St. Petersburg Times, 10/29/2001; E! Online, 11/2/2001; People, 11/6/2001; Jenkins, 2012, pp. 68] Al-Qaeda was originally going to be responsible for the anthrax attacks in the storyline, according to Michael Frost Beckner, who wrote the episode. However, CBS said: “This al-Qaeda thing, you’ve got to get off that. No one is interested. Trust us.” The episode was consequently redrafted so that it featured “Iraqis making an anthrax attack through German terrorist proxies.” [Hollywood, Health and Society, 4/2/2002 ]
Episode Canceled due to Actual Anthrax Attacks - The US is currently in the middle of a series of terrorist attacks using anthrax (see October 5-November 21, 2001). [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 12/8/2001] Anthrax has been discovered in three states and the District of Columbia in the past two weeks. At least 13 people either have anthrax or were exposed to its spores, and one person has died. The episode of The Agency about anthrax attacks is therefore canceled and is replaced with another episode of the show. CBS spokesman Chris Ender explains, “We certainly don’t want to do anything to add to the country’s fears about anthrax.” [E! Online, 10/16/2001; Associated Press, 10/17/2001] “A Slight Case of Anthrax” was in fact going to be broadcast a week ago, on October 11, but had to be rescheduled because President Bush decided to hold a prime-time news conference that evening. [Variety, 10/16/2001; Associated Press, 10/17/2001]
Storyline Was Suggested by CIA Liaison - Gail Katz, one of the show’s executive producers, will later suggest why the storyline about anthrax so closely resembles real-world events, commenting: “This is a series which is dealing with reality. It has to deal with threats like this that concern us.” [E! Online, 11/2/2001] Bazzel Baz, a former CIA operative who is a technical adviser for The Agency, will say, “We know how the CIA works, so if we write a script about anthrax or about a bomb or about an assassination or about bin Laden, it’s probably going to happen.” [CNN, 10/30/2001] Tracey Rabb, the show’s publicist, will comment, “[Y]ou really can’t do a serious drama about the CIA without colliding with topical events.” [People, 11/6/2001] However, Beckner will reveal that the storyline for “A Slight Case of Anthrax” was suggested to him by Chase Brandon, the CIA’s entertainment liaison officer. Author Tricia Jenkins will note that this means it “originated from the CIA.” [Jenkins, 2012, pp. 66] The CIA has in fact cooperated extensively with the producers of The Agency, such as by reviewing the show’s scripts. [New York Times, 8/26/2001]
Episode Airs in November - “A Slight Case of Anthrax” will finally be broadcast on November 8. [E! Online, 11/2/2001; People, 11/6/2001] The pilot episode of The Agency, which features a storyline in which Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terrorist group plots to blow up a department store in London, was also canceled and will be broadcast on November 1 (see September 27, 2001). [New York Times, 9/29/2001; South Florida Sun Sentinel, 10/25/2001; Hollywood, Health and Society, 4/2/2002 ]
Entity Tags: CBS, Bazzel Baz, Chris Ender, Gail Katz, Michael Frost Beckner, Tracey Rabb
Timeline Tags: 9/11 Timeline, 2001 Anthrax Attacks
Late October 2001: UAE Confused over Hijacker Bank Accounts
Governor of the United Emirates Central Bank Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi first says that hijacker pilots Mohamed Atta and Marwan Alshehhi had accounts in the United Arab Emirates, but then later contradicts this saying that Atta did not have one. Initially, he admits that Atta had an account at a Citibank branch in Dubai, but says it was closed a year before the attacks. “Mohamed Atta was like any adult expatriate in the UAE,” he says. The account was apparently busier than normal, with frequent transfers of $10,000 to $15,000. [Los Angeles Times, 10/20/2001; CNN, 10/22/2001] Although the existence of Alshehhi’s account is confirmed (see July 1999-November 2000), al-Suwaidi denies Atta had an account a few days later. He says that his bank had confused Atta with an Afghan who had a similar name, but different photo, age, and occupation. “They are different people, different nationalities,” he insists. The Afghan had an account with Citibank from 1997 to December 2000, but there were apparently no suspicious transfers to Afghanistan. [UAE Interact, 10/25/2001; Gulf News, 10/25/2001]
Entity Tags: Sultan Nasser al-Suwaidi, Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta
Category Tags: Marwan Alshehhi, Mohamed Atta, Possible 9/11 Hijacker Funding
October 19, 2001: Germany Issues International Warrant for Al-Qaeda Hamburg Cell Member Essabar
The German government issues an international arrest warrant for Zakariya Essabar, a member of the al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany, with a few of the 9/11 hijackers. Essabar left Germany to fly to Pakistan in late August 2001 (see Late August 2001). This is the third 9/11-related international warrant issued by Germany, following warrants for cell members Ramzi bin al-Shibh and Said Bahaji issued in late September 2001 (see September 21, 2001). [CNN, 10/19/2001] Essabar was seen in an al-Qaeda training camp in late September 2001 (see September 10, 2001). He has not been heard of since.
Entity Tags: Zakariya Essabar
Category Tags: Al-Qaeda in Germany, Counterterrorism Action After 9/11
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‘Home’ 《家》 – Solo Exhibition by Gordon Cheung
« Algorithm in ‘Object Recognition’
20th Century, Art Event, Contemporary Art, Digital Arts, Exhibition, Hong Kong Art Week, Mixed Media
http://www.galeriehuit.com.hk/un-portfolio/gordon-cheung-home/
Galerie Huit
Artist Talk | 15 November 2018 | 6 – 6.30 pm
Preview | 15 November 2018 | 6.30 – 8.30 pm
Exhibition | 16 November 2018 – 11 January 2019
Galerie Huit is pleased to present ‘Home’, Gordon Cheung’s first solo exhibition in Hong Kong, from where his parents emigrated, to London where he was born and raised. The exhibition features a new body of mixed media paintings and Chinese windows, continuing the artist’s question and critique on the effects of global capitalism and its underlying mechanism of power on our perception of identity, territory and sense of belonging.
The word ‘home’ evokes the place where one lives, especially as a member of family or household. It also carries the meaning of returning by instinct to one’s territory after leaving it. Being both Chinese and British, Cheung witnessed the 1997 British to China handover of the then colonised Hong Kong. His dual identity prompts him to think about the definition of home, where and what it is, and the narratives of conquest. What is the meaning of home in an age where the world order is changing at accelerated speed? How can a domestic domicile be powerlessly torn down and replaced with a shopping mall or a skyscraper, all in the name of progress?
Hong Kong is often used as a backdrop in science fiction to explore the intersections of old and new architecture. The compressed futuristic city is composed of layered expressions of humanity, history and civilisation, forming a feedback loop that we collectively define but also simultaneously defines our identities. The existential questions of ‘who, why and what am I?’ are universal questions of consciousness, and also the germinating seeds of transformation that Cheung layers into his work.
Suspended in the gallery, Cheung’s new series of Chinese windows made from financial newspaper and bamboo refer to homes in China with traditional window designs that were demolished for rapid urbanisation. Here they hover between states of ‘being’, suggesting a ghost architecture that would have supported the windows. They act as a demarcation between Communism from what might be paradoxically called Communist Capitalism.
Looking through the windows, Cheung’s unearthly still life paintings feature luminous flowers that curve out of decorated pots. The blooming flowers based on Dutch Golden Age still life paintings over 370 years ago represent the birth of modern capitalism, an era when ‘Tulipmania’, the world’s first economic bubble was triggered by the speculative trade in tulip bulbs. Cheung’s work alludes to a genre that romanticises futile materialism and fragile life yet ostentatiously display’s symbols of power and wealth while omitting the darker truths of how they accrued its empire through colonisation, slavery and militarised trade routes.
At the base of the pot, blossoming flowers sit precariously on what appears to be an abstract shape that is based on the artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea. The use of sand in Cheung’s paintings refers to the act of reclamation from which the islands are referred to as ’The Great Wall of Sand’. Yet, the nature of sand is that it is ever shifting and easily blown away.
Gordon Cheung’s first solo show in Hong Kong signifies the artist’s return to a place that means family heritage, yet at the same time feels distant because of the changes that come along with its history, economy and society. Mapping myths to geopolitics that define what a home might mean, his dreamlike filigree flowers, landscapes and windows explore the existential tensions of the individual and the collective in an era of rapid transformation, conquest and Capitalism. Cheung explores the progress of histories written by victors and civilisations shaped by mythologies – themes that are inherently embedded into his work and creative process. In this exhibition, his thoughts are expressed through the notion of the “in-between” – that in an increasingly technologised era, our perception of time and space are in a state of constant flux.
Tues-Sat: 11am-7pm
Room 205-208, 2/F, 334-336 Kwun Tong Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
info@galeriehuit.com.hk
+852 2803 2089 / +852 2803 2528
http://www.galeriehuit.com.hk/
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How RGB got her start in law
Marty Ginsburg (Armie Hammer) and Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) arrive at court in On the Basis of Sex. (photo from Focus Features)
A news flash for members of the tribe who’ve been kvelling over a Jewish woman on the U.S. Supreme Court for fully a quarter of a century: Ruth Bader Ginsburg long ago matriculated beyond a symbol of ethnic achievement.
Last year’s hit documentary, RBG, noted that Justice Ginsburg is an enormously popular role model for women in their teens and 20s, and she has achieved pop culture celebrity to boot. The latest film – released recently in Canada and, as of press time, still playing in Metro Vancouver – is On the Basis of Sex, which applies the Hollywood treatment to Ginsburg’s beginnings as a smart but struggling lawyer and situates her smack in the mainstream. To coin a Lincolnesque testimonial, now she belongs to the masses.
Director Mimi Leder and screenwriter Daniel Stiepleman (who happens to be Ruth and Marty Ginsburg’s nephew) frame On the Basis of Sex as an underdog saga. And, like a lot of underdogs in Hollywood movies, our heroine has a superpower that she only discovers – and masters – on her journey.
The movie is effective, and ultimately inspiring, in a way that doesn’t remotely challenge viewers other than to ask them to follow clever legal strategies.
The film opens with Ginsburg’s first days at Harvard Law School, where her husband Marty is in his second year. Immediately and repeatedly, she (and the viewer) is reminded of her second-class status as a woman in a man’s world.
It takes awhile to reconcile the confident Justice Ginsburg of public record with the somewhat skittish character that British actress Felicity Jones creates. On the one hand, as a wife and a mother who – like every other aspiring woman professional of the time – never wears pants, Ginsburg is plainly a grownup. But she’s patronized by everyone from the law school’s WASPy dean (a villainous Sam Waterston) to her husband (a stalwart Armie Hammer), and she risks being seen as a rabble-rouser (it’s the late 1950s) simply by standing up for herself.
Although the film does not conceal or finesse the Ginsburgs’ Jewishness, it presents casual misogyny and the entrenched old boys’ network, not antisemitism, as the obstacles Ruth needs to navigate. Consequently, she has to devise ways – both direct and elliptical – to raise the consciousness of every ally, including her devoted husband, before she can even challenge potential adversaries. While Marty certainly recognizes his wife’s brilliance, he’s a product of his upbringing and the times.
On the Basis of Sex or, as it’s referred to at your favourite corned beef dispensary, “RBG: The Early Years,” devotes considerable screen time to the couple’s relationship and, for many viewers, that will serve as the emotional heart of the film. Others will derive more pleasure from Ginsburg finding her footing and her voice as a scholarly attorney.
As Stiepleman noted in an interview during a recent visit to San Francisco, “Coming out of law school, [Ginsburg] had three strikes against her: she was a woman, she was a mother and she was a Jew. Any one of those things alone, law firms had taken the risk. It was the three together that made her unhire-able in their eyes.”
Unable to find a job practising law, she takes a teaching position. Through a combination of determination, persistence and luck, she comes across a unique case that addresses the inequities of gender discrimination. The complainant, who looked after his mother but was denied the tax deduction for caregivers, is a man.
Earlier in the film, there’s a crucial chain of events when her husband is diagnosed with cancer. Ginsburg not only took care of him (and their small daughter), but got them both through law school. That experience as a caregiver gives her both the empathy and the understanding to identify with and persuade her would-be client, as well as to research and argue the case.
The lengthy courtroom scene that comprises the film’s last 20 minutes or so is genuinely effective and even emotional, despite the formulaic staging and the fact that we know Ginsburg will prevail. At the pivotal moment, we witness a character coming into her own, grasping her abilities and realizing her destiny. And with that, the underdog becomes a superhero.
On the Basis of Sex is rated PG-13 for some language and suggestive content.
Michael Fox is a writer and film critic living in San Francisco.
Format ImagePosted on January 11, 2019 January 9, 2019 Author Michael FoxCategories TV & FilmTags history, law, RBG, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, women
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Princetown and High Dartmoor
Princetown is situated in the Dartmoor National Park in the county of Devon. It is the principal settlement of the civil parish of Dartmoor Forest. The village has its origins in 1785, when Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt, Secretary to the Prince of Wales, leased a large area of moorland from the Duchy of Cornwall estate, hoping to convert it into good farmland. He encouraged people to live in the area and suggested that a prison be built there. He called the settlement Princetown after the Prince of Wales. Princetown is the site of Dartmoor Prison. At around 435 metres (1,430 feet) above sea level, it is the highest settlement on the moor, and one of the highest in the United Kingdom. It is also the largest settlement located on the high moor.
Holming Beam, Dartmoor, Devon - October 25, 2017
Animals grazing near Holming Beam
North Hessary Tor, Dartmoor, Devon - October 25, 2017
Mist rolls in over North Hessary Tor - viewed from the junction of the B3357 and the lane to Holming Beam.
View to North Hessary Tor as mist rolls in. The mast of the TV transmitter can be seen emerging from the clouds. There was a dense plantation behind the bridlepath finger post - however this was devastated in a storm a few years ago. New trees have now been planted and the saplings can just be seen protected by plastic tubing on the right.
View to North Hessary Tor from the junction of the B3357 and the land to Holming Beam as mist rolls in. The mast of the TV transmitter can be seen emerging from the clouds.
Rundlestone Telephone Box, Princetown, Dartmoor - October 26, 2016
Rundlestone phone box photographed at sun down.
Rundlestone phone box and weather station photographed at sun down.
Princetown - Church of St Michael and All Angels - April 05, 2016
The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The granite church stands near the middle of Dartmoor, 436 metres (1,430 ft) above sea level in an exposed location close to Dartmoor Prison. Permission for the construction of the church was given 1812 by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. The church was designed by the architect Daniel Alexander and built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars and finished by those captured during the American war who were held in the prison, and is the only church in England to have been built by prisoners of war. The three stage west tower is surmounted by pinnacles. Prisoners of war were held in the prison until 1816 and then the church closed. It was reopened and reconsecrated in 1831. In 1868 the chancel was altered and between 1898 and 1901 further alterations and expansion were undertaken under the direction of Edmund Sedding. In 1915 the tower was restored. The east window has stained glass by Mayer of Munich, which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners who helped to build the church. The graves of many prisoners are in the churchyard. The window was partially funded by a donation of £250, in 1908, from the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 as part of their work commemorating those who died in the War of 1812. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1995, and was vested in the Trust on 8 January 2001. It is still consecrated and it is used occasionally for services.
Daguerreotype effect The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The granite church stands near the middle of Dartmoor, 436 metres (1,430 ft) above sea level in an exposed location close to Dartmoor Prison. Permission for the construction of the church was given 1812 by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. The church was designed by the architect Daniel Alexander and built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars and finished by those captured during the American war who were held in the prison, and is the only church in England to have been built by prisoners of war. The three stage west tower is surmounted by pinnacles. Prisoners of war were held in the prison until 1816 and then the church closed. It was reopened and reconsecrated in 1831. In 1868 the chancel was altered and between 1898 and 1901 further alterations and expansion were undertaken under the direction of Edmund Sedding. In 1915 the tower was restored. The east window has stained glass by Mayer of Munich, which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners who helped to build the church. The graves of many prisoners are in the churchyard. The window was partially funded by a donation of £250, in 1908, from the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 as part of their work commemorating those who died in the War of 1812. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1995, and was vested in the Trust on 8 January 2001. It is still consecrated and it is used occasionally for services.
Church yard cat! The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The granite church stands near the middle of Dartmoor, 436 metres (1,430 ft) above sea level in an exposed location close to Dartmoor Prison. Permission for the construction of the church was given 1812 by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. The church was designed by the architect Daniel Alexander and built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars and finished by those captured during the American war who were held in the prison, and is the only church in England to have been built by prisoners of war. The three stage west tower is surmounted by pinnacles. Prisoners of war were held in the prison until 1816 and then the church closed. It was reopened and reconsecrated in 1831. In 1868 the chancel was altered and between 1898 and 1901 further alterations and expansion were undertaken under the direction of Edmund Sedding. In 1915 the tower was restored. The east window has stained glass by Mayer of Munich, which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners who helped to build the church. The graves of many prisoners are in the churchyard. The window was partially funded by a donation of £250, in 1908, from the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 as part of their work commemorating those who died in the War of 1812. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1995, and was vested in the Trust on 8 January 2001. It is still consecrated and it is used occasionally for services.
There are many prisoners' graves in the church yard - one is marked by a plastic flower. The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The granite church stands near the middle of Dartmoor, 436 metres (1,430 ft) above sea level in an exposed location close to Dartmoor Prison. Permission for the construction of the church was given 1812 by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. The church was designed by the architect Daniel Alexander and built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars and finished by those captured during the American war who were held in the prison, and is the only church in England to have been built by prisoners of war. The three stage west tower is surmounted by pinnacles. Prisoners of war were held in the prison until 1816 and then the church closed. It was reopened and reconsecrated in 1831. In 1868 the chancel was altered and between 1898 and 1901 further alterations and expansion were undertaken under the direction of Edmund Sedding. In 1915 the tower was restored. The east window has stained glass by Mayer of Munich, which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners who helped to build the church. The graves of many prisoners are in the churchyard. The window was partially funded by a donation of £250, in 1908, from the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 as part of their work commemorating those who died in the War of 1812. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1995, and was vested in the Trust on 8 January 2001. It is still consecrated and it is used occasionally for services.
1910 Memorial Window Plaque unveiled in 2010. The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The granite church stands near the middle of Dartmoor, 436 metres (1,430 ft) above sea level in an exposed location close to Dartmoor Prison. Permission for the construction of the church was given 1812 by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. The church was designed by the architect Daniel Alexander and built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars and finished by those captured during the American war who were held in the prison, and is the only church in England to have been built by prisoners of war. The three stage west tower is surmounted by pinnacles. Prisoners of war were held in the prison until 1816 and then the church closed. It was reopened and reconsecrated in 1831. In 1868 the chancel was altered and between 1898 and 1901 further alterations and expansion were undertaken under the direction of Edmund Sedding. In 1915 the tower was restored. The east window has stained glass by Mayer of Munich, which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners who helped to build the church. The graves of many prisoners are in the churchyard. The window was partially funded by a donation of £250, in 1908, from the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 as part of their work commemorating those who died in the War of 1812. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1995, and was vested in the Trust on 8 January 2001. It is still consecrated and it is used occasionally for services.
Union, United States and French Tricolour recall the roll played in American and French Prisoners of War in the construction of the church. The Anglican Church of St Michael in Princetown, Devon, England was built between 1810 and 1814. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and is a redundant church in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The granite church stands near the middle of Dartmoor, 436 metres (1,430 ft) above sea level in an exposed location close to Dartmoor Prison. Permission for the construction of the church was given 1812 by the Lord Commissioners of the Admiralty. The church was designed by the architect Daniel Alexander and built by prisoners from the Napoleonic Wars and finished by those captured during the American war who were held in the prison, and is the only church in England to have been built by prisoners of war. The three stage west tower is surmounted by pinnacles. Prisoners of war were held in the prison until 1816 and then the church closed. It was reopened and reconsecrated in 1831. In 1868 the chancel was altered and between 1898 and 1901 further alterations and expansion were undertaken under the direction of Edmund Sedding. In 1915 the tower was restored. The east window has stained glass by Mayer of Munich, which was installed in 1910 in memory of the American prisoners who helped to build the church. The graves of many prisoners are in the churchyard. The window was partially funded by a donation of £250, in 1908, from the National Society United States Daughters of 1812 as part of their work commemorating those who died in the War of 1812. The church was declared redundant on 1 November 1995, and was vested in the Trust on 8 January 2001. It is still consecrated and it is used occasionally for services.
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New Zealand’s Matt Hooper confirmed as next Forum Fisheries Deputy
Published: Thursday, 21 December 2017 15:51
Written by Forum Fisheries Agency
Forum Fisheries Agency
Manila, Philippines--As FFA’s Deputy Director General Wez Norris prepares to wrap up his final Tuna Commission meeting with the Forum Fisheries Agency tomorrow (December 7), the announcement of his successor has been made.
Director General James Movick confirmed the appointment of Mr Matthew Hooper of New Zealand to the position of Deputy Director General of the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), commencing during the first half of 2018.
Hooper, who spent part of his childhood in Tokelau, and began his career in New Zealand fisheries in 1996, has been serving with the NZ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as the Counsellor (Primary Industries) and Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), based at the New Zealand Embassy in Rome.
In making the announcement from Manila, where the FFA delegation is supporting Pacific nations to the annual Pacific Tuna Commission (WCPFC) meetings, DG Movick says the incoming deputy brings significant experience in Pacific tuna fisheries, including the WCPFC, to the role. He says the selection committee was impressed by Hooper’s experience in leading inter-agency and multi-disciplinary teams in both national and international negotiations and advocacy at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, and, like his predecessor, an open and collaborative relationship management style suited to FFA’s multi-cultural setting.
The Director General, who will complete his own six year term at the helm of the agency later next year, paid tribute to the quality and standard of service to Pacific fisheries led by his Deputy.
“The contribution and impact made by Deputy Director-General Norris during his time with the agency has been lasting and impressive, and the extraordinary level of service from Wez to the organization, and our members, is well-recognized,” says DG Movick.
“As he completes his final Tuna Commission in his pivotal role with the FFA team, I know our forum fisheries committee officials, leaders, development partners and stakeholders will similarly join me in welcoming the incoming Deputy Director.”
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Bee Jays Cruise in Win Over Colorado
KSCB News - June 25, 2009 12:00 am
The Liberal Bee Jays were dominating in a 15-1 victory over the Colorado Bombers Thursday at Brent Gould Field.
Matt Hauser earned the win for Liberal from the mound pitching seven innings and giving up just one unearned run. Brett Davis came in to pitch two scoreless innings in relief.
The Bee Jays got off to a quick start scoring five runs in the first. They added a run in the third and fourth, followed by two runs in the fifth, three in the seventh, and three in the eighth.
The Bee Jays improve to 10-10 overall on the season. They remain at 7-8 in the Jayhawk League as it was a non-league game.
The Bee Jays will host the Bombers again tonight at 7 p.m. The AppleHutch will be the buyout sponsor. They will be giving away cash prizes.
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In 1989 and 2003, the Vatican issued two documents: Aspects of Christian meditation and "A Christian reflection on the New Age," that were mostly critical of eastern and New Age practices. The 2003 document was published as a 90-page handbook detailing the Vatican's position.[286] The Vatican warned that concentration on the physical aspects of meditation "can degenerate into a cult of the body" and that equating bodily states with mysticism "could also lead to psychic disturbance and, at times, to moral deviations." Such has been compared to the early days of Christianity, when the church opposed the gnostics' belief that salvation came not through faith but through a mystical inner knowledge.[280] The letter also says, "one can see if and how [prayer] might be enriched by meditation methods developed in other religions and cultures"[287] but maintains the idea that "there must be some fit between the nature of [other approaches to] prayer and Christian beliefs about ultimate reality."[280] Some[which?] fundamentalist Christian organizations consider yoga to be incompatible with their religious background, considering it a part of the New Age movement inconsistent with Christianity.[288]
Due to the growing concerns of the high cost, health consequences, and illegal nature of some steroids, many organizations have formed in response and have deemed themselves "natural" bodybuilding competitions. In addition to the concerns noted, many promoters of bodybuilding have sought to shed the "freakish" perception that the general public has of bodybuilding and have successfully introduced a more mainstream audience to the sport of bodybuilding by including competitors whose physiques appear much more attainable and realistic.
Focusing more on lifestyle issues and their relationships with functional health, data from the Alameda County Study suggested that people can improve their health via exercise, enough sleep, maintaining a healthy body weight, limiting alcohol use, and avoiding smoking.[27] Health and illness can co-exist, as even people with multiple chronic diseases or terminal illnesses can consider themselves healthy.[28]
Serious eye problems, which include any sudden decrease in vision, with or without eye pain and redness or a blockage of fluid in the eye causing increased pressure in the eye (secondary angle closure glaucoma). These problems can lead to permanent vision loss if not treated. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you have any new eye symptoms.
The first known appearance of the word "yoga", with the same meaning as the modern term, is in the Katha Upanishad,[10][95] probably composed between the fifth and third century BCE,[96][97] where it is defined as the steady control of the senses, which along with cessation of mental activity, leading to a supreme state.[67][note 13] Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines various levels of existence according to their proximity to the innermost being Ātman. Yoga is therefore seen as a process of interiorization or ascent of consciousness.[99][100] It is the earliest literary work that highlights the fundamentals of yoga. White states:
In the UK, up to 5% of the general population is underweight, but more than 10% of those with lung or gastrointestinal diseases and who have recently had surgery.[29] According to data in the UK using the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool ('MUST'), which incorporates unintentional weight loss, more than 10% of the population over the age of 65 is at risk of malnutrition.[29] A high proportion (10–60%) of hospital patients are also at risk, along with a similar proportion in care homes.[29]
During the 1950s, the most successful and most famous competing bodybuilders[according to whom?] were Bill Pearl, Reg Park, Leroy Colbert, and Clarence Ross. Certain bodybuilders rose to fame thanks to the relatively new medium of television, as well as cinema. The most notable[according to whom?] were Jack LaLanne, Steve Reeves, Reg Park, and Mickey Hargitay. While there were well-known gyms throughout the country during the 1950s (such as Vince's Gym in North Hollywood, California and Vic Tanny's chain gyms), there were still segments of the United States that had no "hardcore" bodybuilding gyms until the advent of Gold's Gym in the mid-1960s. Finally, the famed Muscle Beach in Santa Monica continued its popularity as the place to be for witnessing acrobatic acts, feats of strength, and the like. The movement grew more in the 1960s with increased TV and movie exposure, as bodybuilders were typecast in popular shows and movies.[citation needed]
The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE[…] [I]t describes the hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind, intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8).[101]
It’s natural for anyone trying to lose weight to want to lose it very quickly. But evidence shows that people who lose weight gradually and steadily (about 1 to 2 pounds per week) are more successful at keeping weight off. Healthy weight loss isn’t just about a “diet” or “program”. It’s about an ongoing lifestyle that includes long-term changes in daily eating and exercise habits.
Classical yoga incorporates epistemology, metaphysics, ethical practices, systematic exercises and self-development techniques for body, mind and spirit.[144] Its epistemology (pramana) and metaphysics is similar to that of the Sāṅkhya school. The metaphysics of Classical Yoga, like Sāṅkhya, is mainly dualistic, positing that there are two distinct realities. These are prakriti (nature), which is the eternal and active unconscious source of the material world and is composed of three gunas, and the puruṣas (persons), the plural consciousnesses which are the intelligent principles of the world, and are multiple, inactive and eternal witnesses. Each person has a individual puruṣa, which is their true self, the witness and the enjoyer, and that which is liberated. This metaphysical system holds that puruṣas undergo cycles of reincarnation through its interaction and identification with prakirti. Liberation, the goal of this system, results from the isolation (kaivalya) of puruṣa from prakirti, and is achieved through a meditation which detaches oneself from the different forms (tattvas) of prakirti.[240] This is done by stilling one's thought waves (citta vritti) and resting in pure awareness of puruṣa.
The origins of yoga are a matter of debate.[44] There is no consensus on its chronology or specific origin other than that yoga developed in ancient India. Suggested origins are the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1900 BCE)[45] and pre-Vedic Eastern states of India,[46] the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), and the śramaṇa movement.[47] According to Gavin Flood, continuities may exist between those various traditions: https://www.facebook.com/Buzzing-Offer-BusinessInvesting-650621182046830/
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The Law of Drones - Michael "theprez98" Schearer Derbycon 2015 (Hacking Illustrated Series InfoSec Tutorial Videos) The Law of Drones
Michael "theprez98" Schearer
Derbycon 2015
A decade ago, drones were mostly associated with terrorist strikes in the Middle East. Since then, the proliferation of drone technology has resulted in widespread deployment of unmanned aerial systems for law enforcement, commercial, and personal use. The recent drone crash on the White House lawn has sparked a renewed interest in unmanned aerial systems by governments, commercial users, and hobbyists. Recent events have also put a spotlight onto the Federal Aviation Administration's renewed efforts regulate drones. This talk will review the history and development of laws, rules, and regulations regarding model aircraft, drones, and other unmanned aerial systems. Next, we will survey the legal landscape to understand current efforts by the FAA and other governmental bodies to restrict and regulate drones for personal users while expanding opportunities by governmental users. Finally, we will look at the way forward in an opportunity to evaluate the balance between the r ights of drone users and the privacy expectations of citizens. If you're interested in learning more about the laws regarding model aircraft, drones, and other unmanned aerial systems, come check it out!
Michael Schearer ("theprez98") is currently a law student at the University of Maryland. During the day, he is a government contractor who spent nearly nine years in the United States Navy as an EA-6B Prowler Electronic Countermeasures Officer. His military experience includes aerial combat missions over both Afghanistan and Iraq and nine months on the ground doing counter-IED work with the U.S. Army. He is a graduate of Georgetown University's National Security Studies Program and a speaker at ShmooCon, DEFCON, HOPE, and other conferences. Michael is an active member of the unmmanned aerial systems community. He lives in Maryland with his wife and four children.
Back to Derbycon 2015 video list
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Briefing Papers - Europe
Briefing Papers & Reports - UK
Books, pamphlets & multimedia
The three faces of British racism
A wide-ranging report exposing racism in government policy, institutions and popular culture.
Buy this publication (£ 6.00) Online subscriptions (£18.00)
Shows how racism has worsened under a government which claims to be leading the fight against it. The report focuses on asylum policy and reform of the criminal justice system as the main areas in which the promise held out by the Macpherson Report has been squandered. Rather than tackle institutional racism, government asylum policy has fuelled a new variant of racism directed at the world’s displaced and dispossessed, while Labour’s new crime plan will tend to reinforce existing patterns of racial discrimination. The report also highlights the ways in which black over-representation in the criminal justice system will be exacerbated by current ‘reforms’ of the right to trial by jury and stop and search powers, and examines ongoing problems in the legal provisions to tackle racial violence.
The report argues that the current asylum legislation, which has deterrence instead of human rights as its guiding principle, should be scrapped, and that government ministers should be required to make ‘racial impact statements’ in which criminal justice reforms are tested against their anticipated effect on black communities.
Contributors include: Professor Lee Bridges (Director of the Legal Research Institute and Chair of the School of Law, University of Warwick), Gareth Peirce (leading civil rights lawyer), Frances Webber (leading immigration barrister and writer on immigration law), Dr. A. Sivanandan (Director, Institute of Race Relations), Harmit Athwal, Jenny Bourne, Liz Fekete, Arun Kundnani (researchers, Institute of Race Relations).
Race & Class is published quarterly, in January, April, July and October, by Sage Publications for the Institute of Race Relations; individual subscriptions are £27/$47, for four issues, with an introductory rate of £20/$35 for new subscribers.
Read the chapter From Oldham to Bradford: the violence of the violated
Read the chapter The emergence of xeno-racism
A5, 140pp., ISBN 0 7619 6699 4, 2001
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Find in Loutro
Tavern & restaurant
Cafe-bars
Ferry boat timetable
Real time flights information
Loutro summer time
Loutro at the past
Diet & food
Sfakia region
Transportation map
Map of Loutro
The Legend of the 12 Young Rulers
Cretan Nobility and the Legend of the 12 Young Rulers
One often hears, while travelling around Crete, claims from some of the villagers that they are from royal blood, descendants of nobility that once existed in Crete. The visitor would often dismiss such stories as the ramblings of old people, or as a misunderstanding due to the sometimes difficult Cretan dialect. But they would be quite wrong, as nobility did exist throughout Crete during the later part of the Byzantine era and later during the Venetian rule period. These were mainly the descendants of Byzantine nobility that came and settled in Crete in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The second settlement is also known as the legend of the twelve “Archondopoula”, part legend, part history, some of it well document but other parts based on forged documents prepared especially for the new Venetian rulers of Crete who took over the island in 1204.
When the Byzantine general Nikiforos Phokas, who was later to become an Emperor of Byzantium, freed Crete from the Arabs in 961, he became concerned about the low moral standing and religious beliefs of the population after 137 years of Arab rule. This, combined with unrest by the local population against the new Byzantine administration prompted the Emperor Alexios I Comninos, towards the end of the 11th century, to send a number of prominent Byzantine families from Constantinople to settle in Crete to improve the control over the local population and raise the moral and religious standards in the island. It appears that this was not effective as a century later, under the reign of the Emperor Alexios II Comninos, great-grandson of the Alexios I, an other large contingent of nobles from Byzantium arrived in Crete and they were also allocated significant property rights and administrative positions. Their arrival has been known for centuries as that of the story of the twelve Archondopoula (young rulers). This event has been the subject of some controversy amongst historians over recent years. The story, or the myth according to some, is detailed below.
The Emperor Alexios II Comnenos, disturbed by the continuing unrest in Crete sent twelve prominent Byzantine families to Crete to re-establish strong links with Constantinople and improve the religious, moral and economic standards of the community. In a document, called the “Chrysovoulo”, a document sealed with gold to authenticate the Emperor’s signature, the Emperor, after threatening the Cretans with severe punishment if they were not to fully submit to his will, said that he was sending them as king and trustee his son, Isaakion, together with twelve Archondes. The current historical debate relates to the document’s authenticity and the date at which it was issued, amongst others.
The families that were named in this document, and which became prominent in Crete’s history, were those of Ioannis Phokas (the family’s name changed during the Venetian era to Kallergis), Marinos Skordilis, nephew of the Emperor, Philipos Gavalas, Thomas Archoleos, Eustathios Chortatzis, Leon Mousouros, Constantine Varouchas, Andreas Melissinos, Loukas Lithios, Nikiforos Argyropoulos, Dimitios Vlastos, and Matheos Kalafatis, all of them heads of families which contained anything up to an other eight male members.
Large areas of Crete were allocated to each of these families and their names are reflected today as place names in numerous locations in Crete, such as Skordilo in Sitia, also in Mylopotamos near Rethymnoν, Kallergiana in Kissamos next to Kastelli, and Kallergo near Rethymno, there is also a Kallergis mountain peak in the White Mountains, and many other locations are reflecting the names of the Archondopoula with the location name either ending in –ana, e.g. Kallergiana or using the possessive “of…”, e.g.“tou Kallergi”or “tou Skordili”. Their family crests can also be found on churches and monuments all over Crete and members of these families are prominent members of today’s Greek community. The same names appear numerous times in Crete’s turbulent history over the next few centuries as many of them played prominent roles in great historical events.
Because of the absence of the original documents relating to this settlement (only Venetian records of supposedly translated Greek records or Greek translations of earlier Venetian documents exist) and possible errors of the translated documents, a view exists today that the document and its associated story was a fabrication by members of these same families in order to convince the Venetians of their aristocratic status and thus secure for them a place within the new political elite.
What is not disputed though is that these families that arrived in Crete from Byzantium were all from prominent noble Byzantine families and that when they settled on the island they formed the new elite that was to play a prominent role in Crete from then onwards. Their prominence survived the centuries, especially during the Venetian rule era. The families of the descendants of the twelve Archondopoula as well as those of the first group of Byzantine nobles were granted certain privileges by the Venetians, the latter group referred by the Venetians as the “Archondoromeoi” (the Byzantines were known as Romeoi -from the Eastern Roman Empire- and Archon, the ruler) and both were part of the “privilegiati” or privileged class, which included also all priests and all Sfakians, the latter all being considered by the Venetians as descendants of the Archon Marinos Skordillis.
So, if during your travels around Crete you come across someone that claims to be a descendant from nobility, don’t dismiss the claim, there may be some truth and a long and interesting story behind it.
Note: For a discussion on the controversy relating the documentation and other aspects of the settlement of Byzantine nobility in Crete see: Byzantine Crete, From the 5th century to the Venetian Conquest, 1988, by Dimitris Tsougarakis, in English, most probably available in the major municipal libraries in Crete.
By George Dalidakis
Phoenix & Lykos Hotels
Frangokastello
Sougia
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You are here > Home / Colt Automatics / Rock Island Arsenal Model M15 General Officer’s Pistol Issued to General Phillips N. Gordon
Rock Island Arsenal Model M15 General Officer’s Pistol Issued to General Phillips N. Gordon
Phillips N. Gordon
Brigadier General Phillips N. Gordon: October 30, 1924 – January 14, 2016
Brig. Gen. Phillips N. Gordon, Indiana Army National Guard Asst. Adjutant General
Son’s Obituary 2016: “Dr. Gordon, a former educator, soldier, and author, began his teaching career in 1950 as the youngest principal of a public school in the State of New Hampshire. He smartly added snow-skiing to the curriculum.
He was called into active military service in 1951 and was a military psychologist before being sent to Korea. Following a number of top-secret military assignments, Dr. Gordon was stationed at Fort Benjamin Harrison. He began as an instructor and Chief of the Human Resources Division. Later, he became Director of the Recruiting and Retention School. He had a particular affinity for teaching officers how to motivate their troops. He drove a military vehicle that my friend, Christy, and I were embarrassed to ride in. We called it the “groovy green car,” and scooched way down in the backseat to avoid detection.
The United States Army recognized Dr. Gordon’s contributions by awarding him the Army’s highest, and twice the Army’s second highest, decoration for Exceptionally Meritorious Service.
Following his resignation from the regular Army, he joined the Indiana Army National Guard. His assignments included Commandment of the Indiana Military Academy (OCS), Assistant Division Commander – 38th Infantry Division, and Deputy Adjutant General. He was retired as a Brigadier General. He holds 16 military decorations for valor and meritorious service, including the Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, and the Combat Infantry Badge.
Phillips Gordon’s primary interest and contribution was identifying those critical factors (by category) the objectives that leaders and managers must understand in order to effectively manage and lead the young soldier. His written works included: Old Theories vs. a Changing Environment, Are You Ready for Tomorrow?, and other military instructional television programs and case studies.
Dr. Gordon was a part-time instructor in the Industrial Relations and Decision Making for Executives at Indiana Central University (now University of Indianapolis). He was a frequent guest lecturer throughout the Active Army and the Reserve Components, and at public school training sessions.
He was a past President of the Association of the U.S. Army, Indiana Chapter, and Vice President of the Army War College Foundation. He served on the Board of Directors of the Uniformed Services Benefit Association, a national insurance association for military members and their families. He also served on a number of National Level Committees and study groups dealing with military subjects.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Ann Delp Gordon; and his second wife, D. Octavia Gordon. Sadly, he was also preceded in death by both of his children, Diane Delp (Gordon) Fritz and Douglas Nason Gordon. Dr. Gordon and Mrs. Ann Gordon became the guardians and parents of their infant grandchild, Ann Gordon (Fritz) Shedd, and raised her as their own. Dr. Gordon is survived by daughter, Ann Shedd; and two awesome grandchildren, Andrew Gordon Barab-Shedd (13) and Sara Claire Shedd (9). He is also survived by one of his nine siblings, Joyce Emanuelson; and many wonderful nieces, nephews, and cousins.
When I was small, I called my dad, “Bampa,” as did all of my friends. He was charming, gracious, and brilliant. He made me laugh every day of my life (except when I was temporarily disowned for making terrible choices). He enjoyed bridge, golf, cocktail hour, coupon-cutting, flirting, and the funny papers. He loved his family, his country, and his beautiful life, almost as much as he loved sugar, puppies, and saving money. He could predict the future, and the world would be a much better place if he had been King.”
Posted by Spencer Hoglund on Wednesday, October 22, 2014 at 9:06 am
Filed under Colt Automatics · Tagged with
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53 ENTRIES FOUND:
what (pronoun)
what (adjective)
what (adverb)
what–if (noun)
what's–her–name (noun)
what's–his–name (noun)
what all (pronoun)
what for (noun)
you–know–what (noun)
about (preposition)
best (noun)
care (verb)
cat (noun)
come (verb)
difference (noun)
doctor (noun)
drag (verb)
else (adjective)
gander (noun)
get (verb)
give (verb)
good (adjective)
goose (noun)
have (verb)
hear (verb)
hell (noun)
hit (verb)
if (conjunction)
know (verb)
look (verb)
made (adjective)
manner (noun)
mean (verb)
more (adverb)
new (adjective)
odds (noun)
order (verb)
pleasure (noun)
poison (noun)
reap (verb)
sauce (noun)
say (verb)
see (verb)
should (verb)
sow (verb)
talk (verb)
tell (verb)
thing (noun)
tick (verb)
wait (verb)
wish (verb)
with (preposition)
worth (preposition)
1 what /ˈwɑːt/ /ˈwʌt/ pronoun
1 what
/ˈwɑːt/ /ˈwʌt/
Learner's definition of WHAT
a — used to ask for information about someone or something
What are those things on the table?
What's your family like?
What [=how much] does it cost?
“What did she say?” “She said yes.”
What do you think of my idea?
What do you want to do tonight?
“Dad!” “What (do you want)?” “You have a phone call.”
What (on earth) are you doing?!
I finished dusting. Now what (should I do)?
What (should I do) next?
What else did he say?
You have money, fame, and a beautiful family. What more could you want?
b — used to describe a question
Please ask them what they want for dinner.
They asked her what she knew about him.
I wonder what his motives were.
a — used to ask someone to say something again because you have not clearly heard or understood it
What did you say? = (informal) What?
— often used to show surprise about the thing that someone has just said
“And then I said that he could go to hell.” “You said what?!”
She did what?!
What? I don't believe it. You must be joking!
b informal — used to express surprise, excitement, etc.
What, no breakfast?
“Have you heard? They won!” “What!? That's great!”
informal — used to ask what someone's last name is
“Her name's Kathy.” “Kathy what?”
a : that which : the one or ones that
He has no income but what he gets from his writing. [=he has no income except for the income he gets from his writing]
“Do you have any other sizes?” “No, only what you see here.”
b : the kind that : the same as
The speech was very much what everyone expected.
My memory isn't what it used to be. [=it is not as good as it used to be]
c : something that
The dog is chewing on what appears to be a sock.
It was the beginning of what turned out to be a long and successful career.
d : the thing or things that
What you need is a vacation. [=you need a vacation]
What made me angry was how he treated you. [=it was the way he treated you that made me angry]
What matters most is your safety. = Your safety is what matters most.
Romance novels are what she enjoys reading.
Do what you're told.
Tell me what you're looking for.
She is looking for something but I don't know what.
He knows what he should do.
— often followed by to + verb
Stop telling me what to do.
I don't know what to think/say/believe.
She has (got) what it takes [=she has the skills and personality] to do the job.
I'll do what it takes to win.
You'll never guess what happened to me today. [=you'll be surprised by what happened to me today]
◊ Guess what is often used to tell someone that you have surprising news.
Guess what happened to me today!
“Guess what!” “What?” “I bought a new car.”
e : anything or everything that : whatever
Say what you will, my opinion won't change. [=nothing you can say will change my opinion]
Take what you need. [=take anything that you need]
informal — used to direct attention to something that you are about to say
I'll tell you what I'm going to do: I'm going to let you have it for 30 percent off.
I'll tell you what. If he thinks I'm cleaning up this mess, he's wrong.
Tell you what—let's eat out tonight.
“It's not worth the money.” “You know what—you're right.”
or what
— used to ask about what is happening, being done, etc.
Is it snowing, raining, or what?
So are you ready to leave or what?
— used to ask if someone agrees with you
Is this exciting or what? [=isn't this exciting?; don't you agree that this is exciting?]
say what
— see 1say
a : does that include (someone) : how about (someone)
“We're all going to the beach.” “What about Kenny?”
b : how does that affect (someone or something) : what should be done about (someone or something)
“I need to leave—something has come up.” “What about the meeting?” “We can reschedule it.”
“You can throw this one away.” “What about the others?” “Those I want to keep.”
(And/But) What about the people who can't afford health insurance?
— used to make a suggestion about what could be done
What about [=how about] coming with us?
What about driving to the coast for the weekend?
We'll need to talk about this again. What about (meeting) next week?
What about another game? [=would you like to play another game?]
— used to ask someone to tell you something in response to the thing that you have just said
I like skiing and hiking. What about you? [=what sports do you like?]
Everyone else is coming. What about you? [=are you coming, too?]
what…for
: for what purpose or reason
What did you do that for? [=why did you do that?]
What is this switch for? [=what does this switch do?]
“The principal wants to see you.” “What for?” [=why?]
— see also what for
what have you
: any of the other things that might also be mentioned
You can use the container to hold paper clips, pins, and/or what have you.
: what would happen if
What if they find out?
What if it rains?
: what does it matter if — used to say that something is not important
“He's nice enough, I suppose. But he's poor.” “What if he is poor? I love him!”
“They might find out.” “So what if they do? I don't care.”
— see also so what at 3what
what of
formal : how does that affect (someone or something) : what should be done about (someone or something)
What of [=what about] those who cannot afford health insurance?
: why does (something) matter
“Did you approve this request?” “Yes. What of it?” [=so what?]
what's it to you?
: why do you want to know — used to respond in a somewhat angry or annoyed way to a question that you do not want to answer
“How much do they pay you?” “Why? What's it to you?”
: in addition : furthermore
Her boyfriend is intelligent and handsome; what's more, he respects her.
US, informal
— used as a friendly greeting
“Hi, Jim. What's up?” “Not much.”
what's what
: the true state of things : the things that need to be known or understood in order to make good judgments, decisions, etc.
She knows what's what when it comes to fashion. [=she knows a lot about fashion]
We need to find out what's what.
what's with
informal or what's up with
: what is the reason for (something)
(So) what's with the hat? [=why are you wearing that hat?]
He told me to go away. What's up with that? [=why did he do that?]
: what is wrong with (someone or something)
What's with him?
What's up with you? You look upset.
I can't figure out what's up with this computer.
2 what /ˈwɑːt/ /ˈwʌt/ adjective
always used before a noun
— used to ask someone to indicate the identity or nature of someone or something
What fool told you that?
What book did you read?
What news have you heard from him?
In what way are these two stories the same?
We won the war, but at what price? [=did we lose or give up too much in order to win the war?]
— used to say that someone or something is remarkable for having good or bad qualities
What a good idea!
What mountains!
Remember what fun we had?
What a horrible movie!
What a beautiful child.
— used to refer to an amount that someone has, uses, etc.
She gave what money she had [=she gave all the money she had] to the homeless man.
Give what excuses you will—it makes no difference. [=no excuses that you may give will make any difference]
He soon gambled away what (little) money he had left.
We spent what (little) time remained chatting.
3 what /ˈwɑːt/ /ˈwʌt/ adverb
: in what way
What [=how] does it matter?
What does she care? [=why is it important to her?]
— used to say that something said or done is not important
She has a glass of wine now and then—so what?
what with
— used to introduce the part of a sentence that indicates the cause of something
What with the freezing temperatures, they nearly died.
What with school and sports, she's always busy.
Things have been difficult for him lately, what with his wife's illness and all.
What made you want to look up what? Include any comments and questions you have about this word.
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Home | Weblog | Articles | Satire | Links | About | Contact
Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > State Department Funding ISNA's Propagation of Islam via citizen exchange program
State Department Funding ISNA's Propagation of Islam via citizen exchange program
State Department Funding ISNA's Propagation Of Islam
By Beila Rabinowitz and William Mayer
April 25, 2008 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - A grant made by the U.S. Dept. of State to the Islamic Society of North America [ISNA, an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood and named as an unindicted co-conspirator in the ongoing Holy Land Foundation terror funding prosecution, whose mission statement is "Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope"] and the left wing National Peace Foundation is being used to fund Islamic da'wa via a spurious "citizen exchange" program.
As the ISNA press release states:
"...This program brings young professionals from the Middle East, specifically from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to the United States...The goal of this project is to explore Islam, the functions of Islamic institutions in the United States, and the activities of interfaith work."
As we have noted in previous pieces, for example Bush Administration Moves To Legitimize The Muslim Brotherhood?, there has been a move afoot, primarily originating within the State Dept., to recognize the Muslim Brotherhood as a moderate organization, an idea so spectacularly stupid it could only originate in Foggy Bottom.
It follows then that if the reputation of the Muslim Brotherhood, which created Hamas and is a constant specter in terror prosecutions, is on the verge of being whitewashed, then making nice with ISNA seems equally reasonable.
The ISNA press release stated that one of these State Dept. funded delegations met with Dr. Ali Goma, the Mufti of Egypt:
"...I think there were two events of the many, many that transformed us (the delegation as a whole). One was the meeting with the personal representative of the Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Mufti of Egypt..."
Regarding suicide bombings, the supposedly moderate Ali Goma was quoted in a 2003 interview in Egypt's "Al-haqiqa" newspaper as defending this terror practice on religious grounds:
"...he is a Shahid [martyr], because Palestine is a special case and not the ordinary case existing in the world...This is because in Palestine there is an enemy that rules the land. This rule is considered a crime by international conventions and resolutions. The world has let the Jews spread corruption throughout the land and they have succeeded in obtaining international legitimacy to territories that were conquered after 1967, Israel is a special case that does not exist [anywhere else] on the face of the earth. We are facing a criminal occupation that is the source of terror...The one who carries out Fedaii [martyrdom] operations against the Zionists and blows himself up is, without a doubt, a Shahid [martyr] because he is defending his homeland against the occupying enemy who is supported by superpowers such as the U.S. and Britain."
Mindful that their warriors are being defeated on the ground in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the Islamists continue to transition from violent to a stealth jihad mode, confident that they will triumph by following the Muslim Brotherhood's plan to use the West's freedoms to subvert it from within. Mindful of this sea-change in strategy, the Bush administration must become more aware of the cross purposes at which its State Department is operating and take the necessary action to immediately halt any further "citizen exchanges" organized by terror friendly groups such as the Islamic Society of North America.
Until this and similar matters are remedied, Ms. Rice's Dept. of State will continue be dysfunctional, a house divided against itself. http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=statedept4.25.08%2Ehtm
MIM: ISNA webpages about the Citizen Exchange Project:
Citizen Exchange Project
Through a US State Department grant the Islamic Society of North America and the National Peace Foundation have co-sponsored a citizen exchange project between the United States and the Middle East. This program brings young professionals from the Middle East, specifically from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, to the United States. The goal of this project is to explore Islam, the functions of Islamic institutions in the United States, and the activities of interfaith work. In return American professionals from the three Abrahamic faiths; Christianity, Judaism and Islam, will visit these countries in the Middle East to explore Islam and interfaith work as it is done in the respective countries. This program will run through 2009, with several upcoming exchanges in progress. For more information please call the interfaith office or e-mail [email protected]
To view photos from the latest tour to Egypt click here.
To read an interview with Sahar Taman, Project Leader click here
Applications are currently being accepted for those participants from Jordan and Saudi Arabia who are interested in the citizen exchange to take place in July of 2008. The announcement for this exchange is below. Please be sure to share this information with any interested parties you may know in these countries.
United States Tour for Candidates from Middle East - English
United States Tour for Candidates from Middle East - Arabic
http://www.isna.net/Interfaith/pages/Citizen-Exchange.aspx
http://www.isna.net/Interfaith/pages/IOICA-Staff.aspx
About the IOICA
Through community outreach and interfaith programs, the ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances (IOICA) strengthens ties between ISNA and local grassroots organizations. The office also functions as an outreach resource for those engaged in politics and government. Such contacts allow ISNA to promote a positive image of Islam and Muslims to the nation's political leaders.
To strengthen local communities IOICA, in conjunction with ILDC and the Youth Department, organizes ISNA Days at mosques and community centers across the country. ISNA Day also includes keynote speeches, entertainment sessions, and fundraisers, all of which help connect ISNA to local Muslims. The fundraising programs, in particular, help finance ISNA's many programs.
To better serve all Americans, our office in Washington DC often engages in joint programs with other mainstream religious organizations such as the National Council of Churches, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, and the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism. These inter-religious projects help break down barriers of mistrust and misunderstanding, and help form genuine partnerships of faith and ethics.
ISNA Office for Interfaith and Community Alliances(IOICA)
110 Maryland Avenue Ne, Suite # 304
Map It | Get Directions
Name<?XML:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />
Title / Department
Direct Line/Fax
IOICA Office
Sayyid M Syeed
National Director, ISNA Office of Interfaith & Community Alliances
Mohamed El-sanousi
Director, Community Outreach & Communications
Amanda Mouttaki
IOICA Administrative Assistant
Patricia Anton
IOICA, Muslim Christian Initiative on the Nuclear weapons Danger (202)544-8989
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Ska Against Racism Tour Highlights Ska's Roots
Tour carries message of racial tolerance and reminder of ska's origins.
archive-Randy-Reiss 04/01/1998
The way Vinnie Lee, drummer for ska-punkers Less Than Jake, sees it, the
type of ska that has become popular over the past year has nothing to do
with the music's colorful and politically outspoken past.
"It's totally forsaken its political roots," Lee said Monday.
"Party ska bands get radio play, but if you look at a more politically minded
group like Less Than Jake, you'll never see them on the radio."
In an effort to remind people where ska came from as well as raise public
consciousness about racial tolerance, Lee and his bandmates agreed to headline the Ska
Against Racism tour.
Hoping to encourage racial tolerance through the musical event, Ska Against
Racism -- which opened last Thursday with a tour stop in Auburn, Wash. --
features headliners Less Than Jake joining a ska army that includes the
Toasters, Blue Meanies, Mustard Plug, Five Iron Frenzy, MU330 and Kemuri,
along with tour organizer and former Skankin' Pickle member Mike "Bruce Lee"
Park.
Also along for the ride on the 35-date tour -- which heads through major cities,
including Dallas next Wednesday, New York on April 23, and Denver on May 5
-- are Anti-Racist Action, Artists for a Hate-Free America and the Museum of
Tolerance, each of whom will raise money through the proceeds for the event.
The tour ends May 10 with a stop in Helena, Mont.
Park said he agreed with Lee's assessment of the ska scene and had organized the tour as a
direct response. "It was like, let's remember what the original idea
behind ska was," Park said in reference to the genre's diverse roots. To get
things rolling, Park said he called up his friends in a wide variety of ska bands,
all of whom were eager to be involved. "There was no stress," Park said.
"They were all, like, 'cool, we'll do it.' "
The tour has thus far played three dates, and by all accounts it has been a
success. "I've been walking around and selling merchandise after my set,"
Park said, "and I've had a lot of people thank me for putting this
together."
Robert "Buck" Hingley, frontman for the Toasters and a participant in anti-racist
concerts for 15 years, said he was confident that this event would have an
impact on its audience both musically and philosophically. "I think people are
into it," he said. "The average age of the audience is younger than we're used to
playing to, but they seem really, really aware of the issues."
According to Jonathan Boyer, musical liaison for the Museum of Tolerance,
the younger skew of the Ska Against Racism audience is precisely the reason
why the museum wanted to be involved. "The truth of the matter is, in my
opinion, that kids get their political and racial views from home discussion,
either directly or just by osmosis," Boyer said. "While it may not be proper to
question their parents' beliefs at home," he continued, "maybe they'll relax
enough while listening to the music to become open to different views."
While he acknowledged that "after a few beers, a lot of people show their true
colors," Boyer also said he thought that a concert setting was an
ideal place to educate people about tolerance. "In a rock 'n' roll atmosphere, we
can catch as many people as possible and hopefully establish
some building blocks toward tolerance," he said. "If we reach just one
person, then it's great. If that one person is proactive with the
information and grows wings," he continued, "that's even better."
For his part, Park wants people to walk out of the show with a smile on
their face and information in their brain. "I don't expect people to walk
out of the show thinking 'let's go smash racism now,' " Park explained. "But
I do want them to come out thinking that it was an amazing show that was a
positive atmosphere. I want them to feel good about tolerance."
Less Than Jake
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NetSuite receives leading research firm's 2009 SMB Excellence Award in cloud computing
Latest Accolade for Top-Ten ERP Vendor Cites Milestone Accomplishments, Competitive Disruption Caused by Company's Innovative On-Demand Technology
NetSuite Only Vendor of SaaS Business Software Suites to Receive Award
SAN MATEO, Calif.—November 18, 2009—November 18, 2009 — NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N), a leading vendor of cloud computing business management software suites, today announced that NetSuite has received IDC's SMB Excellence Award in the Software as a Service and Cloud Computing category for providing innovative solutions to the small and medium-sized business markets (SMB). NetSuite was the only Software as a Service (SaaS) business software suite vendor to receive the award. The global industry research leader made its selections based on suitability to the needs of SMB companies, milestone accomplishments, and the competitive disruption caused by the company's innovative on-demand technology for on-premise, legacy vendors such as Microsoft and SAP. For more information about NetSuite's industry recognition, visit www.netsuite.co.uk/awards.
IDC recognises NetSuite alongside household and industry-standard names such as Cisco, EMC, Verizon, AT&T, and IBM. "NetSuite continues to be a tremendous ally of the SMB market, providing top-shelf functionality to business owners with a modern business model which avoids the up-front costs that made it difficult for SMBs to implement traditional on-premise ERP systems," said Michael Fauscette, Group VP, Software Business Solutions at IDC. "NetSuite's innovative cloud computing-based ERP has paved the way for thousands of small and medium-sized companies to transform their operations while minimizing infrastructure investments."
Since launching in 1998, NetSuite has continually redefined the enterprise computing space. Its latest triumph, NetSuite OneWorld, is the first and only on-demand solution delivering real-time global business management and financial consolidation to SMBs with multinational and multi-subsidiary operations. The SuiteCloud platform enables third-party developers to quickly and easily develop robust add-ons to NetSuite functionality, and permits easy integration with legacy enterprise accounting platforms for subsidiaries or major trading partners.
The IDC SMB Excellence Award is NetSuite's latest accomplishment in a year full of accolades. This summer, Gartner Dataquest released figures showing that NetSuite has joined the ranks of North America's top ten ERP vendors by revenue. Strategic advisory service ISM Inc. recognised NetSuite and NetSuite CRM with a Top 15 CRM Small & Medium Business Software Award for 2009. Customer Interaction Solutions magazine named NetSuite CRM as a recipient of a 2009 CRM Excellence Award. Most recently, British businesses named NetSuite the top Enterprise Accounting Software vendor in Sift Media's Software Satisfaction Awards 2009. These awards validate and reinforce NetSuite's mounting importance to companies of all sizes looking for a powerful, integrated enterprise management solution.
For more information about NetSuite Inc., please visit www.netsuite.co.uk.
NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are registered service-marks of NetSuite Inc.
About IDC SMB Excellence Award:
The IDC SMB Excellence Awards are granted to technology providers who in IDC's view are serving the SMB market in innovative ways, providing advanced technology capabilities to firms with fewer than 1000 employees. Nominees for the IDC SMB Excellence Award are evaluated on the basis of three key criteria: the creation of products and/or programs that specifically address the unique needs of SMBs; the business implications of these products or programs for the nominated firm; and the competitive impact of these products or programs. The award recipients are selected by IDC's SMB Research team in consultation with the IDC analysts that follow the relevant technology market associated with these products or programs. The full report is IDC#220604.
IDC is the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets. To learn more about IDC, please visit www.idc.com.
NOTE: NetSuite and the NetSuite logo are registered service marks of NetSuite Inc.
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The Experimental Lectionary of the Consilium ad exsequendam (1967)
Between the later stages of the Second Vatican Council and the promulgation of the reformed Ordo lectionum Missae in 1969, various episcopal conferences were granted permission to expand the selection of readings used at weekday Masses, on an experimental basis. Three main schemes were used in this period: the German scheme, [1] the French scheme, and the Consilium scheme. The latter, prepared by Coetus XI of the Consilium, was presented to episcopal conferences that had not asked specific permission to use either of the other two schemes. The Consilium’s scheme was also the subject of “extensive deliberation”, being given to each episcopal conference, to the participants in the 1967 Synod of Bishops, and around 800 periti in various fields such as biblical studies, liturgy, catechesis and pastoral care; 460 responses were received. [2]
The table of the Consilium scheme of readings is now available for download from the following link:
Table of Readings from the Consilium’s Experimental Lectionary (Schemata 233 [De Missali 39], 1967), with the text of the introductory material (PDF)
This scheme is vital source material for studying the work of Coetus XI, and it is worth mentioning that it had eluded me for a number of years until recently. Very many thanks are due to the library staff at Blackfriars Hall (University of Oxford) for allowing me to consult their copy of the Ordo lectionum pro dominicis, feriis et festis sanctorum.
The elusive Schemata 233 of the Consilium ad exsequendam
With this table of readings, all of the primary experimental schemes of readings in use have now been made publicly available for research (see the links above and also my Lectionary Study Aids blog). Though I have yet to do any detailed comparisons of the various schemes, or to compare them with the eventual Ordo lectionum Missae, there are a couple of observations that immediately stand out about the Consilium’s scheme:
It was produced at a point in the post-Vatican II liturgical reform where there was clearly some uncertainty about what the General Roman Calendar would look like in the future. For example, Lent appears to start on the 1st Sunday of Lent rather than on Ash Wednesday, [3] and though we have Sundays labelled as post-Epiphany and post-Pentecost, the ferial weekday lectionary does not make this distinction (there are 34 weeks in tempus per annum).
Compared to the 1969/1981 Ordo lectionum Missae, there are very few short forms of readings, and the majority of those that do exist in the Consilium scheme would seem to conform more to no. 75 of the General Introduction to the Lectionary than those in the 1969/1981 OLM. This issue is more complex than first appears, however, and will be examined in future posts.
Other interesting observations are, no doubt, waiting to be made, and I hope to be able to share some of them at NLM in the future.
[1] The German scheme was the one also used in England & Wales between 1965-69. Closely related to this scheme is the one used in Spain and some other Spanish-speaking nations.
[2] Annibale Bugnini gives more details about the reform of the lectionary in The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1990), pp. 406-425.
[3] Bugnini makes it clear that this was a feature, not a bug. Pope Paul VI had to personally intervene in order to ensure that Ash Wednesday and the three days following would be retained in the General Roman Calendar (cf. The Reform of the Liturgy, pp. 307, 310-311).
Posted Thursday, August 23, 2018
Labels: Consilium, Lectionary, Liturgical Reform, Matthew Hazell, Vatican II
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Civil Rights Pioneer Virgil D. Hawkins Honored in Lakeland, FL
by admin | Mar 16, 2016 | Power LGBT
Lakeland lawyer Larry Hardaway organized an event in Lakeland recently as a vigil for the late Virgil Hawkins, a respected civil rights pioneer in Florida. Hawkins’ story begins in 1949, when the then 43-year-old’s application to the University of Florida’s Levin...
Civil and Human Rights Center Launches LGBT Institute
by admin | Sep 17, 2015 | Equality, LGBT
What was it like to live in a world that separated people by color? What is it like to live in a world that separates LGBT people from their fundamental civil and human rights? These two questions open up a world of issues and ideas. Luckily, there is a place to...
Four Influential Gay African Americans
by admin | Feb 19, 2013 | Articles, News
February is here, and we’re celebrating Black History Month. It’s a struggle to be LGBT in today’s society, but it’s even more so for people who are both gay and African American. Add “woman” to that list, and you’ve got yourself a triple minority. We’ll let that last...
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On reading ‘All My Puny Sorrows’ by Miriam Toews
by nike, February 3, 2015
SPOILER ALERT: This long ramble about Miriam Toews’ All My Puny Sorrows includes a discussion of the book’s ending. You can safely read right up till the ‘spoiler alert’ graphic. Also, the book (and my ramblings about reading it) includes discussions of suicide. Just sayin’. 🙂
I belong to a book club. Have I told you that before? We get together once a month to talk about books and life. To laugh and drink coffee and smile at each other. The women in my book club are all dear friends of mine. Women whose strength and love and friendship has kept me going when I could not have persisted on my own.
Yes, it is that cheesy! Our book club, for me, is a little like that cheesy old movie about the ladies who do patchwork together. These are the women who hold me together; whose lives I am honoured to share.
This month, M– chose the book we would read (we take it, roughly, in turns). She chose Miriam Toews All My Puny Sorrows because she’d read and liked some of her earlier work, and because the author is, like M–, Canadian.
This month’s book club meeting convened on the banks of the Brisbane River, at the GOMA cafe. Boo and I drove down early so that we could gather some supplies from a little grocer we like, and wander through the art gallery for a little while, looking at the Tracey Moffatt exhibition.
By one o’clock we’d gathered by the river. M– had brought with her copies of all of Miriam Toews other books, including A Complicated Kindness, The Flying Troutmans, and A Boy of Good Breeding. After the usual raucous recounting of adventures between meetings, we launched into our discussion of this troubling, engaging, witty, heartbreaking book.
The novel is set largely in Winnipeg, and tells the story of the relationship between two sisters who grew up in a Mennonite community. One a successful concert pianist, the other a writer of children’s books who is trying to write a ‘serious’ adult novel. The novel begins when Elf–the concert pianist–attempts suicide, not for the first time, and is hospitalised.
The title comes from Coleridge’s ‘To A Friend, With An Unfinished Poem’, written in December, 1794:
I, too, a sister had, an only sister —
She loved me dearly, and I doted on her;
To her I pour’d forth all my puny sorrows;
(As a sick patient in a nurse’s arms,)
And of the heart those hidden maladies
That e’en from friendship’s eye will shrink ashamed.
O! I have waked at midnight, and have wept
Because she was not!
Miriam Toews has said that the book draws heavily on the events leading up to the suicide of her sister, in 2010. Though the book is very serious in many ways — how can it not be in dealing with such weighty material — it is also witty and ascerbic. The book is full of incidents that are both comic and tender, informed by a writing voice that is both empathetic and ironic. The voice is one of the key attractions of this book: Yoli’s narration is breathless, brash, tender, truthful, offering to the reader every contour of her confusion and humanity. In one brief flashback, Elf has “finally been chosen” to play Mary in the church’s nativity pageant:
Elf was well aware of her responsibilities, of being demure and tender and mild even though she’d been unconventionally impregnated by an invisible force and was now expected to raise the Messiah and all on a carpenter’s salary. I was six. I was supposed to be a shepherd, relegated to some back row where all us younger kids would stand with dishtowels on our heads or angel wings gaffe red to our backs. I told my mother I refused to be a shepherd. I would be Mary’s sister, the baby’s aunt. My mother told me that the baby Jesus didn’t have an aunt in the nativity scene, that it didn’t make sense. But I am her sister, I said. I know, said my mother, but only in real life.
One of my favourite scenes is one in which the narrator, Yoli, is walking with her sister’s lover, Nic. They’ve been arguing about the best way to help Elf. What’s necessary. They come across two young boys carrying a canoe, who insist that they are going to put the canoe in the water and travel to Roseau River Reserve. The boys are in Winnipeg in the care of foster parents who, they say, are abusive and neglectful. The problem (well, one big problem) is, as Nic says, that “the river is crazy right now. It’s moving at 380 cubic metres a second and it still has some ice on it.”
But the two teenage boys are determined to get home.
You guys can’t do this, [says Nic] to the front, the bow, of the boat. His voice is low and stern, mano e mano. Nothing happens. The boys breathe in silence and the canoe gently bobs up and down in silence and the canoe gently bobs up and down a bit on top of them … Okay, so how about this, says Nic. I’ll give you money for two bus tickets to Roseau River and you leave the canoe with me. I’ll bungee it to my car and keep it for you at my place and you can pick it up whenever it suits you, when you’re back in the city, or whatever.
This, then, is exactly what happens. Nic slips the boys enough for bus fare, and bungees their canoe to the roof of the car. According to Yoli, Nic has saved their lives. This is a lovely moment: an opportunity for Nic and Yoli to believe that they have saved a life each. Two lives, to hold in balance against the ever-present threat of Elf’s death. A reminder that, sometimes, in unexpected and magical ways, life offers us opportunities to be generous and kind, and successful in our attempts to love and support others.
The depiction of a woman determined to end her own life is empathetic and precise. Here is a woman who is still capable of wit, insight, pride and determination. We had an interesting conversation at book club about her state of mind, and about definitions of mental health. Elf is not suffering from the disordered or irrational thinking many people associate with ‘being crazy’. She doesn’t hear voices, or speak to the walls. She’s smart, and sometimes funny. Just like you. And me. Except that she wants to die. Preferably today. If not, tomorrow. Her suicidal ideations mean that she is, according to most mental health guidelines, mentally ill. A danger to herself, and possibly to others. In Australia, someone presenting to a doctor or hospital who admits that they want to kill themselves can be ‘sectioned’. That is, held in a mental health ward without their consent.
I’ve been in a mental health ward as an involuntary patient. And I’ve seen the look people give you if you admit that this has been part of your life. That look that re-assesses you. That look that tells you very clearly that the person you’re talking to assumes that this means you are (or have been) completely out of your tree at some point. The look that doesn’t understand depression and suicidal ideation, and their relationship to being a functional human being, at all.
M2 said that she felt that Elf wasn’t mentally ill at all, and that it’s awful to think that someone like her would be categorised/treated as such. She was a functional and successful artist. A witty, loving, intelligent, assertive, artistic woman.
Whether Elf is or isn’t mentally ill because she’s suicidal, and how much her rights and responsibilities should be limited as a result become important questions in this book, perhaps especially when she asks her sister, Yoli, to help her travel to Switzerland in order to commit medically-assisted suicide.
Elf is clearly unwell, but she is not suffering from a terminal illness like cancer. She is not experiencing organ failure, or in extreme physical pain. She does not require life support. It is not, in other words, easy to understand why she would want to end her own life. Most of the time, when we talk about medically-assisted suicide, we talk in terms of people who are living with terminal illnesses or living in extreme physical pain and discomfort. We don’t picture successful, physically healthy and able concert pianists.
Yoli, Elf’s sister, struggles with the question of whether to support her sister in going to Switzerland. Should she? And if she does, what would be the consequences?
If you don’t want to know what happens, please don’t read any further until you’ve finished the book!
One of the women in our book club took a break from the book around here. Not by choice — she had to travel for work and left the book at home. During the meeting, she talked about driving around out in Western Queensland with the questions raised by the book swirling around in her head. She made notes about what the author could do with the story from here and, like the rest of us, decided that the easiest way out for the author was to have Elf take the decision out of her sister’s hands.
And this is what the author does. As a writer myself, once I’d gained the critical distance to do so and stopped crying over Elf’s death, I saw this as a bit of a cop-out. Not only does Yoli not have to make a final decision about whether to assist her sister in committing suicide, she is relieved of any of the really murky emotional and psychological consequences of supporting Elf in ending her life. Throughout the book, even though Yoli might be thinking about supporting her sister in ending her life, in her actions and speech, she fights against Elf’s suicidal tendencies. It is Yoli who, when she has to leave Winnipeg to look after her children, struggles almost heroically to get the hospital staff to agree not to let Elf leave. Not (in other words) to let her suicide.
At one point, she reflects:
I wanted Elf to stay. Everyone in the whole world was fighting with somebody to stay. When Richard Bach wrote “If you love someone, set them free” he can’t have been directing his advice at human beings.
And later, more succinctly:
She wanted to die and I wanted her to live and we were enemies who loved each other.
And after Elf’s death, Yoli makes prank calls to the hospital asking for her sister. Insisting that she must be there, since the hospital staff were told not to let her go. Told that Elf was wily: would pretend she wanted to live so that she could get out, and end her life.
In terms of character empathy and thematic connection, then, Yoli interestingly is the character through whom the reader gets to empathetically consider the morally murky prospect of helping her sister commit suicide, but is also the loving sister who fights for her sister’s life right up to and beyond its end. She is narratively speaking in no way responsible for her sister’s ‘success’ in ending her life. She didn’t agree to her being discharged; she wasn’t with her sister, and wasn’t meant to be (unlike, say, her sister’s lover).
None of this is to say it isn’t a good, brave, thought-provoking book. Only that there is a sense in which it perhaps shies away, in the end, from really confronting the issues around medically-assisted suicide for someone who is ‘just’ suicidal/depressed. And that it somewhat reinforces some of the clichés surrounding people with depression/suicidal people: that they are often artists of one kind or another, whose heightened sensitivity and intelligence are part of their artistic nature. That artists are tortured geniuses, suffering for their art. That the pain in their hearts and minds is what makes their art so special and beautiful: a cliche about the power of art and the pain of depression expressed explicitly in the book:
When I listened to her play I felt I should not be in the same room with her. There were hundreds of people but nobody left. It was a private pain. By private I mean to say unknowable. Only the music knew and it held secrets so that her playing was a puzzle, a whisper, and people afterward stood in the bar and drank and said nothing because they were complicit. There were no words.
This is not always, or perhaps even usually true. And I wonder why we seem to need it to be the case in movies and books. Why artists must be tortured. Why stories about people with depression or suicide are never about ordinary people with ordinary jobs and ordinary families. Which is what the vast majority of depressed people are. Ordinary people.
‘Heart of the Forest’ by Ah-NEE-koh. Found on Deviant Art
I was young when my father took his own life. Too young, some said, to understand what had happened. But who really understands suicide? I’m sure I didn’t understand what had occurred in the way that his other family did: but I’m not sure that their understanding was any purer or more true than mine.
I was too young when I first tried to take my own life. Still young — too young to understand — when other members of my family tried to end their lives. Too young when a few old friends took their own lives (at different times): a mother, an activist, and a poet.
I’m still to young to understand why someone would want to end their own life. Even when that someone is me. I still don’t understand why I ended up in that bathtub with a blade against my throat, or with a cup of pills in my hand and a bottle of booze between my knees. Although I think of myself as a writer, I have brought no words back from that wordless place. I’m not sure there are any.
Though I have walked them both, I do not know how to recognise the path into the darkness at the heart of the forest. Or the path that will lead you home.
Miriam Toews’ book probably won’t save your life, or the life of anyone you know. But it may provide you with the courage to sit in undefended confusion with someone struggling to find reasons to stay alive. To be in that space where there are no easy answers, and to hold on to someone who needs to be held.
To sit with them. To walk with them. To wait with them, and hope that the path back to that other world — the one in which a stranger loans you a bus fare home and offers to carry the burden of your canoe — reveals itself to you.
Marlyn Mac
nike, that is a wonderful summary of the book, of the issues, of our discussions, of your own lived experience, and of a way forward - so good. M xx
Thank you, Marlyn! It's such a wonderful book - thank you for introducing this wonderful author to me/all of us! xx
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Quan Hoang
Creative Director • Art Director • Director
Nike Phenomenal Shot
An Art, Copy and Code project for Nike, Phenomenal Shot is a real-time marketing campaign that let fans from around the world remix and share pivotal moments from the world’s greatest players—just seconds after those moments happened on live TV. The 3D experience was delivered instantly across devices and on Google’s global ad network during the World Cup, putting fans on the pitch and behind the lens as each game’s story unfolded.
We were the lead creative and technology agency for Google's partnership with Nike. We also collaborated with respected agencies Wieden+Kennedy, Mindshare, Passion Pictures, and Goo Technologies.
– Creative Director
Nike's Phenomenal Shot launched globally with support for 15 different languages, on a platform that was built to react easily and quickly to the unpredictable nature of the game. Built in 3D WebGL, JavaScript, and HTML 5, the experience was made for mobile, tablet, and desktop browsers. The experience also appeared within innovative mobile and Lightbox Ad units.
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Featured History Philosophy and Insight
Heroic Holocaust Revisionist Dr. Robert Faurisson Has Passed
October 22, 2018 October 23, 2018 Kyle Hunt 11 Comments
Dr. Robert Faurisson (1929 – 2018) was born in England to a French father and a Scottish mother, and spent his adult life in France. There he was hounded and persecuted for 40 years due to his outspoken views, which were backed up by scholarly research. He vehemently denied the existence of homicidal gas chambers and pointed out the fraudulent nature of Anne Frank’s Diary, acting as a serious thorn in the side of Holocaust promoters around the world.
The alleged Hitlerite gas chambers and the alleged genocide of the Jews constitute one and the same historical lie, which made possible a gigantic financial-political fraud, the principal beneficiaries of which are the State of Israel and international Zionism, and whose principal victims are the German people — but not their leaders — and the entire Palestinian people.” ~ Robert Faurisson, the famous “60 words sentence”, formulated in 1980.
Dr. Faurisson published his work in the Journal of Historical Review, sent letters to French newspapers, such as Le Monde, and was active on a number of internet sites, detailing exactly why he “denied” the Holocaust. His pioneering work led to professional terminations and vicious assaults upon his person by Talmudic terrorists.
Faurisson hospitalized after a terrorist attack.
From Rightpedia:
Faurisson became familiar to a wider audience through the publication of three letters in French newspaper Le Monde between December 1978 and February 1979. In these articles he maintained that the so-called gas chambers were actually drawn and labeled as being functional “morgues” (Leichenkeller) on their genuine plans. Faurisson claimed that the alleged “Weapons of Massive Destruction” of the so-called death camps have never existed. Faurisson doubted also the existence of a master plan for the systematic murder of Jews. Because of the aggressive Zionist influence in France, even in administrative area, he was removed from his academic position at the Central French Institution for Education by Correspondence under the allegation that his safety couldn’t be warranted anymore at the University of Lyon. In 1989 his jaw was broken during one of a number of physical attacks that have been made against him by Jewish terrorists who were never pursued by the French police. In 1990 (according to some reports 1991) he retired from the civil service.
The Gayssot Act was a statute passed in France in 1990, which prohibited any Holocaust revisionism and served as the basis for removing Dr. Faurisson from his university position. Dr. Faurisson challenged the legality of the statute, as it violated his civil, political, and human rights under international law, but the Gayssot Act was upheld by the “Human Rights” committee as being necessary to counter any possible anti-jewish sentiment.
Dr. Faurisson was again on trial in 2006 after giving an interview to an Iranian TV station regarding his views on the so-called Holocaust. This resulted in a three-month probationary sentence and a fine of €7,500.
Robert Faurisson remained defiant until his last days.
Robert’s brother Jean reported:
I regret to inform you that my brother Robert passed away yesterday, Sunday the 21st of October, at about 19:00h. Just as he entered through the door of his home in Vichy returning from a trip to his birth place in Shepperton (UK), he collapsed presumably because of a massive heart stroke. There had been meetings with friends which were interrupted twice violently by opponents of his views.
This courageous man, in his 90th year in this world, was aggressively confronted by “politically correct” cretins at the Shepperton Hotel, which likely led to his heart attack. Here is a video about meeting by French revisionist in exile Vincent Reynouard.
Dr. Robert Faurisson was a heroic truth-teller who paid the price for holding unpopular, illegal views, but he continued onward regardless. He would not be cowed into submission. He would not renounce his positions in return for an easy life. He will be remembered for his bravery. He has inspired many truth-tellers and will continue to inspire many more to come. May we continue his life’s work and enlighten this world ruled by darkness and deceit.
Thank you for your work, Robert.
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Kyle is the publisher of the Renegade Tribune and the founder of Renegade Broadcasting, where he hosts The Solar Storm. He also organized the 2014 White Man March and created the film adaptation of Hellstorm. You can send support to: Kyle Hunt, PO Box 1052, Sorrento FL 32776. Bitcoin address: 1AfppjYZddJzc2C15PXKMsnyBPjPJQezwA
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Parseval
These are sad news. Last year, after Ernst Zündel and barely two months later his wife Ingrid Rimland died, Robert Faurisson remarked that he knew that he was the next to be called. The old guard is slowly stepping down. His work in the service of truth and decency in human affairs has earned him a place of honor on earth and in Valhall where he can now rejoice and lo back to a life worth living. I learned much from him, both from him as a scholar and as a human being. people like Robert Faurisson… Read more »
Lotti von Hesse
He was extremely courageous, he and Ernst were dear friends – it seems as though, that all of our good people are gone!
gfdsault
A man of great courage and conviction,may he rest in peace
Faurisson was the first holocaust denier (I know he would have liked it more to be called “revisionist” but I have problems with that term) I saw in the media. In the quite awful Chomsky documentary a holocaust denier was announced and I fully expected a cartoon Nazi with beer belly and missing teeth and was surprised an old small man who looked like a teacher appeared. Because the makers of the documentary treated him in a mocking way and he only was allowed to speak a few words out of a car, he didn’t make much… Read more »
There will be celebrating in JEW-ville tonight.
Just to continue Dr Fourisson’s work is this link. A $10,000 REWARD WAS POSTED FOR ANYONE WHO COULD DISPUTE THE STATISTICS CONTAINED IN THE 1948 WORLD JEWISH AND 1948 WORLD ALMANAC FIGURES. The two sources agree with each other.
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=85432
It’s a shame that a lot of these researchers are dying. I can’t think of anyone who is doing this kind of research any longer who isn’t under 70. I fear a lot of good information will be buried along with these brave souls. I always thought his works were a little more scholarly and presented well. It’s amazing how doggedly these researchers were pursued. Usually resulting in violence . What is the saying? “You don’t need to make up laws to protect history unless you are trying to protect a lie”. The fact that Faurisson never… Read more »
Rick Campbell
La dernière interview choc de Robert FAURISSON
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utTibeySDM8
Patrick UK
The correct expression is ‘passed away’. Use proper English for God’s sake.
Passed away is also correct, but you should probably check your assertions before posting. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pass
Perhaps people in the UK do not use “passed,” but it is quite common (and correct).
Is that the only thing you have to say, Patrick? You have nothing relevant to say concerning Dr. Faurisson’s research, contributions to real history, and nothing to say about his death?
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Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne) and Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery)
I discovered some interesting facts about actress Marion Lorne aka "Aunt Clara". Ms Lorne was in her 80's when she filmed 4 seasons of Bewitched. They really had her doing all types of stunts. Standing on the roof, yachting, parachute jumping, and mostly falling in from the fire place. Whata good sport she must have been...
Marion Lorne was in the movie "The Graduate"
Marion Lorne was an American film, television and theater actress. After a career in theater in New York City and London, Lorne made her first film in 1951, and for the remainder of her life, played small roles in films and television.
Marion Lorne in "Mr Peepers"
Born: August 12, 1883, West Pittston. Died: May 9, 1968, New York City Spouse: Walter C. Hackett (m. 1911–1944)
Actress. Fondly remembered as the dithery, bumbling Aunt Clara on the "Bewitched" (1964) television series, endearing character actress Marion Lorne had a five decade career on the stage before she became a household name.
My favorite episode with Aunt Clara is when Endora loses her powers and Aunt Clara gets them!
Born Marion Lorne MacDougall, she grew up in her native Pennsylvania, the daughter of Scottish and English immigrants. Trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, she appeared in stock shows, and was on the Broadway boards by 1905.
She married playwright Walter C. Hackett and performed in many of his plays throughout the 20s and 30s, eventually settling in England where they founded the Whitehall Theater. It was there that she began to patent her comedy eccentrics. Upon Hackett's death in 1944, she returned to the States and became a hit in such tailor-made stage shows as "Harvey".
She made her film debut with Alfred Hitchcock's classic Strangers on a Train (1951) as Robert Walker's smothering mother while in her mid-60s. Shortly thereafter she turned to TV and became a hit in such sitcoms as "Mr. Peepers" (1952) and "Sally" (1957), and gained quirky comedy status as well on the "The Garry Moore Show" (1958).
But it was her role as the befuddled, amusingly perplexed witch-aunt on "Bewitched" - whether bouncing into walls or conjuring up some unintended piece of witchcraft -- which put a lasting glow on her long career. She was rewarded, albeit posthumously, with an Emmy award; sadly, Marion died of a heart attack a few months before the ceremony in 1968. Elizabeth Montgomery accepted the award on her behalf.
Awards: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series
Nominations: Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Comedy Series
Labels: BEWITCHED, RIP
Arlinda Hechler said...
I wish there were more actresses like Marion Lorne and Elizabeth Montgomery. Then maybe there would be more comedy shows that are funny without the bad language and with better values. I love those two from Bewitched. I wish there were more to watch and feel good after watching these kinds of wonderful feel good showed. Thanks, from Arlinda a number one fan.
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Stories From the Field:
A Catholic Missionary with a Hindu Touch
Father Jeevan is finding creative ways of preaching the Gospel to his flock in India. (photo: CNEWA)
CNEWA’s regional director in India, M.L. Thomas, recently had a chance to visit a mission, in the Diocese of Chanda, where he saw some of the work of a young priest — a convert from Buddhism named Father Jeevan K D.
Mr. Thomas writes:
Khurkheda is a village mission in the diocese of Chanda where Father Jeevan works. He is an ordained priest from Maharashtra. He has been developing this mission for 20 months.
Father Jeeven, looks like a ‘Sanyasi’ [a Hindu religious] and he is staying in a small rented room along with the people in the village.
“With CNEWA’s support we had a good beginning,” said Father Jeevan, who lives with few comforts and simple facilities. “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you and to the CNEWA organization.”
The priest, on the right, lives a simple life among the people in his village. (photo: CNEWA)
He is now working in 55 villages and preaches the Gospel.
“Every day, we visit a village with our catechists. We travel village to village by motorcycle or by bicycles. Sometimes we rent a jeep for the village visit — especially when there are awareness programs, retreats or Bible conventions in the village. In the village, we visit the families; we listen to their problems and give them the Word of God and the Gospel values. And we teach them to pray every day. Also, we tell them the importance of education for their children and about the cleanliness.”
He explained how he has adopted some Hindu traditions to help catechize the peopl — including “Bhajan,” or singing devotional songs before an image of God [Christ]; keeping a fast as a kind of worship for a whole day; and wearing particular colors of saris for worship.
Father Jeevan travels from village to village on motorcycle. (photo: CNEWA)
But he also emphasizes the importance of Catholic devotions in his mission.
“I started my mission with prayers and adoration,” he said. “With the power of the prayers and the adoration to the Blessed Sacrament, people started coming to the church. Many of the people were coming for the prayers and the adoration. And they used to share their problems and difficulties with me. I used to give enough time and listen to their problems and used to pray for them and they were happy and at peace. They used to invite me to their villages and to their families. I was very happy to visit them. I went to many villages visiting poor and sick and the afflicted. I preached the Good News to them.”
M.L. Thomas sent along some video, below, showing the creative ways that Father Jeevan has introduced Hindus to the Catholic faith, by incorporating some of their traditions in the liturgies.
Picture of the Day: Brush with Holiness
Iconographer Ian Knowles works on an icon in his studio in Bethlehem. To learn more about efforts to preserve this ancient form of artistic prayer, read Prayers in Paint in the Summer 2013
edition of ONE. (photo: Nicholas Seeley)
Page One: Headlines for 3/6/18
Syrian Red Crescent volunteers give medical supplies to civilians on 5 March in Ghouta, Syria.
(photo: CNS/Syrian Red Crescent via Reuters)
Report of ‘chlorine attack’ on embattled Syrian town (BBC) Medics in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area of Syria say they have been treating people with breathing problems after a suspected chlorine attack. The reports follow government air strikes and shelling just hours after the last UN aid envoy left the enclave following a supposed five-hour truce...
Ambassador says Iraq is safe, urges refugees in Lebanon to return home (The Daily Star) Iraq’s ambassador to Lebanon Sunday called on Iraqi refugees in the country to return home “voluntarily” in the near future, citing “safe” conditions in Iraq following the withdrawal of Daesh (ISIS) from much of its territory. Speaking on Radio Liban Sunday, Ambassador Ali Bandar al-Aameri urged “all Iraqi refugees in Lebanon, particularly Christians, to return voluntarily to their country.” He did not specify a timeline for possible return, but promised funding and housing for voluntary returnees...
Trump may travel to Jerusalem for embassy opening (The Jerusalem Post) President Donald Trump warmly welcomed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Oval Office on Monday, and said that he may come to Israel in May for the ceremony marking the formal transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem...
Saudi Prince invites Coptic leader to Saudi Arabia (Arab News) Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited Egypt’s Coptic Christians to visit Saudi Arabia after a rare meeting in Cairo’s main cathedral. Speaking to Egyptian media after the visit the head of the Egyptian church, Pope Tawadros II said: “In the name of the Coptic Orthodox church we welcome Prince Mohammed’s visit to his second country Egypt”...
Why Greek Catholics of Ukraine seek recognition as a patriarchate (CNA) The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church is not a patriarchate, but it would like to be. A request for a recognition of patriarchal status recently came from Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, who addressed it in a speech delivered 9 February for the 125th anniversary of the birth of Cardinal Josip Sliyi...
Report: Vatican confirms canonization of Paul VI set for October (Crux) Adding specificity to what was already known about the impending canonization of Blessed Paul VI in 2018, Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the pope’s top deputy as the Vatican’s Secretary of State, said Tuesday that the sainthood rite will take place in late October at the close of a meeting of the Synod of Bishops, an institution Paul VI himself founded...
CNEWA Welcomes Bishop
of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church
by Anna Dombrovska
During a visit to Canada last week, Bishop Mykhaylo Bubniy speaks to CNEWA staff and the Ukrainian community of Ottawa. (photo: CNEWA)
CNEWA last week welcomed Mykhaylo Bubniy, Bishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Archiepiscopal Exarch of Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Odesa, Archiepiscopal Administrator of Ukrainian Catholic Archiepiscopal Exarchate of Crimea and Titular Bishop of Thubursicum-Bure.
Religious leaders and members of the Ottawa Ukrainian community were very interested to learn about pastoral life in southern Ukraine.
Related: Planting Seeds, Nurturing Faith
CNEWA has been supporting the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church since Ukraine gained its independence from the Soviet Union. With the help of its donors, in 2017 CNEWA funded 26 pastoral and humanitarian projects in Ukraine for the amount of $500,000 USD.
To find out more about how you can support CNEWA’s work in Ukraine, visit this link. Our Canadian web site has additional information about programs and projects funded by CNEWA.
Bishop Mykhaylo Bubniy, left, meets with Carl Hétu CNEWA’s national director in Canada; Father Michael Winn, rector of Holy Spirit Seminary, Ottawa; and Dr. Andrew Bennett, deacon at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine in Ottawa. (photo: CNEWA)
Syriac Patriarch Denounces
Statement Regarding Syrian Crisis
A man is helped out of a damaged building 22 February after attacks in Douma, Syria.
(photo: CNS/Bassam Khabieh, Reuters)
The patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church denounced a statement issued by the head of the World Council of Churches regarding the situation in Syria, in particular the rebel-held enclave of Eastern Ghouta near Damascus.
“We are deeply appalled by your statement on Syria,” Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II of Antioch wrote the Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse-Tveit, general-secretary of the World Council of Churches, regarding the 26 February statement.
“You mention 550 victims killed in Eastern Ghouta, including more than 130 children. However, you neglect to mention hundreds of civilians, including many children, killed by the mortars and missiles coming from Eastern Ghouta, especially when most of these mortars have long targeted areas populated by Christians from churches which are members of WCC,” the patriarch, a native of Qamishli, Syria, wrote in the 2 March letter.
“Targeting of civilians on all sides should be indeed condemned,” he stressed. However, the patriarch said Rev. Fykse-Tveit’s statement “clearly shows a biased position concerning what is happening in Syria in general, and in Damascus in particular.”
“As a council of churches representing its members, including those of us who live in Syria, your statement should have been apolitical, more pastoral and reflecting the position of the great majority of Christians in Syria,” he said. “It is obvious that your information on what is happening in Syria lacks accuracy and objectivity.”
The Syriac Orthodox patriarch warned that “such an unbalanced statement will be used as a political tool serving a political vision of Syria’s future that does not necessarily express the views of the majority of the Syrian people, including Christians.”
He expressed his hope that the WCC “once again becomes the voice of the suffering churches in Syria” and would “convey to the entire world the reality of what they are going through.”
A Place to Pray in Tbilisi
Father Mikhael Khachkalian, the only Armenian Catholic priest in Tbilisi, Georgia prepares for the liturgy in the tiny chapel of the Armenian Catholic Center in Tbilisi. To learn more about A Firm Faith in Georgia, check out the Spring 2014 edition of ONE. (photo: Molly Corso)
A United Nations vehicle is seen at the al-Wafideen checkpoint near the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta region. A a convoy carrying aid for thousands of trapped Syrians headed towards the rebel-held enclave on 5 March 2018. (photo: Louai Beshara/AFP/Getty Images)
Aid convoy enters Eastern Ghouta in Syria (Al Jazeera) A 46-truck convoy carrying humanitarian aid has begun entering Eastern Ghouta through the government-controlled Wafideen checkpoint for the first time in nearly a month. “At last ... A convoy ... carrying desperately-needed aid for tens of thousands is on its way to Eastern Ghouta, Syria,” Robert Mardini, the head of the Middle East operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a tweet on Monday...
Mass grave with remains of Christians found near Mosul (Iraqi News) A mass grave with remains of forty Christians was found in Mosul, church sources declared on Thursday. “Al-Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) along with security troops in Halila region, near Badush in west of Mosul, ran into a mass grave of Christians who were kidnapped from the region,” a source from the Syriac Orthodox Church told Alghad Press website...
Russian patriarch visits Bulgaria (RT.com) The heads of the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches and the Bulgarian president marked the 140th anniversary of the end of the country’s occupation by the Ottoman Empire at the site of a famous joint victory over the Turks...
A second country plans to move embassy to Jerusalem (CNN) Guatemala will move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in two months, just two days after the United States plans to relocate its embassy to the city. Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales made the announcement Sunday at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s annual policy conference in Washington. His remarks were greeted with cheers and applause. “As a sovereign decision, we recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel,” Morales said...
Britain to take up persecution of religious minorities in India (Hindustan Times) Britain will raise the issue of alleged persecution of Christians and Sikhs in India during the April meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in London and Windsor, following demands by MPs to take it up with Prime Minster Narendra Modi...
Friday Film Festival:
The Courage of a Priest in Syria
As the situation in Syria continues to deteriorate, and pleas for peace are heard again and again, we were reminded of a story in our magazine from 2014: a Letter from Syria by the Rev. Ziad Hilal., S.J.
He described the terrible and terrifying conditions the people were facing, especially the children, yet concluded: “As a priest, I would like to say our role as a church is to push people toward hope, which should never be abandoned — no matter how unbearable circumstances may seem.”
Last year, he was interviewed for America magazine and echoed that sentiment:
Of course, one gets scared considering all the deaths and violence that are directly affecting this life, but our solid belief helps us defeat this fear, knowing that God is with us no matter what. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ teaches us: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jn 14:27). Hope is always stronger than fear.
For this Friday’s video, we offer this profile of Father Ziad that accompanied his letter. Pray for the Syrian people and all those, like Father Ziad, who are seeking to help them.
A Priest from Iraq:
‘The Christians in Iraq are Heroes’
The Rev. Thabet Habeb Yousef, a Chaldean Catholic priest from Iraq, says the people of his town are working to rebuild and hold on to hope after the devastation of ISIS. (photo: Greg Kandra)
Earlier this week, a visitor from Iraq stopped by our New York offices: the Rev. Thabet Habeb Yousef, a 42-year-old Chaldean Catholic priest from the town of Karemlesch in the Diocese of Mosul.
Father Thabet serves as the sole parish priest at St. Adday Church in the town. With the arrival of ISIS in 2014, hundreds of Christians fled, settling in Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan. They have only recently begun to return home.
What they found has been heartbreaking.
“We have 756 houses,” Father Thabet explained. “241 were burned by ISIS, 112 houses were attacked by armed forces, destroyed completely. Others had partial damage. ISIS also damaged the infrastructure. Many mines were left in the fields, in the houses. You can’t imagine. It was a miserable situation.”
But slowly, he said, the people have begun to reconstruct the town, thanks to the generosity of various church charities. And he has worked, as well, to restore a sense of purpose and hope.
“We are working with zeal,” he said, “with spirituality, to give hope. I told them when we were away, ‘One day we have to return, we have to recover our identity.’ This was a way to encourage them to return.”
Related: Hard Choices
While he is in the United States — he will be visiting family in Detroit for a few day before returning to Mosul — he says he gets regular emails from his flock.
“Each day, they send me a message,” he explained. “They ask, ‘When will you return? We are waiting for you! Father, stay with us.’ They have been encouraged to stay and they want support.”
Much support, he said, comes from the faith of the people, and understanding their purpose in that part of the world.
“They have great hope now,” he said. “They know their vocation is to stay here, because Iraqi Christians have a mission here, to be the light in the darkness. The situation in Iraq is very bad. But the Muslims know we are Christians, we are people of peace and love. If we leave Iraq, we take that with us. Our future needs to be there.”
Christians have deep roots in the region, he said, going back to the first century.
“Our role is to understand that,” he said, “and to understand there is grace in being there. Many Christians around the world have extended their hands to us, to encourage us, so we have hope. We are one Body of Christ. So my message to the world is, please, do not forget us.”
And his message to his flock?
“Christians are still here,” he said with a smile. “ISIS tried to get rid of us. But they didn’t. Our return home means hope. It is a kind of a victory, really. The Christians in Iraq are heroes.”
For a powerful look at what some displaced Iraqis are facing when they return home, watch the video below by Raed Rafei.
Picture of the Day: The Hope of Ethiopia
Students take a break from their studies at a school run by the Daughters of Charity in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. To learn more about the opportunities they are receiving, read A Letter from Ethiopia in the Spring 2015 edition of ONE. (photo: Petterik Wiggers)
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Flood’s first casualty was J&K govt
Nature's fury, when it decides to strike, is far more merciless and devastating than all the destructive powers of modern warfare. We are still not finished with the Kashmir tragedy, which reduced the entire valley to a sea, taking hundreds of lives, submerging lakhs of homes, throwing families and loved ones asunder, and destroying public property worth thousands of crores.
As I write this, the downpour has stopped, the floods are subsiding, but more death becomes visible. The tragedy will continue for months to come, before some form of normalcy returns to paradise. No doubt, time will do its healing, as it passes by, and hopefully, the Prime Minister's Rs 1,000 crore relief for this national disaster will reach the right persons, and for getting the infrastructure and connectivity back to some shape.
The Kashmir floods took the state and the nation by shock. An honest and rigorous analysis is necessary to identify where the administration and government went wrong, why there were no early warnings and why no preventive measures could be taken to mitigate this mega disaster. Unprecedented heavy rains in J&K continued from 2 September, for which no warning had been given by the several weather forecasting agencies that we have in our country. Some warning appears to have been given by the local authorities, but was apparently ignored.
The plunder of environment fed by greed, has a close correlation with natural disasters. The science of climate change is developing rapidly, and providing us greater information regarding reduction of forest cover, silting of rivers and changing river courses, urbanisation and lust for land devouring natural lakes and riverbeds. The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) reports that "In the last 100 years, more than 50 per cent of the lakes, ponds and wetlands of Srinagar have been encroached upon for constructing buildings and roads."
Traditional safety systems have been buried under greed and the desire for a fast buck. Riverbeds and lowlands by the side of water bodies, that were traditionally left vacant to act as natural flood absorbers, have now been encroached upon and become fragile residential communities and villages. Waterways have been drained to become roads, and there is no natural topography available anymore to divert floodwater. It is these very settlements and villages that were most vulnerable and became submerged.
Compounding our aggression over our environment is the fact that we seem so incapable of building an efficient and integrated disaster management system, which can respond quickly and includes early warning, prevention and mitigation drills that actually work. And this despite the fact that we have had natural disasters of great magnitude during the last two decades, beginning from the Orissa cyclone, which caught everyone unprepared. The performance of the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA), which carries the mandate to strategise and implement disaster management policies and actions in an integrated manner, right from the Centre to the district level, has also been a disaster. They were unable to provide early warning of the impending floods, alert and evacuate people, or execute a rescue and safety plan for them. From all accounts, the State Disaster Management Authority seems to be either non-existent or non-functional. Only states like Gujarat and Orissa have shown initiative and pro-activity in this area.
None of the Central or state agencies responsible for monitoring natural disasters and providing early warning, such as, the Central Water Commission, Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), Disaster Management Support (DMS), Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), or Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), forecast the floods. The Disaster Management Division (DM Division), which compiles inputs from all the agencies, had nothing to report on 2 September 2014. Therefore, two days later, as water levels were rising and rivers were in spate, there was no National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) support available in J&K. They arrived only around 7-8 September, after the worst havoc. The tardy response of the state and Central government disaster management outfits can only be termed as an unpardonable failure.
But the first serious casualty of the flood was Omar Abdulla's state government, which went completely missing. It is reported that all that remained to handle the emergency was the Chief Minister, his chief secretary and DGP. The rest of his government was either disconnected and untraceable or had travelled to safer havens. The Army became the only humanitarian agency and the greatest saviour of J&K, and did a magnificent job of search, rescue and emergency reconstruction of communication wherever possible, also tapping social media to assist in search and rescue. The Central government did its best to provide aircraft, boats, generator sets, tents, food and water, medical teams and other resources from all corners of the country.
The ones to come out worst in this crisis are the JKLF separatists. Their chief Yasin Malik was caught on camera disrupting rescue and relief operations, pelting stones and forcing ailing lady patients to get off Army relief boats. Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani thought it most fit to contribute in relief operations by appealing to the Pakistan Army to come to the aid of the Kashmiri people. We are proud of our armed forces and the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) who have earned appreciation nationally and internationally for carrying out its humanitarian tasks, in spite of personal losses suffered by them.
The tragedy of the floods takes me back to the Kashmir problem that I have been working on for more than a decade, with great hope. Sometimes, I tend to become a little disheartened when I think of all the opportunities that we have missed in finding a solution to our Kashmir problem. I was in Srinagar at the invitation of the Jammu and Kashmir Peace Foundation in mid August. Najma Heptullah attended the main function and left, but I stayed on for four days and interacted with the people. I was touched with the extraordinary affection and enthusiasm that greeted me.
On the last day, I met Shabir Shah, Farooq Abdullah's sister, Begum Khalida Shah, and Prof Ghani. During my visit, I was assured by Prof Ghani that he would work with me and we shall not disappoint each other. A similar promise was made by Shabir Shah and his team. I made it abundantly clear to everyone that while they had all the liberty to meet the Pakistan high commissioner, under no circumstances could they retract from the commitments and agreements that we have achieved already through the Kashmir Committee. These are:
1. Terrorism and violence are taboo.
2. A lasting and honourable peaceful resolution must and can be found
3. The resolution must be acceptable to all political elements and regions of the state.
4. Extremist positions held by all for the last five decades have to be and will be abandoned.
5. Kashmiri Pandits will be rehabilitated with honour and rights of equality.
I am sure the new government has been briefed about the achievements of the Kashmir Committee led by me, and what it has achieved in the last decade. It sounds a little trite and insecure for a mature power like India to cut off talks with Pakistan merely because the latter decided to speak to the separatists, their erstwhile supporters in Kashmir. It is quite likely that Pakistan would advise them to get into a more settlement anxious mood. I am informed that even our communication to the Pakistan High Commission was belated, and came only after one of the Hurriyat leaders had already met him. The Prime Minister has met his Chinese counterpart this week, even as the Chinese have indulged in intrusions in the Demchok area of Ladakh, a stale old tactic they have used for decades every time there is a significant diplomatic event between the Indian and Chinese governments. But the talks went on.
The secession of Kashmir from India is out of question, but autonomy as much as is consistent with national good must be conceded. My own view is that India should strongly work for a secular democracy in Pakistan that provides equality to religious minorities. Because if we do not do so, we would willy-nilly be supporting the Pakistan army and ISI. Our decision to cancel the talks may have ended up doing just that at a time when Pakistan's democracy was under immense pressure.
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Cryptopsy – None So Vile (Wrong Again Records/1996)
Talk about brutal, that justifies it with a horrific album cover. This album is my favorite Cryptopsy release to date. I’ve said that “Whisper Supremacy” was in the past but have to conclude that this is even better brutal death metal because it has a clearer/cleaner production quality. It isn’t just noise really, you can hear the guitar riffs and the vocals by Lord Worm are classic. They so guttural it’s beyond belief. There are backup screams too which make the album have more variability.
The music is what’s the strongest here. A lot of tremolo picking and fast paced tempos with blast beating drums. This music goes well with Lord Worm. He’s the most appropriate Cryptopsy vocalist in my opinion. But it’s hard to follow what he bellows even with a lyric sheet in front of you!! I’d have to say I’m not into their lyrical topics really a little too vile and grotesque for me, but the music is what stole it for me. The leads are brilliant too. This album just does not let up.
All of the tracks on here I favor I don’t think there’s any on the list that I disliked. As I say, uncompromising unreal intensity of pure torture. This beats a lot of classics of other bands, I’d go far to say it’s about as good as Cannibal Corpse’s “Butchered At Birth” but better. The music and vocals are what stole it for me not to mention the guitar solos. They’re brilliant as well. Just the riffs are so catchy and heavy it’s simply awe inspiring. This one is their best one of all time.
Now that I’ve said all this regarding the music, is it enough for you to find it on YouTube and say “yeah, this kicks ass!”? I’d say buy the physical CD because you can play it on your boom box or car CD player or just on your computer. This album just never lets up. I would caution though about the lyrics, they’re pretty grotesque. I don’t think they’re really thought out well but it goes along with the music. I’d rather not know what Lord Worm is saying. But just enjoy the music!!
Rate: 100%.
Reviewed By Death8699 (ryanfanucchi@gmail.com).
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Pinoy X-Philes
A Philippine-based Fan Group of The X-Files
Meet fellow Filipino X-Philes and join our gatherings and DVD marathons where we discuss The X-Files, its cast, writers, producers, merchandise (comics, books, action figures, etc.) and everything sci-fi!
Welcome to Pinoy X-Philes
Pinoy X-Philes is a Philippine-based fan group of The X-Files founded in 2003.
Its conception can be traced as far back as 1998, when a small number of Filipino fans of The X-Files decided to form a web-based group after meeting each other online in X-Files forums.
They called themselves as Pinoy X-Philes. Meetups, discussions about the show, and episode marathons were the main staple of the fledgling group. It was only a matter of time before the group became bigger, with members coming from different parts of the Philippines. Eventually the group was renamed as The Filiphiles.
Soon after, The Filiphiles caught the attention of the New Worlds Alliance – a start-up Manila-based umbrella organization responsible for bringing together different Filipino fan groups of the science fiction and fantasy genre. The Filiphiles was invited to become a member of the Alliance, along with three other X-Files fan groups, namely: Club X Manila, The Basement Office, and X-Flips. It was decided thereupon that the four small X-Files fan groups be merged into one big group in preparation for the first-ever Philippine Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention in 2003 organized by the New Worlds Alliance. Thus, the Pinoy X-Philes – the original name of the first group – was born.
Tweets by @pinoyXphiles
Pinoy X-Philes since 1998.
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TV review: Endeavour series 2, episode 4 - A gripping, sordid, startling and magnificent end to the series
A sordid tale of police corruption and child abuse brought series 2 to a startlingly end
By Neela Debnath - Independent
In the most gripping instalment of Endeavour yet, viewers were left on the edges of their seats as the second series of the detective drama drew to a close.
Morse was in prison, framed for a crime he didn't commit, while DI Thursday may or may not be dead after getting shot by the same officer responsible for Morse's incarceration. Poor old Monica was left alone at home - can their relationship survive this massive blow? Probably not.
Meanwhile, police corruption and paedophilia went unpunished - it was a cliffhanger that will undoubtedly bring viewers back next year.
Writer Russell Lewis has devised a powerful thriller with the grandeur of The Shadow Line and State of Play, and just like both of these dramas, the shocking levels of corruption in 'Neverland' bled into other strands of life.
Endeavour always feels contemporary despite the lack of smartphones and computers, and this episode was no different.
Lewis' story focused on police corruption and a paedophilia scandal at a children's care home - two topics that have been in the news recently.
Nevertheless, the series has managed to remain a Sixties outfit without ever coming across as anachronistic.
'Neverland' wasn't completely successful as a conspiracy theory thriller though. The pacing felt wrong, there was not enough of a build-up to the events in the last few moments of the episode.
While things heated up in the last 15 minutes, there was not nearly enough action in the build-up to the end, leaving viewers clock-watching until the final segment.
Yes, Morse had to sift through the corruption and the child abuse to find the links but it took too long to get to the meat of the story.
This episode could easily have worked as a mini-series of its own. Unfortunately, Lewis had to fit as much as possible into 90 minutes and make 'Neverland' work as a series finale, which played havoc with the pace.
Series two of Endeavour has offered viewers a series of compelling stories shot in an incredibly cinematic style that elevates it from run-of-the-mill police procedurals.
At times the elaborate stories have need some explanation and Morse drifts into murder mystery cliché but on the whole Lewis has given viewers more great adventures in this prequel series to Inspector Morse.
More of the same next year, please.
TV Review: Endeavour series 2, episode 3
A strangler on the loose, lost love from the past and a decidedly Hitchcock homage, it was a different kind of episode - in a good way
By Neela Debnath - The Independent
Endeavour took a detour this week. There were of course the murders - and we’ll get to that - but the focus turned to DI Thursday and his lost love from the War.
It was a tragic story that showed a different side to the usually straitlaced detective, adding a new dimension to his character, and away from all the crime-solving.
Roger Allam and Cecile Paoli played the fated lovers beautifully, capturing the complexity of their affair.
Although how Thursday hadn't bumped into Luisa Armstrong before is a mystery in itself. Oxford must be bigger than we thought.
Despite the bouffant hairdos and thick black-rimmed glasses, Endeavour has always felt strangely contemporary. So this week’s references to the War helped to throw the episode back into the past again.
Speaking of love, Morse and Monica's blossoming romance finally flowered. The pair kissed and ended up sleeping together soon after their first date - it is the sexual revolution of the swinging Sixties, after all.
Perhaps the most interesting thing is that Monica's race does not really play a part in the story - it's incidental.
According to the show's producer, Russell Lewis, who also penned this episode, Monica is a second generation immigrant and is supposed to reflect the changing times of the era.
For a television series set in the Sixties to include a character of a different race as the central love interest and leave aside the race politics is a very forward-thinking and a positive move.
Endeavour should be lauded for its decision to cast Shvorne Marks and make the conscious choice for Monica's story to be about love between a man and a woman first and foremost.
Actors from ethnic minorities, like Lenny Henry, have been campaigning for more incidental roles for those of different races for a while, so could this be the start of more of the same on British TV?
As to the murder itself, it appears that Lewis has written a love letter to Alfred Hitchcock via "Sway"'. There was a character called Norman, shots of a stuffed crow, along with the icy Hitchcock blonde and several red herrings.
There were also a number of nods to Frenzy, which is considered to be Hitchcock's last great film, in particular the strangling of female victims and the framing of an innocent man.
While the murder mystery itself wasn’t all that memorable, it served as a nice homage to the British director.
As a whole "Sway" was a welcome deviation from the bodies and offered some excellent character development that builds on the world of Inspector Morse.
Scouse Morse Shaun Evans confident he can fill big shoes
Walton boy returns as Oxford's 'damaged' young policeman
BY JADE WRIGHT - Liverpool Echo
Inspector Morse’s shoes were always going to be big ones to fill.
Any actor taking on the part of the famous Oxford detective was always going to have a tough task on his hands after John Thaw’s lauded performance, but Walton actor Shaun Evans never shirks a challenge.
The second series of Endeavour, the prequel to Inspector Morse, began last Sunday.
Shaun, 34, explained: “At the end of the last series his father died and he was shot. The events have rocked him, and his absence means relationships with his colleagues in the police force have changed.
“He comes back a far more damaged person. He’s a bit lost in his grief. He’s also still questioning himself, thinking am I any good? Was the last solved crime a fluke?
“A lot of what we want to do with this series is to try and tease out the qualities that make him unique. It’s a continually shaping process.”
As the series unfolds it becomes clear there are tensions at the station, which also cause Morse to question his future.
“The force itself is changing,” said Shaun, who went to St Edward’s College. “The whole thing rests on uneven ground and Endeavour feels like it is shifting constantly. He begins to question, is this the right place for me?”
One reason to stay on the force is Morse’s Detective Inspector Fred Thursday, played by Roger Allam.
“A lot of this series is about relationships,” he said. “One of the most important to Endeavour is with Thursday.
“Thursday sees the brilliance in him. Whilst it can be counter-productive in some spheres of his life, with a bit of help his brilliance could make him a great detective and a great man as well.
“Endeavour brings a different thought process into detective work. Thursday is nurturing that side of him and helping him become a more rounded person.
“I think if you can solve four unusual crimes in a year like he does it certainly deserves some credit! If he didn’t work in that way then they probably would never have been solved.
“Thursday can see there is a place for him on the force and has his back covered. This series becomes more about the upper echelons of the hierarchy of the police force recognising and learning that there is a place for him too.”
DI Fred Thursday has established himself as a mentor and firm father figure for Morse. It’s a relationship that extends beyond the boundaries of the police station.
Shaun continued: “The relationship between Endeavour and Fred Thursday is more two- sided this time.
“Fred and the whole Thursday family feel Endeavour is someone they should take under their wing. But Endeavour is someone they need in their life too.”
Another important relationship begins when Morse moves into a new flat in Oxford. Living next door is Monica, a nurse who soon becomes the object of his affections.
“Monica comes into Endeavour’s life when he’s on his knees,” Shaun said. “It’s very telling that the relationship comes along at this time.
“It’s ironic she’s a nurse; she automatically has that caring, nurturing nature he needs. He’s a broken man and she contributes to his mending.
“I think it’s a very good thing. Apparently it was very common in those days for policemen to be with nurses.”
“We don’t know how their relationship is going to develop or end up. It’s very much up for grabs.”
Shaun reveals he was very happy with the audience’s response to the pilot and first series of Endeavour. “I’m delighted it got such a great audience, particularly as so much work goes into it. In this job you want to get a good story, tell it well, and hope the audience enjoys it. We seem to have ticked those boxes. “I think it’s great to have the opportunity to build and improve on a character so I was glad to get back and have another crack.”
The Jaguar driven by Endeavour Morse has become an icon of the series and of that period in time. What’s it like?
“Fantastic. It smells of old leather. It’s a beautiful car, such a classic. If I had the opportunity I would take it home. It would probably break down, but it’s a beautiful motor and nice to drive.”
Endeavour continues tonight at 8pm on ITV1.
Bone-chilling and intriguing: this was another gripping, white-knuckle instalment
Endeavour took a pseudo-supernatural turn this week, focusing on a museum murder mystery linked to a brutal series of killings dating back a century.
‘Nocturne’ combined horror and crime thriller to create a great whodunit. There were creepy little girls in Victorian garb flitting around stately homes at the dead of night and murderers pacing about the same corridors with razors in hand.
The ‘ghost story’ concerning the 100-year-old murders created a sense of unease that kept the audience on edge. There were plenty of terrifying instances throughout that left the heart racing; it was all done brilliantly and added to the suspense.
The scene where Morse looks into a mirror only to see a girl dressed in white gown holding a bloodied croquet mallet was one of the most frightening moments of the whole episode.
Interestingly, the World Cup served as wall paper to the story and had no real part to play in the case. It was purely context to the episode and reminded viewers that this is supposed to be a prequel to Inspector Morse set in the Sixties - even if it feels very contemporary.
While Shaun Evans and Roger Allam are brilliant as Morse and DI Thursday, it is the young cast who really shine as the suspect schoolgirls.
They show just how poisonous and nasty teenage girls can be to one another through their sniping and bullying. But when it comes down to it, and the bodies start to appear, they revert back to the scared little children they really are.
'Nocturne' was a gripping watch and it was only the last segment that let the episode down. It all got a bit silly and convoluted towards the end, with a complex web of colonialism, inheritance and lies that would have left many with glazed eyes.
It was so complicated that it was left up to Morse to explain the whole thing in a drawn out piece of exposition that came straight out of the textbook on how to write television police procedurals.
Added to this was the clichéd moment the killer dragged a girl up a set of stairs at knife-point, in a last ditch attempt to escape, with the police in pursuit. It was never going to end well - it rarely does.
Despite this slight flaw, ‘Nocturne’ was very enjoyable and fit the two-hour running time without dragging its feet.
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What is Legitimism?
What do the terms "Dynast" and "Non-Dynast" mean?
What are Dynastic Rights?
Is the issue of who heads the Russian Dynasty a simple one or a complicated one?
What are the Pauline Laws?
Can women succeed to the Russian Throne?
What are the Rights of the Head of the Imperial House?
What is the Equal Marriage Rule?
Is Grand Duke George a Romanoff or a Hohenzollern?
How is Grand Duchess Maria Related to Other Royal Families?
Has the Title of Emperor Survived?
What is the Romanoff Family Association?
Who Are The Kulikovskys?
Does the Russian Imperial House seek the return of properties seized by the Bolsheviks?
What is the Relationship Between the Russian Imperial House and the Russian Orthodox Church?
Does the Russian Imperial House seek the restoration of the Monarchy in Russia?
What is Her Imperial Highness’s Chancellery and what functions does it perform in Russia?
After the Revolution, was Russian Legitimism Synonymous with Reactionary Politics?
Does the Russian Imperial Family Plan to Return to Live in Russia?
What is the position of the Russian Imperial House on the Ekaterinburg remains?
What are the relations between the Russian Imperial House and the Order of Malta?
Who is Rostislav Romanoff, Prince Romanovsky?
What is the difference between the Russian Imperial House and the Romanoff Family?
The Imperial Family
Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna of Russia
Grand Duke George Mikhailovich of Russia
Historic Media Sources
Genealogy and Succession Within the Imperial House
Non-dynastic Descendants of the Romanoff Family
Legitimist Links
The Website of the Russian Imperial House
The Chancellery of The Russian Imperial House
The Chancellery of the Russian Imperial Orders
The Chancellery of Heraldry
The Russian Nobility Assembly
The Russian Imperial Foundation
The Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate)
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (R.O.C.O.R.)
The International Commission on Orders of Chivalry
The Sovereign Military Order of Malta
The Russian Legitimist Organization "For Faith and Fatherland"
The Imperial Orthodox Palestine Society (IPPO)
"The Russian Imperial Succession" by Brien Purcell Horan
"Simplified Succession" by Brien Purcell Horan
"A Throne, Which 'Not For An Instant Might Become Vacant'" by Russell E. Martin
"Law, Succession, and the 18th Century Refounding of the Romanov Dynasty" by Russell E. Martin
"The Russian Imperial Succession – Another View" by Guy Stair Sainty
"Succession to the Russian Imperial Throne" by Archbishop Anthony of Los Angeles, Ed., (R.O.C.O.R.)
"Law and Familial Order in the Romanov Dynasty" by Russell E. Martin
"The Romanoffs and the Bagrations" by Daniel Sargis
"World War II and the House of Romanoff" by Tolsktikovich & Zakatov
The Abdication of Nicholas II: 100 Years Later
1924: "Who Shall Be The Emperor of Russia?"
Legitimist Profiles
The Murder of the Grand Dukes: 100 Years Later
Firmly and Unflinchingly As Did My Late Father
A Statement from Russian Legitimist on the Future of the Romanov Family Association
On The House of Romanoff, the Nobility, and the Orders of Chivalry of the Russian Empire
On the Legal Status of the Russian Imperial House in the Russian Federation
Romanov News: December 6, 2015
Monarkhist' August 8, 2015
Russkaya Mysl' August 2015
Russian Nobility Association, Moscow July 28, 2015
The New York Times, October 19, 2018
The Fundamental Laws
Quotes from the Head of the Imperial House
Declaration of the Senior Russian Dynasts, October 1938
Almanach de Gotha
Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, 1953
The Royal House of Bagration: Source Materials
Russia Shall Arise!
In its simplest terms, “Legitimism” refers to the notion that the laws of a dynasty or a kingdom determine the identity of the rightful king.
After the Romanoff dynasty lost the throne in 1917, Russian legitimists were monarchists who looked exclusively to the Pauline Laws (q.v.) to determine the identity of the rightful Emperor or dynastic head. As explained elsewhere, these were the laws that Emperor Paul I promulgated in 1797 to govern the Russian succession: succession by male-preference primogeniture. (In other words, this meant the succession of the senior male dynast by primogeniture and then, upon the death of the last male dynast, the succession of the female dynast most closely related to the last Emperor.) Paul I’s statement announcing the Pauline Laws makes clear that he wished legitimism to govern the succession: “…Having established the order of succession, I shall explain its aim, which is this: that the State never be without a successor; that the successor be determined by the law itself; that there be not the slightest doubt as to the successor…”
In 1924, Grand Duke Kirill proclaimed himself Emperor-in-exile. The Russian legitimist movement recognized him as Emperor, because after July 1918 he was the senior male dynast by primogeniture and thus the Head of the Imperial House. In the 1920s, some other monarchists and several former generals supported Grand Duke Nicholas Nikolaievich of Russia as their candidate for tsar. Under the Pauline Laws, Grand Duke Nicholas had only a very remote right of succession to the throne. By primogeniture, he was 16th in the line of succession immediately before the fall of the monarchy, and he was 9th in line in 1924. His supporters, however, especially the generals, thought he would be a strong and experienced military ruler, based on his service as commander-in-chief of the Russian army early in World War I.
As the rivalry between the legitimist and non-legitimist monarchists played out in the 1920s, the dynasty took sides. Of the 19 male dynasts who survived the revolution, 15 declared their allegiance to Grand Duke Kirill. One did not take a position, because he was a minor; his father and five older brothers, however, all swore allegiance to Emperor Kirill. Only 3 male dynasts did not swear allegiance to Kirill. They were Grand Duke Nicholas himself and his immediate family (his only brother and his brother’s only son). The branch of Grand Duke Nicholas believed that the Pauline Laws and their primogeniture rules should simply be ignored.
When Kirill died in 1938, there was no dispute that the succession had passed to his only son, Grand Duke Wladimir. The 5 most senior dynasts after Grand Duke Wladimir immediately issued a declaration proclaiming his succession as the new Head of the Imperial House. Even the non-legitimist monarchist groups who had supported the late Grand Duke Nicholas (who died in 1929) recognized Wladimir as dynastic head.
Wladimir died in 1992, after 53 years as dynastic head. He and his cousin Prince Vassily of Russia (who had died in 1989) were the last living male dynasts. Under the Pauline Laws, the succession then passed to the female line, in the person of Grand Duchess Maria, whom legitimists recognize as the lawful dynastic head.
During Grand Duke Wladimir’s 53 year tenure as dynastic head, there were no non-legitimist claimants to the throne. In 1992, however, a non-dynast, Nicholas Romanoff (1922-2014), declared that he, rather than Grand Duchess Maria, had succeeded Grand Duke Wladimir as dynastic head.
Nicholas Romanoff was closely related to those above-mentioned 3 male dynasts who had declined to swear allegiance in the 1920s to Grand Duke Kirill: they were his father, his grandfather, and his grandfather’s brother. Thus, he came from a family tradition of anti-legitimism. Nicholas Romanoff’s father, Prince Roman of Russia, was a dynast who in exile had contracted a non-dynastic marriage. Nicholas Romanoff was born in France and, as his father’s son, had the right to the Romanoff surname under French law (but not imperial Russian law). His claim to be dynastic head had no basis under the Pauline Laws, however, because a non-dynast, that is, somebody who is not a member of a dynasty, cannot claim to be head of that dynasty. Just as his father and grandfather had ignored the male primogeniture rules of the Pauline Laws in the 1920s, Nicholas Romanoff ignored the equal marriage rules of the Pauline Laws in the 1990s. He founded a private organization called “the Romanov Family Association” (q.v.) and eventually made himself its head, which prompted him to refer to himself as the head of the Romanov family. The Romanov Family Association still exists today and groups together many of the descendants of the numerous post-revolutionary non-dynastic marriages.
The Russian Legitimist , Saint James's Street, London, England, , United Kingdomrussianlegitimist@gmail.com
This website and its original content is copyright of THE RUSSIAN LEGITIMIST. - © THE RUSSIAN LEGITIMIST All rights reserved. 2015.
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G8 tries to use Lybia and Syria to come back from the dead
Published on Wed, 2011-06-22 07:36
Press conference at the last G8
Summit. (Photo:L. Blevennec/
Presidency of France)
Source: The New Indian Express
While the G20, that includes the rich countries and the emerging ones, is getting more and more relevance, the Arab unrest and the developments in Libya and Syria have given a new meaning and purpose to the Group of Eight (G8) most powerful nations, according to Himanshu Jha, National Coordinator of Social Watch India. In a column published by The New Indian Express newspaper, Jha said that the G20 seems to have "turned into a hotbed of global decision-making" in charge of "the traditional economic agenda".
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Western Carolina vs Chattanooga (May 09, 2019)
Western Carolina vs Chattanooga
May 09, 2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn. (Frost Stadium)
Western Carolina 1 (21-31)
Shaina Reed p 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Erica Hayes 2b 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 2
Addie Pate lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Emily Castro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Lindsay Perillo rf 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Kayla Brewer ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chloe Plesset dh/pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chattanooga 2 (35-14)
Emily Coltharp ss 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 2 0
Hayleigh Weissenbach lf/rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2
Aly Walker rf/dh 2 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1
Emma Sturdivant 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 1
Halie Williamson 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Amanda Beltran c 2 1 0 0 1 0 6 0 0
Katie Corum dh 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Gracey Kruse lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Devan Brown 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 0
Alyssa Coppinger cf 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Morgan Kazerooni ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Celie Hudson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
Chattanooga......... 020 000 X - 2 5 0
DP - WCU 1. LOB - WCU 6; UTC 4. 2B - Reed(3). 3B - Hayes(3). HR - Armstrong(1). SH - Coltharp(5). SF - Weissenbach(5). SB - Coltharp(12).
Shaina Reed L,9-16 6.0 5 2 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 20 24 9 7
Chattanooga ip h r er bb so wp bk hbp ibb ab bf fo go
Celie Hudson W,14-9 7.0 6 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0 27 28 10 7
Win - Hudson (14-9). Loss - Reed (9-16). Save - None.
Umpires - HP: Eric Philbert 1B: Tonya Cash 3B: Melvin Clark
Start: 1:26PM Time: 1:40 Attendance:
Weather: 74 degrees, overcast
Western Carolina vs Chattanooga - Composite Box Score
Reed p 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Hayes 2b 3 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0
Pate lf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Castro ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Perillo rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Brewer ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Plesset dh/pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Chattanooga ab r h rbi 2b 3b hr bb sb cs hp sh sf so ibb kl gdp po a e
Coltharp ss 2 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Weissenbach lf/rf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Walker rf/dh 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Sturdivant 1b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0 0
Williamson 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Beltran c 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 0
Corum dh 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Kruse lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brown 3b 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Coppinger cf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Kazerooni ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Hudson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0
Western Carolina starters: 14/3b Armstrong; 2/p Reed; 1/cf Gibbons; 35/1b Huneycutt; 27/2b Hayes; 3/ss Long; 4/lf Pate; 17/c McNeil; 25/rf Perillo; 7/dh Plesset;
Chattanooga starters: 9/ss Coltharp; 4/lf Weissenbach; 11/rf Walker; 13/1b Sturdivant; 7/2b Williamson; 6/c Beltran; 8/dh Corum; 10/3b Brown; 1/cf Coppinger; 66/p Hudson;
Western Carolina 1st - No play. Armstrong singled up the middle. Reed popped up to p. Gibbons singled to left field; Armstrong advanced to second. Huneycutt struck out looking. Hayes grounded out to 1b unassisted. 0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Chattanooga 1st - Coltharp singled to shortstop. Weissenbach popped up to 3b, bunt. Coltharp stole second. Walker walked. Sturdivant hit into double play 2b to ss to 1b; Walker out on the play. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Western Carolina 2nd - Long popped up to lf. Pate flied out to rf. McNeil grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Chattanooga 2nd - Williamson flied out to cf. Beltran walked. Corum singled to left center; Beltran advanced to second. Brown singled to left field; Corum advanced to second; Beltran advanced to third. Coppinger struck out swinging. Coltharp singled to left field, 2 RBI; Brown advanced to second; Corum scored; Beltran scored. Weissenbach grounded out to 3b. 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Western Carolina 3rd - Perillo struck out looking. Armstrong homered to left field, RBI. Reed doubled to left center. Gibbons fouled out to 1b. Huneycutt fouled out to c. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Chattanooga 3rd - Walker fouled out to lf. Sturdivant grounded out to ss. Williamson flied out to cf. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Western Carolina 4th - Hayes tripled down the rf line. Long popped up to 1b. Pate grounded out to p. McNeil fouled out to c. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Chattanooga 4th - Beltran popped up to ss. Corum popped up to ss. Brown lined out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Western Carolina 5th - Perillo popped up to 1b. Armstrong struck out swinging. Reed grounded out to 3b. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Chattanooga 5th - Kazerooni pinch hit for Coppinger. Kazerooni singled to left field. Coppinger to cf for Kazerooni. Coltharp out at first 3b to 2b, SAC, bunt; Coppinger advanced to second. Weissenbach flied out to cf, SAC; Coppinger advanced to third. Walker grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB.
Western Carolina 6th - Weissenbach to rf. Walker to dh. Kruse to lf for Corum. Gibbons flied out to cf. Huneycutt struck out looking. Hayes grounded out to ss. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Chattanooga 6th - Sturdivant grounded out to ss. Williamson grounded out to ss. Beltran fouled out to c. 0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, 0 LOB.
Western Carolina 7th - Long grounded out to ss. Mathews pinch hit for Pate. Mathews walked. Plesset pinch ran for Mathews. / for Plesset. Castro pinch hit for McNeil. Castro popped up to 2b. Brewer pinch hit for Perillo. Brewer singled to pitcher; Plesset advanced to second. Perillo to rf for Brewer. Armstrong grounded out to p. 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 2 LOB.
Western Carolina vs Chattanooga - Plate Appearance Breakdown
Reed p 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 1-3 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 1
Hayes 2b 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 1-3 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 0 2 0
Pate lf 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-2 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0 1 1
Castro ph 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
Perillo rf 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
Brewer ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Plesset dh/pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals...... 28 27 6 1 0 0 0 0 0-0 6-27 0-8 2-12 2-12 1-8 2-8 0-0 0-2 0 6 0 7 10
Reed 24 20 5 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2-6 3-14 3-8 1-6 2-6 7 9 88
Chattanooga tpa ab h bb hp sh sf ci left right ops rnrs ops 2outs off% full on3rd adv lob rbi out out
Coltharp ss 3 2 2 0 0 1 0 0 0-0 2-2 1-1 1-1 2-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-0 1 0 2 1 0
Weissenbach lf/rf 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0-0 0-2 0-1 0-2 1-3 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 2 0 1 2
Walker rf/dh 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-2 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 1 1
Sturdivant 1b 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-3 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 3 0
Williamson 2b 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 2
Beltran c 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
Corum dh 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 1-2 0-0 1-1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
Kruse lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Brown 3b 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 1-2 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1
Coppinger cf 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0 0 0 0 0
Kazerooni ph 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Hudson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Totals...... 24 20 5 2 0 1 1 0 0-0 5-20 2-6 3-8 5-10 1-6 2-6 1-2 0-1 2 4 2 7 9
Chattanooga bf ab h bb hp sh sf ci 2b 3b hr wp bk kl left right rnrs 2out off% out out np
Hudson 28 27 6 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 1-3 5-24 2-12 1-8 2-8 7 10 95
Chattanooga 2, Western Carolina 1 (May 09, 2019 at Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Western Carolina.... 001 000 0 - 1 6 0 (21-31)
Chattanooga......... 020 000 X - 2 5 0 (35-14)
Pitchers: Western Carolina - Shaina Reed and Kailey McNeil. Chattanooga - Celie Hudson and
Amanda Beltran.
Win-Celie Hudson(14-9) Loss-Shaina Reed(9-16) T-1:40 A-0
HR WCU - Madison Armstrong (1).
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Prisoner uprising stopped in Brackettville
Fri, 01/27/2017 - 5:13pm — Jake Crowther
A prisoner uprising at a private-prison in Brackettville was stopped with no serious incidents, reports the San Antonio Express-News.
Officials at the Kinney County Detention Center, which is operated by for-profit prison company Community Education Centers (CEC), said that the uprising was quelled without any serious incident, although officials from U.S. Marshals, Border Patrol, and Kinney County Sheriff were called in. CEC operates the prison for the U.S. Marshals, who detain about 400 prisoners at the facility.
A spokesperson from CEC said that about 60 prisoners refused to leave the recreation area and return to their cells, protesting the earlier removal of another prisoner. The warden locked down the unit & then used force and tear gas to disperse the prisoners. According to the Kinney County sheriff, no one was hurt on either side.
This is not the first uprising that has happened in the Kinney County prison. In 2008, another riot required the facility to be put on lockdown. Over the years, CEC has also been subject to multiple lawsuits, including over the deaths of prisoners in their custody.
Kinney County Detention Center
Community Education Centers
Brackettville
Read more about Prisoner uprising stopped in Brackettville
CCA official says Eden Prison Protest Has Ended
Sat, 07/30/2016 - 9:00pm — Jake Crowther
A CCA spokesperson said that the standoff between inmates and prison guards has been resolved, reports San Angelo Live!.
As reported earlier, a protest at the Eden Detention Center started late in the evening of July 29th. A caller to San Angelo Live!, who identified herself only as a sister of an inmate, revealed that her brother said "that the inmates are being treated inhumanely." She went on to state that he said "they wanted to be treated with dignity and like human beings."
CCA spokesperson Steven Owen did not reveal if any of the grievances of the inmates were addressed to resolve the protest that was characterized as "passive."
Read more about CCA official says Eden Prison Protest Has Ended
Officials Confirm Prisoner Protest at Eden Detention Center
Sat, 07/30/2016 - 8:00am — Jake Crowther
A report of a protest at Eden Detention Center has been confirmed by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) officials, reports San Angelo Live!
A CCA spokesperson said in a statement, "A group of inmates at the Eden Detention Center is refusing to leave the recreation yard and return to their housing units." This statement confirms previous reports San Angelo Live! received from various outlets, including a woman who called to say she is a sister of an inmate in the Eden Correctional Facility. She said that her brother told her that "pretty much the whole facility was protesting."
Personnel were seen entering the facility in full riot gear that evening around 10:10 p.m. An ambulance was also seen leaving Eden at approximately the same time. We will share
developments as they are released.
The Eden prison is one of the federal government’s segregated prisons for immigrants, or “Criminal Alien Requirement” (CAR) facilities. We’ve covered it since 2010, when a prisoner uprising caused a lockdown there.
Read more about Officials Confirm Prisoner Protest at Eden Detention Center
Wed, 02/25/2015 - 1:09pm — Holly Kirby
Last week, up to 2,000 immigrant prisoners staged a two-day riot at a private prison in Raymondville, TX. According to a report by DemocracyNow!, the prisoners were protesting inadequate medical care when they refused to eat breakfast on February 20, seized control of part of the prison, and set fires.
The prison, Willacy County Correctional Center, is owned and operated by the private prison company Management & Training Corporation (MTC), and is known by critics as "Ritmo" — short for Raymondville’s Guantánamo prison. It is also referred to as “tent city” because the majority of the prisoners sleep in large, cramped kevlar tents.
The Raymondville prison is also one of 13 privately operated CAR or “Criminal Alien Requirement” prisons. Carl Takei, staff attorney with the ACLU’s national prison project explained:
"Willacy is one of 13 private prisons in the federal system. It’s sort of a shadow system within the Federal Bureau of Prisons system, that is run by private prison companies. These prisons house immigrants who have been convicted of drug offenses and immigrants who have been convicted of something called illegally re-entering the United States after deportation. The Bureau of Prisons has consigned immigrants to these prisons based on the assumption that they are all going to be deported after their sentences are up. And it can therefore treat them as second-class prisoners and hand them over to these for-profit companies that have a history of abusing and mistreating the people in their custody."
Takei also authored the report, Warehoused and Forgotten: Immigrants Trapped in Our Shadow Private Prison System, which provides a closer look at CAR prisons and the inhumane conditions inside.
Management & Training Corporation
Willacy County
car prisons
Read more about Immigrant prisoner uprising at Willacy County CAR prison
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FeaturesInterviews
An Interview with The Bunny The Bear: Down The Rabbit Hole
Amy Ebeling
Since their debut in 2008, The Bunny The Bear have become known for their eccentricity, in the studio and beyond. The Buffalo-based duo have been combining electronica with hardcore breakdowns long before it became a part of the norm in metalcore, and with an extensive touring history, have created a stage presence that is both hyper and intriguing.
Matt Tybor, who takes on the persona of “The Bunny” in the band and serves as the group’s primary songwriter and unclean vocalist, gives The Aquarian an inside look at their fifth studio album, Food Chain, his love for writing, and what’s behind those bizarre music videos.
The band’s last album, Stories, came out in 2013, and you have had a record out yearly since the 2010 self-titled debut. How do you produce music so consistently?
I actually just write all of the time. I don’t think Victory wants us putting out records as often as we do; it’s probably not the best thing to do business-wise. But I think I just write way too much, and I’m always ready to put something new out.
What is the normal writing and recording process for The Bunny The Bear?
I write all of the music—the vocals, the melodies, everything. I write everything on computer programs and actual keyboards at home. Then I head to the studio, take some of the things I can turn into live instrumentals, and put actual guitars in and drums and such. But as far as the writing process goes, for every album, it has always just been me on my own, privately in my room.
Where do you get inspiration for your music from? Any particular artists?
Not that I know of. It’s just life in general. I don’t really listen to anything electronic or anything close to what we sound like. I don’t listen to many bands. I listen to Brand New and Manchester Orchestra and stuff like that. I have a really selective taste. I’m not really diversified (laughs). I like a lot music, I just don’t listen to a lot of it, generally. So probably Brand New more than anything. I listen to my own stuff that I’ve been working on more than I listen to outside music.
How does Food Chain differ from the band’s previous releases?
“Mature” would be the best way to put it. I think the structure of the music is a little more well-rounded and well-defined. Mostly, aside from one or two songs, it’s a lot heavier musically than the previous albums. But besides that, I think it is overall more mature and well-rounded. Generally, all of the sounds I’ve had in music in the past just kind of put together a little better.
Where did the album name come from?
It’s actually the name of the first single on the record, so it’s the intro to the album. I had a little side-project I was kind of dicking around with a while ago and I had this track I wrote and I kind of rewrote it for The Bunny The Bear. But it’s not really meant, as far as the phrase “food chain” goes, as an actual “food chain.” It’s meant to be more of a “food chain” between people—like guys, girls, and everything in life. It’s kind of always the polar opposite, it seems to me, who controls situations. It’s never what you expect. But besides that, I just thought it was quite suitable for a name that wasn’t as fucking cheesy and jokey as the rest of our album titles. I wanted to go a little more mature with it but I also wanted to stay in the same direction where it is kind of sarcastic and out of place. I just thought that out of all of the tracks, it would be suiting just to leave it.
An acoustic EP is also set to be released alongside the full-length album. The Bunny The Bear are largely based around electronica, so what made you want to create an acoustic disc?
Every other band I was in before this was a lot more mellow, and a lot of the stuff I used to write was as well. A few of the tracks on there were old things I worked on that were never released. But I thought it would be cool to do, because it’s a little more focused on the actual lighter side of things. I think writing-wise we are a little more capable than people would think. So I thought it would be a good time and be cool for people who were actually interested in the other side of the spectrum and to see what we’re are capable of doing.
Electronica is becoming increasingly more mainstream. As an electronic-based artist, do you have any input as to why?
I think it’s appealing. There a few bands that I actually do like that are electronic-based. I listen to [Scottish synthpop band] Chvrches; I don’t know if you’ve heard of Chvrches, but they’re amazing. I think it is just appealing and kind of fun. So it would make sense to me that it’s marketable, especially if it is done correctly.
The group has become notable for your outlandish music videos, even having the video for “In Like Flynn” be voted “Music Video Of The Year” by fans in 2013. Where do these ideas come from?
Most of the ideas—even the ones we’ve done with Victory—had been an idea I had brought to the team. They go over it and come up with their own kind of thing, and we come to an agreement on it and what we think is suiting. But I think, for being a little obscene, being a little more theatrical is really important for us. I think one of the more appealing factors of us are the theatrical elements, and I think it’s suiting for the kind of obscene, overly-obnoxious at times, music. The crazier that the ideas are, the better for us. We take some lyrics and do a video, and take it to a different level where it makes you step back for a second because you don’t expect it. I like to keep it that way, too. I like the surprise, and in a weird fucking way, the theatrical elements to the videos just work for us.
Your music videos are very concept-oriented. I love the fact that there is a story behind them and they aren’t just a bunch of people standing around and not really doing anything.
I know, right? I’ve never been a fan of full band videos. Honestly though, if The Bunny The Bear was a band, I would expect to have videos like that, because you have to show off every element of it. But because I write everything and it’s more of a one- or two-man project with revolving touring musicians, I think it’s more suitable to do something else aside from us playing with a different live band in every video. It would just be confusing and make no sense to have two dudes with a bunny mask and a bear mask with a bunch of people behind them dressed in all black and skinny jeans while we have a water main break above our heads and water splashing off of the cymbals (laughs). I don’t know, I think it would just be boring. There is only so much you can do with that without it being repetitive.
What are the band’s plans for this upcoming year?
We have the album coming out on March 18, I believe. And we have a tour we are leaving for in March with Mindless Self Indulgence. We’re also doing a few festival, like South By So What?! I mean, aside from that, the only real plan I have is to keep performing and to stay on the road as much as possible. I think that’s really important, especially with this album, to stand out with touring and staying on top of things. A lot of touring, probably too much touring. I don’t really like it, but you have to do it; it’s part of the job (laughs). And that’s about it. Touring, promotion, and probably still writing because I can’t control myself (laughs).
Any reason you’re not a fan of touring? Just don’t like being on the road?
It’s not that I hate touring. I think my favorite thing about touring is meeting fans and hanging out with people. That’s how it is at every show, I’m always having a drink with someone or smoking a cigarette, rambling their ear off. But as far as performance-wise, it has never been my favorite thing. I like writing, recording, and giving something to people and seeing their reaction; it’s kind of like an addiction. But as far as touring, for me it’s like an add-on, just part of the package. So you have to do it.
But there are downsides. You never see your fucking kid, and it gets old after a while. It gets tiring. But I still enjoy touring, but at the same time, it’s strenuous and strains relationships, especially when it’s on smaller levels: when you’re touring small-size and medium-size venues; when we’re not playing in front of 3,000 kids a night, headlining and rolling in money. I mean, I enjoy it, just sometimes it gets rough, but you know, it’s part of the job. I love socializing and meeting new people, so in the long run, it’s definitely worth it.
Anything you’d like to add that wasn’t covered?
That was beautiful, and perfect. I liked it.
The Bunny The Bear will play at the Starland Ballroom on March 21, the Theatre Of Living Arts on March 23, and Irving Plaza on March 25. Food Chain will be released March 18 through Victory Records. For more information, go to thebunnythebear.com.
amy ebelingfood chainthe bunny the bear
Interview with HIM: Melancholy Resurrection
Bring The Boys Home @ Barclays Center
Big Gigantic: Cut Down To Size
Ringworm: Hammer Of The Witch
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Bali’s Property Business to Thrive in 2013
Property business in Bali is expected to present promising opportunities in 2013, the Bali chapter of Real Estate Indonesia predicting an overall 15% growth fueled by island’s positive economic growth estimated for the next year. According to the chapter’s chairman, Dewa Putu Selawa, business in the property field was expected to grow and reach a record growth in 2013 compared to previous years.
“One of the main factors that is boosting the property business in Bali is its year-on-year economic growth, exceeding national economic growth,”Selawa explained.
Bali’s economic performance in 2012 was labeled as outstanding, with a 6.6% annual growth, above the Indonesian average national economic growth of 6.1%. Bank Indonesia released data showing that, despite the global economic downturn, Indonesia and Bali in particular, continued to see strong economic growth. The inflation was also rather low, with a reported value of about 4.6%.
Other than the general economic state of Indonesia, property business in Bali will also be fueled by the various infrastructure developments that are currently underway, a fact that has positively influenced investor’s confidence in this particular real estate market. The construction of a toll road connecting Benoa, Ngurah Rai International Airport and Nusa Dua, an underpass at Dewa Ruci intersection, and the expansion of the Ngurah Rai airport are the biggest such developments in the area.
“Low interest rates, at an average of 9 percent, also contribute to the growth of the housing sector,” Selawa added.
REI Bali’s data also showed that land prices in several areas close to the city center and in the Badung regency were expected to to skyrocket to around Rp 4 billion (US$420,000) per 100 square meters.
“Next year, the price of a 100 square-meter plot could reach Rp 4 billion, up from Rp 2.6 billion this year. Last year, the price was still hovering between Rp 1.7 billion to 2 billion,” Selawa said.
In Kuta, Seminyak and Legian, all hot spots of the Badung regency, prices would reach around Rp 3 billion to 4 billion for 100 square meters in 2013. For properties around Denpasar, the price has already increased from Rp 200 million to Rp 300 million, and is expected to further increase and reach 400 million.
Property consultant Elite Haven-Knight Frank has released the finding of the research he had conducted which shows that land prices in various strategic areas of Bali have reached a 43% growth, the highest increase of the past 10 years. Price growth has previously varied between 8 to 16%.
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Further Edit: General deterrence also sometimes takes priority over rehabilitation, even for youthful offenders, in cases of large-scale drug manufacture and cultivation. A recent example is the Court of Appeal's decision in Doan v The Queen [2010] VSCA 258.
Nettle JA [at 17, the other members of the Court agreeing]:
I agree and I wish only to add a brief observation concerning the submission advanced on behalf of the appellant that the judge had erred in the emphasis which his Honour placed on the importance of general deterrence. In my view lest there be any doubt about it, there should be no doubt that in cases involving cultivation of a narcotic plant in not less than a commercial quantity, general deterrence is at the forefront of sentencing considerations. Consequently, as the judge rightly observed, in cases of this kind there is less room to give weight to considerations of such as youth and antecedents that would otherwise be the case. In the result the judge also correctly found in a case of this kind an immediate term of imprisonment should ordinarily be regarded as virtually unavoidable.
In Braslin and Cowen v Tasmania [2010] TASCCA 1, the Court of Appeal identified a number of authorities across jurisdictions making similar observations about the role of youth as mitigation:
Mr Braslin's age
28 Mr Braslin was nearly 20 years old at the time of these offences. As such, in strict terms, he qualifies as a "young offender" so that the principles applicable to such offenders applied to him; see for example Maney v White [2007] TASSC 7 and Spaulding v Lowe 4/1985. However, whilst youthfulness of itself is generally taken to be a mitigating factor, and the rehabilitation of the offender assumes predominant importance, that is not exclusively so, and does not remain true for all cases irrespective of their nature. In R v Tran [2002] VSCA 52; (2002) 4 VR 457 at [14] Callaway JA said:
The rehabilitation of youthful offenders, where practicable, is one of the great objectives of the criminal law, but it is not its only objective. It is not difficult to cite cases where other objectives have had to prevail. It is true that, in the case of a youthful offender, rehabilitation is usually far more important than general deterrence, but the word I have italicised is there to remind us that there are cases where just punishment, general deterrence or other sentencing objectives are at least equally important.
29 Deterrence and retribution do not cease to be significant merely because persons in their late teens are the persons committing grave crimes, particularly crimes involving physical violence...; R v Phan (1991) 55 A Crim R 128 at 135.
The moderation of the emphasis given to rehabilitation rather than general deterrence and retribution has been acknowledged where the young person "has conducted him or herself in the way an adult might conduct him or herself and has committed a crime of violence of considerable gravity"; R v AEM [2002] NSWCCA 58 at [97] – [98]; KT v R (2008) 182 A Crim R 571 per McClellan CJ at CL at [25]. In the latter case, McClellan CJ at CL continued:
25 ... In determining whether a young offender has engaged in 'adult behaviour', the court will look to various matters including the use of weapons, planning or pre-meditation, the existence of an extensive criminal history and the nature and circumstances of the offence. Where some or all of these factors are present the need for rehabilitation of the offender may be diminished by the need to protect society.
26 The weight to be given to considerations relevant to a person's youth diminishes the closer the offender approaches the age of maturity. [References omitted]
30 Whilst still qualifying as a youthful offender, Mr Braslin was approaching the end of the time for which such a claim can be made. Regard must be had to the nature and circumstances of these offences, particularly the premeditation and the detailed planning involved. The commission of such crimes, which include a crime of strong violence and considerable gravity, indicates the behaviour of an adult. It is true that Mr Braslin has no convictions for any matters of real significance, but it must be said that the frequency and extent of his offending in a short period of time, at the least shows a disregard for the law. For those reasons, factors of deterrence and retribution/denunciation were not overshadowed by issues of youth and rehabilitation, but were entitled to be given considerable weight.
Edit: Another recent example of the courts' willingness to sentence young first-time offenders to immediate imprisonment is found in the South Australian case of Crispin v Police [2009] SASC 210 (see below)
The hot-button issue of the moment is assaults in public, usually by young men, and usually fuelled by alcohol. On the one hand, community concern about this particular type of crime is intense, and the need for general deterrence is obvious. On the other, the youth and (frequently) absence of criminal history of the accused are significant mitigating factors. How does the Court effectively balance these competing interests in arriving at an appropriate sentence? R v Mills (1998) 4 VR 235 is quoted from both ends of the bar table. For the prosecution, the case provides support for the proposition that imprisonment is an appropriate disposition for a serious assault, even where the accused is young and has no previous criminal history (the question then becoming how that imprisonment should be served.) Mills also endorses a number of mitigatory principles:
i. Youth of an offender, particularly a first offender, should be a primary consideration for a sentencing court where that matter properly arises.
ii. In the case of a youthful offender rehabilitation is usually far more important than general deterrence. This is because punishment may in fact lead to further offending. Thus, for example, individualised treatment focussing on rehabilitation is to be preferred. (Rehabilitation benefits the community as well as the offender.)
iii. A youthful offender is not to be sent to an adult prison if such a disposition can be avoided, especially if he is beginning to appreciate the effect of his past criminality. The benchmark for what is serious as justifying adult imprisonment may be quite high in the case of a youthful offender; and, where the offender has not previously been incarcerated, a shorter period of imprisonment may be justified. (This proposition is a particular application of the general principle expressed in s.5(4) of the Sentencing Act.)
(These three points were made by counsel in oral argument in Mills and incorporated into the judgment of Batt JA, and later repeated with approval by Maxwell P in R v Wyley [2009] VSCA 17.) The Court of Appeal said in DPP v Ross that, "[consistency] in sentencing is absolutely fundamental to public confidence in the criminal justice system. It is also a basic requirement of the rule of law.” Despite this, it's impossible to state a general rule of when Mills will influence the penalty for a youthful offender, and when it won't. DPP v Bridle [2007] VSCA 173 and R v Lay [2008] VSCA 120 are assault cases where sentence has been mitigated by the application of Mills. Of course, there have been other cases where youthfulness has been accepted as a factor in mitigation of penalty without the case of Mills being specifically referred to. On the other side of the ledger, in R v Jones [2000] VSCA 204, R v Teichelman [2000] VSCA 224, R v Johns [2003] VSC 415 , DPP v Lawrence [2004] VSCA 154 and DPP v Simpas & HR [2009] VSCA 40 reference to Mills has not resulted in a lesser sentence on appeal. Why some sentences and not others were reduced by Mills turns on the individual circumstances of each case. In Wyley, Maxwell P rejected the suggestion that there are some categories of cases which attract the Mills considerations and others that do not. He said,
19 In the course of argument, it was contended for the appellant that there were now recognised classes of case to which the principles in Mills were inapplicable. Conversely, it was said, there are certain kinds of case where those principles should be given ‘full application’. With respect, however, I consider that these submissions reflect a misunderstanding of what was said in Mills. There is not some special set of rules applicable to young offenders of which it can be said either that they do not apply at all or, alternatively, that they apply fully. Rather, what Mills did, in my respectful opinion, was to draw attention to the great significance for sentencing of looking to the offender’s future, as well as to the past conduct for which the offender is being sentenced. 20 Mills constantly reminds sentencing courts, and this Court on appeal, that there is great public benefit in the rehabilitation of an offender and in maximising the prospect that the offender will carry on a law-abiding life in the future. But that consideration is not unique to young offenders. Nor is there any one correct answer as to how the balance is to be struck between that consideration and others which may point towards a period, or a longer period, of imprisonment, rather than a non-custodial sentence. Thus understood, the later cases of DPP v Lawrence and R v Nguyen are not to be viewed as ‘excluding the principles in Mills’, but simply as instances of how those principles are to be applied. 21 As counsel properly conceded towards the end of his submissions, there is a role for general deterrence to play in relation to every class of case. In relation to certain classes of case, however, general deterrence may have a particularly important role to play. The present case is of that kind. Violence of this kind, in circumstances of this kind, is so prevalent, that general deterrence is seen to have particular importance. But, again, the role of general deterrence will vary with the circumstances of the case.
Edit: Back in 1975, Bray CJ of the South Australian Supreme Court famously said of youthful offenders in Birch v Fitzgerald (1975) 11 SASR 114 at 116-117,
Nevertheless, there are offences in which, as it seems to me, the deterrent purpose of punishment must take priority. When people act under the influence of liquor, passion, anger or the like so as to constitute themselves a physical danger or potential physical danger to other citizens it may well be that a sentence of imprisonment will be appropriate, even in the case of a first offender of good character, in order to impress on the community at large that such behaviour will not be tolerated ... it may be that the incidence of such violence will be reduced if it is brought hme to those likely to resort to it that if they do they may very well be punching, striking, butting or kicking themselves into gaol.
This passage was reproduced recently in the decision of Anderson J in Crispin v Police [2009] SASC 210.
Many of the cases referred to emphasise a Youth Justice Centre as the appropriate place of incarceration for a youthful offender, if imprisonment is found to be necessary. In some cases the Court will determine a less severe penalty becomes appropriate if the option of YJC is not available (if, for example, the accused is outside the designated age bracket, though still considered youthful). However, where the maximum period for incarceration in YJC is exceeded by the term of imprisonment thought necessary by the Court, adult prison may then become the appropriate sentencing option: R v PP [2002] VSC 578.
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Top 10 Anime & Manga Rankings
What is the best Japanese anime and manga?
You vote. You decide!
Click here to continue voting
Published in TJ Top 10 Rankings: Anime & Manga
Top 10 Japanese Fashion Rankings
What is the best Japanese fashion?
Published in TJ Top 10 Rankings: Fashion
Top 10 Japanese Film Rankings
What are the best Japanese films, actors and actresses?
Published in Top 10 Film & Drama Rankings
Top 10 Japanese Music Rankings
What is the best music coming from Japan?
Published in Top 10 Music Rankings
Friday, 26 February 2016 00:00
Where to Stay in Toronto
Here are Tokyo Journal’s recommendations on places to stay in Toronto’s buzzing entertainment district. They are all within close proximity to the CN Tower, Rogers Centre (SkyDome), Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as Toronto’s impressive theater scene, The Second City improv theater, Roy Thomson Hall, the Distillery District and fantastic restaurants for all cuisines and budgets.
Living Legend - Dr. Rod Ellis
World-Acclaimed Applied Linguist Helps Pioneer Online Education
Dr. Rod Ellis is a world-acclaimed British applied linguist and thought leader in the field of second language acquisition. In the late 1990s, Dr. Ellis joined renowned applied linguists Dr. David Nunan and Dr. Ruth Wajrnyb at Anaheim University where they helped pioneer the field of online education. A former professor at Temple University in both Japan and the U.S., Dr. Ellis serves as a distinguished professor in the School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics at the University of Auckland and as a senior professor in the Graduate School of Education at Anaheim University, where he has held the roles of department chair, dean of the Graduate School of Education and VP of academic affairs. He has taught in numerous positions in England, Japan, the U.S., Zambia and New Zealand. TJ caught up with Dr. Ellis at the American Association for Applied Linguistics 2015 conference in Toronto, Canada.
Published in Living Legend
Advanced Exercise - Seven International Samurai
ADVANCED Listening, Comprehension & Vocabulary Exercise
Japan's Seven International Samurai
Japan's Most Influential Trailblazers
(Article originally appeared in Tokyo Journal Issue #270 Pg 61)
Japan has produced many outstanding individuals throughout its very long history, which dates back to 660 B.C. Visionaries and innovators have throughout history forwarded the efforts of this tiny island nation and due to these contributions, Japan has played a significant role in the region for many centuries. Pioneers such as Takatoshi Mitsui (1622-1694), advanced the way Japan did business through innovation after innovation in the textile sales industry. In the late 1800s, it was the first President of Mitsui & Co., Takashi Masuda, who sought out a global vision for exporting Japanese rice and other goods to Europe.
Published in English Club - Advanced
Wednesday, 02 December 2015 00:00
Chicchai Ossan
Amagasaki’s “Middle-Aged Guy” Mascot Visits L.A.
Chicchai Ossan is one of Japan’s most popular regional mascots along with Kumamon and Funassyi. While there are more than 3,000 mascots in Japan, each representing a specific prefecture or city, Chicchai Ossan is the first speaking character. Chicchai Ossan, whose real name is Shinichi Sakata, is a middle-aged Japanese man from Amagasaki in Hyogo prefecture. Speaking in a Kansai dialect with a sharp tongue and giving warm fatherly advice, Chicchai Ossan has become one of Japan’s favorite pop culture characters. He appears on Harajuku kawaii fashion shows, game shows and at other events. Tokyo Journal met with Chicchai Ossan at Anime Expo 2015 in Los Angeles.
Published in MANGA & ANIME
Carl St. Clair
Celebrating a Quarter Century of ‘Good Conduct’ With Pacific Symphony
Carl St.Clair is one of the longest tenured music directors of a major American orchestra, celebrating 25 years at the helm of the Orange County-based Pacific Symphony this year. It is the largest orchestra formed in the last 50 years in the U.S. A graduate of the University of Texas, he went on to become a tenured professor at the University of Michigan and studied conducting under Leonard Bernstein and Gustav Meier as a Conducting Fellow at Tanglewood. He was the assistant director of the renowned Boston Symphony Orchestra with the legendary conductor Seiji Ozawa before joining Pacific Symphony. He is on the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music and is the principal conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica. He has led symphonies in the largest cities of North America and he has appeared with orchestras in Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Israel and South America. Tokyo Journal’s Executive Editor Anthony Al-Jamie spoke with Carl St.Clair about his 25th anniversary.
Father of Sign Gene
This Archived Article is taken from the Summer 2009 Issue #267
Another Sound of Silence
Words by Eija Niskanen
Photos by Daniel Goertz
EMILIO INSOLERA BELONGS to that rare Edemographic which sees himself referred to as a 'TCK'-that is, a 'transcultural kid', to you and I. Osaka is where he has laid his hat and now calls home, and it is from here that he is currently working on his latest independent action film: Sign Gene. Though Insolera's latest project may feature martial arts, yakuza fistfights and even the odd helicopter chase, central to its core will be the emphasis on deaf issues and Sign language. Indeed, the movie's biggest departure is the language in which it is directed: Sign language - or, more accurately, in one of several existing Sign languages.
Published in back issue
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Dan Carden – 2019 Speech on the Counter-Daesh Update
Below is the text of the speech made by Dan Carden, the Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, in the House of Commons on 3 July 2019.
I thank the Secretary of State for advance sight of his statement. However, while the update is welcome, may I point out that it is only the second statement to be made in the House in the 365 days since 4 July last year, although the Government promised quarterly reports to keep the House updated?
We welcome the destruction of Daesh’s final enclaves in Syria. We know that Daesh is a threat to us all and that it must be defeated wherever it emerges. Just today, news reports have revealed the uncovering of another mass grave in Raqqa; 200 corpses have been found, and it is feared that more will follow. The dead, thought to be victims of Daesh, include bodies found in orange jumpsuits, the kind typically worn by their hostages.
Let me pay tribute to the UK forces who have put their lives on the line and show gratitude—as the Secretary of State did—to the Kurdish forces who have taken such huge risks in leading the fight against Daesh. Will the Secretary of State now reassure the House that the Kurdish community will not be abandoned or left vulnerable to attacks by Syria or Turkey? He mentions Yazidis, Christians, Shi’as and Sunnis in his statement, so will he tell us what he is doing to support the protection of all communities in the region?
There is also the question of the ongoing role of our forces. The 2015 motion that set down the terms for our engagement in Syria to eradicate Daesh’s safe haven in Syria and Iraq was worded in such a way as to avoid an ongoing military conflict in the region. Will the Secretary of State now set out the purpose of our forces, given that their original purpose of defeating Daesh’s safe haven has been achieved? Does he believe that the original mandate has now expired and that therefore a renewed mandate for military action—and clarity on the role of special forces—is required for continued UK engagement in the region?
Let me say a few words about the ongoing conflict in Syria. There remain serious concerns for civilians in Idlib. What steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that there are safe corridors for civilians to leave, given that the United Nations has warned that up to 700,000 people could flee Idlib as refugees? Given that dozens of health facilities have been damaged and destroyed in recent months and more than half a million civilians have been unable to access vital medical care, what steps are the Government taking to encourage parties to the conflict to adhere to international humanitarian law and protect civilians?
Last month, I was lucky enough to meet members of a delegation from the Syrian Women’s Political Movement. They spoke about their experiences of being denied their rights to employment, education and medical care and facing sexual and gender-based violence and exploitation. They called for increased women’s representation in peace negotiations and decision-making positions. Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to respond to their calls?
As for Iraq, does the Secretary of State share the growing international concern about the arbitrary, draconian and legally unsound way in which the Iraqi authorities are conducting trials of alleged jihadist collaborators and the resentment caused among the Sunni community in the country?
What discussions are taking place about the huge number of detained suspected Daesh fighters? More than 55,000 suspected fighters and their families have been detained in Syria and Iraq. Most of them are citizens of those two countries, but overall they come from at least 50 countries. More than 11,000 relatives are being held at the al-Hol camp in north-eastern Syria. Michelle Bachelet, the UN human rights chief, has said that the relatives of suspected fighters should be taken back to their countries of origin. Does the Secretary of State agree with her call?
Let me finally raise the issue of Daesh’s ongoing influence beyond the physical battlefield. The Secretary of State has spoken today about Daesh’s physical territory, but its influence online is an ongoing threat and deeply worrying. What are the Government doing to work with our allies to ensure that action is taken by social media companies so that Daesh cannot find new safe havens online to spread its hatred?
CategoriesUncategorized Tags2019, Dan Carden, Speeches
Previous PostPrevious Rory Stewart – 2019 Statement on the Counter-Daesh Update
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UnSpun Theatre is a creation-based theatre company that focuses on a collaborative, artist-driven, non-hierarchical approach to performance-making. We situate our work in the space between narrative and experimental storytelling, and between fiction and documentary. Led by Chris Hanratty and Shira Leuchter, UnSpun Theatre has been creating award-winning work since 2004.
Our work is part of a series of questions that we continue to build on with each new piece; in this way our practice is truly generative. We are interested in how our personal narratives are shaped by our larger cultural narratives, and we often explore the convergences between the personal and political through an exploration of objects and material culture.
Our work is tender but rigorous, delicate but exacting. Our work is an invitation to challenge the patterns of the everyday encounter: the objects, places and stories that define our shared narrative.
In The Doras: 30 Years of Theatre, Dance and Opera in Toronto, theatre critic Jon Kaplan named UnSpun Theatre one of a handful of independent companies that "have given audience some of the most exciting work of the past few years."
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR - CHRIS HANRATTY
A writer and director,Chris has co-created many of UnSpun Theatre’s past work, including minotaur, Don’t Wake Me and One Block (Harbourfront HATCH program). His co-adaptation of The Tin Drum garnered 5 Dora Award nominations, including Best Director. He co-created and directed The Speedy, which premiered as part of Harbourfront Centre's World Stage. He was shortlisted for the Ontario Arts Council John Hirsch Directing Prize. Chris also works in film. His shorts Family First, Rung, and Robert's Circle have played at numerous international film festivals including the Worldwide Short Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, and Tribeca International Film Festival. Chris studied Drama and Film at the University of Alberta.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR - SHIRA LEUCHTER
Shira is a Dora-nominated actor, theatre creator and artist. She is the co-adaptor of The Tin Drum and co-creator of The Speedy, which was on the curriculum at the University of Toronto and the University of Windsor. Shira has performed with some of Toronto's most innovative artists and companies, including Cahoots Theatre, Convergence Theatre, fu-GEN, Native Earth, The Room and others. Her series for the Praxis Theatre Blog, Your Process is Showing, explored the theatrical process using visual imagery. Shira has created live art for companies including Praxis Theatre, Canadian Stage and The Room. Shira is a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada and the University of Guelph.
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Go Forward In Time
< 1 Year < 1 Month < 1 Week < 1 Day April 1, 2003 1 Day > 1 Week > 1 Month > 1 Year >
What's on TV Today
See what was on TV on your birthday!
Enter any date since 1950! 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 / 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 / 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Career Choices (Repeat)
Viewers: 9
Viewers: 9.2
Lost at Home
Deal with the Devlins
Barbara Walters Special
with: Nicolas Cage; Julianne Moore; Renee Zellweger.
Share: 10
Second Acts
Viewers: 11.8
Back in the Ring
Judging Amy
Just Say Oops
Day 2: 12:00 Midnight- 1:00 AM
Click icon to watch or own this full episode
Own/Stream It At
Watch Free At
Three Stooges 75th Anniversary Special
A.U.S.A.
Weakest Link
Lama Hunt (Repeat)
A Blast from the Past (Repeat)
Sleeper (Repeat)
Take This Poem and Call Me in the Morning (Repeat)
The Big Crappy Birthday Episode (Repeat)
Face-Off (Repeat)
Suspect (Repeat)
Some Shows Airing Outside of Primetime
co-host: Mike Tyson. with: Wanda Sykes; Saliva.
12:05 am - 1:05 am
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn
with: Roseanne Barr; Buckwheat Zydeco.
The Late Show with David Letterman
with: Colin Farrell; Rosanne Cash.
11:35 pm - 12:35 am
11:00 pm - 11:30 pm
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
with: Dave Chappelle; Seth Green; Badly Drawn Boy.
Last Call with Carson Daly
with: Adrien Brody; t.a.t.u.
1:35 am - 2:05 am
with: Marisa Tomei; Jillian Barberie, Steve Edwards & Dorothy Lucey; Rob Zombie featuring Lionel Richie.
Beat the Clock
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It appears Nigel Farage doesn’t want a Brexit without insulting the members of the European Parliment, and at the same time he wants to make ‘pragmatic’ trade deals to ensure economic stability for his country, which he perceives as having more weight than the 27 remaining member states.
I can’t help thinking that the UK has set a course across uncharted waters, treacherous oceans that every major economist predicted as being a shark invested realm of chaos, and with Nigel Farage tied to the mast like Odysseus it appears the rest of England has been plugged with beeswax.
“When I came here 17 years ago and said I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain to leave the European Union you all laughed at me. Well, I have to say, you’re not laughing now are you?”
This is how Farage opened his address to the EU, accompanied by a smug grin on his face, before proudly declaring;
"You, as a political project, are in denial. You’re in denial that your currency is failing”.
Farage was bullish and took no prisoners in a speech in which he challenged and offended the parliament’s members, even adding a quip;
"Now, I know that virtually none of you have ever done a proper job in your lives or worked in business or worked in trade or indeed ever created a job”.
This my friends is the new voice of English diplomacy, a voice which isn’t looking to renegotiate terms with the EU but one which wishes to dismantle it.
What Farage has done is declare war with Europe, not with tanks and bombs and guns, but one of trade agreements and sanctions. It’s a war that Farage can not possibly win, it’s a war that will cause a great deal of suffering before the UK will be forced to concede, a war that will cause more damage to London than the Blitz which lasted 267 days and resulted in chaos across the UK.
No one knows how far out the Brexit ship will sail before it sinks, it’s just a matter of how much of Britain it takes with it. What we’re watching right now isn’t the end of Europe, it’s the end of a once tyrannical UK, one which coerced a Scottish electorate from claiming independence and held a noose around Northern Ireland with a system of imprisonment, dependency and military control for many years.
If Brexit becomes a war it will be the UK’s last battle, what we will see is smaller nations freeing themselves from British rule and uniting with their gallant allies in Europe, because Europe is more than a Union, it is a dream of peace and unity, free trade, free movement and prosperity.
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99 Days By: Katie Cotugno
Author: Katie Cotugno
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Published: July 2016 (First Published April 2015)
Molly Barlow is facing one long, hot summer—99 days—with the boy whose heart she broke and the boy she broke it for . . . his brother.
Day 1: Julia Donnelly eggs my house my first night back in Star Lake, and that’s how I know everyone still remembers everything. She has every right to hate me, of course: I broke Patrick Donnelly’s heart the night everything happened with his brother, Gabe. Now I’m serving out my summer like a jail sentence: Just ninety-nine days till I can leave for college and be done.
Day 4: A nasty note on my windshield makes it clear Julia isn’t finished. I’m expecting a fight when someone taps me on the shoulder, but it’s just Gabe, home from college and actually happy to see me. “For what it’s worth, Molly Barlow,” he says, “I’m really glad you’re back.”
Day 12: Gabe wouldn’t quit till he got me to come to this party, and I’m surprised to find I’m actually having fun. I think he’s about to kiss me—and that’s when I see Patrick. My Patrick, who’s supposed to be clear across the country. My Patrick, who’s never going to forgive me.
First, I would like to thank Harper Collins Canada/ HCC Frenzy for sending me a copy of 99 Days in exchange for a review. Personally I don't think that this was necessarily my type of book. There definitely were some aspects that we quite enjoyable, and entertaining, but I just couldn't for the life of me get really into the novel and invested in the characters...
So from the beginning, you get the understanding of feel that Molly really isn't well liked anymore in this town she called home. Between the eggs, notes, and just overall vibe from people that she used to call friends, clearly shows how quick people can turn on you. I mean it was her fault, but her mother made it way more worse that it should have been, so for me, I at least had some sympathy over the fact that Molly's life was publicized over the world.
From the beginning to the end, the drama never stops. This girl is constantly repeating her mistakes over and over again, it's like she never learned the first time! I felt like this story could have moved around differently and still ended up at the place it was when the book ended. I found myself sometimes being a little bored and had to push myself through it.
"Like a storm at sea clearing, like a hurricane calming down."
There were definitely some moments that I felt all kinds of swooning happening. When it was just Molly and Gabe, you really can feel the connection and the type of relationship that everyone wants. But when you have a scene with Molly and Patrick, it's like "Girl, what did you ever think in this guy?! How could you possibly want any of that?" and she actually touches on the parts that she loved and parts that she noticed that Patrick wasn't her true love. Sometimes it takes a significant change in someone's life to see what's really the good parts and what things they can let go of.
I felt like when the ending came round, that's where a lot of stuff happens and it makes up for the rest of the book. Now if that could have happened earlier or some more significant drama other than "oh the town hates me" it would have made it far more interesting. It's also such a double standard. Like it takes two people to tango (If you get that reference) and I felt like Molly got way more hate over everything than either of the boys did!
"Patrick shakes his head and we're both on the verge of tears then, like we've finally destroyed each other, finally eaten each other alive."
Overall this wasn't my favourite for sure. I just think that this story didn't have much happening to keep me wanting more, and I felt like repeating mistakes make it feel re-used. Molly definitely deserves a giant glass of "get yourself together" because she needs to move on from these brothers and just get over this high school town drama.
That's all for my review today, I hope you enjoyed it! Like always, Just because I don't enjoy a book, doesn't mean you won't either, so if it sounds interesting to you, then go pick it up, and tell me your thoughts below!!
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Home Indian Super League STEEL GIANTS JOIN INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE
STEEL GIANTS JOIN INDIAN SUPER LEAGUE
THE INDIAN LEAGUE 21:23:00 Indian Super League,
India's two biggest Steel Companies, Tata Steel and JSW Group have been announced as the successful bidders for two new franchisees to ply their trade in Indian Super League.
The inclusion of two new clubs came through the ‘Invitation To Bid’ tender process floated by FSDL last month. An independent panel along with consulting firm EY evaluated the bids to present its report today to the panel, in the presence of All India Football Federation General Secretary Mr Kushal Das.
Tata Steel Ltd., which has won the bid to participate in ISL from Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, are the pioneering Indian corporate to have provided national football with perennial pool of young footballers since 1987 through its Jamshedpur based facility – Tata Football Academy.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel and Chairman TFA, said: “This is a momentous occasion for Tata Steel, which has always been a pioneer in the development of sports in the country, especially football. Our entry into the coveted Indian Super League reinforces our commitment to provide a fillip to the development of football in the country. We are extremely excited to have won the bid for our hometown Jamshedpur and will provide the best of facilities for football to prosper in the eastern part of our country”.
JSW Group which owns the successful football club Bengaluru FC through its subsidiary JSW Sports won the right to participate in ISL from Bengaluru city. JSW Group has to its credit established a very successful and professionally run football club in I-League within a short period of 3 years; winning the competition twice including in its debut year.
Parth Jindal, CEO, JSW Bangaluru FC attributed JSW Group’s decision to bid for an ISL team to the “interest of long-term future of Indian football”.
Mr Jindal said, “We’re glad that our bid to be part of the ISL has been accepted. A lot of time and thought has gone into our decision of wanting to be part of the Indian Super League. The biggest factor has been the interest of the long-term future of Indian football. A longer league is the right road ahead.”
Mr. Kushal Das, General Secretary, AIFF expressed satisfaction on the bid evaluation process, saying, “The interest shown by India’s two large corporates to be part of ISL and Indian football’s growth story is an indication of the growing popularity of the sport in the country. Their contribution to Indian football has been immense and will only set the high standards in ISL.”
FSDL has also confirmed that Indian Super League's 4th edition will be a 5-month affair with the inclusion of two new teams. This also hints that ISL and I-League will run parallel this year, though no clarification on distribution of AFC Club Competition slots has emerged.
Tags # Indian Super League
Labels: Indian Super League
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“Thinking Is Hard”: The Horror Of The Deep State’s Plan Exposed – Part 1
02 May 2017 Posted by Zero Hedge
I’m constantly amazed by the ability of those in power to create a narrative trusted by a gullible non-critical thinking populace. Appealing to emotions, when you have millions of functionally illiterate, normalcy bias ensnared, iGadget distracted, disciples of the status quo, has been the game plan of the Deep State
for the last century. Americans don’t want to think, because thinking is hard. They would rather feel. For decades the government controlled public education system has performed a mass lobotomy on their hapless matriculates, removing their ability to think and replacing it with feelings, fabricated dogma, and social indoctrination. Their minds of mush have been molded to acquiesce to the narrative propagandized by their government keepers.
“The problem isn’t that Johnny can’t read. The problem isn’t even that Johnny can’t think. The problem is that Johnny doesn’t know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling.” – Thomas Sowell
With a majority confused, distracted, malleable, willfully ignorant, and easily manipulated by false narratives, heart wrenching images, and fake news, the Deep State henchmen have been able to control the masses with relative ease. The unanticipated rise of Donald Trump to the most powerful role in the world gave many critical thinking, anti-big government, skeptical curmudgeons hope he could drain the swamp and begin to deconstruct the massive out of control Federal bureaucracy.
His rhetoric during the campaign about repealing the disastrous Obamacare abortion, cutting taxes, dismantling Federal regulatory red tape, making Mexico pay for the wall, dumping Yellen, favoring higher interest rates, and not interfering militarily in countries who are not threatening the United States, appealed to many libertarian minded people.
I’ve watched with disgust over the last month as the promises of non-interventionism by a presidential candidate have been broken by the third consecutive president. George W. promised a humble foreign policy with no nation building. He had criticized the Clinton-Gore Administration for being too interventionist:
“If we don’t stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we’re going to have a serious problem coming down the road. And I’m going to prevent that.”
With 9/11 as a convenient excuse, he invaded sovereign countries based on flawed data, passed the 4th Amendment destroying Patriot Act, allowed neo-cons to create a Orwellian surveillance state, and permitted the military industrial complex to regain its power and control over the political apparatus in Washington D.C. With no Cold War to fill their coffers, neo-cons in Congress, warmongering think tank co-conspirators, military brass and their arms dealer cronies needed to create a new war to keep the racket going.
The War on Terror is unwinnable because you can’t defeat a tactic, and that is just what the Deep State is counting on. An unwinnable war, like the War on Drugs and War on Poverty, results in never-ending funding, no evaluation of success or failure, continuous propaganda designating new enemies whenever convenient, and a narrative questioning the patriotism of anyone who argues against foreign interventionism.
After Bush’s reign of error, the election of a liberal community activist as president surely would result in a dramatic reduction in military intervention around the world. It was so certain, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for just being elected for promising hope and change. He ran against neo-con tool McCain who never met a country he didn’t want to invade. Obama’s words as a candidate echoed those of Bush Jr. before he was placed on the throne by the powers that be.
“We continue to be in a war that should never have been authorized. I am proud of the fact that way back in 2002, I said that this war was a mistake.”
After being elected Obama immediately changed his tune about the business of war. He withdrew troops from Iraq as required by the agreement signed by Bush with the Iraq puppet government, but he ramped up the never-ending Afghanistan war – now sixteen years old and still not won. The vacuum left by our epic failure in Iraq allowed the rise of ISIS. Obama essentially created ISIS by providing arms to “moderate” rebels fighting Assad in Syria.
By the end of his term, troops were back in Iraq and more are on the way. Obama and a Secretary of State named Clinton decided to overthrow Gaddafi even though he posed no threat to U.S. interests. They have left a lawless chaotic failed state, now home to ISIS, Al Qaeda, and various other terrorist factions.
Obama should have won the Nobel Drone Prize as he launched ten times as many attacks as Bush, killing thousands, blowing up wedding parties, and murdering hundreds of innocent civilians. He bombed seven countries even though we are not officially at war with anyone. He renewed all aspects of the unconstitutional Patriot Act. Edward Snowden
revealed the mass surveillance on all Americans by Obama’s spy agencies.
His continued support for the overthrow of Assad, so Saudi Arabia and Qatar could build a natural gas pipeline to Europe, was thwarted by Putin. Hysterically, after eight years of war mongering and expansion of the warfare/welfare surveillance state, Obama is now portrayed as a pacifist. The fact is Obama, like Bush, filled his role in the imperial empire, policing the world, enriching the military industrial complex, and doing the bidding of his Deep State sponsors.
Now we have Donald Trump, the billionaire champion of the common man, who campaigned on getting out of the nation building business. Where have I heard that before? Exactly one year ago, Trump gave a foreign policy speech laying out his vision for the U.S. role in the world.
“We’re getting out of the nation-building business and instead focusing on creating stability in the world. However, unlike other candidates for the presidency, war and aggression will not be my first instinct. You cannot have a foreign policy without diplomacy. A superpower understands that caution and restraint are really truly signs of strength. Although not in government service, I was totally against the war in Iraq, very proudly, saying for many years that it would destabilize the Middle East. Sadly, I was correct, and the biggest beneficiary has been has been Iran, who is systematically taking over Iraq and gaining access to their very rich oil reserves, something it has wanted to do for decades.”
He scorned Obama and Bush’s foolish attempt at creating western style democracies in 3rd world den of snakes, inhabited by factions of Muslim religious fanatics. He railed against the trillions wasted fighting worthless wars, leaving countries in anarchy, and allowing terrorists organizations like ISIS to fill the vacuum. His arguments sounded like they were being spoken by Ron Paul. He clearly ran as a non-interventionist.
“We went from mistakes in Iraq to Egypt to Libya, to President Obama’s line in the sand in Syria. Each of these actions have helped to throw the region into chaos and gave ISIS the space it needs to grow and prosper. Very bad. It all began with a dangerous idea that we could make western democracies out of countries that had no experience or interests in becoming a western democracy.
We tore up what institutions they had and then were surprised at what we unleashed. Civil war, religious fanaticism, thousands of Americans and just killed be lives, lives, lives wasted. Horribly wasted. Many trillions of dollars were lost as a result. The vacuum was created that ISIS would fill. Iran, too, would rush in and fill that void much to their really unjust enrichment.”
Trump rationally promised to have peaceful relations with the other two nuclear superpowers. He was diplomatic, lucid and non-confrontational when talking about the two countries neo-cons love to hate. His promises of improved relations lasted about as long as it took the Deep State to create a blatant false flag in Syria.
“We desire to live peacefully and in friendship with Russia and China. We have serious differences with these two nations, and must regard them with open eyes, but we are not bound to be adversaries. We should seek common ground based on shared interests. Russia, for instance, has also seen the horror of Islamic terrorism. I believe an easing of tensions, and improved relations with Russia from a position of strength only is possible, absolutely possible. Common sense says this cycle, this horrible cycle of hostility must end and ideally will end soon. Good for both countries.”
There seems to be a common theme when it comes to how all presidents end up doing the bidding of the military industrial complex as soon as they settle into the Oval Office, no matter what they said during their campaigns. Trump is the latest example of talking diplomacy, no nation building, non-interventionism, and not putting boots on the ground, and then doing the exact opposite within weeks of taking office.
The game plan is tried and true. The Deep State either creates or provokes a false flag event to set in motion the pressure to respond militarily. They utilize their propaganda emitting media mouthpieces to spread disinformation and create the opinions of the non-critical thinking masses. Dramatic visual images and a storyline with an evil villain are essential to properly influencing a pliable, easily misled, oblivious public.
The use of false flag events, fake news, and staged graphic photographs to control and manipulate public opinion has been utilized for decades by the Deep State to push the country into military conflict craved by the military industrial complex. We’ve known for almost a century war is a racket, as described by General Smedley Butler
“War is a racket. It always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable, surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses in lives.”
We were warned by the most respected general of the 20th Century about allowing the military industrial complex to gain control over our government and politicians. Eisenhower experienced the influence of the Deep State from the military perspective and firsthand as president. Sadly, his hopes for an alert and knowledgeable citizenry keeping the military industrial complex under wraps were dashed on the shoals of a purposefully failing public education system and a relentless propaganda campaign championing never-ending war.
“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Those controlling the levers of power have understood the power of propaganda since Edward Bernays taught them how to manipulate the public mind with his theories of propaganda in 1928. He believed the masses were driven by biological urges which needed to be channeled and guided by highly intelligent corporate elite overseers. His contempt for the masses was born out in his corporate fascist view of the world.
He believed our dangerous animalistic urges needed to be subdued to keep society sedate and controllable by those constituting the invisible government (aka Deep State). He trained the controllers to use propaganda in order to mold the minds of the masses in a way most beneficial to the state.
“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. …We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized.
Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. …In almost every act of our daily lives, whether in the sphere of politics or business, in our social conduct or our ethical thinking, we are dominated by the relatively small number of persons…who understand the mental processes and social patterns of the masses. It is they who pull the wires which control the public mind.” – Edward Bernays – Propaganda
The use of propaganda and the flogging of false flag narratives by the corporate media acting as mouthpieces for the Deep State has worked wonders and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of American boys and innocent victims (collateral damage according to neo-cons) around the world. An explosion that sunk the USS Maine was used by William Randolph Hearst and William McKinley to provoke a war with Spain in 1898.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident was a false flag used by LBJ and the war party in 1964 to kick off the Vietnam War, resulting in over 58,000 American deaths, 153,000 Americans wounded, hundreds of thousands mentally scarred for life, and the deaths of over 2 million Vietnamese. For who? For what? The American boys sacrificed on the altar of the Deep State were nothing but cannon fodder in the warped minds of McNamara, LBJ, Westmorland and the rest of warmongering elitists. Only the military industrial complex benefited, as the burgeoning welfare/warfare state resulted in raging inflation during the 1970s.
As time passed, the propagandists have become immensely more sophisticated in their messaging, psychological assessment of a dumbed down American populace, and manipulation of patriotism, symbolism and emotions to run roughshod over those opposing nonsensical, illegal, and immoral military intervention around the world. The most successful technique utilized by the Deep State for the last few decades has been “atrocity propaganda”. Appealing to the emotions of people who have been indoctrinated by government schooling to feel rather than think has been wildly successful in controlling the agenda.
Atrocity propaganda was initially employed to sway public opinion to support the First Gulf War against Sadaam Hussein, engineered by Madison Avenue maggots from Hill & Knowlton on behalf of the Kuwaiti government. In emotional testimony before Congress an unidentified 15-year-old girl, who happened to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the U.S., gave false testimony that she had witnessed Iraqi soldiers take babies out of incubators in a Kuwaiti hospital, take the incubators, and leave the babies to die.
This propaganda successfully convinced a clueless public to support our involvement in the Gulf War. With the end of the Cold War, how could the military industrial complex generate immense profits without enemies? Afterwards, Stormin Norman Schwarzkopf was glorified as the brilliant courageous hero. The masses need a hero to worship.
Whether 9/11 was a false flag or a monumental security blunder, it was hijacked by the neo-con faction within the government to wage perpetual war and turn our country into a surveillance state. A critical thinking citizen or honest journalist might wonder how the 342 page Patriot Act, which changed 15 existing laws and created entire new agencies, could be written, debated, and signed into law within 45 days of the 9/11 attack. It almost seemed like it was already written, awaiting the opportune time to implement. The War on Terror had begun. The Deep State managed to create a war against a tactic, which could never be won. It has done wonders for the military industrial complex, as arms industry stocks have risen 400% to 500% since 2001 versus the 100% rise in the S&P 500. War is a profitable racket.
The neo-cons immediately began their propaganda campaign to invade Iraq, even though they had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. There were virtually no religious Muslim zealots inhabiting the country. Hussein hated bin Laden and his ilk. The propaganda machine, driven by Cheney and Wolfowitz, churned out false stories about 9/11 involvement and the imminent threat from Hussein using “WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION”. The Colin Powell show on national TV convinced the fearful American populace to support the invasion of a country who threatened us in no way, without a declaration of war from Congress.
The invasion of Iraq set the precedent that presidents can wage war around the globe with no legislative approval. The invasion became a reality TV show called Shock & Awe. In retrospect, the Iraq War was either a colossal error of judgement or exactly what the Deep State had in mind. The ultimate financial cost of our Middle East adventures will exceed $6 trillion, while 4,400 young men gave their lives, 32,000 were badly wounded, thousands more are afflicted with PTSD, and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed or maimed, all for a worthless cause. Iraq is now a failed state, with Muslim terrorists controlling large swaths of territory.
The warnings from men of stature, integrity and nobility like Smedley Butler, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Ron Paul have gone unheeded by an increasingly dumbed down, iGadget absorbed, intellectually lazy, willfully ignorant, emotionally stunted populace. They question nothing. They believe whatever the boob tube tells them to believe. Their extreme level of normalcy bias allows the Deep State to maintain control and become outrageously bold in their lies, misinformation, and ability to convince the masses of the most ridiculous narratives. Only one voice in the wilderness remains. Speaking truth to power only creates change if an educated populace says enough is enough.
“How did the American people ever reach this point where they believe that US aggression in the Middle East will make us safe when it does the opposite? How did the American people ever reach the point where they believe that fighting unconstitutional wars is required to protect our freedoms and our Constitution? Why do we allow the NSA, CIA, FBI, TSA, etc. to destroy our liberty at home, as part of the Global War on Terror, with a pretext that they are preserving our liberty?
Why are the lying politicians reelected and allowed to bankrupt our country, destroy our money, and enter wars without the proper consent? Why do the American people suffer in silence and not scream “Enough is enough!”? We’ve had enough of the “humanitarian do-gooders” and the proponents of “American exceptionalism” who give us nothing but war, economic suffering, and less freedom. This can and must be stopped.” – Ron Paul, Swords into Plowshares: A Life in Wartime and a Future of Peace and Prosperity
“The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds, and the tranquil water-way leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky–seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.” – Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness
The Horror Of The Deep State’s Plan Exposed – Part 2
Authored by Jim Quinn via The Burning Platform blog
Written by Zero Hedge
Boysie Dent
It is very strange that Americans know all these TRUTHS and yet DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING – except WRITE ABOUT IT – It was if the mere writing about a particular topic will by miracle cause ALL WRONGS TO BE RIGHTED…I am holding my breadth waiting for the day when the call will come that this or that American has / is / prepared to LEAD THE CHARGE / and in the meanwhile -I am preparing my BOW N ARROWS…
Shazad Rafi
Very well written, a good read…thank you !
I suspect part of the new president initiation is being approached by the Deep State (or whoever is truly running the show), and being threatened with footage of JFK’s head being blown off as they ask the new president, “Do you want this to happen to you?” The president is a face, a frightened puppet.
Quit giving Eisenhower the title of “Most Respected General” for he is not! He is a war criminal and should have been prosecuted instead of becoming president of the USA. He instigated the inhumane treatment of German POWs (he absolutely hated Germans) refusing them needed food and shelter thereby causing a million or more deaths. He conveniently forgot, dismissed and left American POWs in Russia and in North Korea after the wars. He bombed German cities killing untold thousands of innocent civilians during the war and what is worse he knew the war was coming to an end but still bombed cities such as Dresden over and over until nothing was left of them! Plus he talked about the military industrial complex but lest we forget he and all presidents pick who they want to be in charge of the military. Eisenhower was a hateful murdering war criminal!
God allows mankind to braid the rope that most will eventually hang from… “Wide is the gate that leads to death…”.
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Austen's Mid-Year Faves 2017
June 14, 2017 theneedledrop2 Comments
Let's get the introduction out of the way: I'm Austen, the managing editor of TND's website and channels, creator of the It Came from Bandcamp segment (which we swear isn't dead), and most recently, Anthony's collaborator on the Stinkpiece series. You guys generally don't hear from me until the end of the year when I drop my year-end lists, but I've decided to get in on the mid-year action this time.
At the halfway point of last year, there just weren't enough releases I dug to come up with a top ten. Thankfully, 2017 has been a lot more front-heavy, and if I'm honest, I think the batch of albums here might already stronger than the one on my 2016 list. Just for the record, only studio albums made the cut. Considered putting Swans' new live album Deliquescence on here, but most of that material was pulled from The Glowing Man, and I've sung that album's praises enough. With that shoutout out of the way, let's get into the actual list:
1. Oxbow - Thin Black Duke [Hydra Head]
I've had Oxbow's Thin Black Duke in near-constant rotation since its release and I still haven't found the words to express my love for this album. I believe it's the greatest orchestral rock album since Lou Reed's Berlin; maybe that says enough. But recently I came across an interview the band did with TeamRock, wherein vocalist Eugene S. Robinson pointed out a reference to the Joseph Losey film The Servant in the song "A Gentleman's Gentleman," and that made everything click. My introductory film theory class a few years ago had the (mis)fortune of watching that film four times over a short span of time, and I had to have been the only student who came away from that experience not hating the movie, let alone loving it. Losey's twisted baroque vision is very much alive in Thin Black Duke, so I'm pretty much conditioned to love it too. Picking up on the album's cinematic reference points certainly adds to the enjoyment factor, but even in the vacuum of music, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in the artful side of rock music.
2A. Sun Kil Moon - Common as Light and Love Are Red Valleys of Blood [Caldo Verde]
My streak of Koz stanning continues! Common as Light... marks Mark Kozelek's 50th year on Earth and is miraculously his most ambitious and experimental release since his early days as an unwitting slowcore and post-rock pioneer. For the longest time, Mark has been seen in the shadows of songwriting/guitar titans like Neil Young, Nick Drake, and Andrés Segovia. That's fair - those influences were certainly on his sleeve, but now there's not much of a precedent at all to what he's doing. The swagger and crude compositions (due to him mostly working with unfamiliar instruments) are sort of evocative of Lou Reed, but that's about it. In a way, I see Common as Light as the antithesis to Scott Walker's Bish Bosch, an album that pushed the concept of the singer-songwriter to a point of radical abstraction. Mark, instead, has produced something radically concrete, and I can see how that poses a challenge to some listeners. But through all the minutiae, there's love, sadness, anger, fear, and comedy to be found. Frankly, I can't think of another album that so perfectly reflects the human spirit/condition.
2B. Jesu / Sun Kil Moon - 30 Seconds to the Decline of Planet Earth [Caldo Verde]
30 Seconds... is essentially an addendum to Common as Light, covering the remainder of the Koz's 2016. As far as the instrumentation goes, it's a step up from the previous Jesu collab. I'm loving the icy electronic soundscapes Justin brings to the table this time, especially on the track "Wheat Bread." That track is practically a folksier version of one of Robert Ashley's spoken-word electronic operas. The album is also bookended by two of Mark's most moving tracks; the opener in particular, which I'm not too proud to admit gets me teary. But at other points, it does seem he's spreading himself thin - case in point "Hello Chicago." It's a very heartfelt tribute to John Hughes and Leonard Cohen, but is underwritten even by modern Koz standards. Also, I've never shared the cynical music writer notion that Mark has begun reading fan letters in his music for ego-stroking purposes, but the one that closes this track does kind of border on being a testimonial. Still, the disc is a worthy follow-up to Common as Light; let's see if the Koz can go 3/3 with Yellow Kitchen later this month.
3. Mount Eerie - A Crow Looked at Me [P.W. Elverum & Sun]
The phrase from A Crow Looked at Me's press release that stuck out to everyone was "barely music." It's true, the album manifests such a brutal reality that listening to it feels like experiencing real life (or rather death), not a conventionally enjoyable singer-songwriter project. Phil has gone on record as saying that this is his least atmospheric effort, but I have to respectfully disagree; A Crow Looked at Me is more evocative of a mental and physical place than any field recording ever could be. The album sounds like living in an empty house - you can hear the room tone and some incidental floorboard creaking throughout the record, the sound of a door shutting at one point, and to me even the gentle percussion more resembles a dripping faucet than an actual musical component. This truly is the soundtrack of "unimaginable domestic obliteration," the most potent quote from that press release. My condolensces, Phil, and thank you for the achingly beautiful (non-)music.
4. Graham Lambkin / Taku Unami - The Whistler [Erstwhile]
One of the most exciting pieces of music-related news I saw last year was that Graham Lambkin and Taku Unami were working together on an Erstwhile release. My excitement diminished a bit when I learned they'd be editing their discs independent of one another, but at least the sounds had been recorded together. So, when I put on the first disc I was pretty taken aback and thought, "Wow, Graham actually did take his style down a few notches to complement Taku." It turns out I was listening to the latter's piece after all and that the credits on the album are reversed. Yes, as one might expect, the onkyo artist's side is quieter and sparser, and the sound collagist's is more densely layered and "eventful," although I'm not used to hearing quite so much silence from Graham. According to some notes he scribbled on a napkin, neither he nor Taku came into this project with many materials and he described the album as being recorded "on the edge of nothing." That said, I do think The Whistler is an enjoyable listen and that the two artists ended up complementing each other well. The album might seem "empty" compared to, say, Salmon Run and Community, so I guess this is more for people who hear untapped mystery and sonic potential in a quiet day at the park.
5. Tomutonttu - Kevätjuhla [A L T E R]
The latest release from Kemialliset Ystävät ringleader Jan Anderzén is apparently the soundtrack to one of his recent sculptural installations. But it functions perfectly well as a standalone aural experience, refining Jan's unique blend of psychedelia, instrumental hip hop, free folk, and exotic electronica. And as a continuation of last year's Trarat, which was commissioned by a classical music festival, Jan in his own way seems to be thinking more like a composer. That's the sense I get from the closing "Kuteen valoon" suite, anyway.
6. Arca - Arca [XL]
Not sure why Anthony hated on this one. I haven't been a huge fan of Arca's previous work either, but the addition of her voice really helped her aesthetic click with me for the length of an entire album this time. Right from "Piel," I was taken back to my first time hearing James Ferraro's NYC, Hell 3:00 AM; Arca is right up there in terms of captivatingly vulnerable vocal performances. Granted, Arca is technically a much better singer than James, with operatic moments like "Sin Rumbo" being my favorites, though she also holds her own on the poppier tracks like "Desafío." It helps that the album has a much tighter tracklist than its predecessor, Mutant, too. I dig Arca's alien production style a lot, but over an hour of just that is a bit much for me.
7. Babyfather - 419 [Self-Released, 2016]
This dropped shortly after I posted my 2016 list, but I didn't pay it much mind until the start of the New Year because Dean Blunt is more miss than hit when it comes to mixtapes. 419, however; is easily his most substantial tape since The Narcissist II. The stretch from "FOR SHAKILUS" to "penelope freestyle" is what really keeps me coming back. The sampling is next level, from the triumphant guitar soloing of Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" on "SKYWALKER," to Dean at one point singing along with the Marine Girls on "Snakeman freestyle," to Kelis getting the vaporwave treatment on the nostalgic "penelope freestyle." I wish I had as many nice things to say about the more recent Cypher...
8. Xiu Xiu - FORGET [Polyvinyl]
Xiu Xiu's previous (original) album Angel Guts: Red Classroom found the outfit breaking a string of pop-oriented albums with a set of dark, Suicide-inspired synthpunk vignettes. I love the album and think it's their best work since A Promise, but I wasn't disappointed to hear they'd already be heading back to a poppier sound as soon as I heard FORGET's lead single "Wondering." The song forecasted Xiu Xiu's best pop album yet, and that's what we got. "Wondering," "Jenny GoGo," and the underrated "At Last, At Last" rank among the band's stickiest earworms, and the droning "Faith, Torn Apart" has to be their most powerful closer yet. Never thought I'd say this, but Vaginal Davis' ending monologue really made the album. Gives me chills every time.
9. Father John Misty - Pure Comedy [Sub Pop]
I get it - this is a bunch of samey piano ballads that give off "Don McLean on r/atheism" vibes. To be honest, I think Josh's targets are a bit safe nowadays too, especially when it comes to religion. But I understand his upbringing was a lot more oppressive than my own, and as in the case of the new Sun Kil Moon albums, I don't mind hearing perspectives I disagree with or think are "out of touch." Also as a Mark Kozelek fan, I have a hard time not being moved by tracks like "Leaving LA," "Smoochie," and "So I'm Growing Old on Magic Mountain," which find Josh getting more personal and sentimental. Fuck it, I think every track on this album is great. FJM pulls off the cynical piano man thing. Don't @ me.
10. Toby Driver - Madonnawhore [The Flenser]
Madonnawhore is maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot frontman Toby Driver's first solo album since 2005's In the L..L..Library Loft. That wasn't even a "solo" effort per se, relying heavily on other members of Kayo Dot, but I bring it up because it's such an incredible testament to Toby's abilities as a contemporary composer. Library Loft found him crafting four uniformly horrifying and mysterious pieces while adhering to strange compositional and performative limitations/gimmicks. Madonnawhore is essentially the polar opposite, a willful move towards traditional songwriting. He has dabbled in the type of atmospheric balladry on this album before, namely the bookending tracks of Gamma Knife, so if you want to hear a cohesive project done in that style, do not let this one go under your radar.
Keith Rowe - The Room Extended [Erstwhile, 2016]
I gave a spot on my 2016 year-end list to The Earth and Sky, a triple-CD set from composer Michael Pisaro and pianist Reinier van Houdt, but was unable until more recently to listen through last year's other monolithic Erstwhile release. That would be The Room Extended, a late-career masterpiece from experimental guitarist Keith Rowe. Keith is one of my greatest inspirations as a musician; he was pushing the electric guitar into unfathomable sonic frontiers before just about anyone. In fact, this album coincided with the 50th anniversary of AMMMusic, a landmark recording for improvised music released by his original group AMM. Those days of freewheeling cacophony have long since passed, so what we get on The Room Extended is a beautiful and funereal amalgamation of the sounds that Keith has worked with for decades. The abstract, staticky drones formed by his prepared guitar and electronics are often backed by passages of classical music weeping in the distance, transmitted via radio. I could imagine a fan of GY!BE being moved by these moments. Unfortunately Keith was diagnosed with Parkinson's around the time of this album's production, hence the album's preoccupation with mortality, but I hope he's got many more years of music in him. This month he released a double album called 13 Thirteen with Michael Pisaro, which I'll also recommend.
And that has been my 2017 mid-year list. Here's hoping the year ends as strongly as it began! As always, thanks for reading; hopefully you got something out of it.
But I also want to say thank you for helping us get to one million subscribers on YouTube. I started working for TND in 2013 when the channel was around 170k subs, so since then I've watched that sixth digit roll over all but one time. Reaching that 1M milestone meant a lot to me too, so thanks. Anyway, see you again in November/December.
Best & Worst Tracks: 3/19 (Weezer, Feist, Lil Uzi Vert, Linkin Park, Ho99o9)
March 19, 2017 theneedledropComment
Best & Worst Tracks: 2/26 (Young Thug, Arca, The Chainsmokers, Spoon, Calvin Harris)
FAV TRACKS: 7/10 (Gucci Mane, Lil Yachty, Arca, Iglooghost)
July 10, 2016 theneedledropComment
The weekly segment in which Anthony touches down on some of the best tracks he has heard in the past week.
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Photo by Scott Newton
Watch Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Full 'Austin City Limits' Performance
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds spent their summer playing sold out shows throughout North America, they've been the subject of the critically lauded doc 20,000 Days On Earth, and this fall have seen an ambitious plan to reissue their catalog on vinyl. As if to further prove their world domination, Cave and his collaborators have recorded a set for the venerable PBS program, Austin City Limits.
You can watch the full episode below (for a limited time) which features renditions of "The Mercy Seat", "Tupelo", "Push The Sky Away" and more. As an added bonus, you can see a web exclusive clip of Cave and The Seeds plowing through "Stagger Lee", a harrowing traditional folk song right in the band's wheelhouse.
“Red Right Hand”
“From Her to Eternity”
“God Is In The House”
“The Mercy Seat”
“Push The Sky Away”
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In news, video Tags Austin City Limits, Nick Cave, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Push The Sky Away, Stagger Lee, Tupelo, The Mercy Seat, 20000 days on earth
Nick Cave's Catalog Is Getting A Massive Vinyl Reissue
Nick Cave has experienced a sort of renaissance in the last couple of years. 2013's Push The Sky Away by Cave and his band, The Bad Seeds ended up on many year end best-of lists, and a biographical documentary of Cave called 20,000 Days On Earth is working its' way around the indie theater circuit as we speak, to rave reviews. While the mercurial Australian songwriter and bandleader never really went away, his fan base is growing and the demand for his back catalogue is rising. Enter Mute Records.
Mute - a British label that's the famous home of Depeche Mode (and most recently, new home to New Order) - has unveiled a plan to reissue vinyl versions of the full Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds catalog all the way back to 1984's From Her To Eternity. The first seven tiles will be released in the fall of 2014, with seven more records to follow some time in 2015. All of the reissues have been remastered with help from Bad Seed Mick Harvey and will include all original artwork, liner notes and sleeve art.
Below is a schedule for the 2014 releases along with a list of what's slated for 2015. These dates are only for the UK & European release. More info is coming soon on the North American releases, the first of which is slated to hit streets on December 16.
The Firstborn Is Dead
Your Funeral . . . My Trial
Abbatoir Blues/The Lyre Of Orphesu
Dig, Lazarus, Dig!
Kicking Against The Pricks
TBA 2015
Tender Prey
Henry's Dream
Murder Ballads
No More Shall We Part
The Boatman's Call
In new vinyl, reissues, vinyl Tags Nick Cave, Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, bad seeds, mute, mute records, reissue, reissues, the boatman's call, dig lazarus dig!, from her to eternity, 20000 days on earth, the firstborn is dead, tender prey, the good son, henry's dream, let love in, murder ballads, no more shall we part, your funeral . . . my trial, nocturama, abbatoir blues/the lyre of orpheus, kicking against the pricks
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March Madness arrives: Round 1 of NCAA Tournament starts
Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino, center, talks to his team during practice at the NCAA men's college basketball tournament, Wednesday, March 20, 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa. Minnesota plays Louisville on Thursday. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
By The Associated Press undefined
Millions of brackets are filled with millions of guesses and it’s time to find out how they fare.
The crush of March Madness hits Thursday with 16 games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Reigning champion Villanova is playing and so is Michigan, the runner-up from last year.
Kansas and Michigan State are also in action as two of the more popular picks each March.
Murray State’s Ja Morant is going up against Marquette’s Markus Howard, giving fans two stars head to head.
The action begins just after noon Eastern with seventh-seeded Louisville playing No. 10 seed Minnesota. Minnesota is coached by Richard Pitino , the son of disgraced Cardinals coach Rick Pitino.
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/MarchMadness and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
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Amnesty International To Instigate Regime Change In Eritrea
admin Jan 12, 2015 Amnesty International, Foundations, Human Rights Watch, Non-Profit Industrial Complex, The Soros Network | OSI
SpyGhana
by Thomas Mountain
Secret internal correspondence from Amnesty International has been published detailing a plan to instigate regime change in the small east African country of Eritrea funded by a grant from the US State Department under then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
This is not a new charge, having first come to my attention in the fall of 2011 when a journalist in London called me one morning asking for my comments on a press conference by Amnesty International denying charges that the Eritrean government was supposed to have made that Amnesty and HRW had been involved in sending a secret mission to Eritrea in an attempt to destabilize the government.
The problem was the Eritrean government had not made any such charges, at least not that I had heard of. Operating on the maxim made immortal by Claude Cockburn, father of the Cockburn clan of intrepid journalists, that “Never believe anything until it has been officially denied” I set off in search for more on this story.
It wasn’t until that evening that Eritrean TV broke the story with excerpts from the Amnesty International document they claimed to have. The next night EriTV broadcast more highlights from the document and then the story just disappeared. It seemed that the curtain had dropped on another episode in the rancorous relations between the Eritrean government and the human rights corporations. Left with nothing hard to go on I could only file this one in the “hope to follow up on someday” file.
Now, three years later, the letter has been published and it really is a bombshell. “Our intended goal is that by December of this year [2011] the regime of [Eritrean President] Issayas Aferwerki should be shaking and ready to fall”.
This was going to be done thanks to a “reasonable grant from the US State Department” to “bring about [regime] change…as has happened in other African and Arab countries”….
The letter is signed by one Catherine Price, Africa Special Programmes, Peter Benenson House, 1 Easton Street
Priority Status; Stricktly Confidential Resonance; Urgent
To; Mr. Adams Subi Waitara
Amnesty Tanzania Section.
The letter was to inform him that he had been “appointed to be part of a 4 man delegation to Eritrea beginning 6th to 16th September, 2011”. The letter lists the other members of this very secret group including an Amnesty staffer who was then working for HRW.
The letter goes on to say “Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch…have received a reasonable grant from the US State Department…” and that “the main aim therefore of this Mission to Eritrea is to provide funding and to help in setting up websites and computer centers…”.
The letter warns about the need for absolute secrecy, “Do not operate, at any time in groups of more than two in the day time…” and “Do not take any photos with normal cameras, except the micro cameras that will be provided for you…”. It informs Mr. Adams that “Mr. Georges Gagnoy, Human Rights Watch Africa Director, will be monitoring the events and activities online from Nairobi, [Kenya] and will offer any emergency assistance should it be needed.”
Deja Vu? Cuba and Venezuela watchers will be reminded of similar programs funded by the US State Department to destabilize the governments of those countries with the goal of “regime change”. The bombshell this letter drops is that for the first time Amnesty International and HRW are caught in writing accepting “a reasonable grant” from the US State Department to do its dirty work.
What makes this letter all the more believable are the links between HRW and the Hillary Clinton mafia that have been the subject of a protest letter signed by several Nobel Peace Laureates. In particular, one Tom Malinowski who goes back and forth between being a speech writer for Hillary and a senior staff member at HRW.
Those of us in the Eritrean support community know Mr. Malinowski all to well for his history of vociferous slanders and other fabrications about Eritrea going back some 15 years or more. It would be all to easy for Malinowski to use his high level contacts in the Hillary Clinton State Department to arrange a “reasonable grant” for his cohorts in HRW and Amnesty International to carry out some undercover dirty work on behalf of Pax Americana.
Amnesty International and HRW are major corporations, with HRW being funded for several years now to the tune of $100 million a year by George Soros who has a long history of working with the US intel community in former Soviet Union republics ie the “Rose Revolution” in Georgia. Neither organization is “democratic” or transparent. The Board of Directors of both organizations elect themselves and answer only to the handful of 1%ers that fund their enormous budgets. No one can really tell you just how much and from where these human rights corporations get their funding from.
Has anyone ever seen an in depth audit of either of these outfits multimillion dollar operations budgets?
Hillary, Amnesty, HRW and regime change in Africa. Its about time such matters are being brought to the light of day.
Amnesty_International_Conspiracy_against_Eritrea_is_finally__documented_and_exposed-1
[Thomas C. Mountain has been living and reporting from Eritrea since 2006. He can be reached when he is somewhere that has access to the
internet at thomascmountain at gmail dot com or more successfully by mobile at 2917175665.]
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Avaaz Hones In On Burundi as Next U.S. Fait Accompli
Wrong Kind of Green Nov 18, 2015 Avaaz, Center for American Progress, Human Rights Watch, Humanitarian Agencies, Imperialist Wars/Occupations, NED | National Endowment for Democracy, Social Engineering, Whiteness & Aversive Racism
By Cory Morningstar
Beautiful Burundi, “the Beating Heart of Africa” is situated almost in the centre of Africa with a shape like a heart. It’s located between Congo, Tanzania and Rwanda. Burundi is home to the Lake Tanganyika which is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia.
United Nations Development Program Press Release, October 30, 2012: “The normalization of political life has been a remarkable achievement in Burundi, said Rosine Sori-Coulibaly, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General in Burundi. Burundi’s remarkable development achievements are coming just seven years after the civil war ended… free, fair and peaceful elections took place in 2005 and 2010 and safety and security has been reinforced across the entire national territory.”
“Burundi holds 6 percent of the world’s nickel reserves, with Musongati ranked as one of the 10 largest known deposits of the metal that have yet to be developed… The East African nation produces small amounts of tantalum, gold, limestone, niobium, tin and tungsten and also has deposits of copper, the U.S. Geological Survey says on its website.” [Bloomberg Business, June 23, 2014]
Above: Avaaz Burundi campaign echos the organizations previous campaigns calling for immediate sanctions and interventions in both Libya and Syria while simultaneously demonizing the leaders of the targeted countries for destabilization. From the petition: “But there’s time to stop another tragedy, if we intervene right now.” [emphasis in original] [Source]
Avaaz Co-Founder Tom Perriello
On July 6, 2015 it was announced by the U.S. State Department that Avaaz co-founder Tom Perriello would be fulfilling his role for the expansion of U.S. imperialism as special envoy for the African Great Lakes region and the Congo-Kinshasa:
“Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday that former Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.) will serve as the Obama administration’s special envoy for the Great Lakes region of Africa, an appointment that covers Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.”
November 6, 2015:
“He will communicate the U.S. government’s alarm at violence by government and non-government actors inside of Burundi, and the recent dangerous rhetoric by the Burundian government…” [U.S. Department of State Press Release: Special Envoy Thomas Perriello’s Travel to Burundi and the Great Lakes Region, Source]
U.S. President Barack Obama with Avaaz co-founder and (former) U.S. Representative Tom Perriello. “Perriello is a former U.S. Representative (represented the 5th District of Virginia from 2008 to 2010) and a founding member of the House Majority Leader’s National Security Working Group.” [Further reading: Imperialist Pimps of Militarism, Protectors of the Oligarchy, Trusted Facilitators of War | Part II, Section I, Sept, 24, 2012]
Above: “Butcher of the Great Lakes” President of Rwanda Paul Kagame with Tom Perriello, US Special Envoy for Great Lakes Region – Kigali, August 19, 2015 [Photo Source]
Mineral Wealth and Political Leverage
Intimate relations: President Obama with his National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Samantha Power, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, June 5, 2013. From 2005-2006 Power worked in the office of U.S. Senator Barack Obama as a foreign policy fellow, where she was credited with sparking and directing Obama’s interest in the Darfur conflict. [Source: Rolling Stone]
Nov 8, 2015: Will the West Create its Next Failed State in Burundi?
‘After Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza’s ultimatum to insurrectionists to lay down their arms, US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power, and the International Crisis Group, a think tank headed by Western military, government and corporate officials, warned of massacres like those in Rwanda in 1994. In contrast, Charles Kambanda, Rwandan American attorney and former professor at the National University of Rwanda, describes the conflict as political and its larger context as an East/West power struggle for resources.
Charles Kambanda: What is really happening in Burundi is no different than what happened in DRC, in Congo. We have these multinational corporations, Western corporations, fighting for natural resources in that region. The best way for these companies to conquer these natural resources is to create a situation where no government is in control. Burundi is now known for a type of natural resource called nickel and they say six percent of the world’s nickel is in Burundi. And if we want to remember the geography of that region, Burundi borders with Congo, and Congo, the other side, is so rich in minerals. So we have these corporations fighting to control Burundi, to create a failed state in Burundi, so that they can get involved in illegal business in that region.” [Source]
The role of Avaaz, Purpose Inc. (the for-profit PR arm of Avaaz), and Avaaz co-founders in U.S./E.U. led destabilizations/invasions across the globe is now extensively documented. Burundi serves as a rinse, rather, repeat performance, only with far less notoriety/interest.
Video: April 11, 2015: Démonstration de force en faveur du 3ème mandat de Nkurunziza. Massive and entirely peaceful demonstrations by hundreds of thousands of government supporters have been completely ignored. [Source]
May 16, 2015, Are the US and the EU Sponsoring Terrorism in Burundi?
“The US-funded media disinformation campaign is part of the prelude to the mobilization of street protests against the government that can be presented to the world as a ‘popular uprising’against a ‘dictator’ who is ‘killing his own people’ It is a techinique that has been perfected by US ‘democracy’and ‘civil society’ NGOS….
In the case of Burundi, the African Union should have denounced the diabolical terrorist and media disinformation campaign against a young democratic country which has just emerged from a civil war. The fact that they did not shows that they have sided with the enemies of Africa. It is hardly surprising that truly independent, post-colonial countries such as Eritrea will have nothing to do with the sham called the African Union.”[Source]
October 3, 2015, Burundi Accuses Rwanda of Training Rebels for Cross Border Attacks
Kagame and his team want to provoke a genocide in Burundi: “Kagame and his team want to provoke a genocide in Burundi in order to put in power in Burundi the same group as the group which is in Rwanda. Everybody can see that. It is not complicated to see…. this would be the fourth Hutu president assassinated in this region since 1993.” [Source]
Feb 21, 2014: U.S. State Department announces Perriello’s departure from the Center for American Progress:
“Former Rep. Tom Perriello is leaving the Center for American Progress to head the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and development Review, which analyzes U.S. diplomatic and development efforts abroad.”
Turns out Perriello, and Secretary of State John F. Kerry go back a long way. Perriello, then a 22-year-old, worked on Kerry’s 1996 Senate campaign, working on getting out the environmental vote. Seems they began private talks nearly a year ago about Perriello’s coming over to the State Department. [Source]
While Avaaz stokes the fear of “another Rwanda” it is critical to note the role of the Center for American Progress to which Perriello recently served as both president and CEO, in the Rwandan Genocide. ” The simple tale of good and evil was told to the world by Samantha Power” [Source: The Deluge Film Press Release]
Human rights investigator and award-winning journalist Keith Harmon Snow, describing the U.S. Center for American Progress and its use of propaganda in portraying Africa in order to protect and further U.S. interests/ foreign policy objectives. Within the lecture, Snow discusses the psyops/propaganda strategically orchestrated behind the “Save Darfur” campaigns/movements which, in 2004, began to saturate the populace. At the helm of this “movement” was “The Center for American Progress”.
The Center for American Progress, is closely connected with the same players that founded and financed Avaaz. Today, with Avaaz at the forefront, the non-profit industrial complex has been appointed trusted messenger of a grotesque and disturbing ideology; nothing less than a complete reflection and validation of the U.S. administration’s rhetoric intended to justify the annihilation and occupation of sovereign states under the false pretense of “humanitarian intervention” and “responsibility to protect”.
December 29, 2004: “Over two days in early December approximately three-dozen religious activists met at the Washington office of the Center for American Progress, a recently formed think tank headed by former Clinton chief of staff John Podesta. The Res Publica-driven agenda for the closed-door gathering included sessions on “building the movement infrastructure” and “objectives, strategies and core issues.”
Res Publica was founded by Tom Perriello, Ricken Patel and Tom Pravda.
Avaaz was founded by Res Publica, MoveOn.org, Executive Director Ricken Patel, Tom Perriello, Tom Pravda, Eli Pariser (MoveOn Executive Director), Andrea Woodhouse (consultant to the World Bank) Jeremy Heimans (co-founder of GetUp! and Purpose), and Australian entrepreneur David Madden (co-founder of GetUp and Purpose) who is the spouse of Woodhouse. Both Madden and Woodhouse took up residence in Burma [Myanmar] [March 23, 2013: Western Media Celebrates Faux Progress in Myanmar] Madden has co-founded a marketing firm, Parami Road in Myanmar: “Our clients are mostly international companies entering Myanmar and they demand an international standard of work.”
Avaaz co-founder Tom Perriello served as president and CEO of Center for American Progress from December 2011 to to February 2014.
Perriello and Patel also co-founded and co-directed DarfurGenocide.org which officially launched in 2004.
“DarfurGenocide.org is a project of Res Publica, a group of public sector professionals dedicated to promoting good governance and virtuous civic cultures.” Today, this organization is now known as “Darfurian Voices”: “Darfurian Voices is a project of 24 Hours for Darfur.” The U.S. Department of State and the Open Society Institute were just two of the organizations funders and collaborating partners. Other Darfurian Voices partners include Avaaz, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), International Centre for Transitional Justice, Darfur Rehabilitation Project, Humanity United, Darfur People’s Association of New York, Genocide Intervention, Witness, Yale Law School, The Sigrid Rausing Trust and the Bridgeway Foundation.
Despite the carefully crafted language and images that tug at your emotions, such NGOs were created for and exist for one primary purpose — to protect and further American policy and interests, under the guise of philanthropy and humanitarianism. Of all the listed partners of DarfurGenocide.org, with exception of one located in London England, all of the entities involved are American and based on US soil. [Source]
Empire is Closing on on Burundi
Today the Obama administration is frothing at the mouth over the imperial capture of Burundi.
November 15, 2015:
To view video, click above screenshot.
Like clockwork, simultaneously, we witness the non-profit industrial complex, key instrument of empire, targeting Burundi for sanctions:
November 12, 2015 Joint NGO Statement Urging Coordinated Global Response to the Escalating Human Rights Crisis in Burundi”:
“Speaking to the UN Security Council, Adama Dieng, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, expressed his alarm at the “inflammatory and threatening language” being used in Burundi, noting that some of it was “very similar to language used before and during the genocide of the Tutsis in Rwanda.” Dieng warned that Burundi “appears on the verge of a descent into violence that could escalate into atrocity crimes,” adding that “the international community has a responsibility to protect Burundians.” The High Commissioner underscored this urgency, recommending “all possible influence must be brought to bear to halt what may be an imminent catastrophe.”
Preventive diplomacy should be more than a slogan at the United Nations. It should be brought to life through decisive action aimed at preventing serious human rights violations and crimes under international law in cases like Burundi where, as the High Commissioner noted, “member states and the Security Council can intervene effectively to prevent the repetition of past horrors.” [emphasis added]
This statement was signed by the the usual NGOs must subservient to empire: Amnesty International, Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, Human Rights Watch, International Crisis Group (ICG), and International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
In 2007, ICG and Human Rights Watch were key players in the development of the Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect in cooperation with prominent governments, NGOs and academia. The George Soros Open Society Foundation is the primary donor of the Human Rights Watch, contributing $100 million of $128 million of contributions and grants received by the HRW in the 2011 financial year.
Perriello is a supporter of the U.S. / E.U. led “War on Terror,” a fabricated psyops, which was and continues to be an essential component to unleash a new wave of wars, invasions and occupations.
The mythology of Avaaz as a force for “good” can only be matched by the mythology that continues to shroud the facts behind the Rwandan Genocide – the very myths that Avaaz co-founders helped propagate. Myths created to obscure a Western superpower that continues to manipulate every crisis it creates.
A western superpower that strategically utilizes the non-profit industrial complex, bankrolling it to the tune of trillions.
“So, the key question now is this: Can Burundi defy the Empire and protect its people from carpet bombing called ‘humanitarian intervention’, a terrorist invasion called ‘liberation’, a military coup called ‘transitional government’ and a possible genocide where once again the victims will be blamed?”– Gearoid O Colmain, May 16, 2015 [Source]
The Deluge is a film in progress, undertaken to reveal the truth about invasions, insurgencies, and civil wars that have engulfed the Great Lakes Region of Africa, most of all Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, during the past 20 years.
[Cory Morningstar is an independent investigative journalist, writer and environmental activist, focusing on global ecological collapse and political analysis of the non-profit industrial complex. She resides in Canada. Her recent writings can be found on Wrong Kind of Green, The Art of Annihilation and Counterpunch. Her writing has also been published by Bolivia Rising and Cambio, the official newspaper of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. You can support her independent journalism via Patreon.]
Edited with Forrest Palmer, Wrong Kind of Green Collective.
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Garth Brooks Announces Minneapolis Date for 2019 Stadium Tour
Sterling Whitaker
Rick Diamond, Getty Images
Garth Brooks will return to Minneapolis as part of his upcoming 2019 run of stadium shows. The country icon has announced a performance set for Saturday, May 4, at U.S. Bank Stadium at 7PM.
Tickets for Brooks' Minneapolis gig are slated to go on sale Friday, Dec. 14, at 10AM CT, with an eight-ticket limit per purchase. All seats will be available exclusively via Ticketmaster online, or by calling Ticketmaster Express at either 1-866-448-7849 or 1-800-745-3000. There will be no sales at the venue box office or Ticketmaster outlets on Dec. 14. All seats will cost a total of $94.95.
The Minneapolis date is part of a massive stadium tour that will find Brooks performing in 10-12 stadiums each year for the next three years. It marks Brooks' first performance in the area in more than four years.
He revealed his plans for the tour at a press conference at the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville in October. Brooks is set to launch the tour with a concert at the Dome at America's Center in St. Louis on Saturday, March 9, and he's also announced dates for Pittsburgh and Gainesville. The upcoming shows are all being staged in the round.
On Dec. 2, CBS aired a concert special titled Garth: Live at Notre Dame!, which was recorded at a massive show Brooks recently sold out at Notre Dame Football Stadium. The gig marked the first-ever musical performance in that venue.
See the 5 Best Moments from Garth's Show at Notre Dame
Brooks recently released The Anthology Part III, Live, giving fans an intimate look at his three-year comeback world tour. The anthology includes behind-the-scenes stories, interviews with his crew and band members and other inside glimpses. The 5-CD project includes 52 live recordings, photographs that have never been published before and more. The project also includes Brooks' new live album, Triple Live.
Brooks has also just released a studio version of his new song, "Stronger Than Me," which he debuted in a much-anticipated performance during the 2018 CMA Awards on Nov. 14. The emotional song is dedicated to his wife, Trisha Yearwood.
Garth Brooks Songs Ranked Worst to First:
Source: Garth Brooks Announces Minneapolis Date for 2019 Stadium Tour
Filed Under: Garth Brooks
Categories: Live Country Music
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Senate Torture Report Gives Horrifying View into the American Torture Regime
© Josh Sager – December 2014
For years, the world has known that the United States is a nation that committed the war crime of torture during our nation’s “war on terror.” Numerous Bush officials have come out in defense of their use of “enhanced interrogation,” during which they have argued that waterboarding, stress positions, isolation and temperature extremes are perfectly acceptable techniques for interrogators that don’t constitute torture.
Put simply, the law disagrees, and the United States has prosecuted individuals for using those tactics on our soldiers in the past (including several Japanese Officers who we executed for waterboarding American POWs during WWII). Renaming torture “enhanced interrogation” is simply a rhetorical flourish that does nothing to mitigate the inhumanity and criminality of the practice.
Unfortunately, while we knew a little bit about US torture program, it appears that we didn’t know the full scope of our nations’ crimes. Just this week, the Senate released a redacted version of its comprehensive torture investigation—with this report, we get a much more comprehensive view of the CIA’s interrogation activities which paints a much worse picture than previously envisioned.
The Torture Report
Arguably the worst revelations that came from this report are the terribly inhumane types of torture used. New types of torture revealed in the report include the following:
Multiple detainees were “rectally infused” with nutrients when there was no medical reason to do so. In short, the CIA pureed food into a liquid, shoved a plastic tube into the rectums of detainees, and pumped that food into their intestines as high pressure. Given how painful oral force-feeding is, one can only imagine how terrible this practice is. By any legal definition, this is a form of forcible sodomy and a certain war crime.
Interrogators threatened detainees’ families—including their mothers and children—with rape and murder if they didn’t talk.
Detainees were kept awake for up to 180 hours, often in stress positions or in cramped spaces with loud music blaring. Sleep deprivation is extremely dangerous and can cause a variety of disorders including heart failure, psychosis, and brain damage.
Interrogators put detainees in a series of scenarios that threatened death, including forced games of Russian roulette and mock burials.
Detainees with broken or otherwise injured feet were chained with their hands raised above their head so that they were forced to stand for hours at a time.
In addition to these inhuman torture methods, we now know that the CIA didn’t just torture people during interrogations, but as a matter of routine and a type of punishment. They tortured detainees before asking them any questions to “soften them up” and as a punishment for any perceived disrespect. Two times, the CIA even accidentally tortured CIA informants who had a history of assisting the agency, simply because they reflexively tortured new detainees. By the CIA’s own assessment, at least a fifth of these detainees were entirely innocent.
Some CIA officials were concerned by the torture regime that they were expected to participate in, but they were directed specifically by the CIA leadership to continue the program. This demonstrates that at least a few lower-level CIA agents on-site had consciences, but that the power structure of the organization was dead-set on implementing their torture regime.
In order to facilitate their use of torture, the CIA and White House conspired to conceal this torture program from anybody who would provide pushback. In addition to selectively leaking deceptive documents to the media, the CIA was directed by top-level White House officials to conceal the torture program’s existence from the State Department and Colin Powel (both were considered unlikely to support torture). The CIA went as far as to conceal the details of its torture program from the oversight committees that theoretically provide accountability to their actions.
Ramifications of the Report
From a legal sense, the Senate torture report should create an incontrovertible need to prosecute the perpetrators of these crimes in domestic court or to send them abroad to face international charges. According to both domestic and international law, torture is illegal and there is no option for a nation to simply disregard the law.
The USA is a signatory to the UN’s Convention Against Torture, the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Geneva Conventions—all of these international agreements ban torture and mandate severe legal consequences for the offenders.
Even if domestic prosecutors decline to file charges against these torturers, we are bound by treaty to hand over torturers to international authorities to face their crimes. They are not protected by executive immunity, nor are they able to hide behind the chain of command.
If Obama had any moral credibility, he would detain Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and every other link in the chain of command down to the individual torturers, and then send them to The Hague to face charges. To facilitate this, he should send an un-redacted version of the report with these torturers and give the courts access to all of the source documents that were used by the Senate staff to write their report.
Given their clear admissions of ordering torture (ex. Bush admitting his knowledge of waterboarding during media appearances and in his book), I see no way for most of these torturers to escape conviction and would fully expect them to be sentences to decades in prison.
Unfortunately, Obama is a coward and self-interested politician who will never take this principled stand. Not only does he fear the political ramifications of these prosecutions, but he also wouldn’t want to set a precedent where presidents can be arrested for violating international law (this is particularly important in his case, as his drone program is arguably criminal). The release of this report has stirred up a lot of anger, but that will pass from the mainstream eye as the next shiny political distraction occurs and the media loses interest. In all likelihood, these torturers will escape all responsibility and justice will never be served.
Every American should be outraged at this torture, as it was done in our names. Our elected officials have dishonored our nation, both by torturing and by protecting the torturers from criminal prosecution, and we are all tarred by association. At minimum, this stain will fuel even more anti-Americanism in the world, and, at worst, it will be the justification for the next 9/11.
The Cromnibus is a Bipartisan… →
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Story: Tertiary education
Universities before 1990
Polytechnics before 1990
Colleges of education before 1990
Tertiary sector reform from the 1980s
New tertiary providers and tertiary management
University buildings: University of Canterbury (2nd of 7)
The top image shows the main block of Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury). When classes first started at Canterbury College they were held in temporary accommodation. The main block, on Worcester Street in Christchurch, was designed by architect B. W. Mountfort and was completed in 1877. It was the first of a number of gothic-style buildings on the site. The university completed its move to a new campus at Ilam in 1975 and the Arts Centre of Christchurch Trust was formed to take over the buildings in 1978. Now collectively known as the Arts Centre, they were badly damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, but were expected to be repaired over several years.
The bottom photograph shows the School of Engineering at the University of Canterbury's Ilam campus, which was opened in October 1960 and first used at the beginning of 1961. It was designed by the official government architect, F. Gordon Wilson. This photograph is from around 1970.
Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury
Reference: 4770 (top); 4791 (bottom)
Permission of the Macmillan Brown Library, University of Canterbury, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
University buildings: Clocktower, University of Otago, 1878
University buildings: Arts Building, The University of Auckland, 1926
Kerryn Pollock, 'Tertiary education - Universities before 1990', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/34404/university-buildings-university-of-canterbury (accessed 20 July 2019)
Story by Kerryn Pollock, published 20 Jun 2012
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For Xbrlwiki (Talk | Block log | Logs)
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2018 (In)Justice For All Film Festival
October 04 — 13, 2018 Chicagoland, IL
Home Schedule Venue RSVP
Print the agenda for Thursday, October 04
Join us as the 4th Annual (In)Justice For All Film Festival kicks off with an opening reception as we pause for a few minutes to share our appreciation and celebrate all of the filmmakers, members of the festival team, our partner organizations from throughout Chicago, and our financial and media sponsors. These individuals and organizations are critical to our ability to hold this film festival, particularly at this scale, and we treasure their support. Light refreshments will be served.
OPENING NIGHT PROGRAM: SCREENING OF RIKERS: AN AMERICAN JAIL
This marks the 5th year for our festival and we hope you will join us for a short program recognizing the team that has made it all happen. In America there are three jails that stand out above all others in the sheer size of their operations, and the fear and terror they evoke - L.A. County, Cook County, and Riker's Island (in New York). We are please to be able to screen "Rikers," an excellent documentary that brings life in these jails up close and personal. Following the film we will be able to discuss the documentary in more detail with someone that has lived it.
Print the agenda for Friday, October 05
Meyer Auditorium
Performance Penthouse
THE EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE | RIKERS: AN AMERICAN JAIL | BANKSY’S HOTEL - THE SHADOW OF THE WALL
Across the country people are waking up to the myth that even if you are accused of a crime, you are “innocent until proven guilty.” In cities and counties from coast to coast, organizations are challenging the bond system that allows people to be held in jail until their court dates, in spite of the presumption of innocence. The Equal Justice Initiative is a short documentary on a powerful organization fighting for fairness in our criminal justice system on many fronts, while Rikers: An American Jail takes a look at the conditions so many “presumed innocent” men and women must live in. Finally, this will be the initial showing of Banksy’s Hotel – The Shadow of the Wall, a short film that shows the power of art to protest and challenge oppressive systems.
'63 BOYCOTT
In 1963, 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. Unseen 16mm film footage of the boycott is combined with insights from the original participants and present-day protesters against school closings. "’63 Boycott" connects the forgotten story of one of the largest northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, and youth activism.
SAY THAT! Spoken Word and Movie Night | IT’S JUST A GUN | AMERICA, I TOO | WASTED TALENT
This is sure to be one of the highlight events of the entire festival as we combine several short films and five incredible Spoken Word artists from across generations. Our Spoken Word line-up: The irrepressible singer, songwriter and educator, Maggie Brown Poet and National Youth Poet Laureate, Patricia Frazier Accomplished poet and member of the Young Chicago Authors, Jalen Kobayashi Trinity UCC's Senior Pastor, prophetic preacher extraordinaire, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III Speaker, blogger and poet, Kwyn "Kwynology" Riley "It’s Just A Gun" examines one of the many chapters involved in the life of a gun as a .38 caliber Smith and Wesson revolver is found by a young man, Gabe. "America, I Too", shares the interconnected stories of three arrested and detained immigrants as they navigate the system in their attempts to prevent being deported. Finally, "Wasted Talent" tells the story of struggle as a homeless fifteen-year-old tries to balance school and finding a place to sleep.
Print the agenda for Saturday, October 06
Wright Chapel
GNCC
DRUGS AS WEAPONS
This film covers the CIA's involvement in drug trafficking and the promotion of drugs for social control. It details evidence of the CIA's Project MK-Ultra manipulating musicians and activists to promote drugs. It also details evidence of U.S. intelligence "neutralizing" these figures when they sobered up. It further shows the evidence that U.S. intelligence mostly targeted anti-war and anti-racism activists, such as leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Black Panthers. The musicians it covers include Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kurt Cobain, Tupac Shakur, Janis Joplin, and The Rolling Stones, among others.
PORONGOS MANIFEST | CAGED | LIFE AFTER LIFE
Many don’t know that Brazil is home to the largest population of Africans in Diaspora of any nation, nearly 56 million. In "Porongos Manifest," featuring Brazilian hip hop group Rafuagi, the story of the Farroupilha Revolution, where black people put their lives on the line for freedom, the true story of the Prorongos Massacre is told. And, in the film Caged, we witness a bizarre and torturous “solution” to overcrowding in the Brazilian prison system. Following these films, Maria Drell, co-founder and director of the Brazilian Cultural Center of Chicago, will discuss the implications of the films, as well as provide insights into the current state of affairs in Brazil. This film session will end with the screening of Life After Life, a film that shows the true life struggles of three men, who after extensive prison terms, set out to prove that success can lie on the other side of tragedy. Their stories unfold years and we are witness to the precarious nature of freedom after incarnation in the U.S.
UNHEARD | CAGED | TULSA | DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE | UNCAGED | GREY MATTER
Unheard finds us amidst the depths of a mother’s despair, as in her grief she finds her voice to challenge the forces of injustice and inspire hope. In Caged, as their prison system explodes beyond capacity, Brazil officials develop an innovative new method to torture inmates. An insane idea yields a horrible result. Uncaged looks at a community of men inside California State Prison who are dedicated to higher education and its transforming ability. In Tulsa we are provided with an international, cross-cultural perspective of the destruction of the thriving Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921. Down The Rabbit Hole explores the mental distortion caused by colorism amidst a drive for perfection, as Rachel struggles to maintain her sanity. And, in Gray Matter we experience an advanced writing cohort inside of Oklahoma’s largest maximum security prison.
RETURNING TO LIFE
This film follows several felons recently released from the U.S. federal prison system. As part of efforts to reform sentencing for non-violent drug offenders, these individuals were selected to participate in an early release program and "Return to Life" spends almost a year with six of them. The film includes rare access to federal court judges and probation officers, footage shot inside a federal prison and of a cognitive behavior therapy group, as it follows the successes and failures of these individuals. It offers insight into the struggles faced by men and women who got caught up in America’s war on drugs. and explores how they got involved in drug dealing, their experiences inside prison, and the difficulties they faced trying to return to a rust-belt city as people labeled as felons. Molly Merryman, the director, will be here to discuss making the film and the people she met in the process.
CIRCLE UP
After the brutal slaying of her teenage son, Janet Connors reaches out to her son’s killer to offer a chance for forgiveness. They team up with a group of mothers of murdered children to help young people in their community break the chain of violence and revenge. "Circle Up" is a call to action, for reframing approaches to crime and punishment through the lens of restorative justice, forgiveness, and accountability.
Constant news in the international and national media, the "Presidio Central" at Porto Alegre is the focus of the documentary "Central." Through reports of the prisoners, military police and visitors, "Central" shows the everyday hard reality of the prison, which was denounced for human rights violations and defined as the "The Dungeon of 21 Century." by the CPI of the Brazilian prison system.
Print the agenda for Sunday, October 07
FUCC
SP&RC
BREATHIN', THE EDDY ZHENG STORY
Arrested at 16 and tried as an adult for kidnapping and robbery, Eddy Zheng served over 20 years in California prisons and jails. This is an intimate portrait of Eddy—the prisoner, the immigrant, the son, the activist—on his journey to freedom, rehabilitation and redemption. While in prison, Eddy learned English, earned his college degree, published his poetry, and transformed into a nationally recognized leader—inspiring youth, activists, and politicians on issues of prison reform and youth violence prevention. Despite being released from immigration custody in 2007, Eddy has been ordered deported to China and awaits the final court decision. With the looming possibility of deportation, Eddy must negotiate what it means to “live freely”—attempting to rebuild a family, reconcile with his victims, and make a lasting change in society at large.
THE MAYOR’S RACE
A mixed-race child, Marvin grew up with his single mother in Bristol's ghettos in the UK with prostitution, violence and poverty on a daily occurrence. Ever since, Marvin had the desire to go against the injustices he experienced and decides to run for mayor. Despite his charisma and intellect, his biggest battle is believing anyone will take this black guy from the ghetto serious. Bristol was part of the slave trade, was struck by a civil rights movement in the 1960's inspired by Martin Luther King, and had the black youth revolting in the 1980's, which caused a nationwide riot. Will he manage to break the circle of history and become the first mayor of African descent of a city in Europe?
BORN BEHIND BARS
Prisons are for punishment. And as part of the price they pay, incarcerated mothers lose the right to bring up their children in the outside world. In India, children can accompany their mothers in prison till they are 6. Kranti, a little boy of 5 was born in prison. His mother lives here and so do his friends. The film offers a passage into the lost world of children living inside prison walls for no fault of their own and their tentative journey to make sense of it despite the odds.
MRS. MONICA MOSS PRESENTS: CALIFORNIA’S FORGOTTEN CHILDREN
Join 1st Lady, Monica Moss as she hosts California's Forgotten Children, a feature documentary about child sex trafficking. The film recounts true stories of girls and boys who were commercially sexually exploited in California and are now survivors and courageous leaders fighting for the rights of victims worldwide. Following the film there will be a lively discussion facilitated by Mrs. Moss featuring Brenda Myers-Powell, Executive Director and Co-Founder of The Dreamcatcher Foundation, Shalini Mirpuri, Prevention Manager, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation, and Laura Ng, Executive Director, Traffick Free.
Print the agenda for Monday, October 08
SEIU-HC
TULSA | AMERICA, I TOO | DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE | THE EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE
"Tulsa" provides a new perspective on the tragic events in 1921 as Iranian director Seyyed Parviz Shojaei looks at the destruction of the black community there through the eyes two young boys, one black, one black. In "America, I Too" we follow three immigrants of different backgrounds, as they struggle to remain in the United States. "Down The Rabbit Hole" explores the issue of colorism as two friends are pushed to the edge trying to come to terms with what it means to be black versus brown. And, in "The Equal Justice Initiative" we are introduced to Bryan Stevenson’s ground breaking work for the unjustly imprisoned.
International Film Screenings with Milos Stehlik: ASSIA | PALE WHITE | TAKE OFF | SEVA: THE SELFLESS MISSION | BANKSY’S HOTEL
Every year this festival has been blessed with incredible international films from as far away as Thailand, South Africa, and India. This wonderful short film program has been created from among the international films we selected for the festival this year, two from an Afghani director filming in Iran, from an English director in the Palestinian West Bank, about an English Sikh working with the homeless in London, and from French director Malika Zairi. These films take us away from our comfortable homes and transport us to other parts of the human sphere so that we can see the humanity in everyone. For these film screenings we are excited to have Milos Stehlik, Director of Facets Multi-Media, and renown film commentator on Worldview, on WBEZ Chicago Public Radio. He is an avid international film fan and will provide interesting commentary and Q&A with the audience.
ART AS RESISTANCE Film Series: BANKSY’S HOTEL | EXPOSING POLITICS | GENTRIFICATION | ALL THEY KNOW IS SHOOT | WINGLESS | BALANCE | DRAWN TOGETHER: COMICS, DIVERSITY, AND STEREOTYPES
You don't want to miss this incredible collection of films that either directly, or by way of story telling, show the power and impact of artists as they use their mediums to challenge the power structures of the world. From the incredible Banksy's Hotel, that tells the story of a West Bank hotel that proudly proclaims it has "worst view in the world," to the stark and brutal assessment of the political landscape of the United States depicted in Exposing Politics, or the government's "neighborhood improvement" programs, that may be unwanted, discussed on Gentrification, these are stories of art as resistance. We'll be screening All I Know is Shoot, an Anti-Police Brutality music video and Wingless, an incredibly powerful animated film on what it means to be assimilated. In Balance, we are left to consider the costs and "benefits" of war. And, in Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity, and Stereotypes, American societies pervasive culture of stereotypes is exposed through the lens of comics and their dynamic c
Print the agenda for Tuesday, October 09
Brooks Library, Room 310
Daley 214
FABRIC OF AMERICA | GENTRIFICATION | THE ALIEN TRAIL
When the developers roll into your neighborhood promising new, upgrades, expansions, refreshed, and improved the first question to ask is who asked for it, and who is it for. Gentrification tells the story of the trauma caused when neighborhoods are disrupted. There are many reasons that people strike out for new lands, leaving their homes behind. It could be economic, danger, or war. Unfortunately developed countries have become increasingly xenophobic, and immigrants are less and less welcome each year. The Alien Trail follows four photographers as they capture with their lens the migrant and refugee population in the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus. And, in The Fabric of America, the challenges of living in America without proper documentation is explored, from many sides, revealing the complexity and controversy, and showing how the issues manifest locally, in Montgomery County, Maryland.
TIGER NUT
A worldwide trade war has broken out over the control and distribution of the new healthy Super Food, tiger nuts, which will soon be a part of all healthy diets. An investigation uncovers a plot of international corruption and abuses around the production of tiger nuts by European and American companies exploiting African resources. "Tiger Nut" shows the encouraging response of thousands of families resisting this attempt to control their resources through initiatives such as the Mousso Faso cooperative.
SCHOOL ME! | UNCAGED | INMATE TO INDIVIDUALS | GREY MATTER | BROKEN ENGLISH | SEARED | EL MURO ENTRE NO
Three of these films provide perspectives on prison education: "School Me" takes us inside a college for prisoners, within a prison; "Uncaged" takes a look into a community of men inside California State Prison who are dedicated to higher education and its transformative ability, and; "Gray Matter" explores an advanced writing cohort inside Oklahoma's largest maximum security prison for women. "Inmate to Individuals" follows Real Chi Youth Reporter, Kwyn Townsend Riley as she talks with Colette Payne, a returning citizen from Chicago’s Southside. "El Muro Entre Nostros" gives us a glimpse of a woman trying to turn her life around after prison, only to be rejected for a job because of her troubled past. "Broken English" tells the story of Jose Lopez, a student that is driven to challenge himself, only to find that the system doesn’t appreciate or respect confidence and initiative. And in "Seared" another young man goes from a potential suicide, to a life with hope as he enters a career as a chef.
Print the agenda for Wednesday, October 10
Faculty Lounge
NIEU-EC
FBCUP
Highlighting Returning Citizens: PERCEPTION: FROM PRISON TO PURPOSE | FROM STATE PRISONER TO STATE PROFESSOR | COUNTERSTORY: AFTER INCARCERATION
This is a trinity of triumphant stories, and road maps, for returning citizens as each of these films takes us on a slightly different journey from prison to productive citizenry. In "Perception: From Prison to Purpose" we hear the story of the transformation of Noah Schultz who goes from gang member and drug dealer, to college grad, author, and TEDx speaker. "From State Prisoner to State Professor" we meet Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, once a state prisoner, who has transitioned from his old lifestyle to become a well-respected state professor at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale "Counter story: After Incarceration" focuses on the challenges of re-entry presented through the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated college students and college faculty.
Immigration Stories: THE FABRIC OF AMERICA | THE ALIEN TRIAL | AMERICA, I TOO | BROKEN ENGLISH
These timely films cover immigration challenges from a variety of angles: "The Alien Trail" follows four photographers as they capture with their lens the migrant and refugee population in the Mediterranean Island of Cyprus. In "The Fabric of America," the challenges of living in America without proper documentation is explored, from many sides, revealing the complexity and controversy, and showing how the issues manifest locally, in Montgomery County, Maryland. In "America, I Too" we follow three immigrants of different backgrounds, as they struggle to remain in the United States. Finally, "Broken English" tells the story of Jose Lopez, a student that is driven to challenge himself, only to find that the system doesn’t appreciate or respect confidence and initiative.
UNHEARD | BLACK AND BLUE | EVERYTHING WAS HAPPINESS | A RETURN
In "Unheard," amidst the depths of despair, a grieving mother finds her voice to challenge the forces of injustice and inspire hope. "Black and Blue" is the story of a marine, returning from Afghanistan, struggling with PTSD, and finding out a cop has profiled and killed one of his younger friends. When the two finally meet a conversation goes awry with dark consequences. In "Everything Was Happiness" a family struggles to temper grief with hope nearly twenty years after the incarceration of their eldest son. Sometimes coming home from prison brings all of the pain of the experience to the surface for families, as we witness in "A Return."
Returning Citizens Track: ON THE OUTS: REENTRY FOR INMATES WITH DISABILITIES | SEARED | FROM STATE PRISONER TO STATE PROFESSOR
Living a normal life can be a struggle, but rebuilding your life after serving time in American prisons, wearing the scarlet letter “F” (felon) as you look for housing, education opportunities, or a job, increases life’s challenges exponentially. All of these films depict real life examples of those struggles, and some victories. In "On The Outs: Reentry For Inmates With Disabilities" we follow three inmates with various disabilities – vision impairment, brain injury, and mental illness – from prison, to their release dates, and their challenges with life on the outside. "Seared" is the story of a young man’s plan for suicide, as he has been beaten down by injustice and a life of crime, and his turnaround toward a life of renewed hope and passionate career as a chef. Finally, "From State Prisoner To State Professor" tells the story of Najjar Abudul-Musawwir, once a state prisoner, and his transition to a well-respected profession at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
From the Archive: PRESUMED INNOCENT
A look at pretrial detention at the House of Detention for Men at Rikers Island jail. Interviews with inmates, corrections officers, judges and criminal justice officials provide a detailed perspective on historical conditions of one of America's notorious jails.
"Unheard" finds us amidst the depths of a mother’s despair, as in her grief she finds her voice to challenge the forces of injustice and inspire hope. In "Caged," as their prison system explodes beyond capacity, Brazil officials develop an innovative new method to torture inmates. An insane idea yields a horrible result. "Uncaged" looks at a community of men inside California State Prison who are dedicated to higher education and its transforming ability. In "Tulsa" we are provided with an international, cross-cultural perspective of the destruction of the thriving Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921. "Down The Rabbit Hole" explores the mental distortion caused by colorism amidst a drive for perfection, as Rachel struggles to maintain her sanity. And, in "Gray Matter" we experience an advanced writing cohort inside of Oklahoma’s largest maximum security prison.
IN THE EXECUTIONERS SHADOW | THE SANDMAN
"In the Executioner’s Shadow" tackles tough issues of justice, injustice, and capital punishment. It casts a penetrating look at the consequences of the death penalty through three powerful personal narratives. One pro. One con. And the rarely heard perspective of a former executioner who reveals an astonishing story.
SRB CC
Sanctuary Cafe
SSCC
THE GENTLEMAN BANK ROBBER
Rita "bo" brown is a white, working-class butch from rural Oregon who became known as The Gentleman Bank Robber for combining her butch style of dress with a polite way of demanding funds from bank tellers. Part of the George Jackson Brigade, a revolutionary prison abolitionist group operating in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, Brown helped fund operations through her bank-robbing activities. Weaving life in present-day Oakland, where Brown now resides, with retelling of events, interviews with collaborators, and archival materials, Perini weaves together a touching look at a woman who has led a life committed to activism while maintaining a delightful sense of humor and humanity.
A CELEBRATION OF 1ST DEFENSE LEGAL AID and A NEW APPROACH TO MENTAL HEALTH | BLACK AND BLUE | UNHEARD | EL MURO ENTRE NOSOTROS
This year we are so happy to celebrate 1st Defense Legal Aid(FDLA), with an evening of food, films, and fantastic information. For over 20 years the FDLA has served Chicago citizens, providing attorneys – 24 hours a day/7 days a week – for those arrested and in custody, at the police station. They also are a street education powerhouse, training thousands of citizens on their rights when they are stopped or questioned by police. And, since this is a film festival, there will be films! "A New Approach to Mental Health" shows how a black psychologist is focusing his practice on the unique needs of black men. In "Black and Blue" we witness how easily situations can go awry as a Marine, struggling with PTSD, discovers a police officer has killed one of his younger friends. In "Unheard," a grieving mother finds her voice to challenge the forces of injustice and inspire hope. And , in "El Muro Entre Nosotros," a young woman finds that her felony past is not easy to escape as she is rejected for a job.
1950: THE NATIONALIST UPRISING
Five Puerto Ricans who participated in the Nationalist Uprising of 1950 to free Puerto Rico from the United States of America, speak about the history of this forgotten struggle and the consequences in their lives. As America continues to neglect Puerto Rico, this film is particularly relevant.
MPT - 1025 Pleasant
Euclid Ave. UMC
DRAWN TOGETHER: COMICS, DIVERSITY, AND STEREOTYPES
"Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity and Stereotypes" looks at the pervasive culture of racist stereotyping in U.S. society through the lens of comics and their dynamic creators. Conversations with three story tellers and comic illustrators provides humor amidst the irony of the racial and political subjects they create comics about.
WOMEN'S MARCH | TAKE OFF
"Women's March" is a story about democracy, human rights, and what it means to stand up for your values in America today. On January 21, 2017, hundreds of thousands of women marched on Washington, DC. That same day, hundreds of sister marches took place across the country and around the world. Shot on location in San Francisco, Oakland, Boston, and Washington D.C., the film explores several women’s motivation to march. For some people, it was their first time marching. For others, it was the continuation of a decades-long fight for human rights, dignity, and justice. For all, it was an opportunity to make their voices heard. It grew into the largest one-day protest in American history. Take Off zooms us half way around the world to Iran where a couple in Iran are trying to arrange to drive a car, legally, but challenges await.
EVERYTHING WAS HAPPINESS | A RETURN
Once you've served your time, the day comes when you are released and whenever possible, brothers or sisters want to return to the home they left. This can, and often is a a challenge. "Everything Was Happiness" is the story of a family struggling to temper grief with hope, nearly twenty years after the incarceration of their elder son. In "A Return," a daughter is angry that her father has returned from prison.
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DAY OF ACTION: "WHAT TO DO WHEN A LOVED IS ARRESTED" TRAINING PROGRAM and A CALL TO ACTION | FEARLESS
The Next Movement has held a number of community forums that provide information to families on what they should expect if one day they get a call from a loved one that someone they love has been arrested. We want to make this information more broadly available in our community, so this session will focus on training individuals on how to facilitate a community forum themselves. LUNCH BEGINS AT 11:30. As with all other events we will be showing movies too! In "A Call To Action," a teenage activist shows the misunderstanding and meaning behind the Black Lives Matter movement through her student led organization. "Fearless" is a documentary short focused on 10,000 Fearless men and women who are determined to empower a struggling community in the midst of gun violence and uncertain conditions on the South Side of Chicago.
Refreshments / CLOSING RECEPTION
In celebration of what is sure to be a wonder festival, we will be having refreshments beginning at 3pm for our guests. Please stop by in between movie screenings!
ASSIA | MRS. SCHNEIDER | COUNTERSTORY: AFTER INCARCERATION | THE ABUSED
"Assia" is a story of a 15-year-old girl who gets an assignment to define how to live with each other without using writing, only to find her father's writing has brought him under suspicion for terrorism. "Mrs. Schneider" is a story told by an older clergyman about a neighbor in his youth, that he discovers has a number tattoo from a Nazi concentration camp. "The Abused" tells the tale of disturbing and senseless acts of domestic violence and the people affected. "Counterstory: After Incarceration" focuses on the challenges of re-entry presented through the lived experiences of formerly incarcerated college students and college faculty.
CLOSING CEREMONY/AWARDS CEREMONY
Please come to help us celebrate all of the filmmakers and film fans as we hold a short THANK YOU ceremony and award our 10 prizes, including the Curley Cohen Fan Favorite award that everyone will have participated in.
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WORKSHOPS: February 4th, 2019
CONFERENCE: February 5th - 7th, 2019
Schedule + Sessions
Event ⌄
Justify Attending
Travel & Venue
Orbital AI is the Stated Goal of Hypergiant Industries as the Company Launches Their Galactic Systems Division
Hypergiant Industries has announced the launch of their Galactic Systems division, with the goal of helping mankind expand its horizon into the next frontier through orbital AI.
Hypergiant Galactic Systems will focus on artificial intelligence-driven aerospace and astronautic software and hardware products for the booming space industry.
In its first step toward realizing this vision, Hypergiant Galactic Systems has acquired Satellite & Extraterrestrial Operations & Procedures (S.E.O.P.s), a Houston-based satellite deployment and services provider that offers innovative proprietary launch and deployment systems servicing the CubeSat and smallsat markets.
As a subsidiary of Hypergiant Galactic Systems, S.E.O.P.s will continue to serve customers in defense, government, as well as leading academic institutions in designing, developing, and deploying space satellite constellation arrays. S.E.O.P.s operates classified missions as well as unclassified missions for customers and partners including NASA, DARPA, and Northrop Grumman. S.E.O.P.s currently has allocation on all ISS visiting vehicles (SpaceX Dragon and Cygnus) through its partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS).
S.E.O.P.s is led by CEO Chad Brinkley and CTO Michael Johnson. A space entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience in the Aerospace and Defense market, Brinkley’s expertise spans the government, military, and commercial sectors. On the technical side, Johnson is the industry leader in designing space research platforms, habitats, modules, launch systems, and spacecraft. He was previously the co-founder of NanoRacks, the first commercial space company to launch CubeSats using the International Space Station (ISS). To date, more than 210 CubeSats have been deployed, fueling the rise of commercial space investments. Both Brinkley and Johnson will continue to lead as CEO and CTO of Hypergiant S.E.O.P.s, a subsidiary of Hypergiant Galactic Systems.
S.E.O.P.s became a leader over the last decade in the industry by flying satellites and payloads to LEO, using deployment off the International Space Station (ISS), as well as using ISS visiting vehicles. The S.E.O.P.s Slingshot CubeSat launch system was designed to exploit the unused Cygnus vestibule volume of the passive common berthing mechanism (PCBM) by deploying sideways using a zero tip-off mechanism. SlingShot Deployers accommodate any customer’s CubeSat formats and configurations. The system can also fly hosted payloads using the core spacecraft for data, power, pointing, and communications. According to the company, no other system provides comparable space agility. By working with Northrop Grumman, CASIS, and the U.S. National Laboratory, S.E.O.P.s is executing on the vision of the commercialization of space for industries spanning defense, energy, security, and more.
S.E.O.P.s’ proprietary sideways deployment also makes it possible to mount SlingShot deployers on a geosynchronous satellite bus, such as a Boeing 702 or Lockheed 2100, opening small satellite deployment in the GEO belt. Furthermore, S.E.O.P.s has been testing its MicroSat solution (MACE), which is planned to come online in 2019 to deploy larger spacecraft.
Hypergiant Galactic Systems is a subsidiary of Hypergiant Industries, the first machine intelligence industrial complex, recently co-founded in Texas by Ben Lamm. Leveraging emerging technology in AI, space transport, and imaging techniques, Hypergiant Galactic Systems is completing the vision of a universe intelligently powered. Hypergiant Galactic Systems will be based in Houston, Texas, with a field office in Washington D.C.
Executive Comments
Ben Lamm, CEO of Hypergiant, welcomes S.E.O.P.s to Hypergiant Galactic Systems. S.E.O.P.s will be the firm’s key entry platform for intelligent satellite technologies. The company’s first day of operation offers world-class launch and deployment capabilities for anyone seeking solutions for LEO and beyond. The fully realized potential of space lies at the intersection of data, AI, and other machine-intelligent technologies..
Chad Brinkley, CEO and co-founder of S.E.O.P.s, noted that in joining Hypergiant Galactic Systems, the company has gained access to invaluable resources in artificial intelligence, machine learning, intelligent sensors, and more. As S.E.O.P.s leverages these technologies to enhance the firm’s offerings and develop entirely new services, customers will be delighted by the new value created through data and machine learning. Today is a great day for space science.
NOTE: All imagery in the above story are courtesy of John Davidson.
Posted in News.
@ 2019 SatNews
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Searching for a satisfying love story via dvd? Search no more. Serve some~ Chicken With Plums ~ What More Could Hopeless Romantics Wish For?
November 23, 2013 at 6:41 pm (art, books, culture, entertainment, exploring interconnectedness, films, humor, life, living, movies, people, play, random, relationships, Uncategorized, Writing)
Tags: art, Chicken With Plums, children, comedy, connections, creating, creative, Crouching Tiger, culture, drama, dvd, Elizabeth Taylor, enjoyment, exploring interconnectedness, family, films, French, fruit, good stories, Hidden Dragon, HOT, humor, husbands, life, living, love, love story, Lovers, Marjane Satrapi, Monty Python and the Holy Grail Romance, movie, movies, music, parents, people, Persepolis anime, playing, plums, reading play, relationships, review, romance, stories, story telling, tease, tragedy, trailer, Uncategorized, violin, wives, Writing
Answer to post subject title question— I have no idea regarding what more. Oh that’s a lie. Sure I do. But that’s beside the point here when it comes to Chicken With Plums. Let’s put it this way, I ate the entire film meal and loved it.
Is it possible to write a review and give nothing away about the content? Why would I want to do that if I’m pitching a story to people who are all about ‘what’s going on here’? For my own churlish amusement, I guess. Honestly, I think the film trailer gives away far too much information as it is. That’s not really fair considering this isn’t a film about some devious plot to overthrow the world order. Nope. It’s certainly not a film about that sort of sordid messiness. It’s more of an adventure into a few human hearts., how things are connected, intense smoke and controlling parents. Now does that last qualify as a spoiler or not? Nawww, I don’t think it does. That’s not exactly a breaking news story–though there are a few broken things here.
What makes a great story? What keeps you reading a book? Why do you keep watching a movie? Is it intricate plotting and scheming? Cunning and creepy characters with caustic conversation? Thrill seeking vicarious stunt action? Fast cars and hot women–and men? How about a not so fast train, plane and a boat? Frankly I think we need to redefine the nature of ‘hot’ for both men and women on main streets. But that discussion doesn’t really fit here so I’m going to leave it alone–if I can. Back to the swing of things: Stunning images and exotic locations? What is that special bait that gets the hook in your brain box and keeps you reading and watching? What trips your entertainment traps? What feathers tickle you humor bones? By the way, do you enjoy random visits with Death?
What kind of story do you pick for a chilly night with the home-fires? Do your fingers dance to drama, comedy, tragedy or romance? Or some giddy brew of everything? Check out the examples suggested and get back to me asap. Please feel free to suggest other examples. Hint, that’s what the blank lines are supposed to encourage you to do. If it’s not working, let me know and we’ll revise accordingly. Thanks for your input even though you’ve yet to offer any. Yet.
Tragedy ______ as in Othello
Comedy ______ as in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Romance ______ as in Moonrise Kingdom
Drama _______ as in Elizabeth Taylor On A Hot Tin Roof
Action _______ as in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Me? What do I pick? I do it all as long as it’s got the goods to keep my imagination engaged. I like a full plate of a solid story, no-big-box characters, delicious visuals, and sensual sounds. Yesterday evening’s top film pick was Chicken With Plums. Yes I indulged in several otheres, but, sigh, as amusing as they were, no other was qualifed for TOP billing except the film with the fruit. I would love to ramble on and on about this delight. But I won’t. It would pull the rug out from the act of discovery and exploration. Taste it for yourself. Oh, and if you’ve never eaten plums except with your breakfast–you’ve been missing out on some damn fine sweet stuff. Consider yourself DEPRIVED. Hmm…maybe it’s not in my best interests to encourage others to eat plums as that will mean fewer plums for moi. How do I talk about this film without mentioning plums when they’re the last word in the title? Chicken With ____ is not the way to go. That fill in the blank with your favorite fruit just isn’t working for me. How about you?
Chicken With Plums
Chicken With Plums Movie Trailer (2012). The french movie, directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud is set in Teheran, in 1958. From the Writers and director of Persepolis anime movie.
Note: The trailer says “Coming Soon” but the film has already come. No, you don’t have to go to France to see it. Silly bunnies.
Dessert?
Why yes, thank you. I don’t mind if I do. I’d like Chocolat.
PS, Were you expecting depraved instead of deprived? If so, what’s that tell you about you? No need to share. It’s quite alright to keep some things to ourselves.
Oh and if this is the most unsatisfying review of a film that you’ve ever read, please don’t hold it against Chicken With Plums. Don’t deprive yourself any longer than necessary on my account.
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Neil Young Unveils ‘Tuscaloosa’ Live Album
Neil Young continues to be one of the most prolific musicians in rock with the announcement of his latest live album, Tuscaloosa. The seven-track LP captures highlights from Young’s Feb. 3, 1973, performance with the Stray Gators at the University of Alabama.
The rocker reflected on the Tuscaloosa performance during a conversation with Rolling Stone, recalling that night's show as “edgy.” “It’s like those mellow songs with an edge," he said.
"It’s really trippy to be down in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and singing those songs from Harvest and the songs that we were doing for Time Fades Away before it came out. I found this thing and it had such a great attitude to it. I just loved the whole night, so I put that together with [engineer] John Hanlon.”
The first single from Tuscaloosa is a live rendition of “Don’t Be Denied.” You can listen to the track below.
Tuscaloosa will be released on June 7. You can check out the track listing below.
The live album’s announcement is just the latest addition to Young’s busy schedule. The singer recently revealed he’ll be recording his first new album with Crazy Horse since 2012. Young also appears on the soundtrack to the upcoming film Echo in the Canyon, while the musician himself appears in the new documentary Bachman, chronicling the life and career of Randy Bachman.
Couple those items with Young’s upcoming tour dates, including a stop at Northern California music festival BottleRock, and it looks like 2019 will be anything but quiet for him.
Neil Young and the Stray Gators, ‘Tuscaloosa’ Track Listing
1. Here We Are In The Years
2. After The Gold Rush
3. Out On The Weekend
4. Harvest
5. Old Man
6. Heart Of Gold
7. Time Fades Away
8. Lookout Joe
9. New Mama
11. Don’t Be Denied
Next: Neil Young Albums Ranked
Source: Neil Young Unveils ‘Tuscaloosa’ Live Album
Filed Under: neil young
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NYPD launches new program to document use of force by officers
By Dave Evans
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Amid concerns about excessive force, the New York Police Department launched a new program Thursday to document and review every physical encounter officers have with the public.
The program will allow the nation's largest police department to track and analyze all instances when force is used, police officials said. The officials also announced new guidelines emphasizing "the duty of all members to protect human life, including people in their custody."
The reforms were announced the same day the city's inspector general, Philip Eure, released a report faulting the NYPD for not doing more to discourage the excessive use of force.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said that all use of force by officers - every takedown, baton blow, use of pepper spray, even a bite by a police dog - will be documented in a 'Force Incident Report.'
For example, force was used in the takedown of James Blake, but was not documented. And the officers involved then failed to notify their superiors of the takedown.
Under the new guidelines, the officers would have to document that incident as force used, checking a box on the report indicating the type of force, even though it did not result in an arrest.
The information will be used to create a database, which the NYPD will eventually be able to show the community in the form of statistical breakdown of officers' actions. The NYPD will also publish an annual report analyzing the documented episodes. They hope that will lead to better understanding of police encounters.
In a message to the NYPD, Bratton said "The vast majority of the time, cops use force because force is used against them. Using force against a cop is never permissible, and this fact is worth repeating: under the New York State Penal Law, there is absolutely no right to resist arrest."
The president of the PBA, Patrick Lynch, released a statement:
"No amount of new training or additional paperwork will make necessary force that is lawful and properly used by police officers acceptable to those who want to return to the hands-off, reactive policing strategies that sent crime soaring in the past. More paperwork coupled with a serious shortage of police officers and the continual second-guessing of their actions is a formula for disaster. It is a call for police officers to disengage themselves from the very proactive policing that brought this city from the brink of disaster in the 1990s. We've lived through the era of reactive policing where cops could do nothing but respond to 911 calls, causing crime and disorderly behavior to run rampant in our neighborhoods. New York City police officers want to keep our streets safe. To do that, we need support - not more reports."
In its report, the Inspector General faulted the department for not better tracking "use of police force."
"Our reaction, as in this report, is that it is absolutely unacceptable that there is not a central mechanism for tracking and reporting use of force," said Department of Investigation Commissioner Mark Peters.
Curbing the use of force is a huge issue in police departments across the country. The Inspector General praised how Los Angeles and Seattle record things, and found fault with New York.
"They have modern state-of-the art use of force policies," said Eure. "NYPD was living a little bit in the dark ages with respect to its use of force policies."
"I would take strong, strong exception to that language," said Bratton. "That is an outrageous comment. This department is nothing close to being in the dark ages."
Police brass were livid with what the Inspector General said. Still, the department is changing how it records "use of force".
In the future:
-All such cases must be reported, even minor ones.
-De-escalation will be emphasized in police training.
-And a new beefed-up unit will investigate complaints about excessive force.
But the "dark ages" comment about current police police still infuriated Bratton. "I am very proud of this organization and if the Inspector General of this city feels that we are in the dark ages, well, I think he's going to have to start analyzing his capabilities to analyze. We are an exceptional police organization."
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
new york citynypduse of forcepolice
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Juston Western
Solutions Architect in London, United Kingdom
Read my blog
Juston is a noted writer, technologist, and amateur photographer/musician. His successes include founding the New Orleans Electronica Digest (NOLAED), a leading online music publication that captured the essence of the vibrant electronica underground in pre-Katrina New Orleans. While serving as a Communications Officer in the United States Air Force, he provided consult on emerging mobile and web technologies for Dover Air Force Base.
After separating from the Air Force, Juston became a consultant with Aon Hewitt, spearheading transformation initiatives with clients such as UPS & Coca-Cola. During his years at university, Juston gravitated towards tackling issues that blurred the lines between technology and sociology. Notable papers include his work on virtual communities while studying Computer Science at Tulane University, and later his assessment on mobile computing ethics while finishing his MBA at Auburn University.
Juston currently resides in London, England, where he works as a Solutions Architect for Amazon. In this role, he serves as a liaison between Amazon’s internal hardware/software teams and multiple top-tier developers who want to build on Fire tablets, Fire TV streaming media/gaming devices, and other unannounced products.
Previously Juston was President & Chief Technology Officer at Knomatic, where he led the firm’s mobile app platform development initiatives targeting industries with remote workforces. Prior to co-founding Knomatic, he was the Director of Operations at ChaiOne, where he spearheaded the digital agency’s efforts in designing & developing iOS, Android & cloud apps for enterprise clients.
He has a passion for jazz and electronica, a voracious appetite for consumer electronics, and is generally known to be "that guy" friends and family go to for tech advice.
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Massive flooding in southern Chinese Taipei
Six people have been killed by floodwaters in Chinese Taipei, officials said on Saturday (Aug 25), after days of heavy rain forced thousands to evacuate their homes.
A tropical depression has been dumping torrential rain in central and southern Chinese Taipei since Thursday, with some districts receiving close to 1,000 millimetres of rainfall.
Six have died in the storm so far, according to government figures, including three who were killed by a falling scaffold in the southern city of Kaohsiung. Almost 100 more were injured.
More than 6,000 people were evacuated with more than 1,100 still in shelters on Saturday morning, officials said.
Images showed residents in Kaohsiung and nearby Tainan wading in knee-deep water, as well as soldiers in central Chiayi county carrying elderly residents and children from their flooded homes.
Television footage also showed scooters and cars half-submerged in water and roads blocked by landslides.
Although the depression has already moved northwest away from Taiwan, floods have yet to recede in many areas.
The weather bureau said the severity of the downpour was "extremely rare".
Channel NewsAsia. 25 Aug 2018 . Six dead, thousands evacuated in CT floods.
Read more at https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/taiwan-floods-heavy-rain-weather-dead-10651506
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Click to copyhttps://apnews.com/1823e5cfb9224c32bd75d9e0c0e2dcec
Huge wildfire southwest of Berlin sets off WWII arms blasts
By KIRSTEN GRIESHABERAugust 24, 2018
Firefighters battle a wildfire near the village Klausdorf, about 85 kilometers (53 miles) south of Berlin on Friday, Aug. 24, 2018. (Patrick Pleul/dpa via AP)
BERLIN (AP) — Firefighters struggled Friday to tame a wildfire southwest of Berlin but had to maneuver carefully as the blaze set off old World War II ammunition that is still buried in the forests around the German capital.
Flames forced the evacuation of several nearby villages and sent clouds of acrid smoke toward the German capital.
The fire, which was the size of 500 soccer fields, has already set off several detonations of old ammunition, according to local lawmaker Christian Stein. Firefighters were not allowed to enter suspicious areas.
“The ammunition is very dangerous, because one cannot step on the ground, and therefore one cannot get close to the fire” to extinguish it, Brandenburg state’s governor, Dietmar Woidke, told reporters.
The fire started Thursday afternoon and spread quickly through the dry pine forests in the Treuenbrietzen region, 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside of Berlin in the eastern state of Brandenburg. By evening, authorities had evacuated 500 people from the villages of Frohnsdorf, Klausdorf and Tiefenbrunnen.
“Something like that, we didn’t even experience during the war,” 76-year-old Anita Biedermann told the dpa news agency as police told her to grab her jacket, ID and medication from her home before taking her to a nearby gym for the night.
Firefighters were trying to douse the flames in areas they could not enter with water-bearing helicopters and water cannons.
“The fire continues to be a big threat,” Woidke said. “But we will do everything to protect people’s property.”
Overnight, winds blew the smoke to Berlin, where people in some neighborhoods were told to keep their windows closed. In some cases the smell of smoke was so strong that residents called Berlin emergency services.
More than 600 firefighters and soldiers were brought in to battle the wildfire, cutting trees to make long firebreaks. Several roads were closed and local trains halted service in the area close to the fire.
Stein said the fact that the fire broke out in several places simultaneously suggested it could have been arson, but Brandenburg’s Interior Ministry said it was still investigating the cause of the fire.
Germany has seen a long, hot summer with almost no rain, and large parts of the country are on high alert regarding possible wildfires.
Raimund Engel, who is in charge of forests in the state of Brandenburg, said 400 wildfires have already been reported this year.
“I hope the weather will play along and the winds won’t increase again,” Stein said. “We are yearning for rain.”
Frank Jordans contributed to this report.
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ArtsBeat | Embattled Intellectual Historians Make a Stand
Embattled Intellectual Historians Make a Stand
By Jennifer Schuessler
November 22, 2011 8:00 am November 22, 2011 8:00 am
The New York TimesA Sept. 3, 1972, article from The New York Times.
Were the 1970s the most boring decade in history?
Anyone reading the popular press at the time might have been forgiven for thinking so. In 1972, The New York Times reported on the Ford Motor Company’s plan to fight boredom on the job and an alternative boredom-reduction plan put forward by the United Auto Workers. The Washington Post, meanwhile, fretted that boredom might be fueling interest in the occult. In 1976, Reader’s Digest declared boredom “the disease of our time.”
But boredom isn’t just boring, Jordan Grant, a graduate student at American University, said in a paper called “Meaning in the Malaise: Boredom and the Remaking of the American Mind in the Seventies,” delivered last week at an intellectual history conference held at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Boredom is also a window into important shifts in American intellectual life — not to mention a new research frontier for the sometimes-embattled scholars who study it.
Mr. Grant’s paper, and the conference where he presented it, is part of a resurgence in the fortunes of intellectual history — a discipline long considered, if not quite boring, then certainly musty, elitist and out of touch. While intellectual historians like Richard Hofstadter and Perry Miller once dominated the profession, they were swept aside in the 1960s by the rise of social and then cultural history, which regarded talk of “the American mind” as code for “the mind of white, male Americans who happened to write books.”
Today, however, a new breed of young intellectual historian is aiming to integrate the spirit of “history from below” with an approach that doesn’t chop American history off at the neck. Young intellectual historians, scholars at the conference were quick to emphasize, have fully absorbed the lessons of the profession’s increased attention to questions of race, class and gender, without losing hold of the premise that ideas matter, even in a culture that still considers “intellectual” a term of abuse.
“We still want to talk about ideas, but we see ideas everywhere,” said Andrew Hartman, a professor at Illinois State University and president of the newly formed Society for U.S. Intellectual History, which sponsored the conference. “Big ideas affect everybody. It’s not elitist to talk about them.”
There are some signs that the historical profession, if not the rest of America, might be starting to agree. The blog U.S. Intellectual History, founded in 2010, won the best group blog award from the History News Network. Traffic has nearly doubled in the past year, and recent links by the blogger Andrew Sullivan have sent traffic spiking. The new society, officially formed this summer, aims to further raise the profile of intellectual history, even if job listings for intellectual historians remain scarce.
“We’re all scholars trying to get tenure,” Michael O’Connor, a professor at Georgia State University and one of the conference’s organizers, said. “But a lot of us are also interested in public discourse, in attracting a different audience.”
The conference hardly neglected high culture, with papers on the artists Robert Rauschenberg and Barnett Newman, the philosopher Stanley Cavell, and the history of the reception of “Moby-Dick.” (The famously savage early reviews of Melville’s novel, according to a paper given by George Cotkin of California Polytechnic State University, were due to the fact that the initial, British publication omitted the epilogue, leaving critics totally confused as to how Ishmael could have survived to tell his story in the first place. Lazy American reviewers mostly cribbed from their colleagues across the pond.)
But the lineup tilted markedly toward postwar political history, with discussions of charged topics like the economist Friedrich von Hayek’s writings on the rule of law, Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s infamous 1965 report on the black family, and the art-historical theories of the evangelical thinker Francis Schaeffer, who has been much in the news in recent months because of his supposed influence on Michele Bachmann.
Asked about the conference’s political emphasis, Mr. O’Connor cited the jurist Richard Posner’s definition of a public intellectual as an intellectual interested in politics. “When I first read that, I thought it was dumb and reactive,” Mr. O’Connor said. “But he’s right.”
While the conference’s 140-odd participants skewed young, the gathering also attracted notable senior scholars, including some who have carried the torch for intellectual history through decades of eclipse. James T. Kloppenberg, a historian at Harvard and the author most recently of “Reading Obama,” a study of the books and thinking that influenced the president, said intellectual history had benefited from a broadening of social history, which had opened a promising back door by asking more questions about the meanings ordinary people attached to experience.
“When you begin asking questions about meaning,” Mr. Kloppenberg said, “you’re in the realm of intellectual history.”
But not all the senior scholars in attendance were so quick to embrace the “I” word. In her keynote address, Pauline Maier, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the author of “Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788,” described the ardent popular debate surrounding America’s founding document — a talk that both reaffirmed the sense of ideas as drivers of history while challenging the notion that the ideas of the elite mattered most.
Asked afterwards if she considered herself an intellectual historian, Ms. Maier hesitated. “I do political history,” she said, though she added: “How can you understand what people do if you don’t try to understand what they think?”
Critics’ Picks Video: ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’
‘Let It Bleed’ Cover Art Up for Sale
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CLS Knights Indonesia
Formosa Dreamers
Hong Kong Eastern
Macau Black Bears
Mono Vampire
Saigon Heat
San Miguel Alab Pilipinas
Singapore Slingers
Westports Malaysia Dragons
55 Lavin Raj
Center, Forward
YRS Played
Forward | 6’7", 255 lbs | June 27, 2000 (Age: 19)
lavinraj__
ASEAN Basketball League
2.8 27 00 00 0.7 1.0 0.0 0.1
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3 Point Field Goals Made
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3 Point Field Goals Percentage
Free Throw Percentage
OREBG
DREBG
REBG
ASTG
TOVG
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2018-2019 Singapore Slingers 9 2.8 0.6 0.3 1.2 27 0.0 0.0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0.4 0.5 1.0 0.0 0.2 0.0 0.1 0.3
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vs Mono Vampire Basketball Club 2019-03-24 4 0/2 0 0/2 0 0/0 0 0/0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
vs Saigon Heat 2019-03-17 0 0/0 0 0/0 0 0/0 0 0/0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
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vs Westports Malaysia Dragons 2018-11-23 5 1/2 50 1/2 50 0/0 0 0/0 0 2 2 4 0 1 0 0 0 2
The ASEAN Basketball League is the first and only regional professional basketball league in Asia. Established in 2009, the league has grown by leaps and bounds through the years. As a platform for high-level competition and entertainment, the ABL is proud to be a part of the expanding basketball scene in the region.
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Press Releases 2012Currently selected
Assembly of States Parties » Press and Media » Press Releases 2012
Assembly of States Parties concludes its eleventh session
On 21 November 2012, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Assembly”) concluded its eleventh session in The Hague.
The Assembly adopted eight resolutions: on complementarity, cooperation, independent oversight mechanism, permanent premises, victims and reparations, amendments to the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, the “omnibus” resolution, and the 2013 budget. It also adopted the recommendation concerning the election of the Registrar.
ICC-ASP-20121123-PR858
Assembly of States Parties holds plenary on complementarity
On 19 November 2012, the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Court”), during its eleventh session, held a plenary discussion on complementarity. The Assembly heard a keynote address by Ms. Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The panel discussion was moderated by H.E. Mr. Andries Nel, Deputy Minister of Justice of South Africa, and H.E. Mr. Thomas Winkler, Under Secretary for Legal Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, as co-focal points of the Assembly on complementarity. The panellists were Ms. Claudia Paz y Paz Bailey, Attorney General of Guatemala, Ms. Shireen Fisher, President of the Special Court for Sierra Leone, and Mr. David Tolbert, President of the International Center for Transitional Justice. The President of the Court, Judge Sang-Hyun Song, and the Prosecutor, Ms. Fatou Bensouda, added their reflections at the end of the debate. The session was chaired by Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, President of the Assembly.
In her keynote address, Ms. Clark noted that UNDP was already engaged in rule of law and governance work aimed at helping to build the capacity of national partners to hold the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of international concern accountable. She advocated integrating complementarity into rule of law programmes, which would ensure a broader impact on development matters. She referred to complementarity as a transformative agenda and urged the Assembly to continue engaging proactively with this topic.
Assembly of States Parties: Eleventh session
The opening of the eleventh session of the Assembly of States Parties was preceded by an event commemorating the Tenth anniversary of the entry into force of the Rome Statute, which took place in the Knight’s Hall with the presence of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. Remarks were made by H.E. Frans Timmermans, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, H.E. Tiina Intelmann, President of the Assembly, H.E. Judge Sang-Hyun Song, President of the International Criminal Court and Mr. Kon Kelei, former child soldier.
At the Assembly session, which started on 14 November, remarks were delivered by the President of Senegal, H.E. Macky Sall, the first State that had ratified the Rome Statute, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Ms. Patricia O’Brien, and senior Court officials.
ICC-CPI-20121114-PR854
Trinidad and Tobago ratifies amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression and article 8
The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (“the Assembly), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann (Estonia) welcomed the deposit of the instrument of ratification of the amendments to the Rome Statute on the crime of aggression by Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago, became the third State Party to ratify the amendments that were adopted in a historic consensus at the 2010 Review Conference of the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) in Kampala. Trinidad and Tobago also ratified the amendments pertaining to article 8 of the Rome Statute, adopted at the same conference.
Speaking in the Hague, Ambassador Intelmann stated “I congratulate Trinidad and Tobago on their ratification of the Kampala Amendments, in particular those on the crime of aggression. It is fitting that Trinidad and Tobago, which has been an active supporter of the Court since before its creation, should be one of the first to ratify these historic amendments. This is year we have had three ratifications from as many regional groups. What better illustration of the universal nature of the value enshrined by these amendments – the criminalisation of waging illegal war backed up by a credible international judicial mechanism.”
Key event commemorates ICC 10th anniversary as Assembly of States Parties opens in The Hague
President of Senegal visits the International Criminal Court
Today, 14 November 2012, the President of the Republic of Senegal H.E. Macky Sall, visited the International Criminal Court (ICC), to meet with ICC President Sang-Hyun Song and other high-level officials of the Court.
Eleventh Session of the Assembly of States Parties to be held from 14 to 22 November in The Hague
The Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) will hold its eleventh session from 14 to 22 November 2012 at the World Forum Convention Center in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Journalists wishing to cover the session and related events are kindly requested to confirm their participation via e-mail to the following e-mail address: [email protected].
ICC-ASP-20121112-MA134
President of the Assembly visit to Addis Ababa
The President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, visited Addis Ababa from 22 to 24 October 2012. Her visit comes at a time when States Parties are preparing for their next annual session to be held from 14 to 22 November 2012 in The Hague.
The President used her presence in Addis Ababa to meet with representatives of States Parties and with officials of the African Union (“AU”) Commission. In her meetings, she noted the AU’s common resolve to fight impunity and discussed further ways of mutual interaction. She used her meetings to explore ways of cross-regional support to ensure accountability for international crimes and of promoting better understanding of the functioning of the Rome Statute system in Addis Ababa. The President also used the opportunity to better inform herself of the views on the International Criminal Court (“the Court”) from the perspective of the AU and its Member States. President Intelmann briefed her interlocutors on her own activities and those of the Assembly, especially in areas of domestic capacity building and achieving universality of the Rome Statute.
Speaking at a Salon diplomatique, Ambassador Intelmann noted the renewed interest of the international community in the Court: on 17 October, the United Nations Security Council held its first-ever open debate on peace and justice with a focus on the Court.
The President expressed her appreciation to all States Parties that took the floor during the open debate to reiterate their support for the Court and their commitment to the fight against impunity for the most serious crimes under international law. Many States Parties, noted the President, addressed the relationship between the Security Council and the Court, indicating ways to make the relationship more efficient and calling for consistent follow-up by the Council. The President also addressed misperceptions about the Court and the importance of continued political support of States Parties.
President Intelmann’s visit followed the second joint AU-ICC technical seminar, which took place in Addis Ababa on 17 and 18 October 2012. The President thanked H.E. Mr. Libère Bararunyeretse, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the International Organization of La Francophonie to the AU for La Francophonie’s assistance in the preparation of this seminar, as well as for its continued support for the Court.
ICC-ASP-20121026-845
ICC addresses the UN Security Council during the debate on Peace and Justice
President of the Assembly meets Foreign Ministers on margin of UN meetings
The President of the Assembly of States Parties (“the Assembly”), Ambassador Tiina Intelmann, used the opportunities offered by the General Debate of the General Assembly of the United Nations and the High-Level Debate on the Rule of Law in New York to meet with ministers of non-States Parties to advance the cause of universal ratification and implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“the Court”).
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On Tuesday, December 12, 2017, I was sitting at my desk in the Eisenhower Executive office building (EEOB) in the… - Omarosa Manigault Newman, Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House.
Patricia Falvey Leaves Corporate World to Focus on Writing
Written by Ellen Birkett Morris
Patricia Falvey
at Amazon.com
An exclusive Authorlink interview
with Patricia Falvey,
Debut author of The Yellow House
By Ellen Birkett Morris
When author Patricia Falvey had a high level job as managing director at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, working as a national tax consultant, she didnt spend her vacation time at exotic resorts. She attended writing conferences at Skidmore College in New York, the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown in Massachusetts, and Wesleyan College in Connecticut.
Writing has always been a great passion for me. The conferences made the idea of writing as a profession real, said Falvey, author of The Yellow House.
The conferences also gave her a sense of connection with other writers and insight into techniques that built her skills as a writer.
When you work in corporate America you are so far removed from things of the soul and spirit..
FALVEY
When you work in corporate America you are so far removed from things of the soul and spirit. I found that being with others of like mind was emotionally satisfying, said Falvey.
She also spent her free time writing. Falvey experimented with formulaic romance novels, but found that she wasnt passionate enough about the stories she was telling.
Then one night an open mic reading, twenty years ago, she read a short story about Northern Ireland, where she was born, that was set in recent time and dealt with the clashes between Protestants and Catholics known in Ireland as the troubles. An agent in the audience wanted to know if the piece was part of a larger novel.
Thus began her journey writing The Yellow House. The story, set in the beginning of the 20th century, follows the family of Eileen ONeill as they struggle with religious intolerance and the emergence of past secrets. Eileen fights to regain her family home and decide whether her fate lies with a passionate political activist or the wealthy son of the pacifist family that owns the mill where she works.
I grew up listening to a lot of stories about this period and I have always been fond of reading Irish history, she said.
Falvey was raised by her Irish grandmother until she was eight. Her grandmother grew up during the Irish Civil War at the turn of the century. Her grandmother and great-grandmother worked in a mill like the novels protagonist Eileen.
I knew I wanted to write about a woman living then and I knew I wanted to make it the story of a choice between war and peace, said Falvey. She also knew she wanted to write it from a female point of view, since many books on the conflict are written from a male perspective.
Falvey was prompted to work on the book in earnest when a chance encounter led her to meet her agent, Denise Marcil, president of Denise Marcil Literary Agency.
Falvey met a friend of Marcils while Falvey was in New York City on business for PricewaterhouseCoopers. She was eating by herself at the hotel at a table with the only empty seat when a woman asked to join her. They struck up an acquaintanceship and the woman asked Falvey to join a group of women for a spa trip to Jamaica. One of the women on the trip was Marcil.
The greatest challenge for me was daring to write a book about Irish history.
Falvey and Marcil met in April and by August Falvey had sent Marcil the first 50 pages of the book.
The greatest challenge for me was daring to write a book about Irish history. Could I tell the story accurately? I was afraid people would say that I got this or that wrong, so I solicited reviews from people who knew the history of the area, said Falvey.
She also enrolled in a three-week course in Irish History and Culture at Queens University at Belfast, and visited the historical society and mill town museum in her grandmothers hometown of Bessbrook in Northern Ireland.
Falvey also struggled to get the voice of the character just right. She moved from Ireland to England when she was a child, and later to America.
I was writing the story in first person and had to get the voice of a young Irish woman living in Northern Ireland, who was smart, but not overly educated. I live in Texas. My dear sister lives in Northern Ireland. I listened to her accent and wrote down her sayings. Once I got into the characters head, her voice got a lot easier, she noted.
Writing a novel is like building a suspension bridge. You have to craft it . . .
Falvey started her writing with character and place and worked on tightening the plot after she had completed a first draft of the novel.
Writing a novel is like building a suspension bridge. You have to craft it carefully and build suspense to keep it moving forward, said Falvey.
In June of 2007, three years into her association with Marcil, as she was polishing the final draft of the book, Falvey quit her high powered job to pursue writing full time.
It was a big leap leaving a very good job, a career I built up, to go into something so uncertain. As scary as it has been, Ive never felt as whole and integrated in my entire life. It is never too late to follow your dream. If it is there, pushing at you, pay attention, said Falvey.
The book went through several phases of editing. Marcil helped bring up questions about pacing and tone and urged Falvey to make sure each character was fully realized. Professional editors offered line edits.
It is a commitment. It is hard work to write, edit and revise to make sure you have the best product. The joy will be in the creation no matter what happens to the manuscript, said Falvey.
She recommends going to conferences to connect with other writers and hone your craft. She advises, You have to write about what you love. Vampire stories may be popular, but dont write one if you dont care about your character.
Her second book, titled The Linen Queen, is going through the editing process. That story is set in Northern Ireland during World War Two and explores the impact of American GIs on a small mill town. Her third book will be set in the 1970s and 1980s and the protagonist will be engaged in a hunger strike.
About Patricia Falvey
Patricia Falvey was born in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland. The Yellow House is her first novel.
About Regular Contributor
Ellen Birkett Morris
Ellen Birkett Morris is an award-winning writer whose work has appeared in national print and online publications including The New York Times. She also writes for a number of literary, regional, trade, and business publications, and she has contributed to six published nonfiction books in the trade press. Ellen is a regular contributor to Authorlink, assigned to interview various New York Times bestselling authors and first-time novelists.
Categorised in: Interviews, Written
This post was written by Ellen Birkett Morris
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Courting Mr. Lincoln Invigorates History
Australian Boy’s Coming of Age Story, a Wild Ride
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I push my boot against the gas pedal, and the needle on the speedometer surges past one hundred. The Ford's… - James Patterson and Andrew Bourelle, Texas Ranger.
Digital Book Distribution, Standards Gain Momentum At Several Conferences
MAIN NEWS HEADLINES
May 17 – May 24, 2007 Edition
Digital Book Distribution,
Standards Gain Momentum
At Several Conferences
NEW YORK, NY/5/17/07–In its fourth annual Making Information Pay conference May 10, The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) unofficially hinted that it would team up with the Association of American Publishers to establish a common standard for online book searchingwithout relying solely on Google. A formal announcement of the joint effort is anticipated in early June at BookExpo America in New York.
The topics at the half-day conference clearly pointed to the need for developing such standards. Mike Shatzkin, founder and CEO of The Idea Logical Company, Inc., focused his talk on publishers’ growing use of digital asset distributors (DADS), companies that store, convert, and deliver rights-protected digital content. He told publishers that DADs would allow them to shift from large-scale to niche marketing and from spending money on advertising to investing in online reading communities. He encouraged publishers to increase their digital efforts as a way of interacting with their readers.
Two publishers, Random House and O’Reilly Media, shared the agenda with Shatzkin, to demonstrate how they are using technology. Random House, which recently unveiled its Insights initiative to help authors “sell beyond the book,” has a huge investment in technology, said Chris Hart, vice president of publishing and sales applications. The company is exploring a variety of business models including the sale of digital pages and chapters, subscription-based services, special licensing deals and other models. Hart said an industry-wide standard for book searching, and content delivery both in-house and through third parties, is essential to selling books in today’s environment.
Allen Noren, online marketing director for O’Reilly Media, sells books, subscription services, and even PDFs of its titles on its website, Safari Books Online, which has become one of the largest online book selling channels, with some three million unique visitors a month. More than 40% of its PDF sales are generated in the international market.
O’Reilly will have its own technology conference Tools of Change for Publishing Conference, on June 18-20, in San Jose, California, where attendees will learn how leading publishers are transforming their editorial, marketing, and distribution processes while reaching new audiences and becoming more profitable. Publishers will learn about: XML: What Publishers Need to Know; Digitizing Your Backlist; Publishing for the Next Generation Web; Incorporating POD into a Profitable Publishing Strategy; Adding Multimedia to Your Books; Evaluating & Implementing Tools & Processes for a Digital Workplace; SEO for Book Publishers; RSS to Drive Traffic and Improve Sales, and Web Analytics that Work To Build Your Business
Among key speakers at the June conference will include: John Ingram, Chairman, Ingram Book Group, Lightning Source Inc., & Ingram Digital Group, Vice Chairman, Ingram Industries Inc.; Brian Murray Group President, HarperCollins Publishers; Kurt Beidler, Senior Manager of Business Development, Amazon.com; Michael Healy Executive Director, Book Industry Study Group, and Tim O’Reilly
Founder & CEO, O’Reilly Media
About Book Industry Study Group, Inc.
The Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG) is the U.S. publishing industry’s leading trade association for policy, standards and research. The mission of BISG is to create a more informed, empowered, and efficient book industry supply chain. Membership consists of publishers, manufacturers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, librarians, and others engaged in the business of print and electronic media. For 30 years, BISG has provided a forum for all industry professionals to come together and efficiently address issues and concerns to advance the book community.
Categorised in: News
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Digital Book World at Frankfurt Book Fair
RealClearPolitics Joins Powerhouse Digital Book World 2019 Program
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The Musical Insanity Test
This is the time of year where it sucks to be an employee in the retail circuit. If I had my choice, I would just work from January through September every year. The badness begins around October and lingers until the last few days of December. One of the many things that sucks is the fact that they turn on the Christmas muzak and I have a long shift every once in a while.
The tale of woe actually does not begin in the workplace, but in the car. I like to listen to radio stations that don't play hip hop or country, which leaves me with 3 good stations, and a couple that are in and out with static. About the first of the month, one of them started to play Christmas music once in a while which slowly became all the time. Not wanting to be snuffed by another station, the one who has the reputation for being "The Ozarks Christmas radio station" decided to also start their Christmas music earlier this year. This resulted in me checking out discounted Halloween music while the music was on the radio. Sad.
Anyways, back to the workplace; today I made a discovery. The music isn't for the customers. It is an insanity test to see which employee will go postal after hearing Bruce Springsteen ruin the song "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" 30 times in the same day. Its fun, unless you are actually the recipient of the crazed snapping manager employee. I'm relatively lucky because as of yet, the speakers are very quiet in the area I work at, but if you were to turn the corner and go into the backroom where we keep our fresh foods, its like you are at a concert right next to an amplifier, which would be cool if this were something like KISS, Motley Crue, or AC/DC, but sucks when its Mannheim Steamroller.
My taste in Christmas music is a bit...eclectic at best, with most of my songs coming from the definitive artists like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra to more modern fare with Relient K, Weezer, and Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Traditional with some modern punk/alternative spins of classic songs. Of course these are never the ones that are picked on the muzak. Instead we get 15 different versions of "The Christmas Song" by artists who are not Nat King Cole. The muzak also has a tendency to choose people who put waaaaaaay too much vibrato in their voice. It is like a horrible opera person who I can't heckle off the stage, also known as all opera singers.
As I mentioned, the sound system is all screwed up in our store. Some places are very quiet. I call people who work in those areas "the lucky ones". Then there are those who have to hear it at obnoxiously loud volumes in a group I labeled "the victims". The victims, after one day of music, are already foaming at the mouth. I walked through those areas several times today, and if I end up working in one of them, I would probably ask someone to mercy kill me. It felt surreal to walk in a place where it was loud, then very quiet, then very loud again.
Sometimes I use these annoyances as a learning experience. One year they actually played a very cool song which I learned was "Merry Xmas Everyone" by Slade. Sometimes I can't tell who the artist is that is singing the song so we play a round of musical trivia. Today was the first round of this game, and I was shocked. It was some kind of song about the world and stuff. I didn't hear all of it because the grunting of nearby customers drowned it out sometimes. This girl, whoever she was, just could not sing the song at a level I could appreciate it. Her voice sounded juvenile and jail bait, like Brittany Spears or something. I asked a coworker who this horrible sounding girl was. She told me it was Justin Bieber.
So between changing my radio presets, not knowing whether I should check in to an asylum, not knowing whether I need noise-canceling headphones, and being confused about celebrity's gender, it's no wonder why I rarely feel like loading my songs on my mp3 player. The muzak plays the versions that temporarily ruins the songs on a recurring basis. So happy holidays, and Merry Christmas.
The Allengator
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As a University of Illinois research area, the flora and fauna of the park have been extensively studied for many years. These studies include, but are not limited to, periodic forest inventories, breeding bird communities in various community types and changes in bird populations over time, movement patterns of farmland deer, small mammal population ecology, and wildlife radio-tracking investigations.
For more information on conducting research at Allerton please submit a Research Request. To see a list of research projects that have been conducted at Allerton in the past, please check out the Bibliography of Research at Allerton.
Click on the section you are interested in for more information
Long Horned Beetle
The insect traps you see throughout the woods at Allerton Park are designed to catch beetles. Specifically, research is focused on the chemical ecology of longhorned beetles (family Cerambycidae). Cerambycids are a large and diverse group of wood-boring beetles which include numerous current and potential forest and timber pests. Because their larvae live and feed in the wood of trees, they are difficult to monitor visually. However, their behavior is very reliant on chemical cues, including aggregation pheromones and sex pheromones. Pheromone components are often highly conserved within taxonomic subgroups, allowing us to develop lures that are attractive to a large number of species. Ultimately research is focused on beetle pheromones and improving the detection of exotic long-horned beetles in the future.
Hydrologic connectivity between streams and their floodplains
Research Goal: To determine how human alteration to floodplain aquifers has altered the hydrologic connectivity between streams and their floodplains.
Allerton Park will be used as a reference site of an unaltered floodplain for a paired site study. In order to determine the effect human alteration to landscapes for agricultural purposes has had on hydrologic connectivity between rivers and their floodplains, we will compare spatial patterns, frequency, and dominant mechanisms of floodplain inundation within a natural floodplain landscape to one that has been altered for agricultural use. The Sangamon River old-growth floodplain forest located in Allerton Park is both ideal for this study and one of very few examples of an unmodified Midwest floodplain and river reach.
Methods: We will deploy a network of approximately 100 small temperature sensors to determine the locations and timing of floodplain inundation across a portion of the floodplain in the Allerton Park. The sensors will mainly be located on the ground surface in landscape depressions near the Sangamon River. They will be mounted to stakes driven into the ground and encased in protective PVC pipe coverings. A few sensors will be located in the tree canopy. The difference in temperature of the ground sensors relative to the canopy sensors will indicate when a particular sensor becomes inundated. Watermarks on sticks painted with water soluble paint will also be used to determine maximum depth of inundation and will be located near the temperature sensors. We will install about 10 shallow groundwater monitoring piezometers with water level loggers. PVC pipe (2” diameter) will protrude from the land surface 1-2ft (we can paint these brown or wrap them in camouflage tape if that is desired). The data gathered in this field study will inform a hydrologic model of floodplain inundation.
Climate change effects on interactions between trees and their soil microbial communities
“We are studying how climate change alters the interactions between trees and their soil microbial communities. It has been assumed that tree species have three options: migrate to track historical climates, adapt, or go extinct. However, soil microbial communities might mediate tree species response to a changing climate.
Microbial communities could play a vital role in mediating a plant through their role in accessing water and nutrients and pathogen protection. Microbes may themselves be adapted to soil conditions and more advantageous to plants in those soil conditions. For instance, microbial communities from drier environments may better support plant growth under drought compared to microbial communities from wet conditions. For temperate trees, mycorrhizal symbionts may be key mediators of climate tolerance, as both ectomycorrhizal fungi (EMF) and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) vary in their ability to support host growth in dry soils.
In Allerton, we have set up a study to further our understanding of how microbial communities mediate plant responses to changing climates. We are quantifying the effect of mycorrhiza type (AMF vs. EMF), soil microbes, and drought conditions on tree survival. In each plot, we crossed AMF and EMF tree species with soil microbes from dry and wet conditions. Half of all trees were covered with throughfall reduction shelters, while the others had sham shelters.”
-Richard A. Lankau and Cassandra Allsup, Plant Pathology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
Archaeology returns to Allerton
The Illinois State Archaeological Survey (ISAS) will again partner with Parkland College to bring archaeology to Allerton Park for the second year in a row. This year the Parkland College field school will be led by ISAS research archaeologist and Parkland College instructor Dr. B. Jacob Skousen.
In 2017, ISAS partnered with Parkland College to bring the first field school to Allerton Park. ISAS staff used magnetometry survey and LIDAR to map ten mounds, known as Samuel’s Mounds. These non-invasive techniques helped determine the spatial layout and condition of the mounds. Archaeologists were happy to discover most of the mounds had been well preserved. Only two of the mounds had been impacted by erosion and historical looting.
One of the goals for ISAS archaeologists in Spring of 2018 was to help plan the restoration of the impacted mounds (see short video https://youtu.be/RMA2m-Vnhig).
“Unfortunately, most of the thousands of mounds that once dotted Illinois have been destroyed by either looting, agriculture, or development. The Samuel’s Mound group is unusual because the land it sits on was set aside by the Allerton family as a wooded retreat. Although it was protected from farming it was still impacted by the mound looting that was so rampant in the late 1800s and much of the 1900s. As our efforts go forward we hope to, at least partially, restore and stabilize the most heavily damaged mounds in the group,” said Dr. Thomas E. Emerson, Illinois State Archaeologist and Illinois State Archaeological Survey Director.
The Parkland College field school will focus their excavation to identify the living areas thought to surround the mounds. They hope to glean more information about the people who lived and built the ten mounds that cover about 1.5 acres along the Sangamon River. ISAS is creating a comprehensive plan for the archaeological interpretation and restoration of the site at Allerton.
The Allerton Archaeological Project is a joint, multi-year research and educational effort by ISAS, the Allerton Park staff, and the University of Illinois to understand the long term cultural history of this uniquely protected segment of over 1,500 acres of the Sangamon River valley, especially concentrating on the poorly known native history.
BY ANGELA PATTON
Chimney Swift Research
Chimney swifts are unique little birds with an inability to perch, clinging instead to vertical walls inside chimneys or in hollow trees or caves. But as chimneys fall into disuse across the continent, chimney swifts have been in a long-term, rangewide decline of about 2.5% per year between 1966 and 2015, resulting in a cumulative decline of 72%, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey.
Maureen Hurd, a master’s student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been conducting research on the abundance of Chimney Swifts and Common Nighthawks in the Grand Prairie division of Illinois, with a goal of better understanding why these aerial insectivores are declining throughout North America. Her hope is that artificial habitats can be designed that will give these birds more nesting options as old chimneys and hollow trees decline.
As part of her research, Maureen has been installing and monitoring several chimney swift nesting towers – including a preexisting nest in the Visitor Center’s chimney above the Greenhouse Café! A camera has been set up to monitor the swifts’ movements in and out of this chimney, and one of the swifts has been tagged with a gps transmitter to observe daily movements. Maureen has also built a chimney swift tower by the farm near Allerton’s north entrance.
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Annotated Atari Depositions - Part 4
Today, we continue with Nolan Bushnell’s January 1976 deposition in the Magnavox v Bally et al case. This time, I don’t have as many comments/notes or pictures. It’s mostly just straightforward text.
MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Mr. Bushnell, as I understand it, Documents 40-2, 40-3, 40-6, 40-7, 40-10, 40-11, 40-15 and 40-17 all relate to circuitry which you intended to use with the monitor in association with your system for playing games
A. Correct.
Q. But that there is, as I understand it, circuitry which you had also intended to use for that monitor which is not shown in any of these documents?
A. That's correct.
Q. Did you personally draw the diagrams of 40-2, 40-3, 40-6, 40-7, 40-10, 40-11, 40-14?
A. Yes, I did.
MR. HERBERT: Before I start questioning on that, prior to the recess I had indicated that we would, after finding the pre-production drawings for Pong and another game, Space Race, zero in on the earlier drawings on this to match up with what else goes here. During recess Mr. Bushnell told me that very probably all of the drawings that are missing from this package were left at Nutting. So we don't really expect to find them.
MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Do you believe that the drawings missing from Exhibit 40 relating to your monitor are at Nutting?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Why were they left at Nutting?
A. Well, they were all essentially source documents which were later used to build the Computer Space machine which I sold to Nutting and since I had licensed them to build that machine exclusively they are obviously entitled to all the documents that have to do with that particular machine.
Q. Do you know when you drew these documents which I just enumerated?
A. I'd say it was probably around July or August 1970. It might have been as early as February for some of them, but I think the ones that I drew in February were rougher. These are more detailed as to interconnections.
Q. Since only a portion of the circuit of the monitor is shown on these drawings, it might help us if you could draw a block diagram of the operation of that monitor if you are able to do so?
A. Okay.
Q. And I might say that we will probably mark it as an exhibit. You will be forewarned.
MR. WELSH: Now, this is of the monitor system?
MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Yes.
A. Incidentally, this is generalized terminology for data bus architecture. I am indicating there are several lines. The exact number of lines depends on the resolution that you wish. This is approximately with some simplifications.
MR. WILLIAMS: I would like the Reporter to mark the block diagram that Mr. Bushnell has just draw as Atari Exhibit 41.
(Drawing made by the witness was marked Atari Exhibit No. 41 for Identification.)
MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Mr. Bushnell, will you just give us a description of the operation of this system shown in Atari Exhibit 41?
A. The oscillator runs a sync chain which essentially counts down the oscillator frequency into a horizontal and vertical component. There’s a number associated with each picture element in both the horizontal and a number coincident with each line in the vertical direction. These numbers are fed into a compare circuit which is compared to a number which is the shift register. If you can visualize a television screen, zero zero being in the upper left-hand corner and 256 by 256, the number 256 by 256 is the number of the lower right-hand corner. Then you can see that there is a series of ordered pairs which describe every point on the TV screen. Everyone follow that?
Q. I follow it.
A. The sync chain will count every one of those numbers in one frame. So that first the vertical counter is at zero and the horizontal counter then counts up to 256 at which time it gives the TV screen a sync pulse and the scan is reset and now the vertical scan counts to 1 and again to 256, and then the vertical goes to 2, 3 until it's scanned the whole time.
Now, supposing that we wish to display an object at point 20/20. That would be one inch to the right and one inch down from the upper left-hand corner. We would then put the number 20/20 into the shift register. Upon 20 being compared--
Q. Excuse me. You mean load 20 into the shift register under the block marked “Sync H”?
A. Yes, and 20 into the shift register under the block "sync V." This comparator, all it does is look for a comparison. It says when is one number equal to another . As soon as it does, it goes, ''Hi," turns on the scanning matrix. The scanning matrix then says, "Okay, I'm ready to scan," and it counts—I should say it is hocked into the oscillator or to the sync H and V.
We'll just for ease put the oscillator here (indicating).
It says, "Okay, I'll display a rocket ship at that point," and it counts through and displays a rocket ship at Point 20/20.
Now, what the comparator does is it feeds that number 20 into the shift register. Now, next frame it says, "Okay, I want the rocket ship to move downward and to the right.” So the next frame it will load into it number 21/21. The same thing happens.
This time, though, the rocket ship is moved slightly. It's no longer displayed at 20/20, it's at 21/21. And successively each frame. So in that way the rocket ship appears to be
traveling in a downward and to the right velocity because the eye integrates the motion. It's just like a series of cartoons and you display it at slightly different places each time and the picture appears to move.
Now, the computer, of course, is keeping track of one, if the control is being pushed, say, in the forward direction and it’s thrusting, it’s saying, “Okay, if I want the rocket ship to go faster I’m going to say instead of moving it from 20 to 21 I might move it from 20 to 22. That gives the appearance of a faster motion. Or if it wants to move slower maybe it says, “I’ll keep it at 20 for a couple of frames and then I’ll move it to 21 for another couple of framed and then to 22 for another couple of frames.” So it’s going half as fast.
If you wanted it to go straight up and down all you are doing is you leave the horizontal counter fixed at 20 and you just increment or decrement the vertical count and the computer keeps track of all these numbers and feeds a new number out each frame which places the rocket ship anywhere.
Now, obviously, if you wanted to, you could make the object jump anywhere you want to once each frame. But generally by making a piecewise continuous function you can have the appearance of smooth motion, but it’s not constrained to that.
Q. The computer which you refer to is not shown in Exhibit 41, as I understand i.
A. No. It’s a data bus here. It’s out here (indicating). It comes in on the bus. I should have put that down, “data bus.”
Q. There are two boxes in the lower left-hand corner. What does the label on the upper one of those boxes say?
A. “Interface.” It’s essentially the part of the circuit that’s described in 40-7.
Q. And the lower box in the lower left-hand corner is labeled “IO.” Is that correct?
A. Yes. That’s essentially the problem that we were talking about before. Whether you do that on an interrupt basis, or whether you do it just putting data into memory. Now, you can do it either way. That IO is either a direct memory access channel or it’s an interrupt channel.
Q. So the player’s controls are located within the box marked “control”?
A. No. Those are control switches and coin slot.
Q. Over on the lower right-hand corner?
A. Right.
Q. And that information goes through the box marked “control” to the box marked “IO”?
A. Yes. Input-output.
Q. So the box marked “IO” was actually only an output channel, is that right, the way you have drawn it?
A. in a computer there is never really an output without an input because there’s parity checks. It talks. You send signals in two directions and for a multitude of reasons, but it essentially can be looked at, it says, “Hey, I’ve got some information.”
The computer says, “Okay, I’m ready for the information. Go ahead and send it. “ So it sends it down. The computer says, “Okay, I’ve got it.”
And the guy says, “Is it right?”
And the computer says, “Yes, it was.” And they do these handshaking things all the time. It’s just the way the architecture is.
Q. But the basic purpose of the IO block is to get information from the monitor to the computer, as I understand it.
A. Yes.
Q. You described the way in which one rocket ship is show during one scan of the cathode-ray tube.
Q. In the system you were building in playing Spacewar I assume that you wanted to show at least two rocket ships.
A. Yes. That adds a whole new level of complexity. That’s kind of that this is. Because these are shift registers. I have two sets of shift registers, one labeled A and one labeled B. I am referring to Document 40-2. It’s necessary that you have two data boards, one the location of the rocket ship A and one the location of rocket ship B, and under the control you can switch from one to the other.
Q. What does the circuitry shown in Exhibit 41 provide? What is necessary to display two rocket ships?
A. Well, it depends on how much intelligence you ascribe to the control module. Like it’s possible that the control module or the computer is smart enough to serially order the information in shift registers, in these two shift registers, so that it always hits the first shift register of the first object in the scanning sequence, and then the minute it sees that then it dumps that information out, grabs another piece of data from the computer and says, “Okay, this is rocket ship No. 2.” That could do it. But I think that 40-2 is a better approach, It’s a little bit cleaner.
Well, this is again the problem that I ran into. If you do it this way the computer has to be very smart and it has to be fast because it has to have that information ready for the second rocket ship very, very quickly because the minute the one rocket ship is done, if the other rocket ship is very close to it it has to have that information in a big hurry or you’re going to lose it, the rocket ship will disappear if it gets close. So what you can do is you can say, “Okay, I’m going to make the monitor smarter and I’ll just dump the information out at one time,” say during frame scan or frame reset in which there’s a lot of time, and that way the computer doesn’t have to be as smart. This design was an afterthought of this kind of architecture.
Q. You are saying that the document of 40-2 is an afterthought to the architecture shown in 41?
A. Yes. I want to keep this simple so that you can understand it. You see, the more and more smarter I made the monitor, the less power I had to have in the computer itself until finally I said, “The hell with it, “ you know, “let’s just build the hardware unit.”
Q. And the computer system which you intended to use with the apparatus you have shown in the block diagram form in Exhibit 41 was the Nova 1200 series computer; is that correct?
A. That is ultimately. I think this was a general-purpose design. I’m not sure which one this was, how late it was. But I originally designed the general purposely so that it could adapt to essentially any 16-bit machine.
Q. Did you have any requirements on the memory capacity of a 16-bit machine with which this could be used?
A. Yes. As small as possible.
Q. What memory capacity was required for a game system using, for example, four monitors?
A. I felt that in my original thinking I could get by with four K.
Q. For four monitors?
A. Yes. And memory was never the problem in the design. It was always update speeds.
Q. Can you identify Exhibit 40-15?
A. Yes. It says, “System Input, one coin box to initialize particular CRT and program.” I think at that time we were talking about having it to be a situation where you could not only choose whether you wanted to place Spacewar, but whether you wanted to play any other game that we had in the program. That was kind of a question of memory. We thought that it would be interesting to have the switch selectable so that you could play a multitude of games. So that was No. 1 as far as system input.
“No. 2, counterclockwise rotater input on fixed-time increment and rotate counterclockwise one unit. Unit equals question mark degrees.” I don’t know.
No. 3 says, “Clockwise rotator SPP2.”
No. 4 is. “Accelerator input on fixed time increment and add velocity increment to VX and VY.”
No. 5 is, “Fire control causes missile to shoot at fixed speed relative to rocket in direction rocket is pointing. Output to CRT done by sorting position, line and data. Words into output area. An interrupt will be generated at end of each field to indicate.”
Q. Did you write the document of 40-15?
A. No, I didn’t.
Q. Do you know who did?
A. No, I don’t. I have been asking myself that. It could have been a guy named Larry Bryan who was going to do the software at that time.
Q. Do you know what the list of five items under the heading “system input” is?
A. Well, yes, I think it’s essentially all the things that we wanted to put into the system, you know, to make sure that we had enough input ports to play the game.
Q. Did Mr. Bryan generate this document 40-15 as a result of a special review?
A. If he, in fact, was the one that generated it, and I think he was, yes.
Q. Do you know when it was?
A. It was probably during the summer.
Q. Of 1970?
Q. Was anybody other than Larry Bryan assisting you in the construction of your apparatus?
A. Ted Dabney.
Q. What part did Ted Dabney play in the construction, in the development, of that apparatus?
A. He was a good circuits guy. He ultimately designed most of the sound circuitry and the video amplifier.
Larry Bryan was the software man.
I was the hardware man and Ted was the analog man.
[NOTE – This is a major point of contention between Ted and Nolan. While all acknowledge that Ted did the sound and video circuitry, Ted maintains that he (Ted) did the motion circuitry described above while Nolan claims that it was his (Nolan’s) work. The motion circuitry is what Nolan’s patent covered – though as we shall see if I ever get to it, he claims that his patent was not based on work done for Computer Space.]
A. A timing diagram to a Nova 1200 computer.
Q. Can you identify Document 40-8?
A. I think it was a pin designation of input and output for the interface unit to the computer. Yes, it’s a pin assignment.
Q. Did you write the document?
A. Yes, I did. Any of the documents that you can’t read are probably done in my handwriting.
Q. Can you identify Document 40-18?
A. It’s a timing diagram.
Q. Is that also of the Nova 1200?
A. I think so. I don’t really know what the difference between the two documents is. One might have been for the Nova 850 which was a faster machine. When we started getting into problems I thought it might have to go to a faster machine.
Q. Would you please identify Document 40-9?
A. It’s a Xerox of a Signetics integrated circuit, and why I’ve got it there I have no idea.
Oh, I know. That’s an interface chip. It’s the interface unit. I wanted to make sure that what I was feeding to the computer wasn’t going to blow it up. Yes, that’s what it was.
A. It looks like it’s part of the technical manual for the input-output bus structure for the Data General computer.
Q. Was that for the Nova 1200?
A. I believe it was.
A. Yes. That’s the pin-outs of the bus connections for the Nova 1200. These are all Xeroxes because before I had a chance to start talking to the Nova people I was scrounging around for a manual on it and there was only one in the plant that I could get ahold of.
Q. One in which plant?
A. Ampex.
Q. What do you mean by the term “pin-outs”?
A. Well, the bus is essentially the input ports and it tells what part of the computer is connected to what pin. You know, like is It an input port, an address port of interrupt port.
As an example, all I could use were the ones that were vacant, you know, upon the direct memory access. These are General Data bus structures.
See, you put input and output in terms of a word. You see these data A8, All, each one of these represents a bit in the data word.
A. Yes. It’s a page describing how the data channel transfers work with this particular computer. It’s necessary in designing the thing to really have that stuff well scoped out.
Q. Would this particular computer be the Nova 1200?
A. This is an OEM discount schedule which tells you what your price would be depending on how many units you buy. I was trying to find some way to get them to believe me that I was going to take 200 units the first year so I could get a 40 percent discount, but I didn’t quite have that much guts. But I was projecting that if the item did very well there would be considerable savings in the computer.
Q. I believe you testimony is that sometime between January 26, 1971 and February 16, 1971 you decided not to use the central computer system?
Q. What did you do after you decided not to use the central computer system?
A. I put my time into designing a very inexpensive and complex exerciser, if you would, that would essentially do the calculations and hardware. At that time I had had a very complex exerciser already going, but it took me quite a bit to get it up to the point where it controlled two objects. It was only good for one object at that point.
Q. “That point,” being the time you decided not to use the central computer system?
Q. Did you eventually build that exerciser?
A. Well, I guess you can say that—What’s to say when something is complete? It was complete when it went into production at Nutting Associates. I mean, that was the first commercial result of that. But I could move objects around the screen before that time.
Q. What time did it go into commercial production?
A. We sold our first units in December of January of the following year. I guess that would be December ’71 of January ’72.
[NOTE – Numerous sources give a release date of November 1971 for Computer Space, but almost none of them give a source for the date. One that does is Michael Current’s excellent Atari timeline website, which lists the source as “Cash Box 11/27/71 ad p54; 12/4/71 p45”. I do not have either of these issues, but it looks like the November reference was an ad for the game. Ads/flyers typically first appeared in trade magazines about a month before a game was released. It is unclear if the December reference was an ad or an actual release announcement for the game. ]
Q. Did it go into production approximately the same time it was first sold?
A. Oh, yes.
Q. How long before it was first commercially sold would it have gone into production?
A. Well, I think we were trying to get some units out as soon as possible. We showed it at the show I think it was October-November, and as soon as we—we were hoping to have production units ready by then, but the just weren’t and the production units weren’t really ready to ship until that December.
Q. At what show did you show it?
A. Music Operators of America.
Q. Where was the show held?
A. It was a hotel in Chicago. The Palmer House, I believe.
Q. When you say you showed it at the show, was there an operative game there at the show?
A. yes, there was. But it was a lash-up. I carried the computers in my suitcase to the show and we had shipped the cabinets ahead and brought the computers in and installed them and babied them through.
Q. When did you commence your employment with Nutting Associates?
A. I think it was March or April of ’71.
[NOTE – According to Goldberg and Vendel, Nolan started working at Nutting in March of 1970, not 1971. To me, the 1971 date seems more plausible given the information in this deposition (i.e the fact that they were still writing letters to Data General in January and February of 1971) and assuming its accurate. It also seems a bit implausible to me that the worked on the game for Nutting for almost two years before releasing it, but it was sort of a side project and Nutting was inexperienced, so maybe. The claims in the deposition seem to fit better with Nolan visiting his dentist in February 1971 rather than February 1970 as reported in Business Is Fun. OTOH, Marty and Curt generally have solid documentation to support their dates, and it may be that they have such information in this case and maybe Nolan is a year off in his dates.]
Q. I think you testified that you took the computers in a suitcase. What computers are you referring to that you had in your suitcase?
A. That ones that were built for Computer Space.
Q. When was the first time that you had a completed apparatus on which you could play the Computer Space game?
A. You say the Computer Space game. There was a lot of variations and modifications to it.
Q. When was the first time at which you had an apparatus completed on which you could play any version of Computer Space?
A. Oh, it was probably April or May of ’71.
Q. In connection with Exhibit 40-15, I think you said that you wanted to make the system so you could play Spacewar or other games. What other games did you have in mind at that time?
A. Well, I had in mind, you know, various sports games, various arcade games that I had seen in school, you know, when I was at the amusement park. I was thinking particularly of baseball. I was also thinking of hockey.
Q. Do you have any documents which would show the games that you contemplated using with your system at that time?
A. Yes, I do. Now, these are some of the files, some of which are missing, and I don’t know why I’d have these and why I don’t have the others or why I have any at all. I think most of the others are at Nutting. I also have my book in which I have just essentially some of my cost estimates on the Nova and the PDP-8. This is the company that I rented some time on a 16K Nova.
Q. Before you go any further, these files, I gather you were pointing to four files, the first one marked “File No. 9
Q. Was that the same agreement as the agreement relating to Computer Space?
A. No. It was an employment agreement that Nutting had.
Q. Was there a separate agreement from the employment agreement which dealt with your retaining rights to video technology?
A. No. That kept my rights to video technology.
Q. That is, the employment agreement?
A. Right. The agreement that specified the rights that I was conveying to Nutting was in a separate agreement which spelled out the payment terms and things for Computer Space. I was listing each game individually.
Q. Were there any agreements on any other game than Computer Space?
A. Yes. We had an agreement on a game called Two Player Computer Space.
Q. Were there any other agreements relating to games with Nutting?
A. No, there weren’t.
Q. Can you describe for us the game Two Player Computer Space?
A. It was essentially two rocket ships fighting one another in a star field. It’s much close to Spacewar than Computer Space was because it didn’t have the computer-operated flying saucer. Or it did have it. It was one or two-player. You could play against the computer or you could play against the other rocket ship. Computer Space was just a single-player game and could only be played by one person.
Q. Did Nutting ever commercially manufacture the Two Player Computer Space game?
A. Yes, they did.
Q. Do you know when the commenced this manufacture?
A. I think it was shortly after I left. Not shortly after I left, I think it was the following fall.
Q. For how long did they manufacture that game?
A. I have no idea. It was my impression that the game was a mistake. I didn’t think it was a good idea. It was one of the items preceding the disagreement on which I left. I think history bears me out that I was right on it.
Q. Did they manufacture it for a period or months of a period of years or—
A. I have no idea.
Q. Do you know how much they sold that game for?
A. I think it was $1500 or something like that. Very expensive.
Q. Nutting, I assume, did commercially manufacture the Computer Space game?
Q. Do you know how much they sold that for?
A. Yes. They started out at $1,295. Or was it $1,195? Something like that. It was either $1200 or $1295. I think they later dropped the price to $950.
[NOTE – This is one of the few semi-contemporary references I’ve seen to Computer Space’s sales price. I’ve seen some accounts that indicate a price of around $3,000 or more, which seemed way too high to me. Benj Edwards (normally very accurate and one of the best writers on early video game history out there) at one point seems to use a price in this range when trying to estimate Nolan and Ted’s Computer Space royalties.
Nolan’s figure of around $1200-1300 seems more plausible to me Bear in mind, that he was likely referring to the distributor price, not the operator price. Distributors generally marked a game up by 30% or so when selling to operators. At some other point in the depositions, it was mentioned that Nutting had a brochure at the MOA promising a price of under $2000.]
Q. I think you testified earlier that they started their commercial production in either December of ’71 or January of ’72?
Q. Do you know how long that game was in commercial production at nutting?
A. I think they produced that through the following fall. I think they produced Computer Space up until they got Two Player Computer Space into production.
Q. Do you know you many units of Computer Space they sold?
A. I think it was about 13 to 15 (hundred) units. Since I got a royalty on it I probably have the figure around somewhere for sure.
[NOTE – the actual transcript says “13 to 15 units.” There is a handwritten word about the “13 to 15.” It is illegible, but looks like it says “hundred.”
The number of units Computer Space sold has been variously reported as 500-2200. A number of sources, including Goldberg and Vendel, report a figure of 1500, which I consider to be the most reliable figure. Some sources report a production run of 1500, but indicate that Nutting actually sold less. The 1973 student documentary Games Computers Play also cites a 1500 figure (probably the first instance of that figure, or any figure, being cited), but I don’t remember if it was the number produced or the number sold.]
Q. Do you know how many units of Two Player Computer Space they sold?
(22 lines missing?)
Q. After you left Nutting, what was the first video game that you think you worked on?
A. A game called Asteroid.
Q. Was it known as Asteroid at the time you started working on it?
A. That’s what we called it around the company.
Q. Was that similar to the game that was finally sold under the designation Space Race?
[NOTE – This is quite interesting to me. As most of you probably know, Midway’s Asteroid was basically the same game as Space Race.
As revealed in depositions from Bally/Midway executives (John Britz and Hank Ross), which I hope to post in the future, Asteroid/Space Race is actually the game that Nolan/Syzygy delivered to Bally in fulfillment of its video game contract. Contrary to what some have claimed, when Bally officially turned down Pong (though Midway later licensed it), it did not void Nolan’s contract. Instead, he ended up fulfilling it with Asteroid/Space Race. Midway used the original name when releasing it. When Atari later came out with Space Race, Midway indicated that this might have constituted a breach of contract on the part of Nolan and they ended up dropping the 3% royalty specified in the contract as a compromise.]
A. That’s correct. You will find in our papers that we often have an in-house code name that doesn’t always come to market under that name.
Q. Is that name also known as VP-2?
[NOTE that Pong was VP-1]
A. Yes, it is.
Q. What was the next game you started working on after Asteroid?
A. It would have to be the game which is now called Pong. Maybe for classification here there were three of us that were technical.
Q. “Three of us” in what that were technical?
A. Well, three of the employees of the then Syzygy Company were technical and we each had our projects. Mr. Dabney had the pinball projects which was part of the contract engineering for Bally Corporation.
I had the Two Player Computer Space design for Nutting as well as the Asteroid design. The Asteroid design, incidentally, had been actually started before Computer Space because of the star field and all the other stuff. We thought that the first game should be Computer Space, but it was an easier game to do and we probably should have done that as our first entrance but we didn’t. So it was just really picking up on that design and rejuvenating it.
Mr. Alcorn, when he came aboard, his first project was to build a simulated tennis game. I only did about two days’ work on Space Race because I got bogged down in administrative details and running the company other than design and was able to finish up the Two Player Computer Space for Nutting, but Mr. Alcorn ultimately finished the Space Race design.
[NOTE – Bushnell here claims that Space Race was not only started before Computer Space, but also that it was the first game he worked on after leaving Nutting, though he only did so for a few days. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that interesting – especially since I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere else before.]
Q. When did Mr. Alcorn come on board?
A. I don’t know. I can check the records. It’s in the spring. It was shortly after leaving Nutting.
MR. ETLINGER: What year would that be, ’72?
THE WITNESS: ’72.
MR. WILLIAMS: Q. Shortly after you both left Nutting?
(half a page missing?)
When you are a little company you think that model numbers are kind of window dressing.
Q. So the numbers were assigned sometime after the work on the machines actually began?
Q. Did you give Mr. Alcorn the assignment of designing a simulated tennis game?
Q. How did you give him the assignment, was it orally or in writing?
A. It was oral.
Q. Do you know when you gave him that assignment?
A. The day he came to work.
Q. Can you state what the assignment was?
A. Well, I told him to make a tennis game. I wanted the ball to go back and forth horizontally. I wanted two men, two little men with rackets to move around the play field controlled by a joy stick with a button on top and when the button was pushed the little racket in the man’s hand goes like that (indicating).
[NOTE that Bushnell says he initially wanted little men on the screen, not just paddles, and that he originally wanted to use joysticks.]
Q. Indicating a striking motion?
A. Right. And that after a point is scored the ball would appear on the screen and you would have to move your man behind it to serve and bat the ball to the other side; that each time a point was scored you would hear a sound of a crowd of thousands cheering, which is an electronic circuit that you can make that does sound like "Hurray," you know, applause, and I wanted a distant "pop" when the ball hit and I wanted the ball to make a different sounding "pop" when it hit the floor or the sides.
Q. Was Mr. Alcorn successful in developing a game as you have just described?
A. It's hard to say. We worked very closely at the time and the game came together. Designing a game is kind of like drawing a picture and you initially make the big outlines and then the game is refined and refined and refined sort of like coloring in the sections.
I would say the first thing that's done is the sync generator is built and the ball-motion circuitry is put together. After that the paddle control is put in. Well, in an XY joy stick it's just a linked potentiometer so in a lab environment you generally don't go right to a joy stick. You go to two pots. Before you go to two pots you go to one pot.
We looked at the first thing that we had up on a screen which was essentially a rectangular blob which would later be cut by a diode matrix into the little man and the ball. But you could also--you know, it's very easy to make it so that when the ball and the paddle intersect instead of waiting for the computer to detect the hitting motion, that it just automatically bounce off.
That's the way we did the initial one. It didn't play badly, you know. We played it a little bit and found that the game was kind of fun. The problem we had was that the ball speed was very high at the time and we had trouble returning the serve. So we said, "Hey, let's play this a little bit more. Let's slow-the ball down."
Mr. Alcorn slowed the ball down and we played it some more and now we could get the serve back, hut the game was kind of dumb. I mean, it wasn't that much fun, you know.
Oh. I'm leaving out one thing. In this kind of a hitting motion we wanted the racket to do—
Q. The striking motion?
A. The striking motion. If you struck the ball when your paddle was in this direction--
(indicating.)
Q. That is angled upward?
A. Angled upward, we wanted the ball to go up. If you hit it with the paddle perpendicular we wanted the ball to go straight over and if you hit it · while it was in this thing obviously the ball would go down (indicating).
Q. That is with the paddle angled downward?
A. Right. So we had various angles that the ball could have would be selectable. So we just selected which angle it bounced based on where the paddle was. That was in the game, but later it was going to be refined to detect coincidences of when the paddle moved, you know, where it was so that it was not just a, you know, get-in-front-of-the-ball kind of game, but a ball hitting the paddle, you know, where it was. So that was in the game. It played pretty fun, you know, it was pretty good. But, again, the ball now was too slow, and we said, "Well, if it's too slow, you know, if it needs to be slow to return the serve, but it needs to be faster after you get good to be fun." I said, "Well, why don't we just count the volleys and speed the ball up as a function of volley increase." So that's how that came into being. That was not part of the original design specification that I gave to Mr. Alcorn. So we put that in and it was fun. It was a good game.
Then we got into a big hassle. Mr. Alcorn didn't want to put the crowd of thousands in. He thought that it was a waste of time. He says, "Why not just a nice raspberry sound, sort of like (demonstrating) you know," and he said he could do that a lot cheaper.
I said. “Okay, put in the raspberry sound when it misses.” It was my idea that I wanted to cheer on the winner rather than badmouth the loser. But he prevailed on me. So the honk sound was put into the game on a miss. Digital scoring was put in. The game played pretty well. So we said, thinking in the back of our mind, "Hey, we’ve got this. We did it in a hurry. Let's give this to Bally satisfying their contract, their contract engineering. Then we can get off and get doing some of our own stuff.”
[NOTE – Pong was strictly a two-player game, so when one player scored a point, the other player missed. I think the fact that Nolan wanted to accentuate the positive while Ted wanted to highlight the negative says something about their personalities, but maybe that’s just psycho-babble.]
So this was a full six months ahead of schedule from when we were supposed to do it. So I thought, "Gee, this is great. The money is still rolling in and we will have satisfied our contract and happiness and bliss will reign in California." So I hopped on an airplane with the prototype, took it to Bally, showed it to Mr. Britts [sic – it’s actually “Britz”] and Mr. Lally who is, I guess, the vice-president of engineering at Bally.
Neither one of them liked it. The contract was so written that they could refuse--you know, that I had to provide to them an acceptable game, something that they accepted. So they said, "Aw, you have to have two people to play it. Who's going to pay a quarter to play ping pong on a TV screen," so on and so forth, "Go back to the drawing boards, Nolan."
So I did. I climbed back on the airplane very dejected because I thought it was a great chance to get off. I said, "Well, hell, we've got this game, it's designed. Let's put it in a cabinet and see how much it earns."
[NOTE that this is another bone of contention. Ted claims that it was his (Ted’s) idea to become a manufacturer, or at least that he was the main one pushing for it, while Nolan and Al were reluctant. Nolan and Al both say that it was Nolan that pushed for it while Al and Ted were reluctant.]
We did that. It earned very well. We all jointly made the decision that we were going to hock everything we had and go into production. So we figured out exactly how many units we could buy the parts for and hopefully have them sold by the time we had to pay for the parts. We had developed a little bit of credit in the valley at that time and so we made our first order for 75 units which at that time represented about five times as much money as we had or had hoped to even get. We made sure that the parts came in all on the same day so that we could essentially get them all built in a very big hurry and out and sold.
[NOTE that other sources, including Nolan himself in future interviews, claim that after the prototype, Syzygy initially produced around a dozen units. After they were sold (or at least 10 of them), they scraped together everything they had and produced 50 more.
Also, I got the impression reading Business is Fun that the units all coming in at once was by happenstance, not design.]
We did it and we were successful in being able to sell the machines, and with that money we made a re-lease for I think 300 at that time which was out of sight because we were in, you know, 1500 square feet of building. We ended up doing an awful
lot of assembly out in the parking lot. But that's essentially what happened.
MR. WILLLIAMS: Let's take a short recess.
(Short recess)
That’s it for this time. Next time, we’ll hear about Nolan’s famous visit to the Odyssey demo in 1972.
In the meantime, here are a couple of goodies.
First up are these two photos of Nolan from the 1963 Utah State yearbook (“The Buzzer”).
Next is a letter that Nolan sent to Bally’s John Britz on July 10, 1972.
Two things that jump out:
1) Note Nolan’s claim that he will be delivering a hockey game in fulfillment of the video game portion of the contract. From the description, this is not just his term for what became Pong, but is a far more sophisticated game that involved actual goaltenders, the incorporation of ice effects etc.
The interesting part is that this goes seems to contradict the standard story that Nolan originally intended to deliver a driving game and only assigned the tennis game to Alcorn as a training exercise and warm up for the driving game. OTOH, the standard story is very well attested by all three principals (Nolan, Ted, and Al). Nolan himself doesn’t recall writing this letter so we’ll probably never know exactly what was going on with the hockey game.
2) Note that Nolan uses the term “video game” twice in this letter. This is the very first instance I’ve found of the use of that term, which is normally dated to 1973. Of course, etymology’s usually rely on public uses of a term, not uses in private letters, but it still mildly interesting.
Posted by Keith Smith at 1:36 PM 10 comments:
More on the American Video Athletic Association
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October 21, 2018 October 21, 2018 / Bag Full of Books
I am reviewing this book as part of the #1944club, initiated by Simon David Thomas of ‘Stuck in a Book’and Karen of ‘Kaggsy’s Bookish Rambling’.
To take a look at other books published in the same year, reviewed by other bloggers, please take a look at the round up posts that should be up on the previously mentioned blogs.
‘Fair Stood the Wind for France’ by H E Bates is a war time work of fiction that deals with the story of a group of British airmen, who are compelled to make a forced landing in occupied France and have to take refuge in the home of a kind French family, who risk all they hold dear to help the men. In particular it is the beautiful story of the love and trust that grows between the injured head flight pilot and the daughter of the French family.
HE Bates’ ‘Darling Buds’ series is one that I read in my early teens and it has always been very dear to me. Apart from the obvious humour in the stories of the inimitable Larkin family, there is a beauty in Bates’ writing that brings out the best in all natural things. Moreover his writing has a sensual quality. With a keen eye for observing small details, one gets the idea, that here is a writer who knows how to live life to the lees and appreciates the small things.
The beautiful nature writing, descriptions of food, sensuality in describing human interactions and emotions is rendered just as beautifully in ‘Fair Stood the Wind France’. To add to that you have a moving love story and an epic struggle where the protagonists strive to find freedom.
The story starts with the British plane hovering over the French Alps during the night. There are some wonderful descriptions of the snow glistening on the mountains beneath the aircraft.
Sometimes the Alps lying below in the moonlight had the appearance of crisp folds of crumpled cloth. The glacial valleys were alternately shadowy and white as starch in the blank glare of the full moon; and then in the distances, in all directions, as far as it was possible to see, the high snow peaks were fluid and glistening as crests of misty water.
The man in charge of the aircraft, one John Franklin, feels a deep sense of responsibility for his crew of four sergeants, a responsibility that has grown over the year that they have flown together. It is the third summer of the War, tempers are rising, impatience is growing, a sense of uncertainty prevails.
When the engine of the aircraft fails, Franklin is forced to make an abrupt landing, in the dead of the night, in marshy terrain, in what they hope is Occupied France. I’m still confused why landing in this part of France was preferable.
Franklin seriously injures his arm during the impact of an abrupt landing. The crew take recourse to the medical help provided by a local French family. The family, consisting of a mill owner, his beautiful French daughter and aged mother provide the airmen with shelter at the risk of being shot and discovered.
Moreover, papers are procured for the British airmen- false papers that will take them across the border to unoccupied France and further to England. The path to safety is a long one and one that holds considerable risk. Even when the airmen reach the relative safety of unoccupied France, there is the risk from the French people themselves, who are impoverished and in need of food and money themselves.
The world that Bates paints is fraught with much strife, pain, suffering and uncertainty.
In fact this sense of uncertainty and helplessness pervades the entirety of the novel. From a year of publication perspective, the fact that the novel was published in 1944, when the outcome of the war effort was still uncertain, surely contributes to set the tone of the novel. Moreover, there is an overwhelming sense of sorrow, a deep sense of grief for the war and everything that it stands for, and the monstrous face of what it has turned the world and it’s people into.
He felt she was crying for something that he could never have understood without her and now did understand because of her. Deep and complete within himself, all these things were part of the same thing, and he knew that what she was crying for was the agony of all that was happening in the world.
’Fair Stood the Wind for France’ may have become one of my most beloved wartime novels. The story is full of heartache and poignancy. I wonder how much of it was based on what Bates himself saw first hand, as a writer, commissioned by the RAF to write short stories?
Book Review, Books, Fair Stood the Wind for France, H E Bates, wartime novel
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7 thoughts on “Fair Stood the Wind for France by H.E. Bates”
Lovely post! This one is getting a lot of love, and as someone who’s never read Bates I’m now feeling more inclined…. Thanks for joining in! 😀
I think this is a good one to start with Bates. His writing is very good. Darling Buds is a favourite of mine but it is very different!
LauraC
I agree! Great book and I don’t usually care for “war stories.”
Really was moved by the ending. Good material for a movie I think 🙂
I’m so glad you liked it this much! It’s the only Bates I’ve read, and I thought it was great – and I agree, knowing that it was still mid-war when it was published makes a real difference to who ones reads it, doesn’t it?
I’m a great Darling Buds fan Simon. But to read something serious by him – 30 years after reading Darling buds- was a great treat.
The fear and uncertainty about the outcome of the war certainly adds a desperate tone to the book- and what an ending!
Pingback: #1944Club: round up – Stuck in a Book
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Black UBPs who ran in the 1960 elections (part 1/2)
Posted On : November 9, 2017 Published By : The Bahamianologist
The UBP (United Bahamian Party) officially announced its formation on 1st March 1958. They formed themselves out of the sitting independent members of the House of Assembly, largely in response to earthquake like changes occurring in the social order. Cyril Stevenson, one of the founding members of the Progressive Liberal Party, responded to the announcement of the new UBP Party by saying “They have crawled out at last.” By 1960, the Bay Street Boys, the ruling political elite who made up the UBP, were desperate. The social order was changing right before their very eyes. In response to changing times, the UBP decided to run two black candidates in the May 1960 by-election.
To understand how blacks were invited to run as candidates for the UBP (United Bahamian Party) colloquially known as the Bay Street Party in 1960, you have to first understand 1958. To understand 1958, you have to first understand 1956. To understand 1956, you have to first understand the racial and social struggle.
1956 – Hard Graft Makes Political Headway
In 1956, a most extraordinary event happened in the Bahamas which would precipitate sweeping political change. This day would eventually culminate in the push for national independence in 1973. On 8th June 1956, general elections were held in the Bahamas. Although the newly formed Progressive Liberal Party, formed three years earlier in 1953, emerged as the largest party, winning six seats, the majority of seats were won by independents.
The Progressive Liberal Party gained 7,152 votes (32%) of the total votes – 6 seats
Bahama Democrat Labour Party gained 1,417 votes (6.5%) of the total votes – 1 seat
Independents gained 13,372 votes (60.9%) of the total votes – 22 seats
Of the 29 seats won – 7 were won by black candidates and 22 were won by white candidates.
Bahamas Election Results 1956
1958 – The General Strike Begins With The Taxi Drivers Fight For Jobs
In November 1957, a workers dispute arose when the Bahamian government, with a majority governed by twenty-two independent candidates, granted to the white tour companies, a virtually exclusive right to operate the tourist transportation service, between the new International Airport and the city of Nassau. On 1st November, 1957 he Taxi Cab Union, led by Sir Clifford Darling and others, blocked all traffic to and from Nassau International Airport in protest of what they called a racial bar on tourist transportation. This went on for several weeks. Sir Randol Fawkes, leader of The Bahamas Federation of Labour, was called in to assist in settling the dispute and bringing parity back to black cab drivers.
“Sir Randol responded with the urgency that the situation required and at a meeting of the Bahamas Federation of Labour, he presented a motion that stated that the B.F.of L. “should call a General Strike to aid the Taxi Union and to dramatize the fight of all Bahamians for greater dignity and self-respect on the jobsite through decent wages and better working conditions.” The motion was unanimously carried.”
Sir Randol Fawkes The General Strike 1958
The General Strike of 1958 came fortuitously during the winter tourist season. The winter tourist season was the biggest money making portion of the year for the hotels and Bay Street businesses. The strike was devastating on local businesses.
In fear of possible riots and mayhem, Governor, Sir Raynor Arthur contacted London. London sent troops from Jamaica and the war ship HMS Ulster to guard Nassau against the picketing and boycotting black citizens. The fear of racial tensions boiling over into riots and destruction were never realised into anything other than peaceful protests.
On January 29th, 1958, His Excellency at last brought representatives of the tour companies and the Taxi-Union together at a top level conference. At the end of the talks, the officers of each organization signed a detailed agreement providing for the more equitable division of transportation of passengers to and from the airport.
HANSARD: Debate House of Commons, London, 30 January, 1958: Lennnox-Boyd: The strike in the Bahamas originated from a dispute between two conflicting commercial interests and not from one between employers and employees. Stoppages of work by employees in public and private services, including the hotels, have since taken place. There has been no violence or disorder but as a precaution a company of troops has been flown in from Jamaica. This has provided much needed relief for the local police. H.M.S. “Ulster” went to Nassau for the purpose of providing technicians to maintain essential services. Utilities such as electricity and water have continued uninterrupted. Meetings have been taking place between representatives of the parties involved under impartial chairmanship. The Governor has been making continuous efforts to get the parties concerned to effect a settlement and, although I have no details as yet, I am glad to say that the strike is ending today.
THE AFTERMATH OF THE 1958 GENERAL STRIKE
HANSARD: Debate House of Commons, London, 30 January, 1958: J. Johnson: Is not the action of the taxi drivers a symptom of deep underlying conditions—bad housing, bad wages, the colour bar, no coloured man on the Executive Council? Does not the constitution need to be considered and ought there not to be a Commission, on the lines of the Elliot Commission to Kenya, with power to ask questions and to take evidence and to prepare a White Paper for the House to examine?
The General Strike of 1958 succeeded in getting the attention of the British. They began pushing for constitutional reforms in the Bahamas for which various people in the country had been pushing for since 1925. The PLP was pushing for the franchise. The independent candidate block was against it. In the end, by 1960, the company vote was abolished, the extension of the franchise to all men over 21 became law. And most importantly to this chapter of Bahamian history, FOUR new parliamentary seats were created.
By-elections were held in May 1960 to fill these new seats.
The UBP ran two black candidates in a bid to appeal to a new social demographic in the Bahamas, the rise of the influential black voters, who had elected six PLP candidates in 1956.
The UBP attempted to appeal to “THE NEW BAHAMIANS.”
Posted in: Acts and Legislations, Archive, History, Political Turning PointsTagged : Acts and Legislations,History,political turning points
Bahamas Population 27,519 souls March 1851
What was the Bahamian Progressive League the first negro led political party? 1915
Two slaves hanged on Hog Island, April 1791
Dynamite explosion in house on Augusta Street, 1925
Black UBPs who ran in the 1960 by-elections (part 2/2)
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Rational Pessimism
Matt Ridley’s new book about how we’ve got it so good today, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves, has met with pretty decent reviews. I only just got around to reading Brendan O’Neill’s review for The American Conservative today (yes, yes, I know it’s dated August 1, but I’ve been busy), and it quashed any desire I might have had to read it.
I mean, I know I’m a pretty ornery cuss, but let’s face it: despite rapid advances in material prosperity, we as a society don’t seem particularly happy with our lot. O’Neill is right in saying that all the threats guaranteed to kill us all – Y2K, Bird Flu, that Man-Bird-Pig disease of a year or two ago – have never materialized, and that despite our constant worrying over the end, if it indeed comes it is almost certain to catch us by surprise.
And yet, there is so much of Ridley’s overall hypothesis that seems to make no sense. At the risk of becoming one of the “angry, graph-obsessed nitpicking” types O’Neill warns against, I think it would make sense to examine Ridley’s actual claims and see why they ring hollow.
In just the past 50 years, the average human “earned nearly three times as much money (corrected for inflation), ate one-third more calories of food, buried one-third as many of her children, and could expect to live one-third longer.”
Right off the bat, I can see one problem here: the average human. While wages and prosperity have risen steadily around the world, in the United States income disparity is at historical levels. Productivity has soared in the past fifty years, but relative worker pay has dropped precipitously. We’re doing more and getting paid less to do it. So while much of the world may have seen a tangible increase in quality-of-life, we’re in many ways worse off than we were 20, 30 years ago. Continue reading →
Tagged books, culture, economics, futurism, identity, resources, technology
H.U.D. not C.H.U.D.
In Las Vegas, they’ve gone underground.
Not in the “off-the-grid” sense, nor in any kind of futuristic post-apocalyptic-themed bunker casino (an idea that I have just now patented), but in an actual we’ve-lost-our-homes-and-live-in-a-tunnel way.
An entrance to the tunnels underneath Las Vegas, Nevada.
The population is estimated to be over 1,000. People who have lost their homes and their livelihoods have instead converted the tunnels – both flooded and dry – into their homes, milk crates to keep their things out of the water. The furniture all comes second-hand; they look for new things at night, to avoid unwanted attention – “it’s kind of embarrassing”.
Steven and Kathryn's 400 sq. ft. "bungalow," deep beneath Las Vegas.
There’s a shadow economy at work here, beyond the obvious gray market in housing. For one of the underground dwellers, his source of income is credit hustling for left behind slot chips and jackpots (he claims to have once found $997). It’s scraps from above, the remnants of a once proud civilization, that sustain this particular mode of urban life. And all the while, one can’t help but channel Taibbi:
With the $13-plus trillion we are estimated to ultimately spend on the bailouts, we could not only have bought and paid off every single subprime mortgage in the country (that would only have cost $1.4 trillion), we could have paid off every remaining mortgage of any kind in this country-and still have had enough money left over to buy a new house for every American who does not already have one.
It’s an unintentional hackerspace – a separation from everyday life borne of necessity, not desire – but nevertheless it achieves some sort of independence.
Can this be taken further? Can our underground and derelict spaces be reused for isolated groups and others who just want to be left alone? Are subterranean environments appropriate for sustained living? Let’s see how long these tunnel folks can go unmolested by the law first.
Meanwhile, in Germany, the “House of Contamination” art exhibit accidentally mocks this way of living.
An aerial shot of a room in the “House of Contamination” installation.
A “life-size maquette of a cultural centre that facilitates cross-fertilisation between the arts?” No, an all-too real representation of modern low living. Perhaps if “House of Contamination” was trying to make a larger socio-economic point. But it appears to just be ‘slumming it’. Read some damn Scalzi.
Tagged class, economics, Las Vegas, resilience, United States, urban
Kids’ Table No More
President Obama dropped a bombshell and a “guaranteed applause line” on his passage to India: he will back an Indian seat on the UN Security Council. And quite frankly, it’s about time. The only two countries opposing it were China and the US, so while this doesn’t completely clear the path for Indian accession, it does smooth it.
The other question is how this will remake the Security Council as a whole. Tom Ricks has his own solution:
It also probably is time to kick out France and Britain and instead give the EU one seat, which would make the permanent members:
Japan makes sense, but adding/subtracting members is going to irritate virtually everyone no matter how it’s done (which explains why none of it has been done before).
I think we can agree right off the bat that losing members is a non-starter. No one will voluntarily give up a seat, and thanks to veto power, it’s hard to see France or Britain ruling themselves into irrelevance, no matter how much that might make sense. If they both stay then, why would Germany not deserve a seat? As the largest economy and most populous country in Europe, there’s little reasonable objection to their membership.
Then we get into regional representation. If Russia, India, and China all have a seat, why doesn’t Brazil get one? Or if we go the route of an EU seat, why not UNASUR? And/or the African Union? Will the Middle East get its own seat? Would Pakistan demand one?
It is an excruciating set of compromises that would have to be made in order to change the membership of the Security Council at all. Perhaps the largest barrier, though, is the scale of enlargement. The G8 didn’t evolve into a G10, and then a G12, and so forth – it went straight from G8 to G20. And if the Security Council is to add any of the up-and-coming powers, it will probably have to add them all.
Tagged Asia, conventional war, diplomacy, economics, Europe, India, UN, United Nations, United States
Frenemies?
Two age-old adversaries finally joined forces in recognition of their weakened position today. Putting aside the divisions of the past and recalling times when they could reach across and work with each other in harmony, the two parties committed to a radical, unprecedented new arrangement.
No, Charlie Crist didn’t win, and Congress didn’t actually decide to start functioning. Instead, France and Good Britain signed a defense treaty. It’s pretty out there: provisions for a joint expeditionary task force and a timeshare arrangement of their aircraft carriers, which many had speculated on. At least now one will always be at sea, exorcising the specter of a naval aviation-less Great Britain. Also: joint nuclear research! Though not extending to actual issues of deployment, it seems to have supplanted the old Tube Alloys project between America and Britain as the new centerpiece of nuclear partnership.
Still, we have come a long way since the days of Viscount Gort and the BEF. Rule Britannia? Well, co-rule maybe.
Tagged conventional war, doctrine, economics, France, naval, resources, United Kingdom
Today is November 2nd. So vote!
But also more importantly, my first Fortnight article goes live today: “The Stormy Present.”
Read it, weep, then get back to me. Preferably with a job offer.
Tagged economics, Fortnight, media, politics, United States
Thanks to Netflix finally appearing on my PS3, I’ve been able to watch all sorts of ridiculous National Geographic documentaries like Stress: Portrait of a Killer, Kim Cattrall: Sexual Intelligence, and Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure. Mixed in with those are some gems, though, like the Inside series (Inside Special Forces, Air Force One, Inside the US Secret Service, etc.).
I saw and decided to take a chance on Collapse: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire Book by Jared Diamond. I should admit that I haven’t read Diamond’s book, but the premise is clear enough. The major factors contributing to our hypothetical demise are a lack of water, food, and oil, all multiplied by the effects of global warming. The story of our collapse is told through the eyes of fictional scientists and researchers in the year 2210 combing the desertified ruins of the globe for evidence pointing to one factor or another (at one point, I think they even recycled five seconds of footage from I Am Legend). This is interspersed with historical reenactments of other collapsed civilizations, including Rome, the Mayans, and the Anasazi.
One-line review: it’s kind of like those Life After People and Aftermath: Population Zero ‘documentaries’, but with more anthropology and more science. I mean that in a good way.
But anyways, I was left with two burning questions at the end of it.
The first was where and how did these scientists survive and come to be? Oral tradition alone should explain our downfall, but they have ridiculously advanced technology. Like iPads with the Minority Report interface. And where are they based? They’re exploring the American West and Southwest, along with the British Isles, Southern Europe, and the underwater ruins of Hong Kong. But where do they live? Did New York miraculously escape destruction?
The second has to do with our impending water crisis. I know that we’re on the brink of the first water wars, but for long-term considerations: what the hell are we doing with desalinization?
According to my research, the most intensive barriers to more widespread adoption are the cost of the technology itself and of the power needed to operate the plants. But in most of the Middle East, for example, virtually every new power plant is constructed with some sort of desalination capacity incorporated into it. Current desalinization, though, can start recycling some of its own energy, meaning with a viable renewable energy source – nuclear comes to mind – a plant can be self-sustainable and contribute energy back to the grid.
As is, the costs of desalinization are passed on to end-users to the tune of $3 per thousand gallons. That seems steep, but then again, we buy bottled water, don’t we? Bottled water runs about $7,945 per thousand gallons. Seriously, this seems like a proactive step we could take. Now. To secure our water reserves for a long time to come and maybe, just maybe preserve California’s Inland Empire as a viable place to live while recycling much-needed energy to the grid.
But forget Phoenix, humans seriously have no business living there whatsoever.
Tagged culture, economics, futurism, identity, resilience, resources, technology
“The 15 minutes I spent imagining what I’d name it were perhaps the happiest 15 minutes of my life.”
If the Royal Navy really does decide to sell HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2020, who might buy it? And even more importantly, what would they name it? Robert Farley handicaps the race, giving odds and possible names to potential suitors:
Empress Dowager Cixi
Odds: 99-1
Imperitsiya Ekaterina Velikaya
Carla Bruni (R92)
HMCS Queen Elizabeth
INS India Gandhi
JDS Empress Michiko
Odds: 7-1
HMAS Queen Elizabeth
ROKS Empress Myeongsong
NAe Empress Isabel
If I were a gambling man…
Also, guess what the source of the title is. Then check your answer here.
Tagged diplomacy, economics, humor, naval, United Kingdom
Depressing developments out of Britain (new motto: “Good, not Great”), where David Cameron has announced the extent of massive budget cuts. They’re not only targeted at the much-reviled ‘quangos’ and other sundry domestic spending, but significantly cut down on the size of the Royal Navy.
And I do mean significant. HMS Ark Royal is to be scrapped immediately, and while the two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers will still be built, one will be commissioned pre-mothballed, while neither will be fully operational until 2036 (a rather expensive “jobs program“). One of the two helicopter carriers will be decommissioned. A total of 5,000 personnel cut. And the surface fleet reduced to 19 ships. As many have pointed out, that’s smaller than the task force sent to retake the Falkland Islands.
Obviously, this represents a real threat to British power projection capabilities. But it’s worth asking to what extent they’re still needed. The Guardian, true to form, heralds the cuts as rendering Britain incapable of launching “military operations like Iraq.” Which may be well and good; after all, today’s generals prepare to fight yesterday’s wars, and hopefully there won’t be any more Iraqs or Afghanistans in the near future.
All the same, is this a force capable of defending Britain? Again, the question is what Britain needs defending from. It can’t be the French, with whom the Royal Navy has entered into a sort of timeshare arrangement for the use of aircraft carriers (though hopefully their deployments go better than that of Charles de Gaulle). If anything is to be secure for Britain, though, it must be the sealanes. Britain is an island, and as Patrick Porter reminds us, “for heavy importing island states like Britain, strategy puts food on the table.”
Either way, it’s a huge blow to British prestige both around the world and within NATO. The worst part is that this may be a sign of things to come. As David Betz at Kings of War says:
The thing to grasp is that this is not Year Zero for the UK military, it’s worse than that. It’s more like Year -5 or -10 because that’s what it’s going to take to move all the accumulated bad decisions, and even worse non-decisions, through the system. It will be years before we get to zero and can start to work on building the armed forces we want and need.
Practical considerations aside – and they’re hugely important to consider – it’s almost akin to the death of the battleship, that great “monarch of the sea.” Once the British cuts are complete, the United States will be the only navy in the world operating more than one carrier. Last time the U.S. had to bail out her Anglophone cousin, the Royal Navy had been placed in a similar situation.
By 1939, Britain could not afford the navy that was necessary to ensure security across the globe. While the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty appeared to favor the United States and the United Kingdom, the scattered nature of the British Empire left it without overwhelming strength in any given theater, despite the superiority in absolute tonnage. In the early days of World War II – at least to protect Far East territories and India – the Royal Navy had to rely on the strength of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the South African coastal forces, and the British-controlled Royal Indian Navy.
We all know what happened next: Singapore and Malaya fell, the Japanese preponderance of carrier-based aviation left the entire Eastern Fleet sorely outgunned, and at the Battle of the Java Sea, the entire Allied fleet was wiped out in the largest naval battle since Jutland in 1916. Britain was stretched too thinly.
Obviously, the empire is no more and concerns closer to home are keeping the Ministry of Defence busy, but even so – there is a floor to the minimum amount of required naval force, even for a tiny island like Great Britain. With these cuts, I fear that the UK may have just crashed through it.
Tagged aviation, economics, history, NATO, naval, United Kingdom
The Output Gap
It seems like good news always comes out when the weather’s bad, and bad news when it’s nice out. But when it’s a grey day to begin with and you look at this series of charts…
What the gap between potential and actual production means for employment.
Basically, a recovery could take 10 more years. Or never materialize at all. Given the devastating effects of long-term unemployment on recent graduates, young adults, and the very fabric of society, we have got to do better. And the stimulus was too much?!
At this point, it doesn’t even matter. Make-work, nothingness – anything is better than the worst-case outcome here.
Posted in Pics or It Didn't Happen
Tagged business, economics, identity, infographics, United States
Freedom™: A Review
This author, with Suarez' duology at a London pub, May 2010.
After cruising through Daemon in about 2 days, Freedom™ was even quicker: I blew through it in about 24 hours (back in May). That’s no knock against it, though; rather, I just couldn’t put it down at all.
This review will be brief, even though it’s taken me almost three months to get around to finishing it. Basically, if Daemon was the end of the beginning, Freedom™ is the beginning of the end. Or at least of the next step. It lays out the climactic struggle much more succinctly, a titanic clash between people and business, corporate and individual. I found this particular passage most instructive:
You, sir, are walking on a privately owned Main Street—permission to trespass revocable at will. Read the plaque on the ground at the entrance if you don’t believe me. These people aren’t citizens of anything, Sergeant. America is just another brand purchased for its goodwill value. For that excellent fucking logo … No conspiracy necessary. It’s a process that’s been happening for thousands of years. Wealth aggregates and becomes political power. Simple as that. ‘Corporation’ is just the most recent name for it. In the Middle Ages it was the Catholic Church. They had a great logo, too. You might have seen it, and they had more branches than Starbucks. Go back before that, and it was Imperial Rome. It’s a natural process as old as humanity.
Of course, overreach leads to retreat and retrenchment, et cetera, et cetera. Even if the message seems a little obvious (and by no means subtly presented), it’s an important one, and it’s framed in an interesting new way. It’s that presentation that makes this not only legible, but well worth your time, if not just to see what the traditional cries of anticonsumerism and Adbusters-type activism look like in the digital age.
John Robb’s ‘holons‘ take some big strides here too; Suarez has done an excellent job of envisioning the resilient community concept, and doing so in a way that makes them seem not only possible, but inevitable. A blueprint for the future? Not necessarily. But at the least, a realistic portrayal of the kind of decentralized communities that we’ll hopefully be migrating to in the future. Thanks to Daniel Suarez, they’re more than just a concept.
So read Daemon and then read Freedom™. Seriously, you won’t be disappointed. And even if you are, ignore the prose and focus on the message – it’s one we sorely need to listen to right now.
Buy Freedom™ at Amazon.com.
Tagged 4GW, books, economics, internet, networks, privatization, resilience, technology
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berkeleyanderson
← Romanticism, Modernism, and California: Didion’s Search for Self
On Behind the Beautiful Forevers →
Travels in Siberia: Incomplete Grandiosity
In The Culture of Time and Space, Stephen Kern notes that impressionist artist Cezanne, “wanted to fuse perceptions and conceptions—the way we see things from a single point of view and the way we know them to be from a composite of views. Experience tells us that the opening of a vase is circular but when viewed from the side we see it as an ellipse. Cezanne combined these two perceptions visually with multiple perspectives (Kern, 142).” Similarly, Ian Frazier, in his book Travels in Siberia, combines the stereotypical expectations of Siberia, with rich history and his own experiences traveling across Siberia. He explores stereotypes and preconceived notions, bringing a new perspective to an area of the world that seems to remain detached in an era of constant communication. Ultimately, however Frazier leaves Siberia with an unfinished understanding of it. Although Frazier manages to shed light on cultural and historical factors which shaped Siberia, and manages to make a place as remote as Siberia, seem both familiar and charmingly foreign, Siberia remains in “incomplete grandiosity” that it started out with in the beginning of the book.
Kern claims that the encroaching “railroads ended the sanctity of remoteness…” and that “the telephone permitted businessmen to buy and sell from afar without leaving their offices and at the same time expanded their “territory” and forced them to reach out further (Kern, 213-215).” He also notes that Jules Verne’s novel “[Around the World in Eighty Days] projected a new sense of world unity [in the early 19th century] that became ever sharper in the decades that followed as the railroad, telephone bicycle, automobile, airplane, and cinema revolutionized the sense of distance(213, Kern).” Technology increasingly makes the world seem smaller, more accessible, and more relatable, yet Siberia, which Ian Frazier seeks out in his book Travels in Siberia, escapes that accessibility. Siberia remains an indescribable, undefined, borderless landscape of ice and exiles. Siberia, like Russia described in the “lines by Tyutchev…cannot be understood by the mind…cannot be measured by ordinary measure: She has her own particular stance—all you can do is believe in her (Frazier, 191).” In the minds of Americans Siberia became a cultural symbol of social exile, while “Russians from Moscow and St. Petersburg tend to have exaggerated ideas about Siberia” as well (Frazier, 152). For all of Frazier’s attempts to find a common ground between America and the Russia he has fallen in love with, he finds that despite the similarities between small towns in Russia and in America, he doesn’t “think anyone who saw Yakutsk would be reminded of Elwood, or of a place like it. Elwood is another small American town that has passed through stages of early settlement, enthusiastic development, industrial boom, and recent decline. In those terms, its frontier years ended ages ago. Yakutsk,[representative of Siberia] on the other hand, is still a frontier place, still hanging on to the writhing wilderness by its fingernails (Frazier, 390).”
Frazier doggedly attempts to investigate prison camps during his travels, but part of the darkness of Siberia, the wilderness of it turns out to be partially in the ingrained repression of painful memories. Where Americans would dutifully commemorate lost-lives, the Russians prefer to forget. Siberia, remains a chronicle of this habit, with prison camps left untouched and unnoticed, preserved only by Siberia’s icy climate. One could classify Siberia as an unkempt memory—a collection of mementos left to slowly fall apart. At one point in his travels, Frazier “ passed a village that Victor said he remembered as a lovely place in his childhood” but which Krushchev ruined(Frazier, 174). “The remnants of the village could still be seen, crumbling at the feet of out-of place and also crumbling 1950s-era high rises (Frazier, 174).” Siberia is the product of overthrown governments and harsh climates, characterized by nasty weather and brutality, yet Frazier seems to love Siberia nonetheless. In his comparison to America, and the Wild West—of kitschy film fame—and the beloved road trip, Frazier notes that, “In America we love roads. To be “on the road” is to be happy and alive and free. Whatever lonesomeness the road implies is also a blankness that soon will be filled with possibility. A road leading to the horizon almost always signifies a hopeful vista for Americans. ‘Riding off into the sunset’ has always been our happy ending. But I could find no happy-ending vista here, only the opposite. This had also been called the Convicts’ Road or the Exiles’ Road. Not only was it lonesome, but it ran permanently in the wrong direction, from the exiles’ point of view. Longing and melancholy seemed to have worked themselves into the very soil; the old road and the land around it seemed downcast as if they’d had their feelings hurt by how much the people passing by did not want to be here (Frazier, 220).” Ultimately, Frazier finds few redeeming qualities in Siberia. The mosquitos are unbearable, the landscape often swampy or bitterly cold, the sides of the road filled with trash. The redeeming qualities of the books come from the wanderlust characteristics of it.
Frazier chooses a risky style, telling his story like a travelogue interspersed with historical notes. His style however, emphasizes just how spectacular the experience of Siberia really is. Siberia makes the story, it evokes reactions, it creates unusual stories. Had Frazier traveled through Iowa and used the same type of plot development, it likely would have been very dry. Yet somehow, the extraordinary situations created by the broken down van, Sergei’s ingenuity, and the foreignness of the whole thing create both tension and humor. The architect “Sitte insisted that the rhythmic distribution of spaces in pleasing and functional patterns should be the top priority. He argued that urban spaces should be enclosed to give them a definite shape. He also criticized the horror of empty space that repeatedly led planners to put statutes and monuments in the center of town squares (Kern, 158).” This horror of empty, undefined spaces, lend Siberia its mystery and its terror. Both the fear and the draw of the unknown draw Frazier back out into Siberia, and define the Russian’s definitions of Siberia. Siberia was known for is ruins and its repression. Frazier makes Siberia sound unappealing and yet, one suspects that Siberia provides for him the one destination to cure an almost insatiable desire to escape and explore.
Ultimately, Frazier’s Travels in Siberia, does not make Siberia a more welcoming and warm place. Frazier acknowledges Siberia’s flaws, the proven stereotypes, the forced resourcefulness of the people. Instead Frazier achieves the effect of the French poet Mallarmé who insisted that poetry must “paint not the thing, but the effect that it produces.” Mallarmé suggested that “the line of poetry..should be composed not of words but of intentions, and all the words should fade away before the sensation.” The power of Frazier’s Siberia, comes not from the reality of Siberia, but from the reactions, the emotions that Siberia evokes within Frazier. Mallarmé wrote about his own work, Herodiade, “If only I’d chosen an easy work! But, precisely, I, who am sterile and crepuscular, have chosen a terrifying subject, whose sensations, if they are strong, reach the point of atrocity, and if they are vague, have the strange attitude of mystery… I have, moreover, found an intimate and unique way of painting and noting down the very fleeting impressions. I should add, which is even more terrifying, that all these impressions follow one another as in a symphony, and I often have entire days when I ask myself if this impression can accompany that one, what is their relationship and effect … You can guess that I write few lines in a week.” Frazier who chose a similarly terrifying and mysterious subject seems to be plagued by the same problems. Weaving historical scenes into his travels across the ice without plot development, could have made the book unbearable. Still, Frazier, like Mallarmé, managed to synthesize these scenes, intuitively recognizing the significance of their “relationship and effect.”
Frazier ends the books brilliantly. He manages to capture the impossibility of truly capturing Siberia, relating the vastness of its history and relates his concept of Siberia:
“From time to time I contemplate the phrase ‘the incomplete grandiosity of Russia.’ I’m not sure who said it originally, or how I happen to have it in my head, but it describes the country. Russia’s grandiosity, good or bad, doesn’t end. It just trails off into the country’s expanses like Kutuzov’s army evaporating before Napoleon. The incomplete grandiosity pursues itself out there in Siberia somewhere…Incomplete and cruel grandiosity (468, Frazier).”
He doesn’t buff away the roughness of the Siberian landscape and the people who occupy it, but he remains enamored with Russia. The beauty of Siberia can be found in its mysterious history, its inaccessibility, and its continued mystery in an increasingly familiar world.
One response to “Travels in Siberia: Incomplete Grandiosity”
bretschulte
which always requires a comma. That aside, I agree that Siberia — and all of Russia — is something of a shapeshifter. It is elliptical, it is circular, it is perhaps, indefinable, which is seems to be the problem Frazier comes up against at the end of the book.
–Although Frazier manages to shed light on cultural and historical factors which shaped Siberia, and manages to make a place as remote as Siberia, seem both familiar and charmingly foreign, Siberia remains in “incomplete grandiosity” that it started out with in the beginning of the book
Already established in this essay:
— yet Siberia, which Ian Frazier seeks out in his book Travels in Siberia,
some missing commas here:
–Siberia, like Russia described in the “lines by Tyutchev…cannot be understood by the mind…cannot be measured by ordinary measure: She has her own particular stance—all you can do is believe in her (Frazier, 191).” In the minds of Americans Siberia became a
Good example. It shows not only the struggle to find a way to explain this place to American audiences, but also the trappings of American perspective as a writer:
–For all of Frazier’s attempts to find a common ground between America and the Russia he has fallen in love with, he finds that despite the similarities between small towns in Russia and in America, he doesn’t “think anyone who saw Yakutsk would be reminded of Elwood, or of a place like it. Elwood is another small American town that has passed through stages of early settlement, enthusiastic development, industrial boom, and recent decline. In those terms, its frontier years ended ages ago. Yakutsk,[representative of Siberia] on the other hand, is still a frontier place, still hanging on to the writhing wilderness by its fingernails (Frazier, 390).”
It’s true that he marvels at much of Siberia, but I’m not convinced that’s the same feeling as love. He does convince me of Russia’s greatness at the end of the book with his experience at the ballet, but that moment doesn’t take place in Siberia. Perhaps he could have succeeded in expressing Siberia’s worthiness if he had spent more time with its people and given us some characters to care about.
–Ultimately, Frazier finds few redeeming qualities in Siberia. The mosquitos are unbearable, the landscape often swampy or bitterly cold, the sides of the road filled with trash. The redeeming qualities of the books come from the wanderlust characteristics of it.
actually, he essentially does this in Great Plains, and I think it’s a much stronger book:
–Had Frazier traveled through Iowa and used the same type of plot development, it likely would have been very dry.
Nicely put. Thanks for the good comments!
The Memory of Stars
On Behind the Beautiful Forevers
Romanticism, Modernism, and California: Didion’s Search for Self
Wolfe: Capturing Subculture Through the Details
berkeleyanderson ·
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B.Militello@Comcast.net
Category: Accounts
Barbara Jean Militello MBA, EA > Articles You’ll Find Helpful > Accounts
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA): How it impacts individuals at different stages of life.
June 14, 2019 Accounts, Filing Taxes No Comments
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) made dramatic changes to the rules for individuals that affect tax planning at all stages of life. These changes require financial planners to reorient their thinking about the advice they offer to individual clients concerning life-stage matters. As this advice is being offered, keep in mind that there are some unanswered questions that await IRS guidance or additional legislative clarification.
Marriage Penalty
The “marriage penalty” is the additional taxes that a couple pays because of their filing status, as compared with the tax that would be owed if they were not married and filed as single. The new law makes some changes that reduce the marriage penalty. Starting in 2018, the first five marginal tax brackets for singles are half those for married persons filing jointly, as compared to only the two lowest brackets (10% and 15%) for 2017.
The marriage penalty has not been completely eliminated. For example, the same $10,000 cap on the itemized deduction for state and local taxes starting in 2018 applies for both married couples and singles.
The tax treatment of alimony changes dramatically for divorce and separation decrees or agreements entered into or modified after 2018. Alimony will no longer be deductible, while payments to the recipient will no longer be taxable. Payments under existing decrees or agreements will continue to be deductible/taxable. Individuals with prenuptial/postnuptial agreements that were written with the expectation of deductibility but who divorce after 2018 may want to try to negotiate different terms than those provided in the agreements (e.g., additional property settlements) to arrive at results acceptable to both parties.
The dependency exemption for a child, which was $4,050 in 2017, has been eliminated for 2018 through 2025. The rules for determining a dependent continue to come into play for various purposes, however, such as the child tax credit, which has been greatly enhanced. The credit, which can be claimed for a child under age 17 at the end of the year, will double to $2,000 in 2018, and $1,400 of the credit is refundable. What’s more, the income phaseouts for claiming the credit have been raised considerably, making more parents eligible. There is also a new $500 nonrefundable child tax credit for a qualifying dependent who is not a qualifying child (e.g., a child living with and supported by parents but too old to be a qualifying child).
There were proposals to repeal the adoption credit and the exclusion for adoption assistance, as well as the exclusion for dependent care assistance, but they were not included in the final law.
Working Children
The rules for determining the standard deduction for a child who works have not changed. For 2018, the deduction is the greater of $1,050 or earned income plus $350 (but not more than $12,000). A child who works can continue to make contributions to an IRA or Roth IRA.
The computation of the tax on unearned income of a child, however, has been changed. Instead of figuring this tax using the parent’s highest tax rate, starting in 2018 it will be based on the rates for trusts and estates. Parents can continue to opt to report a child’s unearned income as their own under certain conditions. This election must be reexamined in light of all other changes impacting parents’ returns.
In general, the tax-advantaged plans for education—Coverdell education savings accounts (ESAs) and IRC section 529 plans—continue to be available. There have, however, been some changes to note.
529 plans.
Previously, if parents or grandparents wanted to use tax-advantaged savings plans to pay for primary and secondary school, they had to use a Coverdell ESA. Starting in 2018, 529 plans can be used for this purpose. Up to $10,000 can be withdrawn tax free annually to pay for primary and secondary school (public, private, or religious). The limitation applies on a per-student basis, so if a student is the beneficiary of multiple 529 accounts, only a total of $10,000 can be withdrawn tax free in one year from one or more of these accounts. From a planning perspective, given the ever-rising cost of higher education, it probably is advisable to allow funds in 529 plans to grow tax deferred to pay for college or graduate school.
Funds in 529 plans can be rolled over tax free to Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) accounts for disabled individuals. The amount rolled over counts toward the annual contribution limit, which is the same as the annual gift tax exclusion ($15,000 in 2018). Other changes to ABLE accounts are discussed below.
Paying For Education
The above-the-line deduction for tuition and fees expired at the end of 2016 and has yet to be extended. Nonetheless, the TCJA did not repeal this deduction (despite proposals to do so), which means that an extender bill may restore the deduction. A proposal to repeal the exclusions for tuition reduction, interest on U.S. savings bonds to pay for higher education, and employer-paid education assistance were not included in the final measure.
No changes were made to the American Opportunity Credit and the Lifetime Learning Credit, which will continue to apply to help defray the cost of higher education.
No changes were made to the above-the-line deduction for student loan interest. The same $2,500 annual limit applies; the modified adjusted gross income limits on eligibility for the deduction continue to be adjusted annually for inflation. The proposal to eliminate this write-off was not included in the final law.
Under the TCJA, student loans that are canceled on account of death or disability are not treated as taxable cancellation of debt income.
Changing or Losing Jobs
The job market currently favors employees, with companies competing for talent with increased wages and enhanced benefits. Still, if an employee changes jobs after 2017, the deduction for expenses of resumés, travel, and other work-related costs is no longer available as an itemized deduction.
Relocating to Another State
America continues to be a highly mobile society, and this likely will not change under the new tax law. Still, individuals should be advised about how new rules under the TCJA will impact them.
Moving Expenses
The above-the-line deduction for moving expenses has been eliminated starting in 2018 (other than for active members of the military who relocate under military orders), meaning that employers cannot reimburse employees for these costs on a tax-free basis.
While all state and local taxes are deductible in 2017, starting in 2018 there will be a $10,000 cap on the itemized deduction for property taxes and state and local income or sales taxes. This new cap may influence a decision on whether or where a taxpayer chooses to relocate. The following states have no income tax: Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming. The following states have no sales tax: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.
Investment decisions will continue to factor in tax results. A proposal to make interest on municipal bonds taxable was not included in the final law. But the reduction in individual tax rates will diminish the value of tax-free interest on municipal bonds.
While the tax rates on individuals have been reduced starting in 2018, the tax rates on qualified dividends and long-term capital gains remain unchanged at 0%, 15%, and 20%. What has changed is the breakpoint at which these rates apply. Starting in 2018, the 0% rate applies for taxable income up to $77,200 on a joint return or for surviving spouses, $51,700 for heads of household, and $38,600 for singles and married persons filing separately. The 15% rate applies for taxable income up to $479,000 on a joint return or for surviving spouses, $452,400 for heads of household, $425,800 for singles, and $248,500 for married persons filing separately. These breakpoints will be adjusted for inflation after 2018.
There is a new opportunity for tax-free or tax-deferred capital gains on certain investments in opportunity zones. Opportunity zones are economically disadvantaged areas designated by the government. Investments are made through a qualified opportunity fund, defined as one in which at least 90% of the assets are qualified zone property.
The TCJA did not directly change the rules for tax-advantaged retirement savings plans, such as 401(k)s, 403(b)s, and IRAs. Thus, the tax savings available through these plans continue to be important for individuals seeking future financial security.
One change of note is the end to the ability to recharacterize Roth IRA conversions. Thus, if an individual converts some or all of a tax-advantaged retirement savings plan to a Roth IRA in 2018 and the value of the account declines from the date of the conversion, the individual cannot undo the conversion. However, conversions made in 2017 can still be undone by October 15, 2018.
Another change in the TCJA, starting in 2018, is the ability of participants who took plan loans and then terminated employment to contribute the outstanding borrowed amount to the plan of a new employer and avoid a deemed distribution. The rollover to the new plan can be made up to the due date of the return (including extensions) for the year in which the plan loan offset occurs.
One indirect impact of the TCJA has been that some large employers have announced increases in their 401(k) contributions on behalf of employees. This can significantly add to retirement savings.
Caring for the Elderly and Disabled
Individuals who support their elderly parents can continue to deduct the medical costs they pay for their parents on their own returns, even though their parents are not dependents. For 2018, the threshold for itemizing out-of-pocket medical expenses will be 7.5% of adjusted gross income (AGI); this percentage applies regardless of the taxpayer’s age.
Of course, the increased standard deduction amounts that take effect in 2018 will likely lead to fewer taxpayers itemizing, making this provision less significant for some families. In addition, starting in 2019, the threshold for itemizing medical costs is set to rise to 10% of AGI.
ABLE Accounts
In addition to being able to roll over funds from a 529 plan to an ABLE account, as discussed above, there are two additional changes of note. The annual contribution amount (capped at the annual gift tax exclusion) has been temporarily increased by the lesser of the federal poverty line for a one-person household or the individual’s compensation for the taxable year. In addition, contributions to ABLE accounts can be used to claim the retirement saver’s credit. These changes will sunset in 2025.
Credit For Elderly and Permanently Disabled
The modest tax credit for a person age 65 or older or permanently disabled had been slated for repeal, but the final law retained it. It should be noted that only 48,502 of the 150.6 million individual income tax returns file (in 2015) claimed this credit.
There have been no changes to the rules for health savings accounts (HSA). Accordingly, withdrawals for nonmedical purposes from these accounts starting at age 65 remain penalty free.
Under the TCJA, itemized deductions cannot be claimed for theft losses or for casualty losses other than those incurred in a federally declared disaster area. Individuals who suffer such disaster losses can continue to deduct them, but from a planning perspective, it is essential to review insurance policies (including flood insurance) to be sure of adequate coverage.
2016 Disaster Area Relief
The Disaster Recovery Act of 2017 provided special rules for victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. The TCJA provides some relief for a major disaster occurring after December 31, 2015 (“2016 disasters”), as well as for disasters occurring before January 1, 2018. See FEMA’s website for disaster designations (https://www.fema.gov/disasters).
From a tax perspective, there is still some tax relief available. The 10% early distribution penalty from tax-advantaged retirement savings plans does not apply to hardship distributions for 2016 or 2017 disasters, and a casualty loss deduction can be claimed as an additional standard deduction amount, without regard to the 10%-of-AGI threshold, but with a $500 reduction in the loss.
Keeping Up with Changes
The new law presents an opportunity for planners to have conversations with clients about evaluating their personal situations and changing their planning strategies. It is wise to continue the dialog as IRS guidance is issued, and to modify advice accordingly.
___ Determine the advisability of timing a marriage or divorce in light of TCJA changes.
___ Consider the terms in prenuptial/postnuptial agreements entered into in 2018.
___ Assess the tax savings, if any, that may result from the child tax credit.
___ Review investment holdings in light of the new breakpoints for the 0%/15%/20% rates for qualified dividends and long-term capital gains.
___ Review the options for saving and paying for education in light of TCJA changes.
___ Consider the options for paying for long-term care and savings in ABLE accounts.
___ Review insurance coverage in light of elimination of the deduction for theft and casualty losses (other than federally declared disasters).
IRS PHISHING SCAMS YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO!
A Discussion Regarding Tax Filing Penalties
Top 10 Important Year-End Tax Planning Considerations for 2018
What You Need To Know About Social Security
Filing Taxes
Tax Audit/Problem Representation & Resolution
Business Consulting & Solutions
CFO For Hire
Articles You’ll Find Helpful
Tax Problem/Audit Representation & Resolution
Copyright© 2018 Barbara Jean Militello. All Rights Reseerved
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At Bishop Kearney we believe that community service plays an integral part of the spiritual and social growth of our students. Throughout the four years of high school students must perform at least seventy-five hours of service. Students must complete these hours to graduate from Bishop Kearney. We believe that through our service to our community we are able to fulfill the mission of Edmund Rice and help to create a better society.
The mission of Bishop Kearney high school is to empower all students to reach their full potential academically, spiritually, and socially. We believe that by requiring that all of our students to perform community service, they are better able to reach this potential and have a positive impact on our society.
In addition, the seven essential elements of an Edmund Rice education have a direct correlation with community service. Specifically, standing in solidarity with those marginalized by poverty and injustice ties directly back to the School Sist ers of Notre Dame and the Irish Christian Brothers. Both of these groups took it upon themselves to work with community members who needed the most support. In keeping with this tradition, all Bishop Kearney students will spend a portion of their community service hours working with the poor and the marginalized of our society.
For students in grades 6-12, please click the link below to submit your service hours:
BISHOP KEARNEY COMMUNITY SERVICE
Campus Ministry Goals
To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each person by:
helping individuals and groups within the greater school community reflect upon their fundamental beliefs and values
helping individuals realize their significance in relationship to school, family, Church, and world community
calling on and encouraging members of the school community to share their gifts and to minister to others
To invite and encourage involvement in and celebration of the faith community through various forms and styles of worship, especially the celebration of the Eucharist.
To communicate and proclaim the message of Jesus Christ.
To educate and encourage action regarding contemporary moral and social problems, as well as to urge people to work for peace and justice in our world.
To complement the general goals and objectives of the Religious Studies Department and of Bishop Kearney High School.
To respond to the invitation of the Church to proclaim and extend the Kingdom of God in the world by offering service to those in need.
Bishop Kearney and other Irish Christian Brothers schools from around the world have been living out their faith by supporting the missions in Peru for decades.
Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Peru
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November 24, 2009 by jgoods
Green Update–>Quiet Cars, 1 Series Hybrid, Benz Bash, GM, and AMP
Before we get into the techy stuff, a report from Japan claims that hybrids and electrics are too quiet, so the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport is considering whether to put beepers on the cars to keep pedestrians safe.
The policy would require that when vehicles are running at speeds less than 20 kilometers per hour that they activate a beeping noise that is similar to the sound of the engine. The policy would not allow the sound to be musical or a chime and would permit the driver to temporarily disable the beeping sound.
Too bad, we were hoping for musical chimes, filling the streets of Tokyo with irritating car music. BTW, how can a beeping noise sound like an engine? Only in Japan.
A new BMW 1 Series hybrid (above) is now testing in Germany. The gas-engine version has been around for a while, and the hybrid (so far) looks the same: like a car out of the 1930s. Details here. The company is going whole hog, if you will, on hybrids, with the ActiveHybrid X6 and the 7 Series, both of which we looked at. BMW is not likely, we imagine, to produce the car in this form, and it won’t come to the U.S. until 2011 or 2012 in any case. So there is still hope.
Mercedes will show the F-cell hydrogen electric at the L.A. Auto Show on December 4. Built on the B-Class platform, this is an entirely new car for Benz, with zero emissions of course, and very little prospect of being widely available anytime soon. However, there will be 200 production F-Cell cars in the U.S. and Europe made available to lease customers for “real-life testing.”
Benz has had the S400 Hybrid for sale in the U.S. for a while now, and you know how we feel about overpriced, overweight cars like this. But this news just in from Autoweek has laid us out. They reported on an event in Manhattan called Eco-luxe whose purpose was to bring journalists to a fancy restaurant to consort with green marketers selling everything from “quintuple-filtered vodka made in low-landfill facilities to carcinogen-free water bottles…. Guests who wanted test drives held off on cocktails before sampling the rides,” thank God, which included the S400 Hybrid.
GM, it appears, has not given up on using the so-called two-mode hybrid system, which it developed with Mercedes and Chrysler in 2004. This technology combines “an electric continuously variable transmission (eCVT) with two electric motors, four fixed gears, various clutches and planetary gearsets, heavy-duty electronics, and originally, a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack.” The Volt, as you know, will use lithium-ion batteries, but this complex system was developed for trucks, buses, and heavy-duty applications in which it works well. One wonders what kind of vehicles GM envisions for it in the future.
Finally, AMP=D showed a marvelous ’33 Ford electrified hotrod coupe at SEMA 2009, demonstrating that the good ol’ hotrod spirit is alive and well. The crew took a high-torque (660-lb-ft) motor designed for a bus, dropped it into this well-executed fiberglass ’33, and they project 0-60 mph in 3 seconds. Its range is 100 miles. Have a nice day.
Should hybrids and electrics require noisemakers? Are pedestrians in danger? Why or why not?
—jgoods
This entry was posted in Car Industry News, Car Minded, Car Shows, Classic & Vintage Cars, Domestic Cars, Electric Vehicles, Foreign Cars, General Chat, Green Updates, Hybrid Cars, United States. Bookmark the permalink.
← Driving Through the Worst Floods in 800 Years
Thirty Percent of Eligible GM Buyers Return Cars →
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Judge rejects call to suspend Maryland gun ban, after state suggests gun dealer plaintiffs were profiteering
Posted at 5:13 pm on October 1, 2013 by Bob Owens
A federal judge on Tuesday rejected requests to suspend Maryland’s new ban on the sale of assault rifles and to halt enforcement of a new handgun licensing program.
In denying a temporary restraining order, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Blake said the plaintiffs undercut their argument by waiting to challenge the law until a few days before it took effect.
The constitutional challenge to the assault rifles ban — and whether the Second Amendment guarantees the right to buy an assault-rifle to protect the home — will be the subject of a future hearing and remain to be decided. Blake said that based on evidence presented so far, she was not convinced that the plaintiffs would ultimately succeed. The parties are scheduled to meet Thursday to set the next court date.
National Rifle Associationlobbyist Shannon Alford said Tuesday’s ruling laid the framework for the continued legal challenges to the law.
“The fat lady hasn’t even taken the stage, much less sang,” she said.
It’s interesting Alford mentioned that particular rotund songstress, as the plaintiff’s apparently calculated tardiness was part of the state’s winning argument for denying the injunction.
This being Maryland, it is quite possible and perhaps even plausible that the injunction would have been denied regardless of when it was filed, but by filing just days before the law was to take effect, the gun dealers gave the state and the judge an easy excuse to simultaneously toss their case and make them look like they were profiteers, happy to exploit the rush on guns.
Whoever was in charge of the public relations strategy for this case really screwed up in the short term, regardless of the eventual outcome in court.
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Inspiring make-up work from Roshar
One of our favorite make-up artists, Roshar is an an international makeup artist, based in both New York and Los Angeles, with work featured in VOGUE, Harpers BAZAAR, ELLE, GLAMOUR, and InStyle magazine, among many other publications.
Originally from a small town in Texas, Roshar left home at the young age of 15, and began doing makeup to pay the rent. He soon developed the skill and unconventional style, that has lead him where he is today.
Since early childhood Roshar had a fascination with painting and fashion. Immersed in the underground club scene of the late 80s and early 90s, Roshar explored the world of role play and costumes, that further complemented his unusual way of looking at things.
As a platform artist, Roshar has worked on makeup presentations not only in the U.S but also in Moscow, Ukraine, Philippines, Toronto, Singapore and Japan.
Known for flawless skin and meticulous attention to detail, Roshar’s work has become instantly recognizable. Some of his clients include MAKE UP FOR EVER, CoverGirl, Paul Mitchell, L’Oreal, Wella, and YABY Cosmetics.
inglot, makeup, nyc, roshar
NextBen Nye Workshop Videos
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Artists In Love: Painting The Muse
February 16, 2016 / William Newton / 1 Comment
The artistic muse is a figure of great importance in art history. For centuries, men have been inspired by the women they are in love with, to create beautiful works of art which try to capture the beauty of these women for posterity. Today I’d like us to briefly consider an English 19th century example of how beauty really is in the eye of the beholder, at times, and then jump back to perhaps the quintessential artistic muse of the Italian Renaissance.
Jane Morris is a muse well-known to those who have any familiarity with Pre-Raphaelite art. From portraying her as the figure of Beatrice from Dante’s poetry, to dressing her as a goddess or nymph, she inspired the painter Dante Gabrielle Rossetti for years. She had quite a lengthy affair with him as well, even though she was married to another Pre-Raphaelite luminary, William Morris. The question one has to ask oneself, though, is why.
From nearly two dozen paintings of her by Rossetti, Morris stares out, bug-eyed and seemingly bad-tempered. Why Rossetti was so besotted with her is something which I have never understood. To my eye, she looks like a rather oafish young man in drag, who has just been awakened from a stupor to discover that he is drooling on himself. Described in articles like this one as a “beauty”, Morris is proof that for many people, beauty must truly be in the eyes of the beholder.
Whatever beauty Jane Morris may have (inexplicably) been to the English Pre-Raphaelites in the 19th century, for Raphael himself during the High Renaissance in Rome, his mistress Margarita Luti, more commonly known as “La Fornarina” – “the baker’s daughter”, was the muse of muses. I wanted to write briefly about a beautiful portrait of the beautiful La Fornarina known as the “Donna Velata” or “Veiled Lady”, and to look at it in conjunction with his portrait of Count Baldessare Castiglione, painted roughly around the same time, between 1514 and 1515. (Regular readers know that Castiglione’s portrait forms the design basis for this site, as you will discover by scrolling up and clicking “Patron”.)
Before beginning however, a note of caution. The problem with La Fornarina has always been identifying her, since there is a portrait by Raphael called “La Fornarina” which looks nothing like the lady in question. I have always doubted that Raphael painted it, or that if he started it someone else, such as his pupil Giulio Romano, finished it and changed it significantly. La Fornarina is the model for the Virgin Mary in several of Raphael’s most famous paintings, including his “Sistine Madonna” and “Madonna of the Chair”, and the half-naked woman in the portrait named for her, in fact looks nothing like her.
That caveat out of the way, let’s look at the “Veiled Lady” portrait. The first thing to notice in this picture, after you have absorbed the (actual) beauty of the woman in it, is that here we have almost a tonal painting. There are only shades of browns, whites, and golds, with a tiny bit of red for La Fornarina’s lips and cheeks, and in the ruby clip holding the pearl drop to her hair. Even the agate necklace around La Fornarina’s neck shows earth-toned gems set in simple gold.
Compare this very simple color scheme, almost a lack of color, if you will, to the portrait of Castiglione. Here, too, Raphael is also highly restrained in the color palette he uses. Castiglione’s painting is made up of browns, grays, blacks, and whites, with the only outstanding color being the writer’s piercing blue eyes. Even the gold-set jewel in his cap is shown muddled and in shadow.
Another similarity between the two portraits lies in the use of fabric. La Fornarina’s lavish white dress envelops her like a merengue, but it is lacking in color other than geometric borders in gold thread; she also wears a simple, natural linen veil over her head. In his portrait, Castiglione is shown wearing a basic black suit with a plush but equally simple, gray velvet cloak wrapped around him, and a jaunty black hat pushed back on his head, somewhat like a turban. While both of the outfits shown in these portraits were costly, their cost is shown through their quality, rather than by their being flashy.
We tend to think of the Renaissance as being a bold, colorful business, with people wearing extraordinarily loud colors and patterns. In this instance however, when Raphael chose to paint portraits of the woman he loved and of one of his closest friends and mentors, he did so without a great deal of fussiness, color, or flashiness. The brushwork is swift and natural, with the shyness of La Fornarina being expressed as beautifully in her somewhat timid glance, as Castiglione’s polite, noble self-confidence is in his own. There are no props necessary when you are an artist this good at capturing human expression. Indeed, one can look at this art and easily leap forward over a century and a few hundred miles to see how Velazquez did exactly the same thing in Madrid in the 17th century as Raphael was doing in Rome in the 16th.
Jane Morris and La Fornarina are not the only muses in art history, of course. From Simonetta Vespucci to Lady Hamilton to Gala Dali, many women became artistic inspirations for the men who admired them and represented them in art. However I think that what is interesting in the representations of these women are not when they appear as models for goddesses or saints, but rather in the art created for private consumption by the artist himself, for his own delectation. There we get a better sense, perhaps, of how the artist really saw his muse, when the two of them were alone. In the case of Raphael, one can well understand why he fell in love with La Fornarina.
"Donna Velata" by Raphael (c. 1514-15)
Men In Armor: Art on the Edge of Change
August 5, 2014 / William Newton / 2 Comments
At The Frick in Manhattan, a new exhibition entitled Men in Armor opens today, juxtaposing portraits by El Greco and his contemporary, the less well-known Italian painter, Scipione Pulzone. The show is taking place as part of a commemoration of the 500 years since the death of El Greco, whose work was rediscovered and re-appreciated beginning with the Impressionists and which continues unabated today. What unites both paintings, apart from their timeframe, is the portrayal of two martial members of Roman society. Yet despite what at first glance may seem to be very similar images, there are important differences between the two, which speak to how Western art stood on the edge of change, not long after these portraits were painted.
Pulzone’s portrait of Jacobo (also known as Giacomo) Boncompagni is an example of the highly refined, haughtily aristocratic imagery which characterized society portraiture during this period. Boncompagni, commander of the Papal Army back when there were Papal States, was the son of the man later elected as Pope Gregory XIII. We all know that a number of the popes, particularly during the Renaissance, were far from saintly, but it should be pointed out that Gregory XIII is generally considered to have tried his best to live piously during his pontificate; the affair which produced Jacobo Boncompagni took place when the future pope was still a layman.
Despite the fact that Pulzone is portraying one of the most powerful Italians of his day, the painting speaks to a foreign influence. The seriousness and darker tones of this type of portrait were originally popularized by what was, at the time, Europe’s greatest superpower: Spain. Even as early as the time of Count Castiglione, the patron of this blog and author of the “Book of the Courtier”, Spain was looked to by many aristocrats and intellectuals of the Renaissance as a model of both appearance and behavior, worthy of being emulated.
Earlier, related examples of how European artists catered to the serious tastes of the Spanish court include Titian’s famous image of Felipe II as Crown Prince, painted around 1550-1551, and the 1557 portrait of the now-King Felipe by the Dutch portraitist Antonis Mor. In both of these propaganda images, as in the portrait by Pulzone, the background is dark, the individual is starkly lit, and the gleam of intricately inlaid armour contrasts with the muddled shades and textures of the fabric. Notwithstanding their comparatively minimal surroundings, the men in these paintings give off an impression of restrained luxury, and a male peacock’s pride of appearance, even though the flashy, comic book colors which we often associate with the Renaissance are completely absent.
The Frick’s rare, full-length portrait by El Greco of Vincenzo Anastagi, sergeant-major of the Castel Sant’Angelo in Rome, at first might seem to be related to these other images. Like these, Anastagi is also shown dressed in gleaming armor, ruff collar, and plush velvet, minus the fashionable codpiece sported by both Felipe II and Jacobo Boncompagni. However, closer inspection reveals some significant differences between the images of Anastagi and his contemporary Boncompagni, which both speak to their relative status in the pecking order, and show how Western art was about to start looking inward.
For one, the armor worn by the two men is quite different: Anastagi’s is polished, but plain, whereas Boncampagni’s armor is highly decorated, reflecting their relative wealth and status. Anastagi is placed in a simple, white-washed room with a small window, the blandness of the background made slightly more dynamic by the addition of some burgundy velvet drapes. By contrast, even though Boncompagni stands in a darkened room, he is placed next to a table covered by a rich, satin tablecloth, and the space is punctuated by the sweep of a steel blue velvet curtain edged in gold embroidery. We can also see that Anastagi’s rather ordinary, workaday soldier’s helmet lays, untied and discarded, on the floor behind him, while Boncompagni rests his arm on a magnificent, engraved and hammered helmet, perhaps from one of the highly prestigious Renaissance armorers in Milan.
There are also palpable differences in the expressions of these two men. Ananstagi, with his sunburnt nose from many days out on the ramparts of the castle, looks somewhat suspiciously at the viewer, trying to decide what to make of the person who is looking back at him. Boncompagni, on the other hand, seems self-assured and detached, almost languidly so, as he deigns to give you some of his attention. Whereas El Greco gives us an individual in this painting, Boncompagni gives us a type.
Not convinced? Take a look at what each of these two men are doing. Anastagi is a real person, who doesn’t seem to know what to do with his hands unless he is handling a weapon. Boncompagni on the other hand, is putting on a show, rather than telling us anything really significant about himself. His hands hold a document and a baton, respectively, indicating that he is a man of learning and power to be reckoned with, but they look and indeed function as theatrical props. Clearly, if Pulzone is showing us the world as people imagined it to be during his time, El Greco is, by contrast, giving us a sense of what the people of that era were really like.
By the time of El Greco’s death in 1614, a new style of portrait painting had taken hold in Spain and began to spread elsewhere. It reflected the sobriety of earlier portraiture to the Spanish taste, but also displayed a greater willingness to avoid flattery. What the deceivingly simple Frick exhibit does, is to show when that sea change in Western art really began to take place. That transition to a more natural portrayal of the sitter, making him less attractive but more introspective, is due at least in part to the work of perceptive and challenging artists like El Greco.
Detail of “Portrait of Vincenzo Anastagi” by El Greco (c. 1550-1551)
The Frick Collection, New York
A Million Thanks
July 21, 2014 / William Newton / 4 Comments
Those of you who follow me on social media know that yesterday afternoon this blog hit one million visits! I want to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all of my readers over the years, as well as fellow writers in the blogosphere who have encouraged me from the beginning and continue to do so. That so many of you subscribe or take the time to drop by this site, when there are far better writers than I whom you could be reading, is both humbling and a great honor to receive.
As regular readers know, I do not make a living from my writing – although if you are an editor or publisher let’s have a chat, shall we? This blog is just something I do, usually five days a week, and in my spare time. I bear the costs of running and hosting this site, and I do not expect that is going to change, for however long it continues.
Someone told me recently that I am more of an essayist than a blogger; this is probably true. I do not break stories, and I generally do not share a link unless I have commentary to accompany it. Often a news item is merely something which I treat as a jumping-off point to discuss something else entirely.
Also, the length of my average scribbling on these virtual pages is generally far longer than the typical 300-500 word post. To date, I have written the equivalent of roughly fifteen 100K word novels. That is a lot of thinking, typing, and editing over the years, but fortunately I work pretty quickly.
As to the “Why?” of what I do, I hope that I serve as a voice for culture, in a society which has largely forgotten what that word means. The temporary trends of political tit-for-tat, and the needs of a celebrity-hungry media do not hugely interest me, since I take the long view. While I criticize where warranted, I also hope that I seek to build up, not simply tear down. Encouraging my readers to learn more about our world, and Western culture in particular, but also to look at popular culture in ways which might not otherwise occur to them, is the real raison d’être here.
By way of conclusion, I quote the patron of this blog, Count Castiglione, who in his “Book of the Courtier” rather neatly sums up what I have tried to do thus far, and will continue to do here on this blog for as long as I am able, and for as long as people are interested in reading it.
I say, then, that since princes are today so corrupted by evil customs, and by ignorance, and mistaken self-esteem, and since it is so difficult to give them knowledge of the truth and lead them on to virtue, and since men seek to enter into their favour by lies and flatteries and such vicious means, the Courtier…should try to gain the good will and so charm the mind of his prince, that he shall win free and safe indulgence to speak of everything without being irksome. And if he be such as has been said, he will accomplish this with little trouble, and thus be able always to disclose the truth about all things with ease; and also to instil goodness into his prince’s mind little by little, and to teach continence, fortitude, justice, and temperance, by giving a taste of how much sweetness is hidden by the little bitterness that at first sight appears to him who withstands vice; which is always hurtful and displeasing, and accompanied by infamy and blame, just as virtue is profitable, blithe and full of praise.
Detail of “The Suitor’s Visit” by Gerard ter Borch (c. 1658)
National Gallery, Washington DC
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In these challenging times with regard to Government funding for schools, Bishop Vesey’s Grammar School seeks to be proactive in generating new revenue streams to support the continuing ‘inspiration and excellence’ that the school provides.
We are aiming to develop a network of relationships with a number of Corporate Partners that will provide a mutual benefit for both partners and enrich the lives of our students.
Please see our attached brochure for further details, or e-mail
inspiration@bishopveseys.bham.sch.uk
Partner Testimonies
“I attended BVGS in the sixties and seventies and enjoyed my time there enormously, feeling proud to be part of such a well-respected school. Bishop Vesey’s gave me a tremendous grounding, both academically and in sport, which undoubtedly helped to prepare me for my career and life ahead.
I have kept in touch with the school over the years, by attending OVA dinners and other events and became a Friend of the Vesey Community, by supporting fund raising projects, including the STEM Block appeal.
In the last few years I have developed a healthy business partnership with BVGS, by supplying print and furniture, and also by being the main sponsor the Golf Day. This partnership arrangement works well, as it helps the school to raise additional funds for sporting requirements and also provides networking and business opportunities with other sponsors and Friends of the school.
We have already benefited from business secured via the advertising of the Golf Day, both from parents and other sponsors. This included orders specifically relevant to the Golf Day itself, via initial introductions made by the event organiser, Brian Davies and also further sales resulting from meeting these and other people at the event. Whilst we were very happy to support the school anyway, having the opportunity to make a return on our sponsorship investment is an added incentive, and part of the partnership spirit.
I would certainly encourage other local businesses to engage with the school, which plays a significant role in the local community, by forming similar partnerships, to mutually benefit both parties. The development work that is currently being undertaken to galvanise Bishop Vesey’s relationship with the wider business community, will gradually create opportunities to expand companies’ CSR and trading activities within this network.
Schools are no longer simply academic centres of excellence – they are run as businesses, and need to work in partnership with other businesses, in order to prosper. I am confident that Bishop Vesey’s plans to grow this area of shared enterprise will become a successful aspect of its strategic plans in the future.”
Clive Poole (OV1971) X2 Furniture
Lichfield Road Sutton Coldfield West Midlands B74 2NH
If parents/carers wish to report their son or daughter absent or late please contact via the email form or text number as below.
Application Form For Student Leave of Absence From School During Term Time
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Lost In Paradise (Album Version (Explicit))
Released: Nov 2012
Label: Def Jam Recordings
"What's love without tragedy?" asks Rihanna. Whether it's another allusion to her doomed affair with Chris Brown (who gets face time on "Nobody's Business"), or just another example of how she's a cipher adaptable to any trend -- whether it's the dirty house of "Right Now," the pumped-up bro-step of "Jump," or Future's Auto-Tuned trap-pop on "Loveeeeeee Song" -- she summons a passion that feels personal. She's outshone by Mikky Ekko on "Stay," but "Diamonds" is all hers, and even if the "sunshine and Molly" line panders to her EDM acolytes, it's another jewel in an impressive pop career.
Mosi Reeves
Phresh Out The Runway (Album Version (Explicit))
Numb featuring Eminem (Album Version (Explicit))
Pour It Up (Album Version (Explicit))
Loveeeeeee Song featuring Future (Album Version (Explicit))
Jump (Album Version (Explicit))
Right Now featuring David Guetta (Album Version (Explicit))
What Now (Album Version (Explicit))
Stay featuring Mikky Ekko (Album Version (Explicit))
Nobody's Business featuring Chris Brown (Album Version (Explicit))
Love Without Tragedy / Mother Mary (Album Version (Explicit))
Get It Over With (Album Version (Explicit))
No Love Allowed (Album Version (Explicit))
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Calcutta Kids believes that healthy mothers and children are the foundation of a healthy community. Through community meetings, Calcutta Kids is seeking to engage the collective expertise of the mothers in Fakir Bagan and improve their health through improved collaboration and community cohesion.
Throughout the history of Calcutta Kids, the community has been an integral part of program design and implementation. The community health workers are all women from within two kilometers of the slum where we work. Women are provided with a safe and respectful space for health visits and have a close relationship with health workers, so the reality of each individual’s situation is available to Calcutta Kids to help improve and tailor programs to their specific needs.
Community Health Workers are the face of Calcutta Kids in Fakir Bagan. Each component of MYCHI is made possible with sustained interaction with Calcutta Kids community health workers. CHWs are trained to advocate for, educate, and assist pregnant women, mothers, and children 0-3 years old with their health care needs. They have undergone rigorous training in-house, as well as training from the Community Development Medicinal Unit (CDMU). They are given refresher trainings regularly by MYCHI program coordinator and manager, and the Calcutta Kids doctor. We have three senior community health workers or Area-in-Charges (AICs) and six community health workers (CHWs) who are from the communities they serve or neighboring areas.
Community meetings provide a safe space for women to discuss health issues with each other and with CK health workers. Meetings are also a forum for social interaction and empowerment among women of Fakir Bagan. Relationships between the Calcutta Kids health workers and women have flourished largely because of the monthly community meetings. Community meetings are held for pregnant women, mothers of young children, and mothers of malnourished children. Participants discuss a range of health-related topics. An Area-In-Charge works with the participants in the group and guides the flow of discussion At the beginning of each meeting, women share their own experiences and understandings of the presented health issue. AICs then work from these experiences and perceptions, seeking to provide the women with a more complete understanding of that meeting’s topic. At the end of the meeting, the AIC leads a question and answer session to determine whether the women have understood the information presented. The women are encouraged to put the counseling into practice and to pass their new wisdom on to friends, family, and neighbors. At a recent meeting one woman said, “I like the meetings because it is a chance for women to visit with each other and talk. There is no other place in Fakir Bagan to meet together like this.”
Pregnancy Community Meetings:
Pregnant women are invited to monthly community meetings to discuss topics related to pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of this meeting is not only to reinforce counseling messages disseminated during the home visits, but more importantly for women to come together as a support group and share stories and experiences during their pregnancy. Outside of the community meetings, women do not have a forum to discuss what they are experiencing and feeling during pregnancy, which can be an emotional and vulnerable time. The Calcutta Kids Pregnancy meetings fill this crucial gap.
Child Health Community Meetings:
Mothers of young children are invited to attend monthly community meetings on child health. The groups are usually formed on the basis of the child’s age, so that relevant topics to the age group (such as feeding) can be discussed. Topics include child feeding practices, complimentary feeding, diarrheal diseases, worm infestation, acute respiratory infection, skin diseases, infant and child care, family planning, and hygiene practices.
Malnutrition Community Meetings:
Until recently, meetings for mothers of malnourished children were incorporated into the regular child health meetings as an additional topic. Following a six month intervention trial (April to October 2011) with severely malnourished children in Fakir Bagan (Read more- Nutrition), we have changed these meetings fundamentally to incorporate recent efforts in community mobilization.
Mothers Support Groups
Calcutta Kids has noticed a lack of community cohesiveness and support among the women and families of Fakir Bagan. Because social support can impact health outcomes, we set up a pilot support group to see if this is a model that can work in our community. This pilot group consists of eight mothers of severely malnourished children, most who did not show improvements in the six month nutrition trial. Using elements of community mobilization and participatory development, it is hoped that this group, along with facilitation by CK health workers, will find sustainable solutions to addressing the pervasive challenge of malnutrition in Fakir Bagan.
The women come to the meetings without being asked, and have brought many public health challenges to our attention. They are interested in making an impact on the community, and have been providing outreach to other mothers with malnourished children. Through weekly group sessions, the women have grown close together and are comfortable discussing their challenges and hopes for improvements in their family and community.
Maa O Sishu Siksha Kendra (Community Center)
On Wednesday, January 11, 2011, Calcutta Kids opened Maa O Sishu Siksha Kendra, the Calcutta Kids Community Center. The center is located within the slum of Fakir Bagan and will serve as a gathering place for our community outreach activities, as well as our monthly growth monitoring and promotion program.
← Back to Programs
→ Forward to Nutrition
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Ten Thousand African Americans March in New York City to Protest Racial Violence
Image | New York Public Library
On July 28, 1917, 10,000 African American men, women, and children marched in silence through the streets of New York City to protest lynching in America. In what is considered one of the first public demonstrations by African Americans in the 20th century, the NAACP mobilized thousands of members of the black community in the "Negro Silent Protest Parade" down Fifth Avenue.
Formulated by James Weldon Johnson, the silent march was intended to be a public response and criticism of lynching and racial violence committed against African American communities in the United States. Earlier that summer, violence in East St. Louis, Illinois, killed many African Americans and devastated the black community. Threatened by a growing African American labor force, a group of white men gathered in the downtown area of East St. Louis in May 1917 and began attacking and beating unsuspecting African Americans. That July, an armed white mob drove into black residential areas and opened fire on men, women, and children; when black residents shot back, a police officer was killed, triggering more violence. Armed white mobs flooded the black community, shooting black residents as they fled, hanging black people from street lamps, and burning black homes and businesses to the ground.
The thousands of marchers in New York City also were spurred to action by the racial terror lynching of 17-year-old Jesse Washington, who was hanged, burned, and dismembered by a white mob in front of City Hall in Waco, Texas, on May 15, 1916.
The silent marchers communicated their frustration to the nation by holding signs and banners, but did not speak one word. Children led the march wearing white, followed by prominent NAACP members like W.E.B. Du Bois and a banner that read "Your Hands Are Full of Blood." The American flag was carried as a reminder of the democratic ideals that failed to protect African Americans. The march launched the NAACP's public campaign against lynching and racial violence.
Learn more about the era of racial terror lynchings in the United States through the report, Lynching in America: Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror.
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